A TALE OF TWO CITIES

This is the year a political tsunami hit Iluola, the lush evergreen forest at the tip of the Savannah. The year when a device called PVC Verification readers changed the dynamics of elections in Iluola, disrupting the status quo forever. The foxes ran out of ideas, the bulls ran amok as the bears were restrained. Inevitably, the chicken came home to roost, all under the watch of a stern and uncompromising umpire. A new drug called Jegamycin was invented in and administered on Iluola and the whole world cheered a forest waking from a deep slumber and coming alive. What an “annushorribilis” for the biggest gorilla in the forest.

Orisun is the pride of Iluola, the city that competes with New York in never sleeping, there is drama all over the place. All sorts of business are transacted, fortunes are made, dreams comes true,and opportunities are everywhere. Amidst all the roots and branches straddling the place, people pick their way through to make living. Despite the scorching sun, the torrential rain, the potholes and foul sewage, people labour on with eagerness and hope. New roads, schools, hospitals are being built, transport services are being enhanced, etc. A city being transformed and where citizens are unusually commending the government as the dividends of good governance trickles down.

It is not yet Uhuru but the people are hopeful and the signs are promising. A lion is leaving town and another lion is taking the reins….there is jubilation and pats on the back that the voice of reason has triumphed….proven and tested people are taking charge….there is a feeling that the task at hand will continue to be engaged by competent and serious hands….a fresh pair of hands are about to take charge and steer Orisun along the journey to become the world class city it deserves to be.

Ireti is the federal capital ofIluola.Spanned by massive expansive houses, wide boulevards, shopping plazas, hotels of different grade, brisk businesses goes on all over the place. Politicians, Civil Servants, Contractors – the poachers, bestrides the city like a colossus…..they don’t talk about religion, tribe or gender…..they talk about money…they come from every nook and corner of Iluola, seeking fortunes, deals and dubious agreements….you can’t miss them in the big posh hotels, in the joints, holding nocturnal meetings, hurrying back and forth as if on a noble mission, planning how and where to hide their loots.Ordinary Iluolans look and shudder, mulling the perennial question….is this the destiny of this evergreen forest?

Alas, change is here….. A General and a Professor have arrived in Ireti with a broom, ready to sweep away all the leeches sucking the blood of Iluola, this sick nation is about to be healed….The look on thepoacher’sfaces has changed dramatically, their mood is sullen, their countenance is of despair….there is anxiety and trepidation in the air….will he or will he not…..guess the question???

Toibudeen OduniyiFBCS CITP
muyiwa@oduniyi.com