Understanding Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu @ 60

By Wale Adedayo

Looking back to my days as a full time journalist, the ever rising profile of former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, appears to confirm beliefs among his ardent supporters that those opposed to him were not deep intellectually and politically. And I happen to be one of Tinubu’s harshest critics as a staunch supporter of the old guards of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere. Contrary to our position about Tinubu, the man is steadily rising beyond the shadows of the three most credible Yoruba political leaders in recent times: Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Senator Abraham Adesanya and Chief Bola Ige. If not for his being the Vice Chairman of the Federal Executive Council during the Nigerian civil war, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, would certainly have been included in the previous list, thus making Tinubu the most outstanding political leader the Yoruba has ever produced in recent history.

Beyond the crises associated with the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Bashorun M. K. O. Abiola and the process leading to Nigeria’s transition from military to democratic rule in 1999, Ajasin, Adesanya and Ige may not count much in national reckoning. Awolowo sought Nigeria’s leadership repeatedly, but failed. The late sage was well-respected all over the country, no doubt. But he never had any influence on the emergence of leaders at the national level in a democratic Nigeria. In contrast today, Tinubu is not overtly seeking to be Nigeria’s president. But he is much sought after at almost every level of the country’s leadership. He is today a force to be reckoned with by any aspiring contender for presidential office in Nigeria. No aspiring Senate President or Speaker, House of Representatives can ignore him. Variously described as an Apostle of true federalism and a man of the masses, Tinubu’s path to political stardom is strewn with the credibility carcasses of those who inherited the Yoruba political leadership mantle from Awolowo. Tinubu remains the scourge of the Afenifere old guards. He was, is and will most likely remain – for the rest of his active political life – their nemesis.

Way back in 2000/2001, three negative issues were identified by Tinubu’s supporters about the Alliance for Democracy (AD)/Afenifere leaders, branding them as persons without credibility:

·         The old men were tribalistic and not interested in national vision given the fact that AD/Afenifere was unable to exert much political influence after two years of democracy beyond the South-West.

·         They were dictators (Babasope syndrome), who unilaterally imposed candidates on party members without their consent and also refuse to give room to a democratic discussion of issues.

·         The old men were only after their personal economic salvation using the AD governors and other institutions of government within the South-West as conduits to get funds.

Losing the South-West to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2003 was the final nail in the coffin of the Afenifere old guards, who many, especially Tinubu’s supporters blamed for AD’s woes. And as fate would have it, Tinubu, the only AD governor implacably opposed to the old men won his re-election to begin a political ascendancy that has now firmly placed him where the old men were in 1999 at the beginning of Nigeria’s fourth attempt at democratic practice. The AD governors who the old men campaigned for were routed from their seats by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who held sway until Tinubu brought forth the Action Congress (AC) and later Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) both of which acknowledge him as National Leader.

To many, especially in the South-West today, Tinubu has succeeded where the old men failed. Whether he is a worse dictator than the old men is another matter, at least they can argue that Edo State has joined the ACN Army, while Dr. Olusegun Mimiko in Ondo State should know without Tinubu’s many inputs he would not have become Governor. The firm belief is that a political son of the late sage is back on his father’s driving seat. Some core Awoists may not agree with this submission given the fact that Tinubu’s entrance into politics was on the platform of late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua’s group, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and not Afenifere, which he joined later. Whether the core Awoists agree or not does not matter anymore, there is hardly any of them left on the field politically to challenge Tinubu’s already established ascendancy, The Jagaban  has landed!

For the avoidance of doubt, I do not subscribe to the belief that Tinubu is a saint. Far from it. From 2001 till date copies of documents detailing malfeasance by the former Lagos State Governor abound. And these are issues that should not be associated with a person the Yoruba would call an Omoluabi. Interestingly enough, as the old belief goes, it is only an Omoluabi that an average Yoruba would trust with his/her vote. But Tinubu has not only continued to win votes in Lagos State, he has spread his political vote-winning tentacles all over the South-West and straight into neighbouring Edo State. Unlike the days of Awolowo, Ajasin and Adesanya, it is as if the average Yoruba waits for Tinubu’s direction before making up his or her mind on burning national issues, which is another testament to the fact that a values-shift of seismic proportions may have happened in Yorubaland without the old men having any idea about it. The man with stains has become a light-bearer, or if you like, torch-bearer for the Yoruba!

