The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Farewell

  • Bamigboye: Farewell to statesmanship

    The pioneer military governor of Kwara State, Brigadier General David Bamigboye died in Lagos on Friday September 21 after a brief illness, at the age of 78.  He was   born on December 7, 1940.  The life and times of the late statesman could very well pass for the take-off stage/timelines of my dear Kwara State. At the age of 37, David Lasisi Bamigboye became the first chief executive of Kwara State. Today Nigeria makes unnecessary fetish of “Not- Too- Young To- Run” bill signed into law recently by President Muhammadu Buhari. But lest we forget, there was once a country (aptly celebrated by the legendary Chinua Achebe) in which at 37, the late Brigadier General Bamigboye not only ran a pioneer state but built it from the foundation!

    The late Bamigboye was the first military governor of Kwara State from May 1967 to July 1975. Kwara State was created with 11 other first generation states from the old defunct three regions of North, East and South of Nigeria. At 20th anniversary of the state in 1978, the late Bamigboye told The Herald, the state newspaper he founded that; “No state out of the 12 states created by General Yakubu Gowon’s administration on May 27, 1967, had infrastructure, financial and institutional problems like the Central West State, later renamed Kwara State”. Consistent with the old received wisdom that when “the going gets tough the tough gets going”, Bamigboye with his other compatriots went ahead to lay a solid foundation for Kwara State with sustainable signature achievements which made Kwara State one of the fast growing states in the 70s. Witness these: Kwara Polytechnic, Herald newspaper, Kwara Hotel, Kwara State Secretariat, Kwara State Government House, numerous public secondary schools, food security for the state and many state General Hospitals.

    With commitment to industrialization, he signed a number of agreements which led to the establishment of a number of industries such as sugar refinery in Ilorin, tobacco factory a brewery and biscuit factories at Ijagbo, paper converter at Erin-Ile most of which are now moribund without the state support. He also upgraded Asa Dam water project for Ilorin and some hospitals and health centres in the state.

    The pioneer governor also offered scholarships to Kwara students in higher institutions. In 1968, his administration created the Kwara State Ministry of Education, with a department to handle scholarship/bursary matters. He matched a promise with prompt fulfilment. For instance, in 1971, he announced a decision to establish the Kwara State College of Technology (later Polytechnic), which came into existence in 1972. He built and sustained unity in Kwara State. Paradoxically, in April 1968, Kwara State’s   first budget was just N10 million “out of which N4m was in deficit”. With selfless leadership and commitment, the late military governor transformed a hitherto backward Ilorin and Kabba provinces into a fast growing state of the federation.

    Today Kwara state budgets annually some N160 billion but could not maintain a number of Bamigboye’s pioneer projects. Indeed Kwara is almost back to pre-creation 1967 era with pot holes called roads and the citizens of the state turned to gatherers and hunters of basic needs like water which had since stopped running despite billions suck in “dams’ modernization”!

    Bamigboye’s era was that of collective all-inclusive earned leadership compared to the present ascribed exclusive single-leadership. His era in governance produced many outstanding star-leaders, scholars, civil servants, jurists, professionals, entrepreneurs and many great Kwarans in various fields.  Some names readily come to mind: Chief Joseph Adeniyi Aderibigbe, the first substantive Secretary to the Military Government (SMG) and Head of Service in Kwara State but the third and the last to hold the office under Governor Bamigboye, Alhaji Abdulrahman Okene and Alhaji Liman Umoru, the two who ably acted as secretaries from 1968 till April, 1972.

    Significantly, late Brig. General Bamigboye helped to build a developmentalist Kwara State which today, suffers (scandalously!) huge development deficits due to bad non-inclusive governance. His era marked statesmanship as distinct from the current personalization and privatization of governance with attendant mass poverty. The best way to honour the late pioneer governor for the good people of Kwara State is to reinvent statesmanship. Indeed the demise of Brigadier General on the eve of a critical transitional election in Kwara State is a divine reminder of an era of selfless statesmanship.

    I call on all aspirants for public offices in Kwara State to learn from the bold positive imprints of the former military governor. Even though I was never an enthusiast of military leadership in general, however the point cannot be overstated that there was once a developing Kwara State that was a pride of all Kwarans under General Bamigboye compared to the present stagnant underdeveloped Kwara State that is an embarrassment to all Kwarans. The 2019 gubernatorial election offers a unique historic opportunity to reclaim our dear state and enthrone selflessness, statesmanship, entrepreneurship, compassion, managing diversity, equality, and inclusiveness, sense of justice and fairness and prosperity for all. Kwara State urgently needs state-led development of Bamigboye-era.

    Kwara embarked on bold development through Kwara State First Development Plan (1970 – 74/75) set within the context of the country’s second National Development Plan (1970 – 1975). Later there was the Second Kwara State Development Plan (1975 – 1980). The plans laid solid foundations for accelerated economic growth, increased productivity in agriculture, providing favourable climate for industrial development and improving the quality of life of the people through the provision of necessary infrastructure. In the 70s, Kwara State with productivity and enterprise of Kwara farmers was food secured.  Kwara State as it was in past must support hundreds of thousands of Kwara farmers not few absentee foreign (read; white Zimbabwean) farmers whose products are not on daily menu of most Kwarans and Nigerians. Investment charity must start with our hard working people just as it was during Bamigboye.

    For instance on agriculture, Bamigboye once narrated how his administration set up the Pategi Rice Mill and Kwara Rice which “was famous in all departmental stores throughout the country”. He also recalled with nostalgia the “state poultry farming and large hectares of maize grown to feed the surging population.” “The aim of ‘Kwara Foods’ according to the late statesman “was to feed the nation”. In later years, he regretted that the pioneer food security programme “was no longer thriving.” It is unacceptable that  Kwara today miserably ranks 28th on the ranking of states by GDP beaten to it by even newest states like, Imo, Edo and Oyo states.  Kwara should return to the path of productivity through re-industrialisation and mass decent jobs. At creation, Kwara was the fastest growing state. The best tribute to late military governor is for Kwara State to return to development planning and impress on the federal government within the Council of States to improve on national planning and national vision within the context of Africa Union (AU) 2063. His laudable projects such as Kwara State Printing and Publishing Corporation, (publishers of The Herald and Sunday Herald) must also be sustained. It’s time Kwara and indeed Nigeria become once again investment/job destinations.

