The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Friends

  • When friends turn foes

    When friends turn foes

    In journalism— the profession that has ensnared me for two decades and five years— when a man bites a dog, his acclaimed friend, it is a juicy piece of news. But, when a dog bites a man, at times, it is even considered a show of love or an act done on a suspected criminal. It is nothing strange.

    Because of dogs’ relationship with humans from time immemorial, millions of us the world over spend fortunes to keep them healthy and happy. In places like America, Canada, Europe and elsewhere, there are people who even treat their dogs as their children, as family members worthy of being made provisions for in their Will and Testament.

    But, what are we likely to witness if dogs, suddenly, decide to turn against us, their friends? This is the main question prolific writer Bolaji Olatunde has attempted to answer with his first Young Adult fiction, ‘The Heptagon Revolt’, which among other germane matters hints at the need for leaders to surround themselves with good advisers. A leader, he sems to be saying, is as good as the quality of the advice he accepts.

    There is also the extremely gender critical part: “As the days went by, it was noticed that many of the dogs started declaring themselves as sexes opposite to the one they had been born as. When some of these dogs were asked why they did so, they replied to the leaders that they genuinely felt that they were born in the wrong bodies. They quietly told their close friends that they needed more food.”

    In this 157-page masterpiece, which brings to mind George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, Olatunde’s imaginations run wild—so wild that dogs can hear what human beings are saying; however, human beings can’t hear dogs, a development, which makes it easy for them to plan their revolution against the human race.

    The novel follows Liz, a female dog, Bobby, a male dog, and their puppies and other dogs.

    Bobby, a rebel, tries to frustrate his owner’s plan to make him mate with Liz for puppies, but his revolutionary nature, especially the need for an increase in the canine population to support the revolt against humans, makes him change his mind and Liz births nine puppies, including Rex and Oriade, the special one.

    Liz and the nine puppies are moved to Abuja to stay with the Adejumos while Bobby is left in the Lagos home of his owner from where he later escapes at about the time the Adejumos’ plan to relocate to Canada materailises and they decide to sell Liz and her remaining puppies. Thus enter Heptagon, a security firm where Johnbull acts as a dog trainer.

    As a trainer, Johnbull believes “dogs are like human beings. If you don’t train children early, and well, they won’t listen to you when they become adults. They become bad seeds in society. When they’re old, they won’t listen to you. It’s the same with dogs — you must catch them young.” And it is with this mindset that he plans to handle the dogs. On the day Heptagon comes to pick them up, Rex, the most rebellious of the puppies, protests: “I don’t want to be bought and sold like a non-living thing.” Liz pleads with this stubborn puppy to follow the others but it keeps barking: “I refuse to be a slave to any human.” Rex then bites Johnbull.

    At the farm, where Heptagon keeps them, Oriade turns out willing to abide by the rule, but Rex tries his best possible to frustrate Johnbull. His mother’s plea falls on deaf ears. He has imbibed Bobby’s revolutionary character and soon begins to instigate other dogs to join him to free themselves from humans.

    Meanwhile, while Rex is planting his rebellious seed, news begin to make the round that a dog named Bobby is on his way from Lagos to the North in search of Liz and her puppies and is setting dogs on his pathway free.

    The Coronavirus pandemic, which forced the world on a break, plays a role in this book. Because of the lockdown, the dogs’ movements are curtailed to their cages and on the day Johnbull gets them to be allowed to roam the farm’s field, all hell breaks loose as Rex is attacked by an older dog he was rude to. Another older dog fights on his behalf and in no time a free-for-all ensues. Days after this fight, things fall apart when an army of Bobby-led dogs invade the farm and set off the revolution. But, who has the last laugh between humans and dogs? This is a question the author answers in a trickish way, which can better be appreciated only when the book is read.

    Though aimed at the young adult fiction demography, everyone can read this book. It raises issues around loyalty, equality, substance abuse, mediocrity, nepotism and communism. It also delves into unity of purpose as something central to success. The bit about communism raises questions about greedy people acquiring wealth they do not need, while the masses struggle to make ends meet. 

