DREADLOCK :AN ADDICTION WORSE THAN HEROIN AND COCAINE

 

Just as it is said of Time, as having its different seasons, to everything upon the earth , is attached , its different purposes. It is when one is ignorant of the purpose to which a thing is being put into use that abuse, misuse or even disuse becomes inevitable. Also , to every sense ,  is its own measure does revolve around , but when it is  without moderation , it becomes an addiction. To be addicted to a thing is to be bound or hooked to such thing .

It is a curse of the Cross of dependence and a prick that pierces and stabs.

Yoruba calls it :" eedi" or " eefun" to which spell one is metaphysically and irrevocably tied.

Sociologically and psychologically, it becomes a stub or a stump of equivocation, and upon which gutter, one stumbles or trips and falls into , leaving behind wounds which stigma or scar ,  have become an injury that time have refused to heal up .

It is generally believed that hard drugs are the only  substances which are easily abused and to which people are addicted .When Nassim Nicholas Taleb however wrote that :" Salary is a financial  drug that is as strong as cocaine or heroin " the reactions that yelled at his statement drew tons of distasteful comments from readers. 

I am afraid that I will  definitely attract from my readers and listeners, a more distasteful reactions by my own declaration and conviction, right here,  that dreadlock is a social and religious opium that  is worse than heroin and cocaine put together.

To illustrate the irrevocable ugliness pervading the dreadlock either as a fashion , religious or as an ideological expression, it is worth recalling here the encounter between a woman and Winston Churchill over a matter  revolving around drunkenness and ugliness. A woman had once approached Winston Churchill, ostensibly stepping upon the tail of his cobra, having planned in her mind to embarrass him in public. 

" You are drunk" She said to Churchill , who, was reputed with the knack of an orator ,not known to suffer fools gladly. 

" You are ugly " Churchill charged back,  adding :" Madam, I may be drunk today and be sober tomorrow but yours is irrevocable."

 In drawing similarities between salary and hard drugs,  Taleb argued that both give us " high" as the brain releases same hormone. 

" You hate your job but the next day it's " bam " ! your salary releases dopamine in the brain while you keep the job despite all struggles..."

 For the salary earner , the job is an indispensable part of life , which like drugs, you can't live without as there appears to be no other option for success and sustenance, even as this predicament resembles that of a drug addict.  You are accustomed to earning more money without mental efforts , receiving than giving; more on consuming than producing; no incentive for invention ; no application of mind to solve challenges and in a state of numbing creativity, courage and determination. So much addiction for salary and for the salary earner,  but worse addiction for the dreadlocked whose addiction is irrevocably weaved around the neck of ugliness, even on  his or her hairdo like a rattlesnake. The word , ugly, going by its dictionary definition, means" unpleasing to the sight".   It derives from old Norwegian language, " uggligr; to be feared, and from the word:" ugga " meaning " to fear , to dread ".

Just as the word ugly is an appearance that causes dread or horror, dreadlock is a word that  connotes fear . It is a number of ugly and dreadful looking strands of hair , curled or hanging  together with ferocity.

 But wait for it :  there are dreadlocks and there are dreadlocks. There are dreadlocks which exquisite beauty, pervading and permeating them, are under the lock and key of gods, having fashioned them after vows of chastity and dignity. 

These are the dreadlocks naturally worn by Nazirites. It is when the hairs upon which crowns, their heads are dignified,  suffer abuse (as a result of ignorance bufuddling the vision , purpose and mission by which  they were created ) that they become an addiction, worse than heroin and cocaine put together.  There are ofcourse , dreadlocks which are worn and cultivated  artificially as mere statements of expression  of ideological and sociological  leanings, but which rules  of engagements, are riding roughshod over the spirituality from which  depths , the strands are curled into threads of dreads and locks. 

For instance, when  Nigerian music lovers, particularly youths , sing with ferocious hilarity, jumping and shouting as they dance to the golden music of Adekunle Gold that:" Dangote and Otedola " ko lori meji ( Dangote and Otedola, each of them does not have two heads) what message are they trying to convey about "Ori " ( head ) being the concrete part of the body personifying luck, fate and destiny  ?  

Was it by mere coincidence that the Ooni of ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi and Nigerian billionaire business woman, Evangelist Folorunso Alakija, in separate interviews granted both of them by different media , gave a pride of place to Ori ( Yoruba word for head) being part of the body to which is associated the idea of primacy , chieftaincy, headship and captaincy  ?

 It's however a matter of regret today how too many of our youths are paying lip service to Ori( head ) through the way they are desecrating the sanctity of their heads , attaching to their hairs , the braids and brainwaves of toxicity and oddicity.

Why do many of our African women find it very impossible to appreciate their God-endowed complexion  and hairdos ? 

Does the act of  fastening to our hairs , the yoke of different colours of imported wigs, peculiar to the white , not portray us as a people of low esteem ? 

What of the odious manner in which the African woman bleaches  her natural skin of ivory and olive oil? 

I do not look further, any longer , for any reason, why mere Affirmative action driven outside of the mindset of the African woman, would not liberate the African woman from inferiority complex . No wonder why she is not readily  embracing her rightful position as an amazon, either in political or economic or sociological phase.

