“This war changes us as we remain the same,” is a poignant line from two-time Booker Prize finalist Chigozie Obioma’s new and third novel, The Road to the Country. It is haunting narrative of Nigeria’s civil war. Reading through it reminds one of a line from the Vietnamese American novelist and author of the Sympathiser, Viet Thanh Nguyen. He wrote, “All wars are fought twice. The first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory.” That line haunted me as Obioma’s novel closes. As the war ends, federal troops force Igbo to chant “One Nigeria.” In his wake, an old woman, in the midst of a broken country of rotten corpses and about a million dead, is defiant. She yells “hail Biafra,” several times. She does not say it to the faces of still belligerent federal soldiers.
While it is compelling to ask the IPOB folks and their closet sympathisers to read Obioma’s tale about the mangled flesh, deaths and devastation of the 30-month inferno in Biafra, that old woman evinces the death wish in the human soul. History repeats itself, and that is the tragedy. If a person who just witnessed carnage is unbowed, how do you evangelise peace to their children and grandchildren who are eying the nozzle and smoke of the battlefield?
Perhaps that is the cautionary tale of Obioma’s absorbing offering. Biafra started with fury but not fire. How do you pursue your own justice without arms? Adichie raised that question in her Half of a Yellow Sun, and yours truly in my own novel, My Name is Okoro.
But The Road to the Country is the first major story about the battlefield, the soldiers, their interstices of fear and mortar fire, the ducks and raids, the ogre and pathos, even the romance that subdues a voracious war as a devourer of men, women and children.
The story starts with guilt, and we follow Kunle, half Yoruba, half Igbo, who goes into Biafra in search of his brother Tunde, on wheelchair because he sent him out of the house many years before the war to follow a ball he kicked to the streets. There Tunde is hit by a car. Kunle wants a happy doing with Nkechi. That never happens, but it is the beginning of Tunde’s handicap and Nkechi’s shift of affection to Tunde.
The guilt takes Kunle to Biafra. He does not see Tunde before he sees battle and he becomes a Biafran captain. His romance with another Biafran soldier Agnes is haunting. But in all, it is a story of a people who cannot rely on faith alone. It is a tale of ungunned gallantry that leads to an epic collapse and rump of a cause. Biafra fights with unfunded heroics and ill-equipped audacity. They turn ogre into romance and romance into nightmare. We see its moral contradiction, as in when many die of kwashiorkor but Colonel Ojukwu, in his plenty, sends choice drinks to a mercenary officer who would balk in the end.
Written from the Biafran perspective, it reminds one of Eric Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front about the First World War. Obioma’s style alternates between gore and empathy, daring into mangled flesh in a mangled land, a tale Nigerians need to read to understand how war can make heroes on famished roads.
Nigeria is the only country in the world in which history is not taught.
This policy has done us much harm and represents perhaps the greatest, most savage, most brutal and most destructive blow to the pysche, confidence, knowledge, intellectual acumen and mental health of our people.
The consequence of this egregious and unbelievable error and grave oversight is the fact that we are now having to contend with a vast population of over 220 million people who are essentially ignorant of their own past, that have no knowledge of their noble historical heritage and that predicate and rationalise their nation’s existence on lies, misinformation, disinformation, falsehood, folklore, fairy tales, fantasy, self-serving and selective clap trap and a more than heavy dose of intellectual distortion and historical revisionism.
This is precisely why we are, in the main, essentially a conflicted and confused people who have no idea where we are coming from, where we are today or where we are going tomorrow.
This is why we, more often than not, view, discuss and debate our nation’s history with an emotional bent and from a thoroughly subjective, unintelligent and unintellectual prism rather than an objective, plausible, logical, level- headed, factual and intelligent one with strong primary sources and unassailable empirical evidence.
We have little or no regard or appreciation of the heroic deeds, monumental struggles, historical achievements and extraordinary sacrifices that our forefathers made in the struggle against British colonial rule, the fight for independence, the struggle against military rule and the challenges and obstacles that our politicians from the First, Second and Third republics faced, surmounted and overcame to get us to where we are.
This is our reality and frankly it is pitiful.
I say pitiful because without any knowledge of our history we are nothing.
Worse of all is the fact that, having learnt nothing from our past mistakes and numerous historical challenges because we have no idea about precisely what those mistakes and challenges were, it becomes inevitable for us to repeat them.
Permit me to tickle your collective fancies by asking the following questiins.
How many Nigerians know who Alafin Aole Arogangan, Sheik Usman Dan Fodio, Bishop Ajayi Crowther, Rev. Emmanuel Adelabi Kayode (my great grandfather), Herbert Macauly, Sapara Williams, Rev. Suberu Fanimokun, Isaac Boro, General Murtala Mohammed, Alhaji Ali Akilu, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, Colonel Gideon Orkar and Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim were?
How many know anything about Ernest Ikoli, Alhaji Aminu Kano, Chief Joseph Tarka, Owelle Nnamdi Azikiwe, Justice Daddy Onyeama, Chief Philip Asiodu, Chief Allison Ayida, Chief Hope Harriman, Chief Godfrey Amachree, Alhaji Adamu Attah, Alhaju Adamu Augie, Chief Solomon Lar, Alhaji Saleh Jambo, Alhaji Saleh Hassan, Oba Adesoji Aderemi and Alhaji Adamu Ciroma?
How many know much about General Hassan Katsina, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Shehu Musa Yar’adua, General TY Danjuma, General Sani Abacha, Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, Dr. Olusola Saraki, Chief KO Mbadiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Adetokunboh Ademola, Chief FRA Williams, Justice Atanda Fatayi-Williams, Oba Okunade Sijuwade and the Black Scorpion, Benjamin Adekunle?
How many know anything about the Black Victorians of the old Lagos colony or Sara Forbes Bonneta who was the god-daughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
How many have ever heard about Sara’s distinguished and well to do husband, Captain James Pinson Labulo Davis, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist from old Lagos.
How many know anything about the politics and history of Nigeria in the 1920’s, 1930’s, 1940’s, 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s?
How many knew that it was only in the 1950’s that Nigerians were allowed to live in the area of Lagos known as Ikoyi and that this came about only as a consequence of the long and bitter struggle and great and irresistible agitation of the proud and noble Nigerian leaders of the old Lagos colony of that day.
Up until then Ikoyi was a residential area that was the exclusive preserve of the European settlers and colonialists!
How many have heard about Justice Victor Adedapo Kayode, my Cambridge-University trained paternal grandfather who was one of the leading criminal lawyers of his generation, who was the third Nigerian to be appointed as a Magistrate (in those days all our judges were white) and who landed a dirty slap on the face of a British colonial officer in broad daylight outside the front door of the old Bristol Hotel in Lagos for his insolence, impertinence and overtly racist remarks!
The following day the matter was reported in the newspapers and it created quite a stir!
How many know about what really happened during our civil war and what led to it?
How many know about President Shehu Shagari and the Second Republic and how many have any knowledge of Chief MKO Abiola in the third?
How many know about military rule in Nigeria and who the main players were and how many have any idea about the coups and attempted coups we have experienced since independence?
Sadly most Nigerians, particularly in the Gen Z generation, know NOTHING about their nations past and its major players and even when they do that knowledge is sparse, scanty, shallow and, more often than not, minimal, inconsequential and obscure.
