I was in a bar in Owerri late afternoon today trying to unwind after a COVID 19 frustrated day.
There is this group of young people sitting at the other end, obviously under graduates, jobless graduates & 'corpers' home as a result of the shut down of our tertiary institutions
There is this group of young people sitting at the other end, obviously under graduates, jobless graduates & 'corpers' home as a result of the shut down of our tertiary institutions
& orientation camps.
They were making jest of the president's accent & pronunciation in his speech yesterday, calling him an illiterate to the amusement of everybody at the bar.
When their throaty raucous laughter had died down, I calmly asked the leader of the abuse gang,
They were making jest of the president's accent & pronunciation in his speech yesterday, calling him an illiterate to the amusement of everybody at the bar.
When their throaty raucous laughter had died down, I calmly asked the leader of the abuse gang,
"brother, but what is the real pronunciation?"Cooviit nineteen", he said.
"But your pronunciation of cooviit is not much different from what the president pronounced", I said.
"Why would he call nineteen, one nine", he retorted.
"But your pronunciation of cooviit is not much different from what the president pronounced", I said.
"Why would he call nineteen, one nine", he retorted.
I wrote down boldly on a piece of paper I brought out from my pocket the figures-419 & asked him to read it to the hearing of everybody there. There was silence such that you could hear a pin drop.
I brought out N5,000, placed it in the hands of the bar man &
I brought out N5,000, placed it in the hands of the bar man &
announced that if anybody in the bar says correctly the full meaning of COVID 19, he should give drinks to everybody inside the bar till the money in his hands is exhausted. No single one of the 15 people in the bar making jest of PMB & calling him an illiterate knows the meaning
of COVID 19!!
One of the elderly men in the bar mustered some courage & asked me, "Oya Oga, wetin be the meaning."
I explained, "COVID 19 is the official name given to the coronavirus by the World Health Organization. "COVI" comes from COrona VIrus. The "D" stands for Disease.
One of the elderly men in the bar mustered some courage & asked me, "Oya Oga, wetin be the meaning."
I explained, "COVID 19 is the official name given to the coronavirus by the World Health Organization. "COVI" comes from COrona VIrus. The "D" stands for Disease.
The 19 represents 2019, the year the virus was first identified, in December."
I now added in admonishment to the young people, "my pain is not that all of you graduates & undergraduates making a mockery of PMB's pronunciation as if you know everything don't know the meaning
I now added in admonishment to the young people, "my pain is not that all of you graduates & undergraduates making a mockery of PMB's pronunciation as if you know everything don't know the meaning
of COVID 19, but my pain is that none of you know how to Google a problem in spite of all the big sophisticated smart phones in your hands."
I drained my glass & left!
-Michael Ogueke
I drained my glass & left!
-Michael Ogueke
