when a man is pushed to the wall, and he digs a hole to avoid a confrontation, pouring hot water in the hole, is an invitation to rebellion
As an employer of labor, in an economy ruined by wicked rulers, once the month enters the tweenies, the worries starts. How do I ensure that the staff gets their salaries as due, how do I meet my monthly obligations to men and women who leave their homes daily bound to labor in the field?n
I run a Law Office amongst other businesses. Unlike irresponsible state governments such as the one my father served with his life and time, I don’t get to thumb my nose at my staff. Beg, steal or borrow, salaries must be paid as due. I have never owed anyone that works for me.
Yesterday, I received a Land Use Charge bill for one of my business premises, that assures that Ademola Adesina Ogunlana and the Tiger bar will find a comrade in me. You would think I’m renting the premises from Ambode and his gang. I was given a bill of over 700k, for a business that sells yams and pepper.
Yesterday, I received a call from my account officer, the monthly interest repayment is coming due on the facility with which the business was financed, and I assured her I’ll work something out before the week is over, calculating that I had till close of business on Thursday.
Yesterday evening, news began to filter in, of a most thoughtless and wicked decision of the government of Lagos State, to declare a public holiday on account of Buhari’s visit to the state. I have two cases scheduled for hearings at the Federal High Court tomorrow. But then, who knows my Okolo in Oyo? Ambode could care less. The client who had promised to pay me in court tomorrow now has his excuse.
What informs the decisions our rulers takes? Do they ever ponder the consequences of their actions and inactions? Is it possible that these decisions are taken with careless disregard, or are they taken with the deliberate intention to inflict maximum pain?
I will be 50 years old in a few weeks from now. It is already obvious to me that my youth is spent. I’d be blessed if I have half the time I’ve already lived, left to me. It is also obvious that my children are unlikely to survive, talkless of thrive, in the Nigerian state they’ll inherit from my generation, unless something drastic changes. Insanity beckons.
Let this serve as notice to the oppressors who threatens my peace, when a man is pushed to the wall, and he digs a hole to avoid a confrontation, pouring hot water in the hole, is an invitation to rebellion. The Nigerian state, is radicalizing men who would rather be left in peace, and is making resistance a matter of life and death.
When the only option is to fight, the oppressors should be wary. The revolution will not be televised…..
DF
First published 28 March, 2018.
This piece is timeless.