The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Interview

  • Akeem Oyebanji: Gbenga Adeboye remains my golden boss

    Akeem Oyebanji: Gbenga Adeboye remains my golden boss

    Sixty-one-year-old Akeem Oyebanji is a multi-talented comedian, radio and TV presenter, MC, actor and singer, who cut his teeth in the entertainment sphere under the tutelage of the late entertainment wizard, Gbenga Abefe Adeboye. For a total of 19 years, Enudunjuyo, as Oyebanji is widely referred to, learned the rudiments and tricks of the industry until he was able to take charge and stand on his own. In this interview with KAYOWA ADEGBOYEGA, Enudunjuyo opens up on his time with the late Gbenga Adeboye, his career, amongst other things.

    So people used to find it difficult to recognize me, because my voice, my stature, everything, I resembled him. So one of the days, one of the fans that I went to their event, anchored the ceremony as MC there, the man came back to the office and told my oga, ah, this boy, Enu e dun o.

    How did you get the nickname, Enudunjuyo?

    My boss, the late Gbenga Adeboye, was the one who named me Enudunjuyo, because when he got engaged as a MC, and when we had another offer, he would send me there to go and represent him. So people used to find it difficult to recognize me, because my voice, my stature, everything, I resembled him. So one of the days, one of the fans that I went to their event, anchored the ceremony as the MC, the man came back to the office and told my boss, ‘Ah, this boy, Enu e dun o (oga, ha! This boy has sugar-coated mouth) and my boss replied, ‘Enudunjuyo is his name.’ So that is how Enudunjuyo was stamped since that day.

    Can you tell us about how you came about radio presenting and broadcasting as a whole?

    Gbenga Adeboye trained me. I started in 1984, as an apprentice. So little by little, I developed my interest, and talent through him. So that was how I started. I used to take part in his programme before I went to Radio Nigeria.

    He gave me his business card to go and meet somebody, Mr. Bisola Atilo. He’s now on Bond FM, but he was on Radio Nigeria at that time. So, Bisilola Atilo introduced me to Pastor Taiwo Akinsola, that was when they just started  a programme, ‘Abule Mayokun.’ It was a 30-minute programme from 10:30 pm to 11 pm. Somebody told me that they were about to start a new program called ‘Faaji Kelele.’ That was where we met with Basiru Adisa. So, we had a joint programme there. They gave us 30 minutes. It was a one-hour programme, but they gave us 15 minutes to make jokes. From there, I had an opportunity to meet a company. They came to NTA Channel 7 for Christmas Carol. So, I went to the person in charge, I introduced myself to him, and I said, okay. I said I could produce radio adverts. The man said it was good. They were even looking for something like that provided I could come to their office.

    So, the following week, I went there. The company was Abosede Laboratories. They were doing baby products. That’s what they were producing there. So, that was my first programme. That company sponsored a programme for me on OGBC2 in the year 1996, that’s when I started the programme called ‘Mayokun Hour.’ It was every Friday between 10 and 11. So, along the line, I also got some boys along to come and train under me. Then, my first apprentice is now the AG and Assistant General Manager at the Fresh FM Lagos, followed by Fatai Bantale. So, Bantale is now on Faaji FM. Later, I started a training school. So, by then, some people graduated from my school. That was how I continued my life journey in the entertainment industry. Along the line, I launched albums. The first one, I did ‘Nibo Laanlo,’ ‘Ishankan,’ ‘Idamu Tenanti,’ Yoruba.’

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    Then, the latest one is ‘Idamu Landlord.’ At the time I released ‘Idamu Tenanti,’ a lot of people challenged me that why was it only tenants I direct my particular words at because a lot of landlords and landladies also are very wicked. I said okay, I would try to balance it up. So, that was why I launched that one when I came back from Saudi Arabia last year. I launched it on my 60th birthday on August 27 last year.

    Some refer to you as a comedian or actor, but you mostly see yourself as a broadcaster. Which one are you?

    I’m an actor. My first film was ‘One Naira.’ So, my second film was ‘Paronure,’ released by Boye Ventures. When you are in the entertainment industry, it depends on how you mingle with the people. I’m an actor, I’m a presenter, I’m a stand-up comedian. I used to anchor programmes and events everywhere. So, I can see myself as an actor, comedian, and a broadcaster as well.

    Which one do you love the most, Show hosting, acting, and cracking jokes? Everything about it is a blessing from Almighty God. In fact, if someone is selling pure water, if God blesses you, you can build a mansion. In the broadcasting industry, we have people who own their own radio stations today. Somebody like Yemi Sonde, is the owner of Yes FM in Ibadan. Seun Awodele is there also Oriyomi Hamzat, Agidigbo FM, he’s a broadcaster also. So, we request for blessings from Almighty God.  In the theatre industry, God has blessed some people there. So, there’s nothing bad in the field. So, it is only by blessing from Almighty Allah.

    So, which one do you love the most?

    I love every one of them, but I prefer my role as a stand-up comedian and presenter. I think is suitable for me.

    You shared a thick bond with the late Gbenga Adeboye while he was alive. Can you tell us about your journey with him and what his death did to you and your career?

    It’s so far. The journey was so far, but I give glory to Almighty God. You know, when you’re under the tutelage of somebody, you need to go through a lot of difficulties. Nothing in life comes easy. Anything interesting in life, you need to suffer for what you are going to achieve there. So, that’s just it.

    I gained a lot from him. Even when he died, I missed a lot because he was a bundle of talent. May his soul continue to rest in peace, he was my golden boss. The journey was so far when I was with somebody from 1984 to 2003, you know, that was never a small journey. So, I cannot just sit down to say what I went through than to say, thank God in my life for everything. It’s not something I just sit down and say in one year, no matter what, whether you like it or not, you need to face one or two challenges in life. So, that’s just it.

    What is your take on FIBAN?

    FIBAN is now changed to AMBROAD. What happened was that I was the first PRO in Lagos State. When we started the journey, Alhaji Kazim was our president.

    Somebody like Dr. Yinka Ayefele (M.O.N.) was one of our members when FIBAN started. Yemi Sonde, like I said, now owns a radio station, he is the owner of Smailz FM and some people like that. Oriyomi Hamzat was also one of our members. But, you can see those people, they have gone far now. We find it difficult to call them our members because they already established themselves. So, we sat down and asked what can we do. That was last year. We said let us change our name. Yemi Sonde, they were all there. That’s where everybody got their idea of a new name, before we arrived at AMBROAD which is the Association of Nigerian Broadcasters. That is the full meaning of AMBROAD.

    Those people I just mentioned are part of us. It’s different from FIBAN. FIBAN is the Freelance Independent Broadcaster Association of Nigeria. But now, since they are on their own, they don’t even see themselves as part of us. We call them together. We changed from FIBAN to AMBROAD.

    Tell us about your family, wife and children.

    I have a wife. I have children. Boys and girls. Most of them are married. Some are single. So, I give glory to Almighty God for that.

    I’m sure that there are several moments in your life and career that remain significant. Which one do you remember with fond memories?

    Like I said, I need to give glory to Almighty God. Because when we started, it was rough. It is not easy. In the olden days, before they could recognize us, it was not easy. Not like nowadays. We have 60-something radio stations in Lagos now. In the olden days, there were only two radio stations. Radio Lagos and Radio Nigeria in Ikoyi. Now, we are sharing the same audience, the same population. Now, it is divided into 64 people. So, for you, before people could recognize you, definitely, you have tried. It is not just a joke. So, I thank God for everything.

    Did you have a mentor when you started, sir? And who was that?

    I don’t have two mentors except Gbenga Adeboye of blessed memory. Even before I met him, there was an old entertainment newspaper released in the early 80s. So, that’s where I used to read Alhaji Pastor Oluwo. That was his nickname. I was surprised at that time. How can somebody combine three religious names? I didn’t understand. So, the day I met him was when I went to meet my brother. He was a mechanic. So, I came to meet my brother that day. So, my boss brought his car for them for servicing. That is how we met. Along the line, we were chatting and he asked if I knew how to drive. I told him I knew how to drive and after he serviced his car, we went out together. So, thank God, my street, where my uncle lived and his street was just a stone’s throw. That is besides Road Safety there. So, that was how we met each other. So, since then, gradually, we continued our life journey according to the will of Almighty God till the last day.

    Is your job financially rewarding?

    I thank God. I told you that I recorded an album. At the same time, I was a film producer. So, I don’t have any other means of living to take care of my family, and I thank Almighty God for everything.

    Not many understand how you make money. Can you share it with us?

    How to make money? It is not easy. Firstly, we used our pocket money to buy airtime. There are some presenters who are presenting a station programme. When you have a station programme, they will give you airtime to do the programme. So, it depends on how you get adverts just to sustain the programme. If you see an advert,  no problem, if you don’t see it, there is nothing wrong with you. Nobody will pressure you to go and bring money because you are presenting a station programme. But we, as an independent programme, we use our pocket money to buy the airtime. So, after you buy the airtime, you sustain the adverts, and seek sponsors just for the programme to continue because you need money to pay for the airtime. Radio stations won’t allow you to owe them. So, that is the true difference between us presenters. There are some people that own  station programmes. We, as an independent programme, use our pocket money to buy the airtime.

  • Outrage over Nigerian woman on avowed mission to wipe out Yoruba, Edo in Canada

    Outrage over Nigerian woman on avowed mission to wipe out Yoruba, Edo in Canada

    Canada-Based Nigerian woman, Amaka Patience Sunnberger, is in the eye of the storm after vowing to harm Yoruba or Benin individuals she encounters.

     Her diatribe coincides with Canada’s latest decision to end the temporary public policy that allowed visitors to apply for a work permit from within Canada.

     The IRCC introduced the policy in August 2020 to help visitors who were unable to leave the country due to COVID-19 pandemic–related travel restrictions.

     Under the policy, visitors in Canada could apply for a work permit without having to leave the country.

     The controversy began when a video clip that went viral on X (formerly Twitter) featuring the woman who claims to be a resident of Ontario making inflammatory anti-Yoruba comments during a virtual meeting on TikTok.

     In sharp contrast to Amaka’s controversial remarks, many urged the Canadian government to prosecute her for inciting violence and genocide against Yoruba and Edo people.

     The House of Representatives wrote to the Canadian government, urging it to investigate and prosecute Sunnberger for her inciting comments, which it said violates international and Canadian laws.

     Amaka, however, dismissed the possibility of arrest or deportation.

     The Director-General of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, weighed in on the issue via her X handle (formerly Twitter).

     She identified the woman and revealed that several Nigerian groups had brought the matter to the attention of the Canadian authorities.

     Dabiri-Erewa wrote: “This is the picture of the lady behind the voice: Amaka Patience Sunnberger.

     “She has deleted her TikTok account, and a group of Nigerians in Canada are reporting her officially to the relevant authorities in Canada. Thanks for alerting everyone.”

     However, Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, known as the Prime Minister of Biafra Republic Government In-Exile, vowed to defend Amaka.

     Our correspondent, who viewed the now-viral TikTok video on X, heard the woman instructing others on the social media space to poison Nigerians of Yoruba and Benin descent.

     Amaka, who spoke in Pidgin English, said: “Record me very, very well. Time to start poisoning the Yoruba and the Bini. I go put poison for all una food for work, put poison for all una water. Make una dey kpai (die) one by one. Una no go kpai one day o, una go sick, sick, sick.

     “I go put otapiapia. This kind hate wey I get for una so, e go last forever. For all of una food, otapiapia eat and die, snipers – Yes, I go dey put am. If I go work tomorrow, I go put am for Yoruba food.

