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BURNING POT BY PRINCE CHARLES DICKSON Speaking ill of the dead…Abubakar Audu And
the man died...all is vanity upon vanity. And you doubt that God's ways are
mysterious. Na so Abubakar Audu,
APC gubernatorial candidate take die, while leading in the inconclusive Kogi polls...May he find rest. The conspiracy theory
begins with the living... And
that was my post on social media when the don of Kogi
politics passed on, and sincerely there was no pun intended, and as we say,
in these parts never speak ill of the dead, however a colleague with a
national daily, (not this one) decided to betray his political affiliation
and sympathy, his quick response was "Pls Charlse, don't join in spreading rumor ‘cos you gain
nothing or loose nothing, but it diminishes your person as a senseless rumor
monger. This is abuse of social media." Against
my ethic of allowing comments on my page too be reserved for my friends, I
responded thus "Aminu...BIG smile, I hope you
take it in good faith, I am not a stakeholder in the Kogi
elections or politics…I gladly join Premium Times, Saharareporters,
Vanguard, Thisday and a host of others in being
wrong. If his alive, I would correct same. But in the advent he's dead, I hope you would be gentleman enough to apologize.
On a lighter note, you spelled my name wrongly in your haste to attack." Be
rest assured that even after Abubakar Audu's burial he is yet to apologize, I doubt he would
apologize because he is either Nigerian or he possibly believes that the Kogi Prince would still resurrect. Well,
the above is not essentially the thrust of my admonition but it's not far
from it, we live in a season where "THEY" are all sick, and spare
me, I would mention names, Kingsley Kuku, Diezieni,
Nnamadi Sambo, Larmorde,
and yes, from information we gathered Audu was
equally sick of something... Popular
TV opera, 'Super Story' has the cliche,"we are
all pencils in the hands of God" the question is how many of us know
that, the political history and terrain of Kogi
state despite all other heavyweights have been clouded and shadowed by the Audu factor. For example a friend put it this
way..."Audu was from the village next to mine.
My people saw him as a hero. In fact my mum called me from home and sounded
so broken. Why, you may ask? Audu brought the first
major road that passes the village when he was commissioner in Benue State.
Ever since he left, no one remembers the Olamaboro
and Ogugu axis anymore..." How
many people would be weeping now, because he died or because they suddenly
have lost out in the power sharing, their mathematics suddenly has taken the
shape of geography. I wonder how a nation like
Nigeria would have been if only the poor die, or our politicians could buy
life. So
would Allison be well, if she was still Minister for Petroleum, would my
friend GNS still be alive if he had won the Plateau gubernatorial elections,
would Larmorde or Dasuki
be sick, if they were still in office? Would
the Falanas, Keyamos, the
bar, bench and we the beer be all constitutional minds detailing Audu's death and the legal implications. I am sure if
only Audu knew, he would have just laid back to
enjoy the few years God decides to graciously give him, but alas, he issued
promissory notes, like allegedly returning stolen wealth. Now,
his deputy watches as history is about to be made or twisted, should he get
the nod, or the second runner up in the APC primaries, or an entirely new
dude, or like late Okadigbo puts it...there will be
political geometry and arithmetic. Abubakar has played his part, whether voodoo, or
African Bluetooth killed him, he has gone to meet his Maker. The living in Nigerian manner are all now, 'indomie noodles' imams and pastors suddenly sounding so
spiritual, and as if we are all dying next week. While
Wada who could not wade through called the late Audu
his brother, and friend; others accused the one and only ‘Jagaban’
of murder by food poison...others recollected Audu's
numerous misdemeanors. I shall end in the following words of Steve Job. I
reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my
life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I...have little joy.
In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to. At
this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize
that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in have paled
and become meaningless in the face of impending death. In
the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting machines
and hear the humming mechanical sounds; I can feel the breath of god of death
drawing closer… Now I
know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should
pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth… Should
be something that is more important: Perhaps relationships, perhaps art,
perhaps a dream from younger days ...Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only
turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God
gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the
illusions brought about by wealth. The wealth I have won in my life I cannot
bring with me. What
I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love. That’s the true riches,
which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. Love
can travel a thousand miles. Life has no limit. Go where you want to go.
Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in your
hands. What is the most expensive bed in the world? - "Sick bed" … You
can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you
cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you. Material
things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when
it is lost – "Life". When a person goes into the operating room, he
will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading –
"Book of Healthy Life". Whichever
stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the
curtain comes down. Sadly actions by actors in the aftermath of Audu's death only speaks ill of the dead...our actions
have not shown love for Kogi, for nation, for God,
for family, love for friends and foes...because when we will be called--Only
time will tell |