The Nation Newspaper

Category: Dele Agekameh

  • Buhari’s open agenda

    Way back during the last electioneering for the presidential election which President Muhammadu Buhari won clear and square, the major campaign stunt against him was that “once a dictator, always a dictator”. The President’s party, the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), fought tooth and nail with all the ammunition at its disposal to shed this toga. In fact, that was what led to the President’s declaration at Chatham House in London, that he is, indeed, a converted democrat. But barely 90 days in office, the self-acclaimed converted democrat, has left nobody in doubt that the leopard may not be able to change its spots.

    Reason? If his actions and utterances since he came to the saddle of power are anything to go by, then one may be tempted to say that the president has little or no democratic blood flowing in his veins. The problem is even more compounded because it appears that the ruling party, the APC, is just papering over some of the unimaginable actions of the president. Although the president is trying his best to see that things are going on smoothly in the country, so far, it appears the country has been placed in auto-pilot mode. Or what do you call a situation where governance has been reduced to the whims and caprices of just one man and only one man?

    From the earlier appointments of Service Chiefs and other security heads, to the one-sided appointments into key cabinet positions that took place at the tail end of last week, the president has, again and again, demonstrated that he is, indeed, in charge. Remember that the loud whispers that dominated former president Goodluck Jonathan’s era were that the former president was not actually in charge at all. This was simply because many times when he was expected to put his foot down, he was found wanting. That was an era of super-ministers and super-advisers who were busy lining their pockets with our common patrimony, while the president looked away. It was like the famous saying that “Nero looked away, while Rome was burning”.

    Now, Nigeria has a president that is not only in charge, but also ready to bark and bite. But while this is a welcome development, there are some aspects of his moves that may be dangerous to the polity viz-a-viz the peaceful and harmonious co-existence of all the various tribes in the country. Just last Saturday, a National Daily carried on its front page a graphic depiction of the nature and pattern of appointments since President Buhari took over the reins of governance. The graph showed that most of the appointments had, in fact, favoured the northern part of the country, with 24 appointments to a miserable seven in the south. Even at that, the northwest where the president comes from, has the lion share with both the north central and northeast trailing dejectedly behind neck and neck.

    In the southern part of the country, while the south-south geo-political zone seems to have produced more appointees, the southwest is lagging behind with just a sprinkle of appointees, while the southeast appears to have been forgotten totally in the political equation. However, it was the latest appointments of key cabinet members such as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Chief of Staff (COS), the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, and the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, that were all domiciled in the north, that is currently creating ripples and misgivings in the polity.

    The appointments made so far, have undoubtedly completely placed the North in the driver’s seat of the Nigerian Presidency as regions of the North are dominating the Principal Offices in the Villa, a marked departure from the past when positions were largely shared along geopolitical lines. To make matters worse, reports have it that following a good showing in the series of appointments made so far by the President, the North appears unrelenting in its bid to sweep the major ministerial positions considered as key to the development of the North. They are said to be eyeing such lucrative ministries as those of Defence, Agriculture, Works, Finance, Transport and Petroleum, among others.

    ‘Nobody is against the war on corruption, but the fear is that no area or areas of the country should be stigmatised or made a scapegoat while the other area or areas are being courted as the beautiful bride’

    When confronted last week, a presidential aide said though the juicy appointments may have eluded other parts of the country as they have been concentrated in the northern axis, the president will certainly make amends in other appointments yet to be filled. According to him, service is service. Hmm! That may sound like robbing a soothing balm on a festering sore. Without mincing words, the deed has been done and cannot be undone. With the SGF and COS positions gone, the CG of Customs and CG, Immigration gone, now, tell me, what is left to balance the unbalanced equation?

    As for the southeast, the situation is very precarious and lamentable in that there had been wide speculations that the SGF position might be zoned to the area. And Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, a long time acquaintance of the president himself, might clinch the post. Onu was with the president in the All Nigerian Peoples’ Party (ANPP), which fused with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which also later fused into the All Progressives’ Congress (APC). Another person whose name came up for consideration as SGF was Rotimi Amaechi, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, who is believed to have worked tirelessly in cash and kind to see to the emergence of Buhari as president. Though the ex-governor is currently embattled in his state, the fact that Onu himself was sidelined shows that there is more to these appointments than meets the eye.

    Buhari has consistently said that nobody that is tainted with corruption will serve in his government. With the naked imbalance in the appointments made so far, does that mean that the northern part of the country is an island of saints, while the southern part, particularly the southeast, is a corruption-infested zone? If this is the assumption, then there is every reason to disagree because those who have brought this country to its knees are evenly distributed across the country; and that is, if they are not numerically more in the north. It is these same people who have contributed significantly to the backwardness and poverty currently sweeping across major parts of the north. It is the reason for the insecurity that has pervaded the place these past six years with wanton destruction of lives, property and the economic well-being of the people.

    If the president had nursed a hidden agenda as he came into office that agenda may have now become an open agenda. Wherever you find two or more people locked in deep discussion since last week, they are most certainly discussing or reviewing the recent appointments. Simply put, what has happened so far in terms of the lopsided appointments is a great injustice done to certain parts of this country and a big threat to the corporate existence of this great nation. Nobody is against the war on corruption, but the fear is that no area or areas of the country should be stigmatised or made a scapegoat while the other area or areas are being courted as the beautiful bride.

    The talk that most of the people appointed so far into positions were not personally known to the president is bullshit. Those who recommended them had their reasons for doing so. At least, they knew them and so they went all out to sell their candidacy to the president. But then, the president himself, in his wisdom, should have thought about the political implication of concentrating his appointments in one particular area of the country when he got his votes across the country. Nigerians, shine your eyes!

     

  • Kukah’s probe homily

    No discerning practitioner or observer of socio-political activities in Nigeria will, consciously, discountenance the unfettered contributions of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, who is presently the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese. When it was not fashionable to be seen to counter the draconian policies and programmes of the then dreaded General Sani Abacha junta, Bishop Kukah and his fellow civil society activists were on the rampage waging a war of nerves against the maximum leader and his apologists.

    Bishop Kukah’s belief in and commitment to the Nigerian Project is better understood in the context of his being a highly-visible Catholic cleric who is not encumbered by some people’s notion that he should be seen but not heard. It is on record that this commitment to foster peace and harmony among Nigeria’s diverse ethnic or tribal and religious configuration, drove his resolve to convene the National Peace Committee as a vehicle to ensure peaceful and violence-free elections before, during and after the last electioneering exercise.

    When this body of eminent Nigerians met President Muhammadu Buhari recently, it did not do so at the behest of any person either in or out of government, supposedly on account of the ongoing probes or rumours of probes. Unfortunately, that visit has suddenly become controversial. What may have prompted the rash of ill comments from some quarters about the mission and agenda of the Committee, is the reported opinion canvassed by Bishop Kukah that the current anti-graft crusade should be conducted within a backdrop of the Constitution and the Rule of Law and not on a monarchical set up that ensures that the President’s word is inviolate. Bishop Kukah opined that while the war against corruption and economic pillaging is in full steam, care should be taken to ensure that due process is not set aside in the bid to play to the gallery and leave the duties of state to go fallow.

    It is pertinent to mention that the preponderance of informed opinions on the on-going wide probes in the country is that the formation of the Presidential Anti-Graft Advisory Committee headed by Professor Itse Sagay, may be both extra-judicial and unconstitutional. The argument is that it goes against the grain of the need to investigate and prosecute proven cases of corruption by constitutionally-recognised bodies which should be strengthened and fundamentally-restructured to confront the ogre of corruption and corruptive activities in the country.