    “I dey Canada, I dey Ontario, go tell government, hurry up. I go put otapiapia, una go hear Yoruba don die o, Bini don kpeme, na me talk am.

    “I wan make Ndigbo have that heart of wickedness, una too quiet, una too dey cool, enough. It is enough, if you have a means of killing them, kill them; kpai them commot for road because they too mumu, they are of no use to the society.”

     Other voices could be heard interjecting and prodding her. The woman claimed that her comment was in response to the “hate” against the Igbo.

     Amaka’s dangerous rhetorics brings to fore the bizarre ‘Igbo must go’ campaign by a group, Lagospedia, which was condemned by well-meaning Nigerians and socio-cultural groups, few weeks ago.

     The former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election Atiku Abubakar, his Labour Party (LP) counterpart Peter Obi, and the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the Lagos Indigenes strongly condemned the needless mischievous campaign.

     Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, distanced himself and the Lagos State Government from the “reckless, divisive, and dangerous rhetoric,” emphasising that Lagos remains a home to all Nigerian citizens regardless of their ethnic nationality.

     The joint caucus of the South East members of the National Assembly also petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, calling on him to arrest and prosecute those instigating anti-Igbo action in the South West.

     The lawmakers called the attention of the IG to an anti-Igbo post made on July 27 on X account of @Lagospedia wherein Lagosians and South West stakeholders were asked to prepare for a massive protest of #IgboMustGo on August 20 to 30.

    ‘I can’t be deported’

     In a viral video clip, Sunnberger cited her Canadian citizenship as protection, stating that Canada’s legal system is unlike Nigeria’s, where arrests can be made without questioning.

     She said: “Somebody just send me message, say them arrest me, say them wan deport me, with passport? I be Canada pikin.

     “See am now, I dey house, why I go dey lie?”

     The statements sparked widespread outrage, leading key figures, including the Chairperson, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, to formally request her prosecution by Canadian authorities, citing violations of both international and Canadian laws.

     In the letter addressed to the Mayor, Dabiri-Erewa disclosed that Amaka is a disability support worker in Brampton.

     Dabiri-Erewa stated that it is worrisome that someone who works with one of the most vulnerable demographics in society made such a comment, adding that she may pose a danger to the vulnerable people she works with and needs to be investigated, checked, and stopped for the good of society.

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     She further said: “As long as I am Chair @nidcom gov and Diaspora issues are reported to us, we will deal with it. As I speak, Nigerians in Canada have taken the matter up with the relevant authorities.”

    Reacting to the matter, Ekpa stressed that the Biafra government will defend Sunnberger.

     He further urged Sunnberger not to panic for any reason.

     “The Biafra government will defend Amaka against any action.

     “We equally call on Amaka to immediately contact the Biafra liaison in Canada or anyone with her contact should contact the Biafra government or myself directly. Tag Amaka, we need her contact immediately; she must not panic for any reason,” he stated.

     He claimed that Sunnberger’s threat comes as a result of long-term bullying by the Nigerians she threatened.

     “She is not just a victim of bullying but she is a victim of murder; they have murdered her spiritually during the election; they murdered her even before the election, the accumulated anger pushed her to speak, so the Biafra Government will provide legal services if need be.

     “She only talked while the killers are practically killing her people and there is no outrage. Those Ohanaeze disowning her has been banned in Biafraland,” he said

    Reps panel writes Canada, seeks prosecution of woman

     The House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Matters asked the Canadian government to prosecute Sunnberger for “hate speech”.

     The request is contained in a letter jointly signed by Tochukwu Okere, chairman of the committee; and Biodun Omoleye, chairman of Nigeria-Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group.

    In the letter addressed to James Christoff, Canada’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, the lawmakers said Sunnberger’s comments “are a direct threat to the lives and safety of millions of Nigerians”.

     “On behalf of the Nigeria-Canada Parliamentary Friendship Group, we are writing to express our deep concern regarding the actions of Ms. Amaka Patience Sunberger, a Nigerian citizen residing in Canada,” the letter reads.

     “Ms. Sunberger has recently been recorded making inflammatory statements that incite violence against the Yoruba and Edo ethnic groups in Nigeria, including advocating for the poisoning of food and water supplies to achieve their mass genocide.”

     According to the lawmakers, the “incitement to violence and call for genocide through poisoning” are “deeply troubling and are a clear violation of international and Canadian laws such as national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence”.

     “Such rhetoric is dangerous and has the potential to incite real-world violence, both in Nigeria and within the Nigerian diaspora,” the legislators said.

    The lawmakers demanded that an “immediate and thorough investigation” be conducted into Sunberger’s actions by Canadian law enforcement and appropriate authorities.

     “We urge that Ms. Sunnberger be prosecuted under the relevant sections of the Criminal Code of Canada to hold her accountable for her incitement to genocide and hate speech,” the lawmakers said.

     “We request that the Canadian government issue a public condemnation of Ms. Sunnberger’s actions to reaffirm Canada’s commitment to combating hate speech, violence and genocide.

     “We also request that Canadian authorities collaborate with Nigerian authorities to prevent any potential escalation of violence because of Ms. Sunnberger’s incitement, and to ensure that justice is served.

     “Canada and Nigeria share a strong bilateral relationship founded on mutual respect for human rights and the rule of law.

     “The actions of Ms. Sunnberger threaten to undermine these values. We trust that you will take all necessary steps to address this issue in accordance with Canadian and international law.”

    Reactions

     An X.com user, @DAMIADENUGA, who shared the video on his account Wednesday, urged Nigerians in Canada to stay safe and take precautionary measures.

     “A very disturbing video of some Nigerians on TikTok planning the death of other Nigerians in Canada. This post is for awareness purposes only. Be careful out there, folks,” he wrote.

     “Please, everyone on that TikTok live space with her are all accomplices; they all must be traced!!! Every one of them.” @AmodaOgunlere added.

     Corroborating the call for the participants’ arrest, @AbiolaKujore wrote, “The sad part is they all supported her and cheered her on; I was shocked.”

     “They share the same sentiment because I wonder why anyone would want to give her a listening ear by being part of that demonic space,” @adedirant noted.

     Assuring other Nigerians that the authorities had begun a probe into the distasteful video, @Lekanarsenal said, “Most of them do delete their TikTok account, but the hand will touch them one after the other. Some of them live in Nigeria, and we repost them. We are going to track every account that leads to them.”

    Ohanaeze disowns woman

     The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has condemned the viral video in which Amaka Patience Sunnberger made threatening remarks about Nigerians of Yoruba and Benin heritage.

     The group said there was no sufficient evidence that the lady who posted the video was Igbo, adding that she did not in any way portray the Igbo character of thoughtfulness, discretion, self-censure and equanimity.

     The National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, refuted the claims in a statement issued on Wednesday in Enugu.

     According to him, the attention of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has been drawn to a video clip making the rounds on social media that goes by the “name @Anyi_anambra on TikTok, “asking the Igbo to poison the foods of the Yoruba and Benin people.”

     He said the miscreant “promised to encourage other Igbos to poison Yoruba and Benin people. Let Ndigbo get heart of wickedness and start poisoning Yoruba and Edo.”

     “Ohanaeze would have ignored the social media video clip as coming from a deranged psychopath or one of the fictitious narratives, which with the Internet device was twisted, dressed, coated, and delivered to the unsuspecting and obliging public,”.

     Ogbonnia, however, said their telephones had been inundated by various eminent persons who had expressed fears on the possibility of some persons carrying out the threats.

     “It therefore becomes imperative for Ohanaeze to respond, especially when the National Publicity Secretary of the Afenifere, Mr. Jare Ajayi, forwarded the clip and requested prompt action.

     “There is no Igbo man or woman that will contemplate throwing stones in a full market for the fear of who shall be the victim, as the Igbo travel more than any ethnic group in Africa.

     “They also create homes away from home wherever they are found. They mix up or integrate with the local community and contribute to developing every community they find themselves in.

     “Based on the foregoing, two major derivatives emerge: if one should poison food in Lagos, Ibadan, or Benin, is there any guarantee that the first victim will not be Igbo?” he asked.

     The publicity secretary said the lady in the said video must be a “depressed, drowning ethnic bigot, obsessed by the negative side of history, and unflinching satanic in orchestration.”

     He disclosed that the Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Amb. Okey Emuchay, decried the video tape on the social media.

     According to him, Emuchay vehemently condemned both the video content and the perpetrator as a mischief-maker.

     “They are the merchant of woes who deploy despicable and incendiary rhetoric to create ethnic mistrusts and conflicts where none exists.

     “Ohanaeze seizes this opportunity to enlighten the younger generations that the Igbo, Edo and Yoruba share a lot in common. We share in cultural affinity, cosmology, morphology, and hospitality.

     “The age-long intermarriages between the Igbo, Yoruba, and Edo have produced well-accomplished great-grandchildren,” he said.

     He therefore assured the Afenifere, the entire Yoruba and Edo brothers, that the threat from the depraved mind should be ignored as “idiotic, meaningless, and vacuous.”

     “We add that, throughout history, proposals by the maladjusted are always dead on arrival.

     “We use this opportunity to call on the security agencies in Nigeria to trace the perpetrators of this macabre dance to face the full weight of the law,” he said.

    Atiku, Peter Obi react

     Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said: The contentious virtual chat room clip wherein participants made threats of ethnic cleansing against the Yorubas and Benin people is unequivocally condemned in all aspects.

     “I am informed that the identities of those involved have been disclosed and that calls have been made to the pertinent law enforcement agencies in Canada to prosecute the offenders.

     “In this regard, I commend the House of Representatives and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission for their prompt and decisive action in addressing this incendiary rhetoric and preempting further escalation.

     “This disconcerting episode underscores, once again, the imperative of uniting our people and our nation. Our rich diversity is our most cherished national asset and must be vigilantly protected.”

     Peter Obi said: “I utterly condemn the reported hateful statement and actions attributed to a Nigerian woman living in Canada against other Nigerians of diverse origins. Such divisive comments or behaviour have no place in our society.

     “As Nigerians, we should unite and focus on addressing our shared challenges, rather than allowing tribalism and hate to tear us apart. I have consistently stood against the polarisation of our country along tribal, religious or political lines.

  • Onabanjo-Iyiola: My sister’s wedding spurred me to begin business at 24

    Onabanjo-Iyiola: My sister’s wedding spurred me to begin business at 24

    • How Makinde, Ojora, others became my clients

    Kehinde Onabanjo-Iyiola, popularly known as KOI, is a trained lawyer and entrepreneur. At the age of 40, she has made a mark building a conglomerate from founding an event planning and management company, Finesse Events. Her success has birthed Whitestone Event Place, one of the popular event centres in Lagos, as well as Coral Lodge and Amber Restaurant.

    In 16 years of founding her maiden company, Finesse Events, her rising clientele base has included business magnates, state governors and other political heavyweights. Not one cut out for media presence, KOI opened up to Assistant Editor GBENGA BADA on how she founded Finesse Events, her clientele and how she has grown to become a leader in events planning and management industry.

    HOW did Finesse Events begin?

    I used to work in an event company. And, of course, after school, I decided to settle for having to plan events, because I love to organise stuff, to coordinate and to plan. That was how I started off. The event company I worked with initially used to do events and decorations, so I started off with both.

    At what point did you start your own company?

    I started off with Finesse Events in 2008. I started the year I graduated. The first event we had was my sister’s wedding. Of course, it was not like she gave me so much money but because of the passion that was burning inside of me. She actually even paid me for it, funny enough.

    Did you offer to plan it for her?

    Of course she knew that I had event knowledge. I was around one event or the other almost every weekend. So I said I was going to start off my own stuff and I had registered the company. She was getting married around that period so I told her that let me plan your wedding. I got started with the wedding and, of course, for my own wedding. Her wedding gave me about five events as all her friends were getting hooked. And from there, we started off.

    I know you studied Law. Why did you opt for events planning and management?

    When I was in school, a lot of my friends would say ah, I can’t do this or that. But I always told them that once you start something off with passion, it could even pay you better than what you went to school to study. So, when I was in school, I used to do ushering jobs. A lot of my friends knew that and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed just having to just ensure that people are fine and the event goes on smoothly. That was where the passion started off from.

    So my friends in school knew that if they were having any event, I was the person to call.

    I was a member of Junior Chamber International. So, whenever they had events, I would go, try to ask what we would be wearing tried to organise those things. So, the passion has always been there from school. After that, I said rather than just having to wear a robe and all of that, why not just settle into something that I have passion and drive for? That is what has brought us to where we are today.

    I know that you’ve had to run events for some high and mighty in Nigeria, from government to corporate organisations. What is the difference between working with say governors and regular individuals who just needs your service?

    There are different expectations from different clients. But where government officials are involved, it is not about them; it is about the committee or whatever group they would have created to work with you. So, everybody has their opinions and an input. Everybody wants to contribute, and of course, because all eyes are on that particular event, you just want to outdo yourself.

    Now, there are some clients that the event is not even about who they are but the calibre of people that would be attending the event.

    I recall when we did Dr. T’s wedding; the female Dr. T that went everywhere. So, for Dr. T’s wedding to have gone viral, it’s because she’s also extra. When I say extra, I mean extra in a good way. She pays attention to details. She’s very particular about what am I serving my guests? What kind of cutleries are they using? Now, working with someone like that, who knows what she wants, you don’t want to drop the ball. You want to ensure that everything she has dreamt of is happening. You have to bring it into reality.

    Now, Dr. T, I can say, is more than one governor, because something she would go all out for, some governors would not go out for it. So I’ve done both ways.

    There are some social events that are personal events but you would think it is government. Of course, there are some other simple individuals that won’t break a sweat. They’re just very smooth. But then there are also some personal individuals who just want the extra, extra, extra in terms of their events. So it all depends on the personality of the person you are dealing with.

    You spoke about doing ushering work back in school. Is entrepreneurial spirit something you inherited from your parents?

    I would say it is from my parents. While growing up, my mom was always hands on. As a matter of fact, my mom went to the university after she had given birth to the five of us. She attended the university in Abraka, Delta State. As a woman, she would drive from Badagry (Lagos State) to Delta State.

    Badagry? Is that where you grew up?

    Yes. So, my mom used to work in ASCON while my dad is a pharmacist. So, my dad has a store and, of course, he was doing a lot of supplies. Nestle and all those manufacturing companies in Agbara, my father supplied all their medical needs. Of course, he had a pharmacy in Badagry. My mom is a teacher. Even while she was a teacher in the University College of Nigeria, she was doing the little events. My mom also bakes. So she is very hands-on: she baked, practiced teaching and ran a supermarket. She is everywhere.

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    So, after she had done her university and five of us were away, my mom did her master’s. After her master’s, she started her PhD. So, she is very hands on. She doesn’t like to be idle. And, back in those days, when we were on holiday, my mom would carry you to her store. She had this supermarket that she was running. So, you have to manage. So, everybody sold in that shop and, of course, I think it counted for something for all of us, because everybody in their own little way are doing what they enjoy.

    How long have you been into event management?

    About 16 years now.

    What would you say has been the lessons you have learned, either from challenges or from opportunities?

    Money is not just what you have in your bank account; your actual wealth is the people you have. If you are able to maintain good relationships, the sky is your limit. Don’t promise what you know you cannot deliver. There’s nothing called pressure or rush. Whatever that has been delayed is what eventually becomes a pressure situation. So, don’t procrastinate. Whatever you need to do, get on it. If you don’t procrastinate, you’ll find out that you’re able to do more.

    The only person you can actually trust is yourself. People will definitely come and people will go. Of course, the people that would stay with you would have shown you from day one that they’re actually loyal to you, and they will stay. So, don’t have too much of emotions or attachment to people or even to things, because what you have today may not be there again tomorrow. The only thing that will be there are the loyal people that you actually have. Life is seasonal. Life is in phases, and so are people, humans.

    So, as you are living every day, there are seasons that you have in abundance and seasons you can call your low times. If you are too excited about the aura of the moment, you’ll definitely lose the essence of that moment.

    I know you would have met challenges one way or the other in your 16 years in business. I am however particular about individuals or people you met in the course of event planning who didn’t give you a chance but got wowed after seeing your abilities…

    Of course, I have had situations where people say we don’t know her. I recall when Oba of Ojora was going to be crowned the king, and the new LSDPC chairman, now MD, Hon. Ayodele Joseph, recommended us for the job. Mr. Balogun said, no, who is Finesse? I don’t know Finesse; we have some people. And Hon. Joseph said, ‘Uncle, don’t worry, trust me, Kehinde will deliver the job.’ Of course, there were a lot of planners. They had invited a lot of people. People did their presentations. They were caught in between who they should give the job to, but Hon Joseph said, you know what? I would stand in line for Kehinde, If Kehinde does not deliver, hold me responsible and accountable. So they gave us the job.

    On the day of that event, Mr. Balogun said where is Kehinde? He said, Kehinde, I underestimated you. This is beyond what I could have ever imagined. Of course, we built a relationship from there. We have done massive events. In terms of crowd management, God has graced us. I think it is just like when God just opens a sheet in front of you and says you know what? Go this route.

    So we’ve done a couple of high-profile events that are in large numbers: 15,000, 20,000. And we’ve done it effortlessly and smoothly.

    I recall when we did Governor Makinde’s dad’s burial. Governor Makinde is a client who was not a governor when we started working for him. The first event we had for him was his dad’s 75th birthday at Civic Centre in Ibadan. After that event, he was like, Kehinde, I would use you over and over again. And after his dad’s birthday, like three months after his dad died, they called us for the burial. And the burial then was I think for about 4,000 people. We had about three different big tents, and he said he could not get over the fact that he walked into every one of those tents and everybody was like, ah, you people want to use food to finish us?

    It was amazing. He said he was quite pleased. Of course, I never thought that he would become governor. So when his mother passed on, of course he was already the governor. We were invited to do the event. The event was for 15,000 people and everybody was wondering, 15,000, how are you going to manage that? I know we got on it. I recall someone saying I don’t know who would have done this better. So God just has a way of, you know, give direction. What we just basically do is put everything on the table and say okay, what are the possible things that could happen? What are the things that people would require? What do we need here? What do we need there? We need to sit here. We’ll do a map and put people on it. And, of course, God graces us on every event.

    So it is not like we have not had low times. But I would say that for me, nothing moves me. I don’t get too emotional about things. I think I’m always prepared for every situation. So I like to plan ahead. This is why I said that there’s no event that is called that is all pressure. This is because I’ve had situations where I’ve had a miscarriage. I’ve had accidents, jobs that you would jump on at the last minute. Of course, the client knew that they had this event. What were they doing since? But once money changes hands, all the pressure is put on you. Now, can that money that you’re collecting pay for whatever damages that will probably come from whatever pressure that you undergo? So it’s not worth it, really.

    So I’ve learned on the job to say no to those last-minute jobs, because you people knew that you had an event. Even if it is people that are doing Islamic burials, they don’t do the big stuff. They just do the basics. So why would you wait till the last minute before you engage the services of someone that you want to do all the magic? I no longer jump on those kinds of events.

    How come you have been low on blowing your own trumpet despite your achievements?

    It is deliberate. You’ll never find me wearing makeup or being extra. So when people hear Finesse, they’re like, ah, Finesse? I tell them I’m Finesse and they’re like are you serious? They expect to see one big woman. I’m not madam. I’m not a big old woman. Me having to be in my own space, that’s why you say, who is Kehinde? You will not find me anyway. And that’s why being in my own space has helped me through the years.

    Would you say anything from your law background helps you to run your business better?

    Okay, maybe my lawyer is not my classmate. Other than that, what has helped me in terms of business? I think, one, I would say my background in terms of my mother. So my mother helped us to understand how to manage resources and not to be wasteful.

    And, of course, the seasonal times of life and the secret of the fact that whatever you cover is what is sustainable, and whatever you open up to the world is what won’t last with you. So I’ve been able to mind my business, cover what needs to be covered, and of course, in due time, when it needs to be unfolded, it would.

    So how did Whitestone event centre come in? When did it come in? When did you conceive the idea?

    I didn’t just set up an event centre. It’s something I’d always wanted to do for years. So I do events for the Elegushi family. So they had this land space that we always use for the event space. And I said to them that we should use the space for events. I know Olori was a bit skeptical. But they gave in to it and we did the Monarch project. So of course, having to set up Monarch, I’m like, okay, you’ve been able to do this for so long, why don’t you start your own project? I started looking for space.

    One thing is that you have a massive structure. I’ve been to your event centre, so I know what is inside. Tell me how you did it…

    I think I also have a problem. I don’t know how to do something small. I could recall that when we were doing Monarch, Olori would say Kehinde, no, but I would say Olori, let’s do something that in 50 years time, it will still be relevant. Anything worth doing at all is worth doing well. So, why don’t you just go out and give it all your shots, because before you drop the last nail, someone else is already conceiving something. So let it be something that will stand the test of time.

    When I wanted to set up this place, I wanted something that every angle, every space would be well maximised. Not just well maximised, of course, it will give you a beautiful experience; something that you would not easily forget about. That is why on this stretch, you have to have God. As a matter of fact, for you to be able to live…

    When I was doing this, I was going to get a loan. I said no and I worked my ass out. I was doing all the necessary jobs I could get. I was pregnant at that time. I recall that I didn’t travel until about, I think the end of two weeks. The day I landed, as I was dropping from the plane, they took me straight to the hospital. Yes, because I was working so much. As a matter of fact, a client called me, saying this is the last venue I want to see you. But I said I’m travelling now, I’m on my way to the airport. So, I worked so much.

    I thank God for gracing me. As a matter of fact, when I was almost done with this project, we didn’t even have a name. And I prayed, I said God, see this white stone thing there, this site, this site, this site, it is you, it is your pitch, it’s not me, God, please, just give your project a name. And I just slept, and I just heard Whitestone. Thank God, this is you. This name is so beautiful. I just devoured it, and everything made sense at the end of the day. So it’s not me. The only thing that drives me is God.

    So, would you call yourself a prayer warrior?

    It is not like, ah, Kehinde is holier than thou. But then, I love everything about God. So I like to stand with God. I pray about everything. I pray to God, please quickly help me select what to wear. I pray about everything, and I also come to realise that when I don’t pray about situations, I don’t really like whatever I get from it. And God has proven to me that He’s right here, He’s available. So why can’t I use Him? Why can’t I call on Him?

    I can understand that an event planner would also want to own an event centre, but why restaurant and lodge?

    Like I said, I wanted to maximise the area of the space in the end. And I know that when you come for an event, your food is out. You need the quick stuff, where can we quickly get, what can we get, so before the event starts, the food is not flowing, they can just step in there and eat, and everybody is still happy. And of course rooms, whether a planner needs to sleep or clients probably need to change, they have family members that are coming in to see, and of course everything works in line, so that’s why everything is fine. So you just have to maximise the space as well.

    But are the restaurant and the lodge open to the public?

    Yes. The place is always busy 24-7. I even saw on their chat that they have a reservation for 15 people, so people just come in and do their stuff here.

  • Oluwo’s wife Firdaus: My husband is very, very romantic

    Oluwo’s wife Firdaus: My husband is very, very romantic

    • Says she was scared first time he took on idol worshippers
    • Explains how she got attracted to monarch

    The gaiety of Queen Firdaus Abdullahi Akanbi, wife of the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulraheed Akanbi, is easily noticeable by anyone that is meeting her for the first time. The soft-spoken Kano princess of the Ado Bayero dynasty and graduate of Business Management from the Modern University of Science and Technology, Cairo, Egypt spoke with GBENGA ADERANTI about her love life and the side of her husband that is hidden from many people.

    HOW did you meet your husband?

    I met my husband through an aunt of mine, and from there we started talking and understood each other. Then I decided that this is the man I would want to get married to.

    Did you bother to learn more about Yoruba tradition before you got married to him?

    All those things were not new to me because of the place I came from. In the palace where I grew up, we had our own culture and tradition. But coming here, there is nothing new to me apart from the way they dress and talk. Those were the things I found different. But I am trying to understand the tradition and culture more. There is really nothing new to me, because we have similarities considering the way we greet and talk to people, the respect and all that.

    In other words, you did not experience any culture shock when you got into Oluwo’s palace?

    Since I came into the palace, I have not experienced any culture shock. Honestly, there is nothing like that. There are no idols. Before then, they told me that I would find strange things, I would  find idols in the palace, I would be scared or things like that. God is my witness, I have not seen anything that has shocked me here. I have not seen idols or something different from my own culture.

    How did your parents react to it when you told them that you were going to marry a Yoruba monarch?

    Actually, I lost my father when I was young. But I would say my mother and my other family members were not opposed to it. My late grandfather, the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, married a Yoruba woman, so it was not like a shock to us. They lived with a Yoruba queen; she was my step-mum. She was a good woman and we saw the way she was treating people. So when they told them that I was going to marry a Yoruba king, they were not shocked. They only told me that if I loved him, I could go ahead, saying there was nothing wrong in marrying a Yoruba king.

    In this part of the world, many find cross cultural marriage strange, and they are not favourably disposed to it…

    Yes, some people find it strange. But I personally did not find it strange because since I started talking to Kabiyesi (Oluwo), he was very cool and I liked his character. I just said I would do it because it is not about the Yoruba culture but the person you are living with. If you understand him, you can live with him. As far as he loves me and can take care of me, I don’t allow culture and all that to get to me.

    What would you tell people with an aversion for cross-cultural marriage?

    I would tell them to go ahead because it is a beautiful thing. You will learn another language, tradition and different kinds of food; it is just a beautiful thing to be honest. I love a lot of things about the Yoruba culture and I think a lot of people are trying to get married to Yoruba because they take good care of their family. That is what I love about the Yoruba people. I believe that if you love someone, just go for that person as long as your heart wants to be with that person. It is a beautiful experience to be honest.

    What tutelage did you undergo before you came into the palace?

    From the place I grew up, I was thought to be respectful, prayerful and take care of the people around me. All these were ingrained in me and that is what I have adopted since I got here. It is the way I grew up. Nobody has to guide me on how to behave in the palace.

    What was it like to grow up in the palace?

    Growing up in the palace was beautiful and interesting, because as a young child, they would teach you how to be responsible and act around people. You cannot just go out; you have to be extra careful when you are in the palace — the way you dress, the way you talk to people, the way you communicate. You just have to have duties. I grew up with care and love.

    What are those things you are finding difficult to adjust to since you came into Oluwo’s palace?

    I think the only challenge is the language. But I’m trying to understand it more and to learn it because sometimes, I would like to communicate with some people in English but they do not understand English. Every other thing around here is beautiful.

    Talking about Kabiyesi, what really attracted him to you?*

    He is a good man. If you get to know him, you will like him. He is very honest. He will tell you the truth even if it will get you angry. He is very caring, and I love everything about him. He is unique in his own way. You just need to understand him and you will love him. He is a man of integrity. He has a heart of gold.  Nobody can know him better than I do. He is just a lovely person. People could think that he is hard, but from inside, he is very soft and very jovial too.

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    How receptive were the people of the town?

    They accepted me. Whenever I go out, they receive me with love. I don’t have any problem with the people

    What are the things you are missing as a wife of a traditional ruler?

    Kabiyesi is not the kind of person that would stop you from doing anything you want. I grew up in the palace and we didn’t normally go out. We were always at the palace. I like my space. Anything that I want to do, he allows me do it. If I want to go out, I can go out. I don’t think that there is anything except that you will be missing your family members. But whenever I am missing them, I can go and see them.

    Would you allow your daughter to get married to a Yoruba traditional ruler?

    Of course yes, because I don’t think there is anything wrong in marrying a Yoruba traditional ruler. If she loves him and really wants to be with him and he is a good man, I will just pray for her, because there is nothing wrong with marrying a Yoruba traditional ruler as long as he is not an idol worshipper and he is a good Muslim.

    How was life in Cairo where you schooled?

    It was a beautiful experience. It was peaceful but could be overwhelming because of the overcrowded places and the people there sometimes. You know Arabs; they don’t like black people. But it was fine and I enjoyed my stay there. They have an easy life there. Their foods were affordable and the transportation system was okay.

    Most elite in the north prefer to send their wards to study in Egypt. Why is that so?

    It is probably because Egypt is safe, and partially because it is affordable. There are lots of schools there, including American universities. They teach in English too. Maybe people send their wards their because of the environment. You cannot find clubs there where your child would be spoilt. They are also very respectful.

    You studied Business Management but went into catering services. What informed your choice of business line?

    My background in business management prepared me to manage my own business, and the catering business has been my passion since I was a child. I liked to cook. It is not just about money; I just love to do it.

    But you suspended the business. Do you see yourself resuscitating this in the near future?

    Yes, Insha Allah, because it is my passion. I love it.

    Unlike your husband, you are an indoor person. How do you manage this?

    It is about balancing. He likes to go out and I like staying indoors. It is my nature. It was the way I was brought up. They didn’t normally let us go out. I enjoy my own space. If you do some research about our tradition and wives of kings in the north, they don’t normally go out. That was the way I saw my grandma. I never saw her go out. If there is something happening in the palace, I will go and attend to it. It is like I’m getting used to the tradition in Yorubaland.

    What are the prices you have had to pay for being Oluwo’s wife?

    It is just about sacrifice. You have to sacrifice a lot. I don’t think there is anything. You just have to be composed, know how to talk, know how to be respectful and love the community. That is all.

    Did growing up in the palace prepare you for your current role?

    Well, like now that I don’t normally go out, it is because of my upbringing. My upbringing really prepared me for this.

    Do you normally get scared about some of the hard line positions your husband takes on issues, especially his campaign against idol worshipping?

    At first I was scared. But gradually when I got to understand him, I was not scared again, because I believe that if you are with God, He will protect you. Whatever he is doing, I’m supporting him because I don’t think he is doing anything wrong, and I’m not scared of anything. I’m praying for him, God will continue to guide him. I’m not scared. Some things at first got to me, but I am not scared again, because I believe that he is doing the right thing

    Because of the age difference, you are bound to look at things from different points of view. How do you resolve your differences?

    You just have to know how to talk. You have to be calm. You cannot shout or get angry. Whenever I want to say something, I’m always respectful and I will find the time when he is calm and happy to do so. He understands.

    What is that thing that is unique about Oluwo that nobody knows about?

    He is a very jovial person. He can come now and start singing for me. He is a lovely person too. He has the heart of gold and he is prayerful. Oluwo is very, very romantic. He is the best decision I have ever made in my life.

  • ‘Emerging first African female Lions Club international director was no tea-party’

    ‘Emerging first African female Lions Club international director was no tea-party’

    Fresh from Lions Club International’s International Conference in Melbourne, Australia, where she was elected International Director for Africa, the first for a female in Africa and only the second for Nigeria, Lion Bridget Adetope Tychus in this interview with Gboyega Alaka speaks on her journey up the ladder, her experience in the oil and gas industry and why she no longer sees herself as a woman.

    Congratulations on your recent election as Lions Club International Director for Africa. Tell us, did you go to the international conference in Melbourne with the intention of coming back with such a big title? Or was it something sudden?

    No, it wasn’t sudden. It was actually a result of a twelve-year journey. I’ve been on it for twelve years until Africa was ready. I am number one for a female and number two for Nigeria. I can tell you it was like breaking the glass ceiling; and I always say that nothing good comes easy- because if it comes easy, then you have to be careful. So it was difficult, it was tough, but the tougher it became, the stronger I got, the more determined and focused I became. And here I am today; the rest is history.

    Can you walk us through your journey to this coveted position?

    Well it was like the goal post kept changing. Any time Nigeria thought ‘now we had it’, the rules would change, and another policy would be introduced. And so, one year became two, two years became three; and then we now had what is called Rotation by Region. So we had East Africa, West Africa. When that came into place, Nigeria was single filed out of five places. That automatically meant ten years, because the office is a two-year tenure. So if one was not consistent and tenacious, you would get tired along the line, because it requires that you go on so many trips that are self-sponsored; so many activities…. Your resources are called to task.

    How does it feel to be the first African female international director?

    I’ve always believed that when a woman is aspiring to an office, she tends to work twice as hard as the male counterpart; because the society, family, so many things are contesting against her. So it is left to you to see yourself as the victim, or victor. I never had the victim mentality or saw myself at any point in time as a woman. I believe I’ve been patterned to cross tough terrains. When I was to become district governor – there are many governors in this room today, they may think they had elections, but what they had was child’s play – it was like breaking the glass ceiling; it was tough. The first time, I lost and people were like she won’t come back, but that only energised me the more. The following year 2003, I was out again. That experience told me that nobody would give you political office on  a platter of gold; you have to bring something to the table – your emotional intelligence, your native intelligence, wisdom, everything that you have  and let them know that you’re as good as any other male competitor.

    What is the role of an International Director?

    Right now in Africa, Lions Club membership is close to 48,000; as ID, you are the number one Lion in Africa. And so, any of the districts- Kenya, Malawi, South Africa; can say ‘we have this project, we have this training;’ the director must be there; ‘we have this convention,’ director must be there. In our own parlance, it is comparable to a ministerial or ambassadorial role. As a matter of fact, at the directors school, we were referred to as ambassadors. So you’re like the face of Africa. Wherever there is need within the continent, you must be there to answer to that need. And it can be for service projects such as diabetes, cataract, pediatric cancer etc. And you must be versatile in all these areas, because you never know when you would be called upon to say something on the issues such as cancer, nutrition, environment etc.

    What does Nigeria stand to gain with your new position?

    That’s the typical Nigerian question. Even before we had a director coming from Nigeria, you can see our impact virtually everywhere you go. There is no big hospital in Lagos that you’d go to and there is no Lions Club presence. Let’s start with Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH); the only cancer screening centre that LASUTH has was built and donated by Lions Club. That was actually my project when I was District Governor in 2003/2004 but it was commissioned in 2006 by Governor Babatunde Fashola. If you go to LUTH, you will see a project, Mexico Hall, where the Lions understood that so many people come in from outside Lagos and have to sleep on the hospital corridor because they cannot afford hotels. We built the hall for them. If you go to General Hospital, Isolo, you will see an eye centre built by the Lions Club; if you go to Ota, you will see a big hospital that even carries out eye surgery.  If you come back to LUTH again, you will see the biggest dialysis centre constructed, built and handed over to LUTH management by Lions Club. While you can see tangible buildings and structures in the health sector, you may not see such in education, but you will see us going to schools, carrying out advocacy with programmes like the Lions Quest, where we catch our young people and tell them the terrible things that happen when they go the way of drugs. We do this with the little ones from high school before they get into bad companies, because we discovered that they get into these things through to peer pressure. So we want them to have confidence in themselves, do what is right, so that their future and our future – because those young ones are the future of this country, they’re the future of any association. A country is as strong as the youth. So we’re investing to save the future.

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    Back to your question; all that I’ve outlined were even before we had an international director, so now that we have an international director from Nigeria, you can expect things to even move at a bigger scale. I won’t do it directly but there are six district governors, who would do need analysis of their catchment areas and come forward with the right programmes. If they are projects they can handle, they go ahead and do it, but if they are programmes that they cannot handle alone, then they apply for grants from our Chicago, US headquarters. Usually when such applications are on the table, they would contact me and ask: ‘Director, is this really happening in Nigeria? Should we approve this grant? If I say approve, they will approve; if I say don’t approve, it’s the end. It therefore tells you that the district governors don’t have to go too far to see me and get my support for such projects. Number 2, as a Nigerian, anywhere Lions’ function is being held in Africa and I walk in, the Nigerian anthem must be played. That tells you that a Nigerian is in charge. So we’re projecting Nigeria and it behoves on me as the ambassador to project Nigeria in a positive way.

    How do you balance your huge Lions Club activities with family, especially now that you’ve added the big one?

    That’s a tough one.  I joined the association 41 ago and my last child is 42. That’s to tell you that I had a one-year-old baby at the time; and from day one,  I have always been this passionate. So on the one hand I am playing mother, on the other hand I am playing wife; here I am a senior officer in the oil and gas, there I am a big sister, daughter, cousin… and no ball has ever dropped. It can only be God. And till  today, my home is still intact. Very intact. To the glory of God, the children came out beautifully well; my husband is still alive and kicking, and by the way, to make you laugh, he was the one to first become a Lion. He actually introduced me to it when he told me to go and represent him in some capacity; and trust me, by the time I got there and they saw my input and enthusiasm, they were the ones who were telling me come and join us. Before you could say Jack Robinson, I not only joined, I passed him, I kept going while he was enjoying himself where he was; and today he is one of my Lion members. And when he sees me, he says: ‘My International Director’.

    By your earlier response, you have a background in the oil and gas industry, tell us about it.

    I worked with Unipetrol Nigeria Plc as they were called then. I joined Unipetrol in 1981; it later became Oando. I actually retired early because I looked at the pattern of my life and saw that I was carrying too many loads. But then, I was really good at what I do. I was Senior Statistical Officer, Unipetrol Western House office; so when I told my boss I wanted to retire early, he said, ‘Ah madam, you can’t go, bla bla bla…, ‘ I told him I wanted to go back to school to do my masters and that I was resigning because Unipetrol would not grant me leave of absence; but he said ‘No, apply; there is always a first time.’ So I went, finished the course, came back; and then said I wanted to go for another masters. Now my boss was like ‘This is too much’ and then I told him, ‘Shebi I told you; now let me just retire and go.’ In recognition of my services, I was given a gas station on Ikorodu Road, Lagos, so that I remained in the family as a gas dealer. Thereafter, I could manage my time the way I wanted and I went for my second masters. All degrees were from the University of Lagos: B.SC Business Administration, M.Sc Management and then Masters in Public Administration with special emphasis on Policy Implementation.

    Women are said to be their own worst enemies, how much support did you get from your fellow women in your journey up?

    Was it American Secretary of States, Medline Albright who said the hottest place in hell is reserved for the woman who does not help his fellow women? To be a good leader, you must be there to pull another person up; if you’re not puling anybody up, then you’re not a good leader. And if you’re a woman, she made it more pressing that you have to as much as possible prop people up and make leaders like yourself. So at the end of the day, you will not even be at peace with yourself if you look back and you can’t see leaders that you have groomed irrespective of whether they are male or female.

    Let me give you another story: after my year as District Governor, I was also the first Council Chair-person; as council members, we had this meeting and they looked around and saw that I was the only woman; then one of them said ‘Please, please, just address everybody as gentlemen. So from 2006, they told me I’m no longer a woman. So if you wear the cap of ‘what a man can do, a woman can do better’, you better stop seeing yourself as a woman.  Scientifically, genetically, if you pull out my blood and yours as a man, under the microscope, there will be no difference on which is male and which is female.

  • Adamawa school where pupils sit on bare floor, share playground with cows

    Adamawa school where pupils sit on bare floor, share playground with cows

    Pupils of a primary school in a seedy community in Mubi North Local Government Area, Adamawa State are not only battling with lack of basic infrastructure and furniture but also roaming cattle and reckless drivers on their premises, reports Head of Investigation, KUNLE AKINRINADE, who recently visited the school.

    The snaky and dusty road adjoining the Mubi Bypass in Mubi North Local Government Area, Adamawa State leads to a school where 435 pupils learn in the hardest conditions possible. Navigating the narrow, undulating road that petres out to Wurida, the community after which Wurida Primary School is named, takes about 33 minutes.

    Established in 1974 by the then Government of the Northern Region of Nigeria, the school is anything but learning-friendly. It consists a primary school, a nursery section with more than 100 pupils, and 14 teachers with insufficient classrooms, furniture, security, and perpetual fear of being hit by reckless drivers on the road that passes through the premises, as well as cattle that graze on the school’s open field.

    The reporter had arrived at the school at about 10 am on June 26, 2024 to the sight of pupils chorusing the teaching of alphabet and rhymes under the supervision of a female teacher who went about her job with infectious enthusiasm, even as the pupils cheerfully chorused the alphabet sitting on bare floor.

    ”We do not have the luxury of sitting on a bench or chair to learn because there is no furniture in our school,” a pupil who identified himself as Mustapha said in a tone of lamentation.

    “We resume at 7.45 am and close at noon while the secondary students close around 5 pm. Whenever it rains, we are merged with the pupils in the othet classrooms that are less affected by downpours,” he added.

    Flight of amenities

    Five decades after it was established, Wurida Primary School bleeds from a lack of basic amenities. The school operates a shift system as the pupils resume at 7.45 in the morning and close at noon to make way for the pupils of the Junior Secondary School in the two buildings accommodating four classrooms.

    “It used to have one block of classrooms with about 300 pupils when I was deployed here as a teacher about 15 years ago, before my promotion as the head teacher.

    “Now the pupils’ population has risen to 435 with more to be admitted for a new session in September,” said Joel Adamu, the Headteacher of the school.

    One of the buildings, which is as old as the school’s history, is dilapidated with yanked windows and doors. The other modern building with two classrooms was recently constructed by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) which also provides a water facility in the school.

    But the classrooms are also without doors and windows, leaving the pupils to face the vicissitudes of rainfall and the usual whirlwind that throws sand around the premises.

    The plight of the school, according to Adamu, is worsened by the activities of vandals who have become its nemesis of late.

    ”Vandals have become our nemesis here. They storm the school at will, steal and destroy furniture and other education materials unchallenged.

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    “They carted away benches and desks and removed doors in the old school building.

    “The new classrooms were also not spared, leaving us without any furniture for the pupils to sit on.

    “We have complained many times to the authorities for adequate security and replacement of furniture.

    “Even when some furniture was provided by the state government, we could not put them in the classrooms for fear that they could be carted away by vandals,” Adamu said.

    Risking hit-and-run drivers

    The landscape of the school portends serious danger for pupils. The two buildings are separated by a road with the old dilapidated classroom on the left and the new classrooms built by the NRC on the right side of the road, with a new toilet facility for pupils and teachers, who risk being knocked down by a hit-and-run driver.

    Adamu said: “It is always unpleasant for us to cross to the other side of the road to answer the call of nature.

    “We have recorded cases of pupils knocked down by reckless drivers while passing through this community into the town. Our pupils are not learning in at good conditions at all because there is palpable insecurity everywhere around us.

    “The sound of vehicles passing through the school also distracts our pupils from their studies, and this causes a lot of lessons stoppage as teachers frequently need to pause until the vehicles are no longer in sight.

    “Most times, the drivers of the trucks are unfeeling when we engage them on the need to respect the school environment when passing the road between the blocks of building.”

    Playground or grazing land?

    The school’s playground beside the old classroom block is vast with a green lawn. But it is occupied by strange visitors: the roving cattle that graze on it.

    The presence of the cattle prevented the pupils from playing on the lawn at break time shortly after the reporter arrived in the school. Rather, the cheerful pupils trooped out of their classrooms and gathered under a tree in the school compound.

    “We don’t go to the playground because herders bring their cattle to graze on our field.

    “We hardly meet there for physical exercise because of the presence of cows and sheep,” one of the pupils, Abdullahi Musa, lamented.

    Concerned stakeholders speak out, urge government intervention

    Speaking on the state of affairs in the school, one of the parents, Alhaji Adamu Umaru, who is also the Muslim representative in the School Management Committee, urged the state government to fix the problems confronting the school and militate against conducive learning environment.

    He said the school has suffered from long years of neglect and needed government support despite recent efforts by a humanitarian organisation to fix some of the problems affecting the pupils and the teachers.

    Umaru lamented that various calls made to the state government for intervention in the past did not yield any result, asking for immediate resolution of the school’s problems before the start of a new academic calendar.

    “There is no fence in the school, among other basic infrastructure that could make learning easy for our children.

    “Before now, pupils took their lessons under trees and there was no toilet, benches or water for the pupils and teachers to use.

    “The school is 50 years old and we have written several letters to state authorities to intervene without a positive response.

    “However, I am happy that the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) recently carried out some humanitarian projects in the school, providing solar-powered boreholes and constructing blocks of classrooms among others.

    “We are however still appealing to the state government to intervene because there is a safety concern as our children are exposed to a lot of danger as a result of lack of proper fencing, roving cattle on premises and reckless drivers who run on the road that passes between the two blocks of classrooms in the school,” Umaru added.

    Adamu also urged the state government to fix the problems facing the school.

    He said: “The school premises are not safe because there is no fence.

    “The premises are constantly violated by vandals and they could go beyond the school properties to violate innocent children.

    “The vandals have been destroying school furniture and other educational materials kept in the school’s store.

    “Also, cattle freely roam the open field that serves as a playground for our pupils, thus preventing pupils from playing or engaging in physical exercises on the field.

    “If the school is fenced, it would be impossible for vandals to violate our premises.”

    Adamu added: “The number of children of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) has shot up the number of pupils from the 300 that I met when I came here to about 435 in recent times.

    “Hence the need for authorities to provide adequate infrastructure to cater to the needs of pupils and ensure their wellbeing. 

    “The pupils are brilliant and enthusiastic about learning, but the repulsive environment is hampering their concentration and performance.

    “There is an urgent need for intervention to resolve the issues and make learning conducive for these innocent children.

    “They are the future of our great state and the country in at large.’’

    When The Nation correspondent in Yola contacted the state Ministry of Education, he was directed to the Adamawa State Universal Basic Education Board (ADSUBEB).