     

    • Aremu mni is Labour Party governorship aspirant, Kwara State.
  • Akinwumi Isola: Farewell, curator of Yoruba beauty

    Akinwumi Isola: Farewell, curator of Yoruba beauty

    In an earliest scene in one of Professor Akinwumi Isola’s classic films, with the title Saworo Ide, we learn that a patriarch is dying. This patriarch is surrounded by a group of young men and women who urge him to speak to them before he yields his ghost. The old man obliges and he begins to speak, and a young man amplifies his voice to the hearing of those who will carry out his instructions, and to the audience as well. The dying patriarch gives a specific instruction on the making of Saworo Ide, a drum that will serve as the voice of the people and, subsequently, seal a pact forever with their rulers in the town of Jogbo.

    The story is, of course, talking about democracy, and the mutual responsibility of both the leadership and followership to check as well as balance each other. In the wake of IcÍla’s recent passing, I find myself watching this film again and, in the process, thinking of him as that father, the dying patriarch, whose wisdom and insight created the culture, practice, and rituals that would forever serve the people!

    By any objective assessment, IcÍla’s impact on modern Yoruba culture is undeniable. He, indeed, burst onto the world literary scene in 1961 with his first play, ¸Efunsetan Aniwura: Iyalode Ibadan. He interestingly wrote the play as an undergraduate student of the University of Ibadan, a significant achievement similar to the origin of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. The play became popular by winning an award in 1966, organised by the Egbe Ijinle Yoruba (Yoruba Language Society) and, then, by being staged to public acclaim. When it was eventually published, the play became the defining text of its era. Efunsetan Aniwura: Iyalode Ibadan shaped the Yoruba cultural imagination in a way that IcÍla himself might not have envisioned when he started writing the text.

    The heroine and lead character, Efunsetan Aniwura, was an actual historical figure. She was the Iyalode of Ibadan in the 19th century. She fascinated me then, she fascinated me now! Isola’s Efunsetan Aniwura: Iyalode Ibadan was not meant to be an historical account; instead, the play was meant to be a creative rendering by an artist. The play was staged a number of times by different theatre production groups, but the most popular one was shown by the IshÍla OgunshÍla “I Show Pepper” theatre group. The play became hugely popular, and it was as well read by generations of Yoruba school children as well as their parents, who were all fascinated by the ¸funcetan Aniwura character. Remarkably, Efunsetan Aniwura: Iyalode Ibadan would go on to canonize the actress, who played the role of Isola, Iyabo Ogunshola, and who is today still referred to as “Iya Efun.” It was recorded that once, when the play was billed to be shown in Ibadan, the then governor of Oyo  State, Chief Bola Ige, the legal luminary, received intelligence reports that the theatre would be overrun. Therefore, the governor had the stage play transferred to the Liberty Stadium, and the place was filled up with thousands of spectators. The combination of IcÍla’s writing skills and the artistic virtuosity of Ogunshola, a phenomenal actress in her own right, was simply irresistible.

    The irony of Isola’s characterisation of Efunsetan Aniwura was that it made an “accidental feminist” out of Isola. His play, though a fictional representation of the story of a woman who had been buried deep in the rubble of history and cultural memory, fascinated the public so much that it became the official autobiography.

    Isola’s feisty wielding of the pen, which proved that it could be mightier than the sword, revived the faint memories of the woman’s story and turned her into a cultural phenomenon. There was, however, a major problem, and it was pointed out to him by the celebrated and iconic Yoruba historian, Professor Bolanle Awe: that the actual historical figure was killed in the nineteenth century by a male-dominated ruling council in Ibadan. Through Isola’s portrayal of her in his play, and his plotline making Efunsetan Aniwura’s death inevitable, Awe argued that Efunsetan Aniwura had suffered another round of male violence. On his part, Isola contended that he had created the character as emblematic of women’s power and strength, as he had witnessed in his own mother and grandmother, respectively, while growing up. Meanwhile, the question of whether the historical figure would have become iconized in cultural imagination, if he had not created her as he did, remains an academic subject. I should, however, note that the tragedy of Efunsetan Aniwura’s representation in the play was eventually redressed in the film version when Tunde Kelani, the preeminent film producer, offered the woman a more dignified death.

    Isola created other powerful female heroines. One of them was Madam Tinubu, another historical figure, who was a wealthy slave trader and a nationalist. Just as it was the case with Efunsetan Aniwura, his writing of the woman’s history has, in some ways, replaced her actual history and biography. Such was Isola’s compelling power on the cultural imagination that his creativity became the emblem of history that everyone related to.

    Also, Isola wrote on the great Herbert Macaulay, the fierce nationalist figure. IcÍla was not only invested in historical figures; he as well wrote such politically-charged stories such as Campus Queen, in which he put the power and agency to change the nation’s political culture in the hands of a young woman. He developed well-rounded female characters in his other works, too, and that was a factor that distinguished him from many other writers of his generation.

    Isola wrote plays that meditated on the social and political culture of Nigeria. His politics and his propaganda were never hidden. He was deeply interested in reshaping the social ethics that had become contaminated by the lack of values in contemporary society. He preached conservative values but the exhortations in his work never overshadowed his artistry as a painter of language. His works like Saworo Ide, Agogo Eewo, and Koseegbe are an alchemy of didacticism, poetry, and the masterful humor for which he was known.

