ON THE TRAIL OF LADUBA COMMUNITY BY EHIOGU JUSTIN

INTRODUCTION

            The Federal Military Government of Nigeria created Asa Local Government Area, alongside with other Local Government Areas on August 24^th 1976, during the Military regime of (Rt.) General Olusegun Obasanjo with headquarters at Afon.

Asa Local Government share boundaries with Ilorin West, Ilorin South, Offa, Oyun, Ifelodun and Moro LGA of Kwara and Oyo State respectively.

The Local Government comprises of 3 districts which further divided to 17 Political wards for administrative convenience.

Under the Afon district situates Laduba community and its geographical coordinates are 8⁰ 23 ‘O’ North, 4⁰ 34 ‘O’ East.

It is pertinent to go down memory lane and to state emphatically that the people of Laduba community are Yorubas with their rich cultures and traditions. The head of this community is called Baale, he is the one that executes and approves essential projects to be done in the community.

My full arrival in this community was on the 9^th of September 2015, after I have finished some certain projects in the town. When I arrived at the cozy lodge, my PPA put me in, I felt highly delighted because the house is one of the best, if not the best in the community. The name of my PPA was Ansarul Islam College Laduba and I will not forget the comment of my Vice Principal Academics, Mrs. Oyesola, who said that we were coming to a palace and perhaps it was indeed. I also appreciate people that I worked with especially my employer, Mrs.Dundu (Principal Senior) and Mr. Alausa (Principal Junior) and other able and wonderful teachers, may the lord replenish you all (Amen).

The hilt and crux of this writing is to bring the religious and occupational life, educational background, sole challenges of Laduba dwellers and solutions to limelight.

RELIGIOUS LIFE: As meager as Laduba Community is, i noticed two predominant religions when I arrived there. This is the Islamic and Traditional religion.  The former has the most predominant power when looking at it with a squint but the latter supersedes thereof.

            Since I began to reside in the community, waking up early in the morning was not a challenge again to me as voices of different Alfas continued to wake me up even when I was haggard. Anytime I was coming from school I consistently see different people in their abodes performing ablutions for another round of prayer. It is blatant to know that more than half of the people in the community pray five times as it is in the Muslim doctrine. In everything, I have not spent up to a year here but I have become acquainted with the Muslim prayers, this is due to the fact that the prayers appeared ubiquitous in the community. In every nook and cranny, there situates a small canopy called “Ile Kewu”, where children are taught on how to read Qur’an and pray in Arabic. During their last Islamic festival, I was unfazed to have seen an influx of throng from cities into Laduba Community for the celebration. This however, signifies that a lot of people in the community bestow deference to the religion.

            Furthermore, the latter which appears elusive and unobtrusive is mostly practiced by everyone. This community is being regarded as one of the communities in Kwara that has the most powerful charm, this has made so many people complacent and stir unconcealed with sinew. It has resulted in wearing of amulets of manifold, and every member of the community is cognizant of this grotesque and lethal act. Most of the retail stores stash different vicious charms just for protection and this is because they are timorously weak and need an external force to hold on to.

            The traditional worshippers in the community always conduct masquerades festival which can last for fourteen days and it comes up every eleventh month of the year.

            During this period, various masquerades would come and perform. However, one atrocious news that went viral during my stay was that a masquerade kicked the bucket after executing his role and the other ran into a contingency.

            There is another disheartening tale about the type that moves at night which cannot be seen. This tale drew me queasy and placed me in a trepidation state but I was highly solidified in faith that I would surpass every malevolence and i did. This night masquerade called “Oro” usually comes out around 12am or 1am with a whining voice and a chiming tone which can make one speak in tongues.

            These experiences made me feel weary and fatigued to stay, I felt like moving away for that period.

            More so, there is a minor religion in this community, which is Christianity. During my sojourn i observed few churches present, most of them were in a dilapidated state while others were still under construction.

            All the churches but living faith church was built with a zinc. The members of these churches are all non-indigenes, some are from Benue, Delta while the others are from Yoruba speaking states. The one i attended was living faith church and it was impactful.

OCCUPATIONAL LIFE: This community has three major occupations which include: fishing, farming and trading. It is salient at this point to note that despite these occupations, the inhabitants find it obviously cumbersome to edify their sole occupation, some that engage in farming feel unnecessarily reluctant to go and farm unlike the places i have visited, this could be because most farmers are geriatrics. While others that engage in trading are not keenly rooted, most times, it becomes difficult for people that need their goods to get it. For instance, fish and vegetable sellers seemed to appear elusive.

            More so, some of the inhabitants that engage in fishing are non-indigenes, that came from Benue, Delta and Yoruba speaking states. These people make use of the Asa river that crosses Laduba Community on a daily basis, while others that engage in farming make use of their personal lands.

            Almost everyone engages in trading activity in the community, this is because people that are engaged in fishing and the farmers would eventually sell their goods. Incontrovertibly, farm products can be used to produce some food that would be sold either in their shops or in their personal abodes.

            Furthermore, there emerged another lucre fetching business within a jiffy and this shoved so many in the fray. Early in the morning and evening, the inhabitants venture into the bush uncharted, in search of cashew nuts which was called “koro” and on their way coming back, they would carry their buckets filled with the Koro. This was sold on a very high price and it made some children to abscond school consistently just to make their money. This lucrative adventure had thrown both young and old hither and thither and it has enriched the sacks of many. However, I felt highly relieved as it settled briefly the unceasing predicaments of many that were standing on the edge of a perilous precipice. I still applaud the community on the stance despite the hurly and burly of life, they still have the unflinching resolve to live.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND: It is verily lugubrious to say at this stance that the educational level of the community is highly shimmering in bleak and chimera, and distinct attempts have been made to revitalize the quiescence but all has shriveled. I observed here that education is not a bedrock to the brim, it is always difficult to meet the students at school during their first week of resumption.

            I was regaled with the story of how the students in Laduba take their issues of schooling, most of them have relinquished education while frolicking hither and thither indefatigably. Some young girls after having a bun in the oven, snubbed education and snuff it completely. I believe that the parents are part of the reasons why this is taken place, because they seem to appear too frigid on their children and had taken the matters of education with levity and laxity.

            Due to this attitudes of some parents however, lassitude and lackadaisical behaviour have been inculcated on the children.

            There are other serious students that came from other towns down to the community probably to render assistance to their grandparents and there are ones though serious with their academics but are highly lecherous, this makes them to always scour for the hirsute and steatopyga girls both in schools and on the streets.

            While some other students find it difficult to communicate in English, they prefer vernacular and it is always derogatory words that fall out of their mouths. But I feel very much happy that some students despite their school activities, still engaged in one apprenticeship or the other. Some can sew perfectly while others can repair machines excellently.

            However, I believe that one of the germane reasons why some students do not complete their education is due to lack of wherewithal in their various abodes while some other people believe that education is just capital intensive and feel it is immaterial to obtain it. This understanding has made them to use their dosh for bingeing and frolicking in a house to house party.

MAJOR CHALLENGES IN THE COMMUNITY: Certainly speaking, this community is saddle with a heavy load of disquieting challenges which have grisly perturbed many dwellers in the community. These challenges include: lack of water, high level of illiteracy and ignorance. Though the list is finite but highly convoluted and enmeshed, this enmeshment has intricately bewildered most intellectuals of stratification.

            Firstly, it is common to all that water is very preponderant in every activity and this water has become a camel that wants to pass through an eye of a needle. Water is ubiquitous during the raining season as the presence will be felt in every well. People don’t always feel gloomy about water, but immediately rain stops, the wells would be held spell bound by the land. Water would be scarcely difficult to find and the infinitesimal amount found in every well would be insufficient to meet the demands of the dwellers.

            The only way out of the quagmire is the presence of some boreholes and it usually function once in a blue moon. Whenever they on it, people would skedaddle from their various abodes prestissimo just to get some water. This was when I realized that water is a linchpin to all, because lack of it really perturbed me and placed me in a quandary. As a corps member, I have made use of some vivacious students to get water but at one point, I stopped and ruminated on the stress they were undergoing, in the sense that, they would not only fetch a few of mine but also their myriad gallons. At the end of the day, they would be highly fatigued.

