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Tag: patriot

  • Who is a patriot?

    Who is a patriot?

    Birthdays often provide moments for self-reflection, especially landmark ones. It has become a tradition here to step back from the bouquets and fanfare and capture it as a rostrum to rue, either on society or the cliché: the state of the nation.

    This is so especially when the toast is well-known as it was last week with Reuben Abati, folksy columnist and television host on Arise Television.

    The highlights of Abati’s 60th birthday event at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) were not the celebrity presences like former President Olusegun Obasanjo, or Abati’s former boss President Goodluck Jonathan, or the royal fathers, or the royalty of the media.

    They were two speeches. One from Louis Odion, a master penman. The other was from our cleric of ideas, Bishop Matthew Kukah, who would later spar with Obj over which Matthew enjoyed superior mandate from heaven.

    With episcopal effrontery, the Matthew who never wore a cassock boasted he would predate the bishop to the bosom of the Lord.

    At that moment, Leadership Newspaper editor-in-chief, Azu Ishiekwene, Lagos State Information Commissioner Gbenga Omotoso and I waited in vain for the Owu chief to exact his revenge on Odion’s onslaught on him.

    Odion had reviewed three book offerings that compiled Abati’s writings over the decades. During that fest, Odion took a swipe at Obj for presiding over a gangster election – my words.

    For dramatic effect, Odion merely acknowledged as a sort of grudging apology that Obj “is here.” It was mea culpa as gentle bullying. He did not dilute his umbrage or acidic releases.

    But Odion’s was an unrequited attack. The old fox probably was either disarmed, beaten insensible or did not want to headline Abati’s day with his boxer’s theatrics. It was a play without a climax.

    Bishop Kukah presented a lecture he called, Time to Reload. It was longer than the time allocated.

    But this essayist got hold of the full speech. Kukah spoke off the cuff but he has the knack to speak as though reading from a text.

    One error, though. In dissecting an idea, he mixed up Rousseau for Thomas Hobbes when he x-rayed the leviathan. No matter. What caught my attention was his reference to the idea of myths.

    Nigeria needs a myth. What he said drew me back to an essay I wrote as an editor in The Concord Newspaper, and I asserted that we did not have founding fathers. We had independence fighters, and the three major personages of that era, Zik, Awo and Bello, were not really founding fathers of Nigeria but men who were tied to their tribes. We never had a founding myth, so we could not get a founding father.

    That explains, in part, why we had a civil war, and when it ended, the nation is still haunted by the schism of those years. Awo knew that when he asserted that Nigeria was a mere geographical expression.

    My editor-in-chief, Dr. Doyin Abiola stopped the press when she read it and my piece was yanked off the newspaper.

    But the fault lines of today’s Nigeria, as Kukah noted, remain the incubi of tribe and faith, and the elites continue to take advantage of them to pursue private interests. It is what Professor Claude Ake called the privatization of the public square.

    Each of the tribes in Nigeria has a founding myth, or some form of narrative or illusion of the soul. The Yoruba, for instance, has the Oduduwa tale. The Hausa has the Bayajida. The exploits of Uthman Dan Fodio energise the Fulani. All the other ethnic groups have places or stories that tie them to their histories and stir their heritages.

    The British came and corralled everyone inside one room and gave them a name and asked us to live in peace. They gave a law that was not ours.

    They gave us a language that was not ours. They gave ties and shirts as they did to all their “subjects,” and that was part of the complaints of the Negritude movements that Aime Casaire tore apart when he wrote about ties that suffocated him.

    The irony is that the British have their own origin stories, and they tended to foist them on us in their paternalist arrogance.

    Theirs was rooted in the Magna Carta that draws from the 10 commandments. All over Europe, from France to Denmark to Netherlands, the nations cherish stories that encapsulate ballads, heroes, wars that enchant their spirits.

     In the United States, theirs began with their war of independence, and big names likes Ben Franklin, Samuel and John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, et al, marshaled a martial gusto that ripened into an ethos of being. They call it American dream, manifest destiny, etc.

     We have that problem because it is at the bottom of our definition of Nigerian. Who is a Nigerian patriot? Do we have any? Maybe in sports. Maybe it is the spirit from which we can nurture a Nigerian myth. Today, especially in the past few years, we have seen the nation, where even otherwise intelligent minds have foreclosed any attempt to be open-minded because of where they were born and the God that consecrated them at birth.

    We see otherwise prescient fellows act as though data don’t matter, and they are ready, for the sake of argument, to prioritise anecdotes over evidence. Today, we can see what is going on. We see clerics who cannot understand why they say a word even if that means to save their country. We have a conspiracy of silence.

    It is sometimes argued, especially by the Marxists, that man must live by bread first. But history has shown time and again, that while bread matters, humans generally prefer to starve in order to pray. People have never fought a major war for bread. Bread is a factor, but it is often not the definitive one. We fight for our kins, for our belief, our history, our temples.

    We shed blood for bloodlines, not for breadlines. We never fight for a loaf of bread. When have elections that really matter ever been determined by the pocket? Even in the west, they often claim that bread and butter take precedence.

    But that is because their questions of world view are not at stake. Today, Europe and the North America are in the throes of questions of philosophical meaning. Hence, they are picking apart interlopers of their myths.

    That is, foreigners. In his Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad described the western avatars as, “messengers of the might within the land, bearers of the spark from the sacred fire.”

    That explains why a cleric here would kowtow to a new birth of Christian colonialism and they would listen to their pastor masters in the U.S.

    Read Also: IMF, Nigeria discuss reforms, new development plan

     Hence one of them would be talking about a hundred days or 90 days ultimatum and remember that he is a relation. He did not remember to say he was a relation during the election in the firestorm of so-called Muslim-Muslim ticket.