It really is a tragedy and one of the reasons that yours truly has written this contribution about the relevance of January 15th in our calender is to at least attempt to enlighten those that are intelligent enough to appreciate the importance of history and that have no idea why we even have or celebrate an Armed Forces Remebrance Day or where our seemingly unending troubles and turmoil really started.
Consider the following.
Today is Armed Forces Remembrance Day and it is a day that we are constrained to rembember our fallen heroes.
Many in the younger generation do not know why this particular day was chosen to commemorate those that fell and the tragic events that led to their brutal murder.
Permit me to enlighten those that know no better and to share the facts.
58 years ago today, on January 15th 1966, a bloody, vicious, merciless, unrelenting and violent mutiny took place in our Armed Forces in which many of our reverred, respected and beloved political leaders and senior military officers, together with some members of their respective families, were humiliated, tortured, mutilated and finally murdered in cold blood.
Those that were killed were Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the old Northern Region, Chief S.L. Akintola, the Premier of the old Western Region, Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, Colonel James Pam, Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun, Colonel Ralph Sodeinde, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the Minister of Finance, Colonel Arthur Unegbe, Colonel Kur Mohammed, Lt. Colonel Abogo Largema, Mrs. Hafsatu Bello, the wife of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Zarumi, the bodyguard of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Mrs. Lateefat Ademulegun, the wife of Brigadier Ademulegun, Ahmed B. Musa, Ahmed Pategi, Sgt. Daramola Oyegoke, PC Yohana Garkawa, PC Musa Nimzo, PC Akpan Anduka, PC Hagai Lai and PC Philip Lewande.
Two others were also abducted by the mutineers from their homes that night and brutalised. Thankfully they both managed to escape with their lives.
The first was Chief Remilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode KC, SAN, CON, the Balogun of Ile-Ife and the Deputy Premier of the old Western Region (my beloved father).
I personally witnessed some of the events of that night when, led by one Captain Emmanuel Nwobosi, they came to our home and official residence in Government House, Ibadan and abducted him.
Thankfully he was rescued later in the day by loyal troops led by Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon (as he then was), Captain Paul Chabri Tarfa (as he then was) and Lt. Takoda, who stormed the officers mess in Dodan Barracks, Lagos where he was taken and was being held by the mutineers and freed him after a prolonged and bloody gun battle which resulted in deaths on both sides.
The second was Sir Kashim Ibrahim, the Governor of the old Northern Region who was rescued and freed by loyalist forces in Kaduna.
Both of these men were delivered by divine providence and went on to live for many more years and make their contributions to national development.
The coup was led by Major Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna and Major Chukuwemeka Kaduna Nzeogwu and 90% of the officers involved were Igbo.
The allegation that it was an Igbo coup is accurate and factual regardless of all attempts to revise and re-write history, often by the murderers and mutineers themselves, in a futile attempt to make it look otherwise and portray themselves as patriots and heroes.
They were far from either of the two and the bitter truth is that they were nothing more than a bunch of cowardly, treacherous, self-serving, ungrateful, over ambitious, power- hungry homicidal maniacs and murderous butchers who attempted to take power through the barrel of the gun and impose an ethnic and religious agenda.
The assertion that it was not an Igbo coup is patently false and we owe it to those that lost their lives on that terrible night to at least speak the truth about what happened and who killed them.
I commend the historians, commentators and writers, including individuals like @renoomokri, who have collectively continued to pronounce and enunciate this sacred truth despite the insults and threats which they are often subjected to by those who are blind to the reality, who have no knowledge of history and who have been misguided and brainwashed into believing otherwise.
The cycle of violence that the unprecedented amount of violence and bloodshed that took place that terrible night unleashed was horrendous and not only did it lead directly to what has rightly been described by historians as the “Northern officers revenge coup” 6 months later in July 1966 in which 300 Igbo officers and the Igbo Head of State, General Aguiyi-Ironsi, was murdered but also to the infamous pogroms in the North where up to 100,000 Igbos were murdered by angry mobs and finally the civil war in which up to 3 million Igbo civilians and Biafran soldiers (including 1 million Igbo children) were butchered alongside hundreds of thousands of Nigerian civilians and gallant Army officers.
My prayer is that we never witness or experience such bloody events in our history again but if anyone is interested in knowing where, how and why this terrible series of events and cycle of brutality started they must consider the events of January 15th 1966 when the murderous barbarians that called themselves young Army officers unleashed mayhem on our leaders and killed so many of them in the most beastly and cowardly fashion.
History records all those that were murdered that night as heroes and we shall never belittle, forget or undermine the supreme sacrifice that they made for our beloved nation.
They live on in our hearts and we resolve to soldier on regardless and make Nigeria an even greater and better country than they sought to make it and to honour their memory by building on their great and noble heritage and legacy.
May their precious souls continue to rest in peace, may the Lord continue to protect, comfort and bless those they left behind including their families and loved ones and may God continue to guide and lead our great nation Nigeria.
Taiwo Alimi reports the lamentations of ex-internationals /footballers over the pains and neglect they suffer from an unsupportive system after sacrificing their productive years for club and country.
Monday Odiaka is living as a shadow of his former self. ‘I’m managing,’ he said when this reporter asked him how life has been treating him.
Upon close scrutiny, however, it is glaring that Odiaka is indeed managing the tough times have thrust upon him. He wears the depressing vestige of a professional footballer in spite of the glowing accolade he received in his heyday; the time of greatest strength and popularity marked by multiple laurels for his club and country.
At 56, Odiaka could hardly stand straight. He bears the brunt of injuries that typifies footballers’ line of business. His knees are swollen and his legs are twisted such that he walks in rutted angle.
When he tries to run, it is in zigzags, which speaks volume of the pain he is experiencing. When he has to stand, he supports himself with both arms- and, it won’t be for long- before he slumps back into any available seat.
Odiaka has seen better days. He is well known for his block-buster shots as a regular striker with the successful but defunct African Continental Bank (ACB) football club and the Nigeria U21 team, The Flying Eagles.
In one of the U21 World Cup qualifying series in 1985, he scored one of the five goals that cancelled a 3-0 advantage Cameroon had from the first leg in Yaounde.
It was reported the goal almost cost Odiaka his life as he fainted while jubilating over the third goal that automatically equaled the Yaounde deficit. He must have sustained a bad knock in the rigour of squeezing the goal in, but he did not know in the euphoria of jubilation. It took the intervention of the team doctors to revive him. Odiaka continued the match even after.
He said of the episode: “I was running towards the late M.K.O. Abiola (the then Nigeria Pillar of Sports), when my heart stopped. I was later revived and I continued the game.
“We played with our hearts in our days. We were a rare breed because once we got unto the pitch, we just wanted to play and nothing else mattered.
“We never asked for money; we just wanted to die there for club and country. It is how we were made.”
Odiaka was a delight to watch in those days. Although he is of average height, he possesses the heart of a giant. He was simply one of the most dreaded attackers. He helped ACB win in the continent more than three times, and in one year; ACB won all the laurels in the local league.
Today, Odiaka is a shadow of that era. He is physically in a shambles with crooked legs, living on economic edge.
