The push for gender equality was the focus of the third summit of the Foundation for Wives of Ondo State Officials and Female Political Appointees (FOWOSO). The group, using #ReduceFila2IncreaseGele slogan, pressed for increase in women’s representation in politics. ROBERT EGBE reports.
The third Summit of the Foundation for Wives of Ondo State Officials and Female Political Appointees (FOWOSO) was attended by women across the state’s 18 Local Government Areas of the state smiling home with empowerment equipment to boost their financial statuses.
The summit, which began on December 1, 2021 at the International Events Centre, Akure and was rounded off at the Arcade Ground Igbatoro Road, also in the state capital.
FOWOSO is the brain child of Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, the wife of Ondo State Governor, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN.
The NGO has since its inception in 2017, focused on prioritising women’s health and well-being.
The 2021 FOWOSO Summit was themed “Turning around the economic status of women in a Covid-19 era”.
Akeredolu said no country could achieve greatness without women, adding that records abound of women that defied the odds and are leaders in their respective fields of endeavour.
While pledging that his administration would create a synergy between the Ministry of Women Affairs and other NGOs to focus on women issues, the governor said a rural economy could not grow without empowering women at the grassroots.
He pledged to provide soft loans to women to encourage them to go into cottage industries.
Akeredolu said: “I must commend the First lady, My Adorable Betty for envisioning the five core values of empowerment, equality, advocacy, support and diversity.
“These are key success factors to achieving gender equality which is fifth of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), established by the United Nations in 2015.
“For us in Ondo State today, the key point about gender equality is not about political correctness and fulfilling international obligations such as the Beijing agreement or the SDGs.
“Our focus going forward, is how we create the synergy between the Ministry of Women Affairs, FOWOSO and non-government organisations focused on women issues, to make progress.
“Microcredit is a sure way to improve rural incomes and a vital part in the development of agro-cottage industries. Some state governments in India have over three decades launched credit unions directed at inducing and empowering female cooperatives.”
The Chairman of the Occasion and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, declared the summit open, noting that the initiative was for the overall development of womenfolk
He advised that the forum should encourage more women to come into their fold so as to bring the desired change.
Sanwo-Olu described Governor Akeredolu as a role model, adding that the Sunshine State governor was a man of courage who speaks his mind no matter the condition.
He challenged women to participate actively in the business of governance for societal development just as lauded the various initiatives of Her Excellency, Arabinrin Akeredolu.
The event featured the empowerment of hundreds of women with business tools ranging from grinding machines, sewing machines, plasma televisions, fans, among other gifts.
In her address, Mrs. Anyanwu-Akeredolu gave the summit a pass mark, adding that it was “hugely successful”.
She said: “We have kept faith with the objectives of FOWOSO. Our women are now more aware of their environment and they have also advanced both socially and economically; they are being productive through skills acquisition and contributing meaningfully to their homes and the society.”
The Foundation for Wives of Ondo State Officials (FOWOSO) was, in December 2017, established by Mrs Anyanwu-Akeredolu as a platform for women empowerment and sociopolitical advancement.
It has since inception held (twice) its annual summit, save for the year 2020 due to the outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic.
Mrs Akeredolu said everything worked out as planned.
She encouraged women to, in the absence of huge funds, start small scale businesses so they could have more financial security and independence.
Anyanwu-Akeredolu said “You don’t have to wait until you have the resources to establish an industry before a woman can do business, you can start small businesses to make a living and support your husbands in the running of the home front.”
The First Lady encouraged women to go beyond being women leaders at the party level and aspire higher politically, noting that things are already looking up for women in Ondo State because the governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, is gender-friendly.
• From left: Akeredolu, his wife Betty and Sanwo-Olu.
“In organising a society to thrive and do well, it has a lot to do with politics. That is why women must participate in politics to be at the decision-making tables. I encourage you to be part of the structure of the party.
“Our women should go beyond being women leaders at the party level and aspire to become councillors, secretaries, local government party chairmen, House of Assembly and Representatives Members, Senators and governors of states. Things are already getting better in Ondo State for our women because we have a He4She governor who is gender-friendly and believe in the emancipation of the womenfolk.”
In explaining her novel slogan, #ReduceFila2IncreaseGele which implies advocating for increase in women’s representation in politics and all endeavours, Mrs Akeredolu added that the need to get more women involved in politics was not necessarily to compete with the men but to complement their efforts and also make contributions to nation-building.
In her words, “Getting more women involved in politics is not to scare the menfolk. What we are saying is that the women who form 50 per cent of the country’s population, they should be more involved in the governance of the country. It is not to fight the men but to join hands together in the determination of the future of the country.
“We also need to groom our young ones as they evolve. That is what we are doing with the Bemore Empowered Initiative, where we train girls in Information Communication Technology (ICT), renewable energy and other life-enhancing skills.
“Today, Bemore, since 2017, has trained about 2000 young secondary school girls mostly from Ondo, Imo, Ekiti States and beyond. Parents whose daughters have attended the Bemore Summer Boot Camp can attest to the fact that their daughters have changed to ‘champions of change’ that I now refer to as ‘a new breed without greed’ after the Bemore training.”
She enjoined the women to make judicious use of the equipment given to them for economic purposes and not sell them off but to learn how to operate the machines.
Chairman of the grand finale, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, described Mrs. Anyanwu-Akeredolu, as “a hegemon of Ondo State women” who had revolutionalised the ways and worth of women through the ingenious institutional instrument called FOSOWO.
Ibrahim who said FOWOSO was bridging the gender gap in Ondo State, encouraged government to give the NGO the necessary legislative backing so that it can be institutionalised in the state.
Also speaking in a keynote address, the Secretary to the State Government, Princess Oladunni Odu shared from her personal experiences, adding that women must not allow anything to limit them but must strive to attain their best.
Odu while describing women as great influencers and managers, thanked Arabinrin Akeredolu for birthing great ideas and impacting lives.
Other major highlights of the event included engaging technical sessions that addressed many areas of concern ranging from health to governance, security among others.
The Grand finale featured march-past by different women groups across the 18 LGAs, dance competitions, breast cancer awareness (Sekem) dance by Fiwasaye Girls’ Grammar School, Akure, raffle draw and prizes ranging from Solar home system, grinding machine, sewing machine, plasma television sets, fans, among other gifts.
In attendance at the opening event were Ondo State Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his wife, Oluwaseun Aiyedatiwa, among others.