    But are evangelicals’ conspiracy of silence a matter of fealty to bread, or loyalty to the Holy Spirit. Or is someone mixing bread for the word?

    That is why it is difficult to be a Nigerian patriot. We have myths of faith just as we have myths of tribe. In the years of the Reformation in Europe, all the faiths pledged to the Bible, but they wove battles out of interpretive feuds. Is the herdsman in Benue looking at the Idoma nubile as a prey or a Nigerian? If he believes in the Nigerian family, will he take over a kin’s farm with machetes and guns?

    The Nigerian myth is only possible if we start to do the impossible: teach children the Nigerian heritage. There is a lot of it. In the years of Lee Kwan Yu, it was done. The Chinese did not look to China, but Singapore.

    The Malays did not look to Malaysia but Singapore. The Indians did not look to India. They are all Singaporeans first. It was not about bread. It was the Singaporean spirit. The Americans came from different countries in Europe. They did not pledge Italian, or English or Irish or German. They brew a new one for themselves.

    It begins by history lessons skewed for that purpose. Our politicians must also de-emphasise idols that divide us.

    The June 12 imbroglio was rooted in it. Our clerics who have lost their voices except to throw up deadlines should remember that even Apostle Paul was proud to call himself a Roman citizen, which gave him a right to fair trial and exemption from scourging.

    The argument that democracy does not cohere with multi-religious and multi-ethnic societies underestimates the human capacity to invent as we have seen in Singapore.

     Bishop Kukah reported a survey about countries who still loved democracy. A plural society India came tops in favour. Although Bishop Kukah says it is time to reload, I believe it is time to reinvent.                                       

  • G.A. Akinola: Distinguished historian, patriot

    The news of Dr Akinola’s transition came to many of us as a shock. We felt a terrible sense of loss. He was for a short time in the University of Lagos in the 1970S but he spent most of his life time teaching history at the University of Ibadan until he retired.  While at Ibadan he was known for his sense of perfection. He would never send a paper for publication until he was sure it was perfect. He shared this attitude with my classmate Benson Mojuetan of the same Department who despite his erudition and being the first person in the graduating set of 1966 to get a Ph.D, he refused to publish and be promoted. The late Dr Bala Yusuf Usman of Ahmadu Bello University simply refused to submit his papers for assessment in spite of the fact that we knew he had done enough to earn a chair of history at his university. Universities the world over have strange but interesting characters. Nigeria also had its fair share. I remember reading a seminal and well researched and written paper by Dr Akinola in the Journal of Historical Society Of Nigeria ( JHSN) on the important topic of Benin-Ile Ife Relations  in pre-colonial times . As far as I am concerned it is the most authoritative piece on the topic. This is because  he threw illumination on an historical event  that has been so much  politicized that  what could have been celebrated as positive inter group relations has been reduced to superiority contest. He never subscribed to the concept of “publish or perish” determining promotion in academic institutions. Unfortunately no other criterium has been found at least in the humanities to assess excellence and academic output. But in the sciences, technology, and medical sciences, breakthroughs could be measured in terms of technological discoveries or in the treatment of certain diseases or pharmaceutical innovations as contributions to knowledge. In other words if for some strange reasons an academic shuns publications, it will be difficult for the system to appreciate the excellence of such an academic.  In the USA there is what is called teaching professorship. Perhaps Akinola would have earned a chair of history under this rubric. There is no doubt in my mind that Dr Akinola was worth more than some of our professors in terms of academic knowledge, scholarship and clarity of expression.

    Akinola comes from Igbole in Ekiti, the same town that produced the professor of physics of Ekiti academic mythology. “Ojo ugbole” in my childhood was mythologized as the poor child who had no money but whenever he entered a book shop he would move into a corner and by the time the bookshop was about to close the precocious Ojo would have read a couple of books and would repeat this until he would have finished reading most of the books he wanted to read. Later the same Ojo went and got a doctorate in physics with his specialty in the broad area of Sound. Stories were told about how he ran around with bells tied round his waste while he measured perhaps the speed of their sound. Later I met the same Professor Ojo who taught and retired in the then university of Ife. He was actually married to the sister of my friend Fola Adediran. He turned out to be a normal venerable academic but everyone of my generation knows the Ojo Igbole story. Dr  Akinola did not have the mythology that surrounded the professor of physics. But I must say Akinola was cut from the same Ojo Igbole cloth. He left Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti before my time but we met the fame of the Christ School boy who got excellent grade in English language which was very rare if not impossible especially in a rural environment in which the school was located . Our school had no problems doing exceedingly well in the traditional sciences and the humanities but English language was in its own special category. That was the rarified academic height Akinola belonged. He wrote what was adjudged an excellent thesis for the doctorate of philosophy in history in 1971 of the University of Ibadan.Unlike most of his colleagues he did not revise the thesis for publication as part of the Ibadan history series under the general editorship of the late Professor J.F. Ade – Ajayi.

    Our paths crossed in Hamburg in 1968 when he and I were carrying out our field research in Germany. We stayed together in an Hotel- Pension in Hamburg. I still remember the interesting discussion we had on European people and their politics and history when we challenged the owner of an hostel of discrimination against us by not renting rooms to us in his hostel. The German without knowing the import of what he was saying told us he did not mind having people of other races in his hostel and to prove it he said he had Italians living in the hostel. In other words he lumped Italians with us blacks. This reminds me of how the English used to treat Irish people up to the 1960S when they would advertise for tenants and clearly state “ No Irish , No coloured , No Chinaman (Chinese), Jap (meaning Japanese ) ok”. Racism would always ruin human relations.

    I remember when I was on Sabbatical leave in The University of Ibadan from 2001 to 2003  I used Professor Ajayi’s office and I saw how Dr Akinola read with relish all newspapers and news magazines he could lay his hands on in order to write his occasional interventions in the newspapers which were laced with much erudition . He critically examined the 2011 elections which brought President Jonathan to power and dismissed the whole thing as a farce and a joke carried too far. He said Delta, Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom States returned between 85 to 100% of their registered votes and that this was statistically impossible and was a global record if it truly happened. This was the kind of painstaking task he set for himself even in newspaper contributions.

    When he retired I was worried for how he would meet his pecuniary needs. I suggested to him, in fact I pleaded with him to take a contract job in one of the new state universities. He laughed and said how could he do that after complaining that standards had fallen in his dear University of Ibadan. If the universities in Nigeria had the necessary freedom Akinola should have been retained on contract to impart not only knowledge but to teach students and staff of old time scholarship and use of language which have unfortunately departed from our universities.

    In retirement Akinola kept to himself. He was not the clubbing type. He did not attend parties and the usual frivolous celebrations in which much money is wasted in Nigeria. I do not remember him wearing voluminous agbada like most of his contemporaries. He had no need for them. His simplicity was simply overwhelming. One is more likely to see him in his short knickers strolling along the roads of new Bodija and minding his own business but absolutely disappointed about the lack of progress in Nigeria and how the country is on a slippery slope to violence.

    Adieu Oga. Rest In Peace. You lived an unblemished life. There was no scintilla of scandal where ever you worked. You left a good and imperishable name which your children should be proud of and I am sure in the eyes of the Almighty you have earned your rest.

  • Atiku: he was a quintessential democrat, patriot

    Atiku: he was a quintessential democrat, patriot

    Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described Dr. Alex Ekwueme as a quintessential democrat and patriot.

    Atiku, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), mourned the former Vice-President, describing his death as a great loss to the nation “at this critical phase of its political life.”

    In a statement by his Media Office in Abuja, Atiku hailed Ekwueme as a great man and democrat, saying Nigeria’s history of democracy and nation-building would be incomplete without his input.

    He said Ekwueme’s democratic credentials were of highest quality, adding that he was always called upon by political leaders to settle disputes and he was never found wanting.

    Atiku said the former Vice-President was a man of great learning, noting that he was a wise man and a statesman.

    He recalled that at the National Constitutional Conference from 1994 to 1995, Ekwueme was a star, who attracted other delegates because of his wisdom and moderate position on contentious political issues.  Atiku urged the deceased’s family and the government and people of Anambra State “to bear the passing on of this great and illustrious political leader with stoicism.”

    He prayed for the repose of his soul.

  • ‘Farewell, true patriot’

    ‘Farewell, true patriot’

    Minister of Mines and Steel Development Dr Kayode Fayemi pays tribute to former Military governor of Western State, the late Major-General Adeyinka Adebayo, who was buried in his Iyin-Ekiti country home last weekend.

    My earliest sense of identity and kinship as an Ekiti man stemmed from studying the lives and public careers of illustrious men and women from the land of honour. One of such was the late General (Rtd.) Robert Adeyinka Adebayo. It was from men and women of his ilk that I learnt and imbibed our pristine values of integrity, diligence and selfless service.

    I was born about the time the dear departed was at the peak of his professional calling as a military man. I recall that as a primary school kid in Ibadan City Council Primary School in Agodi, we welcomed the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon and his host, Colonel Adebayo, to Ibadan in the aftermath of the civil war, excitedly waving our little flags and chanting ‘Go On With One Nigeria’, which was a popular slogan in the country after the cessation of hostilities.  The late Gen. Adebayo made us proud by meritoriously discharging of his senior command and staff positions, serving as the first indigenous Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army, 1964-1965, and Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, 1971 – 1972. He was one of the two Ekiti men in Nigeria’s history – the other being another hero, his predecessor, the late Col. Francis Adekunle Fajuyi – that were privileged to administratively lead the entire Yoruba race as Military Governor of Western Nigeria, 1966–1971. He contributed to regional peace, integration and stability, serving as Commander, Nigerian contingent in the Congo, 1963, and as staff officer in the United Nations peacekeeping force during the Congo crisis, 1961–1963. He was also Chairman of the Defence Planning Committee, 1963–1965, of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) which is the predecessor entity of the African Union (AU), similarly leading the Nigerian delegation to the OAU Summit in Ethiopia in November 1966. He was a man of values and intellect who attained greatness by providence, dint of hard work and the courage of his convictions.

    In retirement, late Gen. Adebayo remained on the frontlines of the Nigeria project. In the second republic (1979 – 1983), he co-founded and served as the Vice Chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) – which was the ruling party in Nigeria at the time. He also co-founded and served as the Chairman of the Yoruba Council of Elders, which provided a platform for sages of his ilk to lend their weight to advancing the peace and prosperity of the Yoruba race, within the context of an inclusive and progressive Nigeria. On many occasions, the YCE under his leadership successfully intervened in very serious matters of regional and national importance, demonstrating the truism in the Yoruba proverb – Àgbà kì í wà lÍìjà, kórí ÍmÍ tuntun wÍ.

    Personally, I will forever cherish the fond memories of my interactions with him, especially his fatherly counsel and support during my tenure of office as governor of Ekiti State. He was one of my father figures that I always trusted to provide clarity and direction on any matter that I brought before him. He made it a duty to inform me of impending visits to Ekiti from his base in Lagos, and to alert me once he arrived in Iyin-Ekiti, so that we could meet for our memorable discussions on the progress and development of Ekiti and Nigeria. He would enquire about healthcare; commend me for a road he noticed on his way home being fixed; and express concern about student performance in our alma mater, Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti and indeed, other schools, while commending me for the bold steps taken to improve teacher quality. In all of our conversations, he was always scrupulously non-partisan, but wholly committed to the state and the country.

    The demise of the foremost Yoruba leader has robbed the Yoruba race and indeed the entire country of a true patriot and a great leader, who was fervent in his zeal for the unity and progress of the country. His love for his fellow citizens and fatherland was legendary. We shall surely miss his leadership, wise counsel and generous spirit. His passage leaves a deep void that will be hard to fill. We are however not mourning; rather we are celebrating a life well spent and his call to greater glory. Baba has gone to be with the Lord. He has fought a good fight. He has finished his course. He has kept the faith. We are certain that he shall receive the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge has promised all those who love His appearing. We owe him as sons and daughters of Ekiti in particular and all Yorubas at large, and indeed, all Nigerians, to continue to pursue the values that the dear departed’s iconic life have come to represent.

    May his soul rest in perfect peace, and may his memory be blessed.

  • Villain as hero, patriot as traitor

    It is a season for expression of solidarity and dissent. It is not unusual during such periods to see villains celebrated as heroes and patriots as traitors. The massive rally that canonise convicted ex-Governor James Ibori in Delta and demonstration against President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of the affairs of the nation in the last two  weeks once again highlighted our crisis of nationhood. The canonization of Ibori as a hero and Buhari as a traitor define who we are -a nation of divisive nationalities with different cultures, values and world view who disagree on virtually everything including who qualifies as Nigerian heroes. Two weeks back, the people of Niger Delta, welcomed back home their hero with an ecstatic crowd led by Mr. Festus Ovie Agas, the Secretary to the state government who stood in for the governor who was alleged to have made provision for N350m to organise a welcome party for their Niger Delta illustrious son. Ibori dearly loved by his people but disparaged by many Nigerians and foreigners including misguided London court that chose to weep louder than the bereaved by describing him as ‘a thief in government house’ before jailing him for thirteen years for converting his state public fund to private use, offence for which he had been discharged and acquitted by an Asaba court with some help from the then Delta state government, returned to the warm embrace of his people.

    For them, Ibori is a hero perhaps because of what they perceive as his triumph over his past travails and exploits in the murky waters of Nigerian politics. These, of course, include his conviction in 1991 and 1992 for credit card fraud in Britain,  his  allegedly conviction for criminal breach of trust in Nigeria and his subsequent exoneration by the Nigerian Supreme Court that chose to ignore the evidence of the judge that convicted him, his deployment of an estimated Niger Delta N50b to  procure  a Yar Adua’s  electoral victory in the flawed 2007 election,  the dismissal and humiliation of Nuhu Ribadu from the police following his refusal to play ball  even with a mouth watering $15m bribe and the dismissal of Mr. Ibrahim Magu, the leading key investigators  into politically exposed persons, ‘for keeping files of accused in his house’ .

    And from the accounts of his wild jubilating kinsmen, we can also add to this list of his heroic exploits to his ability to influence the emergence of Bukola Saraki, his friend as Senate President, install the current Delta State Governor as well as law makers, including his daughter from inside his prison walls in far away in London.

    The Asaba wild rally was followed by last week’s protests and demonstrations, in Lagos and Abuja against President Muhammadu Buhari, a 74-year-old former military ruler currently on medical leave in Britain. They were organised by those who regarded him a villain  and therefore proclaim their “duty is to liberate Nigeria from shackle of poverty, suffering, disease, squalor and undemocratic tendencies of Buhari’s government”.  Buhari ironically is a Nigerian patriot who during his first coming as a head of a military junta in 1984 strived to make Nigeria a better place for all insisting Nigerian has no other place to call their own. Except for few excesses associated with military juntas, he demonstrated his passion for service to the country until he was removed through a palace coup by Babangida and Abacha for threatening corrupt elements within the military. Elected after three earlier attempts in 2015 on pledges to diversify the economy and fight corruption, his administration has come under serious threat in the last two years by corrupt elements that bled the nation for sixteen years and today openly justify the unwholesome activities of sponsored Niger Delta militants.

    However, Bola Tinubu, a chieftain of APC while appealing to the misguided protesters who are at best victims of misplaced aggression for patience and understanding, reminded them that “We are two years into the administration. To make those changes effectively and positively eventually, we have to be patient; we have to have the hope. The damage of 16 years will go through the system. You cannot get water out of a dry land.”

    Addressing the Abuja protesters put at about 700 by Reuters, Osinbajo, the acting President, blamed corruption which he says is “wealthy, powerful, influential and it is in every aspect of our lives,” And finally assuring the misguided protesters he said. “Things might be difficult today, but I am completely sure if we stay the course this country will not only get out of recession but always go to the path of sustainable development,”

    Bola Tinubu, the ‘Jagaban’ of Nigerian politics’ who went around the nation mouthing restructuring and Professor Osinbajo, an eminent legal mind know that whatever victory is achieved after this economic recession will be a pyrrhic victory. Unlike some of the misguided protesters who did not demonstrate against Jonathan creeping dictatorship when he sacked CBN governor for raising an alarm about missing  $20b in NNPC account, sacked a justice of an appeal court that ruled against his party but now want Nigerians to believe they are fighting Buhari’s dictatorship  and many of their co- travelers occupying state houses as governors and national assembly’s as law makers, who cannot articulate our crisis of nationhood, they know the truth. They know our crisis of nationhood is politics and not economics or economic recession.