However , there are enough case studies about women, who with their natural dreadlocks , have led men , nations and kingdoms to victory , both in moments of crises and at critical periods.

These are women around whose dreadlocks are woven vows of commitment to chastity and spirit of liberation. 

Call them Rastafarians , the Dadas , the Dodondawas or the Nazirites, their Rastafarianism, individually , takes root 

  from " Ras- Tafari" the " Ras" being  " head " sharing same root with Arabic " ra'" while " Tafari" signifies dread fullness. 

An ode to the woman of valour, dignified in her natural dreadlocks, should here suffice. 

" Although I am not in any way effeminately helpless by my bodily construction ,the strands on my head are under the lock and key of gods .

It was this uncultivated  but consecrated land of virginity that raised the metaphor  of "Mariama", "Mary" and "Moremi "in their commitments to their vows of naziriteship.

They were able to devout their offsprings to the gods in order to free their people from the bondage of slavery and menace of satanic forces.  Like the proverbial goose reputed to bring good luck to her family, we are the rare female equivalence of the Biblical Deborah, the woman who is manly in everything she does.

 " I  am not only manly in my physique as a woman but in my behaviour , constituting the opposite side of what people do, even in taste, in my attire and in  my utterances." 

Talk of “nazir" in Hebrew  and “Nadiyr” in Arabic and you are finding my equivalence in the "Ndira" cognate which is referring to a woman behaving like a man-: That's the Ndira Gandhi of India. As the vocabulary dictating my hairdo moved to Greek, my Dada   metamorphosed into "Andrrizonai "which is a personification of one who is not effeminate , but manly enough to confront danger head-long. 

This is why the Ndira of India wears the same robotic android-loaded energy of the Andrew and the android culture in the English expressions.

Ruminating on the dreadlocks of artificiality, and the half-obedience to the rules of Naziriteship ,even , the criminality which  partiality constitutes an addiction, like hard drugs, the phenomenon of which has become worse than heroin and cocaine put together, I am reminded of Nazirites that have come and gone , leaving behind "so-so" sorrow.  Knights are no longer knights but Knaves. Nazirites have ceased to be nice, Notoriety is now the stock in trade of Nazirites, even as all manner of Dadas are feigning dreadlocks and painting the picture of stupidity. 

" We now wear dreadlocks that are as fascinating as they are incriminating.

" I am Dada Ogbegun in Yoruba land, the Dodondawa in Hausaland. 

With my hairdo, I break into the garden of fantasy, recruiting into fashion every fad of fallacy .

what an array of youths whose vision and mission are as blurred and as dead as dodo.

Fake prophets in their artificiality, Sorcery and sophistry are all at street corners disciplining the riff- raffs in their hundreds. Reckless house wives keep filling the ilks  with insanity of the highest order.

I am  now the Dada Ogbegun, I am recalcitrant, a truant, dropping out of schools like a teddy boy.

 I dared the forest of ten thousand demons with the midas touch of my terrific hair do.

 Even against sense, reasoning and Commonsense.

I smoke weeds of different cannabis in the wee hours of the night. 

You would find me at the proverbial lya fatality's joint , smoking like hell, snuffing weeds, Sweet grass like a teddy grass.

I am still myself, the David of the Hebrew generation. 

The only Dawodu whose David is without the sceptre of honour.

I exercise power without responsibility as I am Lemuel who has rubbished the sanctity of my mother's vow. 

Poor contemptible Bobby who has continually disgraced his father's Corrections.

I shunned my mother's pruning as a wild cannabis which twines have twinged her heart a thousand times. 

I am not like the obedient Sammel who stood rooted to his mother's post at Shiloh.

I have been placed on the narcotics of the sacred herb, ganja, goaded with the fantasy that it was capable of erasing other scriptures that do not believe in the truth of our Rastafari.

Amid this rebound of an echo of character, would it not amount to fighting Belzebub with belzebub ? Would this dreadlock of unending narcotic not going to end in a deadlock of insanity?

I am Dada Ogbegun , or simply call me Dada Dodon Dawa.

I am the brother of Ojo the proverbial Troublemaker who is fond of brewing defiance from the bridge of his two nostrils.

I have desecrated every rule of Nazirite, dragged in the mud of temerity, the name of Moses Orimolade, the first Dada of honour in Yorubaland.

I am the Samson , heavily dread-locked in my mission to break the jinx that had haunted long my people of Israel.

 Alas  I endedup being broken between the two laps of Delilah who made me foul my nazirite ship.

OLALERE FAGBOLA

( Dedicated to commemorate International Day Against Drug Abuse .

Delivered at Osogbo Window on America. 

Sponsored through collaborative efforts of Imole foundation and Trauma of the Dreadlocked Publishers .

Monday, June, 26, 2023 .

Photo Credit : Pixabay

TITILOLA CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT, PARENTS SYNERGY

The wife of Osun State Governor, Chief ( Mrs) Titilola has called on the people of the state to form a robust synergy with the administration of her husband, Senator Ademola Jackson Adeleke in his efforts at giving the youths a brighter future while improving the standard of living of the people of the state.