Others at the grand finale were Chief Olusola Oke, SAN; Oba (Dr.) Philip Olatunji Kalejaiye, the Odede of Igboegunrin; wife of Deji of Akure, Olori Jumoke Aladetoyinbo, wife of Olubaka of Oka land, Olori Adejumoke Adeleye; Prince Jimi Odimayo; Albert Akintoye; Regents; top government functionaries, women groups, including BRECAN, Bemore, Arabinrin grassroots, the physically-challenged, Corp members, among others.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has halted the planned trial of former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah and two senior Army officers over their alleged complicity in the diversion of public funds estimated at N13,8billion.
The other two are Major General A. O. Adebayo (ex-Chief of Accounts and Budget, Nigerian Army) and Brigadier General R. I. Odi (ex-Director, Finance and Accounts, Nigerian Army.
Justice Inyand Ekwo, in an ex-parte ruling, ordered parties in a suit by the three to maintain status quo ante bellum pending the hearing and determination of the plaintiffs’ pending motion for interlocutory injunctions.
While Minimah served as the COAS between January 2014 and July 2015 and has since retired, Adebayo and Odi are still in service.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused them of complicity in the alleged misappropriation of N13,798,619,309 from funds provided by the Federal Government for the purchase of military hardware.
The EFCC stated, in a court document sighted at the weekend, that the Committee on the Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces (CADEF) chaired by Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Jon Ode (rtd) referreda case of misappropriation to it for investigation.
It added that in the course of the investigation, it found that about N13,789,619,309.00 was misappropriated by Minimah, Adetayo and Odi.
The EFCC then filed a charge against the three before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The EFCC also wrotethe Army authorities, requesting their release for prosecution.
But, on learning about the EFCC’s request for their release,Mimimah, Adetayo and Odi filed a suit before the Federal High Court, Abuja, querying among others, their planned trial before a civil court.
In the suit filed by their lawyer, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), they are contending that under the Armed Forces Act, the EFCC lacked the powers to initiate criminal proceedings against them, let alone prosecute them.
They argued that the most the EFCC could do, under the Act,is to report its findings to their commanding officer, who could only charge them before a court-martial and no other court.
Listed as defendants in the suit are the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and the EFCC.
Shortly after the filing of the suit, Justice Ekwo heard an ex-parte motion moved by Magaji and ordered parties to maintain status antebellum (allow things to remain as they currently are) pending the hearing and determination of a motion on notice.
Justice Ekwo ordered the plaintiffs to serve the defendants with all the processes in the case within two days of the order.
When the case came up on December 8, Magaji told the court that the case was for mention and that parties have filed all necessary processes, which lawyers to the AGF and EFCC – Habiba Chime and Sylvanus Tahir – confirmed.
Magaji noted that the earlier order of the court for parties to maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the motion for injunction still subsists since the motion was yet to be heard.
He prayed the court to allow parties return on January 14 and 15 for the hearing of the motion and the substantive suit.
Ruling, Justice Ekwo agreed with the plaintiffs’ lawyer and adjourned till January 14 and 15 for hearing.
The judge ordered parties to file and exchange all necessary processes before then.
• How pregnant teenager poisoned her child through the uterus • Dangers of drug abuse among Nigerian teens, young adults • Crack cocaine, gutter juice, colorado available for a token
The womb was supposed to be Princess’ safe space. Until her mother, Felicia, fed toxic nutriment to her through the womb wall. Blackcurrant juice dosed with cocaine, tramadol, rohypnol, cannabis, and codeine; then occasionally, ice (meth), was her mother’s cocktail of choice.
The victuals impacted on the growing foetus the same way a loaded rifle spits bullets to a malnourished child. But her mother couldn’t care.
At her birth at a maternity centre, in Agege, Lagos, life unfurled to Princess like the innards of a penal retreat. If her mother’s womb was hell’s kitchen, the world outside is her purgatory.
The four-year-old cut a pitiful image at first sight: her skin hung loosely on her pinched frame. Her light skin pulsed with a tangle of veins, running loosely like red-green welts across her wiry frame. They would seem hazardous to her but for the fact that they fetched food and medicine across her internal organs and nerves where they are sorely needed.
She shook uncontrollably like a rag doll dumped in the path of fierce wind, from time to time – a consequence of the nerve-system damage that occurred when she suffered a shortfall of blood and oxygen, due to her mother’s cocaine-dependence, just before her birth.
Between the seizures, she grabbed some lucid spells, in which she played with bundles of clothes on her granny’s bottom shelf.
She couldn’t leave the hospital until two weeks after her birth. She was referred to the General Hospital, where she spent another one week. When she was discharged, the doctor warned that she may experience severe tremor from time to time.
The tremor is usually severe. It often strikes at the wrong time, during family gatherings, in the classroom, and on a random walk with her granny. “Many people think she is epileptic. They are mistaken. Her mother infected her with this sickness,” said Priscilla Odutoye, Princess’ grandma.
According to the 68-year-old, her daughter tried to sell her granddaughter even before she gave birth. “She was desperate. She could not tell the person who impregnated her because she had multiple sex partners. Her childhood friend told me that she was seeking buyers for the child even before she put to bed. When I heard that she intended to sell the child to a native doctor at N60, 000, I started monitoring her. To perfect her plans, she left home in her third trimester after quarrelling with me and calling me a witch. I knew it was a trick, so I told her friend to call me immediately she went into labour,” Odutoye.
When Felicia’s water broke, her mother was right beside her. “After she put to bed, she dumped her child and took off. Speaking at her clothes shop at Isale-Oja, Agege, the 68-year-old revealed that the last she had of her daughter was that she had relocated to Malaysia, leaving behind her daughter.
At age four, Princess’ trunk is too weak and she wobbles in the gait of a two-year-old. Shrouded in her infirmity, she made a gallant effort to move around. Her mien brightened and a weak smile seeped to her face as the reporter crouched to play with her. Between her smile and her gait, the four-year-old issues her straight-jacketed response to the world with all its breakable toys.
Invisible in plain sight
Princess is simply one of several minors marred by the rapture of hallucinogenic substances ingested by their mothers during pregnancy. Her mother, Felicia, reportedly took crack cocaine, gutter juice, colorado, often in combination with other drugs, during pregnancy thus making her (Princess) part of a generation of Nigerian minors unfairly branded by some as “Awon omo science students (children of science students).”
More often, they are simply called ‘omo gutter’ (gutter child) or Colorado kids. A few have severe physical deformities from which they will never recover. In others the damage can be more subtle, showing up as behavioral aberrations that may sabotage their schooling and social development.
