y friend, this is your face, long time, no see!"

advertisement

"Country hard, my dear, and I can't even see myself."

"Poverty is biting harder than ever."

"It is only poor people like us who are suffering the most."

"We are really suffering, my brother. I have to find N400,000 to pay my son's school fees into one of the private universities, and we still have to buy books, clothes and eat from my miserable salary."

"Yours is still better than mine own. I now have two children in private universities. As I speak to you now I need to find one and a half million naira to pay university and secondary school fees for four children. I am taking my shares certificates to the broker to sell or how else can I find the money?"

Except you join Bank-Ole and the rest of the lowlifes looting away, and then you can live large as they do."

"They are just sharing the nation's hard-earned crude oil cash while the rest of us suffer poverty."

"Their recklessness is just too much, and they flaunt it in your face."

"They are just too selfish. Do you know some of the leadership of the legislooters assembly abandoned Abuja to go watch World Cup soccer in far away South Africa!"

"Who paid for that? I hope they did not use our collective funds to go enjoy themselves?"

"Whose funds do you expect the rats to spend, their personal funds?"

"That is not right, that is not right at all."

"You better quit protesting and spend your energy thinking about how you will get your children's school fees and how to put food on the table for your family."

"But this is criminal. We the people are starving and hopeless and these few bad eggs are wasting our collective resources!"

"Do you know what those legislooters who travelled to South Africa to enjoy the World Cup will tell you?"

"What will they tell me?'

"They will tell you they are on official assignment."

"Official assignment? What kind of official assignment is that?"

"It is called state duty. They have gone there to represent Nigeria."

"Do we have to be represented as a nation at the World Cup matches?"

"They have decided that we needed to be represented and they are the most qualified people to represent us."

"We are in trouble. We are ten years into this unending trouble and bad government. We are in the worst situation ever."

"But what can we do about it? What do you think we can do about it?"

"We used to have a good media, particularly good and reliable newspapers with editors, writers and reporters who stood up for us and …."

"You are talking about those good old days when newspaper editors and writers were honest, forthright and fearless."

"Those are the good old days of Bisi Onabanjo's 'Aiyekoto', Alade Odunewu's 'Allahdey', Tola Adeniyi's 'Till Death Do Us Part' and 'Abba Said' (or something like that)."

"There were also the Banjis of the Nigerian Tribune: they were three but I now only remember Banji Kuroloja and Banji Ogundele and, of course their editor, Felix Adenaike. Those were honest people though one or two of them later betrayed our collective trust."

"When that group retired then came the restless, feisty and dogged writers who took national commitment to another level. Amazingly most of these came from the academia: Olatunji Dare, Kole Omotoso, Biodun Jaiyefo, Femi Osofisan, Godwin Sogolo, G.G Darah, Sina Odugbemi, Ama Ogan, Eddie Iroh, Sonala Olumhense, Odia Ofeimun, and Kongi, the fearless fighter. They were a special breed."

"They were committed fighters who put the people and the nation first."

"They paid a big price individually and collectively and they fought until the madness of Maradona pushed most of them out of the country."

"Do you remember they were not alone; they had company, the company of Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpo, Dan Agbese, Yakubu Mohammed, Nosa Igiebor, Bayo Onanuga, Kola Ilori, Babafemi Ojudu, Kunle Ajibade, Onome Osifo-Whiskey, Kunle Ajibade."

"A few of the names you mentioned have joined the jeun-jeun group. They have sold out."

"I know, I know, but the editors of today are even worse off."

"I agree with you. Newspaper editors in Nigeria today are envelope pushers. They have sold their pen to the highest political patrons and givers."

"Do you know that the other day when an editor buried his father, it was a politician with loads of stolen money who picked up the bill for the burial rights and the owambe that followed?"

"I am not surprised. It is now a cash-and-carry affair. No editor writes anything worthwhile these days; they cannot afford to annoy the politicians who butter their bread and help them with some crumbs."

"I no longer bother to read editorials and articles in our papers at all."

"I don't bother myself at all. The glory days of responsible journalism are gone; the good old days of the eighties and nineties are no more. Most of today's editors and journalists have sold out."

"And their newspapers are not worth a penny."

"They write only what their pay masters want to read."

"They only write about and against those who are not giving them money among the political class and party men and women."

"It is a shame that today's editors have no class."

"They have class - the bread and butter class. Hunger is too much in the land and today's editors have chosen to feed their stomach and their family first."

"I did not realize that some of the newspapers are owned by politicians, particularly the new ones."

"Politicians now control our newspapers like never before. Even the fugitive in Dubai has a newspaper and many of those who do not have newspapers patronize the editors regularly."

"In such a give-and-take situation you do not expect to find any article critical of the political office holders in the newspapers."

"But you will think an editor has a conscience and will do the right thing."

"Did I hear you say conscience? Nigeria has not been the same since the evil genius came to town. Everyone has a price and cash easily crush the prodding and pricking of conscience."

"Someone told me he was insulted by an editor in Lagos the other day. He said he raised some of these issues and the editor told him directly, 'Is it criticism we go chop? I have family to take care of and criticism won't put food on dinner table'."

"These editors and writers are very, very corrupt."

"They are not the people who will lead the next fight to free the Nigerian people from corrupt government and terrible leadership."

"They are now part of the Nigerian problem."

"It is sad that they are part of the Nigerian problem."

"They are. They have teamed up with the thieves and looters in babaringa to make the lives of Nigerians miserable and hopeless."

"The newspapers have failed us."

"We have to stop patronizing them."

"I don't buy newspapers any more; it is a waste of money."

"They are worthless and add no value."

"They always avoid the top news of the day and leave out any item they consider too strong and too critical of their pay masters."

"Even some of their reporters are complaining. They are unhappy their editors are watering down their stories and articles."

"When an editor begins to water down reporters' articles and carry out self-censorship, then you should know as a reporter that it is time to move on."

"Editorial opinions are no longer worth reading."

"It is a waste of time to read what is put out there as editorial opinion these days."

"The editor ignores fire and prefers to write about the tranquility wished for in the house of legislooters; they ignore reality and devote space to wishes and promises."

"He writes about promises being made and ignores the damage being done and the looting going on."

"That editor knows what he is doing. He would rather look the other way and not write anything against the government he gets adverts and patronage from."

"He is providing service to his political pay masters."

"Political pay masters now call the shots and the editor is just the errand boy."

"That is no doubt a new low for the Nigerian newspapers."

"Cash is now mightier than the pen."

"Dollar, dollar, pounds, pounds, and cash and carry is the story of Nigeria!"

"The very sad story of Nigeria."