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  • ‘In 1964, a doctor told me I had four months left to live’

    Next Friday, the 27th of September, Pa Ayo Fasanmi, leader of Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-political group, will turn 94. He joined the Unity Party of Nigeria in 1978 and was a candidate in the Ondo State gubernatorial primary election but lost to the late Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, the former governor of Ondo State. In 1979 and 1983, he was elected member of the Senate representing Ondo North. He had earlier served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Old Western Nigeria Housing Corporation. He was a member of the Federal House of Representatives in the First Republic. During the Fourth Republic, he served as the National Vice Chairman of the Alliance for Democracy, Southwest zone. In this interview with Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, at his Osogbo home, the Iye-Ekiti born ardent disciple of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo recalls how he was told 55 years ago that he had just four months to live. Excerpts

    AT 94, you are still very firm and sharp for your age. What will you ascribe your good health to?

    Welcome to my house. I take it as a great honour for your newspaper to send you all the way from Lagos to come and talk to me. Please extend my greetings to all your bosses. And I thank you to for coming all the way. Talking about my health, like every old people, I have my fair share of health challenges but it is a great privilege made possible by only the grace of God to be alive today at 94. Let me recount an incident in 1964. I fell ill while I was running around contesting for a seat in the House of Representatives. I was referred to an English doctor in Ilesha.

    When he examined me, he shouted “My boy, what have you been doing to yourself?” I answered him that I had been running around to contest an election. He said, “If you keep running around, you have just four months left to live.” He then asked me to sit down for 30 minutes and think about what he just told me. My wife was with me there on that day. I told him I have no single minute to sit down and think about what he said. “Give me treatment in just 30 seconds because I need to go. And give me treatment to last me for the four months,” I told him.

    That was the only government hospital in the whole of the entire Osun and Ogbomoso back then. “If you have decided to commit suicide, I cannot stop you,” he said as he treated me that day. I didn’t even think about what he said for long. I went back to my campaign and electioneering. I contested and won the election and many more after that. So, you can see that it is only by the grace of God I am alive today. It is not by any special way of living. Me, who was given four months to live 55 years ago.

    You are one of the ardent followers of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. How did you meet him?

    I met Awolowo before I contested the House of Representatives election. I think it all started with a statement I made when I was being interviewed for television back then. I was a member of Otegbeye’s National Youth Council back then. We did a lot of things as youth agitators in those days. During the London conference, I recall that we demonstrated against the defence pact with England until it was removed from the charter of independence. It was a very vibrant group and we the members were well known.

    I had read and heard about Awolowo severally before I met him. I liked and adored Papa long before I met him. Just like (Dr. Nnamdi) Azikiwe. Anywhere Awolowo or Zik was going to be then, I will be there to listen to them talk. So, on that particular day, the reporter had asked me if I was a member of the Action Group led by Awolowo. In response, I said, “I am an independent member of Action Group.” He asked me how and I sad, “I am not a card carrying member of the group but because of my love for Awolowo, I will always be part of anything he is doing.”

    This caught the attention of Awolowo. He got the then administrative secretary of the A.G to write me a letter inviting me to a meeting with him. That came to me as a pleasant shock. Little me got a letter from the great Awo for a meeting? We met. He asked me what I meant by my statement and I told him reading and hearing about him convinced me that he was the messiah of our time. He was impressed by my submissions and I think he took a liking to me too, immediately. Later events were to further cement our relationship.

    When the crisis between Awo and Akintola broke out, Awo invited me again as the party was trying to solve the problem. I was made a member of the National Reconstruction Committee of the party. Professor Akin Mabogunje was also a member of that committee. I think he is the only other member still alive today.  I cannot recall the names of other members now. The committee met extensively and discussed at length each day. At the end of our assignment, we came up with a document, “Democratic Socialism”. The entire document was later debated by party leaders extensively and democratically with Awo presiding.

    I fell in love more and more with Awolowo during these contacts. That was how it started for me and Awolowo. I met Ayo Adebanjo and other persons whom were already with him at that time too. I became so enamoured to Baba that during his trial, I was one of his witnesses. When he was at Broad Street prison, and he was bereaved, I went to condole with him and when I got there, he didn’t allow me to say a word till it was time for me to leave. He kept talking to me, moving from one issue to the other but not mentioning the reason I came.

    The next day, I repeated the visit and made sure I offered my condolence. He looked at me and said “What has Segun done for me as a son that you have not done?  I was moved to tears. That was how close my relationship with Papa Awolowo was. And it was so till he died. More so, in keeping with my love for him, I have never had anything to do with conservatism, conservative parties or conservative politicians. Never! This is because I cannot imagine any believer in Awolowo dining with conservatives like the PDP. It is not possible.

    Looking back, what was it like being identified as a disciple of Awolowo in those days?

    Soon after, I was elected the National Chairman of the Action Group Youth Assembly. I didn’t see it coming. I was just invited to the group’s meeting at Papa’s house and after all said and done, I was returned as the national chairman. Another pleasant surprise it was. You can see in that picture over there. I am in the middle and others like Professor Banji Akintoye, are seated with me. I doubt if you can recognize any of those in there. The position was given to me because of my loyalty to Awolowo.

    Also, I was accused of a lot of things because of my closeness to Awolowo. I recall that I was once accused of planning a revolt. They claimed in Ipoti-Ekiti, I had a camp of guerilla fighters being trained to carry out the revolt against the government. They made so much effort to get at me at all cost all because I would not budge or rescind my allegiance to Awolowo. Even when Papa was in prison, efforts were made to implicate me but God saw me through a lot of persecution and traps in those trying days.

