Igboland where proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten have an especial proverb. It is a proverb about proverb and so deep is it that it is a double-header or two-pronged if you like. It says, ‘chi jie oka a la n’ ilu’ and the reverse being, ‘chi jie ilu a la n’oka.’
First, it says, when night has fallen and the day is far spent, elders speak in proverbs of the most arcane and laconic types. The type of proverbs only the truly wise and well bred can decode quickly without encumbering the rich repast of elders’ discourse.
And the reverse suggests that when the sun has fully settled in the West and the day and its elements are tired and weary, conversations are devoid of proverbs and double-speaks. Matters are dealt with point blank, devoid of ambiguity.
Import: when the chips are down, call up wise elders.
But make no mistake, plodding with proverbs and indeed supping with it is not the preserve of balding grey men of the East. It may be said that wherever there are elders, there is bound to be a rich repertoire of proverbs with which they quaff their powwow.
There is also a particularly intriguing one from the Yoruba of the Southwest: ‘Ibi pelebe la ti n je ole.’ – it also has two legs but we shall come to the second one much later. Just like all African proverbs, this short sentence can be described as the moin-moin chronicle. And by way of back-grounding, moin-moin is bean cake, but we refer here to the traditional one steamed in those broad fresh leaves that give it a special flavour.
Moin-moin must have its origin from Nigeria, perhaps from Yoruba land where they have created a variant called elemi meje – one imbued with seven spirits. Moin-moin elemi meje is garnished with diced boiled eggs, diced boiled liver, corned beef, etc. It is probably the most sumptuous food of Nigerian origin especially when paired with the corn meal, pap. This for me is far more nourishing and balanced than the much coveted Nigerian jollof rice, which Mark Zukerberg obviously relished when he visited recently.
Sorry about the long digression and back to our proverb. Ibi pelebe la ti n je ole simply means we eat our moin-moin (aka ole – from its slim corners. In other words, we tackle important issues from the easy parts. For more disambiguation, when you un-wrap your steaming, sweet-flavoured moin-moin, it has a high mounded middle and two flat sides. Instinctively, we almost, always attack it from the slim sides before we broach the high, rich middle where all its rich treasures are stacked.
Import: no matter how hungry you may be, you eat your moin-moin with some method and order. Or, follow the rules no matter the temptations to act otherwise.
Now the other leg of this proverb mentioned above is a mischievous twist brought about by some friends who can be said to be Now the other leg of this proverb mentioned above is a mischievous twist brought about by some friends who can be said to be possessed of twisted temperaments. Here is the trick: ole means moin-moin but the word also means a slothful person when pronounced appropriately. Therefore, ibi pelebe la ti n je ole can easily be twisted to mean that you take out the lazy man from his vulnerable sides… Now don’t laugh, that is the way of proverbs.
Import: in beating up a man who is already weak and prostrate, nature abhors that you pulverise him and turn him to dust no matter his offence.
Here is another scenario, a parable told by a city friend. Once upon a time, he said, a man travelled for a fortnight leaving his wife and children behind. He returned one afternoon unannounced and found his wife right in the bosom of another man.
He was aghast of course and dashed into the kitchen for a weapon fit for the moment. But in one magical second of light, he remembered that he had been ensconced in the lush bosom of another wench. In fact the scents of his wild escapades of that morning still lingered on him. That thought dampened his savage instincts…
What to do? He hee-ed and hawed until the intruder made good his escape. He would have been no better than a lowly animal if he had passed any cruel judgment on his wife and lover wouldn’t he?
Import: who is without guilt?
And this last one; one early morning, as Jesus taught the people, a mob of scribes and Pharisees dragged a woman before him allegedly caught red-handed in the act of adultery. The law of Moses demands that such a woman be stoned.
But of course his accusers seek to nail him. Jesus continued scribbling without paying them any heed. They keep pestering and he looked up and said to them: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. He resumed his scribbling and the mob slinked away, everyone of them.
Import: who is without sin?
Now a recap and closure: a time comes in the annals of any nation when it must seek out a body of its elders; true clear-headed elder who would deploy proverbs, parables and the wisdom that comes with age in dealing with peculiar turns in the affairs of state. They can see through the hullabaloo and mob excitement and approach our affairs with much circumspection and reflection.
Boiling it down, the ongoing heckling of Patience Jonathan over her perfidious past will at best yield us only a few million dollars. One dares say that primitive accumulation is the way of almost all our ‘first ladies’ present and past. Not one of them would point a grubby finger at Patience lest the finger withers; hardly any can stand questioning by EFCC.
It may profit us more to tweak the system to work for all times; to ensure that first ladies at all levels do not abuse their position. This will ultimately serve Nigeria better than the demeaning Patience carnival currently going on. It’s not good for us.
