The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • Preachers’ hate-speech fueling insecurity — Ransom Bello

    Bishop (Dr) Ransom Bello is the General Overseer of Calvary Life Assembly International, Kano State. He is former Chairman of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and former PFN Northwest National Vice President and former Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kano State. In this interview with Senior Correspondent FANEN IHYONGO, he speaks about the security challenges confronting the country, urging the Nigerian government to live up to public expectations with regard to securing the nation, among other responsibilities.

    What advice would the clergy give the government for a solution to the rising insecurity in Nigeria?

    I don’t need to begin to describe the disturbing security challenges in the country because one can spend a whole day talking about that. We are all very worried and troubled about the state of insecurity in this country. In all my life, I had never believed Nigeria could go downward in terms of insecurity. And again, it is not something hidden, because everybody knows about it as it happens to everybody on a daily basis. So, there is no need spending time to analyse the insecurity situation.

    Now on what can we do, talking as a cleric for Christian clergies, first and foremost, it is for us to pray. Our duty as clergies and religious leaders is to pray. It is an injunction in the Bible that we should pray for the country and those who rule over us (leaders). That is our basic function. So, there are some people to pray and there is God to answer. Number two is to also ensure we preach peace to our congregations, because, insecurity will explode and continue when we make hate speeches on the pulpit and mobilise our congregations on the path of violence. All these have multiplier effects, so we should not radicalise our members through preaching and make it look as if we are urging them to go and fight the government. So, we preach peace and tolerance in our churches.

    Number three, the clergy should speak the truth to power. We have the responsibility to speak the truth to authorities or those in power. When they are doing well, of course, we have to say it. And when they are not doing well, we also have to speak the truth. And for this government, they are not doing well, and that is the truth. And we must keep speaking, because there are sycophants around the presidency who want him (Buhari) to believe he is doing well -that one of the cardinal promises he made, which is security, is being fulfilled. But we all know that this is a lie. So, part of my responsibility as a clergyman is to speak and tell the truth that you are not doing well; you are failing as a government and you must do something more than you have been doing before, to be sure that your citizens are safe, which is your primary assignment as a government. So, we speak truth to power.

    And now, apart from the insecurity caused by killer herdsmen, armed robbers, kidnappers and bandits, we have a new form of insecurity in the country: if you speak the truth, they come after you. That is not how it should be. Any government that wants to do the right thing should listen to the people and listen to truth. Why should I become insecure when I speak the truth to government and they know that what I say is the correct thing? Why should my life be in danger for prompting government to do what they are supposed to do? So, the government should look into that area and listen to the truth and yearnings and complaints of the people. It is not well that the government is always coming up with the usual slogan of being ‘on top of the situation,’ where as they are not on top of anything. I think these are the functions clergies should perform to help in the insecurity situation of the country.

    What do you think led to the worsening security situation?

    Well, there are many things one can think about. At the background of everything is poverty, which we all know. Poverty is an activator of anger, violence and general insecurity. Inequality in the society is also among other fundamental reasons. If young men and women are employed and they have a lot of things to do, a lot may be avoided. But again, our situation in the country has gone beyond that -it is not just about poverty and unemployment. To me, it is about a plan, design or agenda, because if you want your nation secured, why must you employ only your kinsmen to occupy the security architecture of the country, if you don’t have anything in mind? I think there should be federal character as much as possible in such sensitive blocks to give every group a sense of belonging. When there is nepotism at its highest level, expect resistance, violence and insecurity. Nobody should be made to feel like a second class citizen in this country.

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    I always say this: if any tribe in this country thinks they will put other tribes as second class, they must be joking; it will not work. No tribe should be elevated above any other because it will engender violence, insecurity and communal feuds. Now, I see an attempt to kind of elevate a tribe above the others. I have been hearing so much about killer herdsmen who carry AK47. I have heard of attacks in the north, south, west and east, but I have not heard much about arrests. How many people, up to date, have been arrested and prosecuted? This is the crime in this country. I think the Nigerian government is too intelligent not to know what to do. You asked me what the government should do. Of course, they know what to do.

    Do you share the belief that the killer herdsmen are foreigners?

    Yes. I share the same belief and it is true. Those who say so know what they are talking about. From the different discoveries of people who have been kidnapped, the victims tell us stories of the kind of language they hear their abductors speak. But I also believe the insurgents cannot succeed without internal collaborators. There is no way they can come from somewhere, invade Nigeria, conquer territories, maim and kill people without local support. So, I believe the herders who want pasture for their cattle and are being resisted could be part of the culprits who employ these people that unleash terror. So, I believe there is internal collaboration so we cannot excuse the local people, whether the herders or actual people carrying AK47 or those who own them. But these are two different things. There are those who are in the field doing the job. But the real culprits are those who arm these terrorists to do what they are doing.

    You said when we pray, God listens. Can we say God is no longer listening to the prayers of the clergy that is why insecurity is on the increase in the country?

    That is a very important question. We have been praying and yes the killings have continued. But can you imagine what could have happened without the prayers. That is the best way to look at it. I believe God is answering our prayers. Anytime you see a positive step being taken, either through restructuring of the security architecture or other means, it is part of the answers to prayers. Whether people are coming out with various measures to make the federal government become more reasonable is part of the answers to prayers. Now, our calls for restructuring are becoming louder and clearer, and it is still part of answers to prayers. So, I think God is a systematic God and He knows what He is doing and He is actually answering our prayers. But there is always a time for everything. God made all things beautiful in their times.

    Do you think we have sinned too much in this country?

    In fact, we have sinned more than too much. Since I was born, I never witnessed such a level of insecurity in my life. Well, not just personally, God has been protecting me. But what I have heard, read and seen or witnessed happening in every part of the country is unprecedented. Nobody ever thought this country would be this unsecured under a former army general, which is more disappointing. I think we have seen the worst. That is why the federal government should do what they know how to do; what they know is right. Like I have said, this country is too intelligent not to know what to do and how to do it.

    Kano appears to be different when compared with other states like Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina and Niger, etc, in terms of security. What are the measures being taken to secure Kano?

    Kano has been peaceful for some years. What are we doing? We have a governor with a nationalistic view; a governor who is accommodating. I know he is a very strong and strict Muslim, but he is someone who has opened his arms to receive other faiths and ensure things go well. So, I think it has to do with the leadership of the state. Let me quickly thank God for Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the security commanders of the Army, Air Force and the Commissioner of Police in Kano. Above all, I thank God for the Kano indigenes who have deliberately refused to allow Boko Haram to stay in Kano. Now, the collective will of the people is what you see working in Kano State. Kano people don’t want their state to be reduced to rubble. Kano is the economic strength and commercial centre of the entire north. I am happy for the Kano people who refused to allow insurgents have a root in Kano, and I am happy for the governor who is a peaceful man.

    For example, all of us can refer to the stand he (Ganduje) took concerning these herders movement from the north to south. He took a step that has surprised almost everybody. If all northern governors are like Ganduje, we wouldn’t be having problems in this country. Ganduje said the governors should stop the herders from moving from the north to the south to graze their cattle. That is a man who has the peace of this country at heart. In Kano, securities have been working and the indigenes have said no to violence.

  • Horror tales of child rape in Gombe

    • Victims seek funds for second surgery after failed one
    • Activist: We’re frustrated by absence of legal instrument to deal with rapists

    By Sola SHITTU, Gombe

    IT was a bright and sunny day in Gombe, the capital city of Gombe State on December 9, 2020. Natwa Yakubu became thirsty on account of the rather harsh weather, so she sent Rifkatu, her five-year-old daughter, to buy her a sachet of iced water popularly called pure water.

    As it would later turned out, Rifkatu’s rather harmless mission turned into a tragedy that left permanent physical and psychological scars on the body and soul of the five-year-old who happened to be the only girl among the five children of the Yakubu family.

    On her way to the shop of the sachet water’s seller, Rifkatu was violently raped by an 18-year-old teenager who ambushed her on the way and took her to an uncompleted building some 200 metres away from the family house of the Yakubus at the extreme end of the Government Reserved Area (GRA) in Gombe.

    Ironically, the area is home to the high and mighty in the capital city, including senators, commissioners and many former public office holders. But Rifkatu’s family house was far flung from the serene atmosphere of the GRA. It was situated in an isolated area kept apart by a deep gully by an almost 30-metre wide gully, which makes this undeveloped part of the GRA inaccessible to both motorists and pedestrians.

    As the 18-year-old devil’s reincarnate violently defiled the hapless five-year-old, her father, a security guard, was at work while her mother was waiting patiently at home for the water she had sent her to buy.

    The violent act perpetrated against Rifkatu caused her to suffer serious tears that covered the entire section from her vagina to her anus, such that faeces now comes out through her vagina instead of her anus each time she defecates. And the situation has persisted in spite of a surgery that was carried out to correct the damage.

    Gombe Rape

    But Rifkatu is not alone in the ugly fate that befell her. May, another rape victim, is currently battling with the injury she sustained after she was raped by an unidentified suspect.

    May, daughter of a herdsman, had been sent by her parents into the bush to look after their cattle in the absence of her brother. Her brother later came over to take charge of the cattle, but May was raped on her way home and the perpetrator of the heinous crime has since been at large while she is still lying in the hospital.

    “A surgery had been done before, but she had to come back for the second one because she is still defecating through her vagina,” said Christiana Agbo, the Kishimi Shelter and Care Foundation officer in charge of adolescent girl and child protection in Gombe State.

    She said, however, that the most worrisome rape case in her charge was that of Rifkatu who requires financial help to go for the second surgery in the bid to correct the damages done to her private parts by the man that raped her.

    “Imagine, we called the father to ask how much he had and he said he wanted to sell his goat to take her back to the hospital,” Agbo lamented.

    Rifkatu’s mother, 40-year-old Anyway Yakubu, a full time housewife, looked helpless when she spoke with the reporter, saying that they were hinging their hope on good hearted members of the public for a solution to the problem.

    She said: “The incident occurred on 9th December, 2020, and since then, we have been battling with how to correct the anomaly caused to her system by the rapist.

    “Sometimes I look at her and the pains she is going through at her tender age, and I break into tears. It is even more painful to me as a mother because I am helpless and cannot do anything to help my daughter.

    “I feel guilty that I was the one who sent her on errand and sometimes blame myself for what happened to her.”

