This is a story of a
multi-talented man from a small town called Yoribohau...his name was Oluwasola
Gozie Balewa or OGB as he was fondly called. OGB was a maven...he could dance,
he could sing, he was good at acting, he was good at archery, he could swim, he
was a very good hunter and a farmer...name it and OGB could do it exceptionally
well. As a boy, OGB used all his talents...not one was neglected. He became the
toast of the town and everyone could see that OGB was a blessing to his family
and community and it was generally felt that his family would be prosperous in
no distant time.
As time went by, thing were getting
better for OGB and his family and he continued making use of all his talents.
However, at one point there was news that a certain talent could fetch OGB more
money and fame faster than his other talent could…this talent was wrestling.
This talent became in demand as communities far and wide paid and invested so
much in wrestlers and wrestling. Prior to this, OGB had never wrestled in his
life but he was soon to find out that it was something he was very good at...
in fact, he became the best in his locality. Wrestling yielded OGB and his
family so much that his father –Oga Benji- decided he should focus solely on it
and not waste his time on other talents. OGB disagreed with his Dad and argued
that it was better for him to continue using all of his talents but Oga Benji insisted
he should focus solely on wrestling.
Now, the culture in Yoribohau
demands that a son must abide by the wishes of his Dad no matter what and that
the father has a say in the son's wealth. With this being the case, OGB had no
other choice than to drop his other talents to focus solely on wrestling just
as his father demanded. This seemed to have worked out well as OGB's income and
prospects grew by the day. However, OGB still had a problem: the fact that Oga
Benji controlled his wealth. OGB grew into his 40's and had little to show for
all his sweat and income whilst Oga Benji was living lavishly...inasmuch as
OGB felt cheated and wanted to revolt, he could do little or nothing about it
as the culture prevented him from such. OGB also realised that he had lost
touch of his other talents and has become known not for being multi-talented
but for being just a wrestler.
OGB kept wrestling and making
money; his father kept appropriating the income. Oga Benji would not even spare
him the funds to train, re-train himself or revitalise his weakening body...and
when he did it was usually few and far between. Oga Benji even started making
OGB a mercenary wrestler...he would wrestle for another community and accrued
funds are split between the community and his Dad. This went on for so long
that even friends and well-wishers tried to intervene. They pointed out to Oga
Benji that OGB was getting weak and that a continued reliance on wrestling will
at one point wear him down so much that he would even be so weak to use his
other talents. They told him that OGB would someday naturally age and unable to
wrestle anymore and that the best thing is to re-invest some funds in
re-vitalising OGB and in re-introducing his other talents which would tarry
even when he fails as a wrestler. They reminded him that just as wrestling suddenly
became a talent in demand, it may one day suddenly cease to be in demand. They
also told him of the benefits of saving funds accrued from OGB's wrestling
talent. Whilst these were good pieces of advice, Oga Benji never took them and
he continued his lavish life style while OGB toiled and toiled and toiled.
In his 50's and just as well-wishers
predicted, OGB's strength started dwindling but he was still able to keep
wrestling and generating funds for Oga Benji. OGB's talent had become a curse
unto him. He relied on titbits from his father and help from outside members of
the outside community who felt pity for him...even such help would first get to
his father who would then decide whether OGB receives them or not. Oga Benji
was undoubtedly the sole beneficiary of the status quo. However, he was to receive
a shock when he got news that OGB wouldn't be paid as much as he used to be for
each wrestling match. In fact, the cut in performance price kept falling and is
presently less than half of what it used to be and there are signs that it
would still fall. There are now so many wrestlers that each individual wrestler
seems to have lost his significance as was in the past. OGB is in trouble as he
may be wretched for life unless something is done and fast...but his fate lies
solely in the same Oga Benji who for over 50 years had run him down.
The question now is: although the
funds may have dwindled would Oga Benji now realise the benefit of investing
more in his son's wrestling training to see if he could make him more
competitive and significant? Would he now realise that his son needs to go back
to being multi-talented than being just a wrestler? Would he realise that
things would be more difficult now because he hadn't saved in the midst of
plenty when he had the chance? Would he learn from it? Or would Oga Benji remain on the path of selfishness and decide to accrue all he can now from
whatever is left of OGB's wrestling talent so that he can live off those even
after OGB is no more? Furthermore, would the people of Yoribohau realise that a
prominent son of theirs may end up wretched because of a silly retrogressive
tradition that prevents him from standing up to and challenging a father who
had done nothing but steal from him all these years?
Surely, OGB’s future given the
present circumstances depends on Oga Benji and or the actions taken by the people
of Yoribohau...will he survive or will he not? Now could OGB be Nigeria? Could Oga Benji be the Nigerian Government? Could Yoribohau be the Nigerian people and constitution? And could OGB's wrestling talent be the Nigerian oil? Your guess is as good as mine.
The Oracle has spoken!!
Comments
Post a Comment