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Tag: MKO

  • What I want to be remembered for, by MKO

    What I want to be remembered for, by MKO

    Budding musician, Maduabuchi Kingsley Okpor, aka MKO speaks about his thriving music career, life as an artiste, growing up and plans for the remaining part of the year.

    How did you end up doing music?

    I started singing at the age of 12. I started off in church choir and as a songwriter. I later joined a band. The band later split-up but I continued to push myself within the entertainment industry by picking up different roles such as hosting events, performing at carnivals, weddings, birthday parties, talent shows and the likes. I took a hiatus from performing music but as fate would have it, in 2011, I got a chance to write a song for an underground gospel singer. The song was a hit and this took me back to making music professionally.

    Who were some of your influences?

    I am fortunate to have a dad who loves music so I basically grew up listening to some amazing records from my dad’s collections, which in turn influenced my writing and musical orientations. i grew up listening to the likes of Kenny Rodgers, The Commodores, Boney M, Marvin Gaye, Bright Chimezie, Fela Kuti and a host of others. My music today is influenced by the likes of Bob Marley, Lionel Richie, Jay Z, Tracy Chapman, Black Eyed Peas, Sade Adu, to the likes of Flavour, Femi Kuti, Chief Osita Osadebe, 2Face and Banky W, to name a few.

    How did your growing up influence your present?

    I grew up in Aguda, Surulere with my parents and eight siblings. Being from a large family, resources were tight but we always had enough to get by. Growing up till date, we have always known that there is enough love to go around and so we have always been a tight knit family. We grew up loving music as we woke up to loud music almost everyday. My dad would always allow us to bring out his sound system on New Years Eve and we will blast all the best music, which was our informal invitation to all our neighbours to come to our compound and join the party. In summary, I am from a big family that loves music from my dad to my eldest brother (who is a music director, a singer and a drummer) to my younger brothers who are dancers. So I guess I could say that music has always been a part of me.

    How has your musical journey fared so far?

    It has been a challenging one. I currently work as a Business Development Executive and this finances the music. Oftentimes, when I have a performance, I will have to rush from work to go for sound checks then rush back home to get ready and journey back for my performance only to get home at five am with my duty starting again at nine. Nevertheless, because I love music and my job, it helps and I have learnt how to balance both. With determination, everything is possible.

    Have you had any regrets?

    None whatsoever. Since I started making music professionally, I have had the opportunity to perform in Dubai alongside Davido, D’banj, Ice Prince, Sauti Sol, Mi Casa, Mr. May D, and Patoranking. I have also performed as a guest in the Abu Dhabi Formula 1, Fan Zone. I have recorded over 25 songs and have 4 professionally shot music videos to show for it.

    What’s your take of the Nigerian music industry?

    The industry is tough, competitive and challenging to break into, especially for an indie artist like myself. Having said that, I can say we have come a long way. Our industry has grown significantly. I am fortunate to have travelled to a few countries and I can assure you it is almost impossible to walk into any club without hearing music from Nigeria. We have done a great job and that’s why you will find the likes of Drake, Kanye West, Jay Z, Rick Ross and many more wanting to work with us and copying our style of music.

    Do you think government has created enough opportunities for the creative industry?

    There is always room for improvement. Growth is essential in everything we do in life. That’s the only way we can stay relevant as opposed to being in one place. We need more carnivals/festivals linked to Afro Beats and local art, which will attract more international attention thus bringing more tourists to Nigeria.

    Have you had any collaboration?

    To date I have had collaborations with my fellow indie and upcoming artists who are featured in some of the upcoming singles that I will be releasing in the near future.

    What does the future hold in terms of your music?

    I have a new single, Good Lovin’, which is starting to gain momentum and which I am currently promoting. In addition, I have already lined up a couple more singles and collaborations to be released later this year and the beginning of next year. I don’t believe in blowing my own trumpet but I believe in my work therefore, I have no doubt that MKO’s future is bright.

    What will you want to be

    remembered for?

    I run a Dubai based social event platform called Art Fusion Night. I created this platform to support up and coming creativeacts ranging from musicians, fashion designers, painters and others. The idea behind the platform was to help build up talents by providing an opportunity for them to showcase themselves on a big stage; the same way someone else gave me my first shot. I want their voices through art, song, clothes, to be heard which in turn would build up their confidence and believe in themselves. So besides being hopefully remembered for making good music, I would love to be remembered for providing opportunities, encouragement and building other creative up.

    What’s the story behind your name?

    Nigerians usually assume it has connections to the late politician. However, MKO is simply my initials for Maduabuchi Kingsley Okpor.

  • June 12: It’s not too late to honour MKO – Reps

    June 12: It’s not too late to honour MKO – Reps

    THE House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to posthumously confer the highest national honour – the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal republic (GCFR)  – on the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale A biola.

    According to them, this would be  a measure of recognition for his unprecedented achievements, contributions and sacrifice to the unity, peace, progress and development of Nigeria, Africa and the world.

    The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion by Sani Zoro (APC, Jigawa).

    Zoro said there were several reasons to justify Abiola’s immortalisation.

    We remember him today as always, as a true and great son of Nigeria, who touched lives more than any other person in his life, who contributed to the achievement of religious harmony by building bridges between faith organisations like nobody else, the humane boss, who employed Nigerians from all walks of life and treated them with affection and care as if they were members of his family, the man who championed the good cause of Africans for the exploitation and the heinous crime of slavery meted to them.

    “It is sad though that despite these uncommon qualities, capped by his victory at the presidential election of June 12, 1993, but which was denied him by retrogressive forces in conspiracy with agents of destabilisation – that Nigerian authorities had never at any given time conferred a national honour on him, in his eventful life time or posthumously, despite the fact that many Nigerians and non-Nigerians of dubious value had continued to be decorated with such national honours year in, year out.

