BOKO HARAM REHABILITATION: Learning Lessons From "Wisdom" of The Fools
By
'Tunji Ajayi
I love Charles Caleb Carlton (1780-1832). Not because his names lend pristine beauty to rhythmic application of alliterations in creative writing styles. Carlton, an 18/19th Century English writer was renowned for his witty, pungent and quite often acerbic remarks; many of which are incontrovertible.
Unless you are gifted in the uncommon art of deciphering underlying wisdom from witticisms, Carlton could be erroneously charged for solecisms, viz: arrant misuse of language or clumsiness of expressions.
I recall Wole Soyinka's "Telephone Conversation" "Button A. Button B. Stench". Oh God! What could this so difficult poet be saying? I used to wonder in bewilderment and ignorance in those days. Why not give us his thoughts in a simple, but pedestrian form? Then, I recalled my fervent prayers in the 80s that questions might not come out in my GCE O'Levels examinations on Soyinka's "Telephone Conversation" - a knotty, dreaded poem which appeared seemingly incomprehensible to many literature students!
But, alas! . . . questions were drawn on it. And conspicuously too, while I roved my eyes endlessly in the examination hall. "No giraffe" was not a mere cliché and empty sloganeering in those days! We truly burnt night candles to pass our exams. No slacking and permissive parents to buy exam questions for children. It was sacrilegious. An abomination! A 'faux pas'! Permit me to think that those good old days of sanity and uprightness are gone for good! Or do we say for "bad"? Forgive my solecism.
But what is the bottom line, and the kernel of my story? It took me a long time to appreciate the wisdom behind subjecting our brains to reading and analysing seemingly abstract stories, poems, sombre elegies etc in literature. Indeed, regular brainstorming encourages deep thinking and facilitates problem solving. I guess it is the same reason why law students were subjected to face the often Herculean task of solving brainstorming problems in a subject called Logic, where they are compelled to deduct reasonable conclusions from a "premise". Otherwise, an indiscreet attorney or an imperceptive judge would elope into thin air from the court upon hearing some crafty and cunning plaintiffs & defendants' claims, counterclaims, alibis, twisted and discoloured truth, while in the witness box! Fela calls it 'Stalemate' - (Òrò di "hùn", òrò p'èsì je). The need to brainstorm regularly and cudgel up their lethargy-susceptible brains to be alert, perhaps is the main reason why engineers, aeronauts, explorers into extraterrestrial worlds and scientists in all spheres were subjected to study and pass core mathematics, as opposed to the pedestrian and infantile 2 + 2 = 4.
My submission? If we have leaders who are too lazy to cudgel up the brain and brainstorm on knotty issues, our socio-economic and political problems will eternally stick to us, undetachably like tagalongs and mistletoe.
Just sit by your radio or TV. Or open any newspaper page daily, it is to our collective chagrin and utter dismay that no day ever passes without being inundated with horrendous and sickening news of genocidal killings, kidnappings, banditry etc. Lives in Nigeria are now worthless! At the heels of this is the Federal Government's disastrous and infantile decision to reabsorb the "repentant" bandits and Boko Haramists back into the same country they had caused endless sorrow, tears and daily bloodletting of innocent men, women, crawling babies and children. These are criminals who are imbued and immersed in their senseless ideology, which is not easily reversible. The genocide goes unabated. And the more the reabsorption into the society, also with certificates of honour, official handshake and mouth-watering perquisites!
Now, let's hear Charles Caleb Carlton: "The follies of the fool are known to the world, but are hidden from himself. But the follies of the wise are known to himself; but hidden from the world." We have a choice to make in our free world.
Perhaps, when we have truly thinking leaders who can brainstorm and ponder on Carlton's assertion, we will wake up and shake off the curse on this beleaguered nation! Verbum Satis Sapienti.
--------------------------------------------
Tunji Ajayi, a biographer, author, creative writer and documentary producer writes from LC-Studio Communications, Nigeria.
You must be logged in to post a comment.