THE HOME COMING OF PA SHOBOWALE
By Tunde Oladunjoye (oladunjoyelo@gmail.com)
The latest write-up by Pa Shobowale attacking Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is surely a characteristic portrayal of his passionate penchant for trivializing issues and attacking personalities without any justification whatsoever.
Good enough, Pa Shobowale, let out the cat from the bag, even from the headline of his hatchet-piece published in a national daily and gleefully shared on the social media, that Tinubu was his headache: “its (sic)-not-muslim-muslim-ticket-its (sic)-tinubu”. It was clear from the onset that Baba Columnist has come again for Tinubu, the way he rallied and railed against Osinbajo who he heckled to no avail, as he did not and does not see anything good in the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibajo; a fellow Christian. Even when the Vice President visited America to solicit for the much needed foreign investments, there was no amount of insults that the ace-hack-writer did not pillory Osinbajo with.
The burning question is that, why has Baba Shobowale, who must have been writing columns for decades, derailed so retrogressively and seemingly irretrievably that he no longer sees anything good in anyone no matter what? Is it as a result of lack of personal fulfillment, frustration, depression or unrealised expectations or all of the above”? Who around him can spur a quick self-assessment by this once respected writer? Most of us who followed his articles religious, especially in the Vanguard in the 1990s, have since been using our times for better things because we know that Baba will gush negative narratives from start to finish without any modicum of respect for anyone whether older or younger than him, whereas respect is said to be reciprocal.
How on earth, will a supposedly enlightened writer be creating religious discord and falsehood, portraying and unashamedly so, that religion is the determinant of promotion in the Lagos State Civil Service? When has it become an offence that people bearing a particular names or of a particular religion cannot occupy public appointive, elective and political positions? A writer is primarily meant to inform, educate and enlighten; not to spread falsehood for personal reasons.
Pa Shobowale, with due respect, was speaking from both sides of his mouth in the article hurriedly put together, as shown in the grammatical blunder in the headline. We were also told how he supported Muslim-Muslim tickets in the past; how he travelled tens of kilometres to vote Muslim-Muslim tickets. How he will even support certain names of Muslims if they are the ones to be on the ballot. But for Tinubu, it’s a No No No. There may be need therefore, to sit down Asiwaju Tinubu and let him confesses if he once snatched Pa Shobowale’s many girlfriends as we learnt “Baba Sho” is very good and loved in that area.
The Veteran (a tag that journalists, especially upcoming ones, do not want to be called) used the word “I” severally throughout the hate-filled article, that you start wondering why and how his personal assumptions, self-opinionated biases and unsubstantiated claims have turned to represent the generality of Nigerians or Christians.
To worsen the whole scenario, the obviously enraged writer, posited so blatantly and in a thoroughly embarrassing and highly blaspheming manner: “a vote for this M-M ticket, by any Christian, will amount to a vote against Jesus. Those who do it can, thereafter, forget Jesus. They should instead pray in the name of their political god when trouble comes – as it does to all people”! That was an elder talking and acting as “Assistant God”!
But, honestly, is it not possible to gather the children and the grandchildren of this once prolific writer and let them tell him: “Daddy listen to yourself”! “Daddy something is wrong somewhere”! “Daddy come off it”!
Enough of this undisguised hatred, political masturbation and religious fanaticism”.
Pa Oshobowale, “e wale o”!
– Tunde Oladunjoye, a writer based in Abeokuta, Ogun State sent this via oladunjoyelo@gmail.com
