Christiane Amanpour and our Stockholm Syndrome- By Reno Omokri

As we approach 2014, the year in which Nigeria attains her centenary, it may probably begin to enter the consciousness of Nigerians that this nation has been in existence for much longer than many had previously thought. Alongside this realization, would be a dawning that many of the issues we need to address, as a nation, have been decades in the making and common reasoning would make it obvious that there’s no magic fix for problems that took decades to create. You don’t go to the gym from the first time at age 40 – unfit and completely out of shape – do a set of bench presses and expect to walk out with muscles. There’s a law of process in nature and you either learn to harness it or you break yourself trying to bypass it.

And it is in recognition of this law that Nigeria’s literary icon, Professor Chinua Achebe, a man who has lived through 83 of the 99 years of which Nigeria has been in existence advised in his most recent best seller, There was a Country, that ”we must learn patience and not expect instant miracles”.

We live in a world that spins on its axis, but we remain unaware of this movement of the earth, conditioned by our relative minuteness to remain unconscious of this scientific fact. However, there are those committed to the specific knowledge of this force of nature, who are continually in observation of this phenomenon. Once in a while, those ignorant of the scientific facts attempt to argue with the scientists, calling them liars. These arguments don’t make the scientists liars. Disagreeing with facts doesn’t turn them to lies. Facts remain unmoved by disbelief or cynicism.

This ignorant and loud approach to disagreeing with facts is the unfortunate trend I have observed in the Nigerian social media space where an extremely loud minority hold the preconceived mindset that ‘if it is not happening to me, it is not happening in Nigeria’. This is an extremely shallow and narcissistic view.



Responsible self-leadership requires that if one decides to assume the position of a public commentator, as so many on social media wish to be, there is also a responsibility of widening one’s world view, so as not to mislead the people whom you desire as followers. A true leader is a fact seeker and follows the facts wherever they may lead. A true leader makes research based conclusions.

For example, you can’t sit in your home and conclude that since the power situation in the country has not improved where you live, that it hasn’t improved at all for others in the country. That in itself betrays a selfishness and a corruption of the narrative because you have reduced Nigeria to your locality and give off the impression that you are speaking of Nigeria as a nationality.

Celebrated CNN anchor, Christiane Amanpour did a show on the Super Bowl power failure in America and decided to ask CNN’s correspondent in Nigeria to do some OpenMic interviews on the power situation in our country. What happened? Vladimir Duthiers found a location in Lagos where he asked Nigerians to appraise the power situation in their country. Some people said it was terrible, some said it had improved. But CNN, for the purpose of sensationalism decided to edit out the voices that projected a positive report and only reported those who painted a sorry picture. By shutting down voices that she didn’t want to hear, Amanpour misled the world in her report and that’s very sad.



Why did Amanpour do this? Her show was a calculated attempt to cover the national embarrassment of the Super Bowl outage by ridiculing Nigeria and video testimonials of Nigerians affirming that power in their country had improved would not fit into her pre-conceived narrative of selling the misery of African nations to the world, hence they were not used in her report.



I am saying this with all seriousness and those who would accuse me of spinning the truth may want to listen to the audio of the unedited interviews here (http:///9wthgaq) And compare with what Ms. Amanpour presented to the world here (http:///bxnquvz)





On the issue of the power situation in Nigeria, there are some who may disagree that the power situation in Nigeria is improving but it is a fact. Nigeria in the last three years has increased from 2800 MWs to 4500 MWs.



Obviously, in a nation of 170 million people this is grossly insufficient, however, Nigerians ought to remember that between 1980 and 1999 no new investments were made in the power sector. In fact, the Egbin power station that was commissioned in the very early 80′s was the last power plant that was built in Nigeria before the launch of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) and the contract for that plant was awarded in the 70′s.



So how can we have a situation where our population increased for 20 years and no investments were made in building new power plants and Nigerians who remained silent all that time want to heap all the blame on the administration that is finally doing what ought to have been done? As Lord Denning said in the celebrated case of UAC vs Mcfoy, “you can’t place something on nothing and expect it to stand”!



It used to be back in the day that activists were people passionate about their nation, but accidental activists of today are passionate about power. They criticize ferociously using the foulest language but are themselves so intolerant of criticism and have a horde of impressionable youngsters who would unleash a torrent of insults on any one who dares criticize them.



