Reflections on Sūratu Yūsuf: Lessons For Everyday Life (2) – Newstrends
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Reflections on Sūratu Yūsuf: Lessons For Everyday Life (2)

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2 years ago

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Beware of People’s Fake Emotions

Emotions can be tricky and deceitful. Don’t fall for it by being hasty in judging people rightly or wrongly. In verses 11-14, Prophet Ya’qūb’s children played a fast one on his emotions by faking affection for their brother, Yūsuf عليه السلام. They promised to protect him while concealing their evil intentions behind their smiling faces and fake promises. People are not to be trusted based on their cosmetic facial expressions.

Before accepting information from anyone or trusting them, one must apply extreme caution and circumspection. This is why Allāh subhānahu wa ta’ālā says in the Qur’ān:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ

“O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.” (49:6)

Apart from faking emotions to persuade their father to release Yūsuf to them, they equally came back home shedding crocodile tears as though they had done nothing wrong! Allāh says:

وَجَاءُوا أَبَاهُمْ عِشَاءً يَبْكُونَ

“At nightfall they came to their father weeping” (12:16)

Knowing so well that their father will never believe them (he actually sensed their plot even before he released Yūsuf to them), they stained Yūsuf’s shirt with blood of lamb (but they forgot to tear the cloth to indicate a wild attack. So Ya’qūb knew that they were lying).

وَجَآءُوۡ عَلٰى قَمِيـۡصِهٖ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ​ؕ قَالَ بَلۡ سَوَّلَتۡ لَـكُمۡ اَنۡفُسُكُمۡ اَمۡرًا​ؕ فَصَبۡرٌ جَمِيۡلٌ​ؕ وَاللّٰهُ الۡمُسۡتَعَانُ عَلٰى مَا تَصِفُوۡنَ

“And they brought Yūsufs shirt, stained with false blood. Seeing this their father exclaimed: “Nay (this is not true); rather your evil souls have made it easy for you to commit a heinous act. So I will bear this patiently, and in good grace. It is Allāh’s help alone that I seek against your fabrication.” (12:18)

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It is reported that one day, a woman came to the court of Shuraih al-Qādī to report a case and was crying profusely. Shuraih was unmoved. It was said to him, don’t you see her crying? He replied, “the brothers of Yūsuf came weeping even though they were liars.”

Thus, one must always seek the truth before judging matters, just as one shouldn’t be too quick to believe or trust just anyone based on appearance or eloquence in speech. The Messenger of Allāh صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

رَسُول اللَّه ﷺ قَالَ: إِنَّمَا أَنَا بشَرٌ، وَإِنَّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ إِلَيَّ، وَلَعَلَّ بَعْضَكُمْ أَنْ يَكُونَ أَلْحَنَ بحُجَّتِهِ مِنْ بَعْضٍ؛ فأَقْضِي لَهُ بِنحْوِ مَا أَسْمَعُ، فَمَنْ قَضَيْتُ لَهُ بحَقِّ أَخِيهِ فَإِنَّمَا أَقْطَعُ لَهُ قِطْعَةً مِنَ النَّارِ مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيهِ.

“I am a human being, and yu bring to me, for (judgment) your disputes, some of you perhaps being more eloquent in their plea than others, so I give judgment on their behalf according to what I hear from them. (Bear in mind, in my judgment) if I slice off anything for him from the right of his brother, he should not accept that, for I sliced off for him a portion from the Hell.”

When Prophet Dāwūd was approached by two litigants, he was moved by the accusations by the complainant that he totally forgot to take the plea of the defendant before hitting the gavel.

It is this important that one looks beyond facial appearances and cosmetic emotions when dealing with people, lest one fall into their traps and evil machinations. Even when choosing partner for marriage, it is important to be thorough and meticulous lest one mistakes the devil for a saint!

“It is not the eyes that matters; but what is behind the eyes.”

