BEFORE THE STORM WEAKEN THIS HOUSE ..
_Ibraheem Abdullateef
eggheadibra@gmail.com
Pray, dear Kwaran , this land doesn’t become a political warzone reference point in 2019. The security makeover of Ilorin presently, is not only scary but frightening and alarming. The everyday drumming and dancing of death and assaults on our streets due to attacks and reprisals by the two dominant political parties ; PDP and APC could be a strong signal of the inglorious days to come. And as these death and assaults on our brethren grows unabatedly, we are strangely as a people, keeping our hands folded. For whatever that means, it could aptly be described to be a subtle approval of this political pogrom. Perhaps as a people, we feel there’s nothing bad if Kwara changes from the State of Harmony to the State of Armoury. But as it stands, the neck breaking speed at which Kwara is sliding into anarchy is not only appalling but disturbing so much its capital Ilorin, could become another Rwanda, Syria or Pakistan in the next few days. Really disturbing.
But what’s perhaps most disturbing is the seemingly silence from the appropriate quarters. if it is acceptable that the people have not grab the precariousness of the situation, it is worrisome that the leaders of the Emirate are still asleep and slumbering while the roofs of their homes would soon be carted away by wind – a political wind, that if proper care is not taken, may demolish the whole house! Yet, it’s most unsettling that the good-meaning sons and daughters seem at home with the way our dear ancestral home, Ilorin, is hanging in a precipice. Maybe, just maybe their inactivity and sudden deafness and dumbness amidst throe of death and canary that has found a new home on this land is the new way o showing patriotism! So much if Ilorin were a mother, I would feel most sorry for her at this point in time for obviously lacking brave and caring children to speak and fight for her peace and happiness.
We had woken up to political brigandage about two weeks ago involving this same political parties; PDP and APC. On that occasion, they had gone on uncultured political banality of destruction of banners. They had shredded the display banners and billboard of one another into pieces. The following event showed they were merely testing the waters as they finally began brewing that water of discord and anarchy at the annual IEDPU event which had the Emir in attendance. Strangely we never took the warnings.
Instead, we had hit the social media as advocates and solicitors of the erring political parties in stark forgetfulness of sense of patriotism to the land of our birth. When we could have raised eyebrows and pitched thick voices of disapproval against such cultural ineptitude, we sought chicanery and subterfuge and moved on like nothing ever happened. Ok, the oddity of politics untying and unknotting the bolts of cultural fabrics was no matter to us since it is the season of politics after all, respect , prestige and honour for our seat of authority and symbol of the authority Emir may be disregarded, defiled and yet ‘ forgiven.’
But if only we had taken the earlier incidences as the possible opening of the proverbial Pandora’s box, perhaps this land wouldn’t be having about a dozen of able-bodied youth lying sick in bed. Perhaps there might not be a family in grief and mourning over loss of a promising youth to a political riot as the political rally of one of these parties recently unveiled. The reported peaceful rally which had began at Fate Road before journeyed to the heart of Ilorin with its movement in areas like Oja – oba, Adeta, Pakata and surrounding streets, became an homicidal ground where brothers killed brothers freely with no iota of honour, esteem or shame. Media records said two were feared dead and several injured. Yet, we didn’t sit up. We have become a city that never learns.
If truly we hadn’t become a forgetful people, should we be toeing this path of politic