IN DEFENCE OF WIKE: THE FOOL THAT WASN’T A FOOL”

Dr jarlat Uche opara

Words are flexible, like a fluid they take the shape of the mind that speaks and conceives.

Wike has made us to know that words are words with meaning, different from the lexical depth of them to a more informal interpretation of them away from their dictionary meaning . Fool conventionally means someone who is not reasonable, analytically unskilled and creatively kwashoked. But it could equally mean Fearless, Obedient Officer Lieutenant ( FOOL) maybe when WIKE said to Navy Lieutenant Yerima you are a fool probably he meant You are Fearless Obeident Officer Lieutenant( FOOL)

The Press briefing he held to explain and throw more light on what happened between him and Navy Lieutenant Yerima and what he meant by You are fool!, you are Big fool!, Get out! and many more other undignified words he used on that young officer, did more harm than fixing the bad carpentery work he did previously.

The Press briefing was more of a marketplace of meanings, a theatre where words wear camouflage and truth walked with bodyguards.

He said a word, fool. He amplified it by say you are a big fool! It was loud and the meaning in context was unmistakable. That simple
word fool in meaning carries the weight of insult everywhere from Lagos to London, got a new definition from the lexical structure of Minister Wike.

“I did not call him a fool. You may have heard the word fool. It may have echoed beyond the perimeter of where I said it, trending already in the global space, through social media handles. I was misunderstood
The word ‘fool’… does not mean fool.”

Can we give a standing ovation to the grammar innovation of our Minister Wike? In this new Nigeria,the sun can rise from the West, A goat can lay eggs,
And ‘fool’ can mean ‘my dear brother in uniform you are doing great.

We have entered the republic of rewritten dictionaries, where insults become endearments, outbursts become poetry,
and accountability on annual leave.

Imagine Shakespeare hearing this:“Thou art a fool, Kent!” and the minister jumps from the pages screaming “No! He means ‘Distinguished honorable colleague!’” Imagine children in school: “Teacher, he called me a fool!” And the teacher smiles, “No, my dear, he is only showing you respect.”

Imagine Yerima standing strong, eyes fixed, chin high, wondering how “fool” has suddenly become something other than what it means. Being confused and asking himself did he actually call me a fool? Yes but did he mean that I am unreasonable or just saying you are a fearless obedient officer Lieutenant .

But this is the beauty of our politics, reality is negotiable, meaning is adjustable, and trut is whatever the loudest man in the room says it is.So hear me, clearly, If “fool” no longer means fool, then maybe noise no longer means noise,Power no longer means power and leadership no longer means service.

But until that day,
We will keep our dictionaries close, our common sense closer and our eyes wide open…
Because in this country,
Words may lie, but consequences never do.

Welcome to the world of English language of Nyesom Wike where words are flexible and the meanings of words aren’t what the standard English says but what the lexical book of the Minister says they are.

Minister Nyesom Wike the new holder of the title “The literary icon of our generation” with an undisputed poetic licence to attach meaning to words beyond their conventional meaning.

Jarlathuche@gmail.com