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  • Osoba, the ‘recurrent comeback kid’ at 77

    On Sunday April 3, a most momentous event took place at the Bourdillion, Ikoyi residence of Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former two time governor of Ogun State. In attendance were the leading lights of current progressive politics in the South-west and indeed Nigeria that were instrumental to midwifing the first time an opposition party electorally took over power from a ruling party since 1999. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, a host of sitting governors and their representatives and other diehard progressives all converged in the house of Osoba with a singular aim: Bring Back Osoba into APC.

    At the end of the day, the aim was achieved and Osoba is back in APC that he helped midwife before local politics of his home state, Ogun, forced him to briefly sojourn in SDP. The details of the forces and events that led to his surprising exit from APC may rightly be situated in the merger of sometimes strange bedfellows that produced the APC and the dilution of progressive politics with individuals that hardly shared the ideals of progressivism. And of course there were issues of personal animosities and clash of egos with some agenda to demystify if not erase the political stature of Osoba from the landscape of Ogun State politics once and for all times.

    Any intelligent political observer can readily see that the come-back of Osoba into APC is about one of the most important political developments in 2016, not only in Ogun State, but in the South-west and indeed our national politics as by all standards, Osoba is an elder statesman that has paid his dues adequately in national development, first as a renowned journalist, then as administrator and politician. Indeed, in the trajectory of his life, Osoba has had many successful comeback bids in the past with the man passing through some trying times that nearly snuffed out his life in the struggle for a democratic Nigeria. In his home state of Ogun, there are probably no political leaders alive outside former President Olusegun Obasanjo that has had a more chequered political history over the years than Osoba.

    As the democratically elected successor to the first elected governor of the state, Chief Bisi Onabanjo, Osoba continued to build on the solid foundation laid by Onabanjo but the continuation was cut short barely two years after by a military interregnum that led Osoba to join the democratic struggle to free Nigeria from military rule. His roles in NADECO under the regime of General Sani Abacha nearly cost him his life on more than one occasion and he had to go underground at some point at a great cost to his personal and family life. The stories of his life during these periods are in the public domain and do not bear rehearsing here. But suffice to say that at the end of that era, Osoba made a comeback as the third elected governor of Ogun State in 1999 under the Alliance for Democracy, AD. The next four years saw him executing perhaps the best rural development strategy in the history of the state in the areas of provision of rural electrification, water and rural roads. Till date, the rural areas of the state sill see his administration as a reference point.

    The year 2003 saw him leave the centre-stage again as he ‘lost’ his re- election bid in the “capture politics” that saw the conservative ruling PDP at the federal level sweeping the poll in South-west with the singular exception of Lagos State. It was from Lagos that progressive politics was re-launched into the South-west including Ogun State. Osoba left the centre stage in Ogun to the progressive enclave in Lagos where he plotted his comeback to political relevance in Ogun State. The first attempt floundered in 2007 with his party then Action Congress fielding Otunba Dipo Dina who came third in the election that saw Otunba Gbenga Daniel of PDP defeating Senator Ibikunle Amosun and Dina for a second term. Apparently it was then no easy task unseating an incumbent with a divided opposition.

    But by 2011, Osoba’s progressive party that has now metamorphosised  to Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN was in the clear reckoning to present a winning candidate with Asiwaju Tinubu playing the yeoman’s role of a catalyzer. At the end of the day, by the logic of using an opposition figure on a popular platform, ACN fielded Senator Amosun as its candidate with Osoba as undisputed leader. It was easy for ACN to defeat the fissiparous PDP that fractured in PDP and PPN. Once again, Osoba’s political come back in Ogun State was assured. Or so it seems. For as it turned out, Senator Amosun began to play exclusive politics that saw the then ACN divided between Osoba group and SIA group. That division underlies the division in APC that led to the exit of Osoba’s group from APC to SDP to contest the 2015 election.

    Now Osoba is back in another comeback bid with his political structure backed by the progressives of the South-west. There has been grumbling and uneasiness in some quarters in Ogun State about his return. However the game of democratic politics is a game of numbers where every political group works to gain the most numbers among the electorate. Only selfish and exclusionist politicians would not welcome new members, more so members that they once co-habited with and benefitted from their membership and support. Indeed, we are daily regaled with opposition PDP members decamping to APC and being welcome.

    Now the question on the mind of many is would this be yet another successful comeback bid for Osoba to be politically relevant in Ogun State? Would he be part and influential in the process leading to selecting a candidate for APC as the incumbent serves out his eight-year mandatory two terms? Only time will tell but from the realities on the ground, there is no way Osoba will not be a factor in the event leading to 2019 election in Ogun State. Certainly like all great politicians that are not flash in a pan, he has had his ups and downs. At present one can only see him going up again in not only local politics but regional and national in a truly comeback fashion that is now traditional to him.

    Born to the family of Pa and Madam Jonathan Babatunde Osoba at an Egba settlement, Egbatedo, in Osogbo on July 15, 1939, Osoba attended African Church School, Osogbo, Methodist Boys High School, Lagos. He was at University of Lagos for his Diploma in Journalism. He took courses at Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom, Indiana University, USA and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Beginning a career in journalism that spanned 25 years at the Daily Times and moving from the bottom rung to the pinnacle of the profession, Osoba naturally identified with popular causes and advocacy for the downtrodden that the profession of journalism entails in addition to its enlightening role. Osoba is accepted as a role model in the profession of journalism from his days as a reporter in Daily Times, to his managerial position at Nigerian Herald, Sketch newspapers and Daily Times, all of which flourished under his management. Internationally, Osoba practiced the profession with BBC, Times of London, Newsweek Magazine of USA, UPI News Agency and is a prominent member of the International Press Institute (IPI) being the second African to be a member of the Executive Board of the prestigious international professional body after Alhaji Lateef Jakande, another prominent journalist and former governor.

     

    • Chief Odunaro, was former Chief Press Secretary to ex-Governor Osoba.

  • ‘Separate Imasuagbon from Ogiewonyi & other political Almajiris’

    Please permit me to correct the impression created by the litany of uninformed and mischievous reactions to your article entitled, Edo: Political obsequy of the godfather, published in The Nation on June 24. I totally disagree with the assertion that Ken Imasuagbon joined the race for APC ticket simply for publicity. Even more annoying was the comment by another responder (of July 8) that the Comrade Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, should channel his efforts at reconciliation towards Chris Ogiewonyi because in his jaundiced view, Imasuagbon would be content with the publicity from the June 18 primaries at the Sam Ogbemudia Stadium. Nothing can be more misleading.