Titilola Adeleke who stated that the youths occupied a pivotal place in the agenda of Governor Adeleke, believed that Nigeria would be rapidly transformed if all stakeholders inculcated in their children moral values towards re-orientating their consciousness and sense of responsibility.

She further charged  parents and other stakeholders to reawaken their sense of responsibility towards building their minds,  being the only sustainable measure to safeguard them against numerous predicaments, such as child abuse, underage marriage, female gender mutilation, examination, school dropout  ,malpractices and internet fraud among other vices for which Osun state government has zero tolerance.

She gave this charge in her address at Ataoja School of Science , Osogbo, last Friday during this year's Day of the African Child at which occasion , the Imole Foundation, convening the programme presented an award of Excellence to the wife of the governor for being an icon whose life has been dedicated to the upliftment of the youths.

 She stressed that as Osun state is joining the Organisation of African Unity ( OAU ) to commemorate and honour the African Child , mothers particularly should look into various challenges confronting our children with a view to engaging them in dialogues and actions that would ensure a better world for them.

The wife of the Governor was presented with a plaque in recognition of her iconoduly in offering hope for the Girl child and the youths in general while she unveiled a new book written by the Chief Executive  Officer  C.E.O. of Imole Foundation, Oluwaferanmi Babatunde titled:" Wounds that Time won't heal ."

In her lecture titled  " Maintaining Zero tolerance Against  abuse of the Osun state Child, the Head of the Legal Unit of the university of Osun teaching hospital, Osogbo, Barrister Olopade Abimbola noted with delight that Adeleke-led administration, since assumption of office, has supported the creative energies of women affairs ministry in stamping out the menace of every form of abuse , neglect or exploitation of the child in the state.

She noted that government and its relevant agencies have constantly raided streets to rid them of children hawkers, embarked upon regular sensitisation of traditional and religious leaders on the evils associated with child trafficking and organ harvesting while government's school feeding programme as well as its " Omoluabi culture " have been energizing the girl child to resist abuse of her dignity.

Earlier in his welcome address, Babatunde Kehinde, the Chairman of Spectacular International Magazine under which auspices the Imole foundation organised the event , commended the remarkable achievements of the wife of the Governor, Chief Titilola Adeleke whom he described as a beacon of inspiration, guiding light and symbol of Hope for the children of Osun state .

IMOLE FOUNDATION HONOURS THE WIFE OF THE OSUN STATE GOVERNOR : SOLUDERO

 As part of this year's celebration of the Day of the African Child, The Imole Foundation under the auspices of the Spectacular International Magazine , would on Friday, June ,16, 2023, 10am,  honour the Wife of the Osun State Governor Chief Titilola Adeleke at Ataoja School of Science Osogbo. 

At a three- In-one  occasion in which the Orangun of Oke-ila, Oba ,( Dr) Adedokun Abolarin would  be the Royal Father of the Day , the International magazine would officially launch its non governmental  organisation, Imole Foundation , present to the public its first book titled " Wounds That Time Won't Heal "authored by Hembadoon Oluwaferanmi Babatunde while holding an interactive session that promises to create networking opportunities for all stakeholders in the   promotion of the good welfare of the African Child .

A statement signed by the Publisher of the international organisation,  Babatunde Hembadoon , affirmed that the celebration of this year's Day of the African Child is fashioned at honouring the wife of Governor Ademola Adeleke , Chief Titilola Adeleke whom she described as an Icon of hope and a Mother whose unwavering commitment and tireless efforts in championing the cause of the children's rights is unequalled and commendable.

 The Head of the Legal Unit of the University of Osun Teaching hospital, Osogbo, Barrister Abimbola Olopade is going to deliver a paper on " Maintaining Zero Tolerance Against Any Form of Abuse , Neglect or Exploitation of Osun State Child "  at the occasion to which the cream of the society would be identifying with the Child as a day of showing gratitude to caring leaders worldwide.

 The international Day of the African child being celebrated since 1991,  originally was in remembrance of hundreds of protesting youths massacred in the Soweto uprising of 1976 where-in they were demanding their rights to quality education . 

In identifying with the spirit behind the protest and towards ensuring the realisation of the rights Of the African child  , leaders as well as non governmental organisations around the world have been commemorating the day to draw the attention to the many plights of the African children towards  enlisting the support of caring stakeholders to promote the welfare being of the child .

" We adopt the African Union themes and campaign from the Sustainable development goals (SDG) relating to the welfare and progress of the Nigerian Child.

Accordingly, we have joined the states in the African Union,  Unicef, WHO, the Civil society organizations, the international and private sectors to highlight issues that are germane to the contemporary Nigerian child, especially on access to health care, including child and maternal health ;education, including gender equality ,eradication of violence and safety ,and quality of life."

  The African Union theme of the 2023 day of the African child event is " Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice since 2013.

Hembadoon Oluwaferanmi Babatunde

Publisher/ Convener

DR.FEMI ADESINA: A LESSON IN LOYALTY

There is no doubt that the level of thinking concentration required by nations  in Africa to enable  us compete squarely with developed nations should be more .

