The Nation Newspaper

Tag: conscience

  • Court of law vs. court of conscience

    SIR: Since Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960, thousands of cases have been heard in the courts of law. Some cases have been won on merit, some on legal technicalities and others on bias and political prejudice. In fact, several politicians and public servants have been tried in the Court of Law and several of them still have their heads up, shoulders high, flaunting their post-prison political powers, being welcomed with much fanfare, gaining more political points and getting more feathers to their caps even after being convicted or still facing long trials in the court. Court, in a non-technical way can simply be said to be a gathering where judgments are made.

    In the court of conscience, there are no physical lawyers. The court is situated in the mind and it is production of thoughts. The court of conscience includes the advocate of the plaintiff, the advocate of the defendant and the judge being the mind (brain action of thoughts) in use all existing as actions of the brain: the mind. The masses must as a matter of urgency arise to the clarion call of trying public servants and politicians in the court of conscience.

    Also Read: IPOB Lawyer, Media Officer should be arrested — Lawyers of Conscience

    However, before any public servant or politician can be tried, there is need to firstly, in the words of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, “need for restructuring of the mind”. This will be done by first examining ones’ past actions, future intentions, its consequences and how it affects others in our community. Secondly, we should be unbiased empires in examining the alleged politicians and public servants in respective of our religious, social or ethnic inclinations. Thirdly, try the public servants/politicians in the court of conscience.

    The trial of public servants in our respective court of conscience should be based on the yardstick of ethical utilitarian moral theory. Ethical utilitarian moral theory states that whatever is good, should be any action which gives the greatest number of joy to the higher number of people i.e. the masses in this context. So, the yard-stick of assessment in the mind is premised on: whatever action that gives/does-not-give joy and long term pragmatic pleasure to the masses. Or whichever public servants policies  and administration brings/does not bring pragmatic joy through execution of beneficial projects, implementation of advantageous  policies, formulation of positive laws/lawmaking and fair adjudication, should be declared wanted and pronounced convicted in the court of conscience.

    Any sleazy politician found guilty in the court of conscience should be jailed in the conscience and be denied opportunity to hold any other public post.

    The conviction of erring and suspected public servants in the country by the masses in their various consciences will go a long way to ensure wanted public servants and politicians are denied access to public, political and non-political posts. It will also stop vote buying, election malpractice, election violence and blind-voting (Voting based on political sentiments).

    I strongly believe that this is a major way we can eradicate corruption in our society. It is also a right step of showing patriotism.

     

    • Emmanuel K. Adebiyi, Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy.  

  • Why Wike is at war with his conscience, by Senator Uchendu 

    Senator Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East) has said Governor Nyesom Wike is at war with his conscience because he betrayed his benefactor, Rotimi Amaechi.

    Uchendu, in a statement by his media aide, Solomon Okocha, described Wike’s decision to work against Amaechi as shocking.

    He was reacting to Wike’s allegation that he (Uchendu) was at war with his conscience over the sack of Senator George Sekibo by the Court of Appeal.

    Uchendu said: “I am not at war with my conscience over my electoral victory because the same judiciary that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the George Sekibo’s certificate of return declared Wike governor of Rivers State, even after the Supreme Court described the 2015 election as a theatre of war.

    “If there is anybody who is fighting with his conscience, it should be Wike who, after so many years of eating from the same plate with his former master, Amaechi, betrayed him like the Biblical Judas Iscariot because of inordinate political ambition.

    “After treating Amaechi in such a manner, Wike has no moral right to talk about who has conscience or not. Wike’s conscience is also troubling him, because the six police officers, who he used to invade the Rivers East collation centre, to ensure I was not declared the winner of the rerun, have all been dismissed.

    “The sack of the 23 INEC officials, who confessed to have received N360 million from Wike to rig the polls must be a terrible burden on his conscience.

    “It is unfortunate that Wike, who did not contest any election with me, has continued to wail on my opponent’s behalf. This is simply a case of one crying more than the bereaved. If Wike is not satisfied with the court’s judgment, he should get ready to meet me in the field, if I eventually get my party’s ticket to contest in 2019.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Bamidele to delegates: vote according to your conscience

    All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Opeyemi Bamidele, has urged delegates at the primaries not to be influenced by money in their choice of the party’s candidate for the July 14 poll.

    Bamidele, in a statement by his media aide Ahmed Salami, urged the delegates to think of how the party would win the governorship election and remedy the years of the locust foisted by the People Democratic Party (PDP).

    According to him, any money offered to them by aspirant should be seen as a product of generosity, and not an attempt to buy their conscience.

    Bamidele, who described himself as the best man for the job, owing to his past political experiences, urged the delegates to consider the pedigree of all aspirants and what they have achieved in their past offices in arriving at the best candidate for the party.

    He disagreed with those calling on former governors not to participate in the primaries, saying it is their constitutional right to do so if they believe they are best suited to govern the state.

    The aspirant also enjoined party leaders to help ensure cohesion as a critical decision is being made to elect the party’s candidate for the July 14 election.

  • Is Obasanjo the conscience of the nation?

    Before and after his sojourn in the presidential villa, General (Chief) Olusegun Obasanjo has striven more than any of his peers to be the conscience of the nation.

    He’s never shy of speaking truth to power; and on the occasions he has had to intervene in national affairs, he had always been controversial.

    Some hail him on those occasions and some haul missiles at him as well. There had never been unanimity on Obasanjo’s position at any time. This is unlike the nationalist before him, Chief Obafemi Awolowo whose views on national and international affairs sat pretty with majority of people because he was more original in his thinking and the solutions he proffered to the problems he identified. The few who disagreed with his position then earned opprobrium as selfish and unpatriotic for the most time.

    In Obasanjo’s case, his intervention most of the time attracted public criticisms more than acclaim, for the simple reason that most of his positions were usually a rehash of widely held and canvassed views of other citizens and therefore not original. What made Obasanjo more heard is his personality which gave him a voice that always gets generous mention in both the print and electronic media.

    Some have accused the General and Egba high chief of self-centredness and penchant for putting others down in his bid to claim credit for certain achievements. In spite of the famed attributes and war exploits of Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle in the most feared Third Marine Commando sector during the civil war, Obasanjo appropriated to himself the greater glory – a claim that piqued another war veteran, Brigadier Alabi Isama so much that he had to write a book to debunk some of Obasanjo’s claims.

    In the civilian regime that he headed, some of his administration’s achievements that were remarkable he attributed to himself while he laid the blame for the shortcomings of that same administration to his aides. That tells volumes about the Obasanjo persona.

    But what nobody can take away from him is the fact that the grand old man is one of the luckiest human beings to bestride this land. He did more, to confirm what Seneca said that “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”. No matter your ability, once you do not have the opportunity to exercise that ability, it becomes a nullity.

    There’s no gainsaying the fact that Obasanjo ranks among the few people I know who makes the most opportunity of the chance that comes their way.

    But like I did say in this column recently, Obasanjo’s mixing politics with statesmanship is a dilemma only himself can resolve. When he gave vent to people’s feelings and frustrations in his ‘state-of-the-nation’ public statement recently, he drew quite some applause from a number of people and the applause couldn’t couldn’t have petered out so soon if he didn’t fall into the error of betraying his motive.

    By touting CNM and making it known that he was propelling the third force, he laid himself bare to the charge of being a partisan politician, not in any way better than an Ayodele Fayose or an Orji Kalu or an Atiku Abubakar. For him to expect to be treated thereafter as a statesman, is to live in illusion.

    Now that every evidence points in the direction that he has himself entered the political fray, he should be ready for mudslinging which is a tool often deployed in political battles everywhere. And that to me will be a great pity for a man who should best be regarded as an arbiter or moderator of an impending tussle – someone to earn the fitting epithet of the father of the nation. Yorubas say that a family head under whose charge the family collapsed or became desolate will end up carrying the can and blame. “Olori ile ti’le ba tu mo lori, oun lo je I oro”.

    His critics insist that he goes out with the killer punch once he cannot have his way with an administration. If that is true, he can’t expect fair reaction from spokesmen of the party controlling the government of the day, even if government spokespersons try to be civil and diplomatic in their own responses.

