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Tag: Ekiti

  • Ile-Abiye: An Ekiti ‘baby factory’ in pains

    Ile-Abiye: An Ekiti ‘baby factory’ in pains

    It used to be the hospital of choice for expectant women in Ado-Ekiti and environs for several decades, until 1979 because of its first-class services. Ile-Abiye in the Ekiti State capital is now a shadow of its glorious past, SULAIMAN SALAWUDEEN reports

    It goes popularly by the name Ile-Abiye, meaning house of safe delivery. Some, for lack of knowledge of the appropriate tonal sound of the Yoruba tag, do call it Ile-Abiye, meaning The Land of Safe Delivery.

    The hospital, established in the early 1930s and located close to the main road as one moves towards Ilawe-Ekiti at the Onigari GRA area of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, used to attract patronage from across towns and communities in the then old Ondo State.

    According to the Hospital Secretary, Rev. Canon Joseph Ogunmilade, it used to be regarded as a first rate missionary hospital established by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) which later became the Anglican Church. But things went low somehow when in 1979, the then Ondo State government took it over alongside other missionary establishments.

    A cross section of elderly residents revealed that the hospital was a notable port of call for many needy individuals, especially expectant mothers, scores of whom safely put to bed there and many of whom now in their 90s and hundreds do recall with fond memories the quality of care they received in their child birth periods.

    One of such mothers of the time is today the 90-year-old, Alhaja Raliatu Ogunrinde, who, in an encounter with The Nation, reminisced glowingly about an establishment reputed to have ranked among the best in healthcare services in the country at the time.

    Alhaja Raliatu said: “We used to receive so much care that time that you would want to have another baby in a short period. There were many Oyinbo (Expatriate) doctors and nurses at the time and they would be everywhere to support us whenever we came to deliver.

    “Then, there was one Dr. Gem, who did not want to see any woman in labour for too long and there were so many nurses then. All of them would be going back and forth, carrying this and that to ensure things went well. The place was always filled with people. I had the first baby, then the second and then the third. I think I had my first five children at the hospital,” Alhaja Raliatu said.

    Also, 80-year-old, Mrs. Abigael Ibitoye reminisced about the hospital. She said was indescribable in the quality and promptness of services. According to her, although, there were always so many patients, each rushing for attention, everyone was being given the needed attention.

    Mrs. Ibitoye said: “I remember I had my first two babies.  The place used to be fine. So many babies were born in that place at that time. Some women who came to deliver at the hospital had been told elsewhere they would have to be operated upon. It was a great hospital.”

    Among the babies delivered in those bygone days are today notable bankers, scholars, medical doctors, teachers, successful business men and women, industrialists and politicians who have made their marks and registered their presence both in the country and outside.

    These include Chief Dele Falegan, a retired banker in his early 80s, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, currently representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, former Senator Bode Ola and Prof. Femi Elegbeleye.

    A few others are Chief Bola Alegbeleye, also a retired banker, Dr. Funso Anisulowo, an Ibadan-based private medical practitioner, Hon. Taye Fasuba, former Chairman, Ado-Ekiti Local Government and Mrs. Amudat Adeleke, a teacher.

    Mrs. Adeleke, born about fifty years ago, recalled that she used to love following her mother to the hospital as a child then.

    She said: “I always loved following mama there anytime because the place was always filled with people. I was born there but I was not always sick. However, each time our mother was taking my brother there I always followed them. The nurses and doctors used to move very fast all the time. They were always serious,” she said.

    The situation lately

    But, today the fortunes of once boisterous Ile-Abiye has ebbed. While it still is a hospital, the patronage has dwindled seriously. There are a few individuals, mostly expectant mothers who are still patronising the hospital. Tales about the establishment are now often preceded with adjectives reflective of lost glories. First time visitors to the hospital may be left struggling to match the name and the environment which looked more like a deserted habitation than a hospital.

    Movements of human beings which are noticed at the place now and again are associated more with other activities within the environment than the hospital. The place now boasts of just one official vehicle, a Volvo Station Wagon 740, which serves essentially as the ambulance.

    Most of the buildings though painted looked more like relics of ages gone by; the doors looking as old as the hospital while most of the windows carry only the burglar proofs without the louvre blades.

    How did it happen?

    In his explanation, Canon Ogun-milade said the hospital suffered a setback when it was taken over by the Michael Adekunle Ajasin administration of the old Ondo State in 1979.

    Ogunmilade maintained that the authorities then also took over a number of missionary hospitals including Maria Assumpta and even some schools, adding “by the time Ile-Abiye was restored back to its founder, The Anglican Communion, in 1985, it had lost its glory as virtually all the facilities and the infrastructure had gone into disarray and the buildings had become dilapidated.

    “By then, the once vibrant hospital had fallen apart, it had become a ramshackle death center. The same situation also applies to Maria Assumpta which has also till date remained a ghost of its former self,” Ogunmilade said.

    He stated that other programmes which were of great benefits to the people and which were also being run by the hospital at the time, including a health outreach programme and school of nursing were not just discontinued by the then Ondo State government but had been totally phased out by the time it was restored.

    In his own opinion, the hospital Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr. Pius Ovie, attributed the dwindling fortunes to other factors including the developments which followed the creation of Ekiti as a distinct state in 1996.”

    According to him, quality hospitals which are accessible and affordable for the people started to develop all over the state and government has since been ensuring improvements in the health sector, adding “what they had at the time were few compared with the number we have today in terms of quality hospitals,” he said.

    Ovie lamented that some of the few people who come for treatment are also not always ready or happy to pay for the services, however cheap such may be, noting “some people are so funny as to imagine this as a missionary establishment and that all services are rendered free.

    Emphasising the unpopularity of the hospital, Dr. Ovie said: “You often hear them saying “I am going to Ile-Abiye” or “Wait for me at Ile-Abiye”, but they refer to the place as an area not as a hospital. Some of them don’t even know today that Ile-Abiye means a hospital,” Ovie said.

    According to him, while Ile-Abiye used to deliver a minimum of thirty babies even in one day, the entire number of deliveries in the hospital even in a year lately is just about that figure.

    Ovie added that poverty among the people has remained a factor in the entire consideration, noting: “many of those who come here today say our charges are too much when our charges are not as high as half the charges of some other private hospitals around.

    “At times, from the looks you know those who can pay and those who cannot. Some would come with a big jeep and would claim not to have as little as N7,000. Though we charge, but our charges have always been moderate and modest,” Dr. Ovie said.

    Efforts at reversals

    Findings, however, revealed that efforts are on to reverse the situation for the better.

    While the CMD himself admitted that funding remains a major challenge to bring the hospital up to required standards, genuine commitments are being pledged by notable individuals some of whom have donated considerable amounts to undertake change.

    One of such, Chief Falegan, told The Nation that he has personally renovated the Children Ward, while a committee set up for the purpose by those who were born at the place had equally pooled resources to ensure upgrading.

    Other individuals including Senator Ojudu, Former Senator Bode Ola, and Dr. Anisulowo are all part of a committee spearheading the pooling of efforts to ensure that, according to Chief Falegan, the change that will be instituted will be genuine, total and lasting.

    Chief Falegan said, “Ile-Abiye is today a sad story. It started as a missionary hospital in 1930, but unfortunately it was taken over by a civilian administration. We have started making efforts to bring the place back on its feet.

    “Senator Ojudu, former rector, Prof Ajaja and some of those who had trained (born) there when things were going on well have promised to support the renovation. We have set up a Trust Fund and got N2,000,000 out of which we released N800,000 recently. Personally, I have done the children and the outpatients’ department,” he said.

    Corroborating Falegan, Ojudu, told The Nation that he had been supportive of the latest moves about changing the condition of the hospital.

    He said: “I was born in that hospital in 1961 and all my siblings as well. The place used to be very beautiful, well cultivated grasses, cultivated lawns and nNurseries for flowers.

    “When I was contacted for the project, I gave my widow’s might and I shall continue to be part of the processes to ensuring needed change at the hospital.

    The CMD has also added that efforts are in place to harness supports of the state government which he noted remained crucial and critical, adding that since the creation of the state, no government had supported the hospital.

  • Ekiti supports Federal University with N20m

    EKITI State government on Friday made a donation of N20 million to the Federal University, Oye- Ekiti (FUOYE) to assist the institution in its various infrastructural projects. The state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who announced the donation at the university campus in Oye- Ekiti during its third matriculation programme, said the state government is committed to the well-being of the varsity, which has many indigenes of the state as staff and students. The donation, according to Governor Fayemi was in response to the appeal fund launched by the institution to actualise its engineering faculty. He, however, urged the university authorities to ensure that the other programmes of the institution benefit from the money. Governor Fayemi, while restating the commitment of his administration to improving the standard of education in the state, stressed that people in leadership owe the future generation the duty to “walk their walk” and be a beacon of hope for them. While stating that he is into politics because he has a duty to raise the weak and vulnerable, the governor opined that politics can be a tool for innovation and emancipation, and charged the matriculating students to add character to their learning, adding that the university is a place of idea and character-moulding. Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Isaac Asuzu, had commended the state government for its numerous assistance to the institution, including the tarring of the link road to the institution, provision of students bus and the furnishing of the official accommodation of the Vice Chancellor.

  • Man to die by hanging in Ekiti

    A 30-year-old man, Mayowa Omolaye, was Tuesday sentenced to death by Hanging by a High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, capital of the State .

    Justice Lekan Ogunmoye found him guilty of murdering one Mr. Tayo Oluwabusuyi at Igbooroke farm in Igede-Ekiti, headquarters of Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Ekiti state on 30 May, 2009.

    Justice Ogunmoye maintained that once the basic ingredients of the charges of an offence had been established as done in the case,  “such is deemed to have been proved beyond reasonable doubt.”

    According to him, the prosecution had established the guilt of the offender beyond every doubt, noting “the judgement of this court is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead and may the Lord have mercy on your soul.”

    The prosecution had earlier averred that Omolaye had owned up to committing the crime, noting that he had said he killed his victim by cutting his throat.

    According to the prosecutin, Omolaye had earlier been convicted of assault and stealing from the same farm, where he reportedly robbed the same Oluwabusuyi.

    According to him, Omolaye who was imprisoned for the crime, had boasted that he would return from prison to kill his victim, which he did soon as he was released.

    While the accused had testified by himself and had also called two witnesses, the prosecution had called seven witnesses who had supported the case with gripping details of how the murder was committed.

  • Dangers of mixing politics with religion

    Dangers of mixing politics with religion

    Please stop anti Jonathan and anti PDP. Your Muslim party APC will fail woefully in Osun and Ekiti. Idiot

    I got this from a reader with telephone number 08067661180 in response to last week’s edition of this column. The reader did not sign it for reasons best known to him or her.

    I was thinking about the upcoming National Conference and the modalities for the proposed confab as spelt out by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Anyim Pius Anyim when this SMS came in. That President Goodluck Jonathan would have so much influence on who gets chosen as a delegate was of so much concern to me that I was alarmed when this supporter of the President and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) quoted above, chipped in the issue of religion as we move towards the next round of general elections beginning with the Osun and Ekiti States gubernatorial polls later this year.

    It is no longer hidden that one of the campaign strategies of President Jonathan and his handlers in their bid to retain power post 2015 presidential election is to present him as not just a Christian, but a Christian candidate, who would represent and protect Christian interests better. And in doing so, the opposition is to be presented as representing Muslims and Muslims’ interest and as such most likely to be against Christians and Christians’ interest if voted into power.

    Even though nobody in Jonathan’s camp is ready to admit this, the 2015 presidential race is gradually panning out to be like that and the presidency is happy to shape it that way.

    Ordinarily this like this don’t bother me but the way and manner and intensity with which the President’s supporters like the reader quoted above are using religion to define their candidate and divide the voters is beginning to cause concern among well meaning Nigerians.

    Recently a former member of the PDP who served as a Minister in the Obasanjo presidency and now a member of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) revealed that some church leaders are already subtly campaigning for President Jonathan by branding the APC as party of Muslims. For the record, that former Minister is a Christian.

    And in matters that concern this government and this presidency, some Christian leaders have been speaking in such a manner as to suggest that Jonathan is their own and any criticism of him and/or his actions is against Christians and Christianity.

    The issue of faith has never really played any significant role in the politics of this country especially when it comes to choosing our leaders until now. When late Abubakar Tafawa Balewa became Prime Minister in the first republic, I don’t think Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was chosen as the ceremonial President because he was a Christian, like wise President Shehu Shagari did not pick Dr Alex Ekwueme as his running mate in 1979 because he is a Christian.

    I think the choices then were based purely on geographical consideration. The north had always been going into alliance with the east in national politics/elections and because the two regions are heavily populated by Muslims (north) and Christians (east), whoever would come out from such arrangement naturally would belong to different religion.

    And to test that Nigerians place little premium on the religion of their leaders, two Muslims, one from the south west and the other from north east were voted president and vice president on June 12, 1993 before the election was annulled. And when President Olusegun Obasanjo was being brought in 1999 ostensibly to placate the Yoruba for the denial of their son Chief MKO Abiola of Nigeria’s presidency in 1993, nobody said he should not come in because he is not a Muslim like Abiola. And I believe the choice of Obasanjo’s running mate in Abubakar Atiku was due more to political pragmatism than his religious leaning.

