Oddity of Impunity

By Bolutife Oluwadele

"In Oddity of Impunity, Bolutife Oluwadele serves us with freshness and unhindered expressiveness, salted with the self-mastery of an adept satirist. With playful sternness, he writes about issues that plague us daily-democratisation, corruption, exploitation, and Pan-Africanism; asking us to take action, so we can truly play while we work."

—Olumide Olaniyan, Author, Akimbo in Limbo

 

"Bolutife Oluwadele, Ph.D., has the clout that represents his accomplishments. His writings are authentic, unlike those that pursue political correctness. I have interacted with Dr. Bolutife Oluwadele and seen first-hand that he is knowledgeable, academically brilliant, and offering quality in the works coming from his stables. Read his books. Also, read his other writings. I love these poems. This ODDITY OF IMPUNITY delivered on quality. The future we don't know the bitter truth, and the undertaker in the lab coat!' will help you see Dr. Bolutife Oluwadele the way I see him: BALANCED. Please, read this book!"

—Professor Frederick Nwosu, Ph.D., MBA, FILAS President, International Institute for African Scholars

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bolutife Oluwadele
• Release date: Nov 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223854425

Book preview

The lunacy of intellectualism

Sometimes intellectuals behave like crazy people

As in sköskö gidi gan

You remember those days of Western Nigeria?

Dem give us number plate WP

Our friends called it Western State Ekiti Parapô

Our frenemies called it Wèrèy Paraku!

Some intellectuals are actually wèrèy paraku

But intellectualism is still awesome

Next time you see some intellectuals misbehaving

Just know some of us are wèrèy paraku

But still respect dem o

The thing nor dey dat easy sef

The Intractability of Boko Haram

First, economic Boko Haram

Second, political Boko Haram

Third, religious Boko Haram

Defeated

Technically defeated

Decimated

Now the fourth dimension!

It is the pot of soups ‘somtin’

And the President is not even aware

Mai Gaskiya cannot even perceive the aroma of the delicacies

Who will then deliver us from these powerful soup lickers?

And rescue our beloved lads like Leah Shaibu

From the paroxysms of wicked hostages

Or better still, how do we break the pot of soups

As the fourth ‘dimensionists’ buried their tongues in the delicacies

Cooked with the pains and miseries of our people

#JustThinkingAloud

Who audits the auditor et al.?

In my working career, I have been asked tons of questions

Maybe not as many as I asked since I am an asking ‘mantis’ myself

There was this particular time I got asked, who audits the auditors?

It was an unexpected question, so I was not really prepared for it I then said welllll ...

He responded with hands up, well what sir?

Auditors are trained to be independent, unbiased, and reasonably objective always

He was not impressed

Are there no corrupt or too powerful auditors, and if there are who now audit them?

I took a deep breath

I knew I was and is still not corrupt

But I also knew I was wrongly perceived to be too powerful then.

Yet it was his second day at work!

Someone told him the audit guy is tough, so he should be well prepared Yes, I was always insistent on compliance with rules with no exception

I wasn’t loved for that

The truth was that I was not even looking for love.

I got a job to do

Auditors work with their conscience I managed to retort

He was not done

What if their conscience is soiled, he asked further?

Mine was not soiled and will not be soiled was my direct answer to that But you are powerful, sir, and who says you cannot abuse that power?

I don’t agree entirely with you, and I have to do what I have to do but with guided principles

He insisted I was powerful!

Eventually, that was used against me

I narrowly escaped with my life intact

For those who give the final verdict on issues

Perhaps we should gather here to answer the question together

Who audits the Auditor?

Who judges the Judge? Who polices the Police?Who cures the Doctor?

Who barbs the Barber?

Who nurses the Nurse?

The list can go on and on

Is it conscience, technicality, principles, guidelines, spirituality, maturity? Or better still, sense of fairness?

Honestly, I have not been able to convince myself that I can honestly

answer the question

Who audits the auditor in its broader context?

Who governs the Governor?

Who judges the Supreme Judge?

One issue many shades

From lurking in an uncompleted building

Tangoing in a bright moonlight

Away from the prying eyes of Ìyá ilé ôökán

Savoring the forbidden fruits in teenage years

Then to pseudo accounts on social media

Capturing even close relatives sometimes

And education prompted by quota system of undue advantage

Galvanized into the power without knowledge

With ignorance covered up with bogus but flowing babanriga

Supported by the uncanny public, urging to use tenure wisely

Reinforced by unethical and kleptomania elitism

Granting accessibility without a sense of service

Urging to utilize mandate for self-enriching

With conscience sacrificed on the altar of greed and avarice

Backed up by administrative ineptitude

Justified by the canonization of ancestral ATM

Otherwise known as Abacha loot

With no sense of purpose

To the one that was once molding character

With heavenly rewards beckoning

But now turn out to expo and konje master

Soiling hands with filthy lucre

And the ‘pontifier’ of divine messages

That has turned holy grail to hypnotism

Scheming people out of their hard-earned income

Or the more garrulous masquerading as motivators

Pushing people on uncharted pathways

Through deceit and false assertion

And yet the one hiding under the impunity of immunity

To fleece us up to the third and fourth generations

It boils down to one thing

We live in precarious timesWith the entire landscape unduly infested

By elements in all strata

With the common and stinking coinage The unbridled phenomenon of our time CORRUPTION!

Tá n fé kú (Who wants to die)?

I remember as we used to say in those days

It is the outside that will drag its children back home

They moved a whopping 300 souls

To celebrate a ninety-year-old birthday in Dubai

They parade the streets of London for a common ailment

They were permanent features in Indian Hospice

Were in Italy for ice creams

And wore suits on babanriga to watch games in Spain

Rode bicycles on the streets of New York

Then COVID-19 appears

And went away their appetites for foreign trips

But they will still not buy Innosons

And disallow electric cars

Though there is even no electricity

Legislate against generators during sessions powered by generators

So, they are fearful

And chose to stay home now

Nigeria has suddenly become a haven to them Because they are scared of death

#JustThinkingAloud.

Echo from self-isolation

Though with little or no anticipated sickness

But conforming to rules and regulations

Sequel to a successful, but cut short voyage

Confined in one place for a long two weeks

A restless soul that abhors boredom

Focused on spiritual renewal

And energy restoration, away from stressfulness of normal life

Soaked in the eternal sphere of academics

Exercising mind in a literary excursion

Fortified by uncountable plates of delicious pepper soup

With head immersed in a stream like