ONE DEATH, MANY SPOILS

On the other hand, ‘spoils of war’ is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military victory. Throughout history, a victorious army had always aggregated the possessions of the defeated army. Not only goods, but even humans were taken; men became slaves and women chattels. Again, throughout history and in all […]

On the other hand, ‘spoils of war’ is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military victory. Throughout history, a victorious army had always aggregated the possessions of the defeated army. Not only goods, but even humans were taken; men became slaves and women chattels. Again, throughout history and in all cultures, societies and climes, ‘spoils of war’ was considered legit.

On the other hand (assuming there are three hands), ‘spoils of death’ (actually my invention, copyright awaited) is a practice whereby when a top political leader dies, many positions become vacant and have to be filled, with the collateral damage that some occupies of certain positions would have to be sacrificed, and their lives ‘spoilt’ (for want of a better word).

A ‘Wall’ in Hausa (‘Bango’) is more than a wall. It has several denotations and connotations. A ‘Bango’, for Hausa-speakers, may be a physical structure used as protection and shield of ‘the secrets of the house’ (‘Asirin Gida’). Should a physical wall fall, there would be nothing then to protect and/or shield the household, and ‘Asirin Gida Ya Tonu’ (The secrets of the house have been bared for all to see, literally).

Hence, a Hausa family’s Patriarch is usually a ‘Bango’ for the house and the family, for he is the ‘Rufin Asirin Gida’, protector of the secrets of the house. Therefore, should the metaphorical wall of the house (the Patriarch) die (fall), then the ‘Bango’ has fallen, especially if that patriarch is an influential person. A country has no greater ‘Bango’ than its President: Alas! Our ‘Bango’ has fallen, and the secrets of the house are bare.

As in war and politics, so in death. Many ‘spoils’ spontaneously appear and vacancies have to be filled.

Office of the President is the first to be filled if such a Bango falls; never mind if the Bango had not yet been buried. A Vice President, or even an Acting President, is nowhere near a President. But death makes it possible for the occupier of this lesser position to occupy this higher office. And it has come to pass.

And then that frees the Office of the Vice President. When the ‘original’ occupier of this Office is promoted, this Office then becomes vacant, and vacancies are about filling. In this case also, it has come to pass and a new Vice President has been enthroned. In the struggle between various contending forces, principally the National Assembly Group and the Governor’s Forum, the latter won, but someone who did not seek it got it.

Since a Governor got the Vice Presidency, his seat would then become vacant in his own state. And sure enough, his Deputy stepped up to claim the mantle. This then frees the Office of a Deputy Governor of that State. As sure as the former occupier of this office stepped up, a vacancy has automatically appeared down the road. That, too, would be filled; thanks, indeed, to the spoils of death.

Now a wall (‘Bango’) has other uses apart from protecting the household. The Hausa also mention ‘Jingina’ (Leaning Upon) as an important function of a Bango. And truly, Hausa men do usually lean on walls as they sit out the evening heat of the tropics.

Many positions also ‘lean upon’ the wall, and the First Person has the prerogative of mercy, i.e. to be merciful to a family and appoint their breadwinner to win more bread in a lucrative position. No wonder, then, we have seen four Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. If you don’t lean far enough, the wall may fall on you and injure you. Then a Chief of Staff, a Special Adviser Media, and the ‘Office’ of the ‘First’ Lady: a very important ‘lean upon’ position this. And then there would be the ‘Office’ of the ‘Second’ Lady. And so the positions would continue to appear and be filled, even if some casualties would fall by the wayside.

Death! Let us now recall some stories of the Spoils of Death we discussed on these pages sometimes in the past. We remember, don’t we, the story of a wealthy Bango who had just fallen, and the body was being ritually prepared for burial. After the funeral prayer, the remains were placed in the makara, the wooden bearer that is neither casket-nor-coffin. The body was lifted up onto the shoulders of men who would convey it to the graveyard. It was said that just before they started moving, the eldest son of the deceased rushed to another son who was among the bearers, and who was balancing the makara securely on his shoulder, and inquired: “Is the key to the safe with you?” The son-carrier answered the son-questioner: “Yes, it is in my pocket.” The first is said to have said: “Then everything is all right!” The Bango’s remains had not even reached the grave!

Then again, this story of a similar young man. The father died and he (then barely nineteen), being the oldest of the children, took over affairs as he knew more than anyone else where the assets and liabilities were. The late father was a big-time construction contractor and had a large number of equipment; both earth-moving and earth-removing. The young man was said to have found so much unbanked cash in the late father’s living quarters that he just cranked and became crazy, as there is no other explanation to what he ended up doing.

He, it is said, took several of his young friends and travelled to the country’s most expensive city and lodged into the city’s biggest and most expensive hotel. After several weeks of this crazed irresponsibility, he ran out of money. He is said to have phoned home and instructed that so-and-so caterpillar be sold and the money brought to him. Next went a grader, then another caterpillar, then a tipper, then another tipper, then everything else. By the time he was done, the family was done in.

Then the story of the mason (magini). This mason had an older brother who, it is said, was immensely wealthy. It also happened that the elder had no children of his own and the mason was his only next-of-kin. People, and there would always be such people, would usually taunt the mason that he should remember them when luck looked on him (i.e. when his brother finally perished and he came into the money). Gradually, it started getting into the mason’s head. Luckily for him, unlike Chairman in the first story, the older brother was oblivious of all this. Then one day the wealthy man suddenly died. The mason was said to then be building on a nearby site. People (and they would always be there) rushed to mason with these ‘glad’ tidings.

It is said the mason was perched atop the wall he was building, with several labourer-assistants throwing mud-balls up to him which he would expertly catch and apply to the wall. Just as the story broke that his brother had died, one more mud-ball was being thrown up for him to catch. The mason swerved sideways and let it fall away, saying: “That is the end of masonry forever.” (Daga yau gini ya kare). He is said to have carefully come down from the wall, wash his hands, change his clothes and bid farewell to his assistants, and step into millions. The atmosphere at the mourning venue was all joyful. Many of those who came to commiserate with the former mason actually ended up congratulating him!

It is a hope that all the sharers and beneficiaries of the Fall of the Bango will try to make the sacrifice of remembering the Bango that fell, the felling of which offered them this opportunity, and condole the losers of the original Bango, and remember that they, too, will one day fall and give way to spoils.