This dance has been trending for days. At every nook and cranny of the social media platforms, the dance steps are very prominent. Everyone wants to dance that dance of twisting of waist and raising of one leg. Turning thereafter to pursue themselves in a very comical manner.
I have sat down to look at the sense in the dance as popularised by Brain Jotter, all I could see was a gregarious instinct of the masses and the craves to join the bandwagon.
What is Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo? Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo was just the last part of the lyrics that is filled with rich meaning and moral lessons.
Tired of the hullabaloo of the Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo challenge, I took time to listen to the lyrics from the beginning to the end.
Gentleman Mike Ejeagha is indeed a maestro, who knows his onus with a dexterity and sagacity that are legendary.
I wouldn’t know what he had in mind telling such a story, as irredescent as that story is, it shone to my mind with a lesson that made me shed tears.
Listen to the story line. There was a bet from a king that anybody that brings an elephant 🐘 to him would marry the king’s daughter.
Bringing the elephant was no mean feat. This made other animals shy away and saw the demand as a tall order. The tortoise 🐢 in its crafty and deceptive nature went and told elephant lies. Lies were too pleasant, the elephant could not but fall for it.
What was the lie? That the king wants to make the elephant the Chairman of its Ọfala celebration. Ọfala celebration is an elaborate celebration of festivity. It sounded too prestigious an offer to be the Chairman of such a festival.
On the appointed day, the tortoise went to the elephant. The elephant got ready and they set out on the journey. At a point, the elephant got angry over the tortoise’s snail paced movement and feared they would miss the festival. So when the tortoise requested that it sat on the elephant’s back to facilitate their movement, the elephant did not hesitate.
While on the elephant’s back, it requested the elephant to allow it tie rope around its neck for stability.
The elephant allowed it, being too obsessed to be the Chairman of the Ọfala, anything that would be an obstacle to it must be dealt with.
As they got close to the king’s palace, the tortoise raised his voice and sang:
“Nna m eze, a kpa ta m enyi! Nna m eze, a kpa ta m enyi!”
(My King, I have brought the elephant!)
“Nwa mbe, ị sị na ị kpata onye?! Nwa mbe, ị sị na ị kpata onye?!”
(Small tortoise, who do you say you have brought?!” The elephant queried.)
“A sị m ana ya che be enyi, du be enyi. Ọ dị ka m sị na a kpa ta m enyi.”
(I said let the earth protect and guide the elephant. Did I say I have brought elephant?)
“A sị m ana ya che be enyi, du be enyi, ọ dị ka m sị na a kpa ta m enyi.”
(I said let the earth protect and guide the elephant. Did I say I have brought elephant?)
“Ọkwa enyi ga a bụ isi-oche? Ọkwa enyi ga a bụ isi oche?”
(Is it not the elephant that will be the chairman?)
“Enyi na a ga, na anyị so gị n’azụ.
Gwọ gwọ gwọ ngwọ! (Elephant continue to go, we are behind you, gwo gwo gwo ngwo!)
What do you make out of this story? So many? For me, it is a reflection of the deception the Nigeria poor masses experience in the hands of our tricky political class.
The elephant represents the poor masses, and the tortoise, the political class that comes with all manner of deception, tricks and manipulation. They come to us, the poor masses, like the tortoise came to the elephant every election year with hopeless hope, fake promises, manipulative tendencies, while leading us to places of doom, destruction, hardship, shame and economic slavery as we dance gwo gwo gwo ngwo not knowing we are being led to our destruction pools and points.
By size just as the Elephant is 30 times bigger than the Tortoise so are the masses bigger than the political class. Same way the tortoise deceived the elephant, the political class has been deceiving us. Shame! Gwo Gwo Gwo ngwo as we sheepishly meet our waterloo.
May God help us to realize our might and power over the minion political class of deceptive intents and use it to liberate ourselves from their claws of manipulations and slavery .
Until we rise above their lies and deception, the same way the elephant was tied at the king’s palace for shame and ridicule, same way we would continue under their suppression and subjugation.
The ball is on our court!
By Oseni Rufai (as alleged)
P.S.: Slightly edited by me.