Grace to Grass: The Untold Story of ST Oredein, a Political Godfather Who Became a Robbery Kingpin.

There was no one in Western Nigeria who did not know S. T. Oredein. If there was such a person, he must have just arrived from Planet Jupiter. Chief Samuel Taiwo Oredein was not just a politician. He was politics personified. He was a kingmaker. He was a godfather. In fact, he was the Big Boss. Oredein belonged to the exclusive club of the seven people who partnered with Chief Obafemi Awolowo to establish the Action Group which became the party that produced the first premier of the region. You don’t know the other founders? I will tell you. They are: Abiodun Akerele, Ade Akinsanya, J. O. Adigun, S. O. Shonibare, Ayo Akinsanya, and Olatunji Dosunmu. ST did not hold a cabinet position. He was however more powerful than some Ministers of government. He was the Principal Organising Secretary of the Action Group in the First Republic. It is on record that ST had legal authority to issue query to Ministers and chairmen of government’s statutory corporations. It was Chief Oredein that broke the news of Segun's death to Chief Awolowo. As an acclaimed authority on political moblisation, he also wrote a book. He was the author of A Manual on Action Group Party Organisation. It was published in 1955. When the news broke in 1971 of his involvement in a case of armed robbery, it was greeted with shock and unbelief. It must have been a mistake, people thought. Or could it have been a political frame-up? Today, Onigegewura brings you the story of a political godfather who became a robbery kingpin. On April 13, 1971, Nigerians woke up to hear the news of an armed robbery attack on Bacita Road. Bacita is a small town in Kwara State. It used to be a very popular town in the past. It is the location of Nigerian Sugar Company. When the company was established in 1964, it was the first integrated sugar factory in Nigeria. The town even has an airstrip. The armed robbery attack was as daring as it was audacious. It was carried out with military precision. Two officers of Barclays Bank and two policemen who were in the vehicles that were attacked by the armed robbers were seriously wounded. One of the wounded persons later died of his injuries at the hospital. (And in case you are wondering what happened to the then Barclays Bank, it is the bank that became our present day Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.) At the end of the ‘operation’, the armed robbers went away with a box containing thirteen thousand pounds. That was a lot of money in 1971. Chief Awolowo was then the Finance Minister and with his prudent management of Nigerian economy, our pound was almost at par with the British pound. Mr. Kam Salem was the Inspector General of Police at the time. The Kam Salem House on Moloney Street, Obalende, Lagos is named after him. He directed all police formations across the country to fish out those behind the attack. The police spread its dragnet and within days of the robbery, Felix Dumeh, the leader of the gang was arrested. Nigerians jubilated when they heard the news. Felix did not make any attempt to deny being the ringleader. He promised to cooperate with the police. He told his interrogators that although he was the leader of the gang, he was not the real brain behind the daring raid. Felix must have at some point in his life aspired to be a musician. He began to sing like a canary. He started to mention names. The investigators listened in shock as Felix began to mention one name after another. He was not mentioning names of common criminals that the police officers were familiar with. The names of people he mentioned as his backers, protectors and shareholders were names of people you only read about in newspapers. The first person he mentioned was a Chief Superintendent of Police at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Ibadan, Patrick Njovens. The interrogators opened their mouth in wonder. Felix threw another bomb when he mentioned Mr. Yesufu Bello, an Assistant Superintendent of Police also of CID, Ibadan. The third person he listed as his backer was Amusa Abidogun, a Chief Inspector of Police stationed in Ibadan. The investigators thought they had heard everything. They didn’t know that egun nla ni o n kehin igbale. It is the biggest masquerade that is the last to come out of the grove. Then Felix spoke again. The name came out in a whisper. It was the name they were all familiar with. I have already told you that there was no one in the Western Region that did not know High Chief Oredein. Iya Agba, my grandmother, used to tell me that when a child’s net catches a tilapia, the child eats it alone. But when the net catches a shark, the child must run to his father. The investigators knew immediately that this was not a tilapia. The fish they were looking at was nothing but a shark. They went to brief their superior. The Kwara State Commissioner of Police was Mr. Sunday Adewusi. He was later to serve as the Inspector General of Police between 1981 and 1983. Ha! You remember him? He was the IGP when Alhaji Shehu Shagari was the President. Mr. Adewusi sent his officers to Ibadan Command to investigate the matter. On getting to Ibadan, Adewusi’s officers were arrested by the three senior police officers they were sent to arrest! You are saying “Haba!” The hunters became the hunted. The Ilorin officers were later thrown out of the station! They were warned never to come to Ibadan again. The three senior officers however didn’t reckon with Adewusi’s tenacity. He came back and got the three of them arrested. He took them to Ilorin. He also invited Chief Oredein for a 'chat'. Chief Oredein arrived at the