The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Interview

  • My debtors were happy when they learnt I had MEMORY LOSS — Ace comedian Julius Agwu

    Ace comedian Julius Agwu is celebrating life after going through the throes of surgery, five-month coma and memory loss. His return to active life is surely one of the miracles of our time. He spoke to PAUL UKPABIO about his traumatic experience and how he managed to fix the pieces of his life and returned to stardom.

     

    A few years ago, you were away in America to America for months. Now we hear you are planning a big home coming show in Lagos. What actually happened?

    That was the nature of things. I had just celebrated my 40th birthday then when the incident occurred. And as it said that a fool at 40 is a fool forever. I thank God that I was no fool. I thank God for everyone that prayed for me.

    You were said to have suffered a brain tumor. Were you aware that you had such illness or did it happen all of a sudden?

    I recall that I celebrated that particular birthday colourfully. Everybody who was somebody came around to celebrate with me. I actually launched my book as well. It was titled ‘Jokes Apart’. So you know people actually wondered how I got here for real.

    Are you saying that the problem began immediately after the colourful celebration of your 40th birthday?

    Yes, so it seems. But really, I have tried to leave all that behind me, because, like I will say, ‘God pass them!’

    The usual belief is such an evil occurrence is masterminded by some village people. Do you also think so?

    (Laughs) Honestly, I don’t know. But the truth is that the person or people who did it, wherever they are, they now know that God is bigger than them. God is firm; that is why I am still here. I thank everyone that prayed for me. The first time that I fell ill before the relapse that took me to America, I had just finished shooting a movie series. But I came back after full recovery from surgery to find out that a new movie in town is bearing the same title as the working title for the movie I shot! But that is okay. There is nothing I can do about it.

    About the relapse, I woke up one morning and my wife was beside me. I saw her sitting next to me, I was looking at her, but I didn’t know who she was. I didn’t know she was my wife. I just kept staring at her. She started showing me pictures of my children on my phone. I didn’t know my children as she spread the phone images before me. It had to do with my memory. So I was told to rest. Afterwards I was flown abroad for surgery.

    It took a process. It was not as easy as I just told you, because, according to my wife and the people who saw me then, I just blanked out of memory. I couldn’t identify anyone close to me or any familiar places.

    Where did you go for the surgery?

    I did the surgery in Houston, Texas, USA. It was God’s grace that we went there. In 2016, I went to do my show in London; my usual show called ‘Crack Ya Ribs’, and that was where I had a relapse. So I was flown round for a solution and then to the USA. Thereafter I was in coma for five months. All of the month of August, September, October, November and December and January. It was not an easy one, God was faithful.

    How about your children?

    I have two children, both of them before the incident that took me to Houston for surgery. They are a girl and a boy. Both are strong and beautiful. I have always doted on my children.

    After the surgery, you returned to Nigeria…

    Yes, I came home when I recuperated and I was told to rest furthermore. I have been resting since then, but as you can see, I look good and ready for real work.

    Let us talk about the roles that people played during your health saga. What can you say?

    Well, I can say that my wife is too much. By that I mean that my wife truly remembered the vows we made when we slotted the rings into our fingers when we got wedded; to be my wife in good health in bad health, in plenty and in lack, to love and cherish till death do us part. My wife has performed her duties satisfactorily. I thank my wife because without her being God fearing and a good wife, I wouldn’t be here today. That is because she took up the challenge immediately she saw me in that state and sought out the necessary solution that saved me.

    I am sorry for the homes that have failed because the wife or husband did not stick to the wedding vows. I thank God for my wife because it is only God that can tell how good a wife material she is. I am sure if it was some other women she would have abandoned me and walked away. You know for some women, 2+2=8 and not 4 (laughs) and 8+8 is 36 for such women. But I was told that my wife was kneeling down by my bedside while I was in coma, and she was crying that I should not leave her and go like that. For that, I know God will still bless her more and more.

    Read Also: Nollywood Actress Eniola Ajao opens up: my relationship with movie star Odunlade Adekola

     

    How about other people?

    My mom was there too, but you know her role is special too. My mom came to Lagos to see me. She was always praying. She met many people, telling them to pray for her son for full recovery. I saw my mom just yesterday before I left Port Harcourt, and I can tell you that she is still hale and hearty. She is actually close to 80 years. I thank God for her.

    It took you some time to say you have rested enough and it’s time to work again. At what point did it occur to you that you have to get on your feet again?

    It took a lot of courage to stand up again and do a show. But I did that in Port Harcourt and it was to say my Port Harcourt people, how una dey? I felt that as they had encouraged me through my trying period, I should encourage them too in return with a good show. And that was last year. But for my Lagos fans, I am coming back with a bang next year to tell them all a big thank you. It has been a long time away from the stage. So, Lagos 2020 is a date that will go down well in history. The exact date has not been fixed.

    Did you feel at any time that your friends disappointed you when you needed them most?

    It’s sad, but that is the truth of my past. This year, 7th of April, I tried to make myself happy by celebrating my birthday, and I said it that day that I have forgiven my friends and thanked everyone that prayed for me to regain my good health. Anyone who didn’t know that I have forgiven him or her should know now. It is more important to move on because life is too short.

    What are you looking forward to doing at your show in Lagos?

    I will tell my story. Lagosians and people from all over the country know me, but what they will be seeing soon is another me, a new me in another dimension.

    What do you consider as your unique selling point?

    I am talented in several ways. I guess that is my stay power. I am a comedian, a music-comedian, a director, an actor and so on. These days, I am even known as a public speaker. Few days ago, I was in Abuja to speak at the Nigerian Medical Association Summit. I was there to speak on behalf of all the patients in Nigeria. I am proud of Nigerian doctors, surgeons like Dr Douglass who was trained in London but returned to Nigeria to do surgeries. And he has been here doing remarkable surgeries.

     

    I was in comma for 5 months

     

    You were in coma for five months. When you woke up, did you remember your money, your investments? Did you wonder about your wealth and worth?

    (Laughs) The truth is that many people owe me money. Some think because I had loss of memory that I must have forgotten about their debts so they don’t want to pay the money they owe me. But my philosophy now is that money will come and money will go. I thank God that I am alive. If I was dead, will I be here to remember that people owe me money?

    Have your debtors made efforts to pay back your money?

    The funny aspect is that they are not even calling me.

    At what point did you have the belief that you are back to good health?

    Oh, that was just last year. A lot of things had taken place. We spent huge sums of money, but life must go on. And I have recovered fully now health wise and finance wise. I have left all the anxiety behind me. At a certain point in life, one begins to reflect on general sayings like ‘health is wealth’, and they suddenly begin to make sense to one. Another of such saying is ‘time na money.’

    What would you say helped your speedy recovery?

    I stopped thinking about work, about shows and the like. You know as Julius Awgu back then, I was doing about five major shows. There was Crack Ya Ribs, Laff for Christ Sake, I was doing Festival of Love in Noga Hilton, Abuja. I was doing television shows as well. Before the arrival of Instagram, I had been shooting short skit. I used to come up with sudden ideas which I turned to short skit. And many of them are on Youtube. But after the sickness, I forgot how to use Instagram. But I thank God I am alive.

    Do you think that stress and over-work contributed to the plight that led you into coma?

    Yes, it cannot be removed totally. Apart from the spiritual aspect, my schedule before the relapse was hectic. But then, one thing leads to another.

    What kind of lifestyle did you have before the breakdown?

    I was over-worked. Everybody knows that I am hard working. Now, I tell people that at 40, there is need to find time to rest, to find time to sleep well. I was not sleeping well. There were many days at a stretch when I slept for just three or four hours. Sad. But now, I make sure that I take my siesta. My wife ensures that I sleep well because overwork also added to my problems then. From the way I worked then, I’m supposed to have grown grey hair all over!

    So why don’t you have grey hair or beard?

    (Laughs) It refused to come.

    You used to also be known for your outlandish dress sense. Are you still that stylish or has it gone with the lost memory?

    (Laughs) That one did not disappear with loss of memory. I am still stylish and fashionable. I am much known for my unique style in the entertainment industry. That is just me. I am glad that Dbanj emulated my kind of style. I like his dress sense.

    You are 46 with a good name and a happy family life. What else do you want in life?

    At 46, I am happy that I have a family, a beautiful daughter Zhara and a handsome son Zaidot. You know in choosing their names, we went after letter Z. The girl is in 10 and she is in secondary school, JSS1, and the boy is in nursery-primary school. You know the educational system has changed. I recall that I started in a public school in Primary 1, holding my big black slate under my arm. Growing up in the village those days, when I woke, I did the usual chores around the house, had a bath and then went around to hawk pap; what we call akamu here in Lagos, before I left for school with my big black slate under my arm.

    In residential areas or whenever I saw a crowd, I would shout out to them, ‘Buy akamu and akara here’ to attract people to buy from me. I was always late to school. That was because the akamu and akara must finish before I returned home to pick my slate and head for school. I was always kneeling in front of the whole school, a form of punishment for those who used to get to the school late. In addition to that punishment, when I got to the class, our class teacher would stand me in front of the class, and tell me to dance and entertain everyone before I would sit down. It was a sort of punishment for always coming late to school. But unknown to the teacher, or as God would have it, she was indirectly grooming me for the future. That is because, that was where my music comedy talent started and blossomed.

    Sometimes, in order that the teacher should release me early to go and sit down, I would come prepared with extra clothes tucked in my stomach so it could bulge out like clowns usually look, so I could make them laugh easily and quickly. Little did I know that I was grooming myself into what I am today. That was also the days of Uncle JB who used to dance and sing with protruding belly and backside. So I used to do all that, sing and dance in the class in primary school.

    But did you stop there?

    No. When I got to secondary school in 1984, we were the ones that started the 6334 educational system in Port Harcourt. In Primary 2, I was part of ‘Willie Travelling Theatre,’ people used to call him Willie-Willie then. He had been popular as far back as 1975, and in 1985, I was the youngest member of that travelling theatre. We toured Benin, Delta, and so on.

    I remember one performance in Warri, at a point during the performance, Willie-Willie as he was called, was supposed to disappear. He had been put in a coffin and supposedly nailed, but was supposed to come out of the coffin as a ghost! So we did all that on stage, of course setting the hinges on the coffin in such a way that it would be easy for Willie-Willie to break the top of the coffin and walk out in white cloth. And that was what happened.

    But as soon as Willie-Willie came out in white flowing clothing as a ghost, Warri people picked up stone and threw it at him! They were shouting, ‘na lie, na lie’ Of course, when the stoning was too much, Willie-Willie ran! We all ran! We didn’t sleep at the hotel that night. I was crying because I didn’t tell my parents where I was going when I left.

    What can you say about the entertainment industry then and now?

    Those were the days of struggling. But check out the industry now; it is a different ball game. Instagram is here now. I go to shows and see comedians performing my jokes. I see people repeat on stage skits I shot years ago. It is a good feeling. I feel happy that the industry has developed. In 2014, I was in America to watch a top American entertainer perform, and behold, no one was allowed with a phone in the hall because they didn’t want people using their phones to record or snap photos. I guess a time will come in Nigeria when that will be done too.

    You had already set out a future for yourself even in secondary school. Did you stop school and face a career?

    I have always told young comedians doing jokes that it is not enough to do comedy; that they should go to school. No matter how funny you are. I have also tried in my little way to help young comedians to carve a niche for themselves. I don’t want to mention names of people who I give money to use in paying their fees in higher institutions. Let me even mention Funny Bone. That is one person that is close to me. I met him in Kaduna. I told him to go to school. I told him to register for theatre Arts in University of Port Harcourt. And he went to school. He studied Theatre Arts at the University of Jos.

    There’s another one from Bayelsa State; a comedian. I met him when I did a show in Bayelsa. I told him to go to school. He said no, and I told him, I will pay all his school fees. He went but did not do well. It was the same Theatre Arts which I did in 1991/1992. He failed and his father came to tell me. I called the boy and told him I would pay again, he should go back. Behold he passed at the second trial.

    Was it easy for you to pay your own school fees then?

    No, it was not easy. But I thank God because I went to a university that is located in my village. The University of Port Harcourt is located in my village Choba. It was the saving grace for me. And as God will have it, while I was in the university, I was already doing shows about the place. Whenever the school was on holiday, I moved over to Lagos to struggle, shoot a film or work on a job.