    Read Also: I’m a loner with no friends – Terry G

    There is another issue a reader may consider: Is this book really about dogs? Or, like ‘Animal Farm’ is it an allegory about the greedy, in this case represented by human beings and the oppressed represented by dogs? In the clash between the greedy and the masses, attempts by the oppressed to revolt are usually quelled with violence. We experience the same in this situation. So, is it a treatise on why revolutions may either fail or succeed?

    Unity is a challenge Nigeria has been unable to defeat since the British cobbled together strange bedfellows. In this book, the different dog breeds can be taken as the different tribes in Nigeria. What we see among the ethnic groups in Nigeria is not different from what we see among the dog breeds. Or, am I just reading too much meaning into a book that is just simply about dogs? Whatever the intention of the author, the book is affecting in ways beyond the surface.

     Leadership, the novel shows, is about sacrifice. When leaders make promises and break them under one guise or the other, we also find in the book, they lose credibility.

     My final take: Any society whose leaders aren’t ready to sacrifice for their people or fail to keep their words can’t progress. Such a society will instead regress and with time tire out the masses and what follows is usually unpleasant. Asking the people to endure while your lifestyles as leaders show no austerity is an invitation to chaos.

  • That’s what friends are for…

    There are friends whose hand you might want to shake. There are those whose jaws you want to punch. Whichever one, please be sure your meaning is very clear.

    I have drawn some conclusions about Nigerians, but I won’t tell you yet. Suffice it to say that I am surprised at the speed at which their interests change. Indeed, it has appeared that when news of a misdemeanor is broken, there is verbal uproar which lasts for a space of … ten seconds. Then the subject of the uproar changes to something else that may cause… another verbal tumult of five seconds, depending on the severity. Often, that gives way to another scandal which is greeted with a pandemonium which gives way to a verbal stampede… ad infinitum.

    I notice, for instance, that the subject of public discourse moved very rapidly in the last few weeks from herdsmen killers and kidnappers (uproar) through to RUGA settlements (pandemonium) through to ministerial list (grumblings) through to ministerial portfolios (loud talk). Like I said, all the public condemnation, rejection, approbation, disinterest, come-on-do-it-already, interestedness and all took place within days of each other.

    Of course, I do notice that none of these problems have had any permanent solution, in spite of the stampede in the discourses. Indeed, most of them seem to have been pushed under the carpet. That is why our national desks are empty and our nation’s carpet is full.

    Right now, I understand that the screening for the ministerial list is on but my name as usual is not on it. One of these days, those drawing those lists will have to answer that million-naira question: why does my name suddenly become difficult to pronounce when things are being distributed – houses (imagine, is it true that someone has over one hundred houses?), cars (imagine, people have jeep and car farms!), EFCC trouble (imagine, some have many cases and I have none! Oh yes, it is now a status symbol!), ICC trouble, etc. Not that I mind the last two, but come on people, jeep farms?! … It’s a little like your neighbour holding a party and forgetting to invite you.

    Anyhow, I’m wondering if all our ruminations and discourses can solve the problems the ministers will meet on ground. Don’t think so; indeed, they are likely to increase, because we will now have to pay them ministers form our already meagre resources. The last set of ministers did not help me much. There is still little water flowing from my taps and electricity flows into my house for only a few hours in the day, some days. In short, I’m really feeling abandoned…

    Anyway, that is not the subject of our discourse today. Today, we want to talk about friendship, because when the country abandons you, it is only your friends who stay. Let me show you the many times that I feel abandoned. I feel it when I am stopped on the road and harassed by uniformed men for having my papers complete and the president is nowhere to be found to save me from his men! I feel it when my pot is empty and the housekeeping money lies forlorn on my palm not able to get anywhere in the market on account of inflation. I feel abandoned when the children’s mouths are yawning at me threatening to swallow me up since no ‘swallows’ are entering in. I tell you, I feel most abandoned when the electricity bill comes and I find I have been asked to pay for what I have not consumed or water bill asking me to pay for the dry taps. At such times, I moan at the stars, ‘why, O why, Nigeria?’

    That is what friends are for: for you to offload your frustrations on. Everyone needs a friend: individuals, groups, nations, countries, even planets, especially earth. Someone said friends are rare and enemies are many. Maybe, but you know what they say, when you got a lemon, make yourself the sweetest lemonade ever. You got to learn to make the best of whatever friend you got.

