For many citizens and outsiders watching events in Nigeria, hear me. Don’t dismiss with the wave of the hand the threat of Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State. Never ignore an iti-boribo or dare his raised fist – you’re making a fatal error.
What’s iti-boribo? I’ll explain shortly. Iti is lighter. But Iti-boribo is the extreme form of daftness – I mean, mental density – dull-wittedness – intellectual vacuity – rational-vapidity, phrenic-blandness – a blank mind, incapable of logic or objective thoughts – an intellectual mistake!
In most cases, it’s a dangerous state of being. But in others, it is very useful. It only depends on the circumstances. Take your mind back to those days in schools. I don’t know what happens in today’s age of the internet, social media and computers, those in our days when schooling was a bitter-sweet experience – without school-runs, school buses and children confronted all manner of elements on their ways to and from schools.
The imprimatur of iti-boribo was everywhere, in different shapes and sizes. Think of your individual samples, experiences and your own versions. Let me attempt one or two myself.
There was one called Kpoti in my primary school! That was his generic name, in school and community. It’s difficult to remember his real name. On this particular day, a sudden uproar halted all activities. Even we the “infants” already enjoying our recess had to pause to the noise from the “Primary,” our seniors still in session.
Kpoti, the archetypal iti-boribo – the highest level of the term, had on this day, delivered a grand performance of his iti-boriborism. The English teacher, had asked him to make a sentence with children.
Looking over the classroom wall, which some of us saw as the biblical wall of Jerico, but which he towered over, he delivered the thunder – “The Children are wuharing na field.” Nwughari in Igbo meant group movement like in a market. In this instance, it was the onomatopoeic expression of the children are playing in the field.
That was the end of the day’s class. The teacher couldn’t take it any longer. It was the height of daftness – a class performance that resonated beyond the school and till date, still resonates in many quarters.
But the outside, Kpoti was a critical member of the society. He was quite prolific in many other ways. An excellent climber of palm trees, a strongman on the football pitch and outside it, the protector of the school team.
Trust Kpoti with the womenfolk, who he helped in harvesting their palm fruits and tilled their farmlands in addition to other village duties the English language teacher could never dare. Without Kpoti, the football team, would be disembowelled and stripped of the guts. Confronting opponents especially in other communities proved problematic. Who dared engage in any physical fight with the team or its supporters, with Kpoti around? He was the Goliath that protected everyone.
So, intellectualism or lack of it, did not diminish his total worth eventually. In fact, because he built his own formation of brutes that terrorised his environment, he was both feared and respected, such that even the brightest of the pupils simply paid homage to be admitted into his protective wings.
Take another example, Julie. She was the female replica of Kpoti. Also a pupil, but well-established in her own right as an iti-boribo. On this evening, after the close of school, when many of us brought wares to the market for our mothers and later descended on the mango trees surrounding our school.
Unbeknownst to us, while plucking the ripe mangoes, our school vice headmaster was somewhere watching. He later chanced on us and matched us into one of the classrooms. The implication wasn’t lost on anyone. We were still kneeling down awaiting the stings of his trademark akpuruekwe on our backs when Julie did the unthinkable.
With an acrobatic, Olympic-style back-flip, she scaled this same classroom wall with a dexterity that would put many athletic high-jumpers to shame and make them gasp with envy.
As she sprinted down the field with the speed sure to leave world sprint record holders green with envy, even the teacher, couldn’t hold back. His symbolic stern mien dissolved into throaty laughter and in the end, all of us were let off the hook as a result.
Now you see that iti-boribo, have their uses. In most cases, whatever they lose in terms of intellectual acuity are compensated in many other ways. In the military, for instance, some of them get to the top of their career by making up what they lost in brainwork with sheer gift of courage and skills of field-battle.
But it is a different kettle of fish to assign them with tasks that require intellectual exercises. That becomes an albatross and, in most cases, not only counterproductive, but signal clear danger to the society. That seems to be the case in this Okpebholo outing.