    While Isola wrote works on political issues that poked at the tense situation Nigeria had experienced, and their aftermath that still imperiled the society, he also wrote on love and social relationships. O Le Ku is one such offerings, and perhaps, one of his finest outings as a writer. Isola wrote O Le Ku, originally a novel, before its adaptation to a play on youthful love and its intrigues, indeed without framing it too rigidly with the puritanical patronage which older folks can be notorious for when addressing the lives of young people. The novel is delectable, humorous, and perceptive.

    From drama, IcÍla would go onto fiction, poetry, and, much later, film productions. His repertoire of works includes Belly Bellows, Two Contemporary African Plays, Eru Owo, Ofin Ga, Aye Ye Won Tan, Abe Abo, Afaimo (collection of poetry), Fabu (a collection of fables) and Ogun Omode, a memoir of sorts. He also translated Wole Soyinka’s outstanding work, Death and the King’s Horseman, and his memoir, Ake: The Years of Childhood into Yoruba, Iku Olokun Esin and Ake: Nigba Ewe, respectively. His plays or novels, when they were adapted into films, would define the contemporary Yoruba cinema. In collaboration with master filmmakers like Tunde Kelani, he artfully translated the beauty of the Yoruba language for which he was known for into a modern medium for his growing audience.

    Isola was a deep-seated practitioner of the language, and he was never apologetic about narrowing his audience to just Yoruba people. By staying within the particular, he made Yoruba universal.

    He has greatly contributed to Yoruba language, social and visual culture, documentation, and history. He relentlessly campaigned for the Yoruba language to play a more visible role in our social life so that the culture, the history, and the beauty they harbor would not disappear. In this wise, he lived as he believed. In 2013, he gave an entire convocation address at Adekunle Ajasin University in Yoruba. Earlier, he had proposed to give his Inaugural Lecture in Yoruba at the Obafemi Awolowo University but the regulations did not allow this. If he had been a citizen of some other country, a professor of a language and literature giving an address in the language he was hired to teach and research would not have been strange. In Nigeria, it takes a lot of radicalism to follow this path. Such was the acute conviction of Isola that the Yoruba language should be given its pride of place in our society, a cause he advocated relentlessly in the many essays he wrote.

    Isola was an artful writer, yet one can argue that it was only one of the many roles he played in the definition of modern Yoruba culture. He was a playwright, language artist, essayist, screenplay writer, broadcaster, critic, satirist, producer, and an overall cultural icon. For a man who has made such a tremendous impact on the creative use of Yoruba, Isola started out with a European language – French. His first degree in French was from the University of Ibadan and he would go on to earn a Master of the Arts in Yoruba Literature from the University of Lagos in 1978, and finally a PhD in African literature from the University of Ibadan. He started his teaching career at the University of Lagos from where he moved to the Obafemi Awolowo University where he was appointed a professor and where he retired. He was awarded the National Merit Award, and he was also a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters.

    Today, we celebrate his life because, while Isola has ascended to the pantheon of the elders, he is not dead. A man like Isola whose artistic mammary glands nurtured generations of Yoruba children and inaugurated his essence in the minds of millions cannot die.

    Fare thee well, Isola, the silver-haired curator of Yoruba beauty. We know that,

    Ká a tó rí erin, ó di igbó,

    Kí a tó rí efon oó di odàn;

    Kí a tó rí eni bí Baba wa,

    Àyàfi tí OÍorun bá fe.

    The Yoruba nation and its tumultuous people can never have another artist-cum-writer like you, dear Isola, unless Olodumare and the elders choose to send one our way, while you continue to rest in peace!

     

  • Farewell to Billy Graham (2)

    Farewell to Billy Graham (2)

    When the journalist and author of the book ‘A Case for Faith’, Lee Strobel, interviewed Charles Templeton in Toronto, Canada, the former evangelist turned agnostic was 83 years old. He was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and the ravaging ailment, which gradually robs its victims of their memory and personal identity until it takes their lives, only deepened Templeton’s antagonism against God. His wife, Madeleine, thought he was too ill for the interview but Charles insisted on having it. He spoke frankly and bravely about his impending inevitable death and demanded to know how “a compassionate God could allow such a ghastly disease to torture its victims and their loving ones”. Templeton told Strobel that it was impossible for him “to believe that there is anything or person or being that could be described as a loving God who could allow what happens in our world daily”.

    When asked about his view of his former friend, Billy Graham’s evangelistic career, Templeton was gracious and generous in his praise of Graham saying “Billy is pure gold…There’s no feigning or fakery in him. He’s a first rate human being. Billy is profoundly Christian…He sincerely believes – unquestionably. He is as wholesome and faithful as anyone can be”. But the highpoint of the interview was when Templeton was asked what he thought about Jesus. He described Jesus as the greatest human being who ever lived; a moral genius with a unique ethical sense. He, however, thought Jesus was not a very good preacher because “What he said was too simple. He hadn’t thought about it. He hadn’t agonized over the biggest question there is to ask. Is there a God? How could anyone believe in a God who does, or allows, what goes on in the world?”

    Nevertheless, Templeton admitted that “Everything good I know, everything decent thing I know, everything pure I know, I learned from Jesus” even stressing that “I know it may sound strange, but I have to say…I adore him!” Let Strobbel continue the story here in his own words: “Abruptly, Templeton cut short his thoughts. There was a brief pause, almost as if he was uncertain whether he should continue. “Uh…but…no,” he said slowly, “he’s the most…” He stopped, then started again. “In my view”, he declared, “he is the most important human being who has ever existed”. That’s when Templeton uttered the words I never expected to hear from him. “And if I may put it this way”, he said as his voice began to crack, “I …miss…him!” With that, tears flooded his eyes. He turned his head and looked downward, raising his left hand to shield his face from me. His shoulder bobbed as he wept”.