    Although eight years old Daharatu Abubakar, another rape victim and eldest of the four children of 25 years old Zainab Abubakar now looks better after she was raped by a 65-year-old man who has since been charged and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a law court, the scars of the attack linger.

    “It all happened around 6 pm on December 6, 2020,” said Daharatu’s mother, Zainab. “I sent her to buy me flour to make chinchin but she was attacked by the 65 years old man who grabbed her in the throat and covered her mouth.”

    Rape Victim in Gombe

    Daharatu’s father, Garus Musa Abubakar, said he was in the market when he received a call that told him what happened to his daughter.

    “I cried on that day because she was in a very bad shape. She sustained serious injuries and had to be rushed to the hospital. As a father, I felt so bad about the incident,” he said.

    For Mrs. Grace Tony Samuel, the Executive Director of Kishimi Shelter and Care Foundation, the battle against rape and the attendant damages to the body and the psyche of survivors is becoming a frustrating one because the legal instrument to deal with the perpetrators, the Child Right Act, is yet to be domesticated in Gombe State.

    She said: “The state House of Assembly held a public hearing on it last week and we are not sure whether it is going to see the light of the day because there were some pockets of reactions there. Some people were kicking against the castration of rapists. It means they are not seeing it as a capital offence.

    “So, to me, it is frustrating and I feel that everybody must take responsibility — individuals, parents, CSOs, government and religious bodies — because the thing is skyrocketing. If we put ourselves in the place of the victims, maybe it will make us become more sensible.”

    Asked why perpetrators engage in rape, Mrs. Samuel dismissed the argument that the way and manner of dressing by victims often encourage it. According to her, rape has more to do with the mental status of the perpetrators.

    She said: “The survivors of rape, some are two years old and some are five years old. For God sake, what has this got to do with dressing? They don’t even know what dressing is all about.

    “So I will not subscribe to the argument that dressing is the issue. I think it is a psychological issue. And the moral decadence in the society is also part of it, because I don’t understand how a father will rape his own daughter.

    Christiana Agbo, Kishimi
    •Christiana Agbo, Kishimi Shelter
    and Care Foundation

    “Sometimes I begin to think whether it is occult, because we have seen cases of elderly persons who are 65 or 70 raping less than 10 years old girls. So I don’t get it.

    “Actually, I am confused about the whole thing because you can’t really point at any exact reason for rape.

    “During the COVID-19 lockdown, there were lots of rape cases and they were attributed to the lockdown which made everything to stand still and people clustered in one place. But now the lock down is over, so why is it still happening?”

    The Commissioner of Police in Gombe State, Ishola Babaita, however, believed that the battle against rapist in the state was being won and that rape cases had reduced drastically.

    Babaita said: “The offence of rape has become a very notorious crime and we are already making a very strong move to curb it drastically.

    Mrs. Grace Tony Samuel
    •Executive Director, Kishimi Shelter and
    Care Foundation, Mrs. Grace Tony Samuel

    “First, we have made sure that anyone caught with the offence of rape has no hiding place. Such a person will be charged to court. And we collaborate with the judiciary on this.

    “Some of the perpetrators have been seriously dealt with under the ambit of the law.

    “We also collaborate with NGOs for advocacy about the evil and create awareness on it. So with all these collaborations, it has come gradually under control.”

    Babaita said although it has been very difficult to find a clear reason for rape, it can be influenced by poverty.

    “What I mean is that it is poverty that makes parents to send their little children to hawk on the streets thereby exposing them to the danger of being raped. Some families depend on whatever little things their children could sell for them to survive.

    Natwa Yakubu

    •Rape victim Rifkatu’s
    mother Natwa Yakubu

    “Another reason could be traced to drug addiction. These days, you find so many youths and even adults engaging in drug addiction. When they are on drug, they can do anything including raping a little girl.

    “Some also say they do it for ritual purposes. But I am a policeman and I know we that cannot proof that before the court of law.”

    The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Zubair Umar, said the Child Rights Act is already going through some processes for it to be domesticated in the state.

     

    According to him, those areas that are considered controversial by stakeholders are already being addressed while advocacy is going on to ensure that the law scales all the hurdles.

    “We are working on it, and the state government under Governor Inuwa Yahaya is committed to seeing that the law is domesticated in the state,” he said.

    According to statistics from the office of Gombe State Commissioner for Internal Security and Ethical Orientation, Adamu Kufto, the state recorded 200 rape and 37 sodomy cases in year 2020 alone, with five other cases recorded in January of the year 2021 alone.

    He said 61 persons were also arrested for acts of gross indecency.

    According to the Commissioner, 40 rape cases were lodged in Gombe alone while 39 attempted rape cases were reported in the entire state.

    Commissioner of Police Ishola Babaita
    •Gombe State Commissioner of
    Police Ishola Babaita

    He lamented that the cases were often between fathers and their female children and all the victims are underage.

    “Thirty-seven were arrested for unnatural (gay and lesbianism) offences and 61 for act of gross indecency,” he said.

    The breakdown of rape and other unnatural offences in the 11 local government areas of the state showed that Gombe leads with 40 reported cases, followed by Akko 28 and Billiri 22.

    Others are Funakaye 17, Balanga 15, Nafada 15, Yamatu Deba 13, Dukku 13, Kwami 12, Kaltungo 12 and Shongom 2.

    Kufto noted that gender-based violence had been recognised as a human rights abuse “that leads to high rates of mortality including gynecological.”

  • Nigeria far from eliminating child labour

    Nigeria far from eliminating child labour

    With fifty-one months to 2025, Nigeria’s pledge to join the rest of the world to eliminate child labour and other unfair labour practices remains a huge task. The practice remains as rampant as before with little punishment, writes FRANK IKPEFAN

    The 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) No. 8, Target 8.7 on decent work and economic growth commits the world to end modern slavery and child labour in all forms by 2025.

    Child labour, forced labour and trafficking in persons can be found in almost all stages of supply chains in agriculture, mining, construction, manufacturing, retailing, service provisions even in households and the streets.

    According to the International Labour Organisation, about 25 per cent of Nigeria’s 80 million children under the age of 14 are engaged in economic activities.

    The organisation said about half of this population are children exploited as child labourers and those working in hazardous situations.

    According to labour experts, the involvement of children in the construction industry is majorly in the task of brick making, carrying and stacking bricks, and other construction materials.

    The experts stated that children’s work in this sector often accounted for between 3-4 hours after school hours and longer during weekends and holiday periods.

    Speaking at a one-day workshop on ‘Reportage of Elimination of Child Labour,’ organised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in Abuja on Thursday, Acting Director, Inspectorate Department of the ministry, Ajuwon Dauda, said the introduction of children into this sector is observed to begin as early as 8 years.

    “These are some of the things that children are exposed to in the name of making peanuts. It affects the children psychologically, physically and socially,” Dauda said in his paper titled: Government’s intervention in the elimination of child labour delivered at the workshop.

    ‘43 per cent of children engage in child labour’

    According to Dauda, about 43 per cent of Nigerian children between the ages of 5 – 17 years are engaged in economic activities, an indication that modern slavery and child labour is still prevalent in Nigeria.

    Dauda noted that poverty remained a major driver of child labour in the country.

    Other key challenges he identified included: cultural/ religious factors, poor educational system, inadequate social protection strategies, wrong perception/ ignorance of the effect of child labour and wrong or misinterpretation of the almajiri system.

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    “Poverty is a major driver of child labour that is why the federal government is investing heavily in Social Investment Programs so that parents can receive help and use the income to train their children,” he said.

    How obsolete laws contribute to an increase in child labour and other unfair labour practices

    According to Dauda, the lack of proper enforcement of the existing Labour Laws, although obsolete, in the country has contributed to child labour and other unfair labour practices. He said most of the labour laws are obsolete with little penalty for defaulters.

    According to him, lack of political will and enforcement remained some of the major challenges in the fight again child labour in the country.

    The director said: “Some provisions of our labour laws are obsolete. Imagine where penalties for some unfair labour practises are being pegged at N1, 000, N500 and even N5, 000 as compared to present-day realities is grossly inadequate.

    “However, there have been reviews of these penalties; some of them have been raised to N500, 000, some to N1 million and some have been raised to without even the option of fine. But they are still under review process.

    “We will organise a validation meeting of tripartite constituents – the Labour, the employers and the ILO and what we agree upon will be sent to the National Assembly after validation.

    “The essence of the law is to serve as a deterrent. Where penalties are no more serving as deterrents there is a need for review. That is what we have done which is awaiting final validation thereafter it will be sent to the Assembly for deliberation.”

    160 million kids plunged into child labour by COVID-19

    According to the Deputy Director, Inspectorate Division in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mrs Olaolu Olaitan, an estimated 160 million children were subjected to child labour conditions as of 2020 globally.

    Also, the data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and ILO showed that child labour participation globally has increased in the last few years and that the number could rise by millions more as a result of COVID-19.

    The report by the UN agencies showed that 8.4 million children were pushed into child labour over the last four years and that nine million more are at risk of a similar path by the end of 2022 as a result of COVID-19.

    Mrs Olaitan, in her presentation at the workshop, described child labour as a form of exploitative work or forced labour children are subjected to the detriment of their health and normal growth.

    She said a lot of children had been made to work under harmful conditions and for various reasons.

    “An estimated 160 million children were subjected to child labour condition as of 2020, with nine million additional children at the risk due to impact of COVID-19,” Mrs Olaitan said.

    ‘More measures needed to end child labour, abuse’

    While declaring the workshop open, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Yerima Tarfa, said that more measures are needed to address and eliminate child labour and abuse in the country.

    The permanent secretary also sought media support for the campaign against the abuse and trafficking of children in the country.

    Speaking at the one-day workshop, Tarfa said Nigeria was working on achieving a significant milestone in the elimination of child labour practices.

    He said child labour and other forms of modern-day slavery were issues of grave concern in the global arena on account of their dire consequences, and the persistence of those consequences through generations of families.

    According to him, the role of journalists and the mass media in the campaign to prevent child labour is central in the strategy and the policies of elimination of child labour.

    He said: “This workshop has become necessary because of the need to create awareness and mobilising the critical public in the fight against child labour.

    “It is important to place on record that the Government of Nigeria has taken several measures aimed at reducing and eliminating child labour and changing the narrative with regards to poverty and other child labour influencing factors.

