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OPINION: The Unkingly Timi And Lousy Wasiu Ayinde (2)

Published

1 year ago

January 31, 2025

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.

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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Xenophobic Attacks: Oshiomhole Tells FG To Retaliate Against South African Companies In Nigeria

Published

4 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Editor

Senator Adams Oshiomhole has called on the Federal Government to retaliate against South African businesses operating in Nigeria following the recent attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

Speaking during plenary on Tuesday, Oshiomhole said the Federal Government should consider revoking the working license of South African owned companies such as MTN and DSTV.

He argued that Nigeria must respond firmly to what he described as persistent hostility against its citizens.

“I am not going to shed tears. If you hit me, I hit you. I think it is appropriate in diplomacy. It is an economic struggle,” Oshiomhole said.

He argued that while some South Africans accuse Nigerians of taking their jobs, Nigerians should return home and take over employment opportunities created by major South African companies operating in the country, including MTN and DSTV.

“When we hit back, the President of South Africa will not only talk but will also go on his knees to recognise that Nigeria cannot be intimidated.

“We will not condone any life being lost. If a crime has been committed under the South African law they have the right to bring any such person to justice, but to kill our people as if we are helpless, we will not allow that,” Oshiomhole added.

DAILY POST reports that several Nigerians in South Africa have reportedly been attacked, and their businesses destroyed, in ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.

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IGP Orders Officers Display Name Tag On Uniform, Gives Update On State Police

Published

5 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Editor

The Inspector General of Police, IGP, Tunji Disu, has ordered all police personnel to always have their name tags on their uniforms for easy identification.

Disu disclosed that only police personnel who are undercover are exempted from displaying their name tags.

Speaking on Tuesday, Disu said: “All police officers should have their name tags. All of us on the high table have our names apart from the undercover among us so if you look at all the Commissioners of Police we have our name tags, so it’s not our standard.

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Court Orders SERAP To Pay DSS Operatives N100m For Defamation

Published

10 hours ago

May 5, 2026

Editor

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has ordered a non-governmental organization, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, to pay N100 million as damaged to two operatives of the Department of the State Services, DSS, for unjustly defaming them in some publications.

The court also ordered SERAP to tender public apologies to the defamed officers,
Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele, in two national newspapers, two television stations and its website.

Besides, the organization was also ordered to pay the two operatives N1 million as cost of litigation and 10 percent post-judgment interest annually on the judgment sum until it’s fully liquidated.

Justice Yusuf Halilu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory gave the order on Tuesday while delivering judgment in a N5.5 billion defamation suit instituted against SERAP by the DSS operatives.

The judge found SERAP liable for unjustly defaming the two DSS operatives with allegations that they unlawfully invaded its Abuja office, harassed and intimidated its staff, in September 2024.

In the offending publication on its website and Twitter handle, SERAP alleged that the two operatives unlawfully invaded and occupied its office with sinister motives.

The judge held that the publication was in bad taste especially from an organization established to promote transparency and accountability, as nothing in the publication was found to be truthful.

The DSS staff had listed SERAP as 1st defendant in the suit marked CV/4547/2024. SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, was listed as the 2nd defendant.

In the suit, the claimants – Sarah John and Gabriel Ogundele – accused the two defendants of making false claims that they invaded SERAP’s Abuja office on September 9, 2024..

Counsel to the DSS, Oluwagbemileke Samuel Kehinde, had while adopting his final address in the mater urged the judge to grant all the reliefs sought by his client in the interest of justice.

He admitted that although the names of the two claimants were not mentioned in the defamation materials, they had however established substantial circumstances that they are the ones referred to in the published defamation article by SERAP on its website.

The counsel submitted that all ingredients of defamation have been clearly established and the offending publication referred to the two officials of the secret police.

However, SERAP, through its counsel, Victoria Bassey from Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, law firm, asked the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that the two claimants did not establish that they were the ones referred to in the alleged defamation materials.

She said that SERAP used “DSS officials” in the alleged offending publication, adding that the two claimants must establish that they are the ones referred to before their case can succeed.

Similar arguments were canvassed by Oluwatosin Adefioye who stood for the second defendant, adding that there was no dispute in the September 9, 2024 operation of DSS in SERAP’s office.

He said that since SERAP in the publication did not name any particular person, the claimants must plead special circumstances that they were the ones referred to as the DSS officials.

Besides, he said that there is no organization by name Department of State Services in law, hence, DSS cannot claim being defamed adding that the only entity known to law is National Security Agency.

The claimants had in the suit stated that the alleged false claim by SERAP has negatively impacted on their reputation.

The DSS also stated, in the statement of claim, that, in line with the agency’s practice of engaging with officials of non-governmental organisations operating in the FCT to establish a relationship with their new leadership, it directed the two officials – John and Ogunleye – to visit SERAP’s office and invite them for a familiarization meeting.

The claimants added that in carrying out the directive, John and Ogunleye paid a friendly visit to SERAP’s office at 18 Bamako Street, Wuse Zone 1, Abuja on September 9 and met with one Ruth, who upon being informed about the purpose of the visit, claimed that none of SERAP’s management staff was in the country and advised that a formal letter of invitation be written by the DSS.

John and Ogundele, who claimed that their interactions with Ruth were recorded, said before they immediately exited SERAP’s office, Ruth promised to inform her organisation’s management about the visit and volunteered a phone number – 08160537202.

They said it was surprising that, shortly after their visit, SERAP posted on its X (Twitter) handle – @SERAPNigeria – that officers of the DSS are presently unlawfully occupying its office.

The claimant added, “On the same day, the defendants also published a statement on SERAP’s website, which was widely reported by several media outfits, falsely alleging that some officers from the DSS, described as “a tall, large, dark-skinned woman” and “a slim, dark skinned man,” invaded their Abuja office and interrogated the staff of the first defendant (SERAP).

John and Ogundele stated that “due to the false statements published by the defendants, the DSS has been ridiculed and criticised by international agencies such as the Amnesty International and prominent members of the Nigerian society, such as Femi Falana (SAN)”.

“Due to the false statements published by the defendants, members of the public and the international community formed the opinion that the Federal Government is using the DSS to harass the defendants.”

They added that the defendants’ statements caused harm to their reputation because the staff and management of the DSS have formed the opinion that the claimants did not follow orders and carried out an unsanctioned operation and are therefore, incompetent and unprofessional.

The claimants therefore prayed the court for the following reliefs: “An order directing the defendants to tender an apology to the claimants via the first defendant’s (SERAP’s) website, X (twitter) handle, two national daily newspapers (Punch and Vanguard) and two national news television stations (Arise Television and Channels Television) for falsely accusing the claimants of unlawfully invading the first defendant’s office and interrogating the first defendant’s staff.

“An order directing the defendants to pay the claimants the sum of N5 billion as damages for the libellous statements published about the claimants.

“Interest on the sum of N5b at the rate of 10 percent per annum from the date of judgment until the judgment sum is realised or liquidated.

“An order directing the defendants to pay the claimants the sum of N50 million as costs of this action.”