The Nation Newspaper

Category: People & Politics

  • ‘Why I turned my thriving hotel into church’

    ‘Why I turned my thriving hotel into church’

    United Kingdom-trained lecturer, Dr. Segun Akindayini, is not a stranger to the entertainment industry. For 10 years, he was a lecturer at Thames Polytecnic (now University of Greenwich), London. He was also one of the people who pioneered the marketing of Nigerian (Nollywood) films in the UK with the setting up of the African Video Centre in the early 90s. So, when he returned to Nigeria to set up a hospitality business, Chicago Bar Grill and Motel in Ogun State, not many were surprised. The surprise, however,  was that after making a success of the hotel business, he decided a few months ago turn it into a retreat centre. He told GBENGA ADERANTI that it was a difficult business decision he had to take. 

    WHAT is your assessment of the hospitality sector in Nigeria?

    The hospitality industry is an established industry which plays a major role in the society and the development of a nation. The hospitality industry is thriving despite the economic situation in Nigeria. More hotels are being built in city centres to cater for the demand of business and social travellers across the nation.

    As a traveller or a businessman on a trip you need a place to lodge and relax. Hospitality business takes care of the person in that situation. It is an essential part of a society.

    It is thriving well because people are travelling more from city to city looking for better business opportunities. Although there are newcomers into the business of hospitality, the challenges are so many. It is very important that the person is cut out for such a business.

    You said one has to be cut out for hospitality business. How?

    The word cut out, in this context, means that the individual has to be prepared for the business in all its ramifications. He must know what it takes to operate it, have the manpower and the funds. You have to be such an astute person because your environment reflects your personality, especially when it comes to the business of hospitality. It is more or less that you are setting up a comfortable place that will be similar to your customer’s home. It must have all the essential facilities. That is why they use the slogan “Home away from Home”.

    He must be prepared for the unexpected challenges and not be afraid. He should be able to face them head on and find a way to overcome the challenges.

    I understand that your Chicago Bar Grill and Motel is being turned into a retreat centre? How true?

    Chicago, Bar, Grill and Motel was established when I returned from London in the year 2014. We started as a relaxation centre with a difference. I had a focus to provide our customers a serene atmosphere and good customer service. Our bar was stocked with variety of beers, wines and spirits. The grill took care of delicious fish, ‘asun’, roast chicken and  so on. The motel has affordable air conditioned rooms and TV.

    Obviously, that went well and was successful. We graduated from motel level to a three-star hotel,  and we became known as Chicago Hotel. We upgraded our services, better furnished rooms in a better environment.

    However, along the line, I found myself being disturbed and uncomfortable with some aspects of the business. My spiritual life was becoming more apparent and I was becoming more aware of the implications of what was taking place in my environment. I was becoming more concerned about the result of my actions. I had the opportunities to think more on what life is all about.

    The business was providing different types of entertainment, social life, fun and so many things. In the beginning I found nothing wrong with it. Business was good, I was enjoying it, everything was rosy. However, as my walk with God was progressing, something inside of me was saying I was not doing the right thing.

    This feeling was becoming stronger and stronger. I began to question the purpose of my life. This led us to withdraw from some aspects of the business that were not glorifying God. I decided to Evangelise through an in-house fellowship for the benefits of the lodgers and local community. Then we changed the name to Chicago Retreat Centre in the year 2021.

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    The fellowship is non-denominational. We have morning devotion, Victory Hour on Fridays and Party with Jesus on the Last Sunday of every month.

    Whilst these programmes were ongoing, we still accommodated the sale of alcohol on the premises. It became a mixed kind of message to the public. Some people were asking if Chicago had become a church or it was still a hotel. So, I took it to God in prayer and there was a leading that was I going to be fully obedient or partially obedient to my calling? Then it dawned on me that God is here to rule and reign in Chicago Retreat Centre, and then we had the mandate to turn it into the sanctuary of God that will promote wellness and personal spiritual growth offering a range of spiritual services and programmes that have come out of our fellowship period.

    That has led us to the development of a spiritual environment, nature inspired, serene atmosphere and the eradication of sale of alcohol on the premises. We now have a policy of No Smoking, No Alcohol, Quiet Zone.

    An environment suitable for individuals, businesses, churches and organisations to have a private retreat or to connect with their inner self.

    We have a bar that stocks drinks that improve health and promote wellness. Our music policy is all instrumental and classical music or gospel music that lifts the spirit. It has been an interesting journey.

    Don’t you think you are making a wrong business decision?

    No. The bible says “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33.

    It is a decision between being comfortable in worldly affairs/achievements or saving your soul. Yes, some people might say it is a wrong business decision, and it might affect me financially, but it is a sacrifice that must be made.

    In any spiritual life, there must be a sacrifice. Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for our salvation. The little sacrifice that I’m not going to make money from selling alcohol is minute. What we have now achieved on the ground is that there is a place for a number of people who do not drink, who do not smoke or like a noisy environment. I know God has ordained and required that we build Chicago Retreat Centre as a sanctuary of God that will save people in this community and beyond. Yes, it was a hard decision, but no great achievement comes easy.

    How receptive were your customers to this decision?

    It has been a mixed feeling from the customers. Some customers, like you rightly said, were surprised. But it has been a gradual process. We gave them notice in advance of the impending change of our business model. We informed them of the new vision. Yes, we have lost so many of them but we are gaining new faces. It has been a welcoming feeling from the new customers and they encourage us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

    It is becoming a fad now for religious centres to buy factories and entertainment outfits. Go to Ikeja, Lagos, some places that used to be warehouses have been bought by churches. What could have informed this trend? Could that have been one of those things you considered before you turned the Chicago Hotels into a retreat centre?

    No. My direction came from the Holy Spirit.

    To answer the first part of your question, you said these buildings are being transformed into worship centres. The reason is that in these last days, people are going through situations and running somewhere to receive solace and the word of God. These premises that are vacant, when churches outgrown their space, and if they can afford to acquire a bigger facility, then nothing can stop them. And if these facilities are available by all means they can take it.

    The mega churches buy 100-150 acres out of town. I want to believe that when  Daddy Adeboye bought the present Redeemed Camp many years ago, he acquired acres and acres, Why? The Holy spirit must have revealed to him that these were the facilities that would be needed in the end days.

    There are many lost souls. They want comfort, they want the word of God. And when you are in an environment where your soul is being revitalised and you hear the word of God, it encourages you that in this falling world, there is a gathering of the saints and their needs are being be met. That is the reason these buildings are being acquired to service the needs of believers.

    Chicago Retreat Centre is located in Akute, Ogun State. There are many big churches here in Akute that when they want to have their retreats or need quiet moments, they have to travel far out of Akute. You know the traffic situation and the logistics involved. Also, if they are having programmes in their local churches, the visiting ministers have to be lodged somewhere, which is why a facility like ours is available locally.

    With the way, churches are acquiring worship centres. Are you not afraid that you will wake up one day and there will be no hotels again?

    There will always be a need for hotels, because people will still travel out of their locations for one reason or the other. But I envisage more  retreat centres will be made available. I’m looking forward to that. That will be great. Can you imagine what the society will be like by that time? Can you imagine the peace? Can you imagine the loving environment? More places where the word of God is being preached and places that promotes wellness and spirituality. I Iook forward to that.

    I’m afraid there will be unemployment considering the number of people engaged by the hospitality sector…

    People are still required to work in the retreat centres or churches. So that sector will still provide employment. But in heaven, there is no employment! The Creator Himself will provide our needs. In heaven, they don’t work. We just sing praises to the Almighty God and we live forever and ever without any hardship, without sickness or sorrow. Can you imagine that? Glory to God. Hallelujah! Amen. Shalom!

  • Why I stopped lying about my age – Ondo commissioner

    Why I stopped lying about my age – Ondo commissioner

    • Recalls his life as bricklayer, okada  rider, commercial bus driver

    Emmanuel Igbasan is a chartered management accountant and Ondo State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning. His grass-to-grace story as a former bricklayer, commercial motorcycle operator and commercial bus driver would no doubt constitute a source of inspiration for many. In a chat with journalists, including OSAGIE OTABOR, he explained why he stopped lying about his age, among other issues of interest.

    What does it mean to work with a man like Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu?

    I see the governor as a highly insightful person. I see him as a man devoid of offence towards anyone. He takes actions as it comes to him out of free consience. I had studied him when I came into governance. He is a lover of intelligence and a lover of critical issues. He is intolerant of indolence and lies, and this has made some people to misunderstood his person.

    I have a very close relationship with him. I enjoy attending the National Economic Council meeting with him. He is a man of great conviction. If he is convinced, he would go ahead.

    If he makes a genuine mistake, it is not intentional. That is the kind of person he is. He is passionate about developing Ondo State to the best of his ability. He also loves people with sincere hearts.

    Working with him has further enriched me to make sure that I am sure of my facts and figures before I talk to him. I don’t talk to him as a politician; I talk to him as a technocrat and a coordinator of the economy. I do tell him the truth no matter what.

    Did you set out to become a commissioner in Ondo State?

    Did I ever think I would become a commissioner? The answer is no. Most of us come from mud, not even from stone. I earned my first degree as an Okada ( commercial motorcycle) rider. I was also an apprentice to a bricklayer, and my master  then turned out to be the one that built my house in the village. He’s still a bricklayer till date. I was also an apprentice driver. I drove from Kubua to Kano to eke out a living, even after my graduation. I prayed that the future should be alright for me. The future has not arrived, but we are in the next bus stop.

    Having passed through these experiences in life, how did you feel when you made your first million naira?

    The first good money I made was N40,000. When I finished school, I worked with a microfinance bank. They paid me N7,500 per month. One day, I asked the bank Manager how many years he had spent on the job, and he said 16 years. His clothes and shoes were too bad. I called another worker there, who was a graduate and had also spent 12 years on the job. He lived in a room with his wife and children. I then decided to resign from the job because that was not the kind of life I wished for myself. I started looking for work but my age had advanced, so I removed 10 years from it.

