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Tag: Memorial

  • Patriarch honoured at memorial 

    Patriarch honoured at memorial 

    The Kalejaiye family of Igan Meji in Ijebu East Local Government of Ogun State have honoured their patriarch, the late Pa Francis Olaitan Bamidele, with a befitting memorial and burial at their homestead. 

    The 30th memorial and thanksgiving service for Pa Bamidele, also called FOB, who died in November 1993, was held on December 10, 2023.

    The colourful event held at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Igan Meji brought children, families and friends together to celebrate the good life of Pa Bamidele, described as a well-loved community man.

    Activities for the memorial included donations to the church and the community in memory of the deceased, church service, visit to tomb and donations to a less-privileged home.

    Read Also: 2nd  Ifeanyi Chiejine Memorial Cup holds in Asaba 

    Chief Commercial Officer, Niyya Foods and Drinks Limited, Otunba Abiola Popoola, said Pa Bamidele was a unique personality who benefited the people that came across him.

    Abiola, an in-law to the deceased, said the legacies of Pa Bamidele could not be forgotten by the families he left behind.

    Chief Executive Officer, Peacock Coats Limited, Mrs Fehintola Popoola, one of the children of the deceased, said her father was a committed family man, noting that although he died at 43, he left behind fond memories.

    Managing Director, Adestair, Mrs Abosede David-Iroko, another child of the deceased, said the memorial was put together to celebrate the life of their father, who left indelible marks as a family man.

    Managing Director, Cut ‘n’ Style, Mrs Ajoke Akujobi, said her father was known for his love and care for people and relatives.

    Son of the deceased, Mr Segun Kalejaiye, a Lagos-based car dealer, said he imbibed his early traits of industry and hard work from his father, who had passion for success.

  • Okigbo’s 50th memorial revisits the Civil War

    Okigbo’s 50th memorial revisits the Civil War

    The Trenchard Hall of the University of Ibadan (UI) was host to the literati, academics and more at the conference marking the golden jubilee of the demise of legendary poet Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo. The event resurrected discourse on the Nigerian Civil War and current political shake-ups in the country, EVELYN OSAGIE reports.

    He lived and died a soldier. First, he fought with his pen, and later took up arms against injustice. Widely-celebrated as an outstanding post-colonial English Language African poet, who wrote and fought against injustice, Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo (1932–1967), was also one of the major modernist writers of the 20th century.

    The writer whose friends called “The Renaissance man” and his legacies were the focal points of a two-day conference at his alma mater, the University of Ibadan (UI) in Oyo State capital.

    Tagged: Christopher Okigbo Conference, the event, which was a collaboration between the Christopher Okigbo Foundation and UI, through the Departments of Classics and English, was to mark the 50th year after Okigbo died fighting for Biafra secession in the Civil War.

    With its theme: Legacy of Christopher Okigbo – 50 years, the conference revisited the Nigerian Civil War and current worrisome political concerns, particularly the violent agitations across the country. It also bought back Okigbo’s ideals, prophetic endowment and poetry collections – now fused into a new collection, Moonglow and Other Poems – to the front burner. It brought together Okigbo’s contemporaries, family members fellow poets, members of the cultural industry and institutions worldwide that have been instrumental in upholding his memory to date.

    While recounting the life and times of the late poet, his friends and colleagues also expressed worries over the growing security and political concerns. They noted that the issues that led to the war in which Okigbo died have confronted the polity 50 years after.

    Recounting his moments with the late poet,  Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka said the anniversary was fitting in the wake of the rising insecurity and political concerns. In his view, Okigbo’s most important legacy was choosing to put his life on the line for his conviction. He noted that aside writing, when the time came, the late poet joined the others and took up arms for his convictions. He called on the leadership to pay attention to the grievances of all in order to end the growing restiveness.

    “It is for me a very sweet-sad day. I begin on a solemn note but I promise you, I’d end in a light-hearted one because this is a celebration. The reason it’s a sweet-sad day for me is because of the legacy of Okigbo as a human being. He was somebody who based his life on his convictions. And I ask myself, will that aspect of his legacy spell IPOB in the end – I-P-O-B. I use it in a generic way, not as referring specifically to any region.

    “We are celebrating Chris who was a poetic embodiment of that movement at that particular time. I am looking at the young people on the streets behind the banner, once again, reaching that stage when they are also preparing to put their lives on the line. This anniversary is taking place at a critical moment for the nation as a corporate body and for many of us as individuals – for millions who are not here today, who are confronting a choice, which is come about as a result of mass misgovernance in this nation, leadership alienation, maginalisation across regions and across classes. And it is these societal contradictions within the society – this resentment which leads sooner or later to what is confronting the nation at this moment,” he said.

    Praising the Army’s effort at fighting Boko Haram, Soyinka condemned military excesses, saying such acts fuelled “separatist movements”. He called on the military to probe the video of IPOB youths being punished by soldiers, as they were seen lying in the mud, while urging that more should be done to protect lives and security of the citizenry.

    In his words: “It is not enough to put up Python dance and crocodile dance; it is not enough to say“we are ready for you” while the other side says “we are waiting for you”. This rattling around us is as if we are about to repeat history.” When people see that they cannot look to the responsible structure of governance to look after their security and livelihood, then they’d move towards their own structure that can lead to violence.”

