Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman of the THISDAY-ARISE Global Media Group, on Thursday, gave graphic example of how the hunter could become the hunted and how the oppressor of yesterday could be at the mercy of his victim tomorrow, when he narrated before his hundreds of his audience, his experience during the dark days of military rule in Nigeria.
It was the story of his engagement with one Frank Omenka, one of the faces in the government of Sani Abacha, reputed to be one of the most repressive, autocratic and despotic in the history of Nigeria during the dark days where a simple conversation at an innocuous occasion could land a victim to his early grave.
Obaigbena, one of Nigeria’s greatest media gurus in modern times, Nigerian Army civil-military cooperation media chat, narrated how Omenka, a Colonel in the Nigerian military, who was part of the Abacha goons that hounded him out of the country on exile, returned to him to save his life when he came under the same threat he was served by the military.
Using the incident to underscore his argument that the military ought not be enemies with the civilian population, particularly the media, Obaigbena, admonished Nigerian leaders against suppressing the media, stressing that cordial relationship was essential in and out of power.
Hear him: “The media is your friend. The media is there to protect everybody. So, those who find themselves in power and feel they can kill the media, when they leave power, they will need the media. The media is a friend of the armed forces of the people of Nigeria and the media will continue to work with the armed forces of the people of Nigeria.
“My last momentous encounter with the Nigerian Army was as a guest of the security group headed by Col. Frank Omenka of the department of military intelligence. I remember THISDAY had made some publications against the Abacha government and we were invited and I was interrogated by five generals with guns on the table. After the interrogation, the tape was asked for by General Abacha and I later went on exile.
“On my return from exile, in my house I just heard knocks in my kitchen and I saw my then friend and brother, Deboye Shonekan, and he said please I have a friend to see you… he was crawling behind my kitchen and happened to be General Frank Omenka and he said Nduka please help me, Bamaiyi and co want to kill me and i asked him and said, if you had killed the media, would you have come to us for hep today? However, we assisted him as the media. So, what I am saying is the media is your friend.”
Obaigbena, who carpeted the military, particularly over their involvement in areas outside their mandate like arresting protesters, insisted they must retrace their steps and go after election riggers instead of protecting them to enable transparent elections in the country.
His words: “Stop getting involved with arresting protesters, rather arrest kidnappers. Good governance will stop protests but Kidnappers will have to face the wrath of the law. Stop getting involved in protecting election riggers. We need proper elections for governments to be held accountable.”