    “There are abundant justifications to immortalise Abiola, to do that going by the event of June 12.

    “Abiola and Buhari shared so much in common, even in popularity. While Abiola got eight million out from a total of 14 million votes, President Buhari got 15 million out of 28 million. That’s half of the total votes by the two.

    “Justice can still be done, even 24 years after. It’s never too late.”

    Anayo Nnebe (PDP, Anambra) said the annulment was an injustice through executive recklessness.

    “Whatever reasons Ibrahim Babangida gave for the annulment cannot erase the fact that Abiola won the election

    “Abiola is entitled to that award because it will be discouraging if it is such that the system only recognises and remembers criminals,” he noted.

    Saying that June 12 transcends a regional issue, Nnnebe noted that the day deserved to be declared a national public holiday to be celebrated by every Nigerian because the entire country voted for Abiola in the ill-fated election.

    “It was not a Southwest issue; let every part of the country celebrate the day, justice should start by declaring June 12 a national holiday,” he added.

    Olufunke Adedoyin (APC, Kwara), who wondered what had changed about the long-held notion that Abiola should be immortalised, asked why the House as in times past rejected motions calling for the late politician to be officially recognised by the Federal Government.

    “Abiola’s immense contributions to the nation should be recognized; he was a philanthropist with an Africa agenda,” she added.

    Wale Raji (APC, Lagos) said the greatest honour that can be bestowed on Abiola posthumously is to release the annulled result and declare him winner of the election.

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

     

  • MKO: Patriarch of Nigeria’s democracy – APC Scandinavia

    MKO: Patriarch of Nigeria’s democracy – APC Scandinavia

    As Nigeria remembers events of June 12, 1993, the Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Scandinavia, Ayoola Lawal on Monday described late Political icon, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola as the unsung hero of Nigeria’s democracy.

    Lawal, who observed that MKO Abiola deserves to be celebrated by every Nigerian, regardless of political, religious or tribal affiliation, called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to immortalise him.

    Quoting former military Head of State, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, the APC chief said: “If Babangida acknowledges that June 12 was accepted by Nigerians as the best of elections in Nigeria, then MKO, though, dead, should be honoured at the national level.

    “It is rather unfortunate that people who have embezzled public funds at various levels are being honoured by the Federal Government. Although, this administration hasn’t honoured individuals, to announce an honour for MKO is worth it.

    “Everyone in Nigeria participated in the June 12, 1993 election, which means, this is not merely a struggle for the Yorubas but all Nigerians. He recalled the former Head of State saying that the election was free and fair. But unfortunately, his regime cancelled it.

    The then military president, Gen, Ibrahim Babaginda, annulled the presidential elections held on JUne 12, 1993 adjudged by local and foreign observers as the most credible in the annals of Nigeria.

    Recalling that APC Scandinavia called for a national honour in his favour in 2015, Lawal said: “Now is the time for us to show how much MKO means to Nigeria and our democracy. The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo should

  • So long, MKO?

    So long, MKO?

    So long, MKO.

    that appears the not-so-veiled message, from Basorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola’s native South West, on his June 12, 1993 presidential election annulment heroism — 23 years after the rest of Nigeria had moved on.

    To start with, the Eastern-most reaches of Yorubaland are too trapped in reaction to remember such a tragic epoch, which nevertheless secured the current democratic order.

    In Ondo, Olusegun Mimiko has flirted with progressivism, frolicked with conservatism and made his final, blissful peace with reaction.

    It is no surprise he wouldn’t be bothered by June 12, and whatever its political symbolism is.

    In Ekiti, noisy Ayodele Fayose, gubernatorial equivalent of the empty barrel that makes most noise, is so deafened by his own grating he won’t even “hear” the wind of June 12 whistle past him.

    In central Yorubaland, of Oyo and Osun, however, came some ironic reassurance.  Ironic, because here, political conservatism is strongest in the  South West; and political reactionaries are in no short supply.  Many of these reactionaries openly nailed MKO’s mandate, even while it was still hot!

    Yet, it was this seeming bastion of conservatism — not to talk of reaction — that kept faith with MKO’s memory and supreme sacrifice, by declaring  the next day work-free, after June 12 fell on a Sunday.

    That fidelity comes with extra sweetness: Oyo, with Ibadan, its capital, is the culture and political capital of Yorubaland.

    And Osun, despite its lean purse and the plain mischief of negative branding on the religious front, approximates most, by its developmental policies and programmes, the Awo exemplar of a welfare state, as well as how MKO’s presidency could have panned out, in people-centred social democracy.

    Lagos, the South West super mart, made wonderful foxtrots on the day — June 12.

    But on Monday?  Alas!  Lagos was back at its frenetic hustle.  As they say, “L’ojo Monday, Eko o ni gbagba ku gba!” (On Mondays, Lagos brooks no nonsense).  Eko hustle is no respecter of June 12!

    But it was in MKO’s native Ogun that the June 12 no-show was most galling.  Aside from a low-key procession on the day, there was no work-free day.

    But maybe that June 12 quiet, on the Ogun front, was no surprise —  after all, Abeokuta, of MKO’s nativity, produced two personalities that helped to foil Abiola’s mandate; and to sustain the annulment.

    Olusegun Obasanjo worked more for setting up the Interim National Government (ING) Trojan horse, than revalidating the election; and Ernest Shonekan, another Egba son, assumed subversive duty as “Interim Head of State”, on account of that contraption, that a court later declared illegal.

    Yet, it is such exhibition of near-zero institutional memory, as Ogun crassly showed, that condemns contemporary Nigeria to repeating avoidable mistakes!

