Journalist and author of the controversial book, ‘Against
the Run of Play’ Olusegun Adeniyi has denied ever distorting the views of
former President Goodluck Jonathan in his book.
In the controversial book, some political actors in the 2015
presidential election made shocking revelations on the real reason Jonathan was
ousted.
Jonathan in the book also revealed how the then United
States government under the leadership of Barrack Obama contributed to his
removal.
However, Jonathan who was not apparently comfortable with
the backlash he has been getting for his claim, took to twitter to claim that
many of his views were distorted.
Jonathan however said he will soon be coming out on what
actually transpired during the election.
According to him, “I have just read Segun Adeniyi’s new
book, ‘Against the Run of Play’ which has so far enjoyed tremendous reviews in
the media.
“My take on it is that the book as presented contains many
distorted claims on the 2015 Presidential election by many of the respondents.”
“There will obviously be more books like that on this
subject by concerned Nigerians,” Jonathan had tweeted.
Reacting however, Adeniyi, a former presidential spokesman
said Jonathan never said he was misquoted.
“The respondents President Jonathan was referring to are the
people who spoke to me and whose claims he apparently disputes or disagrees
with. This should be clear enough to those who did not choose to read his
statement with a tendentious accent,” he said.
“President Jonathan did not say I distorted his views and
the fact that others may have presented him in ways he doesn’t like cannot be
taken as an indictment of me or of my work.
“For the record, after my first conversation with President
Jonathan, I asked for his email address and promised to send him the raw text
of our conversation which he could then amend as appropriate.
“I sent it to him that very day. When I went for a second
meeting, I took along a printed copy which we both went through line-by-line.
Whatever he wanted removed, reworked or rephrased was done while in some areas
he provided further context to what he said.
“Incidentally, a few hours after our second conversation,
President Jonathan called me that he felt uncomfortable about a certain
response he gave to a particular issue. He told me what to do and I reflected
it immediately.
“I went into all that length because he is a man for whom I
have tremendous respect and my intention was/is not to embarrass him or
anybody. I just wanted his side of the story told in a way he is comfortable
with.
“I went through this same process with former President
Olusegun Obasanjo, former Senate President David Mark, APC National Leader,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, former NGF
Chairman and current Transportation Minister, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi,
former Niger State Governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu and a few other principal
actors who all have in their emails the raw text of our conversations.”
Adeniyi said he went through a thorough vetting process with
all the respondents so he would not misquote or distort their statements.
“The reason I did that was so I would not misquote,
misrepresent or distort the views of any of the people who spoke to me on
trust,” he said.
“My intention was not to ambush or set up anyone. This is
why I gave them the opportunity to go over what they told me again before
putting it in print.
“Fortunately, none of them has come out to say I distorted
their views. Besides, I left out so many things in my book so as to avoid
unnecessary controversies.
“For instance, President Obasanjo made some strong remarks
about former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar which I decided to remove even after
he (Obasanjo) had approved it for publication.
“I did the same to some of the things others told me that I
believed could raise unnecessary dust or distract from the story at hand.
“Therefore, I did not distort President Jonathan’s view and
he did not say I did. Now that he has reaffirmed what he told me that he is
writing his own account, I will enjoin Nigerians to wait for his book.
“I hope others will join him in writing their own accounts
so that we can have the complete story of the 2015 presidential election. The
more accounts and the more perspectives we have, the better for our education
and learning. In the same vein, I will also implore all the key actors in the
major historical junctures of our national life to document their experiences
for the present and for posterity.”
Adeniyi also raised the alarm that hackers were now
circulating his book on the internet.
He called on the authorities to do more to protect creative
artists from pirates.
“Meanwhile, I am aware that hackers have succeeded in
breaking the code to the online edition of my book and are already circulating
the book online. I have received it from different sources, even on WhatsApp.
“Though sad, it is a familiar story for me. In the case of
my earlier book, ‘Power, Politics and Death’, it actually went viral on the day
of presentation. So, that I enjoyed three days of grace this time is a bonus,”
he said.
“While I feel pained losing the revenue that could have
accrued to me from online sales, I wrote the book because I believe it is an
important story that should be documented and widely read. I have a feeling
this book will be widely read, though at my expense and that of my publishers.
“But I am comforted by the fact that we are succeeding in
dispelling the myth that Nigerians do not read. Nigerians do read. It is our
task to write on what will interest them and present and package such in ways
they will find appealing.
“That said, however, I am more worried for people in
creative arts and sciences, especially those in Nollywood, who are practically
at the mercy of hackers and pirates.
“The authorities should do more to protect their works from
the antics of people who reap where they do not sow. When creative people in
both the arts and sciences cannot be guaranteed the legitimate benefits of
their sweat and investments, they lose the incentive to take the risk to create
and innovate. And when that happens, the whole society loses. Protecting
intellectual property is therefore good for all of us, not just for the
artistes and the inventors. We will all be the better for it.”
By Ameh Comrade Godwin