But it appears that we are tending towards fool hardiness in which we ( as dumping ground for all manner of imported goods ) believe that we are giants  of Africa and are equal partners with our competitors.

The over-weening self importance of our university system in the hands of our academics, is preventing the system from bursting out of their cocoons towards thinking outside the box, in order to take the bull of development by its two  horns. 

Amid the crisis of overtopicalisation and over-centralisation plaguing the university system, our lecturers have, for instance, been unable to identify and examine the principles behind the creation  of , for instance, the African Instituted churches to see the need for freeing our economy from the apron strings of over dependent on foreign goods .

In a chat with Mr Modupe Oduyoye, the philologist of our time , it was his contention that today's churches should be able to think outside their cocoons for an economic roadmap if African Instituted churches could survive during the world wars which saw white missionaries fleeing this land . Also, institutes of African studies should be committed to the Mbari culture in which African writers series of the days of yore continue to dwell on higher grounds .

Ofcourse, this could only be achieved whenever our university system think outside the box , allowing statesmanship within the four walls of the university to collaborate or co-respond with statesmanship outside of the ivory tower of the university walls. 

As God doesn't put all wisdom in the basket of the university , but put some in the heads of the lowly who are intellectually minded , so also the university should not pretend to have monopoly of knowledge. 

It is in the realisation of this fact which necessitates the university system to give medals or honorary doctorate degrees to geniuses and statesmen outside of the universities. 

Indeed universities do not have all the lines of knowledge and are not the exclusive custodians of first class materials. 

There are first class-honour products outside of the walls of university who level well with university dons. 

In one of the Havard university's journals: "Dialogue " ,  a golden thought on the  way forward  from " Five crises of the World's universities " remarked thus :" Statemanship of the highest order, both in and out of the universities, will be necessary if they are to fulfill their historic mission in our new world." 

This brings us to the point of right statemanship within and without university walls co-responding together. 

Barely few weeks to the time Dr. Femi Adesina  bowed out of office honourably as the Special Adviser  to President Muhammadu Buhari, he had begun to be vindicated. 

Judging from comments now referring to the patriotic way in which he handled his immediate  constituency ( the Press ) with fairness, not stifling press freedom in any way, even in spite of all vitriolic attacks on his Principal,  it is certain that history has begun to absolve him.

 In an open letter written to Bayo Onanuga by Richard Akinnola, he stated that it was remarkable that , Femi Adesina, as Special Adviser, Media and publicity to the President,  did not petition against any media throughout his tenure. 

As if to cap this view with a feather to his cap , Femi Adesina was honoured with a Doctorate degree in Strategic Management and Leadership Development by a United Kingdom based Institution of higher learning .

According to the Learn To Live Business School, United Kingdom, the Doctorate degree was conferred on him ( wait for it ) in recognition of his selfless service to Nigeria and his UNCONDITIONAL LOYALTY ( emphasis in capital, mine ) and Commitment to President Muhammadu Buhari as well as his administration 2015/ 2023

But Farooq Kperogi  does not think that Femi Adesina deserves being conferred with the doctorate degree. 

If Femi Adesina, even before becoming the Special Adviser to the president, was the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of a successful newspaper, and former President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors , is now being so honoured, it smacks of bad belle for anybody to think that he does not merit it .

If Femi's Professionally towering ( elephant) stature is being ( proverbially) described as a negligible creature who dashes across in the flash of lightning, then some motive outside of good intention must be accountable for such cynicism.

Also Segun Adams in his response to Femi Adesina's: parting valediction:"The Good in Goodbye " described him as the worst thing  that ever happened to Nigeria's journalism , arguing that Femi was a disaster of monumental proportion.

But Brother Isaac's response to this was that he was yet to find a spokesman

 for past Presidents who,while walking the tight rope, controverted the actions of his principal while in office.

I am also yet to find any past President without admirers, including most  vilified Abacha and IBB.

So,Femi Adesina cannot definitely be the worst of the past spokesmen.

And as professionals, can we at least agree that there are two sides to every story?He posed. 

 As a veteran journalist and writing Prophetologist, it is not an empty boast for me to affirm here that I have since 1979 till date ,  correctly predicted the emergence of no fewer than ten  Nigerian Heads of state/ Presidents before they were elected and sworn in. 

In 2015 when the contest was between President Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, my trance experience, based on the principles of jubilee of the period,  gave electoral victory to Goodluck Jonathan. 

I obliged Femi Adesina who was the the Managing Director of the Sun newspaper, a copy of the 2015 Yearly Revelation for consideration  for publication. The revelation fell flat for the first time in many years .

 Barely a year in office, I had reason to book for an appointment to interview the Special  Adviser to the President  at Aso Rock and rather than turning down my request, he   obliged me and it was during the session that I knew his motive for leaving his lucrative job to serve the Buhari's administration.

" What is the driving force and motive behind your movement from newspapering to the Presidency and doesn't it prick your conscience, leaving the frontline, even at a time like this when you are most needed to prod the conscience of leaders to act for the good of the society  ?" I asked him.

