 |
| High Chief Jimoh Aliu (MFR) aka Aworo |
legend in Nigeria. He is one of the last soldiers of the olden day’s theatre
industry in Nigeria. He started acting in 1956 when Nigeria was yet to discover
what is today described as Nollywood.
The Oke-Imesis, Ekiti State (South West Nigeria) born actor is today a Cultural
Ambassador in Yoruba Land after 60 years on stage as writer, director, producer
and actor. An old soldier in the Nigerian Army, Chief Aliu is an encyclopedia of arts. Aworo who is famous for his several TV series of the 80s and 90s
e.g. Arelu, Yanponyanrin and Fopomoyo
is one celebrity that is a reporter’s delight any day any time.; always full of
wits, drama, oriki, native intelligence, wisdom and strength that cannot be
compared with anything.
this third episode of his historic encounter with your Africa’s Number 1
Celebrity Encounter blog, Asabeafrika
inside a Lagos 3 Star Hotel suite, Chief
Jimoh Aliu, 82 who was on his way to America for a special movie project
spoke about the indecent act of corruption among the Nigerian political elites
and why death as a valuable instrument of natural evolution inspires him. Chief Jimoh Aliu told Asabeafrika things that baffles him
anytime he honors a funeral event. Enjoy
the excerpts.
As a senior citizen and veteran of
the society, how do you feel with the rate of corruption among the political
class?
 |
| The GDA meets High Chief Jimoh Aliu aka Aworo |
understand some people stealing and hiding about 50 billion Naira, trillions, dig a hole
and hide the money there. God Himself is already angry for the masses who are
living in hunger and penury, that cannot afford a single daily meal, that some
are even sick and couldn’t afford to pay their own bills in the various hospitals
and some are even pregnant and had to die in their pregnancy state because of
lack. And you, as a human being, underhandedly stole and accumulated wealth belonging to several thousands of people
and you bury the money for you and your family alone. You even hide some inside
suck away and you continue to curse yourself that you are broke. And God is
looking at you, you are a useless man, you a nonsense. You are nonsense with
your fucking money. You are nonsense. The Governor is a nonsense, the President is a nonsense, Oba is a
nonsense, I, myself, I am a nonsense. And I will tell you the meaning of that
nonsense.
 |
| Chief Jimoh Aliu to Asabeafrika….’You are nonsense with your fucking (stolen) money’ |
very much, I will let you know. You marry a woman, you and your wife are in the
room, you want to have fun with her. As you are playing love, a drop of sperm
now spit on your wife’s lap as you were trying to disengage. And your wife says
“Oh, you have dropped this nonsense on my
body, what is the meaning of all these now?” that same nonsense is what God
deposited inside the pot that is inside the woman’s womb. He kept that
‘nonsense’ there and it stretches it’s legs without breaking, it ate pepper
without feeling bad; it got an eye, a nose, an ear, mouth, it got bones,
fingers and everything.
 |
| Chief Jimoh Aliu to Asabeafrika….’It is God who turns a nonsense kept inside the woman’s womb to something edible’ |
That nonsense was in the water and the same water
didn’t destroy it and it was playing in the water and the water didn’t kill it
because it (fetus) was playing in the water. On the day of delivery, God said
the water should first come and the same water cleared the path way. After
that, God allowed blood to spill over and the blood also came and the birth
chord came with the nonsense and you that same ‘nonsense’, God turned you to a
human being, you put gold on your neck, on your ear, you dress fine and the
world are now worshiping you because you stood tall, you are nonsense. Some
Christians and some Muslims don’t fear God. If I am given five hundred million Naira today, I will not build a house.
hundred million Naira?
 |
| The High Chief tells the GDA what he is gonna do with Five hundred million Naira in his pocket |
very much. The only car that will be bought for me in this world is the coffin.
The only house they want to build for me in this world is the grave yard. Why should
you be hiding billions and trillions and you already have twenty to thirty
houses scattered everywhere that your children can not even control; the moment
you die and the announcement is made public, some of your belongings will be
looted because the owner is dead. The owner of a property will die and he that
stole the property will equally die. You can imagine our people, chasing
worldly materials all around. This same worldly word we chased and met and on
meeting it, we became bored. Is it the child that is crying that his father is
dead and gone to rest, if such a child says he want to hit his head on the
ground, leave him, they will try to hold and prevent him but no, leave him
alone. He will not break his head on the floor.
 |
| Chief Jimoh Aliu to Asabeafrika…’I see a lot of funny things at funeral ceremonies’ |
When I go to funerals, these
are the kind of things I watch out for. You will see people, crying, battling
with relatives and relations as if they want to follow the corpse into the
grave. I keep watching when the same people follow the corpse to the burial
ground, cry and pretend as if they will likely jump into the ground with their
dead beloved ones. But watch out, few hours later, you will see same person,
after the loved one has been lowered to the grave and covered. He or she will
be aggressive, asking if the musician who want to entertain the guests is
around. His or her emotion will change from the one being inconsolable at the grave
side to the one trying to ignite a celebration. Then, when the merriment starts,
you see this same person dance and even compete the dance floor with those who
are not in the state of mourning. Just few minutes after burying a person he or
she claims is too important to die o. Then, you now see the way people will be
struggling for food, drinks and gifts and many other attention seeking
activities. Some will even take two, three to four plates of food, domiciling
it in their nylon bags under the table and ready for a flight home.
 |
| Chief Jimoh Aliu to Asabeafrika…’People are even greedy up to packing lots of food for themselves at funeral ceremonies’ |
And when
you see the way the same person that was
being restless and promising to jump into the grave with his or her beloved
dead now going to change from one dress
to the other for the party, you now begin to wonder what is the meaning of life
and death. The most intriguing part is the next day after the funeral, the way
the same set of people will lock themselves in a room and start bursting
envelopes of monies given by well-wishers and goodwill merchants. Then, you
hear her ask ‘how much did so-so and so
person put in his envelope?’ That means they have equally turned the moment
of celebrating the memories of a loved one into a fund raising scheme. It
starts with the Aso-Ebi sales and all
the other bazaars accompanied with
the funeral.
 |
| The GDA & the High Chief after an encounter |
And you ask yourself, ‘is
this the same world that we struggle so hard to accumulate and hide a lot? Is
this the same world where you steal and steal everything that belongs to
majority and keep in the burial ground, your wardrobe and septic tank? Is this
the same world where you accumulate all sorts of real estate in almost every
corner of the world?’ A world that does not care for you at your exit? So,
these are the kind of things I watch out for when I attend funerals. So, you
are nonsense in the short form of it. You and your entire wealth, you amount to
nothing before death. I want Nigerian leaders and our politicians to be sober.
Let the wealth go round and let there be compassion in your act of leadership
Chief Jimoh Aliu on Asabe Afrika TV on Youtube by typing GbengaDanAsabe and
subscribe)