    When Jonathan was paired with President Yar’adua in 2007 for whatever reasons, those who brought them had other motive and consideration than religion. And as was the case in the past, Jonathan running with Vice President Sambo was more of geographic/ethnic balancing than any other consideration. Even though after the Abiola/Kingibe aborted presidency the presidential pairing had always been Christian/Muslim or Muslim/Christian, no candidate or presidency has been seen, portrayed or act as representing a particular religion the was Jonathan presidency is. And I believe it is share mediocrity and incompetence to hide under religion or ethnicity to ask for support for public office especially the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    By portraying him as a Christian candidate, Jonathan’s handlers and supporters are not just setting a bad precedent but also alienating the Muslims who ordinarily would want to vote for him. Islam and Christianity are well rooted in Yoruba land, south west Nigeria and are about evenly spread among Yoruba. The bulk of Jonathan’s votes in 2011 came from Yoruba land, meaning he got votes from both Christians and Muslims from the south west in large numbers. And in those states in the north where his PDP won, the Muslims there voted for him. So, if anybody now wants to present everybody opposed to Jonathan or the opposition party as Muslim or Muslim leaning just to paint them black before Christians and secure Christians votes for him in 2015, then they are not being fair to those Muslims who voted for him in 2011 and are still likely to vote for him if he became a candidate in next year’s election.

    Most important however, they are not being fair to this country. If they love Nigeria they would not pander or be pandering to religious sentiments. In those countries where the people have not risen beyond religious sentiments, anything religion has always brought crisis especially when there are sharp disagreements. Lebanon is a good example of how religion mixed with politics can destroy a nation. There are unarguably more Lebanese outside of Lebanon than within, not just because of the small size of their country but also the seemingly unending sectarian violence that has almost turned the once beautiful country into ruins, the fact that the Lebanese are mainly Arabs notwithstanding.

    Those nations that have developed and making waves in the world today have no room for religious considerations or sentiments, whatever they do are always based on what is best for their country, their people and humanity in general. Why should our own be different?

    Those who want to turn Christians against Muslims or vice versa in Nigeria because of Jonathan’s presidency or anybody’s ambition will not succeed by the grace of GOD. And President Jonathan also has to be very careful and he should rein in his supporters especially those fanning the embers of religious and ethnic divisions. The President knows them; he should call them to order. While awaiting his choice of delegates to the National Conference, it is hoped that his choice(s) would be guided by the best interest of Nigeria. Even though I have my doubts about his conference and to what use he wants to put its reports, I wish his and the 492 “wise” men and women best of luck.

     

     

  • For a violence -free election in Ekiti

    For a violence -free election in Ekiti

    Fayemi has more than demonstrated his preference for peace and I have heard him say on more than one occasion that any violence in the state is an embarrassment to his government

    In making public his decision to heed the yearnings of every strata of the Ekiti citizenry both at home and abroad, Dr Kayode Fayemi, the organisation’s man that he is, waited until the release of the election’s timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission to declare as follows: “Following the groundswell of support by leaders and members of our party as well as the generality of Ekiti people from all the nooks and crannies of Ekiti State and in the Diaspora, it is with a profound sense of gratitude and responsibility that I today accept the calls by our people to seek re-election for a second term in office. You have made the calls, and today I have opted to act in deference to those sacred calls by throwing my hat into the ring for a free and fair contestation for the exalted office for a second term.” And justifying his decision further, he said “Our people can faithfully testify that together the Collective Rescue Mission we promised at the outset of our first term in office has crystallised. Indeed our people can testify to how we have rescued Ekiti State from the years of locusts and returned our dear state to the path of respectability, stability and development. Our people can affirm that we have kept faith with the Roadmap to Ekiti Recovery – our 8-points agenda. Every stratum of Ekiti State can see our footprints on those key sectors we promised to touch. My readiness to heed your calls today is therefore a demonstration of our collective commitment to continue the good work we have begun.”

    In confirmation of the above, I could not continue my: ‘FAYEMI’S QUIET REVOLUTION IN EKITI’ series beyond the governor’s second anniversary because enumerating his diverse, multi-sectoral and state-wide accomplishments – of which every city, town, village and community in the state benefited – will take nothing less than a whole book; not even a whole edition of this newspaper will be adequate.

    It will be recalled that aside the endorsement by the leadership of the APC in the geo-political zone, as represented by Chief Bisi Akande, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Akinrogun Segun Osoba and Otunba Niyi Adebayo, various interest groups, including women, youth, artisans as well as leaders and members of the party in all the 16 local government areas of the state have endorsed and called on Governor Fayemi to seek re-election for a second term so as to continue the recovery and restoration work he had begun in the state.

    In addition to promising a ‘focused and edifying’ campaign, and as has become the norm with him, he pleaded with his co-contestants to eschew violence and make the campaign issues-based. That it could be issues-based, however, is hardly possible since the opposition have nothing to show; not even the PDP whose seven years in charge have been dubbed the LOCUST YEARS, not to talk of parties without a scintilla of governorship experience. Apart from guaranteeing peace and security for all, a peaceful campaign would enable the good people of the state vote judiciously for the candidate who, in their collective wisdom, best aggregates their interests. This emphasis on security by the governor could never have come as a surprise, given that he is a security scholar and expert; one who has served severally as consultant to not only regional organisations, but also to Heads of State. He demonstrated his concern for security of life and property to an extent that for the first three years of his administration, Ekiti State ranked, indisputably, amongst the most secure and peaceful states in the country. Those three years, however, coincided with when some of our politicians have not received their Abuja briefs. The minute that happened, it became common place to have pockets of violence, especially whenever Honourable Opeyemi Bamidele came calling. The Hon member, formerly of the A C N, is now of the Labour party on whose ticket, it would appear, Abuja has pencilled him down as the candidate.

    Following former President Obasanjo’s letter to the president in which the latter was excoriated for his penchant for preferring other party’s candidates, it would appear that Abuja has scaled down its scheme of wanting to see Hon Bamidele emerge governor to that of his being a mere spoiler.

    This article is essentially a plea for a peaceful conduct of the campaigns and election as canvassed by Governor Fayemi. On his part, Fayemi has more than demonstrated his preference for peace and I have heard him say on more than one occasion that any violence in the state is an embarrassment to his government. Between 2007 and 2010 when he was going from one tribunal to another, and Ekiti people were hurting terribly from the feral rigging and the shambolic treatment Obasanjo put them through and when they were, indeed, ready to fight, this governor’s ringing plea was that victory for him was not worth the life of a single Ekiti. That was at a time he had no constitutional responsibility, sworn to at his installation, for guaranteeing the security of lives and property in the state. Viewed from that background, it is crystal clear Fayemi can neither order nor encourage violence.

    One can, therefore, reasonably narrow down possible sources of insecurity to the PDP and the Labour Party.

    Traditionally boisterous, in the certitude that they are above the law since Abuja will always protect them, the PDP could very well be a reasonable suspect. But truth be told, the party has been reasonably quiescent in the state as their aspirants go about their individual campaigns. This is, however, no clean bill of health for a party we know has a history of real crudity. And we do know that Labour is nothing other than PDP with a coincidence of interest.

    This, unfortunately, cannot be said of the Labour Party. If morning shows the day, then the state may have to expect some considerable level of violence. In the first place, Hon Bamidele has a lot to prove to both Akure and Abuja. Presumably, Akure was driven initially more by the need to have associates in the Southwest with which to tantalise and con Abuja than to ascertain his claims of popularity. Hon Bamidele is my House Rep, but apart from the fact that he cannot win an election in the constituency, federal or state, I do not know a singe local government area where he can boast 30 percent support. There were obviously no due diligence checks on Hon Bamidele’s claims of state -wide support and it mattered nothing to Akure and Abuja that at no time, and at no party level, did he indicate his ambition to contest before he shipped out. If this is a lie, Hon Bamidele should please publish for Nigerians to see, a facsimile copy of such communication. For any serious person to claim he left a party because he was disallowed from pursuing his legitimate ambition in the party, there should, at least, be an expression of such intent to a recognised party organ.

    Given, therefore, the fact that the honourable member’s umbilical cord is domiciled in a state with contiguity to the Niger Delta, it will not be unreasonable to suggest that Ekiti State may, unwillingly, play the unhappy host to Niger-Delta militants, serving and rehabilitated, since the 2015 interests of both coincide. For the sake of the good people of Ekiti, Hon Bamidele should endeavour to prove me a lie by fighting back any enticement in this respect. There isn’t a single reason why we cannot have a peaceful election in Ekiti especially if we refuse to assist the diabolical plans of those who traditionally love to make Ekiti a hunting ground for the PDP and have, in fact, promised to make ‘an example’ of our dear motherland while protecting theirs hundreds of kilometres away from the burning inferno. Unfortunately, Ekiti PDP members will look askance since, according to ex-chairman Tukur, one of the arrowheads is the one to whom every hungry PDP leader in the Southwest runs.

    In the meantime, the good people of Ekiti can only pray for a violence-free election and hope that the Abuja power mongers will fear God and let our votes count.

  • Ekiti school shut over kidnap

    The Ekiti State government has shut the Government Science College in Iyin-Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area.

    This followed the kidnap of a 14-year-old female pupil on Tuesday. This is the third time a pupil has been kidnapped in six months.

    It was learnt that the victim told her friends that she was feeling feverish and left the classroom for the hostel.

    Her friends raised the alarm when they could not find her in the hostel around 8:30pm.

    A search party was raised but she was not found.

    The victim was found unconscious and naked yesterday morning at a remote part of a private Nursery and Primary School in the town by the school’s proprietor.

    Speaking with reporters, the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Kehinde Ojo, said: “The Chairman of the Ekiti State Teaching Service Commission, Prince Bayo Adeniran, reported the case at Iyin Police Station before the girl was taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Ido-Ekiti. Preliminary investigations showed that the girl was neither raped nor hit by a hard object. She has regained consciousness and is responding to treatment.

    “It is true that we have shut the school for the week. The government has set up a high powered investigation into the incident.”

    A male resident of the town, who pleaded for anonymity, said news of the girl’s disappearance caused panic in the town.

    He said: “We were afraid for her, because we knew it would be another case of an attack by ritualists or kidnappers.”

    Police spokesman Victor Babayemi said no one had been arrested in connection with the development.

    Babayemi said: “We want to make sure the girl is on her feet to give us information that will help our investigation before commenting on the incident. It could be a ritual or kidnap attack. We are not leaving anything to chances because it can be anything.”

  • The many female ‘kings’ of Ekiti

    The many female ‘kings’ of Ekiti

    Yoruba tradition precludes a princess from becoming a king, but many of them have been installed regents or stop-gap kings in many towns and cities across the Southwest. Sulaiman Salaw-udeen writes on the unusually large number of such regents in Ekiti State and the challenges they face.

    Like the conventional monarchs, they often come decked in traditional Agbada, Buba and Sokoto and wear round-headed caps festooned in attractive designs. They wield the familiar royal horsetail and are normally graced with obeisance by humble and adoring subjects who call them ‘Kabiyesi’, a Yoruba word for ‘Unquestionable’.

    But their often rotund faces and other feminine features do always set them apart from the male world which their looks and their relations with male chiefs gave them away as. They are females and are fleeting occupiers of the exalted throne of a traditional ruler or Oba across towns and communities in Ekiti. They carry the common title of regents.

    From Igbona-Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area to Erio-Ekiti in Ekiti west and Awo-Ekiti, in Irepodun-Ifelodun Local Government Area, regents currently hold the fort, even if temporarily, as kings on the thrones of their fathers, occasionally giving orders, settling disputes, attending community and state functions and filling other spaces within the communities as needs often compel.

    While some communities are said to choose males as regents, the more common and familiar are the females who are the direct daughters of recently deceased monarchs. Findings showed that males are seldom made regents because of the possibilities of a refusal to vacate the throne when a substantive monarch is installed, causing a situation in which two monarchs lay claim to one royal stool.

    Further findings reveal that the regents, who are sometimes known even before the demise of a sitting monarch, are there mainly for titular purposes and for a short time till another monarch is selected and installed. It was also found out that in actual fact, the administrative running of the towns still solely rests with the chiefs as a regent might have one personal reason or the other to be away.

    According to Yoruba tradition, the moment a princess ascends the throne and as long as she remains the regent, she is no longer regarded as a woman and she is expected to appear always like a man, but she is only allowed to wear the round beaded crowns, unlike the male kings who have various crowns designed and decorated with beads which may fall over their faces. The faces of the regents must not be covered and the beads on the neck, falling on their chest must not be more than three and graduated in three layers, although this varies in some communities. But, the beads of the Obas, though of the same length could be more than three.

    Taboos for regents

    Speaking with The Nation, the Regent of Igbona Ekiti in Ikole Local Government area of the state who is also the protem Chairman of the no fewer than twelve regents presently on the throne of their ancestors across Ekiti State, Princess (Dr) Adebunmi Osadahun, regents are regarded as miniature Obas who are barred by tradition from doing menial jobs.

    Married regents can also not engage in sexual relationship with their husbands while in the palaces, and should not be pregnant during the period they occupy the throne because, according to findings, if the regent delivers a male child, such a child may wish to aspire to the throne in future

    And apparently to avoid the temptation of getting pregnant while on the throne “the regent in those days”, according Princess Osadahun “was either a virgin or an aged woman. But these days, regents do have babies on the throne. The risk is that in future, such babies could demand to be installed kings. If there is a long period of inter-regnum and those who know the history of the community are no longer alive, history might be distorted for the child to lay claim to the throne.”

    Further, the regents must not carry loads on their heads for whatever reasons, or engage in such other menial engagements, including domestic chores like making pounded yam. They must not expose their heads and must dress in reflection of the position they occupy all the time.

    But it is not all don’ts as according to the Regents’ chairman, a regent is entitled to full social rites of an Oba with some exceptions on some traditional rights which include not attending what she called the ‘Pelupelu’ meeting which is the statutory council of Obas meetings.

    She added: “She cannot also undertake during the regency any installation of chieftaincy titles, removal of erring chiefs on any excuse and registration of chieftaincy declarations.”

    While noting that in earlier times, a regent was expected to be either a virgin or an aged woman to ease the tasks assigned to her by tradition, Princess Osadahun explained that things have since changed “as majority of us belong to monogamous marriages.”

    She spoke further: “If you are married and from such a monogamous house, and if in three years a new Oba had not been chosen then you have problem. In any town, after 21 days of the demise of the late Oba, the community is free to install their Oba. In earlier times, after twenty four months, the regents should go as she would be denied all financial claims but government has seen that some communities cannot meet up with the target as they always take more time to arrive at who would be the next Oba.”

    “Regents must also regard themselves and must be regarded as men so far as she was in the palace. In actual fact, a regent is traditionally seen as a man and should appear like one. She is, however, to wear the round-top beaded crowns and not the male types with high gears decorated with beads.

    “The face of the regent must not be covered with the headgears and also the neck beads of the regent must be three and graduated in three layers. But the beads of the substantive Obas though of the same length can however be more than three,” she said.

    The list of other regents across the state, according to sources, included Princess Adejoke Adetoyinbo, (Erio Ekiti); Princess Adesina Adefunke, (Awo-Ekiti); Princess Ademide George, (Ayede-Ekiti); Princess Arowosegbe Adefunke (Erijiyan-Ekiti) and Princess Yewande Dada (Ilogun-Ekiti).

    Others are Princess Adenike Olabode (Araromi Oke-Ekiti); Princess Adedoyin Ayeoba, (Ijurin-Ekiti); Princess Olufunlola Ademidun, (Temidire-Ekiti); Princess Olawumi Adeola, (Iluomoba Ekiti) and Princess Tinuade Ogunbiyi, (Oke-Ako-Ekiti).

    However, according to findings, Ilasa-Ekiti should also have a regent but the state government had nullified the town’s regency as two women were laying claim to the stool.

    Regency periods for communities

    Although, regency period is relatively peaceful in most communities, it might be turbulent in some others as the selection of the next monarch might attract bitter, at times deadly rivalries between various ruling houses laying claim to the throne.

    As affirmed by the Princess Osadahun, while there are clear guidelines about the selection of a monarch which the kingmakers must follow, there are elements in communities who revel in foisting discord in such periods when a new monarch is to be chosen.

    According to her, such elements cook stories up to distort histories with intents to pervert the selection processes, noting “and such individuals are the vocal ones who court friendships within and outside the communities to sway unsuspecting kingmakers. They even expect you as a regent to take sides which is clearly outside your own briefs.

    Osadaun said: “In such situations, regents who are expected to spend a maximum of between 21 days and twenty four months, all things being equal, spend far more and above that. Where the prince and the princesses or where the male children from the ruling houses could not agree, they resort to litigations. Sometimes they get justice, sometimes, it is perverted and so the installation may be delayed.

    “Even sometimes, the kingmakers have a way of playing their own tricks too. But the ones who fear God among them would insist on doing the right thing,” she added.

    Challenges for the regents

    Besides communities’ based challenges, regents also do face personal and economic challenges. This was admitted by some of the regents and was confirmed by the Princess Osadaun. One of such challenges according to her is their remuneration which she said is not commensurate with their roles in their communities.

    “The regents do have challenges in terms of not being economically able to cope with the demands of the communities. Based on their roles, they get invitations to naming ceremonies, doing media relations when and if need be, and settling bills for some of their subjects on occasion.

    “We often have to settle quarrels between families using money. We have to maintain the palaces, fuel the cars, feed the wives of the monarchs, and even foot hospital bills of the ailing ones among the subjects.

    “The communities ascribe a level of riches to you simply because you are seen as the Oba and not as a miniature (regent) which you actually are. This has imposed a lot of responsibilities on the regents that seem not to be factored into their current remuneration pattern.

    “The challenges also include coping with the home front especially those who did not marry from their communities. If a regent is not careful, she could lose her home as more than the normal time is often spent during regency (outside the marital home),” she said.

    Princess Osadaun, however, commended Governor Kayode Fayemi for extending to all the regencies in the state certain privileges like the recently concluded ‘Ilera Laafin’ (health in the palaces), adding that the state supported Community Self Help Projects were not made to exclude communities where regents hold sway.

    She said: “The governor has also promised us that the vehicles already given to the Obas would also be given to our towns when our Obas are selected and installed.”

    More demands on government

     

    Arising mainly from their allegedly small remuneration, the regents are making certain demands on the state government which, according to their forum’s chairman, bother mainly on augmenting their monthly packages. She added “even when we conclude our regency, we can no longer do menial jobs as we can no longer carry loads on our heads.”

    They pleaded that their salaries be augmented in appreciation of their roles, arguing that their positions as regents are sacred and often compel them to make a lot of sacrifices and commitments in their communities.

    Osadaun said: “Our current remuneration which is half the last earning of our fathers needs to be improved upon. We have also made representations to government that the severance allowance which is constitutionally put at our salary for six months be made to be the whole six-month salaries of our fathers.”

    She explained further that, although regents are traditionally barred from traditional council meetings, they can be briefed on decisions which affect their communities, noting “if decisions are made which affect us or our communities, we can be made aware for us to pass such important messages across to our people. We believe the regencies should not be made to lose completely.

    “If some of us get out of the stools, they may be forced to retire to their normal lives which could detract from the sacredness of the institution. “It is not honourable for any of us to go back to poverty having been Obas which will make a mockery of the traditional institutions. We have requested to have a meeting with the Governor, the Deputy and Her Excellency (wife of the governor) on all these issues.”

    Official opposition to regents on demands

    The demands of the regents do not seem to have found favour with the officials of the state government who contend that the female monarchs are asking for the impossible.

    The Nation learnt that the regents have actually been told that they were demanding the impossible by requesting for increases in their monthly payments.

    A source who craved anonymity stated: “Looking at all their arguments you will notice that they are faulty. They talk of not carrying loads on their heads, but who in our world of today carry loads on the head.

    ‘They also talk of increment in their remuneration but the system does not even encourage that the positions should be juicy or attractive in any way. It must be so, so that regency does not turn to another tussle in which parties plot each other’s fall.

  • Hold Buruji Kashamu accountable for whatever mayhem in Ekiti, Osun

    Hold Buruji Kashamu accountable for whatever mayhem in Ekiti, Osun

    Buruji has shown clearly that he would not mind committing any horrendous act in his quest for an unimaginable PDP victory in Ekiti

    I am ready to go if you will stand by me. If you are ready, let us start with EKITI governorship election and make it a sample to them” – Kashamu speaking at the southwest meeting of what Prof Wole Soyinka once dubbed a ‘nest of killers’

    Former President Obasanjo called his own, ‘do or die’, and we know what we went through in Ekiti; Mama Iyabo came with her ‘conscienceless conscience’ and we would later have amputated legs, shown live at election tribunals.