    Well, if Nigeria appears done with MKO — supreme sacrifice be damned! — is MKO done with Nigeria?

    Hardly!  And the unfolding political developments are grave indicators.

    In 1993, Abiola, a Yoruba man, won a clean pan-Nigeria mandate — the cleanest in Nigerian history.

    But the rest of Nigeria banded with some military renegades, led by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, to annul that election and sustain that crime; using ethnic slurs to tar the South West rally for justice.

    Not a few believed it was a northern plot.  But the North countered IBB and co represented nobody but their power-crazed selves.

    Still, that belief set off a chain of events that though led to the restoration of democracy, forced the North to steer clear of the Presidency.

    That process would climax with the willy-nilly coronation of Goodluck Jonathan as Nigeria’s first minority president, but not without opposition from some treasonable northern elements, in the last days of President Umaru Yar’Adua.

    In 2015, Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani northerner, won another epochal mandate.  For the first time in Nigeria, the opposition routed the ruling order for federal power.

    But a minority from the South-South (witness the so-called Niger Delta Avengers), with not-so-veiled sympathy from the South East, is launching armed economic sabotage to frustrate, if not scuttle outright, that free mandate.

    It’s a classic but tragic retardation, only a Nigeria could muster!

    By the June 12 plot, a majority power clique, nay criminals, suborned the rest of Nigeria to thwart an election globally hailed as very clean; and levy a war of intimidation against Abiola and his native South West.

    But by 2016, that rascality had morphed into a minority plot — by sore election losers from the Niger Delta — inducing the fond among the majority South East, against the rest of Nigeria.

    This extant plot wagers, rather stupidly, that by bombing soft oil installations, and melting into the swamps, it could bend the rest of Nigeria to its sinister will!

    In Nigeria’s rotten cosmos of equal-opportunity injustice, impunity is going ga-ga!

    South West won a mandate but the rest of Nigeria clobbered it into surrendering it.  Now, South-South lost a mandate, but it fancies it could clobber the rest of Nigeria to, willy-nilly, reverse that loss.

    The moral?  Impunity is bad, no matter its source: majority or minority.

    Besides, there is a bit of karma creeping in here.

    You don’t throw a man into the can (from which he didn’t come out alive), kill his wife by state-sponsored terror, ruin his multi-billion Naira business and throw his family into disarray — just because he won a free election.

    Yet, that is Nigeria’s crime against MKO.  Only the most tragically deluded would, therefore, assume Nigeria, without doing right by the man, would live happily ever after!

    That takes the matter right back to MKO and a putative South West retreat, over the grave injustice done the man.

    But why might the South West retreat over the Abiola matter?  Because they have a bit of federal power?  That would be both asinine and ungrateful — and the Yoruba pristine world belies both.

    That is why the South West must press for Abiola’s right, even if posthumously, now that it has a rare influence at the centre.

    Though MKO didn’t consummate his presidency, the Nigerian state must work out some apology, followed by official recognition of his foiled tenure — and the South West must unapologetically lead that push.

    By that, Nigeria would officially repudiate the grave injustice of June 12.

    And to the spiritual: also appease the raging ghost of MKO, which continues to hover over the polity.

  • APC Diaspora honours MKO, others

    APC Diaspora honours MKO, others

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Scandinavia has honoured late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola popularly known as MKO with the Posthumous Award of Democracy Champion while Hon. Adedapo Lam –Adeshina was honored with an Outstanding Leadership Award.

    The Awards of Outstanding Leadership was presented to Hon. Adedapo Lam-Adeshina by the National Women Leader, APC Scandinavia, Yeye Oge Mary Nike Brakner.

    Hon. Lam-Adeshina in his speech of acceptance enthusiastically thanked APC Scandinavia members and promised to continue to live by the title of the award.

    Hon. Adedapo Lam-Adeshina is one of the youngest and brilliant Members of Federal House of Representative, representing Oyo South-East/North-East Federal constituency.

    He was a recipient because of his stallion performances in different capacities and for serving as a beacon of light and inspiration for both old  and younger generation  who already lost hope in good governance and youth inclusion in scheme of Nigeria democracy. Hon. Lam-Adeshina was one of the best minds that the Swedish Government selected for the 2015 VP SwedenAbroad, first of its kind in Sweden Nigeria foreign relations.

    Late Chief MKO Posthumous Award of Democracy Champion was  presented by the Chairman/ National Coordinator of APC Scandinavia,  Mr. Ayoola Lawal and the award was received on behalf of MKO by Hon. Rinsola Abiola, daughter of  late MKO and the youngest board member of trustees of APC.

    Rinsola displayed affection for the award when she thanked the APC Scandinavia for the recognition.

    In her statement she said the family often discussed and wonder why MKO is yet to be properly

    Acknowledged his honor in Nigeria history by the Nigerian government. However, she believes that does that refused to acknowledged her father his appropriate place in Nigerian history will never and can never be greater than MKO even in death. She said she will deliver the award to the family.

    Mr. Ayoola said that it was a great honor and privilege to be chosen to present the first of its international kind of posthumous award to the late father of contemporary democracy in Nigeria and his own hero, MKO. He said the award was long overdue because  MKO lived and died for  the believe in an egalitarian society for  Nigerians and anyone living in Scandinavia can really relate to what MKO courageously stood and died for.

    The distortion of Nigeria’s democratic aspiration started with the annulment of the June 12 1993 free and fair elections and since the sad events of 1993, election riggers had perfected the art.

    He said that Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election deserve  a proper national and international honor in which APC Scandinavia is the pacesetter in this regards.

    The South West region already adopted June 12 as a red day (holiday) but June 12 was a national  issue.

