The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Interview

  • We rode 60km in search of our children the day they were abducted — Parent of Chibok girl

    We rode 60km in search of our children the day they were abducted — Parent of Chibok girl

    • Says we’re hopeful remaining children will return but realistic we can’t have all of them back

    Lawan Zanna, the Chairman of the Abducted Chibok Girls Parents’ Association, who has not seen his daughtter since the hapless schoolgirls numbering more close to 300 were abducted about 10 years ago, recalls the sad event of that day and the immediate reaction of the victims’ parents. He spoke with DELE ANOFI.

    As a parent whose child was in school at that time for her final examination, what was your immediate reaction when the news of the abduction got to you?

    The abduction took us by surprise. We never thought that insurgency could take that dimension.  It was just like a vague occurrence to us. The attack and abduction are indescribable.

    On that day, the insurgents just took over everywhere, shooting at everything they could see, so everyone was running for safety even away from the town to escape being shot.

    Later when everything had calmed down, we started returning to town. When we were able to gather ourselves together, we felt that since these people came in through the entry gate of the town and the school was around that area, we should go and check on the children in the school.

    On getting there, we didn’t see anyone except other parents who had come to check on the school and their children too. As we were wondering what to do because there was no student in the hostel again, a girl came around and told us that they brought a truck and took all the girls away, including herself. She said she did not know where they were being taken but somehow she summoned courage and jumped out of the truck. She said they did not stop but drove into the bush with the girls.

    We didn’t wait to think again. We went after them, following the tyre tracks. We got to a village and somebody told us that we should not try to pursue them in this manner but to go and get reinforcement. She said her neighbour who saw their convoy and came out was shot dead instantly. She said we should just go back and look for military assistance because they would not spare anyone they see trailing them.  

    That advice must have dampened your spirits as parents…

    No. On the contrary, it emboldened our resolve not to give up, because it’s our children we are talking about here. At that point, we went back to mobilise, everyone with a child in the school gathered and we decided to send an urgent appeal for military assistance for a surveillance team of planes, helicopters, drones, or anything. We sent the message to Abuja and they promised to send reinforcement. We waited but after the third day, we couldn’t wait any longer so we moved.

    We traced the insurgents to Sambisa forest. In the first village, we saw some of them that saw the abductors and the girls, one of the villagers in fact was laughing at us. He told us boldly that if you like you can try to fight your way through, but you will all be killed and all of you will become ashes. One of us challenged him, asking why he would say such a thing to people that were looking for their children. The man was adamant, saying that he would say it again and asking what we could do. They were speaking in Kanuri. That was how some of us that understood the language got their discussion.

    At that point, some of us turned back, but the others continued and we moved to the next village. There, when we asked about the girls, the villagers said they were confused too because they were not sure of their position with the insurgents, who could come and pursue them. But they promised that if our girls should come out to their village, they would send them to us.

     That must have really felt like a dead end for those of you remaining. What happened next?

    We did not despair as we were determined to see our girls. We continued on our search to the next village where they told us that the Army had come but that one of the front tyres of their truck had problems. They said the soldiers were even very close to the insurgents until the tyre problem. They said even a helicopter came and hovered around the insurgents but eventually went back too. The villagers said they had to hide themselves as they were expecting crossfire but nothing happened. Because of that, the villagers told us to just go back and engage the government.

    It was at this point that became clear to us that nobody was coming to our aid. So we turned back at that point dejected and despondent. Our fears turned into frustration when we heard that the federal government doubted the abduction of almost 300 children; that the kidnap story was not true.

    Along the line, members of Bring Back Our Girls started talking about it. Later we the parents of the abducted girls came out to be seen by the public that the abduction was not fake; that we needed the help of anyone, everyone to secure the release of our children. That is how it has been since 2014.

    Can you estimate how many kilometres you had to cover in search of your children before you decided to return home?

    In my life, I have never had that kind of journey. I cannot be specific, but if I approximate it, it cannot be less than 60 kilometres. We left Chibok on motorcycles in the morning, we didn’t get to the first village in Sambisa until 3 in the afternoon, and we still continued to the next village.

    At the last village where we were told that the military even came, saw them and turned back, that was where we went back and we didn’t get back to Chibok until the middle of the night. When you calculate the distance between Maiduguri, Sambisa and Chibok, which is not less than 100km, you’ll appreciate the distance we went to in the forest

     Are you saying the government is folding its arms on the issue?

    No, it is not like that. That feeling of abandonment was at the initial stage when the government doubted the reality of the abduction. And we were right to feel abandoned. Since then, many things have happened. The government that doubted us even set up a fact-finding committee that eventually made them to believe that the abduction did take place.

    Since then, we have seen the government trying. The security agencies have rescued more than half of our girls even though many are still in captivity.

     Ten years after the incident, do you think enough has been done to have the remaining 91 girls back alive?

    I am very hopeful that the remaining girls will come out alive. Besides all the efforts made before now, the electoral promises made to us during the election campaigns by our governor have really boosted my hope. When our dynamic governor, Babagana Zulum, came to Chibok, he told us that our daughters that are alive would be rescued and returned to us. With that promise, we were all happy in Chibok, waiting for the day. We are expectant and hopeful that even as we mark the 10th year of the abduction we can see our children back. We’ve been counting days every day that so far it was the governor that made that promise that those that are alive would be brought back. Yes, it is painful, but we are not naive to the point of denying the reality.

    There was a time when some girls came out with all kinds of injuries, and we asked them what happened. They said there was a bomb blast when the military came to Sambisa Forest, which killed more than 10 girls on the spot. So, in reality, even as we are demanding the safe return of our girls, we know that we can’t get them all back alive.

    But we cannot because of that abandon those that are still alive. So, the governor’s words are the hope we are hanging on to now that he should do what he promised us as a leader, whether through negotiations and rehabilitation of the Boko Haram insurgents to become good citizens.

    From there, we too may reunite with our long-lost children as we pray every day to see them alive. We are hopeful and trust that as long as the letter gets to her table, she will not ignore it.

  • How governors usurp Ifa’s role in choice of traditional rulers

    How governors usurp Ifa’s role in choice of traditional rulers

    The crisis that has engulfed the traditional institution in Yorubaland lately because governors insist on choosing traditional rulers instead of kingmakers whose responsibility it is to do so with the aid of Ifa divination has become a serious cause for concern among tradition puritans, SINA FADARE reports.

    The Yoruba have a unique culture that singles them out as a methodical race. The place of lfa divinity as one of the pivots on which their culture rotates is undeniable. Little wonder the lfa divination was added by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to its list of ‘masterpieces of oral and intangible heritage of humanity’ in 2005.

    Ifa holds such a significant place in the lives of the Yoruba that they feel duty bound to consult it when they need to take important decisions about their lives, including the choice of an Oba.

    From time immemorial the lfa oracle is consulted before an individual is chosen among the plethora of candidates to become the traditional ruler of a community. Today, however, the beat has changed and so also the dance step. State governors have usurped the place of lfa priests as they now appoint Obas by fiat except in few communities like Ibadan, Oyo State where there is an entrenched succession plan.

    The consequence is the crisis that is usually foisted on communities upon the death of an Oba. So much so that there are many communities in Yorubaland today with two traditional rulers reigning at the same time.

    Origin of lfa divination in Yoruba land

    Ifa, according to history, was a transferred religion or belief that came into the famous Oyo Empire during the reign of Alaafin Onigbogi. Rev. Samuel Johnson, in his book “The History of the Yorubas”, identified five Alaafins he labelled “historical kings”. They include Oganju; Kori; Oluaso the one known as Osarewa s’akin (the handsome but valiant king); Onigbogi and Ofinran.

    Johnson explained that Ifa came from an Ota woman named Arugba-Ifa, who was Alaafin Oluaso’s Queen and mother of Alaafin Onigbogi. Arugba-Ifa, a very superstitious woman, was said to have left Oyo for her hometown, Ota. But on hearing that her son had succeeded his father, she returned to Oyo and introduced Ifa as a religion.

    The account stated that Oyo people initially rejected the ‘strange’ religion, but one Oba from a vassal town called Ado accepted her and her religion. When the Nupe people attacked Oyo and made a mess of the city, the people had to look for Arugba-Ifa and Ifa was established as a religion in Oyo, with Alado, the Oba of Ado, as the first priest.

    Thus Ifa became the religion of Oyo people and by extension the entire Yoruba race. Such that before any major decision is taken in the land, the Ẹlẹri-ipin (the one who witnessed destiny) is consulted, and its pronouncements adhered to. In the days of yore, no Oba was crowned except he was picked by Ifa.

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    Oluwo’s confirmation

    The change in trend was recently confirmed by the Oluwo of Iwo land, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, whose dressing, utterances and general comportment have raised concerns within and outside his kingdom as to whether Ifa was consulted before his choice. 

    Oba Akanbi confirmed in a recent interview that lfa was not consulted before he was made Oba. Rather, he assumed the throne through his romance with the powers that be in the state.

    Oba Akanbi said: “Tell me one king that Ifa picked in Yoruba land. The person picked by the governor is the one God has ordained to be the king. There is no Oba in Yoruba land that would say Ifa picked him.

    “It is after the governor picks you that you become a king. Ifa does not have any power over the governor.”

    The Oluwo insisted that the days of Ifa’s intervention in the choice of Obas were long gone and even challenged his interlocutors to name an Oba who is a product of Ifa divination.

    Essentially, Oba Akanbi declared that governors have taken the place of Ifa in the appointment of Obas in Yorubaland because their word in the matter is law, and not even Ifa can object the moment a governor approves a candidate as Oba.

    Hear him: “You may be a prince and have the money, if you have the approval of Ifa and refuse to appease the governors, you have lost.

    “In the time past, Ifa priests wielded the kind of power that governors wield today. They had the power of life and death. They enthroned kings and dethroned kings.

    “Where an Oba combines the power of the king and the knowledge of Babalawo (herbalist), they become dictators. That is why Babalawos are not made kings in Yorubaland till date.”

    Governors as lfa priests

    In the last days of his tenure as the governor of Osun State, former Governor Gboyega Oyetola chose the Akirun of Ikirun against protests from the people. Reports said the kingmakers were lured to the government house where they were hoodwinked into ratifying government’s choice, Prince Yinusa Akadiri of the Oba-Ara ruling house, as the Akirun. What followed was a massive protest that set the community on fire.

    The same Oyetola administration in the state installed Prince Gboyega Famodun as the Owa of Igbajo only for Governor Ademola Adeleke to come in and send Famodun packing and installed Prince Ademola Makinde as the new of Owa; , a situation that created tension in the ancient town.

    In the same vein, the Aare of lre, Oba Ademola Ponle, who was installed as the king many years after the stool remained vacant, was also sent packing by Governor Adeleke who eventually installed Prince Muritala Oyelakin from the Oyekun ruling house as the new Oba of lre town.

    Needless to say that bickering, animosity and chaos became the order for days. Although the government had its way, it is obvious that the peace that exists in the aforementioned communities is that of the graveyard.

    Similar situations prevail in Oyo State where the governor, Seyi Makinde, had to engineer an amendment to the chieftaincy law which gave him the power to decide who mounts any traditional stool in the state.

    Lately, there has been a cold war between the governor and the Oyomesi in Oyo town. According to sources, the governor has refused to assent to the candidate presented by the Oyomesi, the traditional kingmakers of the town, on the excuse that the processes were marred by corruption.

    The foregoing prompted the Oyomesi to file a case against the governor. The suit HOY/38/2023 was filed by five kingmakers who asked the Oyo State High Court in Oyo to restrain the governor and his agents “from aborting the process for the selection/appointment of the candidate for filling the vacant stool of Alaafin of Oyo duly conducted by the kingmakers of Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy.”

    The claimants in the suit are the Bashorun of Oyo, High Chief Yusuf Layinka; Lagunna of Oyo, High Chief Wakeel Oyedepo; Akinniku of Oyo, High Chief Amusa Yusuf; Areago Bashorun, Chief Wahab Oyetunji; and the Alapo of Oyo, Chief Gbadebo Mufutau. They also listed the Oyo State Attorney-General and the state’s Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs as defendants in the suit.

    The kingmakers said they had at a meeting on September 30 unanimously selected a prince, Lukuman Gbadegesin, to fill the stool of Alaafin of Oyo, which had become vacant since April last year when the 45th Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, died.

    They are praying the court to restrain Governor Makinde and his agents from nullifying the choice of Mr. Gbadegesin and “approving or recognising any other candidate” as the next Alaafin “after a duly conducted process for the filling of the vacant stool of Alaafin of Oyo in accordance with the native law, custom and Chieftaincy Declaration of Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy.”

    The kingmakers also want the court to restrain the governor and the other defendants from removing them as Oyo kingmakers or “dissolving the Oyomesi in Council or appointing or selecting warrant chiefs to conduct or start a fresh process for the filling of the vacant stool of Alaafin of Oyo.”

    They want the court to restrain the defendants from “harassing, disturbing, preventing or stopping the claimants from carrying on their traditional functions and responsibilities as kingmakers of Alaafin of Oyo Chieftaincy.”

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had grilled some of the Oyo kingmakers on October 18 over allegations of bribery in relation to the selection of the next Alaafin.

    A petitioner had alleged that the kingmakers collected bribes running into millions of naira to facilitate the selection of Prince Gbadegesin.

    This was also the case in Ogbomoso, as there has been a series of litigations going on since the selection of Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye as the new Soun of Ogbomoso.

    The stool of the Soun became vacant with the death of long-reigning Oba Jimoh Oyewumi on 12 December, 2021 at the age of 95 years. Prince Oyewunmi was on the throne for 48 years.

    But the appointment of Mr. Olaoye, a former pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, by Governor Seyi Makinde has triggered a legal tussle. One of the contestants for the Soun throne, Muhammed Kabir Olaoye, a prince, was dissatisfied with the selection process that led to Mr Olaoye’s eventual ascendancy to the stool.

    The chairman of the Screening Committee for the Laoye ruling house in Ogbomoso, Abdulwahab Laoye, had earlier disowned Mr Olaoye, saying the family had not selected anybody to fill the vacant stool.

    However, the Oyo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Olusegun Olayiwola, insisted that Mr Olaoye’s appointment followed the statutory processes.

    The Oyo State High Court at Ogbomoso had on 25 October set aside Governor Makinde’s appointment of Mr Olaoye as the new Soun of Ogbomoso. A stay of execution of the judgment was later granted by the judge, K.A. Adedokun, paving the way for Mr Olaoye’s inauguration as Soun of Ogbomoso by Governor Makinde on 20th December last year.

    The appellants are S.O. Otolorin, chairperson, kingmakers of Soun Chieftaincy; Salawu Ajadi, Jagun of Ogbomosoland; Tijani Abioye, Bara of Ogbomosoland; David Adeniran Ojo, Kolaba of Ogbomosoland; Yusuf Kasali Oladipupo, Abese of Ogbomoso kingmaker; and Mr Olaoye, the new Soun.

    The appellants listed Muhammed Kabir Olaoye, Governor Makinde, Oyo State Attorney-General, Oyo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Ogbomoso North Local Government, the Traditional Council of Ogbomoso North, and Amos Olawole Olaoye, as respondents in the appeal.

    In the notice of appeal dated 30 November and filed at the Court of Appeal in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the appellants faulted the decision of the State High Court voiding Mr Olaoye’s appointment as the new Sọun of Ogbomoso.

    Accuracy of lfa predictions

    It is obvious and significant that where lfa is consulted before the choice of an Ọba but the powers that be decide to do their own bidden, the consequences are always unpalatable.

    Before he became the Olọwọ of Ọwọ in Ondo State in 1941, Ifa had predicted that Ọba Ọlateru Ọlagbegi ll, would become the king and there would be crisis that would lead to his banishment, but he would return as the Ọba of the town and all his enemies would be put to shame. After 25 years on the throne, Ọba Ọlagbegi in was deposed and banished from Ọwọ in 1966 and another Olọwọ, in the person of Ọba  Adekola Ogunoye ll became the king.

    Twenty-five years later, Ọba Ọlateru Ọlagbegi II was reinstated as the Ọlọwọ and reigned for another five years before he joined his ancestors in October 1998. While in exile, the revered monarch maintained his dignity and those responsible for his dethronement were at the forefront of the agitation for his reinstatement 25 years later, as predicted by Ifa.

    In the same vein, in August 1967, a crisis erupted in the ancient town of Arigidi Akoko in Ondo State and Ọba Muhamadu Ọlanipekun, the Sarki of Arigidi, was forced to go into exile. At the peak of the crisis, Ọlanipekun wanted to confront his enemies but his wife reminded him of what lfa predicted when he was going to be installed as king that okiki ọdẹ a fi fila perin kii ju ọjọ mẹta lọ (all the tribulations will soon become history). He therefore opted for peace and went into exile.

    As it later turned out, all the efforts made by his detractors to install a new Sarki outside Olanipekun’s lineage failed until 41 years later in 2008 when an Olanipekun prince, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, was installed as Sarki of Arigidi Akoko, thus confirming the accuracy and sanctity of Ifa.

    Political influence versus lfa’s sanctity

    There is no gainsaying the fact that political influence has overridden Ifa in the choice of Obas in Yoruba land these days; a situation many see as eroding the race’s cultural value.

    Speaking to The Nation on the issue, the Araba of Osogbo land and renowned Ifa priest, Chief Yẹmi Elẹbuibon, noted that the abandonment of the value and traditional norms regarding the choice of an Oba through Ifa divination by the kingmakers has turned them into objects of ridicule.

    Elebuibọn pointed out that the position of an Oba is so critical to Yoruba culture and values that they were referred to as the eye of the gods and were thus accorded the utmost respect. He, however, lamented that the way some of Obas are fraternising with politicians has robbed them of their respect to the extent that the governor now chooses whoever he wants as the Oba of a town.

    He recalled with regrets that Obas’ fraternity with the political class once warranted a former head of state to command traditional rulers to stand up and greet him at a public function; a situation he described as an insult to the traditional institution and erosion of the dignity and sanctity of royal fathers.

    The lfa priest advised those who want to be kings to get ready to uphold tradition and our cultural values if they want to be king, not looking for politicians to give them what they don’t deserve.

    On his part, Chief Niyi Akintọla, SAN put the blame at the feet of traditional rulers who fraternise with politicians and encourage governors to mess up with them.

    He said: “If an Oba respects himself, nobody will erode him. When Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi was alive, could any governor look at his face? Could any governor cross his path? Those who did it in the past paid for it.

    “Can anybody cross the Awujale’s path? An Oba should be a man of impeccable character with aura and dignity. He respects himself and you don’t just see him everywhere.”

    Akintola added: “When an Oba reduces himself to ‘Mr Available’ and turns himself into a beggar, going to governor’s office, how do you think he will command respect?

    “Obas have turned themselves into puns in the hands of governors. If they respect themselves, nobody will dare mess them up.”

    He argued that a situation where dollars are flying here and there because somebody wants to be a king, he will get the type of insults that are being heaped on traditional stools.

    “We should allow tradition to take its course. Every town has its own tradition that is peculiar to it; we should allow it to work. But when we are tampering with the tradition, that is when we run into trouble.” he said.

    Speaking to The Nation in the same vein, a renowned lawyer, Chief Ọlalekan Ojo (SAN) noted that there is nothing bad in using lfa to choose an Oba as long as it conforms with the people’s tradition.

    He explained that “every system is subject to abuse, but l still prefer the traditional way through Ifa. Picking an Oba via political ladder is not too good. If a governor chooses a king because of politics, when another one comes he may look for a way of installing his own too. That is very unfortunate and not good for the system at all.”

    If culture is very sacrosanct, journalist and lawyer, Chief Fassy Yusuf said, it should be adhered to, especially if the people come together and say this is what they want.

    He explained that the issue of lfa may not apply to all cultures, noting that if there is manipulation of lfa, “then you can fall back to democratic norms or the constitutional law.

    “Don’t forget that the lbadan system is a peculiar one. The chieftaincy law of any state is supreme.

    “Take for instance Ijebu. There are four ruling houses with a rotational system. The kingmaker will pick if it is their turn. Whether their choice is subjective or otherwise, it will be put forward as the king.

    “There is a procedure to be followed, and if a governor says otherwise his decision will be challenged in the court. There must be due process.”

    Speaking on the kinship crisis in lkirun, the son of the soil and celebrated author of popular textbooks on O’ level Economics and Government, Dr. O. A Lawal, argued that politics has replaced traditional way of succession in the ancient city.

    Lawal argued that politicians have destroyed the system to the extent that tradition has been relegated to the background.

