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  • How I was sacked for selling sugar – Ogunbiyi

    How I was sacked for selling sugar – Ogunbiyi

    Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi is the Chairman, Governing Council, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State. The former Managing Director of the Daily Times Newspaper who also worked as a Director at The Guardian Newspaper celebrated his 70th birthday recently. Together with Professors such as the Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, Kole Omotoso, Biodun Jeyifo, Ogunbiyi was part of the drama and literature department of Ife.
    He currently serves as the Chairman of Tanus Communications, a company he founded after he was sacked at the Daily Times by the same friend who gave him the job earlier following his sack at The Guardian by another friend.
    In this interview with Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, the Chairman of University of Ife Governing Council, talks about his life as a business man in the private sector as well as his relationship with erudite scholars like Soyinka, Jeyifo Omotoso.

    You turned 70 recently, how does it feel?

    I don’t feel any better than the way I felt last month or last week. For me, I will say 70 is a number, it is just the way you feel in yourself that determines what you make of it. I feel good and I am quite happy to be 70 in a country where it is actually not very easy to live in. The feeling is that of being grateful and happy.
    Looking back, I asked myself, how have you fared? And I give myself a pass mark. I say to myself, you have fared well. This is because I never dreamt the way my life turned out. I just set out to make the best out of life and here I am today. I feel blessed in many ways. In fact, I am really blessed in many ways. So, I feel good and happy to be 70 years old.
    Your stint as a University don is one of the things we know about you. Back in Ife when you joined the likes of Professor Wole Soyinka, what was it like in the Humanities then?
    I don’t think there was really much to life back then other than the leadership as provided that time by Professor Ojetunji Aboyade, who was the Vice Chancellor. He was a very liberal mind. His type of leadership made it easy for us in the humanities back then to dabble into all kinds of things. There were robust debates about the future of humanities in this country and we saw so many of us the younger ones gravitating towards the leftist ideology and picking us do so many things along the way.
    But it was easy to do that in Ife because under Aboyade, Ife encouraged all kinds of things. As a matter of fact, he provided the platform for us to thrive. I recall an incident when the military administration under the then Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo wanted Aboyade to round up some leftist ideologists in Ife and hand them over for no reason, Aboyade said no. He insisted that it was not in his place to do that. Such leadership made us see the sky as our limit and we thrived in the humanities. It was good for the system, the students and the scholars.
    I am not so sure if that was the situation at that time in other universities. And of course, so many young brains went to Ife then, people like Prof. Kole Omotoso, Dr. Chidi Amuta, myself and many others, Ife was a place to try and reach our potentials.

