By: Shehu Bashir Esq.
Precision is the hallmark of communication. A poorly communicated wish or an ambiguous message is like a floating kite without a thread, the breeze will blow it to anywhere, even to the gutter.
If you don’t want your words to be misunderstood, twisted or misinterpreted, you must be very precise, succinct, accurate and unambiguous. Even God Almighty likes clarity.
There is a reason why mothers are often warned never to joke with curse words on their children. Such words carry the weight of manifestation a lot.
When we were small, we were constantly warned against joking with negative words. We were often told “Olohun o man awada”. This means God does not take lightly the utterances from your mouth, even when you are seemingly joking with such words.
When I grew up and read some psychology textbooks, I learnt that, sometimes, what you think constantly becomes part of your behavior even if you do not intend to internalize such act.
I don’t know if anyone had noticed how your mind is connected to your actions, wittingly or unwittingly, either by yourself or from others to you. I know for a fact that social media works on algorithm. What you view randomly, most times is a function of what your mind craves or intends. When you are online, just think of a certain thing, the video props up to your viewing most times.
If you want to understand me better, think of a certain trending videos on social media, open your Facebook page and scan through without specifically searching for that video. Randomly, the video you had thought about or something similar to that is what you see most of the time.
This is no magic. This is the power of the mind that controls the tongue and the consequences of our tongues that befall us.
I have brought all these analogies so that I can prove to the good people of Kwara that “O To Ge” mantra was a product of spontaneous thought, so impulsively coined without taking a deeper decipherment before it was generally adopted as a slang to pursue the 2019 political struggle.
It was a blind, blanket, spontaneous, and impulsive product of anger without specific supplication to God, so to say.
By the way, O To Ge is more or less like a prayer, a wish to the divine Power on whatever we wish to put an end to. Yoruba in it’s literal linguistic sense would have conceptualized that as a wish for the end of a bad time or bad thing. For example, “iya yi to ge” meaning, enough of this sufferings. That was a specific wish and not generalized.
Now, in a compound and multi-dimensional application of a phrase or a word or even a sentence, O To Ge could have carried the wish of the erosion of the bad and the good at the same time without the supplicant knowing it.
If we say enough is enough without the sayer specifically saying enough of the suffering of “so, so, so and so”, we could have also chosen to wash off in one flood, both the dirt of rubbish and the glow of the diamond at the same time.
Don’t forget, where we see the dirty sand is where we mine the precious gold. The same rain that will wash off the stain on our wall could also have destroyed the only shelter we live in.
What am I saying. Yes, we chanted O To Ge (to Saraki), to get rid of his perceived “evil”, it was the most coordinated anti-establishment mantra in the political history of the state in recent memory. We were so “desperate” to “castrate” Saraki’s political fertility that we ended up even “killing” the offsprings he once bore for the good of the state.
Like the previous turbulent political mantras of “Sha-lake, Wet e”, etc, we were focused on fighting our political enemy, forgetting that we were also unconsciously destroying the society we all built together and some of the people who helped build the society.
Up Lawal and Sai Saraki may just be a competition of supremacy of names in the 2003 elections, what came after then was a fall of two giants that could have been useful for the state.
We wanted the political dearth of Saraki while forgetting that we may also be opening the door of political ostracism for ourselves. And indeed, we suffered that helplessly. Kwara has been so under represented at the federal level. Even, some of the states that could not deliver 100% votes to the APC are having higher numbers of CEO appointments while Kwara is struggling with just a few.
I will mention one very known example of how Saraki masterfully used his influence to fight for Kwara’s presence at federal level. During Goodluck Jonathan as the President, he wanted to establish what is now know as NBET. Saraki was the then Chairman of Governor’s Forum. As a critical stakeholder, Jonathan must have to consult Saraki on the proposed creation of the Agency. Saraki, as a smart guy, withheld his consent and cooperation unless a higher slot is reserved for Kwara state.
After much discussion, Jonathan appointed the Chairman of the Agency while Saraki nominated the Vice-Chairman of the Board of that Agency. That was the chess card that produced late Saka Ishau (of blessed memory) as the second in command of that agency.
Which governor has ever brought home this kind of position after Bukola Saraki? I challenge you to mention one and the position so influenced. Please, don’t mention that “fun Igba die” board membership.
Kwara has had two shots at NGF, holding the position of the Chairman at different times, I don’t know what good that status has brought to Kwara after Saraki left as the Chairman of NGF? Show me one!
I challenge anybody to present to me a list of new and influential leaders of national standing that the chief beneficiary of our O To Ge struggle has produced, in comparison with the numerous ones Saraki produced. I am not talking about relegated SSG, Commissioners and SAs who are not even given the power to award one million naira contracts.