    That emotional breakdown was, however, only a brief intermission as it were. According to Strobel, “Templeton fought to compose himself. I could tell it wasn’t like him to lose control in front of a stranger. He sighed deeply and wiped away a tear. After a few awkward moments, he waved his hand dismissively. Finally, quietly but adamantly, he insisted: “Enough of that”. Lee Strobel and his wife, Leslie, who accompanied him to the interview, left the Templeton’s home sober, subdued and shaken by the experience. Charles Templeton certainly was a good, decent, well-meaning and intellectually honest man who truly admired Jesus Christ but could not rationally reconcile the existence of an all powerful and good God with the pain and evil that is so rampant in our world. It is a moral, spiritual and intellectual dilemma that I am utterly unqualified to address.

    But Billy Graham himself was not immune from pain and sickness. It was just that his response to these afflictions was radically different from Templeton’s. Graham suffered from Parkinson’s disease for many years of his long and active life. He had to endure a broken hip that restricted his movement for some time. He underwent brain surgery. But all these seemed to draw him closer towards rather than away from God. In Bill Adler’s fascinating book, ‘Ask Billy Graham’, a 239-page compilation of the evangelist’s simple, honest and frank answers over several years to questions he was asked about life’s most important questions, which was published last year, Billy Graham speaks among others on illness, pain and death.

    On June 2, 1999, for instance, Graham was asked ‘Why does God make us ill’? His simple response was: “God sends illness to keep us from depending on ourselves. It makes us put total dependence on God”. And on June 29, 2002, the evangelist was asked: “What did you think about when you were going in and out of hospitals, your health deteriorating and you thought you might die soon?” Graham replied: “I’ve had a great deal of illness in the past two years…I haven’t been able to live a normal life. It’s been a difficult time. I thought I was dying…My whole life came before me. I didn’t say to the Lord, ‘I’m a preacher. I said, ‘Oh Lord, I’m a sinner. I still need the cross”.

    On September 22, 1996, Graham was asked: “Do you ever have moments of doubt about going to heaven?” His response: “If I were depending on myself, I would have lots of doubts, I really would, but I’m depending on scripture. I’m not going to heaven because I am good. I’m not going to heaven because I preached to a lot of people. I’m going to heaven because of God’s grace and mercy in Christ on the cross”.  In several quotations in Bill Adler’s book, Billy Graham expresses regrets that he did not study more and develop himself better intellectually.  His limited intellectual gifts notwithstanding, he retained his gratitude and faith in God to the end despite severe health challenges. Charles Templeton was infinitely more gifted than Graham. He was a man of high intellect and was a successful newspaper editor, cartoonist, author and broadcaster while also making some impact in politics. Yet he lost faith in the existence of God. Who then lavishly endowed him with his talents and mental gifts? It is a grand irony.

  • Farewell to Billy Graham (1)

    I have had his autobiography, ‘Just As I Am’ on my bookshelf for some years now but never got round to reading more than a few paragraphs of the opening chapter. I refer to the world renowned US evangelist, Mr. Billy Graham, who passed on to the eternal destination he had made it his life’s mission to prepare men and women across the world for on Wednesday, February 22, at the age of 99. His was a long, eventful and impactful life. He preached in perhaps more countries and reached more human beings with the message of salvation through faith in Christ than any other missionary of his generation – some say than any other man in history.

    What I find most remarkable about Billy Graham’s Ministry is that he never claimed the power to perform miracles, to raise the dead, to open the eyes of the blind or turn paupers into instant millionaires. It was his simple message of the good news of salvation through Christ that drew millions to his crusades across the world in a preaching Ministry that lasted over seven decades. It was not his oratory, eloquence or intellect either. If those were the factors that defined his success, Nobel laureates, politicians, film stars and other celebrities of this world would readily trump him. Yet, his message resonated with both the poor and the rich; the weak and the powerful; he was as influential and impactful with drug addicts, the homeless destitute and desperate prostitutes on the streets as with the powerful, wealthy and influential classes of this world.

    What exactly could have been on Billy Graham’s mind as the end drew near? Did the words of his venerable predecessor, St. Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 come to him? As the famous Apostle put it in those verses as he neared the end of his life: “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now, there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”. How different this serenity, this confidence and peace at the approach of death in comparison to the famous atheist who, approaching the nadir of his life, declared that life is without purpose and man is nothing but a dark horse braying across a meaningless universe.

    In his book, ‘The Case for Faith’, the award winning Christian writer, thinker and journalist, Lee Strobel, gives us very interesting insights into the relationship between Billy Graham and one of his closest friends and co-workers in the vineyard of Christ, Charles Templeton, at the beginning of their careers in the 1940s that were later to diverge widely and irretrievably. Templeton had given his life to Christ early in life. As Strobel tells the story “After abandoning journalism for the ministry, Templeton met Graham in 1945 at a Youth for Christ rally. They were roommates and constant companions during an adventurous tour of Europe, alternating in the pulpit as they preached at rallies. Templeton founded a church that soon overflowed its 1,200 –seat sanctuary. His friendship with Graham grew. “He’s one of the few men I have ever loved in my life,” Graham once told a biographer”. Indeed, it was widely believed that Templeton would be the greatest and most talented and influential evangelist of his era. Alas, things didn’t turn out way.

    Before long, Templeton’s reason began to challenge his faith in the basic tenets of the Christian faith. How could there be so much pain and suffering in the world if there was really a God who was truly all loving and all powerful was one question that bothered him? Templeton was soon to abandon the Christian faith and become an agnostic, commentator and novelist in Canada. He exerted all the pressure he could to get Billy Graham to join him in abandoning a Christian faith he had ceased to believe in. At a point, Templeton seemed to be winning. Billy Graham had no answers to the philosophical and psychological questions that Templeton and other scholars were raising.  But there was another influence in Billy Graham’s life, a Christian educator, Henrietta Mears, who continually assured him that the Christian scriptures were trustworthy and dependable. After a heart-rending tug of war, Billy Graham decided he was going to accept the Bible as the word of God telling himself “I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts”. That made all the difference in his life. A disappointed Templeton expressed pity for Graham whom he claimed had “committed intellectual suicide by closing his mind”. The lives of the two friends, according to Strobel, began to diverge.