    Fifty years after, celebrated poet Prof. John Pepper Clark said he was still deeply moved by Okigbo’s death and the trauma the period brought. He lamented that five decades after, Nigerians are seeking restructuring, observing that there is a need for a genuine system that would make everyone to have a true sense of belonging. In joining the Biafran army, Clark opined,  Okigbo was asking for the restructuring of the nation; however, stressing that ever since the death of Chris, nothing had changed.

    He said: “Fifty years after the war, where are we as a people. Restructuring is what everybody is crying. The war has changed nothing. Chris took on so many of the trauma and pain we went through and to fight for restructuring. Fifty years after the war, we are all still very moved by the pains.”

    The traditional ruler of Ndikelionwu, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike, who chaired the event recounted that that the outbreak of the war in 1967 disturbed the late poet so much  that he could not resist the urge to enrol in the Biafran Army, even without military training. “I was at Stanford University, California, United States, in 1966 when, Chinua Achebe, Chris, and many others fled home primarily from northern and western Nigeria owing to the tragedy that befell eastern Nigerians. Chinua, Chris, Arthur, named Citadel Press, at Enugu, with Chris as manager. I was to join them on my return from Stanford. When I learnt that the first enemy air raid on Enugu had dropped a bomb in the premises of Citadel Press, I drove to Enugu to size up the situation.

    “Providentially, Chris, was taking a short break from the warfront, and was in his office. After giving me a hug, he described his unconventional troop formations, which usually confounded the enemy. The watch on his wrist belonged to a white mercenary fighting for Nigeria, killed with a hand grenade lobbed by one of Chris’ courageous boys into the Nigerian armoured vehicle the mercenary was driving. ‘I noticed your uniform has no rank’, I observed. ‘Yes’, Chris replied with a smile. “I’m a Major. If I wear my rank I will be obliged to salute a Lieutenant Colonel for whom I have no respect’.”

    Oyo State Governor Senator Abiola Ajimobi, praised the organisers for holding the event at a time when Nigeria is straining from inter-ethnic and inter-religious tensions. Ajimobi, who was represented by  Deputy Governor, Chief Moses Adeyemo Alake, observed that the conference and its theme, underscored the unifying role that literature, including writers and scholars represent. “And even though every effort is being made to resolve this highly volatile issue, one very low hanging solution can be found in the country’s Literary and Cultural spheres. Nigerian writers and scholars apart from the strident unifying themes of their writings, have through their belief in humanity and altruism, continued to show other Nigerians how to live in harmony with one another.

    “And despite the current religious and ethnic intolerance in some parts of the country, it is remarkable that today, here in Ibadan, we are celebrating a distinguished Nigerian from the South Eastern part of the country who once studied and lived in this part of the country. I thank the organisers of this conference, including the friends and colleagues of our late brother, for not only making it possible to celebrate one of our own but for situating the celebration here in Ibadan,” he said.

    Prof Dan Izevbaye, who gave the keynote address, described Okigbo’s entry into the field of conflict  as an act of heroism. While highlighting Okigbo’s stance as poet-prophet and the legacy his poetry represents, he lamented that the battlefield does not differentiate between the poet and the ordinary soldier. He said: “It should be remembered that the period of political time leading to the Civil War was a period of heightened political awareness and discussion in nearly all parts of the country. In the period before the Civil War, Okigbo would not hear any talk of political commitment. The reality of political events forced the poet, who had all along lived by his own myth, to confront his destiny in his own flesh and blood. But it was at the cost of the sacrifice of the real self for which, as the last poems prophesied, the poetic persona of the early poetry was only the template.”

    Two-term member of the House of Representatives, Chudi Ofodile, reiterated Izevbaye words, describing Okigbo as “a perfect hero”. While noting that heroes like Okigbo were not given the honour due to them, he noted that Nigeria’s complicated history frustrates the march to nationhood as different sections of the country see things differently and oftentimes interpret the same set of facts very differently. “Our different accounts of historical facts cannot all be true, and that makes the teaching of history rather problematic. The solution is not to remove history as a subject in our school curriculum or to engage in the dangerous dance of pythons with needless fatalities, but to commit to the universal ideals of justice and fairness…

    “Because he fought on the side of Biafra, expectedly, opinions differ on his place in history. But he was a hero. A hero need not be perfect, but a martyr is a perfect hero, for there is no better way to die than for a cause you believe in. Christopher Okigbo died a martyr.”

    The Okigbo Poetry Prize, endowed by Soyinka and which ran for some years before it was suspended owing to funding, was reinstituted during the conference.

    The President Christopher Okigbo Foundation, Obiageli Okigbo, said the conference is one of the ways the foundation is immortalising Okigbo and his legacies.

    Also in attendance were his wife Ambassador Judith Sefi Attah, and other family members; Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) UI, Prof Yinka Aderinto; Prof Olutayo Charles Adesina, Prof. Oluwatoyin Jegede, Prof. Babatunde Omobowale, Prof. Ademola Omobewaji Dasylva; Prof. Dele Layiwola; Prof. Mufutau Temitayo Lamidi, Executive Editor of The News Magazine Kunle Ajibade; Chairman, Safari Books Limited, Chief Joop Berkhout; Director, Bookcraft Limited, Bankole Olayebi; Prof. Ayo Ogunsiji; Dr Doyin Aguoru; Dr Kazeem Adebiyi and Dr Tunde Awosanmi, among others.

