Edo 2012: PDP fails the primary test

By Dan Owegie.

The time is getting close when Edo people would repeat their 2007 feat by re-electing their beloved governor and put a final nail on the casket of godfatherism in the state. Come July 14, Edo people would finally dismantle the old-fashioned rigging machines of the godfathers. That day, Edo voters would put a permanent end to ethno-religious politics as all would speak with one loud voice in support of Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole. 
Interestingly, the so-called Edo PDP primaries has come and gone and the abracadabra has shown that the Uromi godfather has gone digital in rigging. Concerned Women and Youths of Edo PDP in an advertisement in Vanguard of March 1, have rubbished the charade which produced General Charles Arhiavbere as the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP. The youths noted among others that “despite the promises that the leadership of our party in the state led by Chief Dan Orbih made to ensure a free and fair primary but reverse was the case as we experienced. The situation is even more shocking that it happened in the glaring eyes of the National Leader, Chief Tony Anenih... Having investigated what went wrong in the PDP governorship primary, we discovered that the godfather again instructed his stooges to ensure that Esan delegates voted against their own sons, Prof. Osarhiemen Osunbor and Barr. Kenneth Imasuagbon... We want to warn that this injustice will be fought with the last drop of our blood.” 
The youth maintained that Imasuagbon or Iduoriyekemwen would have been better candidates if not for the shameless exchange of cash for accreditation cards by the party leadership.
In the same vein, Hon. Mathew Iduoriyekemwen Campaign Organisation in a statement published in the Vanguard of February 29 and signed by its Director General, Jarret Tenebe, noted; “ By your votes, you defied the intimidations and threats from the leadership of the party that had passed strict directives to you to vote for a choice aspirant as you were handed delegate tags and … money in the houses of elected party officials of Edo State PDP instead of the state secretariat where such delegates tags ought to have been collected.”
Barrister Kenneth Imasuagbon on his part, rejected the gubernatorial primary and described it as a “scientific and environmental rigging, tailored by the leadership of the party, screwed by the leadership of the party under the direction of Chief Dan Osi Orbih and it is not acceptable.”
All these point to one fact: General Charles Airhiavbere emerged from a tainted primary. It shows the desperation within the PDP. It shows that the old pussy cat, like the leopard, will never change its spots. He is not even known in Edo State and it is obvious for the signals on ground that Oshiomhole would beat Airhiavbere silly come July 14.
One would have discountenanced Ihimekpen’s vituperations published in the Sunday Vanguard of February 19, but for the naked lies, padded tales and boot - licking all to attract crumbs from Charles Airhiavbere’s table. 
He started his rejoinder,” Re: Airhiavbere’s logic and ACN’s theory of Illogicalities” with an impossible claim. Can Airhiavbere withstand Oshiomhole to an election in Edo State? Airhiavbere should first test his popularity by contesting for the councillorship of his ward. I doubt if he can win his ward in a free and fair contest. In spite of the threats to the delegates to vote for him, from the cries within, it was obvious from the results of the Edo PDP charade that Imasuagbon defeated Airhiavbere in Egor, Ikpoba Okha, Ovia North East and Uhumwode Local Government Areas. Oshimhole is a man loaded with ideas on how to govern people, he does not need to dub a retired Army General’s manifesto to make his mark in government.
But more importantly, Okharedia Ihimekpen should stop laying claims to free education, free health care and infrastructural development as the original idea of General Charles Airhiavbere and accuse anyone implementing the programmes as having plagiarized Airhiavbere’s manifesto. Ihimekpen may be a small boy when Chief Obafemi Awololo introduced free education in Western region but ought to have been an adult when Prof. Ambrose Alli introduced free education and free health care in the defunct Bendel State. Why the folly of attributing originality of these policies to General Airhiavbere? Nigerians are reading these lies that Ihimekpen and his ex-soldier friend bandy.
Again, the so-called Airhiavbere campaign organisation did not raise any issue that deserve the response of people who are busy developing Edo State. If Oshiomhole has implemented all what Airhiavbere is calling his covenant with Edo people, then he does not have any manifesto and as such no need to contest. He simply just has to go and sit down and watch the people’s Governor develop the state. It is obvious he has no superior idea from what Oshiomhole is doing in the state, so he should go and play golf. 
Again, one is pleased to note that Ihimekpen could see one area that Oshiomhole has performed well. He says it’s the environmental sector. Thank God for that realization. In all his previous diatribes against the Governor, Ihimekpen never acknowledged that Oshiomhole did well in any sector. That is how blind the man is. When all Edos are pleading with Oshiomhole to continue his good works after July 14, some urchins are hiding in one corner, out of sheer envy that they are not the ones in power talking nonsense.
The busy body again says, “Edo Line, Bendel Breweries, Edo Cement Factory, Ewu Flour Mill, which the Oshiomhole administration inherited are all grounded”. The question is: what state did Oshiomhole inherit these institutions? Were they operating optimally from the Oserhiemen Osunbor interregnum? 
What Oshiomhole is doing is putting the tax payer’s money into good use for them. Anywhere you go in Edo, Oshiomhole’s hand is working and the people are seeing it and appreciating it. PDP is spending money on Billboards, newspaper advertisements, trying to launder their battered image but Oshiomhole’s work is speaking for him. Anywhere in the world, taxes, rates and rents are used for development. Any aspirant who mean well will not deceive the people that he will abolish tax as Airhiavbere is doing through Ihimekpen. All those who pay taxes and school fees are having a feel of what their money is being collected to do. 
July 14 is only a few months from now. Airhiavbere and Ihimekpen will soon know the difference between a popular candidate and the one handpicked by a few godfathers.

• Owegie is the Publicity Secretary of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Edo State.

OSHIOMOLE WAS A LABOUR DEALER AND NEVER A LEADER- YINKA ODUNMAKIN

Yinka Odunmakin is the Secretary of the splinter group of Pan- Yoruba socio-political association, Afenifere, Afenifere Renaissance and Save Nigeria Group, a civil society group that was at the forefront of the recent oil subsidy removal protest. The spokesperson of the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Gen. Mohammodu Buhari (Rtd) in this interview with Rotimi Sulyman and Adewale Ogunniran speaks on the 5-day tumultuous street protests among other sundry issues.
The Save Nigeria Group came into being in the recent past, what led to the formation of the group?
Save Nigeria Group came up as an intervention group in the dying days of former President Yar’Adua, when a cabal did not allow the current president to assume office as the ruling president. At that time, there was what was generally being called power vacuum. The fact was that power was hijacked and was exercised by people who in the first place had no business with the power of the president. That was why we met on the 7^th of January, 2010, and reasoned that there was an urgent need for concrete action. With people from the civil societies groups, we had our first protest march in Abuja, and the second in Lagos, and later returned to Abuja. This, among others, forced the Senate to pass the doctrine of necessity. All that period, we never met President Jonathan, and didn’t even care to meet him or know him, because what we were doing was not for him but based on the principles of democracy. It was after the doctrine of necessity was passed that we met President Jonathan as a group, and he thanked us profusely for what we did. But interestingly, just two years after, the same President who benefitted from our protest march has turned around, and is now the one sending troop to disperse peaceful protesters.  
It is obvious that relations between the presidency and the SNG are strained. Do you regret the supports you gave President Jonathan in the past?
Mind you, we never had any relationship before. Also, no bitterness or resentment or disappointment whatsoever, because we didn’t do what we did for President Jonathan but to preserve the constitution of Nigeria, and prevent anarchy. The night the late President Yar’Adua was brought back to the country, troops were deployed without his knowledge, which was heavily criticized. That he is now deploying troop against us, means nothing to us. It only shows that he was part of the forces we were fighting then, only that he was at the receiving end. He has shown us enough signs why we should not be surprised at what he is doing now. Don’t forget that shortly after he became acting president, he started showing his true colour, condoning impunity. In Bauchi State, the governor, Isa Yuguda was his campaign coordinator in Northwest, and when he joined PDP from ANPP, the deputy governor stayed back in ANPP, and his impeachment was arranged. The deputy governor went to court and the court ruled that the impeachment was wrong, and the man should be re-instated. But that was not to be, because Yuguda refused, and we confronted President Jonathan but he had nothing to say. When nine members of Ogun State Assembly sacked 15 members, ex-governor Gbenga Daniel was his campaign coordinator in Southwest, he couldn’t call him to order. All he could do was to seal up the assembly. He was just playing politics with critical issues because his friends were involved.
       
In your first meeting with the president, it is reported that the SNG were offered 50 thousand pounds by the president. It is believed in certain quarter that the group received the money, and that even before then, President Jonathan gave financial supports to the group. How true is this?
We challenge the president and his allies to come out and tell the Nigerian people if money ever exchanged hands between him, and the SNG. The only occasion they offered us money was through Godsday Orubebe who brought the 50 thousand pounds to us as we were going out of the villa gate, when we met the president for the first and last time. And we told Orubebe that we didn’t want the money. In fact it almost became an embarrassment. So, we were forced to go with it to our hotel room. And immediately we got there at Nicon Hilton, I think room 180, we called Uranta to tell him that we didn’t want the money, and returned it back to him in full sum. We were shocked to read on an online journal that we met President Jonathan, and he gave us 50 thousand pounds. So, we had no choice but to respond to the issue. Similarly Uranta called, to tell us that though we gave the money to him but he was going to deny it.
So, where does SNG source for money to fund its activities, and is it true that you get financial supports from some wealthy politicians, particularly, former governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu?
Well, I, Yinka Odunmakin do what I do because of my belief, and not for material gains. Again, we at SNG are not indigent people, we have people among us who are blessed. The Convener, Pastor Tunde Bakare has done quite a lot in terms of funding, likewise other members. This is not to say that one or two people have not made donations to us. I can tell you not Tinubu or any politician. Even money from these people paid into our account is still there in the bank. We have not even spent a dime from it, and anyway we are not planning to spend a penny from it. Our plan is that if we meet them today, we will hand over their money to them.
It seems there is crisis in SNG with the recent pronouncement of a member of the group, where he condemned your activities and that of Pastor Bakare in the recent oil subsidy removal protest, and declared that the two of you are no longer members?
There is no crisis whatsoever. It is just that the media is not critical enough, and is giving its pages to any riff-raff. Who is this person? I don’t even want to mention his name. It was Femi Falana who invited him to Lagos for the oil subsidy removal protest meeting, and when he came, he was asking us for transport fare that would take him back to his base, which was quite strange. He is not even part of SNG because he has not joined us either as an individual or a group. So, somebody who had no transport fare is now being invited to Aso Rock and was given money to rubbish us.           
SNG’s position was that the federal government should reverse back to the old pump price but labour later caved in. With this, is SNG disappointed in labour?     
Don’t let us say NLC or TUC entirely but with the controlling leadership. We know that there are people who are not happy with what they did. In fact there are some states chapters that defied the orders. It is the controlling body of labour, the Abdulwaheed Omar, the Peter Esele, and the rest of them who are Oshiomole’s protégés. Oshiomole over the years is a known labour dealer. In all those period of Obasanjo and the rest when they want to increase fuel price, the government would first meet with him to plan how labour should go about its strike action. After he has collected whatever he so wishes from government, he would call for strike, and before you know it, he has called it off. That was what they were going to do this time around too. Don’t forget that at the beginning of this protest, Reuben Abati came out to make a statement that labour should not forget their agreement with government. And so from the first day, we knew what labour would do. In fact our street protest was more impactful. We don’t call them labour leaders but labour dealers.

Fight between my dad and Awolowo was senseless –Yomi Akintola

By DURO ADESEKO

•Akintola Photo: Sun News Publishing More Stories on This Section

Chief Yomi Akintola, first son of the late Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, told Saturday Sun that the historic quarrel between his father and Chief Obafemi Awolowo was uncalled for. “When you look at it, there was nothing that should have brought about the quarrel, because I cannot understand it,” he said. However, he is not happy that Nigerians, particularly the people of the South West attribute the achievements of the Action Group (AG) wholly to the leader of the party, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, thereby disregarding the roles his father, Akintola, played in development of the region through the party.

Bashorun Akintola told Saturday Sun that the contributions of his father to the development of the South West are imperishable. Consequently, he is inviting interested Nigerians to the Akintola library to verify his claim about his father’s contributions to AG and the South West. He also claimed that Chief Awolowo did not write the position paper on free education and he was not the minister for education. However, whenever reference is made to free education in the South West, it is only the name of Awolwo that comes up. He is taking consolation in the fact that “the lord of Akintola reigns.”

He has somewhat different opinion on the violence in the Northern part of the country. According to him, the whole Boko Haram issue is political; not religious. He believes that opportunists are merely feasting on the political disagreement the north has with Nigeria and using Boko Haram as cover.
Excerpts:
Let us talk about Chief Yomi Akintola, son of late Samuel Ladoke Akintola. How has your father’s name assisted you in politics?
The point I want to make is that my father’s name assisted Obafemi Awolowo and it assisted the Action Group (AG) as a party. When my father brought in the National Council of Nigeria Citizens (NCNC) and Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) into national government, he played a role in assisting the Yoruba. So, you can see that Akintola’s name and his actions worked.

If you look at Ogbomoso, it is not what it was before 1960. Ogbomoso was redesigned from the air. At that time, houses were built anyhow. My father started by breaking the Akintola House, which was my father’s family house. Everybody else gave up. Today, Ogbomoso is one of the few cities or towns in Nigeria where you can never get stuck on the road. There was only one road to Ilorin before. Today, you have about 11 roads that lead to Ilorin. There are about 12 or 15 routes that lead to Oshogbo. About 16 routes lead to Oyo town. These are things that Akintola created.
I am always happy when people give credit to other Nigerians for what Akintola, my father did. I know one thing, the facts are here with me and if you have the opportunity of coming to Akintola library in Ogbomoso, you will find a lot of facts. We have published a lot of his speeches and I am sure there are very few, if any, that can have such speeches to be published.
As a boy in the 1960’s, what do you remember during the misunderstanding between your father and Chief Awolowo?
It was unfortunate because, up till today, the Awolowo boys and girls don’t refer to me as Yomi. They refer to me as they use to refer to their elder brother. My best friend, until he died, may his soul rest in peace, was Segun Awolowo. After graduating from Cambridge, he came to me in Dublin and it was from Dublin that he went to the airport to come back to Nigeria before he died.

When you look at it, there was nothing that should have brought about the quarrel because I cannot understand it. Somebody said my father wanted to usurp Awolowo’s position. Which position? I asked from any of those people who were there at the material time if there was any time the Action Group (AG) held its convention and Akintola said ‘don’t vote for Awolowo?
What position would Akintola want again? He was Premier and Awolowo was leader. People talk about free education. It is a good thing. It was a contribution made by the Action Group. What the South West is doing today is to look at it as if nobody else existed during the Action Group days except Awolowo. Whereas, when you go to campaign, the leader should talk last but if Akintola should speak before Awolowo, the campaign would close. So, you would know that they were complimentary. No matter what you do, abuse us and do whatever you want to do, the Lord of Akintola still reigns.
As a young boy, did your dad discuss the goings on with you during the crisis?
I was not that small at the time. I was over 20. Further more, I was in a very senior position because I was marketing manager for John Holt at that time. My father never called me to say that this was what happened.
A lot of my friends would come over to Ogbomoso and they will ask my father questions and he would answer them. Those who know my father would appreciate him for what he was.
What did your dad tell your friends when they asked him about the crisis?
Take for example, a friend of mine who is no more now, Mr. Olu Oni Opako; he came to ask what created the misunderstanding between Akintola and Awolowo and my father explained his position to him. My father did not say that he was a young man or a small boy. He explained to him. My friend said he did not know that my father would be that patient to listen to him and explain things to him.

Because he was also friendly with Segun Awolowo, he went to Chief Awolowo and the reply he got did not encourage him. Basically, Chief Awolowo had his merits and Akintola had his own merits too. It is that position that has brought the Yoruba to where they are today. Chief Awolowo did not write the free education papers, they were written by Chief Awosika.
The crisis extended to your mum and Chief Idowu Dideolu Awolowo. Why?
People once explained and what they were saying to me was more of economical disagreement rather than philosophical disagreement between the two women. That was rumour.
But basically, the last time we were to hold the 47th annual lecture for my late father, I invited Chief (Mrs.) Awolowo and she accepted to come initially. I think the postponement was what delayed it. We are not enemies. There was disagreement on policies, which was rather unfortunate. They’ve built a party to the stage where people talk about the A G. But unfortunately, the leader and his deputy fell out.
What was your relationship like with Segun Awolowo during the crisis?
You know Segun died early. I was in England. He died a couple of months after graduation.
He wasn’t around during the crisis?
He was around when the crisis was on. But he came to meet the crisis. It did not disturb my close relationship with him. Wole Awolowo, his younger brother was in my house when we wanted to form a political party with Senator Bode Olajumoke during the Sani Abacha days. There was also Ebenezer Babatope and others. We held the first meeting in Olajumoke’s place, the second meeting was held in my house and Wole came. The third meeting was held in Ikenne and I went.
Now, what is your position on the insecurity in the country?
If you look back, you will realize that in the 1960s, we had a violent reaction from the West. It was called “wet e”. In late 1960s and early 1970s, we had problem from the East, which culminated in the Biafran war. So now that the North has its own grievances, we cannot but play along and look forward to God to help us. It is not something new.
You mean reacting violently to issues is not new in Nigeria?
It is not new. If you look at it, we had wet e when people were not satisfied with what was going on. There was a time we fought a war because the people in the East were not happy. People in the North are not happy about what is going on now. That is what brought about the violent reaction.
How is your party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) doing in your state?
I am from Oyo State. Due to the misunderstanding that existed before the elections last year, the party lost the governorship seat. Fortunately, you can see that the re-run elections we had, especially in my senatorial district, the PDP won. You know that my governor was once with us in PDP. So, we have a way of relating to one another.
The PDP zoned the position of National Secretary to the Southwest. Oyo that has several political representatives in government still want to present the Secretary. Why?
We deserve more. As I said to someone sometime ago, you take Ogbomoso, for instance, there are 774 councils in Nigeria. You should analyze the voting pattern in each local government. See the position of Ogbomoso with regards to the votes obtained by PDP. Yet, it was not until we agitated and quarreled that they offered Mulikat Adeola the position of Majority leader. That should not be the case. You should not only look at the votes obtained in states; you should also see what we have been able to do in the local governments. Take, for example, the House of Assembly seats, House Representatives and the Senate seats in Ogbomoso were won by the PDP.

When you look at what they have given us, it is not what we deserve. We deserve more. That is why, when you talk of the position of national Secretary, it should come to Oyo State. The President should also consider us. When President Sheu Shagari was there, the only area that the NPN won was Ogbomoso. Look at the last election and see what happened. What I am telling you is that the PDP will sweep the west in 2015.
And why did you lose so badly in the last election?
We are trying to resolve our differences now. I will also advise Mr. president to organize such a situation as President Shagari used to do, in which he can meet some people and have dinner with them once a week. That way, we can all exchange views and see how we can settle minor or major quarrels.

Awolowo & Akintola.