    Something tells me the former President likes to embrace the klieglights ceaselessly, aside the opportunity to exercise power by proxy. That, to be fair, is his fundamental right under the constitution; but he will be deluding himself if he thinks his political shufflings and manoeuvres will be treated with kid gloves by an administration that is already buffeted on all sides by a multiplicity of intra and inter party problems.

  • ‘My ambition is a project of conscience’

    ‘My ambition is a project of conscience’

    All Progressives Congress (APC), National Deputy Chairman and former Ekiti State Governor Olusegun Oni is a governorship aspirant in the Fountain of Knowledge. Can he overcome the hurdles at the primary? Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu examines his chances at the shadow poll.

    At 63, Olusegun Oni, engineer and Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says he has an unfinished business in Ekiti State Government House. “It is not a project of glamour. It is not about Segun Oni wanting to be governor. He has been governor before. What else does he want? But, this is a project of conscience. We must be the flagship of a new social and economic order,” he told reporters in Lagos.

    Since he declared his intention, many people have taken him serious. He seems to have an edge. He can flaunt experience, knowledge and understanding of Ekiti and has government works. His supporters have described him as a candidate to beat at the primary and general election. His campaign manager, Hon. Ife Arowosoge, a former member of the House of Representatives, described him as the most competent contender, who has the right attitude for the job. Also, another former federal legislator, Oyetunde Ojo from Ekiti West Constituency, said Oni cannot lead Ekiti astray. He observed that he has indicated intention to serve again at a time people are clamouring for change and qualitative leadership. “We know Oni as a politician without guile. His candidature will be acceptable to all Ekiti,” he said.

    Another supporter, Biodun Akin-Fasae, said “Oni is on a mission of redemption,” adding that his candidature will boost the APC’s opportunity to win power in a state “that is hugely populated by PDP sympathisers.” The aspirant’s former aide, Kolawole Igandan, said civil servants, local government employees and retirees are rooting for the former governor because they believe he will build on his legacy of good governance. In the opinion of Senator Bunmi Adetunmbi from Ekiti North District, if Ekiti wants change, Oni is the answer.

    But, his entry into the race has also stirred controversy. Critics have advanced two arguments against his ambition. Oni has been described as a defector from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hoping to reap where he has not adequately sowed. They wonder why the national deputy chairman, a party elder and gerontocratic monitor, should be struggling for the ticket with younger contenders. Some sare asking: what did Oni forget in the Government House in 2010?

    Oni seems to have satisfactory answers to these questions. Rejecting the label of a defector of convenience, he said he defected, not after President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory at the 2015 poll, but during the formation of the ruling party. Oni emphasized that defection cannot be a campaign issue, recalling that the APC is made up of defectors from some parties. He also faulted the quest for generational shift by some stakeholders, saying that age is not a factor in any governorship ambition. He said his ambition is within the confines of the 1999 Constitution and the APC constitution.

    Oni added: “Some people say what did I forget in the Government House. I am not in the governorship race to pusue a selfish agenda. If there is anything I forgot in the Government House, it is this new social and economic order.”

    The former governor said he is not gambling. He told reporters that his ambition has been welcomed by vast party members and people across the three senatorial districts. “My goal is to pursue a Marshal Plan that will bring about a new economic and social order for greater benefit of Ekiti youths,” he said, stressing that the core values of Ekiti must be brought back. “The way we were raised was probably right, but it is no longer right for us to expect that that is the way we would raise our children because they are under the scourge of population growth,” he added.

    No fewer than 40 chieftains are in the race. Apart from Oni, other prominent contenders include Senator Babafemi Ojudu, former House of Representatives member Opeyemi Bamidele, Funminiyi Afuye, and Bimbo Daramola, Chief Muyiwa Olumilua, Isola Fapounda, Yemi Akerele, Yemi Adamamodu and Femi Bamishile. Sources hinted that Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, may join the race. However, some members of Fayemi camp are now members of the Segun Oni Campaign Organisation.

    Oni was a foundation member of the PDP. For seven years, he was on the board of the Education Tax Fund (ETF). He joined the race for the first time in 2006/2007. At the primary, he trailed Prof. Adesegun Ojo and Akerele. But, the decision of the Primary Panel was not final. Although Oni came third, the national leadership preferred him to the winner. It was a historic period in Ekitiland. After the election Oni was declared winner by the electoral commission. For three years, the Action Congress (AC) candidate, Fayemi, was in court disputing his victory at the poll. It was a protracted litigation. The court ordered a by-election. Then, there was the Ido-Osi debacle. At the end, Oni was deposed by the Appeal Court.

    Outside power, he was derided as an interloper. But, he earned the respect of people who hailed him for not ruling with an iron hand. He was simply described as a victim of circumstances. The former governor, unlike other colleagues, was not hunted by the anti-graft bodies.  He walked on the street as a free man. His style of governance promoted inclusiveness. Prominent Ekiti leaders testified to the fact that, while on the driver’s seat, he loathed primitive accumulation. Reflecting on his tenure, Oni said he constructed roads, equipped hospitals, established a new university, and promoted workers’ welfare.

    In 2015, the former governor defected from the PDP to the APC, following the party’s politics of exclusion. He emerged as the deputy chairman, based on the promise to give the defectors a sense of belonging. In that capacity, he has managed to avoid controversy and scandals. His assets are his gentle character, inclination to party rules and belief in politics of service, accommodation and reconciliation.

    As an aspirant, Oni is in a familiar terrain. When he unfolded his ambition in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, supporters from 120 towns and villages constituting Ekiti State witnessed the declaration. He spoke on his vision for the far-flung state, saying that it can recover the lost grounds. “Ekiti has potentials. With a better leadership, it will bounce back and its lost glory will be restored,” he added. Recently, he intensified his consultations and mobilisations across the 16 local governments. His messages are lucid and reconciliatory. Although he is busy nurturing a formidable structure, Oni has also spared thought for party unity and stability. He said since the party is the vehicle to the Government House, the platform should not be damaged by the antagonistic ambitions of contenders.

    Also, Oni is wooing the state, zonal and national leaders of the party. He said: “I have informed our leaders. I have written to all of them; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief John odigie-Oyegun, Chief Bisi Akande, our governors, National Assembly members, top party leaders. I am intensifying my consultations with all shades of opinion in the party and the state.”

    The primary will not be a walk over for any aspirant. Many issues will shape the shadow poll. They include the people’s quest for change, past record of aspirants, their popularity in the party and state, zoning, and financial muscle. Can Oni overcome these hurdles?

    Oni said that he enjoys popularity because he is a household in the hilly state. But, he is conscious of the fact that, if he emerges as the flag bearer, he would need the support of other aspirants to win the election because they are party leaders in their own rights. He said delegates will prefer him as an experienced administrator, a reputable chieftain and a leader they can relate and work with.

    But, is the participation of 40 aspirants in the primary not a recipe for chaos and disaster? Oni said if the shadow election is free and fair, it will not be rancorous and there will be no post-primary crisis. He said the onus is on the party leadership to provide a level playing ground for contenders. “We must have a free and fair primary to avert crisis. That is the only way out,” Oni said. He doubted, if all the 40 will participate, saying that many may withdraw from the race when the guidelines are out.

    Oni is confronted with the perception of the people that he will always dance to the tune of PDP supporters. But, he rejected the perception, saying that it lacked basis.

    Will zoning be an issue? Oni acknowledged the agitation for power shift to Ekiti South. He said the people behind the agitations are entitled to their rights to agitate. But, he clarified that zoning is not in the APC constitution. He recalled that he had also supported the idea of an Ekiti South governorship candidate four years ago. ‘In 2014, prominent PDP leaders asked me to contest, but I declined. I said I will support aspirants from the district, including Dayo Adeyeye, to be governor. But, zoning can only take place when there is a governor who is wielding power and authority to influence it. We will be able to do it when we get there,” he stressed.

    Oni said Ekiti South will back his aspiration because he gave the district a sense of belonging; “When I was governor, the Secretary to Local Government, the Speaker of the House of Assembly and a minister were apointed from the zone,” he added.

    Arowosoge said the quest for zoning by the district will not affect Oni’s ambition. He said prominent APC leaders from the South are supporting Oni. They include Senator Tony Adeniyi and former House of Assembly Speaker Wale Omirin.