“What keeps me going is that I live among my peers, and occasionally, we come together to reminisce the good old days by playing football among ourselves.”
Otherwise,Odiaka would have been totally wrecked in the spirit too.
Odiaka was part of the Nigeria U21 team to the 1995 World Youth Championship in USSR, where he scored the tournament’s fastest goal in 14 seconds. And the Guinness Book of Records feat stood for 34 years before it was broken by Senegal striker Amadou Sagna,who scored for the Young Lions of Teranga after just 9.6 seconds against Tahiti at the 2019 World Youth Championship in Poland.
In his smashed state, Odiaka, who is called ‘Skippo’ till date, captained the AjegunleFootball Heroes to win the Above 50 Football Championship in August.
Speaking after defeating Abeokuta All Stars in the final, he said:“Football is something I fell in love with as a teenager. Though I can’t play for a long time again due to injury, I can roll back the years with former teammates and friends.
“I still feel pains in my legs, but I also enjoy the game.”
Asked if he undergoes therapy or any form of healthcare for the leg, he said: “the only form of therapy I do is for my friends and family members to rub and massage it with analgesic balm.
“I’ve spent a lot of money in the hospital on it. If I get support from any quarter I will be happy.”
Late Ebiede, Odiaka, Late Sofoluwe, Nwosu, Ekpo, Ajide
Friday Ekpo
Like Odiaka, another ex-international, Friday Ekpo, is not finding life funny. Life, indeed, has played sour tricks on the former Super Eagles midfielder and winger.
At 55, Ekpo looks strong. Physically, he stands out among his peers during All Stars’ matches and is capable of playing 90 minutes without hassle. However, Ekpo is living on financial fringe. He’s shrunken and shares no resemblance with the ebullient Leventis United and Super Eagles midfield marshal that got thousands of fans chanting his name whenever he handled ball. He had great control and presence in the middle of the pack that you could not mistake.
Between 1984 and 1990, Ekpo was at his footballing best, taking four national league trophies and four Africa Winners Cups while playing for Leventis United, Abiola Babes and Iwuanyanwu Nationale.
He played in 19 matches for the Nigeria national football team from 1989 to 1993. He was also named in Nigeria’s squad for the 1992 African Cup of Nations.
Although Ekpo still has control of the game with near-equal pace and zeal, what is lacking is the financial base to lead a befitting a man of his stature.
Shortly after the third place match of the Above 50 Football Competition between Surulere All Stars and Alimosho All Stars, Ekpo, who played for Surulere, solicited from another colleague the transport fare to get home. He said:
“At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I want to say again that ex-internationals have been neglected in this country. When we were playing, we played with all our strength, but we earned little. We were playing for country, not ourselves.
The little money we made then could not sustain us for long. We did not have any other craft aside from football because we started the game early.
“Many of us have died in penury and many are suffering in silence. If we talk, they will say are we the only one? Life is difficult for us.”
More sad tales
Another ex-international, Tajudeen Disu, experiences pain on both legs. The former Flying Eagles and Super Eagles defender walks around with swollen ankles and feet.
“I did not experience this symptom when I was playing. But after I stopped active football, I began to feel strange pains on my knees and feet. I was rubbing and massaging it with balm, but now I have learnt to live with it.
“Sometimes, it gets so swollen that I cannot wear cover shoes.”
He noted that many ex-footballers are living with that condition because they cannot cater for their health issues in retirement.
“Swollen and painful foot is the least of our health problems. Many ex-internationals are living in pains. Many cannot afford to feed themselves not to talk of fending for their families.
“We have been neglected and the system is not supportive like it is in Europe and the United States of America. These are the basis of our burdens.
“Life is not kind to us. Those in authority are not also kind to us.”
Henry Nwosu
Former Super Eagles mercurial player Henry Nwosu (60) was guest at the Above 50 Football Tournament at the Lagos National Stadium. Just coming out of a life threatening heart condition, he looked relaxed and well, but the old spring in his legs were gone.
He walked slowly with friends on the alert by his sides, and his voice was hoarse.
Some months before, Nwosu could not stand on his legs. He spoke with a slur, was incoherent and inaudible and could not recognise people or things.
A trickster on the pitch, it is said that Nwosu came before his time, and that if he had tarried a while, he would have better Austin Jay Jay Okocha and Ronaldinho put together.
Nwosu was the youngest member of the Green Eagles victorious 1980 African Nations Cup squad. He also played at the 1982, 1984, and 1988 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCONs). He is a recipient of AFCON gold and two silver medals. He also played for Nigeria at the 1980 Olympic Games.
But for the backing that came in the form of Delta State and Lagos State governments, the veteran coach would probably have joined his ancestors untimely.
Unable to endure the burden of his medical cost, his family cried out for assistance, prompting the Delta State Government take over his medical bill. He was first taken to a medical facility in Asaba, the capital of the state before Lagos State brought him to Lagos and took over from there. Nwosu is up and about because help came on time.
The story for Nwosu’s teammate in the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations, Kadiri Ikhana, was not different. The decorated former coach of Enyimba Football Club had suffered a serious bone dislocation affecting his backbone. He was bedridden for months before well-wishers, among them footballer turned politician Tajudeen Ajide, came to his aid by underwriting his hospital bill. Ikhana has since been discharged and fine.
Yisa Sofoluwe
For Yisa Sofoluwe, he died before help could come.
Fondly called Dean of Defence or Minister of Defence, the Super Eagles defender died of cerebral atrophy (an ailment associated with stroke) on February 2021 in Lagos at the age of 53.
Sofoluwe was a regular in the Super Eagles from 1983 to 1988 and played a pivotal role in winning two silver medals for Nigeria at the AFCONs of 1984 and 1988.
His friend and teammate at Abiola Babes, Tajudeen Disu, confirmed that Sofoluwe’s death was a combination of medical neglect out of financial distress.
“Sofoluwe wasn’t the type that makes noise about his problem. But those of us that are close to him knew that he was going through financial difficulty at the period.
“He was a grassroots coach and was not doing it for money. He was just happy impacting football skill in the young people. He was suffering health wise too and was bearing it with courage until he suffered stroke that led to his death.
“He was only 53 when we lost him. That is the plight of many ex-internationals and why I said government must do something about it.”
Disu said another of his bosom friend and ex-player was lost in similar fashion.
Ganiyu Akanni
“That is how GaniyuAkanni also died unsung and without mention.”
Akanni, who is older brother to ex-international Waidi Akanni, played for National Bank FC and Julius Berger. He was 61 when he died in 2022.
“Akanni was my very good friend and we were always together. He had a heart condition that he was managing but he could not manage it well because he was struggling financially like many ex-players.
“He ought to be on medication, but most of the time, he could not afford it. His death was sudden. He suffered a heart attack and died before we got him to the hospital. No one expected it at the time it happened.
“If he had managed his health better, I believe Ganiyu would still be alive.”
Pitifully, it is not only ex-footballers that played in the 80s that are experiencing economic and medical stress, some who were stars in the 90s and played for big clubs in Europe are not left out, according to Disu.
Emmanuel Ebiede
On April 13 of this year, the nation woke up to the shocking news of the death of former Super Eagles and SC Heerenveen of Holland attacker, Emmanuel Ebiede, of hepatomegaly complications.
