As Angaladikibo, the Watcher of the Mangroves, got glued to the Mangroves while waiting for the appointed time for deliberations to begin, he could not help marvel at the wisdom of the Mangroves. He recalled how, at the last Parliamentary session of the People of the Waterfronts, the Mangroves drew his attention to the unusual wise saying of one of the People of the City, a judge, as she condemned to death by hanging the former Chief Security Officer, C.S.O, to the late General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza al-Mustapha and his co-conspirator, Lateef Sofolahan. She had stated, “Those who shed blood are those who fear death most”. Angaladikibo pondered over it throughout the week and as if to compensate him, the Mangroves showed him Kabiru Abubakar Dikko. You know him. He is the man who goes by the alias, Kabiru Sokoto.
The Mangroves showed Angaladikibo where Kabiru Sokoto was hiding between clothes hung out to dry within a compound in Mutum Biu, Gassol local government, in Taraba state. Can you imagine that a man who supervised the killing of several people, the mastermind of the massacre of 44 people on a Christmas day at St. Theresa Catholic Church Madalla, would shy away from death? Surely, Justice Mojisola Dada knew what she was saying, “Those who shed blood are those who fear death most”.
Kabiru Sokoto was caught with his elder brother in a hut at Mutum Biu village on February 10, 2012, after he escaped from lawful custody on January 15, 2012, sandwiched between clothes racks. So he is afraid of death? This same person caused the sack of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Hafiz Ringim and six of his lieutenants because of his miraculous escape. It is strange that people think they could do anything and escape the responsibility. Strange!
Angaladikibo, the Watcher of the Mangroves, was still in his reverie when the appointed time came. The Oldman of the Waterfronts got up, stretched his left hand and picked up the bottle of the local white brew. He stretched his right hand and picked up the little glass cup, filled it and began his call on the ancestors.
“Odumodu, great ancestor of the People of the Waterfronts, he who makes his presence felt at every promontory to the People of the Waterfronts, dweller at the domain between the land and the sea, take and drink. He who has ascended has becomes a seer. Let not your descendants suffer from what they do not know of. We implore you to give the President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, your great grandson, the wisdom to tackle the stress of governance. Teachers cry when they have only 30 or 40 children to teach. How then will he be able to look over 150 million people, guiding, leading, teaching and directing them? Odumodu, he needs more than ordinary wisdom to go about the governance of this nation of thousands of ethnic groups with different religious beliefs. Give him the wisdom. Let him be able to redirect the warped minds of the looters of your precious blood which they ignorantly nicknamed crude oil. Out of you altruistic nature, you drained your precious blood at the time of your departure and stored them beneath the Mangroves, your bones, deep within the mud, your flesh. You knew that generations to come will need it to sustain themselves and make life comfortable for themselves. It was enough for all to live happily ever after. However, the People of the City, I mean the crude politicians among them, decided to manipulate the masses and packed the proceeds of your precious blood. Now, your annoyance that they called your precious blood crude oil has made crudity to become their portion. However, Odumodu, their crudeness is impacting on all of us. We therefore beseech you to withdraw your curse and let them have a sense of direction. Take, Odumodu, drink and hearken to our supplication now that your great grandson is in charge.
“Otumo-Ogugu, Favourite of the Maidens, he who goes in and out of the Maidens, the clouds are thickening. It is time to bring in the sunshine to allow your great grandson to see clearly and steer the ship of state to the right harbour. Take, drink and help.
“Osokolo, another Favourite of the Maidens, he who pursues the Maidens out of the Waterfronts, take and drink. How can all of you, our great ancestors, be present and allow foams of soap to sting our eyes in the midst of abundant water? No, an elder cannot watch a goat suffer parturition in tethers. You are the wise ones, take and drink and let our leaders know that they are our leaders, not our killers”.
The Oldman of the Waterfronts ended his libation, filled the little glass cup again and swallowed all. It is surprising that he alone could swallow a glassful while all the ancestors would make do with just only a glassful. He allowed the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup to move round the Parliamentary Hall. They took a glassful each.