About six weeks from today, Nigeria would be celebrating her 43rd anniversary as an independent nation. So much for independence, the Nigerian nation remains a nation in the throes of crises as the true essence if leadership continues to elude the nation. There had been opportunities to thrust Nigeria forward in the past, but a mismanagement of those opportunities has left the nation holding the short end of the stick. The controversy about the type of life led by Samuel Ladoke Akintola, in relationship to the crisis which rocked the Action Group, AG, in the First Republic, a crisis which one way or the other led to the eventual fall of that Republic, is given some introspection, by Taiwo Akinola. He had written even before Vanguard published the earlier article on Akintola, which explains why he did not respond to the article by Alhaji Fazil O. Ope-Agbe - which was published last week. With a richness of research and a seeming attempt at introducing a broader perspective, Akinola takes a look at the Nigerian nation and explains that things are not what they always seem on the surface, just as the journey to Nigeria's underdevelopment was conceived and executed at Whitehall, in Britain. With authorities to quote, Akinola points out that the multiple crises which gripped the Nigerian nation shortly after independence were no more than manifestations of some imperial conspiracy. In the history of any country in the grip of crises, there comes a time when people look back, with a view to ascertaining when things started going wrong. In the context of Nigerian history, that time was between 1955 and 1959, the period of transition of power from the British colonial overlords to Nigerians. It was a moment when the acts of certain individuals significantly influenced the path Nigeria has taken, which could have been different had they acted otherwise. Here I will try to appraise the role played by the British, the Northern Caliphate as represented by the likes of Alhaji Ahmadu Bello and Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, and the Southern power elite namely, Dr Azikiwe, Chief Awolowo, Chief Akintola, Chief Enahoro and Festus Okotie-Eboh. This review is occasioned by the controversy generated by the children of the late Samuel Ladoke Akintola in the print media, which has elicited responses from many Nigerians. Ambassador Yomi Akintola, a son of the late politician started the controversy with his interview (page 5 of the Guardian, May 15, 2003). I have since read the contributions made by Dr Wunmi Akintude (Nigeriaworld, May 21, 2003, Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Vision...), Mr Oluwole Kehinde's response (the Guardian, June 3, 2003, Ladoke Akintola, Any Legacy?) which another son of Akintola, Chief Ladipo Akintola countered (the Guardian, June 11, 2003, Ladoke Akintola's Legacy). Remi Oyeyemi, also made his own contribution (Nigeriaworld, June 23, 2003, Samuel Ladoke Akintola and History) which drew a sarcastic response from Sunday Ogunronbi, (Nigeriaworld, June 27, 2003, Revisionists: Amnesia and SLA Akintola). A very informative response also came from Omooba Oladele Osinuga (Nigeriaworld, July 2, 2003, Contrasting Perspectives to SLA's Vision). The trend of the arguments of these sundry contributors falls into two categories. The first is an effort to recount past events. The second is an evaluation of the significance of those historical events. As every historian knows, the latter trend is the more difficult task. Historians are perpetually locked in controversies in interpreting past events to fully comprehend their significance. Yet, the lessons of history can help us understand our heroes and villains as well as act as a guide for present and future actors of our society. Properly worked, the past is, as all comparative historians from Herodotus on have said, a vast and wonderful laboratory for the study of successes and failures in the long history of man. As the children of the late politician, it is not unexpected that they are pre-occupied with reinventing the name which their father made controversial in his lifetime. The likes of George Washington and Jesus Christ never had the luxury of blood children to defend them, though one must add that their legacies did not make that necessary. However, the strategy of doing it with a view to extenuating the contributions of two of the most illustrious sons of Africa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Anthony Enahoro is a high-risk strategy which could produce the opposite of what is intended. In other words, the attempt to over polish silver to make it gold may in effect make it bronze or blunt its essence all together. It would have been worthwhile for Akintola's wards to acknowledge their father's mistakes instead of attempting to rewrite history. The premise of Ambassador Yomi Akintola rests on the assumption that the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling party and therefore the mainstream party for all Nigerians, over the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the South-West Zone vindicates Chief Ladoke Akintola's position on national issues. Chief Akintola was widely believed to have urged the Action Group (AG) leadership in the 1960s to seek to join the federal coalition of which the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) was the senior partner. That thesis assumes that the objectives of the Obasanjo-led PDP in 2003 are the same as those of the NPC, which Ahmadu Bello led in 1960. Mr Oluwole Kehinde responded to this claim to which Chief Ladipo L. Akintola, a son of the late politician, sent a response (see references above). He misses the point and makes some wide claims. But one is not sure whether he was simply out to manipulate historical events or whether he simply lacks the ability to comprehend the significance of major historic events. Take for example, the wrong assertion by Ladipo that the late Akintola "as a parliamentarian, introducing [introduced] the motion that led to Nigeria's independence [and that this was] incorrectly attributed to Chief Enahoro." The fact of the matter is that when the issue first came up for debate within the AG, Chief Enahoro was the spirit behind the idea; he was the one with the enlightened mind who introduced the idea to the AG. At this time, the late Akintola actually opposed the idea. When Chief Enahoro succeeded in selling the idea to the AG, he was then mandated to sell the same idea to the nation in 1953. Even at this stage, SL Akintola was one of those who still pressed that Chief Enahoro should withdraw the motion. It was not until 1957 that the late Akintola moved the motion which Ladipo referred to. By then, the mission to pressure the British to concede to Nigerian independence had been achieved. Let us examine the significance of the two occasions for posterity. Chief Enahoro set off the self-determination current, which was that the British should grant independence to Nigeria in 1953. This is a matter of first importance. The courage and the vision were not there until that time; two or more people may have talked about it, but it was nothing until this historical moment. As such, until this occasion, it did not matter in the history of Nigeria and in the life of Nigerians. However, it became important once Chief Enahoro apprehended it as an idea, it was vested with emotion and it became a cause and a spring of action. Akintola came to the foreground in the process of getting the North to accept this idea as a dynamic leap forward of the process begun by Chief Anthony Enahoro in 1953. The central issue is not whether SL Akintola has legacies or not. Of course, SL Akintola has. The issue is in the nature of the legacies. After all, there is a saying in Yoruba: Oba to je ti'lu baje, oruko re ko ni pare, Oba to tun je ti'lu toro, oruko re ko ni parun (A king who reigns when the town is not peaceful, his name will be remembered, A king who reigns when the town is peaceful, his name too will be remembered). SL Akintola's legacies include some of those enumerated by his son Ladipo, the ones enumerated by Mr Oluwole Kehinde and the ones which I shall enumerate. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE To lend credibility to the difference in values and judgments between Chief Awolowo and Chief Enahoro on the one hand and SL Akintola, Dr Azikiwe and Okotie-Eboh on the other at that time in Nigeria's history, it is appropriate to go down memory lane and to put our analysis in its proper historical perspectives. It will be difficult to comprehend the British colonial policies in Nigeria and indeed in Africa without an understanding of why the British came to Africa along with other imperial powers. For one, the British did not come to Africa as state builders, but to colonise the people in order to exploit them economically for the benefit of the British Empire. It was this objective that eventually influenced all its policies in Africa. The British contemplated settlement in Nigeria, but the mosquitoes and the fact that the full potentials of the country's oil deposits had not been fully appreciated at the time saved Nigeria from the ignominy of becoming a South Africa. At the end of WWll, it was no longer politically or economically viable for the British to rule her empire directly. But the strategy of withdrawal from colonies did not denote a surrender of power, or a lack of interest to continue to colonise, exploit and influence the direction of events in those countries. It was a change of tactics on how to manage the empire more economically. The new tactics required installations of native governments that would be supportive towards making its objectives achievable. Secondly, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan saw the whole of British foreign policy in terms of the cold war. The need to prevent the Soviet Communist influence in Africa was at the centre of the British policy in Africa. To prevent the communist influence, it was deemed fit to install reactionary regimes prepared to act as British satrap. The British Authority had initiated a 'Nigerian unity' objective which envisaged that the Southern society, through a combination of jurisdictional pressure, military and political power, would be integrated firmly into the body of the Northern society and political structure under the leadership of the Hausa-Fulani nationality. This objective, if it was successful, was bound to create a legal and moral problem on whether the North would then become part of Nigeria or Nigeria would only become part of the North. The likes of Chief Awolowo realised this danger and were determined not to allow the Yoruba and other progressive minded Nigerians be part of the scheme. But as for Akintola, it was either that he did not have the capacity to realise this danger or that he was ready to sell the Yoruba in order to achieve his power ambitions. To achieve this goal, the British had to ensure that the North controlled the federal government, and to add legitimacy to it, it had to get one of the two main parties, the NCNC or the AG, to partner the North in a 'coalition' government to control the federal government. SOCIAL ENGINEERING : The British social engineering project of Nigeria had prepared the ground for Northern control of Nigeria. To occupy any of the Nigerian territories, the British metropolitan power had to resort to the use of condign, compensatory and conditioned powers in different proportions. However, once occupation was complete, the people were defined in terms of their ability to make the objective of the British government achievable. Influences were apportioned on the bases of these definitions. The British socio-engineering policies, based on the 'concept of national power' manipulated the 'elements of national power to reduce or increase the relative power of the nationalities.' The British created three regions in Nigeria and allocated 75 percent of the total Nigerian land area to the Northern Region which was also allocated 50 percent of the population without any census. British recruitment policy into the Nigerian military also favoured the North, whose administrative system, by way of indirect rule, was adopted for Nigeria. The British also used the 'Revenue Allocation Formulas' to reduce the potential influence of the economic supremacy of the South. But the British denied education to the North while the South had acquired it by default. The implication of the British design of Nigeria was the introduction of a serious balance of power struggle into our body politics, in which case it was through 'power politics' rather than civic engagement that the different regions and nationalities got to achieve their objectives. The renaissance Italy experienced, a similar struggle between the Renaissance cities of Venice, Milan, Florence and Naples, together with the papacy. The struggles in Greece, which led to the Peloponnesian war between the two great coalitions led by Athens and Sparta respectively (431 to 404 B.C.) were in one sense a balance of power struggle for the establishment of the Greek statehood. In much the same way, the war between Austria and Prussia in 1866 was a war for the establishment of the German nation. The same thing could be said of the 17th century power struggle between the three nations, England, Scotland and Wales, in the United Kingdom. Chief Awolowo understood the implication of this game but Akintola did not.

Was the Awo/Akintola feud ‘senseless’?