    As individuals, we all need to share those ohs and ahs moments with others. When the roses break out in bloom, the baby says his first word or takes his first step in life or in school or in whatever, you want someone to share them with. True, such moments appear to be fewer than the other type; still, when they occur, they come as magic moments that need more than a pair of eyes to record them. They need a friend’s eye to help interpret them. Most of all, when the enemy strikes, it is better to have a friend with one, and just pray that friend does not turn out to be the enemy.

    Groups need all the friends they can get. They need friends for the jolly moments, and to increase and cement those moments. They need friends to prevent them from being proscribed, annihilated, swallowed up and kaboomed. I know my group is in danger of annihilation. Actually I belong to several groups – suffering housewives, neglected teachers, misunderstood writers … should I go on? We’re not counting terrorist ‘people’ though. Those are not groups; they are just a bunch of people in need of deep knowledge. We other groups all need help with the cooker, the chalk and the pen. That last group certainly needs help to make the pen mightier than the AK49.

    Nations and countries like Nigeria need help with their internal matters – promoting their trade, securing their citizens, prospering them and generally increasing their happiness quotient at least, if not their intelligence quotient. No country can stand alone. Just ask America. Presumably the strongest country right now, yet America always makes sure other smaller countries have her back in times of stress such as the gulf war times, war against terror or any war. At such times, such nations call their friends allies. Me, I call my friends, friends.

    To be sure, planet Earth needs friends. Just see what her enemies are doing to her now: depleting the ozone layer, heating her up and generally causing mayhem in her oceans and land. See how people are filling the grounds with other people’s blood … Seriously, earth needs a friend in you and I right now.

    Naturally, just as we have good friends so we also have baaaaaad friends. Some even come in sheep’s clothing, but ultimately, you always know the wolves unless your eyes are closed all the time or you make that friend over Facebook. Don’t get me wrong. Many ‘friendings’ on facebook are good and legitimate. Mine, whenever I have had the few odd few minutes to scroll through Facebook, I have been amazed at the joy people take in showing off their latest clothes and postures and advancements to their friends, i.e., people who have accepted to be their ‘friend’, whether known or unknown. I know I have ‘friends’ there that I have never met. Worse, many a young one have also been deceived and carried away into one real or internet slavery or the other. In other words, not everyone who says he/she is your friend is your friend. You may be better off being the friend of the friend of the friend of the friend of your friend …

    So, we all need friends because they are the people we can ambush at any unholy time to bend over backwards for us. As we celebrate the International Friendship Day on July 30, take time to celebrate all your friends. There are friends whose hand you might want to shake. There are those whose mouths you want to punch. Whichever one, please be sure your meaning is very clear. Hey, if you want to shake my hand as your number one hundredth friend, please don’t let me stop you. Happy friendship day.

  • Friends, associates, others celebrate Pius Adesanmi in Ondo

    FRIENDS, associates and admirers at the weekend paid tributes in Akure, the Ondo State capital, in honour of Prof. Pius Adesanmi, who died in the ill-fated Ethiopian Airline 302.

    In attendance at the event, which took place at the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Adegbemile, Akure, were the Special Adviser to Ondo State Governor on Public Utilities, Tunji Light Ariyomo; former Ondo State Head of Service (HoS) Ajose Kudehinbu; Rev. Fr. Joseph Ogodo of Ondo Catholic Diocese, who is the Director, Domus Pacis Pastoral Institute, Igoba, Akure; President of 83/88 set of St. Thomas Aquinas College Akure Old Students’ Association Tope Famuti, and others.

    Speaking on the life and times of the late erudite scholar, Ariyomo said Adesanmi was an intrepid revolutionary, who fought with superior ideas for the emancipation of the black race.

    According to him, the late Adesanmi believed that education and leadership were two principal keys to the liberation of Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

    He said: “Pius knew long ago that our future as a people would be affected by the depth and quality of our education as well as the quality of minds that constitute our leadership.”

    Ariyomo added: “There are many works of Pius that many have described as the best. For me, however, due to its central significance to the leadership ascension theme of most African democracies, my best of Pius’ works is an essay titled ‘2015: I endorse you, spectocrat!’”

    Ariyomo, who could not hold back tears, described Adesanmi as brilliance-personified.

