•Says I only narrowly escaped assassination because of my closeness to him
Prof. Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf, a man who has made great marks in different fields including the police, journalism, law, education and advertising, clocked 70 yesterday. Among other issues, he told INNOCENT DURU how he tricked his father’s friends to join the police and how the fear of failure prompted him to dip his hands in many pies.
How did you feel clocking the age of 70?
I think it is just a game of numbers. The body can no longer do much but I am still mentally and physically strong. I can pursue many goals. I can sit down here from now till tomorrow writing. It is only when I get up that I would feel some aches.
What would you say about your background?
I was born on January 3, 1955. My younger brother was born in 1956. My mother is the only child of her father. Her father was the head of that island. My mother had me when she was 16 and a half. My younger brother followed in quick succession.
My mother, who is still alive, is Itsekiri from Deghele Island about 50 nautical miles from Warri. My father was a jeweller and a businessman who spent over 55 years in Warri. My father married my mother when she was about 15 years old.
I used to tease him that Daddy, if it was to be now, you would have been charged for child abuse. At one point, my younger brother was sick and they decided to give him Itsekiri tribal marks. Maybe they thought that would be the solution to his illness. So, when my brother was okay, they brought the two of us to Warri. My father, sighting my younger brother with Itshekiri marks, asked are you sure this is my son? If you don’t take this boy to wherever you got him from, I will chop off your head. That was the end of the marriage. My mother ran back to her father, being the only child; a pampered child.
What happened thereafter?
My grandmother, realising what happened, came to pick me before my mother would come back to pick me. In retrospect, I would say that was a wise decision, because if I had followed my mother, I would have engaged in bunkering or I would have been a fisherman or something else in the village, because it is far from Warri. Up until this moment, you cannot access that place by road; only by sea and by air. So, I was brought to Ijebu Ode.
At what point were you enrolled in school?
My grandmother, a princess, was a business woman while the husband has a settlement in Ago Sasa near Idiroko. The husband had a cocoa farm in Mamu, a border town between Ogun and Oyo states. That was where I started my primary school. But my aunt, who was also a business woman in Mamu, became sick and we had to leave Mamu looking for how to get her cured. In the process, I lost one year. Then, the following year that I was to start, it was late. In effect, I lost two years.
But I was lucky I started primary school when I was just about four or five years old. I went to Ansar Ud Deen Primary School and I continued from Primary 2. I left primary school in 1967. I was 12 years old. Then I went to Muslim College. I left Muslim College in 1972 and I was 17 years old. This is despite losing two years. So, it means, in effect, that my not staying with my parents, my mother not being around, my father not being around, and moving from one place to another, I was still able to catch up. I didn’t lose any time in my education.
But in 1972, the year the military government decided to abrogate ownership of secondary schools, the Federal Government took over all secondary schools in the western states. The HSC we were running then was more or less automatic for us. From your secondary school, you moved over to the HSC class.
At a point, I don’t know what overcame my father, maybe he was disillusioned or whatever, he just said go to Lagos; go meet your elder brothers. I had three elder brothers in Lagos then. The eldest was a chartered accountant who was our mentor then.
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Did you agree to go to Lagos?
Then, I didn’t like Lagos. Number one, that was the period Gowon said we had so much money we didn’t know how to spend it. Secondly, we had just emerged from the civil war.
So, the economy was booming; a lot of rehabilitation, reconstruction, and reconciliation efforts were ongoing. Things were moving at a pace nobody could imagine. The only room that was available was my brother’s house (in Lagos); about eight people were staying in that room. And where I was coming from, I was staying in a room and palour as a secondary school boy. How will I now fit into that system? How would I be able to read in that environment? So, it means I would just be working and we would just sleep like sardines.
What did you do subsequently?
I decided to go back to Warri. But my father didn’t like it. He thought it was my mother who goaded me to come over to Warri to prosecute her own agenda. So all appeals to my father did not yield any result. I became despondent and frustrated. I became disillusioned. So, the admission I got, I lost.
Then, you know, we were free to seek admission into as many universities as we could. There was no unified admission system then. So, I had three admissions to the extent that I even tried colleges of education.
But, my father did not bulge. I decided to take the entrance exam into Defense Academy. When I saw that the result was not forthcoming, I went to my father’s friend in Benin. One of his friends was the acting Commissioner of Police; the late Mr. Oshodi. The other one was the late Mr. Fajano from Ekiti, who was the OC Mopol.
I went to them and said my father asked them to help me into the police force. They were very happy. They thought I was telling the truth. That time, you needed four papers to become a sub-inspector. They called it a sub-inspector course. And I had six papers. They said it’s late now. They had already gone for training and all the rest, and I had to wait till the following year.
“The next year again, I asked if there was any other option, and they said can you go in as a constable? Though it was too small for my grade, I said I would go. Within me, I said anything that would take me out of the house, I would do. The man asked, are you sure your father sent you? I said yes. At that time, it was just the local analogue phone that was available, but they did not even care to find out.
Because they had known me with my father and they used to come to our house as well as my father used to take me to their offices, that was how we signed and sealed the recruitment for the training at the Police Training College in Ikeja because then we had only two training colleges.
We had Southern Police College in Ikeja and Northern Police College in Kaduna. Not now that we have a proliferation of police colleges. The day they came to pick me from our house, that is the acting commissioner of police came to pick me for my trip to Ikeja, my father thought it was the usual visit. And the man said is your son ready and he said ready for what? He’s going for training in Ikeja. Are you not the one that sent him? And my father said, me, sent him? They called me and I was gazing at my father when it was tabled. But they warned my father that I had already signed up and that there was nothing he could do but to allow me to go. They asked him to only pray for me.
That was how I left the house. I went and discovered that because of my own academic standard, the training was not too much of a challenge. I mean the academic aspect, what was rigorous was the physical aspect, the parade, shooting range and all the rest. And at times I would feign being sick.
You were in the police force. What was your experiencelike?
I was a member of the press club when I was in secondary school. So I discovered that there was an opportunity in the public relations department because the department was newly created. The first person to head the department was a journalist. They had a magazine and they encouraged those of us who could write to contribute. I was writing and my write-ups were published. Thereafter, I saw an advert in Daily Times about a public relations institute in London and I registered as a student. I took tutorial courses and sat the examination. By this time, I had completed my training and was posted to Calabar.
Then, the police was fantastic. They would pick you from your house to wherever you were going. In this particular case, they gave us warrants to go by train. They picked us from the Police College to Ido. In Calabar, I was posted to the Divisional Police Headquarters, Calabar. I don’t know; maybe they had been reading my writings. They made me a station writer. The person that takes down your complaints is the station writer.
One day, a senior officer asked me, what are you doing in the police force? I told him I was taking a course in journalism and public relations. He then said in that case, I should post you to where you can have time to read. I was posted to the Nigeria Ports Authority in Calabar. And that was where I was able to discover myself. They put me on permanent night duty and not much was there for me to do on night duties.
By 1975, I secured my certificate in public relations and diploma in journalism. Later, I was posted to the Public Relations Department and I discovered that my boss did not like me simply because of my qualifications and youthfulness. They defaulted me once, and in those days, if you were defaulted twice or thrice, you were on your way out. I didn’t want that, and it was nearing my third year, I was waiting for my promotion as ASP. I said I didn’t want to wait for that. They said, please wait. I said, no. Those days, you would resign. So, I left.
What did you venture into after leaving the police?
The moment I left, I joined Rock Publicity. And it was while I was in the police force that we had the Udoji Award, which catapulted our salary by over 100 per cent, which was a lot of money then. I used part of it for my education and I bought a sports bicycle.
But when I got to Rock Publicity, it was another world. My first salary was N250. Imagine from N50 to N250. So, I felt life could be so good. I was the one that promoted Sunny Okosun’s Papa’s Land s, and some of my classmates were still in the university then. I took Papa’s Land around the country, from University of Lagos to Yabatech to UI, Ife and Kaduna Polytechnic. ABU Zaria was not too receptive because of religion.
So, within me, I felt if this little education could get me this much, including fame, then I must pursue further education. This is because with Papa’s Land, I was getting a lot of publicity that by 1977, I had about six employment letters with me. Later, I joined King and George Nigeria Limited. I was appointed the editor of Sporting World and I was also the publication manager of the company. The company was into pools betting and publication of sports newspapers. It was also into shipping, haulage and the rest. They later established a printing press.
Then I got my qualifications in advertising and marketing. There was a time I went to the UK in 1981 to receive an award as the best student. During the awards ceremony, some universities came to exhibit and admit students. Some of the universities had admission opportunities for MSC in Marketing, Advertising and all the rest. Then I saw a course: Masters in Business Administration (MBA). And that was the time MBA was just coming on board. I just decided out of fancy to enroll for MBA. So, I took MBA and came back to Nigeria.
But then I was working with Adebowale Group of companies. It was then one of the biggest indigenous companies manufacturing a number of household items, fridges, freezers, television sets, radio and so many things.
What happened after you came back to Nigeria?
When I came back, I told my chairman about the MBA admission. He gave me a house on Oladipo Kuku Street, off Allen Avenue. Things were so good then that I was even registered with Palace Hotel. Any time I felt like lodging there overnight, I could stay. The company had an account there for me. Because of my position, I was registered with Island Club and I was also registered with Ikeja Country Club.
I was able to convince the chairman to allow me return to the UK for the MBA programme, though he said it will be tabled before the board. Somehow, when I was given the letter, what I saw in the letter was that the company had reviewed the situation and had not seen reason for me to embark on an MBA programme, and that what the company could do would be to expose me to their partners abroad and in the process, I could attain any position.
Initially, I was devastated. But I said no, as there’s nothing stopping a willing mind. When I said I was going to go, I was told to resign as well as vacate the company’s apartments. Then the official car, I should surrender it. And my personal car, I should offset the loan. Otherwise, I should return the vehicle. I just decided to return the vehicle. They said, oh, why? I said nobody was willing to buy a second-hand car.
