The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday Interview

  • June 12: I was taking messages from Abiola to IBB and vice versa -Onabule

    Chief Duro Onabule, fondly referred to as ‘Double Chief’ by friends and colleagues, is one Nigerian who has a lot to say when the happenings of the nine years of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida as military president is up for discussion. Onabule, who served as IBB’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS) witnessed many events, including the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election results and the crisis that followed, leading to Babangida’s exit from government.
    In this interview with ‘Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, the former Editor of late Chief M.K.O Abiola-owned National Concord newspaper, went down memory lane to revisit some of the most topical issues of the military era in the country. The respected media giant also bared his mind on the practice of journalism today compared to what obtained during his active days in the newsroom. Excerpt.

    YOU are a renowned journalist who has seen what it is to practice then and now. How will you compare journalism in your days and what we have today?

    I will say it is positive and negative. At our own time, there were so many handicaps which are no longer the case today. Your era is free from many of the difficulties we had to grapple with in those days. Of course, as we use to say then, those were hazards of the job and we saw them as part of the job. First, there were not as many newspapers, radio stations and televisions as we have today. So, the competition was so high. To get a job and retain the job; and of course, to compete with your colleagues, it was not as easy as it is today. This was because not many job opportunities were available in the sector because there were not many newspapers and televisions. Radio stations too were not this much. Also, the salary structure in those days was nothing to write home about. Yet we sustained our reputations so much that nobody could question our integrity as professionals.

    It is a different situation today, there are so many opportunities. So many newspapers, more radio and many television stations are all over the place now. I am not sure about magazines. I think we still don’t have many magazines. In fact, in those days I think we had more magazines than now. However, the standard these days, I must confess, is far, far, below what we had in those days. Professionally, there is no discipline in our sector anymore and nobody seems to be interested in maintaining discipline. When you pick up a newspaper today, you see poor headlines, grammatical errors, poor production and chaotic layout. Very disheartening I must say. But it is not all negatives. The feature pages surprisingly are now more innovative. Those planning the feature pages are doing very well. They are innovative.

    Of course, the facilities these days should make innovation easy. With the facilities at your disposal these days, the sky is the limit for you guys. That the production is now poorer as I mentioned before is an irony. Not just the better facilities, better working conditions too. The salary structure is far better than it was. There are more incentives that should serve as encouragement but yet, sadly there is not much to say in terms of discipline. The desire to maintain highest standard is surprisingly just not there anymore.

    You left the newsroom and joined the government as the first Editor of a prominent national newspaper to take up the role of a Chief Press Secretary (CPS). What influenced you to accept a job on the other side of the divide sir?

    The very good soul of Chief M.K.O Abiola should continue to rest in peace. He was the main motivation for me when I accepted to work with General Ibrahim Babangida who was then the military Head of State. I never met IBB before then. I was just writing my column and doing my work. Then in 1985, M.K.O, who was my boss then, came to my house and left message for me that I should see him. I had gone to Ijebu because when IBB took over government, it was a weekend. When I came back and was told, all I had in mind was that my job was over. It was unusual for him to tell me to see him. But when I got to him, he said, ‘Duro, congratulations.’ I asked him congratulations for what sir. And he answered that I am the Chief Press Secretary to Mr. President. I was surprised.

    I told him I am not interested as I preferred my job as Editor. He said ‘No, no. You have to take it. It is a prestige to you and it is a prestige to the company.’ I complained that I have never met IBB and he said yes but the new President is a good person and that I will like him when I meet him. He told me IBB told him to release me for him and he has assured him. All my reluctance was brushed aside by M.K.O as he insisted that I must take the job as he has promised IBB to get me to accept. I had no choice than to accept. But sincerely, at that moment, I preferred my job as an Editor and so much wanted to reject the offer and stay on as Editor. For about three or four weeks, IBB was still settling down in office so I couldn’t meet him. I eventually met him on September 9, 1985.

    We met in his office. He received me warmly and expressed his happiness that I agreed to take the job. I promptly told him it will be on certain conditions. He asked me to name them and I said one; the freedom to tell you my mind anytime on any issue; two; unlimited access to you. I can’t remember the third. But he granted me all my requests there and then. That was when I said, yes, I am ready to work for you. Those three conditions were applied all through my stay with him. They became very useful in influencing government policy; in changing government policy and setting agenda for government. I told him my mind always on all issues. Naturally, my decision to take the job generated a lot of controversies. Some people felt I should have taken the job. Others feel I was too big for the job. One of them even foolishly called me ‘errand boy.’ But many others were supportive of my decision. There was someone in Abuja who even told me ‘Duro don’t bother yourself, they are envying you.’

    But I was flattered one day in Abuja I was going when I ran into Alhaji Babatunde Jose. I greeted him and was on my way when he said ‘Duro, come here. I must apologise to you. I am one of those who criticized you for taking this job. But since you took over the office, I have seen a major change in the handling of government and media relations.’ I was pleasantly surprised. He was humble and honest in admitting that he was wrong to criticize me. And indeed, I initiated a lot of major shifts in the ways things were done. One was insisting that presidential broadcasts must be reported immediately. I went to IBB and told him that once he is speaking today, it must be in the papers tomorrow. He asked me how that will be done and I told him to leave that for me. He embargoed it and I set out to work.

    So, the first broadcast he made after that, that was on October 1, 1985, I release the text in advance and that same morning, it was in the papers, which is the standard all over the world. It was a novel idea then and it created a clash between me and the ministry of information. They were opposed to my releasing the text in advance. In any case, I was in charge and I took responsibility for it being released in advance. So when we came in from the parade, IBB said ‘how did you do this.’ Then I briefed him how it was done. I added that the ministry of information is not pleased with my style. He said ‘don’t worry yourself. I am pleased. Continue.’ That was the first paradigm shift I initiated. Also, same day, I was asked to announce a major appointment in the News Agency. If I had gone ahead, the appointee would have superseded his boss. So, I took it upon myself to explain the situation to the President. I told him and he asked what we can do. I said the appointment is in order but fortunately, there is an opening somewhere in the same organization. The Managing Director had just retired. So, I suggest me move the boss to become Managing Director while the appointee keeps the Editorship. And the issue was resolved.

    You used that position to influence policies and actions of government. But it is not the same way today sir.

    No, you can’t be too sure. Don’t blame them. You don’t know the efforts they are putting into making the government listen to them. I didn’t win every time I tried too. There were times I lost and I was not listened to. You need to be inside there to know what goes on. You can’t blame them. You may never get to know what they did to correct the situations you find wrong or what they do to make those in power listen to them about one issue or the other. It was because I was involved that I was able to do all that I did and know all that I know. In fact, every journalist needs such appointment to be able to appraise the processes of government policies and actions and compare with what goes on outside government. It is then you will understand that some decisions may be unpopular but they are necessary, while some are popular but unnecessary. Usually, it is a tough situation. When some people just sit down and they start lambasting the boys, I just keep my cool. That is why since I left office, I have been supporting all my successors.

    Let us talk about IBB and his government. So many sides of him are unknown out there. Who is IBB?

    IBB is largely a misunderstood person. And he has a mate in history  former American President Lyndon Johnson; largely discredited by the Vietnam War. That is all the average American remembers him for. Otherwise, he was the initiator of most civil rights reforms carried out in the country. But like IBB, everything about him is clouded by just one aspect of his rule, same with IBB. But for June 12, nobody has matched IBB’s record in office in terms of reforms. Take the third Mainland Bridge alone. Take that road out of Nigeria’s economy and you will understand its impact. Then look at Abuja the federal capital territory. Even SAP which was one major thing Nigerians detest IBB for, is one reform that saved the nation. The other name for SAP is deregulation of the economy.

    Without SAP I don’t know where Nigeria will be today. Look at the financial sector, in those days if you go to a bank to withdraw your money, you’ll spend four to five hours. Confirmation of your signature alone takes hours. Today, you just walk into the bank and few minutes you are out. That was deregulation by IBB. He did same in the aviation sector. In those days, to travel, you have to rely on Nigerian Airways only. You also book in advance. And when you get to the tarmac, come and see people running because it is most likely the aircraft is overbooked. IBB allowed the private sector to participate and the sectors became deregulated. We journalists also benefited immensely from SAP. It was the deregulation that brought about private televisions and radio stations. Before IBB, there was only NTA Lagos, Kaduna, Ibadan. He deregulated the industry and more journalists are now employed. He even deregulated the law profession. Because before then, you must apprentice with a senior colleague before you can set up your own chamber. Even the medical sector got deregulated.

    But the irony is that IBB is not remembered or appreciated for all these things. All we remember is June 12. As much as those who took over from him criticized SAP, they got into office, they could not reverse SAP. If it was unnecessary, they should have scrapped it. But the truth is that, though it was unpopular, it was necessary. Deregulation requires courage and IBB was courageous enough to do all these. But like I said, he is greatly misunderstood. The media especially didn’t help matters.

    What were the immediate challenges of your switch from the newsroom to government house back then as a media practitioner?

    Like I said, I got my blank cheque from IBB right from the outset on September 9, 1985. So, with the freedom and access I had to operate, it was easy for me to pre-empt possible harsh comments or backlashes. It made my job easy. It is either he agrees or disagrees. When he agrees, it helps to soften the ground in most cases. And when he disagrees, when events eventually happen, I tell him ‘sir, I warned you.’ And he would say ‘yes you warned me but we had to do what we did. And as the President, he would deal with the rest. That ensured that there was no pressure on me really. Then I made good use of my friends in the media. There was communication. I call ahead to explain government actions even before they start calling for government reactions. The approach helped a great deal.

    It is not as if today’s government media handlers are not trying. It is just that some publics are not easy to convince. But the change of government has destabilized some people and they just cannot come to terms with the reality of the change. So, there is greater need to explain government actions and policies more to the people. Imagine people who were complaining that Buhari had no economic team all the while. Then he constituted an Economic Advisory Council and the same people are still complaining. It is unimaginable. To many of these people, it is bad because it is Buhari that did it. What do they want the man to do? I am not saying the man has not made mistakes but some people will just not see anything good about Buhari.

    You left the newsroom many years ago. But according to you, you never stop missing the newsroom. What are those things that make you always miss the newsroom?

    First of all, our life as a journalist is sustained by instant knowledge of happenings around the world. When we were in the newsroom, we were getting it regularly. It is like the lifeline of a journalist. But once you are out of the newsroom, you have to wait till the next day to read the papers or listen to news before you get the same information you used to get instantly. So, that is a major reason for someone like me to miss the newsroom. Of course, I still write my column regularly. That is the same column I was writing in those days and I was accused of being used by the late (Chief Obafemi) Awolowo against the then military government. The DSS wrote a security report alleging that just because I am a Yoruba man from Ijebuland like Awolowo. Back then, it was like, ‘oh! It is Buhari that is harassing me.’ But my experience in government has shown that sometimes, the headman may not even know about many things being done in the government. This type of experience is very important for us all to have.

    I still sleep late even now. Moving from CNN to Aljazeera to Skynews ets is still a routine for me. So I don’t sleep till 6am or 7 am in the morning. And all is still in search of current hot news. I still desire to get the news before the newspapers are out in the morning. News is the oxygen of the average journalist. I still cannot do without it. If you are not careful, you will develop dementia if you fail to keep your brain working. Don’t overwork it, but it must be doing those things it is used to. That is the situation with me. It has become a part of me. I hate second hand news. I want it hottest Breaking news! If I want to write my column I start at about 11pm, 12pm and I write late into the night. I learnt from Awolowo that the older you get, the less sleep you need. I sleep as soon as I feel sleepy. If I get sleepy where I am sitting now, I just allow myself to sleep. Nothing rigid about it anymore, and in the morning just have my pap and get about reading newspapers and listening to music. I love music a lot. There is this lady, Sola Allyson. She is deep and I enjoy her music a great deal. Frank Sinatra is another musician I listen to a lot. Tunji Oyelana too. I listen to these people and you will learn a lot about the vanities of life, don’t just play music. Listen to the lyrics. That is when you will appreciate the content of such music. But sadly, the current generation lacks the ability to listen. They just dance to the beats and that is all.

    Looking back, do you have regrets both in your media and government experiences?

