The Forbidden Fruit: A warning to Aso Rock

Denise is a 6 year old who does not in anyway look like a typical girl of her age. She seems to have lost almost 2 years in physical stature taking after her

She is the second daughter of Michel, our Cameroonian friend and Nicole, his wife who is an Ivorian. We used to live in the same neighbourhood before we moved to our current location. After a long time of only telephone conversations between the two families and no see, we were able to arrange a dinner in our house on a Saturday evening.   

While the dinner was being served, I switched on the television in the dinning to watch the AIT international news. Michel is from the Bamileke tribe in the English speaking part of Cameroon so I was sure he would enjoy watching an Africa news channel in English. No sooner the TV was switched on that Denise quizzed in Italian language “chi è questo uomo?” Meaning who is this man? I pretended I didn’t hear her but she pressed further pointing to the TV asking “why does he look like this? He looks sick……..” I could see that her father was a little bit embarrassed about the utterances of his daughter but the mother seemed to be indifferent even though it was obvious that I wasn’t comfortable with her comments. 

How could a child talk like this? How could a child be so unkind in her remark towards another being? Do her parents help tame her razor-sharp tongue? A tongue, like a rudder in a ship is a small part controlling a big body, the power of life and death is in it. These are some of the questions running riot in my head. I began to wonder if they ever taught their daughter what our children call African education. Do they plan to send her to a finishing school later in life? We have taught our children never to make any nasty comments about anybody. They are to respect elders and call elderly Africans ‘uncles’ or ‘aunts’ in a country where everybody is called by his or her first name regardless of the age or status. We have taught them how to comport inside and outside home; and even to do some household work. Does it mean some African parents don’t bother about all the social and moral values in our African informal education? Our African education also includes what the scripture intends when it says “spare the rod and spoil the child” 

The little girl almost spoilt my evening until my wife helped me come back to my senses and then I realised that Denise was just saying the truth in her innocence. Absolute truth! Nothing but the truth! Truth can be truly bitter. She must have a discerning spirit. So how could a little girl spot a sick person within a few seconds? So a girl this young can quickly know what 140 million good people of our great Nation are being told is not real. No! No! No! Flesh and blood have not revealed this to her. 

How come madam doesn’t know that Oga is sick or is she pretending? How come she doesn’t know we see the same thing she sees, the same thing Oga sees in the mirror. We see the fading and skeletal figure. It is not inhuman to be sick rather it’s inhuman to deny this fact. We all know he is sick. Hardly can a day go by without my family praying that God will strengthen him to complete his term so that he can have enough time to attend to his health. Even though he is not desirable at Aso rock, we pray that he will live long enough to see our own Obama and a nation of our dreams. A nation the founding fathers had in mind when the fought for independence. A nation where the law will rule, not his hypocritical rule of law. An egalitarian society where the people in government will also know the difference between private and government funds. A nation we will all be proud to call ours. 

Just while we continued in our fervent prayer and occasional fasting for his survival, stories started to filter out of a second term. Second ‘wetin’? It can’t believe this. No it can’t be true. It’s surely a forbidden fruit that must not be eaten. So Shakespeare was right when he said that “there is no art to find the mind construction on the face”  

In an Obasanjo’s style of third-term leak, people started reading the scripts out loud and clear. Chief Tony Anenih and the FCT Minister, Alhaji Muhammadu Adamu Aliero were the first persons to disclose this. As I was still contending with the sanity of both men, then Dr. Bukola Saraki, the Kwara State governor also confirmed this while speaking on behalf of all PDP governors…… It can never be true. All the PDP governors can not lose their minds simultaneously. Was it another April fool? No. What could have motivated him and even them? I know cancer do spread, has it got to the faculty? Can the devils who deceived Obasanjo to go for a third shot be at work again? Or the sprites of the Abacha era? Or is it the innocently looking ‘uninnocent’ Madam? They cannot mean it. We cannot take it. “You can fool some people sometimes but you cannot fool all the people all the time” – apology to Bob Marley.

After taking more than his fair share of the booty and contributing more than most of his corrupt old politicians in dragging Nigeria down, common sense would have expected Chief Anenih to fade off from the scene but his greed seems to be insatiable. Has he squandered the tens of billions of Naira he made during Obasanjo’s era as the Minister of Work, PDP’s BOT Chairman and as ‘Mr. Fix it’ or he just wanted a few more billions acting as a ‘fix it’ consultant. If not psychosis, how could someone who owns more than 100 houses in Abuja alone still be interested in filching public fund. God is watching and we will all have to account to Him someday. A wise man of his age should be factoring eternity in his thoughts. 