    Therefore, Bishop Kukah’s views about the ongoing cacophony of innuendoes and insinuations of high-falutin corruption and graft, is that it may actually distract the President’s focus from doing what he was elected to do in the first instance. He said, inter alia: “Everybody knows that things are not the way they ought to be. We are just trying to encourage people that let’s get on with this business of fixing this country. Let’s get to the business of realising the change that we dreamt of. And also, most importantly, let’s get down with the business of co-operating with God so that Nigeria can move forward…I think that is what ordinary Nigerians are expecting. This is what they voted for. The truth of the matter is that time is not on our side. Our responsibility is to encourage politicians to do what they were elected to do.”

    This and other pan-Nigerian views expressed by Bishop Kukah, are not patronising or tongue-in-cheek but a timely homily delivered in the national interest and not one constructed in the warped imagination of his (and by extension, the National Peace Committee) traducers, who are finding “solution” to corruption and graft through witch-hunting, media-prosecution and trial by ordeal. After all, Bishop Kukah has an inalienable right to hold personal views or opinion on any subject as far as it does not impinge on those of other people. That he is a priest does not detract from the primary fact that he is also a concerned Nigerian committed to the welfare of its citizens.

    Some people have maintained that the main focus and thrust of the much-hyped probes and rumours of probes are directed against the former administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan. This is the more reason why the President will do well to diffuse the gathering storm of the rehearsed persecutions and witch-hunts and face actual governance. He should also offset his campaign promises without necessarily, wittingly or unwittingly, fuelling any distractions and its attendant media razzmatazz as we are now witnessing. The kernel of Bishop Kukah’s homily is that real focus and attention should be placed on pressing national issues that need urgent and holistic solutions. And there are several issues begging for attention.

    ‘We must avoid the vilification and demonisation of those who, out of their patriotic zeal, are contributing to the pool of ideas that will move the country up the ladder of progress.’

    Quite understandably, the president is doing his outmost best to stamp out terrorism in the Northeast of the country. The recent appointment of new Service Chiefs and National Security Adviser have, indeed, upped the ante in the war against the Boko Haram terrorists who have virtually paralysed the socio-economic well-being of that part of the country. But the president needs to do more to convince Nigerians that they did not make a wrong choice on March 28, 2015 when they trooped out to cast their votes for him at the presidential election.

    One particular area that readily comes to mind is the area of infrastructures including roads, schools, hospitals and all that. For instance, nothing seems to be happening anymore on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which reconstruction work has suddenly stopped. Besides, most of our hospitals have remained, if I may borrow from the late General Sani Abacha’s coup day broadcast on December 31, 1983, “mere consulting clinics”. Nowadays, people go to hospitals, especially government hospitals, not for succour or any healing, but simply to go and die. As for schools, the whole thing has gone from bad to worse as pupils and students now study under terribly unbearable conditions fit only for animals. I can go on and on.

    While Nigeria is not running or operating a Saudi Arabia-type of “democracy” where the King is virtually infallible and a “political island”, President Buhari and his party, the APC, as well as his advisers, should imbibe the virtue of assimilating or adapting the positive contributions that will provide a reservoir or pool of alternatives but useful advice necessary in driving his nascent administration to success.

    Therefore, the current virulent and bileful riposte by the president’s men smacks of a deliberate leakage of what transpired between the President and the National Peace Committee at the recent meeting held at the Villa. This is what has triggered the laughable and ill-conceived demonstrations to Aso Rock Villa and other public places. The spontaneity of the reactions to the views expressed by Bishop Kukah by some interested members of the Nigerian public, appeared programmed and sponsored to convey a populist rejection of those pan-Nigeria opinions and suggestions raised by the erudite cleric, as they were not in sync with those held by some interested parties who are in favour of ‘mob justice’.

    It is imperative that Nigerians should be spared a resurgence of the orgy of “solidarity marches” that defined and characterised the Abacha despotic years which some concerned Nigerians believed was not indicative of the junta’s popularity rating. And if these “million-man marches” are being sponsored with tax payers’ money, then corruption, by other means, is at play.

    The truth is that all patriotic Nigerians should endeavour to contribute viable ideas that will move the country towards the realisation of corruption-free governance, sustainable development and the equitable distribution of the dividends of democracy. We must avoid the vilification and demonisation of those who, out of their patriotic zeal, are contributing to the pool of ideas that will move the country up the ladder of progress.

  • Ile-Ife: Tradition Vs Modernity (3)

    After two weeks of anxiety, suspense and denial, the controversy surrounding the fate of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, the Ooni of Ife, finally came to an end last Wednesday, August 12, 2015, when the Ife Traditional Council formally announced his transition. That announcement laid to rest the speculation that had dominated the media regarding the fate of the Oba since the evening of July 28, 2015. On Tuesday, July 28, 2015, news of the demise of the frontline traditional ruler in a high-brow hospital in London hit the airwaves and sent cold shivers all over the place. Apparently jolted by the news, the Ife Traditional Council vehemently denied that the Oba had passed on. The Council said the “rumour” was the handiwork of mischief-makers.

    But the ‘rumour mongers’ were unrelenting in their reportage of the transition of the Oba. This created a lot of confusion. And this was the situation until Wednesday last week; a clear 16 days after the news first broke out, when the news of the Oba’s transition was officially made known by the Traditional Council. From then on, various traditional cult groups held bizarre displays around the town and within the fortress of the palace as part of the traditional rites of passage for the revered Oba. Before then, the Oro cult group had clandestinely commenced certain rites in the ancient town since the news was first broken by the media.

    As required by tradition, markets were shut and people were kept indoors. The ceremonies came to a crescendo last Friday when an open-air interdenominational service was held for the repose of the soul of the departed Oba after which his remains were later interred at a private burial ceremony within the palace walls. That ended an era in the history of the ancient town.

    But while the controversy lasted, the media was awash with so much distortions, misinformation and misinterpretations which further compounded the schism between the tradition of the ancient town and modernity. For instance, in reporting activities at the Ooni’s palace, allusions were made to the existence of an Ile Nla and also Ile Ase. While it is true that there is a magnificent edifice, a bungalow, called Ile Nla within the palace grounds, there is nothing called Ile  Ase in that palace. What exists side-by-side with Ile Nla, which is like an extension of the Ile-Nla itself, is called Ilegbo. Within that Ilegbo, is a sacred place called Ile Ominrin. Ile Ominrin is the powerhouse in the palace. This is the place where most of the gods and deities worshipped in the ancient town are invoked. It is the place where the Ooni wears his traditional Aare crown which he wears once in a year during the Olojo festival, a festival set aside for the worshipping of Ogun, the god of iron. This is also the place where the final procedure for the enthronement of a new Oba takes place. A deceased Oba is also prepared for burial there.

    For many years, Ile Nla, a building adorned with beautiful carvings depicting the ancient tradition and customs of the people of Ile-Ife, doubled as the town hall before another befitting town hall was built many years ago at the inception of the reign of the late Oba Sijuwade. The new town hall is located at a place called Oke-Enuwa, a walking distance from the palace and very close to Okemogun, the shrine of the god of iron. Inside the Ile Nlaare two graves at the entrance and another two graves at the rear part of the building which are said to be the graves of some previous Oonis. The grave of the late Ooni Adesoji Tadeniawo Aderemi, who died on July 3, 1980, is located at a place adjacent Ile Ominrin, very close to Ile Nla. The late Ooni Sijuwade is believed to have been laid to rest near the grave of Ooni Aderemi. Except for these ones mentioned here, it is not very clear where the remains of other previous Oonis were interred.