    I won’t say I have regrets. Rather, I’ll say the only thing I wish had been different was the matter of M.K.O Abiola not accepting the bail conditions given him while in detention. I firmly believed that he won the election and as such should not accept any condition that will make him give up his mandate. It never occurred to me that the man could die in the process. With all our education, we didn’t see that coming but the man we all saw as an illiterate, (Chief Lamidi) Adedibu in Ibadan then was warning about such possibility, urging M.K.O to accept the condition and come out first before claiming his mandate. That was one thing I regretted. I had the chance to talk to him then. But I just believed that he won the election and as such, let us fight it out. It never crossed my mind that he could die

     

     

     

     

     

    in detention because we were not used to such. How he died, what killed him, I wouldn’t know. But the fact remains that he died in detention because he rejected that conditional bail on our prompting. Another thing that worries me till today is ‘why should it be M.K.O to suffer that fate. For five years I worked with him. He is an exceptional human being. He was liberal and too nice. Why should such a man suffer such a fate?

    Also, I also regretted that while I was the CPS, I never knew NTA was in such a bad shape. They operate from porter cabins. No proper studio building. Abuja is the main one, go there and see for yourself. You will be shocked. Then the salary structure is nothing to write home about. If you know what the boys and girls put up with, you’ll be shocked. That is why they can’t give their best. They are not motivated to work at their best. They cannot retain their good hands due to this. And it is not the fault of NTA management. There are constraints. Without money, there is nothing you can do. You put up your budget estimate and it would just be slashed. We have to make up our mind whether we want governance or not. If we want governance, we must know it costs money. The idea of IMF or World Bank coming to tell us what we can spend and what we cannot spend is something I don’t agree with. They did it in France and the people took to the streets. President Macron was forced to abandon the austerity measures. Why didn’t IMF force him the way they forced us here. These are some of the constraints I talk about as regards NTA.

    There are those who feel he (Chief Abiola) shouldn’t have contested the presidency. What is your take on this?

    We always learn after the event. After M.K.O’s death, I’ve learnt so many things. For me now, there is nothing so rigid about life. When you encounter an obstacle, take it. After that, move on again. It is not a cowardly act to retrace your steps. Some will abuse you. Tell such people to assume your position and let us see how they will do it. So, many people who didn’t take part in politics died too. So, he may not have died the way he died, but we can’t say if he didn’t contest he would not have died.

    All through the June 12 crisis, what was it really like between M.K.O and his friend, IBB? You were close to them both at that time. Tell us what was going on between them.

    I can tell you that even at that time I was still taking messages from M.K.O to IBB and from IBB to MKO. Note that I had left office then. When M.K.O was underground, he was sending messages to me.

    So, they were not fighting?

    My friend that was what assisted me during the crisis. Here were two friends who at one time or the other, were my bosses. There was this stupid resolution from the then Ogun State House of Assembly calling on me to resign after the annulment. I told them I was not given the job because I am from Ogun State or because I am an Ijebu man. I was given because I am a Nigerian journalist. Secondly, none of them can claim to love MKO Abiola more than myself. So, I stayed put knowing fully well that even M.K.O himself would not want me to leave the job at such a time. He would say you don’t abandon your boss in difficult times. I know him that much. I won’t resign. He was that liberal. He would even say if he was the one in IBB’s shoes that is how I will abandon him. Naïve people are the ones criticizing me then for staying put back then. They don’t know MKO. In any case, if during the same crisis he was still sending messages to IBB through me, then they should know I knew what they didn’t know.

    You still look pretty healthy at 80. What will you say are the secrets of your good health in old age?

    I will say it is contentment. Some may see it as complacency. They may say after serving in government at such level you are living in this cubicle. They expect that I should be living in Lekki or Banana estate or is it island? It is all vanity. So, it is my contentment that gave me long life. I know people who also lived similar lives and they are alive too. We all love good things but it must be minimal. Enjoyment can lead to quick death unless you are moderate. Being moderate ensured that I never worried myself sick running after the vanities of life.

    And why didn’t you go into politics?

    At least in Africa, the best hands in politics are journalists and lawyers. I saw government at the highest level. I served at the presidency. So what else do I want? It is a thankless job. Forget those critics. Put them there and they will perform worse. All of them talking about corruption today, put them in charge of a project, half of the allocated fund will go to their pockets. And it is their voices that are loudest when it is criticism. Many critics grandstand in public during the day criticizing the government. At night, they are in government house to lobby for their dogs. If you get the appointment purely on merit like I did, you will be bold to face up and talk where needed. But when your appointment is given to you based on some cunny criticism, you will not be able to speak up afterwards.

    What is your opinion on the controversies surrounding the ongoing anti-corruption war?

    At least, two former governors are in prison as we speak. Number two, you need to know how much government has recovered from those who tampered with our money in the past. So much has been recovered. Just that the government is not spending the recovered money. They are worried about legal implications. Let these people go to court if they can. There are outstanding projects we can spend such monies on in the interest of Nigerians. We were just talking about NTA now. Let such money be spent on projects. But I disagree with the aspect of abandoning prosecution of politicians once they join the ruling party. That is not good for the crusade. That on its own is corruption.

  • ‘In 1964, a doctor told me I had four months left to live’

    Next Friday, the 27th of September, Pa Ayo Fasanmi, leader of Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-political group, will turn 94. He joined the Unity Party of Nigeria in 1978 and was a candidate in the Ondo State gubernatorial primary election but lost to the late Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, the former governor of Ondo State. In 1979 and 1983, he was elected member of the Senate representing Ondo North. He had earlier served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Old Western Nigeria Housing Corporation. He was a member of the Federal House of Representatives in the First Republic. During the Fourth Republic, he served as the National Vice Chairman of the Alliance for Democracy, Southwest zone. In this interview with Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, at his Osogbo home, the Iye-Ekiti born ardent disciple of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo recalls how he was told 55 years ago that he had just four months to live. Excerpts

    AT 94, you are still very firm and sharp for your age. What will you ascribe your good health to?

    Welcome to my house. I take it as a great honour for your newspaper to send you all the way from Lagos to come and talk to me. Please extend my greetings to all your bosses. And I thank you to for coming all the way. Talking about my health, like every old people, I have my fair share of health challenges but it is a great privilege made possible by only the grace of God to be alive today at 94. Let me recount an incident in 1964. I fell ill while I was running around contesting for a seat in the House of Representatives. I was referred to an English doctor in Ilesha.

    When he examined me, he shouted “My boy, what have you been doing to yourself?” I answered him that I had been running around to contest an election. He said, “If you keep running around, you have just four months left to live.” He then asked me to sit down for 30 minutes and think about what he just told me. My wife was with me there on that day. I told him I have no single minute to sit down and think about what he said. “Give me treatment in just 30 seconds because I need to go. And give me treatment to last me for the four months,” I told him.

    That was the only government hospital in the whole of the entire Osun and Ogbomoso back then. “If you have decided to commit suicide, I cannot stop you,” he said as he treated me that day. I didn’t even think about what he said for long. I went back to my campaign and electioneering. I contested and won the election and many more after that. So, you can see that it is only by the grace of God I am alive today. It is not by any special way of living. Me, who was given four months to live 55 years ago.

    You are one of the ardent followers of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. How did you meet him?

    I met Awolowo before I contested the House of Representatives election. I think it all started with a statement I made when I was being interviewed for television back then. I was a member of Otegbeye’s National Youth Council back then. We did a lot of things as youth agitators in those days. During the London conference, I recall that we demonstrated against the defence pact with England until it was removed from the charter of independence. It was a very vibrant group and we the members were well known.

    I had read and heard about Awolowo severally before I met him. I liked and adored Papa long before I met him. Just like (Dr. Nnamdi) Azikiwe. Anywhere Awolowo or Zik was going to be then, I will be there to listen to them talk. So, on that particular day, the reporter had asked me if I was a member of the Action Group led by Awolowo. In response, I said, “I am an independent member of Action Group.” He asked me how and I sad, “I am not a card carrying member of the group but because of my love for Awolowo, I will always be part of anything he is doing.”

    This caught the attention of Awolowo. He got the then administrative secretary of the A.G to write me a letter inviting me to a meeting with him. That came to me as a pleasant shock. Little me got a letter from the great Awo for a meeting? We met. He asked me what I meant by my statement and I told him reading and hearing about him convinced me that he was the messiah of our time. He was impressed by my submissions and I think he took a liking to me too, immediately. Later events were to further cement our relationship.

    When the crisis between Awo and Akintola broke out, Awo invited me again as the party was trying to solve the problem. I was made a member of the National Reconstruction Committee of the party. Professor Akin Mabogunje was also a member of that committee. I think he is the only other member still alive today.  I cannot recall the names of other members now. The committee met extensively and discussed at length each day. At the end of our assignment, we came up with a document, “Democratic Socialism”. The entire document was later debated by party leaders extensively and democratically with Awo presiding.

    I fell in love more and more with Awolowo during these contacts. That was how it started for me and Awolowo. I met Ayo Adebanjo and other persons whom were already with him at that time too. I became so enamoured to Baba that during his trial, I was one of his witnesses. When he was at Broad Street prison, and he was bereaved, I went to condole with him and when I got there, he didn’t allow me to say a word till it was time for me to leave. He kept talking to me, moving from one issue to the other but not mentioning the reason I came.

    The next day, I repeated the visit and made sure I offered my condolence. He looked at me and said “What has Segun done for me as a son that you have not done?  I was moved to tears. That was how close my relationship with Papa Awolowo was. And it was so till he died. More so, in keeping with my love for him, I have never had anything to do with conservatism, conservative parties or conservative politicians. Never! This is because I cannot imagine any believer in Awolowo dining with conservatives like the PDP. It is not possible.

    Looking back, what was it like being identified as a disciple of Awolowo in those days?

    Soon after, I was elected the National Chairman of the Action Group Youth Assembly. I didn’t see it coming. I was just invited to the group’s meeting at Papa’s house and after all said and done, I was returned as the national chairman. Another pleasant surprise it was. You can see in that picture over there. I am in the middle and others like Professor Banji Akintoye, are seated with me. I doubt if you can recognize any of those in there. The position was given to me because of my loyalty to Awolowo.

    Also, I was accused of a lot of things because of my closeness to Awolowo. I recall that I was once accused of planning a revolt. They claimed in Ipoti-Ekiti, I had a camp of guerilla fighters being trained to carry out the revolt against the government. They made so much effort to get at me at all cost all because I would not budge or rescind my allegiance to Awolowo. Even when Papa was in prison, efforts were made to implicate me but God saw me through a lot of persecution and traps in those trying days.

    Something happened in 1965 at Ede. After we had formed UPGA, Dr. Michael Okpara and some other Eastern politicians wanted to visit as part of the sensitization drive for the new alliance. Many of our people were arrested and taken to a court in Ede to be arraigned. I made sure the trial didn’t hold that day. I will not tell you how or what I did, but the trial didn’t hold. After that, three lorry loads of policemen invaded my house to take me away. I was lucky I had a crowd of easterners with me at the time. They prevented my abduction that day.

    The police searched everywhere but they found nothing. I was later warned that I would be arrested if I stay around longer. I managed to escape and moved to Lagos. But they were determined to get me. So they announced it in the news that I owed a friend of mine some money which I borrowed to contest election. It was everywhere and that my friend allowed himself to be used to trap me. All these, if I remember well, was because I had made a statement which was not palatable to the government of the region at the time.

    Were you always lucky to escape arrest in those days?

    No. there were times I got picked up. I recall that in 1965, I went to Ghana to visit the late Nkrumah. I was in the plane and it took off. Ten minutes later, it descended again and while I was still wondering what was happening, the whole place was filled up with policemen. They were looking for me. I was arrested and taken to the then Inspector General of Police. He asked me if I had taken my breakfast, I said no and he got me a cup of coffee and a couple of slices of bread. Later, he told me I would be taken up north to be detained.

    I was bundled into a police truck and the journey started. But when we got to Ibadan, we stopped for a while and it appeared they got another directive while we were still waiting. I was then taken to Agodi prison. I was there for about three to four months. I was actually in detention at Agodi till the 1966 coup. Even when others were released after the coup, I was not released. I had to write a letter to Adekunle Fajuyi, the then governor of the Western Region. It was after my letter that Fajuyi released me. I had not met him before then but I knew we were both from Ekiti.

    Aside politics, there were other times you had confrontations with the police and the government back then. Can you recall some of these?

    When I came out of prison in 1966, I founded the Anti-bribery and Corruption Committee. The police people were not happy with this because many of their men were exposed by my committee. The revolution we were doing by exposing corrupt public officials didn’t go down well with the police hierarchy. So, they were out to frustrate and implicate us, especially myself.  I recall that earlier in 1964, I was arrested because as they claimed, a girl had come from Ogbomoso to buy drug from my shop which she allegedly used for abortion. I was taken to Ogbomoso for trial.

    Then, the plan was to use the trial to stop me from contesting the election. But God bless the late Mallam Aminu Kano. He had given me a small recorder earlier which I cherished a lot. That small gift saved me from jail that year. The policemen were happy that I was being tried. They saw the man who had been exposing them also being disgraced. They wanted to see to it that I go to jail. But one day, the mother of the girl called me and was apologizing for being used against me. I told her to come over to where I was and she did.

    She told me how some police chiefs taught them what to say against me. She said they told her and her daughter that I was exposing and disgracing senior policemen. She apologized and told me the amount she and her daughter were given. I recorded everything she said and that was what I played when I was being questioned and that ended the whole thing. The offence carried 14 years minimum sentence back then. I contested the election and won in spite of the many obstacles placed on my way by the police and the government.

    It was Brigadier Oluwole Rotimi who appointed me as a member of the Western Nigeria Housing Corporation with powers to allocate houses in some estates including Ikeja, Bodija, Abeokuta and one here in Osogbo. I don’t have a plot in any of these estates. I didn’t think it was fair for me to use the opportunity given me to enrich myself. I have served the country in many capacities before and after then. I went to the Constitutional Assembly in 1978 with the likes of Chief Bisi Akande and got elected into the Senate in 1979 and 1983. I had been elected as the National Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in 1977.

    During the Abacha regime, 19 of us from all over the country were appointed to serve in the Constitutional Assembly Commission. We were like ministers in those days and we were treated as such. Former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, was my Special Assistant back then. Lateef Jakande and Ebenezer Babatope were then serving in the federal cabinet. I didn’t want to accept the position but I was prevailed upon to see what they had in mind, so I went to work with them hoping they are sincere about handing over after the talk shop.

    One day, he gave me an envelope and said it was from the Presidency. I tried asking him questions but he disappeared. I asked some of my colleagues and they confirmed they got similar envelopes. The next day, it turned out that there was a clause, a particular clause (I think it has to do with then Sharia law) that Abacha wanted to be inserted into the draft Constitution. He came up with it at our meeting with him and 12 of our members supported the clause. He was asking us one by one and I was the 13th person to be asked.

    I started responding by telling him I got an envelope of money the previous day and I hope it is not because of the clause being discussed. I said no self-respecting Nigerian will support his recommendation. I declined to support and I could see I had caused serious discomfort for many people in the meeting. The meeting ended abruptly. I was warned to leave Abuja immediately. I got back to my accommodation and packed my belongings and told my orderly I was going to Ondo. I went straight to Adekunle Ajasin’s house and addressed a press conference.

    I announced my resignation from the commission and expressed fear for my life. Abacha didn’t like it. A lady working with the Head of State then who I had known before then later told me Abacha wanted me dead or alive for having the gut to expose what happened in the commission. I came home and reported to the then Military Administrator here in Osogbo who refused to take my official car and orderly from me. I went to the Police Commissioner who took them both from me after I explained that I had resigned. For this act of mine, I was listed for assassination by the Abacha junta.

    Tell us a little about the return to democracy in 1999.

    In 1998, as part of the preparations for the return to civil rule, the Alliance for Democracy was formed. I didn’t even attend the inaugural meeting but I was to hear that I was nominated as the Vice Chairman Southwest. I identified with the party because it represented the ideals I have held unto right from my contact with Chief Awolowo. I wouldn’t have joined the PDP or have anything to do with the people that spearheaded its formation at that time. So, we the progressives found ourselves in the AD at the beginning of the new republic.

    These are the things I try to say about the Afenifere issue. When Adesanya died, we had challenges. But the truth is that some people, because of their personal desires, fuelled the disagreements in Afenifere out of proportion. Fasoranti is my good friend. He’s one of my closest friends ever. Till this day, we are close friends. I still visited him three weeks ago. He also visited me recently. When I was made Asiwaju of Ido-Osun, he was here with me. Three weeks ago, we recalled and sang one song we used to sing together in those days.

    Politics can never separate us. Our friendship is different from Afenifere. We may differ in our approach to the Afenifere issue, but we remain inseparable. So, when I hear or read what people like Ayo Adebanjo say about me and Afenifere, I just smile and ignore such. I will never reply him. I won’t reply Ayo Adebanjo because I value friendship a great deal. He may not, but I value friendship, especially old friends, more than political differences. So, when they say I have taken a position because Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is giving me money, at 94 years old? I just laugh.

    Like I say, all what Adebanjo is saying about me is like dog biting a man, if I decide to reply him; it will be like man biting a dog. So, I will not inflame the crisis by responding to the things he say. God has been very kind to me so I must show some gratitude in the way I do things. As a Pharmacist, I served as national chairman of PSN between 1977-79. As a politician, I have been to the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the church, I am the Baba Ijo and also the Mayegun of All Saints Anglican Cathedral Church. God has been kind.

    Today, I hear talks about people choosing one person as Yoruba leader, and selecting or electing another person as leader tomorrow. It is God that anoints people as leaders. When I was the national chairman of Action Group Youth Assembly, Banji Akintoye was one of my team members. You can see him in that picture we took the very day I was made chairman at Papa Awolowo’s house. We were also at the Senate together. Just last week, he called and said he was coming to see me. He chose a day that is not convenient for us both, so he chose another.

    It is unfortunate that all these unnecessary issues are painting us all in bad light. I’ve always been with Awolowo. Afenifere founded by Awolowo is a group for progressive Yoruba. Anybody relating with PDP can never be the same Afenifere I know. This is my position on that matter. So when Ayo Adebanjo talks and people call my attention, I tell them I will not respond because of the very deep friendship and history we all share as disciples of Awolowo. And it is that belief in Awolowo’s ideologies that will never make me work with PDP no matter what anybody tells me.

    As a young man back then, what motivated your activism and interest in politics?

    I went into politics largely because I was a victim of poverty. I thought it will be an avenue to make inputs that will better the lot of people. My parents could not pay as small as two pounds six as school fees for me and I almost ended up without education until an uncle rescued me. After my primary school, I was working with my father at Oko Brick where burnt bricks are made. In 1937, I used to walk from Ebutte Meta to Casino area. It was there my Uncle saw me and decided I must be released to him. He took me with him with the rags I was wearing that very day.

    He took me first to Ibadan. Later we moved to Offa. We came back to Ibadan and I got into Government College, Ibadan on government scholarship. That was a rare feat for someone with my background in those days. That was how I got the opportunity to be educated. I went on to graduate as a Pharmacist later in life. I went ahead to work for the government. These are the things I have in mind when I say God has been very merciful to me. In 1951, I confronted a white Nurse who insulted me because I am black.

    I was reported and Dr. Manuwa summoned me. I told him I stood up to the white Nurse because of blacks like him. He was moved by my stance and instead of dismissing me he ordered that I should be put on relief duties. Meaning I would be relieving people going on leave or something like that. That was how I was sent down here. It turned out a blessing for me as far as I am concerned. And it served as a lesson that nobody should be looked down upon, black or white. My activism and pan-Africanism started from that era even before I met Awolowo.

    Looking back, do you have any regrets?

    As far as my politics is concerned, I have no regrets because I have stayed true to the doctrines of Pa Awolowo. I worked very hard. At 26, I was the Pharmacist in charge of about 30 dispensaries from here to Ogbomoso. Many of my colleagues and friends, who didn’t work that much are long dead, but here I am at 94. I give glory to God. The last time I was in the hospital, I asked to be allowed to see what a mortuary look like. I wanted to see where I will be put when I die. But they didn’t grant me that wish.

    I tell my children that I don’t wish for an elaborate ceremony when I am gone. Just N5, 000 coffin and I am okay. But they won’t agree. They convinced me that I deserve more. God bless them for me. I am a Christian and I believe in God. So I have no regret as such. Of course, in my younger days, I did some things I look at today and wish I didn’t do. Aside that, I have no regret because I have learnt very early to leave the future to God and wish for the very best God can give me.

  • ‘Emergency prevention and management is business of all’

    Dr. ‘Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, until recently, was a Disaster Risk Adviser, Office of the Vice President. He was reappointed Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu about three months ago. His training as a medical doctor and emergency prevention and management personnel helped LASEMA, an agency which manages and prevents emergencies and disasters, to take off in the state when he served as its pioneer head. His return to the agency after a stint at the presidency, he says, is home-coming and a confirmation that his team still needs him. In this interview with SEYI ODEWALE he talks about how prepared the agency is in preventing and managing emergencies.

    LET us talk about your return to LASEMA after a stint at the Presidency. What do you think made Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to pick you again?

    Really when we talk about my return here, the fact is: I have always been part and parcel of this place. I am a civil servant, and I have always given them my advice anytime the need arises. Don’t forget, my team built LASEMA from the scratch. All the key officers till date are members of my team, whom I refer to as my ‘boys’. So, they are my team and I have always been with them.

    But in some quarters there was this thinking that after serving as LASEMA’s pioneer General Manager, you are still being returned to man the place, and that are there no more qualified persons than you?

    Of course, there are very many qualified persons who could have manned the place better, but what is most important is that I am a team player and the team needs a leader they believe in. The team believes that I should come back to lead them. Don’t forget that it’s my team that has been on the ground since inception and there was the need for their leader to come back to them. This, I believe, must have stood me out from other qualified persons.

    Perhaps you could have done better if you had not gone to the Presidency?

    Like I said there wasn’t anything missing in the real sense of the word. What I only noticed was the absence of their team leader, which again is like not adding salt to a meal. What I really noticed as a gap is that the authority (LASEMA) needed an effective, efficient and pragmatic team leader, who can feel the pulse of the staff and since I came back we have commenced that.

    What’s your stint like at the Presidency?

    While at the Presidency we introduced a lot of laudable things, like raising emergency management to the next level. And the next level of course, was emphasising more on preventive aspect of managing emergency. We realised that if we concentrated our efforts on preventing emergency, the gains would be far more than the responsive aspect. So, when I was at the Presidency, I championed the preventive aspect of managing emergency. I even extended it to the ECOWAS.

    While you were at the Presidency, was there a clash of interest or conflict between your office and that of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)?

    There was no clash whatsoever. We realised we have to work together as a team. No organisation can do it all alone. And no organisation is more important than the other. We are all being superintended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. So, there was no contest of any sort. We worked as a team and that is the way to manage emergency.

    What is your professional assessment of NEMA? Has it fared better?

    They can improve on their performance. NEMA, in all honesty, is not doing badly, but they can still do better because there is a big room for improvement.

    In which area, if you want to suggest?

    They can improve on all areas. You see, emergency management keeps evolving. You as an emergency manager, you must keep on building your capacity, to be able to up your game. Emergency management is dynamic.

    For instance, in the northeast where we have emergency situations, did you see a situation where something could have been done to prevent such emergencies from happening in the first place?

    Well, we have looked at it holistically. The Federal Government has come up with a lot of things. There is what we call the Buhari Plan, but the key thing here is that people should appreciate that while the government is doing everything humanly possible to ensure safety and lives of people and their property in 112 local government areas of the northeast, our people also need to be responsible for their own safety.

    How do you mean?

    They should stop hurling blame on the government, saying government should have done this, government should have done that. What are they themselves doing? They should be responsible for their own safety. Why? This is because they should collaborate with government effectively and efficiently. We should understand that we must be responsible for our safety. We must have behavioural change, because those perpetrating all these heinous crimes are members of the community and they live within the community. The community must be able to fish them out and expunge them. They should also realise that their safety should be paramount to them. They need to furnish the government about activities of these criminals; the community also needs to be vigilante and at alert.

    But unfortunately, the community and perhaps, its people are remotely far away from the government, hence no avenue to give information on what may cause an emergency. And where such opportunity arises, those who could have processed such information are nonchalant. More so, a large percentage of the people are illiterates…

    There are no stark illiterates anywhere in Nigeria again because where the people do not understand English Language, which is the means of communication; the government has employed languages spoken by the locals of any particular community to communicate to them. The government has tried to communicate in Hausa, Kanuri, Fulfulde, and a whole lot of other languages and dialects. There is effective communication. More so, there are local governments close to them. Those officials of the council are from them, they are part and parcel of the people. So, there are so many ways they can access the government to give information. Don’t forget, the government has a policy on whistle-blowing, which it is following religiously. So, there are a lot of sensitisations that the government has done. Our people need to key into what the government is doing.

    We are still in the rainy season and there seem to be flood alerts to flood prone areas in the country. What is your assessment of rain pattern now in the country?

    What is important is that NIIMET has made predictions. We in Lagos have identified 33 local government areas that are susceptible to flooding. Every local government is vulnerable to flooding, but we have identified 33 out of 57 that are most vulnerable. What we did was that all stakeholders that are important in flood and emergency prevention and management were called together. We have defined our roles and responsibilities. For example, the Drainage Department of the Ministry of The Environment in the state has begun de-silting of canals and drains; clearing them. LAWMA has also started working on proper ways of disposing wastes, that people do not dispose their wastes into streams and gutters. The building control agency has started their own, ensuring that people do not build on the drains and canals.

    The Ministry of Information and Strategy has also started the campaign to sensitise everybody. We in LASEMA have also put a lot of things in place to mitigate any form of disaster either natural or man-made. We are to strengthen our local emergency management committee in all local governments. We are having a roadmap for creating awareness and sensitising the people of the state. We have created relief camps in Lagos East at Agbowa, which we have put it on red alert. We have another in Lagos West, also on red alert. We have started conducting what we called simulation exercises in evacuating the victims in case of flood or emergency. We have also warned that if you live in flood plains, you should leave immediately. These are key things Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration has put in place. And we moved further that all our local emergency management committees in the local governments should start doing biometrics of their people, who are vulnerable or live in flood prone areas. We have made that announcement and appealed to their chairmen to do the biometrics of their people before any flood incident occurs so that we can have everything in our data base.

    Let’s look at LASEMA, is there any department you are lacking in terms of personnel or equipment?

    No. All we have just done was to change our mode of operation. We now have zonal offices being headed by qualified personnel, who are chief executives in their right. These are people, who can respond to more than 10,000 emergencies, within and outside Lagos, and internationally. For example, our Lagos West zonal office is being headed by a capable and responsible fellow, so is the one at the central zonal office which has at various times handled emergencies. The Lagos East is focused and disciplined, and has responded and handled so many emergency cases. Then we have the hub, where we have all our equipment, we call it ‘Eagle Base’ and it is at Cappa Bus Stop, Agege Motor Road, Fatai Atere junction. This place is being headed by the chief of staff of the agency. This is where we have all our sophisticated equipment, which we can deploy any time the need arises.

    We also have the ‘Flying Eagle’ unit, which consists of our bikers, who are more than 30. They can go into the crannies where vehicles cannot reach to carry out emergency management work. They can also do surveillance for the agency, especially on busy roads like the Third Mainland Bridge, which is prone to accidents. We also have our ‘Cobra Unit’ based on Ikorodu Road, the old Bobby Benson’s house. We have our live duty equipment, which we can be deployed anytime. Basically LASEMA’s operation has been decentralised to align with the Vision and Mission of our dear governor and to give the state its Smart City status. Remember the idea is to make the state lead as the economic hub of the country. Don’t forget that other responsibilities have been added to the state with the springing up of Petrol-chemical industry, which again increases LASEMA’s emergency management and prevention responsibilities in the state.

    We equally have the command control centre being manned by a director, who we code-named ‘Tiger’ with a team of specially trained personnel. All of them, however, are being supervised by the ‘Eagle’ himself, the Director-General of the agency, my humble self. We watch how they operate and monitor them. We also have monitoring and evaluation unit, which ensures that all that we do conform to the best practices anywhere in the world.

    We have improved ourselves in emergency prevention aspect where a unit is being dedicated to issuing early warnings to Lagosians on any possible occurrence of emergency and the measures to take. We have decentralised this unit and have them in each of the 57 local governments and local council development areas of the state. Before the year runs out we will have our marine unit of the agency. We have taken delivery of sophisticated equipment to be used in this unit, which we code-named ‘Shark’. We have marine rescue boats and we have started building the capacity of our rescuing personnel. The unique thing about our marine unit, which makes it different from those of the police or the Navy, is that we will work with local divers, who know the terrain of the creeks and the waters in the state. They know the ancestral value attached to such waters. We are going to train them both locally and internationally to make them compete well with their counterparts in any part of the world. We want to ensure safety on our water ways.

    In other climes, choppers are at times provided for rescue operations and emergencies; does your agency have anything like that?

    We have, and we are coming to the level of using drones for operations. We have started working with the nation’s Air Force. We want to ensure that we have a Lagos that is safe either on our roads, our waters or in the air.

  • ‘We support state police to curb crimes’

    Abdullahi Sule, an engineer with over three decades experience in the organised private sector is the Governor of Nasarawa State, the acclaimed Home of Solid Minerals. The Prince of Gudu town in Akwanga-West Development Area of Nasarawa State, says he is determined to turn the fortunes of the 23-year-old state around as the industrial and economic hub of the North-Central zone in Nigeria, in this encounter with Deputy Editor, Olayinka Oyegbile and Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf.

    WHAT can you easily point as a major achievement in your first 100 days in office?

    I think the first thing is the issue of peace and stability that we have been able to find in the State and the level of unity and cohesion going on in the State. I strongly believe starting from our primaries before the election and the level of unity and stability we have been able to find, it is only in Nasarawa State that the 11 aspirants that stood for primaries, the 10 who lost decided to be members of the campaign council for the candidate that won. In fact, the second person in the primary election, decided to be the chairman of the council. So, we have seen some level of unity and stability in the State.

    In the area of education we have seen the completion of most of the projects, especially the skills acquisition centres, special education, technical education and most of the primary and secondary schools that were initiated by the former administration, we have completed while some are near completion. On the road network, most of the projects started by the former administration, we have been able to complete them, while some are still under construction. But we have new ones that we have started, this is one big achievement that we have achieved.

    On road construction started by the former administration, we have been able to complete most of them while we are still on some of them. We have also given out new ones. We listed about 14 areas of interest that we strongly believe we are going to focus on and one of them is to ensure that we promote our agricultural sector. We are already working with the Federal Government to give us a facility of N1.5bn to empower the youth. Right now, they are undergoing training before they are given the funds, and we have identified land areas where those farms would be situated.

    Another of our achievement so far is the completion of special education schools for the disable started by the former administration and there is none like it in the entire nation. The real achievement is that even the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) is so excited about it that it wants to replicate what we have been able to achieve in that space. SUBEB wants to build model schools like the ones we have to cater for persons with disability. So, we will end up with two established special schools to cater for those who have a disability to ensure that they are being carried along.

    For the agriculture that I mention earlier, Nasarawa State is selling fertiliser at lower than any other State in the country. We buy from the cheapest source and sell to them at 50 per cent of the cost. We support them so they could have a bumper harvest, whilst attracting major commercial farmers to the state.

    Then we have set up a 15-man Investment and Economic Advisory Council to chart the way forward for the economic development of the state headed by Prof. Konyisola Ajayi, as Chairman, Ibrahim Magaji as Secretary. The committee has so many prominent Nigerians that are known in the area of economy, including the Special Adviser to the President on Economy. The former Managing Director of NEXIM Bank is also a member. We brought people from various fields. The President of GE in Nigeria, Lazarus Angbazo, is also a member. We have former generals, former governors, former deputy governors and others in the committee. They have agreed to come and serve in the committee because they believe in the economic potential of our state. We have developed an economic strategy for the state and it is named Nasarawa Economic and Development Strategy. That is what we are promoting and that was part of what we went to sell to the Nigerian Bar Association conference.

    In the area of power, we have already identified three major areas. Starting with solar power, today, all the new street lights that we are installing are the brand new technology of solar power with one unit solar system and most of the boreholes built in the various schools are also solar-powered energised for the system. The major problem of power has been identified and we have started working in ensuring that the coal deposit we have in Nasarawa State will be converted to be the source of power for the coal-fired turbines.

    On hydropower, we are successfully getting the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to start the process of constructing a dam at a waterfall that we call Farin Ruwa. On our own part, we have awarded the contract for the road linking the major highway to that site. Overall, in the area of power, we have already identified three major areas that we would focus on, starting with solar power. Today, all the new solar power that we are installing are the brand new technology of solar where you don’t have the batteries that can be stolen. Also, most of the boreholes we are building at the various primary and secondary schools are solar-powered. But, the major area in the power sector that we are talking about is ensuring that the huge coal deposit that we have in the state would now be converted to fuel and source of power for the coal-fired turbines that we are working with General Electric on.

    During your electioneering campaign, you hinted of plans to establish small and medium scale enterprise to empower 3,000 women, youths and physically challenged persons annually. How far are you towards achieving that target?

    Yes we have gone far on that. First and foremost, we have gone round to do the sensitisation on what the SMEs would be all about in the areas of agriculture, mining and trading. In addition to that, we have given forms to the prospective beneficiaries of the programme who would do that. About 48 hours after I was sworn in as the governor, we started by distributing sewing machines, grinding machines and such things to people. Most of the things we did were for them to go and create employment opportunities for themselves and their families so they could earn a living. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is going to offer to Nasarawa State about N1.5bn. That money would be used to empower the youth and women so that they can grow their own small scale farming activities.

    The issue of debts has been a recurrent decimal ever since these new class of governors came on board. Can you tell us what the volume of debt you inherited from the former administration? Secondly, how is the executive arm of government treating FAAC allocation to local government?

    Nasarawa State is one of the least indebted States in the whole nation. We are very lucky. The past administration since they came took one major debt through a bond and before we came in they paid off. However, they had inherited debt, most of which is still being verified, like those who said they collected contracts and we do not even have any major overdraft. So, since we came, debt servicing has been the least of our concerns.

    One issue that has remained a subject of controversy is the issue of disbursement to local government area. How is the executive arm of government treating the disbursement of FAAC allocation to local government based on directive of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit that states should no longer tamper with local government funds?

    Let me start from the second part you mention about the autonomy of the local government area you have mentioned. Nasarawa State is one of the first few States that decided to embrace to autonomy of the local government whole heartily.

    When it started in June, we allowed the local government areas to set up their own committees and distribute their funds. We worked with them to do that and we did not touch, not even N1 of their money. So far, they have been able to pay their salaries for June, July and now August. Not only salaries, but they are also paying their pensions 100 per cent as against the percentages they were doing in the past because of their own fault. Right now, I believe most of the local government areas are autonomous and they are now screening their beneficiaries, not only for salaries but also pension. They also discovered a lot of people who were drawing from these two sources and were not entitled to them. So, they are able to take out what they call ghost workers. So, we welcome the autonomy of 100 per cent.

    Is Nasarawa State looking at sourcing for funds through the bond market?

    We are definitely looking at that since the last one has already been paid off. So, we are trying to look at the possibility of taking a new one to tackle infrastructure that has the viability of paying back, like market development, bus terminals and roads.

    Your deputy was attacked recently, which testified to the prevalence of insecurity across the country, what will your government do about it?

    In terms of security, we have always taken a very bold step. As governors, the first meeting we had with the President was on security. The second meeting we had, which was the National Economic Council, we discussed security and not even the economy, so security is a big concern. The fact of the attack that you mentioned was actually not directly on our deputy governor as was reported. What happened was that there was armed robbery attempt on the highway and the deputy governor’s convoy was on the way. So many vehicles had pulled over, but, his pilot vehicle, not realising the number of armed robbers on the way, thought it was about three or four persons to one gun, and that was how they ran into them. Unknown to them, there were about 50 of them on top of the hill and nearly every one of them shooting from different directions. That was how they ambushed the three policemen there. It was unfortunate. But with the exception of that major issue, Nasarawa has seen some level of stability in the area of security. For instance, during the last Sallah break, there was no single report of insecurity in the state, until that particular one happened.

    There has been a robust discourse about state police, what is your take on it?

