Opinion: Dear Iyabo Obasanjo, no one would wish to have a child like you

by Victoria Ohaeri

20131218-075320

I’m sure you worked hard and made all these sacrifices for the sake of your children; your family.  How would you feel if they turn around and throw mud at you, like you are doing to your father? How would you react to a mail in the media tomorrow authored by your own son, accusing you of neglect, or prioritizing your political pursuits far above your motherly obligations? Would you rather rejoice?

My dear Iyabo Obasanjo,

First off, it is still unclear whether or not you wrote that open letter to your father – ex-President Olusegun Obansanjo – circulating in the media. Your failure to come forward to affirm or refute the letter and its contents have forced many to believe that you indeed penned that piece.

Personally, I’ve read the letter, and just can’t hide my disappointment. I’m particularly disappointed because everyone that has read it, and will ever read it must have had issues with their own dads at some point in their lives. Some even have more disastrous relationships with their fathers or parents. Some don’t even know their parents and earnestly pray to have somebody to call father, no matter how irresponsible he may be. I don’t know if you have ever been to the orphanages. Please do…You will understand.

To tell you the truth, throwing mud at your father’s white garment in the village square is the least effective way of redressing such complex family squabbles. What you have done is sacrilegious. It shows bad upbringing and want of character. It puts a big question mark on the academic background and intellectual quality of the author. By all known cultural, social and global standards, your open letter and its contents are very inappropriate.

I’m sure you are a mother, a busy mother for that matter. You have been a senator, commissioner, business woman et al. That shows how busy you must have been. That also shows you can’t boast of having been a 100% effective mum to your kids. There must have been times your professional work or political schedules clashed with your wifely/motherly routine. And as such, it will be wrong to claim that you have been there for your children and family EVERYTIME they needed you. But that doesn’t make you a bad mum. That doesn’t mean you have failed or neglected your motherly roles. That doesn’t also mean you love your family any less.

I’m sure you worked hard and made all these sacrifices for the sake of your children; your family.  How would you feel if they turn around and throw mud at you, like you are doing to your father? How would you react to a mail in the media tomorrow authored by your own son, accusing you of neglect, or prioritizing your political pursuits far above your motherly obligations? Would you rather rejoice? The same people you toiled for?

I won’t bother to go into the contents of your mail, simply because its purely a private family affair, which ought not to be in the public domain in the first place. But please be reminded that your political progress and achievements so far were enabled and powered by your surname – OBASANJO!  The plethora of lawsuits and trials you escaped during the Senate Health Committee scandals are thankfully attributable to your last name. You literally walked away from legal prosecution, and a highly-probable conviction. It wasn’t magic. So, the freedom you enjoy today, is just on borrowed time. It shouldn’t be.

Let me conclude by advising that family disputes should never be used to settle political scores and mundane differences. Its wrong! It is not the duty of a daughter to win more enemies for his father. In fact, it is a TABOO. Many of your father’s real and imagined enemies must have been amused by your letter. But in their minds, they tremble at the mere thought of having a child like you. They would wish to be childless than to have a child that would bring them nothing but disgrace. Nobody wants that. And you too!

Let political scores be settled politically. But don’t allow yourself to be used as a willing smear tool in the hands of forces against your own father. This is wrong!!! You have elders, uncles, brothers, sisters, and a host of relatives to complain to. There are traditional and cultural institutions for redressing such family grievances. Use them!

Please remember that even the people you write and complain to, may have worse family problems. Look at all the great men in history: Prince of Wales, Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, MKO Abiola, Fela Anikulapo Kuti … name them…they all had family problems…You are not the first, and won’t be the last. Please my dear sister, don’t invite curses upon your innocent head.

And finally, of all the commandments in the Bible, there is only one with a promise: Honour thy father and thy mother, so that thy days may be long. So says the holy scripture. She who hath ears, let her hear.

May God help you to do the right thing…

Goodbye sister,

VIO

—————————————–

This post is published with permission from Premium Times Newspapers

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

 

Comments (14)

  1. Surely, like Little David in the Bible said to King Saul and his elder brothers, “ is there not a cause”,we may not understand it now but trust me, farther alonge we will know all about it.

  2. who's iyabo obasanjo conmot obasanjo u will se dt u're notin ,pls respet ur parent tk u.

  3. who's iyabo obasanjo conmot obasanjo u will se dt u're notin ,pls respet ur parent tk u.

  4. @biola&Kome..Can you do dat 2 your own father? Irrespective of what might av transpired between her & the father, she needed not to write such an open letter so she wont incure the wrath of God upon her life…. Shalom!!!

  5. Dnt mind d ugly bitch
    How are u my presido?? Ur wife nko?

  6. Pls tell d bitch to learn from holy quran how to respect ur parent know matter what goes wroug

  7. Thanks for this piece advice and I pray her children don't return the same to her. After all, who is Iyabo Bello without Obasanjo, shameless ugly bitch

  8. I don’t support ur opinion @ all because even u don’t understand what she went thru or wat she must have felt writing dat open length…..I think you need to look at d fact in dat letter because I believe all she wrote is actually for d good of a nation dat don’t learn from its mistake

    1. Letter instead of length

  9. Reading this is a waste of valuable time I’d never get back again pftt.

  10. Thx for this wonderful advice to iyabo ooo. Make she try commot Obasanjo for her name since she done marry make we see if she will be known.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail