The Nation Newspaper

Category: Emmanuel Oladesu

  • Revisiting the ‘June 12’ struggle

    Revisiting the ‘June 12’ struggle

    It has been thirty-two since the June 12, 1993 presidential election was annulled. The pain remains in the heart of the Nigerian political history. The dashed hope of those who faced the fire to restore democracy after years of military dilly-dallying still hurts.

    Although some of the principal actors in the annulment saga have been consigned to the dustbin of history, their misadventure deeply threw many Nigerians in the throes of a rascal decision by a few megalomaniacs.

    But, as goes the Yoruba saying, a lie may travel for a thousand years, the truth will catch up with it in a single day. Those who indulge in prevarication only defraud themselves, and not their victims. From history, it is evident that the human conscience imposes the worst punishment on the guilty, especially deceitful leaders. They suffer a psychological burden. The cunning may savour gerrymandering in the beginning, but their lies will ultimately explode in their faces. It will birth an ignominy.

    The truth has finally demolished the edifice of falsehood erected thirty-two years ago on the quicksand of political machination. The truth was never hidden; only the facts were distorted.

    Truth and conscience have hunted the annuller, who wrecked a monumental havoc on the anxious country by dashing their hope of returning to civil rule through an election. It is a lesson to those in power. Those who loomed large in the past have now seen the vanity of life and the fleeting of power.

    Former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, IBB for short, has surrendered, at last. During the public presentation of his book, titled: A Journey in Service, on Thursday in Abuja, he admitted that the June 12, 1993 poll was credible, free and fair. The former leader acknowledged that the exercise conducted by the National Electoral Commission (NEC), chaired by the late Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, was transparent. But he did not apologise to the nation for annulling the election. To those you suffered bruises during the demonstration, IBB presented ‘A Journey in Deservice.’

    The former military leader, who prided himself as the Evil Genius, only admitted the gross error of canceling the results of the poll won by the late business mogul, Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, who ran on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). IBB confessed that he lied when he told Nigerians in a broadcast that the ballot box was abused by money. He also lied when he said the court misbehaved when it intervened in the political process.

    Babangida was not a neonate in 1993. He only took Nigerians for a ride as a lord of the manor.

    Nigerians had endured the over eight years of his political meandering. But the annulment was the turning point. The unwise decision destroyed the legacy of the charismatic General who forfeited a hallowed place in history through one moment of miscalculation.

    Many were taken aback when the gap-tooth General with fake smiles refused to vote on poll day. He avoided legitimising the credible process so that he could later have an excuse to abort the transition programme.

    The conspiracy was tick. It was the story of a great betrayal by soldiers of fortune who waged a war of licentiousness against the people. The toll was huge. The pain was deep. The scars have not healed. For families that bore the brunt, the agony has not eased.

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    The nation was enveloped in anxiety. Schools were closed for one year. Politicians were tossed around, banned, unbanned, and banned. The political class that had invested so much resources, time, and hope in the formation of 14 associations was thrown into disarray. All the political parties were proscribed. Then, two parties – the SDP and the National Republican Convention (NRC) – were imposed on them. The electoral procedures, from zero party council poll to the presidential election, were deliberately made Herculean. Then, diarchy was introduced. Those with guns and trembling civilians were lumped together in an inexplicable Transitional National Council that ran parallel to a superior Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC). Never have Nigerians been patient with a very challenging and elongated political experimentation. As the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, warned, when Nigerians imagined that the new dawn had arrived, they were woken up to a new transition nightmare.

    People voted for democracy, but the military served them with regrets and sorrows. The symbol of the struggle and his devoted wife, Kudirat, were murdered. The yearning for a new dawn became a mirage. In the end, 1993 became a year of wasted expectation and lost hope.

    In 1999, when civil rule was restored, the main inheritors of the gains of the struggle were the symbols of the military, ably supported by civilian collaborators who subverted the legitimate agitations.

    After five years of serious protest, the slogan of the battle changed, following the mysterious death of the election winner in detention. The people insisted that the military must just go. Nigeria ultimately entered the second phase of the struggle under IBB’s pre-determined successor, General Sani Abacha, the pretentious interim contraption headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, notwithstanding.

    Lamentably, the labours of pro-June 12 crusaders were in vain. But references would always be made to the contributions of the leaders and arrowheads of the campaigns at home and abroad. Many of them have passed on. But they left a memorial. Their survivors are still keeping hope alive, especially in this period of ‘Renewed Hope Agenda.’

    These leaders include Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Chief Bola Ige, Rear Admiral Ndubudi Kanu, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (incumbent President of Nigeria), Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Col. Dangiwa Umar, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Gen. Alani Akinrinade, Ayo Opadokun, Olu Falae, Frank Kokori, Fredrick Fasehun, Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Ayoka Lawani, Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Chief Ganiyu Dawodu, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, Olawale Oshun, Mohammed Arzika, Amos Akingba, Balarabe Musa, Ibrahim Tahir, Walter Carrington. Wahab Dosunmu, and the ‘Epetedo Declaration’ forces comprising Femi Lanlehin and Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Chief Segun Adegoke, Olisa Agbakoba, and Justice Dolapo Akinsanya, who declared the Interim Government illegal.

    The list is inexhaustible. The leaders of the titanic struggle suffered many bruises, particularly intimidation, oppression, repression, detention, and trials before many of them went into exile. In those days, killer squads were on a rampage. State-sponsored assassins were on the prowl. The fear of bombing was the beginning of wisdom.

    But, apart from these leaders, many demonstrators at home also paid the supreme price in the process of sustaining the campaigns. While some leaders abandoned the struggle for a morsel of porridge, many activists, students, and ordinary people faced the bullets and endured military tribulations to the end. Most of them are unknown and remain unsung in life and death.

    The interim government was another joke. It was the structure that filled the void after IBB reluctantly stepped aside. Its head, Shonekan, was initially given the title of ‘Head’ without the accompanying powers of Commander-in-Chief, a position held by Abacha, a tough nut, an impatient Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Joint Service Chiefs. After three months, the inept Head of the interim government was shoved aside. In a panic, he hurriedly vacated the Presidential Villa – more or less as an impostor.

    The battle became hotter as the maximum ruler, Abacha, unfolded his self-succession agenda. Scores of protesters died as soldiers opened fire on them on Ikorodu Road in Lagos in 1994. IBB was deceptive, though diplomatic and approachable. Abacha brooked no opposition. No fewer than 174 demonstrators were wounded. A year later, some students of Edo State University were killed by soldiers for asking for democracy.

    The military caged the media. But it was fruitless. Many editors became guests of intelligence agencies. Press freedom was curtailed. Up came guerrilla journalism, which was nevertheless, costly. The family of Bagauda Kaltho is still in deep lamentation that the body of the murdered journalist is yet to be found.

    Reflecting on the ordeals of the forgotten heroes of June 12, Oshun, the Third Republic’s House of Representatives Chief Whip, wrote in his book: The Open Grave: NADECO and the Struggle for Democracy: “Too bad today, those who died then are now remembered in figures than in name.” Their deaths were not less poignant than those of Chief Alfred Rewane and Kudirat as they too were murdered in cold blood by blood-thirsty operators of the dictatorship.

    Little is known about the brave Nigerians who agreed to serve as couriers, ferrying messages and documents across the border for pro-democracy movements. They were silent patriots who sustained the struggle, despite the risks.

    Some of them were intercepted. A case in point was that of Mr. Laiyemo, a personal assistant to Chief Cornelius Adebayo. He was bearing a letter from the former Kwara State governor to a friend when the military arrested him. He spent 36 months in detention.

    The same fate would have befallen Rev. Tunji Adebiyi, who was bearing a letter from Lagos NADECO leaders to Ajasin in Owo, Ondo State. He was caught in Maryland during a stop-and-search operation. It was Kudirat who made a passionate appeal for his release.

    Who remembers the man called Uncle Johnson, who was drawn from his retirement by Akinrinade to manage Radio Kudirat in exile, or the information technology expert, Gbolahan Olalemi, who installed and ran Radio Freedom in Nigeria, with all its attendant risks? Olalemi had the misfortune of being caught and detained. He was kept in an underground cell, flogged by soldiers, and even used as a bait to access Dapo Olorunyomi’s home in Mushin.

    During the dark period, Tinubu’s aides – Benson Akintola and Akeem Apatira – were picked up by security agents in 1994 and detained at the Federal Interrogation and Investigation Bureau (FIIB) at Alagbon in Lagos for three months. They were looking for information about Senator Tinubu, who had gone underground and later into exile.

    When soldiers stormed the Ikeja residence of Akingba, the former university don was nowhere to be found. They pounced on his nephew, Peter Ogunyamoju, who was detained at Alagbon. The military planted a bomb in the house; it exploded, killing Nelson Kassim and Dr. Omatsola.

    A NADECO chieftain, who had escaped abroad, Chief Ralph Onioha, was helpless as news got to him that one of his boys, Abayomi Kehinde, was arrested as a pro-democracy agent. Also, for having anti-military leaflets and posters, Abdulsalam Danladi was detained in Lagos between May and June 1998. Another June 12 traveller, Samuel Asogwa, was detained for three weeks for circulating pro-democracy posters and literature. He was charged with sedition.

    The same fate befell Ebun Adegboruwa, a lawyer in Gani Fawehinmi Chambers. He was detained between November 1997 and June 1998 “for being in possession of subversive documents”. His 75-year-old father was previously held in lieu of him for failing to honour a summons by the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI).

    A similar scenario played out in Ijebu-Ode where Ayomide Lijadu was arrested in place of her father, who had organised a rally to protest Kudirat’s assassination.

    Adegboruwa’s colleague at the Bar, Bamidele Aturu, was detained for a month because his client, Isaac Osuoka, had posters denouncing Abacha’s self-succession plan.

    For 18 months, Prince Ademola Adeniji-Adele languished in detention for his NADECO activism. Captured as a prisoner of war at Ibadan, Lam Adesina lost his freedom between May and June 1998.

    Between May 1995 and July 1998, Kunle Ajibade had the worst experience of his life. He was jailed 15 years for being “an accessary after the fact of treason” over a story by The News, where he was the editor.

    It was not the best of times for journalists. Chris Anyanwu lost her freedom between June 16, 1995, and June 15, 1998. She was charged before a military tribunal for accessory after the fact of treason. Her Sunday Magazine’s coverage of the phantom coup trials was infuriating to Abacha. She was initially jailed for life. Later, the sentence was commuted to 15 years.

    Another journalist, Moshood Fayemiwo, was detained for a year and seven months. His paper published materials that revealed the looting of the treasury by the military while also campaigning for the revalidation of the June 12 election.

    For Nosa Igiebor, it was a hell of a time. For seven months, he was detained. His offence was that his Tell magazine published a story exposing Abacha’s plan to ‘punish’ neighbouring countries that showed sympathy for pro-democracy movements.

    Labour activist Joseph Akinlaja was detained for days for partaking in “an illegal meeting” where bombing of oil refineries and depots were discussed and for being in a crowd of pro-June 12 crusaders.

    A soldier, Major Akinloye Akinyemi, was detained for four years for alleged coup plotting. But it was believed that he was picked up for being the younger brother of Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, a NADECO chieftain. The elder Akinyemi stayed in exile for four years.

    Eminent banker and politician Olabiyi Durojaye’s case was pathetic. He was detained for seven months. The reason was unknown. “They told me they were just directed to keep me here (detention),” he said.

    For declaring the Abacha regime illegal, Senator Polycarp Nwite was detained for one year. The NADECO member was accused of planting bombs. In 1995, Rev. Peter Obadan was also held for seeking the revalidation of the annulled poll.

    Others detainees include Prof. Omo Omoruyi, who was shot and wounded for calling for the revalidation of June 12; Babafemi Ojudu, for his anti-Agacha stance; Soji Omotunde for decrying dictatorship; Mrs. Iluyomade, wife of Gen. Iluyomade, and daughter, who lost a pregnancy in detention; Arthur Nwankwo, for harbouring anti-Abacha pamphlets; Olorunyomi’s wife, Ladi, held in lieu of her husband; 80-year-old Chief Solanke Onasanya, who was asked to explain what he did not do; Abdul Oroh, of Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO) for his links with Soyinka and pro-June 12 campaigns; Onome Osifo-Whiskey, for criticising Abacha; Bayo Osinowo, for his association with Abiola; Niyi Owolade, for anti-government May Day riot at Ibadan; Chima Ubani, for allegedly inciting Nigerians against the military government, and Lam Adesina, who became a prisoner of war.

    Others are: Nike Ransome-Kuti, Solomon Sobande, Emeka Ugwuoke – for circulating pro-democracy posters; Olusegun Mayegun, Popoola Ajayi, and Jerry Yusuf – for hijacking a plane in protest against the Interim National Government and calling for the restoration of Abiola’s mandate.

    Human rights leaders – Beko Ransom-Kuti, his brother, Prof. Olikoye Ransom-Kuti, Femi Aborisade, Chima Ubani, Joe Igbokwe, Olisa Agbakoba, Ayo Obe, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, Osagie Obayuwana, Felix Tuodolo, Debo Adeniran, Ima Niboro, Babafemi Ojudu, Bayo Onanuga, Akinola Orisagbemi (Personal Assistant to Mrs. Kudirat Abiola), Innocent Chukwuma, Bunmi Aborisade, and numerous activists under the banners of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), the divided Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Kayode Fayemi of Radio Kudirat, Lagos Justice Forum, June 12 Collective, the media, and he National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) made invaluable contributions to the struggle. The list is endless.

    Evidently, the restoration of civil rule was not achieved on a platter of gold. It was a collective enterprise involving the mighty, the low, and the suppressed masses: professionals, youths, students, artisans, peasants and the ordinary man in the street.

    Nigeria has witnessed a successful transition from civil to civil rule. The accompanied crisis and stress were also managed. But the fruits are inadequate.

    Asiwaju Tinubu was a great financier of pro-democracy activities at home and abroad. The onus is on him to reposition the country by building strong institutions, ensuring politico-electoral reforms, security, restructuring and restoration of federal principles and abolition of poverty, which was Abiola’s cardinal objective.

    If these goals are accomplished, then, the unsung heroes will heave a sigh of relief that the struggle was, after all, not totally in vain.

    Those who masterminded the reckless annulment for selfish reasons should be made to regret their action for life by giving the country good governance. But an effective government that works for all Nigerians is the best legacy to immortalise those who paid the supreme sacrifice in the June 12 struggle. This generation and the future ones deserve to have a better country the soldiers of fortune failed to bequeath to them. This is what the June 12 struggle stood for.

  • Royal transgressions

    Royal transgressions

    The traditional institution has existed since time immemorial. In Yoruba land – and many other parts of Nigeria – kingship is hereditary. A great attribute of monarchy is the permanence of tenure. Once they are installed, the Sultans And Emirs, Obas And Baales, Obis and Igwes, Shehus and Lamidos, Obongs and Amanyanabos hold the titles and the accompanying powers for life.

    In Yoruba land, monarchs are regarded as second-in-command or lieutenants to the deity (igbakeji obarisa). The throne is prestigious and honourable. It is revered and feared due to its perceived sacredness. Going to the palace evokes a sense of awe. It is not an ordinary place of abode. The chief occupant or tenant is an overlord – rich, powerful, and influential. In the days of yore, their words were laws.

    But traditional rulers are not God, howsoever they try to act as equal to the Supreme Being. They are only His representatives on earth and are expected to reign with the fear of the Almighty to whom they will ultimately account. While many monarchs have lived up to expectations, many have failed woefully through excessive use of their powers. Even in the days when monarchical powers were seen to be boundless because kings were allowed to decide on most matters (oba ba le ohun gbogbo – the monarch lords over all things), there were cases when the subjects found some royal decisions as transgressions. Such acts sparked conflicts between the kings and their subjects, or neighbouring communities.

    The latest example of a failed traditional leadership was recorded in Ogun State two weeks ago. A community head, Oba Abdulsemiu Ogunjobi of Orile-Ifo, was seen in a video assaulting one of his subjects, an octogenarian. The hapless victim was slapped, kicked, and cursed even while kneeling before the traditional ruler. He suffered the indignity of a man of low estate.

    Commendably, the government has risen to the occasion by taking up public complaints against the obvious royal misconduct. Promptly, the rascally oba was arrested and, according to reports, he is going to have his day in a court of law.

     What is happening to the Orile-Ifo traditional ruler should serve as a deterrent to others who delude themselves that they have the power of life and death over their fellow beings.

    While other traditional rulers are advancing the cause of their towns, Oba Ogunjobi indulged in what could have caused an affray had the man he was maltreating also disposed to violence and had his thugs resist the assault.

    From ancient times, the monarchy has been associated with despotism. Thus, in the beginning, the All-knowing and All-seeing God never wanted to appoint a king for the people of Israel. Samuel, a prophet and judge, also dissuaded them from insisting on kingship, warning that the king they earnestly yearned for would enslave them, confiscate their property, conscript their children to fight wars and impose taxation on the nation.

    The admonition was ignored, but the predictions came to pass. King Saul shunned God’s instructions during the Israel/Amalekite war. He was disrobed and rejected. He became dejected. He never bounced back.

    But King David, who succeeded him, also committed murder. When he was idling at home instead of going to war, he saw a beautiful woman, Bathsheba, while peeping through the window of his palace and, out of covetousness, forcefully had carnal knowledge with her. When she became pregnant, the king directed his Army chief to post the husband, Uriah, to the hottest area of the battlefield, where he died fighting. The king married Uriah’s widow.

    Like David, many ancient monarchs were also covetous. An example was King Ahab, who coveted the vineyard of Naboth, his subject. A greedy man, Ahab craved the inheritance of another man and raged when the owner objected. His wife, Jezebel, arranged the killing of the innocent farmer and the king took possession of a commoner’s property.

    Wicked rulers always have collaborators when they commit atrocities. Politically ambitious princes also rely on the counsel of their partners in crime to commit atrocities.

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    But the repercussions were grave. While the sword never departed the household of David, Ahab and his wife died miserably. Today, Christians are counseled to exorcise themselves of the Jezebel spirit. The mark of departure is that David repented.

    Many Old Testament Bible verses contain accounts of how kings committed evil acts in the sight of God. In the New Testament is another account of horror.

    John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod Antipas at the request of the king’s daughter, Salome. The prophet of God had criticised the king for marrying the wife of Philip, his brother. To the king, the request was awful. But he lacked the courage to decline. To save his face, the tetrarch sent soldiers to the prison to cut off John’s head. They brought it on a platter and gave it to the girl who took it to her mother.

    In the olden traditional Yoruba societies, despotic and barbaric rulers, at the height of their powers, seized the wives of other men by placing their legs on them (oba gb’ese le – the king has seized her). Others confiscated the farms and lands of their townspeople, claiming that all lands belonged to the king. Tributes were increased and vassal towns and villages that could not meet up faced wars.

    The Old Oyo Empire produced some wicked monarchs who wreaked havoc on the kingdom. In a display of naked power, Alaafin Majeogbe ordered his in-laws to be beheaded over his wife’s jokes about his smallish stature when she was scrubbing his back in the bathroom.

    Also, King Aole, ever blood-thirsty, ordered that the chief of the Apomu community be beheaded because he had offended him before he mounted the Oyo throne. Previously, he had sold his best friend into slavery. Later, he tricked his Army chief, Generalissimo Afonja of Ilorin, into waging war on Iwere-Ile, the hometown of the mother of Oba Ajagbo, who created the title of Aare Ona Kankanfo, and warned, with a curse, that any Generalissimo who attacked the town would die. Afonja discovered the folly and rallied other war chiefs to demand that the monarch be made to ‘open the calabash,’ the euphemism for committing suicide. At the point of his death, he cursed the Oyo Kingdom that it would be hit by wars while its people would be enslaved and their kith and kin would coexist in mistrust and disunity.

    Powerful chiefs also oppressed their tributaries. At home, they were terrors. His Supernal Highness Gaa, the Bashorun of Oyo, supervised the liquidation of three kings in a row on flimsy excuses. So were some Aremos (royal first-borns) who displayed a lot of rascality; killing, maiming, and depriving people of their belongings.

    Even, residents (ajeles) of Ibadan warlords also camouflaged as royals and violated the rights of the people in distant Yoruba county, seizing farms, crops, and animals. That of Okemesi-Ekiti, Adepetu, overstepped his boundary when he molested the wife of warrior-prince Fabunmi. He paid with his life. The chain of events heralded the 16 years of the Ibadan/Ekiti Parapo war.

    The inhumanity of monarch to their subjects continued till the days of colonialism. In Lagos, the war between Oba Kosoko and the prime minister, Eletu Odibo, was costly. In the battle for the throne, the head of kingmakers supported Akitoye against Kosoko, who took a woman who had been betrothed to him. A war ensued and Kosoko fled. Then, the Eletu Odibo arranged for the grave of Kosoko’s mother to be dug up and threw her remains into the Lagos lagoon.

    A naive Akintoye offered reconciliation by inviting his elder brother, Kosoko, from exile. It became his undoing. Kosoko waged a successful war, sacking Akitoye from power. He fled to Abeokuta, but Kosoko asked the Egba to send Akitoye’s head to him. They refused.

    But Eletu Odibo was captured in the battle and Kosoko avenged the scattering of his mother’s bones by the Eletu. He placed him in an empty oil barrel, sealed it, set it alight, and dumped it in the Lagos Lagoon.

    In Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba race, Prince Adesoji Aderemi’s wealth and fame brought him into conflict with the powerful Ooni Ademiluyi Ajagunlaforikan. His offence: he rode in a car on the streets of Ife. It was misinterpreted by foes who claimed that he was parading himself as the Ooni. The educated prince was severely punished. He was asked to prostrate on the same spot from sunrise to sunset. Aderemi endured the pain and humiliation. After the death of his tormentor in 1930, he succeeded him as monarch, and no monarch has been greater in Ife than Oba Aderemi, who became a federal parliamentarian, minister, and ceremonial governor of the defunct Western Region.

    At Efon Alaaye in Ekiti State, Oba Samuel Adeniran abducted a princess, Adediwura, for rituals, apart from tampering with the freedoms of religion, association, and worship. He was tried by the colonial authorities. The ugly event sadly ended the reign of the charismatic ruler.

    In the early 1950s, there was tension between uneducated obas and their educated and enlightened subjects, who rivaled them in politics. Thus, in Oyo, a political quarrel between Oba Adeniran Adeyemi II and a frontline lawyer and politician, Chief Bode Thomas, degenerated. Kabiyesi moved against the promising politician, who died mysteriously. The oba, who was highly respected by his people, was, nevertheless, dethroned.

    There are also good examples to emulate. There was the Deji of Akure, Oba Afunbiowo Adesida, a humble and honest man who could not hurt a fly. His son, Otutubiosin Adelegan Adesida, gentle like a dove; Olubadan Isaac Akinyele, President of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), who was an embodiment of good virtues; the Alaaye of Efon, Oba Lawani Aladegbemi, a Muslim who promoted religious tolerance and harmony in his community; his successor, Oba Dr. Adesanya Aladejare, a scholar of note who is very passionate about infrastructural and human capital development; Oba Omoniyi Abolarin, who has changed the Oke-Ila landscape through his unprecedented philanthropy; Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, a cultural nationalist; the Shehu El-Kanemi of Borno, an astute administrator and humble ruler; and the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar, a defender of the faith and the Caliphate.

    Other traditional rulers of note have impacted their domains with good leadership. The Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona, has rallied all Ijebus for development; the Loja-Oke of Okemesi, Oba Orimadegun Dada, who donated his family land for a secondary school project; Ewi Biritiokun Omoapanajare Anirare Aladesanmi, who left a memorial in Ado-Ekiti; Oba Akenzua II of Benin, who believed in the unity of the Yoruba race; and Papa Adeyinka Oyekan, the Eleko of Lagos, who was held in high esteem by all Lagosians.

  • PDP and its leadership crisis

    PDP and its leadership crisis

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) never anticipated the turn of events. Its leaders had confidently declared the party would rule for 60 years. They least expected the transmogrification that boxed it into the opposition corner. Now dazed, its leaders have been trying to pinch themselves into reality. But the more they try, the deeper they lapse into odious phantasm.

    The PDP seems to find more crises in resolving the self-inflicted confusion it created for its leadership. As its headship falters, the centre weakens further. Its administration has become a case study in party politics conflict resolutions.

    When the wind of change blew, an adjustment to reality became tedious. The transition to life outside power has been hectic. Left in the cold for 10 years running, the party is yet to put itself together. Its bane is a lack of unity, cohesion, and focus.

    However, the PDP cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand in many states, particularly in its strongholds, where it still has structures and can weather the storm. It will be risky for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to sleep on guard because it is now the ruling party at the centre. The reason more chieftains are defecting to APC is because it is the ruling party. They feel they have prospects of winning on the platform. APC should learn from the PDP’s mistakes and manage its achievements well.

    The founding leaders of the PDP are now on the sidelines. Many of them are old and contending with fading influence. At one point or the other, they were either pushed aside, emasculated, or frustrated out of the party. The majority of the current crop of the party’s leaders – governors, National Assembly members, and national officers – were too junior to the founding fathers in the hierarchical order. Between 1999 and 2003, many of them were SAs, SSAs, council chairmen, and state lawmakers. The party appears to be collapsing because its leaders are neglecting the old vision and agreement that once held the party together.

    The few active founding fathers are pretending as if nothing of such existed because upholding them would be detrimental to their interests. In the process of holding on to personal agendas, the collective interest is threatened.

    It is not a fitting tribute to the memory of PDP leaders, like Dr. Alex Ekwueme, that rotation or zoning of the presidential and national chairmanship slots was discarded by the current handlers of the party.

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    It is a tragedy that the formidable party chaired by progressive leaders, including Chief Solomon Lar and Chief Bola Ige, who wrote its constitution, now appears to be ebbing away.

    The PDP agreed to distribute six positions into six zones. These positions are: President, Vice President, Senate President, House of Representatives Speaker, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and the National Chairman of the party.

    Also, it was agreed that the offices should rotate between the South and the North. The aim was to foster unity, equity, justice, and a sense of belonging in the heterogeneous country.

    Once those agreements were breached in PDP, lots of problems arose.

    There was a political pollution at the beginning as the Generals who reluctantly surrendered power became the pillars of the edifice. Many of the founding fathers developed an inferiority complex in 1998/’98. After establishing the party, they started looking for an outsider to fly its presidential flag. Even, if General Olusegun Obasanjo was a silent PDP sympathiser, there existed well-known and competent civilians in the party who were qualified to run for President. But the retired soldiers who held the ace insisted on the former military head of state.

    As the ruling party, the PDP was beset by leadership instability. After it gained power, the party slipped into turmoil. As the President became the National Leader, the national chairmen became puppets. From 1998 to date, a spate of 27 years, the party has produced 17 national chairmen. Only one of them, Col. Ahmadu Ali, completed his tenure successfully. Many left the party chair worse than they met it. Today, no fewer than five former chairmen of the party are in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    PDP’s problem is worsened by its lack of leadership. Party leadership is beyond the National Working Committee (NWC). In this wise, the PDP has not borrowed a leaf from the pre-2019 APC, which, despite being an amalgam of struggling platforms, had a National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a man of immense stature who commanded the respect of all and sundry.

    In the PDP of today, there is no unifier. Its interim leadership does not command popular acceptance. Yet, the search for a credible alternative is problematic. The party’s elders are not in one accord. They are divided by antagonistic ambitions, conflicts of interests, and clash of egos. As the national leadership is bogged down by unresolved squabbles, many state chapters are also battling with sundry crises that appear intractable.

    The stunted growth of the PDP is a disservice to democracy. It robs the country of a critical alternative route and creates a void that cannot be filled by the crisis-ridden Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP); the latter party’s sphere of influence is highly restricted to Kano.

    PDP leaders work at cross-purpose as the platform wobbles towards 2027. Instead of collectively building the party, gladiators are building ambitions on private structures. Cracks are not mended. The organs of the party cannot reach a consensus on concrete ideas and future goals of the party. Many party stalwarts commit anti-party activities. They justify their actions and go unpunished. Thus, there is collapse of discipline.

    Reconciliation in the PDP is not built on altruism. It is cosmetic in nature because the sources of discord are ignored. Instead of facing the reality of partisan feuds and malice rooted in the unresolved crisis of 2022, party leaders are busy chasing shadows. It is ironic that as the Oyinlola peace panel swung into action, the intra-party crisis has escalated.

    Many things are disputed in the PDP. Its proposed convention is disputed. The NEC meeting has been repeatedly shifted. The party has failed to build a consensus on the choice of the next chairman, although the former occupant of the position, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, was shoved aside more than a year ago. The Deputy Chairman (North), Ambassador Umar Damagum, who has been steering the party’s affairs, does not enjoy the support and cooperation of all. He has survived the plots to remove him more than twice.

    Damagum has succeeded in obtaining a court judgment that validates his tenure as the interim leader till December. Yet, concerted efforts are on to pull the rug off his feet. He has to be vigilant.

    The Northcentral chieftains are agitating for the new chairman to come from the zone. There is no agreement on micro-zoning. Aspirants are locked in acrimony.

    The position of the National Secretary is also disputed. Senator Samuel Anyanwu lays claim to it. His challenger, Ude-Okoye, kicks, accusing the former Imo State governorship candidate of impersonation.

    Two weeks ago, their supporters stormed the party headquarters in Abuja to flex muscles. The police described them as thugs who invaded the meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT) to settle scores. Caution was thrown to the wind. The mob attacked chieftains and no one was ready to claim responsibility.

    Today, the Wadata House is not safe. BoT Chairman Adolphus Wabara and other party elders are keeping a distance from the party’s secretariat till further notice. They are taking precautions. On Wednesday, they relocated to Transcorp-Hilton in Abuja for their meeting.

    The PDP Governors’ Forum has threatened fire and brimstone. It recognised Ude-Okoye as the authentic National Secretary, to the consternation of an equally embattled Senator Anyanwu, who has been reminding the forum about the stay of execution of an Appeal Court judgment. A situation whereby the landlord packs out of his house is serious.

    Echoing the same sentiment and bias, the highest advisory organ took sides in the highly divisive and destabilising issue by throwing its weight behind Udeh-Okoye. This did not go down well with some party youths who rejected the position of the BoT, saying its gerontocratic advice was not binding. The youths pointed out that the tenure of many BoT members had expired.

    If there is a court judgment, the verdict should be obeyed. This conforms with the constitution and the rule of law. However, if there is a stay of execution, it should not be ignored either.

    The proxy war in the PDP should be carefully settled. The partisan rift between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Rivers State governor and current Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike started during the 2023 electioneering. What the party could not resolve was the zoning or rotational question. Instead of running to their party’s elders at home to seek their wise counsel, the party went ahead with Atiku as the presidential candidate and Ayu as the national chairman. It meant the old agreement, which Atiku and Ayu were witnesses to at the beginning, was violated.

    Younger elements who were not there when the agreement was made but who got to know about it, including Wike and other members of the ‘G5,’ protested. Reconciliation collapsed because the terms of the truce were jettisoned. As the aggrieved governors fought back, the PDP became weakened in some states. The APC saw the cracks and wooed the aggrieved for collaboration. PDP’s loss became APC’s gains.

    As a minister, Wike became a subject of envy, and his former colleagues in the PDP Governors’ Forum and new members of the group lacked a novel strategy for engaging the FCT minister.

    Treading the path of discord is disastrous. Anyanwu is being targeted for political liquidation at the party’s secretariat, being an associate of Wike. The court, and not the party, will determine his fate. Also, concerted efforts are on to pull the rug off the feet of Damagum. This can be done after December.

    As the party warms up for the March 13 National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, there is palpable anxiety among party leaders and members.

    Reconciliation is still the solution. But it should be genuine. It should be erected on the foundation of equity and justice.

  • Opeifa and the rail challenge

    Opeifa and the rail challenge

    A lot is expected of Kayode Opeifa, Doctor of Philosophy in Transport Management and Logistics and new Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

    His appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been widely applauded and described by many Nigerians who know him as the right man for the job. His achievements attest to this. He lived up to expectations in his previous public positions as Special Adviser on Transportation in Lagos State, Commissioner for Transport, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Transport Secretary, or Leader of the Presidential Task Team.

    President Tinubu is confident about his abilities and expertise in the transportation sector. Outside government, Opeifa has remained a transportation curator, canvassing initiatives and policies that can significantly improve public transport and traffic management. He has lent his voice to the imperative of decongestion for laying an effective foundation for rapid urban development.

    Opeifa’s appointment is obviously by merit. The workers and the two dominant unions – the Railway Workers Association and the Senior Staff Association – perceive the versatile NRC MD as a comrade in pursuing a well-ordered, egalitarian society.

    Expectations about reforms and revitalisation of the rail sub-sector are now high under the new ‘Mr. Railway,’ a workaholic who is always receptive to new ideas and knowledge, a dynamic public officer reputed for problem-solving in assigned duties.

    Transportation is crucial to socio-economic development. It is an important aid to boosting commerce. The easy and speedy movement of people, goods, and services through efficient modes of transportation attests to a great breakthrough and wonders of the modern world.

    It contrasts sharply with primitive times of immobility, risks and frustration of long treks and the use of monkeys with the constraints of limited distance and loads, unlike the modern period of railway, which Dr. Opeifa has now been mandated to develop, expand, fortify, reposition and strengthen by President Tinubu.

    A justification for the simultaneous development of the four forms of transportation – air, water, road, and rail – is that they are complementary to one another. In particular, railway has the capacity to lift the burden off the road in easing the movement of people and goods, thereby reducing the dangers and threats to road infrastructure by heavy-duty vehicles.

