A noble gaze at a Nevattan
5 min read
When ‘A Dance of the Forests’ excoriated the threat to democracy in the nation and the nearly intractable crisis in the Rivers State in 2013. Like every other seed of wisdom he broadcasted, political spectators, hawks, and his aficionados ardently ate it up, regurgitated it and rebroadcasted every letter for cultivation. In assent, 16 isn’t greater than 19, neither is 5 greater than 27. However, these arguments could be invalid, unsound, and undoubtedly debatable in different lenses. Isn’t democracy another lens for power?
A dozen years later, ‘The Lion and the Jewel' is pleased to have the national theatre named after him, by his fellow tribesman. Who unanimously declared state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended a democratically elected governor in the same breath. Replacing the governor with a navy vice admiral as the sole administrator. In a startling attempt to quench increasing political tension between the elected governor and his fellow tribesman’s minister. Who, astonishingly but unsurprisingly, is a former governor of the same state and of the same political party of the elected governor. However, working for and with the opposition party. Indeed a spectacle and worth the theatre.
In these times, when having Fulani herdsmen—sorry, bandits—roam freely uninterrupted in cities, highways, airports’ runways, even in Aso rock etc is becoming an unfazing norm, while concurrently or alternately they doll out massacres in villages. The carnage in Benue State has become a pop song hook. It surely will happen again after a verse of relative peace marked by fruitless placation by the press and the do-you-know-who-I-am at the top, at every level. In the same country where the Boko Haram is still a noun, a pronoun, an adjective and a verb, with hydra tentacles reaching the moon. In its possessive form, whether noun or pronoun, it has grabbed and still grabbing more towns and districts in Borno State, Adamawa State, Yobe State and every—anywhere else it can sink its claws. But wait, fellow tribesman doesn’t see the need for state of emergency in these states. Perhaps he’s waiting for his friend, ‘The Invention’ to invent the constituting words. To his credit, the ‘Madmen and Specialists’ has condemned the massacres multiple times—more so when no shoes no school bags was in office, and was strategically, or rather conveniently nearly wordless during integrity’s regime.
Most of the political spectators and hawks—excluding ‘The Swamp Dwellers’s aficionados—were deafened by the banging silence of ‘The Interpreters’, even as this semi-scripted play played out in real time. While the political eagles scoured newspapers, journals, art spaces, news channels, radio stations, and internetsphere looking for a seed of wisdom from ’Lost Poems’ new broadcast. Not even one alphabet was written to denounce this apparent attack on democracy, that even a year old baby could point at. My people say, “Abanga amine ipein ipein” — every plantain has its own bunch. Truly.
One would think ‘The Strong Breed’ who daringly disparaged and scolded no shoes no school bags and his wife publicly will do similar to his fellow tribesman for graver crime against an already frailing democracy, after integrity’s unruly molestation. Like every other religious leader, actors, artists and public figures that orchestrated or vehemently partook in vital democratic actions like Occupy Nigeria and the Bring Back Our Girls demonstrations during no shoes no school bags season, they are all blind or their souls have taken SpaceX’s Starship to Mars, during fellow tribesman’s era. An era landmarked by the staggering 200%+ depreciation of the koboless Naira in the south, Boko Haram grabbing more lands in the north, the continued and well sustained marginalization of people from the east, bandits wreaking havoc (euphemism applied here) across the board, systematic destabilization of ECOWAS in the west with a subtle but not too subtle nod from the West, an abundance of poverty generously distributed throughout the nation, amplified by ballooning inflation and removal-addition-removal-addition-removal of fuel subsidies that only and always benefits the selected few, just to name a few.
They chose to use their freedom of speech to be mute and blind. “Fasting and praying is prescribed for 100 days for every 90 days” for less severe cases. Of course, as a deeply religious nation, the religious leaders would rather have the whole nation fast and pray more fervently for the land than engage in the democratic actions, previously employed. Especially, those leaders from the same tribe as fellow tribesman. Same leaders that coordinated demonstrations from their “godly” soapbox during no shoes no school bags stint. My people also say “Wari iyaya yegigimo” — the roof of a house covers so many things.
And “ōbì ama, kala óbî yefa” — in the land of snakes there is no baby snake. ‘The Burden of Memory, the Muse of Forgiveness’ is an icon, and deserves respect from snakes, hawks, eagles and ants alike. However he doesn’t command respect, at least not as he once did, to this he’s forgiven. Obviously to his aficionados he still does and always will with high accuracy and precision. In the post Covid era, the netizens removed his FFP2 mask, with his consent of course. Some now see him in his Adam suit. Perhaps, maybe perhaps, the words he never said were more verb-ly than those he actually spoke — and even more telling than those he carefully penned in the forms that pleased him most.
Surprise! Surprise!!
The hero you so deified is anything but straight writing crooked lines. A nwa nkịta that only cowardly barks those big words he professes to stand for when the nkịta ukwu are not within arm’s reach. Like iron unearthed in 1200 BCE, once a celebrity of the Iron Age, he now slathers on steel paint to mask the deep rot beneath —rust. From rust to rust. Behold the beautiful artistry of Father Time.