by Hauwa Gambo

His is tainted with malice, with evil, with the basest of human sentiments ­ support of tyrants and dictators, advocacy for wars and genocides, destroyer of marriages and relationships, cauldron of hate and wickedness.

Why, in the name of all that is good and decent, do human beings take Femi Fani-Kayode seriously?

Why do a succession of sane and distinguished Nigerians ­- even the venerable Obiageli Ezekwesili who went on a tweet exchange series ­- take this man seriously?

Why did Reuben Abati, known before his present assignment as a master of restraint, waste an emotional tweet complete with exclamation mark on this man? Why did Bianca Ojukwu drag the iconic Ojukwu name into the mud when an apparent sex fiend decides to remember real or imagined trysts that may or may not have occurred before he evidently descended into imbalance? Why is Stella Oduah wasting the time she should be dedicating to protecting our skies, ­and protecting herself against ridiculous God-related gaffes, to exchange press releases with this man?

If a lunatic across the road flung stones at you, would you engage in flinging the stones back or would you guide him gently to the nearest loony bin?

Of course, it is understandable why he is taken serious. We have Olusegun Obasanjo, who treasured loyalty above sanity, solely to blame for this blot on our collective conscience. After Fani-Kayode spent many years savaging Obasanjo in TEMPO and TheNews in the early 2000s, the former president made a shrewd calculation, and a government appointment as attack dog immediately converted Fani-Kayode’s principles.

As reward for insulting everyone from Wole Soyinka to Chinua Achebe, Obasanjo soon made a man known by his peers and associates as a drug addict with ambiguous values and tipsy temperament minister over two sectors in quick order. Now, it is difficult to tell a man who has served at the highest levels of governance that he cannot speak in public. Which is how this man has got to this sorry point.

He is a reminder that when it comes to public office, all kinds of afflictions have been the lot of Nigeria and Nigerians. The emotionally and mentally unstable our governance, our economy and the national conversation across the federal government and the states ­ and validating themselves with positions and advantages won by hook or crook.

Divorced from his wife ­ – and from reality ­ – as well as from any meaningful employment at the moment, Fani-Kayode had made a nee profession of spewing all kinds of bigotry and inanity ­ – on the history of Lagos, on ethnic relations, on aviation, on the middle-east, on death, on sex, on murder, even on mosquitoes flying around Lagos. In all instances, he has focused more on shocking his audience than adding any value to knowledge or society.

There have been those that have pointed to his what they say must be mental health issues ­and they will recall his neurotic insistence that more people had died in the UN building bombing in Abuja many years ­ago, a claim that was immediately refuted, and preposterous beyond imagination.

If the problem was shock alone however, that would be all means a cause for mild amusement and nothing else.

If there is any mental health concern here, one doubts it is the kind that cries for help or needs support. His is tainted with malice, with evil, with the basest of human sentiments ­ support of tyrants and dictators, advocacy for wars and
genocides, cauldron hate and wickedness. That kind of man doesn’t deserve our sympathy.

More importantly, he doesn’t deserve the time and energy of serious-minded policy makers, opinion leaders and the media. We need to learn to ignore his trolling and to recognize him for what he is: a man who will say and do anything to gain attention.

Such a man doesn’t even deserve the time I have spent on this piece. He should be punished with the solitude of his own company.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija