The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • The real tragedy of victory

    The real tragedy of victory

    Thoughts from Alabi-Isama’s Civil War memoirs

    It is not all the time that book presentations are fascinating. Indeed, they are seen usually as somber occasions for the serious-minded people; which means they are regarded more or less as ‘dry’ events. But not so the presentation of The tragedy of victory – on the spot account of the Nigeria-Biafra War in the Atlantic Theatre by Brigadier-General Godwin Alabi-Isama. In the about three hours that the occasion, held at the Bolaji Akinyemi Auditorium of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) on Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, lasted, there was never a dull moment.

    To start with, it was one that paraded a galaxy of retired military officers and other stars, some of them the best that this country ever produced. These included General Theophilus Danjuma, General Ike Nwachukwu, Gen. Raji Rasaki, Gen Alani Akinrinade, Gen Femi Daramola, Gen Mobolaji Johnson, Prof Wale Omole, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, representative of Emir of Ilorin, General Emmanuel Abisoye, renowned essayist, Prof Adebayo Williams; former Governor of Ogun State Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, among others. Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon could not make it to the event even though he had promised to if there was a window of opportunity. There were also some traditional rulers in attendance, as well as the Director-General of the NIIA, Prof Bola Akinterinwa.

    One of the major participants who ought to have been present but was conspicuously absent was General Olusegun Obasanjo, the author of My Command, a book which was almost torn to shreds by speaker after speaker at the presentation. Some had thought that Chief Obasanjo, for who he is, could spring a surprise by making it to the book presentation even if not invited. But that seemed only remotely possible, given the fireworks that had occurred between him and General Alabi-Isama after the latter had granted an interview to this paper in which he referred to Obasanjo as a ‘blundering general’. Of course, characteristically, Chief Obasanjo fired back; but the harm had been done because the interview had started to put doubts in the minds of many right-thinking Nigerians about some of the claims made by Obasanjo in ‘his command’ before the day of reckoning, which was last Thursday, came.

    Ordinarily, history should be as straightforward as a simple arithmetic or mathematics, especially when, like either, it is not raised to power anything. But ours is a country where people want to place history, including the very ones that we witnessed, upside down. It should be expected in a country where poverty is pervasive and people are ready to do anything for money, especially dirty money. Yes, it is possible, as human beings, to make mistakes in the process of recording some historical accounts, either because of the time lag or because of other reasons. But we must be able to differentiate mistakes of the heart from mistakes of the head. Like when a handshake is going below the elbow, presenting falsehood as gospel truth (which is what Alabi-Isama, General Akinrinade and others at the book presentation accused Obasanjo of), is reprehensible. Although General Obasanjo was literally in the dock on Thursday, he was conspicuously absent to defend himself. But it is good for Nigerians to have this pluralism of accounts on a major event as the country’s Civil War.

    However, the occasion was not just about the stiffness usually associated with book launch. In spite of the seriousness of the issues raised, there were also moments to remember in the lighter mood. For instance, if you thought it was only in the days of the Roman Empire that women (the so-called weaker sex) had serious grip over men, (the so-called stronger sex), you are mistaken; as it was then, so it is even now. Our own General Danjuma revealed that much when he said it was his wife who persuaded him to be at the book presentation. He said, as usual with most well-to-do Nigerians, this time of the year is when they usually travel out and he would have been out of the country, but for his wife who prevailed on him to personally grace the occasion. For people with dirty minds that might still be wondering what is happening, what madam used on ‘oga’ is ‘woman power’; this is quite different from ‘bottom power’. And, in case you are still in the woods, it is women that are outside that use ‘bottom power’, but when used from within, that is ‘woman power’! I used to think such things won’t work on a general as tough as the Danjuma of whom our coup stories sing. For those who were attentive at the book launch, they would also have heard from the horse’s mouth that even in the war front, ‘body no be wood’! As it is in peace times, so it is also in war situations.

    But there were very serious matters that the occasion also brought to the front burner of discourse. The occasion reminded Nigerians about how their money is being wasted to train military officers at home and abroad, only to retire them in their prime. Perhaps those so retired are even lucky because many of their colleagues were killed in or for participating in one coup d’état or the other. General Alabi-Isama was one of those retired prematurely. But, as he was lamenting his own untimely retirement at age 39, General Gowon reminded him that he was not alone, and that Alabi-Isama was much lucky as he (Isama) was only retired but in his (Gowon’s) case, it was double jeopardy. Gowon said he was not only retired prematurely, he ‘was also shoved aside’.

    Perhaps the most touching of the side attractions at the book presentation is the utter neglect that those who had served this country are suffering. The author brought to the event Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi, the man who designed the Nigerian flag. Almost everyone present felt guilty that such a man could be neglected in old age and wondered what sort of country ours is where we leave our true heroes to rot in obscurity while celebrating nonentities. Imagine a man like General Benjamin Adekunle (the ‘Black Scorpion’ as he is fondly called), one of those celebrated in the book. He is bed-ridden and there is little to show that the government is doing enough to get him to live a normal life again.

    This was a man who fought gallantly during the Civil War to preserve the country. If we treat our heroes like this, how do we expect the younger generation to believe in the country? How do we tell them that it pays for them to lay down their lives for the Fatherland? How do we convince them not to dip their hands into the public till when in service, in order to provide for the rainy day when there will be no one to remember them? Well, we can still make amends concerning Adekunle and Pa Akinkunmi and many others who are still alive. Many of their colleagues have died, unsung.

    There is a lot more to say within the about three hours that the event lasted. Suffice it to say that the Civil War, an account of which Alabi-Isama has just given, ended on January 15, 1970, some 43 years ago. Have we learnt any lessons? Speakers at the book presentation do not think so. And I agree with them. That, for me, is the real tragedy of victory.

  • Honour for writers of national anthem

    Honour for writers of national anthem

    Following the recent death of Pa Benedict Odise, widely credited as the composer of the current national anthem, I got a condolence message on his death from Dr Sota Omoigui, a United States-based Nigerian medical practitioner who claimed to be one of the co-authors of the words of the national anthem.

    While paying glowing tributes to the memory of Pa Odiase, he emphasised the distinction between who composed the music of the anthem and those who wrote the words.

    I was particularly touched by the paragraph in the tribute in which he said he had looked forward to the day when the authors of the music and words of the anthem, Arise O Compatriots, would have been brought together at an event. ”Alas death cannot continue to wait forever,” he stated.

    The impression I got from the mail was that while Pa Odiase had gotten all the acclaim and even a national award for composing the music, there have been no recognition for the five writers of the words, Omoigui, John A Ilechukwu, Eme Etim Akpan, B.A.Ogunaike, and P.O.Aderibigbe.

    Their entries were selected from the 1,499 received from the national competition organised by the National Publicity Committee on the Draft Constitution/Return to civilian regime in 1978.

    When I eventually interviewed Omoigui, who said he does not feel cheated for not being acknowledged or rewarded like Pa Odiase, he gave an indication why it is wrong for the government and the media to carry on as if he and his co-authors do not exist or matter.

    ”The origin of the national anthem has been forgotten and that explains why none of the other authors has been acknowledged. All the newspaper reports since the transition of Pa Odiase have described him incorrectly as the composer of the national anthem. History is history, it cannot be altered and we must document it as it is. A nation that forgets its history has no guide to its future, ” Omoigui stated.

    Following the publication of Sota’s interview on June 22, another co-composer, Aderibigbe, who was a 100 level Political Science student at the University of Ibadan when he sent his entry, called at our office recently with his original composition.

    While Sota  did the last two lines of the anthem, Aderibigbe, a former special assistant in the national assembly, wrote lines one, two, five and six.

    In his interview published yesterday in The Nation on Saturday, Aderibigbe recalled how the then military administration failed to pay the honorarium promised after the selection of the five entries.

    “Even the music of the anthem as composed by the late Pa Odiase was sung without us being invited and is regrettable that up till today there has been no acknowledgement.”

    Ogunnaike, another co-author, is now a Professor and Dean of Engineering in University of Delaware in US. According to UDaily, an online publication of the university, Ogunaike left the country before the final selection was made and only learnt from his father that some of his words were incorporated in the anthem. Unlike Aderibigbe, he got N50 prize for his contribution.

    There is no information on the two others for now, but chances are that they are alive and also not happy that their contribution to the anthem has not gotten the acknowledgement it deserves.

    Considering the various national orientation programmes by the successive governments in the country, it should have occurred to someone to search for the authors to share the thoughts that informed the lines they contributed to the national anthem.

    Since the authors are still alive, it’s not too late to host them, may be at a national forum where they will not only speak on the anthem, but will be given the honour they deserved.

  • An economy of mounting agbana and aggravation

    An economy of mounting agbana and aggravation

    There is no better way to describe the economy induced for citizens by government’s incompetence, inefficiency, or nonchalance with respect to governance over the years than to borrow a Yoruba concept, agbana to describe it. Agbana refers to a spiritual state that is generally believed to be induced by others with the sole aim of preventing the victim of the affliction from becoming economically or financially buoyant to the point of being solvent, regardless of the size of the income that flows to the victim. The victim is spiritually manipulated to the point that he spends funds available to him or her in such a way that there would be no surplus to enable him or her do any major investment capable of improving his or her financial position. The goal of inducers of agbana is to frustrate or demoralize the victim, to make him or her incapable of higher financial achievement. Although most people today believe that agbana is a pre-modern concept, but a close look at the poor organization of Nigeria’s infrastructure suggests that the government is an inducer of agbana for the citizenry.

    The first example of agbana pertains to supply of energy for citizens and even institutions. Companies which manufacture products and in the process require electricity are forced to depend on diesel-powered generators to do so. Whenever such companies find out that they can hardly break even, they migrate to other West African countries. The citizen-rich or average-also requires electricity to live in a modern way. He or she needs light to see in the dark hours, to watch television, to pump water if and when there is water, to iron clothes, etc. Without any visa to migrate to other countries, the typical Nigerian has to buy generators, buy diesel to power the generators, and pay generator repairers, who also need to buy generator repair kits every month, to keep the generators going.

    Furthermore, the middle-class Nigerian needs to buy gadgets that one does not see in other countries: an alarm system to signal availability of electricity; another device that houses various colours of electric bulbs to indicate the presence of electricity on the electric cables that enter the house; another contrivance to indicate that the voltage of the electric current coming into the house is not over the 220 volts for which most of the household items were designed by their overseas manufacturers; inverters to store electricity for later use when the Power Holding Corporation of Nigeria does its hourly power rationing; automatic switch systems to change from public electricity supply system to the generator mode; and, of course, uncountable stabilizers attached to each electric or electronic gadget, from refrigerators to electric kettles. The not so lucky Nigerian has to stay alert to run in and out of his or her room to change from the electric mode to the generator mode, and this can be twenty times a day, depending on the whims of those in charge of distribution of electricity.

    As if this is not enough, any person living in the Nigerian space also needs to pay monthly bills to the PHCN. It does not matter if the citizen enjoys any supply of electricity from PHCN in the month for which he or she is billed. Any surprise that the average Nigerian looks rougher than citizens from neighbouring countries? Those who are broke by the middle of the month ignore the shame that going to work or appearing in public space in clothes that need to be ironed brings, shrugging their shoulders when they notice that people give them critical or querulous looks.

    The typical middle-class Nigerian also buys water from water merchants who dig private boreholes from which they supply water in ‘tankers’ to the financially above-average person. Economically below-average individuals buy their water from labourers who call themselves water vendors. Poor ones carry buckets of water from the neighbourhood water vending centre to his or her room before or after the day’s work.Generally, plates used for serving food at local restaurants are poorly rinsed because of scarcity or the cost of water. Any surprise that there is too much stench in public buses within and between cities? Generally, many citizens do not have enough water to have proper baths that are required in a tropical environment.

    The story is not different for citizens with cellphones today. All service providers in the country serve as inducers of agbana. Citizens buy recharge cards but they are unable to get any benefit from such cards. When they use the cards to make calls, the calls are aborted most of the time, usually leaving the message: “The number you are calling does not exist.” This happens when a wife calls her husband whose number she should know, unless she is insane. When a caller is lucky enough to get through, the transaction is cut midway into a sentence. The story is not over. The telephone service provider on the other side still sends a cryptic message: “The cost for your last call is so and so.” It does not matter if the parties on the line succeed in saying anything to each other. Any surprise that Nigerians are the loudest telephone users in Africa? Telephone users have been conditioned by sub-standard service to shout themselves hoarse, if they are to succeed in making any telephone conversation.

    We are at a point in which our public health experts and social-psychologists need to be encouraged to find out why the average life expectancy in Nigeria is 52, one of the lowest in the world. This short life span may not be caused only by poor nutrition and poor health care. It is more likely to owe so much to the psychological impact of a daily life that is filled with anxiety and frustration that the country’s decrepit infrastructure induces. The oversize temperamental outbursts of the average Nigerian in relation to other citizens in sub-Saharan Africa cannot be due to diet as some thinkers are wont to pontificate. Most West Africans eat more or less the same food: yam, cassava, plantain, and rice that form the staple of most Nigerians. The ubiquitous anger of the average Nigerian must have some connection to the aggravation that haunts the average Nigeria on a da-to-day basis on account of the country’s socio-fugal infrastructure.

