President Muhammadu Buhari’s style of settling disputes is predictable and familiar. He appears to me like those leaders who believe you should have enough sense to manage crises better among yourselves. If you now continue fighting till he has to intervene, you both would most likely pay for it.
As a young lad especially during secondary school days, I made a commitment never to fight again after my fight with Adeleke Adeniyi in JSS1. Niyi and I were friends, quite close that he would be enlisted among my top 3 classmate-friends. He was actually more aggressive than I was. I’ve seen him clench fists a couple of times. I, on the hand would rather preach peace or walk away, most times. This is partly because I was much younger than most of my classmates, Niyi inclusive. I was barely 9 years when I got into secondary school. Then came this day when we had a minor misunderstanding. He went on boasting about how he would beat the hell out of me, that I was a weakling. I thought to show him I really wasn’t as weak as he thought. I actually looked better fed than he was and was confident I could handle him. We got into a brawl, I committed myself to slam him the WWE style. And yes, I succeeded! Well, you may need to note that whoever slams is declared winner of a fight regardless of how many punches you took like I did that day. We were both punished in the INTRO TECH workshop by hanging on to the serrated burglar proof railings. That was unforgettably painful and I began to ask myself why I gave in to that temptation. We returned to the class having served our sentence and I was crowned winner while Niyi kept lamenting, “ajibu nikan l’o mo” -meaning “he only knows how to bend-slam!” Whatever the case may be, I defeated him. I only had to take care of my swollen lips in private.
Even when I moved on to another school in SS1, I held on to my resolve never to get into a physical fight with anyone, friend or foe. I enjoyed so much peace thereafter. It got to a point that I didn’t even have to defend myself whenever anyone was up to trouble with me. An army would always be on deck to warn the troublemaker not to take advantage of my no-fight rule.
That said, it’s interesting to look back and see how many times people including classmates had beaten me back during my secondary school days. I wouldn’t run away from trouble and troublemakers. Neither would I tolerate bullies or cheats. The one thing I may never stop doing is using my mouth where necessary. Often times, the mouth would only shut when a few punches have enlarged the upper and lower lips and they feel too heavy to move. On all these occasions, I resisted the provocations and made sure never to return these hits no matter what.
If you ever have a manager, parent, teacher or any leader like Bubu, I advise you to device a workable method to avoid or settle disputes that may involve you as you may never come out as a victor nor vanquished when he intervenes. Ask Victor himself. Unfortunately, mischief makers find this style subprime and never fail to take advantage of it even at the expense of the innocent fellows and the nation at large.
