PitObi: Parable Of Talents And Messiah For The Gullible -By Richard Odusanya

Traditionally, the parable of the talents has been seen as an opportunity to evaluate discretion or lack of it. In both Matthew and Luke, a master puts his servants in charge of his goods while he is away on a trip. Upon his return, the master assesses the stewardship of his servants. He evaluates them according to how faithful each was in making wise investments of his goods to obtain a profit. It is clear that the master sought some profit from the servants’ oversight. A gain indicated faithfulness on the part of the servants. The master rewards his servants according to how each has handled his stewardship. He judges two servants as having been “faithful” and gives them a positive reward. To the single “unfaithful” servant, who played it safe, a negative compensation is given.

Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR: a Nigerian politician and economics professor who serves as the fifth democratic Governor of Anambra State since 17 March 2022. Soludo also a former governor and chairman of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He was appointed as the bank’s governor on 29 May 2004. He is also a member of the British Department for International Development’s International Advisory Group and member of President Buhari’s Presidential Economic Advisory Committee. If Charles Soludo, a professor of Economics and a sitting governor of the same Anambra State says, Peter Obi is a monumental failure from economic point of view, who am I to deny it? in all honesty, it seems to me like the verdict of history, the verdict of posterity and a sound judgement.

Instructively, politics and governance is about influencing development. If as a top politician, you cannot influence your party while in power to bring development to your communities and State please go into isolation. Therefore, if Peter Obi is such a futuristic leader as projected, he would have been able to read the future of a company and project rightly. In contrast Governor Bola Tinubu as he then was invested Lagos State money $4Billion sometimes during his governorship, The money brought back $19Billion back into the covers of Lagos State. That’s how to handle tax payers money. Jagaban increased Lagos State IGR by 468% while Peter Obi increased Anambra IGR by 18%. I daresay that it will take a complete unreasonable people to choose Peter Obi ahead of Tinubu.The difference is too clear!!!

Historically, the act or art of telling lies and telling the truth has become a standard of measurement in our politics and governance system – it was long ago, and still is today, a yardstick adopted in the recognition of good and bad politicians. It was also a virtue to find politicians who always told the truth; who never told lies. Sadly, such attributes cannot be found in many of our present political gladiators as exemplified by the revelations of Peter Obi. Governor Peter Obi investment of public money in unreasonable ventures and family business is nothing but corruption elevated and indiscretion.

Instructively, deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight of hand as well as distraction, camouflage or concealment. There is also self-deception, as in bad faith. It can also be called, with varying subjective implications, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, ruse, or subterfuge. Sadly, such incongruence and fruitless endeavor are usually misinterpreted as frugality thereby deceitfully exposing the vulnerability and gullibility of the unsuspecting “Masses” sad realities and the present situation of our beloved country Nigeria today.

Flowing from the foregoing, it has become imperative to educate candidate Peter Obi and his horde of gullible followers, together with his handlers whom derived so much pleasure misleading his gullible followers on social media and those using the pulpit to advocate dangerous political views which portends great danger to religion and our fragile peaceful coexistence, as their gullible followers also swallow the messages centered on unverified half-truth. PitObi’s one-man-show style of politics simply underscores the glaring absence of reputable friends, colleagues, associates or even subordinates ready to testify as to his perpetually unverified “achievements”. He runs around everywhere seeking acceptance under false assertions, but no one believes in him enough to work with him other than the brainwashed gullible followers.

Unapologetically, I make bold to say that Peter Gregory Obi CON, a Nigerian businessman and politician who served as governor of Anambra from March to November 2006, February to May 2007, and from June 2007 to March 2014. In May 2022, and subsequently became the Labour Party candidate for President of Nigeria in the 2023 presidential election, after defecting from the PDP. Peter unwittingly and falsely presents himself as a messiah but Nigerians do not need such, what we need is a transformational leadership. As such one thing … that is truly ugly is the climate of hate and intimidation, created by a noisy few, which makes the decent majority reluctant to air in public their views on anything controversial. … Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it’s likely that no one is thinking at all. No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself.

Conclusively, permit my indulgence to share with us the golden philosophy of Edward Paul Abbey, an American author, essayist, and environmental activist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies. Edward posited: “I have been called a curmudgeon, which my obsolescent dictionary defines as a ‘surly, ill-mannered, bad-tempered fellow’. Nowadays, curmudgeon is likely to refer to anyone who hates hypocrisy, cant, sham, dogmatic ideologies, and has the nerve to point out unpleasant facts and takes the trouble to impale these sins on the skewer of humor and roast them over the fires of fact, common sense, and native intelligence. In this nation of bleating sheep and braying jackasses, it then becomes an honor to be labeled curmudgeon.”

Finally, yours truly, an avid reader, a patriot, writer and political analyst would also prefer to be labeled “Curmudgeon” and remembered for standing for the truth when my last day comes. “Peter, not Peter the Apostle, but Peter the hero of Hugh Walpole’s novel entitled “Fortitude” said: “It isn’t life that matters but the courage you bring to it.” Obafemi Awolowo SAN

Richard Odusanya
odusanyagold@gmail.com