Deconstructing Anenih, a consistent leader, at 80

by  Sufuyan Ojeifo

BEYOND the song and dance accompanying his 80th birthday, Anthony Akhakon Anenih, must engage in oblig atory introspection.  Having successfully managed his personal, business and family lives all these years, his conversation with the self must centre on how best to define his eon in politics, for posterity, by putting in place a cohesive succession structure for his political machinery before he finally bows out.

This should be a worthy preoccupation, especially now that he has joined the league of octogenarians in Nigeria who are accomplished in their various areas of endeavor.  Age is no longer on the side of the Iyasele.  He has, with time, garnered legerdemain and attained a grand old age that is being celebrated today in style.  Indeed, one of the best ways for him to personally celebrate this unique age is to, without dithering, point the way forward for his loyalists, identify and help to empower those that will step into his very big shoes when the time comes. 

This-succession plan- which is one area that has not enjoyed vast flourish in politics, comes after mentoring and leadership.  Anenih has mentored so many in politics; he has provided dependable leadership; what is remaining is succession.  Unlike some dubious succession arrangements common with elective public offices, where the motivation is access to the people’s commonwealth, sustaining political machinery superintended over by Anenih, is certainly financially demanding.  So, those in line to assume the responsibility should be well advised to have, by now, understudied and understood the Anenih persona, principle, diligence and discipline.

They might not have experienced the kind of social tempers and economic environments that produced Anenih, or faced the vicissitudes that shaped his outlook of life while growing up; there are great lessons to learn from his later public life as a politician, which will be invaluable assets as they take steps to commit themselves to the service of the nation, humanity and God as he (Anenih) has done over the years. Welcome to the life of the Iyasele (Prime Minister) of Esanland.

Declassification
Contrary to the claim by a newspaper columnist in 2011, Anenih does not have an aristocratic background.  But the sheer determination to succeed in life had propelled Anenih, the last of five children, born on August 4, 1933 in Arue, Uromi by a village farmer, the late Mr Anenih Oguese and Madam Obhafuoso, to resort to positive ways of making the best out of debilitating situations and circumstances.  Due to his humble background, Anenih who attended Eguare Primary school and Government School, Uromi, could not proceed to Saint Thomas’ Teacher Training College, Ibusa, after passing the qualifying examination. His parents could not afford the six British pounds required by the Catholic Mission for scholarship.

He headed for Benin City to stay with and serve, for one year, Lance Corporal Omeben, the father of retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Christopher Omeben, who according to an account, was then in Edo College, Benin City.  It was the late Lance Corporal Omeben that advised and encouraged Anenih to enlist in the Nigeria Police Force in 1951. This was after he had taken to rubber tapping to raise funds for his education.

He attended the Police College, Ikeja and subsequently sat for and passed his General Certificate in Education (GCE) O’ Level while he was a Constable and the Advanced Level while he was a Corporal.  He proceeded to the United Kingdom and the United States of America where he distinguished himself at the various training programmes at the Hendon and Scotland Yard Training School in 1963; Bramshill Police College Basingstoke, Hampshire, England from 1966 to 1967, where he was awarded a Certificate of Merit; and, International Police Academy, Washington DC, USA from 1970 to 1971, where he received a Certificate of Achievement.

Anenih, who rose to the position of Commissioner of Police, was the first indigenous Commandant of the Police College, Ikeja, replacing Mr. LE-Clair, a Briton.  He was also at the Administrative and Staff College (ASCON), Topo-Badagry, a year before his voluntary retirement from the Police Force in 1976.  

He ventured into private business and superintended over his group of companies, among them, Yakon Group of Companies and A & Hatman Limited.

And, for his business acumen, he was first appointed President, Benin Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture from 1978 to 84; and was subsequently elected Life Vice-President of the Chambers in 1990.  He was Director, Adrian Volker Civil Engineering Co. Nigeria Limited, a Company that built the famous ONNE Port.

Foray into politics
Anenih went into politics in 1979 with his means; and, in recognition of his integrity and forthrightness, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Bendel State elected him state chairman from 1981 to 1983; in that capacity, he worked for the election of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia as civilian Governor in 1983, dislodging from the State House the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) government of the late Professor Ambrose Alli. The victory was, however, short-lived due to military takeover of power.

In the ill-fated Third Republic, he was appointed National Campaign Director of Shehu Yar’Adua Presidential Campaign Organization from 1990 to 1991.   From 1992 to 1993, he was elected National Chairman of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and worked for the victory of Chief John Oyegun as governor of Edo State in 1992 and the victory of Chief M.K.O. Abiola in the historic presidential election of June 12, 1993. 

Unfortunately, the result of that election was annulled by the military government.  In the confusion that trailed the annulment, Anenih did not compromise the unity and stability of the Nigerian nation.  When the late General Sani Abacha regime unfolded a transition programme and emplaced a National Constitutional Conference to fashion a new constitution for the nation, Anenih was appointed member of the Conference in 1995.  He devoted his energies to the success of his participation at the conference and emerged a strong voice in promotion of the interests of southern minorities within the context of national interests.  

Recognitions
With the death of Abacha and the emergence of General Abdulsalami Abubakar as Head of State, a new panorama in national political experimentation was opened.  Within eleven months, a programme of transition was concluded.  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which formation had Anenih’s imprimatur, had won the presidential election.  He was appointed member of the Presidential Policy Advisory Committee (PPAC) of the PDP in 1999 consequent upon the victory of the Party and thereafter Minister of Works and Housing from 1999 to 2002.

As minister, he prepared a memo which was approved by the Federal Executive Council that led to the formulation of critical policies for governance in Nigeria.  He stepped aside as minister in 2002 to work in the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation for the re-election of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003.  He propagated the “no-vacancy campaign” in the Presidential Villa and coordinated the strategies that gave victory to Obasanjo and the PDP.

It was in recognition of his invaluable political contributions that he had the unique privilege of being chosen, by consensus, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP twice between March 2004 and June 2007 and from February 2013 till date.  He is currently deploying the platform of the office to bring about genuine reconciliation, peace and stability in the party.   He has similarly been appointed Chairman, Board of Directors of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) from 2009 to 2011 and 2012 till date. 

Celebrations
A recipient of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), he means different things to different people in the ecology of Nigerian politics.  Some call him “Mr Fix It”; some others refer to him as “The godfather”.   Many call him “The Leader”.  But it is the appellation- “The Leader”- that Anenih relates to simply because that is what he truly is.  People, who are close to him, address him as such to emphasise their loyal followership; and, this, resonates well in his consciousness because it conveys the essential content of his persona.

As I wrote last year, the deprecating aura that “Mr Fix It” and “The godfather” exude in the nation’s political arena does not aptly convey the essential content of the Anenih persona.  Yet, the other camps have always played them up in their deliberate schema to demonize him within and outside the cosmos of political affairs where he hit the limelight.  It is, indeed, paradoxical that politics, which brought him fame, has also earned him scorn in the camps of the opposition elements.

But then, he has chosen to bear the cross, his own cross, philosophically: politics is in his blood and he plays it with all the passion and devotion of a religious aficionado.  He accepts the compliments that come with it as well as the bashings.  He relishes the victories, the accomplishments and the bravura performances of his party and candidates during electoral contests.  He has also learned to live with the pains of defeat whenever he suffers any.

