Akinfenwa’s conclusion that Aregbe’s rule left a sour taste in the mouth reminded me of Wole Soyinka’s “The Man Died” and how he graphically but contemptuously described a one-time First Republic minister in the book. Have a peep into the Akinfenwa’s mind, though abridged because of space constraint: “I have wondered at the correct expression or meaning of this Yoruba saying – If the masquerade knew it would remove the garb, it would not have misused its temporary power.” If (our) temporal lords, in this instance our political lords, remembered that one day the masquerade would become a mere mortal devoid of the artifices covering its smelly body, they would not have ruled over the people so unkindly. If the masquerade knew, then, it also would not have dared look its superiors in the face. In those days, it was the practise for adversaries to employ the “office of the masquerade” to disgrace opponents in the market square. Such unconscionable masquerades would waylay and flog people they harbour grievances against, including women who rejected their love overtures; stripping them even naked.
“On Tuesday, 26th November, the eight-year reign of Ogbeni came to an end and he would now be confronted with the realities of life outside of the masquerade’s “eku” or garb. He would suddenly become clairvoyant and begin to see his many mistakes. He would find many people in his further existence on earth to apologise to. He would realise that bestriding the state like a colossus, ruling it like an emperor and not with temperance and humility of heart, was a mistake and direct antithesis of the very ethos of virtuosity he had tried to preach. If only the masquerade remembered, he would not have made promises it was not going to keep; he would not have desecrated culture and derided beaded crowns on beaded necks; he would not have started two or more hearths at once and adorning them with nomenclatures that soon became mimicry: O-School, O-Reap, O-Beef, O-Pig, O-Bird, O-Ram, O-Cow, O-Ramp, O-Meal, O-Feed, O-Yam, O-Cassava, not forgetting O-Road. But the masquerade failed to complete the numerous Os it started. O-Ramp failed to provide adequate rampart over the myriad gullies on the way to our farms; O-Bird suffered fatal fate in the hands of Mr. Lukuluku; O-Cow did not exist beyond the day it was launched with borrowed cows from the Bororo!
“The masquerade, however, failed to start O-Fire; had it, O-Fire would have cured it of the madness of arrogance and of false claims to being the sole repository of wisdom in all things. It is trite that too many cooks spoil the broth; so also putting too many sticks in the fire at same time is cataclysmic. As the date drew near for the masquerade and its garb to be parted, the “ara orun” ran helter-skelter to re-write history; forgetting that we mere mortals were also part and parcel of that history. Projects long forgotten were being window-dressed. The water project at Ilesa provided comic relief as the Madam in charge told tales of how nature, soft soil, and prolonged rains delayed the project! She was, however, kind enough to disclose that work proper would commence after masquerade Aregbesola have been defrocked! From his first- to eighth-year in office, Ogbeni did not conceive a 10-year development plan – but only did in the twilight of his reign! “Kikiki, gbogbo e le ma se Sir”! Masquerades should remember that one day, the garb or “eku” will be removed and heaven’s resident would become mere mortals with no immunity!
“How happy Osun would have been if Ido-Osun airport had started repairing aeroplanes; if farm produce wasting away in our villages have found their way to Lagos markets from the Aiyegbaju International Market via rail; if the Gbogan-Ila-Odo road project had been completed; if O-Rice, like Lagos Lake rice, has flooded the market; if O-Honey, O-Cow, O-Abattoir and O-Laboratory have signalled agrarian revolution in Osun; and if O-Tablet had been systematically deployed to schools in the state? There are many “how happy we would have been” too numerous to mention that leave sourness in the mouth of anyone that wishes Osun well. Now Aregbesola has left, we can only hope he has begun to learn his lessons.”
————————————————
Metele: Enough is now enough!