  • Asaba indigenes plan 50-yr civil war memorial

    The people of Asaba and environs in Delta State, under the Asaba October 7 Memorial Group, have concluded plans to celebrate a major event in the history of the town, and Nigeria, which occurred 50 years ago.

    According to the group’s chairman, Mr Alban Ofili-Okonkwo, in a statement, October 2017 “marks the 50th anniversary of the killing of unarmed and defenceless indigenes in Asaba, one of the ugliest episodes of the civil war, which attracted international condemnation. The victims were Nigerians, who had trooped out to welcome Nigerian soldiers that reclaimed Asaba in Midwestern Nigeria, from Biafran troops in October 1967.”

    Ofili-Okonkwo added that the programme will span four days, with the theme: “Remembrance & Forgiveness.

    He said the group will sensitise people to forget their tragic past and march into a promising future.

    “It also aims at galvanising Asaba people towards rebirth and healing,”he said.

    Activities will begin on October 5, with a one-minute silence for Asaba martyrs at noon, followed by a media briefing, canon shots heralding burial rites for the dead.

    Also planned are service of songs and candle light procession to Ogbeosawa grave site for tributes, inter-denominational service, exhibition of artefacts, documentary and presentation of awards.

    There will also be a book presentation, titled: The Asaba Massacre — Trauma, Memories, and the Nigerian Civil War, by Anthropologist Prof. S. Elizabeth Bird and Historian Prof. Fraser M. Ottanelli, both of University of South Florida.

    The presentation will be preceded by a colloquium on the Asaba Massacre, with the theme: “In Pursuit of Rebirth”.

    Eminent scholars, statesmen, renowned industrialists and distinguished citizens of the world are expected to attend the activities.

    The activities will end on October 8, with a thanksgiving in world churches.

  • Unilag Alumni marks Sofoluwe’s fifth memorial

    Unilag Alumni marks Sofoluwe’s fifth memorial

    University of Lagos Alumni Association, Lagos State chapter, has lined up a number  of activities to remember one of its late vice chancellors, Babatunde Sofoluwe.

    Sofoluwe, a professor of Computer Science, was the first vice chancellor in Unilag to die in active service on Friday May 1, 2012. He was 62.

    Chairman, UNILAG alumni, Dr Lukumon Adeoti, said unlike previous editions where only a day was set aside, there would be a three-day programme that would commence with a press briefing on Tuesday, next week.  Interdenominational service and sporting activities that would involve anout 12 secondary schools will come up on Thursday, May 11, while the following day will feature a lecture with the theme:  “The administration and management of a university in a recessed economy; A case study of Nigeria”, by the Vice Chancellor, Sokoto State University Prof Nuhu Yaqub.

    On the inspiration behind the lecture, Adeoti said: “In his lifetime, Prof Sofoluwe loved education a lot. He sponsored about 72 indigent students and all of them graduated.  He was not using university money. He was personally funding them. He began that initiative before he became VC and Sofoluwe felt even as VC he did not need to help himself with the university money to sponsor them.

    “Aside, he was equally monitoring their growth. We didn’t know them (beneficiaries) until we started this lecture five years ago, and some of them showed up to tell us the role Sofoluwe played in their education.”

    Adeoti, who is from Unilag Department of Geosciences, recalled fond memories of the late VC.

    “Sofoluwe was an embodiment of humility. He demystified leadership. He was a man, who trained people for succession and by the time he died, those he trained have already imbibed his culture. Interestingly, most of those he trained here have become professors and DVCs .That is why we never had any issue about continuity in leadership in this university. This man was able to handle both the academic and political aspects of administration.

    “We have an association we call Friday Group. Sofoluwe established it. The group is still in existence. We hold meeting every last Friday of the month. Members discuss how to move the university forward.

    He said the Faculty of Science, where Sofoluwe once taught, was doing a collection of his works which we would be compiled in a book form and launched during an exhibition exercise that would be part of the activities.

  • 20 YEARS AFTER, VETERAN FILMMAKERS, OTHERS STORM NATIONAL THEATRE FOR ADE LOVE MEMORIAL

    20 YEARS AFTER, VETERAN FILMMAKERS, OTHERS STORM NATIONAL THEATRE FOR ADE LOVE MEMORIAL

    AS the family of late veteran filmmaker, Adeyemi Afolayan, aka Ade Love marks the 20th anniversary of his demise, it was another opportunity for movie buffs to experience the early days of filmmaking in Nigeria and how Nollywood evolved from the Yoruba travelling theatre.

    The event, which held at the National Theatre yesterday, celebrated among other things, the place of the late veteran in the history of the Nigerian film industry, harping on the fact that he (Ade Love), it was, who introduced the likes of Hubert Ogunde and Moses Olaiya, aka Baba Sala to filmmaking, despite having served under the latter as a stage and travelling theatre actor.

    In celebrating the legendary filmmaker, his family is showcasing  how his style of story-telling attracted a wide range of fan base, who cherished how romance and music were woven into folktales, political satires, family centric and other forms of drama that appealed to the young and the young at heart.

    Offspring of the legend, most of whom are also making waves in the entertainment industry have put together a week-event tagged Ade Love Week, during which films of the celebrant will be screened in cinemas across the country.

    During the star-studded event, a documentary on the life and times of the legend was screened to the guests, revealing even more about the personality of Ade Love from his contemporaries and others who knew him personally.

    Among those who aired their thoughts in the visual biography are, Moses Olaiya, aka Baba Sala, Lere Paimo, aka Eda Onile Ola, Mr. Jimoh Aliu, Mr. Olu Omojola, Moremi Duro Ladipo, Chief Eddie Ugboma, Dr. Ola Balogun, Professor Adebayo Faleti, Prince Jide Kosoko, Adebayo Salami, aka Oga Bello, Kareem Adepoju, aka Baba Wande, Wole Olowo Moju Ore, aka Baba Gebu, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon, Tunde Kelani, Prof. Ekwasi, Mr. Brandah Shehu and Mr. Victor Ashaolu.  Most of them were also at the event.

    Anchored by notable comedian, Gbenga Adeyinka, the event was also used to premiere some of the works of Ade Love, including Kadara (Destiny) after 36 years of its initial release.

    The films sparked new debate among the attendees on the old and new ways of storytelling.

    Other dignitaries at the event are: Former Managing Director of Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), Mr. Afolabi Adesanya; Commercial Manager, Air France, Arthur Dieffenthaler; Founder of Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) Chioma Ude; Founder of Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters; veteran actor Dele Odule, filmmaker Mahmood Ali-Balogun and former Editor of Sunday Guardian, Jahman Anikulapo.

    At the forefront of the event was Kunle Afolayan, who is regarded as the poster boy of today’s Nigerian film industry called Nollywood.

    The young Afolayan disclosed that with Ade Love Week, he and his siblings intend to make this Yuletide season more memorable with the daily screenings of ‘Kadara’, ‘Taxi Driver’ 1 and 2 at the National, Lagos Airport Hotel, Silverbird Cinemas, Film House, Genesis Deluxe, Kada, Viva and other cinemas across the country.

    Described as an uncompromising titan of theatre and Nigerian cinema, Ade Love’s movies provided a homely alternative in the Southwest, to the then popular Indian films in the country. A fan of Indian films himself; the filmmaker remixed some Indian movie songs in Yoruba language, giving them some creative and communicative appeal.

    Like King Sunny Ade (K.S.A), Ade Love had a stint with versatile entertainer, Moses Olaiya, during his early days as a stage performer.

    A visionary entertainer, Ade Love first saw the opportunities in filmmaking when he acted in Dr. Ola Balogun’s film, ‘Ajani Ogun’ in 1976, also featuring Duro Ladipo, as a lead actor. Two years after, he shot his first film, ‘Ija Ominira’, directed by Ola Balogun. Indeed, it was Ade Love’s incursion into filmmaking that inspired his former master, Baba Sala to up his act as a stage performer to a filmmaker.

    Ade Love who started filmmaking before Hubert Ogunde and Baba Sala recorded the highest number of celluloid films in Yoruba. He was also the most travelled Yoruba filmmaker whose films represented Nigeria at major film festivals in the world.

    A very busy filmmaker, Ade Love, at the peak of his career had embraced commercial filmmaking and festival routing which kept him away from his family most of the times, traveling around Africa and beyond. Some of those festivals that featured his films include Rotterdam Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival.

    Apart from his great works, Ade Love’s legacy has also been kept aglow by some of his children who now embrace different genres of entertainment such as acting, music and filmmaking. Among them is Kunle, an award-winning filmmaker, Gabriel, an actor and singer, Moji, a notable actress and Aremu, an actor and producer. The late Afolayan’s sister, Toyin has also been relevant on the scene.

    Ade Love passed on December 30, 1996 at the age of 56.

  • Memory without memorial

    Memory without memorial

    History shone like a headlight. It did not happen alone in Lagos, where the life of Festus Samuel Okotie-Eboh, swam under searchlights. Samuel Akintola of the acerbic wit also roared from the grave. In the North, the Sardauna of Sokoto, swaggered for attention.

    The triumph was for history. In a nation doomed from generating a new generation of historians for banishing history from the academic curriculum! Never mind that in those events you find only those who studied history or witnessed it.

    At the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, I moderated a colloquium on Okotie-Eboh, and the speakers were mainly witnesses of the life and doings of the colourful Nigerian politician. The speakers included Dara Mbazulike Amaechi, a surviving First Republic minister; Alhaji Ahmed Joda, Chief Philip Asiodu, Senator Ben Obi and Chief Brown Mene.

    If last week marked 50 years of Okotie-Eboh’s death, it was five decades since five majors popped our political cherry. The soldiers stepped over the lion’s piss, played Samson to the head of the pride, shaved off the mane and raped the lioness. The offspring was a hybrid political system that gave us neither the sophistication of man nor the ferocious dignity of a cat.

    Okotie-Eboh, known as Omimi Ejo, was glamour as politician. Yet all we remember of this man was that he shepherded First Republic finances and was slaughtered savagely as well as Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa. The panelists showed that the Omimi Ejo’s narrative had been skewed by the false heroism of the majors, especially Kaduna Nzeogwu’s 10 per cent speech. So, if he was finance minister, he was the chief 10 percenter. As Amaechi noted, no one had evidence about these allegations. He said all NCNC office holders were obliged to pay 10 per cent of their incomes to the political party.

