Apostle Suleman vs Stephanie Otobo’s saga and the many digressions

Editor's note: Apostle Johnson Suleman has been embroiled in a scandal, following Ms. Otobo’s allegations that she had a relationship with the married, outspoken cleric. Ms. Otobo has since called for police investigation accusing the cleric of deceptively making her lose a pregnancy she had for him. However, Apostle Suleman has consistently denied the allegations, saying it was a witch hunt following his comments against the killing of Christians by herdsmen in Kaduna state.

In this article, Dr. Yahaya Muazu, a medical practitioner touches the many digressions that has plagued the story.

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Ever since the story involving Apostle Suleman and Stephanie Otobo on alleged failed marriage promise and foiled five hundred million naira blackmail was made public, I have been busy enjoying the entertainment by the social media but with the many emerging digressions, one is tempted to be confused on the real intention of the story. However, if this were to be a movie, the theater would be full because the script writers have obviously introduced many fabrications that will make the story very interesting and this is really the essence of entertainment. Sadly, this is real life and questions must be raised on the many unsettled issues.

Clearly, from what I have read, my understanding is that what we are reading may just be a prologue of limited details from all the actors including Apostle Suleman, the embattled pastor and commentator on national issues, Stephanie Otobo, the annoyed young lady in the alleged failed marriage proposal distasteful blackmail saga, Festus Keyamo, the hot lawyer that is well known as highly contentious in upholding things not known to law and their varied supporters not excluding Sahara reporters, the online media with reporters that practice self styled prejudiced journalism.

Indeed, all the actors in this unfolding drama seem to be telling their stories in different versions but on the same topic. How this will end is very uncertain not necessarily because there are many story tellers but because the story is being unnecessarily expanded to include a lot of irrelevance and half baked truths. Ordinarily, I will not blame anyone that believes that Apostle Suleman, Otobo or even Keyamo is the liar. The simple fact is that it is rare to meet a human being that does not tell lies, consciously or otherwise. Indeed, any good psychotherapist will affirm that from loss of memory especially regarding inability to vividly recall past events to deliberate distortion of facts, it is hard to say that a person cannot tell lies. On this, even those that might think that all of them are involved in some sort of deception can be excused because the truth is still covered.

In this particular story, the only thing that could have made a convincing difference in spotting the lies is the strength of the story teller or identifying those assisting in collaborating that what has been narrated is of exactness even if it is far from reality, invented for deception or shaped in what best suits an intention. Unfortunately, from the way the story has been narrated in very many contrasting emotional angles especially by the accusers, many readers would have reached a conclusion as their lenses would have been polarized based on what they have read instead of proper deconstruction of the narratives. However, without truth, dishonesty will be a constant companion in this story. So, the big question remains, who is telling the truth?

Granted that a lot have been said and written, nevertheless, it is unfortunate that such a matter that has been taken to a great height, if properly analyzed without sentiments but on the basis of contents available, can be rated as very undeserving of the public attention it has received. Specifically, the story adds no value to resolving the great economic problems that most Nigerians face and sadly too, the story neither advances healthy religious debate, morality nor can it be considered a genuine struggle to uphold human rights or noble economic earnings.

Firmly put, this whole story could just be a best fit for the dustbin hosting the many distractions in the polity. Realistically put, why should a clear ploy of greed, extortion, blackmail and quest for untoward wealth now be turned into an enormous debate of probing righteousness or assessing moral uprightness? This is why any good thinker should not fail to understand that this skewed story between Apostle Suleman and Otobo, the young 23 year old is what it was plotted to be, a liar’s story.

Indeed, as much as I submit to the undisputable reality that God alone knows the truth, I strongly believe that the facts of this matter even though highly twisted are still clear. On one hand, Stephanie’s story like any other emotional narrative certainly carries scars of hurt but the doubts in her story has continued to reach new heights and truth seems to have been weakened in many sections. Specifically, this lady accuser is not even helping her side of the story as a lot of doubts are beginning to creep into what would have been a straight forward issue. It is very disturbing to note that in Stephanie’s attempt to make the allegations against Apostle Suleman seem real, she unintentionally criminalized herself by not only agreeing that she had towed an ignoble path of extortion but also openly admitted that she even lacks evidence to back her claims. So, the simple question herein would be why then did she go ahead to demand five hundred million naira from Apostle Suleman knowing that she never equipped herself to buttress her allegations. Probably, her initial plan was to use intimidation to distract, destroy and disgrace Apostle Suleman over what could be termed a very private affair if really it ever existed.

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On the other hand, first off, Apostle Suleman is not God and cannot be sin free even in his thoughts and imaginations, thus for avoidance of doubt, let me quickly state that I can only speak from a point of commonsense and on what has been disclosed. Already there is worry that Apostle Suleman should not have associated with the lady and it is sad that Apostle Suleman has not been able to totally disconnect himself with associating with the said lady. The claims of his media team that the girl was a known striper and unworthy of association is certainly true but it does not kill the fact that at some time, Apostle Suleman had an encounter with the said Stephanie Otobo either on telephone or physically. Whether it was just for financial support from a distant premise or not, the truth is that it is a deliberate shortcoming and an avoidable error by a man that knows he has many enemies from his public utterances on National issues. For now, the saving grace for Apostle Suleman is that the lady under reference has not passed any evidence based message regarding her accusations.