    Back then, twice monthly, we held brainstorming sessions and a lot of intellectual debates happened. And this was very good and nice. That was the scenario in Ife back then.
    Your leaving the University came as a surprise to many of your colleagues and students back then. What informed that decision?
    That is not controversial in any way. I was asked to come and help at The Guardian at the beginning in 1982. Dr. Stanley Macebuh invited me. Incidentally, I was due for a sabbatical leave which I initially wanted to spend abroad.
    He suggested I spend the leave trying my hand on something new at The Guardian. And I liked it after one year. But I was going to go back to Ife. I didn’t plan to stay put. But Mr. Ibru, the Publisher said I should stay on. He wondered who will continue the things I’ve just started then. I had started the Literary Series then. I had started the interviews with world leaders then. We had done Gandhi, Nyerere, Sankara, and a lot of them. He said I should ask for an extension of my leave. But when I asked for an extension, the university turned it down. So the choice before me then was to either go back to Ife or resign. So, I resigned and Ibru paid back a year salary to the University on my behalf. That was the practice then. If you resign, you refund a year salary to the University. I think he paid N14, 000 a year. It was a lot of money then. So, that was how I stayed put in the newspaper business at The Guardian.
    You’ve been in the classroom and the board room. What are the similarities and differences?
    There are so many similarities and so many differences. But the bottom-line for me is that wherever you find yourself, be it classroom or boardroom, do whatever you have to do very well. Avoid cutting corners and put in your best at all times. Most importantly, be ready to learn.
    When I joined The Guardian, I had no training in newspaper business. I didn’t go to Journalism School. But I was willing to learn and I learnt a great deal. I said to myself, how am I going to learn as soon as possible. I was made Magazine Director soon after I joined and I decided to spend a night in the production room for me to see how the process of magazine production runs. When I was doing that I wasn’t thinking that someday I will be the Managing Director of Daily Times; I just wanted to learn and I did.
    There is a joke about me while I was new at The Guardian. In those days, whenever I was given an editorial to write, I usually spend a lot of time getting it down. Then they will tell me that the problem with me is that I was yet to transit from the University to the newsroom. They said I was writing the editorial as if it was a paper. They will say write this thing let us publish it. There was no time for footnotes and crosschecking again and again. But that wasn’t the style where I was coming from.
    It was a most difficult transition for me. Gong from an academic to writing for a newspaper. It was tough and I had to learn to adjust to the new realities of a newsroom which was pretty different from the classroom. But again, like I said, because I was willing to learn, I was able to surmount whatever difficulties I encountered in that transition.
    Eventually, yourself and Macebuh lost your plum jobs at The Guardian. What happened?
    We were fired. Mr. Ibru, who at the time was a very good friend of mine, sacked us. It went that I was sacked, myself and Macebuh, for selling sugar. Somebody wanted to sell sugar to Cadbury and asked for our assistance. And myself and Stanley went to see Dr. Chris Kolade who was the Managing Director of Cadbury and told him a Lebanese friend of ours wanted to sell sugar and had promised to give us some money if we helped him. We didn’t have money. In fact, both of us had no house of our own at the time and we felt it was a good thing to make some money. The Guardian was not selling sugar, so we saw no conflict in what we were about to do then.
    So, the sugar was sold and Mr. Ibru got to know about it. Surprisingly, he said we were guilty of some form of conflict of interests. It was on the basis of this we were taken to the Board and fired. When I was sacked, I was in Pakistan interviewing Benazir Bhutto for the paper. And I was sacked just like that. I felt bad but I was fired.
    Meanwhile, this was the same Ibru who did so much for me. When Stanley (Macebuh) first approached me to join The Guardian and I couldn’t come, he also waded in and urged me to come.
    He spoke to people to convince me to come over. But obviously when he asked us to leave, he had a good reason for that. I didn’t really feel I deserved the treatment back then because I saw no conflict in my selling sugar and getting sacked. I was not given a right to defend myself too. The decision was taken in my absence. I don’t know why he did that but then; we got over it and became good friends again before he died.
    From there you moved on to Daily Times…
    Yes, I was fired by The Guardian on Friday and I resumed at the Daily Times on Monday when President Ibrahim Babangida appointed me the Managing Director. When I woke up Monday morning, I was thinking of where to pack to because I had to vacate the house I was living in which was owned by Ibru. I had no house of my own at the time.
    But Babangida asked me to resume at the Daily Times on Monday. Chief Segun Osoba, who was the man at the helm had already shown interest in politics and we knew he was going to leave to go and do politics. So, on Monday, Babangida said “Yemi, when you finish selling sugar send me your CV.” I thought he was just making jest of me. But he gave me that appointment and that was it.
    At Daily Times, you initiated radical changes. How easy was that to achieve?
    Let me say the changes at Daily Times was not just about me. I must say categorically that I had the pleasure of working with very cooperative staff back then. The then Editor, Onyeama Ugochukwu was a wonderful partner in the quest to turn around the place.
    The workers supported the initiatives and that made it very easy. The different unions were carried along at all the stages.
    It was something we did as a team but it wasn’t easy. I found out that a whole lot of things in the system were outdated. We sought to change all these and of course there were some resistance. Anywhere you attempt to introduce change, there will be resistance. People don’t take to change easily.
    But because we carried the unions and everybody along, we were able to get things done.
    I wasted no time in telling them I wanted to computerize the place for two reasons. One, we needed to be more efficient in our production and secondly, we needed to reduce our staff strength. Daily Times at that time was over staffed with so many people loafing around doing nothing.
    So, bringing in the computers will help us streamline the place and make the system more efficient. I had a staff strength of about 2,000 when we took over and we had to trim it down to a thousand.
    We needed to cut cost but getting that done was tough. I told the unions I wanted to double staff salary. But I added that to do that we needed to lay off a thousand staff. They initially said it was impossible but eventually, when we started turning out the paper in a matter of time, they liked it and cooperated with me.
    Note also that we didn’t buy new machines but cleaned up the old ones and equipped Times Press better for greater performance and efficiency. The morale, when I came, was low, so we needed to do something about that. We worked on the attitude of the workers and that led to a more efficient workforce which helped us in the turnaround effort a great deal.
    And why did you leave Daily Times again?
    Again, I was fired by my friend, President Babangida. Up till today, we never discussed why he fired me. But I think I know why he did. I suspected the President was not ready to leave office at the time he had promised he would leave. And he suspected that the Daily Times might not support him. These are just conjectures. I am not sure because we never discussed it. I had jokingly told him at a reception before that time that it is better he keeps his word on the transition.
    But in fairness to Babangida, it wasn’t just about him not wanting to leave but more about the people around him willing to spend some more time in power. And at that time, Daily Times had bounced back and people were already respecting its opinion as a medium. So, no government would play with such a medium. That is why I say these are conjectures.
    You set up your private firm after that. How has the journey been?
    Ironically, Tuesday May 2, 2017 was the 25th anniversary of TANUS Communications, the company I established after leaving Daily Times. That’s amazing. May 2, 1992, that was when we set up the company. I was jobless. I had been fired and I had no job and I needed money. So I had to do something. Going back to the University, I thought of that and even got a chance to go to Harvard on Fellowship. But at the end, I wanted to do something on my own and I started with TANUS.
    We produced very lovely calendars when we started and we still do. At Daily Times, I’ve learnt that printing calendars was big business. And we did books for people and organizations. Our first big break was when Prof. Jubril Aminu gave us a book to do for NNPC. We made a lot of money back then and bought cars and all that for our workers. We continued to wax stronger by the day and 25 years after, we are here now.
    Largely, I made a success of the business because I was focused and determined. I had offers from banks and other places to come work for them but I would rather do what my heart dictates. Although I did consultancies for some organizations, I was more committed to building the company and making a success out of private business. I brought all the experiences I had garnered working at the University,
    The Guardian and Daily Times to bear on the company and it paid off. I could have done other things but I didn’t want to. We gave it our best shot and when we now started doing text books, whaoow! our business boomed.
    I owe a lot to former Governor Rotimi Amaechi in that regard. He really gave us a lot of opportunities in that area of printing books for Rivers State. Donald Duke too tried for us. He gave us books to print for Cross Rivers State some sixteen years ago. Other states too like Adamawa were also forthcoming and we have done several projects with several of them ever since. School textbooks are our main focus now.
    Would you say your stint as a University Don impacted on your life and achievements when you left for the business world?
    The impact would be to say working with and socializing with the likes of Jeyifo, Omotoso and the likes in Ife inculcated in me the principle of being very focused. I tell you, BJ is a very focused individual. He was well determined too. In fact, some of the benefits we enjoy today in the University were things that were started by Jeyifo. The autonomy being enjoyed today by Universities was started by Jeyifo’s group in ASUU. Nobody remembers that now. He had a Volkswagen: he would drive himself to distant places, Calabar, Benin etc, to attend meetings and still come back and take his classes.
    It was hectic for him but he never wanted to miss his classes or have someone else take them for him. He was also supervising several higher degree students at the time. But because he was focused, he ploughed on. He was taking all these classes and was also the President of ASUU and these were the defining years of ASUU.
    So, if I was impacted by BJ and my other colleagues at Ife, it was with being focused and determined against all odds. We never believed in cutting corners back then in Ife. I would say I left Ife with that principle. I say this all the time, even to my children. And I think they have learnt that from me, the four of them.
    You are one of the closest associates of Prof. Wole Soyinka, who was your teacher. How did the teacher-student relationship blossom into that of confidants as you have it today?
    He was my teacher. He is my elder brother. We are very close. I seek his advice. I give him advice. That is the way it has always been for a long time. We are really into each other. I believe in him and he trusts me. But he was first my teacher before any other thing. We are just close in that regard. I see it that I am just one of his students that he can come for my opinion on issues. There are times Prof would just come and say, ‘Yemi, what do you think I should do here?’ And he wants my honest opinion. And I would oblige him. And he likes that.
    I am close to his children and he is close to my family. We are family in many ways than one. I think it has grown stronger and stronger over the years. You know, as you grow older, you go back to your old friends and old ties are made stronger.
    Would you say your childhood influenced your life in any way?
    Yes. My mum influenced my life a great deal. She was such a hard working woman. Well focussed too. She had no western education but she was an astute business woman who was a distributor in those days while my father was a renowned tailor who built suits for expatriates in Kano back then. They were such a hard working couple.
    This influenced me a great deal when I ventured into business later in my life. My mum thought us to respect people and relate with people well. And my father, he was a very friendly person. He makes friends quickly. I took that from him. He had such a wonderful circle of friends. When we were in Kano, people were always gravitating towards our house and a lot of money was spent on feeding and hosting people. And my mum will cook and cook. But it was all done happily.
    At 70 now, I am fulfilled with my life. I have a family that showered me with so much love as a child. I have the good luck of having another family that is showering so much love on me.
    I am twice lucky and I am enjoying it. When I was in Ibadan studying, I met a lady who was studying English too. We got close and eventually got married. She continued the tradition of showering love on me the way my mother did.
    She is now the Iyalode of Remoland. She is actually my best friend because my life would have been different without her. I owe a lot to her and she will forever mean a lot to me. Then 27 years ago, I met another lady. That wasn’t planned at all. But it just happened. Something happened and one thing led to another, we became friends and she has two kids for me. And then she became part of that tradition of love. She spoils me with so much love also. I have a wonderful family and my children are very close even though they are from different mothers.
    You remain close to you roots in Ipara and Remoland as a whole. . .
    That is an interesting observation on your part. You just said so. Bishop said so too and many people have said that before. Well for me, nothing is as important as giving back to a society that has given me so much. I am very proud of my Remo background and I am always eager to be identified as such.
    Initially when I started going back home, both my parents said ‘what is your business with Ipara? You weren’t born there. You didn’t grow up there.” My father, though born in Ipara, didn’t go back there when he returned from the north. He died in Lagos and my mother would keep preaching caution. But I was determined to identify with my roots. The truth is that I found some kind of peaceful base in Ipara. And to cap it all, the town made me the Balogun of Ipara.
    Finally Sir, at 70 what are your expectations in the years ahead?
    I will just keep working and living my life. I will keep playing golf like I just played this afternoon. I will keep doing all the things I enjoy doing. I travel a lot and I will keep doing that so that I will remain healthy. Above all, I am committing myself to the Yemi Ogunbiyi Anglican School so that I can contribute my quota more to the development of humanity. That is the school named after me in Sagamu by the Anglican Communion.
    Obviously; no politics for you?
    No, not again. I am well past that. I will keep giving advices where necessary though. I tried politics in the past; it was not just my type of game. I wanted to be Governor of Ogun State but I had to forget about it. Not just my type of endeavour. I think it is too violent, too dirty.

     

     

  • How I was sacked for selling sugar – Ogunbiyi

    How I was sacked for selling sugar – Ogunbiyi

    Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi is the Chairman, Governing Council, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State. The former Managing Director of the Daily Times Newspaper who also worked as a Director at the Guardian Newspaper celebrated his 70th birthday recently. Together with Professors the Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, Kole Omotoso, Biodun Jeyifo, Ogunbiyi was part of the drama and literature department of Ife.
    He currently serves as the Chairman of Tanus Communications, a company he founded after he was sacked at the Daily Times by the same friend who gave him the job earlier following his sack at The Guardian by another friend who had worked tirelessly to facilitate his leaving the University to work as a newspaper man.
    In this interview with Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, the Chairman of University of Ife Governing Council, talks about his life as a business man in the private sector as well as his relationship with erudite scholars like Soyinka, Jeyifo Omotosho.

    You turned 70 recently, how does it feel?

    I don’t feel any better than the way I felt last month or last week. For me, I will say 70 is a number, it is just the way you feel in yourself that determines what you make of it. I feel good and I am quite happy to be 70 in a country where it is actually not very easy to live in. The feeling is that of being grateful and happy.

    Looking back, I asked myself, how have you fared? And I give myself a pass mark. I say to myself, you have fared well. This is because I never dreamt the way my life turned out. I just set out to make the best out of life and here I am today. I feel blessed in many ways. In fact, I am really blessed in many ways. So, I feel good and happy to be 70 years old.

    Your stint as a University don is one of the things we know about you. Back in Ife when you joined the likes of Professor Wole Soyinka, what was it like in the Humanities then?

    I don’t think there was really much to life back then other than the leadership as provided that time by Professor Ojetunji Aboyade, who was the Vice Chancellor. He was a very liberal mind. His type of leadership made it easy for us in the humanities back then to dabble into all kinds of things. There were robust debates about the future of humanities in this country and we saw so many of us the younger ones gravitating towards the leftist ideology and picking us do so many things along the way.

    But it was easy to do that in Ife because under Aboyade, Ife encouraged all kinds of things. As a matter of fact, he provided the platform for us to thrive. I recall an incident when the military administration under the then Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo wanted Aboyade to round up some leftist ideologists in Ife and hand them over for no reason, Aboyade said no. He insisted that it was not in his place to do that. Such leadership made us see the sky as our limit and we thrived in the humanities. It was good for the system, the students and the scholars.

    I am not so sure if that was the situation at that time in other universities. And of course, so many young brains went to Ife then, people like Prof. Kole Omotoso, Dr. Chidi Amuta, myself and many others, Ife was a place to try and reach our potentials. Back then, twice monthly, we held brainstorming sessions and a lot of intellectual debates happened. And this was very good and nice. That was the scenario in Ife back then.

    Your leaving the University came as a surprise to many of your colleagues and students back then. What informed that decision?

    That is not controversial in any way. I was asked to come and help at The Guardian at the beginning in 1982. Dr. Stanley Macebuh invited me. Incidentally, I was due for a sabbatical leave which I initially wanted to spend abroad.

    He suggested I spend the leave trying my hand on something new at The Guardian. And I liked it after one year. But I was going to go back to Ife. I didn’t plan to stay put. But Mr. Ibru, the Publisher said I should stay on. He wondered who will continue the things I’ve just started then. I had started the Literary Series then. I had started the interviews with world leaders then. We had done Gandhi, Nyerere, Sankara, and a lot of them. He said I should ask for an extension of my leave. But when I asked for an extension, the university turned it down. So the choice before me then was to either go back to Ife or resign. So, I resigned and Ibru paid back a year salary to the University on my behalf. That was the practice then. If you resign, you refund a year salary to the University. I think he paid N14, 000 a year. It was a lot of money then. So, that was how I stayed put in the newspaper business at The Guardian.

    You’ve been in the classroom and the board room. What are the similarities and differences?

    There are so many similarities and so many differences. But the bottom-line for me is that wherever you find yourself, be it classroom or boardroom, do whatever you have to do very well. Avoid cutting corners and put in your best at all times. Most importantly, be ready to learn.

    When I joined The Guardian, I had no training in newspaper business. I didn’t go to Journalism School. But I was willing to learn and I learnt a great deal. I said to myself, how am I going to learn as soon as possible. I was made Magazine Director soon after I joined and I decided to spend a night in the production room for me to see how the process of magazine production runs. When I was doing that I wasn’t thinking that someday will be the Managing Director of Daily Times; I just wanted to learn and I did.

    There is a joke about me while I was new at The Guardian. In those days, whenever I was given an editorial to write, I usually spend a lot of time getting it down. Then they will tell me that the problem with me is that I was yet to transit from the University to the newsroom. They said I was writing the editorial as if it was a paper. They will say write this thing let us publish it. There was no time for footnotes and crosschecking again and again. But that wasn’t the style where I was coming from.

    It was a most difficult transition for me. Gong from an academic to writing for a newspaper. It was tough and I had to learn to adjust to the new realities of a newsroom which was pretty different from the classroom. But again, like I said, because I was willing to learn, I was able to surmount whatever difficulties I encountered in that transition.

    Eventually, yourself and Macebuh lost your plum jobs at The Guardian. What happened?

    We were fired. Mr. Ibru, who at the time was a very good friend of mine, sacked us. It went that I was sacked, myself and Macebuh, for selling sugar. Somebody wanted to sell sugar to Cadbury and asked for our assistance. And myself and Stanley went to see Dr. Chris Kolade who was the Managing Director of Cadbury and told him a Lebanese friend of ours wanted to sell sugar and had promised to give us some money if we helped him. We didn’t have money. In fact, both of us had no house of our own at the time and we felt it was a good thing to make some money. The Guardian was not selling sugar, so we saw no conflict in what we were about to do then.

    So, the sugar was sold and Mr. Ibru got to know about it. Surprisingly, he said we were guilty of some form of conflict of interests. It was on the basis of this we were taken to the Board and fired. When I was sacked, I was in Pakistan interviewing Benazir Bhutto for the paper. And I was sacked just like that. I felt bad but I was fired.

    Meanwhile, this was the same Ibru who did so much for me. When Stanley (Macebuh) first approached me to join The Guardian and I couldn’t come, he also waded in and urged me to come.

    He spoke to people to convince me to come over. But obviously when he asked us to leave, he had a good reason for that. I didn’t really feel I deserved the treatment back then because I saw no conflict in my selling sugar and getting sacked. I was not given a right to defend myself too. The decision was taken in my absence. I don’t know why he did that but then; we got over it and became good friends again before he died.

    From there you moved on to Daily Times…

    Yes, I was fired by The Guardian on Friday and I resumed at the Daily Times on Monday when President Ibrahim Babangida appointed me the Managing Director. When I woke up Monday morning, I was thinking of where to pack to because I had to vacate the house I was liv ing in which was owned by Ibru. I had no house of my own at the time.

    But Babangida asked me to resume at the Daily Times on Monday. Chief Segun Osoba, who was the man at the helm had already shown interest in politics and we knew he was going to leave to go and do politics. So, on Monday, Babangida said “Yemi, when you finish selling sugar send me your CV.” I thought he was just making jest of me. But he gave me that appointment and that was it.

    At Daily Times, you initiated radical changes. How easy was that to achieve?

    Let me say the changes at Daily Times was not just about me. I must say categorically that I had the pleasure of working with very cooperative staff back then. The then Editor, Onyeama Ugochukwu was a wonderful partner in the quest to turn around the place.

    The workers supported the initiatives and that made it very easy. The different unions were carried along at all the stages.

    It was something we did as a team but it wasn’t easy. I found out that a whole lot of things in the system were outdated. We sought to change all these and of course there were some resistance. Anywhere you attempt to introduce change, there will be resistance. People don’t take to change easily.

    But because we carried the unions and everybody along, we were able to get things done.

    I wasted no time in telling them I wanted to computerize the place for two reasons. One, we needed to be more efficient in our production and secondly, we needed to reduce our staff strength. Daily Times at that time was over staffed with so many people loafing around doing nothing.

    So, bringing in the computers will help us streamline the place and make the system more efficient. I had a staff strength of about 2,000 when we took over and we had to trim it down to a thousand.

    We needed to cut cost but getting that done was tough. I told the unions I wanted to double staff salary. But I added that to do that we needed to lay off a thousand staff. They initially said it was impossible but eventually, when we started turning out the paper in a matter of time, they liked it and cooperated with me.

    Note also that we didn’t buy new machines but cleaned up the old ones and equipped Times Press better for greater performance and efficiency. The morale, when I came, was low, so we needed to do something about that. We worked on the attitude of the workers and that led to a more efficient workforce which helped us in the turnaround effort a great deal.

    And why did you leave Daily Times again?

    Again, I was fired by my friend, President Babangida. Up till today, we never discussed why he fired me. But I think I know why he did. I suspected the President was not ready to leave office at the time he had promised he would leave. And he suspected that the Daily Times might not support him. These are just conjectures. I am not sure because we never discussed it. I had jokingly told him at a reception before that time that it is better he keeps his word on the transition.

    But in fairness to Babangida, it wasn’t just about him not wanting to leave but more about the people around him willing to spend some more time in power. And at that time, Daily Times had bounced back and people were already respecting its opinion as a medium. So, no government would play with such a medium. That is why I say these are conjectures.

    You set up your private firm after that. How has the journey been?

    Ironically, Tuesday May 2, 2017 was the 25th anniversary of TANUS Communications, the company I established after leaving Daily Times. That’s amazing. May 2, 1992, that was when we set up the company. I was jobless. I had been fired and I had no job and I needed money. So I had to do something. Going back to the University, I thought of that and even got a chance to go to Harvard on Fellowship. But at the end, I wanted to do something on my own and I started with TANUS.

    We produced very lovely calendars when we started and we still do. At Daily Times, I’ve learnt that printing calendars was big business. And we did books for people and organizations. Our first big break was when Prof. Jubril Aminu gave us a book to do for NNPC. We made a lot of money back then and bought cars and all that for our workers. We continued to wax stronger by the day and 25 years after, we are here now.

    Largely, I made a success of the business because I was focused and determined. I had offers from banks and other places to come work for them but I would rather do what my heart dictates. Although I did consultancies for some organizations, I was more committed to building the company and making a success out of private business. I brought all the experiences I had garnered working at the University,

    The Guardian and Daily Times to bear on the company and it paid off. I could have done other things but I didn’t want to. We gave it our best shot and when we now started doing text books, whaoow! our business boomed.