    The inimitable orator, Alhaji Maitama Sule, also his colleague, gave the keynote and rambled along elegantly about the virtues and humour of the man, his cosmopolitan virtues, his commercial acumen, his gregarious wit, his fierce nationalism, a man who was born Urhobo and died not only Itsekiri but also a Nigerian. The panelists reminded us that he gave us the Central Bank and the mint company, set up the financial infrastructure of Nigeria at independence.

    On wealth, they said he was richer than his political party before he became a party wheel horse or minister, that it was the great Zik who chose him to represent the NCNC in the cabinet against the ambitions of men like Sir Ojukwu, incidentally one of Zik’s close friends. They implied he was too wealthy for the corrupting wiles of office. He had built schools and other institutions.

    Some of these narratives shine in a book edited by Professor Jide Osuntokun titled Festus Samuel Okotie-Eboh: In Time and Space. What the colloquium achieved was to excavate the man from history. It beckoned us to look again at the man’s tale beyond the long, interminable, serpentine textile tail. We should examine him not as part of the vast sweep of that event alone but also as an individual, a visioner, patriot, bureaucrat, technocrat, parliamentarian, business mogul, cosmopolitan, etc.

    We know that the Nzeogwu coup came with a mixed bag. The young men wanted to save the country in their own light. They left it misshapen for half a century. No man can call them heroes in my book. They even knew nothing about organising a putsch. They ethnicised it, killed the Yoruba, killed the Hausa Fulani, left the Igbo unhurt, including Aguiyi-Ironsi. No one is sure who the leader was. Nzeogwu would not bow to Ifeajuna, while Ifeajuna bellyached that Nzeogwu would not acknowledge him as the sovereign of the conspiracy. They slaughtered Akintola and Sardauna, and that reflected their naivety. The shedding of blood never healed any society in history. Nzeogwu studied history amiss. Blood begets blood. Check all the revolutions. English. French. Soviet. Chinese. The turning points of Europe in mid-19th century. Napoleon’s bloodlust. Bismarck’s iron dream. Metternich’s nationalist fury. The Nigerian majors stepped onto the lion’s piss, shaved the beast and expected the raping of the lioness to achieve the weariness of all flesh. But the nation has paid with its pound of flesh year after year. Coup after coup. Corruption scandal after scandal. The topsy-turvy of its political elite. The friction over consensus. And the consequential slide in every facet of our lives.

    They exploited the frustration of the average Nigerian to satiate a lust of power. They claimed they wanted Awo to hold the fort. That sounds beautiful, but history is not about what might have been. If they bungled the coup itself, killed those who they should not and ignored those who they were supposed to kill, what else guaranteed that the Awo narrative was not part of a face-saving pastiche, a gimmick to salvage a flawed heroism? Or that after the quarry is quiet, they would not turn the hunting gun at each other. Just like Nzeogwu versus Ifeajuna, woeful losers with empty gunpowder.

    That is why today an Akintola can get a renaissance as well as the Sardauna. The southern elite defended theirs while the northern ones dangled swords for their icon. So, there. In spite of the spirit of contagion of coups in Africa, the base behaviour of our elite did not justify the mass slaughter. It ignited the rage that precipitated the pogrom of the Igbo that precipitated the civil war, a 30-month absurdity that bloodied the nation’s map.

    I noted at the colloquium that the phrase ‘a man of the people’ popularised by Achebe’s novel of that title had problematised the concept and conceit of a popular politician. Chief Nanga, with Achebe deft hand, turned out to be a man for himself. The Scandinavian playwright Ibsen wrote a play titled Enemy of the People, and it turned out that the so-called enemy was the friend of the people.

    That is why, for me, the beauty of this season is to wake up our study of history. It is clear we have not analysed our past enough. Because we have not researched enough, we make cartoons of our past. A man is either a villain or hero, depending on who subverts the narrative. When Okotie-Eboh’s daughter and former permanent secretary, Dr. Dere Awosika, put together the NIIA event, I recalled Winston Churchill’s words about what history would say about him. “History will be kind to me for I will write it,” he noted. He controlled his narrative, although that might be an exaggeration. Dr. Awosika and her family certainly gave the family patriarch the beginning of a make-over. The event was not an ethnic one, but a sweep of Nigeria’s ethnic physiognomy. Obj chaired it, and a broad spectrum of Nigerians from East, West and North were happy to be there, including the Emir of Kano, Sanusi 11, former Delta State governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, Chief Segun Osoba.

    If last week was a triumph for history, it was an episodic one. A few days later, we will be back to our default amnesia. The last time we had a feast like this was when General Alabi Isama released his epic account of the civil war, The Tragedy of History. How many schools study that book, or will study Osuntokun’s book on Okotie-Eboh? Triple-in-one minister Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, who was represented at the event, hit the bulls’ eye when he mused on the absence of historical consciousness among our young. They know American history, and that’s because they schooled abroad. But they will have to learn our history. Was it not here that a student in Ikenne knew Obafemi the footballer and Obafemi the political genius? If they don’t know the story of the Sokoto Caliphate or the Niger Delta city states or the Yoruba wars of the 19th century or the so-called Benin massacre, what of a recent event like the civil war? Not many have ever heard of Gowon. In Journalism, I met some students who know nothing about Ray Ekpu or Dan Agbese. That’s why we have no fitting memorials for any period of time. We have memories. But memory without documentation or authentication is like oral history. We pass facts and parse them. We are left with biases, pastiches, myths and outright lies.