    Something happened in 1965 at Ede. After we had formed UPGA, Dr. Michael Okpara and some other Eastern politicians wanted to visit as part of the sensitization drive for the new alliance. Many of our people were arrested and taken to a court in Ede to be arraigned. I made sure the trial didn’t hold that day. I will not tell you how or what I did, but the trial didn’t hold. After that, three lorry loads of policemen invaded my house to take me away. I was lucky I had a crowd of easterners with me at the time. They prevented my abduction that day.

    The police searched everywhere but they found nothing. I was later warned that I would be arrested if I stay around longer. I managed to escape and moved to Lagos. But they were determined to get me. So they announced it in the news that I owed a friend of mine some money which I borrowed to contest election. It was everywhere and that my friend allowed himself to be used to trap me. All these, if I remember well, was because I had made a statement which was not palatable to the government of the region at the time.

    Were you always lucky to escape arrest in those days?

    No. there were times I got picked up. I recall that in 1965, I went to Ghana to visit the late Nkrumah. I was in the plane and it took off. Ten minutes later, it descended again and while I was still wondering what was happening, the whole place was filled up with policemen. They were looking for me. I was arrested and taken to the then Inspector General of Police. He asked me if I had taken my breakfast, I said no and he got me a cup of coffee and a couple of slices of bread. Later, he told me I would be taken up north to be detained.

    I was bundled into a police truck and the journey started. But when we got to Ibadan, we stopped for a while and it appeared they got another directive while we were still waiting. I was then taken to Agodi prison. I was there for about three to four months. I was actually in detention at Agodi till the 1966 coup. Even when others were released after the coup, I was not released. I had to write a letter to Adekunle Fajuyi, the then governor of the Western Region. It was after my letter that Fajuyi released me. I had not met him before then but I knew we were both from Ekiti.

    Aside politics, there were other times you had confrontations with the police and the government back then. Can you recall some of these?

    When I came out of prison in 1966, I founded the Anti-bribery and Corruption Committee. The police people were not happy with this because many of their men were exposed by my committee. The revolution we were doing by exposing corrupt public officials didn’t go down well with the police hierarchy. So, they were out to frustrate and implicate us, especially myself.  I recall that earlier in 1964, I was arrested because as they claimed, a girl had come from Ogbomoso to buy drug from my shop which she allegedly used for abortion. I was taken to Ogbomoso for trial.

    Then, the plan was to use the trial to stop me from contesting the election. But God bless the late Mallam Aminu Kano. He had given me a small recorder earlier which I cherished a lot. That small gift saved me from jail that year. The policemen were happy that I was being tried. They saw the man who had been exposing them also being disgraced. They wanted to see to it that I go to jail. But one day, the mother of the girl called me and was apologizing for being used against me. I told her to come over to where I was and she did.

    She told me how some police chiefs taught them what to say against me. She said they told her and her daughter that I was exposing and disgracing senior policemen. She apologized and told me the amount she and her daughter were given. I recorded everything she said and that was what I played when I was being questioned and that ended the whole thing. The offence carried 14 years minimum sentence back then. I contested the election and won in spite of the many obstacles placed on my way by the police and the government.

    It was Brigadier Oluwole Rotimi who appointed me as a member of the Western Nigeria Housing Corporation with powers to allocate houses in some estates including Ikeja, Bodija, Abeokuta and one here in Osogbo. I don’t have a plot in any of these estates. I didn’t think it was fair for me to use the opportunity given me to enrich myself. I have served the country in many capacities before and after then. I went to the Constitutional Assembly in 1978 with the likes of Chief Bisi Akande and got elected into the Senate in 1979 and 1983. I had been elected as the National Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in 1977.

    During the Abacha regime, 19 of us from all over the country were appointed to serve in the Constitutional Assembly Commission. We were like ministers in those days and we were treated as such. Former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, was my Special Assistant back then. Lateef Jakande and Ebenezer Babatope were then serving in the federal cabinet. I didn’t want to accept the position but I was prevailed upon to see what they had in mind, so I went to work with them hoping they are sincere about handing over after the talk shop.

    One day, he gave me an envelope and said it was from the Presidency. I tried asking him questions but he disappeared. I asked some of my colleagues and they confirmed they got similar envelopes. The next day, it turned out that there was a clause, a particular clause (I think it has to do with then Sharia law) that Abacha wanted to be inserted into the draft Constitution. He came up with it at our meeting with him and 12 of our members supported the clause. He was asking us one by one and I was the 13th person to be asked.

    I started responding by telling him I got an envelope of money the previous day and I hope it is not because of the clause being discussed. I said no self-respecting Nigerian will support his recommendation. I declined to support and I could see I had caused serious discomfort for many people in the meeting. The meeting ended abruptly. I was warned to leave Abuja immediately. I got back to my accommodation and packed my belongings and told my orderly I was going to Ondo. I went straight to Adekunle Ajasin’s house and addressed a press conference.

    I announced my resignation from the commission and expressed fear for my life. Abacha didn’t like it. A lady working with the Head of State then who I had known before then later told me Abacha wanted me dead or alive for having the gut to expose what happened in the commission. I came home and reported to the then Military Administrator here in Osogbo who refused to take my official car and orderly from me. I went to the Police Commissioner who took them both from me after I explained that I had resigned. For this act of mine, I was listed for assassination by the Abacha junta.

    Tell us a little about the return to democracy in 1999.

    In 1998, as part of the preparations for the return to civil rule, the Alliance for Democracy was formed. I didn’t even attend the inaugural meeting but I was to hear that I was nominated as the Vice Chairman Southwest. I identified with the party because it represented the ideals I have held unto right from my contact with Chief Awolowo. I wouldn’t have joined the PDP or have anything to do with the people that spearheaded its formation at that time. So, we the progressives found ourselves in the AD at the beginning of the new republic.

