Random musings on Nigeria
Who prays for a Turai wife? Well, I won’t mind a lady of her beauty, but definitely not of her character. Of course, I do not believe all I read about her machinations on the pages of newspapers. I believe some are exaggerated and are smack on unfair scapegoatism, but then from the way the […]
Who prays for a Turai wife? Well, I won’t mind a lady of her beauty, but definitely not of her character. Of course, I do not believe all I read about her machinations on the pages of newspapers. I believe some are exaggerated and are smack on unfair scapegoatism, but then from the way the woman conducts herself, one wonders what her motive is. Or who else could have masterminded the manner her husband was ‘smuggled’ into the country, in the middle of the night, all airports lights off? A living person for that matter! Haba, isn’t this the height of inhumanity?
I do not wish Yar’adua dead. I pray he gets well. And insha’ Allah, he will. But let him toe the path of honour for now. Yes, the path of honour first mouthed by Obasanjo, let’s forget about the messenger. Yar’adua should bite the bullet. It is clear that he is no longer fit to rule. If he becomes fit later, he can recontest.
Who is Dora deceiving? Dora lost her pitiably hard-earned reputation the very day she took the job of government spokesperson. In a country replete with bad leadership, the job is basically about seeing black and telling the citizens it is white. She did not disappoint. She even outdid some of her predecessors in the dirty job, but unlike most of them, she had a reputation to protect. Now when she realized that the man that gave her the job may not return to his seat again, she suddenly found her senses. In a lame attempt to redeem her image, the PDP politician came with one ‘progressive’ memo. Who is she fooling?
Is it me or are these cartoonists stone-minded? I have come across series of cartoons depicting the sickly President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, and I wonder if I am the one that is over emotional or the artists are stone-hearted. Some of such cartoons grotesquely capture the president rotting on sick bed, some with only skeletons. As for the chain mails I receive on such bizarre cartoons, I take it upon myself to reply the sender, reminding them that illness respects nobody, no matter how healthy we think we are today. Even the respected Punch newspaper caught the bug of shame, having on its front page (February 4, 2010 edition) a picture of the president with all the plaques written all over his face, including pericarditis, kidney problem. But who is to blame other than Yar’adua himself for clinging to power as if his life depends on it?
Are ‘Renaissance Professionals’ winning? Obviously, this is not the best of time for the radical CBN governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. Whether due to the efforts of the faceless group or not, it is obvious that the Kano prince is losing steam. His support base is leaning in ranks, with more and more informed analysts and opinion moulders, including Professor Pat Utomi, expressing reservations over his style. Some columnists that had endorsed the CBN governor’s efforts in the past are now on the side of critics. But at least the ‘sectional agenda’ theorists have been silenced. Current criticisms are no longer based on that warped, jejune theory. Real issues like impact of reforms on unemployment, investors’ confidence, entrepreneurship etc are now being brought to the discussion table. Those of us that fought the conspiracy theorists then can now claim some victory.
Is it a crime to depart from tradition in Nigeria? A tradition of corruption, self-enrichment, injustice, and witch-hunting. Nuhu Ribadu departed from this tradition and is now been made to pay the price. El-Rufai, haphazardly as it was, tried to depart from tradition and he is now facing the music. I hope Lamido Sanusi is not biting his fingers now for daring to depart from the status quo. Now Babatunde Fashola is the traditional ‘non-conformist’ that is being ‘shown pepper’, as my primary school teachers used to tell us. And no, I’m not revisiting the hell Yar’adua made him go through for creating LCDAs. I am talking about the calculated, obviously sponsored campaign of calumny going on against the Lagos State governor on the cyberspace, ostensibly on the realization that should Fashola come to the 2011 polls with his current impressive reputation, contesting against him would be akin to hitting the head against a rock.
Now, who says all these are not worth ruminating over?
Oyewale writes from Dideolu Estate, off Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island, Lagos