    Kudehinbu, in his tribute, described the late professor as someone who was focused on seeing Africa become a safe haven for its people.

    He said the late erudite professor was never tired of promoting knowledge that could lead to bridging the gap between the poor and the rich.

  • Of Chinese hawks and Western crows

    By way of an entrée, an ancient wisdom posits that the sky is capacious enough for all the birds to fly in without any incidence of collision. They actually have in mind that the earth is so large to the extent that if we cannot be friends, we don’t have to be enemies.

    In other words, if ever we are assailed by differences of pathological magnitude, we could simply carve our separate paths and stay in our different lanes. The earth affords us humans that privilege as the sky, the birds.

    Or so our fathers imagined. But earth is earth and man is man. The sky is the massive unfathomable expanse above and birds are the winged, little organics planes coasting freely in it. Though our sages of yore must never be said to have erred, but the juxtaposition of these earthly and aerial elements may be a stretch.

    Well, let’s stretch it. While birds would rarely collide in the air; well unless there be carry-over libidinal aggro taken too far (or too high if you like), thereupon one bird may make to torpedo another mid-air.

    But it is not so for man. Hardball wagers that if the earth were a million times larger than it is, the British for instance would still have forded all the seas and brackish waters in between to seek out the spice isles of India. Marco Polo, the restless adventurer and merchant seafarer, wasn’t content sitting in his native Venice; he found the sea route to the Indies, navigating the wild oceans and cold seas.

    Columbus was restless until he found and conquered the Americas and part of Africa. Man, therefore, is a restless animal who is never content sitting quietly in his backyard no matter how commodious.

    Back to now and the issue of the day: why would anyone leave a place such as the confounding expanse of China, half of it uncharted and seek so voraciously, to ravage another continent? And why is Europe and North America so jittery at China’s rapacious incursion into Africa?

    The reason is simple. While Europe and America view Africa as a vicious conundrum and an irretrievable basket case; China seems to burst forth with a new paradigm: throw in enough money to create a bonded colony in perpetual peonage.

    The Euro-America colonial conglomerate seeing their perpetual tokenistic strategy in Africa in jeopardy is in a quandary. It can’t stop China shovelling billions of dollars into Africa so it resorts to ruinous propaganda…

    Hardball sees interesting new times ahead when the skies would truly be too little for the  birds…

     

  • Family, friends, celebrate Ayo Olukotun at 65

    It was a gathering of scholars when a political scientist, Prof Ayo Olukotun, celebrated his 65th birthday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The event highlighted the role of intellectuals as humanists. EVELYN OSAGIE was there.

    What is the wealth of a public intellectual dubbed humanist? Money? Fame or tangible assets? Some say the successful application of one’s research to public life is the ‘greatest gain’ of an intellectual.

    Decrying the missing interface between research and application, in addition to the widening gap between the academia and society, some critics argued that the intellectual who would find relevance should be public-oriented. Academics, they added, no longer possess the privilege of complacency, of choosing to remain cloistered within the walls of the academy, of engaging only with the members of their disciplines.

    These submissions were made at a birthday colloquium in honour of Prof. Ayo Samuel Olukotun, whose intellectual voyage spans the academia and media.

    Olukotun, a renowned political scientist and media scholar, is the Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona Professorial Chair in Governance, Political Science Department, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State.

    The event marking his 65th birthday brought together dignitaries from all walks of life to the International Conference Centre of the Lead City University in Ibadan.

    Olukotun was dressed in a wine-colour Agbada. His wife, Stella, who is also an academic, by his side.

    The event, chaired by Osun State Governor  Rauf Aregbesola, had as keynote speaker a professor of International Relations and Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Belgium and European Union, Alaba Ogunsanwo.

    They called him a “mentor”,  an “enviable academic” and a “fine columnist”, whose works have contributed to the shaping of public policy and discourse in the past three decades. But his wife called him “a great man, “ a loving father”, who has remained her “pillar of strength and inspiration”.

    As an academic, he has lectured at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Lagos and Lagos State University. He was a visiting professor of International Relations at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He was also a distinguished professor and head, Department of Political Science and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences at the Lead City University.