Patience is Beautiful

There’s a popular adage in my mother tongue that says, “hankuri man ama wun zo yin jin” (patient is though sweet, but difficult to do). In verses 18 and 83, prophet Ya’qūb عليه السلام displayed the rarest of all virtues. His calmness and composure in the face of provocation by his children is legendary. When they came back with Yūsuf’s blood stained shirt, claiming that a wolf had devoured him while they were away hunting, he knew that they were lying. How can a wolf devour him without a scratch on his cloth? Not even their crocodile tears could deceive Ya’qūb into buying their conspiracies. His response simply was:

قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا ۖ فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ ۖ وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَىٰ مَا تَصِفُونَ

“No! Your souls must have tempted you to do something evil. So I can only endure with beautiful patience. It is Allāh’s help that I seek to bear your claims.”

However, despite his founded suspicion, and knowing the evil that his sons are capable of doing which was why he was so reluctant to release Yūsuf to them in the first place, Ya’qūb restrained himself from cursing them. It was a difficult thing to do, considering his extreme love for Yūsuf. But not even this shattering heartbreak could make him lose his temper and curse his own children. Rather, be resorted to seeking Allāh’s help to rectify his affairs and theirs, too.

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In verse 83, when they brought him the news of Bunyamin’s (Yūsuf’s kid brother from the same mother who Ya’qūb equally loves more than their siblings) detention in Egypt over the charge of theft of the king’s weighing cup, Ya’qūb equally maintained his calmness and decorum. It was the second time his most beloved sons would go missing in mysterious circumstances. Yet, the only thing the heartbroken father could say was:

قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا ۖ فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ ۖ عَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَأْتِيَنِي بِهِمْ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

He cried, “No! Your souls must have tempted you to do something evil. So I’m left with nothing but beautiful patience. I trust Allāh will return them all to me. Surely, He Allāh, is the All-knowing, All-Wise.”

Indeed, Ya’qūb was right. The brothers maliciously gave the Chief Minister (Yūsuf) a fabricated proof that nailed Bunyamin when they said:

قَالُوا إِنْ يَسْرِقْ فَقَدْ سَرَقَ أَخٌ لَهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ ۚ

(To exonerate themselves) Yūsuf’s brothers said, “If he has stolen, so did his (full) brother (Yūsuf) before.” (verse 77)

Parents especially have a great lesson to learn here. At all times, they must restrain themselves and refrain from uttering bad statements and laying curses on their children. Because of Ya’qūb’s patience, Allāh not only rectified his once upon a time wicked children, but He equally bestowed prophethood on their children and grandchildren, referred in the Qur’ān as the الأسباط.

Note: Contrary to popular opinion among some of the local scholars here, the majority of the mufassirūn are of the view that apart from Yūsuf, no other son of Ya’qūb was a prophet. Shaykhu’l-Islām bn Taimiyah rahimahuLlāh said:

الذي يدل عليه القرآن واللغة والاعتبار أن إخوة يوسف ليسوا بأنبياء، وليس في القرآن، وليس عن النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم -، بل ولا عن أصحابه خبر بأن الله – تعالى -نبأهم، وإنما احتج من قال أنهم نبئوا بقوله في آيتي البقرة والنساء \”والأسباط\”، وفسر الأسباط بأنهم أولاد يعقوب، والصواب أنه ليس المراد بهم أولاده لصلبه بل ذُرِّيَّتُه، كما يقال فيهم أيضاً \”بنو إسرائيل\”، وكان في ذريته الأنبياء، فالأسباط من بني إسرائيل كالقبائل من بني إسماعيل.
“What is established by the Qur’ān, Arabic language and sound logic is that Yūsuf’s brothers were not prophets. There’s no indication in the Qur’ān, or in prophetic traditions or statements of the Sahābah that Allāh sent revelations to them. Those who make this claim interpreted the word والأسباط which is found in Sūrah Baqarah and Nisā’ to mean “and the children of Ya’qūb”. The correct view is that what is meant by this word are his progenies and not his blood children…”

