By Dele Sobowale

“If you don’t die, you are bound to grow old.”
Uncle Sam, Publisher of VANGUARD Newspapers.

My Oga, mentor and friend, the oldest newspaper man in Nigeria today, now racing towards 80, had repeated this during several of our discussions about aging until it has now become Uncle Sam’s Principle of Life.

He also frequently adds in Itsekiri, “Agba soro da” (translation: “it is not easy to be old”). And finally he reassures all the old people around him, “If you wake up feeling pain [as all old people do] in any, or several parts of your body, then cheer up, you are not dead yet.”

Now that I have fully joined the old people, I can now appreciate the wisdom in those statements.  And that brings us to a warning to the young, who might think that this article does not concern them. I have news for them – good or bad depending on how it is interpreted.

“What you are, we were. What we are, you will become.” B.Tuchmann.
While compiling the VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, one of the thousands of books I waded through was Tuchmann’s opus on 13th and 14thcenturies history of Europe – on which she is the world’s leading expert.

In one of the passages in the book, a group of knights had entered an open cave in which many people were buried. Somebody had placed on top of the heap of bones the quotations above – “What we are..”

The usually courageous warriors who had witnessed blood, carnage and destruction had recoiled at the spectacle and left in a hurry. At 48, I did not appreciate the significance ofit. Now 70, and at death’s door, I now realize that nothing truer had ever been written. We are all destined to become skeletons, skulls and shin bones someday.Even Miss Universe will end up with sand in the face and rot finally.

But, if we are fortunate, we will get old first. So, I am proclaiming, on behalf of all the Elderly people of Nigeria, to the young, that “What you are, we were. And what we are you are going to become also”.

But, before you get there, you are invited to start preparing this nation to start taking better care of its aged people. Children’s Day, Mothers’ Day, Labor Day, etc are well celebrated. We make an elaborate ritual out of Valentine’s day – which from all the adverts, is devoted to promoting prurient interests in the name of love.Nobody gives a damn about the old people.

They have become the invisible men and women living among us – until they die; when we then spend more money, in a few days, entertaining ourselves, than we spent on them in their entire lives. If our excuse is that we were not aware of our neglect of the elderly, then that plea should end now.

Once again, we plan to remember the elderly among us on October 21, 2014 – in Lagos. The United Nations had fixed October 1 as the Elderly Peoples Day. But, that clashes with our own Independence Anniversary and our experience two years ago had taught us that insisting October 1 will not help matters.

So, each year a date will be fixed, other than October 1 to celebrate our elders. And of course we need donations. Without apologies for naming some of those who can help us, permit me to start with the following:
1. President Jonathan and Vice President Sambo.
2. All State Governors and Deputy Governors.

3. All Federal Ministers and State Commissioners.
4. All candidates for elective office.

5. Northern Elders Forum, Yoruba Council of Elders, Ohaneze, South South Peoples Consultative Forum,
6. Elder Statesmen/women including but not limited to: Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Alhaji Maitama Sule, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, Malam Adamu Ciroma, Chief Edwin Clarke, Chief Igbiniedon, Chief T.S Danjuma, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chief Arthur Eze; Alhaji Femi Okunu, Olorogun Michael Ibru, Chief Ade Ojo, Professor Aminu, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chief Femi Otedola, Chief Mike Adenuga, Jim Ovia, Jimoh Ibrahim, Hajiya Shagaya, Mrs Alakija, Mr BIGGS, TANTALIZER, Coca-Cola, Seven-Up, …….

The list is not complete yet and more names will be published as we go along. But, you don’t have to wait to be named. Anybody who wants to help in getting this thing off the ground can send their donation to:

GTB 001-216-3187
The venue and time will soon be made known to all Nigerians. All, irrespective of political affiliation, ethnic nationality, gender or income status, are invited because this is a non-partisan matter. As my Oga said: “if you don’t die you will grow old.”

CHRISTIANS, $9.3M AND OTHER MATTERS
“Wherever God erects a house of prayer/ The Devil always builds a chapel there/ And, ‘twill be found upon examination/ The latter has the largest congregation.” Daniel Defoe, 1661? –1731.

I am a Christian; so I am involved in the matters to be discussed here. It is quite possible that I am the only one feeling embarrassed for our Lord Jesus Christ for what the so-called leaders of our faith had done lately and openly to disgrace us.

There is neither space nor time to touch on every issue that has cropped up in recent times – all of which should call for a total re-appraisal of our role in Nigeria and the world as a whole.

The US$9.3 million smuggled into South Africa, on a plane, admittedly, partly owned by one of our leaders was the proverbial “last straw which broke the camel’s back”. That came as corpses were being dug out of the rubble of the Synagogue; which also followed revelations about the reasons for a messy divorce case in London….

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