    But, can the APC displace the PDP from power in Ekiti State, where Governor Ayodele Fayose is perceived as a formidable leader? Oni said the victory of the APC is possible, if the party works harder. He said Fayose has an inflated ego, adding that his popularity is a myth. He said apart from being dethroned in 2006, he was defeated at the senatorial election in Ekiti Central in 2011.

    Oni added: “APC can defeat the PDP in Ekiti, if we work hard. The people of Ekiti are yearning for change. They are waiting for our party.”

  • A question of conscience

    IT’s easy to see that members of the House of Representatives are interested in cars. An August 7 report said: “The House of Representatives is spending N6.1 billion on procurement of 360 Peugeot 508 for its members, it was learnt at the weekend. At a unit price of about N17 million, the leadership of the House said no member would get more than a car, including the principal officers.”

    Interestingly, some of the legislators have complained about the allegedly slow process of delivering the said cars to the beneficiaries. House spokesman Abdulrazaq Namdas reportedly “explained that installment supply of the vehicles was due to the financial challenges facing the House leadership.”

    Information supplied by Namdas indicated that “about 200” cars had been delivered to the beneficiaries out of 360 planned for delivery. He was quoted as saying:   “About 200 vehicles have been supplied so far and members would take possession of theirs by the end of the year. We never promised to supply the 360 vehicles at once because of the financial constraints. The budget implementation hasn’t commenced and that is the reason for the installment supply of the vehicles. But, since it was provided for in the budget, every member will get theirs before the year runs out.”

    With about four and a half months to the end of the year, it is understandable that the legislators who are still waiting to get their own cars are getting more and more anxious as the days go by.  Namdas was reassuring:   “Complaints by some members is normal because the House is huge and it is normal for some to complain. But, since we are getting the cars in batches, it will be impossible for everyone to get at once…The distribution was not meant to marginalise anyone; the leadership wasn’t choosy about the distribution. Everyone will be adequately taken care of before the year runs out.”

    The hardest part of this arrangement is making it look reasonable to members of the public who consider it unreasonable and unfeeling, particularly as the country is still struggling to get out of recession and those in power are expected to demonstrate a sense of moderation.

    Namdas struggled to make sense: “On why the House had to procure the cars for its members, Namdas pleaded for the understanding of Nigerians, saying there was a level that Nigerians would not want their lawmakers to descend to. According to him, Nigerians would want their representatives to be deserving of their status.” Still struggling to make sense, he added: “Our job here is to make laws for good governance and that is what we are doing and we need peace of mind and the goodwill of Nigerians to accomplish this.”

    He needs to be told that this unconscionable car-buying arrangement won’t bring “peace of mind” and can only attract ill will.

  • CJN urges judges to be guided by law, conscience

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, yesterday gave tips on how judges could avoid being caught on the wrong side of the law as culprits of professional misconduct.

    Onnoghen said the best way a judicial official could avoid trouble, while on the bench is to remain true to his/her oath of office, be guided by the Constitution, the law and his/her conscience.

    The CJN spoke in Abuja while swearing in 19 newly appointed judges of the National Industrial Court, among who were two law professors.

    He said:”I want to advise everyone of us, judicial officers, particularly the newly sworn-in judicial officers, to always be guided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the law and your good conscience.

    “I assure you that, as judicial officers, if you remain true to the oath of office you have taken, you will have no problem because everything you need to function in that office is contained in that document called the Constitution.

    “I want you to know that you should allow yourself to be guided by the provisions of the Constitution which is the supreme law of the land.

    “You can only checkmate impunity by adherence to the rule of law. And you have the tool to ensure that this country moves in the right direction. Only posterity should be our witness because as human beings, our memory can fail, but time will never fail.

    “Be on the side of the law and you will never fail. Be on the side of the law and posterity will always find you right. Be on the side of the law and your confidence will know no bounds. Be on the side of the law and you will sleep well because after a hard day’s job, you deserve rest. But be true to God and to yourself in respect of what you do,” Onnoghen said.

    The newly inaugurated judges are: Targema John Iorngee (Benue State); Namtari Mahmood Abba (Adamawa State); Nweneka Gerald Ikechi (Rivers State); Kado Sanusi (Katsina State); Adeniyi Sinmisola Oluyinka (Ogun State) and Abiola Adunola Adewemimo (Osun State).