Metele has become a metaphor for the inexplicable, unacceptable, and embarrassing haemorrhage that the Nigerian military suffer on a daily basis in the war against Boko Haram. For a fighting army like Nigeria’s, it is embarrassing and shocking that a rag-tag army of insurgents kill them like rats; scatter them in all directions; and cart away their weapons. It is no longer the case of the insurgents attacking hapless civilians and razing undefended villages; they now invade and attack army cantonments, kill trained and armed soldiers, set their barracks ablaze, and seize their weapons. Soldiers fall like ripe mangoes before insurgents; flee in every direction; and Boko Haram insurgents mock the country! Boko Haram makes mince-meat of our military personnel who are no longer able to stand before mere insurgents. As they say, these are the days when babies come to the birth! But now we say: No more! Enough is now enough! Campaigning on this Boko Haram issue in 2014/2015, President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress, promised to defeat the insurgents in three months. Nearly four years hence, rather than soften, the insurgency is getting worse. All talks of technical defeat and degrading of Boko Haram have turned out utter gibberish. From what we are seeing, Boko Haram is neither defeated nor degraded. If anything, it has waxed stronger under APC/Buhari. It is time to find a solution! And the first admission to make is that Buhari and APC have failed abysmally in their promise to take care of Boko Haram. Instead, it is Boko Haram that has given them good hiding thus far.
To find a solution, we must begin by tracing the problem from its source. Irresponsible politicians created and strengthened Boko Haram as foot-soldiers for political purposes. Desperate and callous politicians have also empowered area boys, cultists and armed robbers in other parts of the country. We must watch it! We have the Offa robbers; cultist groups running riot in many parts of the South-west, Lagos state especially; and the militants of the Niger Delta to watch out for. These are Frankenstein monsters waiting to defy even their godfathers down the road. From a very humble beginning, Boko Haram has become one of the world’s most deadly terrorist groups. We should have gathered the Boko Haram godfathers together and given them the spanking they deserve; but because this is Nigeria where criminality is politicised, they walk free and even parade the corridors of power.
Next is the way the government of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua handled the insurgents while they were still in their formative stages. The brutality that our security forces are noted for escalated a problem that diplomacy and astute statesmanship would have nipped in the bud. Politics thereafter reared its ugly head to encourage the insurgents to take a hardened stance against government and toe the path of open confrontation. Muhammadu Buhari, then a presidential hopeful, is on record for supporting the insurgents against the government-of-the-day and encouraging them on their chosen path of diffidence. Buhari accused President Jonathan, who was trying to curtail the activities of Boko Haram, of being anti-North. The insurgents must have loved that – and they cashed in on it to worm themselves into the hearts of Northerners in a country where every issue is seen basically from the prism of North versus South. Today, the little fire which Buhari would not help Jonathan put out has become a conflagration on Buhari’s own roof. And because of his scantily-concealed soft-spot and sympathy for the ideology of Boko Haram, Buhari’s government has not been able to move with single-mindedness of purpose against the insurgents. But now that his preferred carrot approach to Boko Haram has failed and Nigeria can no longer continue to put up with the effrontery and bestiality of the insurgents, the needful must be done.
It is time to listen to the soldiers on the war front and take concrete and decisive action on their grievances. Mercifully, they have spoken loud and clear and the whole world has heard their grievances. Thanks to social media and a few brave and patriotic newspapers. Number One: The troops appeared to have lost confidence in their commanders. They have passed a vote of no-confidence in the leadership of the military. The military top brass must therefore lose their commission. There is the need for change in leadership. When a football coach loses the dressing room; he has to go. Having lost the confidence of their fighting troops, the generals must throw in the towel or be booted out. Change the Service Chiefs, O Buhari! Number Two: Investigate the complaints of the troops concerning obsolete weaponry and inadequate/insufficient ammunitions. This government has been in office for close to four years; therefore, it can no longer put the blame on Jonathan/PDP. Set up a bipartisan commission that will work openly to unravel the mysteries surrounding the procurement of military hardware, O Buhari! Three: The troops are complaining about their welfare. This, too, must be investigated. Where welfare is poor, morale will be low and soldiers whose morale is low cannot be expected to do exploit on the battle field. The soldiers have alleged that they are being cheated to their allowances. Also get to the root of this, O Buhari! Four: The composition of the security architecture of the Buhari administration leaves much to be desired. Nigerians have complained ad nauseam about this. Our religious and ethnic complexities have been viciously assaulted. If the fighting troops are drawn from all religions as well as from all parts of the country, how come their Ogas are all from one region and religion? Five: Humongous funds have been sunk into this fight; where have they all gone? We need to know. Six: allegations of fifth-columnists sabotaging the war efforts are weighty and must be investigated. I am afraid the way the security architecture is skewed at the moment helps fifth-columnists. The security team put together by Buhari is not working; let other people more representative of the entire nation try their hands on the problem.
and then