By Ochereome Nnanna
HOW seriously do we take our history as a nation or even as members of its constituent parts? How important is our history to us? I know for one that America does not joke with her history.
If you are a guest of the United States of America or declare your intention to travel to the US within the purview of the State Department, two of the many literatures you will be given are (a) the history of the US and (b) the US Constitution and its system of governance.
When you get to America as a guest of the government you are likely to be taken around Washington DC and shown the various historical memorials and monuments that made America. And if you live in America and you want to obtain its Green Card one of the requirements is to test your savvy of basic American history and system of governance.
Engaging our history: The other day we were told that the Federal Government granted 43 foreigners the citizenship of Nigeria. I wondered what criteria were deployed to certify them. Was the knowledge of Nigeria’s history part of it? Fewer and fewer Nigerians can tell, with authoritative certitude, the outline of our nation’s history. Nigeria’s disregard for its history is evident in the fact that our leaders do not learn anything from our history or experiences. We are, therefore, forced to repeat our mistakes and keep on recycling even failed ideas.
The need to start engaging our history even on these pages arose from an interview I read in THE SUN of Sunday, March 18, 2012 entitled: “Fight between my dad and Awolowo was senseless”. It was credited to Chief Yomi Akintola, first son of the second Premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the late Oloye Aare Ona Kakanfo XIII of Yorubaland. In that interview, Yomi did not tell us why he thought the feud which helped define the political history of the Yoruba people and Nigeria at large was “senseless”. I am sufficiently interested in profiling its significance for the evolution of today’s Nigeria. You can then see for yourself if it was as “senseless” as Yomi would have us believe.
Cultural umbrella
It all started in 1945 in London when
young professionals of Yoruba origin, such as Oni Akerele (President), Obafemi Awolowo (Secretary), Saburi Biobaku, Ayo Rosiji, among others, got together and formed the Egbe Omo Oduwuwa. It was a cultural umbrella uniting all the Yoruba dialectal groups towards preparing their people for self-government. Earlier on, the Ibibio had formed their Ibibio State Union (the first of such) followed by the Igbo which had its Ibo State Union. The Egbe was inaugurated in Lagos in 1948 with practising politicians/professionals such as Chief Bode Thomas, Dr. H.O Davies, Dr. Kofo Abayomi, Sir Adeyemo Alakija, all of whom were already very active members of the Nigerian Youth Movement, NYM, featuring prominently.
The group was transformed into a political party (the Action Group) in 1949 with Awolowo as the Leader and Bode Thomas as Deputy. However, following a clash with the Alaafin of Oyo, Alhaji Adeniran Aderemi II in a power struggle over the Oyo Divisional Council, Bode Thomas died mysteriously in November 1953 at the age of 34. Before his death he represented the AG as the Minister of Transport at the Centre. Bode Thomas’ colleague, Samuel Akintola, who was also an AG Federal Minister, became Awolowo’s Deputy in the AG and was, in fact, appointed as the leader of the Party in the Federal Parliament after the 1952 elections. The AG won the majority seats in the Western House of Assembly (following the carpet crossing event). Awolowo was sworn-in as the first Premier of the Western Region.
Northern infiltration: There was a general turn of events in all three regions after the House of Representatives election in which the Northern People’s Congress, NPC, won 142 seats followed by the National Council for Nigeria and the Camerouns, NCNC, which got 94 seats. Awolowo’s AG secured 73 seats.
The NPC and NCNC went into an alliance and a power sharing government, whereby the NPC produced the Prime Minister. The leader of the NPC, Sir Ahmadu Bello, opted to stay back as Premier of the Northern Region while asking his Deputy, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to go to Lagos and become the Prime Minister. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Premier of the Eastern Region also went to Lagos to assume the post of ceremonial President while handing over the Premiership to Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara.
Just like what took place in the North, Chief Awolowo surprised many when he voluntarily gave up the post of Premier of the Western Region, handing it over to the Deputy Leader of the AG, Sir Akintola. He proceeded to Lagos as Leader of the Opposition. With his contemporaries active at the federal level, perhaps Awolowo did not want to be left in Ibadan. Some say it was probably a tactical error in that it paved the way for the infiltration of his domain by the NPC.
The Action Group was unabashed in projecting itself as a regional party. It was primarily formed to ensure that the NCNC or any other party controlled by politicians from outside the Western Region did not take it over. Awo believed that each ethnic group was a “nationality”; and because their cultural backgrounds, social outlooks and indigenous institutions differ, the only viable constitution for Nigeria was a federal system. He was thus the only one of the leaders of the three big ethnic political organisations to champion the creation of states for the Minorities.
Alliances with political groups
Awo did not, however, rule out the possibility of creating alliances with political groups from other parts of the country to form a broad national ruling coalition with, of course, the AG being in control of the Western flank. In fact, he made several efforts to form such alliances with the NCNC and the NPC. Ironically, it was while he was having talks with leaders of the NPC in 1955 that the first successful NPC/NCNC alliance was announced. It was from this moment that Awo foreclosed any such talks with the North and instead concentrated on consolidating his gains with the Minorities of the North and East in his drive to emerge as Nigeria’s leader.
The NPC/NCNC alliance after the 1959 elections ensured that both the North and East shared the federal cabinet almost equally. With the Yoruba leaders in the opposition and lacking in visibility at the federal level so soon after independence, opinions began to divide among the ranks of the AG as to the continued usefulness of shying away from alliances with the North. Akintola became convinced that the strategic political interests of the Yoruba would be more fulfilled in an alliance with the North.
Thus was born the two flanks of the Yoruba political persuasions. Northern leaders threw their doors open to Akintola. The two rival factions went head-on and after the mace was broken in the Western Region House of Assembly in 1962, Premier Tafawa Balewa imposed a state of emergence in the West, appointed Dr. Adekoyejo Moses Majekodunmi as the Sole Administrator of the Region, while Awo and many of his disciples were arrested and put on trial for treasonable felony. In 1963 a court cleared Akintola to resume his post as Premier. He proceeded to form the Nigerian National Democratic Party, NNDP and went into an open alliance with the NPC called the Nigerian National Alliance, NNA.
Meanwhile, the NCNC, with Dr. Okpara in charge, also forged the United Progressive Grand Alliance, UPGA, with Awo’s followers. When Akintola’s party “won” the 1965 Western Regional parliamentary election all hell broke loose in the Region. One of the consequences was the coup of the Five Majors, the killing of Northern leaders and Akintola, pogroms against the Igbos in the North and the declaration of secession by Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
How Awo embraced Akintola’s idea: Ironically, as soon as the war started, the Nigerian leader, General Yakubu Gowon, offered Awolowo the Vice Chairman of his ruling council and Finance Minister. Thus, the same idea earlier propounded by Akintola (alliance between North and West) was consummated as other Nigerian nationalities joined in the war to stop the secession.
Enormous clout in the economy
It was through the war that the likes of General Olusegun Obasanjo (a diehard believer in the North/West alliance) emerged. Through the North/West alliances, the defunct Western Region has produced three presidents of Nigeria (Olusegun Obasanjo 1976 to 1979, 1999 – 2007) and Chief Ernest Shonekan (81 days). Yorubas regained enormous clout in the economy, federal bureaucracy and the armed forces as the formerly surging Igbos were marginalised. So, Akintola was right, or so it seemed.
However, Yoruba joined the North to rule Nigeria and share power but as a junior partner. Yoruba never really ruled Nigeria; was never allowed to do so. The Awoist ideologies that made the Western Region the richest and most rapidly developing among the Big Three was never brought to bear on Nigeria’s development. Instead Northern rule (even when Yoruba was in power) increasingly transferred poverty and underdevelopment to the whole country.
Everybody (except the North) now buys Awolowo’s view that only true federalism will bring development to Nigeria. In fact, Ojukwu fought and lost his bid to enforce it. The concept of “ethnic self-determination” is now a touchstone of activism. Awo died “the best president Nigeria never had”. His true federalism has remained the best system that can only make Nigeria work.
The fight between Awo and Akintola was not as “senseless” as it looked if viewed from the two clear models of politics it presented to the Yoruba people and Nigerians. But viewed from the fact that when Akintola was killed Awo went into an alliance with the North to reclaim his kingdom and re-launch Yoruba at the centre, then the quarrel was senseless!

