Crusoe Osagie’s indefinite leave of absence, which is nothing but a euphemism and convenient excuse for his pitiful state of uncertainty, having lost the desire for honest and diligent living and kept in limbo by the tyrant he served in the last four years, has handed him more time than he can productively utilize.
The result of that is public statements conveyed in decent English but lacking in sense and logic. He has issued two in quick succession, both aimed at me and containing weak defenses of his master, the sort that perhaps contributed to this pitiful situation that has now become his reality where the government would rather function without anyone at the helm of its communications than have him in charge. More than anything, it is a persuasive appraisal of this man who now wants to teach us journalism. Teacher don’t teach me nonsense.
The latest product of his boredom and attention-seeking was laden with lies and lazy gossip that Crusoe Osagie consumed himself with in the last four years. He is not entirely to blame for this. His job was to articulate the vision and deeds of the administration, but Obaseki provided none. There was neither a guiding vision nor useful achievements to show. It was four years of excuses, blame trading, and grandiloquent speeches that yielded zero results or action.
So Crusoe Osagie, who has now added the title ‘editor’ to the previous ‘Pastor’, had all the time in the world to entertain the couriers of gossip ever in search of listening ears and a few wands, even if corruptly sourced.
John Mayaki did not complete his secondary school education, yet he holds foremost academic qualifications issued by respected national and foreign institutions, the likes that probably won’t consider admission application from Crusoe Osagie provided he even musters the courage or imagination for such spirited pursuit of scholarship. John Mayaki was only a helping hand at the NUJ, but somehow, he was considered worthy of handling and directing the communication of Crusoe Osagie’s master successfully for his election and months into his administration before he willingly tendered his resignation, having learned the dubious nature of the man.
The laughable contradictions Crusoe Osagie continues to commit betray his arrogant claim to intelligence and expose his vacuity. He is doing all these to impress those who have rejected him. Unbeknownst to him, by picking on someone not his equal, he does himself a further disservice as the sharp contrast reveals his emptiness and multiplies the evidence of his incompetence.
He latched on to an apology issued after a careful examination of facts, having made an on-the-call judgment in a position Crusoe Osagie has never held in his nothing career and so understandably isn’t aware of the immense pressure that comes with it. If he truly served in a newsroom, instead of offering sycophancy on-demand to anyone willing to pay, he would know that the act of apologizing is neither new nor strange in journalism. Even the most thorough and experienced journalists commit errors and apologize for them.
For instance, Washington Post, a newspaper founded in 1877, recently had to offer a retraction on a report it did on former President Trump during the last US election. Admitting when you are wrong and offering a sincere, public apology is the hallmark of true and courageous professionals. The public knows this and even if Crusoe constantly fantasizes about publicly burning people at stakes – a telling mental trauma suffered after serving a tyrant who took pride in hunting down critics and dissenters – they not only forgive but increase their estimation of those who are humble enough to admit errors when they make them and offer apologies.
It is obstinate and arrogant buffoons like Crusoe Osagie, who turn to lies and more lies when they are caught in a wrong argument or exposed as a desperate leech, that they confine to oblivion, the journey which the Pastor has now commenced. An easy example is his continuous doubling down in defending the attack on President Buhari by Obaseki over monetary policies and the management of the economy.
Crusoe Osagie appears incapable of grasping the difference between the CBN intervening to offer lifeboats to sub-national governments, which was never the bone of contention, and the wild, irresponsible claim made by the man who wields his leash that the Federal Government printed cash to meet its monthly obligation to states. Those are two different things, and the clarification made by the CBN Governor cannot be reasonably propped up as corroboration for Obaseki – except by individuals like Crusoe who are clever by half and versed only in obfuscation.
For someone whose journalism career Crusoe Osagie, playing God, has pronounced dead, it must be a thing of pain and torture for him that I continue to maintain national and global relevance for many reasons, including my expert adoption and utilization of the new media – something he tried and failed. To keep up, he devalued the office he occupied and opened the gates to online bandits, one of whom blew the lid on his usual practice of hiding behind trolls to besmirch innocent individuals and his perversion of a hiring process with nepotism.
The truth is that Crusoe Osagie is obsessed with me. He is envious, and it is common fact that envy is confused admiration. He, a dinosaur and relic of old journalism, cannot understand how and why John Mayaki managed to command such heights and respect in the new age. As a mentor to a mentee, my advice to Crusoe Osagie is to do some soul-searching and heal himself from this bitterness he carries. It is not too late. Put this leave of absence to good use and enroll in online courses. Maybe then the master whom you so eagerly want to impress may put you out of your misery and answer your frantic calls.
Mayaki is a graduate of International Studies and Diplomacy, University of Benin.
Archivist, Documentalist, Communication, Culture and Media expert (Coventry University, England).
