Prof. Pita Agbese: Time for constructive engagement, not war (Opinion)

Since the release of the first part of my letter, ”remove the façade, Prof. Pita Agbese, I have been inundated with a lot of phone-calls, text messages and visits by close friends and relations. To those, who commended my bold attempt at shredding the veil off the mask of the unending excoriation of Governor Samuel Ortom, and those, who urged me to let the matter be and not respond further to the jabs from my uncle across the aisle in Waterloo, Iowa, I say, thank you all.

I also want to thank all those who made comments on the social media including those, who went for my jugular, issuing threats against me. Thank you for our love. I appreciate your individual contribution and why you made those comments.

To those looking forward to a continuation of the media spat between my elder brother and uncle, Prof. Pita Agbese and I, please accept my apologies. I shall disappoint you.

I shall not also respond to all the hogwash dressed as comments told by some atokis to clog me and vitiate the essence of my letter. Nobody can respond to my letter better than Prof himself. I have since read the “brief response” he made, and I thank him immensely for his candour.

Prof., I want to thank you particularly for your respect for the memory of my late father and my uncles, one of who you said was your elementary school teacher. Thank you, sir that because of them, you resisted the temptation to hit me “below the belt” as you wanted to do.

In a similar fashion, I have decided not to proceed further with my part II or even respond to your reaction.. This, I have done not because I cannot take blows below the belt. I can, and I can also respond; very robustly. I have done this in deference to the memory of the wonderful people in my life you paid tribute to and the special relationship between our two families.

There’s no ill between our families, only mutual respect for one another. As a young boy growing up in the village, I was very close to all your brothers and sisters at home, while your late father, Chief Phillip Agbese took me as his beloved son. Interestingly, Stephen Orinya Agbese, your junior brother, was my age mate and friend, and with Larry Ogaba Aboh, we used to pally together, visiting each other’s homes and eating together during our traditional festivals and the yuletide.

When I veered into journalism, beginning my career at The Voice Newspapers, Makurdi in the early nineties, I met and became very close to another Agbese, Andrew; a writer of exceptional brilliance with who I remain friends till date. Then, there was his elder brother, Ogaba; then, Efegwa, your brother and many others more.

That apart, your highly respected elder brother, Chief Dan Agbese, and my late father, Chief Otsonu Ede were great friends; the type I have not seen anywhere. I remember that any time Chief Agbese visited home, the first place he goes to after reaching your family house was our house, where palm wine would always be ready. How my father did it, I didn’t know but he would beckon on me or any of the other boys to come and serve them the special “akoro” brew, which we did with joy.

Prof. I have deep respect and admiration for your academic prowess. My wish and prayer is that you turn your admirable intellectual capacity into a force that will benefit our people in more practical ways than at the moment. The unchanging story-lines in your daily denunciation of the Ortom administration diminish the import of your position, no matter how germane and make some of us suspicious of the motive. Take a look at the truckload of APC social media hatchet men that hang around you, all of them praising your dexterity.

I don’t intend to dwell further on what precipitated my letter to you; neither will I respond to your averments in the reply. My humble appeal to you is to emulate what Apostle Paul did while on his way to Damascus on an assignment he thought he was commissioned by God to carry out. Unknown to him however, he wasn’t doing God’s will; rather, he was doing the bidding of Satan.

Prof., there is something unique about Governor Samuel Ortom, which a lot of people do not know. The story of his rise from grass to grace is instructive. Though he dropped out of college and went to the motor park, he never ended up there. He was elected local government council chairman; appointed a minister of the federal republic of Nigeria, and held several top political positions before eventually becoming the governor of a state with so many brilliant minds; one of who you are.

This is a man who is not ashamed to tell you the story of his life; how he dropped out of school and started life in the motor park as a motor boy and tout, and how his encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ changed the trajectory of his life and made him a victor over his circumstances.

He tells his story everywhere he goes to encourage people down the rung not to look down on themselves but to continuously strive to get better, holding onto God and shunning every form of criminality. He tells everyone of the amazing truth in Job 36:11-12, which he says is the secret of his success in life.

Sir, I respect your right to do whatever you feel with your time, but please hear me as I sign off. What we need in Benue State at the moment is not war but constructive engagement with the people God has placed in the position of authority. They need your expertise, connection, and assistance in whatever form that will add value to the lives of our people.

Finally, please accept my condolences on the sad death of Mr Abakpa Otsome, who incidentally was my classmate in primary school. May his soul and the souls of all the departed rest in perfect peace. Please, take a second look at the picture displayed. It doesn’t look like his picture; rather, it is the picture of another person, Mr Ogbu I.I. Thank you, sir.