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Thursday, March 28, 2024

#SoundOff: Senator Abe, Didn’t You Make That Call For Soldiers To Occupy Ogoniland?

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[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he last time Governor Wike spoke about Sen. Magnus Abe, it was at the PDP Thanksgiving Service which held at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Elekahia; and it was a noncombative statement. The Governor merely clarified on what he said when he visited Ogoni for the birthday of Senator Lee Maeba, his long time ally.

The Thanksgiving Service had hardly come to an end when Senator Abe’s Media Office went on a frenzy issuing press releases after each. The rejoinders were so important in their irrelevance and deviation from the issues raised by the Governor that not one or two press releases could suffice to address the Governor’s Statement made by the sidelines of the Thanksgiving Service.

From that day unending, thereafter, the press statements flowed freely from just one quarter: Sen. Magnus Abe’s media office, accompanied by media appearances on whatever platform that was available; even on defunct Korofo stable. No one joined issues with him. I personally resisted an invitation to the fray. It was not necessary. The Governor had it all figured out and was dictating his friend’s reaction.

Today, Governor Wike went a step further beyond peripheral injunctions to assert that Sen. Abe, by himself, had made a frantic request for soldiers to be camped in Ogoni, without which he would not be able to win his election. It was a clear and unambiguous statement.

However, it is surprising and somewhat annoying that several hours after that statement was made, we hear a deafening silence from Sen. Abe’s media office. The Governor said Senator Abe knows he has proof of the statement. Still, no rebuttal, rejoinder or denials from Sen. Abe?

Does Sen. Abe not know that silence in this case reasonably amounts to complicity and as such places the burden of responsibility for the atrocious consequences of the military action in Ogoni directly on his laps? Or has the Governor delivered a fatal salvo? Does it not clearly mean that Sen. Abe made the call and that our military is being used for partisan objectives?

What could possibly be the reason Senator Abe, who in rapid sequence issued multiple press releases in response to a birthday remark keep mute for several hours on an emphatic statement pinning him to the violence that engulfed Ogoni.

Governor Wike, who continues to pledge support and funding to the security agencies emphatically said he won’t be deceived by the misleading import of some of the operations that have partisan colouration.

This is where, again, Sen. Magnus Abe has a debt of burden to clear and in truth, if there’s any single individual who welcomes and continue to hail military occupation and ‘action’ in Ogoni, it is Senator Abe. He has never shied from it.

So after all said and done, military presence in Ogoni and the accompanying atrocities there, are in credit to one man’s ambition to be a Senator? So why the attack on Governor Wike and all the denials? Didn’t you make that call, Sen. Abe?

Oraye St. Franklyn, a strategic communicator and good governance advocate, writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He tweets from @RealOraye. He is also on Facebook.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

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