Reuben Abati received backlash from his critics on Sunday after posting an article online, titled, ‘The phones no longer ring’

Just when one thought the erstwhile Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, had escaped the online ‘harassment’ he endured for four years, he suffered yet another backlash on Sunday.

While Abati’s name was not on the daily social media trending list for some weeks – at least, since the beginning of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure – a commentary that he posted on his blog on Saturday landed him in trouble with his critics.

In the article titled ‘The phones no longer ring’, the former presidential aide reflected on the daunting challenges that he faced at the State House. Published two months after he had put his social media ‘life’ on hold, the article also gave an insight into the operation of the presidential media team.

But Abati’s critics, who obviously interpreted his motive in a different way, took a swipe at him. They questioned everything about him, including his competence and morality.

Aside the intense criticism that welcomed the post on Facebook, Twitter and personal blogs, the critics took their grievances further to the writer’s website where the article was originally published.

Commenting on the article, one Naija Man lectured the former spokesman on the transient nature of power.

“You did well. But as an exposed Nigerian, you should know that power is transient and that you are as relevant to our society as your most recent office,” he said.

Also commenting on the platform, Finty Daniels, who described the article as a nicely-composed story, urged Abati to appologise to Nigerians.

In the post, which went viral on Sunday, Abati wrote, “As a spokesman to President Goodluck Jonathan, my phones rang endlessly and became more than personal navigators within the social space. They defined my entire life, dusk to dawn, all year-round. The phones buzzed non-stop; my email was permanently active; my Twitter account received tons of messages per second.

“The intrusion into my private life was total, as my wife complained about her sleep being disrupted by phones that never seemed to stop ringing. Besides, whenever I was not checking or responding to the phones, I was busy online trying to find out if the All Progressive Congress had said something contrarian or some other fellow was up to any mischief.”

Describing himself as “a slave of breaking news”, Abati added that there were days when trouble knocked on his door every hour.

He said, “I was obligated to attend to all calls. The ones who didn’t receive an answer complained about ‘Abati not picking their calls.’ My defence was that most editors in Nigeria have correspondents in the State House. Every correspondent had access to me. There was no way I could be accused of not picking calls, and in any case, there were other channels: Instagram, Twitter direct message, email and media assistants who could interface with me.

“But this was the main challenge: while in public office, people treat you as if you are at their mercy, they threaten to sabotage you and get you sacked, every phone call was a request with a price attached, you get clobbered; you are treated like you had committed a crime to serve your nation.”

Noting that the State House became a ghost city soon after the result of the presidential poll, which his boss lost, was announced, he said his post-election life in the Aso Rock was that of solitude, as his phones stopped ringing as they used to and, more or less, became “museum pieces”.

Many have wondered if Abati, by writing the article, had expected sympathy from his readers. However, his critics, especially on Sunday, went from one platform to another reminding him of the “pain” he had inflicted on Nigerians.

By Sunday afternoon, he was on top of Twitter trending, with more posts pouring into the space every minute from political and apolitical users.

In his tweet, one Mark Olaniyi said Abati represented a culture that Nigerians must do away with. He also urged the people to stop entertaining excuses from public officers who had failed in their respective mandates.

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About Unknown

Deji Sadiq, a.k.a DEJI OF LAGOS is a LASU trained Economist turned freelance journalist, a Blogger, an information strategist, a public affairs analyst and a committed activist with a passion for equal opportunities.