The Nation Newspaper

Category: Review

  • Titanic battles on the political landscape

     

    The outgoing year was full of political upsets with many major actors eased out of the stage, just as it was a turnaround year for many others previously considered underdogs. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE examines the major occurrences in the political circle which made the year memorable.

     

    Saraki vs Oloriegbe

    The year 2019 is most significant as an election year during which President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term in office. Although, many parties participated in the 2019 general elections, it was mainly a two-horse race between the two most dominant political parties, namely the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The outcome of the election has its effects in many states. In Kwara State, for instance, the contest between former Senate President Bukola Saraki and Ibrahim Oloriegbe of the APC for the Kwara Central Senatorial District was a major episode. Saraki, who contested the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was defeated in a landslide victory by the APC candidate.

    It did not come as a surprise to many political observers because the O to ge campaign mantra had an overwhelming impact on the Saraki political dynasty.

    Saraki defected from the APC when he had issues with the leadership of the party. Oloriegbe was a member of the House of Representatives in 1999 under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and was given the needed support by the grassroots people who appeared to have grown tired Saraki dynasty’s domination of the political space.  The defeat of Saraki in the election was not without some ripple effects as his associates also lost out in many of the elections they contested during the year.

     

    Akpabio vs Ekpeyong

    Godwill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom and currently the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, was the APC candidate in the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District. He contested against Christopher Ekpeyong who defeated him in the February 23, 2019 election. The defeat came as a surprise to many because it was widely believed that Akpabio wielded a lot influence in Akwa Ibom State.

    Many also believe that his defeat in the election was caused by his defection to the APC, given the strength of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the south-South region.

    Many also viewed the contest as a battle between him and Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, which the latter delivered to the PDP candidate. Akpabio filed an appeal against his defeat and the court ordered a rerun in some disputed areas in Essien Udim Local Government Area within 90 days. It was going to be another test of strength between Akpabio and Emmanuel before the former opted out.

     

    Ajimobi vs Balogun

    Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the immediate past governor of Oyo State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Oyo South Senatorial District election, lost out to senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Kola Balogun.

    Although Ajimobi went to court over the defeat, he challenged the winner in court for allegedly lacking the prerequisite qualification. Balogun’s alleged lack of required academic qualification had been an issue even within the PDP during its primaries.

    Ajimobi was stopped at the Court of Appeal because the court said it was a PDP affair. Justice Haruna Tsammani struck out the case. Many people, however, attributed Ajimobi’s defeat to his style of administration, which they said alienated him from the people, who also saw the contest as an opportunity to ease him out of the political space.

     

    Bindow vs Fintiri

    The recent governorship election in Adamawa State where the APC candidate and former governor of the state Jibrilla Bindow lost to the PDP candidate Umaru Fintiri was quite dramatic. Adamawa is the home state of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Atiku, who also contested the 2019 presidential election against President Muhammadu Buhari, was believed to have been instrumental to the outcome of the Adamawa polls.

    Although Bindow initially congratulated Fintiri after the election’s results were announced, his party headed to the court to challenge Fintiri’s victory. The Adamawa APC camp was in confusion as Bindow’s counsels antagonised one another. This affected the outcome of the case against the victory of Fintiri.

    The result of the election indicated a narrow victory for Fintiri who scored 376,552 votes against Bindow’s 336,386.

     

    Atunwa vs Abdulrazaq

    In Kwara State, the incumbent governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of the APC, defeated the PDP candidate Razak Atunwa. The O to ge movement was believed to have helped to turn the table against Atunwa, who had the backing of the then Senate President Bukola Saraki and the then governor Abdulfatai Ahmed.

    The defeat of Atunwa was due mainly to the fact that Kwara people wanted a new leadership direction. The O to ge movement was largely meant to stop the former Senate President and his surrogates. The Kwara State APC under the leadership of the Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, reached out to the grassroots people, many of who believed that Saraki had nothing more to offer them.

    In the end, the governorship race ended in favour of the APC with a wide margin. The failure of the PDP and Saraki to fly in the election later affected the fortune of the former Senate President in the state.

     

    Kwankwaso vs Shekarau

    Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso contested the Kano Central Senatorial district by proxy. His anointed candidate, Aliyu Gini, who contested the senatorial election on the platform of the PDP, locked horns with APC candidate Ibrahim Shekarau.

    The rivalry between the two politicians has been legendary, so nobody was taken unaware the way the election for the Kano Central seat started and ended. Kwankwaso and Shekarau had tested their strength in major elections in 2003, 2007 and 2011 without either of them declared the superman.

    In the most recent one in which Kwankwaso fought a proxy war, his anointed candidate was defeated in the election. Kwanwanso, a former APC leader, had defected to the PDP while Shekarau moved from PDP to APC.

     

    Shehu Sani vs Uba Sani

    Uba Sani, a former adviser to Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, won the Kaduna Central senatorial seat in the recent general elections. He defeated the PDP candidate, Adamu Lawal, as well as Shehu Sani of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).

    Shehu Sani was the one occupying the seat, having won it in 2015 on the APC platform. But he had to defect from APC to PRP on account of his quarrel with Governor el-Rufai.

    Uba Sani was believed to have defeated Shehu Sani mainly on the influence of Governor. El-Rufai had vowed to ensure that the human right senator was defeated in the Kaduna Central senatorial election. This came to pass as the PRP candidate came third in the election.

     

    Dankwambo vs Alkali

    Former Gombe State governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo’s ambition to represent his people at the Senate was cut short by his defeat in the 2019 senatorial election. He was defeated by the APC candidate, Sa’idu Alkali.

    Dankwambo had contested the PDP presidential primary but lost to Atiku. The APC candidate, who was seen largely as the underdog, pulled a big surprise by humbling Dankwambo who had spent eight years as Gombe State governor.

    The defeat of the former Gombe State governor made nonsense of the belief that only big time politicians can break even in electoral contests.

    Alkali polled 152,000 votes against Dankwambo’s 88,016.

     

    Adeyeye vs Olujimi

    Senator Dayo Adeyeye’s victory at the 2019 election was reversed by the Court of Appeal in favour of the PDP candidate, Senator Biodun Olujimi.

    Adeyeye, who contested the election on the platform of APC, had been declared the winner of the Ekiti South Senatorial District’s election. His election was also upheld by the election petition tribunal only for the judgment to be upturned by the Appeal Court.

    Olujimi belongs to the Saraki political camp and had been a die-hard follower of the late Second Republic Senate Leader, Olusola Saraki.

     

    Muktar vs Matawalle

    The Supreme Court’s sack of all APC candidates last year’s general elections in Zamfara State opened the door for many PDP candidates, including Governor Bello Matawalle, to emerge as winners.

    The APC governorship candidate, Muktar Idris, had been declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner with 534,541 votes against Matawalle’s 189,452. However, issues surrounding the APC primary turned round to haunt the party.

    The Supreme Court ruled that APC did not hold a proper primary and nullified the election of all its candidates. Following the unanimous judgment of a five man panel led by Justice Tanko Mohammad, the apex court declared that the next party with the highest number of votes cast in each of the positions contested during the election should be declared the winner.

     

    Melaye vs Adeyemi

    The Kogi West Senatorial District was a hot contest between Senator Dino Melaye of the PDP and Senator Smart Adeyemi of the APC.

    Although Melaye was declared by INEC as the winner of the election, Adeyemi contested his victory at the tribunal. In the end, the courts ruled that the electoral umpire should conduct another election.

    In the rerun election which took place in November, Adeyemi defeated Melaye with 88,373 votes against the latter’s 61,131.

    Melaye, a staunch supporter of Dr. Bukola Saraki, had defected with the former Senate President from APC to PDP.

     

    Ohuabunwa vs Orji-Kalu

    The senatorial election of Abia North Senatorial District was won by Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu, who defeated the PDP candidate, Mao Ohuabunwa.

    However, Ohuabunwa went to the election petition tribunal in Umuahia, where Kalu’s victory was nullified. But Kalu regained victory when the Appeal Court reaffirmed his success at the poll.

    Kalu is presently serving 12 years imprisonment after he was found guilty on all the 39 count charges brought against him by the anti-graft agency, EFCC.

     

    Okorocha vs Onyereri

    Former Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha won the Imo West Senatorial seat in the February elections, defeating his closest rival and PDP candidate, Jones Onyereri.

    Okorocha who contested the election on the platform of APC, polled 97,762 while Onyereri got 68,117 votes.

    The election became shrouded in controversy when the returning officer, Francis Ibeawuchi, declared that he announced Okorocha as winner under duress.

    When the names of senators elected from Imo State were published by INEC, however, that of Okorocha was conspicuously missing. Okorocha was later suspended by the APC for anti party activities.

     

    Ihedioha vs Uzodinma

    The contest for the Imo State governorship seat was a major challenge for the APC in the state. Okorocha had wanted his son-in-law Uche Nwosu as the APC candidate in the election, but it was Uzodinma who picked the party’s ticket.

    In protest, Nwosu defected to the Action Alliance (AA) party and became its flag bear for the governorship election in March.

    The internal wrangling in the APC camp ended up seeing the party lose the election to the PDP candidate Ihedioha, who scored 273,404 votes, while Nwosu and Uzodinma polled 190,000 and 96,458 votes respectively..

     

    Lyon vs Diri

    The Bayelsa State governorship election conducted last month provoked lots of interest and surprises. It was won by the APC candidate, David Lyon, after defeating the PDP candidate Duoye Diri and the candidates of other parties.

    Bayelsa State is widely regarded as a stronghold of the PDP, hence Lyon was believed to be contesting the election against a formidable opponent.

    It was an election which also caught the attention of former President Goodluck Jonathan and other notable politicians in the South-south region.

    But as the election turned out, the APC won in a landslide victory, against Governor Seriake Dickson-backed candidate of the PDP.

    The PDP is still licking its wounds and has gone to the elections petition tribunal to seek redress on the outcome of the poll.

     

    Akinlade vs Abiodun

    The governorship election in Ogun State was fought and won on the basis of party supremacy. The APC proved that it was well established in the state by claiming victory in the end.

    The APC candidate, Dapo Abiodun, defeated the incumbent governor, Senator Ibikunle-Amosun-backed candidate of Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade, who had defected from the APC.

    The APC had viewed Amosun’s backing of Akinlade, the APM candidate in the election, as an anti- party activity and promptly suspended the then governor from the party.

    Amosun was recently pardoned by APC while his candidate in the election has also returned to the APC fold.

    The Supreme Court had affirmed Abiodun as the winner of the election after the APM challenged his victory at the election petitions tribunal.

     

    Opeyemi vs Adewale

    The senatorial election for Ekiti Central Senatorial District was won by Opeyemi Bamidele after defeating the PDP candidate, Obafemi Adewale. Opeyemi polled 94,279 while Adewale polled 46,707 during the National Assembly elections.

    Opeyemi was the Director-General of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation when he was shot by thugs at a campaign rally in Ekiti State. The APC stood by him through the struggle and he is presently in the Senate.

  • Goodbye to year of MEGA BATTLES

    Vincent AKANMODE, Deputy Editor

     

    THE outgoing year will be remembered for the titanic battles that occurred at different levels of government, mainly because it is an election year. It is a year characterised by both conventional and unconventional wars.

    There were conventional battles in the sense that the Boko Haram insurgency persisted, even though the military appeared to have dealt more blows to the insurgents than they received from them, if the accounts of their exploits in the Sambisa Forest outpost of Boko Haram soldiers are anything to go by.