Many of these children look and act like other kids, but their early exposure to cocaine, tramadol, rohypnol, and other psychotropic substances makes them less able to overcome negative influences like disruptive family life.
•A group of friends attempt to revive their mate who slumped after drinking a psychotropic substance
Cocaine during pregnancy
Fadekemi Oguntoyinbo, a medical doctor and paediatric health specialist said that pregnant teens, who ingest psychotropic substances, especially the ones containing cocaine, risk causing severe health problems for their babies.
According to her, cocaine is one of the most dangerous narcotics, a pregnant mother could take. Cocaine taken during pregnancy may cause the blood vessels that carry blood to the uterus and placenta to narrow (constrict), according to health experts.
Then, less oxygen and fewer nutrients reach the fetus. If pregnant women use cocaine regularly, the risk of the following is increased: miscarriage, inadequate growth of the fetus, premature detachment of the placenta (placental abruption), premature birth, and stillbirth. Such children also suffer birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, urinary tract, and bone defects.
•A nursing mother smokes marijuana while breastfeeding her infant
Their plight, no doubt, inspires pity and fear
The dimensions of the tragedy are staggering yet invisible in national data. While official estimates are hard to find, a recent study of a total of 557 pregnant women, between 15 and 48 years, revealed that the prevalence of substance abuse among the women was as high as 43.8%. That is 244 of the 557 women were taking one form of substance or the other. About 27.1% used kolanuts, chlorpheniramine 4.7%, alcohol 3.8%, diazepam 2.9%, promethazine 2.0%, cigarettes / tobacco 1.3%, phenobarbitone 1.3%, cocaine 1.1%, codeine 0.9% and marijuana 0.7%.
Other substances were piriton and chlorpheniramine 10.6% each, alcohol 8.6%, diazepam 4.5%, promethazine 2.5%, cigarettes/tobacco 2.9%, phenobarbitone 2.9%, Cocaine 2.5%, codeine 2.0%, and marijuana 1.6%.
Surprisingly, up to 22.7% of the substance users were aware of problems associated with their use in pregnancy. Yet, a significant number 22.8% assert to use of other substances in pregnancy. These drugs or medications were not stated and the reason for using them was unclear.
Teenagers, young adults hooked to hard drugs
While the plight of Princess and other children of drug-dependent teen mothers are often ignored in plain sight by the regulatory authorities, due to lack of verifiable data on their case, the prevalence of drug-dependence among teenagers and young adults has ignited worry among various societal segments in recent times.
Between 2018 and 2019, nearly 15% of Nigeria’s adult population (around 14.3 million people) reported a “considerable level” of use of psychotropic drug substances, a rate much higher than the 2016 global average of 5.6% among adults.
The survey was led by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse with technical support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and funding from the European Union.
It showed the highest levels of drug use were recorded among people aged between 25 to 39, with cannabis being the most widely used drug. Sedatives, heroin, cocaine, and the non-medical use of prescription opioids were also noted. The survey excluded the use of tobacco and alcohol.
It also excluded teenagers like Princess’ mother, Felicia, who is trapped in the stark wilderness and rapture of dangerous highs from psychotropic substances like Colorado, Gutter Juice (Omi gota), Black Mamba, among others.
Few people would forget in a hurry, the heartrending story of Lizzy, the 26-year-old with a dependence on crack cocaine until her rescue by Dr. Tony Rapu, the founder of Freedom Foundation, an anti-drug dependence non-governmental organisation (NGO).
Lizzy said she had been taking crack cocaine and living with her captors for seven years before she was rescued by Rapu.
She explained that she developed a hankering for cocaine seven years ago while smoking weed with her boyfriend. The latter, she said, eventually revealed to her that he had been mixing her wraps with cocaine to her surprise, but it was too late as she got addicted.
•Drug dependent youths prepare a psychotropic substance
Chasing the ‘high’ into the grave
Few months after The Nation’s initial report on teenagers’ growing dependence on narcotic brews like Colorado, Pamilerin and Gutter Juice, highlighting fears of an imminent narcotics epidemic, the psychoactive substances have become rampant in several parts of Lagos and neighbouring states.
They gained prominence in the wake of hip hop artiste, Olamide’s track, Science Students. While the song got banned by regulatory authorities for glorifying drug use, and was widely condemned in conservative social circuits, it enjoyed airplay among the youth, teenagers in particular, who embraced it for its creative depiction and veneration of their addiction.
It’s hard not to panic over the prevalence of narcotics that leaves devastating marks on its victims, including death.
Kamsi, a 400 level optometry student of the Abia State University, Uturu, Abia State, jumped down from a three-storey building and died on the spot, on the evening of Saturday, June 26, 2021 evening.
The deceased student reportedly took the hard drug known as Colorado and couldn’t “contain it”. His friends locked him inside the room and went in search of garri (cassava flakes) to help him regain consciousness. Unfortunately, he went through the balcony, thinking that he was on the ground floor, and plunged, head first, down their three-storey hostel. He died instantly.
Kenneth, a drug user, died at a popular hotel in Ikorodu, after drinking a drug substance named Gutter Juice. He died shortly after being rushed to a hospital.
The deceased reportedly ingested the substance, a mixture of codeine, tramadol, cannabis, and juice.
Kenneth developed seizures shortly after consuming the drink, and he was rushed to the Ikorodu Hospital for treatment where he was pronounced dead.
His experience brings to consciousness the alarming state of widespread drug use in Nigeria.
The fears escalate at the backdrop of accessibility to the hard drug. It is evidently easy to make: an addict can cook up Colorado or Gutter Juice using ingredients bought from the local pharmacy and underworld drug den. The public sale of some of its active ingredients, codeine, tramadol, rohypnol has been banned yet they are available over the counter and in the backroom of local pharmacies, at outrageous prices.
Dealers mix blackcurrant juice with a brew including tramadol, codeine, rohypnol, Indian Hemp, and cocaine. The result—a purple liquid with pungent smell—mimics the effect of injecting high-end cocaine at a fraction of the cost.
On average, users spend N9,000 per day on cocaine. This amount is half of the national minimum wage per month. Methamphetamine users spend an average of N 4,000. Heroin is obtainable at a street price of N4, 000 but adulterated ‘rocks’ often flavoured with thinner, is available at a range between N3, 500 and N4, 000.
However, one litre of premium psychoactive juice costs N3,000 while a 50cl bottle costs N1, 500. Adolescent users often pool resources and contribute to purchasing a bottle, which they share using disposable cups at the several liquor stores across Agege, Agbado, Yaba, Ijora-Badia, Ajegunle, Fadeyi, Akala, Ajah, Lekki and other parts of Lagos Island.
Those who can afford it simply purchase a litre of the brew at the sales point, and depart for home or a more private location to consume it.
The narcotic brews are, however, available at more affordable potions, at N500 and N200, depending on their quality and the dealer.
Chasing the dragon at a severe cost
The drug-dependent pay dearly for pursuing the cheap high (known as chasing the dragon) – some dealers too. Ask Biola Iyanda, 19, who got raped in her sister’s shop soon after consuming the hard drug.
“My sister had gone home and left her bar in my care. She had these customers who often visited at night. On a Tuesday, they invited me to drink with them. The last thing I remembered was that they tried to grope me and I fell in the gutter in front of the shop. They raped me, right there in the gutter. I was rescued by members of a vigilance group, and they helped me get compensation from their parents. Each boy paid me N25, 000. I got N50, 000 as compensation and my sister banned them from her shop,” she said.
No doubt, many users totally lose their wits after consuming the hard drug. At another drug den in Amoo, Agege, The Nation observed several teenagers struck in different states of inebriation far into the night. Many were hyperactive, continually raising a ruckus over minor incidents. They laughed hard, fought hard, and partied hard.
Their intoxication varied according to their brew. A user who was identified as Esin (stallion), due to his acclaimed soccer skills, started soliloquising and laughing by himself after downing 25cl of the brew.
“That is what Pamilerin does to you,” explained Michael Babatunde, 18, a retailer of the brew. Pamilerin contains a combination of boiled cannabis, alcohol, tramadol, rohypnol and codeine. It loosens your tongue and makes you very giddy. You tend to laugh even at the driest jokes,” he said.
• A young adult flaunts his coloured tongue after drinking Colorado
Extent of drug use by geopolitical zones
There is no gainsaying many a life has been destroyed amid the bowels and drug dens, where crack cocaine and heroin are fast becoming a teen addiction and fancy addition to the now ubiquitous psychotropic potions like gutter juice, pamilerin, colorado, and so on widely accessed by youths across Lagos.
Of the regions included in the NBS and UNODC study, Lagos and Oyo in the South-West recorded a higher past-year prevalence of drug use among the southern geopolitical zones (at range 13.8 percent to 22.4 percent) compared to the northern geopolitical zones (range 10 per cent-13.6 percent).
With approximately 6.4 million people aged 15-64 residing in Lagos State, the estimated past year prevalence of any drug use in the South-West zone was established as nearly twice the national prevalence – an estimated 22.4 percent or 4.38 million people of the Lagos population aged 15-64 had used drugs in the past year.
How do hard drugs get to the streets of Lagos?
There are several ways of getting cocaine from South America to Europe via Lagos, West Africa. In the past, there had been three main hubs in West Africa for receipt and redistribution of the cocaine shipments: The northern hub, radiating from Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, The Gambia, and Senegal. The southern hub, centered on Nigeria, including Benin, Togo, and Ghana. And an eastern hub, encompassing Mali and parts of Mauritania, of particular use in receiving consignments by air.
Once in West Africa, the drugs proceed to Europe along with a number of routes. In the past, traffickers relied on large mother ships that offloaded cocaine onto the smaller coastal craft. Commercial air couriers can carry only small amounts, but their frequent use can offset this deficiency, and they also allow for great flexibility, moving drugs from any country in the region to any European destination.
Cocaine shipments can also be trafficked onward by sea or by land across the Sahara to North Africa, where they are flown to Europe in light aircraft or shuttled across the Mediterranean in go-fast boats. As with the Atlantic routes, all of these approaches are utilized in parallel, with the preferred technique and routing changing in response to law enforcement efforts.
Due to the free movement of people and goods throughout the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, drugs are often routed through member states without the hindrances of border controls.
The drive from Lagos (Nigeria) through Cotonou (Benin) and Lome (Togo) to Accra (Ghana), for instance, is less than 500 km and can be completed in one day. Guinea- Bissau, one of the primary countries of ingress for cocaine, lacks commercial air links to the destination markets, and connections from Banjul (The Gambia) are not much better. As a result, most air couriers in the north depart from Dakar (Senegal) or Conakry (Guinea).
On arrival in Europe, the drugs may be sold to European or South American crime groups, or distributed through the extensive network of West Africans involved in retail cocaine distribution.
South American cocaine transiting West Africa, however, comes from all three source countries: Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.
Setbacks in West Africa and the opportunities in Honduras after the 2009 coup led Venezuela-based traffickers to shift their attention to the US market. But if the flow from Venezuela has declined, where is West Africa getting its cocaine?
Brazil is the answer, particularly for West African- owned shipments. Brazil has long been a source for Lusophone Guinea-Bissau but it has since become a source for countries throughout the region. The amount of cocaine trafficked to and through Brazil has increased remarkably in recent years, as reflected in growing seizure statistics.
Gbenga Mabo, the Director of Operations and Investigations of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said in a recent interview that more than 80 per cent of the cocaine that comes into Nigeria comes from Brazil, through Highway 10.
He argued that because Brazil is surrounded by Peru, Bolivia, Chile and others, a lot of cocaine gets into the country, and a syndicate of Nigerians operating in Brazil smuggles the hard drug into Lagos.
Nigerians have long dominated commercial air couriering from Brazil: close to 90% of the mules arrested at the international airport in Sao Paulo report obtaining their cocaine from Nigerian groups.
According to liaison officers in Brazil, Nigerian groups organize up to 30% of the cocaine exports by ship or container from Santos, Brazil’s largest port, up from negligible levels a few years earlier. The Sao Paulo-based Nigerian groups are also responsible for a very large share of the postal shipments of cocaine leaving the country.
Amoo Kolawole, 51, for instance, got caught while trafficking cocaine from Lagos through Europe for a Nigerian syndicate. He was arrested while travelling by rail between Switzerland and France. The First Class graduate of Electrical/Electronic Engineering with a specialisation in Communications Control and Devices refused to embark on the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme on graduation and instead chose to become a drug mule.
Speaking to The Nation at his base in London, he said, “Due to my desperation to travel out, I joined a bad crew. With their help, I started trafficking cocaine. I got caught trafficking cocaine at the frontier between Switzerland and France. I got caught on a train. I was taken to a hospital and the cocaine I ingested was discovered in me after they opened my stomach. I was very lucky because some of it had spilled into my stomach. Consequently, I spent three years in a French prison.”