    Our amnesia reminds of Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel, Love in the Time of Cholera, where a man spends all his life waiting for the husband of the love of his life to die. By the time it happens, he is wrinkly, withered fuddy-duddy and the woman also an expired fig. They marry with no juice, a romantic desert. So, they go around in circles on a ship with no anchor but only a chorus of encores.

    If we don’t study our history, we will be, as the historian asserted, “a rudderless craft in the uncharted sea of time.”

  • Photo: Akunyili’s husband, children, ex-Gov Obi

    Photo: Akunyili’s husband, children, ex-Gov Obi

    The former Gov. of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi(middle), with late Prof. Dora Akunyili's husband, Dr. Chike Akunyili(on Obi's left), with other children of Prof. Akunyili after the one-year memorial lecture in his honour, delivered by Obi at Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu at the weekend
    The former Gov. of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi(middle), with late Prof. Dora Akunyili’s husband, Dr. Chike Akunyili(on Obi’s left), with other children of Prof. Akunyili after the one-year memorial lecture in his honour, delivered by Obi at Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu at the weekend

  • Tai Solarin memorial walk

    Tai Solarin memorial walk

    THE Tai Solarin Organisation (TSO) is organising a memorial walk in honour of the late Dr. Tai Solarin.

    This is to mark the 21st year anniversary of the great educationist, who passed on  in Ikenne on July 27, 1994 at 78.

    The two-kilometre walk slated for July 27 will take off at 10am from the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos and will end at Yaba Bus Stop, where the Tai Solarin cenotaph is.

    A short lecture will be delivered by the former Association of Telecommunications Company of Nigeria (ATCON) President,Ms Titi Omo-Ettu. The keynote speaker is Ms. Corin Solarin.

  • Ndigbo rally at Ojukwu memorial

    Ndigbo rally at Ojukwu memorial

    It was just as well that on the day an elaborate memorial event was organised in Anambra State in the memory of  the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, speeches of Igbo unity echoed.

    Some of the best regarded masquerades thrilled the crowd, as did various cultural dancers who displayed dazzling foot work at the Dr. Alex Ewueme Square, Awka, where all the 21 local councils of the state were represented.

    Dignitaries from the region were there including those who served in the military alongside the late leader.

    Ojukwu led Biafra during the Civil War and after his long exile, returned to lead Ndigbo once again. Until his death, he was still a force to reckon with, many coming to seek his advice on political issues.

    Yet, as the event wore on, dignitaries seized the opportunity to rally the entire Igbo people to unite and forge ahead.

    The event was organised by the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano.

    Former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme and his wife Beatrice; Col. Ben Gbulie, the man dubbed Air Raid because of his exploits during the Civil War and Chief Joe Achuzia, former Secretary General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, among others, were all present.

    There were some aspects which tended to portray the event as one to appease the spirits of some fallen Igbo leaders. The Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, however, distanced himself from that perspective.

    The Bishop said, “I heard that our celebration today is understood by some people as a way of placating the spirits of departed and forgotten Igbo sons and daughters who are now blocking the progress of the Igbo nation, [and that] to open up the path of Ndigbo to peace and prosperity, these aggrieved spirits need to be celebrated.

    “This interpretation is indeed very far from our Christian belief about death and life after death. It also violates the challenge from the Book of Job to continue to trust God and know that in the mystery of God’s love and justice, virtuous and upright people could suffer.”

    Ezeokafor did not end his homily without imploring the people of the state and indeed Nigerians to exercise their civic responsibility of voting for candidates that they were convinced in conscience that would work for the betterment of the people in 2015.

    But he warned politicians and the society to desist from any act that would truncate the process. He also prayed for God’s intervention during the general elections.

    Governor Obiano described the remembrance of the Biafran fallen heroes as a unifying factor for Ndigbo

    “We must come together to re-unite the people of the Southeast,” he said, adding that, “the future of Ndigbo is guaranteed in one indivisible Nigeria.”

    Again, he said the event was equally about planting a tree of forgiveness in the minds of both the dead and living heroes of the war.

    Obiano said, “We are a people of faith; those people died courageously and that is why we are offering them this final burial. Ndigbo have become the most successful set of people in the entire black race.”

    From the list compiled by the state government, Anambra lost over 5,600 people during the war, while the Anglican Bishop of Awka, Most Rev. Alex Ibezim put the number of Ndigbo at 3m who  lost their lives during the war.

  • Tinubu Square: A befitting memorial to an Amazon

    Tinubu Square: A befitting memorial to an Amazon

    Sitting majestically in the heart of Lagos Island, Nigeria’s business and financial engine-room Tinubu Square, named after Madam Efunroye Tinubu, over the century, has evolved various identities for itself. But who was Tinubu and why was an important landmark named after her? Seun Akioye investigates.

     

    The security guard stood at attention behind the massive gates of Tinubu Square in the heart of Lagos Island. He was a short, tickly built youth, black as soot with dazzling, yet inquiring eyes. Aside the reflective jacket and the baseball cap which indicated he belonged to “Hercules Security,” nothing else suggested his profession.

    The small umbrella he was holding barely protected him from the rain which has increased in intensity in the last three minutes. He had the unenviable task of protecting the newly renovated Tinubu Square from miscreants and other intruders.