    “However, despite government’s interventions and demonstrated commitment through programmes like the conditional cash transfer to poor and vulnerable Nigerians, several job creation efforts, especially through enterprise creation and MSMEs development support, homegrown school feeding programme, and several other such programmes, which have a direct or indirect impact on livelihood improvement and by extension, child labour, it is the responsibility of the press and mass media to churn out professional reportage aimed at informing the public about these programmes with respect to their impact on child labour practices

    “I would like to emphasise that the role of journalists and media practitioners in the ongoing campaign to eliminate and prevent child labour is pivotal to the success of all strategies and policies for the elimination of child labour in Nigeria. Nevertheless, we must not be unmindful of the fact that our current national socio-political and economic situation, coupled with the impact of COVID- 19 are predisposing factors for increased child labour participation in our country.

    “Therefore, I call on all journalists and media practitioners, whose responsibility it is to educate critical stakeholders and the general public on the negative impacts of child labour, and enlighten the public on the safety nets, as well as the school programmes designed by the government as preventative measures against child labour, to join forces with government to change the narrative and dent rising child labour participation rates. Our children are the future of this great country.”

  • Lagos’ dens of robbers

    Lagos’ dens of robbers

    Many flyover bridges in the Lagos metropolis are harbouring armed robbers and other anti-social elements whose victims are left with sorrowful tales, KUNLE AKINRINADE reports.

    It was dawn penultimate Thursday and Adeyori Philip slowed down his Toyota Camry car as he approached a mild traffic around the Jubilee Bridge underpass in Abule Egba area of Lagos. As usual, he had left home early for his office on Lagos Island to avoid being caught in the usual snarl of traffic that characterizes life on work days in the city.

    As he wound down the side window to allow for fresh air, he noticed a flicker of light on the back seat of his car. On closer look, he realised that the light was coming from a torch in the hand of a young lad who was trying to see what he had in the car. Before he could wind up the window shield, the boy had forced his hand into the car, taking away the bag containing his laptop computer.

    “I couldn’t believe my eyes when the young man dashed across the road with the bag containing my HP laptop worth thousands of naira,” he said.

    “I shouted for help but got no one’s response from anyone. I left the scene frustrated particularly because my work files were also taken away with the computer. Luckily for me, I had backed up my files on the computer system allocated to me in the office, so I was able to recover the files.

    “I think that adequate security should be made available at such hours on the corridor especially around the bridge underpass to forestall such occurrences.

    “Many motorists who sympathised with me also shared their nasty experiences at the hands of the criminals under the bridge.”

    But such ugly scenes are not limited to the Abule Egba flyover bridge. Underpass robbery attacks at rush hours have also been recorded in other parts of the city like Agege, Oshodi, Iyana Isolo, Ojota, Ikorodu Road, Mile 2 and Maryland, to mention a few.

    In Agege, for instance, the underpass of the overhead bridge linking Guinness and Oba Akran areas has become a den of criminals, particularly at night and early morning.

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    Sometime in July, a factory worker, Yaqub Ahmed, was brutally attacked by hoodlums in their bid to dispossess him of his phone and cash.

    At first, the hoodlums, who according to Ahmed pretended that they had missed their way and asked him to give them direction, pounced on him right under the bridge, raining blows and cudgels on him and dispossessing him of phone and cash.

    Recalling the ugly experience, he said: “While I was bleeding from the attack, my attackers ran away through a canal near the popular Asade Market.

    “I initially struggled with them in spite of the rain of blows and cudgels. But I had to release my phone and money to them when one of the hoodlums brought out a pistol and threatened to kill me.”

    Mode of attack

    In most cases, the robbery attacks are linked to traffic congestion. At other times, however, the attacks are carried out in broad daylight and at dawn or dusk while residents set out for work or are returning home.

    A typical example is that of a victim whose lifeless body was said to have been found around the Mile 12 underpass in June this year. The victim was said to have been attacked by suspected hoodlums at about 11 pm while he was returning to Lagos from his hometown in Ogbomosho, Oyo State.

    According to sources, the victim identified as Jamiu Oyediran had travelled to see his parents in Ogbomosho where he spent two weeks. As he was returning to Lagos, he was trapped in traffic along the road and arrived at Mile 12 underpass around 11 pm when he was attacked by hoodlums with machetes, leading to his death on the spot.

    “His wife had just been delivered of a baby girl weeks before his gruesome death at the hands of hoodlums,” one of Oyediran’s friends identified as Hammed said.

    In a boldfaced operation under the Maryland Bridge recently, three hoodlums approached a motorist in a traffic snarl, pointed their guns at him and asked him to surrender his money. The hoodlums were said to have acted like street hawkers in the area before they struck.

    “One of them first approached me and asked me to give him money or I would lose my life. While I was still arguing with him, two accomplices surfaced and pulled up their shirts to show me their pistols, threatening to kill me if I refused to part with cash.

    “They collected the N20,000 I had withdrawn from an ATM point close to my office in Yaba with which I was to settle some utility bills. Before I could overcome the shock, they crossed the road to the other side and walked briskly until they vanished from sight.”

    A similar attack at the Mile 2 underpass ended on a tragic note when suspected robbers operating on a motorbike shot dead a stranded commuter.

    The unidentified commuter, who was decked in suit suggesting that he was returning from work, was shot in the chest for dragging his bag with his assailants.

    Arrests

    Worried by the spate of robberies in Lagos traffic gridlock and at underpasses where hoodlums brazenly attack motorists and commuters, the Lagos State Police Command in May this year arrested suspected criminals from their hideouts during some operations.

    In a statement, the immediate past spokesman of the command, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the suspects, Sadiq Masaki, 22; Oladimeji Olatunbosun, 24; Adam Hassan, 21; Tunde Afolayan, 24; Michael Ademola, 22; Olamide Johnson, 20; Abiodun Opeyemi, 22; Oluseyi Agbaje, 21; Daniel Ayomide, 20 and Adebayo Tobi, 21 were arrested following a distress call by one of the victims.

    Adejobi said: “The suspects allegedly attacked unsuspecting commuters and dispossessed them of their belongings.

    “In furtherance of the command’s anti-crime measures, the police operatives attached to the Strike Team of the command, on May 1, 2021, around 2.p.m, arrested 11 suspected cultists and traffic robbers who were attacking and dispossessing innocent people of their belongings at Railway-Crossing, Ikeja along (bridge), Ikeja, Lagos.

    “The operatives, who responded to a distress call from one of the victims (name withheld), raced to the area and arrested some of the suspects in action while others were arrested at their hideouts around Ikeja Along (bridge).

    “They have confessed to the crime. The suspects also revealed that they attack their targets with iron rods, guns, cutlasses, and charms during operations.

    “In the course of police investigation, the suspects revealed one of their receivers identified as Idris Adam, 42, and he was arrested at Alade Market, Lagos.

    “A gold necklace of one of the victims and many other suspected stolen items like phones, necklaces, watches, etc were recovered from him,” the statement added.

    Security experts proffer solutions

    To curb the menace of robbery at bridge underpasses around the Lagos metropolis, experts urged the authorities to consider a holistic approach or remedies to tackling the problem.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Formen, a Lagos-based guard protection firm, Julius Iloebe, said “the state government must help the police and other law enforcement agents in the fight against robberies and other criminal activities on the road.

    Iloebe said: “Robbery attacks are not limited to traffic congestion on the road or under the bridge; there is also the issue of bad roads and potholes under the bridges which would make motorists to slow down their cars or get stuck in gridlock during which these criminals sprint at them and most times violently rob or kill them.

    “Therefore, authorities should endeavor to fix bad portions on roads and lit them so motorists and commuters can sight advancing criminals, especially at nights.”

    In his opinion, the Managing Director of SecureWorld, Jeremiah Datong, called for the deployment of policemen in strategic points around bridges, noting that such deployment must be complemented with the presence of personnel of other ancillary security outfits such as neighbourhood watch and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    “Although operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and men of the divisional police stations maintain routine patrol of the metropolis, their efforts are not enough to curb the menacing hoodlums. Hence, the deployment of policemen is necessary at strategic areas and under the bridges, and this should be complemented with operatives of sister security outfits such as Neighbourhood Watch and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).”

    Datong added: “To avoid fatality during attacks, motorists, and commuters must learn to keep their valuables away from the interior of their cars and avoid holding their phones which could be easily dispossessed, while pedestrians are also advised to avoid dark routes at night. Victims should also, ensure they do not put up resistance in order to avoid being killed by the hoodlums during robbery attacks.”

  • Intriguing tales as Ondo community marks end to killing of twins

    Intriguing tales as Ondo community marks end to killing of twins

    Before August 18, 1945, killing twin babies was an acceptable practice among the Ilaje people in present day Ilaje Local Government Area. Up until then, new born twins were killed the very day they were born because they were thought to be capable of bringing misfortune to the entire community.

    The babies were either slaughtered or thrown into the river because it was believed that the mother must have been visited by evil spirits or she cheated on her husband. Alternatively, she must have committed a taboo against the land. The penalty in either cases was to kill the babies to forestall any evil occurrence against the community.

    Besides the killing of the twins, the ‘unfortunate’ mother was made to face series of punishments as well as perform some sacrifice to appease the spirits.

    The fight to end the killing of twins in Ilaje began in 1940 when some members of the community converted from their traditional religions to Christianity. The new believers, who became known as the ‘Apostles’ began the campaign against the age long practice and made efforts for the people to see twin children as the creation of God.

    It was a war between the Apostles and the powerful Oro cult group in Ilaje. The Oro cult was responsible for the killing of twins and for cleansing the land of the evil the twins purported brought on it.

    Many members of the Apostles were said to have been maimed, persecuted, and sent to jail by the Oro cult leadership until a pronouncement by the British colonial authority in 1945 that declared it a crime to kill twins in the land.

    Last week, Ilaje leaders rolled out the drums to celebrate what they termed freedom of the twins.

    The traditional ruler of Ayetoro community and the Spiritual Head of the Holy Apostles Church, Oba Micah Olaseni Ajijo, the Ogeloyinbo of Ayetoro, said the celebration of the freedom of twins anniversary was meant to mark victory over darkness and remember the good works of the holy Apostles who lay down their lives to end the killing of twins.

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    Oba Ajijo, who spoke at a special thanksgiving service at the Holy Apostles Church, Ayetoro in Ilaje Local Government Area, urged the people to remember that freedom of twins was made possible by the struggle of ‘the Apostles’.

