New Nigerian Newspapers Online Edition

Our attention has been drawn to the libelous feature story published on Page 7 of the May 1, 2008, edition of the New Nigerian Newspapers captioned “Mark’s roller coaster ride” by a non-descript character that parades himself as Rogers Edor Ochela.

Ordinarily, one would have ignored the ranting of this blackmailer whose stock in trade is to write false and damaging articles about highly placed individuals and threaten to publish if he is not settled.

It is on record that Ochela went after the character of the President of the Senate, Senator David A. B. Mark, when his bargain that he be paid to drop the malicious piece he published against Senator Mark was turned down.

Ochela had contacted Nats Agbo Onoja threatening that he has been paid to write a “damaging rejoinder’ to a piece which he (Onoja) had earlier written.

He then charged Onoja to make contact with the President of the Senate, saying that if he is settled by Senator Mark, he would drop the assignment.

Of course, no journalist worth his by-line would dance to the threats of a blackmailer. Expectedly, Onoja tasked that worst in him and Ochela, like a character murderer, did his worst by piecing together innuendoes, fallacies and glaring lies in his desperate bid to tarnish the image of the President of the Senate and satisfy the paymasters who have need for his kind of service.

Curiously, Ochela described Onoja as a “highly respected journalist.” By this description, it could be deciphered that Ochela knows that Onoja can not be bought, influenced or hired and can therefore not be a hired agent of Senator Mark.

It could also be said that Onoja and other writers in the various analyses that have angered Ochela and his paymasters are only stating the obvious truth.

Also, one of the issues which Ochela’s paymasters asked him to address is the tribunal judgment as delivered by Justice C. I. Uriri’s Benue State Election Petitions Tribunal. Since this matter is already before the Court of Appeal sitting in Jos and the faith of Senator Mark in our judicial system is unshaken, Mark is prepared to await the decision of the appellate court.

But suffice it to state that Senator Mark won the April 21 Benue South senatorial election as conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The result of the election was announced thus:

Local Govt PDP ANPP

Oju 37,343 49,287

Obi 7,960 35,132

Ohimini 7,133 14,394

Apa 11,580 6,918

Otukpo 28,860 22,128

Agatu 42,902 7,656

Ado 29,702 16,283

Ogbadibo 13,588 23,538

Okpokwu 46,643 8,198

It is on record that Young Alhaji went to the Benue State Elections Tribunal to challenge the results of Agatu and Okpokwu. Even in his petition, Young Alhaji did not lay claim to winning the election on the basis of results collated in the nine local governments that constitute the senatorial district.

Rather, he alleged malpractices in Agatu and Okpokwu and asked the tribunal to void the election of these local governments in order to be declared the winner of the April 21 election.

In order to lead the tribunal to this conclusion, INEC results in Agatu and Okpokwu were doctored and laid before the tribunal. The Benue State Police Command recently arraigned Mr. Donny Roberts, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Young Alhaji’s agent during the April 21 senatorial election for tearing the result sheet of Okpokwu Local Government at the Otukpo Collation Centre.

Not just that, Alhaji Usman Dan Maishanu Abubakar (Young Alhaji) is also being investigated by the Benue State Police Command for the falsification of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) results in Okpokwu and Agatu local governments.

If Roberts was in court last week for electoral malfeasance and Young Alhaji is being investigated for falsification of INEC documents, one can therefore understand the desperation in Ochela’s effort at rubbishing the hard-earned pedigree of Senator Mark.

He further listed his “legion” reasons for opposing Senator Mark as including his alleged proposal to the late General Sani Abacha that he should be made Chief of General Staff or be allowed to retain his position as the minister of communication.

It is either Ochela has scarce education or he is a poor scholar of history. Senator Mark’s record in the public service is in the open. As at the time General Abacha assumed office, Senator Mark was no longer the communication minister, how then did he seek to be retained as de-facto minister.

Another cooked lie is that Senator Mark sought to be Chief of General Staff but was denied the opportunity. Is Ochela a retired officer of any of our armed forces? Neither his past nor present way of life portrays him as an officer. Therefore, whatever submission he has made on this will at best be drawn from beer parlour gossips.

After all, Ochela did not avail the readers of the names of those who witnessed the conversation between the late General Abacha and Senator Mark as well as those who were present when the latter approached the former for a slot.

Ochela also went into the history of the Benue Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), particularly Zone C, alleging that Senator Mark promised PDP members some money when he returned from exile but refused to fulfil the promise.

Nothing can be farther from the truth because Senator Mark did not join politics the day he returned from exile. As a matter of fact, he was received at the airport by both PDP and ANPP supporters. Indeed, all Idoma people welcomed him at the airport.

How then did Ochela arrive at his illusionary promise of 750,000 Naira to each of the local government chairmanship candidates? Senator Mark returned to the country in August while the party primaries were conducted in November of the same year. How then could he have known the aspirants?

Assuming he gave 50,000 Naira loan as claimed by Ochela, did the beneficiary make refunds?

As he gets more desperate with each additional line he penned, he accused the distinguished three term senator of animosity against Generals Geoffrey Ejiga and Lawrence Onoja. He did not stop at that. He further predicated the animosity on Ejiga’s “nursed” but yet to be delivered senatorial ambition on one hand and Onoja’s role as military secretary.

Is Ochela not obviously the agent of those he named? Is he saying that Generals Onoja and Ejiga told him the stories he reeled out on Abacha? Did Ejiga ever nurse a senatorial ambition?

Ochela certainly in his warped reasoning said Senator Mark picked offence with his kinsman for merely nursing ambition to contest the PDP’s senatorial nomination. For the same illogical reasoning, Senator Mark will fight General Onoja for signing a retirement letter whereas he was not the Commander-in Chief that ordered the retirement.

Senator Mark was retired along with 22 other senior officers voluntarily. How could Onoja’s being a military secretary be an issue? Is Ochela the mouth organ of Onoja?

Strangely, nobody, except Ochela and his paymasters, is aware of the 100 million Naira suit against Onoja which Ochela wrote about. Perhaps, one should ask what the grounds of the legal matter are.

On the former Benue deputy governor, Prince Ogiri Ajene, since Ochela’s amnesia will not allow him remember the name of Senator Mark’s cousin who vied for the deputy governorship slot, he is undeserving of response.

It is absurd that Ochela would accuse the President of the Senate of being unguarded in his statements but can not produce a single literary evidence to back up his allegation. It is not enough for a writer to rely on generalized statements without backing this with the circumstance of the said speech.

From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that Ochela’s cooked falsehoods can only be served on those who are half-educated and can hardly discern between logic and rhetoric because no Nigerian will buy them for a kobo.

The President of the Senate, Senator David A.B. Mark, is solid like the rock of Gibraltar; he enjoys the confidence of his constituents in Benue South and citizens of Benue State in general; he is loved by his colleagues and Nigerians in general.

Also, his style of leadership has enjoyed the support of not a few Nigerians, particularly his colleagues, whom he respectfully calls “my bosses.” It can therefore be stated without an iota of doubt that hack-writers cannot distract the President of the Senate from his avowed commitment to serve the nation creditably.

All over the world, leadership has its processes. It evolves and abhors force. The Idoma people know who their true leader is and he is Senator David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark. They also know those who are pretenders.

That is why since 1998, they have always chosen Mark. Certainly, not the likes of faceless Ochela and his cowardly paymasters can change this course.

Adakole wrote in from Makurdi.