And the reason these men masquerading as activities are able to hoodwink many in the theater of Social Media is because they have clued on to the psyche of the Nigerian netizen which is that cynicism is celebrated as intelligence.



For example, it is a natural and spiritual law that what you appreciate increases in value and occurrence. So for instance if a child shows good manners and you celebrate him or her, the child is likely to display good manners more often, not because he/she necessarily wants to be good mannered but because the child likes to be celebrated.



Now imagine that two children lived in a home and there was darkness and the first child who was eight years of age was given N16 and then sent on an errand to buy batteries for a rechargeable lamp. Imagine that he bought just one battery and this was not sufficient. And so the second child who was three was given N4 and went to the same store and instead of buying just one battery, he bought two which was still insufficient. Under what scenario would the older child who was given more money have the audacity to criticize the younger child who was given less money but bought more batteries for the house?





It would be tempting to say that no scenario could exist for such an eventuality. But, then you don’t know this house. The inhabitants of this house are so present-minded. They remember not the N16 and the one battery. It is in the past, and after all the 8-year-old has explained his frustrations with the battery buying system, and even gave a half-hearted apology and though he never brought back change, he was forgiven. In this house, the fault must be that of the 3-year-old, he’s the problem. Why? He managed to buy twice the number of batteries his 8-year-old bought with one-fourth of what his elder was given. Unfair, you may scream.



But that is the exact situation we find ourselves in Nigeria. A social media user expressed anger at me for celebrating the revival of Nigeria’s previously moribund railway networks and asked me if that was what obtained in America where I lived for many years. Apparently this fellow wasn’t taught that in making comparisons you should first compare what is with what was and only then can you appreciate progress.



Before the American rail system got to where it is, there was a consistent investment by several administrations who kept building on what they met, till they went from A to B to C all the way to Z.



Nigeria’s railways had been moribund for over a decade and rather than applaud the leadership that removed the shame of a nation some people expect that we can go from moribund to fast speed trains, which is akin to asking a child to move from crawling to running.



James Russell Lovell once wrote that “No one can produce great things who is not thoroughly sincere in dealing with himself”. As Nigerians, we have to be sincere with ourselves. We cannot allow our narrative to be hijacked by tragic heroes, who have written epistles to rubbish all those whose backs they have climbed on to success and praise those whose backs they still need to climb.



Is it not said that a slave who has seen his fellow slave buried in a shallow grave must know that he too will be so buried when his own time comes? Social Media is now the ladder on which bitter people who served in government and left under a cloud of disgrace want to climb to power. One only has to look back at what these disgruntled elements did to the people who helped them rise to power, to know exactly what the future holds for the people they are presently using.



I appeal to Nigerians, to resist this tendency to display the symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome where victims of abuse end up having sympathy for their abusers. Even if you believe there is nothing you can do to make Nigeria great, at least believe that Nigeria can be great. Don’t let bitter persons sap away your faith in your nation. Of course, there are a lot of challenges but things are getting better!



Disgruntled persons may tell you that our economy is not doing well, but the facts don’t support them. Let me present some of the facts to you. Only last year, the Clinton Foundation identified Nigeria as one of the ten fastest growing economies in the world.



On the 10th of October 2012 while addressing the Annual Conservative Party Conference, David Cameron said “We’ve been hearing about China and India for years but it’s hard to believe what’s happening in Brazil, in Indonesia, in Nigeria.”



His Undersecretary of State for Africa, Mr. Henry Bellingham said of Nigeria, “Nigeria has averaged growth of 8.9 per cent which is really stunning. Nigeria is the world’s fourth fastest growing economy with solid growth in the next five years and beyond; this is truly remarkable.”



When the papers reported that President Barack Obama had declared Nigeria the “world’s next economic success story” on August 26th 2012, I tweeted about it and somebody actually tweeted back in response saying, “what does he know of economics?!”



Some may disagree that poverty is reducing but it’s not a lie. According to the World Bank, poverty in Nigeria reduced from 48 to 46%. I did not make this up and the Federal Government has no control over these foreign individuals and institutions. They cheer for no team in the contest, so why would they lie?