    If anyone deserves to be rewarded and integrated in order to strengthen the Obaseki/Shuaib campaign, I dare say that person is Ken Imasuagbon. Imasuagbon did better than Ogiewonyi in that primaries as a matter of fact as the latter came a distant fourth. Imasuagbon is a self-made entrepreneur and all the money he has spent on sharing rice and gunning for Edo governorship over the years is from his personal pocket as the proprietor of a school based in Abuja. I agree that Ogiewonyi spent more than Imasuagbon.

    That should not come as a surprise for someone who had occupied “juicy” public offices right from NNPC and later Minister of State for Works – courtesy of his ex-wife, Stella Oduah. If Imasuagbon had the kind of slush funds the “oil sheik” had, perhaps he would have even beaten Obaseki in that primaries.

    The little fund Imasuagbon could raise he spent well. Just look at the wonderful result he produced. As things stand today, I believe God Has given Oshiomhole political leadership over Edo APC now and in the foreseeable future. Even though I support Imasuagbon in that primaries, I have no choice than support Oshiomhole at this point for the greater good of our party. In my view, he needs people like Imasuagbon and not a political desperado like Ogiewonyi who everyone now knows engages in unethical tactics just out of desperation. Otherwise, he would not have been dashing out Belgium (second- hand) cars to every Tom, Dick and Harry instead of going out to campaign, thinking such acts of bribery and corruption would deliver the APC ticket to him on June 18. Or used dollars to infiltrate Oshiomhole’s inner cycle.

    As I write this, some of his moles are still dining with Oshiomhole in Government House and collecting salaries from Edo State Government without remorse. So, Imasuagbon is more God-fearing and dependable.

    Peter Osarodion,

    Benin City.

  • Shettima Ali Monguno: A tribute

    I woke up in the early hours of Saturday, July 9, to  randomly check my e-mails only to run into a post by some people on social media that Nigeria’s first Minister of Mines,Power,Petroleum and Energy, elder statesman and  Borno’s ‘father of orphans’ Dr. Shettima Ali Monguno has passed on. I was skeptical at first, because as a journalist I do not take anything I read on Facebook seriously. My first port of call was the Facebook page of Alhaji Musa Liman,my former lecturer at the University of Maiduguri and a close confidant of the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Umar Ibn Garbai. I was pretty sure if the story was true, Liman will post it on his page. Few minutes later, the reality of what has happened dawned on me as my former lecturer had posted the sad news five hours earlier.

    Shettima Ali Monguno passed on at a time Borno was in dire need of leadership and words of wisdom, six years after Boko Haram took the state 40 years backwards. He was seen as a father figure that no living Borno politician or bureaucrat who will look at him in the face. I was sad,but quickly consoled myself. At 90, Baba as most Borno journalists call him has come, seen and conquered. He lived a fulfilled life. It will be a thing of joy for many of us in this generation if we can live up to that age as the life expectancy in Nigeria is between 56 and 60 years. Or what else can one ask for a man who gave his life to serving humanity? He believed God created each one of us to add value to the lives of people around us. Rather than shed tears, we should pray for him and borrow a leaf from his modest lifestyle that saw him giving back to the society all that he has worked for. I once asked him why he would sell his only house in Abuja to build a female hostel for the University of Maiduguri. He told me the story how he grew up in the house of a District Head and how the colonialist had asked the traditional ruler to enroll one of his sons in school then, but thinking it was an attempt to convert Kanuri children to Christianity, he sent Monguno instead. Monguno added that his father never left anything for him and he went to school free of charge. Hence he has no plans to leave any inheritance for his children, but good education. To him, leaving properties for children was not the best as one is not sure what the children will do with it.

    Monguno is gone and there can never be a Borno man like him that will command respect across religious, political and social divide in a conservative society like Borno.I was taken aback when I heard Bulama Mali Gubio, spokesman for Borno Elders Forum and one of Borno’s illustrious and cosmopolitan sons weeping in the course of an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa service shortly after Baba was buried. Baba died peacefully in his home,was never moved from one hospital in London to another in the United States as is the case with most Nigerian elites. To me, this is gratifying even though it is a big loss for Nigeria.  Monguno has gotten to his bus stop in the journey of life and each of one of us will one day leave this world. The big question for Borno Elders and other Nigerians is, what do we want to be remembered for when we die? Do we want to be associated with several properties at home and abroad, that at some point the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) will be chasing us that we start hiding under the bed to evade arrest and our children become the laughing stock of the society? Or want to live within our legitimate means and add value to the lives of our neighbours?

    An average Kanuri man can be proud and ethnocentric, but Monguno was an epitome of humility, honesty and perseverance. I recall a story he shared with me in 2007 when I took a reporter from a newsmagazine from Lagos to interview him. It was about the case of a teacher at Federal Government Girls College, Monguno who was relieved of his job like others because the school no longer wanted casual staff due to dwindling resources. The teacher in conjunction with other colleagues felt used and dumped by the school and so petitioned the Public Complaints Commission in Maiduguri.They also intimated Monguno about their petition and he decided to help follow up their case with a phone call. Monguno called several times to speak with the head of the Public Complaints Commission who was not on seat, but a rude male secretary told Baba “Who is this Monguno of a man that has been calling our office? If you are serious about your case, can’t you just come to our office so that we see your face’ Baba said he did not lose his temper, but thanked him and promised to go there in person. According to him, as he alighted from his white Mercedes Benz at the premises of the Public Complaints Commission, everyone rushed to greet him in the usual Kanuri fashion. The young man quickly recognized him from his voice and like a drenched chicken rushed forward to apologize to him, claiming he thought he was some young man playing pranks on the phone. Monguno said he merely smiled, because the young man was probably the age of his grandson and was pretty sure he did not know who he was, went into the office to state his case and never mentioned the case of the rude secretary. I doubt if there is anyone within the Borno Elders Forum today who would tolerate such an insult without getting the person fired? Such was the character of Monguno, very forgiving and never wants to hurt anyone.