    He deserved a Posthumous nation´s highest honor, Grand Commander of the Federal  Republic (GCFR), having won the acclaimed free and fair 1993 presidential elections and laid down his life for the contemporary  democracy in Nigeria.

    We are very hopeful that our APC led administration will  build a groundswell of national consensus to do the needful in this respect and put an end to the June 12 saga.

    Now is the time to start to celebrate our real and authentic heroes and heroines rather than glamourizing political criminals and pre acted movies stars.

  • Eternal lessons I learnt from MKO, Arisekola-Alao

    Eternal lessons I learnt from MKO, Arisekola-Alao

    The Asiwaju Musulumi of Yorubaland and Chairman of Tuns International Investment Company (Nigeria) Limited. Alhaji Tunde Badmos, clocked 69 recently. The owner of one of the biggest poultry farms in the South West seldom talks about his personal life. But in this  encounter with the journalist-turned-businessman, he opens up to GBENGA ADERANTI on the side of his life many people do not know, particularly his relationship with the late philanthropists and business moguls, the late Chief MKO Abiola and the late Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Chief Azeez Arisekola-Alao, among other issues.

    How does it feel to be 69?

    I feel fulfilled. I have to thank Allah for making me what I am today. From nowhere, I am what I am now. It is not easy to attain the age of 69 in Nigeria because many of my peers and colleagues have died. I give glory to the Almighty Allah for doing what He has done for me at 69.

    At 69, you are involved in a lot of things. You are active in religious and political activities even though you are not a politician. How do you manage to do all these?

    Well, first and foremost, the most important thing is your daily bread. My number one priority is my company; what I do for a living, which is farming. I am a poultry farmer and you know that Nigeria is a developing nation. Farming has to do with something that you eat and you have to be very careful in the process line. The process line has to be in line with the international standard. So, my number one priority is my business.

    The most important aspect of my daily life is my sallat (prayer), the five times prayer on a daily basis. It is very important that I have to observe it at the right time. So the other ones, political or religious, you can regulate to suit your time. I’m not involved in politics but I’m a brother to many politicians. I interact with every one of them irrespective of their political leaning.

    You joined the Police Force at a time when most parents would rather want their children to go to the university to study Law or Medicine. What was the attraction then?

    There was no attraction, I had a quarrel with somebody and we were taken to the police station and the DPO asked me if I had a job. I said no, that I had just passed out of secondary school. He said I should go to Ikeja Police College the following day. I thought I was going to be given the inspectorate cadre but I ended up being a recruit. Within two to three years, I felt it was not the right place for me and I left.

    The way you were going in journalism, it was as if you had a lot of prospects, but you also left the profession just the way you left the police…

    Journalism during our own time was a job you would love doing. But when you find out that you can do something else and gain more money, you will do it. It was journalism that made me what I am today. I remember interviewing the late J.S. Tarka. He was the Minister of Transport during the Shagari regime. Chief Kunle Adeleke happened to be the director of news and current affairs in Ibadan. The interview had a lot of mileage. At that time, the newspapers monitored radio programmes to extract news, and he was able to get a good story from the interview. The newspapers got stories from the interview. Because of that, we became friends. At times, he would invite me for a dinner.

    One day, I saw him giving tickets to 10 people and I told him that I also wanted to go to Mecca. He asked the travel agent to issue me a ticket and he gave me 1,000 pounds. With the 1,000 pounds, I went to Mecca. In Mecca, I discovered that the recording we were doing locally was wrong. At that time, if we were going for an assignment, we would go with a big midget, which we rolled and rolled. We did not have the type of gadgets that are used today. I saw this small recorder in Mecca and I bought about 400 pieces and began to sell to broadcasting stations. That was the beginning.

    I now felt that instead of me having a divided loyalty, I should face this one. I started from this and ended up supplying television equipment, transmitters, OB vans and other broadcasting equipment. Then, before you could have access to foreign exchange, the Federal Government made it compulsory that you must have a farm. If you did not have a farm, you could not have a license to import goods. I acquired a piece of land here in Osogbo and my import licence was approved. Instead of giving me licence for electronics, they approved licence for chemicals and concentrate for the farm, which I did not require and I did not know what to do with that. That action made me turn to agriculture, and that was the beginning of the farm.

    You were close to the late Chief Arisekola Alao and Bashorun MKO Abiola. Would it be right to say that you learnt philanthropy from them?

    Well, I did. MKO Abiola of blessed memory, whatever he had, he believed that he must spend it in the way of Allah and he did not discriminate. He was donating to churches and every part of this country. When you move with him, you have one lesson or the other to learn. The same thing goes for Arisekola. Arisekola’s generosity even touched the churches at the grassroots. But you see, Abiola was donating more to institutions than Arisekola who donated more to the grassroots. So if you move with any of these two, you will see that there is a need for you to be kind to your fellow human beings, provided that you have the means.

    What are your memories of the two men?

    The two of them loved me. They were always advising me. MKO Abiola, on the day I was to be turbaned as the Asiwaju Musulumi of Yorubaland, he was late to the ceremony. He was supposed to be the chairman of the event. The programme was supposed to start at 9 am, but MKO did not come until about 5 pm. He now told the gathering that if they were expecting millions of naira from him, he had no kobo to give out here. He told them that he would advise me on the way to go about the journey of life.

    We then came back to my room here. He told me that he came late for my event because he was in Abuja with his friend, the former head of state, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.

    Then he said: ‘Look, my advice to you is that don’t fight any government whether small or big. Face your business and avoid friction between you and government. I took the advice. As much as possible, I keep within the law and I avoid friction between me and the government. That was MKO.