    These are the things I try to say about the Afenifere issue. When Adesanya died, we had challenges. But the truth is that some people, because of their personal desires, fuelled the disagreements in Afenifere out of proportion. Fasoranti is my good friend. He’s one of my closest friends ever. Till this day, we are close friends. I still visited him three weeks ago. He also visited me recently. When I was made Asiwaju of Ido-Osun, he was here with me. Three weeks ago, we recalled and sang one song we used to sing together in those days.

    Politics can never separate us. Our friendship is different from Afenifere. We may differ in our approach to the Afenifere issue, but we remain inseparable. So, when I hear or read what people like Ayo Adebanjo say about me and Afenifere, I just smile and ignore such. I will never reply him. I won’t reply Ayo Adebanjo because I value friendship a great deal. He may not, but I value friendship, especially old friends, more than political differences. So, when they say I have taken a position because Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is giving me money, at 94 years old? I just laugh.

    Like I say, all what Adebanjo is saying about me is like dog biting a man, if I decide to reply him; it will be like man biting a dog. So, I will not inflame the crisis by responding to the things he say. God has been very kind to me so I must show some gratitude in the way I do things. As a Pharmacist, I served as national chairman of PSN between 1977-79. As a politician, I have been to the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the church, I am the Baba Ijo and also the Mayegun of All Saints Anglican Cathedral Church. God has been kind.

    Today, I hear talks about people choosing one person as Yoruba leader, and selecting or electing another person as leader tomorrow. It is God that anoints people as leaders. When I was the national chairman of Action Group Youth Assembly, Banji Akintoye was one of my team members. You can see him in that picture we took the very day I was made chairman at Papa Awolowo’s house. We were also at the Senate together. Just last week, he called and said he was coming to see me. He chose a day that is not convenient for us both, so he chose another.

    It is unfortunate that all these unnecessary issues are painting us all in bad light. I’ve always been with Awolowo. Afenifere founded by Awolowo is a group for progressive Yoruba. Anybody relating with PDP can never be the same Afenifere I know. This is my position on that matter. So when Ayo Adebanjo talks and people call my attention, I tell them I will not respond because of the very deep friendship and history we all share as disciples of Awolowo. And it is that belief in Awolowo’s ideologies that will never make me work with PDP no matter what anybody tells me.

    As a young man back then, what motivated your activism and interest in politics?

    I went into politics largely because I was a victim of poverty. I thought it will be an avenue to make inputs that will better the lot of people. My parents could not pay as small as two pounds six as school fees for me and I almost ended up without education until an uncle rescued me. After my primary school, I was working with my father at Oko Brick where burnt bricks are made. In 1937, I used to walk from Ebutte Meta to Casino area. It was there my Uncle saw me and decided I must be released to him. He took me with him with the rags I was wearing that very day.

    He took me first to Ibadan. Later we moved to Offa. We came back to Ibadan and I got into Government College, Ibadan on government scholarship. That was a rare feat for someone with my background in those days. That was how I got the opportunity to be educated. I went on to graduate as a Pharmacist later in life. I went ahead to work for the government. These are the things I have in mind when I say God has been very merciful to me. In 1951, I confronted a white Nurse who insulted me because I am black.

    I was reported and Dr. Manuwa summoned me. I told him I stood up to the white Nurse because of blacks like him. He was moved by my stance and instead of dismissing me he ordered that I should be put on relief duties. Meaning I would be relieving people going on leave or something like that. That was how I was sent down here. It turned out a blessing for me as far as I am concerned. And it served as a lesson that nobody should be looked down upon, black or white. My activism and pan-Africanism started from that era even before I met Awolowo.

    Looking back, do you have any regrets?

    As far as my politics is concerned, I have no regrets because I have stayed true to the doctrines of Pa Awolowo. I worked very hard. At 26, I was the Pharmacist in charge of about 30 dispensaries from here to Ogbomoso. Many of my colleagues and friends, who didn’t work that much are long dead, but here I am at 94. I give glory to God. The last time I was in the hospital, I asked to be allowed to see what a mortuary look like. I wanted to see where I will be put when I die. But they didn’t grant me that wish.

    I tell my children that I don’t wish for an elaborate ceremony when I am gone. Just N5, 000 coffin and I am okay. But they won’t agree. They convinced me that I deserve more. God bless them for me. I am a Christian and I believe in God. So I have no regret as such. Of course, in my younger days, I did some things I look at today and wish I didn’t do. Aside that, I have no regret because I have learnt very early to leave the future to God and wish for the very best God can give me.

  • PDP crisis deepens over Elumelu, 2023

    HIGH level consultations have been launched by some influential members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)  to stop the crisis of confidence between the party hierarchy and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State from exploding.

    Six governors elected on the platform of the party on Friday night were in Port Harcourt to prevail on Wike to take it easy with the PDP leadership after he openly castigated the party for its inability to make his candidate, Kingsley Chinda, minority leader of the House of Representatives.

    Although Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Seyi Makinde (Oyo),Emeka Ihedioha (Imo),Samuel Ortom (Benue), Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) claimed that their mission to Wike was to congratulate him on his achievements in the state, The Nation can confirm that the trip was to  beg him sheath his sword  and allow for the resolution of the ongoing war of words.

    Wike is regarded as one of the largest financiers of the party which has made it give him a lot of privileges  including nominating the party’s national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, hosting the 2018 national convention of the PDP and nominating Chinda as the PDP ‘s official candidate  for the minority leadership until Ndidi Elumelu emerged on the scene and claimed the title.

    Besides, the Rivers governor dared the party and congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari after the Presidential Election petitions Tribunal upheld his victory in the February election.