    Now, it is Buruji Kasamu requesting his PDP compatriots’ support so they can show us, again in Ekiti, what disdain these Ogun State elements have for Ekiti which they would like to turn to their hunting ground at every election cycle. I plead with Nigerians to help the good and humble people of Ekiti ask this total stranger what sample he intends to make of us this time around. The last I know, he is not a registered voter in Ekiti and so is not eligible to vote there for whichever of Labour or PDP contestant emerges their gubernatorial candidate, he is not a police officer so he could not, like Rivers’ State Police Commissioner, Mbu, turn Ekiti to a lawless state; nor is this man of the Electoral Commission, so he could scientifically rig the election as is their wont.

    So how exactly is this man going to ‘make a sample of us?

    My mind could only go to the snipers which their own ex- Chairman, Board of Trustees, and former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, alleged are being trained at the instance of no less a personality than the president. Seeing how vociferously both the president and the PDP Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, have defended Kashamu, heartily disparaging Obasanjo, it is not unreasonable to believe that Kashamu must be so strategic to their evil plans in Yoruba land, not to allocate to him a phalange of those snipers. Nor would the two powerful politicians be bothered whatever when Obasanjo told them how serially world leaders embarrass him on account of Buruji.

    That the man is so important to Jonathan’s 2015 plans, and Ekiti and Osun especially, can also be seen in the ease with which they made him supersede not only Obasanjo himself, but the likes of Bode George, my friend, Seye Ogunlewe, Obanikoro and all those who were the PDP poster boys in the region when Kasamu was still going round his circuit of courts.

    It is for his central role in Jonathan’s evil designs for the Southwest that Kashamu must bear full responsibility for the safety of all Ekiti citizens that can be regarded as being in opposition to the PDP, which will translate to no less than 70 per cent of our people.

    Needless to say then that from this very moment, I must reckon as number one on his list but only God can save and enemies of the good people of Ekiti will certainly work in vain. Their evil counsel, like Ahitophel’s, will come to naught in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

    This is the reason why every mother, every wife, even child in Ekiti must hold the controversial Ogun state politician, Buruji Kasamu, responsible for whatever befalls their bread winners in the run down to the 2014 election in the state as he has promised to completely over run the state.

    It was my uncle, the highly regarded Chief Deji Fasuan, who first drew my attention to the inimical politics some persons of Ogun State extraction have historically played in Yoruba politics. I have searched in vain on my computer system for his exact quotes, in which he pointedly mentioned names and narrated what negative roles each surreptitiously played in the affairs of other Yoruba ethnic groups. Fortunately, I do not need to have those exact words since in the past few years, dating back to the 8-year strangle-hold of the PDP on our geo-political zone, some Ogun State elements have famously put their animus against Ekiti people at play, the latest being this new friend of Mr. President.

    It had all begun with Obasanjo who, as president, spared no scurrilous word in describing Ekiti people. Beginning from how he mercilessly shredded Chief S.K Babalola, one of Ekiti’s most distinguished elders, on his way to inflicting a governor on the state in 2003, he later callously dismissed the entire Ekiti people as educated fools. He would later conjure an inchoate impeachment of his once’ darling son’, just so he could inflict an Ogun State retired general on the state in declaring a totally reckless emergency administration whose sole aim was to prepare the ground for a PDP victory in the following election. Obasanjo would then go on to show his complete disdain for Ekiti when he disregarded the results of his party’s governorship primary election and opted for the candidate who placed third as his anointed candidate.

    For the next three years, Ekiti knew no peace.

    Next was the conscienceless INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner who, against all expectations, abandoned her avowed Christian conscience, first went underground , surfaced in the presidency in Abuja only to come back to Ado-Ekiti to eat her words and throatily declare what she had previously adjured a rigged result.

    Were Ekiti vicissitudes in the hands of Ogun State elements limited to these, we probably would have shouted Halleluiah. But then that would not satisfy our traducers who must not stop until they have seen the last of a people they proudly regard as inferior to them.

    So here comes this money man who once claimed he would spend a billion on the Ekiti gubernatorial election. Nigerians must ask him how this is his business. Must Ekiti be roughened up to have an oil block? Anyway, if he likes he could quintuple that amount; we won’t be bothered in the least since in the first place, half that amount would be stolen by his party people and as to the rest, Ekiti will show him money is not our god. He, it is, who knows how he made his money and can therefore choose to burn it. Kashamu should go and ask how much those who preceded him have spent futilely in Lagos State these past 14 years but the wishes of the people have always prevailed. If some people worship money, we in Ekiti do not. He will therefore, equally profit nothing in Ekiti, no matter what nebulous billions he sank into their evil plans against the wishes of the people.

    By declaring at their Ibadan meeting that if his historically unscrupulous party men will stand by him, he was ready to start with Ekiti and make an otherwise peaceful state ‘a sample’, (and this happens to be a man who had declared the APC leader, Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu an enemy, not a political opponent) Buruji has shown clearly that he would not mind committing any horrendous act in his quest for an unimaginable PDP victory in Ekiti.

    Kashamu should know, that with this his threats, the onus is squarely on him to prove that he does not pose a danger to the good people of Ekiti, come the next election.

    Nigerians are waiting to hear from him.

  • Ekiti spends N2b on basic education

    The Ekiti State government has spent N2 billion on primary education.

    Governor Kayode Fayemi made this known yesterday while inaugurating a six classroom storey building at Odundun Nursery and Primary School in Ogbon Oba, Ado-Ekiti.

    Fayemi said the state was among the first to pay the counterpart funding of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme between the Federal Government and states.

    He said the N2 billion was spent over the three years of his administration on the 2011 and 2012 counterpart fund; construction and renovation of classrooms; rehabilitation of schools affected by rainstorms and the supply of instructional materials and furniture for teachers and pupils.

    Fayemi said his administration had approved the promotion of 1,994 teachers and the payment of professional allowance to teachers.

    He said teachers in rural areas would now be given cars instead of the motorcycles earlier announced.

    Fayemi said the government had established Mega Early Child-Care Development Centres in each of the three senatorial districts.

    The governor reassured the people that education, which is the fourth item on his administration’s Eight-Point Agenda, would be vigorously pursued.

  • Drivers at war in Ekiti as RTEAN members battle to remove leader

    Drivers at war in Ekiti as RTEAN members battle to remove leader

    Muted discontents among members of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in Ekiti State against perceived high-handedness of its leader, Mr. Rotimi Olanbiwonninu, has degenerated into a free-for-all in which dangerous objects were used by rival factions to prosecute a supremacy battle. The leadership has stepped down as a national Fact Finding Committee fills the space in the interim, writes Sulaiman Salawudeen

    Penultimate Friday in Ado-Ekiti, capital of the State, was unlike most other days as residents tasted the bitter pill of unrest and fear arising mainly from violent opposition of some members of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) to the leadership of the Association led by its Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Olanbiwonninu (aka Mentilo).