    For Arisekola, there are a lot of things I learnt from him. I used to go to him and he would advise me about things. To him, people in authority should be respected. Even if it is the chairman of a local government or a commissioner, the best thing to say is ‘my oga is coming sir.’ Your saying my oga is coming sir does not diminish your personality. He used to say ‘yes sir’ to virtually everybody. He said you have to bring yourself down to enjoy life. The Aare would never quarrel with anybody. He would make you happy, he would laugh with you. He would never say, ‘Get out of my sight!.’

    He told me the story of a politician. According to him, he was asked to nominate a minister and he called one of the top politicians, asking him whom they should nominate. They both agreed on the name of the person to be sent for the ministerial position. The announcement was to be made during the 9 pm news on the NTA (Nigerian Television Authority). Unknown to Aare, the politician had substituted the name they agreed with that of another person he preferred. Aare heard a name different from the one they had agreed on, and what did he do? The politician said sorry, and that was the end of the saga. He went through a lot. If he told you all that he had gone through, you would pity him.

    You have become a rallying point for politicians in Osogbo and by extension Osun State. And for anybody to occupy any political office in the state, he or she must have your blessing. Is it correct to tag you the Adedibu of Osun State?

    No, Baba (Adedibu) was a politician to the core. He had no other business than politics. You can’t compare that with what I do. My own role is to make sure that we have good governance. I’m after good governance in the sense that I don’t want to be selfish. My life investment is in this city. I have invested up to nine or 10 billion naira in this city, so there is the need for me to ensure that there is peace in this state.

    I also have life birds numbering about one million and they require attention every minute. You can now see that there is no way I would encourage a breakdown of law and order in the city. That is why you have to be nice to every one of them. You have to have a way of settling their grievances or getting them to make concessions. That is the role I play; not the Adedibu type, who would say, ‘This is the man that will be this or that.’ I don’t have such power. Whosoever wants my assistance would tell me specifically what he wants me to do.

    Many youths try to shy away from farming, saying that it is difficult or unprofitable. But you have made the job to look simple. How do you think government can encourage the youth to participate actively in farming?

    First of all, to say you want to get the youth back to farming with the present condition, I think we are deceiving ourselves because the orientation of the youth today is different from ours. We have to go back to teaching moral education in our institutions. In all this, we still have youths who are responsible, who have roamed the streets for many years. These are the youth that could be encouraged to farm. But some of them are lazy. If you are lazy, you can’t do the business. Poultry business, for instance, is more or less 24 hours. Fortunately, out of the 350 farmers that are taking part in the state’s farming scheme, between 150 and 200 of them are university graduates, and they are very happy doing the business.

    The scheme is very easy; just go and register with the Poultry Association of Nigeria, they will come and inspect your farm, and if they find that you have the infrastructure, they will tell us and we will ask you to come and collect day-old chicks. Tuns will pay for the day-old chicks, the state government will pay for the feeds, and if it is a new farmer, the state government will give you money to start off. Then the Poultry Association of Nigeria will give the drugs and vaccines. Virtually, what is required has been provided. The new farmer is being given money to employ people. Each of the farm owners is expected to employ a minimum of five people and within six to eight weeks, the birds are ready and we take them to our own farm slaughter and sell.

    The money for the day-old chick is given to us. The money for the vaccines is given to the association, while the money for the feeds is given to the government and the farmer is getting on fine. When the thing improves in Osun, we want to encourage local governments to build pen houses which can cater for at least 10 farmers. If one farmer employs a minimum of five, you can now multiply that by 30 local governments. But 80 per cent of today’s youths don’t want to experience any hardship; they want something that is ready-made.

    Many people tend to have the impression that farming is a difficult job, yet you have made a success of it. What did you do differently?

    If you have the mindset and you say you want to do something, you will have challenges along the line, but you will make sure you overcome the challenges. Maybe the others who did it and ran away were not dedicated. I don’t have any other means of livelihood than farming.

    Before you took over as the President of Poultry Farmers Association, the association was in a shambles. How did you change its fortune?

    When I took over, there were lots of garbage being dumped into this country; frozen chicken from all over the world. At Ijora then, you would see them there. The mindset of Nigerians was to go towards that line. We had to create awareness that the chicken Nigerians were consuming did not go through any certification through NAFDAC or other agencies. The people who were bringing frozen foods into the country were smugglers who would not open any book that they were importing chicken into this country. You would never see them go to the bank to say they wanted to import chicken.

    Also, the conditions under which they were bringing chicken into the country were so bad that only God saved us from contracting diseases through them. We were able to convince those Nigerians that the chicken they were buying or importing was preserved with chemicals used in preserving dead bodies. We warned everybody that it could cause cancer. That is why today everybody is asking for the Nigerian chicken.

    It got to a stage that the Obasanjo regime assisted poultry farmers by banning importation of chicken into Nigeria. Before the ban, we did not have a single record from the CBN that so and so person passed through government to bring in chicken, because they knew that if they followed that line, nobody would give them certification because they would not meet the international requirements. Their products would not be fit for consumption. That is why they believe in smuggling and they still do it till today.

    Even the Jonathan government, if they say they want free trade and chicken should be allowed to come in, which chicken has come in through the regulated authority? None. Those were the things we did at that time. All the major stakeholders were in support of the association. They financed us. In all that we wanted to do, they supported us. I also had to invest my money in the association, and at the end of the day, we were able to set up a poultry industry in the country which can feed the whole of West Africa. The type of equipment and facilities we have today are capable of producing chicken that can feed all the West African market.

    As things are today, we have the capacity to produce day-old chicks we could sell anywhere in the world. Nigeria is self-sufficient in poultry production and we were able to save millions of dollars which would have been used to buy things from abroad. The only thing we buy abroad is grandparents stock. All others we produce in Nigeria.

    How do you relax?

    I relax by playing golf. I go there every morning. I spend about four or five hours playing golf.