    At ADSUBEB, a highly placed official of the agency who asked not to be named because he had no authority to speak to the press on the matter, said the agency did not receive any request from the school about its needs and problems.

    He said:  ‘’Such needs are typically handled with funds available from Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to which the state is up to date with counterpart funding.’’

    He stressed that a thorough investigation at the Wurida Primary School ought to include input of the school headmaster and the Mubi North Local Government Education Committee.

    The official said further that ‘’the needs of the school as stated are grave and if articulated by the school-based management committee of which the particular school headmaster is secretary, as well as the Local Government Education Committee concerned, in this case, Mubi North, the board would act accordingly.’’

    Additional report by Onimisi Alao, Yola.

  • TEMS: Being loner helped my music

    TEMS: Being loner helped my music

    Nigerian singer and songwriter, Temilade Openiyi popularly known as Tems grew up in her parent’s house in Ilupeju, Lagos. She was the type who didn’t mix with people outside his family.

    Due to her loneliness, Tems developed interest in music. She started writing at age 11 and became a chansonnier at 12.

    After studying Economics at the university, she was hired as a digital marketer. However, due to her apathy for the job, she was later ‘demoted’ to a personal assistant. In 2018, Tems quit her corporate job and ventured into the music world.

    The 29-year-old vocalist started learning music and sound production on YouTube. After she mastered the craft, Tems released her self-produced song titled, ‘Mr Rebel’, and followed up with another hit single ‘Try Me’ in 2019.

    Her joint effort with award-winning singer, Wizkid in a song titled, ‘Essense’ made her a global star. Tems has since become the first female Nigerian artiste to win a Grammy, and also the first female Nigerian singer to be nominated for a Grammy Award.

    Olaitan Ganiu monitored her recent chat with Grammy where she talked about her progress in the music industry, the inspiration behind her debut studio album ‘Born in the Wild’, and the future path for herself.

    Debut albums set the tone for an artiste’s entire career. What do you want to convey with ‘Born in the Wild?’                                                                                            

    As humans, we are multidimensional beings. ‘Born in the Wild’ is about embracing all of oneself. Thinking about when I decided to go into music up until this point, I had to figure out the best way to tell the story of the Nigerian girl who became this person called Tems. And that person was born in the wilderness. Yes, I was born in Africa, but the wilderness is more about the difficulties that I faced mentally and the jump from working 9 am to 5 pm, to trying to sing when nobody believed in you and everybody laughed at you.

    ‘Born in the Wild’ is about survival; I was born in a survival state and raised to survive. Coming from that to now being someone who can dominate, the ability to overcome and to conquer — that’s the story. That’s my story.

    ‘Born in the Wild’ speaks to success and taking advantage of every opportunity that is presented to you. It sounds like you’re documenting your journey in real-time. Can you speak more about that?

    I’m someone who doesn’t like attention. Like, I could be in my room making my music for months, and I would not even fathom sharing my music. I’m such an introvert. I love my alone time. I do everything I can to make sure I can just go back into my cave.

    ‘Ready’ is about the moment that I decided I will no longer hide, I will no longer be in my comfort zone, I will no longer be silent. I recognize that what I need to do is bigger than me. It’s not about what I like or what’s comfortable for me. It’s what needs to be done, you know? I cannot make art and just enjoy my art like that.

    I’m willing to overcome myself so that I can be the person that I’m meant to be, and I’m ready now to face whatever difficulty, or obstacle comes my way. Even if it makes me cry, even if it makes me angry, even if it makes me sad, I’m ready. I’ll do it crying. I’ll do it angry. I’m going to continue going forward. That’s a decision I’ve made, and I haven’t turned back since.

    Do you feel like you’re still in survival mode, or are you slowly coming out of that and now being able to somewhat relish in the success you’ve had?

    I don’t think after survival comes relish. I think after survival comes learning and unlearning. I think now I’m in a place where I can actually thrive. I can flourish and grow and blossom more into the person that I’m meant to be. I can take things and I can receive love easier. I can understand things better because I’m not so busy trying to survive that I forget to actually learn the lessons that are meant to help me overcome the things that come my way. Life is always gonna be life, but then you develop a different type of strength when you’re not in survival mode.

    When did you know ‘Born in the Wild’ was going to be a full-length album and not another EP? In a 2023 interview, you said you weren’t sure which way it was going to go amid some of those early recording sessions.

     I don’t know the particular moment; I just woke up and realized that the things I’ve been working on are all seemingly coming together. I definitely was more intricate with each of the songs, and more critical of the songs. I had to remove myself from them as if I wasn’t making them. That way, I could see them objectively for what they were.

    In terms of the process of actually creating the music, it has not changed. I still kind of approach it like, I’m going to make music today. I don’t know what’s gonna happen today, but I hope it’s something great.

    Was there anything about the creative process that surprised you?

     I’ve changed a lot from the person who started writing, like from the earliest song that was written until now. I literally learned how to trust the process. I used to say that all the time, but in my mind, I was like, I trust the process, I guess. I don’t know what that is, but it’s cool. I tried to rush it, but it just doesn’t work out when you do, no matter what.

    So, I just did my best showing up every single day, taking it step by step, day by day. And that will frustrate you, but then I started learning to observe myself in frustration, like, Wow, okay. Why is this happening? Just allowing yourself to be is also part of trusting the process.

    As Afrobeats continues to reach new heights, how can consumers and the industry do better at supporting African artistes so they don’t feel pigeonholed or confined to solely Afrobeats?

    Every artiste has the power and ability to define themselves. Every artiste is in charge of how they view themselves. Some people call me R&B, some people call me alternative, and some people call me Afrobeats. When I’m making music, I am not thinking, Oh, because I released ‘Free Mind,’ all my songs must sound like ‘Free Mind’ or Because I did ‘Try Me Now,’ I have to stay there. Otherwise, who is going to consume my music?

     I just kind of do my thing, which I feel every artiste should do as well. They should go hard and stand for themselves, and define who they are for themselves because the world can’t define who you are in any sector. Nobody outside of you can define you. You define yourself, and the world acts accordingly. They respond to your definition.

    What did winning your first Grammy in 2023 mean to you? And what do you hope that 2024 unlocks for you?

    Winning a Grammy for me feels like, Wow! I’m being seen. I feel seen, and I feel acknowledged. I also feel hopeful for other African artistes.

    For 2024, I want to do my very best to present my art in the best way possible as I see the vision in my head. I’m not really thinking about what’s gonna come from that, but I just know I want to really do something different with ‘Born in the Wild.’ I’m really focused on doing that and having fun while I do that. It’s gonna be incredible. I can’t wait.

  • ‘How friendship landed us in jail, kept us on death row for 24 years’

    ‘How friendship landed us in jail, kept us on death row for 24 years’

    His is a typical case of friendship gone awry. An only child of his mother neglected by his father in a polygamous family of four wives and 12 children, Ismaila Lasisi felt like he had struck gold when he met Alfa Ganiyu Lawal while hustling for survival. But the friendship they struck became his undoing as it literally put his life in ruins. He had no inkling of the character he had bonded with until his friend and one other named Ganiyu Semiyu approached him with an evil proposal: sacrifice a human being for money rituals. Lasisi was not comfortable with the proposal but he could not say no for fear that Lawal and Semiyu could harm him if he did not cooperate with them.

    Then then 28-year-old, now 52, did what he thought was the smart thing to do by keeping a distance with the duo, but that in itself became an offence for which they implicated him when they were arrested over the killing of a woman for money rituals. The distraught indigene of Abeokuta, Ogun State narrates to TOBA ADEDEJI the extraordinary circumstances that culminated in him and his then 30 but now 54-year-old innocent friend, Lukman Adeyemi, who merely accompanied him to the police station when they learnt that the police were looking for him, languishing in jail and awaiting execution for 24 years before a charity organization, the Centre for Justice, Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR) founded by Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi, intervened in his matter and secured his release on June 14.

    “It was on the day we were released that rain fell on me for the first time in 24 years. I saw the beautiful moon and the sunshine again and I cherished them. June 14, 2024 is a day I will never forget in my life,” he said. Excerpt:

    What is your name and whatwas your childhood like?

    I am Ismaila Lasisi, a native of Abeokuta, Ogun State. My mother hailed from Shaki in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State. I am the only son of my mother in a polygamous family of 12 children from four women. When I was seven, my mother left me with my father and later remarried before she died.

    Growing up in a polygamous household, I lacked the needed support due to neglect from my father. So I turned to trading, dealing in pepper and raw beans in Ifo, Ogun State. It was there that I became friends with one Alfa Ganiyu Lawal and we became close. I often spent weekends with him and Ganiyu Semiyu, his friend with whom he shared the same name.

    Over time, I developed an interest in bricklaying and eventually moved in with them. Seeking companionship as a lonely individual, I found comfort in their company. My friendship with Alfa Ganiyu had lasted about six months before the unfortunate incident.

    What actually happened?

    In February 2000, Semiyu came up with the idea that we should engage in money-making ritual. He also said they had found someone who could help them in this venture. He was the first to bring up the topic of ritual money to me. I felt uneasy with the idea, but I pretended that everything was fine.

    Subsequently, we took an oath to keep it a secret. They asked me to contribute money for the ritual, and at that moment, I realised I was in the wrong company. I asked who was going to be used as sacrifice for the ritual and they responded that that had not been determined yet. Various thoughts began to trouble my mind, and I asked myself what if they decided to use me as the sacrifice? Who would come looking for me without any sibling, parent or mother who knew my whereabouts? I felt lost and considered abandoning the friendship.

    Did you?

    Yes. In March 2000, a situation arose where one of Ganiyu’s girlfriends stole money from their place, and I was wrongly accused of stealing it. A heated argument ensued and I decided to seek refuge elsewhere. Along the way, I met Lukman Adeyemi and asked him to help accommodate me until I could find my own place. I informed him about the conflict I had with the people I was living with but I did not disclose their plan for money rituals. I had known him through a childhood friend named Ismaila with whom I had grown up in Shaki, my mother’s hometown.

    He welcomed me into his home, and since March 2000, I was been living peacefully with him and we worked together as bricklayers until August 27, 2000.

    So when were you arrested and why?

    On August 27, 2000, at about 7:00 pm, on returning from work, we were informed by a co-tenant that the police came looking for me. I immediately went to the police station and Lukman accompanied me to the place. On getting there, we were told that the police officer who had come looking for me was not around, and I was asked to come back the following day.

    The next morning, we both went to the police station and surprisingly, we were detained. I had no clue of the unfolding events or why they were looking for me. When the SARS officers, led by one Bashiru and Agboola, arrived and identified me as the Ismaila Lasisi they were looking for, they descended on us like hungry tigers and subjected us to severe beating.

    The following day, we were transferred to Eleweran Police Station in Abeokuta, where I was confronted by Ganiyu and Semiyu, who accused me of being involved in the murder of a woman they committed for the ritual. I was shocked and rendered speechless. The SARS police again subjected me and Lukman to brutal treatment. I was hung in a torture room for hours and I had to endure unimaginable pains. My nerves were like they were going to cut. It was the worst day of my life. It was a day sweat mingled with blood.

    The physical and emotional torture left me deformed and I lay on the ground for nearly five days before I could regain consciousness. Lukman and I were arrested on August 28 while Ganiyu and Semiyu were apprehended on July 20. We were remanded in prison on Friday, September 29, 2000. It took nearly two years for me and Lukman to have a conversation with Ganiyu and Semiyu to understand why we were falsely implicated in the case, because we were not held in the same cell.