    The Nation gathered that no fewer than six peace meetings have been held since the outbreak of hostilities between him and some party leaders over his congratulatory message to Buhari and for saying that some PDP governors sneak into Aso Rock Villa at night to pay homage to the president.

    Sources said the Friday mission of the governors was not particularly successful.

    Wike, it was gathered, insisted that the PDP leadership must correct some perceived errors for him to be on the same page with them.

    A source said: “The Rivers state governor is not hiding his anger against some of the actions of the party. He believes that for the PDP to return to its winning ways, its leadership must shun hypocrisy and indiscipline. He is insisting that for him to be happy with the party, some errors he feels can injure the chances of the party in future, should be corrected promptly.”

    One of his demands is that the emergence of Ndudi Elumelu as   Minority Leader of the House of Representatives should be revisited.

    A source said he wants Elumelu to vacate the minority leadership of the House of Reps for Chinda and thereafter be punished by the party.

    It was gathered that all efforts by the six governors to explain why the party opted to thread softly on the matter did not succeed.

    After a prolonged argument during which Wike  accused the PDP Governors’ Forum of playing along with the BoT to treat the issue with kid’s glove, a promise was made by the visiting governors to see how the matter could  be revisited in the interest of peace and unity within the opposition party.

    The source added: “Another issue Wike allegedly raised at the meeting had to do with the 2023 elections. He is not pleased that some PDP chieftains are making inflammatory statements as regards the issue of zoning of the presidential ticket.

    “He feels the party should caution its chieftains. It is not clear what his position is as regards the 2023 PDP presidential ticket but he is concerned that the party must not spoil its chances early in the day by closing its ears to dangerous remarks being made by some prominent members on a matter as sensitive as zoning.”

    The governors promised to look into all the issues raised by their angry colleague, but it was not immediately clear how they intend to get the party to meet his demands.

    Party sources said Governor Wike is determined to regain his prominence in the party which was eroded following the emergence of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar as the 2019 presidential candidate of the party.

    Another source said: “His camp and that of Atiku have been engaged in a game of wits since the presidential primary election was won and lost.

    “He may not say so, but he feels it is the Atiku camp that engineered the emergence of Elumelu as Minority Leader against his choice.

    “He is also currently displeased with Secondus for allegedly giving the Atiku camp too much chance to make things happen within the party.

    “He sees the leadership of the BoT as an arm of the Atiku camp and will never support any suggestion or position that emanates from them. And it appears the Atiku camp too understand the situation and is wary of Wike too.”

    The Nation also gathered that relationship between Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state and Wike may have become frosty on account of the ongoing crisis within their party.

    Dickson is the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum.

    Although there has been no direct exchange between them, party sources said  Dickson’s call on PDP governors’ during the week to reject calls on them to abandon Atiku in his quest to regain the presidential mandate at the courts, is a direct condemnation of Wike’s congratulatory message to Buhari.

    And sources within the Rivers state governor’s camp told The Nation that Dickson’s position didn’t come to Wike as a surprise.

    “When we were calling on the party to ensure that the directive of the party is respected by Elumelu and co, we didn’t hear a word from the Governors’ Forum leadership. Instead, he joined those applying cosmetics on the surface of the wound while allowing it to fester beneath. That is not the kind of Forum we respect in Rivers. Hypocrisy for whatever reason is not acceptable to us.

    Read Also: Wike urged to be humble in governance

    “It is a fact that some of our governors are courting the APC leaders, especially President Buhari. Governor Wike as a man of great discipline will not see such a thing and keep quiet.

    “This is why they are fighting him. He is a two term governor already and he is not interested in any federal appointment after office.

    “Those who think they cannot win re-election without Buhari’s support and those who want   patronage  from the federal government are the ones who should tell us whether they are still in the PDP or not. These are the real issues in PDP today. It is not Wike. It is not anything other than hypocrisy,” an ally of the governor said.

    The Nation gathered that efforts are being intensified  by some PDP governors and other concerned party leaders to reconcile Wike with those he is angry with as the first step towards ending the crisis in the party.

    “This new development is more about how our leaders see things. It appears Governor Wike is seeing some things others are not seeing and there is need for these to be clarified. Where mistakes have been made, we will correct such. It is when that has been done that we can have lasting reconciliation,” a source said.

    Meanwhile, some elders of the party are said to be poised to move against the revisit of the Minority Leadership issue by the PDP.

    A member of the BoT of the party who spoke with The Nation from his base in Abuja said  the opposition party cannot afford another distraction.

    He said: “somehow, what could have been a major crisis within the party resolved itself without much rancor. Elumelu is Minority leader and the PDP caucus in the House of Representatives is not in tumult. Why on earth should that be displeasing to anybody?

    “While they are shouting about the party being supreme, they forget that the interest of the party too must be supreme to all personal interests.

    “If it is one person’s interest that we remove Elumelu and put his person, we must not forget that such a move may not be in the interest of the party.

    “We all can see that what we have now is in the interest of the party because there is no crisis. If we make the change they want and it results in crisis, is that in the interest of the party? These are the serious considerations we all need to make as we seek to resolve the current crisis,” he warned.

     

  • We expect up to 25 percent of trainees to die during recruitments —Ex-Defence spokesman Gen. Agim

    Former spokesman of the Defence Headquarters, Gen. John Agim Agim (rtd), had always known what he wanted from life, even as a young man. Conscious of his father’s favourable disposition to a career in the army after saying that he loved the uniform of cadet soldiers each time he visited Kaduna, Agim made himself available for recruitment into the Nigerian Army immediately he completed secondary school. From a mere recruit, he rose to the rank of a Brigadier-General and became the Director, Defence Information, before his recent retirement from the army. A Ph.D holder, the ex-Defence spokesman spoke with PAUL UKPABIO about his time in the army and his marital life, among other issues.