    Pacific Bank called me for an interview. When I got to the interview, they realised that I lied about my age. Hence I was not employed despite the fact that I performed well. They wrote that “he is brilliant, but he is a liar.” I went back home and tore my CV.

    I knew that because of my age, God had excluded me from seeking for Job.

    I have had lots of experience in advertising. I have been into editing. I have been a consultant to Federal Internal Revenue Service in Lagos and a consultant to Ogun and Oyo states before I found myself here. Every Man’s life has been designed by God. Rely on him, He will take you there. I don’t know what the future holds for me but I know the one who holds the future. So I knew that my future would be brighter.

    What is the debt profile of Ondo State?

    We have internal and external debts in the state. But when you bring the totality together, the conceptual debt amounted to N220 billion when we took over. Rght now, it has reduced to between N90 billion and N92 billion, including multilateral debt. All the salaries we paid were part of the debt. The cumnulatuve debt of pensioners was N35 billion when we took over. Even if we deploy the resources of the state, we cannot offset this. Then we decided to give N200 million to them yearly to sort the pensioners debt.

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    How they handled it is also another ball game, but I have my reservations on it. We also allocated N300 million for their pallaitive. We have paid all leave bonuses except for Level 9 to 15 in 2019. As of today, with all the work that has been done, I am not sure we are owing up to N10 billion as conceptual debt.

    How has it been since you came on board the administration of Akeredolu in 2017?

    When we came on board, we engaged the citizens on budgeting. We believe the people should be part of decision process on how we deploy their resources and engaging people on our budgeting process. Luckily, the governor gave us the go ahead. After doing this, we received many global partnerships. In the past few years,  we have upheld physical transparency, accountability, openness and citizens engagement.

    In 2019, when the European Union did a comparative analysis for physical transparency, Ondo State came first in terms of budget and physical transparency. The Budget and Economy Planing Ministry is the blood of the government and the life wire of the administration. Nothing moves in the state without the knowledge of the ministry because extra budgeting spending is an offence punishable by impeachment. For us in Ondo State we occupied this critical function to ensure optimum allocation of resources.

    Apart from resource mobilization and optimum allocation for the betterment of our people, we liaise with all developmental partners across all sectors. Our ministry is the first port of call for any national or international agency before they do anything in Ondo State in any of the sectors. We relate with development partners such as the World Bank, WHO, European Union, African Union and many more. This is necessary because we should be able to guide them and direct them in line with the economic objectives of the government. You cannot just come in and go into any area and begin to function without alignment with the objectives of the Government of the day. This is what we do.

    Many Nigerians do not understand whether your ministry makes any impact on their lives…

    The  impact of this ministry on the adminstration is very important. Sometimes you cannot see it physically unless you take a deeper look or you are an expert in this area. It holds on us to know something about everything for us to function efficiently. Incidentally, the result has been showing through our resources management.

    Looking at our IGR, we are the primary ministry that sits with every revenue generating agency and agree optimally what they should bring to the collective pool. We have the responsibility of resources mobilization. If there’s any leakage in the system, we ensure that it is closed. We have the monetary department; they monitor our appropriations. We are ready to absorb constructive criticism and we would do what is necessary, especially for our people.

    How has your planning affected the ordinary citizens of the state?

    For us to live in a prosperous and sustainable manner, we should plan on how to unleash our potential in a way that would benefit us that are alive and also benefit the generations coming. Looking at the statistics that we have out there, Wikipedia put Ondo State as number seven in the size of our GDP. In the National Bureau of Statistics, we are number six. The National Enterprises Promotion Council put Ondo State as number four. The World Bank made Ondo State number six in terms of the size of our GDP. Our GDP is at $8.4 million.

    We have to interrogate the system critically. Ondo State might not have industries, but God blessed everyone with a measure of gifts. We have up to five or six forest reserves. If we properly manage what God has given to us, other states are not better than us.

    You recently rolled out a 30-year development plan for the state, which was tagged Ondo 2054…

    For a state to be able to meet its needs, there is critical need to access its asset, its potentials and its capabilities. As at 2006 census, Ondo State was 3.6 million in population, and definitely, we would have a growth rate of 2.8. By now we would have a population of six million people. In 2054, which is 30 years from now, how many are we going to be? We have occupied everywhere. What does that por tend for our agricultural sector? We have been known as largest cocoa producer. Now Cross River has overtaken us.

    What has happened to Oda Cocoa Reserve? Have we not bulldoze it off and begin to erect structures there? If we continue in this way, how do we ensure food security for the growing population?

    Many commentators have described the recently held Develop Ondo 2.0 as a jamboree…

    Develop Ondo 1.0 was organised in 2018, putting into consideration some of the background information given, looking at the great potentials of Ondo State, looking at the advantageous situation and location of the state. If you would go to Lagos from Ore, it would take less than two hours. From the South East to Ore, it would take less than two hours to get to Asaba. We have close distance to the economy areas. Looking at the southern zone, we are opened into the Atlantic, which gives us natural advantage to use. That was what necessitated develop Ondo 1.0 to showcase the potentials and the benefits of partnering with Ondo State.

    One of the benefits is the development of the Air route in Akure Airport. You are aware that it is not state-owned. But for us to bring investors, transportation is key, and now we have three flights almost on daily basis. We can see that number of people that have residential houses and businesses in Ondo State has increased because they no longer need to travel through the den of kidnappers before they get to Ondo State.

    Another benefit of 1.0 is security, and that was when Mr Governor championed Southwest Nigeria Security Network known as Amotekun. Today we are all beneficiaries of the peace in the community and safety of life and property. This administration brought UNDP back during Develop Ondo 1.0. They are now profitable partners of Ondo State. There is no amount of money you spend on your state that is a waste. The benefits might not materialise directly but somehow, you would get the indirect benefits. Those ones that manifested directly would attract world investors. At Ore, we have partners on our farms there, which have engaged nothing less than 4,000 workers.

    Coming to Ondo 2.0, it is too early to say that there’s nothing to do. You would see that we do engaged the NDDC on the project we wanted to execute at the moment. We engaged them on our objectives; they can’t just throw projects at us. We have to develop Ondo together. Chevron has also partnered with us. The benefits have started coming in even before it ends. It is not just a jamboree.

    When will Port Ondo kick off?

    In the whole of Africa, the only place to find a deep sea port is in Ondo State. Other ports like Badagry, Apapa, Onne, are all river ports. Ours is deep sea port. To bring more economic advantage to Ondo, we decided to develop our deep sea port. It supposed to be projected by the Nigeria port development, but Ondo did it.

    What is the plan to curb Ayetoro sea incursion?

    It is a problematic and pathetic one for us as a state. If you look at the historical heritage of that place and their enterprises, it is not a place that should go into extinction. There are so many theories, because for me, before I proffer a solution, I want to dig deep into the root of the problem so that I won’t be dealing with the symptoms.

    I told Mr Governor that before we can give solutions to the problem in Ayetoro, we need to know the cause. There’s no vacuum in nature. If you look at the proximity of Ondo State to Lagos and the quantum of sand that was pulled from the sea to create a city where they drove the sea several miles away, there’s possibility the sand was taken from Ondo State. Some states erected sea breakers at the buttom of the sea, which would change the natural cause of flow of the sea water. That might have been the repercussions that we are facing here.

    Another perspective is the activities of the oil companies. While I was doing my research, I stumbled on information as far back as 1958, and it has been predicted that something like this would happen.

    The rise in climate change and the erosion level can be the cause too in Ayetoro. They have awarded numerous projects to salvage the issues in Ayetoro. One of them brought in sand to fill the place, but within a few days, they ran out of sand.

    Many of the perspectives put there are not true. We need to conduct critical survey on the solution to that place. Mr Governor, before he went on vacation, had set up a committee on Ayetoro problem. They are to look for fund to tackle the situation. The Governor was emotional, and he said this would be one of the bad things he would be leaving behind; that he left Ayetoro worse than he met it.

  • Marwa: The icon turns 70

    Marwa: The icon turns 70

    • By Femi Babafemi

    If there is anyone who is not undaunted by difficult assignments—someone society can bank on to take on an existential problem and find a lasting solution to it—that must be Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd).

    If you put the country’s biggest problem on the table and ask Nigerians for suggestions of trusted hands capable of solving it, he will be one of the obvious choices for many citizens across generations and ethnicities. It is not surprising that his name comes to mind quickly. In three cycles, he has proven his mettle by taking on gargantuan challenges and, each time, delivering spectacularly. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the results. That’s the Marwa way: his methodology, reflective of deep thinking; his feats, symbolic of his persona as a solution provider. Time and again, he leaves us with the impression that he is the kind that doesn’t come too often. A rare bread that is in short supply. The all-round leader.

    Whatever this retired Army General touches turns to gold. Almost instantly. His imprint is more potent than the much-vaunted Midas’ touch. Everywhere he has been, he has left elaborate footprints. In and out of the military. In and out of government. In our society and beyond.

    Yet Marwa is not unlike the rest of us. He has had his ups and downs. He has been through thick and thin. But wherever destiny takes him, and whatever fate drops on his laps, he takes it on wholeheartedly, with dedication and purpose, and leaves no room for half measures. He goes more than the proverbial extra mile to achieve good results. And that is why his exploits are unforgettable and immeasurable, and even legendary.

    I mentioned three cycles earlier. The first was his sojourn in Lagos State, which has become a locus classicus for how to govern a state. Lagos is a state of giants. And Marwa’s records stand tall and are everlasting. He had a glorious moment as the Military Administrator of Lagos, where he was pragmatic, prudent and achieved a litany of feats with a strict budget of N14 billion, never borrowing a dime, and handing over a cash amount of N2 billion to his successor, which Wikipedia testifies is “the highest amount handed over from one state administrator to another.”

    His Lagos ‘oeuvre,’ which we are all familiar with, was actually his Second Cycle of achievements. The first, relatively unsung, was when he was the Military Governor of the old Borno from 1990 to 1992. Old Borno is present day Borno and Yobe. Marwa left his mark on Borno in the areas of healthcare delivery, education, agriculture, and infrastructure. He created the first Ministry of Water Resources at the state level. Through direct labour, he constructed roads and completed the Maiduguri International Hotel. The highlight of his Borno years was how he reined in a brewing insurgency from across the border in the neighbouring Republic of Chad. The marauders were dislodged members of the Chadian Army who boldly crossed the border into Nigerian territory in Borno State to pillage border communities, Boko Haram style. Marwa quickly nipped the problem in the bud with a military taskforce that policed the border and responded with helicopters to confront the pillagers.

    Presently, he is in his Third Cycle of achievements as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). We knew how deeply mired in the cesspool of drug trafficking Nigeria had been in the past. Our young men and women are serving time in various prisons across the world for drug trafficking. A few had gone to their deaths in countries with harsh posture towards illicit drugs. Within the country, we were teetering towards an illicit drug epidemic.

    Marwa and the wonderful people at NDLEA have turned around the narrative. Like a general leading the battle, he leads the NDLEA workforce in a purpose-driven campaign against the drug underworld, a full spectrum offensive action that has seen 38 drug barons currently facing prosecution. Today, Nigeria is in a new epoch of drug law enforcement that has made the country the cynosure of the international community. Going by his precedents, we can be assured that the Marwa-led NDLEA will clean the Augean Stable.

    To the ultimate question: What makes this man tick? The Marwa enigma has been well-assayed, no doubt. We have dissected his pedigree as the scion of a military family and how that may have been the factor for his audacity in taking on herculean tasks; we have x-rayed his management acumen and talked about how that may have been influenced by his education—yes, he has Master of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh (1985) and Master of Public Administration, Harvard (1986); and his scholarly disposition (as the author of three books) has been talked about, especially in unravelling his intellectual approach to issues. 

    There is, however, an aspect of him that adds colour and brings fresh perspective to his personality. His humanity. I have been privileged to study him at close quarters as we crisscrossed the country on the WADA advocacy campaign. In several interactions with military chiefs across the armed forces, I have had an earful of odes about the General. Many had given attestations of how they became who they are in the military as a result of the knowledge acquired from his books, which enabled them to pass exams in Defence Academy and War College. Once at a book launch, a citizen recalled how Marwa’s act of humanity some 30 years ago gave him a new lease on life. A multitude of people have versions of that story to tell. Marwa’s humanity is a never-ending story that flows from the fountain of his service to man, country, and God.

    Born on September 9, 1953, Marwa is 70 today. He has remained as constant as the northern star. His life is defined by service. He is still serving this great nation. For him, life is about service. Instead of rolling out drums and marking the day with a fanfare befitting of the milestone, he’s miles away in the Holy Land to thank his creator.

    For a man who has served Nigeria in every sense of the word ‘service’, his new age drives home a fact: The country still needs him. It is heartwarming to know that at 70, Marwa is able and willing to continue the service.

    Babafemi, is the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA

  • ‘I got married at 17, had 21 children from 12 ‘baby mamas’

    ‘I got married at 17, had 21 children from 12 ‘baby mamas’

    Raymond Hogans, who celebrated his 64th birthday in St. Louis, Missouri America recently, narrates his life journey with our reporter, Taiwo Abiodun 

    HE is a man of few words. His infectious smile could melt an ice bag. He is cool and gentle and humility personified. He walks in the manner of a king and dresses as if it is for a dressing competition; always in his cap and trade mark bling-bling.

    Raymond Hogans’ dress sense is unique. He was a ladies’ man in his youth. He is always spotted in the crowd not because of his light skin but for his dress sense. In fact, you would hardly know he is going to work.

    At 64, the soft-spoken gentleman and grandfather has many attributes that make him earn respect from his colleagues and co-workers. Welcome to the life of Ray Hogans; a man who has seen it all.

    Asked to introduce himself, he parted his lips with a smile. “My name is Raymond Hogans. I came from a poor family in Mississippi. My grandmother had 13 kids, but they are all dead. She decided to leave Mississippi and came down to St. Louis here to settle down.

    “I graduated from Central High School, St. Louis, Missouri.”

    Marriage

    The ladies’ man did not deny his virility as a young man.

    He said: ”I got married at the age of 17. I went into the military from 1978 to 1984. I have 14 girls, seven boys, 89 grandchildren and 12 baby mamas.”

    In America where child support (welfare of the children) is compulsory and could land  the father in jail if he defaults, the man, who loves his children, said he paid child support for 40 years.

    In his own words: ”I paid child support for 40 years and I am free now. I stopped paying it three years ago. I worked all my life paying child support.

    What would have happened if he didn’t pay? the reporter asked. To this, he said he could end up in jail, according to the Law of the United States of America. ”I didn’t want to be jailed, so I had to work for 40 hours every week for 40 years.”

    Explaining what led him into having many baby mamas, he said his first marriage was bad.

    He said: “I was young then and was there messing around with a lot of girls, and it happened!” Asked why he took another wife, he responded: ”The same thing. I failed being a youth. It was bad.”

    Pressed further on how he got the fourth, the fifth and the rest, he also attributed it to ”my bad marriage”.

    First baby mama

    Asked about his first baby mama, Hogans said: ”My first Baby Mama was my first wife. We grew up together as kids in high school, but she died later.”

    Hogans said he had both white and black baby mamas who had children for him.

    He said: “I had a white Baby Mama who had 11 kids for me while the rest black baby mamas had one, two or three kids, and altogether, they are 21 kids.”

    No regrets

    Asked whether he regretted having a lot of children and baby mamas, he nodded his head in the negative. ”No, no, I love my children. That is my hobby,” he said. He however said he does not need any more kids or baby mamas as he has put a full stop to it.

    Hogans could not keep his baby mamas for long. Asked about all his baby mamas now, he said in low tone: “Four are dead and eight are still living, as they went their ways to remarry.”

    Asked what he would say if he were to counsel the youths of today, he said with a smile: “Stay in school. Have education. Don’t make all these babies, because you will never have money!”

    Could he have followed in his father’s footsteps? The 64-year-old man dropped his head and threw a bombshell: “I don’t know my dad. He died when I was barely six years old. So I didn’t know him. My mother trained me. “

    Hogans said her mother had six children with him as the eldest.

    “My mother had six of us: three boys and three girls, and I am the oldest,” he said. He however added that his children do not give him money because he too works to sustain himself.

    “No, they don’t give me money for I can take care of myself,” he told the reporter.

    Asked whether his children do ask him why he had many women and large number of children and grandchildren, he responded: ”Yes, they do. But then I was young. I messed around with a lot of women. I see all my children and grandkids when I want to.”

    Hogans, however, said he does not want babies again. ”No, no, I don’t want babies again,” he said, raising his hands up in total surrender.

    Asked about his dressing, the 64year-old looked at himself and smiled. He fiddled with his grey beard and said: ”I always dress good. I don’t know why.  I have about 200 caps, a lot of designer sneakers and shoes. I have a lot of necklaces and hand chains. I love to wear good clothes , bling bling and shoes. Yes, I love to dress good.”

  • My battles with randy lecturers opposed to CCTV cameras on campus – UNIZIK VC Esimone

    My battles with randy lecturers opposed to CCTV cameras on campus – UNIZIK VC Esimone

    • Says two already dismissed for sexual harassment
    • Alleges host community frustrating development efforts

    Prof. Charles Esimone assumed office as the Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State in 2019. He has since taken the institution from 36th position to 4th while he insists of taking it to the number one position not only in Nigeria but Africa. In this interview with The Nation duo of Southeast Bureau Chief NWANOSIKE ONU and EMMA ELEKWA, the VC, whose tenure is billed end in less than a year from now, lists the challenges, pains and gains of his tenure.

    On assuming office in 2019, you vowed to make UNIZIK one of the best universities in Nigeria. The institution, which ranked 36th then, has since moved up to fourth. How did you manage to attain the feat?

    It has not been easy because nationally and globally, we have been having a lot of challenges. And you know when the challenges come, they either hinder you from meeting expected targets or bring out the innovation in you, because your ability to surmount challenges is what makes you a vibrant, dynamic and successful leader.

    As you rightly said, we came with a vision of what we tagged “Project 200” to make Nnamdi Azikiwe University one of the best 200 universities in the world and among the 10 best in Africa and number 1 in Nigeria. That vision is predicated upon five pillars which we summarized in the acronym for ACADA, A standing for Academic excellence, C for Community development, another A for Administrative reforms, D for Discipline and the last A for Advancement for whatever infrastructure that had been laid by my predecessors. As such, we are not expected to abandon any project or destroy any but to build on the foundation.

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    What were some of the challenges you encountered on assuming office?

    We assumed office on June 4, 2019, and six months after, we were faced with COVID-19; a global pandemic that shut down virtually everything everywhere. That was a very major challenge because we couldn’t move or execute programmes and projects and, of course, that also came with attendant paucity of funds. No activity either from the federal government grants or local innovations we were trying to put in place.

    After Covid-19, we witnessed the strike, followed by a little space of activity before another strike occurred. One of the strikes was general, including academic and non academic staff. Even after resumption, the recent removal of fuel subsidy and its attendant troubles, we are now grappling with all of these as the center cannot hold.

    Put together, we can identify two major challenges. One is funding. It drastically reduced, especially the sources. Insecurity followed, hindering activities seriously. Some of the major foreign partners we have, who made commitments in writing and words to assist us, are afraid to come. They can’t deploy their personnel and resources. Recently we had a very vibrant team from the US who managed to come for an international conference. But before now, they didn’t want to come. Even those from Germany we are discussing a project on energy with are afraid to come. They came and did some visibility studies early last year, but when insecurity increased, they disappeared. These are people that saw our vision and showed interest, but they all ran away.

    Then, of course, is the challenge of economic meltdown, which also affected the students, who are major stakeholders. Some of them found it difficult to pay their fees and other levies, and you will blame neither them nor their parents. One of the things we have noticed is that when you have insecurity coupled with paucity of funds, you will never have a stable system, because even those who want to work with time frame to accomplish their activities will be frustrated.

    Talking about paucity of funds, I recall your predecessors complained about non-receipt of N500 million take off grant. What is the situation with that?

    We still have not received that. We’ve made a lot of efforts, but it is yet to come. So I have decided not to focus on that but to go through other means to source for funds. I must say that we have enjoyed certain level of federal government funding, but this is purely through personal relationships and manoeuvring here and there, including the National Assembly.

    We have also had lots of special interventions from TetFUND. My relationship with members of the National Assembly has made them bring their personal projects. Directly or indirectly, I’ve compelled them, through goodwill, to invest in the university. At some point, it was as if they were competing on who would do the biggest project here.

    I got a sitting House of Representatives member from Enugu to site his water regulation project in this place. But for the take off grant, we have not gotten any at the moment.

    Apart from federal government and politicians, what are your other sources of funding for the institution?

    Strictly by personal endowment; trying to reach out to well-meaning individuals to invest here. As we speak, we have reached out to Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, the BUA group man. He is currently embarking on a N1 billion students’ centre. I was able to attract Alhaji Aliko Dangote who promised us two hostels. Unfortunately, he has not commenced. The last time I reached him, he gave assurances. There were some initial hicups. I like the man; a very simple person. He opened up to me that he did not want to build an elitist hostel. He wants a hostel that an average student can afford to pay for. He said those who live in elitist hostels don’t need his intervention, because they can pay for them. We were thinking he was coming to build self-contained, air-conditioned hotels. But he said no, he wanted the type of hostel he lived in as a student.

    That mix-up prevented the project from kicking off for more than nine months, because we finished our designs and sent to him but didn’t hear from him until I met him face to face and he explained to me exactly what he wanted, and we decided to rework the plan with certain adjustments and sent back to him. Once he approves, work will commence.

    Then, through Senator Ben Ndi Obi, we are building a Zik’s centre for research also. It is dedicated to the memories of Nnamdi Azikiwe himself. He got support from the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) which is funding it. Again, there is Chief Emeka Anyaoku’s Centre. Senator Linda Ikpeazu is also doing a maritime centre situated in Onitsha. Funding for that has been released, but there is a challenge which I must confess publicly. You attract a project and the common man is thinking government is paying us money for that. For the past one year, Senator Ikpeazu’s maritime project is yet to commence because the benefactor wanted it to be in Onitsha, close to the waterways.  We’ve got sites, done procurements and mobilised contractors to site, but Onitsha indigenes are frustrating the work, sueing government and us for their land. The Obi of Onitsha has done all he could, including mediatory moves, pleading with his people to see the need for the project, which their children will benefit from, yet they refused. As a result, we have changed the location three consecutive times and we are re currently in a dilemma.

    Meanwhile, the cost of building materials keep skyrocketing, and the contractor is talking about variations. If we had envisaged this challenge, we would have pleaded it be situated in the university where we have land. This is a project that would have benefited not just the people of Onitsha or Anambra but the entire Southeast.

    On her part, Senator Uche Ekwunife is building a skilll acquisition centre which is almost completed. Also remember, during the COVID-19 pandemic, through Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, we were able to get a wonderful and standard hospital, courtesy of Anambra Progressive Union. There is also another endowment by one young man from Adazi-ani (Chiko). He is doing a 500 seater auditorium for the Faculty of Social Sciences. I think they are almost at lintel level. Yet, there’s another young man from Enugu Ukwu (Onwa). He is doing an ICT for the Environmental Sciences faculty. That one is also at lintel level. All these are personal endowments.

    At Nnewi, we had problem of accreditation because they didn’t have staff offices. So I got a young man, an alumnus of the school. He is doing office complex and classrooms for the Faculty of Medicine, which is also at lintel level. We really appreciate the man because he came at a time when the accreditation team insisted on such facilities before they would give approval. The man gave us December deadline assurances.

    There are others who have started, including Igwe of Obosi who is doing a centre for Psychology.

    We also have lots of endowments from TetFUND, including completed Faculty of Social Sciences building and Faculty of Education, Department of Vocational Education and Faculty of Pharmacy with two structures, all completed. We also used TetFUND special interventions to do the first molecular diagnostics laboratory, where we can analyse COVID-19 related issues. I don’t think we have such in the entire Southeast; well furnished and equipped.

    We repeated another one in Agulu through PPP. We got a private investor who also did a state of the art. That one is yet to be commissioned, but it is already in use. We also have wonderful TetFUND lab, a urological centre at Neni, which is part of the campus but under-utilised. We have not started using it. Hopefully, before October ending, the place will be fully in use.

    We also have a TetFUND center of excellence here for biomedical, engineering and agricultural translational research. Interest ingly, I was the one that wrote that £1.5b grant. Investors can take advantage of it. It is purely for training for Masters and PhD students. I sited it in Science Village deliberately to open up that area. We are also transforming part of the old medical centre to diagnostic centre. So altogether, we have three medical centres in the university with several consultants – pediatricians, gynecologists. So it can serve as a pseudo teaching hospital.

    What about other forms of infrastructure, like roads?

    In terms of roads, we also got some endowments. I even received a call from FERMA within the week, informing me that they have awarded another project, internal roads in Ifite Ogwari, which was previously in IGR budget which we don’t have. Before now, I got their approval to do the science village roads, which initially was impassable. There were no funds from the university on that. I only met the leadership. The one I’m focusing now is Nnewi-Okofia Road, which is in a bad state.

    Meanwhile, many don’t know we have a primary school in Nnewi, Okofia Campus, bigger than the one here in Awka, which was also built through FGN capital intervention. That was in 2020. As we are touching the university, we are also touching the auxiliary primary school. We are also working on our Zoological gardens. The project is a marvelous one. The location was completely forest but we decided to convert it to a Zoo. Even though it is a work in progress, students are already going there for sight-seeing. The bigger animals we are trying to put in fortified enclosures, like lions and tigers, are ready, but I asked them not to bring them now. We’ll be bringing them little by little so they can grow gradually.

    Students are also learning how to take care of the animals. We also have natural fish ponds. We already have monkeys while bamboos and chimpanzees will be brought in soon. We intend to make it conservation and tourist sites where actors and actresses can visit and get the history of various animals. While passing through the expressway, you will notice we have created a golf course. For the past two months now, I’ve been playing golf there. No support from the university. One of the secrets to all these is that we’re strengthening our business venture getting investors to drive it.

    In a nutshell, in terms of infrastructure and human capital, we have worked a lot. We embarked on aggressive training. Even as a faculty Dean, I noticed that the greatest deficiency of most staff is inability to write grants. People were shy and afraid. So I started building them on grantsmanship gradually. As we speak, many are now writing grants because they see how easy it is to get even external grants. That is how a university should be. In the western world, lecturers are graded by how much money they are bringing from grants, not by what you are being paid.

    The one I earlier said I wrote was meant for older university, but because of how short and articulate mine was, they dropped the one from UNN, sorry to say, but picked UNIZIK. I also got a grant during the COVID-19 outbreak. This is one of the soft skills we have been able to build in our staff, be it technologists or academic or administrative staff and even students. They go for training in batches. This I have also built in through the National Assembly. I believe in human capital development, because if human beings are not trained, whatever we’re doing will die.

    We also did a wonderful innovation in Agriculture. Environment is a major aspect of any society. I partnered with National Conservation Forum (NCF) and we started embarking on aforestation. We’re doing conscious tree planting and we’re focusing on cash crops, funded by NCF, planting about 60,000 trees – melina, cashew nuts, among others. We are repeating same in Ifite Ogwari. We are also planning a mega farm in Ifite Ogwari (outside the one we currently have here) in partnership with some investors. We are about signing an MoU. We put all these in our master plan.

    By the way, my administration masterminded the review of our masterplan. Before now, the university didn’t have an up to date masterplan. As a result, buildings were coming up indiscriminately and it was making us a laughing stock. We have also reviewed our strategic plan so we can now know where structures will be, what programmes we have in next few years, among others.

    We also have plans to establish a microfinance bank. The site has been located, it remains funding. I am already discussing with those to fund it. The cooperative society will be part of the major stakeholders. I believe that in the next six months, we will have one.

    Talking about A-C-A-D-A, how far have you gone with the aspect of discipline?

    We’ve recorded a lot of progress in terms of discipline, which is a major part of my administration. There are two things involved in discipline. First is fairness, because if you are biased, it will be difficult to instill discipline. We have a great challenge here; many still operate in the old system where people are afraid of being accused of reporting evil. But if you don’t, it will be difficult to discipline the culprit. I tell them I don’t rely on gossip or do forensic investigation. If you see something, put it down and send to me. That is evidence. Once I see it, I take action because it is verifiable. Before now, examination misconduct took two years to tackle. But now, within a few weeks, we would have taken a decision. Besides, Senate is every month and no longer once a year as was obtainable in the past. Such cases are handled during Senate meetings. I know we still have a long way to go in terms of discipline.

    Again, there are lots of people with phobia for ICT; those who don’t like changes. In everything we are doing, we’ve decided to make ICT the driving hub. For instance, our appraisals are now digital. For the first time, external appraisal that cost us lots of money and time is now digital. All our staff documents are uploaded electronically. The same applies to orientation. Before now, orientation for first year students was done manually. We gathered the students under the sun where they would be addressed by the VC and other authorities. Meanwhile, three quarters of them are busy leaking ice cream or chatting, without hearing what was being said. As such, the purpose of the orientation was defeated. Now, once you’ve gone through the clearance, you get the link and log in online and go through the entire process, which is followed by questions to test whether you understood the lectures. If you fail, it will take you back to the module until you pass and you will be congratulated for another level of module.