    The unconventional battles, on the other hand, involved the verbal wars in which prominent political actors engaged one another throughout the year as well as the electoral blows they dealt to themselves.

    At the national level was the titanic battle involving President Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the presidential election conducted in February.

    Although the battle started on the rostrums and later moved to the polling booths, it did not end until the two statesmen had dragged themselves to the courtrooms with their armies of legal luminaries.

    Then, there were bruising battles between sworn political rivals from Edo State where the National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, is at daggers drawn with his erstwhile protégé and current governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki,i to Kogi where Senators Dino Melaye and Smart Adeyemi took their rivalry to a new height. In Kwara State, the age-long Saraki political dynasty succumbed to the hydro kinetic force of the O to ge movement.

    It has been a year in which David defeated Goliath on many fronts as political giants were dealt deadly blows by others previously considered inconsequential Lilliputians. In Kwara State, for instance, the then Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, whose political dynasty had ruled the state for decades, lost his bid to return to the Senate because he was defeated by little known candidate of the APC, Ibrahim Oloriegbe.

    In Akwa Ibom State, former Governor Godswill Akpabio, an APC senatorial candidate, also lost his bid to return to the upper chamber of the National Assembly, having been defeated by Christopher Ekpeyong, just as little known Saidu Alkali cut short former Gombe State governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo’s ambition to go to the Senate. In Oyo, former Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s senatorial ambition was thwarted by the victory of Senator Kola Balogun of the PDP at the poll.

    Governors were not left out of the supremacy battles with adversaries like Nyesom Wike and Seriake Dickson, the governors of Rivers and Bayelsa states respectively, launching out at each other in a seeming war of attrition. There were also reports of growing animosity between Oshiomhole and some APC governors who are bent on seeing the back of the comrade former governor of Edo State.

    Yet, the year has not been all about elitist wrangling and invectives. It has been an admixture of the good, the bad and the ugly as would be found out in our delightful chronicle of the vents that shaped the outgoing year.

     

    Politicians who hit headlines

     

    Muhammadu Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari early in the year secured a second term in office after trouncing Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party in the February 23 presidential election.

    Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate got 15,191,847 votes while Abubakar had 11,262,978 votes.

    Buhari won in 19 states including Lagos and Kano, the two most populous states, while Atiku won in 17 states including the Federal Capital Territory.

    After dealing political blows on Atiku at the polls, Buhari went ahead to humiliate the former Vice President in the courts when the latter rejected the outcome of the election and sought to upturn the results using legal means.

    Few months after President Buhari was sworn in, stories that he was scheming to get a third term in office triggered reactions and counter reactions from different corners of the country.

    Beyond what could be best described as rumour, a  member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State, Charles Enya, filed a suit seeking the amendment of the constitution to allow President Muhammadu Buhari get another term in office.

    He asked Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, as well as the national assembly to remove constitutional clauses hindering elected presidents and governors from seeking a third term in office.

    But Buhari dismissed and disassociated himself from the third term agenda, advising the citizens to read the Constitution because he was not going to make that mistake, thus laying the matter to rest.

    The President, against all odds, set the economy on the path of self recovery when he shut the borders to encourage local production of agricultural, textile and other products.

    Just last week, Buhari signed the 2020 budget into law and thereby restored the January – December cycle.

     

    Atiku Abubakar

    The outgoing year started on a vinegary note for former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the February 23 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, following his miserable performance at the polls won by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Atiku had swiftly rejected the result of the election and headed for the presidential election tribunal to challenge the victory of Buhari on the grounds that he lacked the necessary qualifications to contest for president and that he (Buhari) was defeated in the election. While he made frantic effort to pursue his case at the tribunal, the APC compounded Atiku’s woes when it prayed the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to strike out his petition against Buhari’s re-election because the former vice president was not a Nigerian by birth and ought not to have been allowed to contest the election in the first place.

    The tribunal dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Atiku, saying that the petitioners failed to prove their case beyond any reasonable doubt.

    Not satisfied with the decision of the tribunal, Atiku and his party went to the Supreme Court but were dealt another devastating blow as the apex court dismissed their appeal.

    Tanko Mohammed, the Chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), said after examining the arguments from the parties to the case, the panel concluded that the appeal lacked merit.

    Atiku declared his candidacy for the presidential nomination of the PDP mid-2018 and won the nomination at its convention on October 7. He defeated 11 other contestants and got 1,532 votes, 839 more than the runner-up and governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal.

     

    VP Yemi Osinbajo

    The announcement that Vice President Yemi Osinbajob would henceforth seek presidential approvals in the running of the parastatals and agencies, which are statutorily under him, generated speculations that the VP was being humiliated after standing by President Mohammadu Buhari while he was hospitalised in the United Kingdom.

    The wild speculations were heightened after the dissolution of the Economic Management Team headed by the VP and its replacement by a new Economic Advisory Council and the disbandment of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel put in place by the VP when he was the Acting President on Tuesday September 24, 2019.

    The speculation was, however, denied by the Presidency in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said:  “The media reports of a soured relationship are originating from the minds and mouths of mischief makers, who are desperate for entertaining stories from the Aso Rock Villa with which to titillate the public. This ulterior motive is the basis of the wrong interpretation given to the recent exercise in the Presidency.

    “There has been a streamlining of staff going on for a while. The President has always had fewer staff than the Vice President and there were always plans to reduce the number of staff at the Villa.

    “The streamlining was not personal or targeted to undermine the Vice President’s office, as the so-called insider sources quoted by the media appear to make it seem.”

     

    Bola Ahmed Tinubu

    Like in 2015, All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, played a leading role in the victory of President Mohammadu Buhari and the APC in the 2019 polls as the co-Chairman of the Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation.

    He made extensive trips with President Buhari and other APC leaders to the nooks and crannies of the country, visiting those that matter in a bid to garner support for APC and the President’s second term bid.

    At most of the party’s rallies, usually graced everywhere by mammoth crowds, Asiwaju Tinubu spoke with can-do and his speeches were laced with rich anecdotes, proverbs and witty expressions, which did much to sway the electorate.

     

    Goodluck Jonathan

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan is one of the top political figures in the country whose political relevance was tested by the governorship election of his state in the course of the year.

    Jonathan, who hails from Otuoke community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and the outgoing governor, Seriake Dickson, had a running battle over who would succeed the latter.

    While Jonathan rooted for a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe, Dickson threw his weight behind Douye Diri, a senator representing Bayelsa Central District, who eventually emerged the PDP governorship candidate after defeating 20 other aspirants.

    The development reportedly soured the relationship between Dickson and Jonathan who, according to reports, was not consulted by the governor. The PDP national leadership set up a peace committee headed by former Senate President Bukola Saraki, to work towards reconciling Jonathan and Dickson, but the move failed.

    When the governorship election eventually took place, Dickson’s anointed candidate lost to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, David Lyon. Jonathan had earlier warned that the APC could win the Bayelsa governorship election if the PDP was not united.

    After APC’s Lyon was declared winner of the election, Dickson and some top members of the PDP descended on Jonathan, accusing him of betraying the party by working for the opposition to win the election.

    While Dickson and other disgruntled party members bore their fangs against Jonathan, hordes of other party members and members of opposition parties thumbed up the former president and acknowledged his political relevance in the state and the country at large.

     

    Senate President Ahmed Lawan

    Yobe North lawmaker on the platform of APC, Senator Ahmed Lawan, emerged the President of the ninth Senate amid intense campaign mounted by the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which backed one of his main challengers, Senator Ali Ndume, also of the APC. Nadine who refused the party’s entities to step down, gave a good fight.

    Lawan, however, clinched the Senate President’s seat with 79 votes cast to beat Senator Ndume with 28 votes.

    It will be recalled that Lawan, who became a senator in 2007, was robbed of the post in 2015, after Senator Bukola Saraki connived with members of opposition PDP to emerge senate president in a controversial manner.

     

    Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila

    Former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, of the APC, was declared the new speaker of the ninth House of Representatives.

    Gbajabiamila scored a total of 281 votes to beat his rival, Umar Bago, who scored 76 votes.

    It took three hours of secret ballot voting before the clerk to the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, announced Mr Gbajabiamila’s victory to the cheers of many of his supporters.

    “Femi Gbajabiamila, having secured the majority of the votes counted, is hereby returned elected and declared speaker of the house,” Omolori said.

     

    Adams Oshiomhole

    The feud between ex-governor of Edo State, who is now the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and the current governor of the tate, Godwin Obaseki, which took roots from Edo State House of Assembly leadership succession crisis, festered throughout the year. The ex-governor’s house in Benin reportedly came under attack by persons suspected to be working for the state government.

    The height of the crisis was the attack meted out to the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, and others like the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who had come to grace a public lecture organised by Edo University, at the residence of Oshiomhole,Iyamho. The former labour leader fingered the deputy governor of the state, Philip Shuabu, as the mastermind of the attack, but the latter denied his complicity in the attack.

    The ruling party under Oshiomhole recorded victories at the presidential election and in the hitherto strongholds of PDP — Kwara, Gombe and Bayelsa states,others. The party suffered reverses in Oyo, Imo, Bauchi and Zamfara, the last one, in controversial circumstances.

    Oshiomhole will be remembered for instilling discipline into the party. The business-like chairman made it clear from the inception of his administration that it was not going to be business as usual and he walked his talk in this respect all through. This, among other issues, pitted him against many of the governors elected on the party’s platform who had been known to have been ‘ untouchable’. So, it was not totally unexpected that moves were made to oust him from office. One of those attempts was made at the National Executive Council meeting of the party in December. But it failed. Another recent bid was made by some governors, who had tried to sway President Buhari into buy into their plot to get Oshiomhole out by all means also failed to fly when the Borno State governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, punched large holes into their specious argument.

     

    Godwin Obaseki

    Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has been at draggers drawn with his erstwhile boss and Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, for the better part of the year.

    Obaseki and his predecessor’s hostility was allegedly a result of power struggle over who controls the state, especially as the governorship election is fast approaching.

    Their feud became public when the Edo State House of Assembly was hurriedly inaugurated and a speaker elected at night with only nine lawmakers present.

    The assembly had 24 members, and all of them were APC members. The remaining 15 who are loyal to Oshiomhole relocated to Abuja. Two of the lawmakers later abandoned the remaining 13 and returned to Edo State House of Assembly to take their oaths of office.

    Following the controversy generated by the inauguration, the Senate asked the Edo State governor to issue a fresh proclamation letter for the Edo State House of Assembly within one week, but Obaseki refused, saying the senate went  beyond its constitutional powers in giving him an ultimatum over the state assembly crisis.

    Obaseki headed to court and got the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop both the Senate and the House of Representatives’ plan to take over the legislative duties of the Edo State House of Assembly.

    Obaseki, thereafter sacked eight commissioners loyal to Oshiomhole from the state executive council.

    Obaseki at a point said his administration would continue to explore all avenue in resolving the crisis rocking the party in the state, but the APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, said the governor was not ready for amicable resolution of the crisis.

     

    Seriake Dickson

    Outgoing governor of Bayelsa State, Hon Seriake Dickson, is one of the politicians who could be said to have lost out in their plans to remain politically relevant in the outgoing year.

    Dickson, like many other outgoing governors, had anointed and supported Douye Diri, a senator representing Bayelsa Central District, who eventually emerged the PDP governorship candidate, against former President Goodluck Jonathan’s preferred candidate, Timi Alaibe, a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The Countryman Governor, as Dickson is fondly called, was allegedly working towards going to the Senate following the choice of Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpor as the running mate to Diri. But Dickson dismissed the allegation.