    Apart from constitutions, the basic thing that joins citizens to their governments in most parts of the modern world is infrastructure. In Nigeria the government has been more efficient in giving reasons why the infrastructure is bad than it is in providing adequate facilities for citizens to lead a life that is life-affirming. There seems to be very little difference between the quality of public goods provided directly by the government, (such as roads) and services that have been privatized, such as telecommunication. The consequence is that the typical Nigerian is made to pay for services he or she does not enjoy, be it electricity or telephone. The distancebetween the citizen and the government in the country is likely to continue until the government accepts that some of the priorities of citizens must be part of its own priority.

  • Readers’ lexical assembly

    THE Guardian of July 16 carried diseased advertorials, headlines and sentences: “Nigeria rules out handling (handing) over Al-Bashir to ICC”

    “Gov Aregbesola’s flood control (flood-control) measures”

    “…we are delighted to have midwifed (sic) this game change (game-change) project.”

    “South South & South East Traditional Rulers (Rulers’) Forum”

    “Please, take note that after 15 days of this notice, unclaimed products would be disposed off (of).”

    “The Management and Staff of Julius Berger Nigeria PLC felicitates (felicitate) with….”

    THISDAY of July 13 contained 10 infelicities: “GTBank-Lagos State Principals Cup 2013 Season IV Finals” Playing by the rules: Principal’s Cup

    “The Court of Appeal sitting in lagos (sic) yesterday discharged and acquitted Major Hamza Al-mustapha (sic) former CSO to late (the late) Gen. Sani Abacha….”

    “World Bank disburse (disburses) N209m to 3000 farmers in Kano State”

    “Or has the government run out of ideas that warrant (warrants) giving out public funds at will….”

    “…on a biking trip at (on) the outskirts of Abuja”

    Still on THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER under review: “…recently announced his intention to run for the 2015 Imo State governorship election under (on) the platform of UPP.”

    “Benue, Nasarawa to tighten security over Fulani herdsmen invasion” NewsXtra: herdsmen’s invasion

    The PUNCH Back Page Friday Musings of July 12 committed an unusual blunder: “When was the last time any political office holder resigned their appointment on the ground (grounds) of public opprobrium?”

    “The ICAN Ikeja District Society July-September 2013 Training Calender” (Half-page advertisement, THE GUARDIAN, July 9) Spell-check: calendar

    FROM MY SMS PORTAL

    “Regardless of the un-abating disregard, if not for conceited non-recognition of your (and Bayo Oguntunase’s) modest effort at bringing people back to the path of syntactical and morphological sanity week in week out, your journalist colleagues remain obstinately incorrigible. It is howlers galore! If it is not ‘flagging off’, it is ‘commissioning’! All in the wrong contexts: do not let the flag go down. There are many out there, especially teachers of the English language, who avail themselves of your weekly contributions. Do not be dissuaded. Stay blessed.” (Folorunso Babafemi/Babfranc Educational Services/Ilesa/08133197524)

    “Mark you, ‘shorthand for something’ is a phrasal idiom, hence ‘telly’ is shorthand for television, ‘fan’ is shorthand for fanatic, ‘uplift’ is shorthand for upliftment, ‘hive’ is shorthand for beehive, etc. ‘Upliftment’, like ‘uplifter’, has gained currency.” (Bayo Oguntunase/08029442508)

    “‘There is no country like Nigeria’ means that Nigeria is a figment of the imagination, whereas what is meant is that there is no other country like Nigeria.” (Jacob Oluyemi/08104036139)

    “Ebere, I told you in our telephone discussion, months ago, that some Nigerians would want to defend the spurious use of local coinages and expressions like ‘upliftment’, ‘project commissioning’, ‘the governor gave the charge…’, ‘school run’ and ‘challenges’ in the face of huge socio-economic problems etc. Even the U.S. and European countries admit their problems! Ebere, please they may not understand and appreciate the value of your uncommon research effort in the practice of journalism in Nigeria. We used to say ‘news break’, but today it’s ‘breaking news’. That’s the dynamic nature of journalism that Ebere is attempting to signalize.

    “The ignorance persists because journalism teachers and Heads of News in NTA and FRCN are unable to follow these changes over time. Apart from misleading and indoctrinating the public, they continue to pollute the standard and vibrancy of the profession. This problem is a challenge to the NUJ. Imagine the flagship of radio broadcasting in Nigeria still refers to all her reporters as ’correspondents’ instead of differentiating them as we have today! Therefore, the NUJ should come out with a well-researched or well-grounded professional journal to give direction and ensure an acceptable standard. It can start off with quarterly publications. Ebere, please do not be discouraged. Keep it up!” (Sunny Agbontaen/08062998165)

    This paragraph was contributed by Mr. Kola Danisa (07059188542): “…high tension wires fell off and electrocuted people to death….” What is electrocution? Kindly yank off ‘to death’! “The party chairman left for the Abuja Airport en route (from where to) Yola” (Both errors were extracted from THE NATION ON SUNDAY, July 14) “Nigeria’s President Goodluck arrives (in) Beijing, meets President XI Jinping Wednesday.” (NTA News Scroll, July 9) ‘Arrive’ is not a transitive verb, so it cannot have ‘Beijing’ as object. Your readers cherish your competence in the use of modern English, not the brand consigned to the Dark Ages as noted in your response to the self-styled 75-year-old language activist, Bayo Oguntunase. He insulted us (Wordsworth readers) by saying ‘look them up in the Desk Dico. Not listed in POCKET Dico’. He once claimed to have ‘about 12 dictionaries’. I told him sound editors do not approximate countable things (at least or no fewer than, yes). He did not acknowledge his blunder.”

    “Mr. Oguntunase’s submission a fortnight ago that the word ‘upliftment’ exists in English is in total contradiction to what he wrote in 2007. I advise all speakers and writers of the English language to avoid its use. No modern English dictionary contains it.” (Stanley Nduagu/08062925996)

    “Whether you accept it or not, ‘upliftment’ is correct. Even your so-called ‘uplift’ is more of a verb than a noun. It is not right to say all words that are not in modern dictionaries are incorrect (07036475114).” The columnist’s response: Insolent and half-literate bunkums do not include their names or use pseudonyms and are fond of advertising their foolishness! I usually ignore them.

     

  • Why do criminals enjoy more protection from the law than their victims?

    When the wife of the president begins to talk for the government,
    it can only signify the arrival of chaos.

    Is it just me or have you noticed that immediately someone is a suspect in a crime, he begins to wave his fundamental human rights in everyone’s face. He has rights, he declares, which cannot be violated; he has entitlements, such as access to a lawyer, to decent and humane treatment, and to being addressed with respect, thank you. Above all, he also declares that anything that touches him, let it be so much as a finger, has assaulted him for which the ‘toucher’ must be arraigned, tried and convicted. ‘You saw him, he hit me, you saw him. Put that down in the books, you must!’ Well, if it is not too much for their criminal highnesses, can they please explain to me if they considered the rights and privileges of their victims? I mean, when someone is confronted by a killer, does he go ‘Look, I have fundamental human rights not to be killed, assaulted or maimed. And I certainly have the right to refuse to let you wave that gun in my face.’ Does the assailant listen to that legal plea? Well, does he? If he did, I think crime would practically be none existent, since everyone would be adequately armed – with their constitutional rights to genteel treatment.

    Now, take lawyers. Have you noticed that they are never present at the scenes of crimes to offer their services to the victim? Can you just imagine how much help they might be to a potential victim if they were present to argue for them? I believe they would certainly go, ‘Look, Mr. Assailant, this man, who is my esteemed client, is too young to die; he has children, a good job, and is only minimally selfish. He does not deserve to die at your hands. Let my bills do it.’ Either way, the victim is done for. I think in many cases, a victim would actually choose to die at the hands of his assailants. Some assailants are more polite and godly.

    Don’t get me wrong. I do not hate lawyers; some of my best friends and brothers are lawyers. I also do not hate assailants; they are just mostly misguided. It’s the crime that just gets my goat, and I’m not just talking off my berretta. I once witnessed a people-assailant assault that had me wondering just on whose side the law really rests in this nation. Two young men had broken into a house while the owners were away worshipping their God of a Sunday morning. Unfortunately, they were caught as the house owners returned unexpectedly. Their cries of alarm had people, I mean empathisers who put themselves in their shoes, coming out to deal with the duo. Before you could say ‘hello’, some jungle justice had been administered on them and the duo lay prostrate. The police, such as could get there on time, proceeded to nab everyone who had the temerity to be strutting around that vicinity that day, most of whom had no inkling of what had happened. Now, I ask myself, why pick on the innocent who happened to walk around a little too happily? Where were their fundamental human rights?

    Like everyone else, I have been following the rather quirky and weird events unfolding in the Rivers State as a whole, including the House of Assembly and wondering, just where is the law? If crimes have been committed, such as importing weapons of single or mass destruction into the House as alleged, then there should be some remedial courses. There should have been counsels for both sides before the problems began who would say to the main assailant, ‘Look very well before you leap. This man you are about to attack is in all probability innocent. He has children, brethren who will pray for him, kinsmen who will probably want to kill you in return for trying to deprive them of the place of their son in the House; and a country that will be so flabbergasted by your action they will take the man abroad for treatment and maybe a little enjoyment.’

    Since someone(s) was/were said to have been attacked and blood splattered around, we take it that no counsel was present to provide opening and closing arguments to dissuade their raucous highnesses in the assembly. Yet, no arrests have been made so far. Hmmm, that tells my Sherlock Holmes nose something. It tells me (sniff, sniff) that someone(s) is/are enjoying their fundamental human rights, I tell you, and it is not the victim. That one is being watched closely, even if it is by his doctor.

    On the other hand, the assailants are also being watched very closely, but it is not by the police, SSS or even any detectives. They are being watched by no other than the occupants of the presidency, not to check their activities but to be sure the script is interpreted correctly by the actors. That leaves the victims in their daze of inglorious bewilderment as there is no counsel to intone on their behalf, ‘My client respectfully asks not to be victimised for no other reason than politics. Any other reason will do.’ Clearly, the victim needs a louder voice, `cause it’s all muffled up right now.

    Not so for the victims of a young man alleged to have been collecting blood from school children somewhere in Agege, Lagos. Presently, the poor victims appear to have a voice. For a change, the young vampire is said to have since come under a watch, but it is the Police watch this time. Hmmm, that also tells my Sherlock Holmes nose something: he does not figure in any political calculations of our President or his wife or somebody. Otherwise, he would have been under a different watch with a different script.

    Yet another young man was said to have been arrested for being a trader in blood. He was involved in collecting blood donors for a hospital and also collecting a handsome commission in the process. Now, that is the coolest business line anyone can think of – just find those good folks whose veins are overflowing with the red stuff, match them with the hospital, sit back and watch the combination sizzle as the bags fill up. So does his bank account. How sick have we ascended in this nation?

    Indeed, these are sad times for us in Nigeria. Here we have a presidency which appears to have run amok because someone who should apply the reins has failed to do so. There is not only silence (interpreted as consent by the way), there is even a silent nodding of the head in the direction of all the commotion coming from Rivers State. While all that is going on, the country is going into deeper ruins. Rome is burning people, and we don’t know if Nero is fiddling, but we know he is not directing a hose or a bucket in the direction of the fire. Electricity supply is getting worse, food is getting so scarce now school children have taken to selling their blood for pittances and all we get is silence.

    The presidency needs to come out now with words of assurance to the over one hundred and twenty something million people in this country who want answers to so many questions. Silence indeed may be golden but it does not ennoble in circumstances such as this. When the wife of the president begins to talk for the government, it can only signify the arrival of chaos, which will result in more victims and will eventually lead to our demanding that counsels be present to brief assailants before crimes are committed.

  • Democracy, corruption  and austerity

    I thought of calling this piece – Between Cairo  and PortHarcourt – but changed my mind. This was  because that would reduce my concern and overall effort to a mere call for a protest or a demonstration when indeed there are other issues involved in various parts of the world that illustrate the problems of global governance in more realistic, if painful ways. It  may sound funny or unbelievable, but some of the events that happened this week simply beggar description in the way they have stood logic on its head .What  I am  saying here is that the concepts I  have eventually  chosen as the topic of the day have been stretched to their limits in terms of understanding  and   meaning judging from the way they  are being applied  or practiced   globally,  in recent times.

    Starting from Russia you find it difficult to accept that anti corruption activist Alexei Navalny who called Russia’s ruling party United Russia ‘a party of thieves and crooks ‘and  led demonstrations against the reelection of Russia’s President Vladmir Putin was himself jailed for embezzlement by a Russian Court  in  a rather opaque manner that has made EU nations to question the rule of law in Russia. In Athens, Greece,  the home of democracy,  legislators were protected by police as they passed laws this week to lay off thousands of civil servants   who  voted   for them as part of the measures required for Greece to get a financial bailout to save the Greek economy from total financial collapse. Worse still the Greek government had to ban public gatherings in Athens the Greek capital and home of democracy because   Wolfgang  Schaeuble  the German Finance Minister was in town and he represents the face of Germany  a pillar  of the EU zone that  is applying the bitter pill  as it were to  recover the Greek economy. Lastly Nelson Mandela was 95 this  week  although he himself could not celebrate because of his health,  the whole world did because the S African  Jacob Zuma had assured all  and sundry that the old man was improving. Which really is a pity when you remember that Nelson Mandela is the global icon of freedom and human dignity and yet he was not there to celebrate his birthday and I find that very painful indeed.

    Let us retreat again to Russia where the power of the state has been used to silence a dissident. Alexei Navalny was jailed for embezzling   $ 50000 when he was Adviser to a state governor in Russia but the whole world knows he was jailed for daring to say he wanted to be President of Russia and he has filed papers to be Mayor of  Moscow in the next elections. In today’s Russia however President Putin’s word is law and his power is despotic and far reaching in Russian society and politics. Since Alexei has been jailed for 5 years he cannot contest according to Russia’s constitution. But it is the bravery and character of the Russian dissident   in the face of   adversity that has my admiration. He is on record as saying that he was not afraid to go to jail for his convictions and his family was ready for it. Men or women with such convictions and attitude are rare in any clime or nation and I doff my heart for his sacrifice to rid Russia of corruption. Indeed on his way to jail he fired the last shot by telling his crying supporters to do something because’ the toad will not voluntarily leave the oil pipeline. ‘Which really is a language that is quite relevant and meaningful in our part of the world.

    The political tragedy in Greece too is one that really bothers me in connection with the   concept of democracy, its practice and values. In terms of irony however I will compare it with the fracas in the Rivers State House of Assembly in which a warrant has been issued for attempted murder by the state Police Commissioner for the Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly. The irony in the happenings in the legislatures in Athens and Port Harcourt stem from the role of the concept of immunity in the two law making institutions. In Athens the legislators were voting to sack some of the thousands of their supporters that put them in parliament and they know that even though they have immunity in Parliament they will need armed escorts to escape the fury and indignation of voters outside parliament. In Port Harcourt the Majority leader was trying to prevent a blatant theft of his majority in broad day light,   got violent in the process but knowing fully well like the legislators in Athens that he was covered by parliamentary immunity. The cruel irony in the two scenarios is that   while the Greek legislators are confident of police protection outside parliament where they enjoyed immunity, it is the police in Port Harcourt which has declared the legislators wanted for actions or offences committed in parliament where they constitutionally have immunity. Quite interestingly though, the Greek parliament had its own violent display of temper  earlier  during the austerity debate  when a legislator slapped a lady member in the full view of a world audience but nothing came out of it because Greece respects the democratic concept of immunity on the floor of any legislature.

    Worse still in PH  it  is the state police command which has refused to protect the state governor according to reports that is looking for legislators over parliamentary fracas on which there is immunity. But can the police sidetrack both the legislature and executive in a state as is happening so brazenly in Rivers state according to our constitution? The answer is a simple no and the police in that state should allow wise counsel to prevail most urgently in the interest of peace in that state and to protect the sovereign reputation of the Nigerian nation   in terms of respect for the rule of law in the global comity of   states.

    On Nelson Mandela we say happy birthday to a giant of our time though that joy  is tainted with some grief  at his illness and approaching mortality. On this  I have written about twice now not because I long for his departure  but because I  do not want to  be caught pants down by the inevitable,  both  as a writer and as a sincere admirer of this gem of an African leader . Nelson Mandela is passionate topic for me and some of my friends and his sickness even though he is 95 still gives one goose pimples. But then let us rejoice now at his birthday without any thought of his obituary. Let us remember the tall man in double breasted suit with the sunny smile dancing at the stadium when S Africa became a republic in 1994 and he became the first president of post apartheid S/Africa. Let us remember the selfless president who served one term of office and retired to private life when he could have been S Africa’s life president just for the asking. Let us wish Nelson Mandela well and may he recover soon or go early enough and not suffer the fate of former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon who has been in similar condition for years now. We remain loyal and grateful Madiba though our eyes are foggy. But you remain our hero, forever. Happy Birthday.

  • Many rivers to cross

    Our lawmakers have demonstrated that they have a few other endowments and competences beyond the fine arts of making laws. When they fail to make the desired impressions by talking, they shout. When shouting does not make much difference, their fists take over. In Rivers State, even the mace, an otherwise revered symbol of legislative authority, has become a potent tool of violence. It can descend on a disagreeable head, draw blood and still remain the revered mace that it is assumed to be. Lawmakers in Port Harcourt sure know how to sidetrack the law, roughen up one another and deliver a well-timed uppercut.

    The tales and videos originating from there lately do not flatter the state or its leaders. They cannot lift up Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s spirits or cheer up the state legislature or reassure the people who supposedly elected them into office. Nor does the rest of the watching world have anything to gain thereby.

    Symbols of solemn authority are violated. Hallowed chambers are desecrated. Sacred blood is spilled and splattered. Supposedly enlightened leaders are having a hard time subduing their anger.

    A small, audacious gang of five took steps to unseat the Speaker of a 32-strong Assembly. That is bizarre. Presumed decent leaders are fighting back even with a broken mace in a possibly twisted interpretation of the kingdom suffering violence and only the violent taking it by force. That is weird.

    Law enforcement agents are pictured apparently providing safe passage for lawmakers out for battle and sometimes even seeming to join the battle.

    At some point, a tear gas canister, at the least, was said to have been fired into Government House.

    We have also seen how easy it is to mobilise youths and get them to do the bidding of leaders.

    And everyday since July 9 when the five-against-32 impeachment drama was staged, the crisis in Rivers has been worsening, not resolved. New angles and perspectives have been opening up. Accusations and counter-accusations have been made. The Presidency has been consistently accused of complicity in the crisis, a charge it has  continuously denied. In the week, First Lady Patience Jonathan traced the crisis to four years ago when she fell out with Governor Amaechi over whether to demolish or not to demolish a part of her community in Okirika land. The president’s wife referred to the state chief executive as a son, albeit a “hot-tempered” one. Before a team of visiting bishops, she catalogued the governor’s offences, then asked that peace reign. Amaechi’s camp contested almost every word Dame Patience said.

    It is a messy picture before us and before the world, which will ultimately judge.

    It shows the older we get as a country, the less mature we tend to become; the more we travel the beautiful, growing world, the less of that world we see, or if we do see, the less of it we fail to bring back to home. The older our so-called democracy gets, the less convincing or inspiring it becomes. When we take one step forward, we take many to reverse it.

    Clearly, there are many rivers to cross. And not just in Amaechi’s state. Across the country, though I concede there must be a few exceptions, there is a twisted sense of governance and leadership. Wisdom almost always seems to flow from the leaders down, not from the led up. Whatever the leaders want and decree stands. There is no room for dialogue. Even among the leaders, there is hardly any concession, compromise or consensus. To them, power is effective only if the wielder has his way all the time. Mrs Jonathan has said the Rivers crisis started with a disagreement between her and Amaechi. Some have said read political ambition into it, alleging that Amaechi is not showing much respect for, or loyalty to, President Goodluck Jonathan and may even be hurting the commander-in-chief’s perceived second term designs.