    Celebrating the “birthday boy” with the one-day roundtable, the chairman, Governing Board of the Lead City University, Prof Jide Owoeye, said the event was a deliberate act meant to call attention to the significant contributions of Olukotun to public discourse, media, academia and the country at large.

    His words: “It is good that we are recognising and celebrating one of the great Nigerians who deserve to be celebrated while alive. His contributions to the intellectual growth of our country are indeed worthy of note. We were classmates as Masters Students.”

    As a public intellectual, Olukotun, a columnist with the Punch, has been in the vanguard of nationalistic struggles over the last three decades, advocating a Nigeria that works for all classes of the society, it was said.

    Using the person of Olukotun as a case study, Ogunsanwo spoke on the theme: The public intellectual as a humanist. Ogunsawo, who was formerly Head of Department at University of Lagos (UNILAG), when Olukotun was a lecturer there, described the celebrator as a seasoned analyst who understands the underlying relationship between governance, democracy institutions and society at large.

    He called for synergy among the academia, policymakers and the public, observing that Nigeria’s academia is rich with diverse development-driven researches, which if properly applied, would lead to immense growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    As a journalist, he was the Chair of the Editorial Board of Daily Times; and through his weekly penetrative columns that have appeared in Daily Times, Guardian, Compass and Punch and several other frontline newspapers, Olukotun evokes deep ideas to challenge issues of bad governance in the country, while copiously recommending alternative pathways to national redemption.

    While recounting Olukotun’s role in his intellectual voyage, Aregbesola decried the gap between the academia and society. For the governor, who was represented by Director-General, Office of for Economic Development and Partnership (OEDP), Dr Charles Akinola, the “ultimate goal of research should be problem solving and every academic endeavour should fulfil the criteria of relevance and responsibility”.  He stated that Olukotun has a way of applying his academic prowess into shaping society, and that he remains a model for emulation by academics in other fields.

    He said: “Prof Olukotun has made his mark, without doubt, on the Nigeria social and political landscape. I have been exposed to his intellectual works. I consider it a privilege to have been drinking from his intellectual fountain all these years. It is most regrettable that academics conduct research mostly for promotion and occupation of academic chairs. Yet, there are existential challenges in society that should not just be the focus of research but application as well. Successful application of research should also be considered in the promotion and reward of academics.”

    He described Olukotun as a “good friend and dependable ally” who has been part of his struggles and public life. “His is a friendship that I treasure so much. At 65, an academic is like vintage wine, at its best, even if he is approaching formal retirement. But I can assure you that he is nowhere near retirement. As an academic and journalist, he is well decorated and honoured at home and abroad. But his best is yet to come. On behalf of my family, the government and good people of Osun, I most heartily celebrate the distinguished Prof Olukotun and wish him a very happy birthday and many years in the service of God and humanity.”

    Akinola recalled the early days of Olukotun as a student unionist. As a former Students Union President in the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in the 1970s, Akinola recollected that Olukotun believed in an intellectually-driven unionism and promoted non-violent protest and in seeking redress on issues.

    The colloquium also featured as discussants, such as UNILAG Head of Department, Mass Communication, Prof Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika; Vice Chairman, Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy, Dr Tunji Olaopa; Caleb University Vice Chancellor, Prof Diji Aina; and development practitioner and CEO/Principal Consultant, Sustainable Impact Konsult, Mr Bolaji Ogunseye.

    The public intellectual as a humanist, Prof Aderemi noted, is “transformative agent who engages the rulers and ruled in a symbiotic way that gives rise to economic growth.

    Olukotun as a mentor extraordinaire was further highlighted by the papers presented. As if it was planned, each discussant recounted his fatherly cum mentorship role in growth of their careers – whether as a journalist or a scholar. Ogwezzy-Ndisika recollected how Olukotun was very instrumental for her becoming a professor and columnist, stating: “Prof Olukotun is not only a seasoned intellectual but a father who is committed to the growth of his own. From the very beginning, he has been interested and monitors my progress. From time to time, he calls me up for progress report, while encouraging me to stay focused and not give up”.

    On his part, Olaopa praised Olukotun’s contribution to knowledge and national conversation, stating that as “one of the leading lights in this new thrust of public intellectualism in Nigeria, he is a colleague of the pen and public discourse”.

