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OPINION: The Unkingly Timi And Lousy Wasiu Ayinde (2)
Published
7 months agoon
By
Editor
Tunde Odesola
‘Ga’nu sí’ is a six-letter Yoruba phrase with three syllables. The first syllable, ‘ga’, means to ‘set open’. The second syllable, ‘nu’, is a contraction of ‘enu’ (mouth) while ‘si’ means ‘to’ or ‘upon’. Therefore, a literal English translation of ‘ga’nu sí’ is ‘set open the mouth to/upon’…. Examples: (1) Wasiu ‘ga’nu sí’ dollars. (2) Omogbolahan ‘ga’nu sí’ Tinubu.
Now, I’ll track back a little for lucidity sake. Some days before the ‘ga’nu sí’ saga broke out, I had picked a side in the raging online war that tested the elasticity of respect among the Yoruba, when Talazo Fuji creator, Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde, referred to President Bola Tinubu, using the ‘o’ singular pronoun during a private telephone conversation, which was unethically recorded and posted online.
By the way, the Yoruba and their culture are huge on respect – the reason why elders and superiors are shown respect through prostration and the use of the ‘e’ singular pronoun. In contrast, the ‘o’ pronoun is used for younger ones and agemates, among other forms of veneration.
To lampoon Ayinde’s act of crass stupidity, I began this two-part article, “The unkingly Timi and lousy Wasiu Ayinde,” last Friday, with the article’s first part kicking off with the indiscretion of the Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Lawal, who knelt to the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.
This week, I had hoped to conclude the second part of the article by showing Wese Boy why his act of irritable arrogance and idiocy makes him unworthy of the Mayegun and Olori Omo Oba Akile Ijebu titles he holds.
Neither the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, nor the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, would be proud of Ayinde’s abuse of privilege, disrespect for old age and the Office of the President.
But the ‘ga’nu sí’ imbroglio broke out and appears to catch up with the second part of my article because I partly like the stance Ayinde took against the alfas, thus leaving in my mouth a pinch of salt and a fizzle of fart. Salt is tasteful; fart is distasteful, so say the Yoruba proverb. I’m prepared to consume both.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: [OPINION] The Unkingly Timi And Lousy Wasiu Ayinde (1)
Then, my mind wandered back to the burial of the mother of Orobo Fuji creator, Ajibola Alabi aka Pasuma, in 2023, when Ayinde told the ‘ga’nu sí’ alfas at the occasion that Fuji artistes in attendance would not give money as sàárà at the burial. Afterwards, some aggrieved alfas called Ayinde an Ifa worshipper and they threatened thunder and lightning. But no personal tragedy befell Igi Jegede since then.
So, when the ‘ga’nu sí’ video went viral, and I loved it, I started to wonder if the fake alfas who accused Ayinde of using ‘mádaríkàn’ were not right, after all. Or, why have the two issues left me with salt and fart?
I’ll dismount the horse called tie-back this minute and address ‘ga’nu si’ headlong. If the non-Yoruba wish to comprehend the insult contained in ‘ga’nu sí’, the inner eyes called ojú inú need to travel to the jungle and picture a lion chasing down an antelope, with dust swirling, veld swaying and the ground quaking.
At last, the lion corners the antelope: two hearts pound madly to the beat of life or death – the die is cast. The lion leaps, claws unsheathed, tail hard as bone and jaws wide open, aiming for the antelope’s jugular. When death opens the door, life exits.
F-r-e-e-z-e! Here’s the picture! The lion’s open-mouthed leap is the perfect example of ‘ga’nu sí’. Yes, the lion, by intent and purpose, ‘ga’nu sí’ the neck of the antelope, like beggars ‘ga’nu sí’ sàárà – solicited money.
For those defending Ayinde, ‘ga’nu sí’ is not a dignifying phrase. No one smiles when smeared with the ‘ga’nu sí’ tar. Probably, its temperate cousin, ‘t’eba si’, could have been a better choice for Ayinde to use in describing the beggarly action of some alfas at the eighth-day fidau prayers offered during the burial of his mother, Alhaja Halimotu Shadiya Anifowose, who lived to 105 years.
Ayinde, speaking with an unidentified middle-aged man, declared in aviral video, “Ile baba mi ni Fidipote, awon afa, won lo be; ibi ni gbogbo wa se kinni? Ni won wa ga’nu sí,” lamenting how Muslim clerics pitched up at his residence with their oral cavities wide open.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: The Day Alcohol Showed Me Shégè (2)
Since the Wasiu Ayinde ‘ga’nu sí’ outburst, two images have refused to leave my mind. One is the image of wild-growing mushrooms with big caps; the other is the image of crocodiles with jaws flung apart, lying doggo as they ‘ga’nu sí’ oxygen.
In my writings, I’ve been more caustic of Christian clerics than their Muslim counterparts, though I’m a Christian. Because it riles when robbers in Christian cassocks mount the pulpit and boast like God was answerable to them, lying shameless and extorting their foolish congregations, who hail in delirium.
One of such robbers on the pulpit, a light-skinned stark illiterate, who calls himself a lion, was formerly a shoemaker from Anambra; another, an apostle, said he wished for COVID to continue because he bought a jet during the pandemic while another, a bishop, ceaselessly lies about tithe and offering. Yet, all of them fled into their holes until science reined in the reign of COVID.
I had thought Islamic clerics were more organised until I witnessed an Islamic burial where the alfas were soliciting money in a fashion unbefitting for Area Boys.
In an interview, an A-list thespian, who attended both Pasuma and Ayinde’s ceremonies, disclosed told me, “I was at the burial of Wasiu Alabi Pasuma’s mother, where alfas acted shamelessly. Some were at Pasuma’s house for eight days, sleeping inside vehicles. What’s the meaning of that? And, those clerics were the uninvited ones.
“When they see a dignitary come in, they call him or her to come and donate money under frivolous pretexts. But when it was time to share the sàárà money, a bitter fight broke out openly among them.”
“Wasiu Ayinde invited me to the burial of his mother. I was in the town a day before the event. I lodged in a hotel. I saw how the uninvited alfas were struggling to extort dignitaries. It was this set of people that K1 was referring to as, not the credible alfas he invited.”
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: The Day Alcohol Showed Me Shégè (1)
Personally, I enjoy the threats of fire and brimstone against Wasiu by some known and unknown Muslim clerics who ‘ga’nu sí’ microphones, belching illogical reasoning to drive online traffic. A couple of them even threatened Ayinde and his family with death. If the God they profess is as vindictive as their hot air, Wasiu should be with his mother by now.
The powerlessness of their threats should open the eyes of their followers that Allah is best encountered on a personal level rather than relinquishing access to Him to some alfas who only bark without bite; whose only knowledge of Allah is the ability to cram the Holy Quran and speak in Saudi tongue. Is that all that is to serving God?
I return to Aso Rock and its haughty bard. Ida ahun ni a fi n pa ahun. The tortoise is killed by its own sword. Without seeking the permission of Tinubu, Wasiu recorded a private conversation, which found its way online. Similarly, the ‘ga’nu sí’ conversation the musician had with the middle-aged man was recorded and sent online.
Therefore, it would be wicked of Wasiu to mete out punishment to the person(s) that sent the ‘ga’nu sí’ video online. As the saying goes, what is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander.
I listened online to a non-Lagosian commentator say using ‘o’ for elders was an Eko thing. I disagree. I was born at the Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos Island, and was bred both on the island and mainland. My parents never raised me to use the pronoun ‘o’ for my elders or superiors.
If Ayinde had a sense of perception, he should know that the younger generation would not hesitate to use ‘o’ for their parents and elders after seeing him use ‘o’ for the President.
If Tinubu could allow Wasiu to get away with such a high level of disrespect, I wonder what values he imbibed in his children. Some commentators attribute the disrespect to some unlit dealings between the two in the past, but I don’t care. All that matters to me is that both should not bring their dirty linings to the public laundromat. Period.
* Concluded.
Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com
Facebook: @Tunde Odesola
X: @Tunde_Odesola
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EFCC Orders Arrest Of Dismissed Officer On Lege Miami’s Show
Published
1 hour agoon
August 25, 2025By
Editor
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has condemned the actions of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, who was recently spotted participating in a matchmaking programme on social media platforms hosted by popular entertainer Lege Miami.
The agency has ordered his immediate arrest for retaining official EFCC property, including an identity card, following his dismissal for certificate forgery.
The anti-graft agency, in a statement on its official X handle on Monday, said Folarin served as a driver at the EFCC’s Ibadan Zonal Directorate.
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He was, however, dismissed after investigations confirmed he had forged his academic credentials.
It said, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, condemned in the strongest terms, the involvement of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, in a matchmaking programme running on Lege Miami social media platforms.”
“Folarin was recently dismissed from the Commission for certificate forgery. He was a driver at the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.”
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The statement said EFCC Executive Chairma,n Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered Folarin to be arrested and emphasised that Folarin’s actions should not be associated with the commission.
“The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered his arrest for being in possession of some Commission’s properties, including an identity card, which he should have handed over upon being dismissed from the EFCC.
“The public is advised against associating Folarin’s post-dismissal conduct with the EFCC,” the statement concluded.
News
NERC Transfers Regulation Of Electricity Market To Bayelsa
Published
1 hour agoon
August 25, 2025By
Editor
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has transferred regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State to the Bayelsa Electricity Regulatory Agency.
In a notice on its social media handles on Monday, the commission said this was in compliance with the amended 1999 Constitution and the Electricity Act 2023.
“In compliance with the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued an order to transfer regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State from the Commission to the Bayelsa State Electricity Regulatory Agency,” the commission said.
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Recall that with the Electricity Act 2023, the commission retains the role as a central regulator with regulatory oversight on the interstate/international generation, transmission, supply, trading, and system operations.
The Act also mandates any state that intends to establish and regulate intrastate electricity markets to deliver a formal notification of its processes and requests NERC to transfer regulatory authority over electricity operations in the state to the state regulator.
The transfer order by NERC directed Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company Plc to incorporate a subsidiary distribution company to assume responsibilities for intrastate supply and distribution of electricity in Bayelsa State from PHED.
PHED was also directed to complete the incorporation of PHED SubCo within 60 days from August 21, 2025.
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“The subcompany shall apply for and obtain a licence for the intrastate supply and distribution of electricity from BYERA, among other directives,” the commission said.
It concluded that all transfers envisaged by the order shall be completed by February 20, 2026.
With this order, Bayelsa has joined states like Lagos, Imo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Enugu, Niger, Edo, Oyo and Plateau, which have got the power to regulate electricity markets.
The state can now generate, transmit, and distribute electricity while issuing licences to investors within the value chain.
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Things To Know As INEC Begins Physical Voter Registration Monday
Published
2 hours agoon
August 25, 2025By
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The Independent National Electoral Commission commenced the physical, in-person phase of its 2025 Continuous Voter Registration exercise across Nigeria today, Monday, August 25.
This follows the online pre-registration that commenced on August 18, 2025.
In an update on its X handle on Monday, the commission provided details of the schedule, locations, and eligibility of voters.
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INEC said in-person registration will run Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, and urged eligible Nigerians to complete their registration at INEC state or local government offices in their area.
The commission said those eligible to register or update their details include:
New voters aged 18 and above who have not registered before.
Holders needing to replace lost or damaged Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
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Voters seeking to transfer their registration to a new location.
People who need to update or correct their voter information (name, address, etc.).
The electoral umpire asked registrants who completed online pre-registration to proceed to their INEC State Head Office or LGA office to finalise the process.
The commission also published a list of registration centres on its official portal.
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