    It’s an issue at the level of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. We discuss it a lot and we discuss it at the federal level too. So, it’s a matter of great interest to us, but we have started something at a lower level. For instance, most of us engage one form of security unit or the other, like vigilance groups. But, in Nasarawa, we have the one called Nasarawa State Agency For Youth Empowerment Scheme (NAYES), it is actually the equivalent of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) in Lagos but the difference is security are more of their concern than roads or traffic. What we did also Civic Defence is very aggressive in Nasarawa State and luckily for us the majority of the officials in the Civic Defence are indigene of the State, they go to the local communities and engage the youths from the areas, and this had worked in the State. That has worked a lot, and the Commandant of the NSCDC told me that the most active command they have in the North Central is in Nasarawa State because of this kind of approach that has been there. So, once the idea of state police is concluded and agreed, I think it will be adopted by the Federal Government, but I don’t know whether that would solve all our problems because if the different agencies we have not solved the problem, I don’t know whether state police will solve that problem. State Police, when it is completed and agreed upon, I think it will be adopted.

     

  • My lasting memories of Dele Udoh

    Dele Udoh was a Nigerian Sprinter who lived in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States of America for many years. In 1981 he came home to participate in a tournament but was shot dead by a police man in a Lagos checkpoint. For over 31years, his African-American wife, Angela Udoh and only child, Angellus Burrus had no contact with the Udoh family members in Nigeria. That was until Taiwo Abiodun met Burrus in December last year at St. Louis, Missouri. He has finally been able to convince the wife Angela Udoh, to talk to him. He reports.

    Dele Udoh was a Nigerian Sprinter who lived in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States of America for many years. In 1981 he came home to participate in a tournament but was shot dead by a police man in a Lagos checkpoint.

    For over 31 years, his African-American wife, Angela Udoh and only child, Angellus Burrus had no contact with the Udoh family members in Nigeria. That was until Taiwo Abiodun met Burrus in December last year at St. Louis, Missouri. He has finally been able to convince the wife Angela Udoh, to talk to him. He reports. friend with a friend of his girlfriend, and Dele had come down from Columbia to Missouri on Spring Vacation, his friend brought him over to my friend’s apartment.

    We were just hanging out doing good things and he came and introduced himself that he’s another great athlete, we were very, very close … and it was very quick, everything went very, very fast, It was like a whirlwind romance. I would say, it was a little less than 90 days because I met him in March 1981 and we married in May, 1981, so it was less than 90 days.”

    I was a minor when we married

    Love for the young Angella made her to take a fast and quick decision to get married to her heartthrob, Dele Udoh. She   confessed that she was a minor when she married him and that in the State of Missouri, he could have been jailed for marrying a minor. According to her, “I was 17 years old, my birthday was June 1, and we married on May 19”. But to save the situation, her mother signed for her because of the love she had for Udoh. “Yes,  my mother  signed for me because in the State of Missouri I was considered a minor  and I could not consent to  a marriage unless I have consent from my parents.”

    With air of fulfilment and happiness, she brandished her marriage certificate and said, “This is my marriage certificate in 1981. I got married in Columbia in a little small Chapel, and it was attended by a few of us; the pastor or the minister, myself, Dele and my mother  who  stood in as   my witness,” she said radiating total confidence and pride.

    ‘What attracted me to Udoh’

    On what  attracted to her to  Udoh, Angella said she cannot really say, adding, “Well, I don’t know, he told me I was very intelligent, he said I knew a lot about Africa, he said he had ran into many African-Americans who didn’t know anything about Africa but I knew a lot. But I didn’t know about his athletic activities, he told me about his country, he told me that he was a star, and I just ignored him. I never saw him run track, basically I knew he was intelligent.”

    Unfortunately when they got married in 1981, they never had honeymoon because of the national assignment he had to do. A national assignment that snuffed life out of him! He travelled to Nigeria to participate in an international athletic tournament, she recollected almost in tears, “It wasn’t years, like I said it was very fast, We met 90 days before my birthday. After we got married he left  for Nigeria two days after .We never had honeymoon, he went to Nigeria in July  and that was all!”

    Romantic days

    For the young and innocent 17 year old Angella, who met love for the first time in her life she remembers the good old days they enjoyed together. “He took me out to movies, to dinner and for shopping. He was nice and was very giving. The next time I saw him he came down and took me back to Columbia because we were on date, he was going back to Columbia. Everything was very fast, I didn’t know why everything was very fast then at that time ….now I understand.”

    How I received the bad news

    According to Angela, her world crashed when she received the news that her husband had been killed on that night when she came back from work. After a very tough and hectic day, all she wanted was to crash into her bed and sleep, but a knock on her door took away all that. The bearer of the sad news was her parents. They told her Dele was dead! Young Angella refused to accept and believe it saying it cannot be possible, she swore, thinking her parents only wanted to trick her.

    According to her, “My parents  travelled from St Louis to Columbia, all I knew was that I had been working throughout the night, working on night job, I wanted to lay down and I heard a knock on the door, and  I went to   open the door, when I opened the door  they had  this look on their face, I knew something was wrong ……my father and my mother …said  they  had  something to tell me, they said  ‘last night Dele was shot and killed’. I immediately went into denial.

    I couldn’t believe what they said.  I burst into tears. The last time I spoke with him, he said he would call me back. I called someone in the National Sports Commission in Nigeria they refused to confirm or deny that he had passed away. They refused to tell me. But apparently what they were saying was true. Two weeks later, I went to Nigeria and saw for myself that he was dead!”

    Strange letter from Dele’s father

    Angella who managed to keep a bold face but with shaky voice said her late husband before he travelled to Nigeria received a letter from his father warning him of an impending doom. According to her, “A couple of  months before Dele travelled to Nigeria, he received a letter from his father and he  read the  letter to me and the letter said  “Hello my dear  son, I am writing to you to let you know that I  have been fasting for seven days,” adding that the reason why he was fasting was because he saw  a vision that Dele was going to be killed. He dreamt that he was shot.

    And Dele read the letter to me  and  I asked why would someone want to kill him, he said “I don’t know, I have no idea”. His father didn’t add any information to it  so he put the letter down and he did not discuss it again. His father already had a premonition and he was trying to pass away the premonition, hoping that the evil will pass away.

    Dele was upset when he received the letter and he didn’t talk any more about it again. I didn’t question him about the letter again. His father said he had gone to the priest and asked him to pray it away to fast and he fasted for seven days and seven nights. His father fasted, he did not ask Dele to fast, so that his prayer would be answered who would have known that this would come to pass?,” she asked as she turned her misty  eyes away from the reporter.

    I took to drug

    For a young girl who lost her husband at that age, she went in search of succour and refuge. She went into drug, “I really could use therapy so I had to find my own way, so I took to drug. The pain was so deep, so profound, your husband and your wife they are like the most important thing in your life and when one of them go untimely; this was not untimely, it was very traumatic.

    I had a baby to take care of when I was a baby myself, so I lost a lot. He was my shining star, he took care of me, he  was protecting me, he was everything. In fact, my everything was lost in one swoop, gone! So I was completely lost.

    “I was on drug for seven years. But I have stopped taking drugs. In fact, I don’t smoke cigarette now.’

    ‘I have forgiven the killer policeman’

    She confessed that it took a long time, 38 years, before she could forgive the police officer pulled the trigger that killed her husband. “I have forgiven him, for he did not know what he was doing. It took me 38years before I could forgive the killer of Dele Udoh. I forgive him because he did not know the destruction and the pain that he caused me. But I have forgiven him with all   my heart.

    The deep sorrow that took place as a result of his action but I’ve forgiven him with all my heart. Though I don’t know his name, and I heard that the officer was jailed for seven years, but I don’t know whether justice was carried out.”

    ‘I attended Dele’s funeral’

    She had to travel to Nigeria with her three month old pregnancy to attend her husband’s burial ceremony. “When I went to Nigeria in 1981, I was three months pregnant with Angellus, the National Commission in Nigeria took care of everything, they paid … they did the best they could to try and ease  my burden. I cried when I saw his corpse, he was shot in the head, below his temple.

    I was traumatised, for that was the first time I would get close to a dead person.”

    Asked whether she remarried, she said, “That is a very good question. I tried to replace him but I couldn’t. I tried but it was not possible. I have come to realise it that you cannot replace him. There are individuals they are unique in their own. There can never be another Dele Udoh, there are no two people that can be same,” she said shaking her head wryly.

    “Nobody can be like Udoh, I didn’t marry but I have seven children. I went back to school to study but now doing business. I work as an estate agent in St. Louis. Before then I had worked in government   establishments.”

    Remembering Udoh

    She described Udoh thus, “He was outgoing, flamboyant and talented, a confident person, he loved music, he was a Dee jay. Like I said he was flamboyant, he was a great dresser.

    “Every July 15, I always remember him, after so long now I celebrate his birthday. That is the day he was killed  but  I replaced him with that (birthday), I would say happy birthday to my husband Dele Udoh and my  friends  would join me to say happy birthday to him.”

    I don’t have a gun

    She said guns make her feel traumatic and remember her husband’s violent death via gun. She said, “In Nigeria most of the citizens don’t have weapons like that whereas in America anyone can go and buy a gun. The guns are readily available. I don’t have a gun, I refuse to have a gun. When you’ve lost someone through violence you will not like to have a gun.”

    Why I refused to drop Udoh’s name

    Asked why she didn’t change her name from Udoh, she said “I can’t change it that was something they cannot change, he didn’t expect this. You know when you find love, it’s not that love found him, he was single, available guy, student, he met a 17 year- old girl, it just happened.”

    She still recollects some of his friends’ name such as Edwin Ofilli, Chidi Imo, Yusuf  Alli, Ben Ogiri, Chuks Olisa and others saying, “I would be happy to come Nigeria if invited by  the government.”

    As the interview was rounding up, she said with emotion suffused voice, “I was bride, a woman, mum and a widow in one year. I am going to write a book  on it.”

  • Minimum wage must consider productive capacity of the economy, says ILO DG

    The Director General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Guy Ryder, recently visited Nigeria, the first by any ILO leader since the first visit in 1959. Ryder had series of meetings with stakeholders in the labour sector during the visit and attended the Global Youth Employment Forum, which was held outside Geneva, Switzerland, for the first time. In this interview with TONY AKOWE, he speaks on his engagements while in Nigeria, the world of work and lots more.

    ONE issue that has been in contention between the Nigerian government and organised labour is the absence of the Labour Advisory Council. Labour believes that government is deliberately sabotaging the council which has not existed for the past ten years. What is ILO’s view on the existence of the council?

    Yes, this is one the issues that came up in all my discussions, especially with organised labour and I ask the question, why do you think that it has not been active in recent years? I think that there are two things responsible: One is the simple commitment to make the council operate in an effective way. But also, I have heard that this is a question of political will and the desire of government to interact with employers and workers. I think that the desire now is that when we have a new Minister in place, is to try and do this. The ILO is an organisation that consists of government, employers and workers. We are the international house of social dialogue and tripartisim. So, where ever I go, I always try to promote the tripartite cooperation and I see no reason why I should do any less than that in Nigeria than any other country. If one can detect lack of confidence in the different partners, I think the best way to improve that confidence is to give more positive space to issues of social dialogue. I hope that by moving in this direction and reactivating whatever needs to be reactivated, we can boost the confidence.

    We are aware that the first ILO office in Africa was established in Nigeria. Since then, what has been the relationship between the ILO and Nigeria?

    Over the years, there has been good cooperation between the ILO and the Nigerian government and we have put in place a lot of plans with the government. There is the employment plan, the international migration plan, plan on health and safety; there is a draft plan on youth employment; among others. The important thing now is not to draw up new plans, but to seek implementation of these plans and I think this requires the political attention of Ministry and government and to a certain degree, the investment such as political and financial investment in making these plans a reality. I hope that as we draw up a new country programme with our Nigerian colleagues, implementation of the old ones will be top and rather than draw up new ones, there should be people focused programmes.

    President Muhammadu Buhari requested for the upgrading of the ILO office in Abuja and the placement of more Nigerians in the ILO headquarters in Geneva. How would you respond to this request?

