'Kaduna yes, Abuja, No!' By Adesina Ogunlana

My Dear President,

          I am sorry I have to go straight to the point of why I am sending this message to you. I ask, most respectfully, “Is it true that the Delegates Election Conference of our dear NBA is no longer taking place in Kaduna but in Abuja”?

          I need and urgently too, to hear from you on this score? Dozens, of lawyers have told me that in your imperial wisdom and humbled opinion, you have shifted the Delegates Election Conference from Kaduna to Abuja since about two weeks ago.

          Sir, when it comes to you, I am not moved by numbers, for we now know that “you are the god of the NBA” courtesy of the flatterer Master of Ceremony at the Inauguration Ceremony of the Ikere Ekiti Branch just last week.

          Now since you are a god of the N.B.A, you like Napoleon Bonaparte, are worth more than forty-thousand ordinary lawyers.

          You would recall that since a mere four months ago, many voices have cried out against having the 2012 elections in your Kaduna state base. In fact there was this self-styled Dame in our Association who took the trouble of writing a lengthy article against such a venture and who also took the greater trouble of getting the article published in many national newspapers.

          Of course you were sager than to accord any worth to the rantings of a mere woman. In April 2012, we all were at the N.E.C meeting of the Association at Lokoja, Kogi state and expectedly the issue of where to hold the elections came up again.

          I clearly remember that you allowed only four people to speak on the matter (whether or not the Elections venue should shift from Kaduna). The worthy four were:- Lanke Odogiyan-the chairman of the Electoral Committee 2012, Mrs. Priscilla Kuye, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, Mr. Yusuf Ali.

          Expectedly all the men in the list above spoke sense. Eminent sense. They all said the election venue should stay in Kaduna. That there was no danger in Kaduna. That there was no real danger. That the state Government and security forces were on top of the situation.

The most touching of all the speakers was Lanke Prince Odogiyan who told the NEC that a man of God had assured him that God had assured the man of God that no bomb would explode on lawyers in Kaduna during the Delegates Election. It was the only female in the list, Mrs. Priscilla Kuye who departed from sense in her submission. She, relying on hard facts and figures, said that Kaduna would not be safe for lawyers to hold any functions.

          Of course, you did not leave sense for nonsense. The sense was what the three wise-men: Lanke Odogiyan, Yusuf Ali and Olisa Agbakoba had opined, to wit, that the election should hold in Kaduna.

          You suspected and rightly so that my Branch, the Tigers of Ikeja and the most progressive of all the now 99 branches of the N.B.A would not speak agreeable sense on the matter, hence you stuck to your tradition of not recognizing us at the meeting for recognition.

          You will recall that during the morning break I walked up to where your divinity was seated and enquired thus: “Ha ha, Egbon, a no wo, na wo sibe e tie le pewa” (haba, elder brither, inspite of our repeated raise of hands you refused to give us a chance to talk).

          You reply (delivered with a merry smile) was direct, frank but most unfortunate. You said “Haa, Ikeja, ke wada mi lagbo nu” (I have to do that, lest you guys from Ikeja spoil my game plan).

          So your game-plan and clear intention was to hold the Election in Kaduna and you with the aid of your wise-men had your way in Lokoja.

          Of course stupid, dim-witted people like me thought that Kaduna was and still remains seriously unsafe and that it is hugely irresponsible of any responsible leader of lawyers to provoke the deadliness of the blood thirsty, soul-snatching and death-dealing Boko-Haram group with the presence of thousands of well-fed products and end-results of Western education, on their own very turf.

          You however stuck to your guns and equally wise people like you were preparing for Kaduna, ostensibly to meet their makers in July.

          Much later the news came that the Almighty J. B. Daudu, the god of NBA had agreed to take away the elections from Kaduna to Abuja.

          Sir is this true? Can it be true?

          If it’s true, then you have terribly disappointed me and hundreds of your numerous supporters. You have made a name of your RIGIDITY, FIRMNESS OF PURPOSE AND OMINISCIENCE.

          Oh how are the gargantuan fallen and the pillars of the celebrated ORACLE OF KADUNA CRUMBLE?

          A leader must be consistent to the end. This is my grouse with you. You who never changes, what has come over you now? I was so sure of your infallible sense of (mis)indgement that I believed that you would change the election venue, only, to better and safer places like Maiduguri, Bauchi and Damaturu.

          Why should a brave general like you now run to Abuja? Is it because of the few crackers the BH people exploded recently that sent you panicking?

          You ought to know, such explosives are not capable of detonation in any gathering of lawyers. Even before they are thrown, a clever N.B.A president would have secured an injunction against BH and other possible death-merchants not to attack any lawyer in Kaduna between 16^th -18^th July 2012.

          By your decision to move us from Kaduna to Abuja, I know you must have disappointed your three wise-men:- Agbakoba, Yusuf Ali and Lanke Odogiyan.

          By the way, may I suggest another disagreeable sense to you - Abuja is not really a safe alternative, why not come down West or go East for the elections?