    The news helmsman is taking charge at a critical time. Like the phoenix, the railway has risen from the ashes. In the 1970s, ’80s, and early ’90s, it was the toast; it was very comfortable, reliable, efficient, cheap, and reassuring. Many eminent Nigerians had illustrious careers in the railways of old, which was a pride.

    However, the sub-sector later regressed into decay with obsolete equipment, dilapidated offices, and staff quarters becoming its symbols. The ugly development demoralised the workforce and eroded public confidence. The scenario depicted the poor maintenance culture that has crippled most public utilities.

    Read Also: IGP orders enforcement of third party insurance Feb 1

    Efforts by the preceding administration to restore sanity yielded some positive results. The sub-sector took on a new life and, gradually, Nigerians began to heave a sigh of relief. But the population has grown in geometric proportions, warranting the urgency for upgrading the facilities and expanding the routes.

    Then, reality dawned on the country that the revitalisation plan had to be considered along with concern for the safety of routes. It was said that nobody dared to stand before a moving train. That aphorism did not apply to terrorists. On March 28, 2022, the evil minds stopped a moving train from Abuja en route to Kaduna at Katari. They fired bullets at passengers, destroyed rail lines, damaged the train, and abducted many passengers.

    The destruction of the train was a huge loss to the country. For many months, there was panic, and rail stations became no-go areas. Respite, however, came after some months. Some suspects were apprehended and sanity was restored.

    A heavy responsibility thus rests on the shoulders of the new Managing Director. He is in a familiar terrain, having served as a board member of the corporation. He has the background experience, and the benefit of hindsight is a vital asset. But he is expected to deliver beyond expectations.

    Opeifa is expected to upgrade the outdated railway system. This implies rehabilitating old lines and expanding the facilities to improve connectivity. Improved connectivity would boost commerce and foster anticipated economic integration.

    During its dark period, many Nigerians dismissed the NRC for being an inefficient organisation. The public perception diminished the confidence reposed in the corporation. The onus now lies on the MD to erase these negative perceptions about the NRC and its train services. The transformation of the railway should make the services more reliable, punctual, and customer-friendly. Also, the fear of Nigerians about unsafe routes should be addressed. To minimise risks, dilapidated infrastructure should be replaced. Decayed ones should give way. But there should be synergy with security agencies to ensure the safety of the trains and passengers.

    The NRC should not be a money-spinning corporation alone; it should be financially sustainable. Wastages should be curtailed. Loopholes should be plugged. Ticket racketeering should never rear its head again. It has been alleged that despite the electronic ticketing, unscrupulous workers in some stations still manage to smuggle passengers onto the train, collect the money, and pocket it. Grafts should be nipped in the bud.

    The corporation should not be allowed to slip into a cesspit of corruption. Nigerians expect the new management to put on its thinking cap and devise strategies for expanding the revenue base of the corporation without hiking fares that may constitute an additional burden to passengers. It is worrisome that the NRC currently contributes between two and three per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    On Thursday, Opeifa averted a strike the workers’ union was planning to embark on. The MD specially requested the union to apply the brakes, assuring its leaders that he would fight for their welfare as a rights activist. The workers agreed not to embark on an industrial action because they believe that Opeifa will work in harmony with them.

    Although he said at the handover ceremony that he would later unfold his vision and mission, Opeifa’s inaugural speech attempted to address the challenges confronting the “oldest and most impactful” transport corporation in the country. He promised to add value to the institution by repositioning it to fulfill its responsibility to Nigerians under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

    Achieving the 25-year Strategic Rail Modernisation Plan is among the goals of the new management.

    Opeifa has identified 19 priority areas. These are: security of lives and properties, modernisation and expansion, increased connectivity, service excellence, capacity building, inter-agency and inter-regional cooperation, project completion, private sector participation, improvement of commercial operations, and contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Others are collaboration for service delivery, staff welfare, union relations, inter and multi-modal mobility, rail economy, job creation and skills acquisition, sustainability, and environmental protection, as well as strategic communication and media relations.

    Of the 19, two stand out. The first is collaboration for growth and development; partnership with the regional development agencies for the actualisation of the various regional rail systems and service master plans.

    The second is the rail economy. Opeifa said the railway should encourage tourism, link people to jobs, link farm produce to economic and activity centres and improve  national logistics and supply chain management.

    The real challenge is funding for ongoing projects.

    Private partnership for successful operations has to be considered. Experience has shown that private sector participation always yields better results. A great lesson should be learnt from the relative success of the aviation sector. However, the government must provide an enabling environment. Regional rail initiatives and federal/regional cooperation are also critical to growth in the sector.

    In five years, there will be an assessment of how far Opeifa has been able to transform the Nigerian railway. The hands of the clock have started ticking.

  • Need for royal reconciliation in Oyo Alaafin

    Need for royal reconciliation in Oyo Alaafin

    Royal scramble and squabble have been key elements in traditional succession politics in Yoruba land since immemorial. Wherever you look across the Southwest, you find traces of dissensions among contenders for a royal stool. Therefore, the stiff competition for the stool of Alaafin of Oyo is not new. The imbroglio is not peculiar to the ancient town. The acrimony is similar to the experiences of other towns with vacancies to fill their thrones.

    Four factors usually account for the bitter struggle in Oyo.

    First: The Alaafin is perceived as the first among equals in Yoruba land. In his October 15, 1881 letter to colonial Governor W. B. Griffiths, imploring him to intervene in the armed conflict between Ibadan and Ekitiparapo, Oba Adeyemi I described himself as “king of Yoruba” and his claim was not disputed, not even by Derin Ologbenla, Owooni (and Baale of Okeigbo). His forefathers ruled the Oyo Empire. Therefore, the Alaafin is a highly revered and prestigious title.

    Two: The Alaafin was the only ruler who presided over a vast empire comprising most Yoruba towns. His soldiers at Ibadan saved the Yoruba from invasion and subjugation by the Fulani forces, particularly the Emir of Ilorin who wanted to “dip the Qur’an in the sea”. Historians have always recalled the titanic battle at Osogbo, which frustrated the invaders’ plan. It is not out of place for the Alaafin to call himself the defender of the race.

    Three: It is the right of Oyo princes to aspire for the exalted throne whenever there is a vacancy. Only a few princes, like the Adesiyen, would decline if the opportunity arise. Adesiyen declined due to old age and illness. Over time, the royal house has grown in leaps and bounds as sections have evolved according to the order of births. Thus, the contest is stiff.

    Four: Apart from the prestige, the throne is a guarantor of permanent wealth, prosperity and invaluable privileges.

    In the days of yore, tributes (isakole) enriched the king, his wives, children and high chiefs who assisted him in ruling the kingdom. Today, the five per cent allocation to the palace from the councils fills the void. Therefore, the legitimate contest is highly competitive and rewarding. Naturally, it is a winner-takes-all.

    However, the onus is on the winner of the crown, Oba Abimbola Owoade, to set an agenda for reconciliation. The peace moves should be in layers. There is a need for reconciliation between the oba and the divided Oyomesi, the kingmakers and traditional ministers under His Supernal Highness, the Basorun, the traditional prime minister. This is important because they would play important roles in the coronation rites.

    The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has insinuated that members of the Alaafin-in-Council received gifts from a contestant, and it appeared that some problems ensued while sharing the gifts. The gifts were in the form of currencies, as alleged, unlike in the days of yore when aspirants gave out cowries, lands, crops, domestic animals, expensive clothes, and beads, and made promises to dispense favours, including giving their daughters in marriage to the families of the high chiefs, in a demonstration of gratitude.

     What may have been uncritically confused as bribes in some quarters could have been customary proceeds from guided selection politics before ifa divination stepped in to separate the wheat from the chaff.

    There is also an urgent need for a truce between Oba Owoade and other aggrieved members of the Adelu Agunloye royal family, who are his kith and kin, particularly the ardent supporters of his arch-rival, Gbadegesin Ladigbolu. The Alaafin is the father of all in Oyo, but he occupies the stool on behalf of the extended family of royals, nobles, and aristocrats. He is first and foremost a prince from the royal house before becoming the property of the ‘kingdom’.

    It is not new that the struggle has shifted to the court. The legal fireworks may be prolonged due to the slowness of the judicial system unless there is an accelerated hearing. Oba Owoade is fortified by the singular fact that he was a prince before ascending the throne, and his anticipated triumph at the temple of justice may be predicated on his inalienable right to the prestigious throne, like other princes.

    After the court case, the monarch would still need to reconcile with the rival, who the crown has eluded, as a matter of courtesy. This is a very challenging matter, more so when the Yoruba tend to believe that people do not renew friendships after a bitter court case.

    Embarking on reconciliation demands humility, courage, self-sacrifice, and abnegation. It is an attribute of leadership that would assist the Gen-Z monarch to stabilise and expand the scope of partnership required for propelling the town to progress.

    The people of Yoruba land also look forward to a synergy between the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and Alaafin Owoade as the two foremost monarchs in the Southwest who are expected to liaise with other monarchs of Egba, Ijebu, Yewa, Awori, Ijesa, Ekiti, Akoko, Ikale, Ilaje, Lagos, Agbadarigi, Popo, and Ajase in strengthening the bond of unity and defending the collective interest of the race. The old acrimony between past Ooni and Alaafin cannot reoccur because of the peaceful steps Oba Ogunwusi has taken in visiting Oyo.

    It is a new era in Oyo. The death of Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III marked the end of an era. He was the link between the old times and the new dispensation, characterised by the rise of educated kings who had to lead the ancient town to adapt to modern realities.

    Read Also: Protesting Oyo royal family welcomes new Alaafin, seeks implementation of 1976 declaration.

    It is doubtful if the old pattern of rites and rituals can be rigorously followed in placing the monarch on the throne. For example, if any Alaafin-elect is to pick Igba Iwa, he has to follow a guided process in this modern time, with the assistance of the wise ones.

    In the olden days, the Igba Iwa was said to contain two separate covered calabashes with similar shapes and sizes and identical decoration. They were brought before the oba-elect to pick his choice: one contained cowries (money), cloth, and beads, indicating a happy and prosperous reign. The other contained gunpowder, bullets, razors, knives, miniature spears, and arrows, indicating wars and turmoil.

    In his book, History of Yorubas, Samuel Johnson, a cleric and historian, recalled that Oba Adeyemi I chose the latter and his choice determined the fate of the Oyo Empire. His reign was full of tension. The climax was the 16 years of protracted wars between Ekiti/Ijesa and Ibadan, which led to the loss of Yoruba independence to the British interlopers.

    Also gone with the wind was the ‘crowning’ of the first son as ‘Aremo.’ In those days, Oyo produced reckless ‘Aremos’ who were despots, although some good ones also succeeded their fathers as Alaafin by popular acclamation.

    Those conditions that permitted the allotment of duties to an Aremo no longer exist in this modern era.

    The selection of the new Alaafin has confirmed the split in the Atiba lineage. It also affirmed the trend of rotation between the two extended families of Adeyemi Alowolodu and Adelu Agunloye, which were once a single family through their progenitors – Adelu and Adeyemi – being the direct children of Alaafin Atiba.

    In the final analysis, there is only one ruling house in Oyo, the split notwithstanding.

    Atiba had many other children, whose descendants may still be recognised as princes but have not been privileged to occupy the throne. These are the offspring of Adelabu, Adesiyen, Adediran, Adejumo, Olawoyin, Tele Agbojuloogun, Ala, Adewusi, Adesetan I and II, Adeleye, Adedotun, Afonja, Agborin, Tela Okitipapa, Ogo, Momodu, Adesokan, and Adejojo.