    Ewhrudjakpor and Dickson are from Bayelsa West Senatorial District.

    The Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Emmanuel Isenah, who is from the same Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area with Douye Diri, the governorship candidate of the PDP, was impeached by the party in order to spread political offices to enable the party to secure more votes in the November 16 election.

    Unfortunately for Dickson, the entire political calculations went awry, leading to PDP’s ouster from the Bayelsa State Government House.

    With the development, Dickson failed in his plan to enthrone his anointed candidate and also had his alleged plan to join his fellow ex-governors in the Senate thwarted.

     

    Aisha Buhari

    Outspoken First Lady, Aishat Buhari, was also in the news severally in the year. She returned from a long holiday in the United Kingdom fuelling speculations that all might not be well at the home front.

    The speculation gained traction in the social media that her husband, President Buhari, was about to marry the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Ms Sadiya Umar Farouq. It, however, turned out to be a fake news.

    Next, she had an acrimonious issue with Fatima, a daughter of her husband’s uncle, Mamman Daura, over the occupation by the Daura family of a section inside the Presidential Villa.This was followed by her confrontation with presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, who she accused of undermining her interests in the media, an accusation denied by Shehu.

     

     

    Rotimi Amaechi

    The former Rivers State governor and current Minister of Transport, Rotimi Anarchist, is not relenting in his bid to ensure the success of the railway projects across the country.

    On the political plain, he has, however, not been able to achieve cohesion in the state chapter of APC following discordant tunes trailing the forthcoming congress of the party in the state.

    Justice A.U Kingsley-Chuku of the Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt penultimate Friday restrained the state chapter of APC from conducting the rescheduled congresses across the wards, council areas of the state.

    The order followed a suit filed by a chieftain of the party in the state, Hon.Igo Aguma.

     

    Rochas Okorocha

    It has been battle on all fronts for immediate past Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, this year. Aside from the controversial policies he made that pitted him against the people, Okorocha, towards the end of his tenure as governor, failed to heed the voice reason and public opinion when he picked his son-in-law and Chief of Staff, Uche Nwosu, as his candidate for the office of the governor on the platform of APC.

    Nwosu lost the party’s governorship ticket to Senator Hope Uzodinma. Okorocha allegedly had Nwosu defect to the Action Alliance (AA) party, where the latter was handed the governorship ticket. Unfortunately for him, his conviction that the power of incumbency would earn his son-in-law the governorship seat failed.

    APC later compounded Okorocha’s plight when it suspended him along with the then Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State for anti-party activities. The suspension was later lifted by the party.

    Rochas’ second headache came after he was declared winner of the Imo West Senatorial seat but had his certificate of return withheld by INEC after the Returning Officer for the area, Prof.r Francis Ibeabuchi, claimed he was coerced and given mutilated results by the former governor and the police to announce same in favour of Okorocha.

    With his efforts at getting the certificate of return yielding no fruits, Rochas ran to the Federal High Court in Abuja for help. The court ended his frustration when it ordered INEC to issue him a certificate of return as the senator-elect for Imo West Senatorial District.

    But that was not the end of his travails. His anguish was compounded with the sealing off of his properties by the EFCC, the order for his arrest by his successor and the clampdown on a shopping complex belonging to his wife.

     

    Emeka Ihedioha

    Incumbent Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha emerged the winner of the March 9 gubernatorial election contested by prominent and influential politicians in the state, against all odds.  Ihedioha polled 273,404 votes to defeat 69 other candidates, including Uche Nwosu of Action Alliance, who is a son-in-law to the immediate past governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha.

    After emerging victorious at the polls, Ihedioha also floored his opponents, Uche Nwosu, of Action Alliance (AA), Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Ifeanyi Ararume of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) at the courts when they sought to upturn the outcome of the election.

    Shortly after the celebration that greeted his victory, Ihedioha incurred the wrath of the people when he started demolishing monuments erected by his predecessor.

     

    Yahaya Bello

    After an uninspiring four-year reign as the governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello was, to the chagrin of many political observers, approved by the screening committee of the All Progressives Congress together with three other aspirants for the August 29 primary of the party, which Bello won.

    Aware of the dismal performance of the governor in his first term, APC leadership, including the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Campaign Council for Kogi governorship election, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, groveled on the turf, begging the people of Kogi State to forgive Yahaya Bello.

    He was eventually declared by INEC as the winner of the November 16 governorship election in the state. Bello polled a total of 406,222 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Musa Wada,, who scored 189,704 votes.

    Natasha Akpoti of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) came a distant third with 9,482 votes.

     

    Smart Adeyemi

    After sitting in the limbo for years, Smart Adeyemi staged a comeback to the political arena early in the year when he squared it up with his arch rival Dino Melaye for the Kogi West Senatorial seat, which he lost to the latter in 2015.

    When the election held on February 23, INEC declared Melaye the winner with 85,395 votes to Smart’s 66,901 votes.

    Disconcerted with the announcement, Smart headed for the Kogi State National Assembly/State Assembly Election Tribunal, which granted his prayers and sacked Melaye.

    Smart went all the way to engage Melaye in another legal battle at an Abuja Appeal Court when the latter decided to appeal the decision of the tribunal. Smart eventually actualised his ambition to replace Melaye at the Senate when he defeated the singing senator in a fresh election ordered by the court.

    The APC candidate polled 88,373 votes to defeat Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party, who polled 62,133 votes.

     

    Dino Melaye

    Controversial Kogi State born politician, Senator Dino Melaye’s political career suffered a huge setback in the year. His travails began when the Kogi State National Assembly/State Assembly Election Tribunal ordered his removal as the senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District and directed Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh election.

    The verdict was also upheld by the Appeal Court in Abuja which ordered INEC to conduct a fresh election for the senatorial district within 90 days.

    Melaye, who contested the senatorial election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, had filed an appeal challenging the tribunal’s judgment. The PDP and INEC had also filed separate appeals against the tribunal’s verdict. But the Court of Appeal dismissed all the three appeals and upheld the tribunal’s judgment.

    When a fresh election was held, INEC declared the poll inconclusive and fixed November 30 for a by-election.

    When the by-election result was declared, Melaye, the ‘Ajekun Iya’ singer who contested on the platform of the PDP, polled 62,133 votes against Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 88,373 votes. Melaye was consequently booted out of the Senate.

    Before then, Melaye had failed in his bid to clinch the governorship ticket of the PDP in Kogi State, which would have seen him contesting against the incumbent governor, Yahaya Bello, in the governorship election held on November 16.

     

    The new governors

    The year also witnessed the emergence of new governors in the leadership saddle across the country. They include Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Dapo Abiodun(Ogun); Emeka Ihedioha(Imo); AbdulRahman AbdulRasak(Kwara); Babajide Sanwo-Olu(Lagos);  Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed(Bauchi); Babagana Umara Zullum(Borno); Inuwa Yahaya(Gombe); Mai Malla Buni(Yobe); Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) and David Lyon(Bayelsa).

     

    Sanusi vs Ganduje

    Incumbent governor of Kaduna State, Abdullahi  Ganduje and the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, have been at each other’s throat since the beginning of the year. The tussle between them emanated from the emir’s alleged support and sympathy to the Kwankwassiyya Movement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2019 general elections.

    In May this year, Ganduje created four new emirates and gave the emirs first class status like Emir Sanusi. The action was said to have rattled Emir Sanusi and his supporters who went to court to challenge the process leading to the creation of the new emirates. Late last month, a Kano High Court delivered judgment in favour of Emir Sanusi and faulted the process followed in the creation of the new emirates.

    Many had believed that Ganduje and Kano State Government would appeal the judgment, but instead, the state executive council re-activated the process of re-establishing the four emirates quashed by the court. Early this month, the Kano State Executive Council approved Emirate Council Bill 2019, which provides for the establishment of additional emirates.

    Ganduje, after signing the bill into law, stated that the law provides that there will be individual emirate council in all the now five emirates. The impasse between Emir Sanusi and Ganduje also manifested  in October when Emir Sanusi ordered the sack of  Maja Siddin Sarkin Kano, Alhaji Auwalu, for participating in the grand reception in honour of  Ganduje.

    The Maja Siddin Sarkin Kano, who is in-charge of decorating the emir’s horse, was also asked to vacate his residence of over 30 years, simply because he raised the portrait of the late Emir of Kano, Sarkin Ado Abdullahi Bayero, in celebration with Ganduje as the governor’s long convoy passed through the emir’s palace from Kano airport towards Government House.

     

    Ex-Gov Akinwunmi Ambode

    The probe of the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, by the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),was marred by controversy.

    A committee set up by the state legislature had probed the purchase of 820 high capacity buses by the Ambode administration at a cost of N7 billion despite the alleged rejection of the move by the House twice. Some commissioners who served with Ambode had reportedly indicted the former governor on bus purchase when they appeared before the committee of the House, but they later recounted, claiming that they were misquoted by the media. The House then summoned Ambode to state his own side of the story, but the ex-governor approached the courts to halt his summons.

    Similarly, some operatives of the EFCC currently probing a N9.9 billion fraud allegation linked to Ambode’s government, invaded the homes of the former governor in Ikoyi and Epe.

    The operatives were, however, resisted by Ambode’s kinsmen at Epe, who claimed that the former governor was being unnecessarily punished for daring top leaders of APC in the race for the gubernatorial ticket of the party earlier this year.

    While many are sympathising with the former governor, others felt that  Ambode should be willing to face the law to clear himself from the alleged indiscretions.

     

    Ibikunle Amosun

    Attempts by the former Ogun governor to install a federal lawmaker, Hon. Adekunle Akinlade, as his successor met brick walls following the outcome of the primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) where Prince Dapo Abiodun emerged as the party’s candidate and eventually won the governorship election.

    To ensure his candidate’s victory at all cost, Amosun moved  his loyalists to the Allied People’s Movement(APM), while he stayed back in APC where he contested and won the Ogun Central Senatorial election.

    His anti- party moves did not go unpunished by the APC.  He was later reprimanded and suspended by the party’s National Working Committee, which also disbanded the executive committee of the state chapter and replaced it with a caretaker committee.

    His loyalists, including Akinlade, have, however, since returned to APC.

    The height of his acclaimed indiscretions was the controversial appointment of 75 obas, which has since been nullified by Ogun State House big Assembly.

     

     

     

  • Politicians, developments that made 2019 tick

    2019 was a rollercoaster year as far as politics is concerned. As an election year, it was dominated by one political activity after another. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI highlights some of the activities

    BEING an election year, 2019 was dominated by politicking, balloting and the resort to litigation to settle political scores. There were general elections in February and March and two off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states in November. By January, all the 91 registered political parties had submitted a list of those contesting various elective positions in the general elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The month of January and part of February was a period of intense campaign.

    Like previous elections, the campaign for the 2019 general elections was done with style and passion. Enthusiastic chieftains and supporters of various political parties, particularly the two major parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly, attended rallies in their branded Ankara clothes and custom-made uniforms in the parties’ colours.

    The presidential and the National Assembly elections were scheduled to hold on February 16, but it eventually held on February 23, following the shifting of the election in the wee hours of the D-day by the electoral umpire, INEC, citing logistical challenges in getting electoral materials to polling stations on time. In some places, the vote was delayed till February 24 due to electoral violence.