    For the unversed, nothing distinguishes Tinubu Square from the legion of houses, skyscrapers and shops in the Central Business District (CBD) on Lagos Island. On a regular day, car hooting, the noise of roadside merchants selling boxers, socks and other male and female undergarments and the frenetic activities of members of the Lagos Island Traffic Monitoring Team are the perfect distractions from the tranquillity provided by the Square.

    As the massive gates are flung open-by the security guard after much cajoling-a picture reminiscent of paradise evolved. Over 20 species of plants and flowers are neatly arranged in perfect order along the neatly paved lawns. The 2,000 square meter ground is divided into compartments. One section served as the security house where staff who are in the employ of Hercules Security have their office, another section has the podium where speeches of historical proportion can be made and there is the section which housed the fountain.

    The Square itself is replete with history and when one stands in the middle of it, the historical richness comes roaring past. It has played prominent roles in the history of Lagos and its development. According to a historian, Vaughan Richards, Tinubu Square, by 1890, was the heart of Lagos itself. It was the location of the first court of justice which was replaced in 1918 by the Supreme Court or the Court of the Assizes, which was a magnificent structure.

    The Square was the melting point of different cultures, a place where the indigenous Lagosians, those of Brazilian extract and the colonial administration met. In Pre-colonial Nigeria, the Square was where several streets met and, according to historical writings, a popular station for municipal transportation.

    The Square has undergone changes from one generation to the other, each one obliterating the architectural layout of the preceding one. Today, two fountains-one big, the other smaller-have replaced the “magnificent” Court of the Assizes. The fountain, a gift from the Lebanese community in Lagos to Nigeria to mark the country’s independence in 1960, has also undergone tremendous make-over. It seems that the architects of the current structure are determined to make it compliant with 21st Century architectural designs. Nothing reminds the present generation of the way the Square used to be even as recent as the last century.

    The Tinubu Square today is iron-fenced with generous openings for tourists to behold the beautiful landscape. By the western strips is a beautiful inscription of the name ‘Tinubu Square,’ sitting on two iron rods backing the bigger fountain. When one looks at it from the street, several skyscrapers housing various business interests in the CBD merged into the skyline. Inside the fountain, four big birds-with wings flapping in the water-were erected on the three layers of round stone spiral stairs.

    The water from the big fountain flows directly like a channel into the smaller fountain creating a labyrinth. Somehow, one gets the feeling that the cool breeze came directly from this artificial lake. The water was sparkling clean and the fountain itself was neat.

    Another precious resource at the Square is marble which paved the lawns and some had statue sitting on them. These add to the beauty of the landscape. Madam Efunroye Tinubu’s statue stood on a cenotaph at the northern fringe of the Square. It was tall and dominated the environment. The statue conveyed the impression of a regal and powerful woman. Her face was well chiseled; giving her facial features such a formidable appearance. On her right hand she held a horsetail which she pointed towards heaven and on her left hand, she clutched a semi-circle wand which denotes authority. She had an expensive looking shawl over her shoulder; two dropping earrings and shoes completed her cosmopolitan appearance. Save for the horsetail and the shawl, Madam Tinubu looked every inch a 21st Century woman.

    Tinubu Square has an international reputation. A search on the internet via Google revealed several companies using the name. One is a credit risk solutions company based in the United Kingdom which says it helps “reduce your cost and improve efficiency.” Such is the reputation of Tinubu Square.

    Meeting Madam Tinubu

    Tinubu Square, named after one of the most industrious and powerful figures in the 19th Century Nigeria was once known as Ita Tinubu long before independence. It was renamed Independence Square by leaders of Nigeria’s First Republic before it was changed to its original name by subsequent administrations in Lagos. There are fantastic tales told of the exploits of Tinubu, her contributions to commerce, politics and power in Lagos, Badagry and Abeokuta; her birthplace.

    Born in 1805 in Ijakodo, Gbagura in Abeokuta, her grandmother Osunsola was a successful trader in herbs, roots and animal skin. Tinubu’s mother, Nijeede was also indoctrinated into the family trade early and it was on one of those trading expeditions that Tinubu was born right inside the canoe. Nijeede named her new child Osuntinubu; indicating she was given to her by the goddess Osun while her father named her Efunporoye.

    Her destiny seemed written in the stars. Tinubu followed in the business of her mother and became successful. She married a man from Owu and had two young sons. But in 1821, war broke out and she lost her husband and mother shortly after moving to Abeokuta to escape the war. In 1833, she accepted the proposal of Lagos Prince, Adele and moved to live with him in Badagry where malaria claimed the lives of her two sons.

    This, however, did not deter her as she began trading in salt and tobacco from Abeokuta to Badagry. She also expanded her business to become a middleman to the European slave traders. It was here that she met King Akintoye who had been exiled by his nephew Kosoko from Lagos in 1846. Now, a dealer in arms and ammunition, she provided the Akintoye army with enough firepower that they were able to defeat the forces of Kosoko which was commanded by Chief Oshodi. In 1851, Akintoye regained the throne of Lagos and Tinubu moved to Lagos.

    For Tinubu, Lagos was a perfect opportunity for her to become the intermediary in the trade between Lagos and Abeokuta; thus becoming wealthy and powerful. She also willingly stopped trading in slaves when she understood the wretched life Europeans subjected the slaves into. She thereafter became a fierce opponent to slavery which gave her enormous goodwill.