How did Tinubu manage? It is clear today that a new generation of Yoruba populate the land. Cosmopolitan in outlook in a way that far outranks the usual Yoruba appreciation of other cultures and values, the average person of South-West descent in Nigeria today appears to have gone beyond the level of the first and second republics while still retaining his/her Yorubaness. They want the good things of life, first at the personal level before considering the community. Most believe the community/local government/state have failed them. And Tinubu’s tactics display an understanding of this fact, which was the slogan of the Action Group/Afenifere in another version – life more abundant (for the community and the people there). The Action Group/Afenifere placed more importance on communal well-being ahead of self. Yorubas were encouraged to place others and the community above themselves. It is very different in Tinubu’s more appealing version. Beginning with Jeun Soke (direct financial ‘empowerment’/disbursement of largesse) in Lagos State towards the end of his first term, he used a tactic employed by self-styled President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, to weaken almost every institution in Nigeria through an appeal to their personal interests, not that of the collective.

As it was with IBB, I’ll describe Tinubu as very brave, being the political version of a Special Forces soldier, who survives best when the odds are heavily stacked against him. Well-respected by friends and foes alike, he is surrounded by some of the best brains in Nigeria, which is a testament to his foresight. As it also was with Abiola and IBB, Tinubu is very kind with his financial resources, making same freely available to entrepreneurs, the needy and politicians. He worships the younger generation like gods, an attribute, which Awolowo cherished till he died. On the other hand, Tinubu can be a devouring sword against his opponents, cutting them down sharply socially, economically and politically. As mentioned earlier, Tinubu also share another trait with IBB because he is a not a selfless individual, who fights for the common good irrespective of what it entails for him. Very selfish to the point of destructiveness against the common good, where the common good and his personal interest clash, he will sacrifice the common good without batting an eyelid. But once Tinubu’s personal interests are assured, he will fight for communal good with everything at his disposal. However, that communal good must be subordinated to his personal interest – that is a condition written in stone that nobody can change.

Despite the personal shortcomings of Tinubu, for succeeding where others before him failed, it is my firm conviction the Yorubas deserve to be led by him at this time in our history. He understands all the other sides in Nigeria. He understands his people, who seem more interested in personal gains than communal good. He cannot be intimidated. He has foresight. There are a number of persons around him, who are known for their blunt views about others who have Tinubu’s attributes, but who continue to be sources of strength for the former Lagos State Governor. Knowing a few of them assures me that they are not supporting him out of fear or because of pecuniary gains. It is possible the saying of the Hollywood film, Chronicles of Riddick, struck a chord with these well-respected Yoruba icons who continue to hold Tinubu in high esteem: “Sometimes, it may not work to fight evil with good; you may need to fight evil with another kind of evil.” Nigeria, through the current military/oligarchy imposed flawed structure, has slowed the Yoruba race down in our socio-economic and political race, which was almost at par with some countries in Europe during the First Republic. If it will take a Tinubu to return to that period, so be it.

·         Wale Adedayo, a part-time journalist, wrote from Okeliwo, Oke Ife, Ijebu Ife, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Open letter to General Muhammadu Buhari

Dear General Buhari,

I sincerely believe you should not contest next year’s presidential election. Of course, if we are asking you to stay off, NOBODY should even contemplate mentioning the name of Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. In a decent country, Babangida should be in jail or already hanged for multiple murders. So, this letter is just about you, who some of us still consider a very decent human being with some flaws.

You were an icon of moral rectitude and genuine patriotism until your sojourn with the late despot, Gen. Sani Abacha, as Chairman of the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). While Abacha’s murderous regime lasted, not for once did we hear you insist that the right things must be done. You were there when Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was murdered. You propped Abacha up when Pa Alfred Rewane was murdered in the comfort of his home. And there were others like that including protesters who were killed for insisting that the results of a democratic election be respected and the winner announced.

As PTF Chairman, you were an ethnic champion with the way projects under your supervision were executed. The Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Shagamu/Benin Expressway and their Ibadan/Ilorin counterpart became death traps because you deliberately ignored these national arteries of commerce and social mobilisation due to a myopic vision of ‘punishing’ the Yoruba Nation for standing up to Abacha.

The restiveness in the Niger Delta region would have been contained a bit if the funds under your supervision as PTF Chairman were used effectively to put in place good infrastructure in the oil producing areas, where you got the money from. Instead, between 80 – 90% of PTF’s activities were concentrated in the North-West sub-region, which is your home area. And in the South-East, the deplorable state of the federal roads there is more than enough proof that the PTF under your watch was more interested in other places. You did nothing there.

For a man who often takes on former President Olusegun Obasanjo as an ethnic champion, your record in office as PTF Chairman and Obasanjo’s eight years as president shows the Ota Chicken Farmer to be more nationalistic than you in every ramification. Obasanjo left the Yoruba Nation in 2007 as he met it in 1999. The federal roads around us remain the same. Same with other infrastructure, which is why residents along the banks of Ogun River continue to suffer from the negative fallouts of overflow from the Federal Government owned Oyan Dam in Ogun State.