    And what did they say was their reason(s) for implicating you?

    They said they felt I was the one who divulged the information to the police because I was the only one they had told about the mission. They also said they believed I must have told Lukman about it. I yelled at them and reminded that they did not even have a victim yet at the time they proposed the idea to me. How then would I know that you had committed the crime? I had heard the rumour about a missing woman, but I never knew the woman who was declared missing and it never occurred to me that they were connected with the missing woman. I had left the company of Ganiyu since March while the woman was declared missing in July. The arrest of Lukman and myself was on 28th August. I never knew anything about the woman, and it never occurred to me that her death could be linked to Ganiyu and Semiyu.

    Ganiyu became the Alfa while in prison as he became the leading imam of the inmates at a time. I forgave them completely. I used to guide Alfa Ganiyu to the mosque because he became blind in prison and we became friends again. Despite all the torture I received from the SARS Police, it is belated to say I have forgiven them as one of them, Bashiru, has died. He was supposed to come as a witness in this case, and I was shocked when Adeagbo told the court of his death.

    Did your parents pay you any visit while you were in prison?

    I sent for my father to come and see me but he refused. My mother came twice to see me before I later learnt that she had passed away. I strongly believe that she died because of my predicament. How would you feel if you had only one child and that child is in prison? Can you survive the agony? I felt so bad at times and asked myself why my father brought me into this world when he knew he had no resources to cater for me.

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    While in prison, I forgave myself and my father. I forgave Ganiyu and Semiyu. At one point, I was sending money to my father from prison through the welfare officer, and he used to pray for me on the phone, telling me that I would survive it. I cried and cried when I heard the bad news of my father’s death. My father had 12 children from four women.

    What was the intervention that came for for your release?

    It was a ray of hope shining on us the day the Deputy Superintendent of Correctional (DSC) Alhaji AbdulHakeem Awesu, the welfare officer of Ibara Correctional, linked us with the founder of the Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), Pastor Hezekiah Olujobi on the phone to explain ourselves to him. Like play, the man came to see us in Abeokuta in July, 2023 and we explained everything to him. The real perpetrators of the crime who had implicated us also begged him to try and look for ways to exonerate us. We all put our appeal to the Governor of Ogun State into writing through the organisation and we sent it to his office.

    The truth is many people had come to listen to our story but we never saw them again. We had written several letters to the governor through the welfare department without results. But when Pastor Olujobi and his team came to us, they promised to take a step. We had been hearing about how CJMR had helped many inmates on death row but we never gave it a thought to approach them until when the welfare department helped to link us with them.

    How would you describe your experience on death row?

    On the first day I entered the death row cell, it was pitch black. I could not see anyone for about one hour, but they could see me. One of the inmates stood up and guided me to my designated spot. It was tormented daily, but I tried to stay positive. When it was night, they asked about the events that led to my conviction.

    After nine years of awaiting trial, all hope seemed lost. For a whole week, I could not eat. Not because I was fasting but because hunger seemed to have disappeared. It took nearly six months before I could adjust to life on death row. The death row is a different world, where you spend your days in darkness. In our cell, there were seven of us crammed into a very small space. One of the inmates who welcomed me was one Sunday, also known as Sunday Chicken. Over the years, some of the people I met were released while others passed away due to illness.

    During my 15 years on death row, there were no executions. We heard rumours about the government considering revisiting executions, which would send panic through us. The tension peaked when Oshiomole executed some inmates in Edo State, but the rumour eventually faded and the tension dissipated. Despite the uncertainty, we all on the death row remained cooperative with the prison authorities.

    Throughout my time in prison, I held onto hope until the day the prison doors finally opened for me. The daily advice and sermons from both Muslim and Christian leaders helped me to stay strong. It was on the day we were released that rain fell on me for the first time. I also saw sunshine and the beautiful moon for the first time. It is a day I will never forget in my life

    How did they receive you at home?

    Upon regaining my freedom, my immediate desire was to return home. I travelled to Mowe to celebrate Sallah with my younger brother, who is an Imam. Following the festivities, we journeyed to my hometown in Abeokuta the next Monday. My unexpected arrival at the family house elicited mixed reactions, with some displaying evident displeasure.

    As I recounted my story of innocence, one of my younger sisters accused me of lying, claiming she had heard about the incident at the time it occurred and knew the truth. It became clear that not everyone believed I was innocent. Realising that there was no future for me in my father’s house, I returned to the Centre for Justice, Mercy and Reconciliation. I am grateful to Pastor Olujobi for foreseeing the potential challenges at home and offering me a welcoming return if needed.

    What is your next plan?

    My aspiration is to resume buying and selling. I aim to settle down, rent a house, marry a virtuous woman, raise children and contribute to societal development. With no parents, Pastor and the CJMR have become my pillars of support. During my time in prison, I acquired skills in cloth tie and dye and graduated from a Quranic school. I attribute my journey to the complete mercy I have received from God. I commend Governor Dapo Abiodun for the remarkable transformation of the state, evident in the improved infrastructure such as expressways, street lights, and pedestrian bridges.

    Why their release could not be secured for 24 years – CJMR founder

    The founder of Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), Hezekiah Olujobi, speaks with TOBA ADEDEJI.

    HOW did you get to know about the predicaments of Ismaila Lasisi and Lukman Adeyemi?

    Our attention was drawn to their complaints and claim of innocence by the Welfare Officer DSC Awesu, who invited us to come and help them, assuring us on their innocence and the efforts made through the legal process without justice. We went down to Ibara Custodial Centre, Abeokuta to hear from them.

    The two perpetrators of the crime confided in us that they were actually the ones who committed the crime and that the other two were totally innocent of the crime. We obtained their judgments from the trial court to the Supreme Court for review, and we noticed that the presentation of the state before the appellate court could never allow the court to shift ground.

    Each of them filed separate appeals to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court. We realised that none of the lawyers explored the way of arrest of each person in this case. This is what the lawyer at the trial court should have done, but very unfortunately, he couldn’t. Failure of the perpetrators to clear them of the innocence of the crime could not have helped them at that time.

    Was that your first intervention in such cases?

    The case of Ismaila Lasisi and Lukman Adeyemi was not the first victory. CJMR has helped more than 20 people to secure their freedom from wrongful conviction. This particular case makes it the 22nd.

    Police evidence is considered sacred before the temple of justice but very unfortunate not all police evidence before the court is true and reliable. Some of them tell lies. Our judges are not perfect. They also have their flaws. That is why there is room for appeal.

    What challenges did you face during your humanitarian service?

    Our major concern now is how to make the future of this individual possible and how to make justice available to others who are still crying persistently on the claim of innocence of the crime they are suffering from.

    Funding is key. That is why I am urging Nigerians to support us through the following Zenith Bank account number: 1012189729. I can be reached via 08030488093. The gesture will make victory possible for others in Lasisi and Adeyemi’s conditions.

  • How Boko Haram killed my son, two brothers — Gwoza resident who survived three attacks by deadly sect    

    How Boko Haram killed my son, two brothers — Gwoza resident who survived three attacks by deadly sect    

    • Says group brainwashed his wife

    A resident of Gwoza, Borno State, where a Boko Haram female suicide bomber recently killed no fewer than 32 persons and injured many others at a wedding, shared his heartrending travails when the terrorists struck in the community a few years earlier with the Head of Investigation, KUNLE AKINRINADE, who met him last month at a camp for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Girei part of Adamawa State. 

    Jugule Ahmed’s life has not been the same since Boko Haram insurgents struck in his village, Bulawaziri in Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State. On that fateful day, his life as a thriving farmer and most sought after community leader took a pathetic turn as the insurgents unleashed deadly attacks on the villages in Gwoza, killing and kidnapping people, and destroying properties and farm produce.

    In the heat of the attack, Ahmed ran as fast as he could into the forest. He walked many kilometres before finding his way into Madagali, an Adamawa community that shares a border with Borno State.

    “The attack occurred in January 2014. It was a moment of hell. The Boko Haram people rode on motorcycles into our community in a Gestapo manner and unleashed terror on us.

    “I ran for my dear life and fled into the forest from where I found my way into Madagali community in Adamawa State,” he recalled.’

    While he escaped from the scene of terror by divine grace, he could not save his family as the rampaging terrorists kidnapped his wife, Tuma Ahmed, and two children. They also killed one of his sons and his two younger brothers, and destroyed his home, cattle and farm produce.

    He said: “My nine-year-old boy, Abdullahi, was killed by the terrorists for exposing them when Nigerian troops launched a counter-attack on the insurgents.

    “What happened was that when the soldiers came to our village to neutralise the terrorists, many of them hid in houses and makeshift structures. The soldiers asked my little son for the whereabouts of the terrorists and he innocently pointed to the place where they were hiding.

    “The soldiers arrested some of the terrorists and killed others in an exchange of gunfire while my nine-year-old son, Abdullahi, was rescued by one of the soldiers, who took him to their operational base in Bama to live with him.

    “However, the terrorists regrouped some days later, attacked the troops at Bama and freed their members that were held there.

    “It was during the attack, that some of the terrorists saw my son and identified him as the boy who gave them out to the soldiers. They shot him dead alongside the soldier that had rescued him.”

    Six months later, while the 56-year-old farmer was still heaving a sigh of relief, thanking God for his miraculous escape from the attacks and settling down to the life of a refugee farmer at Madagali, the terrorists again struck in June 2014. He ran from Madagali to Mubi and later fled to Girei when Mubi also came under heavy attack by the insurgents.

    Ahmed reckoned that he lost 12 bags of grains (guinea corn), seven cows and the sum of N100,000 which the terrorists took from his home after he fled the community.

    He said: “I was just settling down into a new life in Madagali where I took to farming when the Boko Haram people attacked the town six months after and abducted my wife and two children.

    “When I was running away from the terrorists, who were armed with guns, I did not think of anything other than to save my life first that moment.

    “I later learnt that my wife and three children were abducted by the terrorists from where they were hiding and my two brothers were also killed by the terrorists during the attack.

    “Out of the three buildings I have in my village, only one is remaining because the other buildings were razed by the terrorists.

    “I fled to Mubi town, and not quite long after, the terrorists attacked Mubi and I escaped to Girei where I am currently living at Anguwankare Damare Camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs).”

    Two years after the attacks, Ahmed was reunited with his children and wife when they were freed from the den of the terrorists following a military operation. While the reunion ought to have brought him joy, it rather unsettled him, leading to a permanent separation with his wife.

    According to him, his wife had been indoctrinated into the religious ideology of the terrorist group while the eldest of his children had also been radicalised by the insurgents.

    He said: “I was very happy when I heard that my wife and children had been released after troops stormed the base of the terrorists and neutralised them.

    “I was happy because my wife and I had been married for 20 years before she was abducted by the insurgents.

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    “Unfortunately, my wife had developed a sectarian Islamic belief, having been indoctrinated by Boko Haram, while one of my children had also been radicalized by the group.

    “To worsen matters, my wife came back to my village, Gwoza, with two additional children she had for two different Boko Haram commanders.

    “I learnt that the first Boko Haram man she was given to as wife was killed by soldiers during a military operation while the second Boko Haram member she married also died during a shootout with troops.

    “I had no choice but to part ways with her because her religious belief no longer aligns with mine.

    “As for my radicalised son, I had a tough time changing his polluted mind. But I thank God that the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) helped me to successfully deradicalize the boy. He and his sibling now live in the village.