    He recalled that twin babies got their freedom to life on August 18,1945 and the people of the community came to be known as The Happy City. Incidentally, the first set of twins that were saved by the Apostles are still alive and even attended the thanksgiving service. They were said to have been saved because the Apostles hid them in the bush alongside their mother.

    Ironically, their father was a member of the Oro cult and was bent on having them executed, hence the babies were kept in the bush for many days.

    His words: “The movement of the Apostles to stop the killing of twins in Ilaje land started in 1943. From 1943 to 1945, many of the Apostles were taken to court, prosecuted and sentenced to jail.

    “However, in one of the court cases, the custodians of the Oro cult in Ilaje, who were the traditional chiefs both in Mahin and Ugbo kingdoms, denied the allegation leveled against them by the Apostles that they were killing twins, and this gave the Apostles the courage to pursue their mission.

    “In 1945, they successfully fought against the killing of twins by saving the lives of the oldest twins in Ilaje land today – Taiwo and Kehinde Ejagbomo nee Erukubami, who were officially and legally recorgnised as the first twins in Ilaje who survived the killing of twins by the Oro cult.

    “They were born in 1945, and in line with the extant practice, they were taken into the bush and hidden for several days with their mother, and they successfully escaped to where the Apostles were securing and caring for them.

    “It is time for me to tell the story of our forefather to our children; that despite the tribulation, they did not relent in fighting against the good work of God and stop the killing of twins.

    “The killing of twins was stopped by leaders in this community, and it was this struggle that led to creation of this Ayetoro community.

    “On the 18th of August 1943, the British Authority agreed with our fathers and said the killing of twins should not be practised in Ilaje land, and that was the end. That was what brought all the twins in Ilaje to life. So we celebrate life, the achievement of our people and the word of God. This is why the church is very happy.”

    Speaking on the importance of the celebration, Oba Ajijo said: “The essence of today’s thanksgiving is to glorify God for the work of our forefathers who established this community which made God and the people happy.

    “The works of our forefathers were based on truth and faith, and any work that is built on truth and faith must be based on the word of God; on the commandment that says ‘thou shall not kill’.

    “In the book of Exodus, this is one of the serious parts of God’s commandments. And you must understand that when God created every other thing, God was saying I command until He wanted to create man. He called the Holy Spirit and His son and told them ‘let us create man in our own image and likeness’.

    “In the early 1940s, to ensure that twins’ lives were saved, our fathers embarked on the fight and crusade against the killing of twins. In Ilaje land, it was an abomination to give birth to twins. The twins in the land were all killed until our forefathers fought for this ugly tradition to be stopped.

    “The oldest twin in the whole of this Ilaje Local Government Area is in this Ayetoro community. He is a product of the good work of God. This is one of the reasons we celebrate twins to appreciate the good work of the Apostles who fought and halted the ugly development in our land.

    “These Apostles based their agitations against the killing of twins on the commandment of God that thou shall not kill. Our joy is that the Apostles followed this word of God, preached to the people, fought to stop the killings and God supported and answered their prayers and they overcame.

    “Although some of these Apostles were sent to jail by the local authorities, they did not relent because they believed in their cause and said this is based on the truth that you shall not kill, as directed by God.

    “The work of God is based on truth, and this might be one of the reasons God supported them and gave them the strength to fight the cause.

    “Today, we celebrate them. We bring our children together to tell the history of how our forefathers helped in stopping the killing of twins in Ilaje land, just like Mary Slessor did.”

    One of the first surviving twins, Pa Andrew Kehinde Ejeagbomo, aged 76, said he would ever be grateful to the early Apostles of Ilaje who fought against the killing of twins in the entire Ilaje land.

    Pa Kehinde said his father was a leading member of the Oro cult who believed that twins were children of abomination and should be killed, while his mother was a member of the Holy Apostle Church who did not believe in the killing of twins.

    He said his father was in a dilemma when his wife gave birth to twins.

    He said: “God made it possible for people like us to be alive today. If not for God and the Apostles, I would have been dead some 76 years ago. But the Apostles took us and my mother into custody and here we are today.

    “The killing of twins then was paramount in Ilaje because it was a tradition that no one must give birth to twins.

    “Those that stopped the killing were the founders of the Ayetoro church known as the Holy Apostle Church. The church was against the killing of twins.

    “They preached that it is a sin to kill.

    “I can confirm to you that I have two sets of twins and three of my children have given birth to twins. One of them gave birth to twins thrice. We thank God for the Apostles.”

    Another twin, Mrs Kehinde Owoyele, said:  “I am very happy to be alive today. Some years back, it was a taboo for twin children to be alive in Ayetoro. So, the annual celebration is to commemorate the stoppage of the killing of twins and celebrate twins in the community.

    “After giving birth to twins in Ilaje, the twins would be tied in both hands and legs, wrapped in a fishing net and thrown into the Atlantic Ocean.

    “After killing the twins, the mothers who gave birth to them would be fined. The fines used to come in form of kegs of palm oil, tubers of yam, kolanuts, alligator pepper and bush meat, among others.

    “It was the apostles who came and stopped the killings. They also ensured that all the twins in the community engaged in annual thanksgiving to celebrate their survival.”

  • WANLE AKINBOBOYE: Why I chose to live in jungle when I returned from America

    WANLE AKINBOBOYE: Why I chose to live in jungle when I returned from America

    As an icon in the entertainment, tourism and security sectors, Wanle Akinboboye is a man of many parts. As a youngster, it was fashionable to dream of greener pastures outside Nigeria, and he got a chance to go to America. But not sooner did he get there than he started longing to return to Nigeria. And upon his return to the country 12 years later, he jettisoned highbrow Apapa part of Lagos to live in the part of Ikegun forest where the Lagoon meets with the Atlantic Ocean. Today, Ikegun, his new home, is a luxury resort affordable by the rich only. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, he recalled the circumstances surrounding his return to Nigeria 12 years after he left for God’s Own Country.

    You returned from your base in the US to Nigeria when you were 29. Why didn’t you remain overseas like many of your contemporaries?

    I entered the US through Houston, Texas. From the very first day I arrived in America, one thing I remembered very clearly was that I was angry. My anger revolved around the fact that it was possible for some human beings to build their country in this manner. I was wondering and angry with our leaders that they had shortchanged us. I said to myself: ‘You mean it is possible for a community to be this beautiful?’ There was a place called the Sub-lineal Subdivision; a place to have almost everything you may think of? Life was great. From that moment, I decided that I wanted to replicate that in my country. So, from the very day I arrived in America, I started planning my return because I was angry with our forefathers. The lack of platform for us to stand on is their fault. The platform for tomorrow’s people must be built by today’s people.

    But you were comfortable while you were in Nigeria…

    Yes. But that day in America, in my mind, I said I must go back and replicate some of the things I saw, and I wanted to wield it around our culture. I had that level of consciousness. I was about 17 years at the time, because I thought I had seen it all in Apapa where my father’s and uncle’s houses were. In America, I realised that ‘Apapa Club’, which we used to know and frequent, was very colloquial. It was an extremely backward club when I compare it to the kind of clubs I saw in the US.

    Before then, I thought ours was the best. At Apapa, we went to Rockson Cinema. I thought it was the best cinema there could be. But when I saw what cinemas and malls looked like in the US, I said, ‘Oh my God! And we were there in Lagos with false sense of achievement?’  For these people to do this, their forefathers had created a platform for them. If you don’t create a platform for tomorrow’s people, we will constantly be retrogressing. So, from that moment on, I started planning my return to Nigeria.

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    And when you returned, you didn’t choose the city but a rugged ground away from the city, starting life again from scratch. How was it like when you got here?

    When I came back in 1984, what you called a semblance of development at the time was nothing you can compare to other parts of the world. Now, if you are building a house, the kind of foundation you create for the house is important and indeed critical. If the foundation is crooked, the house will be crooked. I felt that I had to go into the jungle. It was an economic revolution without the gun.

    You can’t fight a jungle revolution from the city. You must go to a virgin land where you can express yourself because you have no control over the human beings in the city, whether it is the local government that will try and stop you, or the human beings that will build next to you. And you can’t determine what they build. The vulcanizer that will set up his shop near you, you can’t stop him. So, you need to look for a virgin land where you are far away from them and where they will leave you alone. That was what I did.

    But what were your expectations then?

    I knew it would not happen overnight. It is about 37 years now. That is where we are today, and it is now exploding in franchises for empowering Africans that have learnt and watching the culture. That is what we’ve got to do. If America was not developed, we won’t be running there today. If Europe was not developed, we won’t be running there today. Africa, the second largest continent of the world, the richest continent in the world with 30.2 million square kilometers of area, 1.2 million square miles, with 1.2 billion human beings in it, should be the wealthiest, but it is the poorest.

    We can’t even compete with a country like Japan which has 337,000 square kilometers of area, and these folks can only use 15% of their land. Fifteen per cent of 337,000 is approximately 60,000. That is about the size of Togo. And they are just 157 million people. They did a total turnover of $4.9 trillion with zero natural resources. Not a single natural resource. We have it all in Africa, but with our own 1.2 billion people and 30.2 million square kilometers of area, we did $3.3 trillion. So, that tells you what is possible when the people are positive, productive and creative.

    So, we have such big land in Africa. Our land is bigger than even America, China and Europe put together. The entire United States of America is 10.1 million square kilometers of area. The whole of China is 9.1 million square kilometers housing 1.4 billion people. The whole of Europe is about 8.9 million square kilometers. All these put together are still not up to 30 million. We are 30.2 million square kilometers and 1.2 billion people in Africa whereas China has 1.4 billion people in their space that is just barely 9.5 square kilometers.

    Many people your age are still abroad struggling, but you’ve achieved a lot here. What is your message for people that are at home now and those that are still abroad?

    Let us start from those that are here, because they are the most disconnected. It is not about where you are but where your heart is and where your mind is. Many of them have a false sense of belief that until they get to Europe or America, their lot cannot be better. So, they can be in their houses and be comfortable and have a regular job. There is gold in their backyards; and all they have to do is dig it. But instead of doing that, they will choose to sell the house, and if they have the opportunity to travel, they do so and become slaves overseas, washing dishes.