    The question about upgrading the ILO office in Abuja has been put to me. You may be surprised to hear that when I travel, one of the issues that often come up is improving the ILO offices in the countries we go to. My organisation has a budget which is not increasing. That means that if I invest more in the office in Abuja, I will have to invest less in another country. You will understand that these are subjects of concrete and difficult political negotiations in my organisation. I would have to convince my governing body on the wisdom of making more resources available. I have been approached by all parties  government, workers and employers  on the need to invest more in upgrading the office here. It’s a good thing because I think that meant that our partners in Nigeria value the work of the ILO and they want us to do more. If our work was not valued, I will not be receiving these requests. But I am not in a position right now to say when these requests will be acted upon because it depends on my governing body. But the message has been well received.

    At the Global Youth Employment Forum, different economies were advocated. Which of these economies would you recommend?

    Read Also: Minimum wage: no worker should be cheated, says Wabba

    At the Forum, there were five working groups looking at different aspects of the future of work. There is the green economy, then the blue economy which is the oceanic economy where many states rely heavily on ocean resources. The Orange economy is a new one for me. This is the creative economy that relies on sculpture and arts and Nigeria has a comparative advantage in this area, the purple economy which is the care economy. The professionalisation of the care that we give to all the people and our children and lastly, the silver economy which is the digital economy. When you ask which of all these is the right one, I will say all of them. There is job creation potential in all of these areas, but it won’t happen automatically. I don’t think anybody should sit back and wait for any of the economies to grow. Like we have said in this centenary celebration of the ILO, the future of work depend on all of us, whether it is determined by technology or robot or artificial intelligence, it won’t even be decided by the market. It will be decided by the joint efforts of government, employers and workers in our society. So, the future is in our own hands.

    One of the major problems facing job creation in Nigeria is the issue of infrastructural deficit. What would you recommend for Nigeria, considering your experience in dealing with other countries?

    I heard from all sides that there is a major deficit in infrastructure in Nigeria. From the employers’ community, they referred to the physical infrastructure of communication, energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure and they felt that these constraints are having on the business community.  I think that it is quite telling that Nigeria was recent in its ratification of the Africa Continental Free Trade agreement. Beside that there was the feeling that there was a disadvantage resulting from deficit in infrastructure which places the country at a disadvantage. I think it is important that these infrastructural problems are dealt with. There is no short cut to this and it is not the ILO that has the answer in its pocket. It is a very simple reality which is the fact that infrastructural facilities need to be invested in. There are international institutions that can assist Nigeria on this like the World Bank and other Development Banks. We are not the people who bring the big money to Nigeria.

    Daily, there is the discussion about decent job. A woman selling by the road side is believed to have a job, same with the person sweeping the roads. From the view point of the ILO, what actually is a job?

    It is a very difficult question to answer. We are talking about the future of work and somebody sweeping the road out there is working. But we need to organise the world of work in such a way that people have access to decent activity, a decent job. That is why the ILO insists very strongly that it is not good enough that because we have lots of people without work, therefore any work that makes you earn a few naira notes is good enough. We should set the bar higher for society to be aiming at offering people decent work, which means a job where you earn enough money to give yourself a decent living, where you have social protection, where your basic rights as a worker are protected and where issues affecting you are not done through unilateral decisions but by social dialogue. This is our concept of what a job should be.

    While addressing the Global Youth Employment Forum, you said that about 255 million youths across the globe were either not employed or are not in any form of education. You also talked about another 135 million youths working, but live in poverty. This is an alarming figure. What is the way out of this?

    The statistics are quite disturbing. The whole question of education and training and the provision of training access to young people through education and training is of fundamental importance. Anybody who has worked in the labour market and in the world of work knows how connected labour system and education system are. The world of work is a knowledge based economy where competitive advantage relies on the acquisition and use of appropriate knowledge. But I think there is a link between employment and education and jobs become more evident. There are two or three points I need to make. One, is despite the changes in technology, the need to acquire digital skills is quite often talked about. The most important thing for any child is to acquire from an early age is to acquire basic skills. These are social skills that in future will enable the child to deal with people in a way that the labour market demands. I think that those foundation skills are sometimes not given the enough attention. I think that Nigeria, just like any country in the world should give top priority to universal access to basic quality education. If there are hindrances in that, this will automatically stall the future of the labour market because you will be generating people who do not have the fundamental skill of employability. After that, I think there needs to be greater inter action alignment of primary, secondary, university education with the private sector on the need to revive the sector. Those countries which do best in terms of youth employment and skills are those countries which have a very tight system of cooperation between the government and the private sector in skill formation. The very best skill formation systems are those that combine on the job training and class room training. That might sound like some distant reality, but the point I am making is that the private sector employers also have a role to play, not only in financing education, but also doing it in accordance with what they need. We do work with private industries around the world in giving skills to young people. I interacted with the Abuja Enterprise Industry and there is the hope that they will assist a lot of young people to get their businesses started. The flip side of this can be child labour. There is one thing that provoke child labour more than anything else and that is the non availability of school education. Young people do frequently fall into child labour when they don’t have the chance to go school. We have to make efforts to get them to school if that school is available. Yes, there are issues of poverty, there are issues of supporting families and we can understand that. But it seems to me that the real issue is that of giving opportunity to children to be in school.

    You gave a lot of accolade to Nigerians as very intelligent people. Does that mean you are considering request of the President to accommodate more Nigerians at the ILO headquarters?

    I have confirmed that. Whether I am here in Nigeria interacting with your country men and women, whether in my country or in other countries of the world, you can’t but the impressed with the vibrancy and energy that Nigerians give out. Nigeria needs to take advantage of that and so is the ILO. Like I will say everywhere, the ILO has the interest in acquiring the skills and contributions of Nigerians in our secretariat. It is not by coincidence that my Director for Africa is a Nigerian. That is a message that we don’t just understand, but we have acted upon. Recruitment into the ILO is through a competitive process. When good candidates are presented to us from Nigeria, they will certainly receive good attention from me and my colleagues. So, you can take that assurance as my response.

    After all said and done, how would you rate Nigeria?

    It is very difficult for me to give a rating to Nigeria. If I do that around the world, I am going to make some people very angry. What I would say is that Nigeria is very present in the International Labour Organisation. The government of Nigeria is a member of our governing body, the NLC has always been represented in international labour system and its workers representative on our board as its President is a member of our governing board and the employers are also represented. So, Nigeria is very present and has always been very present and is a strong contributor to our organisation. Without giving you rating, I am extremely grateful that Nigeria is ever present in our organisation.

    The issue of new minimum wage and its implementation is the current issue between labour and the Nigerian government. What is your advice to them on this issue?

    I am very pleased to hear that there has been agreement on the basic level after an energetic process of negotiation. I also understand there are ongoing discussions about consequential adjustment. I have not been involved in that discussion neither is the ILO involved. It is for Nigerians to resolve. But what I would say is that the ILO often gives advice on minimum wage. We believe that minimum wage should take into account to a lot of things. It should full account of the basic needs of working people and their families, what will allow for basic existence. It should also take into account the real productive capacity of the economy. If you pay beyond what production really permits, you will realise that you will not make any progress because it will be artificial. I really hope that the minimum wage process will take these into account.

    Again, privatisation of government enterprises has often created conflict between government and labour in Nigeria. What is your suggestion on this?

    The issue of privatisation is a controversial issue around the world. I am yet to encounter a trade union movement anywhere that welcomes privatisation. Generally, they are reluctant to accept privatisation for a number of reasons. One, they often believe that the process of privatisation will threaten the jobs of workers they represent; jobs will be lost in the process of privatisation. In a more general way, they feel that certain services in the industries should be in public possession because they are of strategic importance to the people and should not be allowed for market forces to direct. We have seen many discussions on privatisation around the world. You could argue the merits of those processes, but what is important is that when privatisation is pursued, it should be on the basis of an objective business belief rather than an ideological belief that privatisation is more appropriate in a public enterprise.

    At the 2019 International Labour Conference, the rise of new technology and the threat it posed to jobs was topmost on the agenda. How do you think this issue can best be addressed, especially in third world countries?

    Of all the challenges that Nigeria faces today, I will not put the job displacing effect of robotics or artificial intelligence at the top level of the problem. I think that Nigeria has much more interest in and has advantage to gain in embracing competitive advantage in new technology which render the economy efficient and produce the kind of competitive advantage which I think outweigh the job displacement system which exist. There is a belief out there that technology will displace jobs on a massive scale and throw up a period of unemployment. That is not the position I will subscribe to. I think that technology will lead to changes in the world of work, but it will not be to the disadvantage of jobs. I think we should look for ways of managing the system for the benefit of society in general.

    With the growing number of young people being unemployed, how should the issue of unemployment be tackled?

    When young people don’t have access to acquiring skills, the risk is that when they arrive the labour market, they will be unemployable and that leaves them with a small prospect of employability. This is not something that is unique to Nigeria, neither is Nigeria dispensed of this problem. I do think that investment in ensuring universal access to education and quality of basic education is a global challenge and is so recognised in the UN 2030 Sustainable Development agenda

    What is your suggestion to Nigeria on the issue of social dialogue and industrial harmony?

    In all the meetings that I was able to have with government, employers and labour, we spoke very frankly. I think there is a very frank and honest recognition of the challenges. I read the speech of President Buhari on democracy day when he said that Nigerian population is projected to double by mid century to become the third most populous country in the world. It is quite obvious that the government understands very clearly the job creation challenge ahead. Also, I think the government has taken this into consideration in the discussions that led to the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and the challenges ahead. The real challenge however remain to translate these understanding of issues into practical, well resourced concrete policy responses. I hope the ILO can give assistance towards that endeavour.

  • Creating a unique mindset for young people

    Ogechi Ofurum-Omeike is the founder and CEO of Techie and Savvy. She is also the convener of the Future Business Leaders Conference. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about helping young people to initiate and execute innovative ideas, driving business growth, as well as providing strategic direction for leadership.

    What are your memories of working with the children’s museum?

    It was a short stint but I had one of the most amazing experiences ever. My role was one that enabled me to develop programmes for children. The environment was stimulating; I worked with an amazing team and my boss was extremely supportive. I can vividly say that the role prepared me for my current role.

    What is the focus of the organisation?

    Techie and Savvy is a social enterprise in Nigeria. We are primarily focused on capacity building for children aged 5 to 16years (primary and secondary school pupils) and the experience has been great working with these children.

    We are committed to developing and empowering young minds to become entrepreneurial by positioning the younger generation to become problem solvers, value creators and, consequently, future business leaders.

    To achieve the aforementioned, we have established the following platforms: school entrepreneurship clubs, future business leaders’ conference and, one-on-one sessions and open trainings.

    We do not limit our interactions with the children alone. In order to give meaning to our vision and mission, we usually collaborate with parents, schools, companies, non- governmental organisations, government agencies, and individuals. This collaboration has helped to empower the younger generation of leaders in different ways as well as opening our eyes to the other potential that they can explore.

    What are some of the things that you have done?

    It has been a very interesting journey so far. I must say that one of the high points is that we have gained presence (Entrepreneurship Club) in over 25 schools in the Lekki and Ajah axis in Lagos State.

    Earlier in the year, we organised the first edition of the Future Business Leaders Conference. The programme is aimed at creating an entrepreneurial mindset in children and teenagers. We hosted over 120 children, 20 teachers from 20 schools.

    We have also reached hundreds of children via our open trainings on public speaking, communication, business management and entrepreneurship.

    What are the challenges?

    As a new kid on the block, it was challenging convincing some school owners about the essence of the programme and our expertise. However, I guess I can say we have moved beyond that now.

    We are looking forward to other challenges that can enhance business growth and development.

    Can we talk about some memorable moments in life and career?

    I would say that being a mother has been my greatest blessing ever. Every day is just different and you learn so many things that make you see issues from a deeper and unique perspective. Also with respect to my career and being an entrepreneur has been a life-changing experience. This experiences gave me insights into writing and I just published my first book. It is called Raising Smarter Kids (a guide for parents, guardians and teachers). The journey has been awesome. Going down memory lane, I would say that I have made mistakes and I have also recorded successes. They all made me a better personality and it has influenced my perspectives about life generally.

    Grooming future leaders is something you are passionate about. What inspired you to do this?

    Looking at the level of poverty in Nigeria birthed by the alarming rate of unemployment, substance abuse and gambling amongst our youths, it became imperative to deploy interventions that would enable our youths to become more productive and entrepreneurial.

    I strongly believe in the catching them young philosophy; this is why our programme accommodates pupils from primary schools. We are optimistic that children that have interfaced with our programme will not succumb to unemployment but will be able to use the skills (business and vocational) learned to create value, generate money and maybe subsequently become employers of labour.

