Ambition in man may raise the eyebrow but cannot be adduced as a sin. After all, it can be said to have sprung from the blest abodes itself. Lucifer, that brightest of angels, certainly had an abundance of it, even if he was undone by a lack of tact. Still, it is one thing to “aspire to perspire to inspire” — as these self-proclaimed motivational speakers are fond of saying, it is quite another to possess the wherewithal to make something tangible of the desire.
At least Satan can claim he fought for what he wanted. Former man about town Abbey Kuku cannot say the same for himself. He has cleared the ground and gathered the firewood, arranged neatly in a charming, interlocked circle. There is one catch, though — there is no match. Not even two solitary, miserable stones to rub together.
Recall that during the apogee of Kingsley’s career, he was the don that all must pay special attention to, especially in his native Ondo State. As the Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Kuku held sway and was not afraid to use it to get what he wanted and go where he wanted. At that point, it was thought that his merry walk would eventually lead him into the Ondo State government houses. It sọ turned out that even if people don’t want to change, time often makes the decision for them.
With GEJ’s ouster from the seat of power, Kuku, the chief cornerstone, was reduced to the rejected stone he was before. He began to matter less and less in the grand scheme of things. Every way he looked, his circle of friends thinned and sympathizers became as scant as rain on a cold, northern harmattan morning. It didn’t help that the dogs of anti-corruption — the EFCC — snapped hard at his heels, making him stumble and upend himself into the dirt.
Before he could become a complete laughing stock, Kuku made his way to the United States, ostensibly to undergo surgery on a troublesome knee. He doesn’t seem to want to return with the same haste he left, though. According to the pipeline, he is biding his sweet time, wary of the EFCC’s hammer over allegations he misappropriated ₦6.2 billion of presidential amnesty funds.
With him on an enforced sabbatical, his political fortunes have begun to wane, almost into nothingness. Time waits for no man and neither does Nigerian politics. Many of his supporters have nailed their colours to new masts. Kuku is left alone. His ambition to become governor of Ondo seems to be a pipe dream. He certainly likes his nightly dreams better than his waking reality.
