Harvest season

I have heard of a federal public official from Oyo State who allegedly owns over 100 houses, about 15 hotels, with 54 buses neatly (?) parked in one of the hotels in Ibadan, awaiting new emergency owners and reportedly boasting of a N15 billion arsenal for a looming war. He is said to “dash” out cars at whim, the recent allegedly being Lexus (a dear brand to me which I however seek from no one) while tens of wonders-on-wheel are also said to have left China, for the same group of beneficiaries; delegates.

All these for the forgotten? Yes, it is their harvest time. Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 has no footnote excluding anyone. Even for societal reject, there is always a sunny day and as the election cycle crystallises, one can say the bumper time is here for delegates to primary elections of the major political parties and maybe their bazaar fortune shouldn’t be begrudged.

I love verse 9 of Ecclesiastes 3 saying, “what do workers gain from their toil?”

I remember my Sutana days as a cele. being whatzuppey agape (mere church-goers), the nitty-gritty of holiness wasn’t our thing. Harvest time was the hit, with bazaar moment of it, as the toffee. The steroid hour was the going, going…gong for the “special” candle from Imeko (the birthplace of Oshoffa). There were times when such moment would go rogue completely and in early 80s, when naira hadn’t gone banana, some “elders” would bargain the special candle for N1.5 million.

I also remember a certain cocoa-merchant who bought the special candle in a particular year for an amount way above common-sense and died in an auto-crash a few days after. Can we still say the candle was special for him?

One suspected trick then was for church leaders to fake challengers to drive bargaining to the roof for the target buyer. Almost always, the arrangee fellow would be lower in status, to enrage the “main man” into the “kilo subu temi” (this challenge is unacceptable) mood. Then, like a cobra, go for the “kill.”

In the course of standing by senior friends genuinely seeking to better the lot of their states as governors, I have seen too many clones of cele merchants. They are kings of primaries. They go about scooping a broth of lies, spiced with exaggerated truth about their rejection of huge monetary offers from other aspirants because of their “uncompromisable” love for “his excellency.” Such tale is a bargaining power to drive the bazaar to the stratosphere.

A certain day I was visualizing a rounded child of God, not the kind in the Nigerian political space today who wear the toga, without the right tongue, seeking office, particularly the crazily-coveted governorship seat and refusing to grieve the Holy Spirit, by giving any form of bribe. What do you think would become of him? A single-digit vote score or rounded zero?

Maybe if my Father isn’t in the equation, for He can do absolutely the impossible. He can move the mountains of mercantile politics. When it is His season of miracles, He will do that which only Him can do, if just to show men that what they are throwing away their eternity for, He could give them, without compromising their salvation. He can also raise an army of delegates who will reject aspirants’ lucre and vote by divine leading. It won’t be long, even if the scenario, looks a long shot.

I listened to presidential aspirant, Fela Durotoye admonish his listeners at a Lagos event, to take money from offering politicians and still reject them at the poll. Easier said than done. His being new in politics possibly accounts for his innocence. It is better not to dine with the devil at all. Yoruba will admonish you never to allow the whiff of sweet-smelling undesirable, waft through the nostrils. Since these illegal-begotten cash are always accursed, on what ground would you be exempted from the flowing curse. Just like human laws consider partakers of loot to be looters, heaven does too.

A big brother governorship aspirant, during a long night talk, left me with a profound wish. If he ran successfully and completed his eight years, he planned to retire to a monastery! He talked about what men are meant to do, which atonement (for those with conscience) could take a lifetime after office. He spoke like a man who wanted out. But every day brings his dream closer to reality and the pull is, I guess, simply irresistible. Yes, I want a governor-friend. Yes, it is great to have political influence and make things happen around one’s arena. But I would rather have a peasant-friend, who is heaven-bound.

That quiet night, my heart was filled with godly sorrow for what an ephemeral world has turned good men to. We prayed together and said our goodbyes at the wee-hour of the next day, that drew both of us closer to a return journey of no-return and individual ambitions here on the earth.

With a few friends in the banking sector, I know enough to rule politics as the nation’s biggest and only-thriving industry today. It is useless looking for scapegoats in Ekiti or elsewhere or using a Kayode Fayemi as poster-boy for delegatemania. Is it just starting with him? What about the tragic-comedy captured on video in Ondo APC primaries? What about the dollar rain at the recent PDP convention and even APC’s 2014 presidential primaries? What about the Oyo aspirant who publicly gloated about buying enough delegates to shame the party lords disagreeing with his ambition? A street lingo should suffice for any isolated heavy weather; na today?

I’m not one for any braggadocio by the so-called anti-corruption agencies stopping vote-buying. Any sensible Nigerian suppose don pass than na. The syndrome is long gone for remedy. Aspirants under the stress today won’t change it tomorrow if they had the governance opportunity. It is some kind of “advance investment”. Paying delegates today for tomorrow looting. Even for those who pay less and get lesser votes, their compensation, which would be bigger than the delegates investment, would still come from the people’s purse. So, who is wiser?

Delegates won’t stop collecting money that makes them poorer. Politicians aren’t likely to change the rules to make primaries all-comers like it is done elsewhere. Independent candidacy has been frustrated and ruled out so the elite politics of bread and butter can rule us forever. Oh, Lord, please prove Yourself over this nation in myrrh clay.