Welcome back to the Free Readers Association, a group of friends who analyse headline news
on their way to work. Let us hear from them as they follow the news offline and online. They
are always spot on!
Benson: Oga Moses, Oga Musa, good morning, I hope you are well?
Moses: I am well, thank you Oga Benson. Joe, Steven, good morning
Musa: Good morning to you all
Joe: Good morning my brothers, hope you had a good night
Steven: Good morning everyone. May today be good for us all
Benson: Amen. Oga Musa, congratulations once again on your recent wedding. We all had a
good time. May God bless your new home.
Musa: Thank you, my brother. I appreciate those of you who made it, and those who couldn’t
come sent gifts. I am grateful to you all.
Moses: So how is married life? You need to have patience o, these young women of today are
not like their mothers, they are not calm
Musa: My brother, why should they be calm? It is foolish of us to expect that they will behave
like their mothers, when it is their mothers and grandmothers who have raised them to reject
men’s foolishness. Those women suffered then because they did not know any better. These
young ones have choices, their case is bound to be different.
Steven: So, when will you marry number two, after all, you are entitled to four (they all laugh)
Musa: Awusubilahi! In this economy, when I am still struggling to care for number 1?
Benson: Economy fit change now. When you have better money, you will be on another level
Musa: Money is not everything. Look at that Uncle who celebrated his 60 th birthday recently.
The party almost scattered with second wife wahala. The man looks like he is 80. Please, let us
no dey do pass ourselves
(Everyone agrees)
Moses: (Picks up a newspaper) ‘Vigilante in Anambra State beat and strip Youth Corper’
Benson: Haba! This is terrible. What is this new trend with stripping young women naked in
public? Why? Don’t they have mothers and sisters?
Moses: My brother, it is not a new thing, they have been doing it for a long time. The difference
now is that with a phone in the hands of everyone, it will go viral. This is indeed terrible and a
stop needs to be put to it. See what they did to that girl Comfort on Ibom Air.
Joe: You are right. Until some people go to jail for recording and distributing this kind of thing, it
will continue. This society does not respect women at all. Women are mothers, their bodies
should be treated as sacred. Why are people bringing curses on their heads?
Steven: These women self no try. Why are many of them going around half naked and without
bras? If they do not treat their own bodies as sacred, why should anyone else?
Moses: I hope you do not use that same sense to cross the road? What does the way they dress
have to do with stripping them naked at the slightest opportunity? What is your business with
women’s underwear? Has anyone ever asked you if you are wearing boxers or briefs?
Musa: What is bad is bad. As men, we should be talking to ourselves about this. It needs to
stop. We are human beings, not animals.
Joe: ‘Special Seats for Women Bill receives wide support’
Steven: What is ‘Special Seats for women’?
Benson: It is a Bill that will create more seats for women at the National Assembly and State
Houses of Assembly. The number of female political representatives is too low in this country,
compared to other African countries. We have 4 female Senators out of 109 and 14 female
representatives out of 360. There are currently 56 women out of 993 members of the State Houses of
Assembly, with up to fourteen States where there is no female member at all. Out of these fourteen
States, five of them have NEVER had a female representative since 1999.
Moses: Wao! How do you know all this?
Benson: My Madam is a member of Federation of Women Lawyers, known as FIDA, and is one
of those who has been doing advocacy for the Bill. She explained its importance to all of us men
who work in the office, so that we can educate other people around us when we have the
opportunity.
Joe: Why can’t women contest elections the same way men do? Is this not discrimination?
Musa: It is not that easy. Benson is right, if things continue like this, women will no longer have
space in politics, the men will keep marginalising them. The challenges women face are many.
They have to deal with discrimination, gender stereotypes, unsupportive families, political
Godfathers who want returns in cash or kind, and the lack of financial support. Then there are
the rigours of political meetings at late hours, when women are supposed to be in their homes.
My own State is one of those places where we have never had a woman in the State House of
Assembly. Yet, women troop out in large numbers to vote for men during elections.
Steven: So, would you encourage your wife to become a politician?
Musa: Yes, I would. We need to support women, we have mothers, sisters, and one day, I will
have a daughter. If my wife is interested, I will take her to Benson’s Madam to mentor her, she
is a responsible woman.