    They have what I call American and European bug. Once you catch that bug, you stop being productive wherever you are. You are waiting till you get there before you begin to work and create because your entire mind is that I can’t make it until I get to America or until I get to Europe. Those that are already there tend to be more inclined to home because they are already there and see that there is really nothing there for them; that what they have here is better than what is there, and they are looking at how to come back home. What has not allowed or made most of them to come back is the shame of failure if they have not achieved something, because they know that if they come back home, people are going to expect certain levels and standards from them. That is what is keeping them there, and they are waiting and praying to make enough so that they can come back. But by the time they make enough, they are already in their 50s and 60s and are too old, so they say let me just die here. So, that basically is what you find. And all America and Europe make you believe is that over there is better.

    You live here in a resort. What would you say is unique about the place?

    If you have gone around this resort, you will know that this is the only beach resort that has grass growing on it. It shows you how fertile our land is. It is the only resort that has white forest. If you move around, you will see that the forest grounds are often brown or red, but this is white. It shows that our soil is rich because it is pure sand. Here, if you leave your house untended for one month, grass will grow on it. If you’re not careful, a tree will grow on it and you have to go and cut down the tree. It shows that our atmosphere is fertile.

    The nitrogen in the atmosphere is rich. If you go to some areas in Ekiti, Ondo and Benue states, you will see big fat trees growing on top of rocks. You ask yourself where is the soil? What is holding the trees on rocks? This is the Garden of Eden that was in the Bible. Africa is the Garden of Eden.

    Many youths have visions but complain of not having the required funding to actualise them. How did you go about yours and what counsel would you give the youth?

    I don’t think it is funding that actualises a vision.

    What does?

    It is passion! I had just $4,000 when I started. So, it had nothing to do with funding. You can have $1 billion, but if you don’t have passion, it won’t fly. Money is secondary. If there is a will, there is a way. When you make a mistake and say I want a billion naira or I want a million naira or N5 million or N10 million before you want to do a thing, you don’t want to do that thing. If you want to do it, it will be done.

    You are a man of many parts and many visions. Can you speak on some of your other visions?

    When I returned from the US, I told myself that I wanted to build a continent; not just Nigeria. So, I started continent-building movements, using Nigeria as my base with the aim of building the continent based on three tripods of security, tourism and entertainment. I told myself that security will be wielded around creating an authentic security company and changing the narrative. At that time, it was all about mai-guards and all kinds of retired civil service people that were just sitting around with no uniform or branding.

    So, we took the first set of graduates and groomed them. We kitted them properly and, based on that alone, over 10 million people have been employed because everybody has copied it. It is all over Nigeria. There is nowhere you go in Nigeria today that you don’t see a corporate-looking guard.  So, I told myself that with security, entertainment and tourism, Africa is set to explode.

    You know the entertainment arm: Atunda Entertainment. You are sitting in the tourism arm. I think also that with my American training and for my age bracket in those days, we didn’t believe anything was impossible. We believe that the only thing that is impossible is what you make impossible. So, I started with a focus on security, entertainment and tourism. And the three industries have been transformed today. I brought Africanness into Nigerian music, from Lagbaja to Onobrisky to Ara Thunder to Ara Wonder and Raphael Onikoko, among others. Tuface did his first performance at La Campagne with his Plantashun Boiz. The energy of that 29 to 32 years old man at the time is what has translated to a humongous music industry, security industry and tourism industry today.

    Do you believe that our youths can still do the same?

    Yes. The only major problem I think we have with our youths is the very little focus on the right examples for them. I think that is the biggest problem. Who do our youths look up to? It is the politicians: a local government chairman or a governor. I believe we have not shown prosperity in other areas. We’ve only shown prosperity in politics. Human beings gravitate towards prosperity. If they see a local government chairman in their neighbourhood who didn’t have a bicycle before now has five jeeps, they want to be like him. They tell themselves why should I go to school? I will also want to be a politician, a local government chairman.

    In the US, they did a survey and of all the youths they interviewed, out of the 1,000 kids they polled and asked how many of them would want to be President of the United States, only 2.5% said they wanted to be President. Everybody wanted to be Michael Jackson or Ted Turner or Oprah Winfrey. They didn’t want to be American President. So, until we begin to show them other examples, we may not achieve it. When I was growing up, the real heroes were the doctors, the nurses, the lawyers, the engineers, the professionals. Later on, the bankers. Bankers in those days were extremely conservative. It is only today that bankers are always on the pages of newspapers.

    It was their products that were popular. Barclay’s Bank would be visible supporting football. They would say we will take the Premier League and pump billions into it. It is not them showing their faces. And they don’t compete with creative people. Instead, they empower creative people. Here, a creative person will go to a bank MD and give his idea, the bank MD will go and form a company tomorrow and create a miniature, colloquial, distorted, disconnected, disjointed and ugly version of that vision because it is not his vision. Since it didn’t come from him, he can’t bring out the depth of the vision. The surface of the vision does not create the vision. It is when you go into that vision that it expands on you. It is a gift.

    You’ve seen other cultures and the ways of life of other people yet you’re still yourself: a simple man. How were you able to merge all this?

    Maybe the advantage is that I’ve seen it all. I realised that there must be a reason why you were born where you were born. You can’t be what you are not and you cannot be progressive by being who you are not. Your birth is your foundation. Any house without a foundation will collapse. Before you begin to explore the world, you must be rooted in who you are first, because that is what will give you strength. That is what gives you stability. That is what gives you the opportunity and the ability to compete with anybody in the world.

    If I go to England and I try to be British, I’m already defeated, and any knowledge, ability or creativity that I have will be under the person I am talking to because I am trying to be like him. But if I go as myself, when I get there, I will be talking about who I am, what I am doing, and I’m not going to try to show or impress him that I can speak his language as good as he speaks it. He is only going to look at me as a good imitation and adulterated version of himself. He will be happy and concealing his smile because it gives him an immediate advantage over me.

    The American economy is over $21 trillion. The Chinese economy is $19.8 trillion, almost $20 trillion. People are saying they are hiding something; that they are bigger. 98.9 per cent of Chinese people don’t speak English. They don’t imitate anybody’s culture but theirs. Japan is 337,000 square kilometer of area, 60,000 square kilometer of area is what they can use with a $3.3 trillion economy. They reside in who they are. The reason we are not progressing and we cannot progress is until we reside first in our culture and ‘cosmopolitise’ it, polish that culture and make it classy.

    You take advantage of your advantage and that is the only time you can have absolute advantage that will lead to an absolute monopoly. I’m waiting to see a Chinese man that will sing ‘Oro to n lo, e ba mi ki ye si’. How can a Chinese man sing that song better than King Sunny Ade? So, if you go to a World Music Presentation and the Chinese guy comes out and sing the song, who will win? The original will win.

  • Shylock money lenders on the prowl

    Shylock money lenders on the prowl

    •How ruthless online lending outfits exploit, blackmail borrowers
    •Victims relive embarrassing experiences
    •Experts demand legal action against errant companies
    •Police, CBN mum on development

    Many Nigerians have had their names and images smeared by online lending companies for not paying back loans as and when due. The victims have had to grapple with the challenge of redeeming their battered images before relations, friends and business partners to whom the lenders had sent messages that they are criminals on police wanted list, INNOCENT DURU reports.

    ISHOLA, a media practitioner based in Lagos woke up recently to find a damaging message a fintech (online lending) company had sent to all the contacts on his phone, calling him a criminal on the wanted list of the police for running away with the company’s money.

    Ishola had approached the online money lenders for a loan that would enable him to attend to a pressing health issue in the hope of paying back the capital and the interest at the agreed time. He however could not repay the loan at the agreed date because of issues beyond his control.

    Before he could finish reading the image-tarnishing message, his mobile phone had been bombarded with calls from relations, friends and business partners, many of who expressed shock that he could be involved in a criminal activity to the point of being wanted by the police.

    “It was the most embarrassment moment of my life. Some people are yet to be convinced that it was all about a loan I couldn’t pay back immediately. Some people I wanted to do business with withdrew when they saw the messages, one of which had my picture,” he said regretfully.

    He added: “First, they sent a message to me that I ran away with the company’s money and that the police were looking for me. They also sent the message to all the people on my contacts list.

    “They would have used their app to access your contacts before giving you the loan. So, within the first three hours on the day payment is due, they will start calling and threatening you with series of messages.

    “After the first message, they would send another one to your contacts, telling them that you used them as guarantors. It is all part of their deliberate plan to blackmail the borrower, because before you use somebody as a guarantor, the person ought to have signed a document to that effect.

    Ishola noted that in his own case, the lending company had no physical office. “But they have very rude agents who call to abuse and threaten you. If they were to have physical offices, people would have bombarded the place to protest,” he said.

    Asked whether the company made any effort to get back to his contacts after he paid the loan, Ishola said: “After repaying the loan, they never deemed it fit to get back to my contacts to clear my image they had tarnished. If you try to call them and they realize that you are the one, they will block your call.

    “The last time I searched, I read that their office was on Awolowo Way in Ikeja, but there was no specific address. They even used my picture in one of the messages they sent to my contacts.”

    Another victim, who gave his name simply as Seun, also lamented the extent to which a similar message damaged his image.

    He said: “I regretted the day I took the loan because the problem I used it to solve was nothing compared to the pains and sorrow it brought me. People who never knew that I took a loan did not only become aware of it, they were made to see me as a bad debtor.

    “My in-laws, bosses, friends and others got the terrible messages. How many people will believe my side of the story after the damage has been done?”

    Seun also disclosed that once a borrower fails to meet up with the repayment date, the interest accruing on the loan will continue to increase until the loan is repaid. “The longer you delay in paying back, the more they send such disgraceful messages. To avoid further damage to my battered image, I had to look for money by all means to pay back. The experience hurts till date.

    Explaining how he obtained an online loan that became a pain in his neck, another victim who gave his name as Bankole said: “You get the loan through their mobile app. The whole arrangement is often programmed in a way that you will default so that they will make more profit. You may not be able to pay on the day you want to make payment. It is after they would have surcharged you that they would give you more options.

    “You should have the option of paying offline if you cannot pay through the app, but most times, the first option is the only option.  If you miss that option, the following day, they will begin to send the defamatory messages.

    “At times, you would have sent the payment out but it may not reflect at the back end and they would not even clear you.”

    A former Second Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Barrister Monday Onyekachi Ubani, said he once received such a message from an unknown number.

    He said: “I once received such a message from them, trying to tell me that someone was a criminal, but I didn’t know the person that sent his details to me.  I don’t even know how they got my number and I didn’t know what they wanted me to do with such information. Were they expecting me to prosecute him or what?”

    Findings showed that innocent people who lost or had their mobile phones stolen and failed to immediately block their lines have had thieves using them to borrow money. Ubani also said he knew someone with that kind of experience.

    He said: “I knew of somebody like that. She had her phone stolen but didn’t block the line immediately. By the time she retrieved the line, messages started coming that she was a criminal who took a loan and refused to pay back.  It was a messy experience that compounded the pain of having her phone stolen.

     

    Experts call for intervention by CBN, other regulatory agencies

    Financial and business experts have decried the approach used by the fintech companies to retrieve their loans. They described it as an illegal and crude practice that must not be allowed to continue.

    A former President of the Chattered Institute of Bankers, Mazi Unegbu, was visibly miffed by the ugly development.

    He said: “It is an illegal thing. The victims should take legal actions against them.  If I have a person who is a victim, I will go to court. They have no right to start sending messages to the borrower’s contact. It is pure libel. They have no right to do such a thing.”

    Asked how the victims could take legal action since the companies operate online, he said: “Even though they operate online, you can get them. They must be somewhere. Their online information will be in your phone any way.

    “Even when they operate online, somebody from the office will call you and mention his or her name. It is easy to get them. All companies working here must be registered.

    “You can do an online search at Corporate Affairs Commission to get them. You can take action against them.

    “Honestly, the practice is very, very wrong and illegal. Unless somebody takes a legal action against them, they will continue to rubbish people’s names.

    “That you borrowed money does not make you a criminal. You can always say you are paying or not paying.  Even when you are not paying, there must be a reason for not paying.

    “You must enter into an agreement with the person on when you want to pay.  You don’t just label somebody a criminal because he borrowed money. It is wrong.”

    The Central Bank of Nigeria, according to the former CIBN boss, is supposed to be ahead of all these people.

    He said: “Even if the companies are using their own capital to run the business, they must be registered with the regulatory authorities like the CAC and the CBN. The CBN will have to monitor such transactions. Lending is part of banking and finance. They can be checked by the system.

    “As a person, you could need only N5, 000 to help yourself overnight. What I am saying in essence is that whether you borrow N1 or more does not make you a criminal. What should happen now is that people should sue them.

    “If you know some of the people involved, let them come to me. I will sue the companies on their behalf. Yes, I will deal with the companies. I will close them down.”

    A business expert, Dr Austin Nweze, said that  money lending in Nigeria is not refined yet, regretting that lenders have taken the law into their hands on how to treat debtors.

    Nweze said: “The lenders themselves make it impossible for you to pay.  Even in some of the conventional banks the practice is the same.

    “A friend of mine had to quit his job in one of such finance companies because he believed that the practice was against his belief. Once you come to the finance company, which is a subsidiary of a bank that I don’t want to mention, to take a loan, you will tender something as collateral. Once you drop your car, they know there is no way you will come back for it.

    “If the borrower comes back few minutes after the deadline for the agreed repayment period, they will say he has defaulted.  That is how the managers of those companies acquire assets.

    “My friend who just joined resigned for conscience sake.  So, the practice is not peculiar to the online lenders; it is the practice. They do all manner of things including going diabolical to make sure the borrower is unable to pay.

    “The essence of the loan is not for you to pay back.”

    Visibly disturbed about the development, he added: “The lending is cynical. They don’t have the intention of helping the borrower to pay back. They are more interested in the assets you are using as collateral.

    “Your contacts have nothing to do with the money you are borrowing.  If they libel you through their text messages to your contacts, they should be able to go back to those contacts and say you have paid back. It is criminal. It is damaging to the image of the borrower.

    Read Also: WANLE AKINBOBOYE: Why I chose to live in jungle when I returned from America

    “If I am the borrower, I will not mind suing them so that the court can set a precedent. It is criminal to do that kind of thing. It is a transaction between the lender and the borrower so why take it to the contacts?

    “The borrower should sue for defamation of character, because there is nothing wrong with borrowing.”

    He lamented that the country has gone that low, saying: “If you have to borrow N15, 000 from money lenders, it is so bad.  It shows that the borrower does not have somebody who could actually lend him that kind of money.

    “But the point is that you can borrow any amount.  Borrowing helps the economy because the interest that you pay helps to pay somebody’s salary. If you don’t borrow the N15, 000, the lender will not make interest to pay salaries. Even if it is N200 he makes, it adds up to pay somebody’s salary.”

    He said he wasn’t sure the Central Bank of Nigeria was aware of the practice.

    “I am not sure the CBN is aware of it. If they can create a window where such reports can be made, it will be a great idea like you are trying to do by bringing this matter up so that the CBN will be in the know of it.

    “When they are in the know of this, they can set up guidelines for the practitioners to get a licence. That is the only way the CBN can do something.”

    He observed that the companies, besides exploiting the customers, must have also been robbing the economy by not paying taxes.

    “The practice is naked as it is now. When they are regulated, they can pay taxes because it is difficult for anything not regulated to pay taxes.

    “They are not paying taxes and it is not beneficial to the government. They are just doing underhand deal and it is not beneficial to the economy.

    “Anything you do that you don’t pay taxes for is not good for the economy. You are not helping the economy to grow.

    “They should move from unregulated informal sector to a regulated one.  They should be made to pay tax because they are running a business.”

     

    ‘It’s illegal to label borrowers as criminals’

    Taking a legal look at the fintech companies’ actions, Barrister Ubani asked: “How would they remove the embarrassment after the person pays? After the borrower pays back the money, will they go and tell the people that they had sent messages to that he has paid?

    “That is the kind of degeneration we have got to as a country. There are so many things that are wrong in the system. Everything is wrongly done.

    “I don’t understand a loan arrangement that will somebody call you a criminal when you have not been convicted by a court.”

    He said there must be a judicial process before anybody can be called a criminal. “Borrowing money is a civil matter. I don’t think it is proper. I see no reason why a lender should have access to my contacts and begin to reach out to them and calling me all manner of names.

    “If a borrower has committed a crime as a result of borrowing money from you, you should let the police investigate and prosecute before you begin to call that person a criminal.”

    An online news medium, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, in a recent report said it searched for the names of the six online loan apps on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) database and their names were missing.

    “This makes it hard to know who exactly owns an app or even where the money for the loans is coming from. However, they reveal the location of their physical addresses on their information page on the Google Play Store showing that they are based in Lagos,” the organisation said.

    A report by the organisation said: “On August 17, the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA), slammed Soko Lending Company, a Nigerian online lending platform, with a fine of ₦10 million for privacy invasion.

    “This was after a series of complaints against the company for unauthorised disclosures, failure to protect customers’ personal data and defamation of character.”

     

    Police, CBN dodge enquiry

    Efforts made by the reporter to get the reactions of the Nigerian Police and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yielded no meaningful results.

    Police spokesman, Frank Mba, said in response to our request: “I don’t understand your question.” He declined further comments after our correspondent made the enquiry clearer.

    Spokesman of the CBN, Osita Nwasinobi, only said “thanks so very much. I deeply appreciate,” in response to our enquiry.

  • How we ended ‘Badoo’ cult menace – Ikorodu monarch

    How we ended ‘Badoo’ cult menace – Ikorodu monarch

    • Says current constitution embarrasses, ridicules traditional rulers
    • ‘Why Obas are silent on Yoruba nation’

    Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi is the Ayangburen of Ikorodu and the paramount ruler of the Ikorodu division in Lagos State. An engineer and astute businessman, he is also the permanent vice chairman of the Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs. The widely traveled monarch recently celebrated the sixth anniversary of his ascension to the throne. In this exclusive interview with ‘DARE ODUFOWOKAN, Assistant Editor, he recalled the trying moments of his reign, declaring that the Badoo killings that rocked his domain in 2017 was his worst nightmare. While revealing how the dreaded cult killings were ended through traditional and community policing efforts, Oba Shotobi declared matter-of-factly that it is untrue that it was the Nigerian Police Force that ended the killings. He also spoke on a lot of other issues including how the current constitution of the country is embarrassing traditional rulers. Excerpts.

    How would you describe your experience as the Ayangburen of Ikorodu in the last six years?

    It has been six very interesting years. And I must tell you I made up my mind right from the time it dawned on me that I would be the next King of Ikorodu to make the very best use of the throne to the glory of God and benefits of my people. My predecessor was a great king and father. He prepared the ground for the successes of today. I was very close to him, so I can say he prepared me well for the tasks of a king. I am also very grateful to the Lasunwon royal family. Without them, I won’t behere today.

    We have done a lot since I became king. Right from putting up a new building at the Ipebi when I became the Oba-elect to ensuring that Ikorodu now has a befitting palace building, we have been working. We achieved the new palace within my first three years on the throne. Today, it is a pride for the entire Ikorodu people and I thank all those who worked hard to make this possible. The building is not mine. No, it is not for me; it is for Ikorodu and its people. But it is one thing God used me to achieve for Ikorodu as the Ayangburen.

    My predecessors were in opposition to government most times. So, I made up my mind very early that I will never be in opposition as an Oba. This is because that will not bring development to the town. So, in the interest of my domain, I always make sure I don’t confront or oppose the government. Of course, I always advise where necessary and express my opinion on issues, but I ensure I am not confrontational or too critical. Those in government are reasonable people too and they appreciate opinions and advice. My good relationship with the government has led to the coming of a lot of good things to Ikorodu in the last six years.

    Look around, you will see a lot of government projects being executed or already completed. Some of these we suggested and some others were brought to us by the government. Many are still in the offing. There are the ongoing Igbogbo Road project, Oba Sekumade Road, Itamaga-Ijede Road, Ikorodu Roundabout, Isawo Road and many other road projects in my domain. All these, I strongly believe, came by because we stopped being in opposition. As a monarch, I consider the interest of my domain first.

    Speaking about your relationship with government, how will you describe the place of traditional rulers in governance today, especially in Lagos State?

    This is not just about any state in particular; it is about the country in general. There are no roles for the traditional rulers in governance today. We are all worried that our roles have been eroded by some actions and inaction of the military government of the past years. Today, the constitution makes no provision for the traditional rulers. The truth is that the current constitution embarrasses traditional rulers. We are ridiculed by the current constitution. It is just that here in Lagos State we have a respectful and listening governor. Sanwoolu listens when I reach out to him.