" There is just one  basic thing that motivated me into leaving my job for public service. If it was not Muhammadu Buhari, I would never have served in the public service.  I had said it before and I keep saying it .Nobody else would have brought me to serve  in the public service except Muhammadu Buhari. In 2007, I remember a friend had asked me ; can you ever serve in government? I said never , I didn't give it a second thought. I said , never, I would never serve in government. Then I thought about it again for a few minutes and I added a proviso that, except if that government is headed by Muhammadu Buhari. 

So the simple and singular reason that brought me into public service is the person of the President. I have always believed in him , I still believe in him and I would continue to believe in him. " Femi Adesina answered.

Conversely , one of the first lessons I went through in Journalism class in the 70s was that the Word is the number one Tool of the journalist . Probably because the coins around the period were potent means of financial transaction everywhere, my instructor used to say that the words like coins must continue to jingle in the pockets of the ideal journalist because he would need them for the construction of  ideas, facts and opinions in every form. 

Even with the effrontery by which we have replaced handling of coins in favour of crisp currency notes in our own part of the world, the word in the pocket dictionary of the journalist must still, for ever, be loaded while it  must  be effectively transferable from his diction of  account , now that the marriage between the media and technology has shrunk distance into a global market of a world without walls.

For me now ,  that was a time  when I was still a child  . I did speak like a  child, running with the idea that knowing everything grammatical  about the word was all I needed to drive home my ideas . But as I continue to grow up gradually into the world of the veteran however, it is dawning on me that in the mastery of the art , knowing the Word is not enough but understanding the history, rudiments, radicality and rooted ness of the word, lest one ends up being superficial , with one's word falling down like a fence of toothpicks.  What I am saying in essence is that the journalist cannot afford to treat the Word ( with temerity) like any other professional would want to treat it , even off-handedly .

In driving home my point on the need for our own  society of Pen fraternity to avoid arbitrariness in the use of words , I have fallen  in love with the thought of Confucius to the extent that I have had too many occasions in which I tend to have over quoted this Chinese Philosopher, Confucius, who said that one of the first things he would do if given the opportunity to rule the world would be to correct language.

 " If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, what ought to be done would remain undone; and if what ought to be done remains undone , morals and arts would deteriorate, if morals and Arts deteriorate, justice will go astray ;  if justice goes astray, the people would stand in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in whatever is said.This matters above everything. " He had remarked.

 What does it mean to be loyal ?

What does it entail for Femi Adesina who did not disguise his belief in Muhammadu Buhari to be honoured with a doctoral degree, even in recognition of his selfless service and particularly his UNCONDITIONAL LOYALTY and commitment to President Muhammadu Buhari  ?

In Nigeria where the average Nigerian electorate does not know the significance of the word VOTE, with public office holders not understanding the implications of oath of office while clerics dont understand the sacredness of testimony, the likes of Farooq could continue to look askance at the rationale behind Adesina's honorary award for his loyalty.

 It was the living legend and sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo who once said :" If you dont trust him , don't engage him but if you engage him, don't doubt him ."

 It would not be right for those who jumped into the trusted  boat of Muhammadu  Buhari in 2015, and who have now become wailers in 2023 (because they did so impetuosly) to look down  on Femi Adesina who trusted and believed in Buhari out of conviction, and who till the time of leaving office  understands  what loyalty means  .

It is a good horse that never stumbles and a good wife that never grumbles. 

But against whom should be the laughter of the intellect ? Against the  wailers or against the faithfuls? 

With no doctorate to his name then , he understood what the word loyalty meant and  till the time he left office, he didn't betray that loyalty. Dr Femi Adesina's loyalty is not an easy catch. 

 There is a whole lot of world of words which share same cognate family with the word :" loyalty " and which confers on it the picture of a vow of commitment that is binding .

Ordinarily, to be loyal is to be true and faithful to a cause or a person or government.  A loyalist is faithful and true to a ruler and government especially during a revolt. 

But faithfulness in loyalty is not seasonal as it is an obligation which is paid at all times because it wears the toga of law that is binding both at peace and crisis period.  This obligatory feature of loyalty derives from its French root of legalis while its legality stems from the latin legalis.  Where it becomes binding at all times shows in its form of a League, being a union for mutual help but which pursuit of common interest is like a band tying the cord of association together.  

It is from this bound of unity in togetherness that the word takes its Latin root Legare ( which is to bind )

By this legacy from which the word loyalty Is bequeathed by will, ( taking the Latin root legare : a bequest,) it becomes an obligation which nature is like a vow ; a duty and a thraldom being a state of enthralment.  

All of these make loyalty an oath or vow which share same cognate union with vote as both have the Latin root called votum. 

It is this testament of faithfulness by which features, Femi Adesina becomes a testimony of a loyalist par excellence. 

Testimony is a statement under oath or an affirmation. The word is formed from the Latin " testimonium; from testis; witness ; testis itself being a testicle. 

Beyond this, testimony is therefore that which makes a man a witness to and in which ultimately ones spectatorship finally becomes the spectacle.  As the change agent , one becomes the change one wants or expects in others ."

Let the golden words of 

Fidel Castro, in his historic speech," HISTORY WILL ABSOLVE ME" serve Femi Adesina. 