  • APC actualises Awo, MKO dreams , says ex-aide Akerele

    FORmer political assistant to the late Bashorun MKO Abiola and veteran journalist, Lisa Olu Akerele, has described the victory of All Progressives Congress(APC) candidates across the nation as the actualization of the dreams of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and Abiola.

    In a congratulatory message to the leadership of the APC, Akerele said the party’s victory was “the triumph of progressives over reactionary forces,” giving kudos to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for leading a worthy battle on the side of history.

    He noted that if the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) had won in Lagos State, for instance, “the state would have been dragged down an inglorious path of infamy as the PDP lacked the depth to sustain the level of development the state had already attained under Tinubu and incumbent governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.”

    He said that if Chief Jimi Agbaje of PDP had won Chief Akinwunmi Ambode of APC, it would have amounted to a dent on Tinubu’s progressive credentials in view of the desperate last moves by President Goodluck Jonathan to rubbish Tinubu in Lagos for leading the crusade to sack him from Aso Rock.

    He praised “Lagosians for shunning the lorry loads of Naira notes Jonathan delivered to Lagos a couple of days before the governorship elections, noting that their choice was the triumph of progress over evil.”

    Akerele argued that it was Awolowo’s dream to forge a united progressive front for Nigeria, but this was truncated by reactionarists who had no plan for the growth of the country.

    He said Abiola realised the Awolowo dream by winning the June 12, 1993 elections squarely across ethnic and religious divides all over the nation, “but he was prevented from assuming the mantle of leadership by those who never wished Nigeria well.”

    Akerele said the push led by Tinubu had galvanized the progressives across the country into a united front, which led to the emergence of Gen. Mohammadu Buhari as the president-elect of Nigeria.

    He praised Tinubu’s tenacity of purpose in the struggle, maintaining that Ambode’s victory was a further vote of confidence in both Fashola and his predecessor.

    He pointed out that Ambode had a gruelling task of ensuring that the standards set by Tinubu and Fashola were maintained in the years ahead, adding that the governor-elect will have no excuses for failing in view of the fact that he has the advantage of working with a progressive at the centre unlike his predecessors.

    The media consultant advised Lagosians to team up with Ambode to ensure he had a successful tenure.

     

  • Two feared killed in Osun clash over ownership of MKO Airport

    Two feared killed in Osun clash over ownership of MKO Airport

    At least two persons were feared killed and about 15 others critically injured in a bloody clash on Saturday between Ede and Ido-Osun communities in Egbedore Local Government Area of Osun State.

    It was gathered that trouble started in the early hours of yesterday when the people of Ido-Osun community woke up to discover the erection of a signpost allegedly by some Ede indigenes which reads “this land belong to Ede” in the area where the ongoing construction of the multi-billion naira MKO Abiola International Airport at Ido-Osun is sited.

    The people of Ido-Osun were said to have mobilised some youths to the site and removed the signpost which eventually led to a violent clash between the two communities.

    The people of Ido-Osun were said to have been caught unawares by the youths of Ede, who allegedly macheted many people before the intervention of the police.

    The two warring communities, it was gathered, are claiming ownership of the site of the new airport which is being financed by the state government.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Osun State, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, said a number of arrests have been made but however failed to mention the exact figure.

    She disclosed that a detachment of anti-riot police have been stationed in the area on the orders of the state Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Dorothy Gimba, to restore peace, law and order.

  • Spectacle at MKO’s graveside

    Spectacle at MKO’s graveside

    Memory was an evident casualty even as those who chose to remember marked the 20th anniversary of June 12, 1993, the historic date when the fangs of military dictatorship poisoned the purity of a popular democratic election. General Ibrahim Babangida’s bizarre and inscrutable annulment of the presidential poll that endorsed Chief MKO Abiola, undoubtedly, remains relevant till this day, particularly on account of the devastation it wreaked on the collective psyche, the still-active fallout and the irretrievable loss of what might have been.

    It was, however, an interesting irony that among those who exhibited an appalling lack of a sense of occasion was no other than Mubashiru Abiola, MKO’s sibling. His choice of setting made it doubly incongruous. At a public ceremony to commemorate the dark episode that ultimately took his older brother’s life, Mubashiru made utterances which suggested that he was probably memory challenged.

    Speaking at Abiola’s Oja-Agbo family house in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Mubashiru, who is the head of the Abiola family, reportedly said, “I hail the support of former President Ibrahim Badamasi  Babangida to the Abiola family over the years. I pray that the Almighty God will continue to guard and guide him. Gen Babangida’s administration remains the best in the nation’s history.”

    It must be conceded that his statement had a trace of news, although it also grossly misstated reality. Isn’t it food for thought, this information that Babangida had provided “support” for the Abiola family, “over the years?”  This revelation bespeaks the impermanence of interests as well as the potency of conscience. Clearly, whatever interests motivated Babangida’s assault on popular democracy and his rigid rejection of MKO’s victorious emergence, these must differ from the interests behind his latter-day embrace of the family.  The former context was about power play, likely megalomania, unfriendly friendship and possible ethnic-based calculations. The succeeding situation is probably about tormented conscience and self-redemption.  It   is uncertain whether Mubashiru’s expressed gratitude accurately represented the feelings of the entire Abiola family. Also unsure is the coverage of Babangida’s stated “support” and its nature. Indeed, it is enlightening that Mubashiru’s glorification of Babangida has been questioned by members of his family, who described their relative as “a traitor.” There can be no doubt that whatever liberality the former strongman has shown toward the family after Abiola’s mysterious 1998 demise in detention is corrupted by reasonable suspicion. It is akin to a destroyer shedding crocodile tears over the ruins he caused.