    Others are: Opeloye Ogunbowale A. (Lagos State); Essien Isaac Jeremiah (Akwa-Ibom State); Elizabeth Ama Oji (Ebonyi State); Arowosegbe Olukayode Ojo  (Ondo State); Ogbuanya Nelson S. Chukwudi (Enugu State) and Bashir Zaynab Mohammed (Niger State).

    Others are: Galadima Ibrahim Suleiman (Nasarawa State); Bassi Paul Ahmed (Borno State); Danjidda Salisu Hamisu (Kano State): Hamman Idi Polycarp (Taraba State); Damulak Kiyersohot Dashe   (Plateau State); Alkali Bashar Attahiru (Sokoto State) and Mustapha Tijjani (Jigawa State).

     

  • Mimiko, Tinubu and conscience

    The amazing thing about the outgoing Governor Segun Mimiko of Ondo State is his sneaky ways and his cult-like hold on those now popularly described as “political slaves” assembled in his “information ministry” required to churn out juvenile lies in manner that not only defies common-sense but also assaults their human dignity as a person.

    Having got his fingers burnt in the November 26 polls in Ondo State, Governor Mimiko or “Iroko to gbabode” (bewitched Iroko) appears resolved to spend his last days in office deploying these “bare-foot slaves” according to Mr. Anthony Orimolade, to rationalize his Judas roles in the recent past. No wonder the few wise ones among them prefer to answer fake names.

    I say this based on my extrapolation from the latest example of two obviously commissioned “rejoinders” to an article by The Nation columnist, Mr. Louis Odion on December 2 with the title “Mimiko: Profile in treachery”.

    As compulsive reader of fine columnists paraded by The Nation, I had read Odion’s original take on the Ondo polls and dare say that it is consistent with the objectivity and courage Odion has been known for, for upward of 16 years of column-writing.

    But rather than answer the charges of perfidy, treachery and infamy mentioned in the column, Mimiko and his media “running-dogs” have resorted to more lies and personal attacks.

    So incompetent, this bunch of intellectual “Agbero” (touts) made further fool of themselves by peddling fabrications and idiotic lies as gospel, against facts that are clearly well known about the columnist. Who, for instance, does not know that Odion voluntarily resigned his appointment as information commissioner under the action governor Comrade Adams Oshiomhole after four years of unblemished service and goes down in history as the only commissioner in Oshiomhole’s entire eight glorious years to be formally honoured with a state banquet before exit? You may be entitled to your opinion, but certainly not your own facts.

    I thought the posers by the columnist were clear enough: Did Mimiko betray the workers by selling Labour Party to PDP? Of course, the answer is yes. Did “Iroko to gbabode” betray Dr. Segun Agagu who made him SSG or not? The answer is yes. Did he betray Asiwaju Bola and Jimoh Ibrahim who had offered him moral and financial support? The answer is yes. Did he in 2012 cut off the access road to Adaba FM station which ironically provided him a platform while fighting PDP in 2007/2008? The answer is yes!

    Today, Governor Ayodele Fayose has demonstrated good faith by standing by Mimiko in his hour of trauma and depression. The same Fayose who Mimiko, a doctor not known to have administered an injection in the last two decades other than playing Judas politics, used to refer to as “school drop-out”. What a traitor!

    First to bare his crooked fangs was one “Imefv Efuda” who claimed to be writing from “Abuja”. Another storm-trooper joined the orchestrated attack on the columnist on Sunday (December 18) in Thisday with another hatchet job entitled “Mimiko: Reading Louis Odion’s diatribe” under the pen-name “Tunde Olosunde”. From their tones, one does not need to be clairvoyant to know that they are the handiwork of the “bare-foot slaves” operating from the smoke-filled propaganda (sorry, information) ministry in Akure.

    Well, I believe Odion, a multiple award-winning writer who became an editor at age 26 in the famous Concord newspaper in 1999, is competent enough to defend himself against the slew of slander and libel by this band of never-do-well and “e-rats” and their discredited paymaster.

