Back, Sad, and Worried

Comfort Obi

Each time I travel out of the country, something happens, and disrupts my fun. Then, I would change my travel plans and rush back.
But this year’s has to take the cake. I was away for 15 days. And within this period, three things happened, none of them pleasant. Engr. Anthony Funso Williams was murdered in a most gruesome manner. One of my favourite women, Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, quit President Olusegun Obasanjo's cabinet. And one of the most despicable “pastors” of the new generation churches, "Rev Dr" Kingsley Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, allegedly set five of his adherents ablaze. One died.
It was Victor, the editor of this magazine, who first told me about Williams. I had just woken up from sleep, three days after I travelled, and called him. After some pleasantries, he asked me, “You don hear wetin dey happen for Nigeria”. My heart sank. “What is the problem?”, I asked cautiously. "Funso Williams has been killed," he told me. Where I was, it was early morning. But in Nigeria, it was afternoon. So, Victor couldn’t have been in bed and still dreaming. I sat up, rubbed my eyes vigorously, to make sure I wasn’t the one dreaming. But he repeated it. I forgot where I was, and began to scream.
Funso Williams was an acquaintance of mine. I saw him two weeks before he was murdered. We discussed for about 20 minutes. He was passionate about his aspiration to be the governor of Lagos State. For much of the time we discussed, he was busy espousing his vision. I often asked him what he was doing in politics. I mean, he looked soft and fragile to me. He talked softly but would open his eyes a little wider than usual when he wanted to emphasise a point. He seemed too polished to me for the gutter politics of Lagos. I told him so. Each time, he would smile and tell me: “You sound like my wife when I initially told her I was going into politics”.
I always knew Lagos would be rough in 2007. I always knew it could be bloody. Some of these politicians are gutter men, thugs without any conscience and with a pedigree that stinks to high heavens. They are gutter people. Yet, I never imagined it would be this wicked and ungodly even before January 1, 2007. I have always wondered: What do people gain by killing others? Do they think of the curse they are placing on their children and their future generations?
The murder of Funso Williams gnaws at my heart. The manner in which he was killed diminishes one as a human being. What is it in a country where the best get either destroyed or killed? I was just trying to come to terms with his murder when the news of the resignation, as a Minister, of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala hit me.
In her own case, I was not quite surprised. About one week before I travelled, I was positive she was going to quit. When she was posted to the Foreign Affairs Ministry from the Finance Ministrys, Nigerians knew something was wrong. I mean, there she was doing well. There she was, being commended by Nigerian (a rare thing) and the international community. There she was, even, quite often, openly commended by President Olusegun Obasanjo. And there she was, as one of the role models of Nigerian women because of what she and her team were doing for the Nigerian economy. Then suddenly, she was moved out of her area of specialisation and Nigerians felt something was wrong.
But she surprised many, including yours truly, by staying on. A few days after her redeployment, I was with her aboard an aircraft from Abuja to Lagos. We got talking. And I was relieved when I found out that even though she may not have liked her redeployment, she was prepared to give her new place her best shot.
But the devil was at work. It struck when the Federal Government did the unprecedented and disclaimed her statement on some fraud at the Foreign Ministry. I knew she would leave but. I travelled out thereafter. The day she was removed as the chairman of the President’s economic team, I knew it was now only a matter of days before she quit. She finally did.
Mr President, in accepting her resignation, said it was regrettable. He can say that again. Nobody is indispensable. But some people are, well, near it. Okonjo-Iweala, Professor Dora Akunyili, Professor Joy Ogwu, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, Professor Charles Soludo, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Nenadi Esther Usman and Mallam Nasir el-Rufai are definitely some of the best in Obasanjo’s government. To lose one of them is like losing a part of the government. Okonjo-Iweala’s resignation depressed and worried me.
The third story, the story of "Rev" Ezeugo made me happy and angry at once.
I was living around the same area with him but, I never met him one on one until I moved house. His notorious nature preceded him. At a point, I had wished I would run into him and his adherents along the road, just so I would see what they would do. I was never that lucky. The only day I saw him, he was driving. And I willed my driver to block him a little. He ignored me. But each time I heard the stories of his atrocious exploits, everything in me revolted. Once, I felt so strongly about it that I sent a reporter to go and worship in his church and do a story. He didn’t have the liver to do a good story. So, I let go.
I am happy his cup has filled up and is over-flowing. God is, afterall, a patient God. I guess His patience, over the alleged atrocties frequently committed by Ezeugo, ran out. I have no sympathy for any of his adherents, especially those he allegedly set on fire and more especially, the young woman who stupidly lost her life worshipping Ezeugo. They deserved what they got. For, how can anybody go to a “church” which is that devilish? I was sad I was out of the country when Ezeugo was arrested and handcuffed. His story is the type of story I like to write myself.
I’m glad I’m back to my fatherland. But I have no cause to cheer. I am sad. And worried.