    He never saw ethnic or religious affiliation which accounts for why his house adjacent to the Borno Government House was a mecca of sorts.  Probably, though I stand to be corrected, Professor Emeritus, Umaru Shehu is likely to come close to this feat. But, unlike Monguno, he is on the quiet side and not too involved in communal activities. Monguno earned his reputation as the most respected Borno man in the 21st century through sheer hard work and a believer in merit. He was different from some Borno Elders who use their position and influence for political patronage or to recycle their children when quitting the stage. This is a development partly responsible for the Boko Haram insurgency. Some families in the state  for over 40 years have continued to dominate the political, economic and social life of Borno at state and national levels, not because they are intellectually savvy, but what the Kanuris call ‘’Ndu ba’an3m wo?  Who is your father?

    At the height of the Boko Haram insurgency especially 2013 to February 2015 when life in Borno was short and brutish, some of the elders whose activities over the years were partly responsible for the Boko Haram revolt lost their voice like drenched chickens. Instead of making their voices heard, they ran away to their houses in Kaduna and Abuja abandoning the people to their fate. Despite all the risks including his kidnap for a few days by Boko Haram in May 2013,Monguno did not leave Maiduguri, but stood by his people till he breathed his last. He was always talking about their plight and calling for help.

    Indeed, the big elephant has fallen. He has handed the baton to the living. Like the popular saying ‘each generation, must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission,fulfill it or betray it’. He has fulfilled his mission in life. The challenge has been thrown to us the living and the hope of a better tomorrow.

     

    • Lawal, a Public Commentator writes from Boston,United States.

  • Aisha and the burden for service

    A society whose very essence has never known anything fundamentally ennobling and uplifting since the civil war, but rather wallops in the most despicable form of abuse and degeneration of its being in every material, moral and even spiritual spheres can be forgiven for its inability to recognize someone’s emergence on its landscape because it has been comatose for far too long. It’s now a little over a year that President Muhammadu Buhari and his wife Aishahave been on the nation’s consciousness that not a few still wonder how they’re able to live such unblemished lives in a society where your upward mobility on the socio-economic and political fronts has direct correlation to how morally bankrupt, criminally-minded and fantastically corrupt you are.

    Just as Buhari continues the socio-economic re-engineering of the polity in accordance with his electoral mandate, thereby changing the way the Nigerian people think about governance, there’s also a tectonic shift in the way Nigerians now lookat the wife of their president. In deference to her husband after the president said that the Office of the First Lady was not known to the country’s constitution, Mrs. Aisha Buhari is comfortable with simply being called “the wife of the president.” From this officially humble beginning,shestarted her own quiet ‘revolution.’Mrs. Buhari’s interventions in the lives of everyday Nigerians, though tremendously significant, are not what would normally generatesensational headlines. But as her husband continues to do the heavy lifting in his old age in remaking a new and saner Nigeria, a paradigm shift is taking shape in how Nigerians look at the First Lady.

    It will probably take Nigerians a little more time to realise and understand the essence, grace, dignity and ‘soft power’ that Mrs. Buhari brought into the Presidential Villa in order to compliment her husband’s office. The virtues inherent in her are not what Nigerians are used to. For decades, they’re familiar with their president’s wife being more powerful than her husband that cabinet members would rather see the First Lady first on their way to the office of the chief of state. They are used to seeing their First Lady leading the country’s First Citizen into the presidential aircraft on their way to a foreign land. On getting there, she would also be the first to emerge from the aircraft that the welcoming officials would be momentarily confused as to who the real president was.

    For a little over a year that Mrs. Buhari has become a public figure virtually for being the wife of the president, she had positively impacted the lives of those Nigerians who may have already given up hope on the improvement of their conditions, if not their very existence. Her several humanitarian interventions had been timely and specifically-targeted to the critical needs of the vulnerablepeople in society who had encountered heart-wrenching and life-threatening challenges through no fault of their own. These are people such as the wives of soldiers fighting the Boko Haram insurgency, pregnant women, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and orphanage children among others. In cases where the benefits of these interventions must extend to hundreds of thousands of people,Mrs. Buhariwould partner with other professional bodies. The “Future Assured Medical Outreach”programme under her”Future Assured Initiative” will probably go down as the most important undertakings of her many humanitarian intervention programmes. The Future Assured Medical Outreach is a country-wide medical intervention that caters for women and their dependents. First launched in Nasarawa State, this life-saving and life-enhancing medical outreach has taken its benefits toseveral states of the federation includingAdamawa, Cross River, Enugu, Oyo, Katsina, Ogun, and Kebbi where hundreds of thousands of women and children were beneficiaries.

    In January, Mrs. Buhari was at the 44 Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna to see soldiers on admission who sustained various degrees of injuries in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency and receiving treatment. There, she used the occasion to appeal to the Nigerian Army authorities to ensure prompt payment of entitlements to families of deceased soldiers who lost their lives in the war front in order to alleviate the suffering of the loved ones they left behind. Several gifts were given to wounded soldiers, pregnant and nursing women in the Accident /Emergency and Obstetrics/Gynaecology wards. In December 2015, Mrs. Buhari was at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Dalori Camp in Maiduguri where more than 21,000 victims of the insurgency lives. She donated rice, semovita, cooking oil, seasonings, plastics, milk, and juice among other things. Earlier in September 2015, she was in Calabar in Cross River State where she donated nutritional supplement – the Frisomum Gold brand – to more than 250,000 expectant and nursing mothers who were randomly drawn to avoid any appearance of political undertone of favouritism. The Frisomum supplement is an alternative to breast milk.

    It will take several years for Musa Murtala to be able to spell the name of the wife of the president, let alone have an acute understanding of her impact in his life. Musa is a 20-month old toddler who was badly mutilated by his two stepmothers who broke his legs, hands as well as caused injuries to his private part and tongues. On hearing about the barbaric acts meted out to this baby, Mrs. Buhari had him brought to Abuja where she had him taken to Crest Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory for treatment. Injuries that could have caused a permanent and irreversible damage to his health and wellbeing, if not death for little Musa were treated. He has since been discharged from the hospital. These are some of the synopsis of the many interventions of the wife of the president since her husband came to power.