The skillful player, who was a member of the 1995 Flying Eagles squad in the African Youth Championship (AYC), hosted by Nigeria, also played for the senior national team in the 1998 pre-World Cup qualifiers against Iran.
Ebiede, who, thereafter, earned two full caps for the Super Eagles, died prematurely at 45.
It was reported that Ebiede had battled a liver disease for months and spent lots of money to get cure to no avail before his family cried out for help from their state government – Rivers.
Help, however, came late as the ex-international’s system collapsed and he was pronounced dead at a government hospital in Port Harcourt.
Disu continued: “Do you know the reason why ex-internationals are into novelty matches for politicians? It is because many of them need the money for their upkeep? Many of us are broke, and because politicians can give up to N1 million per individual when we come out to play, you see former internationals coming out. Of course, the money will solve some problems.
Way out
Immediate past chairman of Surulere Local Government Area and ex-footballer, Tajudeen Ajide, catered for the welfare of ex-internationals when he was in office at the LGA, and he said government should have an endowment, specifically in place to cater for ex-internationals and ex-footballers.
“I catered for their needs when I was in office in my own little way because we had history together as former players. I provided jobs for some of them in my cabinet as my own way of providing for them.”
Taju Disu worked with him as Supervisor for Sports and Agriculture.
The former Prime Stars defender added: “Many ex-footballers are not engaged in any kind of work. This is affecting them badly. I’ve been clamouring for a football association that will deliberately absorb them either as coach, team manager, trainer, psychologist or other backroom staff for the national teams.
“Although money is important, it is not all about money. If you have something to do, you will not feel left behind and unimportant.
“Many ex-footballers are not in recognizable or reasonable work, and that is affecting them negatively.”
He also informed that governments and clubs at all levels should provide a support system for ex-footballers.
“I hung my boots in my early 30s due to injury, and so it is for many players.
“What you do after that is very important. I’m now a businessman as well as a politician. So, I have something to take care of my needs and those of my children.
“It is not the case with many ex-footballers because there wasn’t money in football during our time. Government must create a care base that will take care of them after football.
“For example, there are All Stars in all the states, where you find most ex-players converging. So, it is not difficult to find them.
“The support system will provide free health care, therapy, psychological analysis, and other kind of need to stay afloat.
“How many players are living to a ripe age now? Not many. We are all dying off and others are living in pains.
“It means there is a problem that we are not addressing.”
Ajide said because ex-players are seen as popular figures and men of high stature, it has deprived them of family support too because their family members see them as ‘big men’.
“What the world doesn’t know is that ex-footballers are human beings and are crying inside. They look on to us to solve their problems when we have not solved our own problems,” added Ajide.
Ambassador (Dr.) Edward Olutoke, the brains behind Above 50 Football Championship and President, Ikeja Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA), said he came up with the idea to give people above 50, especially footballers, another chance to live and live a better life.
“I have observed that many ex-footballers, who were notable stars in their playing days, are not doing fine. They have physical, health and psychological needs that are not met by the country and the society.
Whenever I meet some of them, I recognise them instantly by their name, but they are in pain, and are striving to make ends meet.
“You don’t have to be 50 and above and be miserable. You can be old and still enjoy life in your own way. What we have seen is that most of our elderly ones don’t have a life. They are kept indoors while the younger ones are out there enjoying.
“That is why we have designed Above 50 Football Competition for them to help them come out, unwind, socialise and connect. We give them a reason to live and showcase their talents and reward them accordingly.”
Olutoke is of the opinion that the bonding provided by the competition can help them to get back on their feet.
“This is a way to connect socially and business wise. We provide an avenue whereas they can meet themselves, talk together and share business ideas,” he said.
He, however, chided government, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), and the sports ministry for not doing enough to help ex-players.
“Do we have a sports policy to support a group of people that spent their productive years in serving our country? For you to play for the national team, it means that you are among the best, and you are also representing your country.
The Olympic gold can never be erased in world’s history book. What in return are we giving to the players that have achieved this for the country? Nigeria as a country is not doing enough to support ex-players.
Our county has failed us. The money we are spending now to make a show of helping the ex-players now wouldn’t have been necessary if there is a policy catering for our heroes past.
“It is not just in football or sports alone, it is in all fields, and we have to speak up for the sake of all of us.
“How are retiree s treated? Isn’t it the same way? Olutoke asked.
The giant cable television channel described the heroes as “remarkable trailblazers who have truly changed the world. Each one has found a way to use their knowledge and inspiration to help countless others.”
Ajayi-Akinfolarin, a computer programmer, was recognised for her striking efforts to transform the lives of disadvantaged girls by teaching them technology skills. Her work in Makoko, an infamous lagoon slum in Lagos, is emblematic of her focus. She was quoted as saying: “When I went to Makoko for the first time, I was surprised to see the living conditions of human beings. Most girls are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. Many of them are not thinking education, a plan for the future.”
Her Pearls Africa Foundation, formed in 2012, has improved the lives of over 400 disadvantaged girls in the 10 to 17 age bracket by introducing them to the world of technology. The girls have benefitted from the group’s free GirlsCoding programme and training in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python and Scratch. Trainees also get to visit tech companies for inspiration.
One girl’s story gives an insight into the importance of the foundation’s mission. As a result of the group’s training programmes, teenager Sharon Okpoe, a Makoko resident, created an app called Makoko Fresh, designed to enable fishermen to sell seafood directly to customers. Sharon’s father is a fisherman; her mother sells smoked fish.
In a country where girl-child education leaves much to be desired, Ajayi-Akinfolarin has helped to further highlight the need to pay greater attention to the educational development of girls. It is noteworthy that a 2013 government survey found that less than 8% of Nigerian women were employed in professional, managerial or technology jobs. It is commendable that Ajayi-Akinfolarin seeks to address this gender gap through her foundation. She was quoted as saying: “Technology is a space that’s dominated by men. Why should we leave that to guys? I believe girls need opportunities.”
She is inspirational and believes that coders are thinkers. Two examples of socially useful conceptions by her trainees illustrate how she has helped to develop their minds and their capacities. She said in an interview: “For example, one project that I really like is called Hope Baskets. The girls wanted to get beggars off the streets, so they created a website to be a bridge between the rich and the poor. They wanted a way where someone can de-clutter their house and give them a call. Then they take what they’re getting rid of — food, clothing, educational materials — and give it to those in need.”
She also said: “We have another project called Break the Blade, about stopping female genital mutilation (FGM). These girls believe there is a lot of ignorance about this and want to be ambassadors on this issue. Eventually, they want to have a wrist band where you can press a button and it calls local authorities to come if FGM is about to take place…We want girls to be creators of tech, not mere users”
Ajayi-Akinfolarin herself is an example of how education can enrich a woman’s life. She attended the Nigerian Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) and earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Lagos. She worked at E. D. P Audit and Security Associates for seven years before starting her NGO. Her CNN Heroes honour is testimony to her dedication to “changing the world.”
Her international recognition is good for Nigeria’s image. It should prompt the authorities to address social conditions with more seriousness and to better appreciate the importance of technological development in the modern world.