" To those who would call me a dreamer , I quote the words of Marti:

 " A true man does not seek the path where advantage lies,but rather, the path where duty lies, and this is the only practical man, whose dream of today will be the law of tomorrow, because he who has looked back on the upheavals of history and has seen civilisation going up in flames, crying out in bloody struggle, throughout the centuries, knows the future well-being of man ,without exception, lies on the side of duty ."

Either you call him Doctor or not , Femi Adesina is one of the rare solid professional journalists you can wish for anywhere . Without being a university Professor, his testificatory standing is a veritable jus ubique docendi with the right to teach anywhere.  

OLALERE FAGBOLA

AREGBESOLA: A TITAN WITH A DIFFERENCE ( PART ONE )

 

There have  been too many cases of misapplications and arbitrary use of innocent words beyond what the world could contain and endure .

This may have evidently  prompted philosophers around  the world to raise their voices on the need for us  to first of all redeem the WORD in order to redeem the WORLD. 

A Chinese Philosopher, Confucius was definitely  one of those who had been  in this same frame of mind when he remarked that, the first thing he would do if given the opportunity to rule the world would be to first of all correct language.

" If language is not correct,  what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, what ought to be done would remain undone; and if what ought to be done remains undone , morals and arts would deteriorate, if morals and Arts deteriorate, justice will go astray;  if justice goes astray, the people would stand in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in whatever is said.This matters above everything. " He had remarked.

 One of such words definitely is the word :" Titan" which from facts available has been befuddled with misapplications through mis-use, dis-use and abuse .

Physically, a Titan is a giant with immense stature and strength. 

Spiritually,  a Titan represents huge, primitive and hard-to-control forces while symbolizing a spirit of rebellion. 

Mythologically, Titans were reportedly pre-Olympic gods who ruled the cosmos in ancient Greek before the Titanomachy war. 

" They were giants, immortal deities and considered the first generational gods , born from the primordial gods , Uranus and Gaea. They ruled from Mount Orthys and each God had its realm to rule over ,they lost their Titanomachy and were banished to the underworld. " 

In the Bible accounts of Titans ,they are described as giants of extraordinary size . It was said of Og,( a giant) King of Bashan, whose bier was nine cubits in length and four cubits in width.  Also ,there was Goliath of Gath , a giant who blasphemed the God of Israel and was killed by young David .

The quest of people in different ages , to be Titans is the crave to be like God or the craze to be called the children of God. 

This thirst to play God dated back to the beginning of the creation of the earth itself, even with each step by man at building a tower of Babel, which top would be in the skies, ending up in being forced back to earth by the hand of  reality .

 The first earthly parents, Adam and Eve ,wanted to be like God and they snatched at classified documents in the Garden of Eden even as they ended up thrown out of the palace of pleasure.

The sons of God were giants who went in with, daughters of men  and whose acts of fornication and adultery led to intense violence which later culminated in the great flood by which God sacked the earth which had before then been polluted.

 In ancient days, anyone with immense height, extraordinary abilities or stature  were looked at as a child of God ,and which was why when Israelites rejected God, (wanting to choose their own kings and be like other nations,) they found the tallest choice in Saul as their son of God. 

Even though it was in God's anger that He yielded to their inordinate demands, it was in His fury that God removed him and found a humble man after his heart in David .

At the time God mandated  Samuel to go and anoint David secretly,  this same Prophet nearly missed his assignment, as he was also looking at issues from the Titanic perspective to  rulership .

Having called out all the children of Jesse from which list he was supposed  to pick one , Samuel fumbled for a wrong choice. He picked Eliab because of his immense height , but upon which the voice of God corrected him thus: 

Man looketh at the face but God looketh at the heart.I have rejected him .( referring to Eliab ) 

 As widely circulated on the internet, the Titanic ship which was built by Thomas Andrews was also a  story of a challenge which ended up in calamity . The ship was said to have met its Waterloo in the Atlantic ocean, lying at a depth of 2.5 miles and located at an estimated 370 miles off the coast of the Newfoundland in Canada where it was split into two after running into an iceberg.

Ostensibly playing  Mr-Know-it-all, the owner of the newly constructed Titanic ship,  who was answering a reporter's question concerning its safety, challenged God, spitting blasphemy that :" Not even God can sink the ship. "

 So much for the Titans and the Titanic that the word Titan has not failed to instil fears and unhappy memories into the vocabulary mindset of people, the world over .

Some authorities have however defended the Titan phenomenon as the word is reputed to mean a Defender.  According to an account picked on internet,  Titan is a bold person. It is a name destined for greatness, often associated with the film :" Remember The Titans ."

 But who are the real Titans  ? 

While we are not controverting or contesting that Titans have giant strengths and are of immense Godlike nature,  the virtues peculiar to them are the ones that have suffered misapplications and misuse.

Before the birth of Jesus Christ,  good news, often called Gospel was only to be expected from palaces of kings and royalty.  This was why when the Shepherds saw the uncommon stars which signalled the birth of a Messiah, their first port of call was the Palace of King Herod.  