    But there’s a mad and raging bull that Nigerians have agreed that the politywould be better for it if he’s confined to a china shop. He roams the country’s landscape desecrating everything in his path, including the exalted office in which a combination of devilish shenanigans, alleged murder and a self-inspired mayhem thrust on him. It’s one thing to place advertorials in just about all the national dailies during electioneering campaigns telling voters that her husband would die in office if elected because Mrs. Buhari is well aware that politics can make some people lose their sanity. But it’s another thing altogether to engage in some pre-meditated character assassination with a patently false and baseless accusation in his mistaken belief that Mrs. Buhari’s humility is devoid of a voice of her own. So when the governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose crossed the political line in his false accusation that Mrs. Buhari had engaged in a criminal act in faraway United States, not a few thought about how Fayose could have been so far gone in his madness to have been thoroughly disgraced by a harmless woman when she referred to him as “a mad dog that isn’t chained” on her Twitter handle. The wife of the president knows politics when she sees it, and that’s probably the reason she made sure that her presence should not be felt in that vocation but on humanitarian interventions. No woman that takes her hard-earned integrity seriously – and that she must guide jealously – would have kept quiet in the face of Fayose’s blatant lies that smacks of the most virulent criminality. In Hajiya Aisha Buhari came divine calm after so many perfect storms.Mrs. Buhari’s humility and kind-heartedness that continues to manifest in her several humanitarian gestures to the vulnerable people of the Nigerian society is indeed a breath of fresh air to the Nigerian people.

     

    • Odere is a media practitioner. He can be reached at femiodere@gmail.com

  • Opposition, media and Aregbesola’s legacy

    Editorials and news analysis are meant to promote critical thinking, drive consciousness, influence public opinion and sometimes compel people to take action. It is generally an expression of a well thought-out position of news publications on pertinent issues of public good.

    Over the years, editorials have informed and shaped public policies in a manner that has greatly influenced the course human history. With published editorials, reputations have been earned and lost. The currency, depth and content of such publications had conferred authority on a sizable number of media organizations across the world, with Nigeria certainly being no exception.

    It has however since become a powerful tool that cannot be left in the hands of the non-retrospective person that will lend himself readily for hatchet jobs.

    However, like all news reportage and analysis, it is basic that all sides to an issue and shades of opinions are accommodated before any position is rolled out in print. And indeed a lot more is required for the editorial as it is the voice of the media institution.

    It is against this background that one finds it difficult to understand the motivations behind the recurring reports and media commentaries that have been making mountains out of molehills in an attempt to reduce the entirety of Osun State and the outstanding accomplishments of the incumbent governor, Rauf Aregbesola to a singular event in one corner of the state.

    In a recent pronouncement, an Osun State High Court precluded the state from hindering public school students from expressing their religious preferences as indicted the use of hijab in a school in Iwo, one of the many towns in the state. The sensational treatment given to the reactions to this verdict suggest that some sections of the media readily lent themselves as a tool in the hands of those seeking political capital from the issue. According to some of them, this untoward development has now become the legacy of Aregbesola in Osun State.

    It is rather unfortunate that institutions that have a responsibility to drive development will relegate apparent positive index to the background and play up the opposite. This only amounts to taking the easy route to drawing conclusions despite the men and facilities at their disposal to do a more thorough job.

    Two things are however pertinent here. The first is to put the events surrounding the controversy in proper perspectives, and the other is to highlight the accomplishments of Aregbesola that earned him a second term in a hotly contested election and has continued to endear him to the people of the state despite the harsh economic conditions confronting most states across the federation.

    In his irrepressible manner, Aregbesola does not hide the fact that he is a Muslim. He has however conducted his public and private lives in a way that openly embraces people of all faiths that even the long-sidelined traditional worshipers are accorded official recognition only in Osun State.

    That the governor has made the future of the state the main focus of his administration by investing massively in education and infrastructural development does not deserve any notice or commendation. It will not serve their narrow, selfish agenda.

    To provide conducive learning environment for students in public primary and secondary schools, the governor has at today delivered 170 modern schools across the state in a work in progress mode aimed at touching every school in all nooks and crannies of the state.

    He has also elevated the quality of learning by providing students with digital text books known commonly as Opon Imo. The device, a tablet contains the entire Senior Secondary School Ssyllabus, including Yoruba traditions, past questions of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and Joint Administration and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for 10 years.

    Today, in Osun, school children are being provided free school uniforms to promote unity and uniformity in the state. No fewer than 3,000 tailors and craftsmen are engagedlocally for the sewing of new school uniforms and the batik imprint.

    In the same vein, the state is also the unique reference for the school children feeding programme that has just been adopted for nationwide implementation by the Federal Government. The O’MEAL initiative, aside from providing much needed nutrition for children, inputs are generated locally boosting the economy and indigenous people are provided gainful employment as caterers.

    The 20, 000 young school leavers which included university graduates engaged through the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OÝES) as an intervention to mitigate the high unemployment in the state will forever appreciate the ingenuity. Same applies to students in all the five state-owned tertiary institutions in Osun State whose tuition fees were slashed by 50 per cent so that the children of the poor will not be left behind.

    With a befitting facelift, Osogbo today appropriately wears the look of a state capital with Aregbesola as the first in the history of the 25-year old state to construct and reconstruct 28 roads in the metropolis within a period four years. It is also remarkable that no part of the state is excluded from the massive infrastructural renewal.

    With 61 township roads covering over 128km and inter-city roads and about 294km that have been completely rehabilitated in the ancient cities of Ilesa, Ile-Ife, Modakeke, Moro, Ashipa, Ipetumodu, Osogbo, Ikirun etc, produce from remote farm locations can now access commercial centres in good time providing fresh food in the cities and yielding timely good returns for farmers.

    The Omoluabi Garment Factory (OGF) attracted to the state by the administration has significantly helped to boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and contributed significantly to the reduction of unemployment.

    The remodelled Ede waterworks has been rehabilitated to double existing production capacity and increase the supply of potable water to the city of Ede and adjourning communities.

    The Osun State that Aregbesola inherited was just putting up with the bare tools available to the Nigeria Police Force, but today, police commands in Osun are better equipped withfleet of patrol vehicles, kits  and other gadgets complemented for the first time in the history of the state, by 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC),a helicopter for security surveillance, rapid responseand aerial  cover for crime fighting in the state.

    In the healthcare sector, 74 new primary healthcare centres built by Aregbesola are also out there providing services most especially women and children in the various communities in the largely rural Osun State and he has ensured no critical sector is left behind in delivering services to the people.

    Driving through Ilesa earlier this week, one cannot but marvel at the quantum of ongoing works on the extensive Ita-Balogun-Wesley-Hospital-Bolorunduro- Ilesa/Akure Expressway.