    I owe a lot to former Governor Rotimi Amaechi in that regard. He really gave us a lot of opportunities in that area of printing books for Rivers State. Donald Duke too tried for us. He gave us books to print for Cross Rivers State some sixteen years ago. Other states too like Adamawa were also forthcoming and we have done several projects with several of them ever since. School text books are our main focus now.

    Would you say your stint as a University Don impacted on your life and achievements when you left for the business world?

    The impact would be to say working with and socializing with the likes of Jeyifo, Omotoso and the likes in Ife inculcated in me the principle of being very focused. I tell you, BJ is a very focused individual. He was well determined too. In fact, some of the benefits we enjoy today in the University were things that were started by Jeyifo. The autonomy being enjoyed today by Universities was started by Jeyifo’s group in ASUU. Nobody remembers that now. He had a Volkswagen: he would drive himself to distant places, Calabar, Benin etc, to attend meetings and still come back and take his classes.

    It was hectic for him but he never wanted to miss his classes or have someone else take them for him. He was also supervising several higher degree students at the time. But because he was focused, he ploughed on. He was taking all these classes and was also the President of ASUU and these were the defining years of ASUU.

    So, if I was impacted by BJ and my other colleagues at Ife, it was with being focused and determined against all odds. We never believed in cutting corners back then in Ife. I would say I left Ife with that principle. I say this all the time, even to my children. And I think they have learnt that from me, the four of them.

    You are one of the closest associates of Prof. Wole Soyinka, who was your teacher. How did the teacher-student relationship blossom into that of confidants as you have it today?

    He was my teacher. He is my elder brother. We are very close. I seek his advice. I give him advice. That is the way it has always been for a long time. We are really into each other. I believe in him and he trusts me. But he was first my teacher before any other thing. We are just close in that regard. I see it that I am just one of his students that he can come for my opinion on issues. There are times Prof would just come and say, ‘Yemi, what do you think I should do here?’ And he wants my honest opinion. And I would oblige him. And he likes that.

    I am close to his children and he is close to my family. We are family in many ways than one. I think it has grown stronger and stronger over the years. You know, as you grow older, you go back to your old friends and old ties are made stronger.

    Would you say your childhood influenced your life in any way?

    Yes. My mum influenced my life a great deal. She was such a hard working woman. Well focussed too. She had no western education but she was an astute business woman who was a distributor in those days while my father was a renowned tailor who built suits for expatriates in Kano back then. They were such a hard working couple.

    This influenced me a great deal when I ventured into business later in my life. My mum thought us to respect people and relate with people well. And my father, he was a very friendly person. He makes friends quickly. I took that from him. He had such a wonderful circle of friends. When we were in Kano, people were always gravitating towards our house and a lot of money was spent on feeding and hosting people. And my mum will cook and cook. But it was all done happily.

    At 70 now, I am fulfilled with my life. I have a family that showered me with so much love as a child. I have the good luck of having another family that is showering so much love on me.

    I am twice lucky and I am enjoying it. When I was in Ibadan studying, I met a lady who was studying English too. We got close and eventually got married. She continued the tradition of showering love on me the way my mother did.

    She is now the Iyalode of Remoland. She is actually my best friend because my life would have been different without her. I owe a lot to her and she will forever mean a lot to me. Then 27 years ago, I met another lady. That wasn’t planned at all. But it just happened. Something happened and one thing led to another, we became friends and she has two kids for me. And then she became part of that tradition of love. She spoils me with so much love also. I have a wonderful family and my children are very close even though they are from different mothers.

    You remain close to you roots in Ipara and Remoland as a whole. . .

    That is an interesting observation on your part. You just said so. Bishop said so too and many people have said that before. Well for me, nothing is as important as giving back to a society that has given me so much. I am very proud of my Remo background and I am always eager to be identified as such.

    Initially when I started going back home, both my parents said ‘what is your business with Ipara? You weren’t born there. You didn’t grow up there.” My father, though born in Ipara, didn’t go back there when he returned from the north. He died in Lagos and my mother would keep preaching caution. But I was determined to identify with my roots. The truth is that I found some kind of peaceful base in Ipara. And to cap it all, the town made me the Balogun of Ipara.

    Finally Sir, at 70 what are your expectations in the years ahead?

    I will just keep working and living my life. I will keep playing golf like I just played this afternoon. I will keep doing all the things I enjoy doing. I travel a lot and I will keep doing that so that I will remain healthy. Above all, I am committing myself to the Yemi Ogunbiyi Anglican School so that I can contribute my quota more to the development of humanity. That is the school named after me in Sagamu by the Anglican Communion.

    Obviously; no politics for you?

    No, not again. I am well past that. I will keep giving advices where necessary though. I tried politics in the past; it was not just my type of game. I wanted to be Governor of Ogun State but I had to forget about it. Not just my type of endeavour. I think it is too violent, too dirty.

  • Ogunbiyi at it again

    Alhaji Waheed Usman, popular real estate developer, does not get involved in small establishments and the magnificent edifices he has mounted across Lagos State can attest to this. On Iga Iduganran Street, adjacent to Adeniji Adele, Lagos, Alhaji Ogunbiyi dwarfs other buildings by constructing an imposing complex that stands out among all others.

    If its imposing size and architectural beauty do not catch your eyes, then its colourful design definitely will.  “Rainbow Complex”, as it has rightfully being named, is a three-storey titanic structure built on the order of the Chairman, Oguns Investment Limited, Alhaji Ogunbiyi. The Rainbow Complex was commissioned by HRM, Oba Rilwan Aremu Akiolu, the Paramount Ruler of Lagos. Ogunbiyi ensured no expense was spared in the grand commissioning of his multi-million naira complex; after a week-long progression of entertaining and enlightening activities, the commissioning of Rainbow Complex finally took place with Nigerian notables as guests.

    Some of the dignitaries who graced the occasion were Hon. Kayode Opeifa, Lagos Commissioner for Transport; Hon. Babatunde Balogun, former Lagos Commissioner for Home Affairs; Mrs. Oluyemisi Ransome-Kuti; Alhaja Modupe Sanni (Shine-Shine); Alhaji Bolaji Hassan(Sir Small); Alhaji Tajudeen Olugbode and members of the Association of Real Estate Developers of Lagos (AREDOLS) whose chairman, Hon. Prince Nureni Ayinde Akinsanya, gave a brief speech just before the association presented a chest freezer to Alhaji Waheed Usman Ogunbiyi.  Present to compere the occasion was the very eloquent Bond FM presenter, Oreoluwa Ogunaike, and Fuji star Adewale Ayuba ensured he kept guests entertained as he thrilled them with his renditions.

