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It’s good to be good!
Or should I say it’s good to have made a great impact?
I can remember when Awo, as Chief Obafemi Awolowo was fondly called by friends and foes alike, was involved in charges of treason and subsequently imprisoned. I was then a skinny underpant wearing tot. It may not be too correct to call me a fatso now, but, at least, I’m some inches taller!
I’m not going to involve myself in the analysis of the case here.
However, the fact that he had been an achiever was quite enough for our parents and uncles then. They felt he just couldn’t be wrong.
He was a personification of charisma. The story was that he would always go home at night from his place of incarceration. Our elders and by extension, we, believed that he had mythical powers.
So, on all moon lit nights, our seniors would show an image to us in the moon and tell us that was Awo. I don’t know whether it was to show our solidarity or to show that our eyesights were not failing us, we too would pretend to have seen the mirage.
Is it that that heroes are not born again?
When I see all these pretenders, I can’t help thinking of the great Zik, Awo, Sultan Bello and Balewa.
Yes, they had political differences. But then, all of them performed and we can still see what they did today.
What I’m saying is the fact that they used the limited resources well. I’m not saying there was no corruption then. I’m not saying there’s corruption now either. But, compared to the politicians we have now, those people were saints.
Check out the political parties of those days too. They were better managed. They had ideologies. They had manifestoes. Members paid membership fees. In other words, political parties of those days knew where they were going. They had a sense of direction.
But now, we only need one or two fat cats to bankroll the expenses of the parties. They can even afford to sponsor our unending social excesses called ceremonies. They even go to the extent of empowering us. But they are no fools, once their party wins, it’s payback time.
There’s no free gift, even in Freetown!
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