    Also there was a mention of an Abobaku, that is, he who dies with the king. While it may not be disputed that it probably existed in the past, the late Ooni Aderemi was said to have put an end to such practice during his 50-year reign as part of measures to do away with some of the practices of old that he found incompatible with modern reality. In the past, the person so known as Abobaku was called Sarun, the traditional aide-de-camp to the Ooni. Though with his skinned head, the Sarun looked more like an Emese, as the traditional bodyguards of the Ooni are called, the Sarun is a coveted office. The occupant enjoys a number of privileges including an unfettered access to the Ooni. For anybody who wants to see the Ooni, the Sarun is the person to meet, the person who acts as the go-between the Ooni and the Chiefs or Emeses and other visitors to the palace.

    The Sarun occupies a pride of place in the palace of the Ooni. The story is that, in the days of yore, once an Oba gave up the ghost, it was customary for the Sarun to automatically follow him in order to serve him in the great beyond. But Ooni Aderemi stopped all that including other sacrifices probably involving the shedding of human blood. I remember in July 1980, when Ooni Aderemi joined his ancestors, the then Sarun, now late, was so terrified that he was pacing up and down in the palace with his eyes turned red, murmuring: ”Aderemi ku, mo ku re ni, Aderemi ku, mo ku re ni…….”  meaning, :”Since Aderemi is dead, I am dead”.

    During this period, the Sarun was extremely mindful of movements around him. And as this was going on, some of the Emeses, who probably had been envious of Sarun’s awesome powers within the palace, were noticed talking in hushed tones whether to uphold the tradition or not, in spite of the abolition of such practices by the departed Ooni. Some of the very stubborn ones among them were overheard saying: “Abi ki a se bi won se nse?” meaning:”Should we do it as it is done?” Fortunately, the Sarun was spared.

    ‘The people of Ife have always placed a high premium on their culture and tradition, which was why in the face of the ceaseless media frenzy on the fate of the Ooni, the people of the ancient city held on tenaciously to their age-long belief’

    A new Oba will always appoint his own Sarun particularly among the Emeses(bodyguards). Chief Adekola Adeyeye, the present holder of the Jaran traditional chieftaincy title in Ife, who is second in command to the Lowa of Ife, the highest traditional chief of the ancient town, was the second Sarun of the late Oba Sijuwade, a position he held for fifteen years, before he was converted to a traditional chief because of the late Ooni’s love for him. He rose rapidly through the ranks to his present status as Jaran. So the talk of human sacrifices during the rites of passage for the late Ooni is a figment of the imagination of the writers.

    By and large, the significance of what happened last week is that Ife has strong traditional and cultural beliefs that have remained sacrosanct in spite of modernity and its attendant encroachment on traditional beliefs and customs in Yoruba land in particular and Africa in general. The people of Ife have always placed a high premium on their culture and tradition, which was why in the face of the ceaseless media frenzy on the fate of the Ooni, the people of the ancient city held on tenaciously to their age-long belief. Now that the late Ooni’s remains have been interred, the race to fill the vacant stool has started in earnest. That topic is for another day.

    • Concluded.

                                                               

  • Ile-Ife: Tradition Vs Modernity (2)

    Ife has strong traditional and cultural beliefs that have endured for a very long time. While modernity has been encroaching very fast into various societies, the people of Ife have placed a high premium on their culture and tradition. That is why in the face of all the media attention on the fate of the Ooni, the people of the ancient city have remained undaunted and unperturbed, preferring instead, to hold on tenaciously to their age long belief.

    After all, as a foremost traditional society in Africa, Ife, as the cradle of the Yoruba race, must lead by example. The institution of the Ooni stool remains the existing seat of Oduduwa, the father of the Yoruba race. As the religious and cultural matrix of the Yorubas, Ile-Ife carries the burden of a great responsibility on its shoulders. Since the Yorubas, whose ancestry is traced to Oduduwa, are unique in their ways and values, it, therefore, follows that all the Obas in Yoruba land are direct descendants of Oduduwa. This is because they all left Ile-Ife at one time or another to settle down in their present places of abode. This is what unmistakably confers on Ile-Ife the enviable title of the cradle of the Yoruba race. As a result of this, any occupant of the Ooni stool is directly confronted with the arduous role of ensuring unity among Yoruba Obas.

    Like I said last week, oral tradition and legend have played a significant role in the history and foundation of the Yoruba as Oduduwa was supposed to have been lowered down through the clouds with a string, bearing some sand and a cockerel in his hand. He was said to have spewed the sand on the ground while he released the cock to spread it over the surface of the whole earth which was then all covered by water. But there is another version, a less mythical story of the founding of Ile-Ife. The narration is that Oduduwa came from Mecca. The account is corroborated by archeological excavations of terracottas, carved figures, brass castings, stools and monoliths in granite and quartz found in several parts of the town. All these gave the suggestion that the Yorubas have the similarity of cultural origin with Egypt. The common denominator in all the various historical narrations of the origin of the Yoruba race is the undisputable acceptance of Oduduwa as their founder and progenitor. This has been the unbreakable bond of unification among the Yorubas.

    Having said this, perhaps, we should now examine the importance of the Ooni in Yoruba history. The Ooni’s stool is an important one and it will be quite antithetical for anybody to question the authenticity of its superiority. The Ooni, a position which every occupant has carried with panache, charisma, candour, respectability and gaiety, is the spiritual head of the Yoruba race. The spiritual headship of the Yoruba race by the Ooni cannot be queried, because the authenticity of his leadership has remained sacrosanct since creation as attested to by various writers and historians.

    In a passing reference, in its Volume No 9, of December 1932 pages 10-11, the West African Students’ Union, WASU, Magazine, featured the following: ……”the Ooni of Ife – the traditionally appointed Head of The Oduduwa House” ….. Also in 1932, the writers of Itan Ilesa, listed on page 115, the following as the sons of Oduduwa (alias Olofinaye i. e. the great lord of the world). (i) Obanifon   (ii) Oba Ado (Benin)   (iii) Oloye   (iv) Owa Ilesa  (v) Orangun Aga (vi) Ajero    (vii) Elekole   (viii) Ore Otun   (ix) Alaketu or Aketu   (x) Awujale Ijebu Ode   (xi) Olowu   (xii) Alara      (xiii) Olojudo  (xiv) Oloye       (xv) Osemifarawe or Osemawe (xvi) Onipopo King of the Popos (vii) Oninan a King of the Nanans etc. Similarly, in Volume XII No 4, 662 of Monday, March 14, 1938, one Old Campaigner, a correspondent of the Nigerian Daily Times, in an article entitled “Forthcoming Chiefs’ Conference in Yoruba land’s Garden of Eden” wrote: “Here again, the Ooni, whom one may be permitted on the authority of Ex-Resident H. L. Wardprice, to call the super-father of the grand family of Oduduwa, had himself led the way”…..

    According to the writers of Itan Ilesa, “Obanifon (obalufon) occupying the premier position among the sons of Oduduwa was the last surviving son of Oduduwa. He ascended the throne of Ife after the demise of their father and he is the ancestor of the succeeding Oonis of Ife”. What this implies is that as a successor to the throne of Oduduwa, the Ooni of Ife represents the tree while other princes who went away and founded new kingdoms represent the branches: In the Government Gazette No 13, March 28, 1903, the great Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Adeyemi Alowolodu was in a discussion with Sir William Macgregor the governor of Lagos on the previous visit to Lagos of the Ooni of Ife early in 1903. In reply to a question from the Governor, the Alafin said, “Egbon mi ni” meaning “He (the Ooni) is my older brother”. That 1903 visit of Oba Olubuse Adelekan, the then Ooni of Ife, to Lagos on the invitation by the Government, was purposely to decide whether or not the two Obas of Remo at that time who were asking for beaded crown had a right to wear it. How the Ooni decided the two cases was how the case was rested. It was there and then made public that it is the prerogative of the Ooni and Ooni alone, as the accredited head of the crowned sons of Oduduwa, to decide which of the rulers of Yoruba land had the right to wear a beaded crown.