    Low turnout of voters

    The February 23 presidential and the National Assembly elections were characterized by a dismally low turnout of voters; the lowest since the return to civil rule in 1999. Only about 73 million persons, out of the registered 84 million Nigerians, succeeded in collecting their permanent voter’s card (PVC), with the Northwest and the Southwest being the regions with the largest voting strength. But, at the end of the day, only 35 per cent showed up to exercise their franchise. Indeed, the turnout of voters has been on a steady decline since 2003. In 2003, 69 per cent of 61 million eligible voters participated in the presidential elections. The percentage has reduced progressively since then. It went down to 57 in 2007, 54 in 2011, before dropping to 44 per cent in 2015.

     

    Buhari re-elected

    President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected with the backing of 15.2 million voters, compared to the 11.3 million votes his main rival Atiku Abubakar received during the polls. This amounted to 56 per cent of the total votes for Buhari. Many observers blamed the poor turnout on the postponement of the exercise by a week and the fear of violence.

     

    Big losers, winners

    The election was in many ways a referendum on honesty. Apart from the re-election of President Buhari, which did not come as a surprise to many Nigerians, there were major upsets in the National Assembly elections. Most shocking has been the failure of some powerful politicians to return to the National Assembly. These are mostly lawmakers who switched sides between the two main parties ahead of the polls.

     

    Bukola Saraki

    The defeat of the former Senate President Bukola Saraki was the biggest upset. Saraki and 16 other lawmakers had in late July 2018 returned to the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This did not come as a surprise to many Nigerians.

    Saraki sought re-election to the Senate to represent Kwara Central, but it was the APC’s Ibrahim Oloriegbe that clinched the seat. The Saraki-backed governorship candidate of the PDP in Kwara State, Razak Atunwa, also lost the contest to the APC’s Adulrahman Abdulrazaq, thus effectively ending the dominance of the “Saraki dynasty” over Kwara’s politics for the last 50 years. The O To Ge (Enough is Enough) movement resonated well with the people throughout the campaign because the Kwara people were already fed up with the alleged lack of development in the North-central state. All the other candidates the former Senate President sponsored lost the election.

     

    Godswill Akpabio

    Former Senate Minority Leader and two-term governor, Godswill Akpabio, also failed in his bid to return to the Red Chamber. Akpabio who represented Akwa Ibom Northwest in the Eighth Senate spectacularly lost his Senate seat to the PDP candidate, Chris Ekpenyong, a former Deputy Governor during Obong Victor Attah’s tenure.

    The campaign was bitter, violent and full of accusations and counter-accusations of fraud and manipulation. Akpabio’s woes stemmed from his fallout with his “godson” Emmanuel Udom, his hand-picked successor and current governor.

    The former governor dumped the PDP for the ruling party before the 2019 election, but that decision did not go down well with his constituents. It was his disagreement with Governor Emmanuel that compelled him to jump ship. Udom retained the governorship seat.

    Akpabio, who later became the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, challenged Ekpenyong’s emergence at the election petition tribunal. In November, the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar ordered a rerun in Essien Udim Local Government Area, one of the 10 local governments in the zone. A three-man panel led by Justice S. Tanko Hussein ordered INEC to organize a fresh election in the council within 90 days.

    The rerun is yet to take place, but Akpabio has withdrawn from the race, saying a huge responsibility has been placed on him as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs. In a letter addressed to the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, he said he would not abandon a critical national assignment given him by the President Buhari in pursuit of a rerun election. He urged the party to write INEC, in line with Sections 33 and 35 of the Electoral Act, 2010, and submit a replacement to run in his place.

     

    George Akume

    George Akume also failed to make it back to the Senate in the 2019 general elections, following his defeat in the hands of Senator Orke Jev of the PDP. Akume has been a dominant political figure in the Northcentral state of Benue since 1999. He governed the state for two terms from 1999 to 2007 on the platform of the PDP. When he stepped down as governor, he was elected as a senator representing Benue Northwest in 2007. In 2011, he was re-elected on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), one of the three major parties that metamorphosed into the APC in late 2013. He won another term in 2015.

    He was one of those nominated by President Buhari to serve as a minister.

     

    Shehu Sani

    The vocal senator that represented Kaduna Central in the Eighth Senate, Senator Shehu Sani, equally lost his seat to the candidate that got the APC ticket at his stead. His defeat did not come as a surprise, given his long-standing rivalry with Governor Nasir el-Rufai. The two of them were the foremost members of the APC in Kaduna State, but they were often at loggerheads over policies. The author, playwright and human rights activist – one of the few politicians that declared his assets openly – was popular with his constituents. His defeat could be attributed to his decision to leave the APC for the little-known of People’s Redemption Party (PRP), because of his disagreement with the governor.

     

    Kola Balogun

    The victory of this PDP candidate in Oyo was a major shock, especially for supporters of the APC. Kola Balogun’s victory prevented the immediate past Governor Abiola Ajimobi from joining the league of ex-governors who traditionally move to the Senate.

     

    Yakubu Dogara

    Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara was among several politicians who dumped the ruling APC in 2018. Unlike most of his colleagues who could not muster enough support in their constituencies to retain their seats, Dogara triumphed. He was expected to lose the election because his constituency in Bauchi State had been a stronghold of President Buhari. Dogara who has been representing the Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency since 2007 survived his toughest political test to defeat the candidate of the ruling party.

     

    APC loses Zamfara

    The APC had triumphed in the March 9 governorship election in Zamfara State, but it eventually lost the state to the opposition PDP when the Supreme Court ruled that the ruling party’s candidate for the election was not validly nominated. In its ruling in the matter, the Supreme Court on May 24 nullified the candidature of the APC candidate, describing the votes the party garnered during the election as a wasted one.

    The apex court, thus, affirmed the earlier position of the Court of Appeal that no valid party primary held in the state before the general elections. Observers are of the view that the party shot itself in the foot because it refused to follow due process with regards to the disagreement between former Governor Abdul-Aziz Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa.

     

    9th Assembly leadership

    Given the frosty relationship that existed between the 8th National Assembly and the President Buhari-led executive, the ruling APC tried to tread softly this time to ensure that its preferred candidates occupy the leadership positions in the two legislative chambers.

    Thus, the 9th Assembly was inaugurated on June 11, with the party’s anointed candidates emerging as the principal officers. Senator Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North) emerged as the Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central) Deputy Senate President, and Femi Gbajabiamila (Surulere 1 Federal Constituency) and Ahmed Wase (Wase Federal Constituency) became Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively.

     

    June 12 as Democracy Day

    This year June 12 was celebrated as Democracy Day, at the expense of May 29 which had been designated as Democracy Day since the return to civil rule in 1999. Last year, President Buhari revisited the June 12, 1993 election and posthumously declared Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola as the winner of the election and went further to honour him with the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), also posthumously. Also, he declared June 12 as Democracy Day.

    To give it a legal backing, on June 10, 2019, President Buhari signed into the law the Public Holiday (Amendment) Bill and made June 12 the authentic Democracy Day. The new law accommodates June 12 as a public holiday, replacing May 29. Beginning from 2019, May 29 was only marked as a handover/inauguration of new administrations. After his inauguration on May 29, 2019, the President did not deliver his inauguration. He later delivered it on June 12, to emphasise the significance of the day.

     

    New cabinet list

    Unlike his term when he waited for six months to submit a list of ministerial nominees to the Senate for approval, President Buhari submitted the list this time two months after his inauguration. A number of those who served the President during his first tenure returned. They included Zainab Ahmed, Babatunde Fashola, Geoffrey Onyeama, Rotimi Amaechi and Lai Mohammed, who held the finance, works and power, foreign, transport and information portfolios.

    Among those that did not return are former Minister of State for Petroleum, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu; former Minister of industry, Trade, and Investment, Okechukwu Enelemah; former Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu; former Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma and erstwhile Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh.

     

    Buhari wins at Supreme Court

    On October 30, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s bid to upturn Buhari’s February 23 presidential victory came to a dead end when the Supreme Court threw out the matter because it lacked merit.

    After reviewing the case for two weeks, the seven-man panel led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Tanko Mohammed dismissed Atiku’s petition, affirming that President Buhari was eminently qualified to contest the 2019 presidential election. The PDP candidate had filed 66 grounds of appeal before the Supreme Court, as he challenged the judgment of the lower courts.

    The judges said Atiku and his party failed to prove their allegation that the election was rigged in favour of President Buhari, the APC candidate.

    Buhari said he felt vindicated by the judgment. He said: “With this ruling, it is now time for the country to move forward as one cohesive body, putting behind us all bickering and potential distractions over an election in which Nigerians spoke clearly and resoundingly.”

     

    Revolution that never was

    Before Nigerians could come to terms with the protest scheduled to commence on August 5 across the country, to demand a better Nigeria, the leader of the movement for the so-called “Days of Rage” or #RevolutionNow, activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters Omoyele Sowore was arrested by operatives of the Department of State (DSS) in the wee hours of Saturday, August 3.

    Sowore who contested the 2019 presidential election and lost was arrested because his call for a “revolution” suggested that he wanted to take over the government forcefully.

    Though allies of the 2019 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) vowed to go ahead with the nationwide protest, what transpired on the D-day indicated that the arrest of Sowore took the wind out of the movement’s sail.

    The protests were intended to cripple cities across the country. The demonstration failed to hold in cities like Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt. In others where attempts were made, it was largely suppressed by security agencies.

    Sowore, who is facing treason charges, is still being detained by the DSS, although he had been granted bail. Dramatically, the activist and his co-defendant Olawale Bakare were re-arrested outside the court premises by operatives of the DSS, shortly after they were granted bail on December 6, following the order of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu that they should be released within 24 hours.

     

    Election victories upturned by court

    Several mandates have been retrieved through the intervention of election petition tribunals. For instance, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision delivered in May, nullified the victory of all APC candidates who contested in Zamfara State during the general elections. In total, 36 members of the party lost their seats, from the governorship candidate (Mukhtar Idris) and his running mate to National Assembly and State Assembly candidates. Replacing them were candidates of the PDP who had the second-highest amounts of votes.

    The apex court said votes that accrued to the APC candidates were a waste as the party conducted no primaries in Zamfara.

    In August, some members of the APC in Zamfara, including the former deputy governor Mukhtar Anka and former state assembly Speaker Bature Sambo defected to the PDP. Anka said they were moved by the exemplary leadership of Governor Bello Mutawalle of the PDP.

    On Thursday, August 23, a Kogi-based election tribunal nullified the election of Dino Melaye as the lawmaker representing Kogi West senatorial district and demanded that fresh election should be conducted within 90 days.

    Melaye is a candidate of the PDP and had had his victory challenged by Smart Adeyemi, the APC candidate in the same race who was declared runner-up. In the November 16 rerun election, Adeyemi floored the controversial Melaye and has since been sworn in as the senator representing Kogi West district in the Red Chamber.

     

    Bayelsa, Kogi elections

    On Saturday, November 16, INEC conducted four elections across two states. For the first time, the commission held two off-cycle governorship elections on the same day. Also, it held the Brass 1 State Constituency election in six polling units in Bayelsa State. In Kogi, it also conducted the court-ordered rerun election in Kogi West senatorial district.

    In Bayelsa, the APC governorship candidate in the election, Mr. David Lyon defeated his PDP counterpart. The inauguration of the new governor-elect is scheduled to take place in February next year. It is instructive to note that the PDP has been dominated politics in the Southsouth state since the return to civil rule in 1999.

