The Oldman of the Waterfronts was sad. His entire visage was sadness in bold relief. With his right palm supporting his chin and his left palm resting on his left leg, eyes downcast and lips tightly clipped, the Oldman of the Waterfronts was a piteous sight. Silently, he waited along with others in the Parliamentary Hall of the People of the Waterfronts, for the appointed time to begin deliberations. At last, the appointed time came and he got up, ready to call on the ancestors. No matter his mood, the appointment time must be obeyed for the ancestors must be appeased.
He stretched his left hand and picked up the bottle of the local white brew, favourite drink of the ancestors. His right hand picked up the little glass cup, permanent companion of the bottle of the local white brew. This order of picking up the bottle of the local white brew and its companion, the little glass cup, is strictly followed. The reverse would mean drinking the local white brew with the left hand which smacks of insult to elders and the ancestors. Only the old ones and those who are matured physically and spiritually would dare it, as it attracts instant challenge from others who would feel insulted.
“Odumodu! Odumodu!! Odumodu!!!” The Oldman of the Waterfronts called out, quite unusual of him, as he held the little glass cup filled with the local white brew. It was a call of exasperation.
“Have we not pleaded long enough for you to remove the curse you placed on the People of the City? Yes, we admit that we are the victims of their wayward acts and it was for our sake that you placed the curse on them. However, we are pleading that you forgive them before they completely eliminate themselves. They should not have done what they did, squandering the wealth from the sale of your precious blood and neglecting the very people for whom you kept it. Just before your departure, you drained your precious blood and buried it beneath the mangroves, your bones, deep in the mud, your flesh. You knew how valuable it would be in the future and you bequeathed it as a legacy for your descendants, the People of the Waterfronts. The People of the City saw it accidentally, but instead of being grateful and sharing it equitably with your descendants, they have been busy stealing and mismanaging the proceeds to the extent that we have no electricity, no water, no good road and food is scarce. As if that was not enough, they crudely called your precious blood, “crude oil.” Out of annoyance, you placed a curse on them and now it is taking its toll on them. Take, drink and pity them.
“Odumodu, on behalf of more than 160 persons that died through the Dana plane incident, we plead that you forgive them, just as we commiserate with the families of the bereaved. Tell me, if not for your curse, how would an airplane flying high, kill people right in their houses? Those who boarded the plane died, those in their houses died and those outside, strolling, also affected. Such abomination has never been experienced before. Your curse has blocked the ears of the People of the City and they take no corrections. If you do not recall your curse, they would continue to make the same mistakes over and over, leading to a repeat performance of such catastrophic consequence. Take, drink and help us.
“Odumodu, here we stand and complain to you that the dog is barking and biting indiscriminately, now to add insult into an injury, the lizard has taken seven cowries to go and sharpen its teeth. Where then do we run to? Odumodu, great ancestor of the People of the Waterfronts, the People of the City are so fed up with life that while others are praying for long life they willingly and voluntarily strap themselves with bombs and willingly ram into buildings, killing others along. Why they could not quietly kill themselves alone, is a mystery we have not been able to solve.
“It is now very dangerous to worship on Sundays. Those who want to worship in their churches last Sunday did not live to tell their stories. A set of people who called themselves Boko Haram, dispatched them to the world beyond. They accepted responsibility and gave their strange reasons.
‘We are responsible for the suicide attack on a church in Jos and also another attack on another church in Biu,” the spokesman calling himself Abul Qaqa told reporters in the northeastern city of Maiduguri in a phone conference.
‘We launched these attacks to prove the Nigerian security wrong and to debunk their claim that we have been weakened by the military crackdown, The Nigerian state and Christians are our enemies and we will be launching attacks on the Nigerian state and its security apparatus as well as churches until we achieve our goal of establishing an Islamic state in place of the secular state.’
“ Can you imagine that, Odumodu? Please accept our drink and protect us.
“ Otumo- Ogugu, Favourite of the Maidens, he who goes in and out of the Maidens, detecting the unfaithful ones, take and drink. It is time for you to team up with your co-ancestor to restore sanity in the City.