    Whatever the truth, what is happening hurts the country, its leadership and people. It further lowers our image before an eternally cynical world.

    Democracy may be expensive, it’s processes tedious but it is still the preferred system of governance. Its strongest point is dialogue, not force of arms. No matter the issue, the solution is in talk and more talk. Every week, our friendly foe, Prime Minister David Cameron faces the British lawmakers, some of whom with nothing but venom in their guts. But they manage to refer to one another as gentlemen as they thrash out the hottest of issues.

    I believe that is what maturity means: how to keep your head even under intense provocation. I know that politics seeks power and to hold it but I believe too that democracy which should drive politics, and not the other way around, thrives in  compromise.

    At 53, Nigeria has come of age, but even though its democracy is not as old, it is expected to be substantially mature. In the Obasanjo days in Aso Rock, federal lawmakers were not always at their best of behaviour. Fists and furniture flew in the hallowed chambers. In 2013, we should have crossed such waters.

    As things stand, there is more work ahead.

  • Could Boko Haram possibly be right ?

    Could Boko Haram possibly be right ?

    Make no mistake about it. I totally disagree with their methods. I abhor their violence. I loathe the taking of innocent lives. I detest their bestial, savage, barbaric killing of innocent school children. But then, could there possibly be something right about Boko Haram’s claim that western education is sin? The majority of Nigeria’s western educated elite so much vindicate Boko Haram’s position that the sect certainly does not need the current shedding of blood and wasting of lives to make its point. In any case what is sin? In my view it is a violation of God’s laws such as lying, stealing, murder, adultery etc. It is a breaching of moral codes. It is a negation of ethical standards.

    Most of Nigeria’s western educated elite particularly in public office exhibit these vices on an industrial scale. They steal. They lie. They cheat. Their wanton corruption has stunted a remarkably endowed country’s development resulting in the continuing avoidable deaths of millions of valuable lives. Yes, western education nurtures the intellect. It liberates the mind. It has led to the astonishing accomplishments of humanity in diverse spheres of endeavour. But it does not necessarily endow the individual with the moral values imperative for maintaining a decent, sane, humane and healthy society.

    Most of Nigeria’s western educated elite simply utilise their acquired knowledge and skills to commit the most heinous sins against their country and fellow country men and women. A good example are those bankers whose venality and moral depravity resulted in the collapse of several banks with severe, damaging implications for millions of depositors and shareholders and with consequences that continue to haunt the fragile Nigerian economy. But let us move to another set of Nigeria’s western educated elite whose actions amply validate Boko Haram’s position that western education is sin.

    The country has 36 governors. These eminent citizens represent the cream of the country’s western educated elite. Among them are medical doctors, lawyers, soldiers, engineers, architects, academics and so on. These respected citizens came together and voluntarily formed an association, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF). 35 of these highly enlightened citizens gathered in a room to elect their chairman. No one was coerced there. We assume that they knew the meaning of elections and the implications of democracy before participating in the election. They voted. The votes were counted. The process was electronically recorded. A winner emerged. He had 19 votes. His opponent had 16 votes. Yet, the minority claims to be the majority. To these eminent western educated Nigerians, 16 is greater than 19. The loser not only parades himself as Chairman of the NGF, his faction has opened a secretariat in Abuja! This is is lying. This is cheating. This is deceit. This is a form of robbery. This is brazen fraud. This is original sin. Boko Haram members must be having a good laugh. They are surely vindicated. Western education, at least in this case, is grievous sin.

    But let us go to a more tragic scenario. In 2011 we trooped to the polls and elected as President a man called Dr Goodluck Jonathan. As a child he had no shoes. We identified with him. He went to the redemption camp and publicly knelt down before the revered Pastor Enoch Adeboye. We admired his humility. Many also voted for him because he is the first Nigerian President to have a university degree, a Ph. D for that matter. The Ph. D is the highest attainment in western education. The holder is a Doctor of philosophy. He is assumed to be sound not only in knowledge but in character. He should be a beacon of integrity. But what are we seeing? This Ph.D holder is proving to be even more coarse, brutish and utterly disdainful of the rule of law, constitutionalism and the values of democracy than his rustic predecessor and benefactor who has now been publicly and irreparably deconstructed by General Alabi Isama as a blundering, cowardly and utterly incompetent General. But that is a matter for another day.

    This Ph.D holder, despite denials by his aides, is clearly the one behind the crisis in the NGF. He openly expressed his opposition to Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s re-election as NGF Chairman. The presidency actively sought to coerce and intimidate governors against re-electing Amaechi. The election held. Amaechi won. The Ph.D holder lost face. As an academic and supposed intellectual, would he accept the verdict? Not on your life. He publicly recognised the loser as the winner. He lent the weight of his prestigious office to falsehood. He encouraged deceit. He embraced lies. I hope the respected Pastor Adeboye is reading this in case somebody wants to play the kneeling game at the redemption camp sometime in future! Somebody has suggested that elementary arithmetic may not necessarily be a precondition for obtaining a most distinguished Ph. D. I disagree. For, it is not impossible that in the animal kingdom of Zoology, 16 is greater than 19. All hail! But then the tragedy got even messier.

    This admirable product of western education has done everything to undermine the legitimate government of RotimiAmaechi in Rivers State. He has divided the PDP in the state. He has caused mayhem in the state House of Assembly. He sanctioned, again according to the mysterious arithmetic of Zoology, the attempted impeachment of the Speaker by 5 members of a 32-member House. He has looked on indifferently as the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mbu John Mbu, continues to jeopardise the security of the state and compromise the personal safety of the Governor. To make matters worse, this Ph. D holder has allowed another Ph. D holder, Dr. Reuben Abati, to brazenly lie that the presidency has no hand in the Abuja instigated descent to anarchy in Rivers State. Luckily, the most amiable and adorable First Lady and co-President of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan, has exposed the highly cerebral Dr.Abati’s lies.

    She told a group of 16 Bishops from the South-South who visited her on Wednesday of her grouse with Governor RotimiAmaechi. We now know why there is such a desperate attempt by Abuja to pull down Amaechi at all costs even if it means destabilizing the country and endangering our democracy. I once described the Jonathan presidency as a distracted one obsessed with his ambition for a second term in 2015. Many of my readers from the Niger Delta were unhappy with me. But the unfolding scenario in Rivers State proves this beyond doubt. For, Amaechi’s only crime is that he is suspected to have higher political aspirations in 2015 that may jeopardise Jonathan’s political interests.