    HOW easy was life in the army?                       

    Life in the army is difficult to talk about in a short session. Even if we spend the whole of this month talking about it, we will not be able to put everything down because it is in many parts. I joined the army immediately I completed secondary school.

    Was it something you planned?

    Yes and no. Yes in the sense that in my early stage in life, my father used to talk to me about the cadets in the Nigerian Defence Academy. Each time he returned from his travels to Kaduna and saw the young cadet officers, he used to admire them. But at the same time, there were some young doctors around us then who inspired me to want to be a doctor. But when I left secondary school, I met some young officers who actually made me feel like being one of them.

    Where did you have your secondary school?

    That was in Ikom, Cross River State. I attended Boki Boys Secondary school.

    What was there in the army that made you to stay on?

    The army is one of the most disciplined vocations. It is a vocation where you can have your career plan fulfilled. For instance, I did not just rise through the ranks to get to a Brigadier-General, the army also ensured that I went to school and became a graduate of Communication Arts. But it didn’t end there; I also had an opportunity to further my education. Today, I have a PhD in Mass Communication. So you can see that the army has a planned career for anyone that is interested in such.

    But was there any time you felt like quitting while you were in service?

    Of course yes! There were many times I felt like leaving. In fact, for me to have remained till I rose to the position of a Brigadier-General was because my wife encouraged me to stay on. She wanted me to be sure before taking such a decision. She told me not to rush into it but make sure that I planned the exit properly. I got my PhD when I was a Major in the army. And for me, it was a good time to leave! At that time, I was ready to step out and try other things. But she told me not to rush it; that I should remain calm to avoid taking a rash decision and also hear from God.

    Were you discouraged from any quarters when you decided that you were going to join the army?

    Yes, I was. Usually, when anyone decides to join the army, there are always people around the person to say, ‘No, don’t go there because of the risk involved!’ A lot of people around me felt that it wasn’t the right decision, especially my friends. There was not much resistance from my family members though, but my friends insisted that I should not go into the army. The good thing, however, was that nobody’s advice would have mattered or stopped me. That is because I had already joined before revealing it to the family and others.

    I joined the army as a recruit in 1979. It was while I was in the army that I got admission to study for my first degree, which was Communication Arts at the then University of Cross River State, which later became University of Uyo. It was initially a university owned by the governments of Cross River and Akwa Ibom states when they were one. The army sponsored it. When I came out of the school, I was given a direct regular commission with the rank of a Lieutenant.

    What do you remember about your childhood?

    My early life was full of adventure, but somehow, I knew quite early that education would advance me higher in life. So after secondary school, I joined the army as a recruit, though I still had my eyes set on education. And I saw that some of us who became graduates moved higher in rank. Being a graduate also meant that one would be well exposed in the army and at the same time know more about what the military is all about. That challenged and encouraged me to hold on to education.  So I went to the university to study for a degree.

    I later went back for a master’s degree in Public Relations at the University of Nigeria. Then again, I went for another master’s degree in Mass Communication in ESUT. This enabled me to have good exposure in the military.

    Were you already married then?

    I got married as a graduate. My wife is from Akwa Ibom State while I am from Cross River State.

    How did the soldier meet his wife?

    (Laughs) I met my wife while we were in the university. She was in the Faculty of Science. We met on one of those days on campus. I would say that it was love at first sight. I thank God that our marriage as it is today is blessed with four children —three boys and one girl.

    As a soldier and one who more or less was always in school, did you really have time for your family at home?

    That is another thing about the military: we hardly have time for the home front. So you have to pray to have a strong wife, and I think that my wife was able to fill in the gap for me and take care of my family. On many occasions, she had to be the mother and the father for my children while I moved around. I moved around a lot within the country and outside the country on different military postings. But when I am back and at home, I gave them all the necessary attention.

    They must be grown up now…

    Yes. Our first son is married. For our second son, we are looking up to God to give him a wife.

    Now that you are retired do you miss the army?

    (Laughs) To have been in a place for about 35 years of my life, I feel like a fish out of water. I am presently just learning to live outside the army. I thank God that I successfully served my country and that I am out of service in good health and I am still able to do something for myself. Though, I am still thinking of more things that I can do to contribute to my community.

    Considering that you are still healthy, what informed your retirement from the army?

    I had completed my meritorious military service in the ambit of the time required. I have spent 35 years in the army. I am retired but not tired. I am still alert mentally and physically, and will be 56 next month.

    So far, how has retirement been?

    I have been able to rest. Now I have a private office where I am consulting. I am into security services. I provide private guards, public relations and strategic communications to companies and individuals who need such services.

    What can you recall as the turning point in your military career?

    The turning point in my military career I would say was when I gained admission into a university as a private soldier. That is because every other thing that I have become today, has been because of that. It was as a result of my academic qualification after graduating with my BA Hons that I became a commissioned officer in the Nigerian Army.

    How did you relate with your colleagues on the campus as a soldier?

    A lot of them respected me while some were afraid of me. But I was also conscious of that and I didn’t bust anyone of them. By my nature, I am very accommodating. I tried to have a good relationship with a good number of my colleagues, and that relationship continues even till today.

    Were you living on the campus?

    In my first year, I lived in a hostel on the campus but moved into a hostel outside the campus in subsequent years. I enjoyed campus life very well. You know I was a young man at that time. I was in my early 20s when I got admission into the university. So I did everything young people do on campus.

    Why did you move out of campus?