When they saw that I was serious, the chairman called me privately. He gave me a cheque for 2,000 pounds. Then my late friend Chief Gani Fawehinmi gave me 1,000 pounds. I also sold some of the things I had and I journeyed out.
What happened after you completed the MBA programme?
I came back and continued working with Adebowale Group of companies. The house I was staying in was no longer available. But I was given another house at Obanikoro Phase 2. But I said I would not stay long, so I left in 1985 and started a private business; a marketing communication outfit that also imported electronic products.
When the business went awry, I dusted my certificates. I saw an advert in the papers about vacancy for a managing director for one of the subsidiaries of Ibru organisations. My MBA certificate gave me an edge and I was employed. But when I discovered that I was not given free hands to run the place, I resigned. Then, I had free lunch tickets at Sheraton everyday as MD.
Where did you move to after quitting the organisation?
After I left, I returned to my business. In 1988, I became the secretary general of NIPR at an election held in Ilorin. We took over from Alex Akinyele. Mike Okonkwo was the president while I was elected the secretary general. And that November of 1988, I was appointed a director of TBS by the military and was director for nine years. I was removed because of my campaign for the release of Diya. And that was why they also wanted to assassinate me.
Can you speak more on the assassination attempt?
It was Diya that appointed me commissioner against my wish and desire. I was doing my job and was happy working for him. He asked that I work for him and I said if you want me to work for you, I do not mind being your chief press secretary. And he said with your size, you want to work for me? You will tower above me and people would ask who the boss is between us. He then asked that I should get someone to work for him as Chief Press Secretary. So I contacted some of my colleagues that we did MSc together at UNILAG.
After the CPS was appointed, Diya kept asking what I wanted, and I said I just wanted to be around him since he rejected me being his CPS. Later, I told Diya that I wanted to be chairman of a local council, and he felt I was stupid because he felt that I was bigger than that. He then reported me to the Awujale that many were lobbying to become commissioners but I did not aim to become one.
Eventually, I was appointed and was naturally given the portfolio of Commissioner for Information, Youth, Culture, Community Development and Social Welfare. Not long after, I was appointed chairman of Sketch Press, Ibadan. When I saw the intrigues in the presidential villa, I tried to warn Diya that there were signs and that I would be leaving the government. He then told me if I left, I would be branded a NADECO agent and I would die.
I was working with Col. Akintande then and later with Ewang, a Wing Commander. Many of my friends were generals because I was a director at TBS. My boss, Ewang, was not comfortable seeing me with the generals. He went to the Chief of Staff that he wanted to dissolve his cabinet and he was told that before he came, Fassy had already come to say he wanted to leave your cabinet. The cabinet was dissolved and I left. But they started staging press war against me.
Even after the cabinet was dissolved, I was still going to see Diya in his house, and the movement around Diya, especially by Bamaiyi (then Chief of Army Staff) and co made me uncomfortable. I tried to warn Diya but he rebuffed me. But one Saturday, we just heard that there was a coup attempt and that they were looking for Diya and he had run to one of his guest houses. He hid under the bed but he didn’t know that they had mounted spies around him. So they brought him.
Unknown to him, when they were having a meeting with him, the discussions were being recorded. The plan was for Diya to lead the coup and assassinate Abacha, and for Bamayi to assassinate Diya. But unknown to Diya, he thought Bamayi and co loved him. They said Abacha was a nonentity, forgetting that he was a coup master. That was how they arrested Diya. When they tried him, it was Victor Malu that sentenced him to death. They were transferring him from one place to another and eventually he was kept in Jos Prison. They hanged him with his hands tied. And when he was released, he did not recover till he died.
When they passed the judgment, it was me, Diya’s children and siblings that mounted a press campaign for his release or committal to jail term so that when Abacha must have left, the person coming in after him would release Diya. My ordeal began when a journalist published a report about me on the front page. They started running after me and I had to go underground. The first thing they did was to remove me from the TBS board as a director. But, thank God, they did not succeed.
Why did you study Law?
Before I left government, I had registered to read Law, and people were making mockery of me, wondering how a commissioner would be going to classroom to read. But I knew what I wanted. This is because I was looking at after leaving as a commissioner; would I go back to be a journalist or practice PR? And this is because we live in a society that is paradoxical. If you steal, you are in trouble, if you do not steal, you are in trouble. If you did not steal, they will say look at him, a former commissioner commuting with public transport. And if you steal, they will claim his grandparents were armed robbers too. It is only when you are able to discover yourself.
I registered for Law as a pathway to better life after being commissioner. After the Law programme, I went to Law School and I have been practising. I was an adjunct lecturer, and when NUC said anyone that must lecture must have a PhD, I put in for my PhD programme, which I completed within four years. I used the PhD to mark my 60th birthday, and as God would have it, Hallmark University appointed me professor recently, which I am using to mark my 70th birthday.