    In short, the Obas in Yoruba land know their relative position to the Ooni of Ife and documentary evidence abounds to buttress this claim. There are many other definitive things which are the prerogative of the Ooni alone as the head of the family of the Oduduwa House. However, the problem is not that these facts are not commonly known but there are some who are reluctant to accept them as true. For instance, on page 13 of the History of Abeokuta, by A.K. Ajisafe, even though two of the crowned sons of Oduduwa – the Alaafin of Oyo and the Oba of Benin – grew powerful with mighty influence, they still conceded to the Ooni his unquestionable prerogatives throughout the length and breadth of the commonwealth of Oduduwa. At a time in the past when most of the Yoruba Obas including the Owa of Ilesa, became tributary to the Alaafin of Oyo, the Ooni’s influence continued unabated.

    ‘The spiritual headship of the Yoruba race by the Oni cannot be queried, because the authenticity of his leadership has remained sacrosanct since creation as attested to by various writers and historians’
    A record of the 15th Century gave an example of the powerful Oba of Benin’s own relative position to the Ooni. When a new Oba of Benin was to be installed, for the insignia of royalty, the Ooni used to send: a staff, a cap or crown, a cross and a sword. Whenever an Oba of Benin joined his ancestors, it was customary to send to Ile-Ife to get an official mask of the deceased Oba. Usually the Benin envoys sent to Ile-Ife were only allowed to see the Ooni’s foot. On the departure of such envoys they became for life “enjoyers of the freedom of Ife”, and crosses were put around their neck. In that century, the Chief of Ugwato, a Benin Ambassador, accompanied some Portuguese to Portugal. There, the Bini Chief gave information of a most powerful king named Ogane (i. e. the Ooni of Ife) to whom even the great Oba of Benin was subject. This so moved the king of Portugal that he sent in the year 1485, one Jose Affonso d’ Aveiro, to accompany the Bini envoy to see the Ooni of Ife.

    • To be continued

           

  • Ile-Ife: Tradition Vs Modernity (1)

    It is quite obvious that those who question the myth of Ile-Ife as the origin of the human race cannot deny the historical roots of Yoruba people as a whole in the ancient town. The town is home to the sacred grove of Oduduwa, the progenitor and founder of the entire Yoruba race and to whom all Yoruba, scattered all over the globe, hold their existence. Today, a short walk from the palace of the Ooni of Ife, situated at the centre of the ancient town called Enuwa, takes you to an area called Igbodio where the sacred grove of Oduduwa is located.

    Inside the grove, is a moderate building surrounded by trees. Inside the building, which is not accessible to anyone except the traditionalists in the town, is a rustic, ancient chain through which Oduduwa was said to have descended to the earth. Although, different towns and congregations of Yoruba have different stories about how they got to their present locations, that they still owe allegiance to Oduduwa is not in doubt. Except for Ile-Ife where the grove housing Oduduwa is located, I do not know anywhere else where such exists in Yorubaland.

    Having said this, the role of an Ooni is central in the affairs of the Yoruba people. And when an Ooni brings to that role, the virtues of wide-spread business and enterprise experiences, immense regional, national and international connections, wisdom, wealth, and above all, a dignifying carriage, it is bound to make tremendous impact on the race in particular and other black people in the Diaspora in general.

    These days, modernity has reduced the world to a global village where events and activities happening thousands of miles apart are simultaneously received and monitored all over the place with electric speed in the comfort of homes and offices. But despite these ever-consuming forces of modernity and advancement in technology, the umbilical cord that binds the ancient town of Ife with tradition has remained unbroken. Last week, the ancient town, the cradle of the Yoruba race was put in the spotlight. In what was akin to a clash of the titans, there was a direct collision between the forces of tradition and modernity. While tradition, as exemplified by traditionalists in the ancient town held on to their age-long beliefs and norms, the forces of modernity which have found expression in the internet and the social media through smart gadgets and what have you, were both engaged in a war of supremacy.

    It all began like a whisper in the early evening of Tuesday, July 28, before it quickly snowballed into a near ‘conflagration’ of sorts. Time was about 8:30pm, Nigerian time which also corresponds with the summer time in London. That evening, I received an unusual call from London. The terse message from the other end almost threw me off balance: “Baba ti lo” meaning, Papa is gone. I stammered: “Baba wo?” meaning, which Papa? My adrenalin shot up. My question received no immediate response as the person on the other side simply said: “Jo, je kin pe e pada” meaning, “Please, let me call you back.”

    From that time on, things happened in quick succession. My phones rang endlessly. Calls came in from virtually everywhere from friends and relatives as well as from numerous colleagues both within and outside the country – the USA, Canada, Britain, etc. They all wanted to confirm whether the news they had heard or picked up on the internet about Ile Oodua (Oduduwa House) as the palace at Ife is now known, was true. Of course, I had nothing to tell them. All I could say was that I had just received a call from London pointing to the same thing but that the person at the other end quickly hung up with a promise to get back to me.

    Minutes turned into hours and the expectations continued as the phones will not stop ringing throughout the night. I could not get annoyed for the disturbance the calls posed to my sleep that night. I knew I was paying the price for having been born and bred within the four walls of the palace in Ife where I lived for more than 22 years with my parents and siblings during the reign of a great son of Oduduwa, also a great figure in Nigeria’s history, Sir Adesoji Tadeniawo Aderemi, the late Ooni of Ife, 1930-1980. The callers truncated my sleep that night because they thought I was in a position to throw more light on the wild “rumour”.

    The following day, almost all the newspapers in the news-stands carried the story in one form or another. The other communication outlets – the internet, via smart gadgets and the social media platforms – also continued their feast on the news. But there is no way modernity will consign tradition to the backyard of events especially when the transition of a revered monarch and powerful institution as the Ooni of Ife is involved. In spite of the encroachment of modernity on our traditional ways of life in Africa, traditional beliefs especially in places like the Benin kingdom, Ile-Ife, Oyo and many other historical towns in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, have remained sacrosanct and unyielding to civilization. It is this unyielding stance that precipitated the clash between tradition and modernity which we have witnessed in the developments in Ife. What is at the centre of the raging media war between the traditional chiefs in Ife and mass communication practitioners who believe that it is their duty to keep the people and their readers informed of happenings at all times, is the belief that tradition is superior to modernity.

    For more than four months now, the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolopkolo, Erediauwa, has neither been seen nor heard in public. Though the Benin Traditional Council came up with the news that the revered Oba was indisposed on March 8, since then, nobody has dared to speculate anything about the Oba. Over the years, the Binis have held tenaciously to their tradition so much that whatever happens to their highly revered monarch cannot be for public consumption under whatever guise until the Traditional Council decides otherwise. This tradition is as old as the Benin kingdom itself. It is a procedure that has been rigidly followed and has remained unbroken for centuries, modernity notwithstanding. I guess the whole country is now waiting patiently for an update on the fate of the Oba from the traditionalists in Benin. Before then, people can only talk in hushed tones. Such is the fear and trepidation that tradition has created.

    Perhaps, one of the reasons the media has been abuzz with recent development at Ile Oodua, is the flamboyance and visibility of the occupant of the Ooni’s stool which, over the years, has been accorded tremendous media attention and conspicuous visibility. As a result of this, it is natural that any news, whether good or bad, emanating from the Source, as   Ile-Ife is affectionately called, will attract instant media celebration. Besides, it appears there are far too many leakages in the whole system and these leakages can only be engineered from within. It is like what comes around, goes round. The same scenario that played out in July 1980, is again playing out with greater effervescence and disruptive capacity to tradition, this time around in July 2015.