    At this point, what does success mean to you?

    It means many things to me. It is having the fulfillment that everything you dreamt of is materialising for good, to develop the next person. And the person you are doing it for can be proud of you.

    Do you still have a flair for music?

    I am even supposed to release a song any moment from now. I have a friend, he is Kaffi’s husband. He came to my house with a fine beat and I agreed with him that I do work on something with him. The kind of music that appeals to me is that of Fela, Onyeka Onwenu or that of African China. Their kind of music talks to me. I am proud of Nollywood. It has been completely transformed and that is good.

  • My fears about level of education, displacement in the North

    Hon. Muhammad Jega is the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on IDPs, Refugees and North East Initiatives. In this interview with  INNOCENT DURU , the lawmaker representing Gwandu/Aliero/Jega Federal Constituency, Kebbi State, speaks about his fears about the level of education and displacement of people in the country, the North in particular. Excerpts:

     

    Could you tell us a bit about your background?                                       

    I was born in Jega village. There is a town called Jega in Kebbi State. That was where I had my early education. I was born in 1959. I went to Jega Primary School between 1967 and 1972.  Thereafter, I went to Government College, Sokoto, for my secondary school education. After finishing my secondary school in 1977, I went to Uthman Dan Fodio University. We were the pioneer students of Usman Danfodio University, where I did a two-year  pre-degree course before I was admitted into a full degree course.  The university wasn’t offering the courses we wanted to do; so I alongside other students who offered to study medicine, architecture engineering, and agriculture, were transferred. I was one of those who were transferred to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where I read architecture. I graduated in 1982. After my first degree, I proceeded for my postgraduate in the same course and finished in 1984.  After my masters, I went for National Youth Corps Service, which took me to the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus, in the old Anambra State. I finished that in 1985.

    What next did you do after your youth service?

    After that, I took up an appointment with the defunct  Sokoto State Ministry of Works as an architect.  I was there up till 1991 when Kebbi State was created and we went back to our state.  Working in the state civil service, I rose through the ranks  to the position of a permanent secretary. I was with the women affairs, Ministry of Works, as Permanent Secretary  and  also Water Resources before I resigned and joined politics. I resigned in 2005 and was given a commissionership, a member of the state’s executive council in  charge of local government affairs.  I was there from 2005 to 2007 before I contested for the House of Representatives. I won the election  and was in the House from 2007 to 2011.

    In 2011, I re-contested and lost my seat to the PDP candidate. I contested then under the All Nigeria People’s Party ( ANPP). IN 2015, I contested under the APC and won the election and returned to the House again. In 2019 also, I won and continued to represent my people in the House of Representatives.

    Before this interview, I did  a search on you and found that even when education had not been widely accepted in the North, you had gone very far…

    (Cuts in) What I just told you was a summary of the education I went through because I have master’s degree  in Business Administration. I did PostGraduate Diploma in  Management; then I did my MBA.

    Is it that your parents are rich or educated that made them to give you that level of education?

    No.  My parents were moderate; they were not poor.  I was the pioneer student in my family.  I am from a polygamous home.  Those days, we enjoyed scholarship and that is why it is one of my priorities to ensure that we reach the grassroots to educate them by paying for their school fees. We encourage them to go to school.

    The situation has drastically changed. I am sure many of us at the helm of affairs enjoyed scholarship and could not have gone to the university if not for the scholarship. At that time, Mohammad Adamu Aliero(former Kebbi governor) was one year ahead of me in the university. Usman Dankingari, who succeeded him, was in the same class with me. The present governor of Kebbi State was one year behind me in the university.  They were the second set of the Uthman Danfodio University.  Things were much better then. We had scholarship. That is why when we look at what is happening now, it bleeds our heart because the situation has changed.

    What exactly are you talking about when you say ‘what is happening now’?

    In terms of access to education across the whole country and especially in the North.  The situation is worse in the North.  All those in control of the affairs of the North enjoyed free education. Mention names; governors, all those representing the state in the North, in ministerial and whichever positions must have enjoyed free education.

     What is the implication of this now that scholarship is no longer there?

    That is why we are in this trouble.  The standard has fallen because people are just after the certificate. The quality is not there and all the noise some governors are making in respect of education, some of them are not actually providing good quality education, the structures, the conditions of these  schools and even the quality teachers are nothing to write home about.

     

    Remember that I told you I started university education from the Uthman Danfodio University where I did my A levels. I was transferred to another university and we met students from all over the country and competed  with them.

     What,  in you view, is  the solution because we have had the Almajiri school but I am not sure it is a solution?

    The way out is to face education squarely.  We are just window-dressing for now.  Education, health and agriculture, these are the most important sectors that can rescue most of the states in the North.

    When these sectors are established, then you can go for industrial development.  But where people are not educated, where health facilities are not accessible, where agriculture is just a lip service, how do you expect to have progress?

    Talking about agriculture, the North supplies  a large percent of the food in the South  and the country in general.

    It could have been better if better attention is given to that area than what is being done now.

    What do you think is not being well done?

    So many things are not going straight the way they should go. So many programmes, like the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme and a lot of things. There should be some  study so that you can improve.

    What do you think is wrong with the Anchor Borrowers Programme?

    Some of the real farmers are not involved. We have a pyramid shelve type of hierarchy. The best of the pyramid is where you have these subsistent farmers. Most of them do not have access to finance and mechanisation.  If attention is given to them, they can feed the nation easily. The food security we are talking about would be achieved easily and by now we would have been exporting agricultural products to all other African countries and even to Europe.

     As the House Committee chair on IDPs, Refugees and North East Initiatives, how do you feel that many people in the country, the North in particular, are displaced?

    It is sad, very,  very sad because most of these people left their homes as a result of conflict, either armed conflict, banditry and or some disasters.  The irony of this is that when people are forced out of their homes, they don’t know where to go. Sometimes the sons, daughters and their fathers are separated. You will see the father go to the left and the mother and the children to the right and they will never be together again. It is very, very sad. We commend the federal government for the establishment of the humanitarian ministry because the humanitarian concern of this country is very serious. Starting from the Boko Haram in the North East to the North West where you have the bandits. In  Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara, people are seriously displaced from their homes.  There are some places you cannot even travel to even now. Security issues are serious matters in this country and without security, you cannot talk of any development.

    I read that the number of displaced people would rise in the future. Does this in any way disturb you?

    It means that in the years to come, there would be more turbulence. With no end to insurgency, the crisis would be expanded and it is serious if we cannot control this at this time. The financing of the security template now is taking so much of our developmental programmes because it is competing with other needs.  By the time it expands, then forget about development, forget about peace and that will displace more people.  This is why we have to come together to see how best we can tackle this. Otherwise , we would be in trouble.

    There is so much unemployment in the country. The basic needs of the people are no longer accessible. What is the price of rice today? It is serious.

    Normally in this kind of situation, women and children are the worst hit. Children cannot run to a safer place. Mothers would be victims of rape and victims to accessibility to basic needs.

    Let us get a bit personal. You are 60 years but you don’t look it. What do you do maintain a younger look?

    Laughs. I just work hard and don’t bother with unnecesaary things. I give service to my people and by so doing, I have less stress.

    Since you have been in the National Assembly, how much would you say you have touched your people?

    Many of my people. I can’t even mention their number.

    In which areas?

    In the area of education, health and agriculture because these are the basic needs of the people.

    When you look at the country at large, would you say we are making progress or moving backward?

    There is some progress but we could have reached a higher level than where we are. Nigeria has what it takes to be great. We have diverse people. Only in my village, we have more than 15 professors. There is the need to redefine our position so that the country can be better.

    I read that some constituency projects you pushed for were not executed. What is you take on that?

    That is politics.  If you are in politics, people will make series of allegations but the truth will always prevail.  Some of the people who contested with me wanted to blackmail me but they could not succeed because they had ulterior motives.  They are not sincere. That is what it is.

    How would you describe your journey into politics?

    It is up and down. I told you I was in the House before I was ousted.  Even then I won the election but the mighty PDP then used their power. It is service to the people.

    How do you relax?

    Relaxation? I have installed Samsung Health App. Every day, I walk. There is a number of walk I have to do every day. When I get home now, I have to complete it to make sure I have attained my daily steps.  This monitors almost everything- the oxygen in the body, the blood pressure, heart rate, stress level and sugar level.

  • We thought my mother was praying when she died — Tafawa Balewa’s son Usman

    Usman Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, a retired senior public servant in Bauchi State, is one of the children of Hajiya Jummai Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the only surviving wife of Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister, the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who passed on recently at the age of 85. He spoke with DAVID ADENUGA about his mother’s passion and lifestyle.

     

    Your mother, Hajiya Jummai Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the only surviving wife of Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, passed on recently at the age of 85. What effect has the loss had on you?

    Her death is devastating. She has been my guide and mentor. I lost my father at a very early age and she took over both role as a father and a mother. She inculcated the value of honesty, hard work and faith in us before her demise.

    Tafawa Balewa's wife
    Tafawa Balewa’s wife

    Where were you when you heard about her death?

    I was right by her bedside at the hospital in Lagos where she died. I was even holding her hands 10 minutes before she passed away.

    In which hospital did she die?

    Premier Hospital on Victoria Island

     

    What was she diagnosed of before her death?

    She was diagnosed of heart failure.

     

     But she travelled to India this year for medical treatment. Didn’t she get better?

    She was in India for some time. When she came back, she was better, so we thought she had recovered. But you know when your time reaches, there is a way to go, so her health kept deteriorating.

    Who sponsored her trip to India?

    She actually travelled twice to India this year. The first trip was sponsored by the former Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, with help from the state government. The Federal Government also contributed its quota to her second trip to India, together with the former speaker and the state government.

     

     How close were you to your mother?

    Among the male children, I was the closest to her.

     

     What are your fondest memories of her?

    I don’t want to heap praises on her because she is my mother. But a lot of people who trooped into our compound then had said Hajiya was a kind hearted woman. Hajiya is a woman who cares about the needy and will go all the way out to assist even if she doesn’t have enough. She has touched lot of people’s lives.

    She was so generous that those days when we (her children) gave her gifts, she would give them out to those in need. I cannot count the number of orphans she brought up. That was where her happiness lay; seeing other people happy.

    As I told you earlier, she is also prayerful. She prays fervently. When her moment approached, we heard her praying. She was praying on her sick bed when she died. That was about two minutes before she died around 5pm on a Sunday evening.

    We thought she was still praying; we didn’t know she had passed away. She had an oxygen mask on her face but we could hear her audible voice reciting the name of Allah. After some time, she just kept quiet and we thought she was sleeping.

    I, my elder brother and younger brother went out thereafter. We were happy that she was finally recovering; we didn’t know she had passed away. It was the doctor who confirmed her death. All efforts to revive her proved abortive.

     What were her hobbies?

    Hajiya loved watching India movies and football. She supported Manchester United Football club, which is the club my younger brother also supports. She took to Man United because of him. She stopped attending ceremonies due to her age and poor health.

     How did she manage to take care of her children after the demise of her late husband and former prime minister, Tafawa Balewa?

    From the proceeds she got from her landed properties, she took care of her children. At times, the federal and state governments assisted, and some people of goodwill also contributed.

     How many children did she leave behind?

    We are seven in number, apart from those that have passed away. We are four females and three males.

     How was she able to ensure peace, been the only surviving wife in a polygamous family before her death?

    My father made sure he united everyone before he died, so they had this element of respect among themselves. She happened to be the second wife among the four wives my father married. Before the other wives died, you would not know if there was a friction between them, as they were able to handle their mutual relationships while all the children lived in peace.

     What did she hate the most?

    She hated cheating. What she always told me was to never cheat anybody. I will never forget her for that.

    What are the things you think that people don’t know about her?

    What people don’t know is that Hajiya was very protective. She always made sure her children were safe. When she came back from India, she made sure she called everyone of us. There was a time I travelled to Abuja, immediately my flight landed, it was her call I first receive when I switched on my phone. She actually monitored my flight (laughs).

    Has being the son of the late PM Tafawa Balewa really opened doors for you?

    Not really. It is a long story. What I like the most is when people say my father is a good man. While I was resident in Abuja, there was this mosque in Zaki where I observed ablution. The Imam,

    though not from Bauchi, there was no Friday he would not call for prayers for the late PM. That is a great honour. But in terms of  his name opening doors for me, it has not.

    What was Hajiya favourite music?

    Mostly, she listened to Hausa music. She was very current too. She listened to more of news though.

     What did she use to tell you about Nigeria?

    She was not happy with the style of leadership in the country, but she always prayed that one day, it would get better. She wasn’t happy with the situation of things in the country. To her, it was mind-boggling to hear that somebody can steal N10,000 not to talk of billions of naira. She used to be sad to hear this kind of thing.

    What did she tell you about your late father who died while you were still very young?

    There was a time I was trying to be a truant in secondary school. She used to tell me to follow my father’s example. She said he normally trekked from

    Bauchi to Katsina to go to school. She told me that he went through a lot for the unity of Nigeria. She also told me about his integrity. She said her husband had every opportunity to enrich himself but he feared that one day, he would die, and what would he tell Allah in heaven? She said one of the values her late husband imbibed in his household was honesty.

    What specifically would you identify as your mother’s core contribution to humanity?

    There were some leaders who use to come to seek advice and counselling from her on certain things. She helped a lot of orphanage homes, mostly girls. She offered several humanitarian services to them. She just assisted without caring to know where they came from.

    Have you ever considered following in your father’s footsteps by going into politics?

    I did, but I got scared. Now I am a retired public servant. I was in service for 27 years and retired last year.

    How large is your polygamous family, as your father was believed to have many children?

    We are only 16 left. Some have passed away.

     

    ” We thought she was still praying; we didn’t know she had passed away. She had an oxygen mask on her face but we could hear her audible voice reciting the name of Allah. After some time, she just kept quiet and we thought she was sleeping.”

  • How I escaped the war front as 16-yr-old Biafran soldier — Senator Nimi Amange

    Senator Nimi Amange former represented Bayelsa East in the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Recently, he threw the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party into distress when he suddenly defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with his supporters. The lawyer and petroleum engineer spoke with PAUL UKPABIO on the reasons for his action, his lifestyle and other issues of interest.

     

    You trained as a lawyer. Are you still into legal practice? It is difficult to marry politics with other things unless you are just a political appointee. But if you want to hold an elective office, it is difficult to marry that with law practice. You cannot be going to court and contesting election. So I hardly practice these days because I’m still in politics.

     You look trim and fit. What is your fitness secret?

    (Laughs) I have always looked fit and trim. I try to keep fit. I always check the state of my health. I try not to eat more than two times a day.

     You stay more in your Nembe home town these days. Why do you prefer staying there to living in the city?

    Yes, I live more in the village. I actually don’t leave the village unless I have a very important thing to do or attend to outside the village. I rarely go to the city because I like to be with my people. I am a politician, and as the leader of my people, I could need their votes at any time. So I have to live with them and identify with their daily issues and challenges so that when I am representing them, I would not be a stranger to their needs. That is why I live here in the village.

     You studied Petroleum Engineering and Law. If you were a youth, what would you prefer doing for livelihood in the Nigeria of today?

    Initially, I wanted to study Medicine after reading law, just to keep my brain alive, but I could not because of political activities. When I left employment as a petroleum engineer, I decided to concentrate on politics. I was good in the sciences, and that was why I was able to study petroleum engineering. As a matter of fact, except for Religions Knowledge and English, I did not do any other arts subject. I had a good focus on the science subjects.

    After Petroleum Engineering, I wanted to read Law because I was always pushed to leadership positions. At that time also, I wanted to study Law because I wanted to be on my own. I didn’t want to continue to work for the government or work for some other organisations, so I started thinking of a profession that I could go into and be on my own. I also studied Law because I took it as a challenge to excel even in the arts despite being a science major.

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan said he grew up not wearing shoes. What was your own condition like in your early years?

    (Laughs) Well, in my own case, I went to school during the day and fished at night. It was from the proceeds of fishing that I was able to pay for my school fees throughout secondary school.

    Who were your role models as a youth?

    I don’t really think I had a role model when I was much younger. But something kept me going, and that was the fact that I was in Biafra during the civil war. I saw the industry that was being exhibited by the Igbo then. Though I was still going for fishing at night to sustain myself, I took to trading early in life. That is why when I was in secondary school I didn’t find life so difficult. I had grown up fishing and engaging in small trading. That was the beginning of my business activities.

    I remember that after secondary school I went to teach. My salary then was N125. I started business with my first salary. I didn’t even buy any personal thing for myself; not even bathroom slippers. I went to Aba to buy articles, returned to Nembe and sell. My stay in Igbo land helped me because I started speaking Igbo language and I was able to trade with them.

     As a child, what inspired you to seek education?

    After Biafra, I returned to Nembe and finished primary school. My mother was happy and she encouraged me to go find a teaching job. But I believed in education. And before I left for Igbo land, a secondary school had already been established in Nembe by the Catholic Church in 1965, and I saw how nicely they dressed in white shorts, shirt, canvass and socks and I was in love with it and wanted to be one of them. So I did my secondary school in Nembe, moved to Warri and then to Port Harcourt. But I attended the Law School in Lagos.

     What was your experience in Biafra?

    I am already working on a book about my Biafra experience. It was quite an experience. I was conscripted into Biafra army at age 16 and had three weeks training. Thereafter, we were to go to the war front and fight. But luckily enough for me, my aunt who I was staying with had a discussion with a colonel in the Biafra army who was a man from Nembe. The Colonel drafted me to S&T (Supply and Transport) and that was how I escaped going to the war front.

     When was the turning point in your life?

    At the end of my studies, I worked at Elf Petroleum, now Total. And after 15 years, I decided that I was leaving the services of Elf Petroleum. Some people thought I was mad to have taken such a decision because I was in a good position and earning a good salary. But I just decided that I would leave, even as the Chairman of the Elf branch of PENGASSAN. I regard that as my turning point because at that time, I was not ripe for retirement. My age was not up to retirement, but I felt I had to leave.

    When I left the employment of Elf Nigeria Limited, which is now Total E&P, I did not go home with any money, because after my gratuity and all other outstandings, I was in the negative by N366,000 because I had taken a loan to build a house and another loan to buy a vehicle. Knowing that the following month I was not going to receive salary, I still took the bold step to leave regular employment, moved to Abuja and went straight into politics in March 1998, during the formation of PDP as a party.

     

    ” I was conscripted into the Biafra army at age 16 and had three weeks training. Thereafter, we were to go to the war front and fight. But luckily enough for me, my aunt who I was staying with had a discussion with a colonel in the Biafra army who was a man from Nembe. “

     

     Is it really true that you have left the Peoples Democratic Party?

    I have left the PDP. I left the party when I found that an individual had decided to take over the party. This is not the way it was when we brought the party to Yenogoa. Party leaders were meeting regularly then to take decisions that affected the party. Party leaders allowed primaries and supported winners after general contest. But now, an individual, because he has been elected governor, decided that all the councilors must be his boys, all the eight chairmen of local governments must be his boys. Annoyingly, the person he picks to be his deputy governor is from the same local government with him. I looked at it and noticed that the national body did not do anything about it, so I had to leave for where I can be useful to my people. That was why I left to join APC. Definitely by the grace of God, APC will win the gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State.

     You said somewhere that your hometown Nembe did not have a secondary school until 1965. Are you happy with the state of education in Nembe today?

    This is one of the problems I have with the incumbent governor of the state. Former Governor Sylva, who is from Nembe, established a college of education before any higher institution in the whole area. But when the incumbent governor came, the first thing he did was to move that College of Education to his village. Have you ever heard of that? After that, he has established two other higher institutions within his own area. Does he expect us to be happy with his action?

    If you were given the opportunity to go to the Senate again, what do you think you would add?

    I am always working for my people. I joined politics because I wanted my place to develop the way the other places are developing. I am also worried about the 13 per cent derivation money. We are the major oil producing community but we are not getting anything out of it. We are getting nothing because the governor believes that the money is a windfall and he uses it the way he likes. It is unlike other states like Abia, Imo, Edo and Delta where they have created oil producing area development committees. Once money comes from the

    federation account, that is the 13% derivation, it is shared between the state and the oil producing area development committees, which uses its portion to develop the same communities. But in Bayelsa, it is the other way around.

    I think that Bayelsa is one of the states where that kind of committee does not exist, meaning that here, the producing areas do not have any development. You can see that the road from Secretariat to Nembe was constructed by NDDC and STDC. The governor did not do anything. If I am back in the Senate, I will try to see that the money can be channeled directly to the oil producing communities, maybe not by way of cash, but by way of projects. Also the Petroleum Industry Bill that has been lingering for so many years, I would try to ensure that the bill sees the light of day so that the nation can benefit from that if the bill is passed.

    For some time now, it seems the agitation in the creeks has subsided almost to zero point. What would you adduce that to?

    The success goes to the combined effort of the communities and the Nigerian security forces. They have indeed done a good job. The amnesty programme has helped too. Most of the boys were moved, some went for training abroad, and some have been back and are now working as entrepreneurs. From the analysis given by NNPC, pipeline vandalism is still there but not as high as it was some years ago. But they are still working hard to see that it is pushed to the barest minimum.

    You paid your way through school through fishing in the coastal waters of Bayelsa State. How is the business of fishing now in the state? Is it growing compared to the time you were growing up?

    It is not the way it was in those days. Then, you could fish and move out of your community. Paddle for just 10 minutes outside your community and you would get a whole lot of fishes. But now, you must move very far into the sea before you can get fish because of the pollution of the water. So we are not enjoying the fishing activities like we used to do in those days.

     Your hometown Nembe is about 15 kilometres away from Oloibiri where oil was first found in Nigeria. It is surrounded by about 200 oil wells. How rich is the average person in your hometown? What is the average standard of living in your place?

    Well the community is in the hands of the chiefs. I don’t know what takes place in other communities in the whole of Bayelsa State because I have not visited all. But I can say that this is the only community in Bayelsa state where the government is not doing anything in terms of development, because the electricity that we are enjoying is an understanding between the oil producing companies and the community. They gave us generators and gave us diesel to run them. Government does not care whether you have electricity or not. Then the portable water we enjoy in the community was given to us in the early 70s when Elder Spiff was the governor. We service the water system. The community chiefs do the regulation. If there is pump failure, it is the community chiefs that see to it. We don’t have local government activities here because the local government chairman lives in Yenegoa. He visits once in a while to come and pay salaries and returns to his place. Those are the issues.

     You have not contested an election in a long while. Do you have a plan to do so?

    If I have a space, I will try my best. But power belongs to God. I still have the interest of my people and I believe that they too believe in me; that I can represent them effectively. So if there’s a chance to go back to the Senate, I will do that.

    Do you really miss the Senate?

    Not exactly, but I am not interested in executive positions. I prefer the Senate because law making is about the development of one’s area and community. Some people may think that executive positions are better, but for me, I know I can contribute to the development of my people more from the Senate.

  • Blame Niger Delta politicians, not Buhari, for the confusion in NDDC – Ijaw Leader Joseph Evah

    Joseph Evah is a former publicity secretary of the Ijaw National Congress and one of the founding fathers of Bayelsa State. He has not hidden his commitment to the Ijaw Struggle. As an Ijaw activist, he was recently given an award during the 25th anniversary of the June 12 struggle in Lagos for his role in the clamour for the actualisation of the late Bashorun MKO Abiola’s mandate. As the coordinator of the Ijaw Monitoring Group, he spoke with select journalists on the leadership question in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), saying that the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, should stop causing confusion in the commission. PAUL UKPABIO was there.

    As a major stakeholder in the Niger Delta, what do you make of what is going on at the NDDC?

    Well, you know that right from the time of Olusegun Obasano as president, whatever is given to the Niger Delta, even the oil companies, whatever they want to give to us, that is our own right. We will always have a third force; an unseen hand that would want to cause confusion. So we are always on the alert to monitor and follow-up.

    We thank former President Obasanjo for coming up with the idea of NDDC. Over the years, we know that a lot of forces are interested in what is going on in the NDDC. We have followed them up and sometimes raised the alarm, especially the amount of money that the federal government owes the commission. Even when our son was the president, our traditional rulers took the federal government to court, and the matter is still in court, that they should pay their lawful contributions to the NDDC. Even the federal government, we harassed them.