    Several years later, when Lee Strobel interviewed Charles Templeton for his book, ‘The Case for Faith’ in Toronto, Canada, Graham had become one of the world’s best known and impactful evangelists who was then staging his Indianapolis crusade. Templeton was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease but had just completed his latest book: ‘Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith”. It was a dramatic, emotional and heart-rending encounter.

    To be continued next week

  • 2017: Farewell to a tough year

    2017: Farewell to a tough year

    As the year winds down and another is set on the horizon, one cannot but remember Dr. Hans Morgenthau, the famous American political philosopher who posited that years, decades and centuries are nothing but artificial creations of man. That much, he said, could be deduced from the fact that the major events that have ended one period of history and begun another have all taken place without man’s thinking in terms of decades and centuries.

    While one may not necessarily dispute Morgenthau’s views, breaking time down into years, decades and centuries is a necessary exercise for the purpose of stock taking. It is the only way to determine how much progress is made over time and how much improvement is needed.

    The outgoing year may not have been a time in hell, but it is far from being an adventure into heaven. And there is no better symbol of what the year represents for most Nigerians than President Muhammadu Buhari himself. Twice, the President embarked on medical vacation to the UK, spending 103 days in the hospital on one of the two occasions. He admitted upon his return to the country on August 19 that he had never been as sick in his 75 years on earth as he was in the outgoing year.

    Indeed, President Buhari said he was so sick that he lost memory of his exact age and had to be reminded that he was 75 while he thought he was 74. “It has been a tough year,” he said while addressing a delegation of Abuja residents led by the FCT Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Bello, who had come to pay homage on Christmas Day. “I thought I was 74, but I was told I was 75. I have never been so sick even in the 30 months of civil war when I was stumbling under yam or cassava farms.”

    For most Nigerians, however, the tough nature of the year did not come in form of ill health but in terms of hunger and starvation as most states of the federation found it difficult to pay the salaries and allowances of their workers. In Kogi State, for instance, a director in state’s civil service, whose wife was delivered of a set of triplets, reportedly committed suicide after working for more than one year without pay. And his was just one in the gale of suicides involving traders who were tired of groaning under the weight of debts and artisans who decided to end it all after endless fits of frustration.

    Elsewhere in the Northeast, the people had to contend with the remnants of Boko Haram insurgents who were still bent on making their lives miserable with bombings and sporadic attacks, particularly on the remote communities in Borno and Yobe states.

    But the tough nature of the year did not consist only in the hungry and the hounded. Nigerians had to endure the deaths of many public figures just as they had to contend with the deeds of armed robbers, kidnappers, treasury looters and other anti-social elements that held the country by the jugular. These and other incidents worth recalling are chronicled in our package on the issues and events that shaped the outgoing year.

  • Farewell… October

    The month packed so much tension.

    Kudos to the North’s youths and the conscientious elders who ensured that the threat to force the Igbo out petered after a peace agreement was signed. In the Southeast, except for occasional violent crimes, there has been peace. “Operation Crocodile Smile” seems to have shed its controversial tendencies, ending on a cheery note.

    But some events have threatened to send the polity into a tailspin. One will need those exceptionally long strides of speedster Usain Bolt to cope with the dizzying  rate at which news breaks.

    The Maina matter hit us like a bolt from the blues. It was not all that new. Here was a fugitive on the INTERPOL watch list just strolling in to take up a new job after being elevated. All that was left was a national honour and then the bubble burst.

    The President fired former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal and Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) Director-General  Ayo Oke.

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan is asking for N1b transport fare to honour the subpoena in the trial of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman Olisa Metuh, who is accused of receiving $2m from the arms deals funds.

    These are complex issues. The television debates and radio shows featuring renowned experts have thrown little or no illumination at them. How does the man in the street see it all? Pummelled by hunger and troubled by devilish criminals, has he any time to think about the polity?

    Where else to gauge the public pulse other than the barber shop. And what a spectacle! From the lone speaker just outside the door, Fela Anikulapo – Kuti’s timeless song. Trouble sleep yanga wake am blarred. The house is in full session. Papi D presiding. He is decked out in a pair of black trousers and a short sleeve khaki shirt that has obviously seen better days. The day’s crowd is unusually big. A premiership match has just ended, I’m told.

    A middle-aged man in a pair of jeans trousers and a blue T-shirt set the ball rolling, asking Papi D a question: “Sir, what’s your take on the sacking of Babachir Lawal and Oke? The matter has been trending on the Internet.”

    “Take that back, young man. I didn’t take anything from Babachir, Babacha, Babaku or whatever you call him. Having said that, it is a simple case that turned complex. And I will explain. If you take a N220m contract to cut grass and you fail to use the appropriate equipment, a mower, deploying a bulldozer, you risk bringing down everything, including the trees. When the trees get dry, they become firewood for making bonfires. The bonfires will be used to make a barbeque during a dance of jackals and hyenas. In other words, Babachir has been barbequed on his own bonfire. Consumed.”

    “As for Oke, it is as simple as ABC; no house is safe when money is involved. Cash, big cash, is like smoke; you can’t hide it. Everybody is looking for money; not so? So if you hide some in a safe house, you’re merely joking. Remember, this is the era of whistle blowing and TSA. Banks even find it tough handling some cash.”

    “Papi D. You’re the master of logic. One can rarely fault your logic,” the fellow in jeans screamed. Another in the crowd fired the next question.

    “Sir, what’s your take on Maina, the pension man?”

    “Again, I protest. Take that back. I took nothing from Maina, Mainama, Mininini or whatever you call him. He has been naming those he claimed to have settled; he bribed nobody o; please, note that. But the trouble is that the young man won’t come forward to talk.

    “But the lesson is clear. When you hit it big, don’t spend big. Don’t paint the town red, like a Rock star. In those days when elders dashed us some coins, our mothers used to tell us, maina o in Yoruba; that is to say ‘don’t spend it yet o‘. We kept such money in a safe made of clay, a little pot with a small opening for coins. We broke our safes a few days to Christmas and stormed the market for firecrackers and other stuff.

    “As the Maina matter stands now, we need to hear from Attorney-General Abubakar Malami and his colleague Interior Minister Abdulraheem Dambazzau who have been named as the facilitators of his returns. Did they plan and execute what has now turned out to be the apotheosis of Maina’s chequered career? If so, are they fair to the President? Is this not a betrayal of trust? Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

    Papi D begins to cough.Hau! Hau! Hmmm! Tears are streaming down his face, landing on his wild beards. He brings out a brownish handkerchief that obviously used to be white, wiping his face and struggling to steady his cracked voice. The atmosphere is choked with the smell of whisky. He brings out a little sachet and tears up the seal with his thick front teeth, devouring its content. His face wearing a big frown, the old man who hails himself as “an experienced lawyer and member of the Innermost of the Inner Bar”, resumes his theatrics.

    “I’m sorry for that short break, gentlemen. You know it’s a weekend and it’s so difficult not to be in the spirit nowadays. If you must remain in high spirits, you need to be in the spirit – always. Anyway, that is by the way.”

    “Papi, that’s ok. We understand. Former President Goodluck Jonathan says he needs N1b to testify in the Metuh case. Is that …?”

    “Yes. That’s a man of style. The former president, who is never known for half measures, is just being modest. His entourage is large – security men, including policemen, soldiers, members of the secret service, local hunters, Ijaw youths and area boys. Chiefs and their palace jesters, not to mention women in uniform Ankara -remember those who showed up the other day to protest Mama Peace’s persecution over her ownership of some chicken feed – and loyal PDP members who number in millions. Will just one Boeing 373 flying from Port Harcourt and other cities be enough to ferry them? How about their hotel bills? Feeding? Incidental allowances? And others?

    “You see, Metuh doesn’t know what it takes to summon a former president to mount the witness box. He should face his case with the bravado he demonstrated before it started. Jonathan should be allowed to enjoy his well deserved rest.”

    “Sir, Diezani says she would like to be tried in Nigeria and the Federal Government won’t allow that. Why?”

    “Smart gal. She saw what happened to that guy in the UK. Here, there will be adjournments, the question of locus, jurisdiction, summons, subpoena, adjournments and all that. At the end of the day, you can even obtain a nolle – our attorneys-general are global authorities in criminal jurisprudence, you know; they subscribe to Blackstone’s Principle–it is better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer. I don’t blame Diezani. After all, how much is said to be her loot? I’ve heard some of my kinsmen wondering: die sani (It’s just a small fraction of the entire loot).”

    The barber removes the speaker as the clouds begin to gather for another rainy evening. Papi D carries his bag and announces: “Gentlemen, I rise.” The gathering disperses.

  • ‘God will move through Bonnke’s farewell crusade’

    ‘God will move through Bonnke’s farewell crusade’

    Chairman Central Working Committee (CWC) for Reinhard Bonnke’s Farewell Crusade, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola, speaks with Dorcas Egede on the significance of the crusade. Excerpts: 

    How did you become chairman of the farewell crusade?

    I’m always called on by God for every job He wants me to do. I am the chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Lagos state and I never solicited for it. I was called upon to do the job.

    Before that for five years, I was the chairman for Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Lagos state. I was also called upon to do the job. So, it’s God who always sends for me when He needs me to do a job.

    When I was called upon to be chairman of CWC, I got the message that all the Christian fathers and mothers in a consensus, decided that I should be chairman at the crusade when Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke informed them that he was going to have his last crusade as the Lord led him. So, that’s the way it came; it came from God.

    How has it been organising the crusade within a very limited time?

    Ah! It’s really tough. A crusade of this magnitude would normally take about a year or a minimum of nine months to organise. But because of the time the Lord spoke to Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke about the first quarter of the year and the time it took for him to come and inform the Christian leaders in Nigeria.

    This crusade has been planned in the shortest time possible but you see with God all things are possible and there is nothing impossible for God. It doesn’t take God years to do anything. It takes Him one minute to do whatever He wants to do.

    For as long as God is involved, you can be sure that the whole thing is about Him, it’s to glorify His name and so even the things that look difficult or impossible, He’s there to handle them.

    Crusades have been held in this country which ended in controversies. How sure are you this will not end up like one of those controversial crusades?

    Well, one thing about Reinhard Bonnke’s crusades in all the nations and in Nigeria is there are never marked by crisis. His first crusade in Nigeria was in 1985; since that time he held in Lagos 2000 and later in 2006.

    He was in Owerri, Calabar, Port- Harcourt. The only one that so far witnessed any problem was in Kano, following the one in Kaduna where there were a lot of healings, where the cripples were rising up and walking.

    And so in Kano they were scared that if there was a repeat performance of what happened in Kaduna, Muslims would begin to follow Bonnke and that why they rose up then to attack the crusade.

    Granted, there have been crusades marred by controversies. The Benny Hinn crusade is a classical example. Controversies arise because of money but by the grace of God that cannot be heard in this crusade.

    This time around, as the chairman of the crusade, I’m being very careful. I’m not being hypocritical here. People in the church know my background and they know the kind of man I am. I was Managing Director of two different banks.

    I was also Vice President of the sixth or so largest bank in the world in the ’70s in America. I’m very strict with everything that I do and I brought that discipline into the things of God. Everything about this crusade is being monitored; financiers are monitored so critically. The work is being done.

    Moreover, prayers are going on very aggressively; the devil is always against souls being won for the kingdom of God. We are talking souls being won in millions in Lagos and beyond. We know what we are faced with but our trust is in the name of our Lord God Jehovah.

    Our country is beset with too many problems beyond understanding. Is it not a tall order to expect that this crusade will address all of these problems?

