If you insist

‘Thank you Hajiya Bint. How are you and the family?’ She asked, walking towards my sitting room.‘Alhamdulillah, we are well. Please have a seat.’ I offered as soon as we were in the room. ‘Can I bring you some zobo or ginger drink? I have both.’‘No, I am fine Hajiya. I just had breakfast. I […]

‘Thank you Hajiya Bint. How are you and the family?’ She asked, walking towards my sitting room.
‘Alhamdulillah, we are well. Please have a seat.’ I offered as soon as we were in the room. ‘Can I bring you some zobo or ginger drink? I have both.’
‘No, I am fine Hajiya. I just had breakfast. I only came in to bring you this ashoebi.’ She declared, handing me a nylon bag with some cloth material in it.
‘Ashoebi, masha Allah. Congrats, who is the lucky gentleman?’ I asked excitedly.
‘There is no lucky gentleman yet. This is not a wedding ashoebi, open it and see.’ She urged.
‘Ok,’ I replied, removing the material from the nylon bag. Upon opening it to see the design, I found myself face to face with a photo of their party’s candidate, the one who lost the election and is about to leave office soon. ‘Why are you giving me this cloth?’ I asked incredulously.
‘Because I am inviting you to a dinner and award celebration in his honour.’ Sahura replied, simply.
‘You do know that I neither supported nor vote for him, don’t you?’ I responded.
‘Yes I do but it doesn’t matter. This is a celebration for all Nigerians so it cuts across party, regional, religious and ethnic divides. We all decided to come together and honour our departing hero. So it doesn’t matter which side you are on Bint. Just sew it and wear to the dinner next week.’ She tried to assure me.
‘Our departing hero? I hope you don’t believe you are speaking for me
Sahura; because as far as I am concerned your candidate is no hero. If you people feel a sense of obligation to honour him do so, but don’t drag people like me who don’t really care.’ I protested.
‘Don’t be so narrow-minded Bint. I told you we are rising above all partisan considerations to honour him because of what he did to ensure peace prevailed in this country. I’m sure you knew that he didn’t wait for the final result to be announced before he conceded defeat to his opponent, that was unprecedented in the history of our country, in fact in the history of Africa at large.’ She argued.
‘Do you really think he had a choice at that point?’ I demanded.
‘Yes he did. He could have waited till all results were announced, or he could have contested the verdict even after it was announced, but he rose above all that to play the perfect statesman.’ Sahura rhapsodized.
‘He had no choice but to concede before the final announcement to checkmate the disaster the Orubebe show had become. Everyone knew that Elder Orubebe wasn’t acting on his own. No one would have taken the disgraceful step the former minister took, in order to scuttle the announcement process, if he didn’t have the say-so of his boss.
Unfortunately for them and fortunately for Nigeria, the electoral commission boss was a well-brought up man with a lot of restraint.
Professor Jega displayed the stuff he was made of when he resisted that deliberate provocation and salvaged the electoral process. If you need to honour anyone for saving Nigeria from disaster, it wouldn’t be your Desperate Dan of a candidate, it would be the professor who took all of Orubebe’s insults in stride, and remained calm enough to do his job.’ I countered.
‘Kai Hajiya Bint, I don’t know how you manage to be so eternally biased. You can’t see a good deed even if it’s so glaring? Here was a man with the power to turn Nigeria upside down, to make the land ungovernable, yet he chose the path of peace, he sacrificed his personal interest at the altar of our national stability and you still can’t give him the credit?’ Sahura insisted.
‘No I can’t because he had many chances, in the five years he ruled, to fight for our national interest but he never did. You can’t convince me that the man who reneged on his promise to be in office for only one term, who displayed such desperation to cling to power at all costs, who belittled many matters of serious national importance, like the Chibok girls abduction and several bombing incidents, has ever put the nation’s interest above his personal desires. But if you are doing all this to justify the money you were given to share to youths in your home town; which you shared but still couldn’t buy those votes, then forget it, you have picked on the wrong listener.
There is no way you can convince me to see your candidate as a hero.
And while we are at that, I better return this asheobi because I won’t be needing it.’ I declared, handing it back to her.
‘You mean you won’t attend?’ Sahura looked disappointed.
‘Did I really sound like someone who will attend a function like that?
I just finished saying I didn’t see the man as a hero and didn’t vote for him. I also mentioned his numerous faults, do you expect me to be a hypocrite and still join you there, wearing an ashoebi and clapping at all the lies that will be told to massage his ego? No not me, that’s not my style Hajiya Sahura.’ I concluded.
‘You seem quite keen to end our friendship and good neighbourliness for the sake of politics Bint,’ Sahura said, rising to her feet and reaching out to collect the nylon bag containing the ashoebi cloth.
‘Last time, you hurt me deeply when you defended the youth who robbed me at my home town by collecting our money and refusing to vote us.
And look at all you’ve been saying this time. It’s almost as if you don’t value the friendship we shared all these years.’ She added, walking away.
‘Don’t see it that way Sahura.’ I replied, rising up to follow her.
‘Friendship means not having to lie in order to please others. I have to tell you my honest feelings on both occasions. I won’t be a true friend if I am a hypocrite. And I certainly wouldn’t know how to justify to my husband my reasons for joining you at the dinner. He knows I don’t support your man. He will neither encourage nor allow me to go.’ I explained.
‘Admit it Bint, you just don’t value my friendship.’ Sahura insisted.
‘Ok, if you insist.’ I replied, closing the door behind her.