    Now with the coming of Buhari, the leadership of NDDC under acting capacity, if we have people who are acting and acting, the normal way of them going about what they are supposed to do cannot happen. If people are always in acting capacity, their powers are reduced and they are limited unless they are lawfully inaugurated.

    As it is now, a new interim management committee has come on board and this is happening about two months after the last Acting Managing Director came on board…

    What was announced about three days ago is totally unacceptable. Everybody in the Niger Delta knows very well that this is another confusion. Everybody was shocked. The handwriting on the wall shows another confusion. I don’t know who is advising the President on this one when the President himself has already sent names of the new board to the Senate. We are all waiting for the outcome of the Senate screening.

    The President has sent the names of board members to the Senate but now we are hearing of an interim management committee. All this are just confusion left and right, and it is unacceptable to the people of the Niger Delta. I even thought there was a mistake somewhere until I heard the news on the television. Unfortunately, this confusion is coming from the Niger Delta politicians, not the President. Those people, immediately we discover their character, we will confront them.

    Does that mean you intend to confront the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs?

    I have said it times without number, I don’t know whether it is the shock of his defeat during the last election that is still disturbing him. But we are praying that the shock of his defeat in his state should not make him…maybe it is the emotional problem of his defeat. We are still sympathising with him. He had said he was not defeated, so he is in court. But why is he transferring his emotional problems to the Niger Delta? You know the President was saying that the Niger Delta Minister told him that in NDDC, people just fetch sand and put somewhere in the name of building a road. Was that what he did in Akwa Ibom? We are telling the APC leaders in the Niger Delta to call Akpabio to order. Maybe he wants to diminish what is left of the honour he still retains. He is causing confusion.

    If you go back to history, those who caused confusion in the Niger Delta never ended well. We will not allow him to cause more confusion. It is becoming clear that the minister just wants to blackmail others in order to remain relevant. He is only reducing his popularity in the Niger Delta. We felt that the President brought him in just to compensate him because of his defeat. He should not become arrogant. Those of us who have been in this struggle right from the days of Ken Saro-Wiwa will allow him. After the President gave him an appointment just to compensate him for his sweeping defeat, he is now trying to be arrogant. We will place him where he belongs.

    He is the one causing all this confusion. He cannot claim to be wiser than those who pitied him because he was defeated. We didn’t tell Mr President not to appoint him as minister. It shows that we sympathised with him on his defeat. If he had won his election, would he have been made a minister? We sympathised with him and thanked the President for giving him this appointment, but he now wants to be wiser than us. He should be very careful.

    In other words, you are disappointed in Akapbio’s actions…

    We are totally disappointed in Akpabio. He does not want to appreciate how we sympathised with his defeat. He should not think that we don’t know what we are doing. The President will listen to us more than him. Those of us who are activists, the President will listen to us. He has to be careful.

    Are you people contemplating a meeting with the President?

    We are sending a message to the President, and Mr President needs to remind Akpabio that ‘this appointment given to you, the Niger Delta activists did not reject the appointment, therefore consult widely before taking decisions.’ We are also telling other APC leaders in the Niger Delta that they have a role to play, not for them to say that we are confronting the President who appointed one of them as minister by the time we start. I am calling on all the APC leaders from the Niger Delta to call Akpabio to order. When NDDC was created, Akpabio was not governor of Niger Delta State. It was Victor Attah, and he was one of those that made Obasanjo to create the NDDC. He did not know how the NDDC was created. Obong Attah is one of the heroes of the NDDC creation. So, he should not come and start jumping about as if he knows the history of the NDDC. Other APC leaders should call Akpabio to order, because the way he is going, the emotional problem he is having over his defeat, he is taking it too far, and we will now allow him to come and act as if he knows about the creation of the NDDC.

    What are your fears concerning the way things are going in the NDDC?

    I believe that other APC leaders will call Akpabio to order. He told the Senate a few days ago that the capital releases for the Niger Delta ministry are not in order. He should go and manage the Ministry of Niger Delta. I have said it before, let me say it again, that if you add NDDC to Akpabio in the Niger Delta ministry, he will collapse. Akpabio’s health is important to us. If he has good advisers, they will tell him that Joseph Evah loves him. He is not a young man. If Akpabio adds NDDC to the troubles of the Niger Delta ministry, he will collapse in office.

    Let him concentrate and manage the affairs of the Niger Delta ministry that is already dead. All the signals that the Ministry of Niger Delta is not working are there. The whole world knows. Akpabio cannot be jumping from pillar to post in the name of working for Niger Delta. He should face the Niger Delta ministry and revive the ministry. He is taking his arrogance too far. He wants to use lies to become friendly with the President.

  • Why I never wanted to marry a pastor—Wife of Foursquare’s ex-GO Yinka Badejo

    Rev.(Mrs) Yinka Badejo, wife of the former General Overseer of the Foursquare Gospel Church, Rev. Wilson Badejo, turned 70 last Saturday and many people poured out to celebrate with her. There were parties as different groups chose to host her specially. But she does not feel 70. So, she has declared: ‘No retirement until God calls!’ She tells us more, in this interview with PAUL UKPABIO and BIODUN ADEYEWA.

     How do you feel at 70? 

    I feel very happy. I feel very fulfilled and I am grateful to God. There is nothing I have desired when it comes to comforts of life that God has not given to me. So, I thank Him.

    Now that you are 70, what will kind of work will you be doing?

    Now, I am running a ministry. It is a private one. There is nothing like retirement for me. One does not retire in the ministry. I will keep going in the ministry until the Lord calls me. My ministry is about prayer and counsel. It is located at Gbagada and it’s called the Dew of Heaven.

    What type of congregation do you minister to; is it private or public?

    It is public but not a church. It is like a support arm to the church. We organise programmes mainly for women who are looking up to God for the fruit of the womb. We meet and pray for matured singles and for those facing one kind of challenge or another. It is mainly a prayer and counseling ministry. But we have a weekly fellowship, which is open to all men and women.

    When you were younger and you heard that someone was 70, what readily came to your mind then?

    I thought 70 is far away, that it would take eternity for me to reach there. When I turned 70, I took a hard look at myself. I recall when my father turned 70 in 1990 and we had a big ceremony for him. I remember that I thought then that I had a very long way to get there. Now, I’m there. It only shows that time is short.

    What’s the secret of your agility?

    I would say it is grace. I also take good care of myself in terms of eating. I watch what I eat. I am careful when it comes to food intake.

    You are a known fashionista. Now that you are 70, is your fashion sense going to change?

    I don’t think so. I am still going to be as fashionable as much as I can.

    Do you follow the trend when it comes to fashion?

    I don’t follow the normal trend of fashion. But I make myself fashionable in my own way. If I were to be dedicatedly following the fashion trend, then I will be going about naked these days because the current fashion these days is to either be naked or be very half naked (laughs). Anywhere you go these days, you find the ladies that way, and the boys wear rags. How can you buy a good trouser and then begin to cut it? I know rags are meant for mad men.Today’s fashion is somewhat faulty because what is meant to be private is not for public show.

    Are you saying that because you are a pastor or because that is how you personally feel about today’s fashion?

    If you look at my pictures even as a teenager, I used to always wear my high heeled shoes and I always had a hat on me. That fashion style grew up with me. I love hats.

    What endears you to hats?

    I just love hats. It makes a lady look good like a princess; it also makes a lady look like the child of God. It significantly completes and compliments a lady’s dress sense and style. It has been significantly a part of me from my early days.

    You are 70 today; can you flash back? At age 16, 21 and at 40, what were the things that were dear to your heart?

    At age 16,I was still in the secondary school. The major things we were discussing then were the type of career that we would love to have, the type of man we will like to marry. We were reading fictional literature then, novels written by Dennis Robbins and many other such writers. Dennis Robbins novels then used to convince us that when a lady marries a man, it would be happiness ever after (laughs). The passion I had then was to become an occupational therapist. There was a time one of our senior pastors came back to talk to us about career. Then I loved to sing and dance. I told him I would love to be a show girl. But he said I would have been good as a show girl, but that I was not slim and tall. But thanks to God who gave me a ministry that placed me in the public eye.

    At 21, I was on the way to the university. I was more matured and I had given my life to Christ at 17. From that time on, my focus and thinking had already changed and conditioned to a gospel life.

    Did it occur to you then that you would one day get married to a minister of God?

    No, never. It did not even cross my mind. I never liked being a pastor’s wife because the pastors that we had then were like never do well. In the 60s, my mom and I were travelling from Lagos to Ibadan and on the way, we were chatting. She said she was grateful to God for giving her a good husband, very comfortable home and good children, but that there was one thing that she missed in life which she could refer to as her only regret. So, I asked what she missed in life. She replied that she would have loved to have been a pastor’s wife. We were attending the Anglican Church then. So she said that people respected ‘Iya Yard,’ the pastor’s wife, as she was fondly called then. I was not happy with what she said because I wondered why she would crave to be identified with poverty. Pastors then were known for their torn shirt collars and their long well worn shoes that usually looked like Sinbad, the sailor’s shoes (laughs)! I knew I could never marry a pastor because of their poverty status then.

    So, how did you get to marry one who eventually became the General Overseer of Foursquare Gospel Church?

    It never crossed my mind but how it happened only God knows. But at the time that we were getting married, even though we had begun serving the Lord, I thought  we would still keep our profession and be going to church like normal Christian couples do. But God later called us for full-time ministry, and we had to abandon our initial vocation and face it squarely. But at 40, I could see I was already toeing the life of a minister’s wife because at 40, my husband was already a minister in the local church. He was already commissioned as a pastor. At 40, that was in 1989, he was already the senior pastor.

    What was your lifestyle like at that point?

    Initially, he had been working in the ministry, combining it with his career as a veterinary surgeon. But when he turned 40, he decided to answer the call to full-time ministry. I didn’t like it because that meant we were going to lose some comfort, because as the deputy manager of the company that he was then, we were entitled to so many things like free eggs, free chicken with comfort here and there. My freezer at home used to be filled to the brim and he was consulting for about 22 firms. So, I asked him if he was going to lose all these things. It took him some time to convince me that he was going into full-time ministry. To make it worse, he said he was not going to be taking salary from the church. I was a senior civil servant then but my salary was not what one could scream about. But God was faithful because our standard of living did not fall below what we had even when he went into full-time ministry. At 60, I was already the wife of a general overseer, a grand mom and I knew the intricacies of ministry and all what life is about. At 60, I had already made up my mind what I would be doing at the evening time of my life.

    Now at 70, what advice do you have to young women and single women?

    I will tell the mothers first that they should train their children the way of the Lord so that when they grow, they won’t depart from it. Let mothers do their homework properly; stop hiding under the canopy of ‘my husband is not doing this, my husband is not doing that’. The children are from both of you; so you both have stakes. If the children fail, then you have failed as a mother. The father can change you and start another family with another woman and you become the loser. So, in a home, my advice is that women should let their concentration be on the home. Work hard on your home; be diligent. If nothing is coming from your man, God has already earmarked you to be a helpmate. You are to help him and not to put everything on him. And in a situation where he is not even contributing, leave him to God. After all, if he dies, you still have to face the children yourself. If you take time to train and nurture your children well, they will turn out well. Some mothers tell their young girls to take advantage of their feminine nature, indirectly introducing them into prostitution. And when they become full blown prostitutes, then they begin to shout. But when the girl was bringing the reward, you were not asking her where the money was coming from. If Charles Wesley’s mother could train about 19 children, how many does an average mother have today? Women should stop laying faults on the men’s table. Make sure you are grooming godly seeds that you are giving back to the society, godly children.

    What example do you have in your children to share?

    To the glory of God, I have children that are married. I have never been called once to come over to settle quarrels. They are all at peace and I have my peace. If their homes are not at peace, a mother cannot enjoy peace at old age. So, why not do the necessary work of a good mother when you still have the strength to do so? Young girls are to seek God early. When you are properly focused and know God, you are not likely to miss your footsteps in life. If as a girl you are on God’s side, if there are 100 girls and 20 men, you will get your own man among the 20 because you serve God. You do not have to run helter-skelter or compromise your faith with the people of the world. A girl should, lastly, have a good vocation, focus on it and do well.