    “The people of lkirun town know how to install their king. Some politicians cannot just come from nowhere to impose a king on us. It will never work,” he said.

  • How I, my four children, became commercial drivers – Abia mother-of-four

    How I, my four children, became commercial drivers – Abia mother-of-four

    • Recalls experience after foray into male-dominated vocation

    Mrs. Ijeoma May Chijioke is one of the rising number of female commercial drivers carving a niche for themselves in the male-dominated vocation. In this interview with Sunny Nwankwo, the mother of four children reveals how the pursuit of her passion while trying to put food on the family’s table has earned her a place in the heart of not just her husband, and male commercial bus drivers but customers who use the Ochendo Bus Terminal in Aba, Abia State.

    How would you introduce yourself?

    I am Mrs. Ijeoma May Chijioke, a native Owo-Ahiafor in Obingwa Local Government Area, Abia State. I am married to Mr. Chijioke who hails from Mbaise in Imo State. I have four beautiful children. Although I didn’t have the opportunity to go further in my education, I had O’ level certificate.

    How did you become a driver?

    Driving is one of my hobbies. I love driving. I started driving with keke (tricycle). I drove keke for 12 years in Aba, Abia State and later moved on to driving a mini-bus. From there, I later joined the luxurious line (drives a Coaster bus), and I am willing to go higher from this place if the opportunity comes.

    Is your husband still alive?

    Yes.

    What was his reaction the first time that you took to driving?

    It was a very big challenge between the two of us. But he came to understand that I cannot do without driving. When I was riding keke, he questioned why I bought a tricycle. I told him that I wanted to use it in supplying bags of sachet water to my customers. I think that he saw reasons with me and allowed me to ride the tricycle, which of course helped me in my business.

    After supplying sachet water to my customers, out of pity, I would lift people on the road without collecting money from them. After some time, I started collecting money. It was then that I realized that I was getting even more money from the passengers that I picked on the road than I was getting from selling sachet water in chiller boxes.

    At a time, my husband told me that I would no longer ride the tricycle, but I pleaded with him. At a point, I had to send some people to go and beg him to allow me to continue driving the tricycle, because it is one of the things that I love doing. After a while, he realized that I had a passion for driving, and at that point, he allowed me to follow my passion. That was how I continued driving till date.

    Are you the only female driver in this park?

    For now, yes. I know that there was a woman that was here before me. I saw her once. But as at today, I am the only female driver in this park and on this Aba-Umuahia route.

    Is it that you started driving to put food on the table of your family or just for the fun of it?

    I drive to put food on the table, but I still find pleasure in it. So, I count it all joy in putting food on the table and driving for the fun of it.

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    You said that you couldn’t complete your education. At what level did you stop?

    I started driving after my secondary school. After writing WAEC, I waited for admission to no avail. After some time, I got married, because I am the first born in my family. My dad died and my mother was somehow nowhere to be found in those days. All the responsibilities of the family were on me. But with the help of my husband, we were able to train four of my siblings and to the glory of God, I am now a mother of four children.

    How were you able to cope with driving and still meeting your family needs?

    It wasn’t all that easy, but I had to schedule my programmes so that both would not clash. When I drive, I give myself time to allow me attend to my family. For instance, when I was driving a commercial tricycle, I used my break time to look after my children. I would also use the opportunity to prepare their lunch before going back to work for the evening hours.

    What was the drive behind leaving commercial tricycle for commercial mini-bus?

    It was not as if I wanted to increase my pay, but the challenge to push myself to do more. When I was driving a tricycle, some men were wondering how it was possible for me to be that effective on the wheels. But I paid less attention to that. Personally, I believe that whatever a man can do, I, Ijeoma, can do also. There are two things that both men and women cannot do. One is that, a man cannot bear a child and a woman cannot impregnate a man. Apart from these two, there is nothing that a man can do, that I cannot do. So, from the little money that I made while driving the tricycle, I bought myself a mini-bus; the one that we know here as keke bus.

    At that time, I had a shop at the Ochendo Bus Park (loading and terminal bay of Coaster bus drivers in Aba). Some of the Coaster bus drivers, who came around my shop where I sold water and used the mini-bus to supply, while exchanging banter with them, tried to tease and dare me by telling me that I could not drive the Coaster bus. They said that driving the mini-bus did not mean that I could drive the Coaster bus.

    I took that as a challenge and drove the bus to Federal School, about 10 to 15 minutes away from the loading bay. That took every one of them by surprise because they never believed that I could do such a thing, owing to the size of the car that I was driving and that of the Coaster bus I was challenged to drive. It was after that challenge that I formally joined the Coaster bus drivers, driving people from Aba to Umuahia and from Umuahia to Aba.

    How do your male colleagues treat you?

    In this world, not everybody will like you for one reason or the other. But I can say that most of the male counterparts have been kind and supportive.

    How easy was it for you to convince the person that gave you the Coaster bus to start driving?

    (Laughs) It was not easy. He said that all the time he had been in this transport business, he had never seen a woman coming to ask him to give her a bus. Because he was still skeptical, he placed me on probation, and over time, he got convinced that I could do the job. But that was after I had joined his bus to several parts of the Southeast as a spare driver and we returned safely. That was when he was fully convinced that I could drive the bus without any supervision.

    What was the experience like the first day that you drove from Aba to Umuahia on your own?

    Like I told you, I had driven keke and mini-bus and all were on the road and busy roads for that matter. Though they were intra-city movements, they gave me the opportunity to learn traffic signs and rules and regulations and also to master how to make use of the necessary components of the car while driving. So it wasn’t strange for me when I started driving on the highway on my own.

    What has been the experience within the three years that you have been driving on the highway?

    It has not been easy. People have been encouraging me. The more I do it, the more I see fun in it. One day, after loading my bus in Umuahia to return to Aba, I cleared the bus for the conductor to collect and arrange my money for me. A female passenger who saw me on the steering wheel opted to get down from the car simply because it was a woman that was driving the car. While she alighted, I confronted her to know exactly what her problem was and your guess is as good as mine.

    I didn’t want to persuade her to go to Aba using my bus as it is her right to decide how she would get to Aba. But one thing I did was that I made sure that she had to pay her transport fare because I had already paid commission at the park. Some men in the bus, however, opted to give me the passenger’s fare. That was how we left for Aba that day.

    Your daughter assists you. Are you also teaching her the job?

    In her secondary school days, four five years ago, she drove a commercial tricycle. She is already a driver, because she is also driving the mini-bus in the house. Her siblings are also driving tricycles and the mini-bus. Almost all my children are drivers. She just graduated from the School of Nursing in Umulogho, Obowo in Imo State. So, instead of staying at home, she decided to join me and help out.

    What would you tell women who see driving as challenging?

    Such ladies should face their fears. There is no big deal in it. As long as you are in the world, you will have challenges. They should put their fears aside and forge ahead to pursue their dreams. Remove fears and shyness. Bring out the best in you.

    Someone said you are an iron woman. How do you manage the iron woman in you to bring out your motherly attributes?

    In the morning, at 5am, I am a mother. But when I am in the park at 7am, I am not a mother but a public servant. One thing that I don’t do is allow people to intimidate me.

    How long more do you think that you are going to be on the road?

    As long as my strength and health can carry me, but as soon as my daughter travels abroad to go and further her studies overseas, I will quit driving.

    How well do you support girl-child education?

    These days, women or the girl-child are the breadwinners of the home. So, training a girl-child is more beneficial to families now.

    How well do you support people having skills outside their formal education?

    Like I said, my daughter is a nurse. Today, she is assisting me. People should learn tailoring, hairdressing and other entrepreneurial skills that will help them to put food on the tables of their families. It is better to have a skill or more so that if you were not lucky to get a job or a good paying job, you can use your skills to support yourself and family. It is better to have a skill than being lazy in the house doing nothing.

    I want to also use the opportunity to urge our ogas (transport company owners) to assist women who come to them to ask that they give them the opportunity. It was a huge challenge for me. For instance, the man I went to at Hospital Road to give me a keke on hire purchase was skeptical about giving me the keke at first, because according to him, he was not convinced about giving me the keke. But I surprised him after I got his balance at record time.

    He even confessed that I was one of the few of his clients who never gave him a headache until their money was complete.

  • ‘Why OAU zookeeper was attacked by lion’

    ‘Why OAU zookeeper was attacked by lion’

    Francis Abioye, a former president of the Nigerian Association of Zoological Gardens and Wildlife Parks, and General Manager Imo State Zoological Gardens, shed light on the circumstances surrounding the death of veteran zookeeper at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Olabode Olawuyi, dispelling the misconception that the lion that attacked him while he was feeding the wild cats in their den at the school’s zoological garden on February 19 was to blame for the tragedy. He spoke with CHRIS NJOKU.

    What is your current role at Imo State Zoo and Wildlife Park, given the challenges and changes that have occurred in recent times?

    Since my suspension, I have not been officially informed of any changes to my role as the General Manager of Imo State Zoo and Wildlife Park. I am currently on an indefinite leave, awaiting official communication from the authorities. Until then, I believe that I am still the General Manager, and I remain committed to the welfare of the animals and the zoo’s visitors, advocating for the preservation of the zoo and its conservation efforts.

    What are the necessary safety protocols to prevent incidents like lion attacks in zoos?Key safety protocols include proper animal housing enclosures, safety equipment, staff training, welfare, and the provision of necessary tools like tasers. Ensuring correct housing design and adequate space for animals are fundamental in preventing such disasters.

    What led to the tragic death of the late zoo keeper, and why were other staff members unable to prevent the incident?

    The fatal incident stemmed from human error. A zookeeper failed to secure the lion properly during feeding, leading to the attack. The late zoo veteran bravely intervened to rescue the zookeeper, sacrificing his life in the process due to the absence of necessary safety measures.

    Why did the lion become so aggressive as to attack the zookeeper?

    The blame lies not with the lion but with systemic failure. The root causes include lack of safety equipment, training and hazard allowances for zookeepers, highlighting the need for comprehensive reforms in the zoo industry.

    Is there any compensation for the heroism displayed by the late zoo veterian?

    Sadly, compensation is often lacking for fallen zookeepers, underscoring the need for justice and support for their families. Efforts are underway to seek accountability for the mismanagement of critical funds meant for the zoo and wildlife sector.

    What are your recommendations to the President and National Security Adviser?

    They include urgent legislation for zoo safety equipment, honouring the late zoo veterian as a national hero, and providing scholarships for his children. Calls for justice, accountability, and recognition of sacrifices made by zookeepers are paramount in preventing future tragedies.

    How can the government better support the zoo industry to prevent future tragedies like the one that befell the late zookeeper?

    Government support is crucial in providing adequate funding, implementing safety regulations, and ensuring proper training for zoo staff. By prioritising the welfare and safety of zookeepers and wildlife, tragedies can be mitigated through proactive measures and sustainable policies.

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    What role can the public play in advocating for the welfare of zookeepers and wildlife conservation in Nigeria?

    Public awareness and advocacy are essential in holding authorities accountable, raising funds for zoo improvements, and promoting ethical wildlife practices. By supporting initiatives that prioritize animal welfare and zoo safety, individuals can contribute to a more sustainable and responsible zoo industry.

    In light of recent events, what steps can be taken to enhance security and emergency response protocols in zoos across Nigeria?

    Improving security measures, investing in advanced emergency response training, and ensuring the availability of essential safety equipment like dart guns are critical steps to enhance zoo safety. Collaborative efforts between government agencies, zoo associations, and wildlife experts can lead to a more secure environment for both animals and zookeepers.

    How can the international community support Nigeria in strengthening its zoo industry and wildlife conservation efforts?

    International partnerships, funding and knowledge exchange programmes can significantly benefit Nigeria’s zoo industry and wildlife conservation initiatives. By leveraging global expertise and resources, Nigeria can enhance its conservation practices, improve zoo standards, and promote sustainable wildlife management practices on a broader scale.

  • Storey building jointly built by two brothers sparks family row

    Storey building jointly built by two brothers sparks family row

    A one-storey building jointly built by two brothers has turned the widows and children of the deceased younger brother against the older brother. The widows are demanding outright sale of the property and sharing of the proceeds, citing maltreatment of their children by the sons of the older brother, KUNLE AKINRINADE reports.

    • Widows of deceased owner of upper floor assaulted by elder brother’s sons demand sale of property 

    • Elder brother and owner of ground floor insists property won’t be sold

    David Adebayo and his younger brother Ismail shared an envious bond in spite of their different religious leanings. Born into a Christian family from the Owu section of Abeokuta, Ogun State, Ismail was taken to live with a Muslim family members as a teenager, hence he adopted the religion of his guardian while his elder brother, David, remained a Christian.

    But despite their different religions leanings, the duo was so fond of each other that they became rather inseparable. To further cement their bond, Ismail and David decided to build one house so they could continue to live together. Thus, in 1982, the two brothers bought one plot of land from a surveyor in Agidingbi area of Ikeja, Lagos, on which they erected a one-storey building at No 14 Abiodun Shobajo Street, Agidingbi.

    The said building consists of eight rooms each on the top and ground floors as well as a boy’s quarters where they both lived until Ismail died about five years ago. The death of Ismail has, however, shattered the familial bond between the families of the two brothers.

    The widows and children of Ismail want the property sold so they can share the proceeds as they complain of incessant harassment and brutality meted out to them by David’s sons. The matter has sparked a furore as aged David insists he would never sell his own floor of the storey building. 

    The eldest wife of the late Ismail, Madam Kudirat Adebayo, said she was disturbed by the constant fight and brutality served on her sons by the sons of David, her deceased husband’s elder brother.

    Kudirat said: “My husband, the late Ismail Adebayo, and his elder brother, Pa David Adebayo, jointly built a one-storey building in the Agidingbi area of Lagos State.

    “My husband lived with me and my children and his second wife and her children on the ground floor while his elder brother, David Adebayo, lives with his children and wives on the top floor. 

    “The house is located at 14 Abiodun Shobajo Street, Agidingbi, Ikeja, very close to the New African Shrine in Alausa.

    “My husband died five years ago, and since my husband died, we have not known any peace. The children of my husband’s brother have been molesting, harassing and brutalising my sons in the building.

    “They scalded my son with hot water and brutalised him. They engage in unwholesome business activities at Fela’s African Shrine and operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have raided the place many times. Hence, the decision to sell the building to avert incessant or further humiliation of my children by the sons of my husband’s elder brother.

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    “We have reported the matter to the Alausa Police Station because there was a time my children were threatened with charms. It got to a point where men of the Alausa Police Division asked us to stop bringing the matter to them.

    “He, Pa  Adebayo has removed my husband’s name from the official documents, including water supply, electricity bill, the property’s documentation at the Lands Registry, Alausa among others, and has been replacing my husband’s name with his in the last four years.

    “The copies of the documents given to us were hijacked by one of the sons of Pa David Adebayo.

    “We felt that once the building is sold and we share the proceeds, all the troubles they are making with my children would stop.

    “If I die and my husband’s brother too is no more, his sons could claim ownership of the building since they have been carrying themselves as if their father is the sole owner.

    “My position is that we should sell the house and share the money accordingly.”

    Kudirat’s position was echoed by Risikat Adebayo, the younger wife of Ismail Adebayo, who explained that she was harassed when she visited the residence lately.

    “The sons of my late husband’s brother poured water on me. They would hit my children unjustly and behave like hoodlums,” Risikat said.

    Responding, however, Pa David Adebayo said he has always taken care of his younger brother’s family.

    He said he never abandoned his younger brother’s children or his two wives. 

    He said: “I have never abandoned them. I visited the wives and even gave them money at a point.

    “Now they said they want to sell the building and I told them that I won’t sell my own floor to anyone.

    “Since my brother and I built the house, we never had any quarrel over the property, and the two wives knew nothing about how we related with each other.

    “I would visit them in their home in the Itoki area of Ogun State and even give them some money to take care of themselves.

    “There was a day I visited them at Itoki and my younger brother’s older wife assaulted me while I was going back to Agidingbi.

    “I was invited by the Baale of Itoki and other community leaders who intervened in the matter.

    “We have shared the building into two parts and they have been collecting money from renting out the apartment.

    “They served us with a notice of shutdown for defaulting in land use charge running into N700,000.

    “When I told Kudirat about it, she threatened to throw curses at me.

    ”I have since ejected one of my sons who is causing problems and fighting with people in the building and he is no more in the building. Therefore, as far as I am concerned I am not going to sell my apartment.

    “It is not true that I have removed their husband’s name from the documents. I have given them copies of the documents.”

    Speaking on the matter, Michael Adebayo said he had always tried to ensure there was peace in the building by settling fights between his siblings and father.

    “I tried as much as possible to intervene whenever there was a fight between my brothers, father, and children of my late uncle because we are one big family and there was never any quarrel between my father and his younger brother when he was alive,” he said.

    He added that he was invited to a Yoruba television programme where he and others involved in the matter were urged to embrace amicable settlement.

    He said: “We have been invited to a television programme for arbitration and we were told to go back and settle the matter amicably between ourselves.

    “However, I have been calling my younger brother’s wives for settlement but they’re not forthcoming at all.

    “We have scheduled another meeting for Tuesday next week and I am ready for a truce.

    “They said they are not comfortable attending the meeting at Agidingbi, but I am not against any neutral venue for the parley.”

  • Why I dumped priesthood for politics

    Why I dumped priesthood for politics

    Politics, many would say, is a game. To a few others, however, it is not only a serious business, it is a social contract between a political office holder and voters that elected them into office. Benue State governor, Hyacinth Alia, a catholic priest who has been in the saddle for 10 months, shared his experience with reporters in Makurdi his experience in Government House. Assistant Editor EMMANUEL BADEJO was there.

    • Reason some people call me Mr 25

    • Says Tinubu deserves national applause for his tough choices

    What informed your decision to drop priesthood for a part in the murky waters of politics?

    Many people have asked similar questions. But the one that thrilled me most was Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, who taunted me at a time, asking why I temporarily left the cassock to take on the headache of governance.  I told him that the answer is quite simple. The church generally has an aim, which is to save souls. The church does not want people to be lost.  The aim of my coming into partisan politics is exactly to fulfill that purpose.  I came in to save the poor masses of Benue.

    Before my advent into partisan politics, too many things were wrong. I had lived a functional 33 years as a priest with my locals. I’ve been in the trenches with them, and the people I love working for the most are the destitute, the poor masses, those who do not have a voice in our society, who are oppressed, suppressed and neglected. God loves everyone and He does not want anybody, particularly the vulnerable groups in any society, abandoned and lost. These are the people that I felt were never cared for.

    How would you describe Benue at the time you took over as governor?

    When I took over, I met the state in a pitiable condition. Pensioners were regarded as dead people; they were not remembered. Their entitlements were not paid for years. Local government teachers and the rest of the civil servants were nearly totally forgotten. My father was a local government teacher and I felt his pains when his entitlements were not given to him.

    The state, since its creation, was just a glorified village. We didn’t even have light on the streets in the state capital.  Our internal roads were minimally tarred. So many things were not just in place. Benue has more ghost schools and workers than the real ones. You come into the state capital, Makurdi, and it is like you come into a village.  I felt there was a need for us to change that narrative.

    But the church stood against your ambition and consequently suspended you from priesthood…

    The church is not against her priests joining partisan politics.  Where it is a case of plurality of parties, the church will hold her reservation. But at the same time, there is a leeway that if the church judges that the society is too dysfunctional and that the only person to salvage the situation is a priest, then the church is given that allowance. Someone can spring up via the church to save the rest of the people.

    Not many people understand this, and this is why I had to come in and save the souls. We had to take care of the human beings that are out there.

    You have had about 10 months in the saddle. What would you say your administration has been able to do?

    Since we came in, we’ve been caring for the human beings in the state.  We have been trying to fix several dysfunctional sectors. The first thing we did was introduce a policy of meritocracy, meaning you only earn or get what you earn.  And having understudied the system in the last 10 months, we were able to record huge financial shift. 

    We are constructing roads to boost our agricultural market and food production. One of the areas we are looking at is improving the public primary schools.  Can you imagine the primary school I attended having only a teacher with dilapidated infrastructure? That is a replica of many primary schools in the rural areas. We’re talking about the future of Benue, the future of Nigeria. 

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    These are vulnerable groups who can’t fight for themselves; we need to fight for them. It is like fighting for democracy, which does not just happen; it has to be fought for. To ensure that the schools are working, there must be infrastructural traction and functionality. This is what we have been doing since we came in.

    When we fight for democracy, then we’ll be fighting against food insecurity that exists because farmers are on the farms and encouraging them to go into mechanized farming. I came in to assure them that God loves them in a way they can have their liberality of thoughts, they can know that they and their children owe the future.

    So, I came in so that the state will have the fullness of democracy and the fullness of life. People need to understand that government is an opportunity to protect peoples’ lives and ensure that the people go back to their agrarian society.

    On May 29 last year, you promised massive infrastructural development and later declared a state of emergency on infrastructure.  With the challenging economy, do you think you would be able to deliver on your projection?

    We had declared a state of emergency on our infrastructure. Our primary schools were in decay. We had weeded out ghost schools in that unit. Benue had more ghost workers.  For instance, we had these ghost schools with 95 teachers and the least teacher was on Grade Level 10. This had been on for a very long time. Can you imagine what the state had been losing to that alone?

    So, what we did was that we were able to save N1.4 billion the first month we came on board. By the second month, we saved over N2 to 3 billion from ghost workers alone. We then shifted into the civil service where we saw some other things.  The state had more casual staff than the permanent staff. These casual staff were paid between N10,000 and N15,000 a month. The entire ministry of works didn’t have up to 12 staff. This was quite unheard of. We had to weed out some of them and it is just now that we are coming to terms with reality. That is what we are doing. By this, we were able to fine-tune the system to work.

    In terms of infrastructure, we are an agrarian state and over 80 per cent of the people here are farmers. But unfortunately, they were never incentivised to be the best they would be on the farms.  So, we set out to do the roads that could lead from their farms to the market squares and back here to the centre.  I’m glad to tell you that in the last few months, we have fixed 16 roads and we’re at the point of unveiling another 31 street roads within the capital city, Makurdi. 

    At the same time, other contractors are working on rural roads across the state where we have most of our food production, because that is where we want the impact to be first felt.

    There are talks that you give contractors 70 per cent up front, which is unprecedented in Nigeria. What is the guarantee that these contractors will deliver on their projects?

    Yes, we wrote down that 70 per cent be given to them, which we do on installments basis. We decided to be doing this to arrest the challenges of inflation and foreign exchange. For the records, we do not give 70 per cent at a go.

    Let me also inform you that many of our contractors are locally sourced. These contractors have built themselves up and also because we have received other testimonials from other states. But with the agreement to sign with them, there’s no way any of them can perform below expectation. And where we sense that, we’ll hold them by the jugular. It is not as if we just give them the contracts.

    It is not true that we give them 70 per cent. But because the State Executive Council said 70 per cent should be given to them because of inflation, it is segmented. That is why most contractors are scrambling for Benue State. And those who took projects and money and didn’t do the work, their day is coming as we are counting for them.  They’ll have some questions to answer on why they took jobs they didn’t do.

    What steps are you taking to address the security situation in your state, especially in the rural areas?

    Before we were ushered in on May 29, 2023, the security reports on our insecurities were horrible. It is also on record that hundreds of people were being killed in one local government area. Before you took that to heart, you heard of another one. We had tonnes of these deaths on our hands. But since we came in, it is on record that there has been relative peace. How do we know the indices? By the same security apparatus that we have and by the reports we get from our vigilantes, forest guards and other security apparatus who are working in sync with the security of our people.

    By the situation report we receive every day, we are able to measure that. Overall, we have relative peace. But at the same time, relative peace does not mean we have absolute peace.

    But there are still reports of attacks and killings in the state…

    It is true that we have had pockets of attacks in recent times. What we discovered was that of late, we had a large influx of armed herders that flocked in some local government areas of the state. These local governments are prone to insecurity because they share borders with a number of states.

    Despite your achievements in a few months and to the delight of many Benue residents, there are still dissenting voices in your party against your administration. What are the issues?

    Well, in every administration, you expect those who oppose you. I came in with a plan to rebuild our state. Some people are at their best when there is a crisis, and there are some political leaders who dug a hole and kept everyone in the state down there and they don’t want anyone to see the light of day. There were no infrastructure and no one knew where the monies given to the state were going to. They did not better anyone’s lives; they took care of their individual families. We have a conscience and a report card we must present to the people. So, if a select few say they are in charge of the state and that before development comes, they must know, when FAAC allocations come, it must be given to them first, who does that?  It is not for anyone to be inciting the masses against the government. 

    Who gains more if all the political gladiators come together with ideologies that will take the state forward? It is regressive for anyone to be thinking of sharing the state’s money.  That would not work at all. This is what some of them have been doing that has not taken us anywhere.  Benue, though created in 1976, is far behind on all fronts. 

    Look at Nasarawa that was just created, can we consider the development in that state with what we have in Benue? Everywhere in Lafia its capital city is lit up, structures have come up. The people brought me to the seat, they ensured that I present to them the merits of democracy. They voted me on trust. Let all political gladiators come up with ideologies and not dysfunctionality that will consume everyone. So, for those who want the state’s money to be shared with them, sorry, that can’t happen anymore. This has been the practice for more than two decades and where has that taken us?  I feel it is just high time everybody got on board with me. 

    Besides, I have my character and reputation and I came into this game with a defined intention to work with and for the people and accommodate everyone. That is what we will continue to do, because at the end of it all, I am going to be responsible for everything. I am for the people, with the people and working for them. The people of Benue gave me their trust.

    You campaigned and won the election on APC’s ticket.  Should there not be a well-defined arrangement to take care of party machinery?

    I am not denying the understanding of doing what we should do by taking care of our statesmen. We have been doing that. I am a moderate person, it will be childish of me to go on television and say we are giving money to some people.  And as much as the law allows us, we will continue to do the needful.

    My predecessor plunged Benue into a huge debt hanging on my head.

    It is disheartening to know that few indigenes of the state want to be known as Benue APC and they want all the funds in the state to be handed over to them. If that is done, can the state function that way? For us, we consider the masses and that is why you see all the projects going on in the state, and we will continue on that path. Anything short of that will be detrimental to the state and I am not prepared to settle for less.

    Those who criticise every policy we bring out are the beneficiaries of the dysfunctional system.  These are cohorts who move in their own gangs.  These are social media bandits and we need to get rid of them by executing the projects we had promised to do that will benefit everyone. Some of these people come to me privately to hail me but when they come, I say to them to make their kudos known to the public. Some of them take it as a business.

    It is in the news that you have a frosty relationship with the Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator George Akume. Will this not affect the party and the state?

    As regards my relationship with the SGF, Senator George Akume, for the records, I don’t have any differences with him. He was the leader of the APC in the state and he ensured that everything was done for me to win, and we won. There is no way I will talk ill of him or complain. He was the one encouraging me to break all the records of my predecessor. I am also happy when I read where Akume said that he has no problem with me. We don’t have issues.  But then, it is granted that social media is a new world on its own where some miscreants flourish.

    Some people accuse me of pinching Benue money. They say I run the state like I ran the church. I hear them saying that since the church does not have money, priests are already used to money pinching. They are not happy with me because they expected me to keep the state’s treasury open for everyone to take what they can. If that is the grouse, I thank the church for giving me such discipline. Without the pinching, you cannot rule a state like Benue.  I feel that if we consider the masses, APC will do great things for this state. I can tell you authoritatively that everybody is benefiting from the programmes and projects we are doing.

    If you say you and the SSG have no differences, what about several court cases against Benue APC that made the national leadership of the party to order withdrawal of all litigations?

    For the records, I never took the APC to court. So, the letter is not talking about me. Those who are working for the APC in the state have not taken the party to court. Let me be clear on this.

    Are you not distracted?

    I am not distracted in any form or fashion because I came into the bidding of the party and above all, the people. We are executing that script as planned, so, there are no distractions whatsoever, and that is why I am doing the work I am doing. In some places, you hear people calling me Mr. 25 because their salaries are being paid on the 25th of each month. People need to understand the stability of governance, they worked for it and they earned it. Why should they be denied?

    NLC is agitating for a pay rise. Is Benue prepared to key into the new minimum wage demand?

    We are prepared. As one of the sub-nationals, why can’t we be in sync with what the entire nation is doing? We must and I am prepared to go for that. Once the minimum wage is agreed upon, we must also follow. So far, salaries are being paid and we are doing well with the payment of pensions of the people as well. Their lives are back and I am willing to do more for them.

    What have you done to better the lots of workers with Benue Links Transportation Company?

    We met nothing on ground, I mean total zero. Those who owned Benue Links before May 29, 2023, were individual private persons. They brought in a few of their buses that used to be known as a fleet for the company. Benue Links had no cars.  When we came in, we saw the need to revamp the establishment. With our location as a state, people come into the state from all directions. So, we need to ease the movement of people who need to go to other parts of the country. This was why we did some investment by buying 100 buses at a time and thank God, it was effective. We subsidised that so that the fuel subsidy removal will not have any effect on the people. I was happy with the result. I am happy that the buses are running to a good number of states.  The establishment is trying to do some addition that will encourage competition towards improving our transportation and I’m looking up to that.

    You have embarked on several infrastructural projects. How are you sourcing the fund? Also, your predecessor was owing workers, have you been able to clear the debts?

    Though we met a huge debt, we have been able to invest in health, roads, and some other infrastructure. Unfortunately, we have not been able to offset the arrears because it runs into hundreds of billions of naira. I cannot take care of that now, but what I have done is to take care of their salaries. Under my watch, our civil servants will not lose any of their salaries.

    With the pensioners, their situation was more critical, but we are trying to take care of the pensions and continue to scale down. Governance deals with prioritization.

    In the medical sector, we have invested heavily in our teaching hospital.  We also gave some form of incentive to our medical personnel and the student population there, many of whom we are encouraging to give back to the state.  We were the first to take care of the medical doctors’ residency last year. So, we understand that many doctors are now longing for Benue to hire them. We’ll give similar attention to general hospitals and clinics in the local governments.

    Government is an opportunity where the unemployed will be given some form of training and exposure to acquiring skills.

    Apart from pinching the state’s resources, are there other ways your government has been raising funds to meet the state’s needs?

    I’m trying to raise internally generated revenue. Our treasury had too many holes and we are making some parchments on it. If anyone accuses you of pinching, well, I thank God and the church for that training.  Do you know that I got only one car just last month for the state’s business as sitting governor? I have to make some tough choices too.  Though I know what the book provides and I know what others will do, I’ve got to make some tough choices. For now, I need just that one car and that is good enough for us. This can be a platform for luxury, but we don’t have that means for now.