    Although the day started on a peaceful note, it did not however end well within the association as some members mounted road blocks and made bonfires at strategic locations including Old Garage, Okeyinmi, Ojumose,, Ijigbo and Ajilosun Roads. in Ado Ekiti, the state capital to voice their grievance against what they variously described as ‘highhandedness’ and ‘iron fist’ rule of the State Chairman.

    They divided themselves into groups, armed with dangerous weapons and drove their vehicles at dangerous speeds, visiting the motor parks to forcibly dislodge members seen as loyal to Olanbiwonninu.

    Shops and businesses were forced into an early closure while pedestrian and vehicular movements also ceased prematurely, especially around Old Garrage and Ijigbo-Ajilosun areas,  as cries of agony from t5he injured  proceeded intermittently from the motor parks to sully what remained of the evening.

    Thick, black smoke rose into and hung heavy in the air as bellows of fire wailed from burning tyres at several spots around the axis of mayhem, while largely faceless daredevils brandished fearful weapons to corral perceived opposition into vacating the motor parks, the control and administration of which, according to findings, had been at the roots of the problem.

    The aggrieved parties which comprised the State Secretary, Comrade Sesan Ogunlade; Deputy Chairman, Mr. Sunday Adeola; Chapel Chairman, Olokemeji, Mr.  Ajayi Kayode; Chapel Chairman, Ureje, Adeniyi Adebayo (aka Ojuigo); Prince Adewale Abiodun Fagbewesa; Fadairo Akinwale and a minimum of twenty six other chapel chairmen were united by a mission to dislodge Mentilo and “restore a regime of peace and mutual progress to the 17-year-old Union”, insisting that the 8-year reign of the State Chairman must end.

    In consequence, Policemen and later men of the Nigeria Army were drafted to mount guards at several spots to curb further escalation of unrest. The police at a point were forced to fire tear gas shots into the rampaging horde of disgruntled park touts, making residents, especially those staying around Okeyinmi, Ojumose, Ijigbo and Ajilosun areas shed tears right inside their homes and business centres.

    Soon as the tear gas dissipated, the surging soldiers of opposition to the beleaguered Mentilo, who wore fearful looks, returned to the scenes to maintain the glow of unrest. They kept daring the opposition to come out and challenge them and even the police, pacing up and down. At a point, about four separate detachments of policemen failed in the attempt to rein in the throbbing horde.

    By the time the dust settled after six consecutive days of unrest and uncertainty, no fewer than five members comprising mainly those loyal to the troubled Chairman and two police officers, had been taken to the hospitals for treatment, but no life, as findings revealed, was lost.

    The intervention of National Executive Council

    The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Association intervened by sending down a five-member Fact finding Committee to take over affairs of the association in the State as the current leadership led by Rotimi Olanbiwonninu was asked to step aside from the office to enable the Committee investigate the causes and make recommendations to NEC.

    Earlier, the National President, Alhaji Shehu Musa Isiwele had held a meeting with the factions attended by the State Chairman, Olanbiwonninu and the Secretary, Com. Ogunlade after which they were directed to allow the Chairman to serve out his term, a recommendation which was rejected and which immediately caused hiccups.

    Just before this meeting, there had been an earlier one held with the groups attended by the National President in which the State Governor Kayode Fayemi denied ever giving Olanbiwonninu N100 million which he was alleged of having mismanaged and which was believed primarily responsible for the problem. Neither of the meetings could bring the situation under control.

    The Committee led by Comrade Philip Nwaigbo from Imo State as chairman, has other members which included Alhaji Lahan Yusuf, Secretary (Kwara), Alhaji Ayinde Rumokun (Lagos) Alhaji Rasak Durojaye (Ogun) and Comrade Adewale Ojo (Ondo).

    The Nwaigbo Committee is expected to complete its assignment by January 19 and return to the national secretariat of the association with a report on the findings.

    Meanwhile, as at last weekend, the whereabouts of the embattled Chairman, were unknown and efforts to trace it proved fruitless.

    While some believed he was arrested by the Force Headquartres in Abuja, others said it was the Directorate of State Security (DSS). Even the Police in the State could offer no assistance in this regard.

    Allegations against Mentilo

    Allegations against the administration of the beleaguered Olanb-iwonninu included high-handedness and arrogating too much powers. Others, according to a list of 30 misconducts contained in a letter forwarded by the aggrieved members to NEC, included converting in various ways the Association’s property into his own; victimisation and use of divide and rule method to foist trouble within the Association; selling of ‘priority’ to his wife, girlfriends and cronies and physical and routine brutalisation of chapel chairmen and ranking members of the Association.

    Noting that a sum of a hundred million given to the Association by the State government had equally vanished, they explained the Chairman had also sacked some elected members of the Association on spurious accusations of being opposed to his administration while a sum of N250,000 contributed by members as support for an ailing  member of the association who was on admission at the State Teaching hospital was equally denied him. But, both the State Governor and the National President have denied that Olanbiwonninu collected any such amount.

    The National President had said: “It is the leaders of the union that are causing the fight. We will take care of that and as soon as I leave this place, I will see the Commissioner of Police and I will decide the matter before I leave this State”, he said.

    One of the aggrieved members spoke: “For about one year now, he had sacked some old members from participating in all activities and had appointed his own family members to replace those ones. You too can confirm all I am saying as a journalist.

    “While doing all these, he goes about accusing those he has been punishing as belonging to rival political camps to curry the favour of the current administration and sustain his punishment on his supposed enemies”, he said.

    How did things get so worse?

    More facts have however emerged concerning the reasons members of the Association were up in arms against Olanbiwonninu. A member named Adeniyi Adebayo (aka Ojuigo), said: “The State Chairman has a long history of abuse of the privileges of his position. So many members have one terrible history or the other to tell about him”.

    Adeniyi, Chapel Chairman, Ureje park, Ado-Ekiti who disclosed he had been placed on suspension through a letter from the Chairman, recalled that since he assumed leadership of the park, he (the chairman) had denied him all the privileges of the position. Said he:”He did not allow me to carry priority. Priority means you are given priority to load passengers at the park anytime irrespective of whether it was your turn or not. Once you are in the park, the turn is automatically your own.

    “But as the chairman, I have the privilege of priority in six units, including Akure, Ikere, Benin, Ondo-Ore, Akungba and Ise. Mentilo sold the six priorities to those he wanted. As the state chairman, Mentilo should not sell priority to members of the union because when he does that he removes every respect you have as Chapel chairman and this is exactly what he does to me and many of our members.

    “Again, given the size of the state, he has access to only five vehicles. But our Chairman has 13 buses which are engaged in priority all over the garages; which means no chapel chairman has priority. Wherever he did not have a bus, he would sell the priority to a member of that Garage and collect N9000. In Ado-Ekiti alone, he has 13 buses and has sold 6 priorities. His child and wife have priorities.