“People of the Waterfronts, I greet you”, Okolobo, he of the Creeks, greeted immediately the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup returned to the table and he was recognized to take the floor.
“People of the Waterfronts, it is heartwarming that Kabiru Sokoto, the mastermind of the Madalla massacre has been re-arrested. It is equally heartwarming that Abu Qaga, another dangerous, mean, murderous coordinator of the Islamic sect Boko Haram, has also been arrested. It is a major breakthrough in the search to stop the senseless killings of innocent citizens. They are now in the nets of the security agents. Now, the ordinary Nigerians know that our security agents are capable of extracting water from dry stones. It means, barring any conspiracy, more information regarding sponsors and collaborators could be extracted from the two coordinators of Boko Haram. There is no doubt that the gun welding and bomb throwing average member of Boko Haram, cannot afford to buy any weapon. They have sponsors. These two know some of them.
“People of the Waterfronts, President Goodluck Jonathan’s action is very much needed here. If such information are extracted from them, the fear is, will the great grandson of Odumodu, the President of this nation, muster the much needed political will to prosecute the sponsors? Now, this is a crucial question. If after all the hoopla over the arrest of this two, none is heard again and no sponsor mentioned despite the revelation that the phone calls of the culprits have revealed contacts with top politicians, then the nation is in utter danger. The president must have heard what senator Joseph Waku said, although unbelievable. However, lack of diligent prosecution of the arrested culprits could mislead some to believe the weird speculation of senator Waku. He said “The president and commander-in-chief of the Armed forces said that there are Boko Haram members in the executive council, the police, SSS and the military. And we northerners are saying bring those people out so that we can be vindicated that we don’t know them. If their offences require facing a firing squad, bring them out. He is the commander in chief: he is the nation’s chief security officer, why is he keeping them? We northern leaders are even contemplating that Boko Haram is his own making to blackmail the north so that they can secede. It has reached a dimension for one to believe that there are some people somewhere that are fueling this crisis to give a dog a bad name so that they would have a reason to secede. We are beginning to suspect that there is a plan against the north.”
“People of the Waterfronts, as if that was not enough, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, second Republic governor of old Kaduna state and leader of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, also stated thus, “The way government is being run now will lead to the breakdown of the country even faster. Take for instance, the problem of Boko Haram…some of us who are sufficiently informed will tell you that Boko Haram is not a legitimate Islamic organization. It is not a Muslim movement. It is an agent provocateur established for the purpose of destabilizing Nigeria to achieve the predictions of imperial regimes that Nigeria will disintegrate in 2015 or 2030. Otherwise why should government be handling it this way? It is also possible that the federal government established the group to deal with the opposition. That is why the issue is being handled the way you see it”.
“Grandpa, my throat is dry”.
The bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup moved to Okolobo and he took a glassful.
Arukulo, the man who says he is always at the front of the canoe, got up to speak. “People of the Waterfronts, I greet you all. I stand here to ask, when do we mend ourselves? The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, has reneged on its promise to drop arms and accept the amnesty offered, after three years. We do not know if it is a renegade faction of MEND or the real MEND. The group has accepted responsibility for the attack of the oil trunk line operated by Agip oil, in Bayelsa. It also accepted responsibility for the bombing of the country home of the Minister of Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe, in Delta State.
“People of the Waterfronts, if you ask me, I will say without equivocation that it was the activities of the militants in the Niger Delta region that brought the region into limelight. This subsequently secured for us the ministry of Niger Delta and if I may venture to say, the presidency, not to talk of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. The militants fought against the deprivation, the despoliation and degradation of the region and were subsequently begged to embrace amnesty, drop their guns and be assimilated back into the society. Barely three years now after that and with the son of the soil in the saddle, they are taking up the arms again. Why can’t we allow our son to mend the degraded region and give it its desired developmental status? We plead that MEND give him the chance to mend the abused region and not to be a cog in the wheel of progress. Boko Hara is enough for President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Oldman of the Waterfronts filled the little glass cup and swallowed all. ###
By Kenneth Amabipi
0803 668 7846
Email: kennymaps@yahoo.co.uk
