I learned so much from my parents by way of counsel and deeds. Many of such, one absorbed subconsciously. It’s quite remarkable just how much seeps in to ultimately mould one’s character, without one being remotely conscious of it. Of course, neither of them was perfect but then who is? Still, I will remain eternally grateful for the effort they consciously made to shape my outlook, by instilling values and teaching me the things that really matter in life. They were indeed my inspiration.
With fondness, I remember one of my mum’s idiosyncrasies which seemed so normal to me as a child. After all, how could I know any different then? It was only many years later I came to have some understanding of the psyche behind this rather odd behaviour. If she mistakenly steps on your foot she will immediately insist you do the same back to her. And you must. It wasn’t a tit for tat sort of thing but it revealed a heart which didn’t believe you should do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you; and a belief that whatever you do, good or bad, will eventually come back to you. So maybe it was a form of penance. It seemed so pointless at the time but looking back now, it was undoubtedly pregnant with meaning. Whatever it was, it came from an acute consciousness of the sensibilities of others and a sense of justice. This brings me to the recently concluded Presidential elections.
But before I go any further, permit to ask here, why should anyone gloat because their candidate won? I honestly don’t get it. My wife is a member of a WhatsApp group where several heated debates took place between the Buharists and the Atikulators; supporters of the two main Presidential contenders. When President Buhari won, his supporters on this group platform, just like some front line APC members too, took to gloating and rubbing the face of Atiku supporters in it. Ignoring completely the president’s plea for his party members to remain magnanimous in victory. Kudos to PMB here, I must say.
If we’re to look at it logically though, it makes no sense whatsoever for anyone to gloat and this is why: 99% of us are after the same thing; good governance, a virile and vibrant economy that puts three square meals on our table and a dramatically enhanced standard of living; adequate security of life and property, a sense of belonging, good roads, a good health care system, equity and equitable distribution of the commonwealth, justice and all that naturally accompanies good governance.
The fact that your candidate won doesn’t automatically translate into the materialization of these collective desires of ours. If two years down the line, we all begin to enjoy the dividends of a good government, ehen, then you can thank God for directing you to play a part in putting it into office. Not gloat! Why? Because by then, even those who didn’t vote for him would be thanking God for a performing leader, meaning everyone ultimately wins, not just those who voted for that candidate. At the end of the day, most of us want the same thing but of course there are those to whom it may make sense to gloat but they are a tiny minority; those who know whether the government performs or not, they will get what they desire because of their closeness to the powers that be; be it contracts, appointments etc. But they represent a miniscule fraction of the population.
So regarding our elections, who actually won? We’re destined to discover that within the next 4 years, for it’s definitely not a matter of who breast the tape first. The taste of the pudding is always in the eating. Some of you may even be asking yourself, “So who did this chap vote for?” Well, that’s for me to know and for you to keep guessing. I will say this though, like most of you out there, I pray the people will win.
My mum, sisi Comfort as she was fondly called by many, was a tremendously principled, industrious, beautiful and wonderful woman who counted amongst those who dominated the textiles trading business in the 1970s and 1980s. She totally epitomised the popular “Warri no dey carry last” idiom as she was of Urhobo and Itshekiri extraction. Sadly, her rise in the business world was cut short very abruptly by a devastating stroke in 1985 at the unusually young age of just 49. We enjoyed another 15 years with her but the feisty, never-say-die sisi Comfort was long gone.
Mrs Comfort Omawumi Akande (née Okonedo), it’s been nineteen years almost to the day that I watched helplessly as you laboured to breathe your last few breaths on that hospital bed. It’s a day I’ll never forget. Though umbilical chords are severed at birth there’s an undeniable umbilical connection between mother and child which remains in tact until the passing of one of them. Continue to rest in peace. And for our dear nation, we will rise again.
Dapo Akande