    I make bold to assert that under Aregbesola, Osun State has never had it so good. This is a verifiable claim that any newsman desirous of raising the stakes and other interested parties can unravel by undertaking an independent tour of the State of the Living Spring.

     

    • Adeyemo writes from Alimosho, Lagos.

  • The trouble with Northern CAN

    It seems to be that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in this dispensation, has arrogated to its northern chapter, a role of ignominy hitherto, played by others during the Jonathan administration.  It’s common knowledge that this organization, with a leadership that sometimes is not in talking terms with God is set to go on collision course with Nigerians.  Nearly all Nigerians support President Buhari’s war on corruption so Nigerians are serious about uprooting corruption in their nation.

    Recall that in the Vanguard online news of April 26, Northern CAN said Nigeria will slide into confusion if Jonathan was arrested.  Of course, Nigerians who are waiting for all those who looted their treasury to be brought to account were shocked that an organization that is affiliated to God, could utter such unrighteousness.  Why would they embark on such an unholy advocacy?  Should men and women not reap what they sow?  Isn’t that what the Bible prescribes?

    If Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), Chief Oliseh Metuh, Alex Badeh Akpobolokemi, etc., etc., are facing investigations and are being charged to court, why would Nigerians be confused if anyone, no matter how highly placed, suspected to have stolen public funds, is pulled in, if found culpable?  It leaves one with a clear pointer as to who is behind the continued misguided utterances of men who speak from the pockets of their sponsors and not through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

    It has further become clear that as the National CAN in the past, looked away from the stealing that went on under a supposedly Christian President, the Northern CAN, is now being used to castigate every action of the government of President Buhari.  Their meddlesomeness is becoming irritating.  They want to dictate who get appointed, and who should not be arrested if found culpable.  One wonders, what sort of people do we have in this association?

    I know President Buhari is not averse to criticisms, so a body such as CAN has a role to play in being the conscience of not just the Christians it represents, but also other Nigerians of good faith.  However, in playing that role, CAN should have all its facts so its criticisms can be constructive, sound, fair, just and believable.  The role some CAN members are playing now, am afraid, appears to be part of the work of the “National Association of Corruption Fighting Back.”

    The change mantra is being taken seriously by the President.  Consequently, he has adhered to the provisions of the constitution with regards to federal character.  Nowhere in our constitution is it stated that religion must be a criterion for appointing people to positions.  However, the following Northern Christians, excluding the inherited ones, were appointed by the government of President Buhari.

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation,Engineer Babachir David Lawal; Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,Chief Audu Ogbe; Hon. Minister of Youths and Sports,Comrade Solomon Dalung; late Hon. Minister of State, Labour & Productivity, Barrister James Ocholi; Senior Special Assistant to the President onPolitical Matters, Hon. Gideon Sammani; Special Assistant to the President on Political Matters,Ayuba Birma; Special Assistant to the President on Social Events,Ayuba Balami; Personal Assistant to the President on Social Events,Mrs. Faith Pukuma; Senior Special Assistant to the President,Legal and Documentation, Prof. Adamu Usman; Administrator of Villa Chapel, Reverend Isaac Ambi; Executive Secretary, Nigeria Christian PilgrimsCommission, Pastor Tor Uja and Managing Director, Nigeria Inland WaterwaysAuthority, Boss Mustapha.

    Not many southern Nigerians can work out the religion or tribes of most northerners as many names are common to both Christians and Moslems in the north, the same way many northerners assume that Okon Bassey and Pere Tamuno are Igbo men.  It therefore, behoves Northern CAN to assume the role of educating southerners with facts, with a view to allaying their anxiety occasioned by perceived marginalization.

    For every appointment made, there are probably a million others who are qualified too.  But only one can be appointed.  It’s therefore sad that if an appointee is a Christian who is not known to Northern CAN, his or her Christianity becomes a nullity and of no effect.  Could this be the fate of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and other Christian appointees?

    It’s obvious that the aim of all these misinformation is to divide a region perceived as President Buhari’s stronghold.  The role of an association such as CAN is not that of dividing the north along religious lines.  It should be that of uniting the whole country so Nigerians can collectively focus on building a strong nation where people experience equal opportunities irrespective of tribe, religion, etc.

    Again, one does not need a religion to do a good job.  All religions of the world encourage merit.  There are those who may not subscribe to any religion but can do a great job.  Should it not be of paramount concern to the Northern CAN that people who can do the job be appointed?  Should they not be holding to account those who are failing in their duties?  Should they not be solidly standing behind the righteous work of this government in fighting the capital sin of corruption?

    The CAN in Nigeria in the immediate past became controversial.  This led to the Catholic Church in Nigeria withdrawing its membership of the association.  The present utterances of the Northern Chapter of CAN show that they have not repented of their past.  They need to forsake their past transgressions and return to the scriptures.  That’s the only way they can find resurrection and maybe, those who left the association may then return.

     

    • Onochie writes from Abuja.
  • Rotary and rule of law

    Rotary and rule of law

    The yearly ritual during which the District Governor in charge of Lagos and Ogun states is installed turned a feast of some sort last Saturday at MUSON centre. While rotary was the main attraction, it blended with a public lecture bordering on rule of law delivered by the Nigerian Bar Association President, Augustine Alegeh (SAN). As if by a royal decree, the enchanting royal magic of the youthful Oba (Dr.) AdeyeyeEnitanOgunwusi, Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife, turned what usually is a sombre ceremony into a fecund fiesta of festivals. The new District Governor, Rotarian Patrick IjehonIkheloa, couldn’t have started his tenure, on a brighter note.

    Also, the topic of lecture couldn’t have been better, whether for Rotarians or for our country men. After all, the rotary creed otherwise known as the four-way-test speaks of the rule of law or something even higher: the rule of social justice. Asking four profound questions, the test guides every conduct rigorously. Firstly, it asks: Is it the TRUTH? Secondly: Is it FAIR to all concerned? Thirdly: Will it bring GOODWILL and better FRIENDSHIPS? And fourthly: Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

    I wish that these four cardinal questions which ape the golden rule can be recited at the national economic council meetings attended by the state governors. It will particularly mock those governors who have not been paying workers their monthly salary even when they engage in clear misapplication of the state funds. The test will also taunt those who go on jamboree while lying to their people that they are chasing the so-called foreign investment. The test will jibe at the governors who award over bloated contracts to steal instead of solving the variety of pressing social issues bordering on life and death of their citizens.