Police Command in a grand style. He came to Ilorin in his Mercedes car with its unique plate number: WR 6666. He expected it to be a brief meeting. He had engagements later that day in Ibadan and he had promised to be back at his base before nightfall. Unknown to ST, the police had done their homework thoroughly. They had painstakingly investigated the case and gathered relevant evidence and related materials before inviting the political godfather. One of the people that the police met in the course of their investigation was Mustapha Adigun who was popularly called Balewa. He got the nickname from the abbreviation of his first name, Tafa! But he was never a Prime Minister. He was also called Tafa Igiripa by some people. Adigun claimed that Oredein was his boss during the days of politics when he (Adigun) was the head of ST’s political boys. He informed the police that in the evening of the day of the armed robbery attack, he went with his boss to the house of Felix Dumeh. In addition to his boss, the three police officers mentioned by Felix were also present. I am not sure they were wearing police uniforms for that special assignment. Felix was said to have brought out a bottle of schnapps and some pieces of alligator pepper. He opened the bottle and poured a little quantity on the floor and also threw some alligator pepper on the floor. Like a Chief Priest, Felix then raised the bottle of the alcoholic drink and said: “this thing wey tin we dey do, God make it no let it prove.” They all chorused amen to the solemn prayers. Felix then drank out of the bottle and chewed one alligator pepper. The four of them also drank out of the bottle and chewed alligator pepper. Oath taking and prayers completed, Felix went to bring a brown paper bag. It was the size of a carton. He gave it to Oredein. ST was about to open the carton when Amusa Abidogun, the Chief Inspector of Police snatched it from him. Abidogun passed the carton to his superior officer Njovens, with a smart police salute. You know seniority is important in the Force. It was the Chief Superintendent of Police who finally opened the paper bag. It was full of currency. Njovens looked suspiciously at the carton, his eyes made a mental calculation of the total sum. “How much?” He asked. Felix raised his spread left palm before saying “Five.” The senior police officer shook his head. “Is that the arrangement? Before, the arrangement was seven” Felix began to fidget. “The boys are too many on it.” Well, half a loaf of bread was still bread. Five or Seven, Njovens was not one to reject money. Akosapo la n ko owo. The proper way to reject money is to put it in your pocket, as Iya Agba used to say. Oredein was stunned when he arrived at the police headquarters to meet both Adigun and Felix. Commissioner Adewusi asked them to repeat what they told the police. They did. In the presence of Oredein, Felix confirmed Adigun’s statement that it was Oredein that first received the carton of money from him before Abidogun snatched it from him. The former Principal Organising Secretary of the Action Group looked blankly at Felix. With a straight face and a deadpan expression, he denied knowing Felix or ever visiting his house. Njovens, Bello and Abidogun also made feeble attempts to deny knowing Felix. Later they started to beg the future IGP to assist them because it was the devil that actually used them to collect the money. “Ise asetani ni. Mo fi Anabi ati Jesu Krisiti beyin!” That was from Alhaji Amusa Abidogun, the Chief Inspector. He offered to return part of his own share. Chief Oredein, the master strategist, realized that the cards were stacked against him. He checked his sleeve to see whether he had an ace he could use. He found none. It was then he reluctantly admitted that all that Adigun who was also known as Tafa Igiripa said was correct. However, the Chief denied that the money was in one-pound denomination as stated by Adigun. Adigun maintained his stand. Finally, ST nodded his head that the money was actually in one-pound denomination. It was over the radio that people heard the news. Chief Oredein had been arrested and would be arraigned in Court for armed robbery! Armed robbery! It must have been a case of mistaken identity. It could not have been the Chief S. T. Oredein that they knew. Armed robbery! Ki lo pa alaso funfun ati alaro po? What could have been the connection with the owner of a white cloth and a dyer? In truth, Chief Oredein was not a poor man by any standard. Everybody knew he was a man of means. Ohun ti a ko mo ni a ko mo, eni ti o ba ti ri oyun oyinbo ti mo pe omo pupa ni o ma fi bi. It is a well-known fact that the product of a white woman's pregnancy would always be fair in complexion. Between 1942 and 1962, Chief Oredein had erected six buildings. And mind you, we are not talking of four-bedroom ‘boys quarters’ in a village o! We are talking of real buildings in strategic locations. Four of the houses were at Ibadan. He built one at Oshodi. The sixth building was in a prime area in Ikeja. What of automobiles? ST had a total of nine vehicles, including cars and lorries for both his business and personal use. He was not only sagacious on the political field. He was also productive in the other room. He was blessed with more than 30 children. Finally the day of the trial arrived. People had travelled all the way from Lagos, Ibadan and Ogere to Ilorin to confirm whether it was truly the Chief Oredein that was arrested. To the surprise of many of his supporters and friends, it was the author of the book on political organisation himself that was brought to court. ST was arraigned alongside the three senior police officers. They were charged with