    Those who occupied the throne were not insulated from troubles. While Adelu, the Crown Prince, was widely tipped as the successor to Atiba, he was rejected by Are Ona Kankanfo Kurumi of Ijaye, who insisted that the Aremo should die with his father. It led to a war. Assisted by Ibadan forces, led by Balogun Ibikunle, the Alaafin won.

    Adelu’s death sparked a succession crisis. His crown prince, Amubieya Agogo-Ija, could not succeed him.

    Following the rift, Amubieya left for Ibadan, hosted by Aare Asubiaro Latosa, the then ruler of Ibadan. But after the demise of Adeyemi I, he returned home to be crowned the Alaafin.

    He ruled for six years, between 1905 and 1911. His children were Siyenbola Ladigbolu, Lawuwo, Agboin, Tella, and Owoade, the grandfather of the current inheritor of the throne.

    Agogo-Ija was succeeded by his son, Ladigbolu I, who was succeeded by Adeniran Adeyemi, son of Adeyemi I, who ran into political turbulence. After the removal of Adeyemi 11 in 1955, Bello Gbadegesin (Ladigbolu II) ascended the throne. He died in 1968 and a protracted tussle ensued between Sanda Ladepo and Lamidi Adeyemi 111, who eventually triumphed. He reigned for 52 years.

    It is now the time of Oba Owoade. The young prince is fulfilling his destiny. Having inherited the throne, he should be more condescending.

    His predecessor, Adeyemi 111, set a standard. He should strive to surpass it. May God give the new monarch the wisdom, like King Solomon, to reign in Oyo with the fear of God, and may his reign usher in a new era of peace, progress, and prosperity for the ancient town.

  • Transience of power (2)

    Transience of power (2)

    Power is alluring. Public office at whatever level is captivating. At any gathering, the presence of men of power and influence is usually electrifying. Power opens doors; power is the key to the doors. Indeed, power is the door.

    But the exercise of power could also entrap. It could become risky for those who allow power to corrupt them and draw the wool across their eyes. The first casualty of power is humility. It takes wisdom for those in authority to appreciate that power is ultimately transient and that no condition is permanent. Even kingdoms and empires have expiry dates.

    When a man falls from the Olympian heights of power, discerning mortals take caution; they heed the mute echoes of precaution. The lessons are plenty for those willing to learn. Learning, as it is said, implies a change in behaviour due to experience or exposure.

    Also important are the psychological tools of realistic self-assessment and public perception of those who exercise power and authority. Wise leaders always avoid getting themselves used by power instead of using it for all good.

    Lagos State has produced five Speakers – Olorunnimbe Mamora, Joko Pelumi, Yemi Ikuforiji, Mudashiru Obasa and Lasba Meranda. If Obasa had learnt useful lessons from the fate of two of his predecessors, perhaps, he would have been wiser. Pelumi, a lawyer, was kicked out after two years. Ikuforiji spent 10 years as a Speaker only to spend the next 10 years answering charges in court. Up to now, there seems to be no respite in sight.

    Those who survive in politics are rated as assets, but those who fall are perceived as liabilities. In some settings, it is always difficult to rise after a fall from power. This is the reason those wielding the power of incumbency should tread softly because theirs is a more slippery ground than that of the people they lead.

    Perhaps, Obasa now understands the meaning of reality. He had jetted to the United States, obviously with pomp, as Speaker. Disrobed in absentia, he will now be returning to the hallowed chamber, not as the presiding officer, but as a floor member, having been rejected by his colleagues and majority of party leaders.

    A month ago, a vote of confidence was passed in him by all the lawmakers, but the same lawmakers have drawn the curtains on his tenure as Speaker through an impeachment. He had his eyes on the Governor’s Office in 2027, so it was said. In the first month of 2025, the ambition collapsed like a pack of cards. His flame of ambition suddenly flickered into a nightmare.

    The handwriting was boldly on the wall; perhaps, the former Speaker chose to ignore it. Obasa’s sins include the delay in passing the budget and screening of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) members. Open confrontations with colleagues who are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and his disdain for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu have never gone well with key party leaders. The media report on the feud between Obasa, who wielded the big stick, and his four colleagues – who were made to crawl before him – drew negative attention to the Lagos Assembly.

    Obasa had suddenly announced the removal of two principal officers of the Assembly: Chief Whip Rotimi Abiru (Somolu II) and Deputy Majority Leader Olumiyiwa Jimoh (Apapa II) and pronounced indefinite suspension on two other members – Moshood Oshun, now a federal legislator, and Raheem Olawale. The offices of two of the lawmakers were sealed on the order of the erstwhile Speaker.

    Read Also: Normalcy returns to Lagos Assembly after Obasa’s impeachment

    The Governance Advisory Council (GAC) leader, Prince Oluyole Olusi, was inundated with multiple complaints about the cracks in the House. He reasoned that the timing was bad, as it coincided with the period some party stalwarts were plotting to remove the then National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, in bad faith.

    Olusi felt that insinuations might be made that the Lagos APC had also been seized by internal contradictions and a self-inflicted crisis. He berated the lawmakers for their insensitivity. In his view, if the crisis persisted, it would be illogically interpreted as an implosion in Tinubu’s Lagos political base by “frenemies” who deliberately planned to blow the matter out of proportion. Also, the former state chairman of the party, Tunde Balogun, reiterated that the punishment was too harsh because the lawmakers were loyal party members. Nevertheless  suspended lawmakers were not allowed to return to their principal offices.

    In the last five years, evidence of friction between Sanwo-Olu and Obasa abounds. This is known to the party leadership and other stakeholders. The former Speaker had always shunned most state functions, fueling the feeling of ruptured Executive/Legislative relations. The governor has been absorbent and reticent about the brickbats the erstwhile Speaker had been hurling at him in the public glare. The public was not unmindful of the governor’s uncommon maturity and philosophical calmness. Sanwo-Olu never allowed the direct parliamentary onslaught to cause any distraction in his focused style of governance. He demonstrated top-notch leadership traits.

    The miniature gap in the list of commissioner-nominees was capitalised upon due to the fugacious uproar it initially generated in some local governments. To observers, the sensitive issues could have been ironed out indoors in an atmosphere of brotherhood. But the list was thrown out in mockery and an unnecessary tension was created between the community of politicians and comity of technocrats. The former Speaker, in a derisive manner, created a scene in social media where he made unguarded statements against the governor.

    The drama in the House during the budget presentation was an eyesore. That day, cordiality was thrown overboard the ship of camaraderie. It was as if Sanwo-Olu and Obasa came from different political parties. The governor’s advance party was dazed when it discovered that the parliament was not welcoming. When the lawmakers arrived, the usual conviviality was absent. Although they are not cultists, the honourable members appeared in customised dark goggles. They did not accord the state Chief Executive the conviviality he deserved on such an auspicious occasion. It was a raw deal he got instead, something akin to what is called in parliamentary parlance the treatment of a “stranger”.

    Sanwo-Olu walked in, like an ordinary figure, while a lawmaker was making a speech. The lawmaker tried to pause; the Speaker beckoned on him to continue. The ‘Budget of Sustainability’ was delivered in an atmosphere of obvious discord.

    After the House had passed an imaginary vote of confidence in the Speaker, he made a fairly long speech, which implied the arrogance of power and parliamentary recklessness.

    It was one moment of intimidation, ignorance, rascality and failure. The former Speaker likened the Lagos House of Assembly to “a sanctuary and temple.” Obasa said no one would violate any temple and expect the gods to accept his or her sacrifice. He added: “If such happens, there must be an appeasement to the gods to accept such atonement. This institution remains resolute. We will never be disgraced, abused, or ridiculed in the name of creating a seamless working ambiance.”

    Then, discarding any kind of pretensions or diplomacy, the ex-Speaker retorted: “Those who live in glass houses must not throw stones, as the saying goes. This also brings to my mind, according to our people: eni ba yara l’oogun ngbe – meaning: the god of iron aids the swift).”

    The interpretation any observer would give the statement is: “Attack is the best form of defence.

    Then, Obasa spoke on his governorship aspiration, which he said he had not given serious thought to, despite the complaints by “blackmailers”, “detractors” and “naysayers,” who he claimed had distorted facts and “misconstrued” his intention. He said the focus of his mobilisation was to build support for the Lagos APC on the platform of Mandate Caucus, a rival to the older and influential “Justice Forum”.

    Obasa boasted that “nevertheless, that does not mean I am too young or lack the experience to run,” adding that after all, “those who have been before me are not better off”.

    Many were taken aback because those who have been elected governors of Lagos are: Lateef Jakande, Michael Otedola, President Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode, and Sanwo-Olu. Past military governors are: Brig-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson, Col. Adekunle Lawal, Admiral Ndubusi Kanu, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, Group Captain Gbolahan Mudashiru, Admiral Mike Akhigbe, Brig-Gen. Raji Rasaki, Brig-Gen. Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa.

    To critics, who alleged that Obasa was trying to rent a family through bribery, he said: “I do not need local validity to contest or run. If eventually I am contesting, I will do so from Agege.”

    The outburst was the last straw. The Party Leader reportedly lamented that an emperor had emerged in the Lagos Assembly. Also, the GAC suddenly realised that the privilege of a long tenure as head of the legislature had been abused. On that note, Obasa’s days were numbered as Speaker.

    But the impeachment is not the end of the matter. The burden of labelling and indirect ostracism is real. It may lead to adjustment difficulties due to the sudden status change and loss of treasured privilege as a power broker. Already, there is a predictable threat to his structure, and it is unlikely Obasa would be relied upon by the party as their Agege pointsman.

    The erstwhile Speaker would need to be reconciled with the governor, who has said he has no hands in the removal of the embattled lawmaker. Obasa also needs to appease the party elders who felt that he had disrespected them by disrespecting the governor. 

    His colleagues have said he was sacked due to alleged gross misconduct: misappropriation of funds, high-handedness, and lack of transparency in the management of the Assembly’s affairs. Therefore, the former Speaker also needs to mend fences with his colleagues whose support and forgiveness would facilitate his adaptation to his new role as a floor member of the House.

  • John Mahama’s second coming

    John Mahama’s second coming

    Nigeria has a lot to learn from Ghana. In the last two decades, the country has savoured credible, transparent and democratic elections that have rekindled citizens’ faith in civil rule.

    No political process is perfect, but some enduring democratic features, if emulated, could consolidate popular rule. That has been the experience of the 68-year-old independent country.

    Of course, Ghana also has many things to learn from Nigeria. Under the corrective Tinubu administration, Nigeria is taking bold socio-economic reforms that would yield enormous dividends across the sectors for the citizens.

    Unlike in Nigeria, the key political actors in Ghana have invested confidence in the electoral process and its capacity to throw out and throw up leaders. This underscores a level of democratic maturity. The implication is that the institution is developing and waxing stronger, and the virile political culture is stable with minimal tension.

    Ghanaians have learnt to restrict the battle for presidential power to the ballot box, instead of filing frivolous petitions at tribunals or courts against rivals after the polls, despite the substantial compliance with the Electoral Act, the constitution and due process. Those who lost elections in Ghana have not resorted to vulgarity and uncouth language, unlike in Nigeria where sore losers become vindictive and pedestrian.