This is his disposition to politics, which is far flung from the myth of invincibility that has been created around him by his traducers who have tried to create the erroneous impression in the minds of those who do not know him (Anenih) that he behaves as a god in human flesh as far as politics and electoral contestations are concerned. 

But here is the true portrait of the man: a grand and archetypal politician who is consistently and persistently loyal to his leadership and followership; an ardent mobiliser of human resources; a political strategist with the can-do spirit, who believes in positive thinking as well as the force of great and reasonable expectations.

Silent chapter of his life
However, an aspect –a silent chapter- of Anenih’s life which is hardly celebrated is his philanthropy.  Among countless individuals and institutions, both academic and religious, that have benefitted from his eleemosynary are: Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; the University of Benin; Igbinedion University, Okada; and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.  Only last year, he endowed a multi-million naira Geriatric Centre at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, the first Geriatric Centre in Africa, to bolster the care of the aged and senior citizens.

What many family members, associates and well wishers are celebrating today is a man that is reputed for legendary generosity and catholic conviviality, which are the core of the humanity component of his persona.  He has leveraged on these to play the role of a dependable leader, which fact was recognized way back in 1992 by the late General Yar’Adua, who first addressed him (Anenih) as “Leader” in recognition of his ability to galvanize men and harness resources for results.  Yar’Adua was at the time jostling for the presidency of Nigeria on the platform of the defunct SDP, while Anenih was the National Campaign Director of the presidential project.

The description, since then, has stuck like the old adhesive tape and Anenih has continued to apply himself to the rigours and dictates of the position.  Surely, it is all about his humanity: this is a leader who is always touched by the feelings of the “infirmities” of his associates and followers and he always acts in accordance to bring joy into their grieving hearts.  Happy birthday, Leader!

Ojeifo, journalist and publisher, sent this piece from Abuja.

NigerianTribune

Nasarawa: Tale of a presidential visit

 by  Ademola Adegbite

President Goodluck Jonathan was in Nasarawa State on Monday for the inauguration of the N6.3 billion Federal High Court complex in Lafia. ADEMOLA ADEGBITE highlights activities that attended the event.

For the government and people of Nasarawa State, the visit by President Goodluck Jonathan last Monday was historic. Expectations about the visit were high, given the fact that the president was to inaugurate a newly completed federal high court complex in the 16 year-old-state, which prides itself as the home of Nigeria’s solid minerals. Expectedly, Lafia, the state capital, was the host.

Security operatives, many of whom were deployed from Abuja, occupied strategic areas in Lafia as early as 6.30 a.m. The operatives comprised men of the Nigerian Army, the police, the State Security Service (SSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The somewhat watertight security which Lafia had not experienced in a long time made the president’s visit more colourful.

Markets were temporarily closed. The almajiris, who usually constitute nuisance on the streets, were not left out. They also organised themselves together to welcome the president.

The entire city of Lafia became a beehive of activities with traffic jam recorded on most major roads. The only federal highway that links Abuja to Makurdi was blocked for more than four hours, subjecting the users, especially travellers from the northern and eastern parts of the country, to a hard time. The city was filled with posters of President Jonathan and Governor Tanko Al-Makura, welcoming the number one citizen to the state capital.

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state seized the occasion to make a statement about their preparedness to wrest power from the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) the state. The party made its presence visible in every corner to impress the august visitor who is a top member of their party.

Street urchins too had a field day showering encomiums on the president and the governor. Suspected thugs from the PDP and CPC also engaged in a subtle struggle to outdo each other advertising their perceived parties.

Widows of slain SSS officials staged a peaceful protest when the convoy of the president, represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, entered the venue of the inauguration ceremony. They demanded justice for the murder of their spouses allegedly by the Ombatse militia men at Alakyio village in Lafia East Development Area on May 7. They called on the state government, the police authorities and the judiciary not to set the matter aside, while appealing to them to ensure that those behind the killings were made to face the law.

The vice president arrived at the new complex at about 11.08 a.m., donning a blue agbada, a cap and a black shoe, amid tight security. He was accompanied by Governor Al-Makura; Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku; Minister of State for Education, Mr Nyson Nwike; National Orientation Agency (NOA) Director-General, Dr Mike Omeri; a former governor of the state, now a senator, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, other members of the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly and many other bigwigs of both the PDP and CPC in the state. Traditional rulers, chiefs, human right activists, judges of the state high courts and other members of the Bar were not left out of the epoch-making event.

In his speech, the president said the project was an expansion of justice delivery and a manifestation of the commitment of the judiciary in the dispensation of equity and justice to all. He said it also demonstrated the cordial relationship between the executive and other arms of government, particularly the judiciary, in nation building.

The president called on well-meaning Nigerians, especially the elite and opinion leaders, to deploy their intellect and energy in deepening the workings of the judiciary in national development. President Jonathan also called on stakeholders in the judiciary to always pursue things that will promote judicial and legal practices.

“You cannot afford to fail at this time when we are poised to deliver in all spheres, especially on the rule of law and natural justice. Let me also add that judiciary is living up to the expectation of Nigerians in dispensing justice and it deserves our applause. This should not, however, be misconstrued to mean that we should play to the gallery; rather it is to serve more, and accurately for Nigeria.

“The transformation agenda of this administration is on course. We have resolved to ensure that we fulfill our promises, especially in core areas of infrastructural development, job and wealth creation, economic stability, transparency, good governance and national security, as we exposed during electioneering, which culminated from the mandate we received from Nigerians. However, it is imperative for us to state that all hands must be on deck, and as citizens, we should all strive towards contributing our quota so that together, we shall attain our lofty aspirations as a nation,” he said.

While commending Al-Makura for his contributions to democracy and for keeping his campaign promises to the state, the president acceded to his requests for the establishment of the 330/132/33KV power sub-station in Lafia and the construction of Doma-Abuja road to combat perennial ecological problems in the area and as well serve as alternative route in case of artificial hindrances, saying “the requests are already in the drawing board and concluded for implementation.”

According to the president, “I will also like to add that the hydro power project in Nasarawa State has also been included for completion by the Federal Government and we have also concluded plans to dualise Abuja across Nasarawa State to Benue State. We all aware that the new bridge at Eweto across River Benue is on course and is being completed on schedule,” he assured.

He concluded by saying that about 5,000 youths and women were being employed annually from Nasarawa State under the Federal Government employment scheme.

Al-Makura explained that achievements recorded by his government in two years were not unconnected with the determination of CPC to bring dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of the populace, irrespective of tribe, religion or political inclination.

NigerianTribune

APC’s long walk to life

by  Idowu Samuel - Abuja

The camp of the opposition in Nigeria erupted in wild ecstasy during the week as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) eventually breathed life into the All Progressives Congress (APC). IDOWU SAMUEL writes on several hurdles the party encountered to get this far.

The opposition camp since 1999 has been in the lurch. For years, it engaged in primeval cat and mouse pranks with the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), and ended up with a modicum of success. Its inability to measure up in weight to take its rightful place in Nigeria’s burgeoning democracy was a good elixir for the PDP to remain deeply rooted in power for so long.

All the same, 14 years of democracy seem sufficient for the opposition to tap the wisdom on how to stand up to the ruling party in battle for relevance. Now, time and space are combining to offer the opposition the scope, the leverage and the strength it requires to engage the PDP in a fight for presidential power in 2015.

