My attack on Dr Tope Fasua my erstwhile friend, associate and sometime collaborator has been causing ripples within my wide network
Edgar, I fear o, would you come at me the way you took Tope to the cleaners on this matter, if it was me?
And my answer was a big YES. I would come if you arrogantly took an anti-people position and defended it.
Ohh didn’t Tope just come for your AlvinReport Roundtable, what happened o – was the next quip
Even if it was my mother who expected Nigerians to be happy cos they can easily eat boli at N1,500 per meal when the people she would be comparing us to have a per capita income of $60,000 per annum as against ours at a little above $1,000 per annum, yes I will come heavily on her.
Dr Fasua has not taken my position lightly as expected and has gone ahead to pull my innocent children into the matter and to inspire his acolyte to rain abuses on me and attempt a push at my very popular this-day column.
You see, I repeat, it’s not personal. We are in a fight for the lives of 200m people going through the most harrowing economic hardship since the Civil War.
Today, he went on air to say that he ate at the black bell for N2,500 in Lekki which is a big fat lie
An average meal at that eatery is between N15,000 and N24, 000 up from N4,000 at the inception of the administration.
This is an issue-based fight, and nothing personal, I told him.
He is still my friend, and I will still go and eat in his house if and when I have the opportunity, but on this matter, he is on the other side , and as such, I will be doing myself and my conscience a great deal of disservice by not joining the millions of Nigerians calling for his head.
In my very colourful career in public commentary, I think the only matter that I did not put my mouth was the Obiagbena-Otedola matter for very obvious reasons
I decidedly stood clear and watched the fight from the ringside
This was easy cos they are both private citizens and the matter, although it had long-term implications on the people, still wasn’t under the jurisdiction of taxpayers’ monies in the true sense of the matter.
The Afe Babalola own, I jumped into the fray very aggressively, risking the well-cultivated relationship between myself and his daughter Bolanle Austen Peters, who I consider a genius.
I have a wide and very rich network and if I institute a policy of not talking where my friends are involved, I could as well close shop and retire to Uyo cos on every matter I would have one friend or someone close to someone involved
On this Natasha vs Akpabio matter, I have very close friends on both sides and I’ve heard inside gist from both sides that although I have not mentioned in public have guided my public position
Tope going personal and literally calling me a thief and pulling in my innocent children into public discourse is the littlest sacrifice any patriotic Nigerian can make in this fight
Dele Farotimi spent 21 days in jail, Sowore is in and out, Saro Wiwa was hanged, and Hundreds have gone into exile, so calling me a thief is nothing
My own is that there is no friendship in this matter. If you take an unwieldy position, we will counter, and you are expected to counter back with solid arguments, and we argue with superior positions as true weapons. After all, why are we parading Ph.D. Na?
So my dear brother from Ekiti, don’t worry too much cos if you wake up tomorrow morning and say that the rate of economic hardship-driven suicide has dropped from say 100 to 98 thereby the administration is doing well, I will come at you with a very wicked broom and verbally beat the shit out of you and still come to your house the next day and ask your wife to give me afang to eat.
It can’t be personal, we have a country to salvage
Come and beat me
*Duke of Shomolu