Comrade Peter Esele, How Do You Manage To Sleep At Night?–By Lanre Bucknor

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I initially had the intention of tweeting directly at the @peteresele handle on twitter but I woke up this morning to find that the handle (parody or real) had only tweeted 71 times the last time I checked. I felt it unwise expressing myself through that medium hence, this article.
Let it be known that I am not writing this out of idleness and inexperience. I was and I am ‘still’ a comrade at the level of the students’ union back in college and if You doubt my balls, there is a singular act of grinding my own union’s activities to a halt in the face of suspension and impeachment when we increased Union dues without sufficient and clear grounds, to point to.
I watched comrade Esele mostly on Television during the #OccupyNigeria protest of 2012. I saw a man with passion, a man who was capable of leading us out of slavery to the promise land. I saw a ‘youth’ who was brimming with confidence, someone who over shadowed the NLC president who I felt should be at the forefront of our struggles because of my previous experiences with the Edo state governor and IP NLC president, comrade Adams Oshiomole. I saw our own Moses, I saw glimmers of hope!
Little did I know that, I was in for a shocker! How dead wrong I was!
Who would forget in a hurry, that picture where NOI, SLS and senator David Mark were shaking our ‘Comrades’ with their heads bowed down in respect and small chops filled table? Who would forget the huge grin on our comrades’ faces when meeting with the Federal Executive council? As young as I was and still am, I knew back in school that when meeting with authorities on behalf of the masses, all forms of respect and smiles are thrown to the dogs until conditions are met. Certain rooms are left for compromise on both sides but not that which will have adverse effect on the livelihood of the masses you claim to represent.
Comr. Esele, how do you manage to sleep at night? How do you walk on the streets seeing the masses you represent suffer? Your singular act of cowardice and greed have left this nation in a record low of sorry state in one calender year. You denied yourself and the unborn generation greatness.
You have amassed a certain sum of money by selling not only your conscience but that of those who believed in your ability to lead.
I was going through your rather lean timeline on twitter and I saw you responding to a certain tweep thus: “I have nothing to defend. When your peers confer the highest office available to you, there is something you are doing right.” I beg to say, you don’t deserve to tweet those words, you failed those who conferred that highest office on you. You lost the chance of being a true national hero, man of the masses and a chance to amass a clean lifelong fame and fortune.
Were you afraid of jail? Or was it the sweet sounding melody of billions offered you and your friends to sell out? I have met comrades who have been afraid of tribulations but I do not expect that at your level, you should be stooping so low.
Whatever has a monetary price tag is worthless as the yoruba adage goes and a good name is worth much more than oil bloc, silver, gold or platinum. If truly you sold us out as the information on ground suggests, your conscience will haunt you till you leave the earth’s surface and the unborn generation will forever ask you why you have flunked the golden opportunity presented you and why you have delayed and denied them the greatness they sincerely deserve.
Extend my regards to ‘Comrade’ Omar of the Nigeria Labour Congress….another man whose soul may have gone to the highest bidder.
‘Lanre Bucknor
Tweets with the handle, @lordrooz