    The question now begging for answer is: With increasing advancement in communication technology, how can these perennial leakages be stopped? I have written this with a great sense of responsibility and reverence as an ‘insider’ who has a good knowledge of Ile-Ife and particularly, the story of the palace of the Ooni of Ife.

    ‘Perhaps, one of the reasons the media has been abuzz with recent development at Ile Oodua, is the flamboyance and visibility of the occupant of the Ooni’s stool which, over the years, has been accorded tremendous media attention and conspicuous visibility ’

  • Reforming the judiciary

    What the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is confronted with a Herculean task is no longer news. What is news is that Buhari, the self-proclaimed crusader, has pledged to tackle, head on, the quantum beast of corruption that runs free in the country. Already, there are indications that the president is sincere and determined to take a swing at the beast. However, if he must succeed, the judiciary should be a good starting point.

    The judiciary is not a branch of the executive or the legislature; it is a distinct arm of government with, perhaps, the greatest responsibility in the coming months and years, if the ongoing fight against corruption must be won. We must not underestimate the importance of the judiciary in ridding the country of its dirty image. This is why the present administration can contribute to seeing that a truly independent judiciary is realised in the country and avoid the mistakes of past administrations.

    It is sad to note that the noble profession has not been immune to the scourge of corruption and our lawyers and judges have been complicit. But with the coming of Yemi Osinbajo, a professor, former Attorney-General of Lagos State and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as the Vice-president, there seems to be a ray of hope. The time could not be better for a real overhauling of the justice system to ensure that it is equipped to carry out its duties as freely, fairly and promptly as the present situation of the country demands. Surely, the country needs to make up for lost time in the prolonged fight against corruption which has been ongoing with multiple anti-corruption agencies, schemes and master plans that come to nought before the muddied waters of the judiciary.

    Over the years, judges and lawyers have been in cahoot with corrupt government officials and private individuals with deep pockets and their complicity has defaced the justice system. However, recent happenings in the judiciary seem to show a changing course within the judiciary. First, was the appointment of Justice Aloma Mukhtar as the Chief Justice of Nigeria in July 2012. Her tenure witnessed a toughening of the judiciary, with many disciplinary proceedings against lawyers, high and low, taking a new and determined shape. Under her leadership, the judiciary was determined to launder the image of the justice system, but this image laundry has yet to resonate in the lower ranks of high court judges and unfortunately, the bar itself.

    The case of a former state governor who was fraudulently absolved of all the cases of embezzlement, money laundering and other acts of financial impropriety brought against him in Nigeria before he was finally tried and jailed in Britain is still very fresh in living memory. Mention must also be made of the celebrated “Police Pension Funds. Scam’ involving N32.8 billion purportedly diverted by some top civil servants. One of them who was involved in defrauding the Pension Fund of N27.2 billion and pocketing N2 billion of the amount, was handed a jail term of two years with an option of N750,000 fine!  This was clearly a signpost of the endemic corruption and rot in the country’s judiciary.

    If the judiciary must live up to its responsibility of dispensing justice without fear or favour, then the status of courts and judges needs to be upgraded in terms of physical security around the courtrooms. Not once have we had news of thugs-for-hire overrunning court premises even while court sessions are ongoing. Bayelsa, Ekiti and Rivers are some of such states where the sanctity of the courtroom has been so derided by mischievous people who probably had a stake in whatever proceedings were being conducted at the courtrooms. The gripping thing is the ease and frequency of such happenings, an episode of which has also been recorded at the Apo High Court premises in Abuja in the past. The courts are manned by little-trained security personnel and the security measures in most courts leaves judges, litigants and lawyers as sitting ducks for intending troublemakers.

    The problems go beyond infrastructure and security. The judicial workers are mostly underpaid and lack basic training in most cases. In the mix of corrupt judges, lack of infrastructure, disenchanted judicial workers, political meddling and low standard of ethics at the bar, justice is continually held to ransom. In some of the impeachment dramas that played out of some states, for instance, judges played a shameful role at times as political stooges rather than the custodians of the law that they are. Similarly, lawyers engage in practices that abuse the law in order to satisfy the demands of clients that have no regard for the law. It has been said that the many strikes by judicial workers, although sometimes occasioned by legitimate grievances of the workers, are in a few cases, carefully orchestrated by deep pockets with vested interests in ongoing proceedings who want them stalled until any outcomes are inconsequential.

    The level of outside influence on the justice system is frightening in an otherwise independent judiciary. The search for solutions has led to the birth of views that attack the centrality of judicial power in the country. Many have criticised the power of the National Judicial Council on state judicial affairs and have gone as far as advocating the decentralisation of the judiciary with states having their own Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal not tied to the centre. This is the practice in the United States. The states already have considerable power over the state judiciary but the influence of the centre cannot be ignored. Other solutions have involved better pay for judges, better infrastructure and financial autonomy for the judiciary.

    While all of the suggested measures may be good steps towards achieving the goals of an impermeable judiciary, the essential work of cleaning up the justice system lies in a re-orientation of all members of the judiciary and consequently, all who turn to justice to right wrongs. We all have to put the courts in the exalted position where they ought to be, which may have to start with physical reinforcement in the case of Nigeria. All who turn to the courts have to feel the reverence for the courts that they feel for the government house and the legislature. Even more so. The Nigerian Bar Association also needs to ensure that ethics are taken very seriously to boost public confidence in the process of justice as a whole. Most importantly, all semblances of camaraderie between politicians and judges ought to cease, to dispel even the faintest hint of political influence on judicial outcomes. In the appointment of the Chief Judges of states, the most senior judges at any time can easily ease into the role or a form of secret ballot by all sitting judges should suffice. This will need constitutional changes, but these are the things the present administration should push for.

    It is not enough to go after offenders and obtain convictions. The focus should be on finding a system that works in favour of transparency and minimal influence. Under any system, wrongdoers will find a way to do wrong but the opportunities for going against carefully conceived practice should be scarce as a deterrent to the morally challenged. This fight is not a Buhari fight as we must now know, the judiciary should lead the charge and the effects will easily spread to other arms and to the populace. In changing the direction of the country as it is now, every institution, agency and arm has roles to play and the judiciary should be readied to handle the windfall of prosecutions that will inevitably emanate from the current shakedown by the government.

    ‘In changing the direction of the country as it is now, every institution, agency and arm has roles to play and the judiciary should be readied to handle the windfall of prosecutions that will inevitably emanate from the current shakedown by the government’

  • Red Card for Service Chiefs

    [dropcap]L[/dropcap]ast week Monday, July 13, the top brass of the Nigerian Army converged on Abuja, the nation’s capital, for its annual ritual, the Chief of Army Staff Conference. There were banters and grandstanding all over the place among the red necks.

    Later they were engrossed in deep discussions over the prevailing security situation in the country. Suddenly, an earthquake occurred beneath their feet, throwing some of their commanders off balance. In a jiffy, all the Service Chiefs were gone, while new ones took over. The conference came to an abrupt end.

    The change of guard at the top hierarchy of the nation’s military command follows a convention that had been established in the country over the years. It has become almost a tradition that, as soon as a new government comes to power in the country, the first task is to sweep away the old service chiefs to pave way for new ones.

    But under the new president, it has not been so and people had been complaining aloud in view of the security situation in the country, especially the terrorism in the north-east, which has suddenly assumed a new, fearsome dimension in the last few weeks.

    With the sweeping changes, the direction of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration appears to be beginning to unfold. Expectedly, the appointment of new service chiefs triggered off debates across the country.