    Who or what do you consider as the greatest influence in your life and career?

    A couple of individuals have played roles in my life in influencing me into being the person I have become. These individuals include my family members, friends, religious leaders, lecturers and certain colleagues in my previous work places.

    Let’s compare when you started your career and now, what has changed?

    I have had to unlearn, relearn and learn. I am still growing, though.

    Tell us about your book Raising Smarter Kids 

    In my work as a parent, teacher and an education consultant, I have repeatedly come to the realisation that no child is unintelligent. It is totally dependent on the strategies deployed by parents, guardians and teachers in raising their kids.

    Raising a child is a collaborative effort of the home front and school; each reinforcing values upheld by the different stakeholders. As such, there must be rapport between the home front and the school.

    In the book, Raising Smarter Kids, I clearly spelt out the roles parents can play from the womb and preschool days of a child in creating a safe haven for the child and principles parents and guardians may implement in raising smarter kids while examining the impact of effective communication, peer group, motivation, discipline, enriched environment and home front (hostile or friendly) on the child.

    I also looked at the role of school; structure, content, class size, teacher’s attitude and teaching style in raising a smarter child.

    What lessons has life taught you?

    Never accept failure, be consistent and keep pushing; someday, it will all pay off.

    What are some of the things that you treasure most in life?

    My relationship with God, family, friends and loved ones. I also treasure my time and work.

    How do you relax?

    By having deep conversations with a loved one and hanging out with friends and family.

    What are those principles you hold onto?

    I believe in justice, equality, compassion and supporting one another irrespective of religion, gender and status.

    Do you have people you admire and role models?

    There are several individuals I truly admire; as such, I would rather not mention names. Also, in recent times, I have also reached out to certain individuals to be their mentee.

    Whilst waiting for their responses, I feel really privileged to have been mentored by Pastor Benn Itua for the past five years.

    If you had to advise young people, what would you tell them?

    If I had to advise young people today, I would tell them to chase after value and be determined to pay the price for success and greatness. Those are the things that would take you far and make you excel in whatever you want to do.

  • Chioma Akpotha: I was shy as a young girl

    Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha is a leading Nollywood actor and producer. In 2007 she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for “Best Actress in a leading role”, and the Afro Hollywood award for best actress in a lead role in 2010. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, the energetic woman talks about the things that make her tick, her inspiration and challenges.

    Who or what inspired me to go into acting?

    As a grown up little child, I always had the flare for the arts. I just wanted to sing in front of people, dramatise and make people happy and laugh. For me, it was an escape as a little child because I was quite a very shy one. I used it as a medium to express my inner self and it gave me joy, inner peace and I knew that it was something that I wanted to stick with. I was still going to school but I wanted to stick with it. Also where I grew up was the hub for home video producers and actors. So, seeing all of them just made me solidify my decision about wanting to be an actor, perform and something of that sort. I hadn’t quite decided at that time as a grown up little girl if it was acting, singing or whatever it took. I just knew that I just had that flair and I prayed for God to direct me on the right path. I am grateful He did and here I am.

    Which was your first film?

    My first film was The Apple in year 2000 but before then I had done things like dramas, montages for churches. It was produced by Theodore Anyangi and directed by Lancelot Imasuen; the executive producer was Emma Nsikak.

    You read banking and finance, what was the experience like?

    Growing up in my house, you have to go to school first. If you want to be a bricklayer, you must go to school first. Banking and finance was great because I liked to deal with figures, I loved to count and all of that. But I kept thinking ‘this thing is going to lead me to the Promised Land, let’s just be doing it’. So, I didn’t just connect with it. However, I did it and did it well. It was fun balancing sheets and all of that. It actually dawned on me working in the bank and still acting. But it didn’t come to pass and so just for effect, you see me doing that for film. I enjoyed all my subjects and had issues with the advanced ones and with extra tutorials I found them very, very easy.

    What about some memorable moments as an actress?

    My first memorable moment was my first major film, The Apple. It was out of this world; I was a greenhorn tossed right in the middle of the ocean and I had to learn on the job. I had no single idea or clue of what I was supposed to do. I didn’t know my camera angles, I didn’t know the point where I was supposed to talk or keep quiet. I didn’t even know that you were supposed to keep taking a particular scene until you got it right. So, those moments I cannot forget and then when I saw my face on the poster of my next film, The handkerchief, that was just it. It was mind blowing and I was like, ‘na my face be dis?’ (Is this my face?). It was all over the street everywhere and in those days, once people saw you they kept asking if you were the one on the poster. All those things were the highlights of my career and then I started to get more jobs.

    Then my major breakthrough was when I shot the film called Disguise and people all over the world were excited. They said this girl has come to stay and all of that. Another memorable moment was when I did my first production on Bended Knees, I shot it in 2011 and it was such a nostalgic moment for me because my first director then, Lancelot Imasuen, happened to be my first director as a producer and he said waoh! I had told him on set once that, who knows, you might just direct my first film and it came to pass. Sometimes, the things we say actually happen. Then when I won AMAA’s Best Actor in a leading role in 2007 with my baby bump and all of that, the whole world saw me there. It was awesome. Also being ambassador for many brands; there are so many memorable moments in my life and career.

    Did you encounter challenges?

    As an actor, the regular taking up of roles that you have not done before. Acting with big shots and having to deal with some people who are not professionals or who are not so dedicated to the work. The challenge in my growing years was just learning on the job; it was too much for me at that time. And having that major break after a period of time, all the scripts kept coming and I was taking large bites and chewing really, really fast. So, that was my major challenge and I know that when people ask female actors, what is the major challenge, they expect to hear that ‘this producer asked me to remove this side of my pant and do this and do that’. It is such a cliché but I am sure that by now people know that those things are here to stay. It is just how you are able to keep your standards and discipline yourself, know what you are here for. Asides that one, you find that each job has its own different challenge. It was just my ability to understand and go with the flow and know that this director is different from this person, different location and all that.

    Do you have any person who has influenced you in your career?

    I think God. I absolutely believe and know that if it wasn’t for God, I would not be here today. I wouldn’t have gone the farthest that I have gone this far. And also for the influences of one or two strong disciplinarians in the industry like Kate Henshaw, Pat Uzorkwor, Pete Edochie and Ramsey Noah. I just like their work ethics and I followed suit. I picked a few things from them; but above all, it’s God.

    What has changed between when you started and now?

    A lot of things have changed in terms of the kind of films, the kind of story we tell and the kind of cameras. A lot of people have gone to understudy the art of film making itself, camera angles and so many things. So, it is different now and we tell our stories in such a way that it is tastefully done these days. And you can tell by the kind of films that we are churning into the cinemas and all that. Everything is really, really different from where we were; we are not where we were ten years or fifteen years ago. So, we have come to stay and we have come really far.

    Are there changes you would like to see in the sector?

    Funding and finances. Film villages, professionalism and I want to see collaborations between Nollywood, Hollywood and Bollywood. I want to see expansion and I want to see actors go to gain more knowledge outside and within; so that we are not stagnated because we feel that we have arrived. I want to see those changes; I want to hear that there is a Nollywood actor that has a star on works of film. So many things like having our own work of films.

    Tell us about life as a role model

    I wake up every day thinking of my family, having them at the back of my mind. I wake up every day knowing that there are some people looking at me, I must not fail. I must not let my family down, I must not forget where I am coming from and I must not forget the things that I was taught as a child. I must not forget the legacy of the family; I must not forget my mother who fought tooth and nail to make sure we came out right. Also, I must not forget the one that has given me life in its entirety. That is it. So, I must not forget that a lot of lives are tied to me and that there are some decisions or things that I might do today that would cause someone to take either the right decision or a wrong decision. So, that alone is fearful to me.

    What is your definition of style? What are the things that you wouldn’t do in the name of fashion?

    My definition of style is comfort. If it is not comfortable, I won’t wear. Style for me has to be comfortable and decent. By decent, I mean I am able to express myself without feeling the need that I have to hold back. I want to be able to walk, dance, do everything that I am doing and still feel comfortable; dress appropriately. I believe in that thing people say, ‘dress the way you want to be addressed.’ First impressions matter and all of those. Keep it simple, you would never go wrong. I can’t go naked in the name of fashion. I can’t show things that are meant to be inside, outside. But I can wear ‘suit’ at the beach.

    What are the things that you treasure most in life?

    Family, friends and life.

    How do you relax?

    I just lie down after I have done everything; I sleep. Go to the movies if I can but I like to stay indoors and just hibernate. If need be, I can go out with the girls, hangout with them, shout, dance and come back to lie down again.

    Who are those you admire as role models?

    There are lots of them. I love Kate, Ada and Ufoma; I love the girls. I love them to bits because they make my life a bit easier.

    You are also a professional cook, what does this mean to you?

    I am a professional local cook. My siblings tell me that I cook close to my mum. She owned a restaurant and that was basically where she single handedly raised her children from. So, she tossed it over to me. It means a lot to me because aside loving to cook, I love to feed people.

    I love to see people eat and say okay it is nice. Sometime, towards the end of this year or first quarter next year, we hope to see something berthing from my cooking.

    If you had to advise young people who want to go into acting, what would you tell them?

    Be creative, be simple. Dare to be different. Let your work stand for you, don’t do copy cat. Don’t go and steal someone’s work. Let your creativity come through from a place of inner search. Look for it, you will find it. Study, research and if the goal is there, search it out and do it. Be yourself and dare to stand out and be tasteful.

  • Bertha Chioma Ekeh: My mother’s first aid box inspired my career choice

    Bertha Chioma Ekeh is a consultant neurologist with the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, (UUTH) Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The medical doctor whose parents were both teachers recently launched five neurological books on Amazon.com that are read all over the world. Her works are distributed through academics, institutions and libraries all over the world. In this interview with Temilade Adewuyi, she discloses what attracted her to medicine, her memorable moments on the job and more.

    What influenced your choice of career?

    It might surprise you to know that I didn’t want to study medicine; but as a child, my family had a first aid box and my mother allowed me to administer the drugs from the box. I actually wanted to be a mathematics teacher, which was my passion. I was supposedly good, according to my classmates. My classmates called me ‘my teacher’. So all I wanted to be in life was to be a Mathematics teacher. But my secondary school teachers in Federal Government Girl’s College (FGGC) Owerri thought otherwise. They felt I had what it takes to study medicine. That was the days when such courses were reserved for brilliant students, according to my teachers. They said to me, ‘do not go and study a single honour course, go for medicine.’

    When I got into it especially being a Christian, I considered it a calling and so I strived to do my best. It is fair enough, being a doctor has promoted me, but I look at myself more as a teacher.

    Tell us about the five neurological books published by Amazon.com?

    I am a consultant neurologist. That is the study of brain diseases, and it was discovered to be a very difficult and complex part of medicine. All over the world, medical students and doctors find neurology challenging, daunting and difficult. I did too as a medical student. I still remember while I was a medical student at the University of Port-Harcourt, on a certain day I expressed fear about neurology and one of my very senior colleagues who is now a professor of paediatrics, Professor Nwadiuto Akanni, looked at me and said, ‘you are afraid of neurology’. I said ‘yes’, but she made a statement that made me a neurologist today. She said I used to be afraid too.

    That degree of honesty was unprecedented. I have never seen anybody acknowledge to me as a student that they had once found it difficult. So I asked her what she did, she said she took her time to study it. I do not know if it makes any sense, but then I realised it was a difficult subject. I decided that I was going to take up the challenge.

    It might interest you to know that I scored100% in mathematics in my JAMB result. Then, some universities in view could allow one write mathematics instead of physics. So I wrote mathematics and got everything. That was how good I was, not boasting. So I told myself, if I could conquer mathematics, I can as well conquer neurology. I went, sat down and started reading neurology. By the end of that weekend, I was teaching my mates neurology. When it comes to teaching, I have a special gift from God. I teach my classmates, siblings, friends, my seniors and juniors, then my students.

    How did you get the inspiration to write the books?

    Surprisingly, it was not my idea to write books. When I was a senior registrar in Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), as a neurology senior registrar, residents in psychiatry do a resident in neurology for three months. On one occasion, one of my colleagues, Dr. Kingsley Mayowa Okunoda, now consultant psychiatrist at Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), came for the three months’ posting and observed me teaching and explaining.

