31st March, 2015 will forever be etched in the memory of many Nigerians for three reasons:
1. The day an old dictator became the democratic leader of Nigeria.
2. The day Orubebelysis/ Orubebetisis was diagnosed.
3. The day Jegaquin was discovered.
Confused about the last two?
During the collation of the presidential results, the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs disrupted the proceedings in the most hilarious and embarrassing manner possible. However, the calm and maturity expressed by the INEC Chairman saved the day from what could have probably turned out to be a fierce battle of words that might have suspended the proceedings for a long time.
It all started when Godsday Orubebe, a former Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, alleged that INEC’s Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega had taken sides with the All Progressives Congress. Despite pleas for calm, he shouted “You sent a committee to Rivers State to probe what happened there. We submitted petitions to you about Kano, Jigawa, Katsina States but you have not done anything about our complaints. You cannot continue with these results; we will not take it.”
As Jega tried to calm him down asking to be given a chance to respond, Orubebe shouted “Mr. Jega, You cannot continue, go to your office.”
Jega remained calm and after a few minutes proceeded to respond saying “after the collation exercise yesterday, PDP’s Bello Fadile sent me a text message about a petition and I replied that he should send the petition to my office because I cannot collect petitions when we are announcing results. Don’t disrupt an exercise that has ended peacefully. You are a statesman in your own right, you should be careful about the allegations you make. You are a former minister of the Federal Republic, you should be mindful of your public conduct.”
True to our comic nature, Nigerians have coined two terms from the incident:
1. Orubebelysis/Orubebetisis: an illness that causes someone to shout uncontrollably.
2. Jegaquin: the cure to Orubebelysis/Orubebetisis; restores calm and serenity.
Watch the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTsJ2fBjmsU