Dufil Prima Foods, makers of Indomie Noodles, has said the 11th Indomie Independence Heroes Awards (IIDA) ceremony will hold on October 6 at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos .
Three winners will be rewarded in three categories of physical, intellectual and social bravery, with about N1 million worth of scholarship.
Two independent research agencies – Marks Analytics and Research Services and BanahGrace Research Agency – were engaged to search for outstanding young heroes and after about eight weeks of field search, about 400 heroic stories were selected.
Judges comprised the MD/CEO of RAVE TV and Trend FM, Agatha Amata; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rise Networks Mrs. Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji Managing Partner, Growth Capital by CcHUB, Mr. Adetunji Eleso; Managing Partner, Sanni and Co, Prof. Abiola Sanni; Social Critic and Public Administrator Mr. Adekunle Adeniyi and Television Continental (TVC) Director of Programme and host of Your View Mrs. Morayo Afolabi-Brown.
Spokesman of Dufil Foods Tope Ashiwaju thanked the judges for their commitment, as well as the partner-agency, BD Consult, for a seamless and hitch-free coordination.
The 2018 edition is supported by TVC Communications and Stanbic IBTC.
The ‘June 12’ battle was not for men of frail will. On the field were great fighters who dared the military. These democratic forces were scattered at home and abroad. Many died; some lost properties. When the fight became hotter, they did not develop cold feet. They did not betray the cause and they did not desert the battle. Instead, they endured the heat and fought to the end. Their weapons were their power of ideas, intellect, strong will and determination. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the heroes and martyrs of the titanic struggle, whose persistent agitations heralded the restoration of civil rule in 1999.
Abiola
The symbol of the struggle was the late Chief Moshood Abiola, the billionaire businessman, who wanted to use power to abolish poverty in Nigeria. Before he joined the race, he had established himself as a friend of top military brass and philanthropist. Apparently, the ruling military class underrated him as a presidential material, until it was too late. His credential was highly intimidating. Largely perceived as the liberator of the people from the military cage, Abiola received massive support, beating his rival, National Republican Convention (NRC)’s Bashir Tofa in his native Kano State. He polled 8,341,309 votes, representing 58.36 percent of the total votes. When former Military President Ibrahim Babangida annulled the election, there was sporadic protest. The ghost of the cruel annulment still hunts the General. Abiola declared himself President-elect at Epetedo, Lagos Island. He was arrested and detained by the Abacha regime. He fought on until he died in detention under Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, who succeeded Abacha.
Kudirat Abiola
The late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was one of the numerous wives of the SDP presidential flag bearer. The annulment forced Kudirat into the pro-democracy movement. She developed a steely determination that dared military bullets. When her husband was in solitary confinement for claiming his presidential mandate, Kudirat confronted the military dictators. Her leadership motivated other pro-democracy groups to spring up and seek the actualisation of the election. In 1994, Kudirat was actively involved in sustaining the oil workers’ strike, which crippled the economy and weakened the military government Despite this harassment, she continued her campaign. She and the late Chief Alfred Rewane funded the pro-democracy activities, which unsettled the military. When protesters were detained, she would promptly visit police stations to secure their release. Kudirat knew that she was operating in an atmosphere of danger. She was planning to process her visa to leave Nigeria, but on June 4, 1996, a few days to the third anniversary of the June 12 election, Kudirat was shot dead by assassins in Oregun, Lagos State.
Ajasin
The late Chief Adekunle Ajasin, former governor of Ondo State, doubled as Afenifere and NADECO leader. He was a principled fighter and moral voice who offered inspiration to the democratic forces. Despite threats to his life, he never wavered. The Owo-born politician objected to the progressives’ participation in the Abacha administration, but Abiola prevailed on him to give his consent. His bedroom was invaded by former military Governor Ibe Onyearugbulem, who had Abacha’s mandate to make Ondo State uncomfortable for NADECO forces. In June 1995, he was arrested by the military alongside others for holding a meeting, but was released 24 hours later. He died when the battle was raging.
NADECO members based in Ondo were pro-active. Prominent among them were Chief Segun Adegoke, a lawyer and Awoist, the late Chief Adebayo Adefarati, who later became governor, Mrs. Bolaji Osomo before she joined Abacha cabinet, Senator Remi Okunrinboye and Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi. The activist-cleric was nicknamed the ‘NADECO Bishop’ because of his principled position on June 12. He decried the injustice from the pulpit and offered moral and spiritual support to the pro-democracy agitators. When the late military governor, Onyearugbulem, and some soldiers invaded Ajasin’s Owo country home, an encounter ensued between the governor and Adefarati. The governor asked Adefarati whether he was a NADECO member. Adefarati, beating his chest three times, answered in the affirmative. The soldiers could not arrest him in Ajasin’s room.
Rewane
During the dark days, Pa Alfred Rewane used his pen and money to fight the military. He was a pillar of financial support for NADECO and many human rights activities. His motive was the de-annulment of the June 12 election. He also personally campaigned against official graft in high places, lack of accountability and gross violation of human rights by the military. But, on October 6, 1995, he was murdered in curious circumstances, which elicited wide outcry. The killers are still at large.
Adesanya
The elder statesman, lawyer and former senator, Chief Abraham Adesanya, became the leader of Afenifere after Ajasin’s death. His personal assistant was Rev. Tunji Adebiyi. Adesanya’s compatriots in Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, who also fought the military were the late Chief Ganiyu Dawodu, the late Bola Ige, the late Alhaji Lam Adesina, Chief Olu Falae, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the late Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, the late Pa Solanke Onasanya, Kofoworola Akerele-Bucknor, Dr. Femi Okunrounmu, Chief Olabiyi Durojaye, and Chief Cornelius Adebayo. Some of them suffered bruises. Rev. Adebiyi was bearing a letter from NADECO leaders in Lagos to Ajasin at Owo when he was arrested at 10 pm at Maryland by the police. Persistent pleas by Kudirat secured his release. Adesina and the late Comrade Ola Oni were captured by soldiers during a protest at Ibadan as “prisoner of war”. Durojaye, Adebanjo and Dawodu were detained. Assassins were also trailing Aremo Segun Osoba. He escaped been hit by bullets by whiskers.
Death came calling in January 1997, but Adesanya had years earlier miraculously escaped assassins’ bullets, thereby earning the appellation, Apamaku. He remained undaunted to the end. Under his leadership, Afenifere intensified the battle for promoting the virtues of minority rights, equality, restructuring and true federalism.
Enahoro
The late Chief Anthony Enahoro, nationalist and elder statesman, was the chairman of NADECO’s Steering Committee. In 1995, he was detained for almost three months without any charge by Abacha. Before he escaped abroad, he was a thorn in the flesh of the military. He also chaired the Movement for National Reformation (MNR) and the Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO). Enahoro was the leader of NADECO abroad.
Fawehinmi
The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) was an outstanding lawyer and world-acclaimed human rights crusader. He was an advocate of de-annulment. For daring the military, he was detained for long. He provided legal, moral and financial support for freedom fighters. Fawehinmi claimed that soldiers in barracks voted for Abiola, daring the military to declare the result of army voting. He was a target of liquidation by the military. Many Nigerians have applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for giving him the highest national award of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR).