Allāh commands parents to exercise patience with their children. In Q.64:14, He says,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ وَأَوْلَادِكُمْ عَدُوًّا لَكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ ۚ وَإِنْ تَعْفُوا وَتَصْفَحُوا وَتَغْفِرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ

“O believers! Surely among your wives and your children there are some who are your enemies: so beware of them. But if you pardon, overlook and forgive their faults, then know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”

Then, in the next verse, He offered some words of consolation and caution, saying:

إِنَّمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَأَوْلَادُكُمْ فِتْنَةٌ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عِندَهُ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ

“Your wealth and your children are but a trial. It is Allāh with Whom is the greatest reward.”

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Prophet Ibrāhīm’s father, despite being an idolator and enemy of Allāh is another great example in this regard. In spite of his hatred for his son’s obstinacy and opposition to his idolatrous ways, he never cursed him. In fact, when his frustrations with Ibrāhīm reached the crescendo, the only thing he said was:

قَالَ أَرَاغِبٌ أَنتَ عَنْ آلِهَتِي يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ ۖ لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهِ لَأَرْجُمَنَّكَ ۖ وَاهْجُرْنِي مَلِيًّا

“He (the father) said: “Do you reject my gods, O Ibrahim (Abraham)? If you stop not (this), I will indeed stone you. So get away from me safely before I punish you.” (19:46)

Being impatient with one’s children has disastrous consequences. From being deprived of prosperity and success in this world, it may land the children in Allāh’s wrath and punishment in the hereafter. The Messenger of Allāh said:

رضا الله في رضا الوالدين وسخط الله في سخط الوالدين

“Allāh’s is pleased (with one) when his parents are pleased (with him), and He is angry (with one) when his parents are angry (with him).”

As parents, we must continue to pray to Allah to rectify our children. There’s nothing beyond rectification for Allāh. A righteous parent’s prayer for his wayward children will be accepted by Allāh. We must refrain from haboring hatred and evil for our children no matter how of bad character they may be. This is because, as the Yoruba adage goes, “one’s child cannot be so bad as to make one throw him out for lion to devour.”

A child who turns out bad as a result of his parent’s curse is not only useless to himself but to his parents as well. In the end, no one will hand over his righteous and prosperous child to you. You will have to live with the sorrow and woe. And even if you have two dozens of children and one turns out bad, you still will not be able to live with the disappointment and frustration. Allāh says,

وَجَعَلْنَا بَعْضَكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ فِتْنَةً أَتَصْبِرُونَ ۗ وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ بَصِيرًا

“And We have made some of you a trial for others. Will you then not be patient? And your Lord is All-Seeing.” (25:20)

To be continued…

Dr. Sanusi Lafiagi is a lecturer in Department of Islamic Studies, Al-Hikmah University Ilorin

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Ademola Lookman showed Davido and Kemi Badenoch that wisdom is not by age – Omokri

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4 days ago

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December 18, 2024

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Reno Omokri, Ademola Lookman, Davido and Kemi Badenoch

Ademola Lookman showed Davido and Kemi Badenoch that wisdom is not by age – Omokri

Recently, the singer David Adeleke was given a global stage to do whatever he wanted and deliver any message.

Sadly, Mr. Adeleke used the opportunity to speak in an American accent. Not only that, he used that American accent to talk down on Nigeria and tell the world not to invest in Nigeria because, as he put it, Nigeria’s “economy is in shambles”.

Coincidentally, a month after his faux pas, Kemi Badenoch, probably inspired by Davido, used her British accent to talk down Nigeria, calling us “a very poor country” where the police rob citizens.