    She was often accused of being the power behind the throne of King Akintoye. Her influence continued with King Dosunmu who took the throne in 1853 and it was this time that she came to the attention of the British colonial administration. Thus, when, in 1855 she led a campaign against the Brazilian and Sierra Leonean immigrants who wanted to subvert the throne and culture of Lagos, the British responded by mass arrests and deportation of Tinubu and her followers to Abeokuta.

    But that did not stop her political and economic influence. Soon, she became a voice in Egba politics and, using her wealth and influenc, she helped in the defense of the city from the Dahomean invasion of 1863; thus earning her the title of Iyalode. Tinubu’s economic empire consisted majorly of real estate and trading. In Abeokuta, she had a large farm in Ita Iyalode–a monument much like Tinubu Square stands there today- and her real estate in Lagos transcends Lagos Island to Idi-Oro in Mushin, Papa Ajao, Igbobi and Idi Araba. Her kolanut farm was reputed to have been the site of the present day Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    On December 1, 1887, Tinubu fell ill and on the afternoon of the following day, she died. She was buried at her maternal compound in Ojokodo, Gbagura in accordance to her orders. Today, an inscription at her cenotaph described her as “irrepressible opponent of slave trade and the British colonial government.”

    The Square that defines Lagos

    For generations of Lagosians, the Square has always been there. Though there have been changes in architecture and layout, it has remained a major melting point for cultures. Olatunde Ojulari remembers where he was in 1985 when the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria won the maiden U-17 World Cup in China. It was fresh in his memory as he pointed to several landmarks which defined the landscape of Tinubu Square.

    “When Nigeria won the World Cup in 1985, I remember that all of us trooped out from all the streets surrounding this place and came to celebrate in the square. Some of us children climbed the stones and played in the water. The older ones stood around and it was as if everyone had the same mind to come to the fountain to celebrate,” Ojulari, 39 years who now works as a traffic officer for the local council said.

    He remembers the Square as beautiful but has been made more worthy by the administration of former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. For him, the Square was a meeting place to discuss politics, sports and current affairs.

    “We used to come here in the 1980s. I was living on Alli Street and it was not like this then. There was no fence and that fountain was standing on a three-step stone. We used to climb on it to drink from the water. It was common those days to say you are going to drink from Tinubu’s fountain,” he said.

    Seventy-seven-year-old Salisu Yussuf had been selling used books beside the Square for more than 30 years. When our correspondent met him, he had just resumed at his customary post just by the northern tip of the Square. The rain had prevented him from making the early morning sales. Now, at mid-day, he had a sad look on his face as he arranged his books on the floor.

    “I have been here for more than 30 years. Before independence, there was a court here. But after they demolished it and built this fountain. Then there was no fence here. It was just the fountain. All around here were houses and this place was open. But this new fountain was done during Bola Tinubu’s time. He had to do it as he is a member of the family.”

    Rebuilding Tinubu Square

    The enviable position occupied by the Square today came at a cost. Former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu had to invest several millions into turning it into an architectural masterpiece. Even though the Square is yet to be opened to the public-Office of Facility Maintenance and Management is upgrading facilities-it is already attracting tourists; especially from outside Nigeria.

    “White people usually come here and take pictures. Also when people do wedding in this church (Methodist Church of the Trinity), they usually take all their pictures inside. Sometimes school children also come here for excursion,” a youth who works as a money changer opposite the Square said.

    But the edifice itself meant very little to those who ply their trade around it, same for Madam Tinubu. Our correspondent conducted a random sampling to know if Lagosians understand the importance of Madam Tinubu and got interesting opinions.

    “Iya Tinubu, her statue is inside there, is she not the mother of Iyaloja Mogaji,” Amina Bello asked. To Alao Ganiyu who sells male undergarments, Tinubu might have been one of the 21st Century political figures. “ Awon mama niyen, awon iya tiwa leko niyen.(She was a correct woman. She was one of our mothers in Lagos). She was a good woman when she was alive. She helped the poor people,” he said.

    Other residents and traders said she was a wonderful woman who did well while she lived, otherwise how will her statue occupy such an important place in Lagos? It is instructive to note that none of them came close to identifying Tinubu for what she stood and fought for. For many of them, business of the day was more important than talks about the Square.

    “There is a man who comes here, we call him Baba Eko and he knows the history of this place. But he is a little mad and if you can find him, he will tell you the history you need for your school project,” Ganiyu counseled.

    The rain had stopped and business activities resumed. Street sellers mounted the sidewalks and right in from of the Square a Pay-Per-View TV retailer opened her umbrella and began to display her products. Behind her, a vendor spread his newspapers while other small scale businesses took position at vantage angles in front of the edifice.

    “The traders used to disturb us, when they finish selling; they turn the front lawns into their dustbins. Sometimes we chase after them and make them to remove the rubbish but they will return the next day to do the same,” one of the security guards said.

    It is unclear when the renovation works will finish and if it will be open to the public. If it is, will it be at a cost? Many Lagosians are already thinking up several uses for the edifice apart from a spot for relaxation. According to Victor, a banker in one of the new generation banks in the neighborhood: “It will be a good place to meet a date, conduct business deals and generally get out of the chaos of the city without leaving the city.”

    However, with the enthusiasm the Square is generating especially from abroad, it is set to become an iconic landmark for Lagos in the years to come.