    The APC also triumphed in Kogi State. INEC declared the APC candidate, Yahaya Bello who secured a massive 406,222 votes winner. He defeated Musa Wada of the PDP who scored 189,704 votes.

     

    INEC’s SOS to lawmakers

    Following its experience during the general elections and the two off-cycle governorship polls in Bayelsa and Kogi, INEC has concluded that free and fair elections are not feasible until Section 52 (2) of the Electoral Act 2010, which prohibits the use of electronic voting, is repealed. The submission of the National Electoral Commissioner in charge of Publicity and Voter Education Mr. Festus Okoye, after the Bayelsa and Kogi elections, is that the aim of introducing the Smart Card Reader before the 2015 general elections has been defeated, as politicians are exploiting the absence of legal backing for the use of the device during elections. The corollary from the above is that the National Assembly must as a matter of urgency update the country’s electoral laws, particularly the non-recognition of electronic voting by the 1999 Constitution (as amended), to provide opportunities for improvements in future elections.

    Kalu goes to jail

    After 12 years of standing trial, former Abia State Governor Orji Kalu was on December 5 eventually sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment. The conviction of Kalu, who is the Senate’s Chief Whip, of N7.1bn fraud by a Federal High Court in Lagos, has been described as a boost for President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war.

    He was convicted alongside his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited, and Jones Udeogu, who served under him as the Director of Finance and Account at the Abia State Government House in Umuahia. While Udeogu was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, the judge ordered the winding up of Slok Nigeria Limited, holding that his assets and properties be forfeited to government.

    Of the 39 counts filed against the trio, the judge convicted Kalu of the entire 28 counts in which his name featured. On each of counts 1-11 and 39, he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment; on each of counts 23-33, he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment; and on each of counts 34-38, he was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment. Justice Idris said the sentences shall run concurrently; meaning that Kalu will spend 12 years in jail.

    In pronouncing the convicts guilty, Justice Idris said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The judge hailed the investigation of the prosecuting team, saying it was in-depth and conclusive. He said: “No gaps were left unfilled. This is the acceptable standard. I hold the view that the prosecution has established its case against the defendants; it did not fall short of the standard required by law in money laundering offences.”

  • A Marxist Reading of Yishau’s ‘In the Name of Our Father’

    A Marxist Reading of Yishau’s ‘In the Name of Our Father’

    By Jamiu Ilufoye

    One of the most popular ideologies in the world is the Marxism ideology. Marxism can be said as the legitimate successor of some of the great thinkers in the 19th century, represented by classical German philosophy, British political-economy and French socialism. Marxist ideology was first coined by Karl Marx, who totally opposed capitalist ideology. The theory of Marxism generally focuses on the conflict between the dominant and repressed classes in any given age. Thus, Marxism analyzes class relations and societal conflict using a materialistic interpretation of historical development and dialectical view of social transformation. In this regard, it could be summed up that Marxism is an antithesis of capitalism.

    The Marxist tradition has had in the past and continues to have, a profound influence on intellectual and social resistance in Nigeria, despite the pessimism of the global left in the ability of ‘grand narratives’ to influence mass social movements. Individual Marxists have made crucial contributions (often at great sacrifice) to the development of resistance. The appeal of Marxism to African literature in particular and world literature, in general, is contained in its origin from the political economy. For Marxists, man is viewed as a social, economic and political being. Since the African novel has essentially evolved out of the writer’s mandate to reflect socio-political and economic experiences, the postulation of Marxism may assist in its interpretation. It is in view of this that contemporary African writers have joined Marxist movements by writing to fight the status quo in society. Many African writers, through their creative piece, have written to criticize the government of the day and the faulty structure of governance in the society. It is against this backdrop that this study, therefore, seeks to examine the Marxist ideology embedded in Olukorede Yishaus’s In the Name of Our Father.

    In the Name of Our Father, Yishau’s debut text, mirrors Nigerian society by showcasing its ugly nakedness: it tells the tragic story of a critically sick nation. As Ibrahim (2019) critically observes, Yishau’s novel In the Name of Our Father, from the Marxist perspective, “describes religious and military rulers as the dominant class in the society…Yishau has used his novel to redeem the society from the money-oriented religious leaders and also to challenge the military rulers who hauntingly enforced their ideologies on the common man.” He argues further that “Yishau’s novel does not just critique the class and capitalist system in the religious warehouse but also revolutes against the superstructure in the Nigerian society.”

    From the Marxist point of view, Olukorede Yishau’s In the Name of Our Father expounds basically the brutality that characterizes military governance and/or authorities in Nigerian society; side by side religious despotism which is arguably its key tool in subjugating the masses. Marxism suggests that colonialism is the mother of religion and it is what colonialist used to penetrate Africans.

    More so, post-colonial African society also borrows from this ideology and deploys religion as a superstructure to demoralize the masses. In the text, In the Name of our Father, Yishau attempts to project the post-colonial Nigerian society that is plummeted into a baronial excruciation by the insensitive rulers. Meanwhile, to properly delineate his motive, he deploys a journalistic approach in the text – carving the portrait of a dyed-in-the-wool journalist, Justus Omoeko who captures the brutality of the military governance.

    In the Name of Our Father is a meta-fiction as it has a supporting story within the principal story. Hence, there appear to be two narratives fused into a singular book: the first is the main story which hovers around the brutality of masses, which could be read through the treatment of Omoeko and other similar characters. The other story expounds religious indoctrination and its affinity with politics in Nigeria. The characterization of pastor Jeremiah (also known as Alani) is an obvious portrayal of this such.

    Having its setting in Nigeria, the novel In the Name of Our Father chastises the hypocrisy of religious leaders who parade themselves as the warden of Christianity. It similarly reveals the affinity between religious and political leaders and how religion is often used as a tool not only to exploit but also to tame the consciousness of the plebs from causing a revolution. Meanwhile, religion is not the only tool used here; military hegemony is also deployed to silence the people from opposing the misrule of the upper class. Hence the journalist, Omoeko’s encounters is not unconnected with the attempt to unfold an array of religious misconducts that plagued the religious temples in Nigeria. This is captured in Omoeko’s fictional story “Angels Live in Heaven.” Hence, Omoeko having realized his imprisonment is connected with his book “Angel Live in Heaven” seeks pity as he describes his predicaments this way:

    Until that day it never occurred to me that there was any link between my time in jail and my novella ‘Angels live in heaven’. It never crossed my mind that my stint in prison had anything to do with the fetish prophet who lied and committed atrocities in the name of the Father…. A young man…revealed to me that it was my refusal to co-operate with them by insisting on publishing that novel ANGELS LIVE IN HEAVEN, that made the Prophet use his contact with General Idoti to implicate me in the coup plot (Yishau 2018: 226-227).

    It is very important to mention that the controlling idea of the text through the exploitative tendency of religious leaders and the Marxist ideology of the relationship between rulers and followers is delineated through the two religious, fictional characters-leaders: Pastor David and Pastor Jeremiah. These characters paraded themselves as sacred beings who have a close relationship with the Supreme Being.

    Olukorede Yishau – in his profession as a media correspondent – pricks the consciousness of his readers on why religion should not be considered an absolute platform of truth. The characterization of these pastors as Yishau interweaves it is an obvious explication of the hypocritical religious realities in contemporary Nigerian society. They are presented in the narrative as ones who see Christianity as a platform to amass the economic value of the county to themselves. Pastor David exploits his followers by giving them a false revelation. Religion is seen as the opium of the people as Marx posits (Marx and Engel 1980: 39). Pastor David is thus seen tricking his followers, thus:

    Your mother-in-law is behind the low turnover you’re experiencing in your business. What you need to do to change the face of things is beyond you. There is the need to go into the forest to remove the padlock, with which she has tied your happiness. Don’t worry, I’ll do it for you. Just bring five thousand naira (Yishau 2018: 27).

    Olukorede Yishau
    Olukorede Yishau

    Furthermore, Prophet Jeremiah (the plotter of Justus Omoeko’s imprisonment) is painted as a religious exploit who takes advantage of the selfish leaders whose personal aggrandizement pushes them to such pastor as Jeremiah. An instance is his engagement with General Idoti whom he technically tricks of his wealth. And it is apparent that the capitalist ideology of religion is behind his mission (Ibrahim, 2019). Against the doctrine of Christianity, Jeremiah consults demonic gods for spiritual guidance to reap more exploits. Therefore with an omniscient point of view in the novella “Angels Live in Heaven,” Yishau reveals Pastor Jeremiah’s ulterior motive in the following words:”And the picture he got was that of a man scared of even his own shadow, and such people could easily be enslaved. And he was more than prepared to enslave General Idoti under the guise of providing spiritual counseling. He was going to make a super-slave out of him. And in turn he would make billions of Naira. He was not bothered about the morality of what he was about to do. After all, the money belonged to Nigerians, and he was a Nigerian! (Yishau 2018:113)

    Meanwhile, another Pastor Hezekiah is quite distasteful of the government officials and views them as enemies of the masses. He believes they are people motivated mainly by greed and ambition. Criticizing the relationship that exists between Pastor Jeremiah and top political officers, Hezekiah says thus: “You know, I’ve lost count of men of questionable characters, people in government who are enemies of the common folk who come here for one request or the other. They would bring plenty of blood money and gifts, and their request is granted” (Yishau 2018: 88). Thus, this shows the dubious deeds of both the religious and the political leaders in Nigerian society.

    Also, it is arguable to submit that Nigerian military regime is characterized with a total misrule and disorder that animalizes and brutalizes the serfs. It is in this respect that committed Nigerian writers such as Nnimo Bassey, Wole Soyinka, Ezenwa Ohaeto and Tanure Ojaide among others write in different languages such Pidgin, English and indigenous colorations to satirize the atrociousness of military rule and to unveil the highly-lopsided Nigerian society. By implication, Yishau follows the path of his predecessors by capturing the savageness of military authority in Nigerian society as well as satirizing the dictatorial rule as depicted in the narrative In the Name of our Father.

    Another basis of Marxist ideology is the examination of social strata in any given society. Ultimately, Marxism, being a literary and eco-political praxis, posits the clash between two classes: that is, the unfriendly relationship between the upper and the lower class. The upper are always attempting to subjugate the lower, depriving them of the economic values. Marxist ideology focuses more on economic values and means of production; the relevance of this work is however precipitated on the ground that religion is a strategy used by the ruling class to overpower the downtrodden. Therefore, religion prevents the masses from any revolutionary conducts. It is in this respect that Yishau writes In the of Our Father to interrogate the notion of religious exploitation and how it is used in the context of capitalism in Nigeria.

    READ ALSO: In the Name of our Father: Tragedy of a Soulless Society

    Also, there is a distinct treatment of the members from the lower and upper classes. Basically, those in the upper class or the rulers are given more privilege to certain things in the society, while the lower class citizens or commoners are unjustly ill-treated. This is seen in the novel through the characters: General Iya and Justus Omoeko. In the prison, Omoeko is tortured not only by the military personnel but also by mosquitoes in his ward. In an attempt by Yishau to evince the vast difference in the stratified formation of Nigerian society, we are made to know how decent the prison ward of General Iya is – compared to the journalist, Omoeko’s ward who is a commoner. Yishau clearly demonstrates this through the words of Justus Omoeko when they transfer him to General Iya’s ward. Omoeko comments thus: My room was a paradise compared to where I was coming from. It has a 4 by 4 bed, a table fan, an air-conditioning system which I later found out had been disconnected, and a one-seater chair… It was exactly a week since I was moved into this guest house, which hitherto was for General Iya alone. The change of environment had really done me a world of good. Although we were not free in the real sense of freedom since there were at least 20 soldiers keeping watch over us, yet I could not but feel free considering where I was coming from (Yishau 2018: 210).