While we were all so carried away by the slogan of O To Ge in such a blindfolded bandwagon, we forgot that O To Ge to Saraki is equal to O To Ge to the presence of Kwarans at federal level. O To Ge to Saraki was O To Ge to massive federal projects in Kwara. O To Ge to Saraki was equal to O To Ge to the person who would fight for Kwarans to be appointed as CEO of juicy agencies. O To Ge to Saraki was O To Ge to inclusive governance. O To Ge to Saraki was O To Ge to low patronage for qualified Kwarans. O To Ge Saraki was O To Ge to Kwarans at the centre stage of political power play.
We didn’t know that O To Ge to Saraki was O Tunya to political muffling and selective mutism. We thought Saraki talked too much, now we are faced with governance by muteness.
We didn’t know that O To Ge to Saraki was going to be O tunya to contract award without open bidding at ministerial tender board. We didn’t know that O To Ge to Saraki was going to be the worst suppression of the people. We didn’t know that O To Ge to Saraki would be the birth of one single man running the affairs of the state. We didn’t know that O To Ge to Saraki was going to give birth to kakistocracy in the state.
This is why speech is more than just a language, it is a wish. When you speak or make a wish, be specific. Avoid ambiguity. When you think, be positive in your thinking. If you wish to divorce your wife, do not castigate the kids along with her. Do not close your eyes while spitting, you could spit at the wrong person too. Do not throw away the baby with the bath water. Kwarans threw away the bad with many other good in Saraki.
Where am I going? It is not enough for you to wish that you want your brother to be in position of authority, your brother may just be your worst enemy. It is not enough that you are working with a family friend as an assistant in a political position, even your constitutional deputy status may run the whole term without affordable benefits of the office if the person you are working with is man who doesn’t want other people to grow.
It is not enough to think that once you have your cousin as a governor, your life will be transformed. That your cousin governor may just be the covert obstacle to your growth.
It is not enough to think once your tribal man or friend is in position of authority, that your life will be better, that position may even be used to oppress you. It is not enough to think once your village brethren gets there, that your ethnocentric mentality will get you a high place of benefits, that man may just be the worst disrespecter of cultural values that will turn everywhere upside down and deny you everything.
It is not enough to think your political godfather will help you up when he becomes the governor or minister or CEO, that your boss may be enjoying your slavish service to him, he may never lift you up.
It is not even enough that you sponsored a candidate in an election, against the wishes of the people, that candidate that you scattered everywhere for may just be waiting for the right time to launch at you, he may still betray you even one month into the government.
Therefore, before you wish for the coming and crowing of that man that you think will automatically better your life, I urge you to be very sure of whom you are dealing with and how he sees you. How you see him may not be how he sees you.
SO, LET ME ADVISE YOU—Your friend indeed may not be your friend in need —DATIEMO. Your brother in blood, may not be your brother at heart—DATIEMO. Your cousin in smile, may not be your cousin in good wishes—DATIEMO. The governor you hope will push you up may be the one that will block your way up—DATIEMO.
The Senator that you think may be able to speak on your behalf, to bring development to your constituency may lose his voice when it is time for him to speak on your behalf—DATIEMO.
The Minister that you think may help you secure an appointment or facilitate a job offer for you when he gets there may just be busy giving the benefits to outsiders — DATIEMO.
That your classmate you celebrated when he was given an appointment, thinking that he will use the position to also get you an appointment may not even pick your call anymore—DATIEMO.
The candidate you are rooting for, for one sentiment or another, to that extent that you have become the enemy of your family members, that candidate may be the one that will start inter-ethnic war that may create chaos in the state—DATIEMO.
Know who truly loves and who will do anything to help you and grow the state—DATIEMO
There are insidious enemies within every family. There are betrayers amongst friends. There are spies amongst allies. There are satans amongst angels. So, before you trust anyone with your life, know your own —DATIEMO. Know the person who truly values you and will do anything to push you all. This is called DATIEMO.
Your vote is your life. Do not mortgage your vote on the altar of sentiment. We have had a governor from our constituency who was only close to being kind to anyone but never truly cared about anyone else — DATIEMO.
That a governorship candidate is coming from your region does not mean he will make your region a paradise—DATIEMO.
We need a governor for all Kwarans who will bring even developments to the state and not the one who is coming on a vengeance mission to suppression one region for the other—DATIEMO.
So, before you vote, do not close your eyes with the rigidity of your sentiment. This is not a contest between two polar tribes. We have seen a son become useless to his father. We have also seen governors, Senators, House of Representatives members, and House of Assembly members becoming very useless to their constituencies and the state at large, so, — DATIEMO!
Antecedent speaks. Vote for the person who has a legacy of great service from their antecedents, a peaceful man of honour and not a man with tendentious, greed, selfishness, vengeance, chaos, and pomposity.
Know your own, be yourself … DATIEMO!
GOD IS HERE.