    Perhaps Governor IsiakaAjimobiof Oyo Statecould apply the test to resolve his differences with the state workers and save innocent school children from paying for adult delinquency. Even as the governor is reportedly waiting for his ego to be massaged by asking for an apology, he must pause to ask himself whether he is fair to all concerned. Indeed if the governor wants to squarely face the truth, is he not the one to offer apologies to the distraught workers whose salaries have not been paid, or the state citizens who are exercising their civic right to hold him accountable for all its actions?

    The message of the four-way-testshould also replace the self-worship-messages that we see on bill-boards across states in the country. In some states, governors who owe salaries for several months still find it expedient to spend millions to erect bill boards, announcing the tarring of roads, the renovation of schools and hospitals. In some cases while the billboards are still glossy, the so-called projects are already searing into dilapidation. In many other cases, the costs of launching the commissioning of the poorly executed projects usually outpace the cost of the project itself.

    Many of the debtor statesshamelessly still spend huge sums on the so-called security vote while the basic salaries of their workers are unpaid. Of course, such mean-heartedness is glaringly unfair to all concerned. Even more heartless is the scurrying away of billionsby public officials to buy properties abroad, while unpaid pensioners are dying on the queue awaiting one dubious verification exercise or another. When the states engage in duplicitous verification, after a similar verification the previous year, and give that information out, as the reason for the delay in the payment of pensions, they should ask themselves, is it the truth?

    The four-way-test of rotary should also be hung in the PresidentBuhari’s office as a reminder to the presidency to always weigh its decisions against the immutable principles of truth, fairness, goodwill, friendship and beneficial actions. The presidency should apply the standards encapsulated in the test to resolve the Niger Delta insurgency, the agitation for Biafra, the menace of the Fulani herdsmen, the Boko Haram crises and other mutating agitations, across the country. The test would particularly help the president in exercising his discretionary powers to meet both the letters and the spirit of the 1999 constitution.

    The president should use the four-way-test to test every action of his officials also. When he makes his appointments that clearly favour one part of the country, he must ask himself whether the appointments would bring goodwill and better friendship to a hurting country. Of course, before he tenaciously seeks to Go On With One Nigeria (GOWON), he must pause to ask how it can be beneficial to all concerned. And he needs not be told that to be beneficial to all concerned, Nigeria must be fair to all, while her officials must pursue only the actions that will bring goodwill and better friendship.

    I guess that his enormous experience as a general and former head of state, must have taught him that he cannot effectively deal with several war fronts at a time. Currently many parts of the country are on the boil and unless he wears the four-way-test as his badge of honour, history may actually hold him responsible for the much feared disintegration of Nigeria. I guess the president will appreciate that merely shouting and threatening ONE NIGERIA without commensurate actions and conduct, to make the constituents groups buy into it, would not save the day. To help the president in the difficult task of building a new Nigeria, the four-way-test of what Rotarians, think, say or do, should be made the national creed.

    In case the president, the governors and other leaders are not forward-looking enough, to accept the rotary creed, they can resort to obeying without fear or favour the provisions of the constitution. A recital of the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy provided in chapter II of the 1999 constitution at every federal and state executive council meetings will achieve the propositions in the four-way-test. Even with all its imperfections, the 1999 constitution, clearly forbids stealing of public funds, the criminal appropriation of scarce national resources by the legislators, nepotism and tribalism in appointments by the presidency, and similar vices that is threatening our corporate existence.

    Unlike our executive president, the governors and even the legislators, Rotarian Patrick IjehonIkheloa, the new District Governor of District 9110, has only one year to go about doing good principally in Lagos and Ogun states and elsewhere in the world where his hand of fellowship can reach. He has just one year, from July 2016 to June 2017, to build boreholes, renovate schools, donate drugs to hospitals, feed the hungry, teach crafts and vocations to the disadvantaged, and do as much other good, as he and his army of volunteers and supports can muster.

    Among his commanders, will be my local club president, Rotarian Charles IfeanyiMbama, of the Rotary Club of Festac Town, whose own inauguration has been slated for 23rd of this month. While wishing our leaders, both in rotary and elsewhere, the best food forward, they should always remember that, MANKIND IS OUR BUSINESS.

  • Odumadobodi

    Odumadubodi is a pidgin word for another pidgin phrase, “person wey wan do person, do himself”. By now you must get the drift. Most times when we go out to damage others we invariably end up damaging ourselves. It is an unchangeable and permanent, natural law. It is the law of reciprocal action. It is the law of sowing and reaping.

    Since the commencement of elective democratic experiment in the country,none had seen nor had such a devastating effect on the psyche of the people as the 2015 election.

    While the campaign raged nobody thought to apply restraint to the types of abuses we as a people subjected ourselves and were subjected to. Since the beginning of the new administration, the loud voices of triumphalism and vendetta continues the rampage; and as Fela sang,it bought out the “beast in us”.

    It is counterproductive to live in the past or in pursuit of vengeance. The financial institutions realized this and that’s why they have “bad debts” in their books. A DSTV advert says “ the fisher man does not wake up thinking of the failure of yesterday’s catch but how to better today’s catch”.

    We have spent the last one year fixated on alleged “looters” of our treasury and the media condemnation through name and shame that the hysteria has taken over the mind and well-being of most people, who now believe that jailing the “looters” especially former President Jonathan and all PDP members is the panacea to the nation’s plethora of problems.

    By all means do the needful but while that is ongoing, the world is moving on, people are being born and dying. Jailing someone is not the end of anyone’s life nor does it necessarily change people. If it did, there would be no crimes in the entire western world that has perfected the act of earthly justice. The “murder” committed daily by false accusations/witnessing is a worse crime that breeds its kind a million fold.

    For a nation of imported religions, a more humane approach to dealing with issues confronting this nation will have been more salutary. Jailing all Nigerians presumed corrupt or thieves will not have any positive impact either in our pockets or situation only a temporary satisfaction for some people which soon sours. But the media and its influencers seem to believe this is the only way.

    This media war has made it difficult for the nation to progress as well-meaning opinions on the goings on in the nation are tarred with corruption or PDP brush, and heaped with all manners of derogatory names. The fear of arrests and detention has driven patriotism underground and of course where there is no opposing view or voice, the people become half awake.