    Obviously, from the argument therein, there is a wide range of differences in the treatment of people in the society in relation to social class even when being punished. General Iya, despite being a suspect detained in prison, is treated with the utmost respect while the common journalist and writer, Justus Omoeko is tormented and put in an inhuman living condition.

    All in all, this paper has attempted to examine Olukorede Yishau’s In the of Our Father from the Marxist approach while exemplifying how the text condemns the exploitation and brutality of the masses by the religious leaders and military juntas respectively. While the book catalogues various societal ills in the land, Yishau’s obvious controversial choice of the military and Christian faith (he is a Christian) as vehicles to expose and query the myriad of social malaise bedeviling the society is a bold statement that underscores his fearlessness as a social critic that has essentially resolved to stand with the people, in pursuit of truth, fairness and justice’ (Dibiana, 2019) like most Marxists.

  • Authoritative compendium on minimalist theatre

    Title: 50 Years of Solo Performing Art in Nigerian Theatre 1966 – 2016;
    Author: Greg Mbajiorgu & Amanze Akpuda
    Reviewer: John Otu
    Publisher: Kraft Books Limited, Ibadan; 2018
    Pagination: 614

    50 Years of Solo Performing Art in Nigerian Theatre 1966- 2016 is a monumental accomplishment in the annals of the theatre tradition and scholarship in Nigeria. The book is a compendium of varied full length solo plays and vignettes of theatrical works on Solo Performing art in Nigeria. Until the arrival of this treasure, perhaps Solo or mono-dramatic subgenre was at least, seen as a perfunctory art without any generally accepted form or structure. In Nigeria, for instance, those commonly seen as Solo performing artists were stand-up comedians or masters of ceremonies practicing an art which then was regarded as a far cry from the organized theatre with up-to-date dramaturgy. It is this lacuna that 50 Years of Performing

    Art has palpably filled; thereby incontrovertibly becoming the first authoritative, scholarly book on the mono-dramatic or minimalist theatre in our country. Its significance is in the book’s encapsulation of different forms of Solo drama- folktale performances, oral or historical narratives, single-actor driven one act shows and mimes, among other elements of this theatre.

    It is not hyperbolic to assert that whatever be the background of the reader- literature, linguistics, philosophy, history, archaeology, sociology, art or theatre, politics, business, environment or Agriculture, to mention just a few- this book teems with these ramified subjects, to show that the essence of theatre in the main is a depiction of life as it is lived in an imitative, enthralling form. These diverse, if not variegated aspects of Solo- theatre are reflected in nine (9) parts with insightful and enlightening essays crafted by theatre veterans, renowned scholars and critics, celebrated playwrights, actors, directors and producers of plays to adequately anchor and illustrate current  theoretical trends and ideas surrounding mono-drama in contemporary Nigeria.

    Section A, entitled “Theoretical And Proto- Historical/Pre- Generic Foundations” made up of three seminal essays traces the Solo drama to its pristine origin in African folklore as seen in the spoken poetry, the aesthetics of the traditional griot and the Igbo mask, and also reflective of the Yoruba and Ijaw incantatory poetry. Section B comprises articles that underscore meta-theoretical, comparative, analytical and generic studies revolving around the character of a solo performer- the elements of tradition and talent envinced by a performer in this genre and the literary accoutrements of Monodrama such as Asides, Monoploylogue, Ventriloquism, Vocal Characterization, Apostrophe, and their application in the requisite texts. In this section also are a number of essays that articulate the concept of monodrama from a mélange of perspectives ranging from Minimalist consciousness, Rural Christian Evangelism to Philosophy of Being, etc.

    Section C is a historian’s delight, as it properly situates the origin of Solo Drama in Post-Colonial Nigeria steered by such precursors as Betty Okotie and Wale Ogunyemi under the tutelage of legendary literary patron, Wole Soyinka, at the University of Ibadan. It is from these pathfinders that the more popular and prominent practitioners of this trade today, namely, Greg Mbarjiogu, Tunji Sotimirin, Funsho Alabi, etc honed their skills.

    Section D is unique for its demonstrative relevance in treating in depth the techniques and challenges of directing the mono-drama script. The reader comes away from this section with a distinct knowledge that a one-actor show is not synonymous with a one-man Production. Whereas one actor can embody and act different characters, they are usually many facilitators behind the scene serving as  background support that enhance performance.

    In Section E, the reader encounters the major dramatists/Actors practicing in this genre in a no-holds-barred interview sessions with seasoned practitioners or critics, who through their conversations coax or coerce from the interviewee the salient motivations behind their artistry. For instance, in the interview with Tunji Sotimirin by Austine Amanze Akpuda and Chikwura Destiny Isiguzo, Sotimirin makes a clear distinction between Solo performance and Stand- up comedy with their similarities fully fleshed out with dates and province of origination and practitioners in this genre.

    Other sections, F, G, H & I are full-fledged scholarly essays approached from diverse perspectives on the key plays of outstanding Solo- drama performers. These sections feature essays on the works of Greg Mbarjiogu, Inua Ellams, Benedict Binebai and Akpos Adesi.

    However, what invests a ring of authenticity on the 50 Years of Solo Performing Art in Nigerian Theatre is the magisterial tone with which some of Nigeria’s acclaimed theatre (literary) authorities analytically proclaim this genre in Nigeria as accomplished.

    It is impossible for a seasoned scholar to ignore a book which features such remarkable essays as written by outstanding theatre scholars and practitioners in Nigeria as Emeka Nwabueze, Kalu Uka,Ahmed Yerima Ben Tomoloju, Chimalum Nwankwo,  Ademola Dasylva etc. These certainly constitute a rare constellation of stars in the nations, if not Africa’s literary firmament.

    Nwabueze in his essay in chapter 2 entitled, “The Griot as Solo Artiste: Aesthetics of Performance in African Folk Art” in an admirable prose style situates monodrama in Africa in the folk lore. But he also dissects the aesthetics of performance as regards traditional performers as griot, bard and minstrel- making this volume of essays a delight to a literary taxonomist or scholar. Like Kalu Uka in chapter 4, Nwabueze demonstrates the place of orature in dramaturgy as regards Igbo world view, folk songs and art in general.

    With Uka we see the point of intersection between western influence on Solo- theatre in Nigeria and unique African performative theatre that reminds us of T.S. Eliot’s famous paradigm of Tradition and Individual Talent. Uka even traces this theatre in Africa to Apartheid South Africa in which the enigmatic playwright Athol Fugard’s play, Sizwe Bansi is Dead in which the mono dramatic technique is partially employed as a satirical device in selected scenes, as a strategy,  for pricking the conscience of the segregationist regime.

    Perhaps, this book also puts paid to the perennial controversy that had dogged Solo- theatre in Nigeria with regard to its primogenitor(s). Aside the indubitable fact established earlier in this work regarding the origination of this genre in the hands of Betty Okotie and Wale Ogunyemi in the 1960s with the performance of Beckett’s play, Acts Without Words, 50 Years of Solo Performing Art states authoritatively that after the disquieting lull that followed that premier stage, it was only in the early 1990s that what appeared like an attempt to capture Solo theatre in text emerged with Greg Mbarjiorgu’s popular play, The Prime- Minister’s Son. This assertion is also authenticated by many analysts and knowledgeable interviewees in the book.

    Austine Amanze Akpuda clinches this position properly in his profound essay in chapter six in which he brilliantly illustrates the features of the classical monodrama vis a vis The Prime- Minister’s Son, among other acclaimed plays in this genre.

    Some other contributors like James Onyebuchi Ile in chapter 11 furthers the quest into the essence of being by teasing out philosophical issues of existentialist dimension from the same text, just as Chimalum Nwankwo had earlier in chapter 7 interestingly with the touch of a guru seen Mbarjiorgu’s text as “minimalism at its finest.”

    From turning open the rich vault of The Prime- Minister’s Son other practitioners of Solo Drama like Sotimirin, Funsho Alabi, Ahmed Yerima, Innua Ellams, Benedict Binebai have obviously drawn inspiration to unleash their enthralling art on the Nigerian theatre audience.

    Hence, the ace theatre practitioner and critic, Ben Tomoloju in chapter 5 deftly x-rays Sotimirin’s interesting play, “Molue” against the backdrop of the aesthetics of ‘One- man Showmanship.

    Given the ambitious scope of this work and the depth of engaging analyses of the plays that hinge on mono-dramatic aesthetics, 50 Years of Solo Performing Art in Nigerian Theatre is clearly a timely arrival to confer some form of symmetry and authenticity on Solo Theatre scholarship in Nigeria. The errors- mostly typographical- are minimal, and the layout of the book is elegant and appealing.

    The issues thematized in the individual works of the core practitioners are many and exhaustively treated, although from the angle of personal predilection, there is need to have devoted more chapters to linguistic (phonological/phonetic) elements such as diction and the speaking cadence of the voice as primary forces that drive Solo theatre, beyond the first chapter “Words of Power, and the Power of Words…” by Moses Oludele Idowu, which is deftly executed.

    Overall, this book convincingly establishes the fact that though Solo theatre reached its high water-mark in Europe and America in the hands of such masters as Samuel Beckett, Anton Chekhov, Johan Goethe, Eugene O. Neill, August Strindberg, John Cairney, J.C. Bonney, Joyce Grenfell  and Louis Catron, Nigeria is not lacking in gifted practitioners of this subgenre who have through their remarkable genius at improvisation, inventiveness and acting prowess, taken this art to a clearly unprecedented height. This book is a testament of all that is ennobling in Solo Drama, without giving short shrift to its flaws, although the gifted editors- Greg and Amanze robustly contend in their well crafted introduction that the former elements outweigh the latter. Any library- national or local, public or private- that is not decorated at a vantage point with this gem is famished of a current intellectual sensation.

    *John Otu is a lecturer at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo

  • DeVinck’s retrospective in The Poets

    DeVinck’s retrospective in The Poets

    At the eighth African International Film Festival (AFFIRIF), a documentary on the growth of two West African poets, Syl Cheney-Coker and Niyi Osundare, was presented by Chivas DeVinck, an American filmmaker. Chinyere Elizabeth Okoroafor reports.

    Like the novel, James Joyce’s A Portrait of the artist as a young man, Director Chivas DeVinck’s The Poets explores two literary icons; formative years and eventual coming to maturity.

    The camera follows the two poets as they return to their childhood homes, their schools and their universities, describing with clinical precision what have shaped their art.

    The Poet is a beautifully shot, spontaneous and lyrical journey down memory lane in the most literal sense possible. Along the way, impactful political traumas are also explored with short bursts of archival footage. The Sierra Leonean civil war, military rule in Nigeria and Hurricane Katrina are some of the examples. Not to be forgotten is the true protagonist of this documentary: poetry. Ever so frequently, both poets read evocatively as the camera pans across various related and unrelated imagery. The poems are simultaneously inscribed in the poets’ own handwritings onto the screen, thus making this documentary a richly layered and inter-medial experience.

    Running for one hour 40minutes, the documentary brings the duo together and sends them off on nostalgic trips in their countries; Freetown for Cheney-Coker and Ikere-Ekiti and Ibadan for Osundare. Also, DeVinck’s The Poet structure is subtly straight-forward. It is divided into two parts with the first half of the journey unfolding in Sierra-Leone with Cheney-Coker  as the interlocutor and then the second half with Osundare taking us through several parts of southwest Nigeria, The Poets make very particular decisive stops.

