The Chagourys: What is Their Offence?

Comfort Obi

This write-up is not about the infamous story carried about the Chagoury family, the Lagos State government, and the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. in ThisDay Newspaper of Sunday, July 20. Indeed, two national newspapers, in anger at what they termed the debasement of professionalism, double standards and hypocrisy exhibited by the publication had since tried to set the records straight. And so has the Lagos State government which dismissed the publication as “Blackmail.” Only the Chagourys and Tinubu have kept sealed lips, preferring that people find out the truth about the publication. Every word used in the write-up seemed like a direct incitement of Lagosians, and every Nigerian, against those who were the subject of the write-up namely: Lagos State government, Tinubu and the Chagourys.
In its response, the Lagos State government said that it was aimed at blackmailing the government because it didn’t succumb to breaking the rules to please the publication. The bone of contention, it said, was because it did not allow ThisDay to hold its musical award at an illegal venue. It said it allowed the usage of the venue in 2007, but was disappointed that inspite of the inconveniences it caused Lagosians, especially those who live in the Lekki axis, ThisDay broke its promise to dismantle the structures used within two weeks. It said it would not be intimidated by the tyranny of ThisDay. For good measure, the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, returned the award given to him by ThisDay, as Nigeria’s best governor. His reasoning: If a few months ago, you judged me as the best performing governor, and now reversed yourself, then the award is null and void.
A few people have criticised Fashola for returning the award. Yet, majority of Nigerians support him. In supporting him, they reasoned, like Fashola, that the media, and more importantly, awards, should not be seen as tools of blackmail. They are asking questions. For instance: If Fashola had allowed ThisDay the use of the venue, would they have written the story? Having declared him the best a few months ago, when did it realise the man is no good? But the most instructive revelation came from the National Life and The Nation newspapers.
In an award-winning investigative story, the National Life of Saturday, July 27, took exception to the branding of anybody as a "Henchman" for the former Head of State, late General Sani Abacha, by the ThisDay publisher, Nduka Obaigbena. It said it amounted to the kettle calling the pot black, revealing that Obaigbena was an Abacha henchman of the worst order. It went into details of how he was the face of Abacha on CNN.
But it was The Nation which in its edition of Sunday, July 28, gave an inkling into why ThisDay attacked the Chagourys. According to the paper, quoting from documents it sourced, it boils down to money. Accusing Obaigbena of double-standards, it hinted that his paper couldn’t be accusing the Lagos State government of giving contracts to a firm owned by the Chagourys when it was a Chagoury company that constructed the Thisday Dome to the tune of N50 million – an amount that has not been paid till now. More, it revealed that the Chagourys incurred Obaigbena’s wrath because Eko Hotels and Suites, the five star hotel being managed by a Chagoury company, refused to accommodate his guests beyond the agreed number of days, and would not feed them beyond the breakfast (only) he had paid for.
Relevant as all the above points and revelations are, they are not the thrust of this article. The thrust is to ask what the offence of the Chagourys is. The ThisDay publication tried to present them as a family ripping off Nigeria. The facts point to the contrary. The Chagoury family has been in Nigeria for well over 40 years. Its members regard themselves as Nigerians, even if they are not carrying the Nigerian passport. They have worked and invested in the Nigeria economy. They own a number of companies, ranging from construction to manufacturing to hospitality. In doing that, they have employed thousands of Nigerians. In doing that, they confirmed their faith in Nigeria and its economy. While some people are declining investing in the country, the Chagourys have remained consistent in their various investments in Nigeria. In doing that, they have provided means of livelihood for thousands of Nigerians. They have embarked on philanthropic activities, offering scholarships to hundreds of Nigerians. They have made friends in Nigeria, ranging from the high to the low. In sum, these are easy going, hard-working people, good mixers, business people, who from whichever way one looks at it, are Nigerians, and are good people.
A few times, like ThisDay tried to emphasise, there have been talks by a few people of their relationship with Abacha. My question has always been: What is wrong with that? The Chagourys have not tried to deny their relationship with Abacha. They became friends with him in the early 1970s when Abacha was literarily a nobody. Abacha was only a junior army officer then. But their friendship with him continued until he became the Head of State. Were they expected to keep off him because he had become a Head of State? Why would they do that. The same way they did not abandon him in life is the same way they have not spoken ill of him in death? That is what friendship is about. Friendship is about trust. It is about loyalty. It is about not being friends with one only when the going is good. It is about sticking with your friend for good and or for bad. It is about not paying back your friend, or anybody who has been good to you, with evil. Even the Bible recognises that. In the Book of Proverbs Chapter 17, verse 13, God said, 'evil will never leave the homes of those who repay good with evil.' It is evil to blackmail, and or to bad-mouth anybody who had been good to you.
Definitely, the Chagourys are not in that mould. That is what apparently sets them apart from their traducers.