The opposition group suddenly appeared to have picked up the courage to stand firm in battle for power, given the breakdown of confidence and cohesiveness which the ruling party had hitherto enjoyed. Since the past one year, the PDP has been facing the grim problem of internal strives which puts it at the risk of a terrible implosion. By the day, the problem in PDP is looking insurmountable. It has accounted for the confidence the opposition group has on taking a timely advantage.

Events pointing to this started playing out from 2012. That was when all the political parties in the opposition began to forge an endeavour as they contemplated a merger which has now metamorphosed into the All Progressives Congress (APC).

With instant support from the media, the APC soon became a phenomenon while it pegged its hope of survival on the omissions and the perceived infractions by PDP in handling governance. Since the past few years, the fading popularity of the PDP has been turning into begging chances for a party like the APC.

From the beginning of this year when the APC started coming up strongly with eyes on 2015, authorities in the PDP have always been dismissing its efforts with wave of the hand. Officials of PDP have always derided the party as no match in any electoral contest while concluding that the PDP would continue to remain in power for as long as it wished.

However, emerging scenarios around the APC indicate that the PDP was only dismissing the threats it constitutes, to its own peril. The manner the APC obtained the registration from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday was a pointer to this. The APC crossed no fewer than seven daunting hurdles to obtain the INEC registration.

The first hurdle centered on the near impossibility by the leaders to rally all forces within the opposition group to fuse into one. This is against the back ground of the mega ego and familiar tantrums by some of the leaders. Before now, the opposition parties made about three major attempts at aligning without success. It eventually passed the hurdle of registration the moment the likes of Major General Muhammadu Buhari, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC); Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Ogbonnaya Onu of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), represented by the governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, agreed to work as one.

The PDP had constituted the second hurdle the APC had to cross to get registered. By holding the idea of a merger by the opposition in great derision, the PDP made no pretences with efforts to frustrate the idea, knowing the implication of having the opposition getting its acts right for once. For years, the PDP had latched on to the morbid condition of the opposition to commit ‘sins’ in democracy and get away with them. There have been copious reports pointing towards the PDP being the mastermind of attempts to heckle the progress of the APC to get registered.

Again, the process of registering the APC came as another daunting hurdle, given the furore that greeted the resolve by the opposition to go by the nomenclature “APC.” Suddenly, a barely existing African Congress Party (APC) came up with claims that the opposition group stole its name. But the ability of the APC leaders to manage the embarrassments which the turn of events generated made their efforts succeed.

The litigation filed by the opposing APC to stop the registration of the ambitious APC was another hurdle. The rival APC, which INEC almost deregistered, filed litigations to block the chances of another party being registered. It also deployed the media for the purpose, although none of its efforts saw the light of the day.

There was the hurdle constituted by the court too. However, the rational line toed by the court in dispensing justice saved the day for the APC. The court posited that even though the acronym APC may be the same for the two rival parties, the names as contained in the INEC register were quite different. There is certainly a good difference between All Progressives Party (APC) and the African Peoples Congress (APC).

For the just registered APC, the INEC, which was, indeed, another hurdle, had shown a good understanding. The fairness by INEC in addressing the controversy over party registration seemed to have aligned with its reputation of fair disposition to electoral matters since Professor Atahiru Jega became the head. INEC, according to reports, worked consistently with officials of the just registered party, using relevant sections of the Electoral Act 2010 and the 1999 Constitution on party registration as guide.

 Most importantly, leaders of the newly registered party were able to tame their ambitions in using the party for self-aggrandisement and immolation as the case was in the past. Reports had it that the leaders had allowed maturity and experience to guide their conduct as they never allowed any squabbles to dent the process of selecting interim officials who they appointed to take control of the party in the meantime.

A top member of the APC had disclosed to Saturday Tribune that the leaders of the party were able to drag the success of their togetherness this far with the wisdom they employed initially in taking prompt steps on the issue of registration. Had the leaders not taken the risk in directing all opposition parties to fuse into APC, the struggles to make the opposition groups in the country get a common platform for addressing the challenges of election in 2015 may never have toed the line of success.

To get this far, the APC leaders, according to reports, resolved to do the unthinkable with uncommon steps. First, they deployed the former Attorney-General of Lagos State, Professor Yemi Osibajo, to advise them on ways of giving strength to the opposition ahead of 2015. Osibajo was not to handle the task alone. He reportedly worked with no fewer than 25 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to offer the leeway the opposition had long craved.

According to reports, it was the Senior Advocates who suggested the idea of fusion of the opposition parties into one as a ploy for gaining the strength required in facing the next round of elections in the country. The senior lawyers, in the process, critically considered Section 222 of the constitution, as well as Section 84 of the Amended Electoral Act while outlining the means by which the party could obtain the registration by INEC.

Most intriguing in the efforts by the APC leaders in getting the party registered was the manner they took the INEC in confidence on every step they were to take. In addition to complying with the provisions of the law, the opposition parties, while holding congresses to announce their fusion into APC, ensured that officials of INEC were on the ground to observe. Thus, INEC, having been present at the conventions held by ACN, CPC and ANPP at different times, could not have been more impressed by the commitment so far shown by all the parties. The INEC, it was learnt, followed up with a visit to the National Headquarters of APC in Abuja on July 9 to feel the pulse of the leaders on the issues at stake. Perhaps it was at that point that the registration of APC became a fait accompli.

INEC had denied going under pressure to frustrate the process of registration of APC on counsel from above. The INEC chairman had cleared the air on this when he averred, “The present leadership of the commission would always protect its integrity and the statutory rules of engagement. It would never allow itself to be pressured to register, deregister or not register any party; and neither would it be stampeded or blackmailed into ignoring statutory provisions in regard of any application.”

The turn of events has set members of the APC in a very high mood about the prospect and hope by the party for a great future. From indications, the leaders of APC and members in general are hoping to take the nation by surprise on their agenda for 2015, the way they just did to get the party officially registered despite all obstacles.

A former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, implied this much when he expressed confidence in the ability of APC to reign from 2015.

“Like millions of Nigerians from all over the country, I am immensely delighted over the successful registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The registration of the party by the electoral body is not the end. It is the beginning of the end of misrule and cluelessness,” he said.

A spokesperson of the APC and former National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Rotimi Fashakin, said with the registration by INEC, APC had now emerged as an alternative party which, he said, would henceforth enable Nigerians to make a choice between good and evil.

He said the umbrella group for the opposition parties would now be in a good position to take the country away from long years of darkness and misrule which, he said, the PDP had forced on Nigerians.

According to him, APC came about as an answer to the sustained yearnings by Nigerians to deepen democracy, and the calibre of politicians who make up the party would deploy experience and expertise to make the party attain power by 2015.

NigerianTribune

Thunder’s shot did not rip goalie’s stomach open –Son

BY OLUFEMI ATOYEBI

Balogun
| credits: File copy

Forty one years after the death of Teslim ‘Thunder’ Balogun, Nigeria’s first player to star in the English Football League, his son, Kayode, tells OLUFEMI ATOYEBI that after his father returned from the UK, all was not well with the prolific striker who led Nigeria football team to the 1968 Olympics

How did your father combine his legendary role in Nigerian football with his functions as a father?

I knew little about my father because he died when we were young and most importantly, he travelled a lot. But I read a lot about him and heard so much about the type of  person he was through his friends and my mother.