    The film begins in a car as it navigates the busy Freetown streets. Cheney-Coker is the dynamic, informative guide and Osundare is a teasing, affectionate and curious tourist. The tone is immediately jolly and infectious: here are two good-humoured men brimming with anecdotes ranging from serious to facile, needling each other but also learning from each other. As they make their way through the city, Cheney-Coker points out how the war in Sierra Leone has marked everything.Wide, panoramic shots of the densely- populated and hilly city along with Cheney-Coker’s intimate memories of the space allow Osundare and the viewer to have an affective experience of the geography.

    We see Cheney-Coker’s childhood home built in 1936, which he has reclaimed since the end of the war. Old books abound in the modest, crumbling interiors and soon, a visit to his school rounds out the importance of a truly literary education. The camera eventually turns its attention upon the sea. With the views of the Atlantic Ocean, comes slavery’s omnipresent haunting. “If there was no ocean, there would be no Syl Cheney-Coker’s poetry,” Cheney-Coker explains. DeVinck gives us our first beautifully choreographed poem sequence as Cheney-Coker reads one of his well-known poems called “The Breast of the Sea” as a boat glides over gentle, sun-sparkled waves. The music sets the tone for a grim memorialising of “our bloody century” and the orphans, pain, tears and suffering it has left behind.

    The documentary successfully seals the connection between place and poetry, and it is through reciting particular poems in carefully chosen public and intimate spaces that allow for evocations about history and humanity to emerge. The history of slavery in West Africa, the history of war, the centrality of the sea as ethos and identity as well as personal reflections on marriage and love are folded into the fabric of these sequences. An incisive montage also takes the audience through Sierra Leone’s brutal history of diamond mining.

    “Shameless stone, bloodletting woman, I could have loved you, but I give you up for the feverish lust of the world!” Integral to several of these poems is the politics of Africa’s colonial history and its resounding, almost incalculable impact upon the present,” Cheney-Coker reads.

    The duo is suddenly in the car again, this time in a traffic jam in Lagos. Osundare becomes the poet-guide taking us through Yoruba states. Familiar tropes and themes come and go, visits to schools and universities, the formative years in childhood homes and the profound importance of education. But Osundare’s Nigeria is more ceremonial and bustling. Several friends and family members crowd around into the camera. The welcome rituals are grander and longer. There is an international poetry festival where Osundare is shown as a revered and honoured member of the community. We learn that just like the Sierra Leone war for Cheney-Coker, Hurricane Katrina figures as the psychic wound in Osundare’s life.

    In the second half of the documentary, there is a real deepening around the conversations about poetic form and political poetry, the debate on African languages, the literary canon inherited from colonialism and the many problems that plague their beloved continent. We are in Nigeria, so the poets are predictably perturbed by how to combat corruption and also poor governance in several African countries.

    The Poets is an impressive homage to storytelling. Tales weave and wind through the documentary, always engaging, delightful, and emotionally and intellectually rich. It is evident that poets are committed to and deeply steeped in traditions of oral and the act of recounting stories and reciting poems.

    The poets also engage with the fraught relationship between poetic form and political engagement, a tension that remains at the core of Western understandings of poetry and literature, and one that they have inherited from years of being marinated in what passes as canonical and classical.

    “All literature is protest literature, in some form or another,” declares Osundare. “The most sublime form of art is the protest against silence. The real issue is what or whose politics. You know, I’ve been called a political poet. There was a time I used to be concerned about it. Now I claim it as Christians say, “and I embrace this.” Oh yes, it’s political! Why not political? My very presence on this earth is political. My existence as a black person is political. The language I use itself is political. The choice is political.” These declarations aside, it is the documentary itself that becomes evidence of the ways that the poetic and the political are fundamentally interwoven. Not only are the poets imbricated in a complex and demanding socio-political sphere, but their poetic practice also draws from it and simultaneously nourishes it.

    Films about poets are not necessarily commonplace but the poetry documentary is a fairly established minor genre, especially in the past decade or so with the rise in popularity of the spoken word. Within that, any engagement with African poetry is, particularly, rare, if not non-existent. In fact, several generations of African poetry have not gotten the attention it deserves in academic and literary spheres, and The Poets reclaims and revives that space, and makes it pulse with life and potential.

    With their backs to the viewer, Cheney-Coker and Niyi Osundare sit on a balcony at Osundare’s home in Ibadan, with a glass of wine in their hands. They toast to poetry, to their dynamic past and their futures, to their friendship. They look out ahead as the pouring rain beats down upon a half-constructed building but keep turning around to recount something or the other. This retrospective positioning, looking ahead but simultaneously gazing back is the precise mode of this literary documentary.

    At the end of the documentary, the toast soon turns into a conversation with the film’s director and Osundare asks the question that the audience has been wondering about for the past hour and a half. “Why did he choose us out of the pantheon of African literature?” It is certainly a curious choice but manages to whet the appetite for a series-like project. Perhaps two East African poets will be the subject of DeVinck’s next project. The documentary fades to credits and the questions, hopes and poems continue to hang in the air.

  • Obande launches Encyclopedia of Life’s Realities

    Obande  Godwin Agbese, younger brother to the co-founder of the defunct Newswatch magazine, Chief Dan Agbese, joined the league of authors when he launched his book, Encyclopedia of Life’s Realities. The launch was attended by eminent personalities from all walks of life, including the former Editor- in-Chief of the defunct magazine, Chief Dan Agbese.

    Obande said the idea of the book came from “Olubunmi Okunlola, my Facebook friend who reads my writings called ”A Reflection Of An Unconventional Mind.” She kept on pestering me to write a book. This book is therefore dedicated to her.”

    The book according to the author “is not a novel, neither is it a motivational or a religious book. It contains all elements of them including a good douse of humor. It is simply an Encyclopedia of Life’s Realities. It is in a class of its own. Each of its page presents us with something to think about. This literary work attempts to answer a lot of nagging unanswered questions.

    “Chief Dan Agbese asked me how long it took me to write the book. It took me 3 years. I once wrote about 200 pages and lost it. Unperturbed, I started all over again, this time using my laptop. I lost the flash drive with all its content. Then I started again.”

    He  reiterated  that 10 per cent of monies realized from the sale of the book will go to charity. “We must all rise up to the occasion to end the tag of Nigeria being the poverty capital of the world. We know that our government will not end it. But we can do something about it, no matter how small. This book launch offers us an opportunity to contribute our widow’s mite towards alleviating the suffering of our less fortunate compatriots,” he said.

    The book reviewer, Barrister Sandra  Mbanaso, said: “The Encyclopedia of life’s realities: philosophy and psychology of human existence is one of the biggest books that I have ever come across. In its 711 pages, it discusses in brevity the various vagaries militating human dimension. That is why it is an encyclopedia. It is not intended to be carried about and read like a novel. This is the kind of book that we put in our library or on our reading table or at our bedside to be read once in a while.

    “This expansive literary work is among the first of its kind in Nigeria. There are very few of this type of book in our world as whole. This is not only because of its sheer audacity but also because of its penetrating delve into pragmatic Realities of human life generally. This book is daring in its expositions and a marvel in its frankness to illuminate the dark secrets of life that will make us wiser.

    “Its level of revelation will leave many in utter

  • Journalist’s house of horror after retirement

    Book: This Retirement
    Author: Kayode Adedire
    Publishers: Johnsprint Nig. Limited, Ibadan
    Reviewer: Banji Ojewale

    You would not be quite right to condemn journalist Kayode Adedire, the author of This Retirement, for the venom he spews out in this work. Anger, despair and bitterness leap at you from almost every page to dramatise his days in the valley of retirement at the young age of 48. If 60 years is what the statutes prescribe, there must be something sinister when a civil servant younger than that is thrown out in the name of compulsory retirement.

    Adedire had, in the 70s, worked at the old WNTV-WNBS, Ibadan, that became NTA, Ibadan. At the creation of Oyo, he moved to the new Television Service of Oyo State, transferring his service later to Osun Broadcasting Corporation-Television, where the retrenchment gale hit him on January 10, 2000. Cumulatively, Adedire had put in about 26 and a half years of pensionable service out of the 35 required to qualify one. There was something more distressing, according to the author, a widely travelled newsman.

    He writes: ”In addition, my age at the time of my retrenchment was just 48 years. 60 years is the statutory age of retirement. The point I am making here is that either by length of service or by age, it was too early for me to leave the service, all things being equal.”

    Deep grief and shock set in, naturally. A dark pall fell on Adedire to shatter his age-long desire ”not to look for any greener pasture but to pursue and end my career where I was. It was all about attracting to  myself good pension and gratuity at the end of the day.”

    When a man so committed and sold to total service to his country is given a raw deal at the hands of a literal father, as it were, you expect nothing less than a revolt, even from the most complacent or docile servant or child.

    This came in two ways. First, Adedire protested by refusing to collect the payout calculated by the government. It was a rare and principled stand for a man with a large family, whose only source of income was the wages he was paid as the director of news. For nearly four years he and his household fed on the generosity of friends in and outside Osogbo.

    Next, he took the Osun government to court to challenge his disengagement from the media house it owned. Here again, the author secured moral, legal and financial help to prosecute the battle from friends who believed in the justness of his struggle for fair play. He terminated the litigation when a new governor emerged after the 2003 poll in Osun. Adedire and others were reabsorbed as promised by the politicians during their election campaign. One of the conditions to satisfy for their  return was that you must not have collected your gratuity. Another was that you were not drawing your pension. None of these traps ensnared Adedire.

    The author went on to complete his statutory number of years in service to earn him the full complement of retirement.

    But life in retirement, as Adedire relates in this book, had its own unpleasant twists. He had this idyllic prospect: ”What I expected of the retiree is to live the rest of his or her life without any stress; just eat, sleep, wake up and do minor exercises to keep body and soul active.”

    But Adedire never found that paradise. He fell for repeated suggestions that he was too ‘young’ to quit active work, even if government had so decreed. He was advised to look for extra revenue. So he toyed with and indeed settled for a couple of businesses: barbershop, hairdressing, carwash, retail trade, ice block venture etc. Later, he was talked into network marketing of a product. But alas, failure dogged his steps.

    He went back to paid employment with a private radio station, his rich experience in the industry being much sought after. It was a contract deal. But intrigues of power tussle and partisan politics would not allow Adedire, a man given to a culture of professional integrity, to last there.

    Reflecting on these travails in retirement, Adedire asserts that one reason for sorrowful losses incurred by pensioners is that ”they had no managerial knowledge”. Another is that most of these retirees ”cannot boast of any vocational training”.

    This Retirement clearly has a word for both the handlers of retirees in the public and public sectors. There must not only be prompt payment of retirement benefits, but also ahead of their exit, they should be exposed to seminars on viable businesses that suit their takeaway.

    Others are dismissing these propositions altogether and asking this question: must retirees go into business in their twilight years?

    Either way, Kayode Adedire’s This Retirement represents a pensive intervention in the endless national conversation over first, how not to treat our pensioners and secondly, how they also must not treat themselves. The book effectively demystifies regnant notions of the society’s stand on pensioners and calls for a radical review to offer a humane template.

    The book however is blighted by a train of typographical errors, a pack of poorly knitted sheaves, and a riotous run of repetitive pages.