• A young man writhes in delirium after consuming psychoactive juice
A blizzard of seizures
Recently, the NDLEA seized a consignment of cocaine and heroin worth N30 billion at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, in Lagos. The spokesman of the agency, Jonah Achema, revealed that the drugs were seized from Onyejegbu Ifesinachi Jennifer, a 33-year-old lady, who arrived Nigeria from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
According to him, the seizure weighing 26.840 kilograms is the biggest single seizure from an individual in the past 15 years. Achema said that the drugs were seized after she was searched in line with NDLEA protocol profiling passengers “from high risk countries”.
“Field test was conducted on the recovered substances and proved positive to cocaine and weighed 26.850 kilograms. The suspect who is a hair stylist and based in Brazil was interviewed and she confessed to have agreed to smuggle the hard drug for the sum of N2m only,” said Achema.
This development came on the heels of a similar one recorded two days earlier at the same airport, when a red left-over luggage containing whitish powdery substances were discovered neatly concealed and sewn inside five children duvets.
Field test was carried out on the exhibits which proved they are cocaine weighing 8.400 Kilograms, with a street value of over N7bn. The NDLEA subsequently arrested suspects Abubakar Aliyu, Emmanuel Iyke Aniebonam, Onwurah Kelvin, while trying to retrieve the drugs on behalf of one Ikechukwu Eze.
Hard drug economics
As the prices paid for illicit drugs, and the profits to be made from them, are far higher in Europe and the US than in West Africa, large-scale traffickers generally seek to ship illicit drugs through the region to the international markets. However, in some cases, low-level drug traffickers are paid in kind and lack the resources or networks to move the drugs across borders. Consequently, they flood the local market with illicit drugs, contributing to the growth in domestic consumption rates.
A spike in heroin and cocaine production since 2016 is the likely explanation for the increase in the volumes of each drug type transiting through Lagos and other parts of West Africa.
Following rudimentary economics of supply and demand, the increased supply of cocaine and heroin to the domestic markets in the region has led to falling prices and easier accessibility to hard drugs.
For instance, in 2017, the price for one ‘hit’ of heroin or crack cocaine, was just over US$2.16
On average, cocaine users reported spending N 6,300 NGN (or 20 USD) per day on cocaine (N 7,000 by women or 22 USD spent per day). This amount is nearly half of the national minimum wage per month. Similarly, methamphetamine users spent an average of N 4,000 (or USD 13) per day. The growing sophistication of drug-trafficking groups generally continues to outstrip the investigatory capacity of law-enforcement authorities. This has led a number of players in the international community involved in tackling the regional drug trade, together with members of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the police force, to predict that the situation will get worse before it gets better.
• A young adult writhes in discomfort after drinking Colorado in Lekki, Lagos
Taming the dragon
Recently, the Medical Director (MD) of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Yaba, Dr. Oluwayemi Ogun, raised the alarm over the increasing prevalence of drug abused induced mental disorders among children, adolescent and adult Nigerians saying over 150 new cases are admitted at the hospital and its Child and Adolescent Centre, Oshodi Annexe every week.
Reacting to teen addiction to psychotropic substances, she said, in an exclusive interview with The Nation, that: “Codeine, cocaine, Indian Hemp, Tramadol and Rohypnol are seriously dangerous to health the way they are abused.”
She said, “There is a need for a lot of counselling and education of the youths. They must be made to understand that taking psychotropic substances would have adverse effects on them and possibly wreck their lives. Since the lockdown, the number of people taking drugs has sky-rocketed. Many of them ended up as our patients at the psychiatric hospital. Troubled teenagers especially must understand that the good times are made, not sniffed, drunk or smoked.”
The senior psychiatrist urged parents, schools, and religious groups to complement the government’s efforts at combating the trend. “ We must act fast before this thing engulfs us… Many resort to hard drugs to escape their daily problems, to forget their battles with unemployment, poverty, and so on. But hard drugs do not take away problems, they add to the problems and compound them for users,” she said.
Priscilla Benjamin-Olaoye, a mental health expert, stated that hard drugs only offer a temporary sensation. Once the drug wears off, individuals put themselves at risk of developing a dependence as they try to reach the same high and avoid withdrawals.
Should parents resort to spiritual homes or visit orthodox psychiatric hospitals?
Benjamin-Olaoye argued that although the first assumption to make is that drug addiction is a spiritual problem, substance abuse is actually a chronic relapsing disorder, leading to mental and behavioural challenges.
Arguably, a spiritual problem, she stressed, is one in which the individual has no control over, but “in this case, substance abuse is one which the individual behaves themselves into.”
You cannot pray yourself out of what you behaved yourself into, she argued, urging parents to implement a healthy balance of both. She said, “Don’t focus on the spiritual aspect, while the emotional needs of the child is left unmet.”
Children of drug-dependent parents, like Princess, no doubt suffer a slew of unmet needs. The desire to be loved and pampered by their birth mother. The need for a father figure in their lives and the capacity to live their lives free of health defects.
This minute, social media is rife with imagery of teenagers and young adults trapped in the dangerous rapture of hallucinogenic substances. A good many of them, after downing Colorado or Gutter Juice, lose all inhibitions and start to writhe in a blanket of extreme poses – their theatrics are often self-harming and suicidal.
The situation requires urgent government intervention, argued Philomena Okon, an addiction counsellor, and social health worker.
“Government health departments and law enforcement agencies must work together to curtail the prevalence of hard drugs on the streets. Dealers must be arrested and prosecuted with severe penalties and teen users, in particular, must be given required rehabilitative support.”
In the meantime, several teenagers and young adults will troop to the nearest drug den to purchase their daily or hourly fix of ‘high.’ Under the influence of psychotropic substances, Kamsi, a 400 level Optometry student of the Abia State University, Uturu, jumped down from a three-storey building and died on the spot, on the evening of Saturday, June 26, 2021 evening. Under the influence, Felicia, 16, dumped Princess, her newborn, deserting her child and home for an undisclosed destination. Yet these aren’t half as bad as the story gets.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is troubled by the depletion of its national commissioners as the 2023 elections approach.
There are six vacancies waiting to be filled, The Nation gathered yesterday.
The commission is supposed to have a 13-man management team, but only seven including Chairman Mahmood Yakubu are currently in place.
