REUBEN ABATI, POWER AND SHOCK OF SUDDEN IRELEVANCE

Last week came yet another yesterday’s men story! But this time it came from someone who used a million hours to build his public image as someone with good judgement but loses everything in less than a thousand hours to the lust of serving as a presidential spokesperson. It is no one else but Reuben Abati who expressed his frustration in his last week article ‘’MY PHONE NO LONGER RINGS’’. He wishes clock can tick back so his phone can still buzz as it used to when he was still the most sought after Reuben Abati. In the article, Abati said: ‘’as spokesman to President Goodluck Jonathan, my phones rang endlessly and became more than personal navigators within the social space. They defined my entire life; dusk to dawn, all year-round. The phones buzzed non-stop, my email was permanently active; my twitter account received tons of messages per second.’’

‘’…The Presidential election went as it did, and everything changed. Days after, State House became Ghost House. The Residence, which used to receive visitors as early as 6am, (regular early morning devotion attendees) became quiet. The throng of visitors stopped. The number of phone calls began to drop. By May 29, my phones had stopped ringing as they used to. They more or less became museum pieces; their silence reminding me of the four years of my life that proved so momentous. On one occasion, after a whole day of silence, I had to check if the phones were damaged…’’ 

Stories that details worries of erstwhile powerful men keeps coming yet people don’t learn lessons that power belongs to no man but God. Infact, that power is only but a smokescreen that confers an illusory might and relevance. Whatever place you are today, someone have been there, only to resign into obscurity. The power deceit is worsened when examine in the context of public office holders. Reuben Abati captured this deceit accurately when he said in his article: ‘’as it were, a cynical public relates to you not as a person, but as the office you occupy; the moment you leave office, the people move on; erasing every memory, they throw you into yesterday’s dustbin. Opportunism is the driver of the public’s relationship with public officials. 

The man Reuben Abati in his years with guardian newspaper was no less a man with a gargantuan posturing against conservative politicians especially the PDP. With his column, he was able to carve a niche for himself as one of those value-driven Africans that will not compromise the development of their country for anything selfish. But Reuben Abati threw value and truth to the dustbin as he picked up arm and vehemently voiced to preserve the cabals who were mercilessly plundering the nation’s wealth.

A popular saying says ‘’if you can’t join them, you beat them’’. Another says ‘’whatever cause that will cost someone his goodwill is not worth doing. Jonathan government was the worse in terms of corruption in the history of Nigeria yet a person of Abati passionately worked to protect that government. In honesty, that wasn’t a good choice for him, he should have resigned or atleast tell the truth to power. By that he wouldn’t have forfeited his good public image.

However, now, Abati has lost two tangible things, the first being political patronage and the other being his image that he laboured so much for.

In life, there is just two divides, the first are the respected people who earned respect through diligence cum virtues and the other are the disrespected, no doubt, Reuben Abati has reduced himself to the second category.

Garba Shehu is now the pencil in the eye of service- what he says and what he doesn’t say will determine what becomes of him in four years’ time. Maybe his phone too will cease to ring shortly after office. He shouldn’t forget that the image he has built through Nigerian tribune for many decades is up for forfeiture if he fails to do as is rightful.  

Meanwhile, PunditAfrica contend that for Africa to really change, men and women African must become truthful and courageous: we must be able to say the bitter truth to office holders at every point in time.
Read His Article: MY PHONE NO LONGER RINGS: http://punditafrica.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-phone-no-longer-rings-by-reuben-abati.html#more