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    The masses, who constitute the majority of voters, are conscious of their obligations to themselves and the country. Thus, if a ruling party misbehaves, its misdemeanour is not overlooked. It would face a severe penalty on polling day. There is no remedy. The opposition takes its place.

    Sixty-six-year-old John Mahama, who bounced back during the week as Ghanaian leader, had seen the ups and downs of politics in his country. He has passed through the process that threw him up, rejected him, and reaccepted him.

    As vice president, he succeeded the lawyer and scholar, Prof. Atta Mills, who died in office. After spending the residue of the tenure, he contested for the highest office and won. But, he was rejected four years later because he failed to meet public expectations.

    After failing at the poll, he never rocked the boat. He accepted defeat, returned to the drawing board, strategised, and kept hope alive. Eight years later, he threw his hat into the ring and defeated former President Nana Akufo-Addo’s anointed candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

    It is interesting that the candidate of the ruling party also accepted defeat. He put the nation first instead of dragging his people into a crisis or invading social media with miscreants to discredit or pull down the process.

    The Ghanaian President was barely two years old when the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah governed with a latent ambition to make his country a model in Africa. A nationalist and an ideologue, Nkrumah felt he could make progress under a one-party system. He set Ghana on the path of steady progress. However, the first Ghanaian President was not sensitive to the overly ambitious and murderous soldiers of the time. When Nigeria’s Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was violently toppled and killed on January 15, 1966, Nkrumah lampooned the Nigerian incident. A month later, the same tragedy befell him while he was outside the country.

    Like Nigeria, the military started to toss Ghanaians around. There were harvests of coups and counter-coups among top military officers – Joseph Ankrah, Akwasi Afriffa, Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, and Jerry Rawlings – leading to intermittent displacements of civilian rulers, like Kofi Busia and Hilla Liman. The country started enjoying stability from Rawlings through John Kufuor to Mills, Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo.

    Yet, during that period, Ghana continued to play a leading role in the African Union, formerly the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and in mediation and conflict resolutions in Nigeria. During the civil war, General Ankrah hosted the Nigerian Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, and the Biafran warlord, Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, for a peace conference.

    But Ghana ran into economic turbulence from the late 1970s to the late ’80s and many able-bodied youths – professionals and other experts – fled the country. Many stormed Nigeria to eke out a living. They were industrious and never violated the rules of descent where they sojourned. It was ironic. In the 1950s and 1960s, many Nigerians who had relocated to the Gold Coast came back with fortunes, skills and opportunities.

    But Ghana soon lapsed into decay, mainly created by political adventurism. As the topsy-turvy reared its ugly head, Jerry Rawlings led a blind and bloody revolution, sweeping away past leaders who allegedly contributed to the economic and political adversity. Rawlings and his Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) first ruled for 112 days and arranged the execution by firing squad of eight military officers, including Generals Kotei, Joy Amedume, Roger Felli, and Utuka, and the three former heads of state – Acheampong, Akuffo, and Afrifa.

    Opinion is divided on the violent approach. Many leaders across the world condemned the execution. Ghana, it must be noted, took off from that clean break from the past.

    As from 2000, Ghana started rebuilding. It tried to embrace international best practices in re-setting its critical sectors. The country attempted to curb corruption. It also fought an infrastructure battle with a measure of success. Security of life and property became a priority. Its education sector became a reference point to the extent that many Nigerian parents started sending their children to schools in Ghana, and, above all, the sanctity of the ballot box was restored.

    On account of these, some investors tried to turn attention to Ghana; a few relocated to the country. Although the size of the Ghanaian economy could not surpass the potentials of what Lagos State had, Ghana, a country of four main regions and other settlements, appeared more serious to teach Nigeria a few lessons. It was because Ghanaian leaders attempted to build, rebuild and strengthen their institutions, particularly those of democracy. Instructively, when he visited Ghana, former United Stpates President Barack Obama, who never visited Nigeria, urged Ghana to sustain the tempo. He fired salvos at Nigeria, which he dismissed as a country of graft.

    With the situation today, Mahama could be said to be returning to an unfinished business in a country that is full of hope. He is returning to power and to a big responsibility. There is a need for him to build synergy with the parliament, whose cooperation he will need to drive his reforms. The legislature and the executive should cooperate and achieve more for the country but must be guided by the principle of separation of powers and the accompanying checks and balances.

    The country has not been insulated from the hard times. Incomes are shrinking. Towards the end of last year, inflation in Ghana rose to 23.0 per cent.

    In the past, the country suffered from military coups, political instability and jihadist insurgencies. Now, an economic crisis is staring the people in the face. The number of the jobless is soaring in geometric proportion. The nation thirsts for economic and constitutional remedies.

    Expectedly, Mahama, having dissected the challenges, has also proposed solutions to guide his policies and programmes in the next four years. The four critical areas of his administration are economic restoration and stabilisation, improvement of the business and investment environment, governance and constitutional reviews, as well as accountability and war against corruption. It means that the critical infrastructure for guaranteeing the ease of doing business should be in place. These include stable electricity, a modern road network, investment-driven policies, equitable justice, and the absence of political tension.

    The Ghanaian leader is not inheriting a dilapidated economy, despite the long-lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the peculiar cost-of-living crisis, the resort to bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the sovereign debt default.

    Being an experienced president in whom much trust and confidence have been reinvested, Mahama would be under pressure to deliver on his campaign promises. The onus is on him to restore trust in government.

    Africa, with its vast arable land, should not be hit by food shortages or inflation. The neglect of agriculture is proving costly to the continent. Africa needs to have a deliberate programme designed to boost agriculture. Food security should be prioritised in the overall consideration for a comprehensive national security programme. Mahama should bear these imperatives in mind.

    Nigeria and Ghana have cordial relations which predated the pre-colonial days. It should be sustained. Ghanaian and Nigerian leaders should defend democracy in Africa and continue to insist that coups are old-fashioned and military regimes are outdated.

    In the days of colonialism, Nigeria and Ghana were a pair in the struggle for independence. Successive leaders of the two countries have maintained cordiality. It was, therefore, sad that a few years ago, many law-abiding Nigerians resident in Ghana became victims of inexplicable, subtle, persistent and violent xenophobic maltreatment.

    In particular, Mahama has personal ties in Nigeria. He has been hosted by four towns – Offa, where he is a chief; Ilorin, where he has delivered a convocation lecture; Ado-, where he has fans in the government and among other Ekiti notables; and Lagos, where he is perceived as a friend of Bourdilion, the power house and indomitable centre of influence.

    The Ghanaian President is endowed with interpersonal skills. He is affable and his attitudes generate unconditional positive regard to many statesmen on the African continent and beyond, as evident in the attendance at his inauguration as the country’s 12th president. The diplomatic friendliness could be rewarding in boosting cordial relations

    Many Nigerians wish him success, hoping he would not allow any crack in his administration. Besides, Nigerians pray for him not to have a gulf between his people’s expectations and the realities that lurk in the corners of inevitabilities in the next four years.

  • Remembering Rotimi Akeredolu

    Remembering Rotimi Akeredolu

    HE fought all his life’s battles with courage. Highly principled, focused, and goal-oriented, he was also a believer in the power of ideas. Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu governed with patriotism and candour. Unfortunately, he could not overcome the protracted illness that slowed him down in his tasks.

    Only God decides who survives an illness. The Alpha gives life; He also takes life as He wills. It’s ironic that while his beloved wife survived cancer, a rare divine mercy, the man did not. His body succumbed to the malignancy of the disease. It was painful. But who can question the Creator?

    A year after his passage, Akeredolu, fondly called Aketi, still fills the consciousness of all those who survived him: the family, the Bar, the party, and the government. He is remembered as an activist who used the instrumentality of law and the judicial system to fight for personal and societal causes.

    The deceased governor of Ondo State is remembered for his contributions, first and foremost, to the legal profession. In politics and good governance, he also left indelible feats. As the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), he made impressive marks and left worthy legacies. He got to the top as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a Life Bencher.

    Akeredolu was poles apart from politicians without a second address, the clan of those who perceive politics as an occupation of economic and social value. To him, politics was a vocation and an avenue for service to society.

    His first stint in government was during the military regime when he served as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State. It was short-lived. However, as the ballot box battle shifted to the court in this dispensation, Akeredolu was among the legal colossuses who fought to restore stolen mandates across the country through the courts.

    He was not a strange face when he finally threw his hat into the ring in 2011. He was more than a new breed; he was already a household name, a legal luminary who could not be ignored, a man of great stature in the society.

    But his first political baptism showed that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate was a political novice whose huge legal knowledge and experience proved inadequate as he unsuccessfully locked horns with a more versatile, more experienced, and more fortified Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP).

    Those he met on the ground in the chapter knew that the coast was not clear for ACN as Mimiko began his second-term moves. When Akeredolu showed up at his polling booth in Owo, the majority of those on the queue glowered at him, insisting that all voters must join the line as they came. The PDP hawks had planned to disgrace their rival by mobilising their members with huge amount of money.

    Although Akeredolu lost the poll to Mimiko, he never deserted the battle. He bided his time and promptly returned to the drawing board. Having learnt some lessons, he started mobilising ahead of 2016. He had his eyes on the position of the ACN National Legal Adviser, but it eluded him.

    As he warmed up for the 2016 primary, it was evident that he had lost the support of notable Southwest party leaders who had projected him as the anointed candidate four years earlier. Up came a formidable aspirant, Dr. Segun Abraham. However, as Akeredolu was destined to be governor, there was a curious split in the Abraham camp. A section started hobnobbing with another aspirant, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN). At the close of the shadow poll, Akeredolu narrowly defeated Abraham with 36 votes.

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    It was certain that Mimiko could not hand over power to the PDP candidate, the then-ruling party in Ondo, having become distressed. Gradually, the PDP governor lost steam. During the governorship election, Akeredolu fulfilled his destiny, defeating Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) of the PDP and Oke, who ran on the borrowed platform of the Labour Party (LP).

    In his first term, the governor tried to justify the confidence reposed in him by fulfilling his campaign promises.

    The next primary and actual election were tough. Having consolidated his hold on the party and the state, Akeredolu triumphed. He became a voice in the Southwest as the coordinator of the governors. He and his Ogun State counterpart, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, ran into turbulence over their positions on 2019 nominations. Accused of anti-party activities, they were literarily suspended by the Adam Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC). The suspension was later lifted though. But the camp had their pound of flesh. Oshiomhole was shoved aside as chairman and APC ran into a leadership crisis.

    Infrastructural development was Akeredolu’s priority. He also tried to defend the education and health sectors. Towards the end of his first term, a rift occurred between him and his deputy, Agboola Ajayi. It led to the parting of ways between the governor and his deputy but prepared the seat for Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

    The greatest achievement of the Akeredolu administration was security. He was the moving spirit behind the setting up of the outfit, Amotekun, across the Southwest states. Before Amotekun, herder/farmer clashes, kidnapping for ransom, ritual killings, and other forms of violence had crept into the geo-political zone. Leaning on the law and the support of the people, the governor justified the establishment of the security organisation, which became the saving grace of the region.

    In those moments of federal/regional tango, Akeredolu displayed bravery and boldness. He called the Federal Attorney-General to a duel. As tension rose and federal/regional relations were being strained, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu called for a truce. Reason later prevailed when it was agreed that rather than being a regional outfit, each of the six Houses of Assembly should pass a law that accorded legality to Amotekun. Ondo State under the leadership of Akeredolu blazed the trail.