Steven: So how will the Bill work when it is passed?
Benson: There will be one Senate seat for women from each State and FCT, two additional seats
for House of Representatives and three seats for the State House of Assembly. There is a
‘Sunset Clause’ which means the Bill will be in place for 16 years or four electoral cycles, after
which it will be reviewed.
Joe: It sounds like a good idea. The way we cheat women in this country is not fair. We have so
many well-educated, patriotic, and hard-working women, yet only a few of them get good
opportunities. That is why all these Yeyebrity noise-makers will not let us hear word.
Musa: ‘Alaafin of Oyo gives Ooni of Ife 48 hours to rescind Yorubaland Chieftaincy title’
Moses: Hmmmmm. When did this Alaafin get there that he is already looking for trouble? Is
Ooni of Ife anyone’s mate? That is what happens when you put big robes on the shoulders of
small boys.
Steven: Why would Alaafin and Ooni be fighting? What is the problem?
Joe: The problem is that we are no longer teaching or learning History in schools. Everyone is
now manufacturing their own opinions into facts and taking norms and practices out of
historical context. Ooni of Ife is the undisputed spiritual leader of the Yoruba people at home
and abroad. It does not matter if he is three years old. The Alaafin of Oyo is a respected leader
in ancient Yoruba political history, but it does not make him superior to the Ooni. The colonial
rulers gave the Alaafin an edge over other Yoruba Obas, for their own indirect rule agenda to
succeed. We are no longer a colony, and Yoruba History did not start with the arrival of the
Europeans, that thinking is sacrilegious.
Musa: Both of them should take it easy. When two elephants fight, the grass suffers. Even those
of us who are not Yoruba understand the supremacy of the Ooni of Ife. However, he too should
stop making himself so accessible. He goes out too much, let people come to him, he is a deity.
Benson: There is nothing wrong in going out of the palace. These new Kabiyesis are trying to
modernise the monarchy and make it more relevant to the ordinary people.
Joe: There is nothing ordinary about being a King. A King earns respect through mystery,
restraint, fairness and wisdom. Our traditional institutions deserve respect, they are the true
‘eternal excellencies’ not the politicians who prop them up.
(They all laugh)
Moses: ‘Man Commits Suicide in Imo State over hardship’
Musa: Terrible. People are suffering. There is so much poverty, frustration and hopelessness in
the land.
Steven: You are right. Even though we blame our leaders for not doing enough to bridge the
gap between the rich and the poor, why are we not asking ourselves why we have more
religious institutions than businesses? On every street there is one church or the other. If you
check, they are all full of poor people, who still have to donate.
Benson: Look at even the big churches. They build schools their congregation cannot afford to
send their children to and housing estates they cannot live in. The same church where millions
attend and sleep there for days, is where a handful are donating billions. The same church! If
we investigate, that poor man who kpaid himself was attending one church or the other.
Joe: Religion is for everybody. The fruits of religion are not!
Moses: Kisarazu announced as Japanese hometown for Nigerians
Steven: This is good news. At least, till we go there and spoil the place like we always do
Musa: Japan is not a place you can go to and behave anyhow. They are not as tolerant as the
Western countries.
Joe: Listen to yourself. Is there any place Nigerians do not behave anyhow? Go to Singapore,
Malaysia, Thailand, China, UAE, countries that have harsh penalties for criminal offences, our
people still find a way to misbehave.
(They all laugh)
Musa: The sad thing is that they will ignore the majority who are law abiding and focus on the
minority who are trouble makers. It is so annoying. The best thing is for us to fix our own
country so that we minimise the Japa and all the insults that come with it. We can do it, we are
human beings too.
(They all nod in agreement)
Pedro (Owner of the newspaper stand) Guys, well done o! How many are you buying today, abi
na only free reading?
The guys (Laughing) No, we will buy
(They all buy one newspaper each)
Moses: I can read the paper on my phone, but I do not want to miss my morning gist with you
all. See you next time
The guys: Yes o!
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Leadership Coach, Policy Advocate
and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for
women. She can be reached at BAF@abovewhispers.com