The Hoary Head

Hannah was growing annoyed at the elderly woman who was standing inches to her face, talking heatedly and treating her face and nose to both the foul odour which issued from her mouth, the mixed air having no choice but to force its way into her nostrils, and spittle, which made her face a mass of little white dots by the time she took a break from facing her, turning the other way for some respite.

‘I don’t blame you! It’s not your fault at all! I am the one who made the mortal mistake of coming to this God-deserted mall to shop! To think I am getting this kind of treatment, on top of the expired things you sell here! You are staring me in the eyeball, you little imp….’

Her voice rose and rose, along with the weight of her words. They were getting to Hannah, who was determined to soak it all in and allow her finish, no matter how long it took and what she said.

The word ‘prostitute’ featured among the many words which flowed from her mouth like a leaking tap. She was determined to sieve out the others, but this one stubbornly found its way into her ears, and she turned a rainy face from the west to the centre, facing her.

She felt she had reached her limit, and was about to prepare her retort.  But she had another thing coming.

A scrawny shrunk hand was on its way to her face. If she had seen it earlier, she would have prepared for its impact. But it arrived, and found lodgement on her face. The timing was bad, and the damage was worse. It landed just when her mouth was about opening to make an effort to even the verbal score.

Her tongue was caught in between her teeth, and the contact snapped the upper and lower layers of teeth shut, digging deep and wounding her. Hannah’s frustrations heightened, and all her defences were becoming porous.

The dam broke.

Her hand started its journey to the lady’s face, and when it descended, it was a clenched fist instead of a palm, and it performed the duties it was assigned.

It was like the power switch was pressed off on a working generator: the words and rants died down as she searched frantically for space on the ground to collapse on. Her items of shopping did the same.

Hannah suddenly realized people had been restraining her and begging her not to reply that woman. Something clicked in her brain: the word ‘epileptic’ fought its way to prominence once again from the barrage of voices.

There were spasms and jerks; there was vibration and foaming. It happened for about ten seconds, and the elderly lady  turned limp, against the efforts of the staff and customers of Galaxy Stores to prevent it.

Two weeks later, in prison late one night, she shuddered as she became aware of subtle and silent opening of her solitary cell. An officer was at the door, and his silhouette did not reveal any form of clothing on him.

Three weeks ago, at about this time, a woman, after receiving a generous tonguelash from Hannah for a flimsy cause, had snapped her fingers at the direction of her house, after mumbling some incoherent nothings.

Dino Melaye: Dining With The Tigers

The wake of Nigeria’s 56^th year clocking and celebrations has come with eminent personalities airing their views and opinions on how far the nation has come, its state and the possible projections for the future. The unenviable and avoidable recession the country has been imbroiled in taking centre stage in the scheme of things, discourses converging on this subject would take longer than expected to subside, at least until the nation makes significant head way out of the doldrums.

   One prominent feature of this period is Senator Dino Melaye’s call to the Buhari-led government to give a six-month moratorium for the suspects and allegeds of misappropriation of government funds in the past administration to return the funds, the expiration of which would see the full weight of the law come down hard on them.

   In analyzing this call in its full and holistic essence, it would be pertinent to put all the facts on the table, from the immediate to the remote causes, complete with the players and actors who performed in the script that put the nation in this economic coma.  For starters, it would be necessary to note that while the hue and cry has been that the present administration has done nothing but cry wolf over the mistakes of the past one, the truth cannot but be far from the fact that the erstwhile administration was on all counts unhelpful to the saga we unfortunately found ourselves in. It is apparent that the policies of the present government aggravated the already inflamed economy and threw the populace in the low it currently is in.

It is without doubt that the nation suffered gross perfidy in the past government, and it would be unforgivable in the annals of prosperity if the corruption malady is allowed to walk the streets free, left unchecked and unquestioned. But it would also be meaningful to chase this sin in a strategic manner as opposed to the hard formula, in a bid to speedily come to the rescue of a distraught economy and people. To this end, the funds should be the actual focus of the anti-corruption fight, and Melaye’s recommendation on many counts may possess some amount of merit.

First, the nation is groaning under a grinding recession that does not seem to offer any tangibilities of hope in sight, with businesses and interests packing up faster than the speed of gravity, with the attendant ripple effects spiraling nearly out of control. Funds are immediately needed to not just sponsor the budget, but to be immediately injected into the system for a form of economic first aid.  This is one of the instances where the senator’s recommendation would hold some water.  But the truth is that the submission is like a basket out of a river, in the present Nigeria we operate, for a couple of reasons.

First, the culprits of this anti-corrup[tion drive have to be scanned and their personalities analyzed. These are people who are considered untouchables, and the formula the hunt is being applied with adds logs of wood to the inferno of their sacred-cow status. Secondly, such a call coming at this time of our lives reeks so much of helplessness on the part of government, and frustration at the futility of their efforts to recover these monies. As such these individuals are among the people who coined the laws under which the constitution is enshrined, and can perceive the body language of the government by this call, and would further be emboldened and hardened instesd of persuaded to return the country’s commonwealth. These individuals would always of course have the funds to hire the smartest lawyers to art their way out of gaol’s way, bribe their way through institutions, pay hired crowds in the name of civil rights groups to stage protests on how one human right of someone was trampled upon, and so many other things which will only end up making a tomfoolery of the entire drive and impoverishing the hapless masses all the more.

The way out would be a holistic strengthening of the institutions, massive enlightenment campaign of the definition of this monster called corruption, and a complete review of the laws that govern us. Until this is done, we would just be involved in a life-size and long-haul rigmarole; sweating without working, motion without movement.

On the flipside though, it could be time for the Almighty to do what He is known for; He might just touch hearts devoid of human effort or persuasion and the money would be returned, on the aegis of this call. The Nigerian people deserve respite, however and whichever way it comes.

Ogbonna Nnaemeka Henry

henchyman@yahoo.com