From the little time he spent with us, I will say he was a father with two faces. He was a strict disciplinarian who would never overlook a mistake made by any of his children. It was a feature he got as a footballer. Every sportsman must be disciplined to excel on the field. My father was no exemption and he ensured that he instilled the same quality in his children. It did not matter how old you were in those days, once you erred at home, you must be ready to face the penalty.

On the other hand, he was such a caring father because after telling you that you were wrong, he would bring you closer and embrace you as a child. He protected us all and provided for the family. During the short time he spent with his family, he did not ignore his responsibilities as a father. He was not rich but he was always there at the point of our needs.

Above all, my father was a religious person. He feared God and served Him with all he had. We observed all the prayers together and celebrated in a modest way when it was time to mark any of his children’s birthday or any event in the house. He helped many people and although I was young in those days, I noticed that many people came around to seek favours from my father. He gave what he had to people even if it meant that he would suffer.

How much of his career did you know?

My father was a celebrity, but he tried as much as possible to live a quiet live. That was why he trained his children to be humble. He did not drive a car befitting of his social or economic status. He was also always ready to help Nigeria whenever he was called upon. He died in 1972 at 45 but today, it was as if he lived up to 100 years. People loved him and they still show their love for him. Many people did not see him play but they eulogise him at every anniversary of his death.

Did he ever have the opportunity to call his children and tell them stories about himself?

He died at a time no one expected a healthy man to die. I am sure that as a normal human being, he did not prepare to die so soon. Otherwise, he would have called us together and told us things we did not know about him. However, we grew up to know about his background better.

His father, Oseni, was a star cricketer in the 20s; this was the period that my father was born. He grew up to know sports as a family business and he chose football as his own path to stardom. He had what sportsmen usually referred to as bow legs, which aided his skills as a footballer. He was  seven feet tall and he used the height to his advantage.

He attended St. Patricks School, Oko-Awo in Lagos and St. Mary’s School, Port Harcourt and later Cosmopolitan Evening School. All along, he played for the schools’ football teams. By 19, he was the star of Apapa Bombers FC and scored the lone goal when they defeated one of the most formidable teams in Nigeria at the time, Railways XI. He moved on to play for Marine Athletic Club in 1946, UAC XI in 1947 and Railways in 1948. He also played for Union Line in the same year.

By 22, he had represented Nigeria many times and was selected as one of the players to represent the country during the UK Tour where Nigeria played many friendly matches against top clubs in the UK. They did not play with boots but bare feet, sometimes with only bandages around their feet. He joined Jos XI on his return and helped the team reach the final of the Challenge Cup for the first time in 1951 losing to Lagos Railways. After playing for eight first division clubs in 11 years, he left for the UK in 1955 to study printing technology but he was signed by Peterborough United.

In those days, football had more entertainment value than financial importance. If he had played today, he would have been a very rich man. Between 1955 and 1961 when he returned home, he played for a number of clubs, including Queens Park Rangers. He also did a coaching course to become the first UK-trained African coach. He played for Nigeria for 17 years and was the first Nigerian coach to lead Nigeria football team to the Olympics in 1968, drawing 3-3 with Brazil.

Why was your father given the name ‘Thunder’?

His fans gave him the name because he had great shot in both feet which could be likened to the force of thunder.

Where were you when he played in England?

We were all there with him but he brought everybody back when he was returning home in 1961. He did not want to come back but my mother persuaded him to return to Nigeria. When he was leaving in 1955, Nigeria did not want him to go so he travelled through Ghana.

Did you ever watch him play?

I had no opportunity to watch him play live on the pitch. The only time I would have watched him was during a friendly match at the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan (now Obafemi Awolowo Stadium), but the match was put off. I can’t remember why it was cancelled but that was my last chance to see him live in action.

Is it true that your father tore a goalkeeper’s stomach with a shot?

People said a lot of things about my father. Some of them are true, others false. Sometimes, I laugh after hearing some funny tales about my father. One of the funny tales is that of the goalkeeper who died after trying to stop my father’s shot. Well, the truth is that he did not tear his stomach with the shot. The goalkeeper had an injury trying to stop his shot and because the medical facility at the time was not as efficient as we have today, he died of injury. But my father did not have the intention of killing the goalkeeper with the shot. It was a match and he only tried to score for his side. My mother and uncles, who saw more of my father, told the children a lot about him.

How did your father get the special skills he displayed on the pitch?

He had many firsts in his life and when others were playing with boots, he played bare-footed in extreme cold regions in the UK. But those were attributes given by God. He gave few people such talent in each generation just as He had done with the greatest inventors of past generations. My father’s talent was recognised by the Queen of England and when he died, she sent a letter to my mother. We don’t know where the letter is again because my mother almost ran mad when my father died. So, she just put the letter somewhere. But she told us that the Queen sent a condolence letter.

Where were you when he died?

I was in the boarding house at the Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro. I was in form two. My two other brothers were also in the school. The last born in our family was a baby when our father died. Our guardian and counsellor, the late M.A. Kuti came to me in the hostel and told me that I had to travel to Ibadan with my brothers. We were confused because the last time my father came to coach the school’s football team, he told us he would take us abroad when he visited again. So, we thought it was time to go. I gave out some of my clothes to my friends thinking that I would be going abroad.  I had never seen a dead man before so when I saw my dad corpse, I thought he was sleeping. I asked my mother why he was sleeping in a box (coffin) and why we had so many people in the house. She was just crying. Then I knew something bad had happened to the family.

His corpse was taken in a motorcade to Onikan Stadium in Lagos but when we arrived at the stadium, Lagosians became aggressive and started sending away every man with tribal mark. They said Ibadan people did not treat my father well and that was why he died early. The late Chief Lekan Salami had to disguise to enter the stadium for the lying-in-state.

Did your father have problems with Ibadan people?

He lived all his life serving Nigeria and worked as chief coach of the old Western Region, with Ibadan as his base. He was given the job by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo but the former Premier did not know that my father was not treated well in Ibadan. He had a turbulent period working there because some of his entitlements were not paid. Maybe he was treated so because he was not an Ibadan man but he helped them train many great coaches including Jide Johnson. He was at a time abandoned but my mother persuaded him to continue. My mother told me everything.

How did your mother cope with the training  of eight children alone?

It was a tough time for the family. We went through difficult times to survive but all thanks to God and my mother. There was no assistance from anywhere and she sold almost all her belongings including expensive jewellery, to train us.

How did your father die?

My mother said he called her in the night and they spoke about their life journey until around 2am when he eventually went to sleep. It was an unusual conversation but there was nothing to suggest that he was spending his last night with the family. In the morning, she tried to wake him up but he was gone. She called our family doctor, Dr. Olusanya, who confirmed that he was dead.

Could you remember your last meeting with him?

It was when he came to train my school team at Comprehensive High School Ayetoro. One of my brothers was the best player in the school but my father told the team after training that my brother, whom we all thought was a great dribbler, was after all a bad player. We were all dumbfounded by his remark. That was our last meeting before he died.

How about your mother?

Unfortunately, we lost her after all the troubles. She suffered a lot but she did not live long enough to enjoy the fruits of her labour. She developed high blood pressure after losing my father but we managed her condition for more than 30 years before she died. We celebrated our mother’s 60th birthday in 1998 but on the same day, she went into a coma for 18 days before she died. Chief Molade Okoya was the chairman during the birthday ceremony.

