Acting President Osinbajo is not a ‘Nigerian’, By Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri

After watching the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo in Benin City, Edo State, on TV live during his fact finding meeting with the good people of Edo state, I realised that he is totally not a Nigerian. He listened to all speakers with rapt attention and concentrated interest. One could see him practically and personally experiencing the pains of the abandoned and raped people of the Niger Delta. Even when there was a mini riot in the hall he remained calmed and probably prayerful as an ordained man of God.

If the mild drama of mini riot that played out in the hall had happened in a situation where even a local government chairman was in charge, the chairman would have ordered the security men to shoot at sight. If the person in charge was a state governor or a President, he would have ordered a massive arrest and inglorious shot at perception and at sight, but the learned and erudite scholar and legal luminary of international acclaim did not do any of that. Rather when he responded he said he equally shared the grievance of the aggrieved Niger Delta people. This is un-Nigerian.

For a leader to share in the pains of the people and not to deal with them for daring to engage in mini riot in his presence shows that the goddess of pride, the delusion grandeur and megalomania tendency usually associated with the average Nigerian leader at virtually all levels are not in the Acting President. For him to order all the oil companies to move their headquarters to the Niger Delta is a wonderful act of justice and healing of the age long injury inflicted on the Niger Delta people.

That he visited the Niger Delta states differently and interacted directly with the people and even visited the creeks to personally access the horrible situation is worth more than commendation. No Nigerian leader at his level has acted like this.

This is the reason I doubt if Acting President Yemi Osibanjo, SAN, is a Nigerian. Probably he is a Moses in the making to the Niger Delta people.

*Dr. Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri is HOD, Mass Communication, Delta State University, Abraka