            This sporadic system of water made a lot of geriatrics appeared filthy and the dames looked disheveled and unkempt.

            Secondly, it is very awful to identify that illiteracy as a pestilence has become highly contagious, in the stance that people without any educational pedigree, have affected so much the younger ones, who should have been drilled off their languor state and pulled back to the lightest vivacity for education. Instead, they had unwittingly and inadvertently complicated issues. These children have already disremembered education while holding on to their bristling paraphernalia of apprenticeship. Most young girls have become sassy and poured out acerbic comments in every jiffy, and this will only do more harm to the community than good.

            Thirdly, lack of awareness and information has altered many facets of life in this community. A colloquial is said thus “when one is not informed, he will be deformed”. Most people are deformed due to the fact that they lack the positive phenomenon or influence that affects the nature and magnitude of their ambiance, but they cared not rather parading satisfactorily like an oddball and basking ostensibly in disguise without any modicum of contemplation.

            In this regard, so many things have gone astray due to this disarray. People have been blindfolded with charms and it has led them to myriad atrocious, horrendous and virulent acts which had taken many to charnels and others to the lower part of the earth. Anybody without it would be looking debilitating and timorous.  Many have acquired it just to become among. And I believe it has brought stasis to the community, this has transpired enormously despite the fact that the community is just a stone thrown to the city. With the level of development in this community there can be no discrepancy between it and other remote and outlying villages.

            Some other set of Denizens have made smoking one of their relics. These set of people are not only the geriatrics but also the juvenile and it has escalated delinquencies.  It is pitifully awful that ignorance has shredded the memory of all and sundry, people do not view smoking as an unconscionable act anymore. Old man very early in the morning would carry sticks of cigarette while the young ones usually deal in Marijuana, Indian hemp and Cigarettes. I can recall with reflection, during their masquerade festival, how abled men dressed in their pristine regalia, still carried sticks of cigarettes in the presence of little children, most of them would even send the children errands of such without pensively reckon what the outcome might be and preclude it. This situation is absolutely preposterous. And it is important to note that this unremitting whiff has become an infernal nuisance to the entirety of the community, because a meager contretemps can easily snowball into an unquenchable conflagration. Just like the one that happened after the final match between Laduba and Ganmo in a local league.

            Still this ignorance lingers in the matters of their well being, almost everyone defecate in a nearby bush. Only few make use of toilets. I believe it is due to the fact that most of them are oblivion of the epidemic diseases that can be contracted or some perilous animals like snakes and scorpions which can attack an individual.

            But practically speaking, I know that part of this can happen due to the inadequacy of water for houses that have modern toilets. But what makes it so galling is simply that they have disremembered the basic rubrics of humanity rather preen themselves whenever they are going to the bush to defecate under the guise of privy.

            Ignorance has also dined totally the behaviour of some dwellers, in the essence of decimating their dexterity for cooking breakfast in their various abodes. The presence of different men and children in various food shops in the community however poses as the eventuality.

SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES: -  It is pertinent at this point to analyze blatantly, the conspicuous factors that can liberate this community from any phantom, if at all there is, and also disannul every plan which have unceremoniously shattered the bricks of humanity. These factors can be thus: full restoration of water in every boreholes and also digging of more boreholes. Building of toilets either latrine or modern. Parents should encourage their children to go to school with the intention of investing their resources. Every dweller must be conscious of understanding and assimilating information, extirpation of some powerful charms and become completely devoted to God (Allah) and lastly, absolute diligence will stretch a lot of crooked ways. These sequential factors redolent of progress might look onerous and demanding when looking at it with a squint but it is a simple task.

            The onus is on the community to prosper and be highly elevated from every imbroglio and malaise.

            I urge that people in this community rapidly address themselves dispassionately, not fantasize, not simply project the future of their escapist desperation. When every hand is on deck, that raging unquenchable inferno of macabre, penury, deformation and predicaments will dissipate without leaving an ember. This is when every Malarkey will Vamoose. Then there would be an alteration in the continuum of the history of this community.

Ehiogu Emmanuel (CYBORG)

08136905910

14/4/2016.