Farewell to a Man of Courage and Honour

At different times, the creative intelligence has always sent people to project divine purity and goodness on earth. In Zoroastrianism and Christianity such persons are called messiahs. In Buddhism they are avatars; in Eck they are referred to as the Mahantas, in the Grail Message of the Abd- Ru-Shin variety – they are called ones and among the Rosicrucian such people are called living and ascendedmasters. However, in most parts of the developing world, people are often pre-occupied with the basic, biological needs of survival hence very scant recognition is accorded this category of people who pragmatize lofty ideals.

In
the days of old, Thales, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Socrates and their likes fought very hard to change their societies by making man to think for himself.

Because of his intellectual sophistry and radicalism Socrates was forced to drink the hemlock by a jury which was essentially made up of his students. He did so but turned down the more dishonorable option of abdication. Socrates treasured honour and preferred it to death. The late Minere Amakiri had the opportunity to register with the South African Union of Journalist, SAUJ, so he could be treated free-of charge, but he resisted that temptation in order not to portray Nigeria in bad light as a failed State. His patriotism to Nigeria can be likened to that of Socrates to Athens.

In
all accounts of the good books, immortality would have been possible for man, but of what use will it be to humanity if eternity cannot be achieved without dying. For those who live deeply, what matters isthe way people are remembered after their death. How people are remembered in turn depends on their deeds, their misdeeds, their style and sometimes their

work: where the binary attributes of courage or cowardice, weakness or strength, positive deed and negative misdeeds, dignity and indignity have a curious blend in ones short earthly sojourning. For William Penn For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. This is why the Bible talks about time to sow and time to reap, in a sense putting everything in a perspective of time and season. For the famous Austrian psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud “The goal of all life is death”. This is an indication that it is a thing we must come to terms with irrespective of the path we have chosen.

In my about 8 year's interaction with the Late Minere Amakiri in his earthly sojourning, I saw a man who towed the path of courage, honour truth and decency - which are hallmarks of great men. In practicing the profession, an incident tested us to the limit. One day I initiated a wrestling contest with a government parastatal by trying to expose a case of wasteful expenditure in the production of a Master Plan; the head of the parastatal served us a letter purporting to sue myself and The Beacon Newspaper. He called me and asked if what I wrote was factual. I told it was nothing but the truth. Rather than being intimidated that we were being sued by a Senior Advocate, he urged me to bring out all the facts I possible could to convince the public that the case was not winnable for them. That fighting spirit is what saw him throughout life's travails. In pursuit of transparency, Late Minere and I were sued by Timi Alaibe but 18 Lawyers in Port Harcourt volunteered to take my matter pro bono publico. Alaibe's Lawyer a SAN, could not proceed to court when he saw the weight of evidence against his clients.

When I visited Late Minere Amakiri with my two little children, to pray with him a day before he died. he said:

"John, what kind of world is this? Why is it that our brothers in government in Rivers and Bayelsa State cannot come to my rescue" My Nephrologist in India asked me to see him latest on the 7th and today is 18th, Government has killed me". I personally used The Beacon to campaign for a particular Governor and because Minere believes in sustaining relationships, he never charged the fees for publication, arguing that the Governor came to him as a son with N20, 000 and a bottle of wine. So more than 200 articles were published free of charge, yet the Late Minere sent dozens of text messages to the Governor and none was replied. Yes, he could have lived longer if there was money to do regular check up. All men will die, we know but the circumstances of their death either inspire us or pull us down.

I am celebrating his death because of his legacy of courage, his knack for justice and equality.

His death
has taught me two fundamental lessons; namely we should not rely on human mortals; human beings especially politicians must not be trusted. When people occupy public offices, they should place service first, for in the words of Saint Augustine “In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery? The second lesson is that governance is too important to be left in the hands of thieves, marauders and people of mean pedigree. When I learnt history, I thought that government was designed for the people, but today, it does appear that government has gotten into the hands of bosses and their surrogates, a mindless group of petty-fogging apologists – each class trying to build material fortresses and mundane empires that are not bound to last. How many ages hence shall Nigeria act out these unedifying scenes. It was in consummation of his admonition that I have today, joined the Governorship race in Bayelsa State – a race robustly endorsed by stakeholders.

Beyond
that, he was an inspiration to his contemporaries and the young alike. Most people who have read about his exploits in journalism made him a reference point in terms of using his beloved profession as a tool to perform his social responsibility functions of addressing the ills of society. In a society such as ours where ordinary laws of civility are trampled underfoot; where the rich oppress the poor; where might makes right; where fundamental rights are not respected by those at the corridors of power, the quintessential Minere Amakiri resisted oppression and entrenched justice in the best way he could.

That day before I left his residence, he said: “John, please you people must struggle to administer the States well and ensure that you take care of the less-privileged. Government has killed me. I am not crying for myself, but if Nigeria does not change, generations yet unborn might suffer what we are suffering. Please, you know my beautiful bride THE BEACON; do not allow it to die'. I embraced him in tears and promised to visit on Friday. It did not occur to me that what he said to me was his parting words.

Charles Sanders Peirce may be right when he said “If man were immortal he could be perfectly sure of seeing the day when everything in which he had trusted should betray his trust, and, in short, of coming eventually to hopeless misery. He would break down, at last, as every good fortune, as every dynasty, as every civilization does. In place of this we have death”. In the same way, if man were to live forever, I should have liked to make the Late Minere Amakiri a friend for ever because we appear to be ideological bedfellows in terms of doggedness in fighting against injustice, humaneness, simplicity of life and morality (not empty religiosity).

I
am particularly hypnotized by his fiery, candour and ardour, which have become an elixir to animate the near-moribund conscience of the nation. Nigerians and indeed his admirers all around the world should be consoled by the fact that his ideals, his philosophy and consciousness have worn the garb of immortality.

Like Gandhi
the Late Minere Amakiri held the view that “There would be nothing to frighten you if you refused to be afraid”.

Forever, I will cherish his friendship and mentorship. I can still hear the echoes of his voice on that fateful day he was struggling with death. I know, death is a mortal blow and it is only my prayer that those he has left behind should in one accord, come together to uphold the legacy of the Iconoclastic Minere Amakiri. One of such legacies we must sustain is to ensure the uninterrupted publication of THE BEACON NEWSPAPER and to promote the social responsibility functions of the media without compromising the truth the man of courage stood for. I have irrevocably pledged to do my utmost to sustain the quality of articles in my column – MISSILES. Nobody should grief for him because his courage, conviction and pen have all conspired to immortalize him. May the cosmic intelligence grant his noble soul eternal rest?

Idumange
John, is Deputy President, Niger Delta Integrity Group, NDIG