Fasehun
Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, a former SDP presidential aspirant, founded the Oodua Peoples Congress to press for the de-annulment of the election. He was one of the founding fathers of NADECO. He was detained for long by the military for fighting the cause. At that time, a prominent member of the group, Gani Adams, who is now the coordinator and Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yorubaland, was always visible during protests. He was a great campaigner of the revalidation of the election results.
Musa
Former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, did not perceive the struggle as a regional fight. To him, Abiola got a pan-Nigerian mandate. He has always contributed ideas to the sustenance of the struggle, which he believes, was foisted on the pro-democracy forces by a military cabal that was reluctant to accept the outcome of the transition programme it set up.
Musa refused to join the bandwagon of tribal egoists. He believed that June 12 offered a redemptive option to the country in its quest for legitimate leadership. In his view, the annulment was a national calamity and the struggle was not a sectional affair as wrongly projected by military spin doctors.
Tahir
Dr. Ibrahim Tahir, spoke forcefully against the Babangida regime for foisting an avoidable crisis on the country. To the old teacher and astute politician, the military had no option than to restore Abiola’s mandate. When the struggle intensified under the Abacha regime, he challenged the military Head of State to a duel, saying that he has conveyed the impression that power cannot be surrendered voluntarily unless there is an epic struggle and war of liberation against the government. In his view, the annulment was not a northern agenda, but the agenda of the military class in defiance to the popular yearning for democracy.
Soyinka
Prof. Wole Soyinka, playwright, poet, novelist, and implacable critic, is the first black African to bag the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. The former university don was one of the brains behind Radio Kudirat. Other frontline activists behind the opposition radio were Enahoro and Dr.Kayode Fayemi, who made broadcasts leaking plans by the soldiers to wipe out freedom fighters from Nigeria. It was the radio that alerted people to the plot to assassinate Ajasin and Adesanya. The Nobel laureate was not new to prison walls through his activism. In 1994, Soyinka lived in exile in the United States and France after leaving Nigeria. When the June 12 election was annulled, Soyinka played a key role in mounting pressure on Abacha to reverse the decision. Deploying his influence, he mounted a strong international campaign against Abacha’s dictatorial regime. In 1997 he was tried in absentia with other opposition members for a phoney charge of bomb attacks against army. The Abacha regime sentenced Soyinka to death in absentia.
Akinyemi
Among those who offered intellectual support for NADECO activities were Prof. Akinyemi, former Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof. Segun Gbadegesin, Prof. Ropo Sekoni, Prof. Ade Banjo and Prof. Adebayo Williams. They wrote numerous incisive articles denouncing the annulment, elongation of military rule and rights violation. They were targets of attacks by the military. They fled the country to continue the onslaught abroad. Banjo purchased 3,000 rifles to launch a guerrilla war against Abacha. He was caught and detained before he escaped to Ghana. If the asylum proposed by Prof. Akinyemi had been accepted, Abiola may not have been killed. But, the symbol of the epic struggle rejected the asylum, saying the President-elect of the most populous nation in Africa could not be seeking asylum in the American Embassy.
Kokori
The oil workers strike rattled Abacha. The credit goes to Chief Frank Kokori, a fearless labour leader and former Secretary-General of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG). In 1994, the pro-democracy activist led the oil workers on a sustained strike over the annulment, leading to the paralysis of social and economic activities, to the embarrassment of the Abacha junta. He was arrested on August 20, 1994 by security operatives and was moved round different prisons, mostly in the northern part of the country. The incarceration did not stop his activism.
Carrington
An American diplomat, who served as United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Nigeria between 1993 and 1997, Walter Carrington supported the fight for democracy in Nigeria. He stood resolutely with pro-democracy activists during the pro-June 12 agitation. He condemned Babangida for annulling the election widely adjudged free and fair. He expressed great concern over the abuse of human rights and the steady descent of Nigeria into a police state under the military. His remarks were weighty and they influenced America to mount pressure on the military to vacate power.
Adebanjo
Adebanjo is a fearless politician who does not hide his principled views, no matter whose ox is gorged. He was a staunch member of NADECO; he has played opposition politics for many decades. Despite threats to his life and property, he was resolute in the fight for the restoration of Abiola’s mandate. It was ironic, because Abiola and his political leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, were politically opposed to each other. Adebanjo has often called for the immortalisation of Abiola.
Dosunmu and ‘Epetedo forces’
Former Minister of Housing and Environment, the late Dr. Wahab Dosunmu, was a close associate of Abiola from the NPN days. He was involved in the activities of NADECO from the scratch. He and Olufemi Lanlehin were instructed by their group, Primose, which later became Lagos Justice Forum, to attend the inaugural meeting of the group in Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo’s Ikeja residence. He was a signatory to the memorandum submitted by Afenifere at the formative stage of the association. Dosunmu, Prince Ademola Adeniji-Adele, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Omotilewa Aro-Lambo, Senator Ajayi from Ekiti, Hon. Adesina from Abeokuta, and Sikiru Shitta-Bey were also involved in the presidential declaration arrangement at Epetedo, Lagos Island.
Opadokun
Ayo Opadokun was the General Secretary of the Afenifere and NADECO. He fought the military for democracy to flourish in Nigeria. For five years, he was in detention. By the time he was released, the struggle had taken its toll on him. He expressed regrets that after the restoration of the civil rule in 1999, charlatans, military apologists and collaborators became the beneficiaries of the struggle.
Oshun
Olawale Osun is a former Chief Whip of the House of Representatives. When the IBB regime cancelled the election, he was among the legislators who denounced the criminal act. He was one of the few that planned the Abiola ‘Epetedo Declaration’. When Opadokun was seized by the military, he became NADECO secretary. He was later released, after which he fled abroad to continue the fight. He wrote his book, ‘Clapping with one hand’, in detention.
Ukiwe
Ukiwe, a retired Navy Commodore and Chief of General Staff from 1985 to 1986, was one of the notable actors in the pro-democracy struggle in the beginning. Most Nigerians believe that Ukiwe lost his post due to his principled nature. Knowing that Ukiwe could not be pushed around, Babangida replaced him with Augustus Aikhomu. However, Ukiwe reduced his participation when his life was under threat.
Kanu
The former governor of Imo and Lagos states joined the democracy group in retirement. He was in the forefront of the agitation for the actualisation of Abiola’s mandate. Abacha was particularly worried at his involvement in the agitation to halt his inglorious rule. He once told him to deck his khaki and face him with his gun, instead of joining forces with civilians to rubbish him. When he persisted in his NADECO activities, his businesses were crippled by the military. His private residence was searched by security agents. He was accused of planning to import arms and ammunition.
Nwankwo
Among the organisations that formed NADECO was the Eastern Mandate Union (EMU), led by the irrepressible advocate of human rights and good governance, Arthur Nwankwo. He shared that virtue of consistency and bravery with Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife and Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who were prominent NADECO chieftains. A fierce speaker and prolific writer, Nwankwo was never afraid of detention camps.
Sulaiman
A gallant soldier, Commodore Dan Sulaiman, a former Minister of Communications, joined the democratic forces in decrying the annulment and incarceration of the symbol of the struggle. When the military was after his life, he fled abroad to continue the onslaught against the military.