    While calling on scholars to borrow a leaf from Olukotun’s example, he urged that they “engage with the general public or policy-makers more frequently, and translate their research into a language that is accessible to audiences that lack familiarity with disciplinary discourses”.

    He asserted: “The intellectual must be able to bridge the divide between the gown and the town; a long-standing problem in our clime. That is where the public intellectual becomes relevant. By engaging with the public, academics can strengthen democracy and bolster the position of education within a democratic society.

    “Olukotun has shown us that great minds no longer captivate the public as they once did, because the university has become too insular and academic thinking too narrow. His life and commitments to the public good are instructive to us today, even as we gather to celebrate this remarkable scholar.”

    According to the Chairman of the Olukotun@65 Organising Committee, Dr. Tunde Oseni, friends, colleagues and mentees of the celebrant put together the event “in honour the man who has shown leadership, strength of conviction and has lived a most purposeful life in the last 65 years’’.

    ”Indeed, over the last three decades of consistent engagement, he has emerged not just as a dominant name, but as a reliable brand. The event is especially conceived to interrogate the life of the celebrant, his scholarship and his impact on the society at large.”

    Prof Toyin Falola, who sent his regards from the University of Texas, US, averred that Olukotun “shows us the value of public trust and intellectual integrity, a wholesome fountain that never runs dry”.

    His poem, On Becoming An Elder, in honour of the celebrator, was performed by Evelyn D’Poet at the event.

  • Friends ‘impersonate policemen’

    Two friends, who allegedly impersonated police officers to steal a motorcycle valued at N200,000, yesterday appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.

    Mohammed Usman, 30, and Adamu Mohammed, 30, are being tried for alleged conspiracy, impersonation and stealing.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Innocent Odugbo said the offences were committed on April 29 at Suberu Close, Shogunle, Lagos.

    Odugbo said the accused stopped a motorcyclist on the road, and showed him fake police identity cards, claiming he was under arrest for taking one way.

    “The accused told the complainant, Mr Oseni Mohammed, that his motorcycle had been impounded and that he should bring N4,000 to recover it.

    “The complainant begged them to collect N1,000 but they insisted on N4,000 and when they attempted to ride the motorcycle away, the complainant shouted for help,” he said.

    Odugbo added that a passer-by helped in apprehending the accused, who were about to run away.

    “The police on patrol met them at the scene and arrested the accused,” he added.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

     

  • ‘Ladoja, family, friends blew N1.9b shares proceeds’

    The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday heard that a former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja allegedly did not remit N1.9billion realised from the sale of the state’s shares.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told the court that the money allegedly went to Ladoja, his family and friends and was not refunded.

    An EFCC investigator, Abubakar Madaki, testifying in Ladoja’s trial, alleged that the former governor unilaterally gave instructions in 2007 that the shares be sold.

    He said the shares, worth N6.6billion, were sold without the state executive council’s resolution.

    According to the investigator, Ladoja engaged Fountain Securities as a portfolio manager to sell the shares at a discounted rate, adding that the shares were acquired by McLace Securities.

    “In the course of our investigation, about N500million was recovered from McLace Security, Fountain Securities and other stockbrokers.

    “The balance could not be recovered because some of those who purchased the shares were not even stockbrokers as highlighted by the report of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

    “Part of the proceeds was used to offset the four cars given to the first accused (Ladoja), which he confirmed. That too, the first accused has not refunded the value of the cars neither did his family members and associates refund what was given to them; all these were part of the proceeds.”

     

     

     

  • Ladoja, family, friends blew N1.9b shares proceeds, says EFCC

    The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday heard that a former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja allegedly did not remit N1.9 billion realised from the sale of the state’s shares when he was in office.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told the court that the money allegedly went to Ladoja, his family and friends and was not refunded.

    An EFCC investigator, Abubakar Madaki, who testified in Ladoja’s trial, accused the former governor of unilaterally giving instructions in 2007 that the shares be sold at discounted rates.

    He said the shares, worth N6.6 billion, were sold at discounted rates without the State Executive Council’s (Exco’s) resolution.

    According to the investigator, Ladoja engaged Fountain Securities as a portfolio manager to sell the shares at a discounted rate, adding that the shares were acquired by McLace Securities.