That Jesus Christ was however born in a manger , redefined the  concept of gospel and changed the whole meaning of the word Titan . Rather than defining it by mere physical heights or academic achievements,  the word is more of spiritual and of metaphysical significance.

 In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ corrected  the concept of Titans as a  being measured only by mere physical appearance. He stamped on it the spirituality of  a child of God, Peace Maker ,Reconciller and Democrat who understands the meaning of Dividends of democracy.

" Blessed are the Peacemakers : for they shall be called the children of God. " He admonished.

 Therefore today's Peacemakers are those who understand and respect the principles of Dividends of democracy while realizing that the essence of true development and democracy fulcrums on the art of Carrying together rather than Carrying Go, with an attitude of Winner-Take-All .

 Our world of arbitrariness of language has kept us from knowing the real meaning of Dividends of democracy as we often believe that it revolves only around building of physical bridges instead of building bridges of minds and developing minds.

 When one looks at the meaning of the word dividend and juxtaposes it with the meaning of the word herd or herdsman,  the idea of Dividends of democracy becomes clear and unambiguous.

 Just as the word Dividend means a share which bears same proportion to the whole ,the word Herd means a number of beasts or cattle kept or driven TOGETHER ( with each  bearing same proportion to the whole number of beasts kept together. ) 

It could be likened to a link in a chain having same strength with the entire chain . 

If one sheep is lost in a collection of beasts or number of sheep,  the herdsman ceases to be called by that name, because it is on the strength of the wholeness of the herds, driven together unbroken, that qualifies it to be called herds or herdsman. 

This is why concerning the virtue of a democrat,even as exemplified in the Proverbial story of the Biblical shepherd or true leader ( not a Boss ) a herdsman would leave ninety nine sheep out of one hundred, in search of one that is lost .

Rather than justifying the arithmetical advantages in terms of number of sheep ,99,remaining in the fold ,the true Democrats believe in the need to win back the lost sheep or take care of the opposition, noting that the opposition equally bears same proportion to the whole population of voters he is leading.

 Today we are talking of Titanic perspective to Leadership, and not to rulership which often plays God, even,with no sense of moderation. 

With the marriage between media and technology, the world has shrunk into a global market, hence the death of Bossism and the yielding of power ( is responsibility) to the true democrat, Leader and Reconciler.

 The world of physical giant in the movements of big monuments has yielded space to gigs, ( same family of Titans and giants in gigas; giant) where-in we are now having gigabytes, with a unit capacity equal to 1,024 megabytes.

To know those who are genuinely taking good  political lessons from the Sage ,Chief Obafemi Awolowo, they would not be defining themselves as true Awoists through the way they are sheepishly aping and putting on his cap or glasses .

From the Titanic perspective to leadership,  it is high time Awolowo's Free Education ( at all levels) programmes graduated to and accommodated Peace Education.

Nothing else we do or tend to accomplish , would matter without Peace .

 It is instructive, right from here, even from this juncture , to note that it is never  for fun that Aregbesola, right from childhood, had been given to the habit of expressing compassion for the poor, the aged, the needy and other less privileged people. According to the interpretation of his name "AR-RA'UF being a personification of mercy, it has the same meaning as AR-RAHM.

Conversely , and by the implication of his name , Rauf is  being admonished

constantly to live by the quality personifying the

attributes of his name and by the virtues of his character

regarding showing pity, compassion and mercy to others. 

Just as a Yoruba adage also says that "Oruko ni nro omo" meaning that the child lives in the spirit of his name, Rauf Aregbesola has been living true to the spirit and letters of his name AR-RAUF, even in words and in deeds:

 To know how this becomes relevant to Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola ,as a Titan at 66  is to go back to the day he was born, Saturday, May 25, 1957, which was a day of Saturn , being the sixth planet from the sun; a heavenly body revolving round, using a motion of its own among stars.

From all intents and purposes, it was a day of prophecy in which diviners in the clothes of Journalism, had a free day sign-acting in artistry, language-use and in prophetic utterances about leadership in Nigeria.

 Certain artistic impression that reportedly aroused the curiosity of newspaper readers on page two of the Daily Times Newspaper on Saturday, May 25, 1957, was the drawing of a SUPERMAN who rode in a car, driven along with about fifteen persons while the inscription accompanying it read :" Superman on his way".

What was strange in the whole episode was that the car whose brand bore no name, conveyed more people than it was designed to carry. 

It was as if the newspaper advertisement was being futuristic on such a day which turned out to be a day of prophecy.

From the etymology of the word "SUPERMAN, it means "a man of the people " but as the car was nameless, it stood to reasonable conjecture that the superman was riding in the car of democracy.

If democracy is the form of government in which the sovereign power is in the people's hands, the word sovereignty, which is from popular Latin SUPERANUS is formed from Latin. "Super" could only be genuinely exercised etymologically by a superman. 

When in 1957, the artistic drawing on page 2 of the newspaper ,captioned "Superman On his way" became a mystery which made no sense, as it was shrouded in Secrecy, psychics and prophets who knew that the day

 was a day of prophecy, understood that in God's own calendar are specific words destined for fulfilment .