    The media influencers and handlers of this administration are unfair to the administration. If all they get to hear is only yes, yes, and what they believe the administration wants to hear and not what it needs to hear, they then, are the administrations worst enemies, for what is hidden will always see the light.

    Parents of a 12-month old baby that is unable to stand let alone walk by then will out of concern seek help for it is unnatural for a baby that old to still be crawling.

    When you constantly fill the media with news of “discovered” new “loot” and call any and all dissenting or probing voices names, you are not helping the government, the nation or yourself. When people are fed with half-truths, outright lies and are afraid to ask questions and express themselves, the people perish.

    The harvest comes long after we have planted, and we may have forgotten we did the planting.

    Can we for the sake of our generations unborn, retrace our steps, and speak good of all, the past, and present for our today was our yesterday, and our tomorrow is our today.

    Can we articulate opinions on what the country genuinely needs to grow?

    In my opinion, the first is justice encapsulated in a fair and equitable, redistribution of resources. My second is freedoms of expression, association and choice, for I know that there is no absolute freedom for freedoms naturally terminates where individual rights meets. Yet freedom is absolute to creativity and growth. It needs no compulsion. Democracy is a principle of freedom and this is evidenced in self-discipline and not bullying or coercion. We often confuse “dividends of democracy” with (functions) dividends of governance. While democracy is freedom to choose who governs you, provision of good governance is the function or job description of that choice. Democracy therefore guarantees you the ability to question and regulate your choice.

    We find ourselves assigning jobs meant to the executive to the legislature and vice versa. When we don’t understand the difference we fail to monitor our choices effectively. I believe that we as a nation will benefit more if the media and handlers will point the people to this basic difference. This is the starting point to understanding what change is. Asking the right questions to the right people, who will then have to give the right answers.

    Some reading this, may chuckle and say oh “na woman forgive am”; this is good too, for I am a proud Nigerian woman, wife, mother, professional and employer of labour. I may be labeled PDP looter or sympathizer. It is all well,  for PDP members are Nigerians and I am a Nigerian.

     

    • Chizea writes from Lagos.

  • JAMB: Let varsities conduct their examinations

    Before the recent statement by the Honourable Minister of Education abolishing Post UTME examinations, both the universities and JAMB had agreed that the two tests be used in selecting candidates. Following the statement by the minister, all kinds of comments have been made. Those who support the position of the minister are rejoicing that the exploiters in the universities have been defeated while the universities are angry that the JAMB examination cheats have been given an open cheque. Those who accuse universities of exploitation fail to appreciate what led to the introduction of the PUTME. It had become very obvious that some of the candidates admitted with high JAMB scores could not match their performance with the scores. For my university in particular, we have been concerned with not allowing the wrong candidates to gain admission at the expense of the good ones. If that thinking is wrong, we do not have any apologies.

    If anybody was to give JAMB a pass mark for a job well done, certainly not with what happened in this year’s UTME. Is it possible that the Honourable Minister of Education knows what the rest of us do not know? At the end of the day, only the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board [JAMB] will be able to say [if at all they will say it] what happened in this year’s Unified Tertiary Institutions Matriculation Examinations [UTME]. Right from the first day, there were lots of complaints. I know a candidate who said his system shut down up to five times and had to be restarted each time. At the end he was not sure if what he had been doing between the shutdown sessions were correctly retained by the computers.

    The first major problem was with the results of February 27, candidates which were abysmally low but were upgraded by 40% a few days after. What was the basis of across the board addition of 40 marks to all the candidates from particular centres? Is it not possible that if all went well, some of those candidates may have scored additional 80 marks or more while others may even have scored less?  The next problem was with candidates who took their examinations on Tuesday, March 1. No results were available for about three days. When eventually the results came out, some of the students I met in a particular school in Akwa Ibom State wept profusely when their results were presented to them. The same thing happened with those who took the examinations on Friday, March 4. One particular girl insisted that what she saw was not her result. I wish it was possible to access her question paper and answer script to confirm what she claimed.

    There was a reported case of a candidate, Ibrahim Shamwilu, from Kogi State, who was given a score of 399 out of 400 only to have it reduced to 199 within 24 hours. Another candidate was reported to have been given a score of 345 only to have it reduced to 243 the next day.

    JAMB must admit that there is a credibility problem with this year’s examination result. The papers may not have leaked – I have not heard anything to that effect but something went wrong with many aspects of the examination. JAMB must carry out some soul searching and be ready to accept that this one-chance CBT based examination is not the best thing to do now.

    I want Nigerians to look again at the following issues. Firstly, what advised the reduction of time for the examination from the usual three and a half hours to two hours and forty five minutes? Did they expect candidates taking mathematics based subjects to solve problems with an average of 39 seconds which they now allowed for each question? Secondly, by randomly selecting questions for candidates doing the same course, did they take note of the fact that some candidates may be unlucky to have a random selection that puts them at a disadvantage against other candidates? Have we agreed that good luck should now be a factor in obtaining good scores in UTME? For a course like medicine where one mark can be very crucial, must we make room for luck?I use different question papers for my students in the structural engineering courses I teach. All of them basically answer the same questions but with different data. For example, a candidate can be asked to calculate the area of a triangle with sides 5cm, 6cm and 8cm. Another candidate could be given a triangle of sides 8cm, 10cm and 15cm. In that case, a level playing ground is provided for all of them. The present CBT used by JAMB does not present a level playing ground for all candidates. If JAMB contends this I challenge them to conduct a trial examination with outside observers. Let them generate five sets of questions and give to the candidates to answer and let us then analyse the results. I watched the Cowbellpedia Mathematics Competitions for last year and this problem was also there. Some of the candidates had easier questions than others. As exciting as the quizzes were, they should not be the main basis for selecting the best mathematicians in secondary schools in Nigeria.

    Thirdly, have we brought into reckoning the issue of impersonators? In 2012, I happened to be involved in the organization of PUTME in my school. One day, I got a call from a young man that he was noticing people in a cybercafé changing photographs on the UTME results and the PUTME results. It was then that I got to know what was happening. Somebody impersonated for a candidate at UTME and also came and impersonated at the PUTME. What we did opened our eyes to how far Nigerians can go to do evil. We collected the photographs used for the PUTME by all the candidates that were admitted. During the registration exercise, we crosschecked the photograph of the person who took the PUTME with the person who came to register. The first day, more than 40 candidates were detected as having used impersonators. The most terrible ones were when boys impersonated for girls. That year, hundreds of candidates could not take up their places. That was when we came out with the term serial impersonators. If we are now saying there should be no PUTME, how do we fish out impersonators? Have we decided that our hardworking students who do not cheat should forfeit their places to impersonators simply because JAMB is the only body to conduct examinations for admission? If we let some parents know that only UTME is needed for admission, let us wait and see what will happen at the next UTME.