    Many people wondered whether the new crop of service chiefs could deliver on their mandate, especially in view of recent increase in suicide bombings by the Boko Haram terrorists which have extended beyond their traditional battlegrounds in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states and spread to other neighboring states.

    Others were concerned about the geo-political spread of the new appointments with Borno State having the lion’s share with two appointments – the Chief of Army Staff and the National Security Adviser.

    Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesman has defended the appointments. He said that merit was the yardstick used in making the appointments. Maybe. Maybe not.

    Considering the character of the president who appointed them and the current exigency posed by the rampaging Boko Haram terrorists in the north-east of the country, the seemingly lopsided appointments of two of the service chiefs from Borno State, to my mind, could be strategic.

    Borno State is the home base and operational headquarters of Boko Haram. What has now snowballed into a wider conflagration has its roots in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. This was where the late Mohammed Yusuf, the founder and leader of Boko Haram, ignited the rebellion in early 2009 that has now claimed more than 15, 000 innocent lives.

    But let us move away from the ethnic or tribal composition of the new appointments and instead, focus more on the country’s ability and military capability to crush the current rebellion going on in the northeast and criminal activities in other parts of the country.

    Almost all the geo-political zones of the country are today confronted by one form of insecurity or another. All over the place, there is the prevalence of such crimes as kidnappings for ransom, violent robberies, deadly cult activities and gang wars, among many others. This is a serious security challenge to the nation which requires concerted efforts by our security apparatuses.

    General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, the new Chief of Army Staff, has clearly demonstrated that he means business when, on the first day of assuming office, he opted to go to Yobe State, one of the hotspots in the north-east, rather than stay back in Abuja or going to his village to celebrate the last Sallah festival.

    Although his visit to Yobe State could not prevent the bomb blasts that rocked Damaturu, the state capital, on Sallah day with the attendant loss of lives that followed, nevertheless, his visit was quite significant. Not only this, the General’s reassuring words that he would see to the welfare and armament of the troops shows that he knows where the problem with the soldiers lies.

    We are all living witnesses to the usual refrain from the battle front in the north-east where soldiers bitterly complained about lack of equipment and adequate welfare as the two militating factors affecting the performances of the troops fighting Boko Haram terrorists.

    In many instances, some of the troops including the officers have had to vote with their feet at the approach of Boko Haram’s rag-tag fighting force. This way, many Nigerian territories were taken over without firing a single shot, while large cache of scarce arms and ammunition were also carted away by the terrorists.

    As a result of this, many soldiers and their officers have been court-marshaled and some are still facing investigative panels from time to time over their “acts of cowardice”.

    Unfortunately, as may be unearthed in the days ahead, there are strong suspicions that money meant for troops’ welfare and armament may have grown wings in the past, which accounts for the lack-lustre performance of the troops in the war against Boko Haram.

    I am quite sure that under the new dispensation especially with the no-nonsense posture and body language of the incumbent president, the issue of some greedy senior military officers preying on funds meant for troops’ welfare and armament will be a thing of the past.

    Even if this is not completely eradicated, at least, we expect to see a drastic reduction in these acts of embezzlement and thievery which have been going on from time immemorial.

    Sometime last year when I engaged a senior official of a new generation bank in a discussion, I was shocked when he made a slip and said: “Oga, the way heavy deposits are now entering into the accounts of these senior military officers, is very surprising….” Obviously, he was carried away. I tried to prod him to say more, possibly to give any hint about the identity of these “billionaire” military officers. But then he suddenly realised that he was talking with a journalist. He exclaimed: “Ahh… Oga, let us leave that one. Many things are going on that we cannot talk about”. And then he switched the discussion to other issues. But the little he let out was quite instructive.

    There are allegations that the immediate past service chiefs who were unceremoniously eased out last week, have become stupendously rich before the hammer fell on them. Their ignoble role in trying to truncate the last presidential election is still fresh in memory. And when, in his maiden speech as president, Buhari ordered the relocation of the military command centre to Maiduguri, the heart of the war against terror and later approved new funds for them, it was like the party was not yet over for the service chiefs and their collaborators. As the president dithered in removing them, one or two ambitious ones among them allegedly started underground scheming for higher offices until the red card was suddenly flashed in their faces last week.

    Now, Nigerians are relieved. But if Buhari must live up to his billing of fighting corruption, there is the need to scrutinise the books of the military and the defence budgets under past governments since 1999. I am quite sure the nation would be confronted with mind-boggling revelations of looting which characterised the tenure of service chiefs even pre-dating the immediate past ones. Such an exercise must be total and entire, with special focus on the period of this anti-terrorism war which is being prosecuted at a whopping cost to tax payers.

    ‘if Buhari must live up to his billing of fighting corruption, there is the need to scrutinise the books of the military and the Defence budgets under past governments since 1999’

  • US’ Rainbow of moral decadence

    By the Supreme Court decision of June 26, the United States, US,   became the 26th country to fully recognise the right of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals, LGBT, to enter into state sanctioned marriage. This has obviously triggered off yet another wave of debates on the issue of same sex marriage.

    Quite amusingly, on the day the Supreme Court made the decision, the White House was covered in rainbow lighting to celebrate the ruling with the ‘triumphant’ LGBT community. The rainbow colours, as the media has shown, now represents the symbol of ‘gay pride’. The very phrase brings a bad taste to the mouth, a taste that reminds one that our deep dark secrets as humans, are now coming to the fore. Years of quiet tolerance has stoked the appetite for disdainful immorality and it has grown to become a brazen affront to the foundations of organised society.

    Same sex affairs have been a feature of human sexual relations for ages. However, never has it garnered such public support or been so openly canvassed. For us as Nigerians, widely considered to be intolerant to the LGBT community, the news is largely unwelcome. It is rather appalling that today, countries like the US have indirectly worked gay rights into their foreign policy by exerting pressure on other countries particularly those dependent on US handouts, to be more tolerant of the LGBT community. Even countries not dependent on the US, are not spared. A country like Mozambique had been forced to reverse its ‘anti-gay’ legislations even at a time gay marriage was not legal in all parts of the US.

    The US Supreme Court decision and its endorsement by President Barack Obama will only toughen the US’ gay rights drive across the world, much to the disapproval of religious conservatives everywhere. This is because religion, which is at the root of the opposition to same sex marriages, is not always in tandem with legal realities. However, it constitutes a major foundation for the law in many countries, including the United States. For others, religion and law are one and the same thing, especially in the Muslim countries.

    This kind of verdict in the US is not surprising. What is, however, surprising is the level of opposition to it. In fact, the US Supreme Court justices were evenly divided on the issue until the swing vote of Justice Kennedy assured a 5-4 majority in favour of the verdict. The said Justice Kennedy has been known to give verdicts in favour of gay rights in the past. One of the dissenting opinions was from Justice John Roberts, the US Chief Judge backed by traditionally conservative justices.

    So far, a large number of Americans are unhappy with the ruling. The Republican states have been at the forefront of opposition to gay marriage and Gregg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, was swift in passing a bill to allow religious leaders to legally refuse to perform same sex marriage ceremonies. Abbott stressed that it is important for the clergy to be assured that religious freedom is “beyond the reach of the constitution”. This means the White House may have gone overboard with its support of the ruling without giving thought to the teeming number who feel their religious and personal convictions have been eroded.

    While Abbott may be right, the opinion of the dissenting judges rather show that the US constitution still guarantees religious freedom, but the majority judges trumped that freedom with a right which the constitution never contemplated. As they suggested, it should rather have been left to the states to determine whether they wanted to recognise same sex marriages or not, as had been the case.