    I guess it was more about having more comfort. You know I was already a soldier before gaining admission into the university.

    During your career in the army, were there moments you came face to face with death?

    Yes, there were many of those moments when I was face to face with death. That is what life in the military is all about. You are more or less dead until you come out alive. At the end of the day, I can only say that it was God that saw me through. I was in Sierra Leone where we were engaged in combat war with lots of casualties, where you see people next to you dying, and even back home in my last appointment as the Director, Defence Information, an assignment that took me around the country. Most of those places that I went are hotbeds of killings. Anything could have happened to me. It could only be God.

    The story of a military career is like an adventure. A civilian can only understand it when he or she is in a war situation. There are times when you finish from a military exercise that you know that it was only God that helped you to survive. There would be no way that you would boast that you came out of the exercise by your knowledge or will. When later you look back and see where you came out of while others died, you will bow to God that it was only He that made you survive.

    How challenging was your position as the spokesman of the Defence Headquarters?

    It was a very challenging position. I think the most challenging. There were times when on the spur of the moment the police had challenges around the country and they wanted the military to come in. And as soon as there was respite in those places, the military became a problem in those places. So there were always complaints, issues brought before the table of the spokesman. Meanwhile the commanders don’t get as much of such complaints. So one had to go around these hotbed areas to douse tension, explain the actions of the military and make the country understand that the military is there for the country.

    One other thing that I discovered in most of our operations within the country is that the civilians don’t usually see it as an operation done for their own good. They see it as operations done by the military for the military. It shouldn’t be. So, it was a very challenging period for me. And I had to engage the journalists as well. Sometimes they called and when I didn’t respond immediately, it became an issue. Sometimes the journalists invited me, but when I was not able to be there, it became an issue. It was a challenging assignment.

    Having spent most of your adulthood wearing uniform, what can you say of your sense of style?

    I am privileged in the sense that I went to campus and interacted very well. I also read public relations and communications. That helps my sense of dressing because in public relations we were taught how to dress, social etiquettes and all that. So I am very fashionable. I wear suits, Nigerian traditional clothes. I love agbada, and sometimes I just want to be comfortable in Jeans and T-shirt. When I was Commandant of Nigeria Army School of Public Relations, I taught my school how to dress.

    What are your hobbies?

    I swim and I read widely and love making friends.

    Some people are of the opinion that the Nigerian Army has in recent years been politicised. What is your opinion on this?

    I don’t think so. I think that the long stay of the military in politics really affected the military. But then after 1999 when the military handed over power to the civilians in the present democratic dispensation, there have been a lot of re-orientation in the military to make them focus on their traditional duties. We are in the whole of the states of the federation. In some of these states, the governors want the military to do police jobs for them, and if the military should agree to that, definitely people will not want to live in those states. So I wouldn’t say it is politicising the military. Rather, I would say that the security situation brings the military outside the barracks unnecessarily.

    But then, most of such security situations are such that the police alone cannot cope. So the solution is to bring up the police to a state whereby the military will be allowed to stay in the barracks, within the limit of its own career.

    The process of governance in a democracy is sometimes cumbersome. Do you think Nigeria is embracing democratic values as fast as it ought to?

    I think so. You have already mentioned the cumbersomeness. Nigeria is definitely embracing it. But we must give ourselves more time. As we go along with democracy, things will continue to improve.

    Insurgency and banditry remains a major issue in the country right now, do you wish that the army becomes more involved than it has been lately?

    I am even thinking that the police should be made to take up some of those functions that the military is presently doing. I wouldn’t want the military to be more involved in it. Already, the military is getting too involved. The police ought to recruit more numbers, and equip them to handle the issues around the country.

    Are you proud of the Nigerian Army so far? And is life today better for the soldiers in the Nigerian Army?

    When you are talking about the Nigerian Army, you have to also look at the other military service. Yes, I am proud of the Nigerian Army. The army has done its best. Take away the Nigerian Army from the country, especially at this moment, and you will not be able to talk about Nigeria as a country.

    How best do you think that the civilian population can help the army in performing its duties?

    I think the civilian population needs to appreciate the Nigerian Army as it is done elsewhere. In most countries of the world, citizens give the army support. They go out to show the military that they have done well even through commendations and the like. The Nigerian military go outside of its normal role, even fighting issues such as corruption, fraud and so on inside and outside the country. You can see the role of the military in the fight against Boko Haram which is not limited to this country alone, as it stretches outside the shores of Nigeria. The Nigerian citizens have to learn to appreciate the military and encourage them. It is time to appreciate your own people instead of talking down on the military. As it is, the civilian population does not appreciate what they have in the military. These are people who put their lives on the line to make the country work.

    As the spokesman for the Defence Headquarters, which was more technical for you to relate with in terms of communication to the public, Boko Haram or killer herdsmen?

    There was nothing so technical or difficult about them. But most times, one noticed that people preferred to believe the lies that the enemies propagated to them than the truth that we the military tell them. Before the enemies launch an attack, they put in place an orchestrated propaganda organ to indicate that they are having an upper hand in the fight. And their fake stories are the ones that are more interesting to the media men. They forget that in carrying such stories, they are projecting and encouraging terrorists act, because you are showing that they are in control, which is not the true picture of things at the battle front.

    What advice will you give to young people looking out for a career in the Nigerian army?

    I will tell them that it is a noble profession where you can grow to become anything you want to be in life. The military has room for everything. I am an example. I can compete anywhere in the world.

    Should we expect a book from you someday?

    As a Major, I published ‘The Principles and Practice of Public Relations in the Military.’ That was in 2005. And in 2011, I published another book. And before I stepped out of service, I released a media handbook. I hope to write more books in the near future.

    Any regrets?