Did she have any regret before she died?

She was not happy with Oyo State because of the way the Ibadan people treated my father. The state did not support our family after my father’s death.

Did she tell you how she met your father?

My mother, Mulikat, was a table tennis player and very elegant. She had no male friends but through her brothers who were footballers, my father had access to her and approached her. They married in the 50s. Chief Molade Okoya played a role in my parents’ relationship. My mother was in her late 20s when we lost our father.

You and your siblings took after your father by playing football. How was it like stepping into his shoes?

That was not possible. No one can be like Thunder Balogun and when I played for clubs in Nigeria, I was not looking forward to be like him. All of us knew that he was a special individual and we did not have his talent. We were able to assist my mother with the training of our younger siblings from the income we got from playing football.

I played more than the rest, playing for NEPA, Stores, Water Corporation, First Bank and Abiola Babes. I would have earned more money in Abiola Babes but my mother told me to leave because she did not want me to play for the late Chief MKO Abiola club. I think she was reacting to something that happened a long time ago. I chose to play for Abiola to show that our family had nothing against him but my mother insisted that I should quit the club.

I remember sharing the same room with Mitchel Obi (sports journalist) in the university. Each time we had a match, he would come to me and give me a meal ticket so that I could have strength. It was a big support, one among the many I never got.

Where are your other siblings?

I have seven siblings. They are Tunde, Tokunbo, Olamide, Jibola, Iyabo, Bioye and Oluwole. Most of them have returned to the UK. We are all doing well now but it’s painful that our mother is not alive to witness what we have been doing to immortalise our father.

Will you say that Nigeria has done enough to recognise your father’s contribution to the development of sports in the country?

Well at least, Lagos State has done well to recognise him. A major stadium is named after him and there is a foundation in his name wihich the late Olu Lagunju was fully involved its establishment. We are celebrating the 41st anniversary of my father’s death and it’s unfortunate that Lagunju is not around again to play his role. I must also thank the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola who has done a lot to immortalise my father.

Did your father die a fulfilled man?

Like I said earlier, he was a special individual and I believed that he enjoyed himself. He had fun playing around the world and socially, he enjoyed himself. He loved taking a little beer when he was relaxed. He had great time with his children, taking us to the field and teaching us how to play football.

Would you have wished that he was not a famous person if that would have preserved his life?

God brought him to this world to fulfil a purpose and He chose a path for him to excel. We have no power over that. Being famous made him a respected person and I think I would pray that he comes back to this world as a sportsman.

7 things you didn’t know about my parents

• He died in his sleep

• He travelled to the UK through Ghana because Nigeria did not want him to go

• He spoke with my mum till 2am on the day he died

• He was not flamboyant

• He was the first African to be awarded a coaching certificate in the UK

• He taught his children how to play football

•The Queen of England sent a condolence letter when he died

Punch

Jonathan’s advisers misleading him –Unongo

 BY ALLWELL OKPI 

Unongo

Second Republic Minister of Steel and spokesman for the Northern Elders’ Forum, Dr. Paul Unongo, speaks on North’s opposition to President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid and other political developments in this interview withALLWELL OKPI

Going by recent media reports, the people of the Middle Belt seem to be opposed to the North’s position on 2015 and they are apparently supporting President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election. Isn’t this a significant political development?

Middle Belt people are not opposed to the position of the North. I’m from the Middle Belt and I claim to be the current political father of the Middle Belt in terms of contribution and the history of the movement known as the Middle Belt Movement, and its antecedence. I will not support Jonathan blindly. I supported him blindly before, I won’t support him now. People just talk politics but they don’t know what is involved. If I don’t support Jonathan, he won’t be able to win in the Middle Belt. When he came to Benue, I spoke on behalf of the people of Benue. We have a very important link in something called Middle Belt. We have the Tiv, who constitute the single largest group in the Middle Belt. They are more in number in Benue State; they are more in number in Taraba State; they are more in number in Nasarawa State. I do know factually and for many reasons, Jonathan believes that the Tiv do not exist. People are deceiving him through Governor Gabriel Suswan that the Tiv are happy. How can Jonathan come into governance, the first time, and gave us an excuse why he did not have a Tiv man in his cabinet? And I told him, bluntly, ‘Don’t do it. You are being misled by people who say we share population 50-50 with the Idoma in Benue State.’ For every six, seven or 10 people that are Tiv, it is just one Idoma man. And he gave them (the Idoma) disproportionate advantages. I warned him that we (the Tiv) are the ones who have the population but Jonathan took a decision to hang up to a young governor, who felt threatened and thinks that Jonathan will keep making him governor in perpetuity. He is dealing with Suswan, who has irritated people in the state and the Tiv people are not with him. I’m in the Peoples Democratic Party. I was the one who spoke when Jonathan came here. I was the one who assured him that we were going to vote for him emotionally. To define ‘emotionally,’ I told him ‘you are a minority.’ We of the Middle Belt; we of Benue; we of the central region of Nigeria will react emotionally to the idea of the minority. But, I warned him to bring a Tiv man into his government. It is wrong to go to a place and disrespect people that have been marginalised. Politics is about perception and emotion. He promised me he would make that correction, that we should still be patient with him and help him to win. We helped him. We gave him full support without regard to partisan politics. After the election, what did Jonathan do? Jonathan, for whatever reasons known to him, didn’t consult any of us and went ahead to appoint an Idoma person as a full cabinet minister — the Minister of Interior, (Abba Moro). Afterwards, (Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs) Doyin Okupe called me and said they told them the man was a Tiv man. He is not a Tiv man; he is an Idoma man. He is a boy to (the Senate President) David Mark. So, we knew that David Mark must have influenced Jonathan. I tried to protest but President Jonathan put a distance between himself and me. Jonathan later made a Tiv junior minister. That is an abomination. Jonathan knows that the Senate President is an Idoma from Benue and there are two Idoma people as cabinet ministers. What kind of politics is that? The Tiv people now know Jonathan. Since we form the majority in three states of the Middle Belt, we are not going to vote for him. They will tell him a lot of lies to make money from him but we won’t vote for him.

But some weeks ago, some prominent leaders of the Middle Belt, including John Wash Pam, endorsed Jonathan for second term. Are you saying that doesn’t matter?

Who are the people that are talking about being Middle Belt? I don’t want to mention names but ask the man (Ameh Ebute) who went to the State House with John Wash Pam to say the Middle Belt wants Jonathan to remain President in perpetuity. Ask him in whose party was he before he became (Third Republic) Senate President? Ask him who made him, an Idoma, Senate President? Who was the Senate President then? It was Iyorchia Ayu. I and my friend, Shehu Yar’ Adua, for political reasons, removed my own tribesman Iyorchia Ayu. I told this man (Ameh Ebute) in advance, ‘I’m going to make you Senate President.’ We made him Senate President. Unless he denies now, he knows that I’m his political leader and I took him to the Senate.  He went to endorse Jonathan without consulting me. It was my people who defended the Niger Delta. Young men don’t know this but we, the Tiv, made capital contributions to consolidating and bringing about democracy in the country. When a government that is supposed to be the government of the minority comes, there should be a difference. In the minority, some tribes are bigger than others. I think we are the biggest minority tribe. The whole of Ijaw is 1.5 million, while we are more than six million people. How can Jonathan, who is from Ijaw, ignore my people?