    Akeredolu advocated for devolution, decentralisation, and restructuring to foster true federalism. He called for state police, stressing that governors had become camouflage chief security officers of their states as they lacked control over the Commissioner of Police.

    Aketi was not a typical politician. He was not hypocritical. He was also not tricky. Sometimes, he fought to get party positions for his chapter, hinging his claims on zoning, equity, and fairness. That was how Bankole Okuwajana became the National Vice Chairman (Southwest) of the party.

    Akeredolu rejected Isaacs Kekemeke as Ondo APC chairman and asked his deputy, Ade Adetimehin, to take charge. The governor also later backed the former state chairman to serve as the National Vice Chairman (Southwest).

    Akeredolu appreciated merit, excellence, and loyalty. But once trust was betrayed, there was a loss of confidence.

    He was proud of his family. For him and his beloved wife, it was a love made in heaven – without any barrier. The criterion of age compatibility was not a factor. This should be motivational to young people in love. At a time in the Southwest, in the contiguous states of Ondo and Ekiti, there was peace in the households of chief executives where their older wives served as pillars and Amazons behind the throne.

    Health is wealth. The protracted illness distracted Akeredolu from his duty. He had many plans. They ultimately became an unfinished business. The man could not directly supervise the implementation of his succession plan. As he was down with the illness, what the people outside the split political structure of Aketi could accurately recall was the praises he showered on Aiyedatiwa when he described him as a “lucky” deputy, “whose head attracts fortune” as the son of the man who could claim that “now, this world has become our own” in direct translation of the current Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa’s name.

    Nevertheless, Akeredolu ‘s wish for Ondo was fulfilled. He was succeeded by an APC governor who is expected to build on his legacies. He was also succeeded by a politician from Ondo South Senatorial District in the spirit of fairness. Before he passed on, he was an exponent of rotation or zoning to the South District.

    Much is expected of the successor. Akeredolu’s legacies should be protected. Aiyedatiwa has tried to make peace with his former boss’ family. He should try more, not minding the discouragement.

    He should not seek vendetta. He should unite the APC chapter. He should be fair to all.

    The best honour to the memory of the departed leader is for the political class in Ondo to be forthright and sensitive to public yearnings. The surviving associates and disciples should also demonstrate courage, shun corruption, serve with diligence, candour, and honour, and realise that in the final analysis, power is transient and no condition is permanent.

  • In memory of Bola ‘Cicero’ Ige

    In memory of Bola ‘Cicero’ Ige

    Every December regurgitates the memory of his hideous murder at the Bodija Estate in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The scars have not healed. The pains linger in the minds of relations, associates, and empathisers. The puzzle remains unsolved. Who killed Chief James Ajibola Ige, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the Fourth Republic government of Olusegun Obasanjo?

    On December 23, 2001, the news ricocheted throughout the country that unknown assailants had killed Ige. Twenty-three years later, the killers remain at large. The inability of the government to unravel his killing – most people believe he was assassinated – aptly underscores the illusion of justice.

    Ige, a lawyer, prolific writer, eloquent social critic, and astute politician, was a committed Awoist. He was a dependable ally of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He was the National Publicity Secretary of the defunct Action Group (AG) in the First Republic.

    In the late sixties, he was a commissioner in the military government of Col. Adeyinka Adebayo in the Western State. In the Second Republic, he was governor of the old Oyo State on the platform of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). In the post-Third Republic period, he became the Deputy Leader of Afenifere. He died as an elder statesman.

    Full of magnetism, charm, charisma, and carriage, Ige was also a controversial politician. He was an orator with a caustic tongue. It was not for nothing Ige was popularly called the Cicero of Esa-Oke, his hometown in Osun State. He was simply electrifying on the podium. On some occasions, he also ran into crises. When the vicissitudes of life assailed him, he bore his ordeals with philosophical calmness.

    In the camp of Awoists, Ige and his colleagues -Lateef Jakande (Baba Kekere) and Bisi Onabanjo (Ayekooto) – were subjects of envy. On some occasions, Ige’s political career was threatened by malevolent colleagues. He survived the bitterness in Awo’s days. But it was a different ball game afterwards.

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    In 1999, he was rejected at the Alliance for Democracy (AD) presidential primary by the Awoists. They said Ige, tagged a Yoruba irredentist, lacked a national outlook, unlike Chief Olu Falae, the former Secretary to the Federal Military Government and Minister of Finance. Supporters of Ige complained that the time-tested criteria of age, ideological learning, hierarchy and service to the fold were ignored by the wise men who converged on D’Rovans Hotel in Ibadan to pick the party’s flag bearer. That singular event marked the gradual of parting of ways between Ige and his old friends in the Awo camp.

    Before his murder, he had been assaulted at the palace of the Ooni of Ife where hoodlums seized his cap and hung it on a nearby tree.

    Ige’s murder provoked rage, curses, and regrets. He was a bridge builder. He had friends across the six geo-political zones. He believed in mentoring young Nigerians from all walks of life. Fork-tongued and skilled in the war of words, Ige’s mouth was sharper than the razor. He was also humorous.

    In Law, his profession, and politics, which he described as a vocation, Ige distinguished himself, to the delight of the indomitable Awo.

    But he was an ardent critic of Awo and the AG before he joined the fold. He had criticized the AG for lack of an articulated foreign policy. Awo opened a file where he kept the thought-provoking articles written by Ige, especially his documented attacks against his party. When Awo’s lawyer-friend, Chief Morohundiya, under whom Ige later took off as a pupil lawyer, took the rebellious young lawyer to the AG leader, Ige told Awo that he stood by the position he had taken. Indeed, Awo admired that candour and courage, for only a few could call a spade a spade. Recognising his potential, he resolved to groom him, encourage him and moderate his views.

    Consequently, Awo made Ige a member of the AG Committee for the Review of Foreign Policy, along with the late Prof. Hezekiah Oluwasanmi, Akin Mabogunje, Tunde Oloko, Olumbe Bashir, and Prof. Samuel Aluko. He was also an active member of the AG Youth Association, led by the late Chief Remi Fani-Kayode, and later, Ayo Fasanmi, the socialist chemist with a long beard. At 32, Ige became the AG National Publicity Secretary at the party’s rancorous Jos Convention.

    Having discovered his virtues – bravery and outspokenness – Ige was assigned to defend the oppressed United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) chieftains who were in an alliance with the AG when the leaders of the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) hounded them into detention.

    When the House of Representatives primary in the old Lagos Mainland Constituency between Sikiru Shitta-Bey, the Secretary of the AG Youth Association, and Adewale Thompson, son of the licensed surveyor at Odaliki Street in Ebute-Meta, was deadlocked, Ige was the young AG leader sent to organise a fresh shadow poll. He reported to Awo that although both Shitta-Bey and Thompson were popular, it appeared to him that the pendulum of victory tilted more towards the direction of the son of Shitta-Bey, the “Seriki Musulumi” of Lagos. Awo ratified Ige’s report. Both Ige and Thompson hailed from Ijesa land in Osun State. Fourteen years later, Governor Ige appointed Thompson as Oyo State’s Attorney-General and Justice Commissioner.

    Ige stirred many controversies in the First Republic. He was a critic of the Balewa government. His platforms were public lectures, radio and television programmes.

    On the eve of the Commonwealth of Nations’ Heads of Government meeting in Lagos in the sixties, Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa had to stop a live television programme in which Ige was a discussant. After dissecting the agenda of the meeting, Ige described the Commonwealth as ‘an organisation where the wealth was not common’. The programme was stopped immediately.

    He had dazed Western Regional Premier Ladoke Akintola, himself a wordsmith, with verbal missiles, after regaining political control at the end of the six-month emergency rule. When Akintola boasted that the ring of power had been fixed on his finger and nobody could remove it, Ige went on air, saying if the ring could not be removed, the finger could be cut off.

    Ige shared in the tribulation of Awo and other AG leaders. He was detained in Kwale, in the old Midwest Region, during the six-month emergency period.

    He was fluent in Hausa, having lived in Kaduna during his childhood. An effective campaigner, he had a heart of steel. Relying on his fluency in Hausa, he took the risk of leading a campaign train in Kano. Like Aminu Kano, he descended on Northern Premier Ahmadu Bello, a prince and Sardauna of Sokoto, who he described as an epitome of aristocratic and feudalist oppression, urging the ‘talakawas’ to free themselves from captivity. He narrowly escaped death when the goons of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) attacked his campaign train.

    When Awolowo was released from prison and appointed the Federal Commissioner of Finance and Vice Chairman of the Federal Executive Council in the Yakubu Gowon administration, he had recommended Ige for a ministerial position. But still, Ige could not make the list due to the quota system adopted for the appointments.

    However, the military governor of Western State, Adeyinka Adebayo, appointed him the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources.

    Ige was dropped as a commissioner for rebelliously criticising other agencies of government. Out of government, he returned to his legal practice. In 1975, he became a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) set up by the Murtala/Obasanjo Administration to package a new constitution, preparatory to the return of power to civilians in 1979. The late Chief Fredrick Rotimi Alade (FRA) Williams (SAN) chaired the committee; Awo declined to serve in it.

    As a member of the “Committee of Friends”, Ige became a founding member of the UPN, led by Awo. In 1979, he vied for governor of Oyo State, defeating his rival and former Vice Principal, Venerable Emmanuel Alayande, to the discomfort of Awo who had favoured the old teacher and cleric for the slot. When Awo persuaded Ige to step down for the old man, with a promise to make him a minister after winning the presidential election, Ige was said to have retorted: “I cannot leave certainty for uncertainty.” Awo then asked: “Does it mean that my ambition is not certain?” Ige promptly apologised.

    After his victory at the poll, he mounted pressure on Alayande to serve as his Special Adviser on Education.

    The 1979 governorship election was a tough contest between Ige and Chief Richard Akinjide, First Republic Minister of Education and candidate of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). It was in the post-Adegoke Adelabu era and the UPN, an offshoot of the defunct AG, wanted to assert dominance in Oyo State.

    During a live television debate in Ibadan, the state capital, there was a hot argument between the two lawyers. The old “NCNCer” was said to have, in Ige’s view, politically disparaged Awo’s Free Education Policy. Akinjide had alleged that the programme bred miscreants. Ige’s reply was harsh. He asked: “How many of your relatives who benefitted from the programme are armed robbers, charlatans and social miscreants?” Tempers rose. Some scolded Ige for extreme polemics. Others merely laughed it off.

    Curiously, the relationship between Ige and his deputy, the late Chief Sunday Afolabi, was later strained. Ahead of the 1983 polls, Afolabi indicated interest in the governorship slot.  During the friction, the deputy governor claimed that the governor had stopped his allowances. Their mutual friend and former Military Head of State, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, offered to mediate in the crisis. It became Ige’s undoing. His rivals in the UPN came up with charges of disloyalty against him at the Yola Conference of the UPN. In that delicate moment, he narrowly escaped expulsion from Awo’s political family.

    In his book, Household of War, a veteran journalist, Dare Babaribsa, said historians aptly captured the anxious moment as the “night of long knives”. Ige’s saving grace was Awo, who applied wisdom in handling the sensitive matter.

    Afolabi later defected to the NPN to team up with Chiefs Adisa Akinloye, Akinjide, Busari Adelakun, Lamidi Adedibu and Dr. Victor Olunloyo to sack Ige from power. After the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) announced the results, riots broke out. The houses of notable politicians in the state were razed.