Kindly note that one is not accusing you of being corrupt. No. We want a leader who is acceptable to all segments of our society. Such a leader must also be courageous enough to face the entrenched Oligarchy/Godfathers who thrive on corruption and impunity to perpetually put Nigeria in bondage. You have some of these qualities. But being an ethnic champion, you cannot be the new face of Nigeria that this country desperately needs. Hope you remember your ethnic trip to former Oyo State Governor, Alhaji Lam Adesina, while the old man was still in office?

And don’t think I dislike you because of your leadership of the Fulani cause across Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. No. My best friend, Ahmadu Adamu, is a thoroughbred Fulani from Gembu Town in Taraba State. If I die today, he is the first person who knows what to do about my immediate family. And in Kaduna, which is my second home, some of the key people I rely on in life are Fulanis. We are like blood relations. But in matters like these, emotions should not be part of it. You should rest assured that your candidacy will not fly in about 80 – 90% of Southern Nigeria.

General, you are a deeply religious person. And despite your failings during the Abacha days, you are one of the few moral icons Nigeria has today. I know the average Northern Talakawa holds you in very high esteem. During my recent sojourn in Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi and Abuja, my usual destination for food was among these men who enjoy pap with beans cake (kose/akara) spiced with ground pepper early in the morning. You have a cult-like following among them. From my study, I know it has to do with your moral uprightness.

But in the same places, the very opposite is true among the upper class and majority of the middle class. A number of them believe it has to do with your original status in life, in which they claim (like the Indians) you should ‘know your place’. I do not agree with that at all. But as pointed out earlier, I am a realist who does not use emotions to take decisions. In your part of Nigeria, it is the upper class who directs things. The middle and lower classes always fall in line. These decision makers do not want a Buhari to be president for their own reasons.

However, the same people who are working against your candidacy, respects Mr. Nuhu Ribadu. Their major worry is that like you, he might want to stop their illicit running down of every segment of the Northern society and Nigeria as a whole. But till date, at least, from my findings, they have not been able to pin any negative ‘caste’ label on Ribadu. The only issue remains Ribadu’s uncompromising stance against corruption, which they fear could deny them their status if the man is elected president.

You have the same traits with Ribadu when it comes to work and orientation about what a decent society should be like. The only difference is that, Ribadu is very acceptable to Southerners and grudgingly so among the upper class in Northern Nigeria. Ribadu’s acceptability among the Northern middle class is also on the same level with the South. You control the Talakawas there almost 100%. But you and I know that on election day in your part of Nigeria, these downtrodden members of the society will vote and leave voting centres which could be hundreds of miles apart. It is the middle and upper classes who determine the results of elections in Northern Nigeria.

If you contest the presidential election, there is no doubt the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will retain its stranglehold on Northern Nigeria given the fact that your supporters cannot do the needful on election day apart from voting and leaving the place. Of course, you should not consider getting much support from the South because of the reasons mentioned earlier. The fact is that you’ll lose! Unfortunately, if I read you correctly, there is nothing dearer to your heart than a replacement of the current corrupt and visionless Federal Government.

Given the above, I’ll strongly suggest you throw your weight behind Ribadu as Nigeria’s next president. He is young, vibrant and has the same orientation like yourself. What is more, he has enormous goodwill in Southern Nigeria. Beyond the issue of personal ambition, I sincerely believe you should not allow this opportunity to pass us by in 2011. You definitely cannot win. But you can assist another, who is like you, to win. It is like another battlefield. Soldiers often sacrifice themselves strategically for their colleagues to achieve a difficult objective. Those are the real heroes of war!

Wale Adedayo,

Okeliwo, Oke Ife,

Ijebu Ife,

Ogun State, Nigeria.

Journalism is my life

By Wale Adedayo

I have always been inquisitive for as long as I can remember. But the intellectual aspect of this urge to know what is hidden behind the screen was apparently nurtured by being made the Library Prefect of my elementary school at about 10 years of age.

I devoured virtually all the books in the small library of my village school, Oke Ife Baptist Primary School, Ijebu Ife, Ogun State, Nigeria. These were mainly adventure books for pre-teenagers, e.g Simbad the sailor and the like. Of course, a village Egbon, the late Mr. Kayode Otusanya (his dad is the current Baale of my village, Okeliwo), seeing my interest in reading, had introduced me to books written in Yoruba language earlier. These include D. O. Fagunwa’s Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole and Igbo Olodumare, which I read while in Primary Five.

There was a Miss Adekoya  from Ibadan too. She was my class teacher in Primary Four (1974). Despite one’s less than nice looks at the time, I was her favourite because of quality responses to comprehension and reading. I never starved all through the session in her class because the lady would always share the food she brought to school daily with me during break. My repayment was to do very well in studies. But the most outstanding was Pa Oyemade from Idofe, Oke Ife in Ijebu Ife. Oyemade regularly organises after school classes – free of charge – for a number of us. And the old man NEVER discriminated between pupils who went to the Moslem School, Idofe and the Baptist one to which he belonged.

In addition, till date, I do not know where the old man got the energy from, because he was old at the time. Oyemade will take a gong, gather a few pupils around him, and walk the length and breadth of Oke Ife on Saturdays singing about the need for education to parents who were mainly farmers and never wanted their children to leave the farm and go to school. He would stop and engage some in one-on-one discussion sometimes.

I shed tears each time I remember his selfless service, which was one of the reasons that made me return to the same Ijebu Ife in December 2004 to give back to the community given the opportunities at my disposal till January 2009. And as our people would pray, Olodumare a de ile ure ri Baba Oyemade. Owon omo re a ri alaanu. Aanu Olodumare, iyen ma yin won nu. Dede owon Osi  Ijebu Ife re ma duro ti won. Ni agbara Osi, ni agbara ore, dede oore ri Iba won se ri Ulu Ijebu Ife, ohun ne ri owon omo Oluko Agba Oyemade ma je ere re. To!

Being a mission school (it was free, we did not pay a dime as school fees), story books based on Biblical character were also in abundance. I read all these with keen interest as well. It was later in life, especially when I began a professional journalism career at the prestigious The Guardian newspaper in Lagos (April, 1992), I realised that these books were the foundation of the strings of words which I unusually tie together to create a gripping narrative or features.

But my two years stay in Zumratul Islamiyyah Grammar School, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos was also a blessing. As one of the first set of students taken to Igbogbo from the former Railway Line, Yaba, Lagos site in 1979, my first year in a high school was almost like a continuation of that in Ijebu Ife. The previous year spent to repeat Primary Six at Faz-l-Omar Ahmadiyyah School, Okesuna, Lagos (1978 – 1979) was not particularly fantastic in terms of new things in reading. 

But it was a welcome development since one could not secure High School admission after leaving Primary Six in Ijebu Ife in 1977. Zumratul Islamiyyah Grammar School Library featured books and magazines I later encountered in Ogun State University Library in 1996. It was in the school, tucked away in a remote part of Igbogbo at the time, that I saw my first copy of Time and Newsweek magazines in 1979.

As a Form One student, it was fascinating reading about the Iran-Iraq war, especially the very high casualty rate among the Iranian citizen army. The school regularly stock its library with different books and magazines. But friends, especially Muyideen (we call him, Obinrin – he looked every inch like a girl, and were in Form 1A and 2A along with Lateef Dosunmu), whose surname I’ve forgotten now, introduced me to Comics. Richie Rich, Spiderman and the Fantastic Four were my favourites till 1981, when I switched to novels, especially James Hardley Chase. A friend that we grew up together in Idioro, Biodun Akanro, eventually became an endless supplier of James Hardley Chase novels to me.

But a baptism in early morning newspaper reading was done for me by my immediate elder brother, Dayo. Beginning from 1981 when he left High School, Egbon would always buy Daily Sketch and Nigerian Tribune from his meagre Agege bread and ewa Aganyin feeding allowance. Once he finished reading, it was my turn to devour the newspapers and was like that till he went to the School of Agriculture, Moor Plantation,Ibadan, Oyo State for his higher education.

My Uncle, Engr. Joseph Bejide, indirectly introduced me to bookss about Eastern religious beliefs. It was in his small but well-stocked library at his Ogba, Lagos home I first read all the books by Lobsang Rampa and the crisis in the Chinese-occupied Tibet shortly after leaving High School in 1984. This was the same year that Major Adewale Ademoyega had swept me off with his fantastic narration of how the 15 January 1966 coup was executed.

Other American authors were also well represented in my uncle’s library. Thus, when I was introduced to the Grail Message (I finished the three volumes in my 100 level in Ogun State University), I felt it was not different from Guru Maharaji or Awolowo’s Rosicrucians, given what I had learnt reading from my uncle’s library. But despite the fact that I did not continue with the Grail Message (i.e become a full member), it was the books that gave me a better idea of relating with the Christian message, thus making my conversion to Christianity easier.

In explaining how Jesus Christ could be Son of God, my Ijebu traditional beliefs and Muslim one were taken through how the Abiku and other less desired children often get into a woman. Being spirits, there is no physical boundary that can deter them. But they need a physical body to manifest in if they have an assignment on this side of the divide. More on that for another day because one had a little baptism in traditional beliefs while growing up in Ijebu Ife, where the wise ones, well versed in esoteric words (Oro Ife or Oro Ijimji), still practise their vocations.

But shortly after the experience at my uncle’s in 1985, before I found myself at the Selection Board interview of NDA’s 37^th Regular Course. And despite the Commandant’s special commendation given to me for honesty and exemplary behaviour, I left Kaduna for University of Ilorin and from there to Ogun State University, where the library under Mrs Wole Soyinka welcomed me with open arms. Instead of staying in class with fellow medical students in my 100 level days, I was either reading one non-science book or magazine, or writing the latest story in Yankari Girls Reserve (female hostel in Ago Iwoye, very close to the mini campus). It was in Ogun State University Library the idea of Trends magazine first came to me.

Being a Science graduate – Zoology , my friends had expected I would end up on the Science Desk of The Guardian newspaper. But as fate would have it, the Desk had been suspended before I joined in April 1992. It was on the Foreign Desk of The Guardian that I cut my teeth as a professional journalist. Head, Foreign Desk, at the time, Hugo Odiogor, was a hard teacher and one of the best hands in Foreign Affairs reporting in Nigeria. And I doubt if he can ever survive outside a newsroom or classroom (teaching journalism). But till date, I cannot understand why he left journalism for good.

The News Editor at the time I was employed, Ogbuagu Anikwe, stands out for one thing: “I don’t care how badly you write, just go and get the story for me. We’ll do the re-writing here.” The fear of a fresh blood is that your material will be rejected and you become a subject of ridicule because of inability to measure up to standards. Not so with Anikwe and his crew. The first law is to get the story. He will sometimes invite you to explain certain things. Thus, in my first week as a test candidate, I had two page one stories, which was a feat for even those who have spent years with The Guardian. Colleagues began peeping into the small office beside the Editor’s, Eluem Emeka Izeze, to ask who Adewale Adedayo is. I began to feel like a journalist from then on.

Izeze was almost always like a Pastor from the very first day I met him. In an instant, his shouts of “mooooove” will almost confuse you. And he will be banging the table where you are writing in long hand (‘Move’, in the Izeze parlance, means “Write fast and give me the story”). In another instant, he’ll look at you with the kind-heartedness of a credible Pastor and ask after your welfare. Sometimes, you’ll be shocked how he got to know certain personal things. He will not allow any editorial staff to resign until he was sure of where you were headed. And it was not being done on behalf of the Management. I believe it was the Pastor in him. Izeze is a member of the top echelon of Deeper Life Bible Church. But it took me a while before I knew this. My first impression was that of a firm, but kind-hearted Editor.

Up till now, it awes me when I look back and realise that nothing brings pleasure to me more than writing a critical analysis of something I observed. It goes beyond writing a captivating copy for my newspaper. It could even explain why I have found it so difficult making a change to broadcast journalism despite pressures from friends to join the initial wave of entrants to the early boom of independent television in Nigeria.

I write with ease. And the appropriate expressions unusually find their way into my subconscious from where I pour them down. Sometimes, especially after checking the dictionary and confirming the genuineness of what I had written, it amazes me how such words got stored in my head. But given the benefit of being a pupil of that mission school (Oke Ife Baptist Primary School) in my formative years, I believe that the foundation was laid there.

Beyond writing, my values as a journalist revolve around what the former Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Lagos State, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, would describe as Journalism with Social Responsibility. It is my belief that I have deliberately elected to be the eyes and ears of the average member of the public in the discharge of my work.  While, I would not like to describe myself as an activist, maltreatment of others by those in higher social or professional positions offend my sensibilities. Often I find myself making attempts to assist the ‘unfortunate person’.

But in the same vein, I also detest so-called oppressed people going to the extreme in agitating for what they believe is their right. During my university days, colleagues often find it difficult to understand these two aspects of my life. I was involved in student activism as a campus ‘comrade’ and campus journalist. I published a weekly magazine, Trends, during my days as a student in Ogun State University (1996 – 1990). But I would also be among the first set of students to organise opposition against any attempt to burn or destroy properties around the campus during protests.

The erroneous belief among most student activists in Nigeria at the time was that, any agitation that was not violent could not make a meaningful impact on the authorities concerned. But a similar experience during my student days at the University of Ilorin (1985 – 1986) produced fantastic results without a single incidence of violence. Thus, my answer, after the Unilorin experience, has always been that, whatever that is destroyed will have more impact on the ordinary people and students instead of Nigeria’s ‘Big Men’ and those in authorities. Unlike abroad, all the telephone booths destroyed by Yabatech and Unilag students along my street on Agege Motor Road, Mushin, Lagos during protests against IBB in the late 1980s have not been replaced till date!

This may also not be unconnected with my experience while growing up. I stayed with my grandparents in our village, Okeliwo,  Ijebu Ife (1970 – 1977), following the family’s return from Monrovia, Liberia in 1970. It was after dad’s death in 1972 that my elder brothers, Dayo and Ibrahim, left Children’s Home School, Ibadan, to join me in Okeliwo. But during those first six years in school, there was no electricity in Ijebu Ife. For us in Okeliwo, pipe borne water flowed once a week at the central tap for the community of seven villages that make up Oke Ife. I was opportuned to donate a borehole with generating set to the village in 2006. I also gave two desktop computers and a laserjet printer to my primary school in 2007.

But while there, what served us for drinking and other purposes was the stream (Eri Okeliwo and Odo Odosennuwa) that passed through all seven villages of the community as if it is a permanent bond trying to unite us. Passing of excreta and urine directly was disallowed. But we swim and wash clothes directly into the stream. An unwritten law, which could destroy native protection against bullets and machetes later made more sense to me when I remembered this village setting. If you have ‘eaten’ any of those things or have them on your person, you cannot urinate or pass excrement into ANY stream in whatever part of the world you find yourself. Our people were only trying to be environmentally friendly!

It was on getting to Lagos for high school education I discovered a different world. It was as if my village belonged to another time. Health, recreation, feeding and other matters received prompt attention unlike back in the village. The activities of my maternal grandfather, who we lived with, then began making sense to me. It was not punishment that we had to go into the bush far beyond Tirosogun before we can return for breakfast every Saturdays and Sundays. It was from the ‘Egan’ we often get meat from traps set for different animals including snakes. Wood for cooking was also from the same places. And we usually leave home about 6am shortly after the old man would have finished his early morning Islamic prayer, Subhi.

Apart from being a part-time herbalist, grandpa, Chief Sedun Adeeko, was also a village activist, if there could be anything like that. And more than once had entered the bad books of his colleagues on the village elders council. But he was pragmatic enough to know that compromise applied with a measure of diplomacy helps more than a rigid position in tackling issues. He was to later become the village chief before his death in 1988.

These early experiences have assisted me greatly in the course of my work. The books from the mission school have been of tremendous help for my vocabulary and understanding of issues. But the most significant has been the experiences with my grandfather in the village.

I prefer to do extra work in trying to understand a story than just rushing out to write it. These painstaking efforts to understand all the sides in a story could rile some in Nigeria’s often volatile socio-political climate. You are expected to support one side or go against them. And in a polity where the print media is the major beacon in directing the people’s political thoughts, this, to me, is unacceptable.

Above all, I am not given to being in a place for too long. I enjoy change, which is like an elixir to me. Journalism has afforded me the opportunity of enjoying this aspect of my life.

*This updated piece was first written on 27^th December 2000.

Bimbo Odukoya: Elegy for an uncommon Christian wife*

By Wale Adedayo

“My soul doth magnify the Lord, My Spirit praise His Name, For death could not hold Him captive, Even in the grave, Jesus is Lord!” – Pentecostal Christian song.

Pastor Bimbo Odukoya’s death, through last Saturday’s plane crash, shocked many, especially Christian brethren. A cynical friend at Jumlar Petrol Station, Ikorodu, Lagos on Monday sarcastically asked why she boarded a plane the Pastor should have known would crash. That is why the Yoruba would say, “May God not give room for critics to rejoice in our calamity”.

The Sosoliso Airline plane crash also claimed the lives of at least 70 youngsters and others, whose fate would have shocked many as well. And the questions that continue on as many lips as possible include, why did God allow this to happen? Why do so many innocent kids have to die? For some, despite prayers against disasters this month, it is as if God did not honour the requests of those who lost their loved ones.

The most interesting in all of these, for me, is the question on the lips of Christians: Why? Despite sermons and countless books about understanding how (not why) bad things happen, most Christians, naturally, still fall victim of despondency when such things happen. After all, John who baptised Jesus was also a victim (Matthew 10:2).

Unfortunately, almost throughout the history of the Church, tribulations have often been its life blood. This is mainly because we do not worship God because of the good things and protection offered to us. As with Daniel and his co-workers (Daniel 3:17 – 18), a Christian will remain one irrespective of what happens on this side of the divide with a firm conviction that God is sovereign.

The loved ones of righteous and worthy examples of true Christians occasionally experience such pains and anguish that many regret being who they are. On such occasions, individuals and groups that do not profess Christ, or even God, get their opportunity to display a crass ignorance of how the Almighty works.

Whether it was Abel (Genesis 4:8), Stephen (Acts 7:58 – 60) or those others, who faced untold tribulations (Hebrews 11:36 – 38), God’s people have a rich history of translations into glory that many do not understand. Even that of the Lord Jesus Christ was not different as Satan and his minions were initially jubilant when the Son of God was nailed to the cross. As the disciples scattered and the few valiant ones, especially the female brethren, wore long faces, the kingdom of darkness was happy it had been victorious.

The resurrection of our Lord on the third day of His crucifixion was the proof that later spurred the disciples into action about what the unsearchable ways of God were. Strengthened by the Holy Spirit, which was poured out without measure for the first time, the message of redemption that Satan and his admirers believed had perished with Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary gained a momentum never witnessed before in the history of man.

There is no doubt that Mrs Odukoya was one of the builders of modern Nigeria . Along with her husband, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, their ministry has been redirecting the lives of millions of Nigerians back to the path of right living. In a country where the average person believes that might is right and nothing can ever work, this Christian couple, especially Bimbo, joined other oases in our parched land to ensure that the rot in our society does not continue.

Individuals are the components of any society. Along with each family in such a society, the future of the people is assured or doomed depending on the disposition of both groups to right living. Once these are compromised, that society is headed in the wrong direction with dire consequences for its well being. The Odukoyas ministry is to build lives based on right living, thus a nation destined for greatness. There is no better Christian service than this.

It is now time for those who have passed through the mills of the Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos, Nigeria to blossom and let loose a reign of righteous living in Nigeria. Fountain of Lifers should reach out into every nook and cranny of Nigeria with Christ’s message of redemption anchored on the need to change individual lives.

Irrespective of what the conscious and unconscious agents of darkness may say, Mrs Odukoya’s death should serve as a catalyst to spur those whose lives she has touched into action about the need to change our society. Who knows whose turn it will be tomorrow? We should be able to say with a heart full of thanks to God that we have done what He required us to do in our immediate environment before going home to join Him.

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*This article was first published on Tuesday, 13 December, 2005 to honour the memory of a Christian soldier, 

Pastor (Mrs) Bimbo Odukoya,

 who was called home .

Osun State: 2011 should be AC’s concern

By Wale Adedayo

With the manner the issue has gone on thus far, I'll personally advise the Action Congress (AC) gubernatorial candidate, Alh. Rauf Aregbesola, to cease all legal fireworks concerning the disputed April 14, 2007 election, which the Tribunal has given to Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola. One is not a Prophet. But almost three and half years down the line out of a four-year mandate, even with a possible AC victory at the Court of Appeal, Oyinlola would have served out a full term.

It is also possible Oyinlola wins the appeal, that is, if Aregbesola insists on another round of legal battle. And given past experiences, this is very much likely to be so. I feel the AC should just go back to the drawing board and prepare better for 2011, which is around the corner. Against enormous odds, AC did very well in Osun State during the 2007 elections.

As it happened in Ekiti State, it fought a ruling party greatly assisted by a close affinity to Nigeria’s centre of power and patronage in Abuja. In addition, the party also fought a hand-to-hand political combat with former insiders, who because they were aggrieved switched sides to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), giving Oyinlola’s men enormous advantage in knowing some of the tactics and key personalities that AC deployed for the election.

Osun and Ekiti states give a bird’s eye view of the self-inflicted deep wounds given to majority of those who belong to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s School of Politics. In-fighting drove a number of them into different political parties when the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and Afenifere were allowed to self-destruct.

The old guard Afenifere led by Pa Reuben Fasoranti has almost all its members in the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA). A number of those who followed these old men also joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But those who believed in the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu-inspired Afenifere led by Senator Ayo Fasanmi went with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar into the AC. They formed the bulk of AD members as a number of them also joined the PDP, especially after the rancorous party primaries of the AC towards the 2007 elections.

AC’s nemesis in the South-West, especially Osun, Ogun and Ekiti states, is not the PDP or its core members, who are mainly conservative elements reminiscent of the Second Republic National Party of Nigeria (NPN). AC’s nemesis remains those who should naturally have been members of the party, but now belong to the PDP. They know AC members inside-out. Whether it is tactics, strategy or other things, these old AD members in PDP know how to contain their former colleagues.

And that is why kudos must be given to the AC members in both Osun and Ekiti states that despite the odds stacked against them – Abuja, incumbency factor and former colleagues working for the other side – they were able to stand tall with the number of seats they have in the Houses of Assembly in both states. It is a sure testament to political sagacity and acrobatic organisational abilities.

But despite all of the above, my advice remains. If the statesman attitude of former United States Vice President Al Gore is anything to go by, Aregbesola should adopt the same posture with moderation in that the AC should allow him to run without any stress of a challenger for the 2011 race. The interest of Osun State should be more paramount at this stage than individual or party interest.

Why? As long as the case continues to drag on, those at the helm of affairs in the state will definitely not be at peace irrespective of postures to the contrary. In our clime, ‘opposition’ elements within that polity will definitely pay for supporting ‘our enemies’. These would have had its debilitating effects on governance despite the brave face Oyinlola’s people have been putting up.