Are you opposed to Jonathan’s second term basically because he ignored Tiv people?

Not just that. I’ve been speaking on the Nigerian political level. Intellectually, I should vote for somebody, based on his performance. What performance has Jonathan put up that is going to convince me as a person from the place that the British named Northern Nigeria, which the Middle Belt is a part of? That is me. Go and see the Babangidas, the people that influence things in their states like Niger. Do you think Niger people don’t know Jerry Gana? Is it Jerry Gana that informs and influences public opinion in Niger State? Definitely not. It is people like Governor Babangida  Aliyu, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, both of them former military rulers. They all had sympathy for Mr. President, just like I did. When you go to Taraba State, who is more prominent than Gen. Theophilus Danjuma? He supported Jonathan 100 per cent. Call him and find out if he is happy with the performance of the President. I think he will tell you that he is not satisfied with the performance of the person we sat down and planned to put in power. Now Jonathan has become powerful and he has been taken over by the Edwin Clarks. The Ijaw people now feel they are so strong because oil flows from their land. People like (ex-militant leader) Asari Dokubo now threaten Nigerians saying, ‘if you don’t vote Jonathan for second term, we will come and beat you up.’ Nigeria has never been run like that. We’ve never had it the way we have it in this country today. We made friends across the nation. You don’t pack the country’s money and give to criminals, so that they can sing your praises. And anybody who tries to voice his opinion about Jonathan will be insulted. The other day, some of them, mainly Ijaw people, were abusing me, saying Paul Unongo is not a Tiv man. What is their business with the North? I cannot be intimidated. Those people who are educated know that I come from the North; the Middle Belt is in the North. They were insinuating that we were the people who chopped their oil money. I didn’t benefit one naira from oil money. I never had a contract in this country. I was a minister for only six months. I produced steel and they said I took plenty of oil money, and I didn’t produce steel. These are lazy people. They speak to annoy people and they think they are helping Jonathan. They are not. They are making people turn away from Jonathan. They are a bunch of jokers. It’s going to be very difficult for them to get people from the Middle Belt as they are hoping. How can the Middle Belt and other minority tribes be led by Edwin Clark to Jonathan? What a joke? You see, that is the kind of insult we have always received. How would I fight so hard for my freedom to speak on behalf of my people and another man will say ‘I’m leading you to go and see Jonathan?’ Suddenly he has become the leader of the Middle Belt and the South-South. It cannot be. It cannot happen. These are political jokes that have terrible implications for Jonathan. Those people saying Middle Belt will vote for Jonathan are only hoping to rig the election. The possibility of rigging election in 2015 is very slim. Some of us will make sure that in our areas rigging election will be as difficult as it was in Edo State during the last governorship election. I think Edo has taught us a lesson that we should be vigilant and insist on a transparent election. I don’t think it is going to be an easy walkover for Jonathan in the Middle Belt.

But the argument for a northerner becoming President in 2015 has been largely based on the idea that it is the turn of the North and not necessarily Jonathan’s performance. 

When it comes to the literal allocation of government, the North has a case. Honestly. Those who say this case cannot be presented are jokers. The people pushing North’s case are not dumb. I taught in the university, Prof. Ango Abdullahi was the Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He is not a mad man; he is a professor of agriculture, an agronomist. I’m a psychologist. I was Head of Psychology Department, University of Lagos. We couldn’t be talking without having facts. Do you think we can’t convince our people when we can see the statistics? The North of today is not the North of yesterday. There are thousands and thousands of graduates in the North and they are unemployed because some of them are messed up by the dearth of employment and the economy of Nigeria. And we know where the blame is. If you try to do something on a personal level, the cost of electricity will kill you. If you want to go back to agriculture, your chicken will die because there is no power supply. It is going to be very difficult to convince northerners that Jonathan is the best candidate.

Historically, there has been this clamour by the people of the Middle Belt to differentiate themselves from the Hausa-Fulani dominated North. How come you speak as though the two sides will be in league against Jonathan?

You know these people are so uneducated that they cannot even read history. Weren’t there different tribes in the North fighting the Hausa or at least the Fulani during the British colonial era? We formed the United Middle Belt Congress and we went into alliance with the Action Group. When the Northern Peoples Congress controlled government of Northern Nigeria, they dealt with a Borno person, Ibrahim, who was a leader of opposition in the House. They burnt down his house in Maiduguri and stopped him from  going physically to stand election. We, who are almost 100 per cent Christians, went to Borno, which is inhabitably almost 100 per cent Muslims, picked this Borno man and brought him to Gboko and voted for him en masse. He did not canvass for votes but we gave him the biggest number of votes cast for any person at that time in Northern Nigeria. He was returned to the Northern House of Assembly as the leader of opposition. Now, Borno is a place where there is Boko Haram, with so much devastation. This place called Northern Nigeria became roughly two-thirds of the landmass of Nigeria and has over half of the population of Nigeria. If there is critical need for the people of Northern Nigeria to cooperate with one another, we will always cooperate. For example, I grew up with Ango Abdullahi. He is a Muslim, I’m a Christian and he is not a stranger to me. The people from the Niger Delta are strangers to me. But those funny people have come to tell the Middle Belt that the Muslims have been cheating them. Which Muslims have been cheating them? I was the secretary to Joseph Tarfa, who was the leader of United Middle Belt Congress–the party that was winning elections and agitating for the breakup of the huge Northern Nigeria to form a Middle-Belt region. But we didn’t succeed. It is stupidity to think that there is one dichotomised group called Fulani and another dichotomised group called Middle Belt and they don’t like each other. We don’t hate each other. Hatred doesn’t exist. It exists only in the mind of foolish people.

Don’t you think Jonathan is succeeding in dividing the North ahead of 2015; you said Middle Belt won’t support him while some people from the zone are saying otherwise?

I don’t speculate. But if I were Jonathan, I would do whatever it takes to divide the people opposing me. I will apply the British style of divide-and-rule, because if I succeed in dividing them I will rule. But the current leadership of the North is made up of people who are so mature that they know the tactics Jonathan and his people can apply. We will not allow them to divide us. But the most important thing before me is Nigeria. I worked so hard for the Independence and stability of Nigeria. I feel that people in government are messing us up to the extent that people are beginning to go back to their primordial cares. I’ve never had any doubt in my mind that Nigeria is a beautiful experiment. I’m praying to God that we will get a better person; a more interactive person that will know that the story of Nigeria is not just about oil and chopping money. I can still go to war to make sure that Nigeria does not break up. If there is opportunity for dialogue, we will go for it, but don’t impose Jonathan on us we are not going to accept that.

In recent times Northern youths have been vocal blaming their woes on elders like you. Don’t you think they will take a different stand in 2015?            