    Our President had to make tough choices, I mean tough choices.  We should be clapping for him for taking the boldness to remove the fuel subsidy. He was attacked and some are still attacking him. If he didn’t make that tough choice then, where would we be now as a nation?

    What is your take on the calls for a return to the parliamentary system of government?

    We need to get this right.  We need some education and re-education. The system of governance is not the problem; we the people are the problem. Politics is not a bad game, it is the players that are bad. God forbid, if I play bad, it doesn’t mean that politics is a bad game, it simply means that the players are the bad players who are not promoting the good spirit of democracy. It is not the form of government that is bad, but it is the people, who have their own different modes of thinking.

    Take for instance, state police. It is not a new idea.  We have had it in the past, but why did we jettison it? Why are we projecting its re-establishment now?  Why do we have large appetite for money? Why are we too greedy? Why are we not thinking of the masses? Why do some politicians make promises of what they didn’t intend to provide during campaign? The problem is the man and not the system. This is why we need this new orientation.

    Benue is an agrarian state, but she is not occupying this role.  What will your government do to make the state feed the nation?

    We will do all that we need to do to ensure that agriculture takes its pride of place in Benue again.  I have promised financial support to those farmers who are ready to return to their farmlands, and I mean it. The state had agricultural development programmes and I’m waiting for those with requisite knowledge and techniques to come in there and take it up. The state will provide the capital to do whatever they intend to do. The state will provide the capital and the farm tools. The state can also be the off-takers of your farm products. We in the state have no reason to talk about food insecurity. We have all it takes to feed the state and the nation.

    What’s your stance on the push for the autonomy of the local government?

    Yes, granting autonomy to the local government will make things work better for the people.  Again, it is not the system that is bad, but the individuals. So, if the managers of the local government become irresponsible, autonomy won’t make any difference.

    At the moment in Benue, we are checking because we have discovered that a lot got missing from the treasury through the local government, as many of them became conduit pipes of corruption. Granting local government autonomy is the springboard of development and growth. We are already on this track of autonomy as both the judiciary and the legislature have their full autonomy.  The executive does not intervene in their business.

    You have some IDPs in the state.  How soon would they be returning to their homes?

    As soon as possible. We thank the Federal Government’s intervention.  In fact, there are a number of programmes the federal government has shifted to us to impact skills and resettle the displaced persons.  This particular programme is for the Northwest and Northeast, and I thank God that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave us, I mean Benue and Niger, to key in into this programme. The programme is going to enable us to get the IDPs back to their homes and enable them to take back their lives and businesses.

    Where do you see Benue State by 2027?

    By 2027, the entire nation will be making reference to the infrastructural development that Benue would have recorded.  Having come from grass, we are headed to grace and there’s no stopping at all.  By 2027, the Yes Father dynamism you’re hearing will be the sound bite on the lips of the opposition.  They’ll first say yes Father before the legitimate Yes Father will say it.  This is because we are doing what we promised the people we will do.

    It excites me when I get reports of people coming from neighbouring states to Benue for medication.  That is the new dream I have for Benue. I want to deliver a Benue that everybody will be proud of.

  • Tales of lucky escape as Ibadan explosion victims recall ordeal

    Tales of lucky escape as Ibadan explosion victims recall ordeal

    • How 20 rescuers tried in vain to remove me from rubble -Survivor

    • I thought it was rapture, says another

    • Explosion: The untold story of black Tuesday in Ibadan

    The heavy explosion that ripped through Bodija Estate, the heart of Ibadan on Tuesday evening left monumental damage in its wake, writes Southwest Bureau Chief BISI OLADELE and SEGUN SHOWUNMI.

    Blood, rubble and wreckage are the new marks of a once serene, highbrow section of the Bodija residential estate, Ibadan after the bloody explosion of what was believed to be dynamites, which killed five people and landed 77 others in the hospital.

    At press time yesterday, many residents of the community were still in tears while many others were in shock. Senior citizens living around 1,000 metre radius of the estate situated off Adeyi Avenue, were still in shock from the heavy explosion.

    For instance, the Operations Manager of Bon Nest Hotel, an edifice situated about 600 metres away from the blast site, Mr Tunde Solomon, was said to have died of shock on Thursday. The hotel announced his death on its Instagram page, saying his death was caused by the heavy blast which ripped through the area on Tuesday night.

    Mourning the deceased on the hotel’s Instagram page bonhotelibadan, the management of the hotel described its late manager as a selfless and dedicated worker who had been using his 25 years in the industry for the growth of of the organisation.

    The post reads: ”We regret to inform you of the sudden passing of our beloved Operations Manager, Mr.Tunde Solomon.

    ”Mr. Solomon suffered a heart attack on the 17th of January 2024, and it is believed that it was a consequence of the explosion  that occurred on the 16th of January 2024 at Bodija.

    ”Mr. Tunde Solomon was a vastly experienced member of staff with more than 25 years in the industry. His commitment to his role and his contributions to the growth of BON Hotel Nest Ibadan and the BON group in general during his tenure were invaluable.

    ”His loss leaves a void that will be deeply felt by all who had the privilege of working alongside him.

    ”We extend our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Solomon’s family during this difficult time.

    ”Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they navigate through this challenging period.”

    There are obviously many other private residents whose shock-induced death might not have been announced.

    The wreckage of once beautiful buildings that stood firm in the area are visible, conveying the impact of the explosion believed to have been caused by storage of explosives in a residential community.

    The losses are huge, bringing tears and distress to the elites that dominate the community.

    While some of them were displaced by reason of the damage to their homes, some lost loved ones; a development they are still struggling to come to terms with.

    Read Also; Meet new commander of IRT, DC Sanusi assigned to tackle Abuja kidnapping crisis 

    Not only private individuals suffered human and material losses, businesses, worship centres and government establishments all got a dose each of the bitter pill.  Hence, while some are mourning the death of loved ones, others are groaning over material losses, while others were moaning over both.

    The Oyo State Government Secretariat, which is about 1,000 metres away, was not spared of the disaster. The office of the governor was also affected.

    The University College Hospital (UCH) was still reeling from the impact as the ceilings of some of its buildings were shattered with computer systems affected at both UCH and state secretariat.

    Although the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) put the number of affected houses at 58, more landlords were coming up with evidence of damage to their buildings.

    Many buildings around Mokola, Osuntokun Avenue and New Bodija are still counting their losses. Ace Mall and Domino’s outlet on Awolowo Road had their ceilings shattered while Grandex, a supermarket in New Bodija, had its windows and ceilings smashed.

    The building of Bodija Baptist Church and several other churches and mosques in the area were also shaken with impact to their roofs, ceilings and windows as well as other facilities within.

    Banks in Bodija and Mokola suffered similar fate. So were other buildings around Coca-Cola and as far as Ikolaba Estate in the city.

    Many hospitals around Bodija were littered with injured victims. It was tales of woe from the injured victims when our correspondent visited alongside the leaders of Bodija Estate Residents Association (BERA).

    For 84-year-old Engr. Akinwale Morakinyo, his survival was like a miracle. The explosion brought the walls of his building down on him, but he was lucky to be rescued by the people around. His house shares perimeter fence with the house where the explosion took place.

    The little girl that was staying with him became the angel that facilitated his rescue. He expressed surprise that his head and spine were still intact despite being under the rubble.

    Morakinyo, who sustained a knee injury in the explosion, was admitted at JRapha, a private hospital at New Bodija.

    Narrating his ordeal, he said: “I was watching the 7pm news on the television when the incident occurred. The wall of my bedroom fell on me. People were trying to carry the wall but they couldn’t.

    “I was taking deep breath, and my breathing was getting weaker and weaker. If not for quick intervention by the people, I would have died there, because I was getting weaker and weaker and breathing was becoming more and more difficult.

    “I had a girl that was staying with me. Immediately the incident occurred, she did not have any means of getting out because she could not gain access to the key. She was forced to climb the fence and started shouting for help before people came to my rescue.

    “It was just the saving grace that there was someone at home, else, I would have died, because people outside there would just be searching other locations,  not knowing that I had been trapped.

    “I heard noises while I was trapped in the rubble. Someone came in to rescue me but could not do it. Another batch came in, they tried but could not do anything.

    “Then another batch came in – they were about 20. Even with that, they still couldn’t move the rubble on me. So they started breaking it before I was eventually rescued. That was what caused these bruises you are seeing on me.

    “Even if it’s time for someone to die, he should die peacefully, not by this kind of incident.”

    I thought it was rapture – Survivor

    Also narrating her experience, another resident of the area, Mrs Tokunbo Oseni, whose 18-year old son Timilehin Oseni is currently receiving treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Redeemer’s Hospital, New Bodija having been badly injured, said the explosion made her think it was the rapture.

    Her words: “I was at home that day around 7:45pm when we suddenly heard a loud sound and a very forceful explosion. We were staying downstairs in a duplex.

    Everything scattered at once from the ceiling to the window, the doors and others.

    “The ground was full of broken glasses and ceiling. Everywhere was dark and gloomy. We couldn’t see ourselves at all. We were just shouting.

    “We thought the world had come to an end. We thought that rapture had come. We met everybody crying and shouting when we came out of the gate.

    “Many people were injured. There was blood everywhere. Some people thought it was an earthquake. It was the following day we got to know that it was an explosion.

    “Our son was outside our gate when the explosion occurred. It lifted him off the ground from Deji Oyelese, our street, and deposited him somewhere at Bond Hotel. He called us because he had a phone in his pocket as at that time. He was breathing profusely. He had inhaled so much dust and could not talk again.

    “We went to bring him back home because we thought it was something we could treat ourselves. Everywhere was in chaos before we got out of the estate.

    “He was placed on oxygen when we brought him here, because he could not breathe well. It took almost one hour before he could get better. The doctor later advised that we moved him to ICU (intensivecare unit).

    “Timilehin was supposed to go back to school today (Thursday) at Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, but he can’t go back now.

    “We have called the school to tell them how the incident affected him, because their examination is about to start.

    “The school showed understanding and promised to carry his Head of Department and others along concerning his matter so that he can write his test and examination whenever he goes back to school.

    “We are homeless right now. When we leave the hospital, we don’t have anywhere to go. The house was badly damaged. We don’t know where to start from.

    “We will appreciate if government can help everyone involved so that life can be easier for us, even though we know that government can’t do everything but just for us to start with something tangible, which I believe will go along way to assist us.”

