The Kidnapped Otuaro and the JSS II Boy

BY EKANPOU ENEWARIDIDEKE…(final)

His Excellency Barrister Kingsley Burutu Otuaro the carrier of a nectar-garnished fatal weakness hidden from the world but known only to the eagle-eyed, the formidable professor of humility and loyalty, is the Deputy Governor of Delta State. Implacably, he remains a hunter of young talents in every space, particularly talents buried in the arts in their variegated colours. Everywhere he goes, he hunts for talents in the arts. In his relentless hunt for talents he is occasionally inhibited by his innate nectar-garnished fatal weakness – a radiant fatal weakness talented persons often draw on as a tool of transmogrification to get him kidnapped in anticipation of ransom – but quite miraculously, he often regains freedom without being notoriously ransomed. Yet, Otuaro was successfully kidnapped by a JSS II student of Good Citizens College, Warri. Must the deputy governor of Delta State, Otuaro, have been voodooed by the JSS II boy?

Presumptuous! Yes, presumptuous I am – as you may be whimsically tempted to label me – and I am not prepared to submit that presumptuous clothing to immediate cremation to please the pathological proclivities of benighted gossips masquerading as critics of vision. I can never run away from the fact that I know I know it and would proudly mouth it anywhere in the globe.Iknow the achilles heel,the soft underbelly, of His Excellency Kingsley Burutu Otuaro the Deputy Governor of Delta State who has become the best interpreter of humility, the best interpreter of the office of a deputy governor, the best interpreter of peaceful co-existence in the ecclasiastical, political, secular and the traditional space. This is perhaps the reason the reason why he has bevome the endless recipient of peace ambassaforial awards in Nigeria and beyond.

The celebrated humble, meek, firm, dependable, visionary, alert, shrewd, resilient, cool-headed, level-headed, compassionate, altruistic, principled, ideologically distinguishable, approachable, eloquent, vibrant and foresighted carapace of Otuaro is smashed into smithereens the moment his achilles heel is revealed and hammered with deadly accuracy. Otuaro becomes a totally different persona at odd with the animatedly dramatized public persona of a humble, peaceful and loyal deputy governor.

Contextually, Otuaro could be imprisoned and glued for eternity to a given spot inextricably linked to his achilles heel. Mastery of his soft underbelly strategically drawn and showcased occasionally could be one of the ways to get his attention imprisoned as long as one wills because at such time Otuaro becomes like a fly in the hands of the gods of Greek mythology – as it is in the mythology and cosmogony of the Ijaws.

Nothing on earth has much magnetic pull on Otuaro as the art of drawing and the art of writing with didactic animation possessed of identifiable marks of impersonality. Otuaro is always captivated whenever he sees a poetically painted verbal canvass or visible artistic portraits of people or animals. If an inspired hand turns out a great poem, novel, play, short story, article or a beautifully drawn portrait of an identifiable figure of a person, animal, plant, etc, Otuaro appreciatingly loses his known equanimity and equilibrium. Held artistically spell-bound he would literarily merge into the object of his captivation, crowned ultimately with a presentation of corresponding gift to the magical creator, artist, the painter , the writer, etc. Otuaro cannot resist the radiance of a beautiful artwork and its kidnapping hands anytime he comes face to face with one because that is his achilles heel I told you quite early I know – I proudly know…

Recently, Otuaro was kidnapped by a JSS II boy in Good Citizens College, Warri. The boy kidnapped Otuaro with a contrivance and demanded no ransom to free him, yet the Deputy Governor was unable to leave the kidnap den of the JSS II boy. The JSS II boy thought Otuaro could be kidnapped for a huge ransom but on the discovery that it was the humble, loyal and visionary deputy governor he had kidnapped mistakenly, he decided to free him immediately but Otuaro strangely chose, of his own volition, to remain perpetually in the kidnap den of the JSS II boy.

Gesi is the name of the JSS II boy in Good Citizens College, Warri, who successfully kidnapped the deputy governor recently. Gesi is a gifted fine artist who has a prodigious skill for drawing. His artworks have been showcased, emblazoned and celebrated on the social media to awaken the jaded artistic palate of this generation cast as ‘a wasted generation’ by Wole Soyinka in ‘the crumbling edifice that is still generously called Nigeria.’ His Royal Majesty Pere S.P. Luke Kalanama VIII of Akugbene-Mein Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Oboro Gbaraun II of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Barrister David Ekereokosu (Senior Special Assistant to Governor Okowa), Benike Joseph of the Delta State University, Abraka, and many others can testify to the spell-binding artworks of Gesi. That Gesi is a highly gifted young fine artist does not demand any contestation as everybody is familiar with his skill of drawing and painting wonderfully. Gesi could someday become the modern equivalent of Leonardo Da Vinci the Italian artist credited with the 15th-Century mural painting of the ‘The Last Super’.

Like the Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Super’, it was Gesi’s artistic interpretation of the deputy governor’s picture using only pencil which got him baited by Gesi and eventually kidnapped because he could not fathom how a JSS II boy could skillfully use pencil to capture his (Otuaro’s) own image. As the arts aficionado with a ‘distinguishing’ distinction, Otuaro willingly submitted himself to be perpetually kidnapped by Gesi until a ransom was paid. And actually, Otuaro paid a ransom though the JSS II student pleaded with him to limit himself only to appreciation of his talent and leave without a ransom. However the JSS II boy insisted that Otuaro leave appreciatingly without any ransom paid, the deputy governor insisted that a ransom, a talent-development ransom, even if unsolicited, be paid before his unwilling departure.

Amazingly, with an electrifying insistence that mystified the JSS II boy, Deputy Governor Otuaro made an instant deposit of Gesi’s tuition fees from JSS II to SS III, with a promise to take care of his University education when he had the required ‘O’ level credits and passed the qualifying U.T.M.E. Otuaro has built the bridge for the JSS II boy to arch over the ocean to study in the University and become a great citizen whose talent would become a pillar for the task of solid nation-building. A solid educational insurance has just been given to Gesi the JSS II boy of Good Citizens College, Warri.

Clearly showcased and projected from the Delta State Deputy Governor’s encounter with the JSS II boy is the fact that His Excellency Kingsley Burutu Otuaro is the embodiment of the right vision to hold political office in a society where many talented people wilt, droop and get perished for lack of supportive encouragement and empowerment framework for their various talents to blossom like the famous biblical mustard seed. May His Excellency Otuaro continue to be kidnapped by the radiant talents of students so that thousands of Gesis in the society could be discovered, identified and empowered to pursue their vision of life without inhibitions thrown up by the straitened circumstances of their lives. For Otuaro who has built a strong bridge for Gesi, God will also build a mightier bridge for him to walk on for the discovery of young talents in their multitudes.

By Ekanpou Enewaridideke
Writes from Akparemogbene, Delta State