Only this morning I woke up to the cheery news that Nigeria’s inflation had reduced to 9% the first time it has hit single digit in four years!



We can invest so much intellectual and emotional energy on painting a negative image of our country on Social Media and celebrate when Miss Amanpour makes Nigeria the butt of her jokes to a worldwide audience, but not everyone will be laughing in scorn. Some will actually be laughing all the way to the bank. And I know some of those who will be among this lot. Only three days ago Leadership Newspapers ran as its front headline the story “Exodus, The Movement of British-Born Nigerians… Back to Nigeria”.



While some Nigerians resident at home are getting carried away by the gospel of negativity being peddled by tainted persons, Nigeria is seeing a reverse brain drain of highly skilled Nigerians born in Europe and the Americas who know that in a world where many nations struggle with negative GDP growth there must be many things right about a nation with consistent 7% GDP growth.

Reno Omokri is Special Assistant to the President (New Media) and is on twitter @renoomokri

Reno and other GEJ media guys are just out to justify their pay. I remember Abati's epistle some weeks ago

pheesayor: Reno and other GEJ media guys are just out to justify their pay. I remember Abati's epistle some weeks ago

Why not focus on what he is saying like an educated person instead of typing rubbish?

But is it true that Amanpur DELIBERATELY doctored that report before putting it on air?

pheesayor: Reno and other GEJ media guys are just out to justify their pay. I remember Abati's epistle some weeks ago

you dey mind all of them abi?stay there while they make millions,no,billions painting this government white when we all know the inside is full of dirt and scams.

ROSSIKE:

Why not focus on what he is saying like an educated person instead of typing rubbish?

a person can not focus on foolish talk. Its like sticking your head in shit.

Nice article from Mr Reno O.

I agree,Ms Amanpour was not straight in her dealings.

I wonder why the style of writting reminds me of Billionaire,Sincere9gerian, Taharqa and the lastpope.

blink182: a person can not focus on foolish talk. Its like sticking your head in shit.

Your head must be full of poo to say it is 'foolish talk' to question Christiane Amanpour's fraudulent misrepresentation of the power situation in Nigeria, among other issues. I bet you will cry blue murder if I came into YOUR house and left telling people a very different story to what I encountered. Selfish thing.

I appeal to Nigerians, to resist this tendency to display the symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome where victims of abuse end up having sympathy for their abusers.

Funny how Reno wants us not to display the Stockholm syndrome on one hand and on the other hand wants us to love and support the same Nigerian govt that has fleeced, abused and r@ped us dry all these years. Ironic, isn't it? Even the worst govt in the world has projects it can show to claim there have been "progress", but do those projects necessarily affirm real progress? A more valid judgement of progress should be based on what was achieved given the potential that exists. If I have a 60 watts light bulb in my room and it delivers just 5 watts of power, should I be ecstatic and happy with it? Or should I be disappointed and demand that it supplies more power, at least 50 watts.

When Nigerians see and read about corruption in govt, about 4 billion naira first lady mansion and 3 trillion naira subsidy scam and a never-ending electric power saga, bad roads, high food cost, poor and worsening education and health standards, all of these amidst what our potential truly is, should we be anything less than disappointed and critical of our government? There is no vision, no strategic plan that GEJ has adopted and is assiduously working on to get us half near where we should be. So yes Reno, we will not display the Stockholm syndrome and fall in love with a govt that has fleeced us dry, abused and r@ped our collective heritage.

ROSSIKE:

Your head must be full of poo to say it is 'foolish talk' to question Christiane Amanpour's fraudulent misrepresentation of the power situation in Nigeria, among other issues. I bet you will cry blue murder if I came into YOUR house and left telling people a very different story to what I encountered. Selfish thing.

Did Christian tell a lie? I won't waste brain power on you. You and your kind are destined for destruction. Vulture!

blink182: Did Christian tell a lie? I won't waste brain power on you. You and your kind are destined for destruction. Vulture!

No point going back and forth . . . .Lady Amanpour did edit the original video to match her sneer mission . . . .

Visit those two links provided and make your clear judgement . . . .

HNosegbe: But is it true that Amanpur DELIBERATELY doctored that report before putting it on air?