    All students are mandated to undergo the process, whether they like it or not. It is just seamless; all at their comfort and convenience. Within two or three weeks, you’re done, and you’ll receive a message, “Welcome to Nnamdi Azikiwe University” and you’ll be issued a registration number. This was introduced this year. Virtually everything we are doing here, e-learning management system for large classes for regular students, sandwich and Continuous Education Programme, is digital. But we’re introducing them gradually and slowly. The results are there and many are calling me to appreciate us for the innovation.

    There is also an app dedicated for students to appraise their lecturers. It is a short questionnaire filled anonymously. For now, we don’t intend to use it to punish the lecturers. But eventually, it will be used for their assessment. We had earlier installed CCTV cameras in the entire university in terms of security. But we had the challenge of sabotage. Some were removed. But we are trying to reactivate them.

    The good news is that we got an endowment from an alumnus of this institution, Onyedika, who is graciously donating 1,060 cameras to us. He has already installed about 50 of them in strategic areas, including lecture halls which will assist us detect exam malpractices. Lecturers are not using them, but we are talking with ICT officers to ensure they are all activated so we can have evidence.  Again, we intend to install the cameras in staff offices, but we are meeting oppositions. Some don’t want it, but I’m going to insist because of the several cases of sexual harassments here and there. The only way you can prove your innocence is to allow the camera in your office. This is one of the last things I’ll like to do. If they want to crucify me, so be it. But I will insist, because nobody has privacy in a public office. They can mount 20 in my office, I wouldn’t mind.

    Have you been able to dismiss any member of staff over sexual harassments?

    Yes, two of them: one from the Faculty of Law and the other from Pharmacy faculty. We don’t have many of them because of lack of evidence, because the students are afraid of reporting such cases. I have called the students’ union government executive and told them not to be afraid of intimidation when the lives and dignity of their members are in danger. That is why the cameras are needed. If only people will come up with verifiable evidence, those caught will be shown the exit door immediately.

  • How we dealt with bandits in Nasarawa – Retired AIG Longe

    How we dealt with bandits in Nasarawa – Retired AIG Longe

    Bola Longe is a retired Assistant Inspector of Police and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State. The member of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the APC in the last general elections has five degrees in various disciplines including Political Science and Law. He spoke with GBENGA ADERANTI on national security, his relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the 2023 elections, among other issues.

    What was your experience as a member of the PCC of the APC in the last general elections?

    Immediately I left the Nigeria Police on the 27th of August 2021, I travelled to Osun State to register as a member of the APC in my ward: Ilesha West Ward 1. The paper was perfected and taken to Oshogbo, the capital of Osun State. So I am a member of the APC.

    Before the election, I campaigned for the APC all over the country, particularly in Osun, Oyo and, to some extent, Nasarawa State where I served as a Commissioner of Police. Nasarawa is more or less like my second state of origin. I built a church there, and they see me as part of them.

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    Immediately I left the police, I was operating partially from Lafia, then Ibadan and to some extent Ilesha and Abuja, the federal capital. I went around and did underground work, mobilising people, both great and small, telling them about my belief in Asiwaju (Tinubu). I told them that Asiwaju had the capacity, aura, leverage, acumen and political sagacity, the political life and the capacity to turn around the economy of this country, and because of that, I worked for him.

    Before the election, I was nominated as a member of the Presidential Campaign Council. I was a member of the Committee for Security and Intelligence Directorate. I was a member of the Independent Campaign Council as well. I was a member of the Intelligence and Security Department of the ICC. I used the instrumentality of the two directorates to campaign for Asiwaju. We were everywhere.

    Even when the presidential campaign was launched in Jos, which was opening the campaign office in Jos, I was the one who offered Christian prayer as a pastor. Apart from that, as a pastor, I mobilised Christians to support Asiwaju. I prayed and told God to show me who would be the President in July 2022, and I saw Asiwaju. And not only that day alone, I saw him on several occasions and I recorded everything for future reference.

    I was among those who worked for Asiwaju before and during the election. I carried out an extensive campaign for him. I give glory to God, He gave us success at the poll and we are rejoicing for that now. And by the grace of God, we will continue to rejoice with Asiwaju and believe in him that he will give us the needed impetus to move this country to greater heights.

    By the grace of God, Nigeria will be the giant of Africa in every ramification; a giant with strong muscles; a giant that can lead Africa when it comes to matters of international affairs. Nigeria will lead Africa to the comity of nations.

    When you were the Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa State, you confronted crime and criminality to the extent that incidents of crime reduced noticeably. Now that banditry has returned to the Middle-Belt, what do you think the government should be doing?

    One thing I want people to know is that this country is extensively big and we have big forests in different parts of the country. If you go to Niger State, Nasarawa, Kogi, parts of Benue, parts of Kaduna, parts of Plateau and parts of Taraba, these are northern states. There are thick forests in these areas. What we were told in Geography is that we have guinea savannah in all these parts of the country, but we have thick forests. From what I saw when I was the Commissioner of Police, the total area of Nasarawa State, Nasarawa Local Government particularly, Mararaba, Odede area, there are thick forests there. All these areas must be subjected to total monitoring. They must be subjected to surveillance. There must be a strategic partnership among

    the security agencies: the police, the military and Department of State Security Service, and to some extent, the National Security and Civil Defence Corps. By the time all of them work together, we will be able to tackle the problem of insecurity in this country. Intelligence is a must. Without intelligence, there is nothing any government can do. The police, the military and the DSS must work together. The DSS must provide intelligence for the police and the military to work. But if they are fighting or quarrelling among themselves, the impact will be negative on the security architecture of the country.

    When I was the CP of Nasarawa State, I mobilised all the security agencies. We worked together as one body. I told them that there were no super-ordinate or subordinate relationships. We were not talking about individual interests; we were talking about the corporate interests of the Nigerian state, and all of us must work together. We were established for the advancement of the Nigerian people, so there was no need for somebody to say he was fighting individualistic interests.

    So we worked together. We mobilised members of the public. I travelled all over the state. In every nook and cranny of the state, I mobilised people, telling them that without them there was nothing security agencies could do. And because of that, they were phoning me from the remotest parts of the state. I gave them my phone number. I gave them the number of DC Operations. I gave the numbers of area commanders, and the numbers of DPOs in their areas, and we were getting information. Before anything could be done, we would know and we would nip it in the bud.

    When I was the Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa State, we dealt with the bandits. The military and the police formed a strategic partnership. We worked together and we disengaged them, particularly those of them who were trying to set up another area of influence in the Toto area of the state and part of Kogi and Benue. We dealt with them decisively. We dislodged them, we neutralised their capacity and we had a leeway over them. Because of that, we drastically reduced the influence of kidnappers and armed robbers in Nasarawa State.

    It got to a stage where people were moving freely because we formulated security policies and constructed security templates.

    Before, places like Maraba Udede Bridge, people were not passing through the place. Then from Keffi, Nasarawa-Toto was impassable. But when I became the Commissioner of Police, I said this was my route when I was a Deputy Commissioner at staff college. The road, Abaji-Toto, had been deserted. The area had been completely messed up. Immediately I came, I set up special security templates in eight places on that road, the police operational point. And because of that, the kidnappers could not come there anymore. The members of the public in that area supported us.

    There was a day we arrested 65 kidnappers in the Toto Local Government Council. There was a time when we arrested more than 50 kidnappers in Maraba, Igede area, and because of that, they were forced to relocate to other states.

    Criminals don’t want to die; they want to commit crimes, make money and enjoy their lives. If they face strong opposition from security agencies, they will relocate.

    My advice to the President is that through the National Security Adviser’s office, he must make sure that all the security agencies work together. Anybody that is not ready to cooperate should be shown the way out.

    Also, security is money. Money must be spent on security. When you neglect security, it will affect the economy of the whole country. People who are not corrupt should be put in charge of security; not people who will be looking for money to expand their financial fortune.

    The military and the police must perform their constitutional and statutory duties; not that they will be doing what they like. I told them when I assumed office as CP Nasarawa that I didn’t come to Nasarawa to make money, and that they should not give me money; they should give me intelligence. They gave me intelligence and I made use of the intelligence. So the intelligence arm of the security agency must be empowered. They must pass intelligence to end users. Intelligence must not be hoarded. Intelligence must not stay on anybody’s table. If intelligence is delayed, it will not be effective anymore.

    I believe in Asiwaju. I believe in his government. Asiwaju will turn around our security fortune in this country such that members of the public will be able to move freely. But with the way things are right now, the security of the country is in a coma.

    The question many would want to ask you is that as a member of the PCC, Directorate of Intelligence and Security, member of the Independent Campaign Council, one would expect you to assist the government in fighting insecurity…

    I’m ready to put myself forward for whatever assignment is given to me. I am a police technocrat; a security technocrat. Any assignment committed to my hand will be maximally, productively and perfectly performed by me. I have never been a failure. Even when I was a students’ union president, I performed to the extent that the then Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Ayo Banjo, said they never had it so good the way they had it when I was the students’ union president at the University of Ibadan. Any assignment given to me, I always do with all my strength, with my soul, with prayer, with total commitment. So, any assignment given to me in this country, people will feel the impact.

    As DC Operation in Ogun State, I worked with my commissioner and we succeeded. As a Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa State, I worked with my subordinates and other security agencies; we succeeded. Even as an Assistant Commissioner of Police, we worked to bring peace to the Plateau. I was the officer in charge of the criminal bureau in Oyo State. We implemented a lot of things and peace was brought to Oyo State.