    Strangely, however, displaying a rather narrow and simplistic perspective, Mubashiru washed Babangida clean, saying, “I don’t believe that Babangida was the one that killed MKO, no. Everybody knew that Babangida was not in the government when MKO died. How could you say that somebody who was not there did something? It is not possible. Babangida does not know anything about the death of MKO.”  This is crude revisionism. Has Mubashiru ever pondered on what course events could have taken had MKO not been violently denied the presidency, a denial initiated by Babangida’s regime and perfected by his military successor, General Sani Abacha?

    Oddly enough, in a perplexing double-speak which, perhaps unwittingly, deservedly discredited Babangida, Mubashiru also said, “I implore our leaders to embrace the vision of June 12 by ensuring that Nigerians get food on their tables and shelter on their heads. All employable youths should be given jobs, while everybody should enjoy basic amenities.” It is on record that Babangida blocked the actualization of MKO’s ambitious vision for the country, which puts a question mark on Mubashiru’s hyperbolic assessment of his administration as “the best in the nation’s history.” What is his yardstick?

    Possibly worse and more disturbing  than Mubashiru’s revisionist tendencies was the redefinition of June 12 by no other than Alhaji Bashir Tofa, MKO’s rival in the electoral contest which  Babangida  unfairly and inexcusably aborted. He reportedly described June 12 as “fiction.” Were it not for the serious fundamental issues arising from this absurd labelling, Tofa’s uninformed borrowing from the vocabulary of Literature could well have passed for a banal joke. However, it is tickling all the same, if only as a faultless example of wrong word usage.

    Is Tofa, by his descriptive licence, suggesting that the country should suspend disbelief over the enormity of Babangida’s atrocity, and accept it as normal in the context of a supposed fictive universe? Does he imply that the June 12 poll was never a real-life event, but was rather imagined and, consequently, imaginary? His fantasy, in case he didn’t realize it, also makes him a fictitious character.

    Following his reasoning, he would need to provide concrete proof of his own real existence in spatiotemporal terms, beyond fiction’s make-believe world. There are significant questions here: What if Tofa, rather than MKO, had won that election? Would Babangida have annulled it just the same?  Would such action have made a difference to Tofa’s fictional angle?

    Tofa was quoted as saying, “I sincerely believe that it is an episode that we need to get over with and look forward to a better electoral process and, therefore, a better democracy.” Here we go again, with repulsive revisionism rearing its head. Two decades after an election widely acknowledged for its unprecedented transparency, and an acceptable model of voter sovereignty, Tofa seeks the invention of “a better electoral process” without highlighting the demerits, if any, of the option that worked. His notion of “a better democracy” can only be imagined, considering that the democracy which was supposed to have been delivered by the June 12 election never materialized because of Babangida’s negative intervention.

    Not surprisingly, the ghost of June 12 continues to haunt the land. It is a measure of the depth of the damage done by Babangida and his ilk that MKO’s convincing win remains a front-burner issue even today. It is a tribute to the late charismatic and ebullient politician that his spirit is an inspiration to pro-democratic forces battling for the soul of the country. Of course, there are opposite forces still at work, contrary spirits that must be defeated to achieve the desired flowering of democratic beauty.

    Perhaps the most fitting way to immortalize MKO is the assertion of voter sovereignty, which will hopefully result in the crowning of the people’s choice. It is an inescapable challenge waiting for the people to rise to the occasion. Remember MKO’s immortal wisdom, “Democracy is the question. Democracy is the answer.”

    • Macaulay is on the editorial board of The Nation

  • ‘I sewed 45 agbada for MKO before I met him’

    ‘I sewed 45 agbada for MKO before I met him’

    Popular fashion designer, Otunba Wasiu Taiwo, is also the owner of Continental Suites, a hotel in Abeokuta, Ogun State. In this interview with OKORIE UGURU, the product of London College of Fashion talks about his humble beginning as a tailor and how he became an elite tailor for top personalities, including the late politician and business mogul Chief M.K.O. Abiola. Excerpts:

    How did start fashion designing business?

    I will start by saying that whatever you do, put all your interest in it. It is very important. At times, when I sit down and look at myself, I look my children and then cast my mind back to a period in the past when I was just a local designer. I look at my colleagues with whom I started and I thank God. The reason is that while I was very busy, trying to work 24 hours, I worked alone for three to four hours in the night. That was when I drew most of my inspirations. Everywhere would be quiet.

    With my 20 years experience, when I finish a product, I still find fault. This tells me that there is room for improvement. But the first thing is to have interest, believe in God and be honest in whatever you do.

    Maybe I should actually ask how you got into tailoring business…

    My father was a local designer. That is a long story. I started by sewing jackon, that is the embroidery on agbada. I tell people that I became self employed or self sufficient at the age of 12. He used to give me the agbada to give to somebody to do the embroidery for him. All the time, immediately he finished the agbada, he would call me and instruct me to take it to the man that would put the design. They called it jackon.

    Each time I got there, I would be wondering how somebody could be putting designs on agbada. If I had the time, I would stay and observe how he was doing it. I was there one day to deliver an agbada to him. He was not in the shop but I was hearing his voice. I shouted to him that I was around. The design he was working on, he had left it on the table. I sat down, took the material, lapped it the way he used to do and continued from where he stopped. He came in and shouted: ‘You want to spoil this material?’ He then looked at what I had done and was baffled.

    He asked me where I had learnt the trade before and I told him I learnt it from him; that I watched him to see how he was doing it. He said I did it perfectly, as he could not distinguish where he had stopped from where I had started. He told me that since I had the interest, any time I was around, he would give me the opportunity to learn.

