NewStats: 3,261,839 , 8,175,329 topics. Date: Friday, 30 May 2025 at 06:21 PM 6m1153

For a long time I was among those that couldn't understand how a minister that had the guts to say "telephone isn't for the poor" could rise to prominence and eventually vie for one of the highest positions in the land. Perhaps it was in line with keeping with our national tradition of rewarding our greatest failures with our highest honours I thought, but a couple of years ago, my ignorance was cleared by an uncle who calmly put me in my place in an argument. lol
I've found it quite amusing to read David Mark get whooped left and right over his "Social Media" comment and most (including those I felt should know better) have pointed to his previous comment of "Telephones aren't for the poor" as a pointer to his "anti-social" leaning without realizing this statement is actually a MYTH created by the media - Yes it is! Here's how THISDAY's Simon Kolawole put it some time back:

In Nigeria, myths always are garnished and promoted to facts. Up till tomorrow, Nigerians will quote David Mark as saying telephone is not for the poor. But what he said as Minister of Communication was that NITEL would disconnect the lines of its debtors. He said they could not claim that they were too poor to settle their bills. Poor people, he added, didn’t own telephones. The headline the following day was: “Telephone is Not for the Poor – David Mark”.
thisdaylive.com/articles/buhari-bloodshed-and-2015-baboons/116199/

Need I say more?

It was the same David Mark that told IBB that they can't accept Abiola as president when Abiola won june 12 election. It was then the man with dark glass(Abache) booted the ass of David Mark and others before putting an end to our democracy in November 17,1993.

^ That isn't the point. The point is He never said what was attributed to him and something most have come to know him for. I do not seek to portray him as one of our "better" politicians or make him a hero, I'm just trying to burst a myth and highlight how misleading some of our media houses can be sometimes.

BUMPS