Nothing better could have been expected from Alhaji Adamu Aliero who in spite of his infamous past as a governor in Kebbi State was still made the FCT Minister only for arranging his successor in Kebbi State House, Governor Saidu Usman Nasamu Dakin Gari to take Zainab a first daughter as a third wife. If this is your own way of saying thank you, you have really taken it too far. How can you recommend a slumbering head to a nation that is fast awake? Foul! 

Governor Bukola Saraki is the son of the the Senate Majority leader in the second republic Olusola Saraki. This medical doctor turned banker and ultimately politician will for ever be remembered as the Damaging Director of  Societe General bank in Nigeria for single-handedly running dry the bank while he was the CEO and his father was the Chairman. Our memory is not shallow. As a good people, we only have a big heart to forgive and give a second chance otherwise, you would have been lynched for the pains you caused depositors and investor of SGB. Now you want to replicate what you did to the bank to the entire nation. How can a knowledgeable human being claim that the Oga needs 2 years to study the problem of this country and 6 years to act. The statement confirms what is believed in some quarters that our political office aspirant should go for  psychiatric evaluation. Any one who needs 2 years to study a problem, will certainly need eternity to solve it. How many years will be required to study the problems of China or India. Obama knew what he wanted to do and started doing it from the first day of his presidency. 

A First lady’s love of power is not peculiar to Turai but I think she is taking it to another level. Since her husband’s disability is gradually turning to inability, she is craftily trying to be in charge and turn Umaru to the nations ‘First gentleman’. Nigerians (rather Obasanjo and Iwu) did not vote Turai to Aso Rock but Umaru. Common sense would have suggested that a loving wife in your shoes would have advised the husband to stand down on the account of ill health. Your action has brought back the memory of ‘Mamangida’ who believed it was more glorious to be a late president than a former president. What difference does it make if someone dies as a former president or a sitting president? If you are motivated by your search for more gubernatorial suitors for your other daughters, you still have about 2 years to put your acts together. Nigerians are tired of reading about your illegal deals and financial escapades littering the pages of our online news sites. You can be more honourable! 

Mr. President, if truly you have thought about a second term, it must have been at best, a poor decision, bad judgment and gross insensitivity from your side. My advice is that it is good you seek help when you can, get yourself some attention while you can and get some treatments which you can as only the wise see danger around the corner and take appropriate action. A word is enough for the wise! Nigeria is no North Korea where an obviously dying Kim II-Sung was nominated for another term. We have many capable and able people to lead us to the promised land. We can not wait to see you leave Aso Rock Villa. It is our prayer that you would be the last old order politician to stay in the Villa. We desperately need a break and a change. We can make it! Yes we can!! Yes we will!!! 

The only Constance in life is change. People can change. Was the President not the seemingly meek Governor of Katsina? May be the fear of Obasanjo and Nuhu Ribadu was the beginning of his meekness and wisdom then. Was he not the reluctant presidential candidate? How come he doesn’t want to leave even in spite of all odds against him? Was he not the one who left about 6 billion Naira in the coffer of his state while his colleagues left billions in debt or did  he  just lack idea of what to do with government’s money? At least he could have built a world-class hospital in Katsina to take care of his ailment to save Nigeria the cost and foreign exchange to fly him to Germany and Saudi Arabia. 

What have you done in your almost two years free-for-all corruption plagued government? What have we gained from our patience? What dividend of democracy have you delivered? Nothing! You embrace the corrupt and run after the corruption fighters. You befriend Ibori, Odili, Turaki, Lucky, Kalu etc and chase Nuhu Ribadu. Is that your way of fighting corruption? 

Your allies say you need 2 years to study the problems. Which problems? National or personal problems? Nigeria has no other problems than to fight corruption, generate electricity, provide good roads and other infrastructures, provide quality education, heathcare………….. and most of all rebrand you politicians and other public office holders. 

You have 2 more years to prove sceptics wrong and let them know that slow and steady win the race. Please don’t renege on your promise of 6000 KW by the end of the year. 

God Bless Nigeria! 

Nigeria Go Better!  Rufus Kayode Oteniya ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) is the founder and the administrator of Nigeria Think Tank a Facebook discussion forum created to confront problems confronting us as a people.