Real reason why I joined ‘Occupy Nigeria’ protests – Bakare

Written by Femi Akinola.

inShar

Pastor Tunde Bakare is the General Overseer, Latter Rain Assembly in Lagos, Vice Presidential Candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) during the last general election and of Lagos-based Convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG). Earlier in the week, Bakare addressed news men in Lagos on the one week fuel subsidy strike and disruption of continuation of the strike by military men. Excerpts.

What is your assessment of the five-day strike?

What we witnessed during the strike has shown that Nigerians are capable of taking their destiny in their own hands and that they have now understood the challenges before their country.  It was marvelous, because from day one of the strike, the number of Nigerians who converged on the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota is unprecedented. Nobody paid anybody to come. People trekked from far and near in the metropolis to partake in the protest against the oil subsidy removal.

During the protest, we never incite anybody against the government or encourage breakdown of law and order as those in Abuja wanted the outside world to believe. We are not rabble-rousers. It is only crazy people who will encourage destruction of the little infrastructure that is left. We risk our lives in those five days. We spent our time, energy and resources to sensitize the public. Our musicians and artistes added glamour to the protest, because they brought life to the park. People came in thousands and showed their grievances against the removal of oil subsidy. The strike proved a defining moment, which a correct lesson must be learnt.

What is your response to the allegation that the SNG took advantage of the protest to overheat the polity?

We did not organize the protest to bring down government, but to kill corruption and not Nigeria. The moment the Supreme Court gave judgment on the suit filed by our party, it means everything is over.  We are still insisting on N65 pump price. The protest would have continued, if not that the NLC/TUC called –off the strike and the Federal Government sent troops to Lagos when the protest was on in Kano and Kaduna.

We were harassed, but not arrested as the report was circulated. They sent text messages all over the country to create fear and panic. We were harassed by unknown people through text messages, telling us not to sleep in our homes.   I have been sleeping in my house without any problem since the beginning of the strike. Our resolve is un shakable. We did not overheat the polity. We did not instruct anyone to burn effigies neither did we give anyone money to buy effigies to burn.

We will continue to feed Nigerians with the necessary information that is their right to know. One of the challenges before Nigerians is that we have put an emperor who is not accountable in power and we are calling for accountability. Instead, the government is flexing muscle against opposition; they do not need to shut down opposition.

What is your reaction to the Labour’s calling off of the strike?

We are very disappointed in the way the controlling leadership of the NLC/TUC has buckled in the knees without consulting the Save Nigeria Group and its allies and without achieving their resolution that reversal to N65 per litre shall be the basis for any negotiation. We out rightly reject the unilateral fixing of the pump price at N97 by the Federal Government upon which the controlling leadership of NLC/TUC threw a spanner in the wheel of people’s movement. It must not be lost on our patriotic people that if the decision is final, it is the proverbial eating of the humble pie. While the conduct of the controlling leadership of labour at the peak of the movement does not engender much confidence in their fidelity behind closed door, we still enjoy them to bring all negotiations with Belgore Committee to a close within a week. After that, they should report back to the people who still reserve the right to resume their protests if the negotiators compromise the essence of this popular action.

What will SNG do next?

We shall definitely enforce our rights in court to teach the regime the basic principles of civilized conduct in a democratic setting. We shall be heading to court soon to challenge the Federal Government on the violation of our rights to peaceful protest on Monday January 16, 2012 at the Gani Fawehinmi Park at Ojota. This violation is totally uncalled for, because before we rallied at the park, we sought the necessary permission from the Lagos State Government and wrote to notify Lagos State Commissioner of Police and asked him to provide protection. The policemen deployed to the park were mostly idle throughout the five days we spent at the park, as there was no breakdown of law and order.

Governor Babatunde Fashola, in rejecting the crude assault on our right to protest, acknowledged our peaceful conduct throughout our activities. And we agreed with him totally that if we had conducted ourselves otherwise, the police was the right body to deal with that and not soldiers who occupied the venue and subjected our people to harassment, corporal punishment and intimidation. It is unfortunate that this brutal dictatorship is taking place in a civilian dispensation. Nevertheless, we chose to be much more mature than the Federal Government by not allowing any ugly situation to be created at the park. We shall use the court to compel an investigation into how the Federal Government ended up spending N1.6 trillion as against the N240 billion budgeted for subsidy in 2011 fiscal year. We cannot sweep under the carpet the spending of over N1.3 trillion without appropriation by the National Assembly. We shall neither ‘move on’ on this matter until the full weight of the law comes on all those involved in this illegal spending. Nor shall we fold our hands if the Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) becomes both judge and jury in a matter involving government officials and their corporate cronies.

What is the relationship with organized labour?

It is a big shock to us that NLC/TUC backs down on the N65 pump price demand. It kills the spirit and enthusiasm of the people. We are disappointed about their action. As a mark of appreciation of the new found spirit of our people who demonstrated in the five days of peaceful protest at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, we shall be holding a victory rally at the same venue on Saturday (21st January 2012).

Our gratitude goes to good spirited Nigerians who without solicitation brought water and food to the crowd at Ojota as their own contribution to the nation building project. And to the greatest heroes of the movement who trekked several kilometers daily to show their resolve; we give our thump up. That the Federal Government could not stop the peaceful rallies all over Nigeria especially in Abuja, Kano and Kaduna where millions of our people trooped out on the same day the military occupied Ojota Freedom Park and other parts of Lagos state on the order of Federal Government is a complete demonstration of indomitable Nigerian spirit.

Written by Femi Akinola, Lagos Saturday, 21 January 2012 05:00

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Pastor Tunde Bakare is the General Overseer, Latter Rain Assembly in Lagos, Vice Presidential Candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) during the last general election and of Lagos-based Convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG). Earlier in the week, Bakare addressed news men in Lagos on the one week fuel subsidy strike and disruption of continuation of the strike by military men. Excerpts.

What is your assessment of the five-day strike?

What we witnessed during the strike has shown that Nigerians are capable of taking their destiny in their own hands and that they have now understood the challenges before their country.  It was marvelous, because from day one of the strike, the number of Nigerians who converged on the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota is unprecedented. Nobody paid anybody to come. People trekked from far and near in the metropolis to partake in the protest against the oil subsidy removal.

During the protest, we never incite anybody against the government or encourage breakdown of law and order as those in Abuja wanted the outside world to believe. We are not rabble-rousers. It is only crazy people who will encourage destruction of the little infrastructure that is left. We risk our lives in those five days. We spent our time, energy and resources to sensitize the public. Our musicians and artistes added glamour to the protest, because they brought life to the park. People came in thousands and showed their grievances against the removal of oil subsidy. The strike proved a defining moment, which a correct lesson must be learnt.

What is your response to the allegation that the SNG took advantage of the protest to overheat the polity?