    No regrets. I can’t think of anything that I could have done differently. If one dwells on regrets, one will go to the grave early (laughs).

    In the midst of war in Sierra Leone, were there situations you had to go without food for days?

    The military training we get already takes care of whatever situation we find ourselves. In training, we are taught how to survive in whichever situation we find ourselves. Even if we are captured by the enemy, we know how to survive so we don’t die as a prisoner of war. So by the time we go for the real operations, to us it usually looks like a rehearsal because we have already seen the worst during trainings.

    I urge Nollywood film makers to try and see ways of how they can produce a few of our drills so that the public can know some of the things that we go through. I can assure you that we have a robust training that when you come out of it alive, you know that it is not you but God. You can go for several days without food. And for each of our recruitments, there is a percentage expected to die during training. And that could be as much as between 15 and 25 per cent. That alone shows you that it is no play zone or a boys scout lifestyle. That is why when filling a form to the Nigerian Defence Academy, you sign a bond that you are responsible for your decision.

  • Police busts ‘child-sale’ syndicate in Lagos

    A syndicate with alleged expertise in selling children has been uncovered by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command, spokesman Bala Elkana said on Sunday.

    He said a traffic policewoman attached to Ejigbo Division on August 26 while controlling traffic at Jakande Gate, Ejigbo, noticed commotion near her post and intervened.

    According to him, the officer discovered that the altercation was about a lady named Gift Michael, 24, found with a suspected new born baby. In her company is her ‘madam’, one Florence Nkem Douglas, 50, both of Ijegun area of Isheri.

    Elkana said the crowd was about to mob the duo after trailing them and reasonably suspecting them of buying and selling children for long at their maternity clinic but were rescued and taken to the Ejigbo Police station for investigation.

    LAGOS CRIME NEWS

    Elkana said detectives discovered pictures of over 50 babies in the madams’ phone suspected to have been sold off already, adding that the gang usually sold children between N500,000 to N1 million.

    “Investigation revealed that the said Florence Douglas, a native of Igueben in Edo State, who is not a registered nurse operates two Maternity Clinics named Flofidel Clinic and Maternity Homes with branches in Shosanya Street, I82, Ijegun Road and Okunola Ijagemo area.

    READ ALSO: Police smash child sale syndicate

    “On interrogation, the said Florence admitted to have been in the business of sales of babies for a while. She revealed that a baby girl is referred to as “PINK” while a baby boy is called “BLUE” and are both referred to as “MARKET”.

    “She further confessed that the male child found in their custody at Jakande Gate Ejigbo, suspected to be a week old was brought to her from Gombe, enroute Akure and was to be sold for N500,000.

    “The rescued baby who appeared sick with symptoms suspected to be jaundice was promptly taken to hospital for medical attention. Worthy of mention are pictures of about 50 different babies in the phone of the suspect, suspected to have already been sold off.

    “Babies are usually sold between N500,000 and N1million depending on their sex.

    “The Commissioner of Police Lagos State, Zubairu Muazu has ordered the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti Yaba to take over the investigation and ensure that other members of the syndicate are apprehended. Investigation is ongoing,” he said.

  • EPL: West Ham conquer Man United 2-0

    Goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Aaron Cresswell earned West Ham their second successive home win against Manchester United, who remain without a league win on their travels since February.

    Yarmolenko opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time, sending a low finish past David de Gea following patient build-up play involving Mark Noble and Felipe Anderson.

    Cresswell sealed all three points for the Hammers in the second half with a superb free-kick into the top right-hand corner.

    Chances were at a premium in a cagey first half at London Stadium, with Noble’s deflected effort from Pablo Fornals’ free-kick the closest either team came to a breakthrough before Yarmolenko’s strike.

    Read Also: De Gea fumbles as Man. United hold Chelsea

    Juan Mata should have levelled for the visitors two minutes into the second half but failed to hit the target after connecting well with Andreas Pereira’s low cross.

    The result lifts West Ham above the Red Devils in the table, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side remain three points off the top four.

    NAN

     

     

  • CAN raises alarm over influx of strange faces into S’East

    The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has expressed concern over what it called influx into the Southeast by unidentified faces.

    It raised the alarm on Sunday in a statement signed by its chairman in the Southeast, Bishop Dr. Goddy Okafor and the Secretary, Dr. S.C Nwokolo.

    The Christian body, which restated its opposition to the controversial RUGA programme, said such strange faces should be made to leave the zone.

    According to the group, “all the people without identity, who are flooding the zone should be stopped by immigration and other law enforcement agencies.

    “Also, suspected foreign herders and the killer herdsmen are asked to leave the zone immediately. Most of such foreign and killer herders have been identified in some parts of the zone.”

    READ ALSO: CAN lauds El-Rufai’s decision to save 110-year-old Church from demolition

    While commending the Southeast Governors for steps taken so far towards addressing activities of killer herdsmen, it said community policing policy already initiated should be strengthened.

    CAN, however, observed with dismay that “the local government chairmen, traditional rulers, President-Generals, (PGs) and councilors are living in the urban areas, thereby abandoning the villagers to their fate.

    “We condemn such habit and ask them to start operating from their villages. Let them come back and be the gatekeepers in their villages.”

    It maintained its stand that “RUGA should be totally abolished. To this effect, we condemn the inciting statements made by the President of Miyyeti Allah, asking for RUGA in all the States, else there won’t be peace in the country.

    “CAN is calling for his arrest, as comments credited to him has always been inciting. Let him be tried by a competent court of law.”

  • 30-year old man who robs prostitutes nabbed in Edo

    A 30-year old man, Godstime Ogechi, who specialises in robbing prostitutes in Ugbiyoko, Egor local government area, has been arrested by men of the Edo State Police Command.