    “In the course of our investigation, about N500 million was recovered from McLace Security, Fountain Securities and other stockbrokers.

    “The balance could not be recovered because some of those who purchased the shares were not even stockbrokers, as highlighted by the report of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    “Part of the proceeds was used to offset the (cost of) four cars given to the first accused (Ladoja), which he confirmed. Also, the first accused has not refunded the value of the cars, neither did his family members and associates refund what was given to them; all these were part of the proceeds.

    “I can name the cars for clarity. There is a jeep; there is a bus and there are two cars, out of the cars supplied to members of the House of Assembly loyal to the first accused when he was governor.

    “All these were paid for with the proceeds of the shares. The first accused confirmed this in his statement; he promised to make a refund then but as at today, he has not done so.”

    Ladoja is on trial for alleged N4.7 billion fraud involving state funds.

    EFCC charged him along with his Commissioner for Finance, Waheed Akanbi.

    Prosecuting lawyer Olufemi Olabisi said Madaki tendered the letter allegedly written by Ladoja to approve the shares’ sale, which was admitted in evidence.

    The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    Justice Mohammed Idris adjourned the matter till May 30 and 31.

     

  • God save me from my friends, my enemies I can take care of

    I grew up to hear of this saying that the enemy is out there behind the house but the one that stabs you at the back and still keeps asking why you are bleeding, lives within the house with you.

    Bless the Yoruba man, it is the result of the profundity of his thought that he uttered this timeless statement: “Ehinkule l’ota wa, inu ile laseni ngbe”. In our everyday affairs, at home, at workplaces and particularly so in politics, we encounter this reality that one wonders why human beings are so mean, so deficient in good conscience and so perfidious in their mindset.

    I know of a wife who believes every imaginable negative story about her husband and whose mind is so blocked with prejudice that she cannot see, talk more of appreciating the good qualities in her man. The husband many court for his good counsel and wisdom, the wife relishes in putting down before friends and family, many of who, in any case, hate  her to death from settling down to happy matrimony.

    Such people deserve pity because due to their own warped thinking of placing undue premium on filthy lucre, they inexorably end up putting their hen up for quick sale and replacing it with guinea fowl; embracing dross while their gold slips off their fingers. Many of the cases of unmarried ladies have their roots in this malady.

    In politics, it is goddamn worse. When you have fixation on particular direction, you ultimately find out the way the dart is coming from, is ultimately the least of your expectation. That is why political leaders anywhere deserve constant intercession for. When the other day, I saw a newspaper publication of a near vegetable of a man called Paul Biya being assisted to a political podium for a rally in Cameroun, my mind bled to see someone I will refer to as the face of betrayal and perfidy in the African continent.

    When the heat was on the Cameroon President from independence, Alhaji Ahmadu Ahidjo to quit because he was believed to have stayed too long in office, he felt he would be safe by installing his puppet, Paul Biya in his place. That was in the 70s. He also naively thought putting a Cameroonian Christian in the presidential palace would assuage some feeling and secure him lasting retirement bliss. But he was grossly mistaken. No sooner he vacated office than his ‘nemesis’ bared his fangs such that Ahidjo had to flee into exile in France, where he eventually died. Biya became an unrelenting pursuer of his benefactor even unto death and the rest is now history.

    Back home in the early 80s was the incident one fine writer described as the ‘Night of long knives’ in Yola, Adamawa state where the then Awo’s Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) held a crucial meeting in which a well-woven plot to do some of the party’s state governors in, was hatched. It was by divine intervention that the party did not get blown into smithereens at that epic meeting but it was doubtful if the party fabric remained intact till its proscription by the military.

    The drama that played out recently on the tenure elongation issue in the All Progressives Congress was as interesting as it was full of complexities. Many looked in a certain direction as to where the plot came from. If it was true, it fitted into the picture of the enemy without. But my nosing around suggested otherwise.

    Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, the Fuji music creator, crooned in one of his many long-playing records: “Ota to f’oju han, iyen se pere, ore bi ota lo soro julo;

    “To ba ma se osaka, je osaka to yan ju, to ba ma je osoko, j’osoko ka mo e o. Oto ni iku pa’ni ore, ka ri’ni ka feyin, ka soro eni lehin laida. Araiye buru, ibunu Adamo, Ayinde ile aiye tooto; To ba nba e je, tan ba nba mu, wa tun soro e l’eyin laida, ebe ni mo wa nbe Olorun mi, ma je k’owo ota o temi; dakun ma je k’owo ore o te mi (Amin); tori anjuwon ko se wi l’ejo, ija ilara ko tan boro, boro o..”

    No wonder the philosopher of ages said it that “God save me from my friends, the enemy I can take care of”

    How I wish people who indulge in this type of behaviour think back in history. Since Chief Obafemi Awolowo declared at a press interview in the 70s that “there’s no escape for that person who denies a benefit”, I had ever etched it in my mind that the end-result of perfidy and betrayal is doom, as those he had in mind when he uttered those words, suffered to their grave.

    Betrayal, perfidy and greed don’t happen overnight. They are for long incubated in the hearts of their possessors and when they fully blossom in the course of time, they are celebrated in the reverse. Which is why the elders say it is for the degree of opprobrium to be high that the mad person doesn’t die early or young. “Ki esin were le po, ni o se ku ni kekere”.

    Truly, God save us from our friends, the true enemies we can take care of!

  • Friends, family celebrate Pa Olubanjo at 90

    Children, friends, relations and well-wishers trooped out in large number to celebrate Chief Matthew Olubanjo as he clocked the age of 90 years in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital yesterday.

    Pa Olubanjo, who hailed from Igede-Alaro in Ogun State, spent all his active years in Ibadan as a professional photographer.

    At S’t Anne’s Anglican Church, Molete, Ibadan where the thanksgiving service was held, several friends, relations and well-wishers joined Olubanjo’s children and wife to felicitate with the nonagenarian. The children were also joined by their children and grand children to add colour to the occasion.

    Taking his Bible text from John 15:1-8, Philippians 4:6,8 and Ps 103:2,5 the cleric, Venerable Adewale Sanda, urged the celebrator, his family members and friends to see his long life as made possible by only God’s mercy. Hence, he urged them to continue to thank God for His mercy.

    Rev. Sanda also urged the congregants to accept Jesus Christ as Lord for He has good things with which He can satisfy men. He advised them to make up their mind to forsake sin and be born again because nothing compares with good health in the Lord. “We should look up to Jesus as the finisher of our faith. Let’s rely on Him. We should seek help only in Him. Let’s plan to serve God more than before.” He said.

    Pa Olubanjo was born on February 16, 1928. He was educated at Igede-Alaro, Imomo and Odogbolu for his primary education. He started his photography career in 1951 in Ibadan, where he worked till he retired in October, 1995. He married Madam Sophia Olubanjo in 1959 and Esther Olubanjo in 1973. He has 10 children who are successful in their various careers.

    In an interview with The Nation, Pa Olubanjo attributed his long life to the grace of God. He said he does not struggle to live in his old age because his children and other people around him offer him adequate care.

    The celebrator described photography as a good and profitable vocation, stressing that he enjoyed it throughout his practice years.

    He is the Baba Ijo of S’t James Anglican Church, Igede-Alaro and a committed member of St Anne’s Anglican Church, Molete, Ibadan.

    One of his children, Prof. Olugbenga Olubanjo of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, described his father as a disciplinarian and a lover of education. He explained that he could not go beyond Standard Six in his education because of financial challenges. Because of that, Prof. Olubanjo said his father ensured that all his children were properly educated.

    He said: “I am lucky to be close to him right from my youthful days. He is a unique father, somebody who believes in education. He did so much to leave a legacy, especially in the area of education even when people around him opposed the idea of education. He went ahead to educate all his children, denying himself of so much pleasure and many opportunities. We are all grateful for that today.”

    Another child, Babajide Olubanjo, who is the Auditor General, Ogun State Government, described his father as a honest and hardworking man. He added that he is a man with foresight who cared so much for his family.

    He said his father preaches and demonstrates endurance and fear of God, which he said helped him and all the children in what they do.

    Guests were entertained at a reception which held at Akinfenwa Hall opposite the church.

    At the event were dignitaries including the Olugun of Ilugun, Oba Josiah Otukoya and Editor, The Nation newspaper, Mr Gbenga Omotoso.