    Let us, therefore, apologise to Boko Haram. They have a point. In many ways western education is a grievous sin if a Ph.D holder can perpetrate, directly and indirectly, the kind of atrocities being witnessed in Rivers state. Is the Boko Haram leader, Imam AbubakarShekau, reading this? Or can anybody reach him? Please drop your guns. Your point has been effectively made.

  • Encounter with Keshi

    Encounter with Keshi

    The time was 7.45pm on Tuesday. I looked at the pages of Sportinglife for Wednesday and couldn’t find a lead story to sell it. I went into my office to cross-check my diary. It was empty. A few stories that I saw were either not topical or weren’t good enough for a midweek edition.

    Tense, I took my telephone outside the office to call my colleagues in Abuja to find out why the day was dry. Two calls to Andrew Abah and Patrick Ngwaogu added to my frustration of not finding a lead story. They were headed for the new secretariat of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in Abuja, where Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi was visiting, ahead of the opening of the facility built with the cash generated by the Presidential Task Force (PTF). The minister’s visit was to ensure that things were in place for President Goodluck Ebere Jonathan to open it for football business.

    A last call to another colleague, Segun Ogunjimi, didn’t resolve the matter. It brought forth the poser many readers of this column have asked me. Many were wondering if I talk with Super Eagles chief coach Stephen Keshi. They looked forward to the day we would meet.

    When Ogunjimi picked his phone, the place was rowdy. He told me he was at the new secretariat. Then Ogunjimi shouted: “Hold on sir!” I could still hear the noise but I felt he wanted to give the phone to a source who he felt could confide in me to get a story. It wasn’t to be. It turned out to be Keshi.

    When Ogunjimi handed Keshi the phone, I could hear him whisper, “na who bi that?” Ogunjimi replied: “ Na my editor, Ade Ojeikere”.

    I could feel Keshi’s deep breath. Then he said; “Ade Ojeikere, na wetin I do you? I take your girlfriend, abi na your wife? You just dey yab me. Wetin I do?”

    Keshi expected an answer, but I wasn’t ready for that. His voice was high. He was angry and never hid his disgust about my writing. I waited until he said: “Oh boy, I dey vex for you. You just dey hit me. In fact, I dey watch AIT this morning (Tuesday) where you talk say if you bi sports minister, you for don sack me for wetin I do for Namibia?

    At this point, it was evident that Keshi’s anger had fallen into a receptive voice where I could throw a counter question. Again, I expected his response to be laced with rage.

    “Skippo, I dey vex for you too. You sef yab with the things wey you dey do. Dem no good at all. You fall my hand. You go dey fight anybody wey talk wetin you no like. Abi we no get right to ask you things wey we no know? I dey write my columns, ask you those questions make you for fit answer. Even if you no talk to me.

    Keshi interjected: “Ade wetin you dey talk so? Shebi you get my number? Why you no call me? Walahi, Ade, you dey disappoint your fans o. Dem don tire for you. People wey like you before dey vex. No matter wetin you think say I do, you for call me na?”

    It was clear that a dialogue had ensued. I told him I didn’t have his number anymore. The number I had, I was told he broke the SIM card in anger when he resigned in South Africa.

    Keshi raised his voice again, this time he said: “How can you talk like that Ade? Why didn’t you ask Segun for my number?

    Yet I asked Keshi if it was out of place for him to call me if he felt what I was writing was not fair to him.

    “Oh boy, na true you talk. But you know now, I dey vex. You sef, you too talk.” Keshi said.

    “Big Boss, me too dey vex,” I retorted. Keshi wanted to interject again. This time I stopped him, saying that I would be in Abuja on Wednesday and we would talk.

    “Okay o. I dey wait. Make we see o! And he handed the phone back to Segun Ogunjimi, after saying: “Ade Ojeikere, na wa for you o.”

    This dialogue lasted for five minutes but it broke the ice of a relationship that had gone awry, occasioned by the demands of our jobs.

    Keshi has the right to pick his players. He chooses how he wants to train them and how he wants the team to play. Keshi has done well with the Eagles, although he admits that it is work- in- progress.

    For this writer, there is the need to ask the coach why certain things aren’t in place. But most coaches don’t like to be told about their team’s flaws no matter how close you are to them. If you dare ask such questions, they will either not pick your calls or raise their voices in resentment. It happened to me once with Keshi, when I wanted to pick his brain to write a story about his likely list of players ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

    At the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, I had a little unsavoury session with Samson Siasia, when I questioned the rationale in dropping Osaze Odemwingie and Victor Anichibe for fumbling players. Siasia told me to face my journalism job while he does his.

    Surprisingly, Siasia made the desired changes in the next game and Osaze and Anichebe were the goal scorers. Smart guy Siaisa is, he apologised at the next international post-match press conference. He said he was in a foul mood after that game. Siasia is human, so I moved on.

    One of the hazards of journalism, a few would say. But the job must be done in this era where those in authority blame journalists for all the societal ills. Busy bodies, they shout to the roof but we are condemned tell our readers the stories the next day. I digress.

    How did you feel Ade after the Keshi spat, many would ask? I’m still excited. The best copies for journalists come when you put your interviewer on the spot. You need to ask him the questions that outsiders confront you with. We are confronted daily with questions. And it is always nice to throw them back at the coaches so that their responses could get to the soccer faithful.

    Once The telephone conversation over, I went back to contending with finding a lead story, which I got by sending a text message to a source.

    Behold, Keshi’s team list for the August 14 Mandela Challenge in Durban, South Africa. I was excited. A good copy had come at last. The list, though tentative as it turned out to be had Obinna Nsofor and Shola Ameobi. I was relieved that Keshi had started listening to good advice. If what Keshi said was anything to reckon with it, it was that he also reads this column, given the details he reeled out in his fit of rage.

    Again, my informant said Keshi submitted the 24-man list to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for vetting, unlike in the past. The NFF directed him to prune it to 18- the number of players that the organisers asked for. Keshi chose 20 players instead and listed four others on the waiting list. Kudos, big Boss. that is what we want rather than outright rejection of the NFF directive which makes your employers look like puppets.

    I was pleased with this revelation. Besides, it didn’t leak to the press nor was it an issue for public debate until I stumbled on it. If you ask me, we are making progress.

    It is also cheery news that the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Gbenga Elegbeleye, reconciled Keshi and the NFF chiefs. Elegbeleye’s message of securing our national interest above selfish agenda should serve as the fulcrum for Keshi to take the good criticisms and discard the others.

    Keshi should know that he is answerable to Nigerians and not all of us will tell him what he wants to hear. Keshi shouldn’t insult our sensibilities by telling us that Joseph Yobo is the team’s captain. Keshi’s body language and utterances show that Yobo isn’t in his plans He only wants to mock Yobo. He should move on because Yobo isn’t a fool, given his recent stoic silence on the team and Keshi.