    He gave me one of my best compliments when he said ‘I wish I knew you when I was a medical student, I would have done internal medicine/neurology and be like you. I never knew anybody could understand it.’ He then advised me to go and write my own book to make it easy.

    ‘You have what it takes to simplify this difficult part of medicine.’ That idea stayed with me. By the time I came to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), I started writing with just one-point agenda: to make it easy.  I had nothing else in mind.

    It was still in my mind until another colleague of mine, now a consultant nephrologist, Dr. Udeme Ekrikpo, was the first person who had a glimpse of what I was writing, he screamed with joy. He said ‘this is good, write it because we need it.’ He gave me the needed confidence, boosted my morale even though he was junior to me again. He is highly intelligent and reads a lot of medical books. Dr. Ekrikpo can read six-seven text books at the same time. So when he felt what I was writing had credibility, he gave me the confidence to continue.

    When I had time, I would write, think about it always asking how to make it a bit easier.

    In 2015, my laptop got missing at a conference. Mercifully, I had sent the work to my sister’s email address, so I could retrieve it when I bought a new laptop. Not knowing if my work would get published. Sometime in late 2017, another friend, Dr. Ibiene Osuemeni, gave me a link. She lives in the US. She told me “these people published my books which were more of Christian novels.” I was able to click and got into the link, but then my works were too large. I said, let me just cut off the first part which was the evaluation of a person with brain disease. But because I want to make it easy, I called it ClinicalNeurology made easy.

    It was at the point of submission that I had it in my mind; I guess the Holy Spirit spoke to me. “You still have a lot of unpublished work because I have already written a lot, why not break it down and make it into a series?”

    When that first one came out, I wondered how to break the remaining work. I wrote the “Fundamental of Neurological Diagnosis”, the first part. I wrote Basic Anatomy of the Brain. Just a simplified version, the second part was the localisation ‘lesurn’. I believe that it was not just about me; God has a way of making me explain things.

    I paid attention to details that will take three to four pages. That was not my original plan, I thought I could take it in 20 pages, but it came out in 100 pages. I am glad it came out that way, because when people read it, they said, ‘now, I know what you are talking about.’ The third part became how to conduct an investigation; test for brain diseases which are very expensive. That is where CT scan, MRI is needed etc.

    If you have a clinical acumen, you can localise a leisure. That was what I did in the second of the series and the third one. The third one, I started it as a lecture note in neurology; I thought I could write a simple concise text book in neurology, but it kept enlarging. It was my book reviewer, a professor of paediatrics, Prof. Enobong Ikpeme, when I gave her to read, who said ‘you are undermining the work by calling it lecture note. This is a text book of neurology.’ So when you get to my page on Amazon, I had submitted it as lecture notes before she made that statement. So I re-registered it again, got my ISBN no and it became a textbook of neurology. The fourth one, “Mentorship in Medicine”, as it was the topic, is new to me.

    How would you assess and compare the education of your colleagues in Nigeria with other parts of the world?

    Most people will not agree with me when I say Nigerian education is good. All of us can have good education in Nigeria. Anytime I am at an international conference, professors from the US, UK will approach me and say ‘you speak good English, where did you learn English from?’ I will say I am a Nigerian. I was born in Nigeria, I had all my education in Nigeria, I live and practice in Nigeria. I came to this conference from Nigeria and I am going back to Nigeria. Again, when you see the kind of things Nigerian doctors who have full Nigerian education are making outside the country, you will be convinced.

    I have seen doctors trained outside Nigeria that are not half as good as our Nigeria-trained doctors. I do not want to mention some countries but I remember the last Medical and Dental Council examination we set for our foreign doctors who just arrived, the failure was massive. Yes, in Nigeria, we do have challenges like incessant strikes, lack of facilities, text books and journals have been breached by the internet. But you can get a good education from Nigeria. I am a Nigerian lady writing books that people all over the world can read. Amazon looked at it and it was not plagiarised; I want to say Nigerian education is good.

    What can be done to make things better?

    If I am the minister of education, the first thing I will abolish is educational disadvantaged states. I will just remove the challenge, because you are telling children that there are some others who have the brain to score 90-100%. It is better to give them a challenge and let them rise to it, you will be shocked. It is also important to teach the teachers and equip them, but most importantly, challenge the children and see the miracle. Nobody has a better brain than the other.

    I read medicine and surgery with candles in university when there was no light. So, imagine when such a student goes to the US, or UK’ where there is constant light, they will excel well.

    Is the book something every student can afford?

    I wasn’t a buoyant student in school. I read from the library and my friends; that explains why I am trying my best to make the books cheap so that students who are not buoyant would not be left out. It is my own way of giving them opportunity to excel.

  • JULIET IBRAHIM: I spent my childhood dreaming of being a star

    Juliet Ibrahim is an actress, entrepreneur and author. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she reveals how she sang and participated in talent shows as a young girl; her latest movie, memorable moments and challenges. 

    What is the latest movie that you featured in; what was the experience like?

    The most recent movie I am working on is called ‘Love Me’. We are still on set currently, and the experience has been great so far.

    Tell us about some of the other movies you have participated in. What is new? What should your fans expect from you?

    It has been a very interesting journey so far.  Some of the new movies that have been released so far include: ‘Pretty Demon’, ‘Small girls, Big God’, and ‘London Fever’. Yet to be released ones include: ‘Return of the Beast’, ‘Perfect Crime’, ‘Ignition’ and ‘Love Me’.

    What were some of the challenges you have faced on the road to success and how did you overcome them?

    On the road to success, we all as human beings face certain challenges; and the same goes for me. For instance, there will always be people who don’t believe in you or your dreams. People who will discourage you and tell you that you can’t make it.

    Well, for me, I did not let such negative opinions discourage me. I knew what I wanted to be in life. I was focused and determined on living my dream. I put in the work and I pushed through. I am a go-getter. I am a hardworking woman who will never listen to naysayer.

    The more I hear I can’t do something, the more you’ll see me doing it.

    Can we talk about some memorable moments in your career?

    There have been so many memorable moments in my career; from the time I started up until now. I am so grateful to God for all the blessings He has given me.

    Some amazing memories include exploring my love for acting at a very young age, and performing at talent shows in school and in church. I was also singing at those talent shows and in the choir. I spent my entire childhood dreaming of becoming a superstar.

    Luckily, in 2004, I won a beauty pageant and I got a call for an audition. I went there and I got the lead role for my first movie ‘Crime to Christ’. That’s how it all started for me.

    I have been able to use my career to impact many lives and create other avenues for myself and my brand. Apart from acting, I’m a professional compere. I am also into music. I run a production company, Jewelz Productions, and we produce and direct films, musical videos, TV series, you name it.

    I am also an entrepreneur and I have my own line of beauty products. They include Moda Lipstick line and Shades by Juliet Ibrahim Eyelashes. I also founded the Juliet Ibrahim Foundation.

    What lessons has life taught you?

    I would say that the most valuable lesson I have learned so far is the resilience to never take “NO” for an answer. If one door closes, it does not mean your aspirations are not valid. It simply means that particular door wasn’t yours to enter. Simply find another door to knock on or better still, build your own door and walk through it!

    I have learned to persist even when it seemed like all the odds were against me. Because from my experience, that point when you just feel like giving up is when your breakthrough comes.

    Tell us about your book. What inspired you to write it?

    My life inspired me to write it. There are so many experiences I have had and life lessons learned along the way.

    I would also say that the book is a memoir, and it is a deeply personal narrative of my triumph over adversity faced at different stages in my life, and my journey to true self-love. By telling my story through this medium, it is my intention to uplift our women, and remind them that despite the many challenges experienced, there truly is always light at the end of the tunnel.

    What should your fans expect to find out about you in this book?

    My fans will be delving into my world. They’ll be reading about Juliet that the screens don’t show and the media had no idea about.

    In this book, I have opened up on my most vulnerable moments and most exciting moments. I wanted my fans or anyone reading the book to know and understand that I’m just a regular girl who’s been through it all and used all of my experiences to shape me into the woman I am today. I simply want to inspire people.

    Who or what do you consider as the greatest influence in your life?

    My mom is my greatest influence. In general, my faith in God and the support of my family and loved ones – these are all factors that have shaped my life and career positively.

    Let’s compare when you started acting and now, what has changed? In what ways has this changed your lifestyle?

    When I started acting, a lot was still new to me and I was still learning as well as growing. But now I am an actress, a mother of one, an entrepreneur, a producer, a singer, a director, an author and a compere.  I am bilingual; I speak fluent English and French. I started acting at a very young age where I performed at talent shows in school and in church.

    I was also singing at those talent shows and in the choir. Now, the industry has been acknowledged and sighted by foreign as well as local investors, corporates, brands, hence there’s been so much more improvements than 15 years ago.

    What are some of the changes you crave for in the sector?

    If you had asked me this question a couple of years ago, I would have said “I would like to see more women in the industry.” But it is so satisfying to not have to make such a statement in our era today. Times have changed; I don’t believe it is as difficult as it once was for women to play active roles in the industry. There are so many great, talented women that are even outshining the men in the African movie industry today.

    When you talk about top actors, you will find the names of actresses on the lips of many. When it comes to directing and producing, it is also the same thing. Your talent, hard work, and determination to succeed will always take you far and help you get the recognition you deserve. It may take some time, but if you keep your eyes on the prize, your day will surely come.

    I am happy about women rising in prominence in the industry.

    Who are some of the people you admire?

    I admire Beyoncé, Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Sandra Bullock, Rihanna, and Genevieve Nnaji.

    What is your definition of style? What won’t you do in the name of fashion?

    Style to me is being confident in You.

    Once you’re confident of who you are, you can wear anything you want and create your own style and stay comfortable in it. I wouldn’t be caught following every trend in the name of fashion.

    What are some of the things that you treasure most in life?

    I treasure my life, my family, my son and good health.

    How do you relax?

    I spend lots of time sleeping, rejuvenating at the spa, spending time with my family, especially my son – and, of course, travel.

    Where do you expect to be in the next few years?

    Right now, I am learning to take each day as it comes. I am basking in the moment. I am learning to try to celebrate my achievements and where I am now, instead of worrying about where I’m supposed to be 5 or 10 years from now. My memoir, “A Toast to Life” has just been released, and I’m excited to see the open doors and possibilities it brings.

    If you had to advise young people, what would you tell them?

    Whatever you want to do in life, you must first of all make sure that’s exactly what you want to do; have a passion for it, learn it, give it your best and strive to be the best at it.

    What’s next for Juliet Ibrahim?

    Juliet Ibrahim is an author. I have added one more title to my career, and for now I’m bent on pushing my book and making sure my story is heard and used to inspire so many people out there.

    What advice would you give to someone aspiring to become an actor?

    I would advise that first of all, you should know that your dreams are valid no matter who you are and where you are from – just like Lupita Nyong’o once famously said. Believe in yourself and your abilities. Then I would say, make sure you get some professional coaching, whenever you can, to sharpen your skills. I would also say, toughen up! It’s not for the faint hearted. It’s an unpredictable path to take. When you ventually get your foot in the door, there may be some periods when you get lots of acting jobs, and then there will be other periods hen you’re not working. So brace up yourself. I would also advise you not to put all your eggs in one basket. The fact that you are an actor doesn’t mean you can’t do other income-generating stuffs to supplement your source of livelihood. Start a business…get a side hustle…explore!

    I would say my faith in God and the love and support from my family and loved ones are my greatest source of inspiration and influence in my life.

    If you could change something in the industry with a magic wand, what would it be?

    I would wish for more talented up and coming actors to be given more opportunities to showcase their talent.

    I am always on the lookout for talented up and coming actresses, because, after all, they are the future. I am always excited when I come across new faces in the industry and I do my best to help give them a platform whenever I come across opportunities for them to showcase their talent.

    What is your profession’s greatest challenge today?

    Instead of dwelling on challenges, I prefer to concentrate on our wins.

    It used to be that it was difficult for African women to break into our industry. But now, that is no longer the case. There are so many great, talented women that are even outshining the men in the African movie industry today. When you talk about top actors, you will find the names of actresses on the lips of many. When it comes to directing and producing, it is also the same thing. Your talent, hard work, and determination to succeed will always take you far and help you get the recognition you deserve.