    One day, my father gave me an agbada to take to the man. I decided to go to the market, buy the thread and took my time to do it little by little, hiding it from my father. I completed it the third day and took it to my father. He gave me money to take to the designer, but I told him that I did it myself. He did not believe me. I repeated what I had said and he went to the man to confirm it. Then, they were sewing agbada for N50 and another N50 for the embroidery. So, if the complete set of buba, agbada and sokoto was N50, and the embroidery too was N50, my father looked at it and said I was in business. He said: ‘Henceforth, do it and I will be giving you 10 per cent of the money.’

    How old were you then?

    I was 13 years old, and as a small boy, he did not want to spoil me with money. So, I could put hand in my pocket and do whatever I wanted to do. I could give money to my friends. That was how I picked interest in tailoring.

    After some time, the 31 battalion of the Nigerian Army wanted to award their school uniform to contractors and we were the tailors around. My father did not even bother. Then, I had started buying ready-made clothes, loosening them and trying to sew them back. I tried teaching myself how to sew. So, immediately they called for contractors for the uniform, I went there to represented my father and myself. I took a job for my father and myself and bought a sewing machine with the money I made form that job. I was given a room and I had the machine in the room. So, I could do anything I liked with it. That was how I developed the habit of working at night.

    To God be the glory, I was at the London College of Fashion. I returned to Abeokuta and decided to stay here because I believed I had some idea about the business and I wanted to share it with my people first, because I know that if I had stayed back in London, I would excel. That is how it has been till date. That is the system I have put into the hotel business, because if you have eye for sewing, you have eye to see how things should be put in their proper place.

    How did you attract big names to your tailoring business?

    It was not me but my products. When I sew for you, people will look at it. The only major one that I had to struggle to get was that of the late Chief MKO Abiola. When I looked at the newspapers and saw what he was wearing, I believed I could sew better clothes for him.

    I was in his house for three days. I had a friend called Kujima then, who worked with the wife. I told him that I wanted to sew for MKO Abiola. I told him he could see that I had better collections than the man was wearing. I told him I would do something that the man would appreciate much more than the clothes he was wearing. He said, ‘Okay, let us go.’ I took my bag and we went to Lagos. That was in 1990.

    On the first day, we were in Abiola’s house from morning till night. I could not believe what I saw.

    What did you see?

    I saw people from the North, East and every part of the country in his house. All these people wanted to see him and they were killing cows everyday to feed them. I looked at myself and said, ‘Everybody here wants to see this man; I don’t think I can see him.’ I said if I went to them and said I wanted to introduce myself to him as a tailor, who would take me there? Some people had been waiting for two weeks to see him. I believed it was being arranged state by state. Sometimes, they would just arrange envelopes for all of them and they would go. Before you know it, another set would come.

    I said maybe this man would think I was coming to beg for money. I asked myself how I would introduce myself to him. Then suddenly, my mind just told me…okay, he was in Abeokuta when he wanted to declare for SDP (Social Democratic Party). So, just struggle to get closer to him, just to have his measurement.

    After that, I just went straight to the market. I bought five sets of complete agbada (flowing gown) piece; the best material in the market. My mind told me that I didn’t have to wait for the man; that I should buy the material, sew it and take it to him. I started dropping five sets of Agbada piece. I would do so again the following week. I would go to the market, buy the materials and drop it in his house. I was dropping five sets of material every week without waiting to see him. So, when I looked at the newspapers, I would see him wearing my dress.

    Then, he was just preparing to go into politics. When I looked at the paper and saw that it was my dress he was wearing, I said this man, I have got him. I sewed the first, second, third, fourth, fifth; about 45 sets of agbada without even seeing him. I used a style that God put in my mind that I should put my cards in all the pockets. Five cards went with one piece. So, as I was delivering the five pieces, there were 25 cards going at the same time. So, anywhere he went, if he put his hand in his pocket, he would see my card.

    When I went to deliver a particular set, one of his aides told me he was going to be in Abeokuta at so and so time to see Chief Segun Osoba who was the governor of Ogun State, and that he would try and call me. I gave him my land phone number, because there was no GSM then. When he called me, I rushed to the place and luckily, he was wearing my dress. He was coming out with the governor, Ebenezer Obey and others. I beat all the protocol and faced him. I said: ‘Are o! My name is Wessy, the designer of your outfit. The man just opened his mouth and could not close it. He embraced me and held me so tight that I could not breathe.

    He said, ‘Iwo ni Wessy? Ori e pe (you mean you are Wessy? You are superb).’ He was so happy that he told the personal assistant that wherever he would be the next day, I should come and see him. I can’t forget that. He said I should bring my receipts. He said: ‘Whenever I looked at your card and saw that you are from Abeokuta, I would be very happy that it is coming from home.’ So, I went to Lagos the next day and he paid me three times the bill I had issued him. He told me that I should not be buying materials for him.

    He took me to one room that was filled with leather. Immediately you approached the lobby, you will be smelling leather. Another one, a very big room, was filled with all kinds of materials. When he opened the door and I entered, there was a wall-to-wall wardrobe filled up with clothes that the doors could not be closed. You would be moving one leg, pushing clothes before you could take another step. I have the picture of the room in my mind. I said this was a man I was looking for and spent three days without seeing. That was the person that anytime I came, he would hold my hands and we would go into his room. Each time I think about that, I thank God.

    There is no profession that cannot take you anywhere if you are good in it. So, this was the man that I sat with in his private sitting room upstairs anytime I came. He told me on the first day: ‘Wessy, remove all these cards from my bedroom. I saw my cards in his wardrobe, in the bedroom, everywhere. I was trembling. I was inside MKO’s bedroom? Me? I could not sleep that day when I got back to Abuja with his cheque. So, MKO became somebody I was talking with on the phone. So, whatever you are doing, do it well. And the most important is to be honest, because that was what lifted me up finally.

    Were the measurements of the clothes you had sewn for him correct?