But the interesting thing about her own case is that the next day, the BBC featured a panel of Conservative Party big shots, and one of them, Albie Amankona, a party chieftain from Chiswick, who is also a celebrity broadcaster, said, and this is a direct quote:

“If you are a Brexiteer, and you are saying we need to be expanding our global trade beyond the European Union, we want to be looking at emerging markets for growth, don’t slag off one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.”

Is it not strange that it took the BBC and a British politician to promote Nigeria as one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa?

And just when we thought it was all bad news, God gave us a breath of fresh air in the youthful Ademola Lookman, who used the global podium granted to him by his winning the 2024 African Footballer of the Year award to promote and project Nigeria and the Lukumi Yoruba language to the world.

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Wisdom is not by age. If not, Ademola Lookman, who is just twenty-seven, will not have displayed greater wisdom than David Adeleke, who is thirty-two, and Kemi Badenoch, at forty-four.

Mr. Lookman proved that the age of Methuselah has nothing to do with the wisdom of Solomon.

And it is not as though other ethnicities with global icons do not also project Nigeria. They do.

Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spoke Igbo on the podium of the WTO in Geneva. In terms of prestige, she is FAR above Lookman.

My campaign is not for the Lukumi Yoruba alone. It is for all sub-Saharan Black Africans to learn to speak their language and not use ability to speak English or another colonial language as a measure of intelligence.

Besides Lukumi Yoruba and Hausa, every other Nigerian language, including Fulfulde, is gradually dying out.

General Buhari is half Fulani and half Kanuri. Yet, he cannot speak either Fuifulde or Kanuri. But he speaks Hausa and English.

Fact-check me: In 2012, UNESCO declared Igbo an endangered language.

However, the Lukumi Yoruba are to be commended for their affirmative actions to advance their language and culture.

Let me give you an example. All six Governors of the Southwest bear full Lukumi names: Jide Sanwa-Olu, Seyi Makinde, Dapo Abiodun, Ademola Adeleke, Abiodun Oyebanji, and Orighomisan Aiyedatiwa.

No other zone in Nigeria has all its governors bearing ethnic Nigerian names as first and second names. They either bear Arabic or European names as first names or even first and second names.

If we truly want to be the Giant of Africa, we must take affirmative steps to preserve our language and culture so we can have children like Ademola Lookman.

Teach your language to your children before you teach them English. They will learn English at school. Being multilingual is scientifically proven to boost intelligence.

Fact-check me: In the U.S., Latino kids do not speak English until they start school. They learn Spanish as a first language.

Even if you relocate to the UK, the best you can be is British. You can never be English. And if your choice of Japa is the U.S., the highest you can be is an American citizen. You will never become a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant WASP.

Your power lies in balancing ancient and modern, Western and African, English (or other colonial languages) and your native tongue.

That is the way to reverse language erosion, like the Lukumi Yoruba.

Ademola Lookman showed Davido and Kemi Badenoch that wisdom is not by age – Omokri

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Kemi Badenoch’s Hate for Nigeria – Femi Fani-Kayode

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1 week ago

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December 15, 2024

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Femi Fani-Kayode

Kemi Badenoch’s Hate for Nigeria – Femi Fani-Kayode

“I find it interesting that everyone defines me as a Nigerian. I identify less with the country than with my specific ethnic group. I have nothing in common with the people from the north of the country, the Boko Haram, where Islamism is. Being Yoruba is my true identity and I refuse to be lumped with the northern people of Nigeria who were our ethnic enemies, all in the name of being called a Nigerian”- @KemiBadenoch.

Dangerous rhetoric

Kemi Badenoch, MP, the leader of the British Conservative Party and Opposition in the @UKParliament, has refused to stop at just denigrating our country but has gone a step further by seeking to divide us on ethnic lines.

She claims that she never regarded herself as being a Nigerian but rather a Yoruba and that she never identified with the people from the Northern part of our country who she collectively describes as being “Boko Haram Islamists” and “terrorists”.