    No. This crusade cannot address all the problems, only Jesus can address all the problems. But this crusade is brought about by God to impact the nation and continent of Africa. We believe with the presence of God in this crusade – since it’s the last crusade the man of God will hold and hundreds of thousands of people are coming from all over Africa and all over the world – there would be a healing in the land and that healing may be unseen physically.

    But we believe from this crusade Nigeria would be permanently healed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The vices we complain about to God, it takes God no time to cleanse this nation and we believe He will.

    The absence of unity has always dogged the ranks of churches. How united are churches for this crusade?

    The good thing about Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke’s crusades is that from the time the Lord called him, his crusades have always been for the church in any nation. It’s not sectional and he has always insisted on the entire church coming together in any nation he goes.

    The crusade is not for Pentecostals or for Catholics or for Methodists. It’s the church crusade. That’s his vision and he’s very strict about it. That’s why whenever he goes to any nation to talk about his crusade all the church groups, the denominations rally around. The Lord has used him to strengthen the unity of the church in Africa and in Nigeria.

    In some crusades the motivating factor has always been money. How much do the organisers of this crusade intend to make?

    Profit? There is none. Any nation (especially African nations) Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke hosts crusades, offerings are raised but he leaves the offering in that nation.

    In 1985, the offerings raised were used to start the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) as far back as then. From Lagos to Calabar, to Port Harcourt, everywhere he goes, Reinhard Bonnke doesn’t touch the money raised in offerings. He leaves it for the church in that state.

    For this crusade however, we have decided not to raise offerings. You will see that not one penny would be raised from anybody, so that it wouldn’t become a problem.

    Wherever Bonnke goes for his crusades, he brings the resources. He has sponsors supporting him and they are all coming. They are billionaires and multibillionaires. They’re coming because it’s the last crusade in his life.

    A lot of money goes into publicity, security and other details. Several millions have been paid for the land being acquired for the crusade opposite OPEC near Spark Light Estate.

    Like previous crusades, the land will be sand filled to make it good for the crusade and after the crusade it will be handed back to the owners. So, a lot of investment goes into the crusade.

    What measures have been put in place to address security, transportation and welfare?

    Of course, we have very strong committees saddled with different responsibilities. There is a committee handling transportation, welfare has its own committee. We are expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors in this country and there are committees working to take care of every detail.

    We just believe God that all will be well. Security is so crucial because of the situation in our nation and around us in Africa. We believe God is the security Himself and we believe that He is taking charge but all the security agencies have been brought in and every possible human effort for security is in place. Above all, Jesus is the ultimate security.

    Are there any benefits for participating churches giving their time, human and material resources?

    Yes there are. And what they stand to gain is souls. This country, as you know in recent years has been bedeviled by many vices; even the church itself is under serious attack. Because of the way we are running the churches, so many people are leaving the church and going back to their traditional religion.

    Even many people inside the church still visit herbalists’ shrines. So, that’s one of the great things about the crusade to bring back the heart of men to God and all the participating churches will be involved in the evangelical effort because the crusade is for evangelism.

    The unbelievers around are going to be invited and every church will end up having souls in their areas as people who give their lives to Christ during the crusade will be added to the church. This is the main gain.

    Share with us your knowledge, thoughts and convictions about Reinhard Bonnke and what you expect God to do through him during the crusade and fire conference.

    Incidentally, I was back to the country in 1979 so from the first crusade in 1985 I have been following the things God has been using him to do in this nation. Though I was just a regular Baptist church goer when he started his crusades in Nigeria, you couldn’t but see it on the television.

    Many are in the faith today through Bonnke’s crusades. Someone like Pastor Sam Adeyemi gave his life to Christ in Ilorin at a crusade of Reinhard Bonnke. God has used him to multiply the church.

    So, personally I believe in his vision that God called him to be a great evangelist for the world. His ministry has been followed with signs and wonders, millions of souls come into the kingdom, people are healed of all manners of diseases.

    I believe in my heart that God is going to do great things in this nation through him. Whether you’re at the crusade venue or watching us from home, I believe that if you have faith you will receive your miracles. People will be healed in their homes; lives will be touched in homes.

  • Bonnke picks Nigeria for ‘farewell’ crusade

    Bonnke picks Nigeria for ‘farewell’ crusade

    SEVENTY-SEVEN-year-old German evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke, is returning to Lagos for a “farewell message” eight years after his last visit.

    The crusade is expected to be the last international evangelical trip for the renowned preacher who has witnessed 75,913,155 decisions for Christ in over 200 countries.

    The farewell crusade holds on November 8 on an open field around  Sparklight Estate, diagonally opposite OPIC Plaza, Isheri Osun, Lagos/Ibadan expressway.

    An advance team is already in the country to prepare for the crusade that will also witness a three-day ministers’ conference where he is expected to pass on the torch.

    Over 10 million people from  Ghana, Cameroun, Togo, Benin and Mali are expected to be part of the historic crusade.

    Bonke said he was led by God to return to Nigeria which he visited eight years ago for his “farewell message.”

    His choice of Nigeria (and Lagos for that matter) for what would be his “final fire” in Africa, according to the Christ for All Nations (CFaN) which runs his crusades, was by a spiritual leading to bring down God’s power on the nation’s economic hub.

    His managers say he is ready to pass the “gospel torch” to God’s ministers in Africa with Nigeria as focal point.

    The renowned evangelist is handing over to a younger generation of evangelists led by Daniel Kolenda.

    According to Bonnke: “The Lord spoke to me that I should go back for one more crusade in Africa.

    “I want not only to see a gigantic harvest of souls but to pass my burning torch to this generation.

    “Recently, I travelled to Lagos, Nigeria, to meet with the spiritual leadership there and they gave their unanimous support.

    “I believe God is going to do something I have never seen before.”

    CFaN officials led by its African Director, John Darku, say although the Lagos outing will be the last of Bonnke’s international crusade, CFaN will continue to carry on with its global evangelism project.