  • Lawyers seek probe of Okeke-Ogunbiyi rift

    IT is over three weeks since Justice Okechukwu Okeke (rtd) accused Supreme Court Justice Clara Bata-Ogunbiyi of trying to influence a case that was before him in which her daughter was a party. Since the May 27 allegation at the valedictory session for Justice Okeke, who retired from the Federal High Court, mum has been the word from the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Aloma Mariam Muktar. In an advertorial in this paper last Friday, the National Judicial Council (NJC) headed by Justice Mukhtar, who is reforming the judiciary, spoke on why Justice Okeke was reprimanded, but kept quiet on his allegation against Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi.

    Justice Okeke insinuated that he might have been “seriously warned” by the NJC, a few days to his retirement because of his refusal to accede to Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi’s request. Is there any truth in his allegation? Was that the proper forum for him to raise that allegaion? Why did he wait until his retirement before speaking out? These are some of the questions being asked by watchers. Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi has since defended her intergrity, describing Justice Okeke’s allegation as fabricated. Then, who is telling the truth? To get the truth, lawyers are suggesting that a panel of inquiry be constituted on the matter.

     

    The issue

    In a May 6 letter addressed to Justice Okeke, the NJC warned the retired judge to desist from acts that are prejudicial to the integrity of the judiciary.

    The letter reads: ‘‘You may wish to recall that the NJC received various petitions against you which had earlier been forwarded to you for comments. The NJC, at its meeting which was held on April 24 and 25, noted the various petitions and your responses to same. At the end of the deliberation, Council decided to seriously warn you to desist from such acts that are prejudicial to the integrity of the judiciary and the administration of justice when handling the cases that are brought before you in future, please.’’

    Angered by the letter, the learned judge chose his valedictory session, which was 24 days after the warning was issued, to reply the NJC. In his response, Okeke said he would like to be remembered as a victim of injustice in the Nigerian Judiciary.

     

    Okeke’s position

    He said it was because he refused to allow Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi influence his decision in a case, which involved Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) on properties forfeited to the Federal Government by former Chief Executive of the defunct Oceanic bank, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, which also involved Justice Ogunbiyi’s daughter, Mrs. Funke Ogunbiyi-Amadi, that he was queried by the NJC.

    “On March 6, I received a call from the Honourable Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta that Justice Clara Ogunbiyi of the Supreme Court of Nigeria was furious with me for granting leave to AMCON, which led to the ejection of her daughter and son-in-law from No. 5A, George Street, Ikoyi, Lagos.’’ Okeke said an application to set aside the leave he granted AMCON on March 1, was filed on March 7, while  ”on March 8, one Funke Ogunbiyi came to my chambers at about 9.04 am, completed the visitor’s form in which she stated her address as No. 5A, George Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, and phone number 08099912658. She was led into the chambers. She introduced herself as daughter of Honourable Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi of Supreme Court. She said her mother directed her to tell me to discharge the order of March 1, as there was no basis for the order. I advised her that since they have filed the motion on notice to set aside the order that their counsel should meet the registrar of the court for a date for their motion.’’

    Justice Okeke claimed he dismissed the petition on March 27, and in a letter dated April 5, the NJC sent a copy of a petition written by the applicants and their counsel, Falana & Falana, which he received at 10: am on April 18, while his response got to the NJC on April 22.

    However, in a swift reply titled ‘Justice Okeke’s valedictory lies,’ Femi Falana (SAN) denied petitioning the judge but stated that he was aware his clients petitioned him and he supported their views.

    Falana noted that the same Justice Okeke, who dismissed his clients’ motion to discharge the interim order he gave in favour of AMCON on the ground that he was functus officio and advised his clients to go on appeal, turned round to frustrate the appeal by refusing to release a copy of his ruling.

    ‘‘The judge also deliberately refused to give our clients any date to entertain our clients’ motion for leave to appeal and stay of further execution of the interim order. Suffice it to say that Justice Okeke is lucky that he was only cautioned by the NJC before his retirement from the bench,’’ he said.

     

    Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi’s version

    Although Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi did not publicly react to Justice Okeke’s allegation, a copy of an internal memo she wrote to the CJN leaked to the press in which she accused Justice Okeke of being economical with the truth.

    She said Justice Okeke misled the world into thinking that the NJC issued him a warning letter based on the exparte order he gave which affected her daughter, Funke Amadi (nee Ogunbiyi).

    She said: “It is extremely ridiculous, absurd and malicious for Justice Okeke to insinuate that it is the forgoing circumstances that formed the basis for the warning letter given to him on three petitions deliberated upon by the NJC, which I know nothing about. I wish also to state that the alleged petition by all the residents of No. 5A George Street ikoyi, to the NJC has nothing to do with me.

    “In view of the grey areas surrounding the case, I therefore contacted Justice Ibrahim Auta, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and narrated my daughter’s ordeal and therefore enquired about the laws governing AMCON case. He remarked that the laws are draconian in their application and he promised to send me a

    copy, which he did a few days later.”

    “On the allegation of the encounter between Justice Okeke and my daughter, Funke in his chambers, I wish to state categorically that I never instructed her to see Justice Okeke for any reason whatsoever. If she had done so in company of the evicted residents of all the flats, she acted on her own volition. She is an adult, a married woman with a family and she has a right to protect the interest of her family.

    “I wish to emphasize further that I was reliably informed that my daughter was not on her own while in Justice Okeke’s chambers but in company of the other residents, their lawyer, and also the lawyer to one of the parties. The residents’ lawyer was the spokesman on their behalf, contrary to the false impression created in Justice Okeke’s speech where he painted the picture that my daughter was all on her own in his chambers.

    “It is unfortunate that justice Okeke in his desperation is looking for who to make a scapegoat for the purpose of hanging on his predicament. He presupposes that his narration will gain more publicity if he centres it on a Supreme Court justice’s daughter. This is most unfair and ungodly. I will unequivocally say that justice Okeke has failed as a retired judicial officer to present to the public the true picture.’’

     

    The NJC’s reaction

    In a 14-paragraph advertorial signed by Soji Oyesina, the NJC rebuffed Okeke’s allegation that he was warned because of the petition that emanated from the AMCON case. The body said five different petitions were written against Okeke, which were all forwarded to him at different intervals and he responded.

    Of the five petitions, the NJC stated that only the first three were considered for want of time. It said the AMCON petition Okeke quoted was the fifth and did not form part of its decision at the meeting of April 24 and 25.

    The statement said the NJC noted that Okeke was due for retirement on May 19, as such decided to warn him to desist from such acts.