This is dangerous rhetoric coming from an impudent and ignorant foreign leader who knows nothing about our country, who does not know her place and who insists on stirring up a storm that she cannot contain and that may eventually consume her.

It is rather like saying that she identifies more with the English than she does with the Scots and the Welsh whom she regards as nothing more than homicidal and murderous barbarians that once waged war against her ethnic English compatriots!

All this coming from a young lady of colour that is a political leader in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural country that lays claim to being the epitome of decency and civilisation! What a strange and inexplicable contradiction this is.

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Her intentions are malevolent and insidious and her objective, outside of ridiculing and mocking us, is to divide us and bring us to our knees.

I am constrained to ask, what on earth happened to this creature in her youth and why does she hate Nigeria with such passion?

Did something happen to her when she lived here which she has kept secret?

Was she the victim of some form of deviant behaviour, abuse or perversion that has resulted in trauma, long term psychological damage & mental health issues?

Is this why she sees red and gets her pretty knickers in a twist whenever she hears “Nigeria”?
Why does the mention of the name of our country trigger such compulsive, violent and aggressive emotions and impulses in her?

Given her pathological hatred for Nigerians these are legitimate questions that need to be answered.

Nigerian community

She hates us with what the Bible describes as “a perfect hatred” yet in a much publicised and widely read open letter written in 2010 during her first bid to be elected into the UK Parliament she begged the Nigerian community in her constituency to support her.

At that time, when she still needed us, she identified with Nigerians but everything changed after she was elected.

At that point, in her conflicted and confused mind, all Nigerians became demons, all Englanders became angels and her disdain and contempt for us was unmasked!

She hates us with a perfect hatred yet she still has the effrontery and nerve to haul her rotund posterior back to our country with one Hamish, who I am told is her English husband, to watch polo at the Lagos Polo Club.

This is the same country that she has described as being a lawless jungle and corrupt stinking edifice from which no good can come and that is filled with nothing but apes, monsters and the criminally insane.

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The truth is that the creature called Kemi Badenoch is nothing but a b*tch on heat. She needs to be tamed and caged.

She is Aunty Jemima on steroids and the President of the International House Ni*gers Association.
Her Nigerian passport (if she still has one) ought to be revoked and she should never be allowed to set her leprous foot in our country again.

She should take Vice President Kashim Shettima’s @KashimSM counsel seriously and drop Kemi as her name.
She should formally wipe her maiden name of Adegoke off the record as well and publicly renounce and disavow her father, mother, siblings and Nigerian lineage and heritage.

She does not want to identify with us and we do not want to identify with her.

She sees us as being corrupt and evil and we see her as being the devil incarnate and the spawn of Satan. There can be no fellowship between us.

The truth is that she is no longer a mere irritant or the inconsequential object of our contempt and ridicule but she can now be comfortably and legitimately described as ‘public enemy number one’ of our beloved nation.

She should stick to the affairs of her UK, face it’s ruling Labour Party and it’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer and LEAVE NIGERIA ALONE!

Polo

On a lighter note it is a pity that I stopped playing polo many years ago because if it had been in my days that she attempted to visit the Lagos Polo Club she would not have got past the gate and if she managed to do so our grooms and horse boys would have pasted her self-hating, unpatriotic, ungrateful, treacherous and ever so plain face with Argentinian pony dung before tarring and feathering her.

How times have changed!

 

Kemi Badenoch’s Hate for Nigeria – Femi Fani-Kayode

•Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is the Sadaukin Shinkafi, a former Minister of Aviation and a former Minister of Culture and Tourism of Nigeria

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The cockroach called Dele Farotimi (1)

Published

1 week ago

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December 13, 2024

By

Tunde Odesola

The cockroach called Dele Farotimi (1)

Tunde Odesola

(Published in The PUNCH, on Friday, December 13, 2024)

The official name for cage fight is Mixed Martial Arts. Street fight, known as ‘ìjà ìgboro’ in Yoruba, is the bane of Ibadan people, says the panegyric of Oluyole, the city of brown roofs scattered among seven hills. MMA, I think, is organised street fighting.