    When I make a request on behalf of my people, he will say Kabiyesi, send your list, and he will act on it. And when issues concern my domain or my people, he will personally reach out to me for my opinion or position. I appreciate him. Sanwoolu is one governor that has been saving traditional rulers from embarrassment by carrying us along in his administration. That way, our people are feeling a sense of belonging. Recently, he gave us eight hectares of land for VIP chalet in the G.R.A. Not many governorsare doing that for traditional rulers in their states.

    Obas need to be given more roles in governance for rapid development and better security architecture. And I know Lagos is working towards that. We have been to the assembly on that and the lawmakers and the government are eager to do this for us. Once Lagos leads, other states will follow. Traditional rulers are not here to challenge the authorities of politicians; they are to support those in government. So, there shouldn’t be any fear at all. Together we will work better to make the people happy if we are allowed to come aboard and make impact.

    Of recent, we Ijebu Obas in Lagos State decided to come together so as to always speak with one voice. I mooted the idea and it was accepted by all other Ijebu Obas. The late Alara of Ilara became the first chairman, and after he departed, I stepped into the seat. We have about 26 Obas in the forum. Epe, Langbasa, Ikorodu, Ibeju Lekki, Eredo, Agbowa and many more are Ijebu domains in Lagos. And the decision has paid off. It has helped our relationship with government and united us. It was the same platform we recently used to urge Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to please, contest the presidency in 2023. We decided that charity must start at home for him.

    You were a successful businessman and the Odofin of Ikorodu before you became king. Did you ever think you would ascend the throne?

    Efun ola, won kii ko si ori… (the chalk of success is never inscribed on the forehead). I am from the royal family but nobody knows a future king among princes. If a future king is identified at birth, there is the probability that such may not live long. But very important is the fact that I have always loved Ikorodu, even when I left to go abroad to study. I worked away from Ikorodu, in Sagamu precisely for 22 years before coming back to settle in Ikorodu. The family said I must take chieftaincy title and I became the Odofin.

    Read Also: Cult members clash as birthday turns bloody

    Royalty is sacrifice, and I made a lot of it in those years without expecting anything in return. And as Odofin, I learnt a lot from my predecessor. He tutored me freely without hiding anything from me. I was born in Ikorodu and I grew up in Ikorodu. Though I never had the premonition that I would be king, I must say I was somehow well prepared for the position after I became the Odofin. Twenty-four of us contested for the throne and I emerged as the king. So, I thank God, my family and the good people of Ikorodu for finding me worthy.

    There are lots of arguments these days on the relationship between Obaship and tradition. What is your take on this as an Oba?

    First, let me tell you that as the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, my relationship with the traditionalists and the traditional system is very cordial. It has to be because the Obaship institution belongs to the traditionalists. There is no two way to it. God gave the institution to them and nobody has been able to change it. All through the process leading to my being crowned, I never saw the Imams or the Pastors. It was the Olonbas (traditional worshipers) that I saw. They handled everything until I was crowned and government gave me the staff of office.

    So, how can I now say I am now a Muslim or a Christian and I will not recognise them? How can I turn my back on them? I cannot do that because I understand their place in the Obaship institution, especially in Yorubaland. I am an Oba that went into the Ipebi and completed the rites. No Oba that went through that can say the traditional worshipers are not important. My role is to bless all their legitimate activities and support them as and when due. I have been doing that and I will continue to do that. I will never disappoint them because they crowned me.

    A couple of years back, Ikorodu was in the news for a very wrong reason: the Badoo killings and other security issues. How did you ensure an end to the menaces?

    In 2017, the Badoo issue came and we confronted it headlong. I must say that period was a real nightmare for me as a king. I was troubled but determined to restore peace to my domain. Let me say it clearly that the police didn’t end Badoo killings in Ikorodu. They don’t even know how we ended the menace. That was why I challenged Mr. President when I met him in Abuja whether he was still hearing about Badoo. You will see that majority of the suspects arrested are not from Ikorodu, but we haboured them. That is the price we paid for development.

    When people ask me how we did it, I tell them some matters are better not discussed publicly. But what I can tell you is that we appealed to God when the menace and killings became unbearable. We made a lot of sacrifices as leaders and traditional rulers. We engaged and supported our local security apparatus strongly. All hands were on deck across Ikorodu division to end the killings. We cried out to God and God answered our prayers. We made a lot of efforts and we thank God that today, it is a thing of the past.

    On that premise, let me say it clearly that community policing is the solution to the current insecurity bedeviling our country. When the people of a community police their community themselves, they do it better than strangers who are posted down to police a terrain they are not familiar with. For example, here in Ikorodu, police don’t make arrests without the help of our local security agents. They work together for better results. Crisis will always come with development. What we must do is find ingenious ways of tackling the problems when they come.

    Also, the problem of unemployment is adding to our security challenges. Let us employ these youths and insecurity will reduce drastically. Governor Sanwoolu is doing a lot in that direction and I am praying to God to bless his efforts with good results. He is creating jobs and creating wealth all over the state. Look at what he is doing with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA). One hundred and two new vehicles were recently acquired. Even if it is just four new persons that will be employed to man each one, you can calculate the number of youths and women that will have jobs. And he is doing a lot on the Waterways too.

     You were mentioning some of the projects of the state government in Ikorodu division…

    Yes. One thing I find impressive about the government of the day in Lagos is consultation. The government will always consult us before anything. Just recently we were at the budget review programme to discuss projects and plans of government for next year. I have also been discussing with the governor. Apart from the projects I appreciated him earlier for, we are discussing some more. I have asked for a stadium in LASPOTECH. The location is central for the entire division. I am asking that Ikorodu General Hospital be upgraded to a teaching hospital. I have a list of inner roads I want the government to open up across the division. The 4th Mainland Bridge project is very important to me.

    Also, we want the government to give Ikorodu division our own theatre or cinema. Other divisions have and we want one too. We want the Imota International Market project to be completed as well as the rice mill too. We were asking for a fly over at the Ikorodu Roundabout, but we learnt that is not to be. Something that will solve the gridlock problem there has been proposed and work has started there. I have a petrol station there and I already volunteered that if it is affected, I am ready to sacrifice it. Many houses will be affected and we are already discussing with the owners as government is ready to compensate them.

    I am also glad to tell you that the government is on the process of upgrading LASPOTECH to a University of Technology. We went to the assembly to discuss that too recently. I have asked for more retail markets for the many street traders in Ikorodu. On our own, we have plans to redesign and reconstruct the Ita Efunlase which houses our ancient palace at Ajina. I have asked five renowned Architects to work on that. I have the designs and plans here. I am talking to relevant state agencies on this and I am very optimistic about it. It will boost our tourism.

    What is your position on the agitation for Yoruba Nation?

    Look, I want you to know that traditional rulers in the southwest are not talking about the agitations because the time is not ripe yet. Very importantly, we will never, as leaders, support violent agitations. When Awolowo and Azikwe struggled for independence, they didn’t engage in violence. It is not by violence that freedom will come. Many nations are free today without violence. It can only come through discussions and reconciliations. They should make their presentations and not resort to violence. When the time is ripe, it will come. We are very concerned about the violence aspect of the agitation. And that is why we are all calling on government to address the issues of insecurity. Violent agitations are not good for any society.

  • Your virginity can give you the world! (ii)

    Your virginity can give you the world! (ii)

    DEAR Ma, how can I get myself out of this pain? My partner broke up with me just because I say no to sex outside marriage. I love him so much I don’t want to lose him but he said he can’t continue with me any longer. Please what can I do to forget him? I’m dying in pain and crying as I’m texting you. Please help ma!

    Grace Moses, 25

    My dearest Grace,

    You want to choose an ordinary human being over God? Who even says he’s God’s choice for you? If I were you, I’d let him get lost if he wants and then let God appear! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CARRY AS A 25-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN??? Only a man who pays your dowry should have access to your body and your spirituality! Haaa…He certainly doesn’t deserve you and he’s not worth your tears my dear- after all the pain, denial, hardship and temptation you’ve endured over time??? If I hear “peem” again on this matter…Hmm…Don’t let me spank you my darling! (Smiles)

    If only you knew how elated God is that you chose Him over the stupid, bad, devil and what you stand to gain from Him especially with the pain you have to endure and your tears you would have just told your so-called boyfriend- “Get thee behind me devil!” Too many women and even men all over the world have lost the supernal power of God and what should announce them in the world through ungodly sex! A lot have lost everlasting grace and glory, so many have missed divinely-ordained spouses who should assist in their life’s journey and help them become what no one in their generation is. A lot have become rags spiritually because they have been fragmented and distributed their lives/destiny/soul all over the place as a result of sexual intercourse with multiple partners. It would interest you to know that a lot of your mother’s mates who were created as financial pillars and spiritual power houses are begging to feed and even looking for men to sleep with because they flung their virtues away on the altar of sex in their heydays! It may also interest you to know too many all over the world are suffering from very strange battles which has made life very unpleasant for them because their parents invited trouble into their lives through sex outside marriage. So many children from single parents may never be able to fulfil their glorious destinies because of inadequate minding- physically and spiritually- unless God intervenes!

    Read Also: Your virginity mustn’t be for sale!

     

    Too many lives have been boxed into “hell on earth” by the devil because they gave it the reins of their lives by defiling God’s temple and turning God against them! You better fall on your knees and start thanking God for the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life which won’t let you defile the temple of God! I plead with you to start making gargantuan demands from God! Tell God to open your eyes to see the wonderful wonders ahead of you perhaps you’d discover God just saved you from ending up with thrash (I don’t mean to be insultive here) so you can have the gold He’s prepared for you!

     

    In case you don’t know because your pastor doesn’t discuss this in your church- you are a spiritual power house- God’s power house- a power generator! You are an authority in motion! You are a walking wonder, a container of virtues, a mobile altar- the light in your family, in your office, everywhere you go! Everything you lay your hands upon has to prosper because you carry the presence of God! May I announce to you and from experience too that you don’t have to decree a thing before it is established- you can just imagine a thing and have it come to pass! Believe me, there’s nothing you can’t acquire because you practically have the world at your feet! Let no man steal this from you! Refuse to share your life and your superb greatness with anyone but your husband!

    For every virgin or secondary virgin experiencing this- write today’s date down, because you choose God over the devil, unless you don’t see this- between now and the month of December, God will send you a man 10 times better than the one who won’t wait till your wedding night and you’ll marry this year in Jesus name!