    Darku says the CfaN anticipates conversion of many souls to Christ as Bonnke delivers his farewell message to a crowd of worshippers in Nigeria.

    “One of the highlights of the crusade will be a Passing the Burning Torch Conference for leaders and church workers.

    “Bonnke believes God for many thousands of pastors and evangelists from around the globe to be inspired to evangelism,” Darku explained.

    Darku told newsmen the crusade promises to be the best of its kind just as he hinted of plans to recruit more than 500,000 counsellors, 200,000 intercessors, choir of over 23,000 and a security force of over 10,000.

    “There is great excitement from all the churches in the country, and we are expecting a spectacular harvest of people coming to Christ,” he said.

    Lead evangelist of CfaN and successor to Bonnke, Kolenda, expressed optimism that the landmark crusade would transform the church in Nigeria and Africa.

    ”I’m thrilled to join with Reinhard in this vision and know that the results of this crusade will be farther reaching and of even greater consequence than we can even imagine.”

    Kolenda expressed the optimism that the Lagos crusade would be an explosion in line with God’s commission to Bonnke.

    “Ever since God gave Evangelist Bonnke a vision for a blood-washed Africa – a continent washed in the blood of Jesus Christ -over 40 years ago, he has been filled with a burning commitment to win the continent for Jesus,” he said.

    Apostle Alexander Bamgbola, who chairs the Central Working Committee of the Crusade, said all Christian groups will effectively participate and pray for the nation’s socio-political leadership and revival.

    CFaN describes Bonnke’s return to Nigeria for his final international crusade as divine because the global preacher has  specific revelation and call to help the country fix its social fabrics and economy.

    According to Darku’s remarks, Bonnke strongly believes that the evangelism conference will “plunder hell and populate heaven.”

    An excited Bonnke, who sent out an invitation on his facebook wall, said: “Hello Friends, I have a special announcement for you today! I am returning to Lagos, Nigeria for my ‘Farewell Crusade’ in November of this year!

    “This will be a truly momentous event, where we believe millions will not only hear the Gospel, but will also be saved, healed and delivered! As much as I am concerned, I am inviting the whole world.”

     

  • Farewell to people’s Imam

    Farewell to people’s Imam

    The late Chief Iman of Lagos, Sheikah Garuba Akinola Ibrahim, died on September 24 at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja. He was 79.

    Sheikh Ibrahim was born on December 7, 1937 (1356AH) into the family of Ibrahim Ankuri of Isale Eko in Lagos.

    His father was Alfa Tijani Ibrahim, who was also one of the former Chief Imams of Lagos. Alfa Tijani became the Imam of Lagos 10 years after Imam Garuba Akinola Ibrahim was born.

    Alfa Tijani died in 1954, six years before Nigeria got her independence. The late Sheikh Ibrahim’s mother was Hajia Ibrahim popularly called as “Iya lle Kewu.”

    Ibrahim’s family is among those entitled to the position of the Chief Imam of Lagos. The family has a history of generations of succeeding Imams in Lagos – from Alfa (Imam) Ibrahim Ankuri to Alfa (Imam) Tijani Ibrahim and Imam Liadi Ibrahim.

    Sheikh Garuba Akinola Ibrahim is a descendant of Alfa Nafiu Gana.

    Imam Garuba grew up on Lagos Island. He attended the Ahmadiyya Primary School Elegbata in Lagos. Thereafter, he moved to Government College, Ibadan, Oyo State, for his secondary school education.

    He started elementary Arabic and Islamic education under the tutelage of Alfa Abdul Rahman Suyuti, who he joined to visit some cities in Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

    After acquiring sufficient knowledge, he joined the transport company of former Baba Adinni of Lagos, Alhaji Abdul Waheed Elias, called Elias Transport Service.

    He later joined the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) in 1965. He retired after 32 years of service in 1997. While in service, he attended series of courses at home and abroad. He became a Senior Manager at the Currency Department of the company before he retired.

    He was installed the Chief Imam of Lagos on July 4 2000. He succeeded his brother, the late Imam Liadi Alade Ibrahim (OBE), who was the Chief Imam of Lagos between 1959 and 1998.

    Before he became the Chief Imam, Sheikh Mujitaba Giwa acted as the Acting Chief Imam of Lagos.

  • 52 pupils bid school farewell

    Completing six years of rigorous studies at Grace High School, Gbagada, Lagos, was no mean feat for 52 SS3 pupils as they gathered last weekend to celebrate their triumph at the school’s 19th valedictory service.

    It was like a last supper for them as they sang, laughed, chatted, cracked jokes, ate together, and cheered themselves as they took turns to receive prizes for their excellent performances in the school.

    Dressed elegantly in their uniforms, they took selfies, and pictures with their peers and parents. The Senior Pastor, Trinity House, Victoria, Lagos, Ituah Ighodalo prayed for them.

    The Valedictorian, Tunwase Odunayo, was the Head Girl and Vice President of the school’s Christian Fellowship. A multiple prize winner and sport champion, she thanked the school and parents for supporting them to finish a phase of life, urging her peers to be good ambassadors of the school and their homes.

    Mrs Folashade Adefisayo, Chief Executive Officer, Leading Learning Ltd, told them that they had completed the phase of dependency, and were starting the next phase of making critical decisions about their lives and careers.

    She admonished them not to be deterred by challenges facing the country, such as unemployment, poverty, tribalism, and climate change, but rather be the solution to future challenges.

    She said: “It is a turbulent world with never ending setbacks. It is also a world of tremendous opportunities. The problems exist because there are solutions. When there are challenges, that is when strong people rise up and become great by tackling and finding solutions to the problems. You are in a world where you can make a mark; you can become a force in whatever field you want to venture into.

    “You must lead yourself.Think critically. You cannot be a shallow human being in this age. You should not allow life to swing you here and there, you cannot afford to be left behind and always have it in mind that the competition is thicker out there.”