I support the frustration of the northern youths. How do you explain to them when they see how Jonathan is using the power of governance to empower his people, giving them huge contracts in dollars? How do you convince them when criminals are pardoned and rehabilitated, including someone convicted in a British court? How do you talk to them when they ask you: ‘Why didn’t our people do like Jonathan when they were in power? Why did they not empower northerners? Why did they not develop the North? Why did they not do something to stop the Sahara Desert? They ask endless questions. They get angry at history. They get angry at their elders. Some of us had explained to them that those who ruled meant well, but they were not aggressive enough in developing the North. But now they are not seeing fair play. They are seeing impunity in governance and they are wishing that the northerners who were in government had been like that. The northerners that ruled this country did not do the kind of thing that Jonathan did in Rivers State, where five have become greater than 27 and everybody was beaten up. Governance now means that if the President’s wife doesn’t like a governor she can install another one or go and block the road and stop a man who is the chief executive of a state. That was unheard of when northerners were in power. We will not do the kind of arbitrariness that we find in Jonathan’s government. What I tell the northern youths is that they should bring their youthfulness and let us solve this problem. They cannot blame it on us. All the northerners that ruled Nigeria were youths. For example, Yakubu Gowon was 29 when he became the Head of State with absolute power. You can’t go and ask him now that he is in his 80s that why didn’t he do what Jonathan is doing when he was in government? We are now telling our youths to join hands with us and let get the power back.  We are not going to be in government, but the youths will be. We are telling them not to make the mistake the past people made.

 Following recent political trend, it seems the North will collaborate with the South-West to challenge Jonathan in 2015. Does this mean that the North’s presidential aspiration may be actualised on the platform of the newly formed All Progressives Congress?     

Let’s go back to history. In global Nigerian politics, if you include the minorities of the South, with the sympathies of Chief Awolowo in the South-West, which is Yorubaland, then your proposition is correct and it is likely to be repeated. It appears to me that because of what Jonathan and his advisers have carelessly done, your observation is correct. If Bola Tinubu slows down and applies his mind, and if he convinces my friend and brother, the former dictator, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, not to think about becoming a presidential candidate, that kind of combination is possible. I don’t mind belonging to such alliance. And a lot of people in PDP will not mind belonging to that. And perhaps for the first time, Nigerians will have a major political party that people out of their free will and out of their frustration will embrace.

Punch

2015: APC takes battle to Jonathan’s stronghold •South-South, South-East to get top slots

 BY NIYI ODEBODE, JOHN ALECHENU AND ALWELL OKPI 

Buhari, Tinubu and Onu

The newly registered All Progressives Congress has launched a charm offensive to woo the South-East and South-South zones, which are considered to be the strongholds of President Goodluck Jonathan.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered on Friday that the party, having realised its weakness and President Jonathan’s strength in the two zones, has decided to revisit the zoning of its offices.

Sources told our correspondents that the mega opposition party might zone its vice-presidential ticket and top party offices to the South-East and South-South. Currently, the new party has a governor in the two zones apiece.

President Jonathan is from the South-South, Vice-President Namadi Sambo (North-West); Senate President David Mark (North-Central); the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal (North-West); Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim (South-East); Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu (South-East); and Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha (South-East).

An  APC chief, who confided in one of our correspondents, said, “We believe that we should not have any problem in the North-West, North-East, North-Central and the South-East.

 “But we need to do more work in the South-East and South-South. From all indications, President Goodluck Jonathan will get the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential ticket. He has strong support in the two zones. We, therefore, need to neutralise him there.

“Apart from embarking on aggressive campaigns in the two zones, more positions will be zoned to the areas. The South-East may get the vice-presidential slot, while the post of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation may go to the South-South. The presence of the  Edo State Governor, Adam Oshiomhole and his Imo State counterpart, Rochas Okorocha, will also assist us in the zones.”

The APC leader also explained that the present structure of the party was tentative, adding the composition of its National Working Committee would be national.

According to him, the structure of the party will emerge after its national convention

He said, “We have learnt from the mistakes of the PDP.  Although there is a gentleman’s agreement that the presidency will go to the North, others zones will not be neglected.

“We believe that even in the South-South, this government has not met the expectations of Nigerians. The rate of poverty in the country is going up in spite of figures being reeled out by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.”

The APC’s present interim management includes Chief Bisi Akande (Chairman); Senator Annie Okonkwo (Deputy Chairman, South); Aminu Masari (Deputy Chairman, North); Mr. Tijani Tumsah (Secretary); Mallam Nasir-el-Rufai(Deputy National Secretary); Hajiya Sadiya (Treasurer); Mr. Lai Mohammed (National Publicity Secretary); and Mr. Isa Madu Chul (Deputy National Publicity Secretary).

Others are the National Organising  Secretary,  Senator Osita Izunaso; National Vice-Chairman for South-West, Mr. Niyi Adebayo; National Vice-Chairman, South-South, Chief Tom Ikimi; National Vice-Chairman, North-Central, Gen. Abdullahi Aboki; National Vice-Chairman, South-East, Dr. Ayim Nyerere; National Vice-Chairman, North-West, Mr. Salisu Fagge; and National Vice-Chairman, North-East, Mr. Umaru Duhu.

The party has governors in 11 states: Edo (South-South);  Nasarawa (North-Central);   Imo (South-East); Zamfara, (North-West); Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun (South-West), Borno and Yobe (North-East).

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the party, among other strategies, was banking on the incumbency factor to retain the 11 states. Although the APC only controls Zamfara State in the North-West and Borno and Yobe states in the North-East, it is banking on the presence of the former presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) in the party to sway voters in the two zones. Buhari enjoys tremendous goodwill in the core North.

Besides the former head of state, other prominent northerners in the party are a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Masari, and an ex-governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Yerima.

The APC is also said to be enjoying the backing of top members of the Northern Elders’ Forum and the Arewa Consultative Forum, who see it as an alternative platform for the North to actualise its plan to produce the president in 2015.

The party, sources say, is banking on the popularity of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in the South-West to retain the zone while also being optimistic that Goodluck Jonathan administration’s alleged marginalisation of the South-West would make it difficult for the ruling party to win the zone.

When asked the plans of the APC for the two zones, the Interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said the party would focus on the South-East and the South-South.

“Even before the advent of the APC, at the level of the ACN, we had a strong presence in Edo State, which is in the South-South. The governor is in APC, and we have members of the National Assembly.

Also in Anambra, in the South-East, we have federal legislators. We also have a presence in Imo State. We know that Jonathan got a lot of votes from the South-East and South-South in 2011, but things are changing. We know that we have a lot of work in those two zones and we will not relent.”

Similarly, former National Publicity Secretary of the now defunct CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, confirmed the possibility of a realignment of structure.

Fashakin said, “The truth of the matter is that the offices were shared when we were three different parties.

“Now that we are one party, there is nothing like CPC, ACN or ANPP anymore. It’s all one single party — APC. You know, a part of APGA is in this enterprise. The Anambra State election will be a test case. We will work at getting Anambra, and from there we can reach the whole of the South-East.

“We are going to work in all geopolitical zones to ensure the complete routing of the PDP. There will be no hiding place for the PDP. By next week, we will begin membership registration across the country. Everybody will be on the same level. It is going to be a mass movement.

“For the South-South, the question is what have the South-South people benefitted from Jonathan’s government, except the Ijaw people? But it is not only Ijaw people that are in the South-South. We will reach out to every ethnic group in the South-South and other zones too. We will soon hold our convention and whatever issues are left will be sorted out.”

On his part, the spokesman for erstwhile All Nigerian Peoples Party, Emma Eneukwu, said the APC was certain of getting the South-East.

“Igbo people now know that Jonathan is not working in their interest. So, through Imo State that is already with APC, we will get the South-East. We may consider zoning if it becomes necessary. Now that we have been registered, we are starting massive mobilisation across all zones of the country, South-East and South-South will not be exceptions,” he said.