    “But I have since married another woman who is also a displaced person. We both ran away from Boko Haram attacks and we got married about four years ago. We have two children together, a boy and a girl.”

    Life at the IDP camp however gives Ahmed concerns. The living condition there, he said, is below standard and poses both environmental and health challenges to him and other refugees.

    “Although we have water and healthcare facilities here, there is no place like home.

    “Life in this IDP camp is nightmarish. We are constantly exposed to rain because many of the camp tents are torn and several other makeshift structures are dilapidated and shambolic.

    “As I speak with you, the floors of the camp tents are termite-infested and there is intense heat inside which exposes us to environmental and health risks.

    “This is one of the reasons our village head, Bulama Ramadan Gwada, who also came to this camp, returned to Gwoza, because he could not cope with life here.”

    Ahmed, who is the leader of the Borno refugees at the IDP camp, said he has since taken to farming on land rented from residents of the community, noting that the land was not enough for farming on a large scale like he did at his village in Gwoza.

    “I have no other occupation than farming and cattle rearing, and that is what I have been doing since I came to this place,” he said.

    “Many people here are also into farming because that is what we know how to do best in our village. But we don’t have enough land to farm here, so we depend on rented land for farming.

    ”We are also battling lack of funds as farmers hence we depend on rented lands to continue our farming activities here even at a huge cost.

    “As for me, I cannot risk going back to Gwoza, because the Boko Haram terrorists are still prowling the environs, and there is nothing we can do to change it except calling on authorities and humanitarian agencies to help us.

    “We have got interventions from some organisations like ICRC and others, but we still need more interventions to make life meaningful for us at this camp.”

    Speaking on his leadership role at the IDP centre, Ahmed explained that the position was a calling.

    “I agree to become the chairman of this IDP camp refugees because I see it as a calling having served as a community leader while I was in my village in Gwoza.

    Others speak about life at the camp

    Also sharing her plight, Madam Tina John, an indigene of Goshi village, said she was lucky to have escaped with her only daughter from Gwoza when the Boko Haram terrorists struck.

    She said: “I was lucky to have escaped when Boko Haram attacked my village, Goshi in Gwoza. I escaped with my 19-year-old daughter to Cameroun from where I subsequently went to Mubi.

    “Sadly, a couple, who were my neighbours in the village, were killed by the terrorists.

    “However, the Boko Haram members attacked Mubi, forcing me to relocate to this IDP camp at Girei.

    “While some of my displaced relatives have since returned to Goshi, I have not returned home because I am not sure that the marauding Boko Haram insurgents are no longer around Gwoza.”

    The Camp Manager of United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Murtala Bawa, said there was need for urgent intervention at the IDP camp.

    “This IDP Camp is an informal one and is being funded by non-governmental organisations and development agencies who provide basic amenities for the displaced persons living there.

    “The camp is currently witnessing dilapidated structures like leaking tents and poor floor, which could trigger health issues among dwellers. Hence, there is a need for the provision of shelter facilities for the people at the camp and empowerment to make them productive especially in farming, given their dexterity in agriculture.”

  • Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange’s bitter sweet win for journalism

    Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange’s bitter sweet win for journalism

    •His epic struggle for truth, transparency

    Julian Assange‘s story reads like a Western narrative driven by a conflict of will and adversarial ethics. It mirrors the classic rebel’s relentless pursuit of truth that is unbearable.

    Yet, truth is relative. Atop the brimstone mantle of its depths, and beneath the swamp of its cypress roots lies a hidden world—a cosmos where truth is a currency, and its seekers, unfurl as hounded and unsung heroes. Assange stands as a modern-day explorer of these depths.

    His journey from the sanctum of the Ecuadorian Embassy to the harsh confines of a London prison, mirrors the plight of the stricken heroes of the global hound. Come what may, they leach the whole truth, diving upstream and downstream, against the currents of unforgiving nemesis.

    Truth could be perplexing. Inside the pouched, hard hide of its riddled depths, Assange lunged and fluttered like a determined frogman, eagerly bearing pearl and light from the abyss, into the dismal, tight tenements of Western democracy. His mission was clear: to illuminate the darkest corners of government secrecy and expose the mechanisms of power.

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    His controversial arrest, detention, and trial were not just personal tribulations but a profound commentary on the state of freedom of expression in the modern world.

    This is why his story isn’t just about the intricacies of his tumultuous journey, but a jarring expose of the threads of political intrigues, judicial overreach, and indomitable spirit of a man who dared to challenge the most formidable powers.

    The Man Behind the Curtain: Who is Julian Assange?

    Julian Assange, born in Townsville, Australia, in 1971, developed an interest in computers from a young age and gained a reputation as a sophisticated programmer in his teens. His arrest in 1995 for hacking marked the beginning of a complex relationship with the law, but it was his creation of WikiLeaks that would catapult him to international notoriety. Assange’s commitment to exposing government malfeasance and bringing hidden truths to light has been both his greatest achievement and the source of his deepest troubles.

    He emerged from relative obscurity to global notoriety in 2010 when WikiLeaks released a trove of classified U.S. military documents and diplomatic cables. These revelations, including the infamous “Collateral Murder” video, which depicted U.S. military forces killing civilians in Iraq, catapulted Assange into the international spotlight. For some, he was a hero exposing government malfeasance; for others, a reckless agitator endangering lives and national security.

    A platform for whistleblowers to anonymously send primary-source documents to a media outlet, WikiLeaks was the first of its kind. Today, a version of it exists in the toolkits of every news organisation around the world. Unsurprisingly, back then, WikiLeaks made enemies among governments and corporations whose secrets it had exploded. The highpoint of its conflict with powerful bodies was sparked after Chelsea Manning, a youthful US Army private, horrified by the death and violence she was witnessing in the wars she’d been dispatched to in the Middle East, downloaded thousands of US government files and gave them to WikiLeaks, whose operators believed they proved crimes and other violations of power should be publicly aired and their contents made known.

    When WikiLeaks partnered with a number of different journalistic organisations to release stories based on Manning’s leaks between 2010 and 2011, these media partners – including many of the large mainstream news outlets – were initially entirely dependent on WikiLeaks. Eventually, they departed as cheerleaders to become its enemies.

    Perhaps because of the failures of the mainstream media during the war in Iraq – when much of the US news media unquestioningly reported an administration bent on making a case for war to the American people – WikiLeaks became well-known.

    The contrary ethic of WikiLeaks saw journalism as a lever for power, dedicated to ‘catalysing change through the statement of fact’, as Assange said. ‘If wars can be started by lies, peace can be started by truth,’ a rallying cry from I.F. Stone, the cultish Cold War radical journalist from whom Assange drew his inspiration. Assange subordinated his interests to those of the state in precisely the way that makes a freelance journalist suspicious. Unlike traditional publishers and editors, he did not profit from his stolen goods or collude in the intelligence establishment. He was far too radical.

    When WikiLeaks continued exposing US secrets, the US government fought back ferociously. Manning was arrested, tortured into confessing to improbably vast crimes, and given a historically extreme prison sentence, which she is now serving at the military’s ADMAX supermax facility in Florence, Colorado, one of the most restrictive penitentiaries in the US system. Afraid that he would be next, Assange sought and received asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy, in London, where he lived for seven years.

    The Pursuit: From Asylum to Arrest

    Assange’s journey from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he sought asylum for nearly seven years, and sought to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex assault charges, to his dramatic arrest in April 2019 by the British police, following Ecuador’s withdrawal of asylum was a pivotal moment in the saga of his relentless pursuit.

    Until his arrest, his Ecuadorian sanctuary became his prison, a place where he fathered two children and married his partner, Stella Moris. The US government’s relentless pursuit of Assange under the Espionage Act for the publication of classified documents was unprecedented, targeting a publisher in a way never seen before. Under successive administrations, the United States pursued him with a tenacity that underscored the high stakes of his revelations. Charged with multiple counts under the Espionage Act, the charges against Assange were a stark reminder of the perils faced by those who dare to hold power to account.

    The Detention: His Struggle Behind Bars

    Confined in London’s Belmarsh Prison for over five years, Assange’s health deteriorated under harsh conditions typically reserved for the most dangerous criminals. The solitary confinement and limited access to medical care highlighted the punitive nature of his detention. Despite these adversities, Assange’s fight against extradition and for his freedom continued, supported by a global network of activists, journalists, and human rights organizations.

    The Trial: A Theatre of Power and Resistance

    Assange’s trial was a theatre of power, resistance, and unprecedented judicial scrutiny. The U.S. government’s arguments, centered on allegations of espionage and endangerment of lives, were met with fervent counterarguments emphasising the fundamental right to publish information of public interest. Assange’s US lawyer, Barry Pollack, described the prosecution as “unprecedented,” highlighting that the Espionage Act had never been used to pursue a publisher. Pollack asserted that Assange had revealed important and newsworthy information, including evidence of US war crimes, and had suffered tremendously in his fight for free speech and freedom of the press.

    On June 24, 2024, Julian Assange left Belmarsh Prison in London and boarded a plane for Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Upon reaching the US territory the next day, he was taken to a federal courthouse. Inside, Assange pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act.

    When asked to explain his crime, Assange told the judge, “Working as a journalist I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information. I believe that the First Amendment protected that activity. I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction with each other, but I accept that it would be difficult to win such a case given all these circumstances.”

    As part of the plea deal, Assange was sentenced to time served. During the sentencing, Chief US District Judge Ramona V. Manglona said, “The government has indicated there is no personal victim here. That tells me the dissemination of this information did not result in any known physical injury.” After setting the journalist free, the judge noted that the following week was Assange’s birthday, saying, “It’s apparently an early happy birthday to you.”

    His Acquittal: A Victory for Press Freedom

    Assange’s acquittal, following his plea deal, was not merely a legal victory but a resounding affirmation of the principles of press freedom. The ruling, which highlighted the overreach of the US government’s case and the lack of evidence to support the most serious charges, was a beacon of hope for journalists and whistleblowers worldwide. It underscored the essential role of a free press in a functioning democracy and the dangers of criminalising journalistic endeavors.

    Beyond the Courtroom

    The implications of Assange’s trial and acquittal extend far beyond the courtroom. They serve as a crucial reminder of the fragile nature of press freedom in an era of increasing authoritarianism and surveillance. Assange’s ordeal has galvanised a global movement advocating for greater protections for journalists and whistleblowers, reinforcing the need for robust legal frameworks that safeguard the right to inform and be informed.

    A Legacy of Courage and Defiance

    Julian Assange’s story is one of courage, defiance, and unwavering commitment to the truth. His journey, fraught with peril and sacrifice, has left an indelible mark on the landscape of modern journalism. As the dust settles on his trial, the world is left to ponder the enduring legacy of a man who stood at the precipice of power and proclaimed, unflinchingly, the right to know. His acquittal is not the end but a new chapter in the ongoing struggle for a free and just society.

    In the end, Assange’s story is a testament to the power of the human spirit and the enduring importance of press freedom in the face of overwhelming odds.

    As the journalist who exposed US war crimes, Assange was persecuted by a US government hellbent on criminalising his journalistic work. His freedom has, however, a bitter coda: his US antagonists insisted that journalism can violate the Espionage Act. His plea agreement does not decide legal questions, but the consequences of Assange’s prosecution will no doubt chill investigative journalism.

    It capped a nearly 13-year-long farce, one that began with Assange’s final hearing in a courthouse in Saipan. There is no gainsaying Assange entered the courthouse as one of the most visible political prisoners in the world, and left a free man, who made the world’s most powerful government look small.