    Our problem is the tyranny of the state which federal arrangement sets out to resolve. We should find out why restive groups are prepared to wreck the nation. Why are Niger Delta leaders and avengers sabotaging the economy of the country? Why   were federal ministers stealing and stacking dollars in their homes? Why did federal ministers of Finance who know importation of labour of other societies would sound the death knell of our own economy deploy the bulk of our foreign earnings to importation of everything under the sun for 16 years?  Why do bureaucrats steal pensioners’ funds? Why are our two houses of assemblies, houses of deals? The most plausible answer is that people are ready to destroy the system they don’t have faith in. After all, no sane man sets out to destroy his father’s house.

    The celebration of a villain as a hero and the morbid wish of those who want Buhari dead because with exchange rate of N500 to a dollar, they could no more make easy billions through importation of everything under the sun at the expense of poor Nigerians is a call for a restructured Nigeria. Nigeria will be better off with a Niger Delta region or group of states paying dividends on the nations investment which Kachikwu put at $40b and 50% taxation on her earnings as it was in the first republic than the current situation where we do not know what was produce or when what was refined or imported is diverted to private dumps owned by some ministers.

    A restructured Nigeria is  a win-win for every group. The Niger Delta will be free to celebrate their heroes. With industries springing up in the east, unpatriotic importers of substandard goods in the name of business will be forced to look inwards. A viable middle belt region can contain the threat of Fulani herdsmen. The Fulani who currently armed killers because the constitution allows them to invade other people’s farms and homes will be forced live in the 21st century by providing deep water irrigation to feed their cattle and they will be free to welcome their kit and kin from Northern Cameroon and Niger who they claim are the foreign cattle rustlers. And of course the south west that survives on yam and tomatoes from the north and consumes10,000 head of cows daily  will be forced to look inward or pay the economic rate for products of those who without government subsidy ferry their goods in  amidst man- made huddles including police bribes at every state border.

  • Shinkafi a patriot, says Aregbesola

    Shinkafi a patriot, says Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola said yesterday that the death of former boss of the defunct National Security Organisation (NSO), Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, was another monumental loss of one of the nation’s patriots and politicians.

    The governor, who spoke through a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said Shinkafi’s death has once again dealt a devastating blow to the nation, especially the political terrain.

    He said the late politician served the country in many capacities and gave his best while in active service.

    He added that as the pioneer of the nation’s indigenous security service, he presided over a solid service and gave it a track record as the intelligence service under him was one of the most vibrant branches of the police force then.

    He said: “Death diminishes. Alhaji Shinkafi was a Nigerian patriot. He served Nigeria fervently with all he had from conventional police to the security intelligence arm and finally as a politician of note.

    “He was a politician of high repute and immense clout. His political horizon spread across the country.

    “Though a conservative, he did not shy away from grouping with the progressive camp in 1999 when he teamed up with Chief Olu Falae on the joint ticket of Alliance for Democracy.

    “He was a good officer, a listening politician and intelligence officer of a first class hue.”

  • Playing the patriot

    Evidently, writing a book about patriotism doesn’t make the author a patriot. So Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu’s book, Who will love my country: Ideas for building the Nigeria of our dream, launched in Abuja on April 27, doesn’t make him a patriot.

    The event was a stunt that showed a stunted actor. It was an opportunistic show and the central character was a puny opportunist. The drama was contemptuous of collective intelligence, and was contemptible in several respects.

    The title of Ekweremadu’ s book reflects his self-concept.  He probably thinks himself a patriot, and imagines that he has ideas worth selling to Nigerians. But are his ideas worth buying?

    Ekweremadu may be dressed in borrowed robes, but the hood doesn’t make the monk. His self-projected patriotism is unsupported by the intensely controversial manner he acquired his office. Convoluted circumstances  brought him to the helm of affairs of the 8th Senate, resulting in a queer combination and cohabitation:  Senate President Olusola  Saraki of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a party elected to power on the premise of progressivism, and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu of the unprogressive Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Senate is still struggling with the burden of strange bedfellows.

    By exploiting fissures within the ruling APC to gain a seat that should normally be occupied by a member of the ruling party, and thereby helping to institute an odd and odious partnership at the head of the Senate, Ekweremadu sacrificed patriotism for opportunism.  His self-serving move, which amounted to a victory of sorts for his party, was bound to have consequences for the Senate.

    In this case, realpolitik cannot be an excuse for unpatriotic conduct.  Saraki’s individualism and his anti-party manoeuvres, which gave him the Senate crown, were guided by realpolitik; just as Ekweremadu’s ambitious subversion of convention.

    With the initial complications within the APC further complicated by the PDP, the country would need genuine patriotic thinking and action to escape serial governmental crisis.

    Something thought-provoking happened about a week before Ekweremadu’s book launch, which may not be unconnected with the event.  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on April 20 denied naming Ekweremadu as its anti-corruption ambassador. The EFCC said in a statement that some reports in the print and online media had claimed that “the anti-graft agency has decorated the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, as “Anti-Corruption Ambassador.”

    The EFCC further said: “According to a statement issued to the press by the Special Adviser to the Deputy Senate President, Uche Anichukwu, the purported decoration, was carried out by the EFCC National Assembly Liaison Officer, Suleiman Bakari, who was quoted to have said: “On behalf of my acting chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Mustafa Magu and the entire management and staff of the EFCC, I decorate you as an Anti- Corruption Ambassador and formally present this frame, as a token of our appreciation to your person and office, and as a symbol of the institutional partnership between the EFCC and the National Assembly”.

    The anti-graft agency continued: “The EFCC totally dissociates itself from the purported action of Suleiman Bakari as he acted entirely on his own. He clearly acted outside his brief as a liaison officer as the management of the Commission at no time mandated him to decorate Ekweremadu or any officer of the National Assembly as Anti- Corruption Ambassador”. It added: “Members of the public and stakeholders in the fight against corruption are enjoined to disregard the so-called decoration”.

    However, the EFFC should go beyond its denial. The fight against corruption demands that it should get to the bottom of the matter. The public should know how it happened that an EFFC official allegedly named Ekweremadu as the agency’s anti-corruption ambassador, if it happened. The matter calls for serious investigation.

    This background suggests that Ekweremadu’s book and the presentation may have indeed been part of an elaborate image-laundering design. Within a week, Ekweremadu’s name was strongly linked with anti-corruption and patriotism, as if there was a need for him to project those positives.

    Considering that the Senate President is currently facing corruption-related charges before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, as well as charges related to unpatriotism before the court of public opinion, it is possible that the Deputy Senate President was under pressure to distance himself from those uncomplimentary realities.

    It is interesting that Saraki tweeted: “Last night, I attended the dinner for Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu’s book  launch .” This demonstrated that what unpatriotism   joined together, let no book put asunder.

    It is curious that the Muhammadu Buhari presidency joined in the apparent image-laundering project of a top member of the opposition who helped to cripple the ruling party in the Senate through unconstructive political conduct.  President Buhari’s representative, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had no business being at the event to endorse Ekweremadu’s claim to patriotism. The President said at the event: “He (Senator Ekweremadu) demonstrated in the book that Nigerians can only build a Nigeria of their dreams if they make bold efforts to love her above their individual selves and narrow interests.” Buhari was not only talking about Ekweremadu; he was also talking to Ekweremadu.  But was Ekweremadu listening?

    Buhari also said: “Our mantra is change, starting with individual attitudinal change. That explains why this Administration will soon launch a major campaign, tagged ‘CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME’, aimed at getting Nigerians to realise that the change they so much desire starts with them. If we all change our ways for the better, the society itself will change.”

    The question is: Do individuals like Saraki and Ekweremadu understand what individual responsibility means in this context? They are probably too self-absorbed to realise that by remaining in the positions they reached through unpatriotic means, they are no better than enemies of change.

    A report said Ekweremadu, in the 158-page book, “reflected on the need to shrink the 36 states to six geopolitical zones, a holistic approach to the fight against corruption decentralised policing, fair distribution of resources among others.”

    It is easy to theorise about patriotism. What Nigeria needs is practical patriotism. Those who pay lip service to patriotism do a disservice to the noble idea of a patriot. Patriotism is about doing, not talking.

  • Adieu patriot of Nigerian literature

    Adieu patriot of Nigerian literature

    Born on March 10, 1952, the late Mallam Abubakar Gimba hailed from Nasarawa State. He was an economist and author, who emphasised the importance of education in raising a child. His early days were spent in a cultural environment somewhere in Nasarawa State where, as he once put it, he learnt from “the singing of birds, the footsteps and prints of everybody – since, then, we were not wearing shoes – even dogs had a lot to teach”.

    Gimba started writingduring his days as a National Youth Service Corps member in the 70s. He published diverse works such as Trail of Sacrifice (1985); Witnesses to Tears (Aug 1987); Sunset for a Manderin (30 Aug 1996); This land of ours (2001); Golden Apples (Mar 1996); Innocent victims: A novel (Sep 1998) and Footprints (1998), among others.

    He brought his witty and in-depth understanding of life to bear in his writings.

    His humility, wit and cheerful disposition endeared him to all, especially those in the writing fold. Little wonder then that he later becamea former national president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). He would be remembered for his witty, poetic and metaphoric works.

    Gimba was an executive director of Union Bank of Nigeria and a permanent secretary in nation’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. He had master’s degree in Economics from the University of Cincinnati, and traveled extensively throughout Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. He took part in the IWP on a grant from the U.S. Department of State.

    Although dead, the world would always remember him for his forthrightness. The literati received the news of his death with heavy hearts. Two weeks after his departure, people are still mourning the loss of a comrade, father and friend. They bore their thoughts in their tributes to the late author.

     

    Former Minister of State for Education and ex-President of ANA, Dr Jerry Agada

     

    “It pains to bid farewell to this pioneer writer and fine gentleman of great repute. I had known Gimba through the pages of some of his novels before we eventually met at the 1997 ANA Convention in Abuja, when he was elected ANA President and I too, as Assistant General Secretary. Since then it has been a symbiotic relationship built on mutual respect for one another. As ANA National President, Gimba, who wore simplicity like his usual white kaftan, carried us all along without minding his status.

    “During my tenure as ANA President, Gimba availed me full compliments of honour, respect, advise and support, which propelled me through and which I will ever cherish. Gimba was Special Adviser (Political) to the Senate President at the time I served as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we combined perfectly to offer the best we could to the democratic governance of our great nation, using our creative talents as writers. As Gimba takes the final bow today, I take solace in the fact that he lived a fulfilled life as a great author of our time. I send my condolences to millions of writers all over the world and particularly, the President, EXCO and members of the Association of Nigerian Authors and also to all members of his immediate family and well-wishers.”

     

    Former Member, House of Representatives and ex-president of ANA, Dr Wale Okediran

     

    “However, beyond all these tangible achievements, Gimba’s greatest legacies were the legion of writers and personalities whose lives he enriched through his selfless and often self-effacing attitude; his rich repository of knowledge and his uncanny affinity to give and serve even when he had little left for himself. He was to me not just a writing colleague, he was a brother, a confidant with whom I could discuss virtually anything and still be sure I was walking on safe grounds.