    The reason why I say Mimiko is irredeemable is another bare-faced lie by his publicists in their “rejoinders” on the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The columnist had listed Tinubu among those who helped Mimiko while he was struggling to reclaim his mandate between 2007 and 2008. As a keen watcher of Ondo politics, I have my own testimony. I recall that Mimiko was often holding press conferences in Lagos during the “struggle days” with the assistance of some Tinubu boys and was a regular face at Asiwaju Tinubu’s Bourdillon home.

    In fact, I recall running into him twice or thrice at Tinubu’s residence looking famished and desperate in his faded Batik shirt, chino trousers and sandals with worn soles, with a colonial-style reading glasses tied round his neck with a rope. He would eat lunch and dinner there before leaving for where to sleep for the night, only to come back the following day. Like snake, he cleverly hid in the grass before he struck.

    It is also public knowledge that Asiwaju not only provided him material resources but also moral support. How treacherous of Mimiko today to now try and downplay the help he received from Asiwaju. To now insinuate like “Olosunle” did that Mimiko did not ask Asiwaju to go extra mile in raising a crack legal team for his case is the most satanic thing to say.

    Also, how Godly is it to suddenly turn around and label your old benefactor a “godfather” in 2012 when it was yet pleasurable and convenient for you to eat from his table in 2007/2008? If you are incapable of gratitude to man that is visible and alive for help, how are we to believe you sincerely believe and appreciate God that has never been seen?

    Pray, if Mimiko now claims Tinubu played no role in the retrieval of his mandate in 2008, can he also swear that he was never at Tinubu’s Lagos residence at all and received no kobo and did not eat any rice or “amala”? We know he is a fake Christian and so will not ask him to swear by Bible. Like someone already suggested, I also dare him to swear by the “Otumokpor” (local deity) in his native Ondo. I know Mimiko will be scared because that one answers “by fire, by thunder” instantly.

    When someone harbours this kind of shamelessly deceitful mind-set, one is at a loss whether it is the same Mimiko pictured recently in many national dailies bowing piously before the Daddy G.O of Redeemed Church, Pastor E. Adeboye, during the December Holy Ghost week at the Redeemed Camp in Ogun State. Lord have mercy!

    How convenient to demonize Asiwaju today. But without Tinubu’s extra-ordinary effort to help you Mimiko fight that injustice, would you have been governor in 2008?

    Well, there is God o!

    Given his treacherous pedigree, I can bet with my last kobo that Mimiko will soon decamp to APC, forget that he was allegedly responsible for the media brouhaha over Buhari’s school certificate in 2014. It is a question of time.

    Ogunwale writes from Owo, Ondo State.

  • Elechi Amadi was captive of conscience, says Soyinka

    Elechi Amadi was captive of conscience, says Soyinka

    •Wike names Port Harcourt Poly after literary icon

    Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has said the late renowned writer, Captain Elechi Amadi, was a captive of conscience, human solidarity and justice.

    In a condolence message to the family of the late Amadi during the burial at the weekend, Soyinka noted that although Amadi was gone, his creativity remained as consolation to the people.

    The playwright-activist said he treasured the intimate moments he spent in the home of the deceased after he was released by abductors in 2009.

    The letter reads: “Elechi Amadi, soldier and poet; captive of conscience, human solidarity and justice. Elechi is gone, but creativity remains as consolation, honouring its faithful servitors and filling us with gratitude for his passage.

    “I recall those enraged, agonising hours when the peace and sanctuary of his home were violated by kidnappers, mulled over the treasured moments I spent with him in the intimacy of his living room.”

    Amadi was born in 1934. The eminent writer died on June 29. He was 82.

    Amadi was buried this  weekend at his hometown, Mgbodo in Aluu community of Ikwerre Local Government of Rivers State.

    The late writer’s compound was filled with prominent guests, especially lovers of arts, traditionalists, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) members, traditional rulers and politicians.

    Rivers State Governor Ezenwo Wike described the literary icon as a great man and nationalist, who contributed immensely to human development.

    The governor, who hailed him for his contributions to society, said he perceived the late writer not just an Ikwerre or Rivers man but a great Nigerian.

    He noted that Amadi’s contributions to humanity made the government to give him not only a state but a national burial.

