BIBLICAL King Solomon is regarded as the wisest ever. Known for his contributions to the Bible, Solomon is credited with writing Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. Song of Songs is renowned for its beautiful depiction of devoted love and is traditionally believed to be written by Solomon in his youth. Proverbs is full of guidance for living, encouraging the pursuit of wisdom. Ecclesiastes provides insight into the meaning of life when much of what we do, seems futile, directing the reader to trust in God rather than temporal knowledge.
If someone so profound would confess to being confounded by a thing or an entity, that thing/entity, should deserve a special attention. In Proverbs 30:18-20, he said three things intrigued him, but the fourth, was beyond his comprehension.
“There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not. The way of an eagle in the air, the way of the serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, AND (emphasis mine), the way of a man with a maid (belle).
“Such is the way of an adulterous woman, she eateth and wipeth her mouth and saith, I have done no wickedness.”
If any man can claim to know how to handle women and understand their ways, it should be this man, also famed for his 1,000-strong harem. Yet, he was left perplexed about how supposed real men become dodo; that flightless bird with a stout body, stumpy wings, a large head, and a heavy hooked bill, (completely listless), when intertwined with women. Once high-flying Interior minister, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo is in that category now after his “way” with his suspended colleague and friend, Dr. Beta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Then, Solomon established a link between the way of a man entangled with a maid and an adulterous woman. He said in both situations, there is always an element of deception, the propensity to chop and clean mouth, denying doing wickedly.
Solomon was a discoverer and you can’t accuse him of trouvaille. He was always putting himself up as a guinea-pig to satisfy his curiosities. To know how the drunk behave, he got himself intoxicated. When the effect subsided, he wrote Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived thereby, is not wise”. In one roll, Solomon was a Botanist, Zoologist, Ornithologist, Herpetologist, Ichthyologist and a song writer of 1,005 Songs of Solomon and 3,000 proverbs. He was an unusual man, he should be listened to.
I don’t know the relationship between Bunmi-Ojo and Edu, but like many Nigerians, have read the viral piece by one Peter Oludare, writing from Abuja and detailing alleged “affiliation” between them, pointing out the duo riding in the same vehicle to their senate screening as ministers and holding hands on their way to the upper chamber. All that should mean nothing but Ojo’s company, getting about half a billion Naira contract from Edu’s ministry, surely meant something. The fellow also alluded to Ojo’s certificate issue and the infamous “off the mic” saga when he was the chairman of House committee on NDDC and the incumbent Senate President, the supervising minister of the agency, where billions of Naira, developed wings. The writer then asked if Bunmi-Ojo would escape comeuppance again.
For the nationally-acknowledged good job Ojo has done so far, with a bit of bullishness, it would be a tragedy if the Edu scandal should consume him. The greater tragedy is the womenfolk becoming the main marker for mindless looting.
As if by design, those enmeshed so far, are either drop-dead gorgeous or very visually appealing, whether it is Stella Okotete or Stella Oduah, Sadiya or Halima, Edu or Diezani. They are the ones you would want to hoist as the elegant, in morals and conducts, representation of feminine virtues. But the visually-beautiful are turning the ugliest advertisement for womenfolk. It is either the real beautiful ones aren’t born or long gone. I will rather stay with the latter. Womenfolk these days, do not look anything like the mothers of old, we know. There was a time keeping community money safe and being accountable, was exclusively preserved for women. Many organisations, both secular and sacred, would, without blinking and almost always without internal dissent, reserve their choice treasurers for women, in not-too-distant past, especially if a man, was to emerge the financial secretary. The thinking was that as long as a woman would be keeping the cash and must co-sign cheques for banking withdrawals, common wealth would always be safe, even if the spirit of Iscariot possessed the male financial secretary. Not anymore.
The frightening part is the humongous nature of sleazes, now traceable to women. And they want you to own their defence narrative, with broad chest. How can a mother come out to claim she fed pupils during Covid lockdown with half a billion Naira, when schools were shut nationwide and parents had no recollection of Sadiya’s officials, coming to their homes, to feed their locked-down children with rice and eggs? How inhuman. How inHumanitarian.
What happened to the loving, truthful, open and loyal mothers of old? What happened to the gender created purposely for help by God? In Genesis 2:18, God said it wasn’t good for men to be alone. Women are supposed to be harbingers of goodness, because their creation was to help humanity fulfil God’s purpose. Was it civilization that has now forced women, especially the Western-taught ones, (classroom and Internet socialization) to be struggling for Judas’ DNA, who Jesus outted as a thief?. John 12:6 says, “he (Judas) said this (his complaint about oil being wasted) not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.”
At the risk of sexism, the above, aptly describes a lot of women today. In all of these, the President is the most intriguing for me. It is yet to sink that the exponent of jeun soke, jeun sapo (do anyhow with public funds) in Lagos, is now our national treasurer chasing after Judases in the system. I pray this isn’t the same IGG (Initial Gra Gra) of the Buhari era. At least to the credit of the one whose politics has always being igboro (streety) serving as area fada or baba awon boyz (an indulgent leader) to his numerous apostles in Lagos, his anti-corruption drive has been blind to political creeds and affiliations. I like that, though I reckon there would still be sacred cows, down the anti-corruption path. But at least, let him continue in the path. Since the sinful road is always broad, there would be enough Iscariots to catch in the course of this unlikely accountability journey for the President. Unlike Buhari, Tinubu didn’t campaign on fighting corruption. He couldn’t have, for obvious reasons, but I love the surprise element in embarking on what many, including yours sincerely, would never see coming.
If any of the President’s supporters had assured me he would fight corruption, I would have said, that would be the day. Maybe, he would end up surprising us. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound” and by no stretch of the imagination, is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, foolish. Maybe he is a vessel afterall.
and then