No need to ask us, anonymous individuals on a public forum, this question. What you gotta do is, look around you---if you live in Nigeria--- and tell us what you observe. You see 24hrs/day electricity and a country devoid of blaring generators and diesel fumes, right?

Charles. E:
Christiane Amanpour and our Stockholm Syndrome- By Reno Omokri

On the 10th of October 2012 while addressing the Annual Conservative Party Conference, David Cameron said “We’ve been hearing about China and India for years but it’s hard to believe what’s happening in Brazil, in Indonesia, in Nigeria.”

.

Reno Omokri is Special Assistant to the President (New Media) and is on twitter @renoomokri

Yes, and just a few days ago this same David Cameron accused GEJ of pilfering over $100billion that was meant for the development of the Nigerian people.

Maybe, that's the what's "hard to believe" that the fine Briish gentleman is talking about.

ebe like say liver fail reno

why did our govt thug not go the usual wicked step mother, evil woman route - abi the guy dey fear

Neo-XVI:


Funny how Reno wants us not to display the Stockholm syndrome on one hand and on the other hand wants us to love and support the same Nigerian govt that has fleeced, abused and r@ped us dry all these years. Ironic, isn't it? Even the worst govt in the world has projects it can show to claim there have been "progress", but do those projects necessarily affirm real progress? A more valid judgement of progress should be based on what was achieved given the potential that exists. If I have a 60 watts light bulb in my room and it delivers just 5 watts of power, should I be ecstatic and happy with it? Or should I be disappointed and demand that it supplies more power, at least 50 watts.

When Nigerians see and read about corruption in govt, about 4 billion naira first lady mansion and 3 trillion naira subsidy scam and a never-ending electric power saga, bad roads, high food cost, poor and worsening education and health standards, all of these amidst what our potential truly is, should we be anything less than disappointed and critical of our government? There is no vision, no strategic plan that GEJ has adopted and is assiduously working on to get us half near where we should be. So yes Reno, we will not display the Stockholm syndrome and fall in love with a govt that has fleeced us dry, abused and r@ped our collective heritage.

Oh please spare us this trash. The only reason YOU can even type this stuff is that the Nigerian govt introduced mass education after the British left us with a 7% national literacy rate, following their 63 years loot-fest (1897-1960). All the while exporting our resources worth untold billions in today's currency.

So sure we could have done better in the post-colonial period, but don't come in here making out that we've made no progress at all. YOU, statistically, would have been a stark illiterate stuck in the village were the colonialists still in power, not this educated, pompous, overfed creep who can no longer see anything good about his country.

ROSSIKE:

Oh please spare us this trash. The only reason YOU can even type this stuff is that the Nigerian govt introduced mass education after the British left us with a 7% national literacy rate, following their 63 years loot-fest (1897-1960). All the while exporting our resources worth untold billions in today's currency.

So sure we could have done better in the post-colonial period, but don't come in here making out that we've made no progress at all. YOU, statistically, would have been a stark illiterate stuck in the village were the colonialists still in power, not this educated, pompous, overfed creep who can no longer see anything good about his country.

Do I know you from somewhere? What's with all the insults? And how did you come about knowing WHERE I was educated?
Did you read my analogy of the light bulb? Does it suggest to you I meant the country has made "NO PROGRESS AT ALL"?
Why were you overwhelmed with a desire to respond with insults when u barely understood what I said? In essence, are you one of the paid government agents here?
Are you suggesting we blame the British for our current predicaments even though they left 53 years ago, and even though at the time there was no meaningful oil money yet?

kingoflag:


Yes, and just a few days ago this same David Cameron accused GEJ of pilfering over $100billion that was meant for the development of the Nigerian people.

Maybe, that's the what's "hard to believe" that the fine Briish gentleman is talking about.

