Open Letter To Major-General Tunde Idiagbon
I have gathered from the Nigerian press that you sent a message of support to your former colleagues who ousted you from power while you were away performing the Hajj in Mecca.
You were reported to have asked for permission to return home peacefully. If you have been quoted correctly then I must confess that I am disappointed in you, (of course, I'm sure you don't care one bit if a nobody like me is disappointed in you).
All the same, you must realise that by this one report, you have completely destroyed the 'strongman' image you have so painstakingly cultivated these past 20 months that you had been on centre stage in Nigeria.
What exactly is meant by your message of support? Are you sure you have heard the things they are saying about you? About being a tyrant and not listening to anybody; do you realise that you are being compared to a Hitler and other unmentionable men of infamy? When you say you support them, is one to conclude that you agree that you had been the 'most authoritarian and repressive regime that Nigerians have ever had the misfortune to endure?'
Which all takes me to the conclusion that you have become a victim of 'Media persecution because you are out of power'.
The chances are that you have been misquoted.
You will soon discover that you have become fair game. Everything will be blamed on you. You will find that people you had done favours for in your time of glory will all turn their backs on you, they will try to put as much distance as possible between themselves and you and your colleagues will claim that yours was a one-man show.
I can assure you that it will be a lonely existence and a most frustrating one. For example, it is being alleged now that you own 19 houses in Ilorin alone and have rented houses to the Nigerian Air Force and other government organisations in Ilorin.
All of which sound terribly "Un-WAI". Apart from their being a tendency in the media to whip people that are down, you have the added handicap of having been caught out in Saudi Arabia of all places - it is not a place much frequented by the 'foreign press' and even though I am sure that country has its big points, I couldn't survive there: you can't even have a drink! Whatever will you do without the odd Scotch after work and cold glass of beer after meals. You can only pray so many times, and even though you definitely need the kind hand of Allah right now, you will remember that he says he helps those who help themselves.
I will suggest therefore that you make your way to London, (where, I gather, you have property and won't face accommodation difficulties), you know the British, for all our criticisms of them, are very tolerant.
In London you can be sure that a pack of journalists will be falling over trying to interview you and there will be the opportunity to state your case and then, of course, it will be easier for you to monitor events in Nigeria and you can watch 'man's ingratitude to man!'
A second reason why you might want to leave Saudi Arabia is that it is the place that Idi Amin, that infamous mass murderer, was given political asylum and if you should choose to live there, the temptation will always be to lump you and Amin in the same category, and I'm sure you won't like that one bit.
So please come to London. I can only hope that your former colleagues won't take offence at the British for 'harbouring you'. You know how these things work, a few more newspaper articles and people will be demanding that you be brought back to answer for your 'crimes against Nigerians'. Before you can say 'TUN-DE' you will be declared a 'wanted man'!
We can take consolation in the hope that nobody will try to forcibly remove you from London and take you to Nigeria in a crate, after the furore over the Dikko affair, I think you will be able to stay here in peace. Of course, there will be problems of trying to get the Home Office to grant you political asylum and all that hassle, but there is a whole community of West African exiles in London now that has travelled that road many times and can give you excellent advice.
But most of all, and that is the main point of this letter, I want to assure you that the columns of Talking Drums will be made available to you to tell your story. You will find that habits die hard and even though Decree 4 has been repealed, many newspapers who were conned by it will be hesitant about letting you tell your story on their pages. That is where we come in. In our two years of existence, we have managed a reputation of championing unfashionable causes and personalities - we wouldn't change just because of you. We will publish your side of the story, it should not be lost property.
I am hoping that you have recovered your facility to smile now that you are no longer the 'strongman' of Nigeria. It is said that most people cannot recall seeing you smile in all the 20 months!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Ohene,
Editor, Talking Drums
Hoping to see you soon in London, please don't be so despondent, you can take comfort in the axiom: NO CONDITION IS PERMANENT - it has been proved over and over again. The pity is that when people are in power, they tend to forget.