    “You may wish to know how I got the fresh wounds on my body and my face. He was in Abuja last Friday for an event and called Alhaji Kuraku, Akin Falae, Ojo Ghana, Kasali KSK and Olu Ofunoye who are ranking members of Mentilo Vanguard to come and beat me up. I was then in front of Wema Bank. They all came to ask me where I got the letter I took to Emure and Ise to sign with chapel chairmen, I asked them what letter. They were referring to the letter that thirty chapel chairmen signed and forwarded to the headquartres. I was not among those selected to sign but they never allowed me to defend myself.

    “While it is true that someone was carrying his impeachment letter about which was the chairman of Ise, Mathew Arogundade, I am not Arogundade. He most possibly would have known this but, because of his longstanding hatred for me, he said they should include my name among those who wanted to get him out. They applied physical beating and cutlasses on me.

    “It was that day that all the Chairmen generally, numbering 38, decided that it was time for him to go. In all this, Mentilo Vanguard has been responsible. The vanguard is the hit squad,” Adeniyi said.

    Prince Adewale Abiodun Fagbewesa’s experience was however farther into time. In his account, Fagbewesa explained that on a Saturday in 2006, he had an accident on a commercial motorcycle while returning home after work at Ijigbo and he was taken to the hospital, adding that on Monday, he returned to the park at Ajibade lane with his car and sat down.

    “When they saw me after I came down from my car, Mazda 323, they brought a chair for me and I sat down and around 9 in the morning Mentilo came to the park and people greeted him bending their whole body.

    “I could not do this as I was not even comfortable on the seat. I felt like returning home. When he moved closer to my seat, I could only gesture slightly although respectfully as I was not well. He approached me and I bowed very well on my seat again. He queried that why did I greet him like that? I, as well as the others explained that I just had an accident and showed him this.

    “His next move was to give me a serious and heavy slap on my face, blaming me for disrespecting him. I then told him he is a horrible leader and what he did was bad. He accused me of confronting him. He carried a big stone and smashed all the glasses on my car, including the windscreen.

    “Later, I went to the police station where I reported the case. When the police came, Mentilo Vanguard did not allow them to carry the vandalised car. Later, the DPO Okesa ordered again that the car should be evacuated to his station which the officers did. He (Mentilo) came to the station and agreed to settle amicably. I agreed as I did not have anywhere else to go or any other work. Oga (referring to the reporter), can you believe that Mentilo did not repair my vehicle till today in open and total defiance of an agreement with the police. I later repaired the car myself as that is my only means of livelihood.

    In his own account, Fadairo Akinwale, a unit chairman in the association, said on January 17, 2013, Mentilo Vanguard came to his shop in Tosin Aluko Motor Park while preparing to travel. He explained that the Vanguard destroyed his wife’s shop where they sell beer and pepper soup. “They did that because I refused to join the Mentilo Vanguard because the Vanguard members were known to have been committing various atrocities,” he said.

    He clarified that Vanguard had invited him earlier to join them to sack Ojuigo who was the Chapel chairman, adding that he called Ojuigo himself and told him the plans of the Vanguard.

    Said he: ”About twenty of us held that secret meeting on January 12. But on the 17, they came to my wife’s shop and destroyed the entire place. How do I regain what was destroyed because it ran into millions of naira. Other accounts by members brought more revelations regarding how the state chairman had allegedly committed a crime for which he must now pay with his position.”

    The involvement of the association secretary and other executive members

    But, what thickens the plot against the state chairman was not just that nearly 30 Chapel Chairmen have one unsavoury story or the other to tell about their now troubled leader but that even the association secretary, Comrade Sesan Ogunlade is uncomfortable and has fallen out with the state chairman in respect of his alleged misdeeds. So also is the deputy chairman and twelve out of fourteen members of the state executive who have joined all chapel chairmen to petition the national leadership of the association rejecting Olanbiwonninu’s leadership.

    Ogunlade explained that he had conferred with the chairman many times regarding his habitual high-handedness but which has not got him swayed desirably.

    Mentilo’s deputy, Sunday Adeola also spoke of what he called “the atrocities of the chairman,” saying “if I begin to tell you what he has done to me, to our members in the exco, to chapel chairmen and unit heads, we will not leave this place today. Anything I say now, I can say it in his presence as I have done before.

    The embattled state chairman’s defence

    In his defense, the embattled chairman Rotimi Olanbiwonninu denied the allegations of high-handedness and collecting N100 million from Governor Fayemi. He told The Nation that on the day the problem started, he was in Abuja being a member of the National Executive Council which was then billed to meet President Goodluck Jonathan on appointment.

    Said he: “When we heard of the development, the National President advised me to leave and return. I was coming back and when I got to Okene, I gathered that I was actually the target and that I was being asked to go.

    He denied having spent more than eight years, clarifying that he assumed position in 2007, “which makes my administration just six years in office and not eight,” adding it was equally wrong to accuse him of being high-handed and inconsiderate when he does not meddle in the responsibilities and functions of other members of the state executive.

    Olanbiwonninu said: “How can they accuse me of running a one man show. That cannot be true. At the chapel level, they have an executive which is independent of the state. At the unit level, they also have an executive council. It is impossible that I would be running the chapel and unit on my own.

    He noted that it was true that he had been commending the state governor for his good works and development efforts in the state as government’s efforts on roads had benefitted his members more than any other segment of the state. “I have also not collected any N100 million from government as they are saying. If I have such money, I will change my business,” he said.

    On the allegation that he uses Mentilo Vanguard to witch-hunt and oppress members, the troubled chairman admitted that there was a Vanguard, the founding and operations of which belongs to members of the association “who admire me and who said they wanted to appreciate my good works in the association by forming a group with that name.”

    He also clarified that so far, the state government has given the association a total of 16 buses and 40 cars which he instructed the state Public Relations Officer (PRO) to distribute according to laid down procedures with my deputy, secretary and other members of the executive having their own shares.

    “You can investigate yourself and find out that majority of the functions of the administration, I hand them over to the deputy and the secretary. The secretary is the head of administration. He is not to be a spare tyre.

    As the pronouncement of the national president is awaited

    The verdict of the National President is now being awaited. The Fact Finding Committee currently on board in the state will conclude its brief coming Saturday, January 18 and will submit its report on 19th which will be a Sunday. It is on that day that the National President is expected to make a pronouncement on what happens next.

    While it is unclear who the association had resolved to pick as the next state chairman, the findings had indicated that the aggrieved parties have vowed to resume the war should the pronouncement return the current state chairman to the office.

    According to them, “It is a clear no retreat, no surrender situation. The association is prepared to ensure that a new leadership is installed. We have already forgotten the misdeeds of Mentilo, but should attempts be made to return him here, heads will roll.”