Stop Lying there 'Oflag. Cameron actuali said the OPPOSITE: 'Transparency effort in Nigeria sm yrs back discoverd sm corruptn cases and is LEADING to new ways to bring transparency to the Oil sector'. Of course d moves cud only hv come from d many probes by GEJ. Cameron then pledgd that d G8 was going to help the Transparency process in Nigeria- which is very much in order, seeing that most of d money stolen (and still been stolen) end up finding dier ways to Bank vaults in these G8 countries.... At no time did He 'accuse GEJ of pilfering $100bn'. All those talks are just distortions and inferences that came off yr azzes...

taharqa: Stop Lying there 'Oflag. Cameron actuali said the OPPOSITE: 'Transparency effort in Nigeria sm yrs back discoverd sm corruptn cases and is LEADING to new ways to bring transparency to the Oil sector'. Of course d moves cud only hv come from d many probes by GEJ. Cameron then pledgd that d G8 was going to help the Transparency process in Nigeria- which is very much in order, seeing that most of d money stolen (and still been stolen) end up finding dier ways to Bank vaults in these G8 countries.... At no time did He 'accuse GEJ of pilfering $100bn'. All those talks are just distortions and inferences that came off yr azzes...

Ummm... I've read a lot of ur posts and, sorry to say, ur not in a position to tell me whether I comprehend what Cameron said or not. I do not deal in conjectures. $100billion has disappeared from Nigerian coffers, Cameron and the G8 called attention to it. Neither Reno Omokri or the red-eyed Rueben Abati responded to the accusations....

Tell me something else.

kingoflag: Ummm... I've read a lot of ur posts and, sorry to say, ur not in a position to tell me whether I comprehend what Cameron said or not. I do not deal in conjectures. $100billion has disappeared from Nigerian coffers, Cameron and the G8 called attention to it. Neither Reno Omokri or the red-eyed Rueben Abati responded to the accusations....

Tell me something else.

LOL... That $100bn or thereabout is the sum that the FG, States and LG shared last year (which was usd to pay salaries, do capital projects, run govts etc) and the savings put in d Excess Account and SWF last yr. You mean GEJ still eat it?? Lol.... Go to dat article that reportd dis Cameron stori (its still here on NL smwhere) and read tru and then copy what Cameron actuali said (I MEAN THOSE WORDS IN QUOTES ' ', not inferences); then compare what I earlier said and yours on what he possibly say and meant. GOODLUCK

Please those supporting GEJ and his government, can you state categorically in what area(s) has there been progress? We live in a country where the past is supposedly better than the present, i.e. some people believe Obasanjo's time is/was better than what is obtained now, some people go as far as saying the military regime is better. Should this be the case? Everyday is a different story filled with tales of corruption and deception, one day the first lady is not sick and the next day she is dead for one week, fuel subsidy scam, 16 billion naira for something as unimportant as the vice president's house....... Are we supposed to be happy with all of these. GEj and his cohorts should remember that good things always speak for themselves, he doesn't need to employ people to drum up support for him if he actually believes he his doing the right thing. You can't come here and blame the british people, honestly that makes little sense.

taharqa: LOL... That $100bn or thereabout is the sum that the FG, States and LG shared last year (which was usd to pay salaries, do capital projects, run govts etc) and the savings put in d Excess Account and SWF last yr. You mean GEJ still eat it?? Lol.... Go to dat article that reportd dis Cameron stori (its still here on NL smwhere) and read tru and then copy what Cameron actuali said (I MEAN THOSE WORDS IN QUOTES ' ', not inferences); then compare what I earlier said and yours on what he possibly say and meant. GOODLUCK

Well, I didn't read the said story on NL, I saw it on other more reputable News outlets so you're gonna be waiting till eternity for that quote which you demanded. You do know that you can make inferences from quotes, right? So, what's your point?

If $100billion disappears from a department which you head, the buck stops at your table! I don't know how else to explain it to you. If GEJ is really sincere about fighting corruption, let him go in front of the National Assembly and make an impassionate speech to the Nation condemning it and asking them, and Nigerians, to assist him in fighting it, and let it be his mantra. Let him cover the pages of Newspapers, for at least a month straight with aggressive messages against corruption. Then let him return to the National Assembly and demand that the laws against Governmental Corruption be strengthened and made stricter ( i.e minimum sentence of 20yrs in prison and no option of fine for any theft of govt funds over N1million. Plea bargains would attract 1/2 of the minimum sentence), then let him order the EFCC to immediately start rounding up any corrupt officials they can find. Abi na only cement and sugar him Sabi order make e crash? For good measure, he should personally ensure that at least 10 top corrupt Nigerians in the mold of OBJ, IBB, Orji Kalu etc are rounded up, demystified, charged, jailed, convicted and sentenced to the maximum terms possible. That's the only way he can prove to the world that he's really sincere about fighting corruption.