    The number of single women has kept increasing over the years, what can you say about this?

    Single women have always been around; it’s just that the rate at which it is increasing is alarming. Some are divorced women or the man just walked away or came back much later. The increase is alarming too but it’s also because good jobs are reducing; many men are leaving the country; many men are also dying; there’s higher mortality among the men than women. The men are not ready to marry young. By the time most of them decide to marry, they go for the younger ones and the older ones are left on the shelves.

    At that point, what should the ladies left behind do? Should they accept their fate and become single moms?

    I have said that the Christians among them will get husbands even if the ratio is 20 men to one lady. And there are some women that are not just earmarked for marriage. They don’t need it because they can’t live with a man. Some, their ego is a problem. And when a man assesses such women and realises that he can’t control her, he runs away.

    You’ve come far in life; what does success mean to you?

    It means fulfillment of destiny. It is when you are what God has destined you to be. When you are there, it is success. If God has destined you to be a medical doctor, ministering his healing powers, and you are there, that is my own understanding of success. If God has destined you to be a pastor and you are there ministering to His people, then you are fulfilled. Fulfillment of your destiny in life as God has ordained is success.

    Can you point to one or two situations in life that have made you grateful to God during the course of your ministry?

    There are many of them. But one of them is that some years ago, I had cancer! It was a major battle. Immediately I confirmed it, I laid in the comfort of my bed and told God that it’s either He takes me or He takes the cancer away, that two of us cannot live together. And God heard my prayer. He came to me in a trance. He took me to the spiritual. He was with a fork and a knife. He ripped open my breast (she touches the particular breast). That was how I knew in the spiritual what cancer cells look like. When He finished removing the cancer, He closed my ripped breast up and I regained consciousness. The lump was gone. It used to be very painful. My husband is a medical person. By the time I was examined again, it was gone. And the problem of cancer is majorly the pain. It was gone. There are some cancers that are malignant but when it is really cancer, it comes with pain. I knew that cancer is from the peak of hell, an affliction.

    How old were you then?

    I was in my late 50s. It disappeared totally; nowhere to be traced. A second situation is when I was looking for the fruit of the womb. We went to the best hospitals then, and there was nothing seen that was preventing pregnancy in me. At one of the hospitals that we went then along Western Avenue as that road was called then, after the man checked everything, he called my husband aside and asked him: ‘Why did you marry this thing? This one cannot have a child!’

    How did you take it when you heard what he said?

    I wept. He told my husband that he had made a mistake;  that I can never have a child. That was the beginning of my seeking the face of God in prayers. And the day that God came to visit me, I was praying on my knees and fell into a trance. I saw myself lying down on a table. There was a ladder on that table, which stretched all the way from the top. Then this huge figure came just like the bible describes Him. I couldn’t look into His eyes. He descended the ladder; He had a knife in His hands and as He came down and he said: ‘I am coming to do the work myself’. Earthly doctors could not do it because perhaps it was a spiritual battle and they couldn’t see what had gone wrong.When, he got to where I was, He thrust the knife into my womb and I regained consciousness. I realised that I was still on my knees. So  I ran to my husband and told him what just happened. He told me to go and record it and I did as he said. Exactly nine months after, I had my first child. After that, I had more children and now I have grandchildren too.

    After these two instances, did you have another encounter with God?

    I hear His voice from time to time. There was a time I waited on God for 60 days. But I didn’t see or hear from Him. So, it was like I wasted my time. But on the 60th day when I wanted to round up. I heard a voice say: ‘Go on another three days of praises.’ So, I started praising God. On the third day, it was like wool was removed from my ears and I could hear Him vividly. And on each topic that I had tabled before him, He gave an answer. God is certainly still alive.

  • My life as a Lagos high chief — Indian Cultural Association President Sanjay Jain

    Although he is the only son of his parents from a prominent clan in the Indian city of Jodhpur, that did not stop Sanjay Jain from venturing to Africa. And Nigeria regularly came to his mind as he was approached for a job as a chartered accountant on more than two occasions. Today, he is more or less a bona fide Lagosian as a high chief and President of the Indian Cultural Association. He spoke with PAUL UKPABIO about his life adventure and issues that border on his career, marriage and social life.

    How would you describe yourself?

    I am an Indian by origin and I have stayed in Nigeria for 28 years. I am a chartered accountant by profession and I am working as the Managing Director of a company. I have worked here in other sectors like textiles, telecoms, plastic manufacturing, steel, paper manufacturing, trading houses and so on.

     Can you recall the first time you arrived Nigeria?

    When I got here, I worked as finance personnel in a trading & manufacturing company. I remember that those were the days when I was new and had lots of apprehension and lots of questions. I was curious to know the country since it was new for me then. I came with my family and slowly and steadily, I started liking Nigeria and it became my second home. I really like it out here; very friendly and warm people. It is the warmness that encouraged me to stay here, and I was encouraged to start liking it the more when we started interacting with the people. Those days were different. Currency was cheaper. Even the heavy traffic was not there in Lagos as it is now (laughs). Those were the good old days,s like people say.

     When you arrived, which part of Lagos did you stay?

    When I arrived, my office was in Isolo as well as in Idumota, and my residence was in Anthony Village.

    Coming to Nigeria for the first time, were you not worried about what laid ahead of you in Africa?

    No. I had never been to Africa or Nigeria before, but I was not worried. Instead, there was a nudging curiosity in me about what the future held, and I think that was just normal for everyone, including me.

    What was the feeling and interest about Africa and particularly Nigeria with regards to your wife?

    My wife came here and I had a son at that time. She also took some time to know the place and acclimatise. Definitely, she also felt the warmth of the people. Our house staff has been very good. They took good care of us and she started liking it also. Of course, there was the contribution from the Indian community as well, though I will not give all the credit to the Indian community but also to the Nigerian community. The Nigerian community showed us warmth and received us with open arms. They welcomed and made us friends. Those are the qualities that made us stay here and make other Indians and people from other nations too stay here without any fear or confusion.

    Looking back to your early years, where did you grow up?

    I grew up in the state of Rajasthan, India. The peculiar thing about the state is that while Sahara is the biggest desert in the world, this is the second biggest desert in the world called Thar. And the city’s name is Jodhpur, very famous in the world because it is the state of kings and queens (Rajas and Maharajas or princely state). It has one of the biggest ports and has great, famous palaces. It is also referred to as the Sun City. It has presently become a huge attraction for tourism and a centre for people who like to have destination weddings or for celebrating anniversaries and other occasions.  I went to the university there, did my chartered accountancy there, and it is indeed a big city with a population of about 4 million people.

    What attracted you to accountancy?

    Ours is the Jain community and people say that we have accountancy in our blood. This community in particular is one of the most successful business communities in India. That is why growing up and realising the environment that I was, it came natural to me that I should embrace accountancy too.  It is a famous course in India just as it is here in Nigeria where you have ICAN as the professional body. We have Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ICAI, and it is recognized in USA, Europe and many other countries across the globe.

    Does that mean that you come from a comfortable family in India?

    Oh yes, my family has always been comfortable and prominent. My grandfather was well to do and so was my father. I will say that my background was much more comfortable. We had huge ancestral mansions in my native place.

    When you told them that you were travelling to Nigeria for work and business, what did your family say?

    (Laughs) I was not permitted. My father looked straight into my eyes and denied me when I got the first opportunity for Nigeria, more so because I am the only son of my parents. My father told me there was no need for me to travel out of India. I had a job in Bombay, in one of the biggest and most renowned textile companies. After six months, some other companies came and interviewed me and offered the job to me. I told them to give me some time; that I wanted to seek permission from my father. But again, my father denied me travelling. I told the people from the company about my dad’s negative response and they said they would give me three months to decide whether I wanted to come with them or not. After that, I went to my dad, stayed with him for some days after which I used the opportunity to tell him that he should give me a chance to come to Nigeria; that I would return after two years. Being the only son, he was not very happy to release me, but he did, and I came. The rest is history. Now I’m here for 28 years (laughs).

    Are they still waiting for you to come back?

    My dad is no more. My mum too is no more. However, I have close bonding with the family and I have two sisters too. They see that I am okay here so they have not had problems with that. Even my mum came here to stay after the death of my father.

    You are also the President of Indian Cultural Association. What is that about?

    I have been attached to this association in the past 25 years. I have worked in this association for almost all the positions. I started as an ordinary member, then sub-treasurer, then treasurer, joint secretary, general secretary, vice president and now President. It is the umbrella body for Indians in Nigeria. It is almost 60 years old. It was established with two aims: to do charity work for the needy Nigerians, and to hold some cultural events and celebrate Indian festivals in Nigeria.

    We invite our Nigerian friends to our events so as to facilitate the interactions with them, which leads to better relationship.

    The whole idea is to give back to the society/community. We have done lots of charitable works which many Nigerians have benefited from. The list is very long, but let me just mention a few. We have provided the drinking water facilities in those Nigerian schools where there is no such facility. We noticed that in schools here, the pupils go out to buy pure water for themselves. Whereas in India, I grew up going to school with about 1500 pupils but we had a place within the school where there were taps sometimes up to 40 where students could go and drink water with cups. So we thought that we could have similar kind of project here too. So, we carried out a survey of the schools and started providing this in schools. We also do servicing of these projects every year.

    We have also adopted some old people’s homes. We service them on a monthly basis. We send them things that are needed regularly. Time to time, we visit and attend to their other needs. That project has been on for more than 15 years now.  We also engage in the project of artificial limb jointly with HMF. We cater to those who have suffered loss of limbs through accident or whatever. Some have had their limbs amputated. Most of them are poor people and don’t have enough money for artificial limbs because they are costly. Under our special project, we give them free artificial limbs so they can live well and not necessarily depend on people.

    We also have contributed towards an eye foundation project. We have sponsored several surgeries for needy Nigerians, such as cataract surgery and many other kinds of eye surgery/treatment.

    We have adopted rehabilitation centres. In the recent past, we were at Ikorodu rehabilitation centre where there are about 1,500 inmates. Though it is government owned/managed, additional resources are always welcome. We assist by supplying them food items as well as medicine. We also planted trees there.

    We have adopted some motherless babies’ homes too in Ketu, Lekki and other places.

    We extend charity to these homes too. In between these regular projects, some other projects come up too. For instance, we have plans to take our charity efforts to prisons in Apapa. Even when resources are okay there, in such places, they still need more people or organisations to support with additional supplies. We also support the special school for children suffering from the Down syndrome. There are about 70 of them in that school.

    Apart from these, as briefed earlier, we also hold some cultural events and celebrate our national days and important festivals. This not only gives a feeling to our community people of home away from home but also facilitates interaction with our Nigerian brothers and sisters.

    How many are you in the association?

    We have 32 members in our executive committee. As for members, there are about 50,000 Indians here, and all of them are assumed members of our association. We even have outsiders too as our members, and every one can freely come to our events and functions.

    You have lived in Nigeria for 28 years. Do you eat Nigerian foods?

    You see, I am vegetarian, so my choice is limited. I have tasted many Nigerian foods like ‘eba’ and okro soup. I like pounded yam too. I like plantain chips, corn and vegetable soup.

    From your interactions, do you think Nigerians eat Indian food too?

    That’s a good one. You see, I have lots of Nigerian friends. I take them to Indian restaurants and they eat mutton, chicken and fish. But some of them say they are vegetarians too. And those ones eat Indian bread which is freshly made. I have a colleague who sometimes comes around when I am having lunch. I tell him to join me and eat my food. Initially, he used to tell me no, he won’t eat, because he said that I was eating grass as a vegetarian and he didn’t like it (laughs). But later, he started telling me that what I eat is good and healthy. He started eating and liking our food. I see many Nigerians inclining towards our food.

    You must have children born to you here. Are your children more Nigerian in character than you?

    Absolutely! When I came to Nigeria, I had a son who was about four years old. After about three years of coming to Nigeria, my wife delivered a son. Both of them like Nigeria. They have many Nigerian friends. Currently, they are not in Nigeria as one is working and the other studying. But whenever they come here, they feel very much at home. I came to Nigeria at a matured age. They saw this country in their childhood. As children, they walked around the streets without fear and played everywhere like every other normal child. They trekked up and down, played football, basketball and volleyball with their Nigerian friends freely. My younger son was even named Finidi George after the famous Nigerian footballer. He used to wear short, go out in the morning and may not come back till evening. He interacted a lot with many of his Nigerian friends. He is very close to the house staff and they are very close to him too. We have one house help who is just as old as his mother, and my son treats her too like his mother.

