For the children taken to their deaths in Bashorun

TRAGEDY, it seems, will happen anyhow, and no matter what. That’s why some literary theorists call life a stretch of sorrows punctuated by dots of happiness. For the families of the 35 children mowed down during the stampede at the Islamic High School, Basorun, Ibadan, on Wednesday, life will never be the same again. To behold one’s child being literally crushed to death, like Emmanuel Garba, father of Deborah Samuel, the Christian girl cut down by certain hypocrites of Sokoto who are now mourning the Ibadan dead, did in May 2022, can be particularly soul-crushing. I recall the agonizing cry of a parent who lost his child in a canal when tragedy struck at the Ikeja Cantonment in 2002: “I command you to rise up! My son cannot die like this!” That scene was replayed at the UCH, Ibadan, this week as distraught parents asked doctors to wake their children up, torn apart by turmoil. It is heartbreaking that on Christmas Day next week, these parents won’t have their beloved children at the table: December came and ferried them away in a flight of fury. Many are the homes of parents driven insane by sorrow at this very moment. As they say, it is only those affected that really know what it feels like (Eni to ba kan lo mo). May we never mourn the loss of a child and for those who mourn, may they find every comfort at this hour of trial.

Oyo Governor, Seyi Makinde, was evidently heartbroken, unlike a certain clown toying with consciousness: “This is a very sad day for us here in Oyo. We sympathise with the parents whose joy has suddenly been turned to mourning due to these deaths. We have taken steps to ensure no further deaths are recorded at this venue.” Actually, the story sounds eerily familiar. Naomi Silekunola, ex-wife of the Ooni of Ife, had packaged certain gifts for 5000 children, and a popular radio host and local judge of salacious stories had announced this to whoever had an ear for days on end. The people paid heed, doing everything they could to capture the largesse. Many slept on the grounds and many came at dawn, because as our elders say, there are always countless, swarming feet in the House of Free-food. No doubt, those who passed the night in the cold had a local saying in mind: “Eni to sun si idi oro ko r’oro je, iwo wa lo ji wa? (Those who slept by the oro tree haven’t got oro to eat, and you say you came at dawn?). They passed the night in a school, assured of leverage tomorrow.

The organizers are tainted with the blood of innocent children for life. And the police announced their immediate course: “Sequel to the Stampede incident recorded on Wednesday 18/12/2024   at the Islamic High School, Basorun, Ibadan venue of the family event Organized by Wings Foundation and Media partners Agidigbo Fm, the Oyo State Police Command wishes to inform the good people of the state that (8) persons have since been arrested for their various involvements.  These persons include the main event sponsor, Prophetess Naomi Silekunola ’f’ age 31yrs, Fasasi Abdulahi, ’m’ age 56yrs (School Principal Islamic High School, Ibadan)… So far, 35 minors have been documented dead while six others are critically injured and on various medical interventions. In furtherance of the above, the case has since been transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department, I”yaganku…” The Yoruba have a song for this situation: “Ipade d’oun o, ipade d’oun o, bi ire ba d’ibi, ipade d’oun o.” (We shall meet yonder, when good becomes evil, we shall meet yonder).

Still, while we mourn, we can’t treat truth with levity. Yes, there is poverty in the land and there’s no escaping the consequences, but the affliction called “long throat” is also real, and will still be the death of many. The level of greed, duplicity and love of freebies in this land is insane, and can breed no good. To easily get my drift, try distributing noodles on a busy Nigerian street: you will blame yourself. You will see people changing clothes and getting on the line again, telling you that they have just come. If you probe the crowd at Basorun, you will discover many who shouldn’t have been there, but whom “long throat” got the better part of; people who put the lives of innocent children on the line because of their love of freebies.

“Long throat” rules this land where a man earning N900,000 per month will typically join the underprivileged in applying for a N50,000 grant. I recall the case of an Ibadan-based man mad with anguish on learning that his younger sister, whom he had given N4,000 “for transport” as she prepared to return to the family home in Lagos, had been involved in an accident, injured in the Hausa trailer she had boarded at a N50 charge. Ruled by “long throat”, Nigerians get into fisticuffs over free things. Many of the people who took children to their deaths in Bashorun actually betrayed their family, because even though they are no moneybags, things aren’t actually that bad for them. Poverty is high in the land, but so is the greed and dishonesty.

And then to the givers. I hate to announce that many of these do-gooders have no more love for children or the poor than a hound; it’s all about clout chasing. They will never give without the glare of cameras. The entire gifts over which 35 children perished aren’t worth some people’s expenditure at a nightclub. But these celebrities, riding on the poverty and desperation in the land, seek to pacify their callous conscience with their so-called empowerment schemes that are nothing more than cynical photo-ops. I shall stop here out of respect for the souls of the departed innocent children.

Re: “The fools who fight all wars

“The fools who fight all wars”, the title of the article you wrote in your Saturday column, Windows, Saturday Tribune, 14 December 2024, was an “apt parable”, that only the deep thinkers can decipher the wisdom of the messages therein. I align with the views you openly expressed on the ongoing legal battle between Dele Farotimi vs Pa Afe Babalola. Most Nigerians have turned blind eyes to the unsettling process that led to Dele Farotimi’s arrest. In this clime, most people have the  mindset of  “The enemy of my friend is my enemy.” The entire world is watching what is going on in our country. Remember, today’s world is a global village. Whether the optic is good or bad, history will tell. The only thing humans can not kill is the TRUTH. It remains interminable! A popular radio commentator on 99.3 FM (I choose not to mention his name) in Lagos has warned that among the two gladiators, one might win the battle but might not win the war. The caveat is pregnant with meaning. Yacoob Abiodun: 0810 350 1024.

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