    “This was why when sometimes in 2011 Gimba informed me that after a medical trip to India he had been diagnosed with Liver Cirrhosis, I was crestfallen, but nevertheless upbeat about his chances of winning the battle against the predator. As a way of monitoring his progress, I, therefore, made it mandatory to visit him at least twice a year in his No 10 Gado Nasco Street residence, Zarumai Quarters in Minna, Niger State. For some inexcusable reasons, I missed visiting him this year and was on the verge of planning a visit when I learnt of his demise. Despite being privy to his ailment, which I knew could be terminal, I still took his death very badly. It was as if a part of me had been violently yanked off. And despite my determination not to betray any emotions when I later visited the family a few days after his death in Minna, it was difficult sitting without the “lord of the manor” in attendance in the same sitting room where we had for close to two decades supped, joked and strategised together. And so the tears fell… Good bye my brother, good night our knight in shining armour, farewell the Mandarin.”

     

    ANA Vice President, Abdullahi Denja

     

     

    “Mallam Gimba was a trail blazer in literary fiction up the Niger. He was a colossal figure in writing in English up North the way Abubakar Imam was in Hausa in Northern Nigeria. Gimba’s literary efforts crossed the borders to create understanding among people. Gimba was a pacifist and quintessential gentleman, who nurtured creativity in the young and the old with his God-given resources and strength of character. His life was a shining example to us all.”

     

    Dr Bukar Usman

     

    “Mallam Gimba a quiet, brilliant and amiable personality has been a beacon of light in literary development in the country in general and the northern part of the country in particular. It was a fitting recognition of his literary achievements that he was elected the President of the Association of Nigerian Authors. I, for one, has benefitted greatly from his editorial comments and guidance in my literary works. I surely miss him. May his soul rest in perfect peace!”

     

    Director-General,Niger State

    Development Agency, BM Dzukogi

     

    “The loss of Gimba creates a deep gorge in our lives having been with us for close to three decades as a mentor, leader, father and friend during which we have learnt his simple approach to life. Similarly, his desire for people to regenerate the self as a potent strategy for societal re-ordering was well noted by us. He was totally harmless and full of concern for mankind to the point of despair because men were not changing for good and we saw occasional state of despair in him.

    “This had made him extremely reserved much later in life. Of course, outside his writings, Gimba, whom everyone accepts is a good man, will remain a tall figure of goodwill and happiness to Nigerlites and those who encountered him through life. Indeed, we had our point of departure as to how to fix society: he wants individuals to regenerate themselves for good to get a wholesome society. We agree but with the condition that leaders must provide the way. Anything short of that is a nullity. Well, this is the beauty of discourse. I hear people proposing to the Niger State Government to name the state’s University of Education after him that will be nice. The rest is up to us to carry further. Gimba has gone! One common royalty that all mortals enjoy on earth whether rich or poor, young or old is to be carried to the grave, lifeless. That’s what just happened to our gentleman Oga.”

     

    Novelist, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo

     

    “Gimba was a role model and a cultured man, who wrote powerful novels including classics such as Witness to Tears and Trail of Sacrifice. He performed effectively as Association of Nigerian Authors’ (ANA) President between 1997 and 2001. His tenure as president was one of the most stable and uplifting and he was able to build up the association as a formidable literary force. We, especially those that knew him well, will miss his amiable and gentle personality. I’ll always remember him as a man of character, who made a difference in Nigeria’s literary landscape. May his gentle soul rest in peace.”

     

    Ace playwright, Prof Femi Osofisan

     

    “Once again, we are called out to mourn one of the elders of the tribe!Alhadji Gimba as I knew him was soft-spoken, but had an iron will; self-effacing but never afraid of shouldering great responsibilities. He never found the style or theme to make his talent soar; but whatever limitations one might find were more than compensated by his passion, by the zeal he gave to art and to artists. It is certain we will miss him.”

     

    SONTA President, Prof Sunday E. Ododo

     

    “Gimba was perhaps the arrowhead of modern Nigerian literature from the Northern Nigeria. His contributions to the development of literature in the north shall remain evergreen because of the robust literary activities that now exist there, which are by products of Gimba’s visionary inspiration for young writers. The literary world shall surely miss his physical presence, but his creative and political imprints shall remain with us for a long time. Adieu patriot of Nigerian literature.”

     

    Association of Nigerian

    Authors executives

     

    “It is with great sadness that the Association of Nigerian Authors announces the death of Alhaji Gimba, distinguished author, administrator and public intellectual, who served as President of our Association from 1997 to 2001. He died yesterday in Minna after a long battle against ill health. Mallam Gimba, an indigene of Lapai in Niger State, was born in 1953. He authored several books in the course of his writing career, prominent amongst which are Witness to Tears, Trail of Sacrifice, Innocent Victims, Sunset for a Mandarin and Golden Apples.

    Mallam Gimba held a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Cincinnati and was once Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance. He was also a former Chairman of the Ahmadu Bello University Alumni Association. He will be buried today in accordance with Islamic rites.”

     

  • Erico: Keshi a patriot

    Erico: Keshi a patriot

    Former Super Eagles assistant coach Joe Erico has described as pure patriotism coach Stephen Keshi’s acceptance to temporarily oversee Nigeria’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) double-header against Congo DR and South Africa on September 6 and 10 respectively.

    Re-engagement discussion was still ongoing between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and representatives of the former Togo coach before the Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo, stepped in to broker a two-match truce.

    Erico said it must have been the burning desire to serve the ‘fatherland’ that compelled the former Mali coach to take up the assignment of guiding the Afcon champions in these two important matches.

