By Dele Sobowale

“I hate ingratitude more in a man than lying, vainness, babbling drunkenness or any taint of vice whose strong corruption inhabits our frail blood.” William Shakespeare, 1564-1616. (VANGAURD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 103).

Thank God October 21, 2014 came on schedule and it was a glorious day in every way possible. Threatening rain gave way to a bright sunshine and a cream of the Old People in Nigeria assembled at the United Nations Information Centre, UNIC, to celebrate the Older Persons Day, 2014. To Allah be the Glory.

The United Nations deserves the first mention for thinking about such a day; without it we probably would not have gathered together on our own to celebrate our Mamas and Papas. The UN also provided the venue thus saving us the enormous expenses which a venue at Ikoyi or Victoria Island would cost. Second mention belongs to Mrs Toun Giwa (nee Macaulay), grand-daughter of the great Nigerian patriarch who started the movement three or four years ago. Without her initiative, we probably would not be there either. Third mention belongs to all those who supported us financially and morally on this occasion. Without your support, the refreshments served would have been impossible; so would have been the few handouts we managed to bring to the occasion.

Fourth on the list is Uncle Sam, Publisher of our paper who not only allowed me to use this column to publicise the event, but actually went beyond my expectations by making more pages of the paper available. Fifth on the list is our “Permanent Chairman” for this annual event, Dr Michael Omolayole, who had always made himself available for us from the start. Then there was the surprise guest, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, whose call to me accepting our invitation convinced me that all will be well on that day. Sixth was Chief(Mrs) Folake Solanke, SAN, who was one of the recipients of three awards who brought many prominent people. Finally, Obong Victor Attah flew in from Abuja to represent himself as well as all the former Governors over 60. Need I say more?…….

To be continued

POLITICAL MURDERS ARE IN THE AIR AS RACE TO 2015 PROGRESSES–2

“There is no dispute which a punch in the nose cannot fix.”

Joe Kowalski, ex-US Marine Commando and Heavyweight Boxer

Late Joe, who had since passed on to the Federal Republic of Dust and Ashes, was my companion night marauder as we went from one sleazy night club after another in the Combat Zone of Boston, USA, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Joe liked to simplify things. So, in all the brawls in which he got engaged (or was it entangled?), he never, broke a bottle or chair over his opponents head; and, he never brought out a knife or a gun – even though he had both. His fists of fury spoke for him. On one occasion, a guy had pulled out a carving knife and, from Joe, he received a crack on the jaw that had him in bandage for months. On another encounter, the fellow had tried to pull a gun from his jacket. Joe’s sledge hammer fist came down so hard on his head, he was still muttering, three days after, at the hospital, “Let me kill the guy, leave me, let me kill him.”

Years after, I came across a statement by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jnr, 1841-1935, which explained Joe’s habit. According to the eminent jurist, “Everyone has a stream of tendency which dictates our actions.” Observe someone long enough and you can predict certain things about him. Unlike Joe, who starts and ends his fights with fists, Nigerian politicians employ every means possible – assault and battery (a&b in American parlance), murder, kidnapping, arson, pyromania – generally by hiring conscienceless mercenaries to do their dirty jobs. And, among the politicians, there are some who are so desperate, as to employ any means. For the Machiavellians, the end justifies the means.

TWO DANGER ALERTS

The reader might need to be reminded about what Joseph Goebbels, 1897-1945, Hitler’s propaganda chief, said about desperation. “There are no desperate situations, only desperate men.” (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 38). And, when men, especially politicians, get desperate, some can unleash mayhem from which decent people shrink. Since the Wild Wild West episode of the early 1960s in Nigeria, I have devised a rule of thumb to guide me in deciding who among our politicians have the tendency to go the whole way to achieve their objectives. The principal rule is, “if a politician asks his supporters to “deal with” his opponents, then most likely blood will flow”. The political opponents would be best advised to take him on his words.