    The advertorial read in part: ‘‘For avoidance of doubt, the 5th petition dated 18th March, 2013, by Engr. (Chief) Michael Afolabi Dada and 4 others, owners of the property at No 5A, Goerge Street, Ikoyi, is the AMCON case, wherein, Justice Okeke gave an ex-parte order in favour of AMCON. By the provision of Rule 2(2) of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, ‘a judicial officer must avoid the abuse of the power of issuing interim injunctions, ex-parte’.

    ‘’A meticulous examination of the 5th petition and the response by Justice Okeke has shown that the exparte order granted by His Lordship in favour of AMCON established a case of misconduct contrary to Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers. However, the said petition and reaction by Justice Okeke were not considered by Council because of time constraint.

    ”Given the above facts, it is patent that the statement made by Hon. Justice Okechukwu Okeke at the Valedictory Court Session held in his honour that, “he was a victim of injustice in the Nigerian Judiciary,” which was published in various print media is not correct.  Honourable Justice O. Okeke’s statement was nothing but a figment of his imagination, as the warning letter issued to him by Council was not as a result of the ex-parte Order he granted in respect of the AMCON’s case.’’

     

    Lawyers react

    However, with the increased public outcry against the judiciary because of the incident as well as the unpleasant reference to the feud between former CJN Justice Katsina Alu and embattled Court of Appeal President Ayo Salami, legal practitioners have called on the NJC to investigate and unearth the truth about Okeke’s comment with a view to setting the records straight.

    Lawyers described Justice Okeke’s action as a move by corrupt judges who are being probed to discredit the reforms by the CJN, just as they faulted the NJC for not dismissing Justice Okeke, despite that he was to retire soon.

    To them, even if the judge had just one day to go and was found wanting in the discharge of his duties, the NJC should have shown him the red card to serve as a deterrent to other erring judges.

    Those who spoke on the issue included professors of Law Taiwo Osipitan (SAN) and Itse Sagay (SAN); former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Chief Wale Olanipekun (SAN); Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship aspirant in Kwara State Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN); Chair, NBA Section on Legal Practice (SLP), Mrs. Funke Adekoya (SAN); Lagos lawyer Ikechukwu Ikeji and Director, Prisoners’ Rights Advocacy Initiative (PRAI), Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem.

    Osipitan said it was an unfortunate situation. It would have been better if his mouth was shut; it is a case of a sinking man looking for who to take down, said Osipitan.

    ‘‘The NJC has to share part of the blame; Justice Okeke ought to have been dismissed. I am aware a client of mine wrote a petition against Okeke. The judge delivered judgment orally in a case that involved my client and until he resigned, no one got a copy of the judgment. He frustrated all efforts to get a copy of the judgment and my client petitioned him.

    ‘‘What has Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi got to do with that? Or was it also Justice Ogunbiyi that told senior lawyers to avoid Justice Okeke’s court? Many serious lawyers have been frustrated by him and they refuse going to his court, so, he should be the last person to talk. I think his statement has to be taken with caution.

    ‘‘However, his statement should be looked into and other allegations against him be looked into. Anyone found guilty, whether serving or retired should be seriously dealt with,’’ he said.

    Olanipekun said the approach and method of the presentation of Justice Okeke’s complaint should be investigated thoroughly by the NJC to unearth every circumstance and also decode every innuendo contained therein. He said there was the need to treat corruption in the judiciary as a national emergency, to the extent that a high-powered commission of inquiry be set up to address it.

    He said: ‘‘I do not know when it has become the trend in the judiciary for a retiring judge to start taking up issues or denigrating some justices of courts of coordinate jurisdiction or of appellate courts; or accusing them of wrong doings at a public forum, where and when they cannot defend themselves. It has never happened in the history of the Nigerian judiciary and that valedictory session of Justice Okeke will go into the Guinness Book of Records.

    ‘‘The legal profession that we know and to which we have subscribed is a very disciplined and conservative one. How be it, there are inbuilt channels of presenting complains and agitations.

    ‘‘It is shameful enough that at this point in time, what is being orchestrated is corruption in the judiciary, although among a minority clique within the members of the bench. The present CJN, who doubles as Chairman, NJC, needs the encouragement and support of those who mean well for the legal profession, to nip this disease in the bud. Corruption to my mind does not spare any tribe or religion. A corrupt judge has no respect for litigants, whether he is Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw or Ibibio; or whether he is a Christian, Muslim or atheist.

    ‘‘What I see happening in respect of the valedictory rendition of Justice Okeke is that some of us lawyers with our posturing on the internet already calling for the crucifixion of Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi , have taken sides even without hearing her, swallowing hook line and sinker, what Justice Okeke said. In the process of doing this, I can see some sentiments of tribalism, which is aimed at this goal: ‘We have to defend and protect our own.’ The posturing portends imminent danger to the entire legal profession, as nobody wants to care again about the antecedents of any judge.

    ‘‘But, let me end this contribution with a parable by referring to the Holy writs-the Bible, particularly the book of Chronicles in relation to each of the good and bad kings of Israel. Whenever each of them died; the bible records that their goods or evils were recorded for them in the chronicle of the kings of Israel.

    ‘‘In other words, we know the goods and the evils that some judges have done. My solution to the entire corruption saga is that we have to move beyond the NJC level and treat it as a national emergency matter, which will call and demand the setting up of a high-powered commission of enquiry as was done in Britain in the early 1620s.

    ‘‘To my mind, the entire problem has to be holistically confronted once and for all. Lastly, in the interim, the approach and method of the presentation of Justice Okeke’s complain, the NJC should investigate thoroughly and unearth every circumstance, and also decode every innuendo contained therein. The NJC should also let the public know of the outcome.

    ‘‘As at the time Justice Okeke raised these issues, he was still a judicial officer and the NJC has the jurisdiction to formally invite him to substantiate his allegations. This will serve a rectangular interest:-that of Okeke himself; the interest of the respected Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi; that of the NJC and the interest of justice.’’

    Sagay said it would have been honourable if Okeke had stated his complaints to the NJC in confidence. He said as a judge, it was wrong for Okeke to have made such public statement.

    ‘‘As a judge, you should not be washing the dirty linen of the judiciary in public. Secondly, Justice Bata-Ogunbiyi had replied and started clearly that she has nothing to do with it and that if he daughter had approached Okeke, she did so because they were affected.

    ‘‘The fact that she is the daughter of a Supreme Court Judge does not mean it was the Supreme Court Justice who orchestrated anything that has happened. Honestly, I think it is because there has been some bad incidences; people are now jumping to conclusions at the slightest rumour or exaggerating things.