    Akande Oluwakemi was in the kitchen when the explosion occurred. She was injured all over her body by broken window glasses. She was knocked down by the glasses but was later rescued by her brother and others who rushed her to the hospital.

    The Chairman, Bodija Estate Residents Association (BERA), Pastor Muyiwa Bamgbose, told our correspondent that the leadership discovered a lot of problems in the estate on assuming office. He added that measures were already being taken to address them when the explosion occurred.

    He called for joint efforts by all stakeholders to improve security and peaceful coexistence.

    His words: “When we came into the leadership of BERA, we saw that there were a lot of challenges and outright problems that had crept up on us due to unplanned development and changes in use of buildings.

    “Bodija has shifted from the original design of a secured residential area with flower fences to a commercial centre. The original infrastructure and services need to be worked upon to cope with the current reality.

    “We complained about the proliferation of clubs, lounges, eateries, etc without adequate control of the polluting effects. We have drawn up a Smart Bodija vision as a guide for our team before this disastrous event happened.

    “While rallying support for the affected residents, the rest of the community are now in despair. Could this happen again? Can we cope?

    “Those whose houses are marked for testing are pensive; what would the outcome be? If one’s house is to be demolished for something which was not their fault, will they be compensated and assisted to rebuild? How long will this hotel promise last? We can go on and on.

    “We need all hands on deck to handle all these issues and more. We need to continue to beef up security to ensure that looting does not happen. We need to continue to sensitise and educate our residents on what to do.”

    As the state government upscales efforts to mitigate the effects of the explosion on affected residents, all eyes are also on security agencies to fish out and bring to book those who stored explosives in a residential community.

  • Nancy Ladeinde: Weaving sustainability stories into corporate DNA

    Nancy Ladeinde: Weaving sustainability stories into corporate DNA

    Nancy Ladeinde, a communications expert, has discussed her groundbreaking work in strategic communication and sustainability. With a diverse background spanning industry, academia, and research. In this interview, Ladeinde disclosed how she is making a name for herself as an innovative force in the field.

    Nancy, you have worked with major brands like Heineken, Procter & Gamble, and Nestle. How has this experience shaped your approach to public relations?

    My time in industry has been invaluable. It has given me a practical understanding of the challenges organizations face when communicating with diverse stakeholders. Working with these global brands taught me the importance of crafting messages that resonate across different cultures and platforms. It is not just about what you say, but how you say it and where you say it.

    Your master’s thesis focuses on organizational storytelling for sustainability communication. Can you tell us more about this work?

    Absolutely. I am examining how Unilever uses storytelling to communicate its sustainability initiatives. In today’s world, where consumers are increasingly environmentally and socially conscious, it is crucial for companies to effectively communicate their efforts in these areas. Storytelling is a powerful tool for this because it can create emotional connections and make complex issues more relatable.

    This research in sustainability also earned you the Booth Library Award for Excellence in Student Research and Creativity at Eastern Illinois University. What impact do you hope it will have?

    I am honored by the recognition. My goal is to provide both scholars and practitioners with new frameworks for sustainability communication. I believe that by improving how companies communicate their environmental and social initiatives, we can drive greater engagement and action on these critical issues.

    You’ve also been teaching public speaking and general communication courses. How does your teaching inform your research and vice versa?

    Teaching has been incredibly rewarding. It challenges me to break down complex concepts and present them in accessible ways. This skill directly translates to my work in strategic communication, where clear communication is key. Conversely, my research and industry experience provide real-world examples and cutting-edge insights that I can share with my students.

    You were recently admitted to the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP). What does this mean for your work?

    Joining ISSP is exciting because it connects me with a global network of professionals dedicated to advancing sustainable development. It is an opportunity to both learn from others and contribute my own insights. I am particularly looking forward to collaborating on innovative approaches to sustainability communication.

    You’re set to present at two international conferences in 2024 and lead a webinar on organizational storytelling. Can you give us a preview of what you’ll be sharing?

    At the conferences, I will be discussing how to navigate cultural contexts for effective sustainability communication and exploring the use of organizational storytelling. The webinar will be more hands-on, providing practical strategies for using storytelling to drive organizational change. I am excited to engage with global audiences on these topics.

    How do you see your work influencing the future of public relations?

    I believe we’re at a critical juncture in public relations and communication as a whole. As issues like climate change and social justice become increasingly pressing, organizations need to communicate their stance and actions effectively. My work aims to provide frameworks for doing this in authentic, engaging ways. I hope to contribute to a shift towards more purpose-driven, storytelling-based approaches in PR.

    Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring professionals?

    Stay curious and adaptable. The communication landscape is constantly evolving, so it is crucial to keep learning. Also, don’t underestimate the power of storytelling. Whether you’re crafting a social media post or a corporate sustainability report, a compelling narrative can make all the difference.

    As our interview concludes, it is clear that Nancy Ladeinde is not just participating in the field of public relations – she is actively shaping its future. Her innovative approach to sustainability communication and organizational storytelling is set to influence how companies engage with stakeholders for years to come. In a world grappling with complex challenges, Ladeinde’s work offers a roadmap for more effective, impactful communication.

  • Survivors of Tudun Biri bombing relive experience

    Survivors of Tudun Biri bombing relive experience

    • I lost three siblings, my precious wife, two kids, says victim

    Even as the injured survivors get free medical care and food and the community is assured of developmental projects, last Sunday night’s error drone bombing in Kaduna village has left permanent scars in the minds and lives of survivors, ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE reports

    The people of Tudun Biri village, Afaka Ward, Rigasa District in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State were gathered for their annual Maulud Nabbiy celebration on the night of Sunday, December 3 when tragedy struck.

    At first, residents of the community who had got used to being troubled by bandits thought it was the gunmen that had found a means of bombarding them aerially, hence they scampered into safety.  But when they realised that the bombing was done by a military fighter jet, they rushed to rescue their injured kinsmen and pick the dead bodies, not knowing that danger was not yet over.

    As they wailed over the lives destroyed and attended to the injured, another missile was dropped, claiming more lives than did the first. The locals who rushed to contact the media initially reported 30 killed, alleging that the attack was launched by the fighter jet of the Nigerian Air Force.

    But the NAF authorities in a swift reaction denied involvement, saying that it did not carry out any air operation within the said period. The Nigerian Army, however, admitted responsibility for the incident less than 15 hours later, saying that it was an error on its part.

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, thereafter led principal staff officers from the Army to Tudun Biri, where he apologised profusely for the error attack.

    Explaining what transpired, the Army Chief said: “The Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on its routine mission observed movement of people suspected to be bandits, and having trailed them for some time, the decision was taken to strike based on the observation of some tactics usually employed by bandits.

    “Unfortunately, the report we got thereafter revealed that it was innocent civilians in Tudun Biri that the drone carried out the strike on.”

    After praying for the repose of the victims’ soul at the mass grave, General Lagbaja proceeded to the hospital to see the injured, donating N10 million for their upkeep. The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, also joined the COAS at the hospital and made similar donations to the welfare of the injured. 

    Similarly, in an effort to wipe the tears of the community that has lost close to 100 loved ones, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday promised to rebuild the community under the presidential programme called the Fulako Initiative. He also said that on completion of the investigation that had already been initiated, whoever was found wanting in the error bombing, would be punished.

    For Suleiman Saminu, a 34-year-old father of three, Sunday’s incident was the greatest disaster of his life, as he revealed that his three siblings, wife and two children were all wiped out without the opportunity of saying goodbye.

    Saminu said: “Before the incident, I had a wife and three children, but the incident claimed my wife and two children, leaving me with a motherless daughter. Three of my siblings were also killed.

    “We were out during the Maulud when we heard the sound. People started saying that it was the loud speaker we were using that exploded. But I said no, it could not be, because even in movies, I have never seen where a loud speaker exploded, not to talk of killing people.

    “So, when we went closer, we saw a hole and concluded that this cannot be speaker. We observed the hole and saw irons and that further confirmed to us that it was not loud speaker that exploded.

    “In fact, one of the people that died, it was with force that we removed iron from his body.

    “That night, everywhere we turned was littered with bodies. For some, we just could not account for them because we could not recognise them.

    “As it is now, before the incident I had a wife three children. But now I don’t have a wife and I lost two children. I also lost three of my siblings. There is no family that has not lost someone. We also lost visitors.”  

    Another survivor, Idris Dahiru, an albino who appeared traumatised and psychologically sick from the attack, claimed to have lost 34 members of his family to the incident. Dahiru said majority of the people killed in the incident were people hit by the second bomb while they were trying to rescue those injured by the first strike.

    He said: “On that Sunday night, around 9:30pm, we were celebrating Maulud Nabbiy. We had people from other villages too who had come to celebrate with us. All of a sudden, we saw the light of an aircraft in the sky, but we didn’t see the flight itself and there was no noise too.

    “We actually didn’t sense any danger because we are a poor farming community and law abiding people. But before we knew it, the plane had dropped a bomb in our midst. I only escaped narrowly too.

    “Our village is almost wiped out, because in my family alone, we lost about 34 people. So, we want government to come to our aid because we are in serious pain and trauma,” he said.

    Bara’atu Abdullahi, a survivor who sustained minor injuries, explained that she was not of Tudun Biri village but came to visit her mother and decided to wait behind when she heard that the village’s annual Maulud celebration was fixed for Sunday, December 3, not knowing that she was only waiting to witness a big disaster.

    She said she only sustained minor injuries on her leg, but she and other people at the occasion were stained with blood from bodies dismembered by the bomb.

    Her words: “When the first one happened, the village people announced that it was a bomb that was dropped on us from a drone, so they were making efforts to stop the drone. Then 30 minutes later, as the youths from the village and those that came to celebrate Maulud from other neighbouring villages were busy helping to evacuate the corpses, another bomb was dropped.

    “Some of the bodies were dismembered. Legs, heads and other body parts were apart, some had their stomachs burst. Those that were not killed were stained with dismembered flesh of others,” she said. 

    Aisha Haruna, another survivor, said they could not count the number of people killed as many were blown into pieces.

    She said: “We don’t even know the number of people killed, because the bodies that were recovered and buried in my presence were more than 80. But the flesh that were picked around and put inside sacks cannot be quantified. They were just buried like that.”

    She called on the government to investigate the incident to prevent future occurrence, as she commended the top military hierarchy who had visited the injured survivors and supported them with cash for their upkeep.

    Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, who is worried by the incident, has since offered to provide financial, psychological and emotional aid to the orphans who lost their caregivers in the tragic incident.

  • Upbringing that made my children successful – 90-year-old Jimmy Agbaje’s mother

    Upbringing that made my children successful – 90-year-old Jimmy Agbaje’s mother

    • Respected teacher says her children never had extra lessons as pupils

    Clocking 90 years comes with great wisdom, insight and forthrightness. For Mrs Margaret Olabisi Agbaje, who clocked 90 years on November 19, long life is a gift from God, but she is grateful to those who supported her to get to this stage of her life. As a teacher and good mother to her four children, including the Group Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Segun Agbaje, and former Lagos State Governorship Aspirant in Peoples’ Democratic Party, Jimi Agbaje, Mrs. Agbaje spoke with Assistant Business Editor, COLLINS NWEZE, on how to build a good and successful home and the role teachers should play in nation building. Excerpts:

    How does it feel to be 90 years old?

    It is a gift from God. I feel happy. I feel grateful to God. And I am grateful to all those who supported me to reach this age. I am grateful to all those who helped me to find the peace to live up to this age.

    Could you tell us about your journey into the teaching profession and what the experiences were?

    I had an interesting career in teaching. From 1953-1959, I taught Mathematics at my alma mater, Holy Child College, Lagos and simultaneously, I was requested to teach the same subject at Queen’s College Lagos, briefly, after they had lost their own Mathematics teacher in a plane crash. 

    This was when Queen’s College was situated at Onikan on Lagos Island.   I  subsequently taught at St. Joseph’s Teacher Training College, Surulere from January 1960 to January 1971.

    At the request of the then Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, late Archbishop J.K. Aggey, I assumed the position of Headmistress of St. Catherine’s Model School, Surulere where I worked from January 1971 to July 1982.

    After my retirement from St. Catherine’s School in 1982, I went into private business.  I  also became very involved in the activities of the Catholic Women Organisation where I held the positions of President, Lagos Ecclesiastical Province, consisting then of nine dioceses, Vice Chairman Provincial and National Provost. 

    I was married to the late Sir Chief Julius Kosebinu Agbaje  in 1956, an old boy of St. Gregory’s College, Lagos, who was the first indigenous Executive Director of Standard Bank of Nigeria (now First Bank of Nigeria), Pioneer Chairman of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Federal Palace Hotels amongst other positions.   The marriage has been blessed with children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

    What was your favorite subject as a teacher?

    I enjoyed teaching all the subjects. We were lucky, when Holy Child College was opened, there were only 30 of us, comprising of two clases of 15 students each.

    We had four Revered Sisters who were expatriates teaching us. Holy Child College was founded in 1945, after the Second World War. And the teachers, were very good. They had no other life than to teach and nurture us to make us to be what we are today.

    In short, it was from there that I decided that if the sisters could be this good at teaching, we also could help our people.

    Read Also; Nigeria, Germany sign agreement to accelerate Siemens power project implementation

    What are your thoughts about teaching in those days and what we have today?

    Teachers of today always complain abut their pay package. Teachers of the olden days, be lieved that God would reward them even though the package was small. Today, most teachers  do not want to work. When they teach children in the morning, in the afternoon they keep them in the same classroom, and say they are having lessons and collect money again.

    Look at what is happening. When the teachers finish in the schools they go to the different homes as lesson teachers. We do not need it.

    If you taught very well in the morning, you give them homework based on what was taught the children. That was what we did. The children do not need lessons. My children never went to lesson classes, and they are who they are today.

    But now, they stress children, from morning till six in the evening, children in the primary school are still learning. My children went to Catholic schools, and perhaps, because I was a teacher, if they had difficulties, they might bring them to me; not that I sat them down for two to three hours after school.

    Don’t you think that the approach adopted by teachers of today, has to do with the economic situation in the country?

    And so, what shall we do? Neglect our work?  Do we neglect our work because of  the state of the economy? I know it is difficult, because they are poorly paid. I also think that government should pay teachers something they can live on. At least, we need shelter, food  and clothing. If teachers are not well looked after, then government is not helping them to teach the children. I think government is at fault too.

    Teachers are not well looked after. We did not earn a lot of money in our time as teachers, but life was better. Things were not as difficult as now. They were public transport, and food wasn’t that so expensive. Now, if the market women hear they have increased your salary, the prices of garri will go up because they also take their own portion of the increased salary.

    I think, things will improve, and teachers should have a different attitude to their work. If you do well, your rewards come, although it might be later.

    Many years ago, my students came to my house to help me, but I always  told them I do not need your help. Go back to your schools and support the school. What if I needed help, that is how they would have come.

    But they come in, they said, Mama what can we do for you? But I would say, God looks after me. You go back to that school and do something for the school.

    We know that you were passionate about your job. How did that rub off on grooming your children?

    We closed early and came back to look after our children; unlike today’s workers  that close from work late. Then, teachers came in early, and could still look after their children and the family.

    At our time, our schools did not close late. Closing early helps. You can combine teaching with being a mother.

    Let’s go into your marital life. Tell us how your husband met you and where?

    My husband met me in church. I was very active and always seen as a worker in the church. He also was a person like that. He was a good man, like his children, handsome. And he was getting on well in his career as a banker. He was an accountant by the time we got married. We got married and lived together for over 40 years. Before we got married, they used to call me ‘Miss Teacher’.  If you see all my boys, they are straight and tall.

    If you like them, then you will like my husband. Before we got married, we went to see my grandfather and he said to my husband: “If you don’t drink, then you can have her.”.

    When did you lose your dad?

    I lost my dad early. I was only five, but I knew who he was, because we were very close. He was a good man. Very good man. I had a good father. He was a highly placed civil servant.

    Because he was in such a high position, he could make some provisions for us. So, we were able to go to school.

    Your four children- Femi, Jimi, Mrs. Kofo and Segun. How did they grow up and the role you and your husband played in their early lives?

    You need a family where there is peace and harmony and where the father will be a good guardian of the family. Their father was the one that took decisions on the schools the children attended, and he made sacrifices. He would leave his office at 1.00pm and go to their schools to pick the children up and take them home to have launch because I would come in later.

    He was a good father concerned about his family. Early in the morning, he would ring a small bell and ask the children to come together for payers during the holidays. People were not very happy about it. But you have to be there. We were all there. He could pick on anyone to pray during such mornings. We prayed together. The family that prays together, stays together. You need a good family background. You need a father, a pillar, a guardian and you need a good mother who is submissive to the husband and good mother to the children.

    What are your thoughts about wives that are not submissive to their husbands?

    They have to be submissive. There cannot be two captains in a boat. So, wives should be submissive to their husbands. You have to be submissive to your husband, in all things which are not evil.

    Men have to care for their family. When you get your salary, let your wife know how much you earn. And if you are proud, and you do not want her to know, you have to give her maintenance allowance for the home. Some men do not help in the family. And, they should make sure they have a comfortable place for the family to live in. Anywhere  you live in should be clean. A home where there is love, peace and unity, is a happy home.

    You have very successful children. Tell us about them?

    They started with school. You have to work hard. You also have to work hard when they send you to school. You have to do your best. From your primary school performance, you move on to a good secondary school. Your performance in the secondary school, helps you to move on to the university. In the university, you already have a career, and the father tells them honesty is the best policy. He taught them to be honest. Once they are honest, they will go higher. You see, they are bankers, they won’t go and collect bribe. They won’t be a manager of a bank branch and share with someone who wants to borrow. Not my children. They are absolutely honest.

    We have high rate of divorce in today’s society. What are the causes?

    You know what, those divorces were there before the marriage. Let me tell you. If the woman you married, there is a reason why you should not marry her, you shouldn’t have forced yourself. The background of these divorces were there. You must know your wife and her family and be absolutely sure you want to live with her for the rest of your life. When you take that decision, that is when you need to marry.

    But sometimes, they look at beautiful faces, and take the woman to church. Don’t rush into marriage, later they will be divorced.

    And you look at the mother of the woman you want to marry. Is she a good mother or a bad mother? Be careful. Look at their family before you rush into any marriage.

    And how does being a submissive wife help in having  a successful family?

    You cannot be fighting and boxing each other. You do not have reason for violence in that marriage if the wife is submissive, and the husband is loving. Will there be any reason why there should be violence? Some women come in thinking there is a lot of money in the family, but when they do not get the money, they will be disappointed.

    That your wife, what was she looking for?  Tell her who you are and what you own. Don’t deceive her. Tell her where you work and what you earn.  Some people marry without work or earning salary. When you don’t have a place to stay, and you go and stay in your father’s house, can you marry a wife? Is there accommodation for the family? Does the man have a job, or is he going to depend on my salary as a wife? These are some of the critical questions to answer. A good child does not grow up in a home where parents are fighting each other.

    Do you think parents should play a role in the career path of their children?

    If you decide and the child says no, what will you do? I have a child that wanted to study architecture. Do you know what my husband told him? He said, you will make a good architect, and we know till today, he is passionate about architecture. Even architects come to him, to borrow his magazine. But today, he is not an architect because the Daddy, said: ” I am not a rich man, architects don’t have work all the time. Their work is not regular. If you want some money to look after your family, architecture does not pay now.” And he listened, and now he is successful. 

    Parents should not force a child into a career. You both should discuss together and agree. And if the child says this is what he or she wants to do, at the end, it will be on record that he or she was advised. If my son had become an architect, and did not have money to take care of his family, he will not come to his father. But my children listen.

    Tell us about your birth and childhood?

    I was born at Massey Street Hospital, Lagos Island on the 19th of November 1933 to the family of late Michael Lajuwon Epega, of Ode Remo, Ogun State of Nigeria, a civil servant in the treasury department of the Colonial Civil Service and an old boy of King’s College, Lagos, and Mrs. Sarah Efunwunmi Epega (nee Sowehin), a housewife.   I was the third child and first daughter in a family of four children.

    I  attended primary school at the St. Paul’s Breadfruit School, Lagos Island and was one of the pioneer students of Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Lagos which she attended from 1945-1950 and where she sat for the Cambridge School Certificate.  For my tertiary education, I attended the Holy Child Teacher Training College, Ifuo, Ikot Ekpene, now in Akwa Ibom State from 1951 – 1952.  From 1960-1962, I  also attended the College of Education, Hereford, United Kingdom for further studies in education on a Western Nigeria scholarship.