"I AM A VULTURE!", SCREAMS THE NIGERIAN POLITICIAN
What won't the Nigerian politician do? Believe this or not, but he has just described himself as a vulture! As he contracts a young actor and producer to do an adaptation of his father's song...
"Iran eye Igun,
Won kii j'agbado.
Iran akala,
Won o ma gbodo j'ere!"
...so crooned this young man...in a digitally-contrived duet with his dead father....Ade Love...a master of the Goje and sonorous tunes! The thrust of this message being that the vulture in this man consumes "special meals"...not mere corn or millet! Meals so "special" meant only for the strong-minded! (Caveat mine)
Now, Igun is the Yoruba name for the vulture. So is Akalamagbo...brevitized Akala!
Whether encountered as Coumorants in the sea or as their land equivalents, the vulture is a veritable symbol of revulsion! Borne out of its greed and gluttony....unmindful of what he eats. As ready to feast on dead and decaying animals as wolf down its own kind. Its menu is so repelling as to compel medical science to credit it as the host to so many earthly diseases to which he had adapted by developing resistance.
If I may say that again: the vulture has adapted to walking the path of filth and eating rot! So does the Nigerian politician! No matter how horrifying a sacrificial serving may be, the purveyor is rest assured that a vulture would soon devour it!
You may wonder what message this obese contestant is trying to convey to Lagos voters by hiring this young lad to liken him to a vulture....of all animals in a jingle aimed at wooing the electorate to cast their votes for him!
I have seen many men use powerful animals like lions, tigers, elephants and other predators in their insignia. Predators you may say....just like the Nigerian political class. But No! Says this particular man. The Horse or other equine animal like the Zebra....known for its stamina and strength then? Not good enough! Our man thinketh.... Something sinister then? A Scorpion or even a King Cobra? Still not a suitable choice... And if it must be a bird, why not fine hard-working birds of prey like the Eagle or the Falcon? A Vulture it must be! Or nothing else! For this candidate....
Is it that he is daft. Or he is so drunken in self-belief....or so blinded by over-confidence that he thinks the governor's seat is his for the taking....no matter what?
Whether its choice of the vulture is borne out of idiocy or self-conceit, the Nigerian political class has once again demonstrated that it is hugely populated by hordes of inscrutable persons whose intelligence must be called to question!
Like the vulture, he is lazy....only waits for the workers of the world to fend for food....then either makes a greedy grab for it....or waits for infirmed and injured animals to die to eat....even if rotten!
It has never been known to hunt for food....or make any meaningful attempt at decent living! So, its hunting skills are next to nought....never developed over centuries. Nor does it possess any hunting bodily parts!
As the vulture is always on the prowl for rotten food, it has taken pains to develop its sense of smell....its only worthwhile asset....able to smell rot for miles on end! So does the Nigerian political robber have a nose for free money.... His only worthwhile asset....this sense of smell for where cheap money dwells!
And as the Nigerian politician gathers his loot, he squanders it on women of easy virtues.....as he picks up diseases like fruits in the orchard!
Rotten heads....
Living rotten lives....
Fixated on rotten food....
Dr Tosin Akindele is a medical practitioner and public affairs analyst.