Ige
The Cicero of Esa-Oke shunned the IBB transition programme based on Awo’s admonition to his followers to learn to dine with the devil with a long spoon. However, the entry of the late Chief Bola Ige, after the expiration of his ‘siddon look’ period, inspired the pro-democracy agitators to fight on. He was a leading fighter under NADECO and Afenifere, where he was deputy leader. Ige, a fiery speaker, hit hard at the Abacha regime. He described the five political parties of that period as five fingers of a leprous hand. He was detained at Epe.
Umar
As military governor of Kaduna State, he had shown the tendency of a radical. The political scientist was of the view that the military had overstayed in power to the detriment of democracy. Col. Abubakar Umar Dangiwa spoke forcefully in defense of Abiola. To him, the symbol was not the main issue, but the seizure of the nation’s collective passport for a genuine flight to the horizon of democratic progress. He sacrificed his career in the Army.
Tinubu:
In the Third Republic, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was a senator. In the Upper Chamber, he was the rallying point for senators seeking an end to military rule. He challenged IBB to a duel. When the military leader annulled the poll, he demanded for explanations. Tinubu dared the military, urging the masses to resist the illegal act. After escaping abroad, he became one of the leaders and financial pillars of NADECO abroad. Tinubu became governor of Lagos State in 1999. He was the first governor to declare June 12 as ‘Democracy Day’ and a public holiday.
Falae
The former Secretary to the Federal Military Government and Finance Minister was active in Afenifere and NADECO. He was one of the ardent supporters of Abiola during the battle for the revalidation of the annulled results. Other Afenifere leaders who were active during the struggle included Senator Ayo Fasanmi, who resigned from the Constitutional Conference Commission set up by Abacha, Niyi Owolola, Chief Supo Sonibare, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the late Baba Omojola, the late Chief Rafiu Jafojo, and Chief S.K. Babalola. Before they joined the Abacha regime, the duo of Alhaji Lateef Jakande and Chief Ebenezer Babatope were also in the forefront of the clamour for the de-annulment of the election. However, when Afenifere recalled them from the federal cabinet, it was difficult for them to resign.
Akinrinade:
Gen. Alani Akinrinade was one of the leaders of NADECO abroad, who committed enormous time, energy and resources to the struggle for justice. His private residence at Ikeja was torched by suspected government agents. The same tribulation befell his compatriot, Dr, Amos Akingba, a former university don. He was harassed by the military. His residence was also attacked in Lagos.
Justice Akinsanya
Justice Dolapo Akinsanya of the Lagos High Court, in her historic judgment, declared that the Interim National Government (ING) of Chief Ernest Shonekan was a contraption, unconstitutional, null and void. The verdict was a tonic for the pro-democracy forces to insist on the declaration of Abiola as president-elect.
Tofa
Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) lost the election to Abiola. To his credit, he did not contest the outcome.
Nwosu
The National Electoral Commission (NEC) chairman, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, conducted the most credible election in history. The agency later lost its independence. In fact, the hand of the military was heavy on the umpire, who was directed to stop further announcement of the results.
June 12 casualties
(Unknown Nigerians)
The casualties of the struggle are too numerous to mention. Oshun, who is now the leader of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), recalled that many protesters were shot on Ikorodu road by soldiers. Many activists were detained. Many lost their property. Businesses were ruined. Families were dislocated. Media houses were closed down. The family of Bagaudu Khalto is still in agony.
Labour, rights groups
and media:
Human rights leaders – the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, his brother, the late Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Femi Falana (SAN), Femi Aborisade, the late Chima Ubani, Joe Igbokwe, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Ayo Obe, Bishop Matthew Kukah, Ebun Adegboruwa, Clement Nwankwo, Shehu Sani, Mike Ozekhome, Osagie Obayuwana, Felix Tuodolo, Debo Adeniran, Ima Niboro, Akinola Orisagbemi, who was Personal Assistant to Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, Innocent Chukwuma, Bunmi Aborisade, and numerous activists under the banner of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), PENGASSAN, NUPENG, Radio Kudirat, Lagos Justice Forum, June 12 Collective, the media, and National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) made invaluable contributions to the struggle.
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal has said Nigerians owe families of fallen heroes the responsibility not to allow them live in predicament.
At the official launch of the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Emblem, Tambuwal noted that the heroes sacrificed their lives for the glory of Nigeria.
The launch realised N11.780 million.
Tambuwal described the occasion as an avenue to reawaken the spirit of Nigerians to sympathise with families and relations of those who secured our territorial sovereignty.
The governor, represented by Secretary to the State Government Prof. Bashir Garba said: “No development can be achieved in the absence of peace and tranquillity. It is evident that the contributions of security agencies, especially the Armed Forces, in the fight against insurgency and banditry, have been tremendous.”
He called on all to donate generously to the emblem, stressing that “all pledges must be redeemed because it is dishonourable not to.”
Commissioner for Home Affairs Sadiq Isah Achida said the occasion was to recognise the supreme sacrifice made by fallen heroes for the unity and stability of the country.
The chief launcher, Alhaji Mukhtar Bello Maigona, donated N3 million. The government also gave N3 million.
•The last honour for Lt-Col Abu-Ali and Co. should henceforth be the irreducible minimum for our other slain soldiers
Tears are expected to flow freely when a nation loses its gallant officers and men in battle. But what made the tears that were shed on Monday at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja, where the bodies of Lt.-Col. Muhammad Sarki Yakin (Lord of war) Abu-Ali and six soldiers who died last Friday while trying to prevent Boko Haram terrorists from seizing Mallam Fatori, Borno State, were buried more spectacular was the fact that we hardly honour our war heroes the way this batch of soldiers was honoured.
The dead are: Lt.-Col. Muhammad Abu-Ali, Sergeants Muazu Ibrahim, Bassey Okon, Hussani Jafaru, Cpl. Chukwu Simon, Private Salisu Lawal and Seaman Patrick Paul. Even the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, fought back tears as he read the funeral oration. What this tells us is that we are all human, after all.
A soldier’s death is like any other. That soldier is probably a husband/wife to someone; a father/mother to some children; a child to some people (if his/her parents are still alive); an uncle/aunt to some people, etc. So, his close relations are going to feel the loss the same way other people feel theirs.
Nearly everyone that matters has described the actions of these officer and men in superlative terms. According to Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai: “They were brave, precise, professional and inspiring. They led the battle to recapture the following towns: Monguno, Baga, New Marte, Bama, Gwoza, Banki Junction, Gamboru-Ngala, Yale, Yanteke, Bita, Deruwa, Daira Kangaruwa and Mallam Fatori. In these battles, they rescued children and women, fathers and mothers, the young and the old and restored peace and hope to Nigerian citizens.” The case of Lt-Col Abu-Ali is particularly striking. His last words to his men revealed the stuff he was made of: “Pray, stay alert and stay alive. If someone must die, let it be me.”
It is in this context that our hearts go out to the wives, children, parents and other relatives of these gallant men who died to ensure that peace returns to the country, particularly the north-eastern part that has been dislocated by Boko Haram in the last six years. As President Muhammadu Buhari and even the military authorities have said, we share their pains in these their trying moments.