Who wouldn’t recall how for months on end, the anchors of The Morning Show, the breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS, laboured to bring him as a candidate to discuss his programmes as governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the September 21, 2024 election. It never happened. His handlers explained it away that he was too busy with his campaigns to engage the media.
But not a few knew swore that he had mortal fear of the media they would expose him as the Kpoti of Edo State. Well, he has since became and the world is now witnessing the outcome.
First was the presentation of the state budget, last year. Ordinary N605billion that a kindergarten child could 20 minutes of labouring without success. In the end, he simply jumped it. Yet, the budget was approved.
Don’t even question what business a governor of that quality of education has with such a high office. The joke would be on you. It means you don’t know the Nigeria of today and the makeup of its leadership under the APC.
Have you seen the West African Examination Council (WAEC) result he supposedly sat for and obtained at the age of 36 years? Add that to the picture.
But then, it comes handy at this time. Surely, you don’t believe becoming the numero uno in a state like Edo, one of the intellectual bases of Nigeria is by chance. Ask yourself why? Kpoti was never useless. Same here. Those who made him governor, know exactly what they were looking for.
They know that Edo State, is the headquarters of the Obidient Movement – the group of Nigerian youths determined to making Peter Obi President as way of achieving the New Nigeria or their dream. If they must be stopped, there’s only one way – to deploy a Kpoti. They’ve since found one.
In The Godfather – that classic by Mario Puzo – Luca Brasi one of the characters, was depicted as 100 per cent loyal to Don Coleone because he believed there was no life outside him. He lived for nothing else, completely deadened to other societal stimuli that he practically threw the baby fathered by him into a furnace.
The Okpebholo I see would not hesitate to throw Nigeria into the furnace to please his patrons. You heard him boast delivery of 100 per cent Edo votes to APC in 2027. How is he going to achieve this if not go for broke and take no prisoners?
Else what is Obi’s offence? Why would a governor, who ought to roll out the drum to celebrate a philanthropist kind enough to donate a whopping N15million to an institution be the one to shoot the gesture down, when he ought to be harvesting the act as a point of contact for more philanthropy, if anything, to lessen the burden on his shoulders as governor?
Of course, the answer is obvious. The ululations you heard from those students at the School of Nursing, as they sang and danced in praises of Obi, was like a hot spear piercing his heart. He couldn’t simply stand it.
That is why he must not be ignored. In fact, those equating Okpebholo’s comments with that of Hyacinth Alia of Benue, who also refused Obi entry to the camp of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in his state, may be comparing oranges and apples. Alia is not a Kpoti. He’s not an iti-boribo. He knows the consequences of hurting anyone, not the least, a politically exposed person like Obi.
On the contrary, this can’t be said of the Edo New Sheriff in Town (NSIT). For him, there’s definitely no fallback position. Even he, himself, would not believe his senses about becoming a governor. So, to those who made it possible, he owes nothing but total loyalty and dedication – the type Luca Brasi gave to Don Coleone!
He would do the unthinkable, if he felt it was necessary. He would do it and leave the rest to the likes of Adams Oshiohmole and Kassim Afegbua to do the explaining. After all, they not only have the key, but the full explanation of how he became governor.
Besides, by the time you’re reading this, Nyesom Wike, must have been holding court at the Dennis Osadebey House in Benin. Figure that in, and the picture become clearer as to why not only, Obi, but Nigerians entirely should be apprehensive.
I repeat, it will be a fatal error to believe that Okpebholo’s was just engaged in political talks. He’s definitely not making an empty threat. He has told anyone that cared that he was not joking that Obi must not venture into the state without his approval. It’s left to you to ascertain if such approval would ever be given in the first place.
Okpebholo, like the bird dancing in the middle of the road, which has its drummers in the bush, also has the godfathers goading him on. And like the child sent by his father to steal, he will break the door with his feet, fearing no consequences.
Instead of daring him to act, he must be stopped from acting. When a Luca Brasi is sent on a mission, he doesn’t leave it unaccomplished. He either does it or dies trying. And when he raises a weapon, don’t dare him. He’ll use it. Don’t dare Okpebholo. Iti-boribo ajoka!
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