SAM NWAOKO FROM TRIBUNE ONLINE
Mallam Nasir El-Rufai reminds one of the limitations that are placed on the adult atòlé by the very nature of their condition. Atole is the Yoruba name for that man or woman who bed-wets. Health experts in their registers say this condition is “nocturnal enuresis” or “nocturnal incontinence”, and they also – though curiously – hold that bed-wetting “does not mean that there is a medical problem.” But it is a problem for the atòlé and his kinsmen because his shameful condition is usually discussed in hushed tones. It’s one of such conditions that the world points to using signs and symbols; the mouth or the eyes with a nod. Some medical experts may have argued that bed-wetting does not mean that there is a medical problem, but the wise Yoruba fathers think otherwise. There is a problem which might also be medical, and they have pointed to one of the results of the problem.
To the Yoruba, some conversations are beyond the atòlé. It is both moral suasion and a socio-economic warning to the bed-wetter. To them, the person who bed-wets has sacrificed or implicitly forfeited the privilege to negotiate whatever bill that might have been submitted by the washerman. They say, Kò tó sí atòlé lá ti yo owó alágbàfò. It is not fitting for the bet-wetter to haggle with the washerman. The wise bed-wetter should know how not to raise dust, given the condition of the clothes he had sent to the laundry; the wise bed-wetter should also know that he can do this by not annoying the laundry man with foolish haggling. By the same token, I think it is ‘beyond the mouth’ of Mallam Nasir El-Rufia to try to do or say anything edifying about the current condition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Nigerians know how the foundation for the current situation of the PDP was laid. Nigerians also remember the various people who did what while laying this foundation. The people are also not oblivious of the composers who overreached themselves while they were composing the impending dirge for the PDP. However, this column today is not about the consistency of former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and all his near-revelations. Amaechi’s persona should, however, remind the reader of their days as PDP chiefs. Some of the things he said he did along with some others to bring us here are simply almost revealing. Today’s thoughts are also not on the current verbal ping-pong between the former Kaduna State governor and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Federal Government as represented by a certain Daniel Bwala. This is also not about the obvious denouement of the once so-called largest party in Africa and its many prodigal sons and daughters and friends.
Today is about those people who know that they are suffering from ‘nocturnal incontinence’ but have still insisted on haggling with the washerman. This, to me is either the height of shamelessness or from the vale of foolishness. It is beyond them. It is beyond Nasir El-Rufai. It is beyond Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. It is beyond Nyesom Wike and all those people who are trying to make us think they are still sympathetic to the cause of the PDP and, by extension, the cause of suffering Nigerians. What has happened, and is still happening to the PDP through the deadly instruments wrought by these people and their ilk should cause them to stay afar from the party and soak themselves in their deserved penance. For now, it would make things easier if they can just remove themselves from our faces!
Meanwhile, people should not think that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is not in this discussion. He indeed is a major piece of the puzzle which the degenerating PDP has become. Atiku, the legendary figure in the party and who has become what appears like an eternal presidential hopeful, is also one of the many problems the party is contending with. He was a problem to the party when he was out to other parties, and he has remained a problem for the PDP when he returned in the party. That is why some people have been left wondering where to place some other notable renegades like Daniel Bwala and the cloudier Reno Omokri, who are now dancing rigorously on the biggest stages to please their former political adversaries.
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