Exactly at the appointed time the Oldman of the Waterfronts got up. The Waterfronts Parliament never begins a minute late or a minute earlier. They have fixed a time for their meetings and the ancestors have sanctioned it. Exactly at the appointed time, the ancestors will all gather to take their share of the local white brew, the elixir that propels them to watch over their descendants. You will lose their presence if you start a minute late and lose their blessings also. You will deprive them of the local white brew and their blessings also if you start a minute earlier as they would not have arrived. A covenant has been enacted with the ancestors, once the time has been voluntarily fixed by you.
This is exactly the opposite of what the People of the City do. They have what they termed ‘African time’. So when the People of the Waterfronts say a particular ceremony would begin by 12 pm, you know it would begin by 4 or 5 pm. They do not realize that it affects the economy and retards their progress. It is worse if what they termed an important personality is expected to be the Guest of Honour. In that case, a ceremony fixed for 10am may begin by 4 or 6pm without apologies.
The People of the City have not realized the import of the saying saying “vox populi, vox Dei”, that is, the voice of the people is the voice of God. As long as you were not forced to fix the time of your meeting, your prayer or any other agreement made by you, you should keep to it because even the heavens would have accepted it as a deal. It is compulsory, physically and spiritually for you to keep to the time you willingly set for yourself.
The Oldman of the Waterfronts stretched his left hand and picked up the bottle of the local white brew. His right hand went straight to the little glass cup and he filled it, ready to call on the ancestors.
“Odumodu, dweller at the domain between the land and the sea, great ancestor of the People of the Waterfronts, take and drink. It was you that taught us that one must forgo some comforts in the present moment, if one expects to enjoy multiplication of comforts in the future. It is the reason parents suffer for their children. It is the reason individuals undergo fasting and nations tighten up their belts, but the People of the City would never know the benefit of burning midnight candle to have a brighter day.
“Odumodu, it was you that told us the story of papa Filipu, the man who out of the fear of mosquitoes, allowed his mother to die of hunger. You said papa Filipu’s aged mother was ill and hungry and only the soup made of the fishes caught in the night by papa Filipu would cure her, the seers predicted. Papa Filipu took his net and walked to his canoe. Just as he was about entering his canoe, mosquitoes greeted him with a buzz and pap Filipu exclaimed, “I have not even got to the sea and mosquitoes have started feasting on me. What will happen if I dare venture into the sea?” Papa Filipu returned to his house and his mother gave up. Such is the way of the People of the City. Take, drink Odumodu and never let such habit infect us, the People of the Waterfronts.
“Otumo-Ogugu, favourite of the Maidens he who goes in and out of the Maidens, detecting the unfaithful ones, take and drink. Never let the confounding ways of the People of the City affect us.
“Osokolo, another Favourite of the Maidens, he who pursues the Maidens out of the Waterfronts, take and drink also and join your co-ancestors to restore sanity in the minds of the People of the City.”
The Oldman of the Waterfronts refilled the little glass cup and swallowed all as he ended his libation, and allowed the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup to move round the hall. One by one, the People of the Waterfronts filled the little glass cup and poured all into their mouths.
It was Okolobo, he of the Creeks, that got up to speak immediately the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup returned to the table.
“People of the Waterfronts, I greet you. I sincerely thank Grandpa for reminding us of the story of papa Filipu, the man who allowed his mother to die out of the fear of mosquitoes. His case is typical of the case of the People of the City. They did not like to sow, but they are eager to reap. However, I stand here to tell you of a remarkable feat by a 31 year old lady. Her name is Joanna Krzystonek from far away Wroclaw. She did what none of the People of the City would dare do. It would do them a lot of good if they could learn the lesson from what she did.
“This woman was pregnant, and was expecting triplets, I mean three babies. Unfortunately, the babies refused to wait for the completion of the normal nine moons and decided to taste the world within just five months and two weeks of staying in the womb of Joanna. The first one that dared it died. The doctors quickly tied the umbilical cord and put it back inside the uterus of Joanna to prevent the other two from attempting suicide. However, they told the lady that she would lie almost upside down in labour for 18 weeks and 3 days, if she wanted the other two babies to survive. She faced the risk of contracting infections capable of causing haemorrhage.
“People of the Waterfronts, instead of being afraid and behaving like papa Filipu or like the People of the City, she said, ‘I sighed with relief that there was a chance to keep the pregnancy and to give the babies a chance to be born successfully. All the time I was thinking only about them.’ She went through the ordeal and now smiles with two babies by her side. If only the People of the City would learn to make sacrifices, they would improve the lives of the masses?@
Angaladikibo, the Watcher of the Mangroves, got up immediately Okolobo sat down. He looked puzzled. “People of the Waterfronts, I greet you all. There is something troubling me. What is plea bargain? Who can explain it to me, please?”
It was Injibabo, the Fisherman of the Waterfronts, that got up to answer. “People of the Waterfronts, a plea bargain is a peculiar face-saving device that recognizes the strenuous efforts expended by an individual to hoodwink people and cart away their wealth. It is a situation where the owner of the goods pleads with the thief to release part of the stolen goods to him, in recognition of his brilliance and intelligence to take away the goods right in the presence of the owner, unnoticed. This singular feat of the thief to put into his pocket what belongs to all, is the hardest part of what the People of the City recognized as hard work, and because of its corollary, the deadening of the conscience, it attracts chieftaincy titles such as “the Odidigborigbo of the Niger Delta Region,” “the Kudi da yawa of the Northerners” and the “Oko Owo of the Westerners.” In political circles such success in amassing wealth by stealth elevates you to the highest position and so such people must be given soft landing in order not to heat up the polity in the ‘national interest’.”
The entire Parliamentary Hall of the Waterfronts was ice-cold. They wondered how an ordinary fisherman would give such an incisive definition of Plea Bargain. What is the guarantee that the very fishes he has been catching every night have not been giving him some tutorials? Meanwhile, Angaladikibo was so stunned by the words of Injibabo that he stood transfixed, unable to continue. The Oldman of the Waterfronts allowed the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup to move to him. A glassful calmed him down and he continued.
“People of the Waterfronts, today I acknowledge the wisdom of Injibabo. He is wiser than all of us. How he came by this wisdom, only the fishes that escaped from him can tell. However, I wish to ask one more question. Why is the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, saying it is dubious and strange to the nation’s legal systems?”
Immediately, many voices answered, “It is because a new broom sweeps clean. The old broom stays by the corner and reminds the new broom calmly, that, ‘what has touched me and kept me in this condition will also touch you and you will be like me.”
Angaladikibo, the Watcher of the Mangroves, momentarily forgot he was standing to make his comments and gazed at the Mangroves through the window. The Mangroves opened themselves to him and he immediately understood what Plea Bargain is all about.
The Mangroves told Angaladikibo that Plea Bargain is the way of the People of the City. They all know that they are not better than the other. The one that caught the thief did so because of jealousy and not because he loves his country. He is angry because the other person has beaten him to it. This is why they decided that the thief should release a fraction of the stolen wealth and retain the rest. The Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, supports it because supports it is legal, the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, are also against the Chief Justice. You can understand their own predicament. They have to defend the human rights of the thieves also.
The People of the City even went further to give the Attorney General of the Federation, the power to institute, continue, take over or discontinue criminal proceedings against any person in any court of law. So if he likes you, he withdraws the case “in the interest of the public”. Tell me, how will a nation grow under this condition?
The People of the City shook their heads and demanded for a glassful of the local white brew each. ###
By Kenneth Amabipi
0803 668 7846
Email: kennymaps@yahoo.co.uk