But, long before MMA became a global combat sport in 2000, little devils of St Paul Anglican (Primary) School, Idi-Oro, Lagos, and Archbishop Aggey Memorial Secondary School, Mushin, Lagos, engaged in ‘ìjà ìgboro’, the progenitor of Mixed Martial Arts. Retrospectively, I’m guilty of being part of the little devils of both schools.

Because, instead of heeding the ‘blessed are the peacemakers’ injunction in the Holy Scriptures, to ‘inherit the kingdom of God’, what we did as little demons that we were was to add fuel to the embers of hostility smouldering among fellow students.

As soon as you noticed two students in a heated argument, instead of you to sue for peace, the naughty reaction was for you to grab some soil in clenched fists and spread your fists towards the two disputants, daring both pupils to slap one of the outstretched fists: ‘Ení bá lè jà, kó gbon!’

‘Ení bá lè jà, kó gbon!’ was a call to arms. To prove you’re a lionheart ready to fight, you slap the clenched fist open and watch its content pour out to the ground.

So, in a jiffy, you would see friends who were laughing a while ago, engage in a free-for-all instanter. Regrettably, I initiated some of such fights and participated in not a few. You probably can’t grow up in Mushin and be fainthearted.

Taliatu Mudashiru was my friend and classmate in Forms 1 and 2. Occasionally, when I didn’t get dropped off at school by my father, and I had to make it to school on my own, I first trek from our Awoyokun Street residence to Taliatu’s house on Adegboyega Street before both of us would head up to Akinade Ayodeji’s house two blocks away en route to school.

I thought I was stronger than Tali, as we fondly called him, or Pali Tutu (Wet Cardboard) – if the caller was a mischievous classmate – until one day when we disagreed during a break-time chatter involving other classmates.

A peacemaker stepped forward with clenched fists, chanting, ‘K’éyin lè jà, k’émi lé wò’ran, Èsù ta’po si,’ evoking Baba Devil himself. I slapped one of the fists; Tali slapped the other! ‘Ha, Tali ke? I go kill sombodi!’

Toe-to-toe, Tunde rained blows. Tit-for-tat, Tali responded. We upturned desks and seats as the brawl spiralled to the delight of cheering classmates. But it was short-lived as the break-time bell saved the day. We swore at each other but classmates begged us, like peacemakers, to save our punches and wait till after-school hours to throw them.

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After school, excited classmates such as Taliatu Olokodana, Akinade Ayodeji alias Kuruki, Hakeem Adigun alias Slate, Jide Oladimeji alias Agama; Kunle Adeyoju alias Iron Bender, Sunday Pedro Oshokai, Sanmi Okuwobi, Sule Mustapha alias Maito; Olalekan Egungbohun, Kazeem Osuolale alias Oju etc led Tali and me to ‘Ojú Olómo ò to’, an arena so named because no parent or guardian’s eyes ever got to see what happened there.

Only Lukmon Yusuff aka OC, Jide Ajose and Segun Majekodunmi would have separated us if they were around. For his good-naturedness, Jide got the nickname Unreasonable while Segun was called Brother because he belonged to the Deeper Life Church and Yusuff got nicknamed O.C. because of his effectiveness as a football defender.

The ‘Ojú Olómo ò to’ was the playground of a primary school that had closed for the day. Impish classmates sat around the edge of the big field, leaving Tali and I at the centre to unleash the devilry in us.

Tali, bigger and an inch taller, was hoping to use his weight to an advantage, grabbing at me but I knew if he slammed me he would feed me with sand, so I used my fists to keep him off.

We wrestled and boxed and kicked and clawed for God knows how long. There was no referee. There was no timeout. There were only ringside viewers who laughed and cheered every kick and blow and the sight of blood. Tali and I bled all over, spent and gasped for breath.