For a tenure that is less than one year to expire, I don’t see anything wrong in letting go, if only to ensure that appropriate lessons about why the 2007 loss happened have been learnt by the AC with a definite plan in place to make remedies. Winning almost 50% of Osun State was a feat by Aregbesola/AC using any known standard. It should be a veritable springboard for a 2011 rout of the PDP in Osun State.

Of course, it is possible that a campaign strategy has been built into this Tribunal cases towards sensitising the people of Osun State ahead of the 2011 elections. If that is the case, the matter should be continued. That is Ziggy raised to power something because with that, victory at the Tribunal is not envisaged, but positive PR generated from feelings of being cheated, which could galvanise the people to kick PDP out of Osun State next year.

Let me add an advice, which the Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, often gives to us in matters like these: “Whoever complains of being cheated after an election that he/she lost most likely deserves to lose. Don’t ever come to me with complaints from your area. I prefer that people complain about you than you coming here to whine about how badly you were treated and cheated. Let victory be your first and last thought. We don’t have plans for petition. Plan and work to win in your area. That is your duty.”

Aabo oro …

Umaru Yar’Adua: A man like us

By Wale Adedayo

His inauguration as President on May 29, 2007 was heralded with hope. Even the usually sceptical Nigerian pro-democracy community identified with him, despite a disdain for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that gave the man the ticket to run for office. His background as an activist during his academic years was celebrated in major Nigerian newspapers.

It was also the first time Nigeria would have a university graduate as president. The support was across the board to an extent that none of those praising his choice as president remembered to ask about his blueprint for ruling the country given the parlous socio-economic and political state of Nigeria at the time. It was as if the man had come with a magic wand to effect definite changes in the polity.

Not content with just praising Yar’Adua, the pro-graduate and activist president’s army descended on his predecessor, President Olusegun Obasanjo. There was no negative epithet enough to disparage Obasanjo with. As the charges against Obasanjo increased from the incensed pens and microphones of opinion moulders almost across the nation, it was praises galore for Yar’Adua, who six months into his tenure of office was just repeating a mantra to uphold the rule of law, thus encouraging due process in governance.

Issues about how the country would be managed were not addressed by this army of unpaid praise singers, some of who later descended on the same man in his dying days. An effective rupture was affected between him and Obasanjo, who was responsible for foisting him on Nigeria.

In a way, Yar’Adua, dancing to the popular rhythm of the encomiums being showered on him without any performance whatsoever, began to distance himself from Obasanjo and most of the reforms initiated by the former president. For Yar’Adua, who apparently did not have a programme of his own to implement before assuming office, it was a disaster.

A so-called called seven point agenda was hastily put together by his kitchen cabinet almost one year after he was sworn into office with a lot of noise in the media about how this was going to transform Nigeria into an Eldora do. But the seven point agenda avidly promoted by Yar’Adua’s government was obviously a very poor response to accusations of lack of vision by his erstwhile admirers who had by then realised the folly of singing the praises of a leader whose agenda in office nobody knew about previously.

But despite the sycophancy occasioned by political myopia which led Yar’Adua straight into the arms of praise singers who later smothered him in their embrace, nothing appears to have prepared his genuine admirers for his last days. Were it not for the grace of the death that took him away on Thursday, it was almost certain the man would have been removed from office through an impeachment as it was clear that the cabal around him was only using the vegetative Yar’Adua as a bargaining chip for their survival.

Thus, despite the man's vegetative state since last year, I felt very much for him in death. He was a pawn in a contrived political game, which he had no control whatsoever over. And it could have been any of us. Despite his privileged background, Yar’Adua was an activist right from his university days through his period as a lecturer. He was also one of the very few who stood against the Northern feudal lords and sought to fight for the downtrodden in that part of Nigeria.

But on getting into a political office, which he could have used to put what he has been preaching as a young man till his current age into practice, he developed cold feet. I cannot fault him. I do not know the weights of the militating conditions around him. Political office changes different people in different ways. One has been there before and certainly understands that hostage-takers are more in the corridors of power than in the whole of the South-East and the entire Niger Delta.  

Yar’Adua was almost our ideal president in many ways than one. In terms of past associations and groups he belonged to, you can conveniently put him in the same club with Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Senator Abraham Adesanya and Chief Bola Ige, etc. He was a man who believed and fervently spoke in favour of the dispossessed and the downtrodden.  

But he was a monumental failure in office because he did not practice those things which he so passionately supported and advocated in his younger days. Nigeria became a laughing stock among the comity of nations under his watch.

Words fail me as I feel so much compassion for this man who was used and abused by those I prefer to describe as Nigeria's Board of Trustees members. They are the hostage-takers holding our collective destiny in their blood-stained hands.

May Allah (SWT) forgive Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua his sins and grant him Al Jannah Firdaus. Amin.