    Is the Nigerian community marrying Indians? And is the number of marriages on both sides growing or reducing?

    It is growing and they are highly respected. There have been many of such marriages. Some Indians are coming in here and getting married to Nigerian boys or girls. One of the girls studying in my son’s school has an Indian dad and a Nigerian mum. There are many other examples. We actually have a Nigerian Wives Association and they use the platform to interact with each other. They have events and that association is also in touch with us. If they have any problem, they share and seek our help sometimes. They are our sisters that are married to Nigerians. There is a huge community in that segment.

    Also, some Nigerians went to study in India where it is not only economical but effective too. They came back and formed an association called India Alumni Association. They are also in touch with us. And they also celebrate some Indian events in Nigeria like the Mahatma Gandi’s 150th anniversary coming up in the next few weeks.

    Are you a member of any Nigerian club?

    Yes. I am. I am a member of Ikoyi Club for almost 20 years now. I go there often. I am also a member of Rotary Club; a founder member which also is called Charter Member.

    How about sports?

    I used to play Badminton. I swim too. I was a good sports man. But I got an injury when I was playing badminton and as a result of that can’t participate in many such sports anymore.

    How fashionable are you?

    I like wearing good clothing with nice accessories. I attend many fashion shows too. So, I can be termed as fashion freak. Since I was given the twin chieftaincy titles, the ‘Asiwaju’ and white feather cap chief by the Yoruba community in Lagos, I wear the Yoruba native clothes also with great interest. Even before the titles, I had been wearing the native clothing. I like Nigerian clothes and they suit me well.

    Do you travel to India?

    Yes, I do quite often; at least two to three times a year.

    When you are in Nigeria, what do you miss about India; and when you are in India, what do you miss about Nigeria?

    When I’m in Nigeria, I miss Indian festivals because they are celebrated in India on a very big scale. Sometimes, we miss that, because over here, that big scale is not available, though we celebrate here to compensate for not being in India. Sometimes, I miss some Indian foods that are not available here (laughs). And when I am in India, I miss my life in Nigeria, which is always jam-packed from morning till late night. In Nigeria, I don’t sleep until 1:30 or 2 am.

    If you were not an accountant, what else would you have loved to be?

    I would have loved to study Medicine and become a doctor. But we are Jain family and accountancy is in our blood. So, from that angle, it is quite okay for me to be a chartered accountant.

  • How I plotted with my 14 younger wives to dump our husband —World renowned textile artist Nike Okundaye

    World renowned textile artist, Chief Oyenike Monica Okundaye, popularly called Nike Okundaye, owns the biggest private art gallery in Africa and currently has one of her works permanently on display at the Smithsonian Museum in the United States of America. Within a period of six months this year, two universities have honoured her with doctoral degrees for her contribution to arts and humanity. She spoke with OKORIE UGURU about her transition from her humble background to global acclaim and her experience as one of 15 women married to one man, among other issues concerning her career and love life.

     You have received two honorary doctoral degrees this year in a space of six months. Was it something you envisaged?

    Not at all. Actually, when the University from South Africa called me and said in a selection pool of 100 names, your name came first for the award of doctorate degree, I said me? It is not me. They said yes. I went to tell my husband about it, and he said don’t mind them, maybe they want to kidnap you (laughs). They got in touch with the South African embassy in Nigeria and the embassy came and told us that every year, from the 55 countries in Africa, they university would select 100 names from which people from different countries voted, and I came first.

    The same thing they did with the doctorate award in Osun State University. You know how many artists we have in Nigeria, and they said my name came first.  After the doctorate from South Africa, I was not even thinking of another doctorate this year. I was thinking maybe in another 10 years, I might be lucky to get another one. I just thank God and thank my country. You see, everything depends on destiny.

    Talking about destiny, you started from a very humble background in…

    (Cuts in) Ogidi, a small village in Kogi State.

    Not Osogbo?

    They only took me to Osogbo when I was seven. My elder sister lived there. She was an adire (local fabric) maker. A lot of people ask me, ‘Are you a native of Osogbo?’ I lived most of my years in Osogbo. It is only recently that I started telling people that I am from Kogi State. People don’t know me as Nike Kogi, they know me as Nike Osogbo.

    So, when I started in Osogbo, I didn’t have a dime. I came to Osogbo not knowing where destiny was taking me to. I just knew that I was to be a labourer, working with my aunt. I worked as a labourer at construction sites, carrying blocks and mixed concrete. I fetched stones, firewood, and water when I came to Osogbo around 1958. I was paid three pence for a drum of water.  I was only seven when I came. Even when I started this art thing, we were regularly fasting, saying that because we were fasting, God would bring food. And I still had to go and work as a labourer. On getting to the site, you had to queue. It was two shillings for a day’s job. I would work the whole day carrying mixed concrete. Because I was hard working, they would always pick me.

    My most terrible experience in this profession occurred in 1982 where fire burnt in the United States of America (USA). My ex-husband (Taiwo Adeniyi a.k.a Twin Seven Seven) had asked me to go and represent him in Washington DC.  The gallery where I was exhibiting was burnt down by fire. All my things were burnt. We had to go to the Nigerian embassy. The embassy lent us 250 dollars each. The others said they would not return to Nigeria, but I said I was going home. I returned to Lagos without a dime. I took a cab to Federal Palace Hotel because some of the shops at the hotel used to sell my batik.  When I got there, I approached one of the shop owners whose name is Fatai. I told him to lend me the money I would use to transport myself to Osogbo and promised to pay him back when I got there.

    In Osogbo, everyone was wondering why someone who had just returned from a trip to the US, where she stayed for three months, was borrowing money. I narrated what happened. The story was published in the now rested Sketch newspaper.  When I got back to Osogbo, the car I packed there, the tyres had been deflated. I started using the car as ‘kabukabu’, carrying passengers with it from Sekona (Osogbo) to Ibadan and from Ibadan to Lagos.

    You were into informal commercial transportation and drove on the highway?

    Yes, I had to. I even drove to Kano. I used to ride to Kano on a motorcycle.

     Are you serious?

    Yes. In our area, we ride the motorcycle a lot. My ex-husband used to drive very fast and he taught me how to ride the motorcycle. I became the one to carry him, because most times he was drunk, he would be involved in accident. So, I started carrying him on motorcycle. Whenever we were going to Kano, we would first ride to Ilorin. From Ilorin, we would ride to Kaduna, and from Kaduna, we would ride to Kano.

    On a bike?

    Yes. We were using the Vespa brand. I was the first female to ride a motorcycle in Osogbo. I also rode a bicycle. The first money I saved, I used it to buy a bicycle. There was no place I didn’t go with the bicycle then. Five kobo was the taxi fare in Osogbo then, but I could not afford it. I started renting bicycle for two kobo, and for a whole day, I could ride it to anywhere I wanted.

    When you came to Osogbo, it was to do menial and odd jobs. Now you are like the poster lady shown on CNN daily with your big head tie. How would you reflect on your life from that humble beginning to this point, owning the biggest private art gallery in Africa?

    I think it is just destiny, prayers and patience. I pray all the time. And anything you want to become in life, once you have patience, you would always reach there, no matter how hard it is. So, that is what has brought me thus far, because I faced a lot of obstacles. Sometimes, I would say should I go on strike? Then I would tell myself I cannot. If I go on strike, I would spoil the good things coming in the future. Sometimes I would cry inside of me. I would go to a corner and cry instead of fighting. Can you imagine? We called it Commotion House; 15 women married to one man. Three of us were sleeping in one bed. We were first sleeping on the mat before graduating to the bed. So, when I just look back and see what patience can do, I always tell people that with patience, there is nothing you cannot become. It is patience, prayers and hard work.

    Apart from hard work, I believe the depth of your artistic creativity played a role; somebody with little or no formal education with such depth of creative talent that shines out. Where did that come from?

    It is from my parents.  I am a fifth generation ‘adire’ maker. My great grandmother lived in Ede where they do ‘adire’. So, my family from Kogi had been living in Osogbo and Ede. Even my uncle was among the first people to make braids. My great grandmother was a weaver in Jos. My father worked with beads. That is the bead work I am doing now on plywood. My father would make beaded crowns. He worked for the king all his life. He had no money. He had no house of his own. I built a house for him.

    In Abeokuta and Osogbo, there are ‘adire’ makers. There must be something about your work that made you stand out. It is the impetus for that distinctiveness that I am asking about…

    I think it is the figure I used to put in my work. You know that ‘adire oni pattern’ is popular in Abeokuta. Hand-painted ‘adire’ is popular in Ibadan, Osogbo and Iseyin. It is just like the hand-woven. You know the whole Nigeria do one form of ‘adire’ or the other. In the whole of Nigeria, this is the clothe that unites us.

    When they started putting colour, turning it into purple and other colours, they called it ‘kampala’. They say that ‘kampala’ comes from Uganda, but we were already doing our own ‘adire’. So, this ‘adire’ we are doing, we can tie it with dye. So, I started using figures and images. When people come, the locals did not buy mine. But white people, whenever they come, they would open mine and buy them. I would explain the imageries on my design to them in Yoruba because then, I could not speak English. I usually put the images of a drummer, ‘Arugba’ and so on. So, my ex-husband (Twin Seven Seven) would always say the way you are drawing, there is something about you.

    In other words, you moved from the conventional pattern to distinctive imagery that made your works different and unique?

    Yes.

    And you tried to use the designs as a medium to express your creativity?

    Yes.  You know I went to see Mama Susanne (the late Susanne Wenger). I told her Mama, I want to be like you. She said she came to Nigeria to learn ‘adire’, that she was a painter. She said okay, bring your work and let me see. That was in 1964. After seeing it, she said, ‘you are already a professi onal. This is what I came here to learn in Ede.’ She said I should package myself in a nice way and make sure I did it well. So, each time I produced a new work, I would tell my aunt, ‘I want to go and show it to Mama,’ and she would encourage and advise me not to partner with anybody. ‘Just face your work and have a focus.’

    Susanne Wenger was also teaching the men new things. They were using aluminum to do earring. She was telling them to explore using the aluminum for other things like wall hanger. For example, this is created in Benin (showing a craft). We turned this into key holder. It was my own idea to turn it into key holder. This particular one, I turned it into earring. I was wanted to sell Nigeria with the green and white. All these are recycled from plastic.

    We started recycling in 1982 with Mama Georgina, the second wife of Ulli Beier. She was the coordinator for the members of Osogbo School of Arts while Mama (Susanne Wenger) coordinated the senior ones, the stone carvers.

    Without the ambience of creativity around you in Osogbo, would you have developed into the renowned artist that you have turned out to be?

    After my primary school, I went to Kabba (Kogi State) to work as a babysitter to get money to pay the balance of my school fees. I was doing embroidery there, which I learnt from my father. In one of the embroideries I did, I wrote ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ on it and also drew an angel. It was given to a reverend sister. She was to take it to Canada. She requested for extra four at five shilling each. That was big money for me. I was so happy and was wondering within me, ‘So, one could make money from this?’   I was also scoring 100 per cent in craft while in school.

    How do you feel starting as a housemaid to your work being displayed at Smithsonian Museum of African Arts in the US?

    For Smithsonian Museum, I did not know that my work could be part of the collections. It all started when the former United States President Bill Clinton visited Nigeria. One of the congressmen on the entourage, who I had met in 1982, insisted that the United States Information Service (USIS) must bring me to Abuja. I was flown to Abuja to meet with him. He was so happy to see me and introduced me to President Bill Clinton and his daughter. They presented a small work to me and wrote me a letter.

    During the visit to Nigeria, the woman called Robin (Sanders) came with them. I now said they should give me all their names. I wanted to take it to the mountain. There is a hilly mountain in my village, I wanted to go and pray for them there. You know they are African-Americans. I took it there. Somebody from my family used to lead the prayers. I told them look at this group of African-Americans, I wanted to bring them to Ogidi but it was not possible. They looked at the list and told me to write their names on the mountain. They also told me that one person from the list would come to Ogidi. I asked who, and they said Robin. I told them she had gone back to America with the American President, but they told me to go and write it down, that she was going to come back in a big way.