Then I threw a punch, it caught Tali right in the face, and he first went down in a squat, before flattening out on his back. I should have jumped on him and finished him off, but I was barely breathing. I just left him and I turned away to look for my bag and shoes.

The following day, Tali was looking for me on the assembly ground. He appeared proud of us. He shook hands with me vigorously and we hugged for a long period – like warriors after a pyrrhic victory. He earned my respect, I earned his. Tali probably thought I was a sportsman for not finishing him off when he blanked out, but little did he know that all that was on my mind when he fell was me getting home. I probably would’ve fallen too if the fight had lasted longer.

There are similarities between my fight with Tali and the ongoing fight between one of Nigeria’s heavyweight lawyers, Aare Afe Babalola and human rights activist and lawyer, Mr Dele Farotimi.

I know Nigeria is broken and needs fixing urgently. I know that to fix it, something has to give. I know Nigeria’s coconuts of corruption must be cracked on skulls and the water thereof used as atonement for the nation’s corruption.

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I see many coconuts. I also see the head of Babalola and that of Farotimi. I see other heads, too. But whose skull(s) would crack open the coconuts?

I see a poisonous cockroach encircled by a brood of chickens. Among the chickens is the breed called Supreme. There’s also a breed called Appeal and another breed called High. There’s yet another breed called SANyeri, a name symbolising the breed’s big gowns. The chickens thrust their heads forward, sharply looking right and left, watching intently, communicating in esoteric language. What shall we do to this irritant?

Yet, the cockroach is adamant in the valley of jeopardy, six legs gangling, two antennas roving; person wey wan don die jam person wey wan kill am.

Tali Vs. Tunde. Today, I can’t even remember what caused the disagreement that snowballed into our fight, but I can never forget the pain of the fight. I had thought I would make light work of Tali but I didn’t see his gallantry coming.

Although I’ve never met Baba Babalola, he comes across as a man of commendable philanthropy and frankness. It’s only frankness that could make him stand by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, in the 2023 presidential election when the elite of his tribe was queuing behind Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as ‘Shon of the Shoil’.

In the 2023 presidential election, I was neither BATified nor Atikulated just as I wasn’t Obidient. In some articles during the countdown to the election, I called for an overhaul of the 1999 Constitution before the conduct of the general elections, saying none of the presidential candidates would succeed as president if the Constitution wasn’t amended.

I also said there was no ideological difference among the All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party. If they were different, Nigeria wouldn’t witness six House of Representatives members of the Labour Party defecting to the APC recently, despite LP’s promise of a new Nigeria. While I predict more defections in the coming days, those already defected include Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Daulyop Fom (Plateau), Donatus Matthew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), Iyawe Esosa (Edo) and Fom Daniel Chollon (Plateau).

In my recommendations, I called for devolution of powers to the states, resource control, independent candidacy and patriotism by the generality of Nigerians for a new order.

And I’ve not repented from my belief that elected Nigerian politicians loot the treasury according to the amount of money available in it, not because one was more decent than the other or one party was better than the other.

This is why I find the anti-corruption campaign of 56-year-old lawyer and human rights activist, Dele Farotimi, assuring though I’m not going to touch the libel stuff just yet.

Although Farotimi is an LP member, his rhetoric resonates with equity, fairness and justice – cornerstones of democracy.

However, there are concave and convex perspectives on the Babalola-Farotimi issue. In secondary school, Physics was intriguing to me, though I found its abstraction intimidating and perplexing. It was in Physics that I learnt about convex and concave lenses. I was taught in secondary school that both lenses are used for correcting short-sightedness and long-sightedness.

Tali died a long time ago. May his soul rest in peace. Baba Afe Babalola is 11 years older than my father who died last March at 84. May the Lord grant Baba Babalola more years in good health, and may he see the end of this war.

To be continued.

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The cockroach called Dele Farotimi (1)

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