'As you lay your bed' By Adesina Ogunlana

The English may say “as you lay your bed, so you lie on it”. In the same wise an African will declare “as you pound your yam, so you eat it”.

 These proverbs and many others like that express the certainty of the nexus between cause and effect. The wise sayings invariably tell Man that he is wholly responsible for the consequences of his actions, and nobody or nothing else. Man however by nature hates to indict himself in adverse situations. “Others” are wrongly held responsible. Others like “government” “police” “destiny” etc.

Look at the N.B.A. Our N.B.A. The out-going J.B Daudu regime is certainly the most unpopular administration since at least 1998, no thanks to the leadership style and perspective of the head of that administration-Joseph Daudu.

 

Personally I wonder why the man retained his first and middle names. His surname Daudu seems apt for his personality trait. For Daudu is lordly. Daudu’s first name is Joseph. Joseph? No, for the Biblical Joseph the gifted dreamer and the wizard administrator differed greatly in temperament and achievements than our conceited Daudu. Herod the pitiless, murderous tyrant of the Bible is more like it. As for Daudu’s middle name of Bodunrin which can be translated rightly as the “festival kid,” I think “Bonaparte” the imperial and overtly ambitious emperor of France should fit in here.

Really I think Mr. J.B. Daudu, whose imperial presidency of the N.B.A is fast expiring should be called  H.B Daudu or Herod Bonaparte Daudu in full. Although full of wisdom in his own eyes and the eyes of a few loyalists and bootlickers, H.B Daudu is seriously disliked in the N.B.A. He would be remembered for concentrating virtually all powers and management of the association in his hands, for favouritism to his wife and child in the N.B.A, for taking the Haliburton case, for stubbornly and foolishly waging and losing the war of overhauling the N.B.A constitution, of increasing Annual Conference Fees by about 500%, for foolhardy insistence and maneuvers to have the Delegates Election hold at Boko Haram infested Kaduna, etc.

As far as many members of the NBA are concerned, especially NEC members who are much more informed than the general “laity,” the Daudu  years 2010 – 2012 were largely unpalatable. The question is-: who to blame? There is none to blame other than the electorate. H. B Daudu did not rig his way into power in 2010. In fact he won fair and square and roundly defeated J.K Gadzama SAN.

Majority of those who are now complaining about Daudu’s pig-headed tyranny borne upon abominable and insufferable intellectual conceit, voted recklessly for the power monster. The vanguard of his electoral support were the irredentist conclavist dinosaurs of the West, the Egbe Amofin and their troop soldiers all who suspended their faculties of critical thinking and appraisal because of shameful, unprogressive primitivism of tribal loyalties.

We told all who cared to listen that J.B Daudu was not suited for the job of N.B.A President but would they listen? As a candidate, the man was wooden taciturn, not accessible, wouldn’t greet and worse, would not readily even acknowledge greetings from   the electorate, so full of himself was he, like one of those vain Greek gods up on Mount Olympus. Now another chance is here for voters to determine the leadership of the N.B.A for the next two years.

My advice to every one, especially tribal irredentists is “SHINE YOUR EYES! Shine your eyes “well well” to avoid yesterday’s MISTAKE and not to lament on the morrow.