“Osokolo, another Favourite of the Maidens, he who pursues the Maidens out of the Waterfronts, reminding them of their duties at home, take and drink. We need the cooperation of all of you to make the city habitable.”
The Oldman of the Waterfronts ended his libation filled the little glass cup again and swallowed all. He allowed the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup to go round the hall.
Immediately the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup returned to the table, Injibabo, the Fisherman of the Waterfronts, got up to speak.
“People of the Waterfronts, I greet you”, he began. “Now, there are things one is not supposed to do after attaining a certain height, particularly in public service. Just why some of the prominent members of the People of the City could not understand this fundamental principle, is quite intriguing, considering their level of education and exposure. But first of all, I express my sympathy to the families that lost their loved ones in the ill-fated Dana Airplane crash. The country mourned with them with flags flying at half-mast for three days. The president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has to cancel several engagements. He couldn’t have done otherwise. Same goes for Timi Alaibe, a former chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission, who had to cancel celebrations of his birthday, in honour of those who lost their lives through the air crash. The Senate, the House of Representatives and the Federal Executive Council, all paid their respects to the over 160 people that died by the plane crash.
“However, one prominent individual, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, displayed a strange un-African culture. It has been said by wise people that when a corpse is carried along and you have nothing in common with the dead person; it would be as if a bundle of firewood was just being carried. You feel nothing. However, when your very person is involved, that is when you know that it was not just wood that was carried. Sanusi displayed such callousness of one who regards an unknown corpse as a piece of wood. The 160 people that died on June 3, 2012, did not move him. By June 8, 2012, he was celebrating being turbaned as Dan Majen of Kano. Pray, if his parents or children or relations are involved, would he go ahead with the celebrations? Will the value of the title diminish if he should shift the event forward? Did he not realize that as governor of CBN he is not just an ordinary individual again?
“People of the Waterfronts, the most baffling part of it is that the CBN, the very organization he heads, lost eight senior employees – Amiaka Raphael. O (Senior Manager), Antonia Attuh (Senior Manager), Bamaiyi Adamu (Senior Supervisor), Falmata Kur Mohammed (Assistant Director), Ibrahim Yusuf (Principal Manager), Kim E Norris (Special Adviser to the CBN Governor), Mutihir I.I (Deputy Manager), and Samuel Eventus Mbong (Manager).. No, he was not the cause of their death, but as someone once said, another person’s death surely diminishes you. Grandpa, please let me wet my throat.”
The Oldman of the Waterfronts allowed the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup to move to Injibabo. It was Okolobo, he of the Creeks, that got up to speak.
“People of the Waterfronts, of a truth, I do not understand the ways of the People of the City. Just look at the Head of the Ad-hoc Committee on fuel subsidy probe, Hon. Lawan Faruk of the House of Representatives. Here is someone we were all eulogizing for doing a good job, exposing the corrupt acts of the oil barons who ate all the food while we bend and wash the plates for them. What made him feel that someone would give him a whopping three million dollars for nothing? The several millions he takes home every month are not enough for him and now he has to soil his name with this bribery scandal. He was videoed, taking the bribe. Greed made him to be unaware of such little tricks.
“Now, what I want to know is this, was this video revealed to rubbish the findings of the panel he headed? Or is it a way of proving General Obasanjo right that armed robbers and corrupt people filled the federal legislature? Is it that Farouk reneged after taking the bribe and exposed the baron who offered it or was the baron protected but still went ahead to reveal the deal? We will like to watch the video. In bribery, the giver and the taker are both culpable.
“Well, People of the Waterfronts, perhaps our great ancestor, Odumodu, wanted to instill the fear of God in him and others by exposing him and serving as deterrent. Let us drink for our great ancestor, Grandpa.”
The Oldman of the Waterfronts filled the little glass cup, swallowed all and allowed the bottle of the local white brew and little glass cup to go round. ###
By Kenneth Amabipi
0803 668 7846
Email: kennymaps@yahoo.co.uk