Fashakin further disclosed that the defunct constituent parties of the APC would meet on Tuesday to discuss “guidelines.”

He said, “One thing I am sure of is that our mobilisation efforts will be comprehensively done. We are going to the polling unit level. That is why it is going to be big trouble for the PDP because in our constitution, we are going to have executive committees of five persons each, in each polling unit.

“If INEC says that there are 120 polling units, there will be at least five persons in each of those polling units. The Independent National Electoral Commission too will have to conduct credible elections because they are being watched by Nigerians every step of the way.”

Punch

Scrap JAMB, UBEC now –Don

 BY MOTUNRAYO JOEL 

Prof. Olakunle Lawal

Former Commissioner of Education in Lagos State, Prof. Olakunle Lawal, tells MOTUNRAYO JOEL that many private universities employ lecturers that fall below standard

 With Nigerian universities locked for the past five weeks because of the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ strike, how can such action be prevented in the future?

The first issue that has to be addressed is the issue of commitment on the part of every party involved. ASUU is very committed to improving education in Nigeria. At the same time, it should be noted that some of the approaches taken by the union are discomforting.

The commitment of ASUU is not in doubt; it’s the commitment of the bureaucrats that handle routine educational matters in government that is in question. Once the issue of commitment is sorted out, we can be sure that everything else will fall in line. This leads to the issue of the challenge which public universities face-the growing tendency for top level administration officials to establish private universities. For that reason, one would have expected that there should be a response by the government to improve on the funding of our public universities but unfortunately, the reverse is the case. The Federal Government should be able to sign an agreement and implement it. It all boils down to commitment on the part of the government.

Can we blame the nation’s education structure for the frequent strike in the sector?

We cannot solely blame the structure because it has never changed from the time when it produced great results. It’s now that people are trying to introduce practicality into education. But we should know that university education is not about practicality. It’s about the development of high level manpower for the economy. What we now have is slight modification which does not affect the input of education at the higher institution level. In fact the danger is that we have too many private universities for Nigeria’s level of development. We have so many of these private universities having teachers who are far below standard. The structure is not to blame; the teachers and non-teaching infrastructure trigger strike actions.

Do you think the government has too many roles to handle in the education sector?

Yes the government is munching, trying to force everything down its throat. Look at what is happening in secondary education; the Federal Government has no business with secondary education. The best that can be done is to give out Federal Government colleges to the states to manage. The challenge that the Federal Government has is the divisional policies that infiltrate government policies. For example, former President Olusegun Obasanjo tried to hands off the management of secondary schools and teachers were against his move because it was assumed that they will be fired. In my view, when the Federal Government hands over its colleges, there should be the relocation of human assets in which all these teachers will be absorbed into the state government and those with additional qualification will be posted back to the ministry. Once the government does this, it has enough time to handle core issues. Its role should be limited to curricula development at the secondary school level. Those are two areas that the Federal Government should concentrate on. Bodies such as the  Universal Basic Education should be scrapped. It is a very big pipeline for fraud. In 2004/2005, UBEC was awarding contracts to supply plastic chairs to all primary schools. That was a ridiculous action when it should have concentrated on research and development in education. This goes to show that there are too many bureaucracies. Once the interest of the Federal Government is whittled down from primary school and secondary school level, then it can naturally concentrate on tertiary education.

Apart from UBEC, which other educational agencies do you consider irrelevant to the system?

UBEC has no business existing, it is a big bureaucracy. Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board is another one to be scrapped. All these bodies are not performing. National Universities Commission was established as a yardstick for measuring standard in other universities. But now, the NUC has expanded its goals beyond its borders. There are just too many bureaucracies. And the idea of restructuring has to do with role defining. There should be definition of roles, goals and missions for each of these agencies. If we can properly settle this area, then we can talk of the appropriately skilled manpower to be put in place. There are too many dead wood organisations that should be scrapped in the sector.

Do you think that the nation’s falling education standard should be addressed at the primary level or between the secondary and tertiary level?

I don’t know what people mean when they say that our education standard has fallen. The standard is still there but the quality of the people that are in charge of auditing our education appears to be weak. I read a lot of essays from my students and I’m so surprised at the kind of grammar they write. It’s unbelievable. So it has to do with the developmental process and how they entered the university which obviously was through the examination conducted by JAMB. Once these students pass JAMB, the problem escalates.

The truth is that we should return the university system back to the days of concessional exams. Let us scrap JAMB, once this is done, universities can then manage their own internal examinations. Individual interests should not matter once national interest is at stake.

What did you do differently during your tenure as Lagos State commissioner for education?

The first thing I did was to organise the rebuilding of all public schools in the state, which was my idea. Then, there was the problem of school buildings collapsing, killing children and spreading across the state. In one of the meetings, I decided we should do something about it. This then led to the establishment of the Special Committee on the Rehabilitation of Public Schools in Lagos.  I also implemented the Teaching Service Reform law. This was because teachers who had spent over 30 years in service could only be appointed as directors, I found this unfair. So it was a tug of war between the commissioner and bureaucrats. Former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu then set up a committee made up of myself, the special adviser of education, attorney general and head of service to look into the issue. At the end, I presented a memo which contained the enactment of the Teaching Service Reform law.  Lagos State was then restructured into six educational districts and what we did was to appoint an experienced teacher as the tutor general/permanent secretary. The idea was to set up a body that would reward teachers who were putting in their best. By the time I left the Ministry of Education, at least six states had come to understudy how I did it and they introduced the idea in their states.

We also made frantic efforts to return discipline to our schools through the code of conduct which was signed by teachers, students and parents. For example, if a student was late for a number of hours, there is a punishment which the principal can institute immediately. Before the code of conduct was designed, the principal could not do anything. We also established new schools across the state. There was also an improvement in the funding of Lagos State University. I was the commissioner who recommended and got the approval to divide the money that we normally accrued to LASU on a monthly basis from the money we accrued to the Lagos State College of Medicine.

What were the challenges that you faced?

I tried to deal with unlicensed private schools and what I got in return was court cases. These schools took me to court. Another challenge was the introduction of lifelong sex education. We had several cases of pupils getting pregnant. So I partnered with a non-governmental organisation to introduce sex education in public schools. Then, the Catholic churches, Ansar-Ud-Deen Society and so many religious organisations took offence.  I also battled with in-house corruption.

Is education in Lagos State where it should be now?

Education in Lagos is far better than most states in the country, but the challenge of increasing population is affecting the state. The population is expanding, but facilities are not expanding. The state is badly congested.

People complain that education in Lagos is expensive compared to other states. Is this true?

Then, they should move back to their states of origin. People should be ready to pay. If you want to come to Lagos go ahead, but you must be ready to pay.

Shouldn’t education be completely free up to tertiary level?

It should be free; the debate has always been on as to what should be the actual cost of education. But as you know, it’s a very sensitive matter that I don’t wish to dwell on.  I didn’t pay any fee in the university. However, I think the government should review the cost of tertiary education.

It seems the scholarship that helped many Nigerians get quality education abroad no longer exists. Why is this so?

The truth is that the scholarship matter is based on who you know. I have no apology for that. But those who are very good can get scholarship. However, the challenge of scholarship is the result of dwindling resources caused by corruption, and it has affected the award of scholarships today.

Punch