The Test Of Loyalty; Baba Oni Fila Gogoro

ENGR TAIWO ABIODUN

A story;
In a nearby kingdom of Ogun, a border kingdom with the Centre of Excellence. Once lived a failing emperor whose reign was characterised by killing, sectional leadership, retrograded development and corruption.

Corruption was the trademark of the then ruling party in Ogun Kingdom. And this has gone unabated for about 8 years until the people of Ogun kingdom could no longer endure the shambolic grip of totalitarianism on them and they vehemently cried out for Change of guard…. Yes they desired the new but meticulously growing “progressive” ideology that was sweeping across the entire Yoruba kingdom of the federated states of Nigeria. A project embarked upon by the Chancellor/ Vice Chancellor of The Political University of Jagaban, Bourdilon campus, Ikoyi. His crusade in the entire Yoruba Kingdom can only be related to that of baba Awolowo. (Not my focus anyway)

It became too obvious that their survival would depend on an aggressive intervention, perhaps from the trailblazer of modern progressive politics in the entire Sub-Saharan Africa…so they sent emissaries to plead for assistance….Asiwaju ile Yoruba, jo gba wa oo, iya ti poju! eku o ke bi eku, eiye o ke bi eiye, gbogbo nkan sori kodo!! (the leader of the Yoruba race please help us the suffering is too much)

Will he intervene?

Yes he intervened, he bade the elders (after all “agba kin wa loja ki ori omo tuntun wo”). He encouraged the elders to look at the direction of “Baba Oni fila gogoro”.

The elders put their entire arsenal inside one basket and appointed baba oni fila gogoro to lead the charge, though an outsider, they did not mind. They gave all support and commitment…., the creator intervened, victory came in for the progressive and a new song was sang in the kingdom of Ogun after 8 bad years of enduring one of the worst leadership in the history of Ogun.

The ascension of Baba “oni fila gogoro” was heralded in with plenty ballyhoo and display, but most noticeable was the symbolic ‘’fila gogoro’’.

Suddenly all politicians immediately associated with filla gogoro. Despite the funny looking style and the inconvenience of wearing Fila gogoro, it instantly became a symbol of checks on your loyalty; if your cap is not patterned in that manner, then you are not loyal.

This hypocritical approach beat the imagination of all onlookers, and the new emperor, was worshiped and adored by all, or so it seems.

Under his watch, the Kingdom of Ogun experienced unprecedented infrastructural growth……every man in the Kingdom became accustomed to wearing of fila gogoro.

Though the new emperor, “ko mo iwa wu, sugbon osise ni won ba ti e” (though drought in character, his performance was not bad).

Surprisingly, he went for the jugular of Aremo the leader of the elders immediately
“ti afi oje bo olosa lowo” (as soon as power was transferred to him), Baba was barely grasping for breath all through the 8 years. However, his own 8 years has come and almost gone now and having failed terribly in his own test of loyalty all through his 8 years of reign. “sise sise to mu ewure to fi gun iya re” (the error that made a goat to have sexual intercourse with its mother), came upon him and he fell down flat. Chaii! Abeg, don’t bite the finger(s) that feeds/ fed you.

O mase oo, our mighty emperor has fallen and all the fila gogoro on the steet has disappeared, impossicant! ….all the praise singers are no more. The office that used to be a Mecca, now looks like a ghost town. No more SIA stickers on all vehicles, no more “mission to rebuild….”

A new emperor is coming to town and “jeun jeun” followers have to re-align themselves with the new power bloc. All of a sudden, our outgoing emperor “ko mo se mo”, hmmmm!

Bandwagon politicking has commenced and the same people wearing the fila gogo, could not even pretend for May 29 to come before deserting the outgoing emperor…. Fila gogo ro has disappeared from the street. What a people? Cheap and callous.

Anyway, this is an ethical lesson for all in power/ and those occupying positions of influence. Awon ti won ma ni ade gun, will also say ade o gun mo.

We must live with the consciousness that, there are too many cheap people around us all, who love us “for what we are and not for who we are”. Their attractions are about the substances. They seek their leaders “by hand and not by heart”.

To be contd…

Engr Taiwo Abiodun DBA, FCILM writes from Lagos.