The Return Of Yesterday

I have tried hard to depart from my usual genre of writing these years. After so many genuine efforts and for genuine reasons, I still somehow find myself at the crossroads.

I have gone through so much and accumulated so much deficits to be my usual satirical self to get to half of where I was a decade ago. I must admit I’m complicit and guilty for joining political activism and therefore bound to be partisan and consequently vulnerable.

Thinking about the ‘Yesterday’ I’m referring to in this piece, was inconceivable , unthinkable and unimaginative a month ago. But as Joe Simon, my favourite Blues musician said in his 1982 Master Piece on Vinyl Records’ platform, ‘It Be’s That Way Sometimes’, life is indeed, a roller-coaster.

I must admit I was somewhat, part of ‘Yesterday’ as a nominal and naive participant that was there only in shadow and who was deliberately excluded and excommunicated to the real game both in participation and ‘membership’; a member whose membership was aggregated as a possible ‘opportunity cost’ as my allied colleagues, the economists, would say.

‘Yesterday’, was introduced to me a decade and a half ago as a socio-political platform for Sokoto’s development in London.

We were all misled by the gladiators that ‘Yesterday’ was the best thing to happen in Sokoto over a decade ago. So, we gave all we had for its realization.

We were all misled by the gladiators that ‘Yesterday’ was the best thing to happen in Sokoto so, we gave all we had for its realization.

INEC's declaration of Sokoto State 2023 Gubernatorial elections results came to us in reminiscences as a rude reminder of ‘Yesterday’.

For Sokoto, ‘Yesterday’ was not a good day in all parameters. ‘Yesterday’ wasn’t supposed to be part of Sokoto and was not supposed to come back. We all thought Yesterday was a good riddance to a bad rubbish!

‘Yesterday’ was supposed to be a mistake, a terrible miscarriage and a repeat of it will be an invitation to total and deliberate desecration of the social, religious, cultural and moral foundation of the fabrics of an upright society that hitherto, was thought to be impregnable to our state.

‘Yesterday’ was supposed to be a ‘one off’ as far as we, that participated in it, whether ‘passively or actively ’ are concerned. The leopard never changes its spots and the mirror doesn’t lie.

In fact , ‘Yesterday’ was not supposed to be repeated in Sokoto, but unfortunately and unless the judiciary does its job as the final arbiter and the last hope for fairness and justice, Yesterday will be foisted on us unjustly and crookedly.

‘Yesterday’ has so many synonyms. It means a complete departure from societal norms to alien and filthy ways. ‘Yesterday’ would destroy our traditional institutions and desecrate our history and traditions.

‘Yesterday’ means the return of white elephant projects in our state; it would mean the return of God-fatherism and undue favouritism.

‘Yesterday’ will in fact, mean the deterioration of our school system as education will receive a great shock with its legendary weak educational infrastructure provision and complete abandonment of the sector.

‘Yesterday’ would mean provision of in adequate water supply, poorly constructed roads and contracts inflated to the ceiling.

‘Yesterday’ will finally nail the coffin in the reformation of our wayward and jobless youths whose lives were destroyed in the first place by it, in its infamous first coming. To be precise, ‘Yesterday’ would bring back the dreaded Area Boys to town with the signature and approval of the authorities. They will go berserk and terrorise the society with careless abandon.

‘Yesterday’ will dethrone and enthrone most of our traditional and religious leaders. It will replace them with mediocres, Illiterates and crass opportunists. The society will be doomed when ‘Yesterday’ returns.

Finally, ‘Yesterday’ will come with half baked and semi Illiterates leaders. It will come with leaders who will claim having multiple degrees including a PhD in-view, but could not speak a complete sentence in English without massacring the Queen’s language.

‘Yesterday’s new arrowhead will be completely out of tune with normal conversation in the lingua franca and modern technological world. The arrowhead will not be able to compete in the comity of leaders at the national level.

‘Yesterday’ will truly expose our state and make us a laughing stock in the country. May ‘Yesterday’ never return.

Dahiru Maishanu, Proep, IBMS, MBA, BBA (The Hague) is the former Sokoto State Commissioner of Information