    One of our problems in this country is the rootedness of the criminal industry, particularly the level of corruption in the country. We need to fight corruption. If we fight corruption, security will improve, health care will improve, governance will improve, the education sector will improve and our roads will improve. But the level of corruption in this country is high. People say they will fight corruption to a standstill. It is an abnormal situation to be talking about fighting corruption to a standstill. We should fight corruption and defeat it.

    If I am saddled with a position to handle any arm of government that is fighting corruption, they will see success. They will see improvement. They will see the defeat of corruption. The country will move forward. I have the leeway. I have the audacity. I have the boldness. I have the training. I have the acumen. I have the leverage to fight corruption. I have never been a party to corruption. My hands are clean.

  • Real reason I was remanded in prison for one year -Senator Nwaoboshi

    Real reason I was remanded in prison for one year -Senator Nwaoboshi

    • Says his arrest, detention was contrived by political opponents
    • ‘Supreme Court has vindicated me’

    Until he was set free by the Supreme Court on July 1, Delta APC stalwart, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, was a guest of the correctional centre for more than one year following a court order resulting from his arrest and arraignment over a billion-naira loan deal he insists he had nothing to do with. In this interview with OKUNGBOWA AIWERIE, the former Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District opens up on the alleged brains behind his ordeal and his plans to bounce back into political reckoning.

    Could you recall the issues that led to your incarceration for more than one year?

    The essence of the whole issue was to make sure that I did not participate in the last general elections and also to dent my political image. Otherwise, like the Supreme Court said, a company took a loan, I’m not a signatory to the account, and then it now looks as if I once worked in that company and that I’m guilty of diversion of loan. There’s no law as diversion of loan in any of our legal books. There’s nothing called diversion of loan. And that is what the Supreme Court said. There’s no such law.

    But more importantly, they took me to the Federal High Court. All efforts to compromise the judge at the Federal High Court failed. They did everything but the man refused; that he would not be compromised and that justice must be done in the matter. Even the judge who was used in trying to compromise the judge who declared me innocent at the Federal High Court, at the right time, I will call his name, because we must sanitise our judiciary. If you go to the prison, you would see innocent Nigerians that are suffering. Some people have been there for 10 years awaiting trial. Some people are just there because they don’t have money. They can’t even hire lawyers. And some judges and other people would just take joy in dealing with innocent people, especially the poor. However, I got justice based on the integrity of the judge who handled the case at the Federal High Court and I was declared innocent.

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    But the matter went up to the Supreme Court?

    Yes, they proceeded to the Court of Appeal still with the Paris Club money that was at hand at that time. They went and compromised some of the justices. I am a lawyer with about 33 years’ experience. I practice Law, I hold a masters degree in Law so I should be able to know my bounds. I didn’t sign a cheque, I didn’t sign an agreement, I’m not a director, I’m not a shareholder of the company you said that I’m the alter ego. The managing director of the company is alive, the directors of the company are alive, none of them was invited, none of them was questioned.

    The EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) did not even visit the factory to obtain evidence. The NEXIM Bank witness that they called, it is there in the records, said that ‘we gave this company’; he didn’t say they gave me. He said we gave the company a loan of N1.2 billion and that they followed all the procedures and the loan was legally granted to the company. That is their own witness; not my witness. The witness testified that the company had paid the capital of N1.2 billion that they borrowed and that as he was giving evidence, the company had paid N700 million as interest, and that the company had four months left for the tenure of the loan, which is five years, and what was left to pay was N24 million. And they went further to ask, ‘do you think they will pay?’ and they said they could pay, they are our good customers, we did not bring any case against them. This was the evidence of NEXIM Bank.

    You mean it was a legally acquired loan?

    The loan was legally obtained. Money laundering is money acquired from an illegal source and then you try to launder it like somebody whose shirt or dress is dirty and he goes to the laundry to wash it. It is not money obtained from a legal source. And there is no way a judge would say he does not understand the phrase ‘money laundering’. A company in which I am not a shareholder, you said that I am the alter ego of the company, just because one of the Justices was promised appointment to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He decided to sacrifice me and to convince the other people around the judgment.

    You sound as if you are deeply

  • It’s rare privilege to clock 70 after escaping public execution 43 years ago – Bishop Kayode Williams

    It’s rare privilege to clock 70 after escaping public execution 43 years ago – Bishop Kayode Williams

    Bishop Kayode Williams of the late IsholaOyenusi robbery fame, who clocks the biblical three scores and 10 years tomorrow, has every reason to be thankful. Forty-three years after he left prison and got presidential pardon, he has remained unwavering in his commitment to prison reforms, which he considers a bounden duty of some sorts, and he has no qualms telling anyone who cares to listen that he won’t stop to talk about the parlous state of affairs at the nation’s correctional centres until he breathes his last. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf and Funke Cole, the Abeokuta-born clergyman reminisces about life in prison, shares interesting insights on his pet project especially the Prison Rehabilitation Mission International Inc (PREMI), and offers useful suggestions on how to turn the conditions in the prisons around.

    Seventy years is a milestone in the life of anybody. How do you feel at 70?                                                  

    I feel excited because I can’t believe that I am alive today. I was almost tied to the stake and executed for a crime that I committed. But divinely, God intervened, refined and rebuilt my life. Because of God’s mercy, I gave my life to Christ and promised to dedicate the rest of my life to the service of humanity.

    Not only that, my nation Nigeria gave me a Presidential Pardon thereby removing the stigma of imprisonment from my life. All these favours have lifted my energy and verve to give back to this society that recognised that I deserved a second chance and that I can do better in life. So, I don’t want to sit back and lament that I wasted 10 years of my life in the prison. After spending 10 years in prison, I have spent another 43 years outside it today, and I am spending my time in goodness and happiness, transforming lives, engaging people in government to let us work together for the betterment of the country. I mean life can’t be more meaningful than this.

    Before my flight takes off, I want to use the rest of my life serving God and humanity in excitement. That’s all I want to do. I’m not aggressive or desperate about anything in life because I know everything in life is under God’s control and not man.

     At 70, do you have any regret whatsoever? If you had not gone to prison do you think your life would have been any better?

    I don’t have any regret. I think going to prison though is bad in itself, but I think by destiny God had a plan for my going to prison, because it really changed my focus about life. Honestly, going to prison changed my orientation completely. The prison is not anything like life outside at all. It is when you taste the good, the bad and the ugly and God brings you out triumphantly that you can now sit down and rewind the story of your life before you begin to take decision. So, I think it’s an experience that I will continue to remember for the rest of my life.

    I believe that God used my prison experience to turn my life around. So many members of my group were executed. Today, I’m preaching to people, dining and wining with kings.

    I am a bridge builder between the powerful and the weak. So, I have no regret whatsoever.

    You mentioned your group. After you left the prison, did you stumbled on any of them at any point in time?

    On my birthday event, one of the ‘egbons’ in crime, Awonoga (laughs). Matthew Afefe is coming there too. I wasn’t actually part of the Oyenusi gang per se; I was just a boy in their midst. Afefe was held for the Kano robbery in the early 70s. In fact, Afefe was one of the first sets of armed robbers that robbed those bureau de change mallams and the moneybags of Kano in those days. He was my most ‘senior’ brother in crime then, but I’m his pastor now. (laughs).

    How old is he now. Has he changed too?

    (Laughs) He will tell you himself. Of course, he is no more into crime at all, he has settled down and he is a changed man now. But Afefe’s case is very peculiar. He was sentenced to life imprisonment twice. That means he was going to serve in prison forever and ever even in afterlife (laughs).

    When I went to prison, I met him there as a father. When I was going out of prison, he was still there. When he heard what I was doing outside, he sent for me. When I came, he asked me, “Kayode se looto ni? Oo mugbo mo?  Oo se aburu mo? (Kayode is it true that you no longer smoke Indian hemp or do other crazy stuffs anymore?). He was shocked.

    But after some years, as luck would have it, he came out of prison and he visited my church to listen to the gospel. After the service, he came to me and said he didn’t know what to do with himself because he had nowhere else to go. Unfortunately, at the time he met me too, I was struggling and still trying to get on my feet.

    Of course, he was not the only one who needed help; there were many like him all waiting on me but I couldn’t really do much at the time. I remember I took Afefe to a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly then and asked the lawmaker to help rehabilitate him but nothing much came out of it. Afefe found things pretty tough. But one day when he couldn’t bear it any more, off he went to one supermarket to go and do shoplifting in spite of the fact that he had already spent a double life sentence in prison.

    When he got in, he took one of these big champagnes valued at the cost of N70-80k plus and he wasn’t caught. He later came to confess to me that hardship was forcing him into crime again. I was concerned, but again, I couldn’t really do much for him myself, so he left. He returned to the same supermarket some weeks later and took another exotic drink. But as he made to escape this time he was caught because the CCTV flagged him down. So when he saw the shop owner, a lady, Afefe said he already served double life imprisonment sentence; that they should take him away as a criminal who had just returned from prison.

    The lady took pity on him and said she was going to send him to me, not knowing that I even knew Afefe in the first place. I was called by the lady and when I spoke with her about his condition, the lady said she can’t offer him any employment because that’s what Afefe wanted. But she later agreed to be giving him some stipends every month.

    However, when he later returned to Ibadan at a Catholic where he was worshipping, I personally had to visit Ibadan where I met with the presiding priest on behalf of Afefe and pleaded his case with the church and they supported. Today, he is living well and has a family of his own.   

    Who else can you remember?

    Majority of them have been wasted by the bullet. There may be one or two or three of them though. I remember Augustine the Green Jew, Willy Ayanpian, Anyamofu, Wahum robbers, and many others like that who were all wasted by bullets. No criminal ever dies well, and that is my warning to everybody. That is what the government doesn’t seem to understand about bringing people like us to speak to these criminal elements. There is no history of any criminal anywhere that refused to repent and amend his evil ways whoever died well. Omo Pupa, Matthew Joe in Mushin-Idioro, Awon Baba Osewon, including the native doctor that prepares charms for these notorious armed robbers all died uselessly.

