A former Vice-President of the World Bank, Dr. Oby
Ezekwesili, on Wednesday denied having any amorous relationship with former
President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Ezekwesili’s denial followed the widespread circulation of a
photograph showing her in a very warm embrace with Obasanjo.
In the trending photo, the former President is seen holding
Ezekwesili from behind and giving her a peck on the cheek.
The controversial picture was taken on Tuesday during the
public presentation of Obasanjo’s three-part autobiography entitled, ‘My
Watch’.
Many online commentators expressed displeasure with
Ezekwesili and Obasanjo for behaving in such a manner in public.
They accused the former minister of education, who once
served in Obasanjo’s cabinet, of being indecorous as a married woman and
passing a wrong message to young girls who look up to her as a role model.
A group known as ‘Hope for Nigeria’ stated that it was taken
aback by the decision of the two public figures to behave themselves that way
in public.
“This is Dr. Oby Ezekwesili the #BringBackOurGirls crusader
with former President Obasanjo at his book launch.
“Was it that Ezekwesili forgot that she was in a public
place and a married woman? She threw caution to the wind. Anyway, we saw her
sticking out her finger in excitement, while the ‘Chemistry’ lasted.
“What manner of role model will this woman be to young
Nigerian girls who look up to her?” the group wrote, after posting the
controversial photograph on its Facebook page.
But Ezekwesili has fired back at her accusers, describing
those who have reacted to the photo by calling her unprintable names as “gutter
minds.”
The former minister stated that Obasanjo merely gave her a
“boisterous greeting”, adding that only “impure hearts” would be suspicious of
the motive behind his expression of goodwill.
She blamed declining “family values” for her critics’ line
of thought, noting that those “purveyors of the filthy conversation” were
merely “living for the gutter.”
“My former boss – President Obasanjo – gave me a boisterous
greeting at his event yesterday (Tuesday) and the impure in heart now turn it
to lurid tales.
“Restoring family values will also help take us back to a
descent society. It is clear that many among us have lost our pure hearts.
“Let us leave them to their lowliness. It is out of the
abundance of the filthiness or purity of heart that the mouth speaks,”
Ezekwesili tweeted.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Drop your comments