    • I invite you to follow me on Facebook –TEMILOLU OKEOWO Instagram @ Okeowo Temilolu.
  • Surajudeen Basiru: I bear no grudge against those who expelled me from university

    Surajudeen Basiru: I bear no grudge against those who expelled me from university

    Former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun State, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru is a lesson in determination to succeed in life. It was as if the whole world had crashed on him when the vocal, young, courageous activist student and his team members were shown the way out of the ivory tower in an unceremonious way many years ago. Today, he holds sway as a senator of the federal republic and chairman of the Senate committee on media and public affairs. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, he recalls that dark moment and how it turned round to impact positively on his life.

    In what ways would you say that your childhood influenced your current status and personality?

    I think it did in many respects. My early background has shaped my personality and what I do today. Ultimately, whatever we are in life is the totality of our experiences. I grew up in a modest family, had early education in Arabic and Islamic studies and also western education. When I was in secondary school, I was active in academic work and social life. I was a member of the cultural and dramatic society, and I left the school in the capacity of the public relations officer for that group. I also featured in many of the plays that we had then, which in a way honed my communication skill and ability to play distinct roles. I was also an assistant prefect, which also formed my early leadership experience. Though an arts student, I was the captain of the Mathematics class.

    After that, I was briefly at the Islamic Theological School before proceeding to the University of Ilorin where I was active as a campus journalist, member of the Fire-Point Press Club, where we published a magazine which built my writing skill. I joined the social and political movement on campus. We formed cultural and current affairs association, an ideological group where we reviewed books on a daily basis and made ideological discussions.

    I was also active in the students’ union. I contested and won the position of Assistant Secretary in the Arabic Students Association. In my second year in the university, I became the Assistant Secretary General of the students’ union and Clerk of the congress.

    You were also active in students’ politics…

    Yes. After my sojourn at the University of Ilorin, I was at the University of Lagos, where I studied Law and I was active in the Law Society as well as the student politics and the pro-democracy movement. I was active in the United Action for Democracy; Campaign for Democracy; Democratic Alternative and several other pro-democracy and human rights organisations.

    As a legal practitioner, I honed my legal skill in a top commercial firm, Olaniwun Ajayi, and later joined as a partner, Muiz Banire Associates and was eventually appointed as a commissioner. All these formed the totality of what I am today.

    Earlier, you said you went to an Islamic Theological School. Were you at any point thinking of becoming an Imam or a spiritual leader?

    Actually, I did that in concomitant with the western education. In every Islamic home in Nigeria, especially the part where I come from, we take it as important to ensure children have knowledge of Islam. We see it as part of growing up. Moreover, that was my major at the University of Ilorin: Arabic and lslamic Studies. Possibly, if I had been allowed to graduate, maybe I would have taken a career in Islamic scholarship before I ended up studying Law at University of Lagos. Yes, I might have been a scholar in Islamic theology, but that would not have meant that I would have been an Islamic leader. But even as at now, I get involved in matters of religion. I believe that being in this world means that we are here for a purpose and the purpose is to serve the Almighty God.

    What motivated you to study Law and advance to get a PhD?

    I will say that my studying Law was accidental; it was as a result of my involvement in students’ union activities at the University of Ilorin. I was expelled together with some other student leaders and we felt that it was better to proceed to another institution to pursue another degree. One of our friends just said, ‘Why don’t we study Law, since we had already studied arts?’ That was how we enrolled for JAMB and we passed and were given admission. At the Law School, I was the third best in my set and I won the Graham Douglas Prize for Best Student in Corporate Law. I took some time to practice before enrolling for master’s programme. I was encouraged by one of my lecturers, Prof Imran Oluwole Smith, a leading scholar in Property Law, to enroll for PhD, and that was it. Part of my thesis has been published as a book in secured finance law.

    Now that you are a successful lawyer, do you regret being expelled from the University of Ilorin?

    There are no regrets. It was part of learning. I did not do anything that should be regrettable. We stood tall to have struggled for the upliftment of education. I remember that one of the struggles then was the academic reform campaign of 1991. So there’s nothing regrettable about it and, of course, we did not commit any offence in law except that according to our letters of expulsion, it was about our predisposition to confronting the constituted authority. Whatever that meant, whether they had carried out psychological evaluation or not to have come to that conclusion. So there is nothing to regret.

    Read Also: Three final year students expelled for ‘gang-raping mate’

    I have in the course of life met some of the people who were involved as academicians and administrators in the process that led to our expulsion, and I have had no cause to bear any grudge against them. Rather I will work with them to build a better society.

    When you were appointed as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun state, what readily came to your mind?

    Of course, before I was appointed into that position, I had been doing works that had relevance to that office. And before then, I was Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties. Part of the mandate of the Ministry of Special Duties include Law Reform and Social Sector Reform, and in that capacity, I was instrumental to the setting up of the Citizen Relationship Centre in Osun State, offering free legal services to the people of Osun, and we were instrumental in resolving hundreds of disputes and recovering billions of naira for citizens without having to go to court. We were also instrumental in making legislation which enabled the state to access the capital markets like the bonds law, the Omoluabi Conservation Law which was very innovative, which gave the state access to the capital market.

    Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru
    Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru

    So being the Attorney General gave me a broader capacity and mandate to reform the law in the state. I was active, always going to the court. And every week, I had meetings with counsels in the chamber of the Attorney General where we reviewed cases and prepared for the week ahead. It was interesting and developmental for me and for the people of the state as the defender of justice.

    What was your most challenging moment as the Attorney General in Osun State?

    That was when I got to know that there was an injunction against holding the local government elections in the state. I was at the meeting of the Council of Legal Education. I was surprised when I got to know that an ex parte injunction was obtained against the government. I made my initial enquiry and found that there was no information as to whether we had been served or not. I think I rushed to the media to say that we were not part of the suit and we were not served. Eventually I think that was a lapse in the handling of our matters in the Abuja Licensing Office. Eventually, we got to know that we were actually served when the court asked us to show cause why the interim order should not be granted. Of course, we took the challenge and filed application to challenge the interim order because they were obtained ex parte, and also when 14 days elapsed and the order had not been elongated, we filed an application that the order had expired and elapsed, relying on the supreme court reference in that matter. Eventually the court agreed with us and the order was declared to have elapsed, and that paved way for conducting the local government election.

    It was challenging because we had to work round the clock to ensure that a democratic election was conducted at that level.

    Did becoming a senator come on a platter?

    I will rather say that the leadership of my party, APC, had so much confidence in my ability to deliver and the people of Osun Central also gave me the mandate to do so. It was a challenging decision for the leadership of our party getting me to replace an astute, intellectual that was the Chief Whip, Prof Olusola Adeyeye. But the decision was taken and the party gave me the mandate. We conducted a campaign that cut across. I recall that there was no community in my senatorial district that I did not personally visit. We campaigned to the groups, organised the students, youths, women and other relevant groups to work for our success and we won virtually all the 10 local governments and 110 wards in the constituency with a wide margin.

    You are presently the Senate spokesperson. What have been the challenges of the office?

    The Senate itself is a misunderstood institution, and that is because out of the three arms of government, the legislative arm appears to be the least understood. You will recall that during the military era, the first onslaught was always directed at the legislative arm because the military makes laws by decrees. Our people don’t yet understand the tremendous work that the legislative arm is doing. I must also confess that the previous House of Assembly possibly did not give a good account of themselves in terms of some untoward activities. So the challenge is to ensure that people understand the necessity for the Senate to also project the work we are doing to resonate according to the aspirations and yearnings of the people.

    Leadership also requires that you take some tough decisions at some times. It is not all the time that your decision gets mass appeal, so it is our job to articulate that the Senate acts in the best interest of the populace. I must also say that I am fortunate because we have in the 9th Senate one that has done tremendously well in actualising the yearnings and aspirations of the people and capable of galvanizing our economy and putting forward laws that will advance our society.

    People say that the present Senate president has curtailed unnecessary spending. But do you foresee the senate working on reducing the salaries and emoluments of legislators?

    As legislators, we don’t fix our salaries. There is a body, Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Commission. They are the ones that fix remuneration and allowances of all political office holders, and i think they are the ones to be addressed about such.

    If you had not studied Law, which other profession would you have loved to be in?

    I don’t know. I am not God. God has a way of pre-ordaining our destinies.

    If you were not in government, which would you prefer, teaching law in the university or private practice?

    Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru
    Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru

    I have had the benefit of combining both: private legal practice where I practised at the top of my profession. I have had the benefit of working with leading lights in our profession. Even as a commissioner, i was a volunteer lecturer at Osun State university for about five years. After leaving as the state’s Attorney General, I was given employment as a lecturer at Osun State University. I had to resign when I got the ticket to contest for a seat at the Senate.

     

     

    What early memories in life do you recall from time to time?

    There are so many interesting memories, many that will be in my forthcoming memoir. Is it the travelling in a petrol tanker during the struggle against the military? Or is it getting our people in Ebute Metta to get involved in resisting the military dictatorship? Or is it the organisation of underground publications to articulate the struggle against the military? I have had so many stimulating experiences. I was also a great fan of live theatre in Oshogbo, which we used to campaign for Aregbesola’s election.

    What things about your early life would you have loved to change if you had the opportunity?

    I don’t think i would love to change anything. I have lived an enjoyable life, interesting and stimulating.

    What vanities of life can you not help being without?

    Life is a totality of what one makes out of it. As you worship God, you are also expected to live your life to the fullest, and that is why when we pray as Muslims, we tell God to grant us the best of this world and also grant us the best of hereafter.

    Which was your first car?

    (Laughs) I had a Mazda 626 as a youth corps member, and it was an interesting experience. I virtually learnt so much about managing a car then, managing clutch kit, cleaning injector head and so on. I have great memory of that Mazda 626 which was a green colour.

    What do you value the most in life?

    I value humanity most and the ability to impact on others, making people around me to radiate joy and happiness as much as possible.

    What sports did you grow up doing and have you developed new ones?

    I used to play tennis and football; what we used to call ‘set’ in those days that is the five-a-side game. We used to also do some small gambling with dice then when we were in secondary school. Now the sporting exercise that I do is to walk when my schedule permits me.

    What about music, what other arts appeal to you?

    I listen to every kind of music, traditional, pop, reggae and so on, depending on the circumstance. I don’t restrict myself to a particular one. I like Obesere, Haruna Ishola, Ayinla Omowura, Fela, Bob Marley, Don Williams and so on.