Any objective analyst that engages in deconstructing the accusations advanced by the lady accuser in the matter, will not read far before understanding that the basis of anger is the five hundred million naira unmet demand and the temerity of Apostle Suleman in inviting the police into an obvious criminal but private matter. In truth, it is unfortunate to imagine that this whole story which the lady’s lawyer, Festus Keyamo is attempting to dress in the garb of immorality would have escaped public knowledge if the money was paid and shared by them. This is why those held in the web of Keyamo‘s fallacy should not forget that his involvement in the five hundred million blackmail is still unsettled. As such, it is a very discouraging position especially given that the lady he claims to be defending as a lawyer is still climbing a steep hill as her accusations against Apostle Suleman have even raised countless questions about herself and unfortunately, her antecedent will never be helpful.

So, why is such offensive, provoking and unethical conduct propelled by greed be advanced by the credible media? My worry with Sahara reporters is that they should not waste reader’s time with the greed of some extortionists! In fact, the recent digressions introduced by them in listing one Nollywood actress as a financial beneficiary of Apostle Suleman is very unnecessary and the public should resist this sneaking dishonesty because Apostle Suleman has been recorded in the media as a man that has given out over a thousand vehicles to both men and women, cannot be said to be a man of average income. Thus, his style of charity is not the issue, what remains a major worry is that the story of marriage or romance with Stephanie Otobo has not been backed by a single credible evidence.

Granted that actions of people like Apostle Suleman are of public interest and any misdemeanor will be of great joy to many that he has used his stature as a courageous pastor to criticize their actions, nevertheless, it is not enough for anyone to engage in extortion because that is even an established crime. So, whether or not Apostle Suleman actually got involved with Stephanie Otobo in the alleged acts of immorality is not what can be decided based on the oral gymnastics she has been conducting. What seems very upsetting is not just the lady’s early admission that she lost all credible evidence including her claims on pregnancy but her lack of medical evidence that she lost the baby without any documented medical record.

That the many arguments thus far advanced by the accuser, Staphanie Otobo are baseless and without proof on the grounds of her self-confessed missing evidence is very shocking and shameful but it really does settle any doubt that of the existence of a phony transaction especially when matched with her criminal intent of going to the bank to collect money where she was arrested. This is highly unacceptable and a great reason to assume that Otobo’s remarks are not just because of her romantic fantasy or illusions of love with Apostle Suleman but could even be from an undisclosed ploy.

Be that as it may, the actions of Otobo and her lawyer, Festus Keyamo on the failed attempt to blackmail demands a boatload of explanations as every emerging comment from her seems to be an afterthought including the money she claimed to have collected from Apostle Suleman as a lover.

This is why I think the reading public must understand that whatever allegations of Stephanie Otobo and her co travelers cannot substantiate in a court of law should be thrust into the dustbin of fabrication. Simple logic on Otobo’s acceptance that she lost her computer or never imagined the necessity of documentation of evidence cannot be termed as truth and it does introduce great questions on why Fetus Keyamo and company would wish to recharacterize Apostle Suleman without facts. In any case, it is really not strange because persons like Apostle Suleman that have such a rare calling are usually victims of such attacks.

To many sympathizers of Apostle Suleman, this distraction on a man of God may be what the devil celebrates but I may not want to flow with such emotions rather I want to assume that lady Otobo was highly immature, impatient and spoke too soon on whatever she might have imagined would add five hundred million naira to her bank account. Certainly, an equivalent of about half a million United States dollars in the bank account of a supposed Canadian based emerging musician as claimed by her lawyer would have made a huge difference in her life, thus, this aborted extortion plan by the police must attract some arguments, thus the engagement of a lawyer as a human rights activist. What a shameful unending greed.

For clarity, I have tried to check out the antecedent of the young lady that believes she is worthy of displacing the legitimate wife of a man but my search did not yield any description close to what was accorded her by her lawyer. The only certainty from my research is that the lady is not advancing any other cause than greed. As such, I think Apostle Suleman is just a victim of a not well thought out attempt of destruction by a half clever lady with no convincingly trend in her arguments. It is really unfortunate that till date neither the lady nor her lawyer has been able to present a credible statement that will establish their claims.

In my opinion, I do not think the Apostle Suleman’s media team should rush a response on the new distractions except making firm demands for proof on Otobo’s claims otherwise; they will create new areas of doubt and expand an unnecessary debate. For now, it is obvious that this matter cannot go beyond the court of public opinion. However, it is really unfortunate that the person that is getting most of the knocks at this stage is Apostle Suleman but I will not be surprise if this same lady that is acting a script of no quality content emerges at the end of the whole story tear drenched asking for forgiveness. Certainly, at that point, like in every fake scheme, everything will upturn and the whole issue that seemed twisty with jumbled irrelevance will be unbundled.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of NAIJ.com.

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