    Following the 1983 coup, Ige was detained, tried and sentenced to imprisonment by a military tribunal. There was drama as Ige and Olunloyo met in detention. Both men were to take a ride in a Black Maria. Olunloyo teased Ige, saying: “You must enter first, senior brother. After all, you spent four years in power. I only spent three months.” Ige hissed, ignoring the tantrums from the renowned mathematician. Ige was released by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, who ousted Major-General Muhammadu Buhari as Head of State in a palace coup in August 1985.

    But in his private life, Ige also courted controversy. At a public lecture, he had referred to the Olubadan of Ibadan and the Soun of Ogbomoso as Baales upgraded to first-class kingship by a former Military Governor David Jemibewon. Ibadan indigenes frowned at the remarks. His Ibadan title, the “Aare Alasa” was withdrawn by the Olubadan-in-Council and conferred on the Ewi exponent, Olarewaju Adepoju.

    Ige refused to participate in the Babangida transition programme in obedience to Awo’s advice to the progressives that they should dine with the devil with a long spoon. In 1986, Awo had shunned the Political Bureau set up by IBB and chaired by Dr. Samuel Cookery. He doubted the sincerity of the military President, warning that the nation had embarked on a fruitless search and “when we imagine that the new political order has arrived, we will be disappointed”. The prophecy came to pass. The victory of MKO Abiola, winner of the 1993 presidential poll, was criminally annulled by the IBB-led regime.

    Ige continued with the “siddon look” political observance philosophy during the Sani Abacha era when he dismissed the five political parties of the time as the five fingers of a leprous hand. When the Abdulsalami Abubakar military regime came up with its transition programme, Ige traversed the two parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had the majority of his colleagues in the “G-34” as members, and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (APP). Although he wrote the constitutions of the two parties, he could not cohabitate with those described as the hawks of the Abacha era. Although the closing date for party registration had elapsed, the Federal Government registered AD to forestall the exclusion of credible Southwest leaders from the transition programme.

    But Ige’s party, the AD, could not fly beyond the regional level. A crisis seized the party from the onset. At D’Rovans Hotel in Ibadan, Awoists rejected Ige in preference for Falae as presidential flag bearer.

    Ige never forgave his colleagues. He fought back. Against Afenifere’s wish, he joined the Obasanjo government. He was mocked by Afolabi, the then Minister of Internal Affairs, who described his former boss as a guest to a meal seizing the hands of his host. Ige replied that he was not focused on the food but on service to his fatherland.

    In the Power and Steel ministry assigned to him, Ige was like a stranger. But it was a different ball game at the Ministry of Justice, where he motivated the celebrated suit on resource control and laid the template for the anti-graft war. He was a staunch believer in federalism.

    What would have been Ige’s position on today’s contentious national issues: restructuring  zoning or rotational presidency, state creation, regionalism, state police, local government autonomy, taxation in federalism, among others?

    The firebrand lawyer would not have stayed tongue-tied, or, as he would say, maintained the aloofness of siddon look. He would have provided the legal perspectives to most of the issues. Truly, the nation, especially the Southwest, has lost a Cicero.

  • Honour for General ‘Jack’ at 90

    Honour for General ‘Jack’ at 90

    His creator has blessed him with long life, contentment and peace of mind. These three gifts befit the nonagenarian as he reflects daily on his personal life, which cannot be divorced from the history of a country he worked hard to keep together in a period of grave challenges.

    Yakubu ‘Jack’ Gowon, son of a churchman from the Middle Belt, a full-fledged General, and war-time Head of State, stands before the mirror of history. What is discernable from the reflection is a humble soul, a gallant officer, a reconciliator, a political scholar, a tolerant leader, a prayer warrior, a symbol of unity, an elder statesman, a mentor and role model, a child of God and a man of peace.

    He is not in the class of Mr. Know-it-all: the self-appointed janitor-general, a pull-him-down tactician, a trouble maker, a warmonger, a subjective critic, a do-or-die politician, a controversial public letter writer, a fighter, a corrupt soldier, and an arrogant leader.

    Gowon is in a class of highly revered leaders who put country first in all matters and stand tall among true patriots.

    It is gratifying that President Bola Tinubu has, on behalf of Nigerians, renamed the University of Abuja as Yakubu Gowon University, almost 50 years after the former Head of State was ousted from power in a bloodless coup. It should be a thing of joy for him, his family and associates that he was honoured in his lifetime.

    To this epitome of service and patriotism, the love for the country surpassed having a fat bank account, a vast piece of land acquired while in power, a business empire built from ill-gotten wealth, or even the often flaunted international networks. What is paramount to him is a good name – which is better than a treasure of gold and diamond and a fat Swiss bank account. Today, this rare gem of a leader must be savouring the nostalgia about diligent service to humanity, the legacy of national unity, cohesion and harmony, the personal and unbroken example already set, and the perception of his role in building and reshaping Nigeria.

    Gowon has always conducted himself with decorum. He remains an authentic patriot and a shining example. He earns respect as a citizen of the world. Unfortunately, many youths, particularly those of the ‘Gen Z’ generation are not conversant with his contributions to national greatness because, at a time, history was removed from the curriculum.

    The former Head of State has seen life’s bright and dark sides. While he was the number one citizen, he did not personalise power. He promoted team spirit. Shoved aside by professional kith and kin, he kept mute but without malice and bitterness to anyone.

    He was not trained for political leadership. Neither was he prepared for it when the responsibility was thrust on his shoulders. But the leaders of his region from the pre-independence era, having anticipated a problematic future for Nigeria when legitimate authorities were being displaced in some African countries, strategically encouraged their youths to take to soldiering. Gowon was the first manifestation of their foresight.

    Trained in the best military institutions in the world, including Sandhurst, he embraced professionalism. When the 1966 failed coup of the five Majors, led by Chukwuemeka Nzeogwu, brought a political novice, Major-General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, to power, there was confusion. Barely six months after, he was killed in a retaliatory coup that aggravated the situation. At the centre of the succession crisis were Brig.-Gen. Babafemi Ogundipe, the Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters and Ironsi’s deputy; Lt.-Col. Gowon, the Chief of Army Staff, and military governor of Eastern State, Lt.-Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

    Ethnicity, religiosity and indiscipline suddenly crept into the Nigerian Army, with a sergeant of Northern origin disobeying Ogundipe at the Ikeja Army Cantonment. Gowon was preferred. The ‘deputy head of state’ resurfaced later in London as Nigeria’s High Commissioner.

    But Odumegwu-Ojukwu kicked, insisting on a hierarchical order of seniority. Gowon became the Head of State and barely settled down when his leadership skill was put to the test by an avoidable civil war foisted on the country by a clash of egos.

    Even, under that circumstance, he demonstrated wisdom as he ran to the elders from across the regions for support. He attracted experienced leaders, including Obafemi Awolowo, who he had set free from prison; Anthony Enahoro, Shehu Shagari, Gusau, Dikko, Ali Monguno, Aminu Kano and Joseph Takar, into his cabinet.

    He created the 12-state structure to break the territory of Ojukwu, who, despite entreaties, plunged Igbo land into a war. It was a hell of time for the bachelor-Head of State whose tender heart was broken by the bombings, shootings, heavy casualties on both sides, reports of starvation and  propaganda by the Biafran machinery. It took his deputy, elderly Admiral Adewale Wey, who was the Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters, to build psychological support until he got married to the delectable nurse, Victoria.

    Gowon was less inflexible and more condescending so that he could ‘Go On With One Nigeria’. He may have uncritically treated the Ojukwu challenge as a quarrel between two professional soldiers. At Aburi in Ghana, he made concessions that baffled the federal commissioners and senior civil servants. It was also a surprise to the delegation from the East because such sacrifices were least expected. But the Head of State was conciliatory to avert war and disintegration. During the tedious negotiations, he was honest and straightforward. In his book: ‘Gowon: The Biography of A Soldier-Statesman,’ Isawa Elaigwu, a Professor of Political Science, said the approach was wrongly perceived by the Biafran warlord “as a demonstration of Gowon’s slowness of mind as opposed to his (Ojukwu’s) Oxford intelligence. The combination of humility, accommodation and courage were perceived as weakness”.

    Both sides fought the war vigorously. It was agonising for soldiers who had to face their colleagues in battle. After three years, it was evident that Ojukwu was on a wild goose chase. On the pretext of seeking new solutions to the conflict, he abandoned the forces and hurriedly left the country.

    To Gowon’s credit, having listened to the advice of his Federal Finance Commissioner, Awolowo, the war economy was managed without borrowing.

    Also to his credit, Gowon declared ‘no victor, no vanquished’ after receiving the Biafran surrender. Immediately, he unfolded the ‘Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction’ programmes which he implemented with utmost fidelity.

    The post-war programme marked the beginning of a serious infrastructure battle. In those days, Nigeria had money; the challenge was what to spend it on.

    Then, Gowon turned attention to the challenge of integration. His cabinet and indeed, his policies reflected the national outlook of which he was the symbol. He established the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) which brought the youth together and closed the divisive gaps of ethnicity and religion. The scheme fostered inter-tribal marriages and unity.

    Soon, ambitious elements in the Army started to grumble about the all-civilian composition of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). In utter sensitivity to the hues, Gowon appointed two soldiers – Murtala Mohammed and Olusegun Obasanjo – as Federal Commissioners for Communications and Works. Like a soldier that he is, the Head of State postponed the handover date from 1973 to 1976.

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    As the plot to remove him through a coup thickened, Gowon got wind of the moves. He declined to avert it. On his way to Kampala in Uganda for a meeting of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), he admonished his coupist -cousin, Joe Garba, who was then the Commander of the Brigade of Guards, to make it bloodless. The announcement of a change of government met him in Uganda. There were unfinished assignments: the 1973 census debacle, public criticisms over allegations of corruption against governors and ministers and the implementation of development plans.

    Gowon embraced his fate with philosophical calmness. There was no bitterness. Six months later, his successor, Murtala, was killed and his deputy, Obasanjo, became the Head of State. Before the masterminds of the abortive coup were taken to the military board of enquiry, Gowon was tried on the pages of a newspaper by the Federal Government and found guilty. If the coup that ended Murtala’s life had met Gowon in Nigeria, perhaps, he would have been roped in, and taken to the tribunal for trial and shot. All the privileges due to him as ex-leader were suspended.

    The next point of call was Warwick University, where he enrolled to study Political Science. Due to his status as a former African leader, the terrain would have sapped his adjustive resources. But age, more or less, was on the side of the amiable General who later bagged his Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral degrees. If he had studied Political Science before becoming the Commander-in-Chief, perhaps, his approach to many issues of governance would have been different.

    Life is full of ups and downs. He spent nine years in power. He spent nine years in exile. With courage and trust in his Creator, Gowon triumphed over the troubles. Yet, perceived as a soldier-political scientist who may be reluctant to permanently part with power, the idea came up in some quarters in the Third Republic that Gowon should return as a civilian leader. It paled into daydreaming.

    His pastime now is praying for Nigeria, reminding people about the noble sacrifices and heroic labours of past leaders who sacrificed for the country to survive. He also seeks to correct as a father of the nation.

    Gowon’s approach to life and national issues, now in his old age, is worthy of commendation and emulation. The honour of getting his name etched on the premier university in Abuja, the federal seat of power, is well deserved. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has struck the bull’s eye with this honour to a great national leader of Gowon’s stature.