In 1994 I got on a bus to go to Ife,
the conductor took our fares, I vividly remember I was not just the first to
pay but also giving him the full amount in small change.When he had collected
all fares he found he was short by one person’s fare and arguments ensued.
Everyone vehemently defended their honor, I didn’t see the need to put up a
robust defense as I was the first to pay and had witnesses. Anyways,since mine
was the most feeble of protests the guy concluded I had to be the guilty one..
Na so the dragging start oh, no name wey the guy no call me, I tried to remain
calm in the face of provocation after all the Bible had assured me that ‘The The truth would set me free’( plus the guy was itching to beat me senseless and I
was determined not to give him that pleasure). At some point the driver got fed
up with the delay and grabbed whatever the conductor had gathered and got in to
drive off, the conductor as a parting shot poked his finger in my eye and
sneered ‘shameless thief’ at me, and we drove off. Less than a minute into the
journey the guy seated right next to me said to no one in particular that ‘this
young man actually paid oh, as a matter of fact he gave the conductor small
bills and it was from his fare that the conductor gave me my change..my eyes
welled up with tears and they began to drop as I couldn’t hold them back...
someone from the back retorted ‘yet you watched him being harassed and you did
not utter a word in his defense???.. that is wickedness’. I was no longer listening,
my poked eye was sore and so was my heart..
 |
| Abba with his Boss and friend |
Where
were they when the conductors of Nigeria were poking their fingers in his
eyes?? Where were they when he was labeled shameless thief? Where were their
voices when he was called the evil de facto president, the head of the cabal??
They were there..right there in power with him. They probably felt then that
some of the odium was deserved, after all, he was the right hand of the
President, he was effectively their Boss... they read and heard about the
relentless attacks on his honor and integrity but they remained silent... silent
so as not to attract the same deluge of attacks. They wanted the safety of
anonymity, they didn’t want to be guilty by
association. The Man Died... everyone has found their voices... eloquence has been restored, everyone who was
silent whist he lived has become a staunch defender of him dead. Maybe Abba
Kyari indeed paid his fare like I did, maybe he felt secure in the fact that he
had witnesses to the fact like I did, maybe he believed the truth would set him
free like I did... maybe he hoped that someone who really knew his person and
his motives would defend him and tell the world the truth but no one did... his
bus has left the park, never to return again, his eyes blinded by the poking
fingers, his side of the story never to be heard by the living.
 |
| Abba and Geoffry |
I
should have defended my honor more vigorously that day on my journey to Ife, it
was stupid to hope others would speak
up for me... I know better now but Kyari knows best.
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