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A friend called me today to express his worries over some reactions to my article on Mallam Abba Kyari. He said he was bothered about those who commented because they genuinely did not have the correct information about me.
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A friend called me today to express his worries over some reactions to my article on Mallam Abba Kyari. He said he was bothered about those who commented because they genuinely did not have the correct information about me.
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Knowing my usual attitude of ‘I have said my own, let others also say theirs’, he said if I refuse to clarify things, then I would be committing the same sin for which I criticised Mallam Kyari: failing to set the record straight.
He said (1) I was accused of failing to defend Mallam Kyari when he was alive and was now shedding crocodile tears (2) I was accused of allowing TheCable, the online newspaper I founded, to be used to destroy Kyari and I was now trying to make amends through the backdoor.
For those who really want to know the truth, I want to state this clearly: TheCable does not destroy people. Our mandate is ‘to deliver knowledge-driven journalism in the pursuit of Nigeria’s progress’. We believe in constructive journalism and that is what we try to practise.
At TheCable, we do not practise pull-them-down journalism. We keep an open mind and believe in giving every side a fair crack of the whip. Because we are imperfect, we are not afraid to hold up our hands and apologise whenever we get it wrong.
Now, anybody accusing TheCable of having launched a destructive campaign against Mallam Kyari should kindly post the links. I have searched and searched without finding those “destructive” stories. This is not surprising: TheCable does not set out to destroy people.
As for the claim that I didn’t defend Kyari when he was alive, kindly let me repeat: he turned down ALL entreaties to state his own side of the allegations against him. He told me that he had the trust of his boss and would ultimately be judged by the Almighty God.
Whenever I asked him for documents even if he wouldn& #39;t talk on record, he would say no. He always said he wouldn’t engage in counter-leaks. He would say he did not take the accusations and attacks against him to heart because he knew they were orchestrated.
I have written this to set the record straight for those who genuinely thought I kept quiet when Mallam Kyari was being maligned. He had all the opportunity, all the means and all the goodwill to defend himself but he chose to leave the ultimate verdict to God.
I am, nonetheless, delighted with the overwhelmingly positive responses to my article. Most of those judging Mallam Kyari never knew him. They took their cue from what they heard about him. I knew him and I wrote about the man I knew. I repeat: he was a great soul.
Tolerance is a scarce commodity to find in the opinion market, but I believe that after spending five years to demonise and vilify Mallam Kyari, his critics should be magnanimous enough to allow us mourn his death. They should go on and enjoy their gloating over his death.
On a final note, I will say this prayer for all of us who are still alive: may we not become victims of a sustained, destructive campaign and false, damaging narratives. Only those who have been victims of hate campaigns can understand the depth of my prayer.