The six national commissioners helping Yakubu to run the electoral body for now are Mr. Festus Okoye (South-East); Dr. Bala Bila (North-East); Prof. Abdullahi Abdu Zuru (North-West); Prof. Sani Adam (North-Central); Prof. Muhammad Kalla (North-West) and Prof. Kunle Ajayi (South-West).
The Souh-South has no representation on the management board.
Sources also told The Nation that some of the immediate past national commissioners are lobbying to return to INEC.
The electoral commission is waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari to fill the vacancies in the 13-man team.
Although the seven-man team can hold a meeting, the non-representation of the South-South may raise legal issues on vital decisions.
It was gathered that there were concerns in INEC that the Presidency was “slow in appointing new national commissioners.”
A top source said: “INEC has already entered into the calendar of its next election year with the announcement of February 18, 2023 as poll commencement date by its chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on April 28, 2021.
“With seven commissioners, the commission will form a quorum and operate, but it should not be dragged into legal issues on some of its decisions.
“For instance, the management is not properly constituted without a representative from the South-South.
“A little slip in the Electoral Management Board will draw it back. For instance, if any of the present seven national commissioners is unavailable, no meeting can hold.
“The activities of INEC are also partially crippled because the organisation has about 16 standing committees which cannot function to optimal level.
“We are entering into 2022, which is critical to the next general election, without key committees in operation. This is really challenging for the INEC chairman and his team.”
The source said the Presidency can avert any major crisis by filling the vacant positions, which it had known about in the last few months.
“This is necessary because with the exception of Yakubu and Okoye, most of the national commissioners now are greenhorns in electoral management.
“The earlier all the appointments are made the better, so that INEC can put these new members through the challenges ahead.”
Another source in INEC said: “The commission has notified the Presidency of the vacancies. We believe the authorities are aware. We believe they are doing something about it.”
A source in government said: “Action is being taken because some of the national commissioners just completed their tenure on December 6
“This is a sensitive agency. The government must do its homework to ensure that Nigerians with integrity are appointed into INEC.
“I think there is no cause for alarm in the light of Section 159 of the 1999 Constitution on INEC and 12 other agencies.
The section says: “The quorum for a meeting of any of the bodies established by Section 153 of this Constitution shall be not less than one-third of the total number of members of that body at the date of the meeting.”
Those who just completed their tenure are Professor Okechukwu Ibeanu, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, Mallam Mohammed Kudu Haruna, Mrs May Agbamuche Mbu and Air Vice-Marshal Ahmed Tijani Muazu (rtd).
It was learnt that some of the former national commissioners were lobbying to return.
“Some of them are constitutionally entitled to second term in office. So, no one can rule out the ongoing lobbying.”
The INEC chairman had on April 28, 2021 said: “By the principle established by the Commission, the 2023 General Election will hold on Saturday 18th February 2023 which is exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from today.
“We hope to release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election immediately after the Anambra governorship election scheduled to hold on 6th November, 2021.”
NASS leaders may meet president, downplay override option
Presidency still hasn’t returned bill to legislature
With only five work days remaining for President Muhammadu Buhari to sign or reject the controversial Electoral Act Amendment Bill, many federal lawmakers are anxiously waiting for news from the Presidency on the bill, The Nation learnt last night.
The leadership of the two chambers are said to be considering a fresh meeting with the President on the matter as soon as possible.
The Nation also gathered that contrary to speculations, the National Assembly had not received any message from the Presidency as at last night, rejecting the bill.
Earlier reports that the President had declined assent to the bill had sparked palpable confusion in the polity.
Spokesmen of the Senate and House of Representatives have denied knowledge of President Buhari’s alleged rejection letter, insisting that the President was yet to communicate any decision on the bill to the National Assembly as at weekend.
The presidency too is yet to confirm or deny the existence of the alleged rejection letter.
The President has up till Sunday, December 19 to sign the bill into law.
But in the event of him declining to append his signature to the bill, the lawmakers with two-thirds majority can veto the President and pass the bill into law.
However, National Assembly sources told The Nation yesterday that the federal lawmakers were not about to engage the President in any duel on the bill by overriding his decision at the expiration of the deadline.
One of the sources said: “Just as I can confidently tell you, we are not about to dump our support for the direct primary clause. What I am sure of is that as legislators who know our onions, we will not act based on mere rumours and speculations.
“We are still waiting for the President to communicate his decision to us. He is yet to formally do that and whatever speculations are out there, we will not be pushed into taking any action based on that.
“I can confide in you, you know I am not authorised to speak on this matter, but I can tell you our leaders have been talking and we have also been discussing this matter amongst ourselves.”
Another source, a ranking Senator from the Southwest, said it was most unlikely that either of the two sides (executive and legislature) would be interested in a face-off over the electoral bill when dialogue could still bring about a resolution of the current stalemate.
His words: “There is no crisis between the National Assembly and the President. Don’t forget we all belong to the same party.
“We as leaders of the National Assembly are not eager to wait till December 19 and override the President as many people are hoping. We have had a very cordial relationship with our President and we are not about to forfeit that over this issue.
“One card that is very much on the table as I speak with you is for the leadership of the National Assembly to ignore all the rumours and speculations flying around and seek audience with Mr. President on the fate of the Bill before him.
“That way, the two parties can discuss their differences, if any, and see if they can be resolved amicably. There is no crisis at all.”
Yet another source said the amended bill sent to the President had not been returned to the National Assembly as at last night.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan had earlier said the expectation of members of the National Assembly was that Buhari would sign Electoral Bill 2021 into law.
He urged the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to engage all stakeholders in order to resolve any form of disagreement and assuage the feelings of those who may not be happy over the direct primary option.
Last week, after a meeting with the President, House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila also said the President was in support of the direct primary which allows all card-carrying members of political parties to be involved in the choice of candidates for major elections. He expressed optimism that Buhari would sign the Bill without delay.
The President had written a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, seeking advice over the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021.
Buhari in a November 29, 2021 letter signed by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, requested the INEC chairman, the office of the Vice President, Attorney-General of the Federation, Finance Minister and the Inspector General of Police to provide considered views on the bill by Friday, December 3, 2021.
The commission in its reply reportedly enjoined the President to assent to the bill as passed by the National Assembly.
The most contentious issue in the bill is the recommendation that the political parties should adopt direct primaries for the purpose of picking their candidates for elective offices.
The proposal is vehemently opposed by governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who see the recommendation of direct primary as an attempt by the lawmakers to reduce the influence and power of governors in the affairs of the party.