    Ogechi is a one-man gang that uses a rod-like gun to rob call girls on the pretext of paying them to spend the night with him.

    When he takes them to a dark street, he would bring out the rod and the girls thinking that it is a gun would give him their phones and money including the one he paid them.

    Read Also: How Abuja policemen raped, assaulted us, by convicted prostitutes

    Luck ran out on him when one of his victims ran away when they got to a dark street at Ugbiyoko area and when Ogechi went back to collect the money he paid her for the night, some girls recognised him which led to his arrest.

    Speaking to newsmen when he was paraded at the police headquarters, Ogechi said he has lost count of the number of girls he has robbed.

    According to him, “I don’t have any gang. I operate along Ekenwan road. I pick street girls at night and rob them. I will chat with them and tell them I want to take them for day break. When we get to a dark corner, I will bring out this thing like a gun and threaten them.

    “They will give me their phones. I cannot remember the number of girls I have robbed. I was caught when one of the girls ran away after I have paid her. I went back to the spot I picked her from and demanded for my money, where she raised alarm.”

  • Lawmaker empowers Ekiti Widows

    The Lawmaker representing Ikere-Ekiti constituency II at the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Tunde Idowu, has reiterated his desire to improve the welfare of his constituents.

    Idowu, stated this while presenting cash gifts to 60 Widows during an empowerment programme on Sunday in his situation office in Ikere-Ekiti.

    He said the programme was meant to complement the efforts of Governor Fayemi and his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi at improving the welfare of the widows through empowerment.

    The lawmaker who is also the Chairman, House committee on Environment, explained that the gesture was borne out of the need to alleviate part of the challenges facing the widows.

    “The vision to empower widows was borne out of my passion to support the struggle of our First lady, Ekiti State Governor’s wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi to deliver women and children from long time captivity of maltreatment, abuse, relegation and stigmatization”.

    “My mother is a widow. I lost my father in 1998 when I was in 200 level at University of Ilorin.

    READ ALSO: ‘Why I set up NGO for widows’

    “I came back home due to financial constraints. My mother and I had to do casual jobs to ensure that I go back to school. I know what it takes to be a widow.

    “So this event was in fulfillment of the promise made during my electioneering campaigns

    “The honourable position I’m occupying today is a result of the trust and confidence (you have) in me to represent you effectively at the helm of affairs in our counstituency. I’m indebted to you all for the gesture. This is just my little way of sincere appreciation to you all,” he said.

    He urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the cash gifts, promising to extend the largesse to youths and the aged in the constituency.

    Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Esther Owoyemi and Madam Rachael Olorunfemi, thanked the lawmaker for the cash gifts with a promise to spend it judiciously.

  • Ex-militant leaders urge Buhari to replace amnesty boss

    Aggrieved ex-militant leaders at the weekend appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the management of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), coordinated by Prof. Charles Dokubo, following alleged incompetence.

    The first phase ex-militant leaders insisted that the President should replace Dokubo to enable unbiased investigations into massive fraudulent diversion of funds meant for training and empowerment of ex-militants leveled against his administration.

    The former creek commanders said they would no longer condone any malfeasance in the amnesty scheme and demanded that the programme should henceforth be run by a person with knowledge of the region’s problems and demands of ex-militants.

    The ex-militants in a statement signed by their National Public Relations Officer, Godsgift Ayabowe, said their rising tension and anger against the current management of the scheme might puncture the peace in the region.

    They said: “We are tired of the huge fraud that has threatened the peace we fought for in the Niger Delta. If the current management is not sacked, the rise in production of crude oil may be a thing of the past. This current management does not know how to handle security, which the amnesty office is meant to do.

    “It is even more shameful to the people of the Niger Delta that the management has reduced the amnesty office and the budgeted funds to ridicule with women fighting over ex-militant welfare fund.

    “Dokubo should be reassigned to the university environment and not the amnesty office. He does not understand what the amnesty office is meant to do. We are are angry and our boys may go out of control.

    READ ALSO: Youths, ex-militants clash over threats to NDDC

    “Why can’t Dokubo emulate the zero tolerance to corruption style of President Buhari? Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh who despite understanding the security aspect of the Amnesty office was sacked due to alleged corruption, who is Dokubo that can not be sacked?

    “Instead of performance,he is busy using Amnesty resources to sponsor media campaigns against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva and High Chief Government Ekpemupolo also known as Tompolo.

    “We want him sacked and be replaced by someone who was involved in the Niger Delta struggle and understand the problems of the youths of the region.”

    The ex-militant leaders said some of their members, who served on the Investigative Panel set up by Dokubo to look into the massive looting at the Amnesty Vocational Centre in Kaima, Bayelsa State were dismissed following some discoveries.

  • JUST IN: Two killed, many wounded as gunmen attack Adamawa villages

    At least two people have been killed and many others, including a soldier, wounded following attack on two villages in Numan Local Government Areas of Adamawa State by gunmen.

    Local sources, who attributed the attacks to herdsmen, said the attackers laid siege on Shaforon and Kodumti villages around 1:00am on Sunday, visiting mayhem on households.

    The Principal Medical Officer of Numan General Hospital, Dr. Nuhu Tari, confirmed two deaths among the victims taken there.

    READ ALSO: Gunmen kill Catholic priest in Taraba state

    Confirming the attacks, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Suleiman Nguroje, identified the attackers as cattle rustlers.

    He said: “One of the attackers was killed in the crossfire with security operatives and his corpse has been deposited at the Numan mortuary.

    “The CP has dispatched additional operatives to join other security agencies to comb the bushes in the area and arrest the fleeing cattle rustlers.”