    I couldn’t understand the meaning of ‘coming back in a big way.’ I wanted them to come during the visit of Clinton because it was a three-hour drive from Abuja, but it was not possible. The next thing I saw, Robin was brought to Nigeria as an ambassador; the first American female ambassador to Nigeria. She came to look for me, because she loves textiles. She left Clinton in Abuja and came to Lagos. She is also an artist. Then when she returned here as an ambassador, we made her one of our daughters. I took her to Ogidi village and she was given a chieftaincy title.

    A fulfillment of the prophecy?

    Yes. That was how she bought two of my works and donated them to the Smithsonian Museum. She folded the works and they cracked. The museum then said they needed a Nigerian to restore the work. I volunteered to do that but they said no, unless they could get a person willing to sponsor the trip to the US. One day, the current Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Chinedu, walked in. I told him Ambassador Robin is looking for somebody to restore my work and they don’t want me to do it myself. He spoke with Ambassador Robin and he sponsored the restoration. That was how my work was able to get admitted to the Smithsonian Museum. Do you know the second work from Nigeria that is there? Njideka’s work. It is going for $3.4 million, that is about N1.2 billion. One work.

    Njideka Akunyili’s work?

    Yes, Njideka Akunyili, the daughter of Dora, the former NAFDAC woman. Her work is the most expensive art work in Africa.

    At a particular point in time in your life, there was a switch. You were based in Osogbo but decided to relocate…

    From Osogbo I moved to Ede when I got married to a white man.

    He was not your first husband…

    My first husband was Twin Seven Seven. We were 15 wives. I left Twin Seven Seven after 15 years. I said I had had enough. I had been travelling and I knew how to make money by then. I said I was not giving my money to him again. I organised the other wives. One day, I asked him why he married 15 of us and he said it was because he just enjoyed seeing two women fighting over him because he was a handsome man. I said oh, you married us just to see us fighting over you? I said I had had enough. The younger wives used to beat us.  Whenever they wanted to beat me, I would beg them and bribe them with the money I made from the labourer’s job I used to do and they would leave me alone. That was how I was able to survive.

    While I was living there, we went for an exhibition in Kaduna Museum. They wrote in the papers that the sisters are now doing it for themselves. People didn’t understand; they thought we were all sisters, not knowing that we were co-wives but called ourselves sisters. By then, we were no more fighting ourselves because we had left the man. That was how one white man working Costain construction company, decided to come and see our exhibition. He said he had been working for 25 years in Africa then and had not seen female artists.  By then I had finished building my first house. It took me 15 years to build the house. All of us, the co-wives, moved in there. When he came, he said he liked us and would want to marry the senior sister, which was me. I said no, to marry a white man? I said Twin will kill you. My other co-wives advised me to marry the man. If this man (Twin) wants to cause trouble for us, at least you would have somebody to fight for us. That was how the relationship started. Two years later, we decided to get married.

    Where is he now?

    He has returned to the United Kingdom (UK).

    Why did you not go back with him?

    He wanted me to leave the job I am doing. He actually married me because of my job. Then he said when we return to the United Kingdom, I would be a housewife. I said I could not leave my job to become a house wife. I told him I used this job to buy you a house. We bought a house in Kenya from this job.

    Finally looking at the whole gamut of your life so far, do you have any regrets?

    Well, I always thank God. I think I don’t have any cause to say I have regrets, even though the road was not as smooth as I wanted it. Today, I thank God. I would sit down here and people come from all over the world to see me—the King of Morocco, the President of Canada, British Prime Minister, and so on. What else do I want?

    My ambition now is to open a gallery in the United States to create more awareness about African art, especially the Nigerian art. That is why I do not put the works of other African artists here; only Nigerian artists.

  • FLOODS OF Tears in Ondo, Ekiti as downpour

    BY DAMISI OJO and RASAQ IBRAHIM

    The last few weeks have been sorrowful for many residents of some Ondo and Ekiti communities who have had to battle heavy downpours that rendered them homeless, DAMISI OJO and RASAQ IBRAHIM report

    FOR the people of Ilaje and Ese- Odo local government areas of Ondo State, the 2019 floods may turn out to be a once-in-a-generation incident.

    Ibini Obolo is a native of Igbotu, Ese- Odo local council. According to the story told him by his grandfather, the last time the people witnessed a flood like this was in 1962.

    “I remember what my grandfather told me. The last time we had a very serious and devastating flood like this one was in 1962. According to my grandfather, that year’s flood was very devastating as well as destructive.”

    While the 1962 floods were destructive for Obolo’s grandfather, the latest floods made it two times that floods would wreak havocs in Obolo’s family. His entire fishing pond business, which he put at more than N2 million, was washed away while he looked on perplexed and unable to do anything.

    “I am a fish farmer. It is from this business that I train my children in the university and feed my family. I have more than N2 million investments washed away by the floods,” Obolo said. Across the state, the people of the areas are regarded as not being strangers to water, but the deluge of flood water occasioned by the recent rains have turned most of the residents of the areas into refugees in upland communities around.

    More than one week after the intensity of the rains have subsided, the people have continued to count their losses. The rain, which is usually received with joy and excitement by the people, became destructive and devastating as the torrential heavy downpour, which lasted for several hours, displaced thousands of people and destroyed multimillion worth of properties.

    According to the people, the devastating floods that accompanied the rain, caught many residents unaware. The people were in their sleep and were woken up by the flood on the fateful day around midnight. Many communities were submerged, while public facilities like primary and secondary schools, health facilities, banks and hotels were taken over by water.

    Many houses were completely washed away by the flood, while other valuables such as mattresses, clothes, electronic appliances, foodstuffs, among others, were also lost.

    Most of the residents in the affected communities are seeking refuge on major roads upland, where they now cook and sleep because, according to them, there was no alternative. Victims, who spoke with newsmen, appealed to the state and federal governments to come to their aid by providing relief materials for them and to construct embankment around the affected areas.

    Some residents wading through flood

    “I have not slept in my room for three days since Thursday. It has been flooded. There is water everywhere and I have nowhere to go,” Monday Ogbolo, a resident of Igbokoda, said.

    Displaced residents whose belongings and valuables such as mattresses, clothes, electronic appliances and foodstuffs were damaged, were seen cooking on the road and sleeping under makeshift tents. Nonagenarian Mabel Ojute, a resident of Igbotu, which incidentally is the governor’s mother’s town, described the situation as hopeless. The old woman said she woke up and found out that her house had been taken over by water. She barely made to safety when the building collapsed.

    “l was in my sleep when I felt an unusual coldness in my body and I quickly got up. Before I knew what was happening, the entire house had been filled up with water.

    I began to shout for help, calling the people around for help. I also heard some other people in the communities whose houses have been submerged by flood calling for help. I rushed out of the house shouting, but soon after my house came down. I am lucky to be alive. “I began to cry because I have nobody to help me; I have nothing left behind. The flood has destroyed everything I have. So, I am appealing to government to come to my aid. As I’m talking to you now, most of us have nowhere to lay our heads. Since the incident happened, we have been sleeping on the roads upland our communities,” the old woman said. Madam Ojute is not alone in the cry for help and government’s intervention.

    Mrs. Mobolaji, the Iyaloja of Igbotu, urged the government to come to the aid of the people. She added that the people of the community have been rendered helpless and homeless. “This year’s floods have destroyed all that we laboured for all our lives. Many people have been rendered homeless, while those whose houses are still standing cannot access them because they have been taken over by water.”

    The Agadagba of Arogbo-Ijaw, Oba Zaccheaus Egbunnu, while appreciating the government’s quick response to the cry of the people, noted that his community was completely on lockdown, as buildings and roads have been submerged by the devastating flood. The Ondo State government is hearkening to the cries of the floods victims. Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu quickly assured the people of his administration’s support by setting up a twomember committee to visit the areas. The committee is expected to ascertain the extent of damage and come up with recommendations on how to mitigate the effects of the natural disaster on the victims as well as damaged property and equally advise on how to avert future occurrence in parts of the state.

    The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Olugbenga Ale, who led the committee on an on-the-spot assessment visit to the affected communities, assured the people of government’s support. Other members of the committee include the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Donald Ojogo; Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. Jibayo Adeyeye; Special Adviser to the Governor on Niger Delta, Hon. Oyebo Aladetan; OSOPADEC Chairman, Hon. Gbenga Edema and Hon.Lucky Ayedatiwa. The committee visited the headquarters of the two council areas, schools,  hospitals, palaces, banks, churches, filling stations and residential houses in affected by the flood in Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas. Addressing the people at Igbokoda, the headquarter of Ilaje Local Government Area, Chief Ale regretted that the devastation caused by the floods was beyond what the Ondo State government could single-handedly address.

    He, however, assured that Governor Akeredolu would work to secure the attention of Federal Government through the National Emergency Maintenance Agency (NEMA) to come to the aid of the affected people. “We are here on the order of Mr Governor to identify passionately with our people as a result of this unfortunate incident and to take stock of the damage to their property. Despite the devastating nature of the flood, we are glad no life has been reported lost. “We are expecting NEMA to come to the aid of the people, but it will depend on the quality of the report we are preparing, which will convince them to assist the individuals and corporate bodies affected,” Ale said. Governor Akeredolu also directed that all schools in the affected areas proceed on a three-week recess pending when the water would recede. The directive, according to the governor’s chief of staff, was to ensure that the children are not exposed to the dangers of the floods. “The governor has directed that school children in the affected areas go on holidays.”

    The Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, whose palace was also overrun by the flood, attributed the unfortunate incident to global warming and construction of structures on waterways. He demanded the timely demolition of such buildings to avert future occurrence in the town and other parts of the areas. The royal father suggested the construction of embankments in Ayetoro and Awoye communities to curtail the Atlantic Ocean from washing away the two local government areas in the near future.

    The Agadagba of Arogbo-Ijaw, Oba Zaccheaus Egbunnu, while appreciating the government’s quick response to the cry of the people, noted that his community was completely on lockdown, as buildings and roads have been submerged by the devastating flood. Across the two local government areas, the flood victims appealed to governments at all levels to come to their rescue by providing necessary relief materials for them to cushion the effects of the natural disaster.

    A road carved in

    The victims made the separate appeals during the visits of the state government assessment committees to the flood ravaged communities to both Ese- Odo and Ilaje council areas submerged by floods. Some of the communities devastated by the flood in Ese-Odo local government council include Pinama, Tehagbene, Biagbene, Adolosemon 1-3, Ebikiri Model College, Opunama High School,Ajapa, FAC Primary HealthCare Centre, Ajapa, Amatebe, LA Pry School, Bolowo, Ukparama Grammar School Bolowo, New Jerusalem, Arogbo, Agadagba-obon, Igbobini, Sabomi, Igbotu and Oluagbo among others.

    The story is the same in all the communities visited as all the communities, including primary and secondary schools, health facilities and churches, were totally submerged by floods, sacking all the residents and school children in the affected areas. Displaced residents whose belongings and valuables such as mattresses, clothes, electronic appliances, and foodstuffs were badly affected were seen cooking on the road and sleeping under makeshift tents. Ekiti victims count losses IN Ekiti State, rainfall is fast becoming more of aD curse than blessing on account of the resultant flash floods. Recent downpours in the affected communities have left tears in its wake and thrown many of the residents into misery.

    The rains, which commenced around February, have already taken their tolls on many communities in the state. Ado- Ekiti, the state capital, has been the worst hit. Many houses, shops and vehicles have been destroyed while human lives were also lost in the worst case scenario. In particular, the rains that fell in Ado- Ekiti on September 30 and October 9 left a lot of losses in their trail. The affected areas include Emirin, Omisanjana, Egbewa, Olorunsogo, Olurunda, Ajebandele, Badiri and Ureje. The victims watched helplessly as their properties were destroyed and swept away. The September 30 torrential rainfall, which began around 7.30 pm and lasted till 9 pm, destroyed the more than 100 years old Ureje Bridge on the ever busy Ado/Ijan/Ikare highway. The bridge, which connects the state capital with other adjoining communities, became flooded while the road was rendered impassable.