We did not organize the protest to bring down government, but to kill corruption and not Nigeria. The moment the Supreme Court gave judgment on the suit filed by our party, it means everything is over.  We are still insisting on N65 pump price. The protest would have continued, if not that the NLC/TUC called –off the strike and the Federal Government sent troops to Lagos when the protest was on in Kano and Kaduna.

We were harassed, but not arrested as the report was circulated. They sent text messages all over the country to create fear and panic. We were harassed by unknown people through text messages, telling us not to sleep in our homes.   I have been sleeping in my house without any problem since the beginning of the strike. Our resolve is un shakable. We did not overheat the polity. We did not instruct anyone to burn effigies neither did we give anyone money to buy effigies to burn.

We will continue to feed Nigerians with the necessary information that is their right to know. One of the challenges before Nigerians is that we have put an emperor who is not accountable in power and we are calling for accountability. Instead, the government is flexing muscle against opposition; they do not need to shut down opposition.

What is your reaction to the Labour’s calling off of the strike?

We are very disappointed in the way the controlling leadership of the NLC/TUC has buckled in the knees without consulting the Save Nigeria Group and its allies and without achieving their resolution that reversal to N65 per litre shall be the basis for any negotiation. We out rightly reject the unilateral fixing of the pump price at N97 by the Federal Government upon which the controlling leadership of NLC/TUC threw a spanner in the wheel of people’s movement. It must not be lost on our patriotic people that if the decision is final, it is the proverbial eating of the humble pie. While the conduct of the controlling leadership of labour at the peak of the movement does not engender much confidence in their fidelity behind closed door, we still enjoy them to bring all negotiations with Belgore Committee to a close within a week. After that, they should report back to the people who still reserve the right to resume their protests if the negotiators compromise the essence of this popular action.

What will SNG do next?

We shall definitely enforce our rights in court to teach the regime the basic principles of civilized conduct in a democratic setting. We shall be heading to court soon to challenge the Federal Government on the violation of our rights to peaceful protest on Monday January 16, 2012 at the Gani Fawehinmi Park at Ojota. This violation is totally uncalled for, because before we rallied at the park, we sought the necessary permission from the Lagos State Government and wrote to notify Lagos State Commissioner of Police and asked him to provide protection. The policemen deployed to the park were mostly idle throughout the five days we spent at the park, as there was no breakdown of law and order.

Governor Babatunde Fashola, in rejecting the crude assault on our right to protest, acknowledged our peaceful conduct throughout our activities. And we agreed with him totally that if we had conducted ourselves otherwise, the police was the right body to deal with that and not soldiers who occupied the venue and subjected our people to harassment, corporal punishment and intimidation. It is unfortunate that this brutal dictatorship is taking place in a civilian dispensation. Nevertheless, we chose to be much more mature than the Federal Government by not allowing any ugly situation to be created at the park. We shall use the court to compel an investigation into how the Federal Government ended up spending N1.6 trillion as against the N240 billion budgeted for subsidy in 2011 fiscal year. We cannot sweep under the carpet the spending of over N1.3 trillion without appropriation by the National Assembly. We shall neither ‘move on’ on this matter until the full weight of the law comes on all those involved in this illegal spending. Nor shall we fold our hands if the Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) becomes both judge and jury in a matter involving government officials and their corporate cronies.

What is the relationship with organized labour?

It is a big shock to us that NLC/TUC backs down on the N65 pump price demand. It kills the spirit and enthusiasm of the people. We are disappointed about their action. As a mark of appreciation of the new found spirit of our people who demonstrated in the five days of peaceful protest at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, we shall be holding a victory rally at the same venue on Saturday (21st January 2012).

Our gratitude goes to good spirited Nigerians who without solicitation brought water and food to the crowd at Ojota as their own contribution to the nation building project. And to the greatest heroes of the movement who trekked several kilometers daily to show their resolve; we give our thump up. That the Federal Government could not stop the peaceful rallies all over Nigeria especially in Abuja, Kano and Kaduna where millions of our people trooped out on the same day the military occupied Ojota Freedom Park and other parts of Lagos state on the order of Federal Government is a complete demonstration of indomitable Nigerian spirit.

‘How Nigeria can prevent disintegration’

By Emmanuel Oladesu.

• Akinrinade

Former Chief of Defence Staff General Alani Akinrinade (rtd) spoke with Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU on national security, Southwest integration, national conference and other issues.