    Indeed, Keshi’s double-speak at press conferences is disturbing. In one instance, he tells his audience that he won’t beg Victor Anichebe. In another response on the same issue, he startles his listeners with suggestions that he has asked Mikel Obi to talk with Anichebe to do a rethink. Keshi should know that the world is a global village. Whatever he says about his players during press conferences are read by them. He must put himself in these players’ shoes and see if he won’t react otherwise. Thank you for the five minutes discussion. Let’s do it again soon. Ramadan Kareem.

  • I see; therefore I know

    I see; therefore I know

    Opalaba has not been known to be effusive in his praise of any individual, talk less a politician. My friend cannot stand their kind. For in his view, they all thrive on deception, without vision and without an eye toward a lasting legacy. “How else do you describe a person who has a singular opportunity to do the most good for the most people and instead choose to line his pockets and those of his immediate families?” he asked. To which I would always ask why he chose not to throw his do-gooder hat in the ring if he was so moved to benefit the masses. And he has never had to pause for a second before he came up with a response: “apparently you are in a hurry to do your job as the executor of my estate,” he would charge. “Then desist from your boring complaint,” I would fire back.

    Given my friend’s aversion to politics and disdain for the political class, I was shocked to the marrow when Opalaba called with excitement to report what he considered to be the transformation going on in Oyo State. No, he wasn’t prepared to change his mind about politicians; he just thought that the feat that he was witnessing came from non-political minds; not from career politicians. “If you think about it” he observed, “it takes the discipline of the intellect to have vision and it takes the courage of the mind to bring it to fruition. Not all dreamers have the intellect or the courage to realise their dreams.”

    Not too long ago, I wrote about the mess that Oyo State in general and Ibadan in particular had become. In “Anikura as political hero”, I raised the question why a city that was once the headquarters of the most amazing developmental programmes in the entire continent can be so messed up and its people so traumatised that they couldn’t find the strength to extricate themselves from the deadly grip of a cabal. That is, until the cabal, blinded by the appearance of its invisibility, and choked by its insatiable greed did itself in and it didn’t need much strength for the people to liberate themselves. They voted for change and real transformation. It appears that, at last, they’re having their prayers answered.

    Opalaba’s excitement was infectious but no one was going to play any prank on me. I wasn’t going to be fooled again, even by a honey-coated tongue as my friend’s. He told me about the new network of roads, drainage systems, the aesthetics of the medians, the neighbourhood markets. “What is more”, my friend added, “it is not just Ibadan that is being transformed; it is a state-wide approach”, he remarked.

    “Good for them. But I don’t trust you and I have to see to believe.”

    “You are a philosopher, aren’t you? You don’t have to believe anything, including your own existence. I am surprised that seeing will make you believe.”

    “I wish you don’t dabble into what you don’t understand and just stick to your stethoscope. For in that space, you are the king. At any rate, seeing does not only make me a believer, it makes me a knower. What my koro koro eyes perceive, I do not doubt.”

    And so, I headed for the pace-setter state to see for myself.

    Though I had thought that narratives of the developmental efforts going on in Oyo state can be exaggerated, what I saw in Ibadan was simply unbelievable. From Elizabeth Road to Mokola junction, I encountered no traffic jam! From Challenge to Yemetu, it was a smooth ride. Iwo road used to be a driver’s nightmare. With less than 20 km stretch, you could be held up for hours. My friends related their nightmare scenarios on the road. With only 5 km to their house, they once spent three hours before they managed to turn around to seek a longer route. Now the same road takes less than 20 minutes.

    That the road network has made life easier for the people is an understatement. But there are two other issues, one I confirm for myself and the other was brought to my attention by common eye witnesses. First, the aesthetic dimension of the project is commendable. Functionality may come at the expense of beauty. But in the case of what is going on in Ibadan, it is clear that the steady eyes on a lasting legacy have ensured that beauty must not be sacrificed for the practical. Second is the dimension of quality. I was informed by ordinary folks who observed the contractors as they toiled on the projects, ensuring that the drainage system was built to last, the median was solid and the space under the fly- overs were beautifully fenced in against miscreants and vandals. I am told that similar projects are picking up across the state from Oyo to Ogbomosho and Iseyin.

    When I first saw the demolition of stalls and shops in December, I worried what would happen if the government wasn’t able to speed up the project and complete the roads in good time. Now, I know what it means to have the will to utilise the resources at one’s disposal. I also worried about the displaced petty traders albeit with unauthorised stalls. Now I know what it means to be a sound planner and compassionate administrator. I drove to the new neighbourhood market in Challenge and I saw traders and marketers happy with their new lease on life. I understand that there are more such markets springing up in neighbourhoods throughout the city and across the state.

    The Yoruba people are talented with words and witty sayings for any occasion. Proverbs are for them the search engine for hidden treasures in conversation. They say, for instance, that an enemy never succeeds in capturing a well-endowed bush-rat. No matter how big an enemy’s catch looks, it is always going to be derided as a bony little lizard. I thought about this when I read an interview granted by a former governor of the state. Among other things, he was asked about his perception of the impressive transformation going on in the state. To which he gave a politician’s response: a facelift has to have a human face, he said. A facelift must be gradual, he added. In other words, if you have the means to transform the state in one full bloom, why do it? Why not stretch it out? Here’s the question that didn’t come up in the interview: “For how long would the former governor have stretched out an infrastructure transformation agenda? Another four years? And then wait for an additional four to be able to attract investors who now seem to be coming in droves already?

    In a sense, I concede that what Governor Ajimobi is doing is what good governance is all about. It is what is expected of anyone who presents himself or herself for public office. It is also true however, that in this clime, we have not always been fortunate to have governors who take seriously their pledge to serve the people and promote the people’s interests. When we see one, we are naturally pleasantly surprised. That was how the phenomenon of Babatunde Fashola and the transformation of Lagos, including the Atlantic City project, stunned us and impressed us. That the Southwest is going currently through a genuine transformation should be a thing of joy. Sustaining the current efforts and preventing the return of the anikuras is a task in everyone’s interest.

    On my part, now that I see with my eyes, and I know of the efforts made and the outcomes achieved, I bow my hat to the vision of Governor Ajimobi and his team. Of course, it is not finished and there’s more to do. O tun ku nibon n dun. And as long as the spirit of the last two years still sustains the team, we can expect more wonders.

    I kept my promise to report my findings back to Opalaba and I commended him for his truthful account of the ongoing-projects in the state. “It’s because you see that you believe. Blessed are those that didn’t see but still believe” my friend responded.” Even the devil is capable of quoting the scripture!