    So, I give God all the glory that I’m alive today. I’m telling the whole world that God can use people like me to talk to these criminals. If I stand before any of these criminal gangs and talk anywhere today, they will bow because there is respect in the crime kingdom. So many criminals were not killed by the police; majority of them were maimed and killed by members who vented their anger towards them as a result of insubordination on their part. It’s a case of dog eat dog or robber kill robber.

    You set up the Prison Rehabilitation Mission International Inc., PREMI. What informed that?

    It’s a long story. I came out of the prison yard on June 4, 1980. That’s 43 years ago. While I was in the prison, I discovered that majority of the problems that made people to return to the prison was because nobody wants to welcome them back to the society. Nobody wants to give them another opportunity to get their livelihood.And you know the greatest problem of man is shelter. If somebody comes out of prison and he has no home to go to, no family to go to, definitely he will go back to the same set of people that he knows their language, and that means he will be going to the Indian hemp joints, ghettos, and other hideouts where he can meet his likes. This is because our system in Nigeria is only used to opening the prison gates wide; there is no system of rehabilitation.

    Back to your question, in my own case, the first day I got out of prison, I was in a state of confusion as to where to go. I had a family quite alright but they were not ready to accept me back into their fold. Of course, I had to go to the family house because there was nowhere else I could go at that point in time. I didn’t want to go back to my old friends that we were together before I went to prison in Ibadan. So, naturally, the next port of call for me was to my family house, and they were highly hostile towards me.

    I couldn’t go to my mother either, who my delinquency had made her a social outcast and subject of ridicule everywhere to the extent that she had to leave our home and was squatting with some relations out here after selling her shop and all her personal belongings. But I located her alright, and when I met her she was already half-blind. In fact, she had given me up for dead so you could see the excitement in her when she saw me in flesh and blood again. But I couldn’t stay where she was at the time because as I said, she was staying there on mercy capacity too. So, off we went to the family house, precisely to the house built by her own mother, who happened to be my own grandmother, and I was her only grandchild too. So, naturally, my mom had the rightful claim to the house.

    But the children of my mother’s cousins already took over the house. Unfortunately, on getting to the family house, I was arrested the same week I came out of prison by one of the children of my mom’s siblings.

    Why were you arrested?

    I was arrested for absolutely nothing whatsoever. When I came into the house, I just went to the living room having established that every other room was being occupied safe for one bedroom which I left for my mom. So, I decided to settle down in the living room. But rather than accommodate me or even pity my poor mother, they felt threatened by my presence because of the mindset around here that an ex-convict is a danger to the society.The charge that was later read to me, which was instigated by one police officer (name withheld) married to a member of the mom’s family was that I committed conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace. They did not explain to the judge that I’m a member of the family.

    The day they took me to court I was sentenced to one month imprisonment without an option of fine. It was Barrister Rotimi Akeredolu (the current Ondo State governor) that stood for me as my lawyer. He was able to plead with the trial judge that this man is just coming out of prison yard and he needs a shelter, and this is his family house in the first place.

    When I was in the prison, Rotimi Akeredolu came to see me. He won the case. That sentence was vacated but already the deed had been done. Even when he (Akeredolu) asked them for compensation they started begging that we should settle it amicably as a family. But my mother later took over possession of the property after going to court. Today, we’re living as one united family.

    I decided to regale you with all these details so you can understand the kind of humiliation ex-convicts suffer. So it was after my arrest and detention that I made up my mind that something must be done. Whatever it would cost me, I was going to make sure that anybody coming out of the prison would get an abode and a shelter, where he can lay his head however temporary.

    The first person I approached to support me then was Akeredolu himself, and he said, “Kayode, egbon mi lo je. Kini tofe fa yi, wahala ni. Ijoba o ni lowo si (the country is not ready for the kind of thing you’re demanding).

    Akeredolu said even the government hadn’t been able to provide shelter for the normal people on the streets so is it prison inmates they would focus on then?You know the issue of prison at that time was a big stigma and every ex-convict was treated like a leper.

    I remember at the time, he said he would introduce me to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as a member. But I never bought into that idea because I was completely involved in missionary activities and all that. So, I was looking for support from churches which they graciously gave me at the time, though not wholesomely as you would expect based on the enormity of the work and responsibility at hand.

    PREMI is 43 years today. Would you say the aims and objectives of the organisation have been fulfilled?

    Yes, I would say to the glory of God Almighty, I have been able to really stamp the issue of PREMI, especially prison reforms, in the hearts of so many Nigerians. Achievement is not only on the visible things you do but it is also in terms of impartation.

    One way you can better appreciate how far we have gone is to come and join me to mark my 70th birthday at Christ Delight Church, Alausa, where you will see things for yourself. About 17 inmates will be coming to give testimonies. I’m not doing the birthday as a celebration per se, but I’m only using it as a reawakening for the rehabilitation, reformation, reintegration and resettlement of the prison system in Nigeria. The first person that would be giving his testimony is Sulaimon Ibilolu, who is now a lawyer. He was sentenced to death and was on death row for some years. But by the grace of God, it was commuted to life imprisonment.

    All the while, he was preparing and taking exams at the Abeokuta prison, and today, after his secondary school education, he took UTME and put in for Law and today he is a practising lawyer. He would be there on that day and will be sharing his testimony live. If Sulaimon, an ex-convict is now a lawyer, you can do the assessment yourself.

    I don’t want to exaggerate the level of success or impact we have made thus far because you can’t really quantify it in concrete terms. There is also Kayode Dada. He was also sentenced to death in the same Ibara Prisons in Abeokuta, Ogun State. We were able to minister to him and luckily he was released and had distinction in all his papers in WAEC, and he opted to study medicine. He secured admission to study in UNILAG but the university said it was against the ethics of the profession to allow an ex-convict to study Medicine. So he was advised to go for physiotherapy and one other related course. He did very well. He also did his Masters and was later employed at Babcock University, where he was a lecturer.

    The very first year of his employment he was ranked the best lecturer. But unfortunately, he is late. In fact, when he died, Babcock University said they would not allow me to bury him; they willingly took responsibility of the entire burial ceremony, saying that he was one of their best lecturers ever. His children and wife are coming to give testimony.

    We struggled to obtain state pardon for him so that the stigma of ex-convict could be removed from his name. Unfortunately, that didn’t materialise before he died.

    Others would be there on that day. I believe if you don’t impact lives and you focus on yourself alone, you will lose followership. That is what we’re emphasising today. This is how I got to know Chief Afe Babalola, Oba AdedapoTejuosho, Hon. Justice Oluseun Shogbola and a few other public-spirited Nigerians out there who have been supporting this cause one way or the other.

    I believe the best way to have a properly reformed prison system or correctional institutions in Nigeria is to call the attention of the wealthy people to give their support by providing opportunities for these inmates to be engaged in their industries so that they can also lead meaningful lives. In the last count if I recollect very well, we have been able to render support to well over 2,500 ex-convicts. But even then, this is just scratching the surface. I believe we can still do a lot more if we are able to open more doors across the states of the federation, the local government areas as well as the federal level as the case may be.

    Some of the things I like to do in the lives of anyone that follows me, especially these ex-convicts, is to make sure he has a shelter, a job and he is settled into a family, because once he is resettled, he won’t go back to crime. And that is where the 4Rs of prisons system, namely rehabilitation, reformation, reintegration and resettlement, come in. And these are very important codes of PREMI.

  • Emerging power blocs in Nigerian politics

    Emerging power blocs in Nigerian politics

    Since all politics are local, as it is often said, it is the men who control party structures at the grassroots and who equally have a network of contacts beyond their domains that call the shots in national politics. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI examines the rising profile of three of such men currently within the political space

    Within the context of Nigerian politics, attention is often focused on the occupant of the presidential seat, while state governors who control party structures in their domain and also have the capacity to build bridges across party lines in the country are usually ignored. But, since all politics are local, it is the men who control the structures at the grassroots that hold the power when it comes to winning elections. This may apply to all governors, but it is in their second terms or late in their first tenures that governors are usually in full control politically.  

    When governors are saddled with additional responsibilities, such as chairmen of a forum of fellow governors, it gives them an opportunity of creating enduring relationships with their peers elsewhere in the country. With the emergence of Kwara State’s Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde as his vice, the duo may have positioned themselves as power brokers within the elite group of governors. Abdulrazaq who was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has just been sworn in for his second term. Makinde, elected on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), has also just taken his oath of office for his second term.

    Similarly, Imo State’s Governor Hope Uzodimma, who also emerged recently as the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), the umbrella body of governors elected on the platform of the APC, is also a rising star within the political arena. By occupying such positions, three governors are positioning themselves as power brokers within their political parties and beyond. Aside from the National Assembly, the NGF is another very important platform that is central to the affairs of the nation. Occupants of such key positions in the NGF, the PGF and the PDP Governors’ Forum play important roles in times of elections both within and outside their parties.

    Since the formation of the NGF during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, the governors have always chosen their chairmen through consensus, rather than through balloting of any sort. However, the tradition was broken once in the twilight of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration when the election of the NGF chairman polarised and politicised the 36 state governors, ahead of the 2015 general election.

    Incidentally, it was the crack within the NGF then, led by former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, which signalled the defeat of Goodluck Jonathan in that election. It was also the division within the group then that eventually led to the formation of the PDP Governors Forum and later the Progressives Governors Forum for the APC.

    Abdulrazaq:

    The manner through which Abdulrazaq and Makinde emerged suggests that they have the backing of very powerful persons within the group. Before the valedictory meeting of the NGF where Abdulrazaq emerged as chairman of the group, plans had almost been concluded for Nasarawa State’s Governor Abdullahi Sule to become the new chairman. But the plot thickened in the 11th hour when the Kwara State governor, backed by some powerful APC governors indicated interest to contest for the coveted office. Sule had been pencilled down as the successor to the then outgoing chairman, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who was then Sokoto State governor because of the Nasarawa governor’s genial disposition and his private sector background. Both Sule and his Kwara counterpart are eminently qualified for the position, which is based on ranking or seniority and from the party that has the highest number of governors in the forum.