The PDP caucuses in the two chambers are also opposed to the bill.
They claim their members were not given ample opportunities during debate to air their views.
Just as the Jews used their talents to force the world to accede to their demands, so can the Igbo solve the problems of marginalisation, Nigerian presidency, restructuring and separatist agitations with their talents in technology, trade and commerce.
Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, stated this yesterday in the state capital Owerri at the presentation of his book, “Reflections on the Igbo Question”.
Uzodimma reasoned that the model of democracy Nigeria currently practices does not seem to be offering the federating units “a holistic sense of belonging, seasoned by equality, justice and the rule of law,” adding that “the original federal project secured by our founding fathers has fallen apart.”
He urged Ndigbo not to despair or be intimidated but to “insist on our inalienable birthright as citizens of Nigeria, who must coexist with other ethnic nationalities as equal partners.
He noted two things about the Igbo existence in Nigeria, the first being that they “have not had a fair deal from project Nigeria since the end of the civil war. They have continued to cry to the high heavens over the sordid dilemma they face in their own country. I believe we have cried enough and it is time to wipe our tears.
“The second is that Igbo are citizens of Nigeria by birth. They should never allow themselves to be cajoled out of their father’s land and inheritance.”
The governor reasoned that the Igbo urgently need to rediscover their spirit of enterprise that helped them to survive the harsh socioeconomic environment after the civil war, including the “twenty pounds to every Igbo man” saga.
He said the Igbo, despite all the challenges, “are still better off staying in Nigeria,” because with their God-given talents and dominance of trade, commerce, real estate, they can excel in Nigeria.
“We also have a huge landmass to conquer, dominate and exploit. We have boundless markets to tap into. We have unassailable ingenuity and opportunities presented to us to explore to emerge leaders again in this land of Nigeria that we are equal owners,” Uzodimma said.
He urged young Igbo not to be discouraged by the artificial hurdles in their way.
Uzodimma said: “I also don’t want them to continue to be frustrated by the deliberate policies of exclusion. Instead, I want them to be focused on the larger picture of liberation through technology, trade and commerce through which we can dominate Nigeria and dictate the pace of development.
“Indeed, when the Jews found themselves in a similar situation such as Igbos of Nigeria, they simply used their talents to force the world to accede to their legitimate demand. Through technology and the media, the Jews now call the shots in major countries of the world including, the United States of America.”
A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, who chaired the occasion, shared the governor’s view that a united Nigeria is to the Igbo’s benefit.
Ihejirika said: “My opinion is that the feeling of marginalisation is not peculiar to the Igbo race alone, but a national cry. It must therefore not be seen as a basis for separatist agitation.
“I’m therefore in agreement with the author that these innate desires of our people are better channeled to positive expressions such as technological advancement, industrialisation and entrepreneurship development which are globally recognised as key strengths of Ndigbo.
“Our continuous desire for an Igbo president, or rather president of Igbo extraction, is a just and inalienable right but can only be realised through a strategic alliance with other zones and not by any hostile agitation as emphasised in this book/”
Also speaking, former governor of Imo State Ikedi Ohakim said the book had clearly shown where Uzodimma stands on the Igbo question.
He said the Igbo can exist with or without the presidency.
“The book has proved where the governor stands on the Igbo state.”
Ohakim noted that the Igbo question is JEF which stands for “Justice, Equity and Fairness’, adding that the presidency is not everything.
Nevertheless, the Igbo, he reasoned, must move forward. “We must continue to move forward whether we have it or not.”
“For Ndigbo, it is to insist to be equal partners in the society. This is my contribution to the Igbo question. This is our country and we will gracefully stay here to challenge our rights,” he added.
The police on Saturday rescued unhurt the traditional ruler of the Mbutu Ancient Kingdom in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, Eze Damian Nwaigwe.
He was taken away from the palace at about 2:30 am on Thursday.
A source said the gunmen, numbering about 10, shot into the air before whisking the monarch away.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday ordered National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno, Police Inspector General Usman Alkali Baba, and Department of State Services (DSS) DG, Yusuf Magaji Bichi to proceed to Sokoto and Katsina states to conduct an impact assessment of the security challenges in the axis.
Also on the team were National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Director-General Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar and Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Samuel Adebayo.
Their dispatch came 24 hours after the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) called for urgent government intervention in the increasing wave of insecurity in the North.
Government’s mere condemnation of killings of innocent people by terrorists, according to the two, was not having any effect.
Gunmen had, on Thursday, killed 16 persons in a mosque in Niger State while another gang murdered 23 travellers in Sokoto State.
Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said yesterday that his principal was expecting an immediate situation report and recommendations on actions to follow to effectively deal with the worrying situation. Leading the team is NSA Monguno.
There’ll be visible signs of improved security in 2022 – Army Chief
Elsewhere yesterday, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya promised visible signs of improved security in the new year while the Chief of Air Staff,Air Marshall Oladayo Amao, said all the branches of the military were working in synergy to strategically defeat threats to national security.
Yahaya ,in a speech at the closing of the COAS Annual Conference 2021 in Abuja with the theme “Building Nigerian Army Capacity in Combating Emerging Security Threats in a Joint Operations Environment” warned those fueling crises in various locations across the country to desist from their unpatriotic acts.
The COAS said that the Nigerian army was committed to ensuring the return of peace to every part of the country in no distant time.
He added that the army would, within the ambit of the rule of law, continue to ensure that all peace-loving citizens go about their legitimate businesses and live without fear or intimidation.
Military working in synergy to eliminate threats to national security — Air Chief
Also yesterday, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, said all branches of the Nigerian military are working in synergy to strategically defeat threats to national security.
Amao in a message to the graduation of Junior Course 92 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State,said the training of the course participants was part of the military’s plan of having tactically grounded professionals to prosecute ongoing operations.
Represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans, Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Remigius Ekeh,Amao said the Federal Government was working assiduously to ensure the security and safety of life and property of its citizenry within the framework of the contemporary security challenges confronting the country.
Northern youths protest worsening insecurity
Northern youths yesterday took to the streets in Abuja, Kano, Bauchi, Zamfara and Sokoto, among other northern cities, protesting the worsening insecurity in the region.
The protesters deplored the regime of killing, kidnapping and rustling which have made life terrible for residents.
The placard carrying youths sang solidarity songs.
The protesters in Kano submitted a letter containing their grievances to officials at the Kano State Government House who promised to “pass their grievances to the appropriate quarters.”