    Wike said his administration would complete the Faculty of Humanity at University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), which was dedicated to the late writer but had not been completed, seven years after.

    Wike said: “Captain Amadi was a great man and a nationalist. He has made us proud. I don’t see him as an Ikwerre man, or a Rivers man, but a Nigerian man. If the state had another university, I would have named it after him.

    “He is everything; he can be honoured with anything. I wanted to name Ignatius Ajuru University of Education after him. But if I do that, some people would begin to see it as politics. But from today, the Port Harcourt Polytechnics has been named after him.

    “Please, I am calling on the family to unite. Captain Amadi was a man we respect so much. He made a good name and anywhere that name is mentioned, people respect it. That is why I’m calling on the family to preserve his good name.”

  • Abraham to electorate: vote according to your conscience

    Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Olusegun Ab raham yesterday urged the people to vote according to their conscience on Saturday.

    He acknowledged the division and lack of reconciliation in the opposition party, lamenting that the post-primary crisis was not properly resolved by the party leadership.

    Abraham, an aspirant during the controversial shadow poll, told reporters in Lagos that reconciliation was not contemplated by the party, despite the protests that trailed the shadow poll.

    Urging the people to exercise their franchise, he said: “With the situation on ground, I have made up my mind to vote according to my conscience.

    “I will urge the people to vote according to their conscience.

    “I will urge my supporters to vote according to their conscience. And remember that you are responsible to God. So, you must vote according to your conscience.”

    Abraham said the post-primary crisis had changed the perception of the people who thought that the APC was the solution to their problems.

    He added: “Since the crisis of the primary election, the morale of the people has gone down.

    “You cannot see the enthusiasm or expectation that a new government is coming. The people are confused. They are demoralised, irrespective of what some people are saying.

    “We need to stress that fact. We don’t know who will  deliver the state from its bad economic situation.

    “We pray the state will have an opportunity to elect  good leadership that will resolve its economic problems and transform the state. We need transformation in Ondo State.”

    Abraham refrained from commenting on the rumour that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had directed  aggrieved aspirants to support the candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Olusola Oke.

    He said: “ I have heard so much about the rumour. But, what I will say is that I am not Tinubu’s spokesman.

    “So, if anybody wants any information about that, he should try to see his press secretary. He will enlighten you on the issue.”

    Abraham revisited the controversial primary that has polarised the state chapter, saying that the problem was compounded by the lack of genuine reconciliation.

    He said: “It was not contemplated. It was completely ignored. It was as if all they have done was a fait accompli. They have contempt for the people. Before the primary, the party was in good shape. The party was up and doing. Series of meetings were held with the aspirants.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari convened a meeting with us. There was another meeting between the aspirants and the National Executive Committee (NEC). The SGF addressed us and asked us to maintain calm.

    “After the primary, when the crisis erupted, it was expected that the party will call the aspirants together, especially the four or five aggrieved contestants. The party did not do that.

    “We expected that the President would intervene. It was not forthcoming. It was like they had done what they wanted to do and so, the process of reconciliation was ignored.

    “When they insisted on their position, the people had made up their minds. Well, we have to thank the governor of Kebbi State. He is a gentlemen.

    “One or two others intervened, but in a clandestine way. They believed that they had taken their own decision and it was left for you to team up with them. That is the spirit with which they have viewed it.

    “That’s why they have not been able to make any move about reconciliation.

    Abraham added: “ For me, it is very simple. You must follow the process of reconciliation.  If you follow it, there will be no problem. There will be no fight. There is nothing you gain by fighting.

    “If we are united, it will be easy for us to win the battle. But, if we are in disunity, the battle will not be easy for us to win.

    “We must have a process of reconciliation, which we will call genuine reconciliation.

    “This Ondo experience is a test for the party. This is the mechanism that is lost in the APC.

    “As a loyal member, I have suggested that we need  reconciliation mechanism in the APC.

    “I have faith in genuine reconciliation. In any case, genuine reconciliation must be based on truth and justice, not on fallacy,  deceit,  stealing or power ego.

    “If you want reconciliation, you must be humble. We must come to the table with clean hands. We must correct the wrongs.

    “These are the elements of reconciliation. It is the same in the country.”