    The fact that the Kwara governor eventually got the nod of his colleagues to emerge as the NGF chairman speaks volumes about his acceptance within the elite group. The position had already been zoned to the North Central, to compensate the zone for being marginalized in other areas. But, given the role Governor Abdulrazaq played during the recent general election by not only winning the presidential election in the state for his party with a landslide but also delivering all the National Assembly seats for the ruling party, it is not surprising that he got the backing of the party for the plum job. Before the general election, Abdulrazaq had mobilised 100 per cent delegate support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the primary which was a period of uncertainty for Asiwaju who eventually went on to win not only the primary but also the general election. Kwara State has therefore never been in doubt as to its direction from the beginning.

    Governor Abdulrazaq was propelled to power in 2019 by the “O to ge” revolution, which broke the stranglehold of the Saraki dynasty and the PDP on Kwara politics. “O to ge”, the Yoruba equivalent of “Enough is enough”, was the battle cry for the 2019 election in Kwara. In the past, any party aligned with the Sarakis produced the governor and the winners of most elective positions, both national and local. This has been the case since 1979, when the patriarch of the family, Abubakar Olusola Saraki, a medical doctor, emerged as the godfather of state politics, which covered parts of today’s Kogi and Niger states. Although Saraki the father died in 2012 aged 79, Kwara still always went where Saraki the son went — until 2019. It looked like a mission impossible but by the time the elections were over, Saraki had lost all his political influence and power, including his seat in the Senate.

    Today, Governor Abdulrazaq is the undisputed king of Kwara politics. Like other state governors, he controls the APC structures in the North Central state. But, after the 2019 election victory, the coalition that sent the PDP packing had collapsed, as the governor was pitched against political heavyweights like the immediate past Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. The governor appears to have triumphed in the end, with several party members in the minister’s camp seeking refuge in smaller parties like the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Young Peoples’ Party (YPP) and the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPP) before the recent general elections. Going by the result of that election (both the presidential, as well as the National Assembly), one may say that the Abdulrazaq-led APC has a firm grip on the state. 

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    Born in Zaria, Kaduna State, into the family that produced the first lawyer from the defunct Northern Region, Abdulrazaq joined politics in 1999 following the country’s return to civil rule. Abdulrazaq who speaks Yoruba, English, and Hausa languages fluently first contested for the governorship of Kwara State in 2011 on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Later, he vied to represent Kwara Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly on the platform of the PDP. Though he failed on both attempts, he persisted.

     Makinde:

    Going by the convention of the NGF, the vice chairmanship position is reserved for the party with the second largest number of governors in the group, which is the PDP. Makinde emerged by consensus during the valedictory session of the group held in Abuja about three weeks ago. It was the crisis in the opposition party and the role he played in the last general election that threw Makinde up as a key player in regional and national politics. Ordinarily, Makinde is the most qualified candidate for the position of NGF vice chairman. Aside from the Oyo governor, the other second-term governor from the South is Governor Godwin Obaseki (Edo), but since his tenure will be expiring next year Makinde stands a better chance.

    Sources in the PDP said the party had reluctantly settled for Obaseki to punish the Oyo governor for the role he played in the just concluded election, as a member of the G-5, a splinter group within the opposition party that worked against the presidential bid of the party’s candidate in the recent election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. The G-5 governors had argued that since Atiku is a northerner, as the party’s recently sacked National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, the latter should resign to allow a southerner to assume the position of national chairman. But Dr Ayu, with the support of Alhaji Atiku, refused to comply. Observers, including members of the PDP, believe that was the biggest factor that contributed to the party’s failure at the presidential polls.

    In the height of the crisis in the opposition party late last year, Makinde had been named as the new chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, to replace Tambuwal despite being one of the G-5 Governors. But, the Oyo governor rejected the offer because it was a ploy to weaken the opposition of the G-5 governors to the party’s national leadership. The Oyo governor said he did not consider himself the right person to occupy the position. In his view, former Governor Ikpeazu, in his capacity as the deputy chairman, was the right person to take over the place of Tambuwal. His words: “Even if they give it to me, I will not accept it because there must be order. Ikpeazu is the deputy chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum. If the chairman resigns, the deputy chairman ought to take over the position. This is how to have an order in the process.”

    It was against this background that the PDP leadership foreclosed the idea of the Oyo governor getting that same position he rejected last year or the recent one he got as the vice chairman of the NGF. But, with the backing of APC governors, he was able to clinch the NGF position.

    The second governor, after the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, to get a second term, Makinde’s influence in Oyo politics has grown considerably partly because of his performance in his first tenure. He secured his re-election recently without the backing of the core power brokers in the state. He relied solely on his performance in office and the affinity he had developed with the people. The Makinde administration now aims to attract more industries to Oyo State, Nigeria by improving power supply, delivering more road projects, and improving healthcare, security, solid minerals exploitation, and tourism.

    Before the 2015 governorship election in Oyo State, previous governors in the state had failed to secure a second term. The late Ajimobi was the first to get re-elected for a second term in 2015. Due to factors such as the truncation of democratic rule and the apparent reluctance of the people to renew the mandates of previous governors, nobody at that time had gotten a renewed mandate. Ajimobi broke the jinx with a combination of shrewd politicking and the hurricane Buhari factor, which propelled him to defeat Senator Teslim Folarin of the PDP to return to Agodi Government House for another term. Makinde accomplished the same feat in the just concluded election when he defeated the same Senator Folarin in the race.

    Born December 25, 1967, Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde is an engineer by profession, a businessman and a politician. He had contested the 2015 Oyo State governorship election on the platform of the SDP but lost.

    Uzodimma:

    Governor Uzodimma, who is facing re-election in November, got the nod of all the former governors and the new governors to serve a four-year term as the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum. He replaced the immediate past Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu, who left office on May 29. The newly inaugurated Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani was chosen as the vice-chairman of the forum. From relative obscurity in the last governorship election in Imo State, where he came fourth, Uzodimma emerged winner of the election after a judicial interpretation of what transpired during the election.

    But, the man who is derisively called “the Supreme Court governor” by his political opponents has today emerged as a rising star not only in Imo State politics but in the country as a whole. Based on his antecedents, observers believe the Imo State governor deserves the recognition of his colleagues within the ruling party, which his emergence as the chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum suggests. It is an indication, for instance, that he is in a pole position to secure his re-election in November.

    Uzodimma has picked a female lawyer, Nnedinma Ekomaru, as his running mate for the forthcoming governorship election. A women’s group within the party, led by the Ondo State governor’s wife, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, had urged Uzodimma to pick a woman as his running mate. Mrs. Ekomaru is married to fellow lawyer, Chief Chukwuma Ekomaru, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). She hails from the Umunoha community in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area and has practised law for over 20 years.

    Those who know Governor Imo governor well say he is a team player, a competent man and a firm believer in the ideals of his party, the APC. One such observer who does not want his name in print told our reporter: “Governor Uzodimma has capacity. He has displayed capacity in most of the assignments the party assigned to him under the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “The governor is also a team player, going by the way he has handled the affairs of the party in Imo State; he has carried the stakeholders along and this has contributed in no small way to the stability in the chapter. He is also a strong character and a firm believer in the ideals of the APC. If you recall, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, he was a constant visitor to Aso Rock Villa, the presidential seat of power.”

  • PROLOGUE

    PROLOGUE

    It was a long distance trek but it began with a primary step. They sweated and dueled. But it was a battle of numbers. It was supposed to be one versus one, but ended as three versus one.  Three was superior in numbers but weak in strength. Each thought itself a war chest.  The illusion was self-flattery. One was a movement up north. The other was movement down south. They saw themselves like Walt Whitman who wrote “I am large. I contain multitudes.”

    Up north was the Kwankwasiya movement, grassroots hysteria in Kano.  It thought itself too big for a PDP.  On its part, the PDP of Atiku Abubakar did not want to grovel. So, Rabiu Kwankwanso blossomed. It saw itself as a revival of the old Aminu Kano PRP that held command of Kano and Kaduna

    But Kano was  both ideological and charismatic. What many call talakawa politics. But Kwakwanso played the politics of charisma but not of ideas.

    But it was enough for the talakawa who have thirsted for a generation for that kind of thrill.

    Unlike Aminu Kano, he was only able to corral Kano. Elsewhere, he was an also-ran.

    That one state and close to a million votes lost to PDP.

    Down south was Peter Obi who jumped ship to run on the platform of the Labour Party. A party as harlots, accommodating every one able to pay for the embrace.

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    It was also a big movement of hysteria coupling Christian activism with ethnic jingoism. Bishops lost their episcopal honour as they fought a street fight against what they saw as a crusade against Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC.  They fought on the pulpit and turned the Bible into a secular weapon.

    It was the biggest weapon in the history of the Nigerian Church. Yet what a losing battle it was. It also fought against Buhari in 2015 and 2019. They lost both. The church is beginning to subsume the word under a human agenda.

    As the ethnic flavor conjoined with religious flair, so did their numbers grow.  But for Atiku it was a sterile growth.

    For the Obidients took Atiku’s votes in Christian South, especially in Lagos and Southeast and South-South.

    The numbers added up for someone else.

    Tinubu.  He saw the opportunity. They were fighting in their party and breaking up. He was prospering; they were attacking him. They said he had bad health but he travelled more than any. They said he did not go to school in Chicago before they discovered their own lies.

    On drugs, they conveniently ignored the US government’s statement years ago.

    So it was negative mathematics for Atiku. One minus three equals loss. The three negatives were working for Tinubu. What a boon.