    “Keshi’s act is patriotism at its highest, worthy of commendation. Usually, it’s during a period of national emergency that patriots step out to distinguish themselves from ordinary mortals.

    “We had two Afcon matches right before our noses with no substantive coach in view. Keshi has come to fill the void, here is hoping that the discourse whether or not to re-engage him will be tidied up before the next matches in the Afcon race.

    “This re-engagement talk would be absolutely unnecessary if we had put in place the culture of appreciating our own.

    “Contract talk with a local coach should be a call to service; seamless and straight forward without too much public attention.

    “The NFF knows what is needed and should straight ahead provide the necessary tools for the coach to work with.

    However, Erico is not worried over the Eagles winning one of the two Afcon spots in the group that comprises Congo DR, South Africa and Sudan.

    “We’ll have ourselves to blame if we don’t qualify from the group.We just have to get our act right and treat the qualifiers with some sense of seriousness like we did in the last dispensation. We’ve the material and tools, it’s just for us to put our priorities right,” said the former Iwuanyanwu Nationale coach.

    The 23-man Eagles are expected to reconvene on Monday for the Afcon tie against DR Congo’s Red Devils due for the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar on September 6.

  • A patriot at 80

    A patriot at 80

    On Tuesday, elderstatesman and former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing Alhaji Femi Okunnu (SAN) turned 80. His friends, associates and notable Nigerians showered encomiums on him at a public lecture held at  the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos. MIRIAM EKENE-OKORO reports.

    HIS eyes shone as speaker after speaker eulogised him. From where he sat, a smile played on the lips of Alhaji Lateef Femi Okunnu (SAN) as he listened to what people said about him. It was his 80th birthday and the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos was packed full of dignitaries who came to rejoice with him.

    Okunnu sat on the high table with his wife, Alhaja Lateefah and some dignitaries. Clad in a traditional dress with cap and a matching pair of shoes, he looked anything but 80

    Behind the high table was a giant screen, showing a documentary on the celebrator.

    The arrival of Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola; his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; former Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon; former Secretary General of Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Oba of Lagos Riliwan Akiolu; Senator HAB Fasinro, among others paved the way for early kick off of the event.

    Gen Gowon, under whom Alhaji Okunnu served as Federal Commissioner for Works, chaired the public lecture to mark Okunnu’s birthday. The lecture delivered by Fashola was entitled. “The essence of a patriot and a federalist.”

    Gowon set the pace for the discussion and eulogies on Alhaji Okunnu.

    The chairman said the celebrator has lived a life of achievement and accomplishment. Thus, the celebration of his 80th birthday will not only look at his past and present achievements, but will also serve as an avenue to acknowledge God’s presence in his life.

    Governor Fashola eulogised Alhaji Okunnu, describing him as “a patriot” and “a federalist.”

    “I believe that the best and most valuable birthday gift we could all give him today is a truer and more federal union in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “I do not think the ink will dry soon on our celebrant and the many roles he has played in the history of Nigeria, Lagos State, his community, his religious denomination in the Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria and in the Old Boys Association of his alma mater – Kings’ College, Lagos.”

    Thanking him for his contribution towards the development of the nation and Lagos State in particular, Fashola said Alhaji Okunnu has led a rich part for the younger generational leaders of the state to follow.

    “I look at him today, beaming in smiles, brimming over with happiness as he looks back on life well led and I am satisfied that this is indeed how it should be. He appears to have the best of both worlds. He has not lost the glamour of youths and yet he has long acquired the wisdom age”, Fashola added.

    The governor presented the celebrator with three special gifts. First, was a birthday card which he mentioned was on behalf of the Lagos State Government; a pictorial collection of his various projects documented in Germany and the third was from his wife, Dame Abimbola Fashola – a machine used in preparing roasted plantain, popularly known as Boli.

    Asiwaju Tinubu, in a goodwill message said Alhaji Okunnu left a legacy of excellence whilst he was Federal Commissioner.

    “He set the standard for that office, a standard that is yet to be exceeded or even equalled by those who succeed him,” he said.

    He explained that his contribution towards national development were innumerable as he guided the construction of several road infrastructures which include the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the Sagamu-Benin Asaba Expressway, the Warri-Benin-Auchi-Koton Karfi-Abuja expressway, the Calabar-Yola Maiduguri express way and numerous highways and bridges throughout the country.

    He also spoke about the celebrator’s contribution towards transportation development in the country saying that the nation transportation infrastructure would never have grown beyond its colonial legacy.

    “The development of our economy would have been further retard because vehicular transport would not have reduced to fraction of what we now have, and has been his rallying point on policy matters whenever he found himself in troubled waters during his tenure as Governor of Lagos State.

    After cutting his three-step gold and cream cake with his wife Lateefah, Alhaji Okunnu thanked all who came to honour him.

    He called for the establishment of true federalism.

    He thanked General Gowon for giving him the opportunity to serve the country.

    Born in Lagos to Muritala Abibo Okunnu, and Hasanat Abeebi Okunnu on February 19, 1933, Alhaji Okunnu, attended the famous Ansar-ud-deen Primary School, Alakuro, Lagos. He thereafter went to Kings College in 1948 but left in the middle of 1953 for six months for his High School Certificate (HSC), where he majored on science courses and ended in University College, London University, London in 1959.

    The Principal of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn was called to the English Bar on February 9, 1960 and admitted to the Nigerian Bar on the September 16, same year. He has been in practice ever since, save for the period of almost eight years when he was the Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing (May 1967 to December 1974). He resumed legal practice in January 1975, and soon thereafter founded the legal firm of Femi Okunnu & Co. He was in July 1992, elevated to the coveted rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in recognition of his distinguished career at the Bar.