WHEN HATRED IS TAKEN TOO FAR 24th July 2020
I read with all sense of condemnation the brazen and barbaric attempt by one Mr Israel Olayiwola’s unjustly and biasly written article to malign the person of Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN with the headline “WHY OZEKHOME WANTS MAGU DEAD” as published by saharareporters dated 18th July 2020.
It should be noted that the clandestine attempts by some “sponsored elements” working for their paymasters claiming to be activists to ridicule the personality of Mike Ozekhome SAN started years ago but have consistently failed.
It is very shameful that these so called “activists” or “comrades” have decided to scheme and take a very skewed path littered with tribalism or personal sentiments in achieving the hush-hush and sponsored attacks by their sponsors.
These “sponsored activists” first displayed their hubris in public sometimes ago when in their very unkempt and tattered appearance went on rampage to protest against Ozekhome at the late Gani Fawahinmi’s annual lecture held at the Ikeja Airport hotel.
Their reckless claim was that Ozekhome represents “corrupt people” in courts. They were resisted and left immediately after their sponsor who was also there and never came back while he(Ozekhome) was giving a befitting award after his lecture by the organisers.
These “activiststs” , many who we were friends of mine in our undergraduate days in Ife have never hidded their hatred for Ozekhome while owing their loyalty to their sponsor who is a lagos lawyer and SAN. They also brand themselves apostles of Omoyele Sowore and owe him their loyalty( I am not against it though).
Those that know the history of activism in nigeria when the late Gani Fawahinmi was the bastion cannot deny the fact that Ozekhome was at a time second in command to him and was named “Ozeks baba” by the late great freedom fighter.
Ozekhome is a private citizen who has excelled in his chosen and hard earned legal profession like many others.
To these “activists”, his only crime is that he represents clients amongst whom are members of the opposition, the PDP in courts whereas they portray their sponsor as a “saint” for doing same for the apc members before and after they came to power. They see it as unpardonable offence for Ozekhome to represent Saraki in court on alleged corruption charges while their sponsor perfumed with the fragrance of a saint for doing same for Tinubu.
In their myopic view, only the lawyer that represents Sowore in court pro bono should be celebrated while the one who represents Deji Adeyanju be stoned.
Israel Olayiwola should have begged his memory to take him down the lane to know that the alleged #75m case he mentioned was that of illegally frozen account owned by Ozekhome by the Magu-led efcc alleging it was a proceed from the office of the former NSA, Dasuki through former Gov Ayo Fayose of Ekiti. He went to court and beat the efcc on the matter and the account immediately unbroken.
It is on record that no lawyer, living or dead has ever beaten Magu-led efcc in court than Ozekhome across nigeria’s courts with a record of 7 times in less than 10 months. Ozekhome is not a preciding judge in any court and for someone to come and accuse him of being a corrupt lawyer in the face of witch hunt of the opposition by the very govt Magu is working for is stupidity taken too far.
Magu is accused and being probed by the same govt that appointed him to fight corruption and Ozekhome is neither a member of this govt nor of the panel probing him. That he wants Magu dead is only in the blurred imagination of Israel Olayiwola.
It should be noted that, in his strong condemnation against corruption, Ozekhome coined the phrase “if we (Nigeria) dont kill corruption, corruption will kill us” despite not being duly referenced by the public users today.
Israel should have taken time to do a thorough research before spewing falsehood to either mislead the public or help in venting hatred of his paymaster to know that Ozekhome is not a member, an exco or agent of any political party and for him to be accused of unsubstantiated electoral fraud is an hatred taken to far.
That this misleading article was published by saharareporters is only a testament that Isreal and his “likes” are sponsored “activists” doing their mentors’ bids in he most biased and ridiculous pattern.
Chief Mike Abu Ozekhome SAN has earned his unblemished reputation in the pantheon of human rights activists, a social crusader and freedom fighters and no amount of your misleading publications can bring him into the mould in the faces of the public.
This is our Stand in the The GLADIATORS Magazine and cMC GLADIATORS of REPUTE.
Signed
Amb. Cornell Udofia.