In later years, it became apparent that Ogbeni  Rauf Aregbesola was the 1957 Superman being  referred to prophetically , as he is evidently bearing a testimony of Super-manliness .

OLALERE FAGBOLA

KIDNEY PATIENT LADY-JOURNALIST DIED, HEAD RAISED HIGH

Just as Sonia Ekweremadu was on B.B.C.platform  commenting on the lesson she has so far learned concerning the conviction of her parents on the kidney transplant saga, my memory flashed through to Mercy Echeburu, a 26 years old Mass communication graduate who died before  help could reach her for a kidney transplant in India.

 Life is just so dynamic,  one day, you are in your house, the next ,your whole life is turned upside down. " Sonia lamented .

 Mercy Echeburu who had just concluded her practical training at the Nigerian Television Authority, Kaduna was at the mercy  of chronic kidney disease which ravaged her for more than three years and was placed on dialysis at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, ABUTH, Zaria,   where she was coughing out about three hundred thousand naira monthly for her medical treatment. 

A medical doctor at the Dialysis unit of ABUTH, Zaria who came across one of my books, "Journalists and the hand of God " and who knew I was in charge of packaging an in house magazine ,ABUTH TRUMPET for the hospital, brought my attention to her ordeal as her parents had spent fortune and were no longer in a position to meet her bills regularly, and particularly fund her medical trip to India for a kidney transplant. 

I led a fund-raising campaign through the office of the Chairman of the board of directors of the hospital, Chief Shuaib Afolabi Oyedokun and all the members of the board donated their personal money. 

That kept her alive for quite some time while I began another campaign through the newspapers. With the assistance of Mr. Femi Adesina , then the Editor In Chief of the Sun newspaper, who helped tremendously to ensure that my articles to aid her saw the light of the day, donations  poured in for her directly through her U.B.A.bank account. 

 She was finally to seek transplant in India but the money was not easy to get at a bulk. When she put through to me a telephone call sometime in 2017 ,I didn't know that was going to be our last discussion.  She was telling me that the money so far raised had sustained her on weekly dialysis but not enough to go for the transplant.  When I offered to do a follow up and canvass for more through the media, her response was shocking:" Daddy, don't bother, most Nigerians have confused  charity project  with 419 inclinations and they barely distinguish the genuinely distressed ones from the fakes. You have, without even knowing me, tried your best for me; This may be our last discussion. Farewell. " I tried to persuade her against her position but the line went dead . A couple of days later, Mercy had given up the ghost ; And the lady died, head raised high. 

It has been in the settled culture of my body language, seeking better life and succour  for journalists and writers in distress that I have found my zeal and commitment in the past thirty years .

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OLALERE FAGBOLA. 

worduniversity

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

Prof. Jubril Aminu was once the VC of The University of Maiduguri. During his tenure, there was an Aluta struggle and some students were rusticated.

Four of the rusticated students came to Chief Gani Fawehinmi to challenge the action.

He fought the case to the Supreme Court & won. The students went back to complete their studies.

Later, Chief Gani Fawehinmi was arrested over his Anti-SAP Conference and was flown to Maiduguri, then driven to Gashua. At the Lagos airport, not knowing where he was being taken to by the security men, Gani played a fast one - he told his captors that he wanted to use the toilet.

He got inside the toilet and quickly scribbled on a toilet paper - "To whoever uses this toilet, this is Gani Fawehinmi. I am being flown to an unknown destination by security men. Please, let the whole world know." He placed it in a conspicuous place, flushed the toilet as if he just used it and came out.

When they got to Maiduguri, they had a brief stop over at the SSS Office, where a lady officer offered Gani a cup of coffee.

Gani was hooked on coffee like drug. But this time, the will power of Gani came on. He told the lady officer - "so you people have got information that l can't do without coffee" You think you can poison me? From, today, I stop taking coffee ". That was how he ended his addiction to coffee.

He was later moved to Gashua prison, in a most decrepit cell where he collapsed after some substances were sprayed in the cell.

He was rushed to the University of Maiduguri Teaching hospital. When he regained consciousness, he found a doctor examining him and he protested, asking the doctor not to touch him.

The Medical Doctor, not wanting the security men guarding him to hear, he whispered to Gani's ear - "Chief, relax you are in safe hands. Can't you recognise me?, I am..., one of the medical students rusticated whom you fought for our reinstatement. I am now a doctor. So, relax. You are in safe hands".

And that was how Chief Gani Fawehinmi's life was saved - reaping from the good deeds he did earlier, which he had forgotten.

Moral Lesson Of The Story:

Do good always and it shall come back to you

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COPIED FROM "THE AFRICAN HISTORY ARCHIVE."

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And the story continued with a great lesson on how to show due gratitude.  Says Socrates:" One of the higher human emotions is the Due show of gratitude. " While in prison, I happened to be one of the journalists who persistently wrote articles against Gani Fawehinmi's unlawful detention.  Immediately he was released, he sent me this letter of appreciation.  The way I smuggled into his hands, a copy of my first poetry book: ""HEROISM, SONGS AND TROUBLES " amid tight security by " kill and go " security network, is another story entirely. 

OLALERE FAGBOLA