By Opetu Ebibote
The way things are going one begins to wonder where our priority lies or what is left to actually motivate one. Increasing strings of event being broadcastedhave made the television useless because every news item is enough drama. In fact, what is left is a box of popcorn while reading and I don’t know if it is only me who feels this way.
I begin with the senate drama with the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service. “When did wearing a uniform or not become one of Nigeria’s problems?” I ask with disdain. Our focus on ceremonial duties instead of the constitutional duties never ceases to baffle me. If the senate gave half as much time and attention they are giving this Uniform issue (and other trivial baseless issues) to the many problems that have caused the retrogressive nature of the Nigerian economy, maybe we will not be where we are right now, scratch that ‘maybe’ I am sure we as a nation would have moved further even if it is just by a step.
What baffles me most is the suspension of his proposal of a new policy to the House until he is fully regaled in ‘his uniform’. Please and please how do we benefit from Mr. Hamid wearing a uniform? Who his uniform epp? If the senate monitors the individual performance of the senate members and refused them entrance into the house until they did what was right; Nigeria for don better since o. Is the senate forgetting that this man did not become a custom chief until 2015 before which he had nothing to do with the customs office? In fact, what we should be worried about is if he even knows what is required of him and if he is able to carry out his duties appropriately.
The senate has argued that he is supposed to be an exemplary figure to other customs officers. They forget that when there is a problem with the head, all body parts are affected. “The head” in this context is President Buhari and his decision to make a retired colonel the Comptroller-General of a sector such as the Nigeria Customs Service. Should it surprise you if he says ‘I don’t like the uniform’, I am tempted to make a comparison with an old man who has written with his right hand all his life now forced to write with his left hand.
Was there no ‘good example’ among the thousands of Custom Officer in the system worthy of emerging the Comptroller-General; it’s the second week of this unfortunate drama, the second week of giving prominence to a baseless issue while over real issues plaguing the country are left pending like the court cases of most of House ‘representa-thieves’
Away from politics, the whole Apostle Suleiman & Aunty Stephanie shebang and the stain on religion is a really delicate one and I do not know where to start from. It is like when two children are caught fighting and each blame the other party for starting the fight. You just stand there not knowing whom to believe. Aunty Stephanie has come out to say she has video and pictures to prove all her allegations. This is not the first time, maybe not the last that a religious leader is blackmailed and as well it is not unheard of for a minister to have unholy sexual escapades with his member. I might have a definite stand on this issue if there wasn’t a twist to it.
On Sunday, a lady with the Facebook profile name “Yahweh Yesha Ace” came out to say that she had suffered such fate from the same man of God. This got me dumbfounded, the man who said “in every rumour there is an iota of truth” must be wise. This is the kind of movie, where you sit with your popcorn in hand silently watching and awaiting the climax. I am most certain that only time can reveal the truth. After all, nothing is hidden under the sun.
Moving from serious matters, my next stop is Big Brother Nigeria. I have been itching to say something about the continued condemnation of the Television show. It is understandable that it breaches the moral code of our highly religious country but why do we not have an answer for the question “Is this the first program where sexual related activities are promoted?”
There are myriads of Nollywood movies that promote subtle and obvious forms of immoralities and we vote the actors and actresses who engage in the act as best this… best that…Why have we closed eyes and shut mouths to condemning these movies and remember BBN is just on a channel, leaving you with other channels so you can leave interested Nigerians to watch. The irony of the situation is that there is no moral code in our country.
It is paradoxical that a huge number of those who complain about these activities engage in them as premarital sexual activities seem like a norm; the Nigerian youth do not need BBN to teach them sexual corruption. It’s like telling a professor of mathematics that one plus one equals two, those whose moral stand are still intact, my advice is; instead of shouting against BBN and giving it more publicity, why not ensure that you and your household serve the Lord by making sure no one watches it in your home.
If Nigerians haven’t noticed, the upheaval on social media against the program has not changed anything. The program is still on and is gradually reaching its grand finale.
My pen can find a resting place now while I wishfully pray that unending scenes of drama come to an end. God bless Africa, God bless Nigeria and God bless its citizens.
Opetu Ebibote is a young writer who appreciates the gifts of words and its power to effect a change in the society. She writes from Ibadan and blogs at musespill.com.ng She can be contacted via 07062612574 or msespill@gmail.com