Granted that it is only God who can console them, the Federal Government and the military hierarchy have an abiding responsibility of lessening their agony by ensuring that their wives and children do not suffer any lack that would make them regret the day their departed ones joined the military. As the woman who met with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, said: “Please help me; he was all I have. I don’t have anything again,” the departed were all that some people had looked forward to. Now that they are gone in the national service, those who depended on them must not be left to their own devices.
As promised, the military should probe the death of the fallen, just to ensure there was no foul play or sabotage.
Then, more importantly, the army must pay the entitlements of the slain soldiers to their next-of-kin without unnecessary delay; and honour its promise to take care of their families. Its word must be its bond.
We hasten to add that the way Lt-Col Abu-Ali and the six others were treated should be the new benchmark for all officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces who die on active service. The national honour that they got at their funeral should be the irreducible minimum for such gallantry. That is the way it is in other civilised countries. We need to imbibe such spirit to enable our soldiers put in their best in every situation, knowing full well that the country is there for them in life or in death.
That is the best way to ensure that their efforts were not in vain; the best way to immortalise them.
One would have expected them to look perplexed; considering that they are still teens. But they looked unruffled even as huge crowd gathered to witness the event at which they were “crowned” heroes.
Even though they had inkling about the day’s event, as teenagers, it was expected that they would feel a bit shy. They didn’t. That indicates that they were made to be future heroes.
Three of them: Babatimileyin Daomi 15; Salisu Ibrahim 14 and Favour Uwene 11 emerged winners at this year’s Indomie Independence Day Award.
They were rewarded at an award ceremony which held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Babatimileyin, a Senior Secondary School 3 (SSS3) student of Dobar College, Ikorodu Lagos State, won the Intellectual Bravery Award for inventing a vacuum cleaner, USB charger, USB fan, a collapsible bridge (a model of the 4th Mainland Bridge), a hydrogen separator which could also be used to make bombs and a water-level indicator-the specific invention for which he won the award.
But surprisingly, Timileyin (as he is fondly called), is much inclined to art subjects as his favourites. His most favourite subject is English Language. He, however, hopes to be an engineer in the future and to do more with his winning.
According to Timileyin, his challenges were basically funding as he had to create his models from scrap.
“I feel happy and hope to be able to do more with this money,” he said.
Favour Archibong Uwene, a Junior Secondary School 3 (JSS 3) pupil of Government Secondary School, Akwa Ibom State, won the Physical Bravery Award for raising the alarm which led to the rescue of one of three sisters who are her friends.
During one of the holiday periods, she went to their house and no one was there. She, at first, thought they were hiding from her but as she was about to leave, she heard muffled sounds. She peeped through the window and saw two dead bodies, with the killer getting ready to kill the third girl.
Favour immediately ran to call her mother who then alerted their neighbours and they all rushed to the girls’ house. The killer was apprehended and handed over to the police.
According to Favour, she was not afraid to raise the alarm because all she wanted was for her friends to be saved.
Favour hopes to be a teacher in future.
Salisu Ibrahim’s story sounds a bit pathetic. He won the Social Bravery Award for his determination to live beyond his disability.
Salisu was born blind but he chose not to beg. He is learning to be a cobbler and from the proceeds of his sales, he sponsors himself in school–Special Education Centre, Bauchi.
Each award category attracts N1 million in scholarships but with Salisu’s story, the audience was moved to do more.
Ace comedian, Ali Baba, gave him an additional N500, 000; Executive Director of Zenith Bank, Mr. Ebenezer donated N500, 000; Managing Director of Transatlantic Shipping Agency, Dr. Uche Ohafia donated N250, 000; Managing Director of Micro-Media donated N100, 000 while Managing Director of First Registrars, Bayo Olugbemi donated N250, 000 each to Salisu and Babatimileyin.
Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora also promised to add a token to Salisu’s prize while a former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chief Joseph Sanusi also promised to add a token to Favour’s win. An anonymous donor also gave N100, 000 to each of the three heroes.
The Indomie Independence Day Award is an initiative of Dufil Prima Foods, makers of Indomie noodles and other household brands, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR).
The Group Managing Director, Mr. Deepak Singhal said the Indomie Independence Day Awards (IIDA) was established in 2007 to recognise and reward heroism in children, adding that 24 winners had emerged in the last eight editions.
He reiterated that the award, in its ninth year, seeks to recognise heroic deeds in children between the ages of five and 15. This year’s award was divided into three categories, namely intellectual bravery, social bravery and physical bravery.
Singhal noted that selecting the winners was taxing for the judges as so many inspiring heroic stories were received.
Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, who was represented by Mr. Odeyemi, praised Dufil for the gesture.
She urged parents and guardians to be more committed to the proper upbringing of their children, even as she reiterated government’s determination to continue to fight violence against children.
Keynote speaker and Managing Director of The Educational Partnership Centre (EPC), Dr. Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, who spoke on The Nigerian Child: Our Biggest but yet Untapped Resource, noted that the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had indicated that children under 15 years account for about 45 per cent of Nigeria’s population.
She noted that “the Nigerian child has the capacity and ability to contribute significantly to the development of the country. Stakeholders have a responsibility to cultivate these abilities by increasing access to affordable, high quality education for every child. A child’s socio-economic background and geographical location should not be a barrier to receiving quality education,” she said.
She said an estimated 10.5 million children are out of school, accounting for one-fifth of the global population of out-of-school children.
Adefeso-Olateju said: “I am pleased that Dufil has taken this bold step with the IIDA initiative which provides millions of Naira worth of scholarships to deserving children. This contributes to the development of the Nigerian child and relieving the pressure off the parents.
“I cannot over-emphasise the need to do right by the Nigerian children as they, without any doubt, are the leaders of tomorrow. We need to get things right with them and only then can they become assets to the country. We need to create an environment where they can develop their natural talents; they must be given a chance to contribute to their societies and, thus, to economic development and the growth of the country.
“Economic growth is necessary for development. However, this growth is very reliant on the cognitive skills of the population. This is why children, as human capital, are fundamental to the success of our nation.”
The panel of judges, chaired by Executive Director of Corona Schools, Olufunto Igun, urged the people to support the Nigerian child as, according to her, there were many more of Salisus out there who should be supported.
Dignitaries that attended the event were wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, who was represented by Mrs. Ronke Solomon, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, former CBN Governor Chief Joseph Sanusi and wife, movie producer Tunji Bamishigbin and Sound Sultan, among others.
The award ceremony was co-sponsored by Daar Communications Plc and Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will reward each of the players who won the inaugural FIFA U-17 World Cup 31 years ago with a cash gift of N2million , presidency sources have informed AfricanFootball.com.
In 1985, Buhari was the military head of state when Nigeria led by Nduka Ugbade made history by becoming the winners of the first U-16 World championship in China.
The Nduka Ugbade led squad,who will later be nicknamed Golden Eaglets, beat Germany 2-0 in the final to become the first African team to win a FIFA tournament.
Buhari then promised the players scholarships, shares in major companies, among other things.But several of these promises were never fulfilled.
Buhari, now a democratically elected president, has agreed to make up for these unfullfilled promises when he receives the history-making team again at the Aso Rock Villa on Thursday.
Other sporting heroes including the Eaglets Class of 2015 who won a fifth U-17 World Cup in November as well as the country’s Olympic team will also be honoured.
