Call Omatseye To Order, Kalu Tells Tinubu

…Says The Nation man embarrassment to journalism
Eminent businessman and former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu has called on Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to call the Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation newspapers, Mr. Sam Omatseye, to order over foul language on him in his column, In Touch on Monday.
Kalu insisted Omatseye allowed monetary considerations to influence his sense of professionalism.
In his back-page article, Omatseye condemned Kalu for failing to stop The Sun’s report that the Federal Government had placed Tinubu under security watch.


But, in a statement issued by Mr. Kunle Oyewunmi for Orji Uzor Kalu Media Team, the former governor said Omatseye fell into grave error on account of his lack of training as a journalist.
“We wonder how a supposedly seasoned writer and editorial board chair could not distinguish between propaganda and purely professional reportage in his pecuniary bohemianism. This is, indeed, unprofessionalism demonstrated by rascally Omatseye.


“It is utterly embarrassing and provocative that Omatseye could allow himself to be led by the nose by the government specious rebuttal of The Sun story. The fact that government debunked the story does not make it fictitious. Is vicious Omatseye saying that no government has denied stories published by his medium? Do such predictable face-saving gobbledygooks affect the authenticity of such stories?
“In any case, is Omatseye saying that Tinubu, as the publisher of The Nation, determines what the newspaper publishes? If that is the convention in his organisation, it is an entirely different case in The Sun and New Telegraph titles, as Kalu has never interfered in the editorial policy and content of the titles in his newspaper establishments.
“In addition, for purposes of argument, even if that was the routine, is it not against the ethics of journalism for publishers to kill stories as expected by Omatseye, who knows full well that Kalu does not meddle in his publications?


“We sympathise with brazen Omatseye on grounds of his not being a trained journalist or even a news reporter so as to understand the distinction between news reporting and poetry, which incapacitates his knowledge of the rudiments of the calling which all Mass Communication sophomores know. It is, also, unfortunate that since Omatseye returned from America and was rehabilitated by a few past and present governors, he has turned himself to a rabid defence dog for his few benefactors.”
The former governor wondered why Omatseye chose to make adverse comments about his bid to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president.


“We are astounded by Omatseye’s misguided linkage of Kalu’s FIFA presidential aspiration to The Sun story and references to corruption and scholarship. For obvious reasons, let sleeping dogs lie for now. We restrain ourselves from explication of these Omatseye idiocies because of our self-restraint and Tinubu’s long-standing intimacy with our principal.


Our team cannot be dragged into opening any can of worms already pigeonholed in the public domain or igniting any harebrained media bringandage with colleagues of ours in The Nation.
“It may equally interest Omatseye to know, if his bovine intelligence will allow him, that Kalu and Tinubu enjoy cordial relationship spanning over three decades. It is Omatseye’s intemperate use of language that almost put him in trouble when he scurrilously and irresponsibly attacked Chief Obafemi Awolowo clan all in his characteristic self-assignation of worming himself to Tinubu for more survivalist packages…” the statement added.
The Sun.