    Coming back home to our deeply religious but largely corrupt country, one thing is clear. Unlike in the US case where the right of consenting adults to act as they choose is widely recognised, it is the right of two individuals of the same sex to legally enter into marriage, with its attendant benefits, that was in issue. Here, homosexual acts are illegal. So also, are same sex marriages.

    There is so much Nigeria needs from the US. But the US’ meddlesomeness in the affairs of foreign countries is well documented. With the aftermath of the US Supreme Court decision still hot in the media, one only hopes that when our President, Muhammadu Buhari, meets with President Obama in Washington on July 20, the issue of recognition of gay marriages does not come up, or worse still, become a bargaining tool for receiving the much needed assistance from the US government.

    With our ‘Muslim North’ and predominantly ‘Christian South’, we are unashamedly religious, and in the same vein, very conservative in our religious beliefs. Even with religion removed, our cultural and moral fibre drives us to be conservative about many things, including sexual matters. Yes, polygamy is culturally accepted, even religiously sanctioned, it seems, in the north, but that is part of our culture. Homosexuality is not.

    We are what has been referred to as ‘social traditionalists’ and the current sexual liberalisation being driven by other secular states – yes, for all our religious conservativeness, we are yet a secular country– must be rejected in order to protect our society and maintain whatever order we have left in the country. If Nigeria, through the legislature or judiciary, were to legalise homosexuality and same sex marriage as has been done in some other countries, then the fallout may be too severe for any sitting government to handle.

    Homosexuality has been illegal all these years, quietly tolerated just as prostitution, equally illegal, is tolerated. The tricky thing about this kind of vice is that humans are morally weak and state action in respect of moral failings of the human mind and body, must be tactical. A secular state can hardly enforce virtue; neither should it endorse immorality. It is unfortunate that the US and many countries have taken steps to allow age long taboos, bringing human civilisation into a backward spin.

    Some unsettling developments in recent times include the German National Ethics Council, in late 2014, calling for the decriminalisation of incest between siblings and a district court in Tokyo, Japan, ruling that adultery, when it is for ‘business purposes’, does not constitute an extra marital affair. The UK, with the exception of Northern Ireland, already recognises same sex marriages. South Africa’s Constitutional Court had approved same sex marriage in 2005 and Colombia is set to follow suit.

    No one is calling for the lynching of homosexuals. Even if some African leaders like the despotic Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia and others are overzealous in their protection of traditional values, we cannot emulate the Islamic State in its barbarism. Remember that IS executed some homosexuals in response to the US Supreme Court ruling. But that is their own modus operandi; they are killers.

    Bestiality, incest and all manner of ungodliness now lurk dangerously in the corner. This is the time to pull out our Bibles and Qurans, we the ‘Muslim North’ and the ‘Christian South’, and make good on our ‘religious’ reputation by praying for the salvation of mankind, as it is now beginning to descend down a slippery slope into Sodom once again.

    This rainbow of moral decadence celebrated by Obama contains no pride. It is an affront on traditional society and a symbol of immorality. Now is not the time to lift the lid placed on immorality, rather, the West should realise that this is one door which should not be open more than a little crack or at all. President Buhari must carry this message to the White House.

    ‘If Nigeria, through the legislature or judiciary, were to legalise homosexuality and same sex marriage as has been done in some other countries, then the fallout may be too severe for any sitting government to handle’

     

     

  • ‘Born-Again’ Fani-Kayode

    The history of his life is replete with many scars of ‘war’. Like or hate him, Femi Fani-Kayode, lawyer, politician is a good writer and wonderful debater. He is neither shy from stoking the fire of controversy nor afraid to do battle with real or imagined enemies. He is also resplendent in good fashion attires. Whenever he appears in public either in his well-tailored suit, blazer or custom-made native ensemble –Kaftan or Agbada– with his designer sun shades to match, he always stands out.

    Femi has been in the news for all his adult life. In the last seven years, he has been in and out of courts battling to save himself from those who were bent on railroading him to Siberia. But last week Wednesday, July 1, the outspoken and controversial dude had cause to smile. On that day, the two surviving counts of a 40-count charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in 2008, were decided in his favour. Consequently, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos discharged and acquitted the former Minister of Aviation and one-time Minister of Culture and Tourism of the charges of money laundering brought against him.

    Delivering her judgment, Justice Rita Ofili Ajumogobia, noted that the case of the prosecution was “feeble” and without cogent evidence on which a finding of guilt could be based. It is also important to mention that the original charge brought against Fani-Kayode in 2008 before Justice Ramat Mohammed carried 40 counts of misappropriation of public funds and money laundering of several amounts totalling about 100 million naira or more. When Justice Ajumogobia took charge of the case, the court dropped 38 of the charges in November 2014 as the facts and evidence were not enough to sustain a charge. The last two counts of laundering the sum of 2.1 million naira are those for which Fani-Kayode has now been absolved.

    The EFCC team, led by Festus Keyamo failed to prove all the elements of the alleged crime arising from the Money Laundering Act. The court identified that the allegation was concerned with conducting transactions exceeding N500, 000 in cash without going through a financial institution, which is prohibited under the Money Laundering Act. To establish its case, the EFCC called Police Superintendent Agbaje (amongst other witnesses) who was a former aide of Fani-Kayode during his time as the Minister of Culture and Tourism. The witness testified that he received sums exceeding that allowed amount from Fani-Kayode with instructions to deposit the same in the latter’s account. Evidence of deposits made into Fani-Kayode’s accounts was also tendered.

    The court however found that the prosecution’s case could not be sustained as, first, the oral evidence of the witness in court contradictéd his earlier written statement and in such cases, the court finds such witnesses to be unreliable. Furthermore, there was nothing in the prosecution’s case showing the source of the money, nor proof that amounts exceeding N500, 000 was received by Fani-Kayode in cash. There remained a doubt as to whether the sums in Fani-Kayode’s accounts were not received in tranches and the court decided on the side of the defendant.

    In its judgment, the court highlighted that the source and motive of receiving the money is irrelevant since the issue was about cash transactions exceeding N500, 000 without going through a financial institution. This seemed to aid Fani-Kayode’s case as the testimony by one of his witnesses that the alleged sums were received from tenants occupying some of the former minister’s properties was also considered doubtful by the judge.

    As always, Nigerians may decry the judgment as another failure by the anti-corruption agency to put together a credible case. Some may even cry judicial foul play in acquitting the former minister. However, it should be pointed out that the court acknowledged Keyamo’s dexterity in prosecuting the case and differentiated him from other less diligent prosecutors. It appears only that the powers that be at the time, gave a mandate for the prosecution of the former minister even without enough substance to sustain a conviction. The yearnings by the public to see corrupt officials tried and convicted may also lead to hurried charges lacking depth.

    Now, a casual observer may well see some merit in Fani-Kayode’s insistent claims throughout the case that the charges were politically motivated. Given the way the case has finally turned out and the sequence of events in the case, a view that the charges were hurriedly drafted to satisfy some political exigency during the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua’s administration cannot be faulted. The verdict is now in and ‘the innocent man’ has been acquitted.

    At last, Femi has enjoyed a victory after suffering huge criticism in the run up to the last Presidential election in which he was at the head of the media campaign team put in place for former President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election. Jonathan lost woefully in that election. Femi’s campaign appointment at that time, which came after his brief romance with the then-opposition party, the All Progressives’ Congress, APC, drew a lot of flak from people. He was described as a two-faced, inconsistent player in the political arena with wavering ideologies. His often unreserved comments in the media have led to much criticism.

