The Oldman of the Waterfronts did not waste time. Just as the clock announced the appointed time, he got up, stretched his left hand and picked up the bottle of the local white brew. His right hand went for the little glass cup. He filled it, raised it up, looked skyward and began his call to the ancestors. The unruly ways of the People of the City demand constant supplication to the ancestors to forestall the predictions of the Americans on the future of the nation, come 2015.
“Odumodu, great ancestor of the People of the Waterfronts, he who dwells at the domain between the land and the sea, we call on you. It is you who commanded us to call on you always for direction and that you will never neglect us. We obey you. Take and drink”.
The Oldman of the Waterfronts poured a little of the local white brew on the floor, watched it a few seconds, raised up his head and continued his call on the ancestors.
“Odumodu, it was you who said if a dog bites human beings, there is no alarm raised. No news is written about it. It is normal and it is the nature of dogs to bite. However, when human beings begin to bite dogs, a strange thing has occurred and eyebrows have to be raised.
“Odumodu, what is happening is like human beings biting dogs. You said the legs cannot tie the hands, Odumodu, this too is happening. What do we do? Who are these Bokos that are changing the course of nature? Are they spirits? The way they are operating and vanishing from custody befuddles the mind. Take, drink and restore order and sanity.
“Otumo-Ogugu Favourite of the Maidens, he who goes in and out of the Maidens, detecting the unfaithful ones, we call on you also. Take and drink. What is it that has gone into the heads of the Bokos that has instigated them to take random killings as their hobby? What is it that has incapacitated our government to tackle the menace caused by these conscienceless people? These are the questions that we want you and your co-ancestors to unravel. We need your help.
“Osokolo, another Favourite of the Maidens, he who pursues the Maidens out of the Waterfronts, lashing the lazy ones, we also call on you. Relieve us of the unnecessary tension and hypertension imposed on us by the Bokos of the Harams. Tell them we need peace and that since their religion needs peace, if they truly belong to their professed religion, then they should see that we are one with them and restore peace accordingly. Take and drink”.
The Oldman of the Waterfronts ended his libation. He refilled the little glass cup and emptied all down his throat. He allowed the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup to go round the parliamentary Hall. They all took a glassful each and returned them to the table.
Injibabo, the Fisherman of the Waterfronts, raised up his hand to speak. He was allowed.
“People of the Waterfronts, I greet you all. I am distressed. I am depressed. In fact, I am flabbergasted. The members of the Islam sect, Boko Haram, meaning ‘Western Education is evil’, has just sent to the great beyond more than 160 people and has devastated properties worth millions of naira. And I ask myself, why is it so impossible to rein them? Why is it impossible to bring them to order? Why is the nation degenerating to such an abysmal level that a group of people make nonsense of the existence of government and carry out their atrocities with impunity? What happened?
“People of the Waterfronts, I reflected deeply and realized that our over dependence on oil to the detriment of other sources of revenue, and, disappointingly, our mismanagement of the only resource we rely upon, have led to the neglect and abandonment of the responsibilities of government to provide basic amenities for its citizenry. What we are witnessing therefore would not be entirely removed from the devastating consequence of poverty and utter neglect. On top of all these, the poor masses now wake up to find all basic commodities beyond their reach. Therefore, a little token from disgruntled politicians and others, moves them to commit suicide in the quest to vent their anger in the wrong direction. We have fed fat a few cabals from the proceeds of oil, leaving the majority of the citizenry. The spontaneous anger against the removal of fuel subsidy makes me to agree with Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) that in the so-called subsidy, ‘Nigerians have realized that they have been funding nothing but rot, inefficiency, corruption, fraud and waste in the petroleum sector’. A small cabal has milked us dry to the tune of N1.3trillion last year when only N446 billion was budgeted for subsidy. Yet no one was questioned for the over payment. Instead the burden was conveniently transferred to the poor masses. Who authorized the payment, by-passing the National Assembly, was never asked. So the anger of the masses builds up.
“People of the Waterfronts, all types of minerals abound in this nation, yet the People of the City have relied on the oil, the precious blood of our great ancestor Odumodu which he graciously drained and left for us his descendants. Didn’t they say Nassarawa State alone has about 28 solid minerals? Why do we not diversify? Do you know that we shamelessly flare away 300 trillion cubit feet of natural gas resources yearly, thus becoming the highest gas flaring nation in this world? When shall we have patriotic people at the helm of affairs that would, even at the risk of their lives, block all these waste holes?”
Injibabo, the Fisherman of the Waterfronts, stood silent, his body vibrating with anger. Suddenly he blurted out, “The People of the City are nothing but an astronomically cataclysmic exuberance of a tympanic membrane that has gone haywire in a deluge of ballyhoo that beleaguered it in torrential Katzenjammer”.
He stopped abruptly, looked left and right and asked, “what was that?” The People of the Waterfronts sat stupefied. Did a fish speak to him when he went to the sea last night? Was he possessed by Odumodu, the great ancestor of the People of the Waterfronts? A man asked his neighbour sitting by his side, “What did Injibabo say? Infact, was he the one that spoke?” The neighbour remembered one of the lyrics of a song of the People of the City and replied, “If you ask me, na who I go ask?”
The confusion among the People of the Waterfronts was so much that the Oldman of the Waterfronts has to let the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup to go round. They took a glassful each and regained their senses.
Angaladikibo, the Watcher of the Mangroves, was the next to speak.
“People of the Waterfronts, forgive Injibabo for allowing himself to be carried away. He did not tell you that out of 59 million litres of the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise called petrol, said to be imported into the country and for which subsidy was paid to unnamable people called cabal, only 35 million litres were consumed by the citizens. The remaining 24 million litres are nowhere to be found, and this is a daily occurrence throughout the year. He did not tell you that we lost up to N500 billion to the five days strike against the removal of fuel subsidy, according to the governor of the Central Bank.
“Injibabo did not tell you that the culture of waste started long ago. Even just as recent as 1998, Total was awarded a contract value of 198m dollars to repair Kaduna Refining and Petro-chemical plant. Chrome Oil Services in conjunction with its Polish partners was also awarded 100million dollars to repair and maintain Port Harcourt refinery. Tell me, is the total of that amount not enough to build a new refinery? Let me not talk about the 16billion dollars spent on National Integrated Power Project with nothing to be proud of or the trillions of naira awarded for road constructions that have yielded no fruit.
“People of the Waterfronts, I stand up here to ask why the Boko Haram group cannot be reined? Why would they be allowed to waste hundreds of lives in a day in Kano? Why were they free to perpetuate their havoc for hours in a town that is already known to be a hot bed while eminent citizens in a peaceful protest in Lagos were immediately tear-gassed and dispersed?
“Why was Kabiru Umar aka Kabiru Sokoto, the alleged mastermind of the Madalla massacre allowed to escape? Is it because he knows too much and has to be let go? Is it to fulfill the president’s assertion that members of the dreaded sect has actually infiltrated the security agencies? It is not honourable for Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim to resign on the grounds that under his reign the Bokos carry out their acts unabated and even suspects are left to go scot-free? Is that not what happens in civilized nations?
“Grandpa, please I do not want to say more. My throat is dry.”
The Oldman of the Waterfronts let the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup move to Angaladikibo. He took his glassful when they returned to the table. ###
Kenneth Amabipi
08098551120
