The Weight Of Water And Other Bold Sayings

Niko El-Farlo

Let’s not pretend: leadership in the Nigerian Bar has now become a hydration exercise. The leader is observing good table manners, don’t talk while you eat or drink. Preferably both. Our elders say silence is easier to swallow when chased down with water.

Enter the NBA President, Afam Osigwe, our Chief Hydrologist. A man who has moisturised the Bar and drowned its voice. The irony is rich, as he grows richer: The Bar doesn’t speak; it issues statements. The Bar doesn’t decide; it notes concerns. The Bar doesn’t act; it condemns. The Bar sinks lower as its leaders get high on our collective supply.

That is a Bold statement. Gaslight the people. Help them, until they become helpless. This is leadership by saturation, where the people are neither persuaded nor engaged, but drowned in a glass of water, then told to be grateful for the refreshment.

The Dibia must distinguish between the community shrine and his personal altar. Offerings taken in church do not belong to the Priest. The referee who wears a player’s jersey has already taken sides; the whistle becomes an instrument of ojoro. Authority, once personalised, cannot be respected, it must be resisted.

Are lawyers not trained to separate personal opinion from institutional duty. Not in this season for the President and his Yes Men and Yes Women. They speak softly, sip quietly and look the other way.

And about table manners: actions speak louder than words. Boldness is not the noise you make while doing nothing; it is the strength of character to speak up when speaking is unpopular. Cheating is not boldness, it is cowardice dressed in confidence, the refuge of those who fear a fair contest.

All I can say is this: elections have consequences. As we conclude our current sentence of hard labour, please remember that not every liquid is water, and not every drink is safe. Some drinks quench thirst; others start fires. Until then, stay hydrated. And keep your constitution waterproof.

*Niko El-Farlo, a public affairs analyst writes from Abuja