The video clip of the interview granted by the Chief of Staff to the Edo State Governor, Mr. Patrick Obahiagbon, to Lagos-based Channels Television has generated a debate on social media. Nigerians who had watched the video on YouTube say they could not comprehend the analysis the former member of the House of Representatives gave during the interview. According to them, Obahiagbon’s ‘’high soundinggrammar’’ is incomprehensible as many sought to know what languages he was mixing up with English. Besides, many of them who had employed the YouTube’s ‘Transcript’ feature to get an approximate text version of all of the words spoken in the video proved abortive as it could not make head or tail of his analysis. For instance, when one of the presenters asked about his thought on the happenings in Rivers State, as a Nigerian, Obahiagbon replied, “Let mesay as quickly as possible, the political “crinkum crankum”, if you like, the political “higi haga” that has enveloped the politics of Rivers State for a period of time now has all the trappings of an odoriferous saga cum ‘’gagantuagaga.’’ And I am bewildered that this situation is of no seriousconcern to the commander-in-chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria…” Asked if the crisis was getting messier because of the 2015 general election, he said, “Oh it is very crystal clear like the biblical ‘teke teke menoyafasin.’ It is audible to the deaf and visible to the blind.” He added, “If you look at the totality of the crisis in Rivers State just now, it leaves me with two conclusions that 2015 is inherently laden with a political and democratic ‘talidomine.’ Two, some social scientists like myself have gone to town for donkey’s years, saying that what we have is not democracy but civilian rule. “But with recent events, I say no. Nigeria is neither witnessing civilian rule nor democracy but what we have at best is a form of government I call ‘kakitomoboplutocracy’ and that is bad for us as a nation.’’ However, one of the interviewers, who seemed bewildered by Obahiagbon’s statements, quizzed him on what he meant by “talidomine”, asking, “Talidomine could mean…?” Obahiagbonreplied, “I mean it (2015) may be still born.’’ Shortly after watching the video on YouTube, one Fola Durowoju laments, “Please, can someone kindly subtitle this video.’’ A YouTube user, Ovie Simon-Efe, says he wonders how Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, manages to comprehend his words whenever they have cause to interact. He says, “I’m sure the moderators of the interview were confused to the core. How does Governor Oshiomhole manage to understand Obahiagbon when he speaks?” One Olayinka Awofodu says, “He’s speaking ‘personalised English.’ Even the YouTube transcript feature is confused.’’ Meanwhile, Some Nigerians say Obahiagbon willnot find it difficult to speak in tongues if he decides to venture into church ministry, when he leaves politics. They say they cannot fathom whether Obahiagbon featured on the programme as an analyst or for a comic relief. “Does this man care that it takes clear communication to encourage listening? Does he really care to talk to be understood? I’d see differently, were it a comedy show or a medical appointment,” a YouTube user, Samuel Abiodun, notes. An anonymous visitor to kemifilani, one of the blogs where the video was shared, says, “This man ought to be arrested, charged and sentenced for wrong use of the English Language.’’ But Obahiagbon sure made some points on the crisis rocking Rivers State, during the interview. He says, “As far as I am concerned, I can see the ship of the Nigerian state hovering around the political Bermuda Triangle, and if we do not take urgent and responsible steps… My critical history and historiography of the study shows that the war of attrition in Rivers State did not commence with the Obio/Okpor political tendency. It commenced, strictly speaking, from the suspicion that Governor Rotimi Amaechi nurses an ambition for the Vice-Presidency of this country.’’
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 06:21:14 +0000
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