…AND NOW A WORD FOR THE LED!

perchance we will let them do the work they are supposed to do. We should not, as the led, over-burden them. If some of them are your friends, give them a four-year leave of absence from your friendship. As ‘Honourables’ now, their time is tied to matters beyond social, beyond temporal, beyond spiritual; it is […]

perchance we will let them do the work they are supposed to do. We should not, as the led, over-burden them. If some of them are your friends, give them a four-year leave of absence from your friendship. As ‘Honourables’ now, their time is tied to matters beyond social, beyond temporal, beyond spiritual; it is called political. We, as the led, should consider the following:

WE SHOULD KNOW HOW TO ADDRESS THEM:

Call them ‘Honourable’ when you meet; they will love it, and they will love you. First names are a nay-nay. And then when you meet them, let them be the first to stretch the hand for a handshake, lest yours be left hanging in mid-air.

After all, when Fir’aun (Pharaoh) was in his highest state of arrogance in disbelief and disobedience and tyranny, and Allah sent Musa and Harun (Moses and Aaron) to admonish him, the Wise Lord instructed the two Prophets, “And speak to him mildly, perhaps he may accept admonition or fear Allah.’ (Sura Ta-Ha Chapter 20 Verse 44).”

WE SHOULD KNOW THAT, THOUGH THEY MAY HAVE MORE MATERIAL THINGS, WE MAY BE MORE CONTENT:

“There once lived a King who should have been contented with life, given all the luxuries he had. However, he always found himself wondering why he just never seemed content. One day, the King had woken up earlier than usual to stroll around his palace. He entered his huge living room and came to a stop when he heard someone happily singing away.

Following the singing, he saw it was one of the servants singing with a very contented look on his face. This fascinated the King and he summoned the servant and asked him why he was so happy. To this the man replied: ‘Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but I make enough of a living to keep my wife and children happy. We don’t need too much, a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummy. My wife and children are my inspiration; they are content with whatever little I bring home. I am happy because my family is happy.’”

WE SHOULD DO WHAT IS REQUIRED OF US; THEY WILL CONFRONT MORE STORMS THAN THEY CAN HANDLE:

“Years ago, a farmer owned land along the coast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on such farms as they dreaded the awful storms that raged across the ocean, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer.

‘Are you a good farmhand?’ the farmer asked him. ‘Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,’ answered the man. Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, ‘Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!’ The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, ‘No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.’ Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.

To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant.’”

WE SHOULD BE ORDERLY IN COLLECTING DIVIDENDS OF DEMOCRACY:

“Tragedy struck on Friday night in Ilorin, Kwara State, as about 30 people, mostly women, lost their lives in a stampede during the valedictory party held for the outgoing governor, Dr Bukola Saraki. Dr Saraki met his political supporters, about 5,000 of them, at the Mandate House around 6pm on Friday, where he thanked them for their support in the last eight years. Trouble started when the supporters were asked to queue up to collect money and clothes for the inauguration ceremony coming up today at the Metropolitan Square, Ilorin.

The stampede occurred when a fence collapsed on those on the queue as people started to run from pillar to post for safety. Most were not aware of what was happening. Sunday Tribune gathered that corpses of those who lost their lives were brought to the mortuary, while those that sustained injuries were treated and discharged accordingly from the hospitals. Meanwhile, Saraki has expressed shock and sadness by the ugly incident. He had consequently directed security operatives in the state to investigate the incident.”

WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT DIVIDENDS OF DEMOCRACY COME IN ARREARS, NOT IN ADVANCE:

“Kano Government House witnessed the unexpected this afternoon just immediately after the new Governor, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso returned from Sani Abacha Stadium where he was officially sworn in, as thousands of party thugs stormed the place. Security operatives who initially were at their best were practically over-powered by the rampaging youths who sacked them from the main gate and made their way into the State House. The vicinity within the Government House was practically taken over by the youths who also forcefully pulled down a section of the House’s fence from the rear. They looted Government property at the residential area occupied by drivers, as well as the chalets built for visitors.

Also offices were not spared as they almost looted the Press Section of the Government House, but for the timely intervention of journalists and policemen inside the section. ‘We want all the old faces out of this place. This is a new government and the new people must take over…’ The crowd overwhelmed the policemen at the main entrance gate to the Government House who tried in vain to disperse them, using tear-gas canisters.”

WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL WHATEVER LITTLE THEY GIVE US:

“One hot summer day, two men were walking along a road. Soon it became too hot to go any further and, seeing a large tree nearby, they threw themselves on the ground to rest in its shade. Gazing up into the branches one man said to the other: ‘What a useless tree this is. It does not have fruit or nuts that we can eat.’ ‘Don’t be so ungrateful,’ rustled the tree in reply. ‘I am being extremely useful to you at this very moment, shielding you from the hot sun. And you call me a good-for-nothing? OK, go back into the hot sun!’”

Yes, back under the hot sun!