The Abuja protesters gathered at the Unity Fountain and complained about the rate at which blood is being shed in the region.
Hashtags used by the them included : #SaveTheNorth; #NorthernLivesMatter; #NorthIsBleeding; #SecureOurLives; #EnoughIsEniugh; and #NoMoreBloodShed.
Besides,the President, Northern Youth Council of Nigeria, Isah Abubakar,said in a statement that the federal government has run out of ideas and should quit.
It said it was embarrassed that government could not “ subdue the terrorists that have taken over significant parts of Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Zamfara states and the busiest Kaduna-Abuja expressway on one side, and recently, the daring moves attacks by Boko Haram/ISWAP which has continued unabated.
“It is embarrassing that President Buhari is idly watching the terrorist elements reigning supreme in in our Country, imposing taxes on his supposed citizens, stopping them yet, he is unperturbed. This is the clear characteristic of a leader that has run out of steam.”
President General of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and Sultan of Sokoto,Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar ,speaking at the 4th Quarter 2021 Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Abuja on Thursday, had lamented the agony which residents of the North are currently going through on account of terrorism.
His words: ““If I continue talking about the insecurity in the North, we will not leave this room, some few days ago, we are witnesses to the media report on how people were killed in a bus in Sokoto, even though the figure is not correct, but even one life is important, there is no single day that passes without people being killed in the North especially in the North West now, but we don’t hear it.
“Let’s not deceive ourselves, everything is not alright, I have said this so many times, and to know that you have a problem, you have part of the solution. The earlier we rise up to the occasion, come together, the better for us.”
In his own presentation,CAN President,the Reverend Samson Ayokunle said:“Travelling from one point to another by road in particular has become a very great risk; kidnappers are everywhere and they don’t only come out to kidnap but also to kill, so you don’t know who the next victim is going to be.
“Why should these people be killing and hiding people in our territory without being challenged, why should it be easy for them to hide people somewhere within the state and the security agencies in the state within a few days or weeks will not be able to fish them out?”
In a fresh narrative of the intrigues that characterized the emergence ofGeneral Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s President in 2015,the pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),Chief Bisi Akande, has alleged moves by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Northern elites and some aristocrats to ensure it did not happen.
Chief Akande, in his memoirs – My Participations – which was launched in Lagos on Thursday, says Obasanjo worked behind the scene to stop the then fledgling APC from picking Buhari as its standard bearer.
The former Osun State governor recalls that whilethe former president declined to join the APC, he confessed having “his sympathy for us.”
He says: “He said he had decided not to join any political party since he left the PDP.
“Behind the scene however, I understood he was pressurizing some of our leaders not to use Buhari as our candidate.
“It got to a point when Bola Tinubu had to confront him thus: ‘It is not fair sending me to Buhari.Buhari was a soldier and he was one of your junior officers in the Army. Why don’t you call Buhari and let him know how you feel about his intention to be President?
“I don’t know whether Obasanjo stopped at it.From the start, he did not want Buhari to be President.”
He also speaks about opposition to Buhari from some quarters in the North.
“It was apparent from the start that Buhari would be our choice for President.That was one of the bases for the merger.
“However, there were pressures from the elites, especially from the North, including royal fathers, piling pressure on us not to allow Buhari be our presidential candidate.
“A prominent aristocratic leader from the North stayed several nights in Osogbo,persuading Governor Aregbesola to prevail on us not to field Buhari. He threatened that if we did, there would be trouble in the North.”
Akande says they reviewed all the threats and decided to go through it with Buhari.
He adds: “Buhari had been losing elections before because he had no structure to harness his support and transform it into votes.
“Now through the APC, we had created a formidable structure for him; bigger and better than that of any other party in Nigerian history.”
Adebanjo, Olaniwun Ajayi frustrated Bola Ige’s presidential ambition
Akande also gives his own account of how three Afenifere leaders, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the late ChiefOlaniwun Ajayi and late Chief Ganiyu Dawodu, allegedly frustrated the presidential ambition of the late ChiefBola Ige, a Second Republic governor of the old Oyo State.
He says: “After the 1999 local government elections, the results of which were a prelude to and conditional for the registration of party organisations including AD as political parties,a meeting of the AD leadership was summoned to the chairman’s home in Kaduna to discuss funding and the way forward.
“At the meeting were Afenifere leaders from the South West. Among them were Senator Abraham Adesanya,Chief Bola Ige,Sir Olaniwun Ajayi,Chief Ayo Adebanjo,Senator Ayo Fasanmi,Chief Olu Falae,Chief Segun Osoba,Alhaji Ganiyu Dawodu,Senator Femi Okurounmu,Dr.Wahab Dosunmu and Senator Bola Tinubu.
“With me from Osun State was Sola Akinwunmi.. The summary of the decision at that meeting was that the South West should urgently produce a candidate for the Presidency aroundwhom thesearch for funds could be co-ordinated.
“After the meeting that night, we (Olaniwun Ajayi,Ayo Adebanjo,Ayo Fasanmi,Ganiyu Dawodu,Femi Okurounmu,Sola Akinwunmi and myself) followed Bola Ige to his wife,justice Atinuke Ige’s official residence. She was then a justice of the Appeal Court in Kaduna.
“There, we were lavishly entertained and we slept to keep the night in different allocated rooms.
“After dinner, Bola Ige took permissionto visit certain people in the city. Sola Akinwunmi and I were lodged together in one room. I left a message with Bola Ige’s wife,justice Atinuke Ige,that Bola Ige should see me on his returnfrom the city no matter how late in the night.
“On his return,he woke me up. I advised himto seize the opportunity of our being together to mention his ambition for the Presidency to his friends –particularly Olaniwun Ajayi,Ayo Adebanjo and Ganiyu Dawodu.
“While we were at breakfast the following morning, he called his three friends into a lobby as I advised him.
“We thereafter left for Kaduna airport to board Chachangi Airline to Lagos.Inside the plane,I saw his three friends talking animatedly withChief Ayo Fasanmi.
“As soon as we alighted from the aircraft, Ayo Fasanmi asked me for a ride in my car to Dr.Tunji Otegbeye’s house at Ikeja GRA. On our way, he told me that the three friends would not support Bola Ige’s ambition because according to him, Bola Ige would be too tough for them to control as President of Nigeria.
“That began the surprises at the Ibadan D-Rovans meeting of Afenifere contrived committee whereChief Olu Falae was preferred by Afenifere to Chief Bola Ige as the presidential candidate of AD.”