But you know why he can't do the above? He'll be sharing a jail cell with his wife if he does because he's as corrupt as they come. A former Lecturer that is now a Billionaire after a few years in Govt? A so called leader that refused to declare his assets? A man, whom in the midst of abject poverty told his country that $30,000 a day wasn't enough for him to feed on? Dude, pls, I could care less what David Cameron said because I can see with my own two eyes what's happening.

This whole philosophical introspection by Reno is all hinged on the perceived slight of the administration in Amanpour's broadcast. This had a beginning in Davos when the President gave that very poor and miserable appearance infront of the world. It was Reno's responsibility as media consultant to the President to prepare the ground beforehand and not present the President for appearance if he and his crew felt uncomfortable with the airing. They also had the duty to yank the coverage and stop the broadcast when it was starting to go wrong. None of them thought it wise to take any of these actions but they blame Amanpour for the ridicule of their boss. No, they offered their boss to the slaughterhouse of ridicule by neglecting to pay attention and do due dilligence.

Davos is not a congregation point for cultural appearance, leaders are there to discuss economies and global security risks. The proper attire and image and projection is important. Davos is like the "red carpet" of economic celebrities, those who keep the global commerce and trade running. The only people who know what Ijaw traditional attire look like are Nigerians. To any other people around the world, our President wore a cowboy hat. That's unbefitting for the gathering and thus makes him look like a clown.....a misfit! This was the first error of those who are paid to manage the President's appearance and media image. Take blame for your shortsight and dont blame Amanpour. Amanpour has interviewed hundreds of Presdients and Heads of State and Prime Ministers and she is a veteran at the job. Reno and his rookie crew sc.re.wed up when they gave her access to their boss dressed misfittingly in Davos and caught unprepared and hypertensed.

On the power outage in Superbowl and its connection to Nigeria. If it is the wish of the Presidency to put Nigeria on the global map and be viewed as a growing economy (I see Mr Omokri was happy to cite credits on that) then we must be ready to open our country and society to scrutiny and followups. In many industrialized nations, power generation and telecommunications are classified under national security policies. They serve as the backbone of the country's ability to innovate, develop, deploy, manage and sustain government and society. When we invite foreign investors to take a look at us they in turn will be appraising the risk factors of tying their money into our land. Why tie $5billion into a production line in Nigeria and spend another $1billion to buy, install and fuel generating plants for power supply to the facility, when you could invest the same amount in Ghana without the additional cost of generating your own power?

The President needs to be coached on public speaking. Do not commit on air what is not within his immediate control to produce. The previous governments in Nigeria got away with murder because the internet media consumption we see now was not there to give instant access and sharing of public events and news. It is different now! The Presidency need to attune itself to the reality and change itself to be competent, rathern than begging for a blind patriotism from the populace. SHOW US what you have accomplished in real terms first and then you can follow it up with scientific indices of performance. It is useless telling people the economy has grown 5% but there is nothing on ground to show for it. 55 growth in economy, if indeed truthfull, can change the weekly menu of a household on 7days of garri and dry fish regimen to perhaps two days of garri, three days of rice and chicken and a weekend of jollof and fried goatmeat. 5% economy growth in Nigerian economy is not a small change, you need to start pushing it to the society....assuming the numbers are not fabrications.

kingoflag:


Yes, and just a few days ago this same David Cameron accused GEJ of pilfering over $100billion that was meant for the development of the Nigerian people.

Maybe, that's the what's "hard to believe" that the fine Briish gentleman is talking about.

Just like he accused Amanpour of lopsided info,he has committed same sin of deliberately ignoring the $100billion pilfering by his master's govt yet by the same British pm

Rilikoko:

Just like he accused Amanpour of lopsided info,he has committed same sin of deliberately ignoring the $100billion pilfering by his master's govt yet by the same British pm

Bro, thats their job: selective dissemination of information. Thats why they'll do anything to keep the Nigerian masses uneducated by deliberately impoverishing them, because they know a country where majority of the Population is well informed is one where the citizens will demand their rights and defend it with brain and brawn, blood and sweat.