    The road, incidentally, is the only one linking Ado Ekiti with Afe Babalola University, the Federal Polytechnic and Ikare Akoko in Ondo State. The biggest loss, however, was a middle- aged man that was swept away by the flood. The deceased man was said to be returning from a trip to Abuja when he met his untimely death at his point of destination. The Nation gathered that he was warned by the people in the neighbourhood not to dare walking through the flood but he did not listen. The death toll would have been more but for the exploits of a brave and kindhearted Hausa man who deployed his swimming skills to rescue some would be casualties who were already overwhelmed by flood while trying to find their ways. The Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti State Police Command, Caleb Ikechukwu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed the death. “Yes, I can confirm to you that one man died after

  • Why i rejected Jonathan’s appointment —Ex-ICPC chief Olu Aina

    Prof. Olu Aina, an Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), has always been passionate about developing technical education in Nigeria. The pioneer head of the Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and former chief executive officer of the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) will clock 80 in a few days. In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI, the former executive member of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) speaks about his rough encounter with former President Goodluck Jonathan and why the former president thought he was arrogant. He also speaks about his encounter with the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, and why many people considered him a hardliner while he served as a member of the ICPC panel.

    In a few days from now, you will be 80. How do you feel?

    I think I feel a little younger than 80 in my body. And because of the many things I need to do, I feel like having more time. But in terms of staying in my place in the midst of several people, I feel very good at 80.

    You are still sharp and witty at that age. What is the secret?

    I have peace of mind. And I thank God for that because that is very special grace, plus the fact that even though I try to be systematic in whatever I do, I’m not duly in hurry for anything. I take my time and I weigh options before I plunge into what I want to do. Although once I’m into what I want to do, I stay with it.

    Taking about weighing options, at the point you went to the United States, you had the option to work or serve in Nigeria. What informed your decision to go to the US?

    When I was in The Polytechnic, Ibadan I belonged to an association called Nigerian Voluntary Service Association which gives free service to community development activities. That was when I developed interest in travelling, particularly attending war camps. I went to war camp in Ghana and I was nominated for another war camp in the United States, and I just developed flair for travelling and meeting people, irrespective of wherever they come from. That got me into being mentioned in some publications outside Nigeria.

    So, when the civil war broke out in Nigeria, some people who came to help the country in the post-war rehabilitation looked for me. I was then teaching at Moslem High School, Shagamu. They asked whether I would like to do volunteer work in the area of relief and rehabilitation, I jumped at it. They were mainly Americans. They asked me from the outset what I would like to do in the future, and I said I was very interested going abroad to study.

    Everything I did during that period was geared towards proceeding to the US for further studies. For example, I started a saving scheme right from day one when I was working for them; saving towards going to school in America.

    At the time you are talking about, most parents would be reluctant to release their wards. How did your parents react to the idea of travelling abroad and why did you choose to do voluntary work?

    My mother was the one who expressed concern. And what she said was not that I should not travel abroad, but she wanted me to get married before I left. I asked her why and she said she didn’t want an interpreter between her and my wife. I had to delay my departure to the US by approximately two years, during which I got married. Of course, when I eventually left for the United States, I went with my wife. And I saw the wisdom in it, because I could have been alone and the cultural thing would have been too dramatic for me.

    As for voluntary work, I had a skill which I inherited from learning carpentry. My father was the owner of a carpentry business. I had something to offer and I wanted to offer it wherever I can find any group of people that accept the skill that I had. I didn’t even think I was doing it for free, because I enjoyed it.

    What were your low and high moments in the US?

    The low moments were inability to find like-minded people who like to give off their work free of charge. It is not everybody that will like to give off whatever they have to offer without pay. The high point was the joy of completing any project. Because at that time, government also was encouraging volunteer work, particularly at the community level. Government would come to commission what you are doing with a lot of fanfare.

    Don’t also forget that it was around that time that television came into Nigeria. The WNTV/WNBC was the first in Africa, and I was one of those who appeared on television during voluntary community work. I enjoyed that also. And, of course, the few newspapers that were around at that time propagated the idea of voluntary service. In addition, government gave grants to communities that encouraged self-development.

    As it is right now we don’t have these volunteer groups again. What could have been the reason?

    I think Nigeria has changed considerably, because in our own time, the vogue was for the people to move from the cities to the villages. Today, it is the opposite; people are moving from villages to cities, searching for white collar jobs and easy money, which were brought about, unfortunately, by the discovery of oil in the country. I think the values have changed and they are still changing rapidly.

    How did your carpentry background shape your life?

    First and foremost, I trained as a teacher. You won’t believe that I went to modern school in 1955. I left primary school in 1954. When I was in the primary school, I was virtually exempted from manual work, cutting of grass and things like that. Rather, I used my carpentry skill for maintenance of school buildings. I had always wanted to be a teacher. The Reverend fathers of Catholic faith recruited me as a teacher. My first year of teaching was 1956. I taught for only one year, and that was in 1957.

    In 1958, I went to Mullumba College for Teachers Grade 3 programme for two years. Again, in that school, I was exempted from manual work because the leadership of the school, who were reverend fathers, recruited me to do carpentry work throughout. In fact, I constructed a kitchen for the reverend fathers at the school, and when I left Teachers Grade Three, I taught for two years before I went to Grade Two. All along, the story I’m trying to build is that I have always had exposure to skill acquisition and skill development. It was not a surprise that I ended up at the technical college. I didn’t study wood work, I actually studied Secretarial Studies. I could type very well. I was one of the best typists in the school. I could also write shorthand and I did a little bit of book keeping.

    The climax of my experience in education was when I went to Kalamazoo for my degree programme, which was a business education. The Baptist Mission at Kalamazoo at that time had a very aggressive evangelization programme. They were coming to the school I attended, Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, to recruit us into some evangelization. I ran into a man in America who fascinated me with a lot of stories, particularly about camping. And he told me how he inherited a house from his grandmother who just recently died and the house was dilapidating. So he took me to the house and told me that much as he would have loved to rehabilitate the house, he didn’t have the resources. I asked him how much it would cost.

    When I took a good look at the house, I thought we could do it for half of the amount. Of course, it took me three weeks and I rehabilitated the house to the amazement of everybody. And from that single job, I earned enough money to complete my undergraduate and start my master’s degree programme. I didn’t have to do any other work until I got Western Regional Government Scholarship to do my PhD. That was the high point of my interest in technical education.

    Of course I took a lot of pride in it. The man showed off the house to his friends. When I finished the job, the first thing I did was to buy hand tools. In addition to paying me the money we agreed, the man bought me a car.

    What do you think informed your appointment as the chief executive of NABTEB?

    Again when I was going to school in Kalamazoo, I ran into a gentleman, Prof Babs Fafunwa, who was then teaching at the University of Michigan, and he took particular interest in me. And when eventually I returned to Nigeria, I was appointed a teaching staff of Ahamdu Bello University. Not long after that, he became the minister of education. When he came to Zaria for a meeting, he came to look for me. The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education then, one Alhaji Yahaya, also knew me very well. He knew about my skill and my interest. The two of them talked. Before you know it, the minister called the vice chancellor and said he needed me to set up the board of technical business exams.

    Prior to that time I had done a lot of publications in the areas of skill development, technical education, promotion for technical education. I had gone back to the polytechnic. I had become an associate professor when I went to the polytechnic in the UK to polish my skill, especially in carpentry and curriculum development, and I was publishing in addition. It was at that time that the National Board of Technical Business Education was set up by this country, mainly to promote technical education. When I got to ABU, I was appointed the pioneer head of the Department of Vocational and Technical Education and I served as a consultant in that new board, NBTE.

    One of the greatest works I did with NBTE was the system for developing skills based on local needs. But one of the problems NBTE had was the dearth of teachers. So I wrote a proposal to the Federal Government that my department in ABU could not expand rapidly to produce enough teachers, why doesn’t ABU combine with Kaduna Polytechnic? While The Kaduna Polytechnic teaches the skill, ABU teaches the pedagogy. And because ABU will offer degrees to the recipient of the programme, it will be very attractive to the youths. So I was the first in this country to have institutions simultaneously producing graduates who had the skill in a particular field from one institution i.e. Kaduna Polytechnic and pedagogy i.e. ABU, which we call concurrent teacher education programme. I was the one that pioneered this concurrent technical education programme in this country.

    Professor Fafunwa was following what I was doing all through. So when the government decided to set up National Business and Technical Exams Board, he had no difficulty asking me to pioneer its establishment and I was glad I did.

    You were a member of the ICPC…

    When (Goodluck) Jonathan became President, he offered me a position. I can’t remember the exact name now. I looked at it and what was required to hold that position. I saw that the position required an economist. I wasn’t one and I very politely turned it down. I said; ‘I am sorry, though I still have something to offer but I will not be able to do anything tangible in that position because it requires an economist.’ The matter was left. But occasionally, when the ministry of education or parastatals like NABTEB had something to do, I went there, delivered papers, participated in workshops and seminars.

    One day, the late Kabiyesi, the Ooni of Ife, sent for me. It was late in the night, and he told me that it would be nice if I could see him that night. I went to see him in Ife and he said that Mr President, that was Jonathan, talked to him, wanting to reconstitute the board of ICPC and asked him to nominate somebody who was very reliable and mature. He reeled out the qualities he wanted and that it must be a Yoruba person. When he had stopped, I said, ‘Kabiyesi, I’m listening.’ Then he said I have nominated you. I asked him what ICPC was all about. He tried to explain to me. Believe me honestly, I didn’t know what it was all about. I now told him the story of the earlier position Jonathan offered me. He now said I see what Mr. President was trying to say. He said Mr President said he had the impression that I was arrogant. And he (Ooni) told him that this man is not arrogant at all. Jonathan then told him that he would be surprised if I accepted the position. I now explained to Baba (Ooni) why I turned than the earlier appointment. Baba now said don’t worry, I’m your kabiyesi, you are my chief. I have already accepted the position, and as far as I’m concerned, you cannot ask me why.

    I said okay sir, what I’m I supposed to do? He told me to phone the Minister of Justice. There and then, the minister of Justice told me to come to Abuja the following day. I went straight to the house of one of my friends when I got to Abuja. When I went to see the minister, they told me to come back later in the evening; that he would be around till 9 pm, but I was maintaining telephone contact with the Secretary. At the seven o’ clock news, I heard my name announced, and my host said, Olu, they mentioned your name, and I asked what did they say I’ve done? He said they just appointed you into a position. We had to stay there to wait for the 9 pm news. That was how it became unnecessary to see the minister again.

    When I eventually met with the minister, he said jokingly, ‘Since you don’t know what the ICPC is, we are not likely to accept you. Now it is no longer matter of accepting, it is a matter of resignation if you don’t want.’ I said no, I will take it.

    How was the screening experience?

    When I got to the Senate during the screening exercise, they asked me only one question when it got to my turn: ‘With the background that you have, what will you go and do in ICPC?’ I narrated how I didn’t know what it was all about and when I got to the Senate, I had read all that was available about ICPC and I also read about fighting corruption in other societies and I was quite knowledgeable. In answering their question, it might sound strange, I said may be they wanted me to come and add intellectual dimension to it. And the chairman of the Senate Committee on Anti-graft said there were no more questions. I was confirmed with others

    Again, when I got to ICPC, I took a stand that maybe did not give me a palatable name. I was designated as a hardliner. I wasn’t talking much, but when I talked, it was purely on principle. The rest is history. More so that friends of mine, people that I know very well, who got into ICPC trouble, I was not too helpful to them, and I have lost very important friends due to that. I don’t know whether that was good or bad. I’ve asked for their forgiveness when I left, but I couldn’t regain the friendship of some of them even till today.

    You sound as if you are regretting serving in ICPC…

    No I’m not regretting it. I’m not regretting it at all. Prosecuting offenders was not one of my high points in ICPC. My chairman, EkpoNta, the first assignment he gave me was to develop a strategic plan for the future of ICPC, and I thoroughly enjoyed that job. In my first year, I couldn’t come home for Christmas. I buried my head in doing that. And in the course of developing strategic action plan, I also identified that we did not have the staff that could implement the strategic action plan. So we decided to set up an academy to train staff and I was in charge of developing the academy. Today, it is one of the best anti- corruption academies in the