Adieu Uncle Ladi

This back-to-back threnody, is dreadful but needful. Maybe one of the lords in power villas, would just wake up, to the reality that men own nothing, control nothing and won’t keep anything. Today, I remember Gen. SaniAbacha. He hid his eyes, behind dark googles even at night, hid inside Aso Rock bunkers and hid Nigeria’s money in corruption islands. All for security. But he couldn’t hide from death. When time was up for his terror-regime, he died.

Like late Aunty Dora, whose husband, Chike, was butchered last week, it was journalism that birthed the consanguinity between foremost Silk, Chief LadiRotimi-Williams, and I. Just one interview, and we clicked. When national issues raged, he became a reliable go-to, to make constitutional, legal and political sense of the unbelievable, happening in Nigeria. He never disappointed.

In his usual supple voice with interjecting laughter, Uncle would break issues down like ABC and make government look nutty, dissecting knotty issues.

Last week, it was the same Nigeria mata that literally took me to his dormot (doorstep).It was the South/North contention over 2023 presidency and wanted his legal knowledge on the constitutionality of zoning. For the first time since we became acquainted, someone else picked Chief’s call, a female, saying he wasn’t available at the moment, to answer my enquiry.

That was Tuesday evening, September 28. Dawn of Sunday October 3, Chief had died. Though I wouldn’t know how long he battled coronavirus, the noisome pestilence, what is known to me, is that Chief did everything humanly possible to follow science, not to be afflicted with Covid. This life sef.

When the virus was raging, I had causally asked Chief when he would be in office. Amid laughter, he said, “Lanre, emi o ma lo si office mo, and tikini corona yi o ba lo patapata, emi o niyojusi office yen o. Awon age wayi, gbodosoragidi (Lanre, I have stopped going to office and until covid-19 pandemic is over, I won’t be resuming. Those in my age bracket (he was 74+) should be very careful). I agreed it was a sound decision, to take.

When the vaccine controversy began, with Washington political establishment, pushing the exigency conversation into an overdrive, Chief and I were discussing all manners that ail Nigeria and Yoruba race, when vaccine matter came up. He disclosed that he had taken both the first dose and even the supposed immune-boosting second dose. He felt it was better to err on the side of caution, before counting the pros and cons. I can’t really remember now if he told me he got them abroad, though that is what my memory stored.

Now that he died of the same COVID-19, after taking all prescribed preventive measures, including social distancing and abandoning his daily bread factory, as well as being comprehensively vaccinated, (as confirmed by son and younger brother), issues about coronavirus and science which the Biden administration is promoting above God, should naturally engender a rethink.

Almost like former governor IsiakaAjimobi’s case, as attested by his media aide, maybe minus the vaccine part. The late politician was said to be finicky about protocol and prescribed safety measures. Hand-washing and sanitizing reportedly became every-minute ritual for him and everyone around him. Somehow, he got infected and died of the virus. There are many others, with names, not as qualified for media prominence, as the duo above.

In Europe and America, resistance is building against COVID-19 vaccine and despite the collaboration of the big tech, big pharma, political establishment and mainstream media, to black out dissensions to campaign for global vaccination, closer-home cases like Uncle Ladi’s, would still make many, to pause and think about taking the vaccine or staying with their beliefs.

Fox News, a conservative media platform, with largest following in America, has been relaying stories of Americans forced to vaccinate, only to develop grievous complications, with particular reference to hip and vital organs’ challenges. Of course, CNN, the most popular American news medium, outside of the United States, won’t relay such stories. The medium is pro-vaxx as the media over there had coined the on-going battle over the vaccination, now structured to be between science and God. What exactly is wrong with men? Who do we think we are now, to be this awful in our estimation of God?

Liberal and mainstream media hailed Biden for following science when he came on board, yet the death toll under his watch was 700, 000, last week, with 40 million infected. Trump, criticized for not bowing down to science left it at 400,000, even when the pestilence was at its most destructive. With a “scientific” president, another 300,000 Americans died in just eight months! Crookedly, CNN has now pulled the fatality chart that daily ran during Trump presidency.

Since our leaders read from the play book of American political establishment and must kowtow to donor agencies for aids, it is not a surprise that they are already talking enforcing vaxx mandate here after the mask mandate. That is crass mental plagiarism. We must find what works here. Thankfully, a court in Port-Harcourt had blocked Edo governor’s so-called vaxx mandate for government workers. Federal government should not even go there. What if someone is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit not to be vaccinated? Guess, such fellow would be sacked. Then, government should prepare for countless litigation that would rubbish the little result from the Task Force, though at cost, so suspect. If science is failing heavily in US and other places, why should it replace God here? Vaccine should not be tulasi. (Compulsory).

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