  • Between Achebe’s legacy Igbo culture and society (VI)

    Archbishop Tutu XE “Tutu” noted that “. . . without memory it would be virtually impossible to learn: we could not learn from experience, because experience is something remembered. I would forever have to start at the beginning, not realising that a hot stove invariably burns the hand placed upon it. What I know is what I remember, and that helps to make me who I am.” Concluding his remarks on the elemental connection between experience, memory and history, Archbishop Tutu made a poignant observation of the relationship of the three—experience, memory and identity—to the destinies of nations. He noted that: “Nations are built through sharing experiences, memories a[nd] history.

    That is why people have often tried to destroy their enemies by destroying their histories, their memories, that which gives them an identity. That is why new immigrants who want to become naturalized citizens of a new motherland are asked to appropriate significant portions of its history, its collective memory.” We need to fix the problem within, so as to be better fortified to face the problem on the outside.

    So long as we treat our past heroes and heroines, as though they have no part to play in our present and in our future; to that extent do we leave ourselves open to the perils of ignorance, lack of direction and “ad-hocing,” so to speak, our way through one crisis after another; one charlatan after another.

    It is only by conserving and consecrating the immanent majesty of our history, culture and the great personalities who played indelible roles in them; that we can straighten our backs and hold high our heads; because we know that nobility, excellence and integrity, are not only a demonstrable part and parcel of our history and culture; are not only our birthright, but are coded into our DNA!

    Consequently, I subscribe to the second development model, which I call the: “Inside-Out Development Model” for Ndigbo; which advocates judicious and conscious leadership of Igbo States at the local government, gubernatorial and national levels; a development model which presumes that Igbo States have the internal capacity and dynamism—defined in terms of human capital and socio-cultural resources, as well as financial options—nationally and internationally —to bring about dramatic infrastructural transformation of their capital cities, to begin with; as well as their agriculture, agribusiness, healthcare, transportation and communication systems, and all levels of formal education.

    I contend that Igbo leadership has failed to record, institutionalize, popularize, project and celebrate the men and women who have brought out the best in us; so that our youth and others younger still can know that great men and women have already laid the foundation of a great nation of people, worthy of adulation and emulation.

    It is that failing, I contend, more than any “marginalization” from “outside”—by the current Federal government (or any other Federal government, for that matter, in the future)—that has left and leaves Ndigbo dismayed, adrift, and seemingly, unhinged.

    Commerce, trade, entrepreneurship, personal accumulation of vast sums of money, etc., have their place of relevance and importance in our existential scheme of things.

    However, commerce alone, no matter how successful, has never and will never, take the place of culture, intellectual creativity and history. A man with a bagful of money, but who knows not from whence he cometh or whence he tithers; will end up not much more than a vulgar careerist or a conspicuous consumer; contributing little or nothing to the great pillars of the edifice of human history!

    As one of the vignettes in the forthcoming second volume of my Aphorisms, states: “We are too poor not to care about money, but we are too rich to care only about money.” Rich in intelligence, culture, creativity, spirit and avocation; to be hamstrung by only mercantilist groveling for sheets of colored paper and shiny pieces of alloyed metal coins!

    The British historian, Hugh Trevor Roper, who made the insolent but fictitious claim in the 19th century, that African History does not exist, could not have made such a statement about ancient Egyptian, Chinese or Indian history! And the simple question, for us all, is why?

    We must lay the down – in brick and mortar – architecturally and in the form of functional modern infrastructure, the evidence with which generations that come after us, and those that come after them, and so on and so forth; can, not only determine the level of our “development,” if not our “civilization;” but can take stock of and pride in our footprints on the proverbial sands of time! For example, what is stopping the Governors of the Five Core Igbo States, from getting together to build light rail systems connecting their state capitals and a number of key commercial and educational conurbations within their respective states?

    The need palpably exists and the financial resources as well as technical expertise can be harnessed domestically and Internationally. What, then, is stopping such a fruitful development?

    In my estimation, three principal factors have stood in the way of such fruition: (1) Lack of imagination; (2) Lack of political will; and (3) Corruption. In my opinion, therefore, we need FIVE (5) types of audacity:

    1. The Audacity of Hope – President Barack Obama titled his bestselling autobiography, The Audacity of Hope. Why? Simply put: Because hope gives us faith and faith sustains our hope until the things we hope for materialize. It is psychic as well as spiritual “nuclear fuel” which human beings use in difficult times to keep up their morale until their faith blossoms into tangible reality; through “positive action.”
    2. The Audacity of Imagination – The greatest theoretical physicist—Albert Einstein—was once asked what he thought was the most important quality a person should possess; and he answered without hesitation or equivocation: Imagination!
    3. The Audacity of Intellectual & Literary Erudition – The gift of the spoken and written word—of the power of oration and/or penmanship; are critical skills with which human societies have battled historical ignominy and cultural irrelevance. The ancient Greeks are a good example. Here were a small and relatively powerless people perched on the Aegean, who regardless of the later exploits and conquests of the Macedonian—Alexander the Great—literally wrote themselves permanently into history—through philosophical musings, astronomical schematics, taxonomies, legends and mathematical speculation.

    This is not unlike how immediate post-Colonial Igbo pioneer novelists, such as the likes of: Cyprian Ekwensi, Chinua Achebe, Chukwuemeka Ike, John Munonye, Onuora Nzekwu, Flora Nwapa, Buchi Emecheta and several others; wrote Igbo people—their culture and philosophical worldview—permanently into the storied annals of modern African and world literature. And a number of others are continuing in that noble footsteps: the likes of Ben Okri, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sefa Atta, Helon Habila, Teju Cole and others still; and I would like to add my humble self.

    1. The Audacity of Creativity – the drive and the guts to actualize one’s God-given promethean talent. To stick with it, to pay the price of due diligence, to postpone gratification in the service of the actualization of one’s talent; those are the hallmarks of the sublime, the hallmarks of the infinite! And, finally;
    2. The Audacity of Political Will & Action – the great Founder-President of modern Ghana – Dr. Kwame Nkrumah – aptly stated that: “Action without thought is blind and thought without action is empty.” To have men and women who have the power of conviction, the stamina of unwavering commitment to the goal of the elevation of their people, and have the determination to see that project through to the very end!

    Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, we can, with or without the Federal Government:

    Build an Igbo “Hall of Fame” here in Enugu—the spiritual “capital” of Ndigbo;

    Erect a War Memorial – having as its centerpiece what I call “the Wall of Tears” – a towering wall of marble on which the names of every Igbo person (perhaps even, every Easterner), who lost their lives in the pogroms in the North and in the Civil War–combatant and non-Combatant—all three million plus of them; or as many of them as can be identified, are engraved on that wall; with a non-stop water fountain frothing our unending respect and gratitude as well as an eternal flame burning in their eternal memory. We could add an arcade of the statutes of the most memorable warriors that fought in defense of Igbo land: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu; Chukwumah Kaduna Nzeogwu; Christopher Okigbo, Timothy Onwuatuegwu; Joe Achuzie, Phillip Effiong, Joe Achibong, as well as many other too numerous to mention here. I will even include in their ranks, the white American young man—Bruce Mayrock—a University of Columbia student, who, on May 29, 1969, set himself on fire in front of the United Nations Building in New York, in order to protest the death and destruction, especially the horror of the millions of starving Biafran babies and children!

    We can establish a Photographic Museum as part of the War Memorial, that shows pictures of virtually all aspects of the Civil war, from its carnage to its most sublime displays of courage and technological achievements;

    We can build a state-of-the-art Igbo Language Center, as part of the War Memorial and Photographic Museum Complex; bringing to bear every technological and pedagogical innovation, tool, method and data; to ensure that as many of our children born—at home and abroad—have a place they can not only come to develop the facility of speaking, reading and writing our language; but in which some of the finest pieces of modern African literature that has been written by Igbo authors, are collected and conserved as well as translated into the Igbo language;

    We can build a Light Rail System connecting Enugu and the University town of Nsukka; connecting Enugu, 9th Mile Corner, Awka all the way to the Bridgehead in Onitsha; Another line going from Enugu to Ihiala, to Owerri, all the way to Port Harcourt on the Atlantic seaboard.

    The proposed light rail from Enugu to Nsukka is less than thirty miles; the one through to Onitsha about 50 miles; and the one through to Port Harcourt no more than 300 miles. (The Ethiopia-Djibouti Rail Line that was recently completed in a partnership between China and Ethiopia is 472 miles or 759 kilometers.)

    We can build an iconic structure, using the finest and most representative artistic and cultural motifs of Igbo material culture, what I call: “Uno Ozo;” to scale up, rehabilitate and celebrate that splendid meritocratic aristocracy of the Ozo-Title. A structure, conceptualized and designed by the best Igbo architects and constructed by the hands and labor of the best Igbo masons, craftsmen and builders; which generations to come will use as the sublime milestone of the glorious presence of their forebears; as well as consecrate as the “cultural and spiritual heart” of Ndigbo.

    Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, which of the foregoing initiatives can we not accomplish because of so-called “marginalization?” The social, economic, political, cultural and psychosocial impact putting in place the foregoing (and so many others projects still); would be so powerful, producing such multiplier-effect—economically, socio-culturally and politically; as to make complete nonsense of our so-called “marginalization.”

    In the second volume of my Aphorisms—forthcoming in 2019—one of its vignettes, states that:

    “Until a people or a nation crystallizes critical aspects of its history in brick and mortar, parchment and quill; [such a nation or people] have no memories its succeeding generations can immortalize, and hence, use to sustain the élan or spirit, never mind the identity of their nation!”

    I especially like the slogan on the advertisement billboard of the beer called: Life, which, incidentally, is produced in Igbo land and it reads:

    “Progress is our Culture.” Nothing can be a more fitting epigram for and of Igbo history, ethos, national personality and identity! Let us roll up our sleeves and get back to what made the Igbo people the talk of the nation and the world: our industriousness, inventiveness, innovativeness, audacity, dynamism, tenacity and sagacity!

  • Ikoyi Club 1938 unveils new logo

    Chairman, lkoyi Club 1938, Lagos Mr. Babatunde Akinleye has charged Nigerian government to learn from the club in the management of a diverse country by abiding by the rule of law. He stated that when rule of law prevails, citizens live together in harmony, which is why ‘we are able to have the motto of global harmony through recreation.’

    Akinleye who spoke while unveiling the new logo of Ikoyi Club 1938 said that ‘when Nigeria learns from us and  focus on the rule of law, by the time Nigeria celebrates 80 years anniversary, Nigeria will be like Ikoyi Club and  there will be no acrimony among the component parts of the country and everyone will rejoice together’.

    The club unveiled a new logo to celebrate the club’s significance as one of the oldest institutions ‘anniversary, which serves as a medium to showcase the club and allow members to celebrate together.

    According to Akinleye there are no many institutions in Nigeria that are 80 and still be as attractive as they were when they were initiated. “Therefore, it is a reflection that the celebration is a significant occasion and beyond that, it speaks of what we are going to do in Ikoyi Club 1938,” he said.

    He stressed that the motto of the club is global harmony through recreation, which is exactly what the club has been doing over the years and has set a great example worthy of emulation by the state.

    “We are a club founded by the European and they handed over to us. We are now a club of very diverse membership. When you enter Ikoyi Club, there is no zoning and members are one and the same.

    “It doesn’t matter whether you have been a member for many years, you have one vote, and you have equal right. Even as member of the committee, you pay your subscription. You are in office to serve the members and they can and will hold you to account as we have seen in several occasions,” he added.