    ‘‘To me, this is not a major issue and I think people should discard it. Bata-Ogunbiyi has established a reputation as a very upright judge and personally, I will be reluctant for that reputation she has built over the years to be sordid by unsubstantiated allegations. Okeke did not do the right thing and I see no substance in the allegation.

    ‘‘No report was made to the NJC by Okeke, he just came out and made a public statement, so, i think they should just ignore it.’’

    To Odukoya, Okeke is as culpable as Ogunbiyi’s daughter for not taking necessary actions when Justice Ogunbiyi’s daughter allegedly came to him in respect of the matter.

    She said: ‘‘The only way to maintain the confidence rebuilding exercise  in Nigeria’s legal system is for prompt action to be taken when reports of an attempt to influence the judiciary are made by anyone, whoever may be involved and no matter how highly placed the alleged culprit may be.  Such reports must be investigated fully and transparently, and if disciplinary action is required, such action must be seen to be commensurate with the infraction and speedily dispensed.

    ‘‘When Justice Okeke was approached by Justice Ogunbiyi’s daughter as he alleged, why did he not ‘blow the whistle’ immediately at that time? He could have ordered the arrest of the lady for attempting to pervert the cause of justice, could have reported Justice Ogunbiyi to the NJC, or complained to her privately about her alleged interference.

    ‘‘He did none of these, and so if his story is true, he is just as culpable of attempting to destroy the judicial system by keeping quiet. It is only because he was cautioned by the NJC, whether in respect of the matter involving Justice Ogunbiyi’s daughter or other matters that he told his side of the story while responding to addresses made during his valedictory court session.

    ‘‘The allegation against Justice Ogunbiyi must be fully investigated and quickly too if the increasing wave of confidence in the judicial system is to be sustained.  Since Justice Okeke alleged that Justice Ogunbiyi  called  Justice Auta in respect of the matter, unravelling the truth is not left to a ‘your word against mine’ scenario, in which any decision is inconclusive.’’

    The NJC’s silence should not be taken as a failure to react to the allegations raised by Justice Okeke, said Belgore.

    ‘‘For the NJC to function properly and bring respectability to the judiciary it must operate outside of the public glare. It is regrettable that Justice Okeke chose his valedictory ceremony to attack a fellow judge and back handedly the NJC as well. The NJC was right not to take the bait.

    ‘’The NJC still remains a viable channel for Judges to lodge their complaints and seek refuge for interference with their judicial functions. The system isn’t broken. You will from time to time get situations where it appears inadequate, but by and large it works and it should be strengthen. Real and wholesome reform of the judiciary however, must start from the court system, the bar, leading to the appointment of judges and then their tenure of office and independence of the most senior judges,’’ he added.

    Ikeji said a public hearing/investigation should be conducted, which will be headed by someone who is not a legal practitioner.

    ‘‘The Justice Okeke/Justice Ogunbiyi issue is just a tip of the iceberg of the rot in our judiciary. It is no news to us who are in the system. There is no smoke without fire. The way forward is to conduct a public hearing/investigation to be headed by a non-lawyer, not even a judge although either can be a member.

    ‘‘All parties must be made to come forward to testify. This is a quasi-judicial enquiry that must be isolated from the influence of fellow judges or lawyers who may have sympathy for either party. The result of the enquiry must be made public and appropriate sanctions meted out to any person found blameworthy,” he said.

    Adetola-Kazeem said the way out is for a prompt investigation of all corruption allegations against judicial officers as well as sanctioning appropriately anyone found wanting.

    ‘‘The case at hand involves a Supreme Court Justice, if she is found guilty and the NJC under the leadership of the CJN sanctions her, it will send a strong message to Judicial officers i.e. Judges and Magistrates to the effect that no one is above the law,’’ he added.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Group urges CJN to probe Okeke’s allegation against Ogunbiyi

    Group urges CJN to probe Okeke’s allegation against Ogunbiyi

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar has been urged to probe the alleged interference of the course of justice leveled against Justice Clara Ogunbiyi of the Supreme Court by a retired federal high court judge, Justice Okechukwu Okeke at his valedictory ceremony.A statement by a group of Lagos elites, Lagos Collectives ( LC) and signed by its chairman, Professor Tejumade Akitoye-Rhodes, challenged the CJN, to take a bold and immediate step to look into the allegation to save the nation’s judiciary from ridicule.

    The group, in its statement issued yesterday in Lagos, said the silence by Justice Ogunbiyi on a serious allegation coming from a High Court Judge, meant a lot for the reputations of the nation’s judiciary.  “We at the Lagos Collectives respectfully demand that Chief Justice Mariam Aloma- Mukhtar should as a matter of public urgency set up a powerful panel of enquiry to carefully look into the allegations and summon those who are mentioned in order to arrive at the truth and clear the highest court  itself of possible complicity in the perversion of justice. LC noted that the allegation made by Justice Okeke is “an abuse of office that cannot and must not be swept under the carpet.”

    The group emphasised that the Judiciary is a significant leg of the nation’s democratic tripod, “once this leg is vitiated, the doomsday is near” It said adding  “this is the only way that the public will take the Chief Justice as being serious and above board in her present crusade of riding the judiciary of corrupt practices. Nothing short of this will “ , the group said.

    The LC stated that any further  silence on the matter basically call into question the integrity of the Nigerian Judiciary.”If any sitting judge of the highest court in the land can randomly and recklessly interfere in the process of justice to suit personal whim and caprices then this is really a mockery of the so called cleansing exercise that the Chief Justice herself has vowed to pursue.” ”Justice Okeke’s allegation is quite detailed,  very exhaustive in narration with specific names, dates  and probing circumstantial illustrations”, it said.

    Justice Okeke , during the valedictory session in his honour, had claimed that his travail started from Justice Ogunbiyi’s  anger for granting an order on March 6, 2013, to the federal government owned AMCON over the forfeited assets of Mrs Cecilia Ibru,  which he said invariably affected Justice Ogunbiyi’s daughter.

    The judge alleged  that Justice Ogunbiyi sent her daughter, one Funke Ogunbiyi to his office with a directive that he should vacate the order granting the take over of the Ibru’s  properties, one of which an in-inlaw of the Supreme Court justice lives.Justice Okeke again claimed that on March 8, 2013, same Funke Ogunbiyi , who claimed to be the daughter of the Supreme Court judge came to his chambers telling him to vacate the orders at her mother’s directives.”

    These, indeed, are very grave and stunning allegations which were made in public purview. The accused and accuser are very much alive. Justice  Ogunbiyi has not publicly denied the allegations,” it added.