What is your reaction to the agitations for a national conference in the country?
We need to debate, discuss what is really going on in our country. A lot of information has been dished out from all sections of the country, some panacea to problems bedeviling the country. Yoruba has always been in the leadership in this kind of situation. We have always made it clear that we want to be part of Nigeria, we want a very strong country, and we need to fashion out how we can make that strong country come about.
We realise that the Igbo in the East are talking, Southsouth people, especially the Ijaw Congress, are talking and bringing out ideas. Now, the northerners are also talking and bringing out ideas and accepting that this is not a great federation, and that, if we are not careful, we are dancing on the brink, according to Cambell, and therefore, we should do something.  Yoruba, since 2005, made a major contribution to this debate by meeting in Ibadan. We got a Yoruba Agenda for Nigeria at that time. It spelt out the way the Yoruba saw Nigeria and what ought to be done to make sure that it becomes a strong country that works, like a nation, not an amorphorous country, a big country, almost a giant as you call it, having a clay feet. We brought out that document in 2005, hoping there was going to be a genuine conference as stated by Obasanjo at that time. That position today is still valid, except there are some issues which we raised at that time. That time, the memory of the June 12 debacle was still fresh in our memory and in 1999, certainly, Yoruba did not participate well in the elections, simply because the issues that preceded the elections were never touched. Yoruba thought that an attempt to ignore the issues by saying that democracy is the answer by just having elections, even if it was a good election, was not a good way of building a good nation. We played along simply because there was no other way of doing it. May be, we were wrong. May be, we were right. We played along and the end result is what we have today. 
Why is national debate necessary at this time in Nigeria?
The foundation was wrong. We should be courageous enough to dismantle the foundation, make a new foundation and strive to build earnestly  on it. That is the meeting we are meeting.
What are those unresolved national questions which tend to make Yoruba uncomfortable under the fragile and lopsided federal arrangement?
There are mirage of problems. All of us seem to agree that it started right from the beginning of trying to couple together a country. It looks like the French were coming from the west and Germans coming from east and the British stopped them and gave them a territory. The north was administered separately, the south administered separately, Lagos administered separately. Everything was like an afterthought. They forcefully put us together and amalgamated us and called us Nigeria. They made mess of the organisations in that territories and now we are inheritors of the problem. The sad part of it is that, over the years, we sat down there suffering. We didn’t have the courage to say that this would not work, let us sit down and talk. The closest we got to that was at the beginning with Sadauna talking about differences and Awolowo saying that it is a set of nations coupled together; it is just a country, not a nation. I can’t remember Azikiwe’s position. But at least, there were some of our leaders who knew that, certainly, something was basically wrong with the way we were put together. Till tomorrow, it is not going to be possible for a country of over 150 million people to go to the United Nations and have one seat, have no language of their own to speak there, when the rest of the world have their languages being translated. That is what they do for Portugal, which is less than two states in this place. We shortchange ourselves. We have Yoruba, over 40 million; we have Hausa/Fulani, Igbo. They are bigger than 40 other countries in the world. We don’t have a language which the world can recognise in writing, in speaking, in drama. And we expect that we are going to build a nation? I doubt it.
Recently, Yoruba self-determination groups advocated the restructuring of Nigeria into 18 federating unions. Is that part of the agenda you are going to discuss?
Many organisations have their own ideas. I have been dealing with the Ijaw Congress for long and I know they have their ideas about how Nigeria should be restructured. The Ibos have their ideas. I visited Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu many times. We discussed nothing but Nigeria. So do Yoruba. What I know is that in Yorubaland, we are not going to sleep and put our heads on one side. We will hold robust discussions before we make major decisions. Some are talking about 18, others about six zones. Those are the issues we must look at rationally and see the one that will work. That is what Yoruba will bring up as a proposal to the table, ready to defend it and ready to compromise, if people bring out better and more workable solutions. Yoruba will accept good argument. I don’t know the number that will come at the end, but I think it will be nice for Yoruba to have whatever you want to call it now, whether it is state, or region, or whatever; to agree among themselves how to arrange it a way that every facet of Yoruba power will be projected in a way that will work for all of us. Of course, we will encourage others; Ijaw, Ibos and others; to try to do the same among themselves. Then, we will all agree at the centre where we relate and call ourselves Nigeria or whatever new name they give it, what we have to be doing together and how we have to be doing it. But what we have now, which is a do-or-die affair, that a Yoruba man should be President so that Yoruba can lord it over others, or Ijaw or Ibos, is not good. We are going to a dangerous crossroads now where Ibos think it is their turn, because it is turn by turn now, where Jonathan said he is entitled to eight years, where the northerners are saying, wait a minute, how long are you going to keep us out of this. It should never be like that. We should have a situation where we will have the best person who will move us forward, whether he is from the minority tribe or not. But we should try to create a situation where it is not a winner-takes-all affair. No country ever gets up into reckoning under that situation. You talk about unity in diversity and you start asking people to level down, to lower the bar all the time. Look at education today. It is the lowering of the bar that got us where we are today. 
Are the elite across the zones ready for national debate?
There is an indication that virtually everyone, including those who said that the situation was good, are saying that it is enough and that we should really sit down and talk. Ango Abdullahi was the last one. I was fairly shocked when I read his interview. These are the people who would think that it is the way we run our government that is wrong, that it is the people that have problem, not the system. Some of us have argued that it is the system itself that is the beginning of the trouble. Now, they are coming to that idea right now. Some say the Southsouth is asking for what is too much. It is when we sit down across the table to discuss that we will be able to look rationally at all these demands. I have a good idea that, with or without the government, the people are likely to sit down to talk. We are really on the brink now, unless we are deceiving ourselves. We always deceive ourselves that we will get out of the dilemma, that we created the problem and that it will blow away. It does not seem to be blowing away at all. 
What is your reaction to the menace of Boko Haram?
I am scared when I see people writing and talking about what government should do about Boko Haram. It is historical. In the military, we know that when this type of problem starts, it is a problem. We say rebels with a cause. You better don’t sleep. You better take it very seriously. They may be like a rag tag army now, but a rag tag army that is killing seven people, 10 people at a time, it is no more a rag tag. What is the real problem? They are talking about poverty, nature of our polity, people recruiting thugs and abandoning them. Meanwhile, Boko Haram is talking about religion and we are dismissing it. The religious aspect of it is not what we can really throw away. I think we really have to find a time when we are going to sit at the table and talk to the handlers of Boko Haram and the people who live with them and explain to them that this is a sect that is embedded in the society. And that is always the beginning of guerilla warfare. They are getting themselves into a place where people will respect them, fear them and where they can do whatever they like. It takes years to do it. And this has been going on for some time. When they finally do that, they will then become urban guerilla and the rest of us are in problem. The urban guerilla does not want to take over government. He just does not want the rest of us to sleep. It is as simple as that. You won’t be able to walk into the supermarket with confidence. You will not enter train with confidence or aircraft with confidence because somebody can blow things off. You don’t have to offend him. We are all enemies. I don’t know what is happening in Abuja and how many people are meeting and looking at these things. This is not a matter you look at militarily alone, you look at it politically. You have to go back to history to look at how these matters were dealt with. Don’t forget about IRA. Prime Ministers would say, you don’t talk to rebels, terrorists, until the burnt and destroyed important places. They blew up the airport, part of the airport. These things were happening in Ireland. It took them more than twenty years to do that. London was not comfortable. So, we don’t have that luxury at all. We just have to find an answer to it.
Some people are calling for the break up of the country...
When people are frustrated, they say all sorts of things, but we don’t want Nigeria to break up. But we don’t want Yoruba to be parasitic. They say bigger tribes are oppressing other smaller tribes. Yoruba is a big tribe. Then, they think Yoruba is a culprit. That does not mean that we should go ahead and break the country. Bu honestly, if we are not careful, it might be worse than a break up. Ango says they can look after themselves as northerners. It is very true. There is no part of this country that cannot look after itself. What has happened was that somebody spoilt us by putting oil money on the table all the times and people go there and collect. And we run a deficit budget. Can you believe that this last budget had over N1 trillion deficit? Meanwhile, in a spate of three months, they had located over N1 trillion looted by a few people; permanent secretaries, parastatal bosses, politicians. Why running a deficit budget when trillions are in private pockets illegally in their bedrooms? This system is killing the country. It is our duty to get together and salvage it. Some people are fed up with it that they will not want to hear the name Nigeria. If you present your passport to an immigration officer in any country, including Ghana, he looks at you and thinks that it is from Oluwole. That is how big we are in the world.
What are Yoruba leaders doing about the Yoruba language that is dying?
We have a Yoruba Academy, thanks to the younger people who have that dream to resuscitate the language. We have not forced ourselves to use the language. The constitution does not prevent us, our lawmakers from using the language in our region, in their discussions, debates, or even producing Yoruba Hansard, which we might translate into English for other people to understand. It does not prevent us from using it in our schools. I think it is a psychological problem that we have. We just have to work at it. 
 I know that, within the Yoruba hierarchy, people are torched by the possibility that our language, our culture, our tradition, some of the things we inherited, especially our prowess in education, are beginning to fizzle away under their watch. If we are let on our own and we don’t have this oil money coming every month, or week, and we have to rely on our own strength the way we did before, people are going to get sober and make sacrifice. How can I get N3million a month and i will be sober? It is not very likely. That is what is going on everywhere. The councillor that represents me in my village earns a bigger salary than the principal of the Anglican Grammar School that is in the front of my house. That school has 2,000 kids, JSS and SSS. The wife of the councillor, the first lady, earns more than the principal. That is madness. In that council, we have people who can represent us without taking salary and make more impact on the lives of villagers more than the councillor who did not pass his school certificate exams. It is all over Nigeria. When there is no money to maintain thugs, there will be no thug.
Is Yoruba integration a minus to national integration?
I am happy to be a Yoruba man  because we are always forward looking. We try hard to tackle problem before it becomes very knotty. People who live in contiguous villages talk with each other and think about how to benefit one another, share water and resources. It is better than to do things individually. That is not Yoruba way of doing things. I think it is a precursor of what should be happening in other regions and eventually the country. It is in our interest to integrate through infrastructural development. 
Election is holding in 2015 and Americans are warning that it may also be a year of Armageddon for Nigeria. What is your reaction?
I read Cambell and saw the report. If we are honest people, does somebody has to warn us from America? We can see it ourselves. It is coming. It is staring us in the face. What facet of our life does not point to disintegration? Is it the economy, politics, cultural standing? Are we holding the rightful position in the world? Do we get respect in the world? We just contested in the World Bank. I was laughing at our stupidity.