ALAPADUPE: THANKING THE ONE WHO KILLS!

Alapadupe, a new word I just learnt leaves me ire. Not that I am oblivious to the existence of the word in itself, but the true meaning of the word revealed to me by a wise man makes it too worrying. Since I now understand the true meaning of the word, a clearer picture of my society and our origin for cruelty and disregard for our people by our leaders seemed to appear to me. The origin of the word fills me with unquantifiable rage but thankfully, my heart has the capacity to accommodate the rage. However, it is devastating more to know that our people have imbibed this trait.

Well, I know some of you are conversant with the meaning of this word, but for the benefit of those who do not, let me take my time to explain it in details. The word alapadupe emanated during the colonial days when our people were subjected to indirect slavery. It means literally thanking the one who kills! By this, it meant most times when the white man rode in his jeep recklessly with utter negligence and disregard for human life, running into Nigerians and killing them, thereby committing manslaughter, the family of the deceased not only run to carry their dead for burial but thanked the white man for killing their dead. Otherwise, they arrested and jailed the family member(s) for staging protest by blaming the deceased for being unaware while plying the path to the farm. What despicable latitude!

It is horrifying enough to think of the ridiculous benefits the white men enjoyed during their time; turning our people into hunting games. However, to think that our big bellied, big for nothing, power drunk, confused and venal, empty headed, direction lacking, repulsive, pretentious, infuriating politicians have nurtured and cultivated the same habits over the years is not just heartrending, tormenting, terrifying but alarming, shameful looking more premeditated. It is unimaginable that our own people, the ones we fought for the freedom of our lands and independence of our people together from oppression will turn against us and adopt the same contemptible styles of the white men that we revolted against and chased from our lands.

Our brazen politicians, supposed leaders, who are entrusted with the responsibility of directing the affairs of the land, to deliver a peaceful environment by enforcing law and order through collective contributions for a viable society and security of lives and properties have now turned into the enemies within. Consuming the riches of the land has intoxicated them that they no longer remember the labours of the past. They have forgotten the labours of our heroes past, sinking the common wealth and tearing apart the history we fought to have. They have become a liability unto us, the ones that absolute power has corrupted absolutely and can no longer connect with the pains of the people.

In our leaders, we have a crueller alapadupe as they knew what we suffered from in the days of old yet they inflict on us more viciously than the colonial days. They dare us, steal our common wealth; destroy the foundations our past leaders founded. They have refused to fund the educational sector so that our children can waste at home so that there is no one to challenge their inane policies while theirs travel abroad to acquire the best education.

They live in immense affluence and lavish luxury while the people live in squalor and unsavoury penury. They chase us off the roads like animals with sirens blaring from the convoy of their cars and go to the length of killing innocent citizens who fail to leave the road in time. They take our means of livelihood and take our resources to foreign lands for us to buy at exorbitant prices that leave a hole in our pockets. They make life unbearable by handicapping us - taking away electricity, water supply, and security.

They are worse than the cold-blooded monsters of slavery with their ruthlessness by bringing us the modern slavery and false imprisonment. We exist in our lands like strangers. We are not free to express our pains. They take away from us our fundamental human rights stripping us of the purpose of liberty. These politicians set the soldiers loose on us like we were the enemy, they ask them to disperse any peaceful protest with the barrels of the gun and horrifying assault. They condone their excesses even when they destroy innocent lives and properties but incarcerate the poor for flimsy offences, switching their lives with those of the offending sons of the rich men.

Our modern alapadupe enjoy greater advantages than those of old. They are the lions that scare the people; they take the police who are supposed to be friends of the people as slaves to follow their children to school and wives to the markets. They roar and we scram into our fear caves. They have become overlords because we thank them for sparing us our lives, we whine like babies, we bark with no teeth to bite, we condemn those in the seat of power from our sitting room but praise them to their faces. We now aid and abate the alapadupes and they have become cancerous. Rather than stand against oppression, we say rankadede to our unrepentant alapadupe.

ADEKANE ADEINKA .O.