    Perhaps, basking in the euphoria of his latest victory, Femi has announced his desire to change his last name from Fani-Kayode to Olukayode as a tribute to God for delivering him from his legal entanglement. Coming from a man whose ideology and political stance has changed severally over the years like a chameleonic metamorphosis, this may be a tad comical. Beyond that, however, it is hoped that the change will resonate throughout his person too and his knack for insensitive remarks in the press will be lessened at the same time. His brazen comments about other political figures who are not in his chosen camp and unsavoury remarks on other issues including the much publicised condemnation of the Igbos, have put a label of a loose cannon on the otherwise well educated man.

    The man may have an unbridled tongue and a penchant for attracting controversy, but the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has determined that at least, in respect to the charges brought against him, he is innocent. Whether the EFCC goes on appeal or not, which is doubtful, this is the reality for now. Often in the business world, it is common for a company to change its brand name to distance itself from some negative publicity or project a new, better image for itself. It is the hope that if the former Minister does make good on his name change, then, we will see more of the reasoned educated man, cultured in speech and expression and less of the political chameleon and controversy magnet that Fani-Kayode has come to be known to be.

    An important lesson here should not be lost. In spite of all the dirty hate propaganda Femi mounted against President Muhammadu Buhari’s candidacy during the last electioneering campaigns, he still got a good deal from the court last week. It was the Russian Writer, Count Leo (Nikolayevich) Tolstoy (1828-1910) who, in What I Believe (1884) wrote: “There is only one way to put an end to evil, and that is to do good for evil.” This self-acclaimed poet and historian must now revisit his own history and see where he needs to do better. Poets are known to be great self-critics and “Mr Olukayode” must now find the discipline to do just that going forward.

    ‘This self-acclaimed poet and historian must now revisit his own history and see where he needs to do better. Poets are known to be great self-critics and “Mr Olukayode” must now find the discipline to do just that going forward’

     

  • ‘Born-Again’ Fani-Kayode

    The history of his life is replete with many scars of ‘war’. Like or hate him, Femi Fani-Kayode, lawyer, politician is a good writer and wonderful debater. He is neither shy from stoking the fire of controversy nor afraid to do battle with real or imagined enemies. He is also resplendent in good fashion attires. Whenever he appears in public either in his well-tailored suit, blazer or custom-made native ensemble –Kaftan or Agbada– with his designer sun shades to match, he always stands out.

    Femi has been in the news for all his adult life. In the last seven years, he has been in and out of courts battling to save himself from those who were bent on railroading him to Siberia. But last week Wednesday, July 1, the outspoken and controversial dude had cause to smile. On that day, the two surviving counts of a 40-count charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in 2008, were decided in his favour. Consequently, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos discharged and acquitted the former Minister of Aviation and one-time Minister of Culture and Tourism of the charges of money laundering brought against him.

    Delivering her judgment, Justice Rita Ofili Ajumogobia, noted that the case of the prosecution was “feeble” and without cogent evidence on which a finding of guilt could be based. It is also important to mention that the original charge brought against Fani-Kayode in 2008 before Justice Ramat Mohammed carried 40 counts of misappropriation of public funds and money laundering of several amounts totalling about 100 million naira or more. When Justice Ajumogobia took charge of the case, the court dropped 38 of the charges in November 2014 as the facts and evidence were not enough to sustain a charge. The last two counts of laundering the sum of 2.1 million naira are those for which Fani-Kayode has now been absolved.

    The EFCC team, led by Festus Keyamo failed to prove all the elements of the alleged crime arising from the Money Laundering Act. The court identified that the allegation was concerned with conducting transactions exceeding N500, 000 in cash without going through a financial institution, which is prohibited under the Money Laundering Act. To establish its case, the EFCC called Police Superintendent Agbaje (amongst other witnesses) who was a former aide of Fani-Kayode during his time as the Minister of Culture and Tourism. The witness testified that he received sums exceeding that allowed amount from Fani-Kayode with instructions to deposit the same in the latter’s account. Evidence of deposits made into Fani-Kayode’s accounts was also tendered.

    The court however found that the prosecution’s case could not be sustained as, first, the oral evidence of the witness in court contradictéd his earlier written statement and in such cases, the court finds such witnesses to be unreliable. Furthermore, there was nothing in the prosecution’s case showing the source of the money, nor proof that amounts exceeding N500, 000 was received by Fani-Kayode in cash. There remained a doubt as to whether the sums in Fani-Kayode’s accounts were not received in tranches and the court decided on the side of the defendant.

    In its judgment, the court highlighted that the source and motive of receiving the money is irrelevant since the issue was about cash transactions exceeding N500, 000 without going through a financial institution. This seemed to aid Fani-Kayode’s case as the testimony by one of his witnesses that the alleged sums were received from tenants occupying some of the former minister’s properties was also considered doubtful by the judge.

    As always, Nigerians may decry the judgment as another failure by the anti-corruption agency to put together a credible case. Some may even cry judicial foul play in acquitting the former minister. However, it should be pointed out that the court acknowledged Keyamo’s dexterity in prosecuting the case and differentiated him from other less diligent prosecutors. It appears only that the powers that be at the time, gave a mandate for the prosecution of the former minister even without enough substance to sustain a conviction. The yearnings by the public to see corrupt officials tried and convicted may also lead to hurried charges lacking depth.

    Now, a casual observer may well see some merit in Fani-Kayode’s insistent claims throughout the case that the charges were politically motivated. Given the way the case has finally turned out and the sequence of events in the case, a view that the charges were hurriedly drafted to satisfy some political exigency during the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua’s administration cannot be faulted. The verdict is now in and ‘the innocent man’ has been acquitted.

    At last, Femi has enjoyed a victory after suffering huge criticism in the run up to the last Presidential election in which he was at the head of the media campaign team put in place for former President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election. Jonathan lost woefully in that election. Femi’s campaign appointment at that time, which came after his brief romance with the then-opposition party, the All Progressives’ Congress, APC, drew a lot of flak from people. He was described as a two-faced, inconsistent player in the political arena with wavering ideologies. His often unreserved comments in the media have led to much criticism.

    Perhaps, basking in the euphoria of his latest victory, Femi has announced his desire to change his last name from Fani-Kayode to Olukayode as a tribute to God for delivering him from his legal entanglement. Coming from a man whose ideology and political stance has changed severally over the years like a chameleonic metamorphosis, this may be a tad comical. Beyond that, however, it is hoped that the change will resonate throughout his person too and his knack for insensitive remarks in the press will be lessened at the same time. His brazen comments about other political figures who are not in his chosen camp and unsavoury remarks on other issues including the much publicised condemnation of the Igbos, have put a label of a loose cannon on the otherwise well educated man.

    The man may have an unbridled tongue and a penchant for attracting controversy, but the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has determined that at least, in respect to the charges brought against him, he is innocent. Whether the EFCC goes on appeal or not, which is doubtful, this is the reality for now. Often in the business world, it is common for a company to change its brand name to distance itself from some negative publicity or project a new, better image for itself. It is the hope that if the former Minister does make good on his name change, then, we will see more of the reasoned educated man, cultured in speech and expression and less of the political chameleon and controversy magnet that Fani-Kayode has come to be known to be.

    An important lesson here should not be lost. In spite of all the dirty hate propaganda Femi mounted against President Muhammadu Buhari’s candidacy during the last electioneering campaigns, he still got a good deal from the court last week. It was the Russian Writer, Count Leo (Nikolayevich) Tolstoy (1828-1910) who, in What I Believe (1884) wrote: “There is only one way to put an end to evil, and that is to do good for evil.” This self-acclaimed poet and historian must now revisit his own history and see where he needs to do better. Poets are known to be great self-critics and “Mr Olukayode” must now find the discipline to do just that going forward.

    ‘This self-acclaimed poet and historian must now revisit his own history and see where he needs to do better. Poets are known to be great self-critics and “Mr Olukayode” must now find the discipline to do just that going forward’