    I wish to suggest that we look again at this matter of university admission. JAMB has over the years tried in assisting in admitting candidates into tertiary institutions and should be commended. But in view of the large number of candidates it is now handling and the problems of ensuring level playing ground with the CBT examinations, will it not be better if JAMB just serves a clearing house for candidates to be sent to take their entrance examinations at three schools of their choice? In this case those who do not want two examinations will be satisfied. Can we also have a situation in which a candidate who so desires takes examination for admission into about three schools as against the current situation in which once a candidate misses the UTME examination, he has to wait for another one year?How many countries are doing what we are still doing? Universities are best positioned to examine and admit their candidates. What we are suffering in this country is trying to micromanage the country from Abuja. Let us note that sooner or later we will have to release people to manage what they are best suited to do.

     

    • Uko is Professor of Structural Engineering, University of Uyo, Uyo.
  • Olowo-Okere: Departure of a community leader a year after

    Olowo-Okere: Departure of a community leader a year after

    A year ago, the chiefs, elders, leaders and community members of the Ikagbe Quarters in the Efon-Alaye Local Government Area of Ekiti State lost a great leader, a centenarian who came, saw and conquered. To them, a mighty tree has fallen; an iroko has been cut down, though by nature.

    The late Olowa’jubu James Bamigboye Ekundayo Makanjuola Olowo-Okere was born to the late High Chief Abe, the Ojubu of Ikagbe and the late Chief (Mrs) Jayeola Abe, the Eye Okunato of Ikagbe, Efon-Alaaye , in 1910.

    Olowa’jubu  Olowo-Okere was no ordinary child. He was the eldest son of his parents, and he had four siblings, out of which two survived him. By providence, he became a farmer of great repute before he was unanimously selected by the Ikagbe kingmakers in 1957 to ascend the throne of his forefathers.

    Following his coronation as the Ojubu of Ikagbe in 1957, Olowa’jubu Olowo-Okere became not only the traditional head of Ikagbe, but also one of the Iwarafas of Efon Alaaye and a member of the seven-man Alaaye in-Council for Efon Kingdom where he served the town with distinction for 58 years and was known for his rare honesty, integrity, fairness, dedication and commitment, amongst other sterling qualities.

    Aba or Aba’jubu, as he was called by everyone, was renowned for many things, but topmost was his very rare and consistent honesty, fairness and high integrity. He believed in honesty and probity. He never took a bribe or be influenced in dispensing justice. He never took a bribe to acquit the guilty. I saw him groan on many occasions when he felt that someone or some people had been bribed to change ancient boundaries, give someone’s family land to another, or acquit the guilty. He did not mind being alone, if it was on the side of the truth. No wonder, it was remarked by most elders of the town that “olooto ilu ti lo” (i.e. the town’s honest man is gone). Throughout the period of his traditional burial in July 2015, a common denominator of people’s tribute all over the town was his honesty and integrity. Olowa’jubu Olowo-Okere abhorred greed and could not stand anyone in it.

    Aba was endowed with his extra ordinary wisdom. His views and guidance were constantly sought on many issues. He would be the first to speak on a difficult case, setting the tone for others to follow. He would effortlessly narrate stories and say proverbs to navigate difficult or delicate cases, as he must have adjudicated thousands of cases over the decades, which became his primary occupation after ascending the throne. Aba also sat on the Efon customary magistrate court as a judge for several years. He would be greatly missed for the fearless and fair judgments he consistently gave over the decades.

    Despite not having a formal education, Aba was an historian extraordinary. He knew the origins of things and people and would effortlessly talk about any town, king or kingdom, war and so on in Yorubaland. He would tell the history of Efon and its people, the relationship and origins of various Yoruba towns and tribal wars among them and so on. He knew a lot of things and it was practically impossible to extract from him everything he knew. He provided explanations for the origins of various rivers in the town, land boundaries and why certain things were done in certain ways. Aba’jubu knew all the families in the town, their histories and “orikis”. He would easily recognize a person and the family he came from by merely looking at the face.

    He was extremely hardworking and a good counsellor, and he provided good guidance to the young and adults on just anything and everything, including marriages on various farming issues and  general life issues. Considering his many sterling qualities, he was highly respected in the town by all.

    Abajubu was known to be very firm, fearless, but very respectful. He could easily not be swayed to do something in a wrong way. He thought carefully through things and made up his mind on that which was most upright.  His word was his bond.  During the 1983 political crises in Efon (then as part of Ondo State), he had to appear at night to address a crowd of rioting people who were protesting the arrest of some UPN leaders in the town.

    Abajubu would spend his time, even at nights, to guide people, including even those that did not ask him for  advice. He would give to anyone that asked and the needy. He lent money to several people without interest and he never collected back the money from most of them, just as many farmed on his lands with no tributes.

    Olowa’jubu Olowo-Okere was loving, diplomatic and accommodating. He brought people together by brokering peace among people. When any family member, no matter how distant, was celebrating, Aba would surely participate, either with his presence, delegation or gift.

    Abajubu was a rare gift to the people of Ikagbe and Efon Alaaye. He provided excellent guidance and leadership to Efon for many decades.

    God gave him wisdom and long life, and he fully deployed the former to reinforce the latter by living on his many principles: standing on the truth always makes a man to live long, don’t sell land because it is the resting place, don’t take advantage of your position to sell what belongs to many if you want to live long and so on.

    He was a strong and devoted Christian. Initially, a member of the Baptist family, he joined the Christ Church of Light in 1967 when the church was established in his domain.

    Aba was a caring and loving brother, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and community leader. Baba was extremely frank – always saying the truth, and that was inseparable from his life.

    Olowa’jubu Olowo-Okere is survived by sisters, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and relatives.

    There will be a thanksgiving service and final burial in his honour at Christ Church of Light, Ikagbe , Efon Alaye on Saturday, July 16, to be followed by a reception at St Finbarrs School field, Oke-Ayo, Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State_____.

    • Olowo-Okere sent this piece from Lagos.