Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has once again emphasized that the Minister will not be distracted by “professional scammers and hustlers” masquerading as activists.
In a statement issued to Vanguard on Saturday, Olayinka pointed out that many of the individuals criticizing the FCT Minister on various social media platforms were doing so because their attempts to gain attention and financial benefits were being thwarted.
He claimed that Wike’s refusal to engage with these so-called activists had exposed their “Yahoo Yahoo” tactics that have previously allowed them to thrive.
Olayinka shared a personal lesson from his childhood, stating, “While growing up as a child in the hilly town of Okemesi Ekiti, one of the lessons I learned from my grandfather was never to wrestle with pigs.
He was constantly telling us that the danger of wrestling with a pig is that at the end of the fight, sane minds won’t be able to differentiate between you and the pig you fought with.” He added that, in principle, Wike would not dignify such individuals with any response.
He further criticized certain activists, mentioning, “We know how a certain emergency activist diverted election money to purchase a petrol station. We know how some so-called activists have fought themselves over protest money, including the one in 2019.”
Olayinka recounted a past experience in 2016, during his bid for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Publicity Secretary position.
He said, “Someone approached me, telling me that there would be a lot of money to be made if I emerged.
He said all I needed was for us to work together and that he would be the one to source information to be used to issue press statements against public office holders. His role would be to approach the public officeholders concerned and get money out for us.”
According to Olayinka, this individual later became one of those parading themselves as an activist. He insisted that such people would not be entertained by the Minister.
Olayinka also described the methods used by these so-called activists, noting that their typical tactics involve “threatening and blackmailing public officials by making noise in the media or organizing protests against them.”
He continued, “They will be the same people who will arrange for someone to approach you so that the ‘activists’ can be reached and help you. The moment you agree, they will come back with bills that you must pay, and once you pay, they move on to another target, in most cases, public office holders.”
“These hustler activists are known for organizing press conferences either in favor or against people and getting paid. Unfortunately for these hustlers, Wike does not play that game, and that’s why they are frustrated,” he added.
Regarding the allegations of land grabbing, Olayinka challenged critics to provide evidence. “If supposed educated people are going about calling the removal of shanties that are posing security threats to the people land grabbing, obviously, their education is a waste,” he said.
He clarified that many of the lands in question were unoccupied and had been illegally settled by individuals without authorization.
“For instance, when the FCT Minister visited the shanty in Wuye, which shared a fence with a residential estate and is close to a rail line, the occupants were honest enough to admit that they had no authority from anyone to live there. They also admitted that previous governments had cleared the shanty 21 times, and the recent one was the 22nd time.”
Olayinka explained that the FCT Ministry met with the representatives of the occupants, who requested relocation rather than confrontation. He concluded, “So if this is what our hustler activists are referring to as land grabbing, I pity those who still see them as educated.”