abetting the commission of a robbery and of receiving stolen property as well as offence of harbouring known offenders. In other words, they were charged with receiving 5,000 pounds from the armed robbers in order to screen them from legal punishment for the offence. It was a criminal trial like no other. It was a battle of giants. Chief Oredein and Patrick Njovens briefed Chief Rotimi Williams to appear for them. Bello and Abidogun retained the services of Mr. Richard Akinjide. The prosecution was led by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Kwara State, Mr. Anthony Ekundayo. The three senior lawyers proved their mettle. The trial judge was a relatively young judge, having been appointed to the Bench only two years before the trial. However, what My Lord Justice Moradeyo Adesiyun lacked in age, His Lordship made up with uncommon brilliance and exemplary courage. At the trial, Chief Oredein testified that on the day of the robbery he was at his hometown, Ogere having left Ibadan around 6.30pm on that day and only came back to Ibadan the following day. He admitted that it was true that Adewusi confronted him on May 26 with Felix Dumeh but he stated that he denied there and then the allegations of Dumeh. His principal witness was his solicitor who claimed that he was with Chief on April 13 from about 3pm to 11pm. Chief also called an Imam and a farmer as his witnesses. They all testified that he was at Ogere on the evening of April 13. The trial was not only being conducted in the courtroom. From Ilorin to Ibadan, From Lagos to Enugu, From Port Harcourt to Ile-Ife, people were also busy conducting their own versions of the trial. Would the young judge be able to convict ST if he was found guilty? Would AG leaders allow their former colleague to go to prison for robbery? When His Lordship adjourned the matter to December 28, 1971 for judgment, speculations began afresh. It was said that it was to enable the judge to release the accused before the end of the year. Some said that thanksgiving services had been planned to coincide with the New Year. All Nigerians waited with bated breath for the judgment day. Finally, the day arrived. It was a Tuesday. It was three days after Christmas and three days before the New Year. The four accused persons were brought to the Court in a Black Maria. If ST felt any apprehension, it was not apparent. As he was led to the court, Oredein gave the sign of victory to the crowd of spectators who had come from far and near to hear the verdict. It was a good sign. It was a sign of victory. His people became happy. Hon. Justice Moradeyo Adesiyun began by reviewing the charges against the four of them. His Lordship extensively analysed and appraised the evidence. When His Lordship noted the fact that the accused were not at the scene of the crime, Oredein turned to smile at the people in the courtroom. He would soon be on his way home. Then came the moment. His Lordship found that though the accused persons were not physically present at the scene of the armed robbery, they had prior knowledge of the robbery before it took place and that the three of them who were police officers did nothing to prevent the robbery. His Lordship also found that they all received proceeds of the robbery. Justice Adesiyun therefore came to the conclusion that the accused persons were guilty of the charges against them. Chief Oredein could not believe his ears. Guilty as charged? He was not going to be free? His native cap which he had been holding, in deference to the authority of the court, clattered to the floor with a thud. The High Chief from Ogere Remo stood still as if he was Opa Oranmiyan in Ile-Ife. It was Yesufu Bello who was standing beside him that nudged him back to reality. “Chief, 'they' are asking if you have anything to say.” Oredein had not prepared any allocutus. He had not expected to be convicted. Ko si eni ti o gbe oju fifo le adiye ori aba. Who could have imagined that a mother hen would fly off from her hatchery? You don't know allocutus? It is another Latin word they taught us in Law School. It is a statement made by a defendant who has been found guilty before he is sentenced. It is like 'A beg, tamper justice with mercy' that a Lagos bus driver would tell you after breaking the side mirror of your Range Rover. Allocutus or no allocutus, something must be said. The court had only convicted, His Lordship had not yet pronounced their sentences. Perhaps something could still be done. His eyes scanned the crowded courtroom. It appeared he was looking for someone or something. Whatever he was looking for was not in the court. He turned back to His Lordship. Oredein pleaded for leniency. In a very moving voice, he informed the court of his past travails: “First it was the treasonable felony and conspiracy trial, but I was acquitted at the Supreme Court. Second, the Aberenla murder trial came, and I was in custody for 11 months before I was freed at Ijebu-Ode High Court. I humbly plead for Your Lordship’s forgiveness.” Of course you know the treasonable felony trial the Chief referred to. The Aberenla trial he mentioned was the case over the murder of Ogunkoya Aberenla who was the Leader of Ogere Remo's branch of Nigerian National Democratic Party of Chief Ladoke Akintola (Not to be confused with the party of the same name established by Herbert Macaulay in 1922). Aberenla's body was never found. Onigegewura will write about his mysterious disappearance soon. Justice Adesiyun looked at the accused persons. “If you had any conscience, you should drop your heads in shame.” His Lordship observed that they were lucky not to have been caught by the amendment to the Robbery and Firearms Decree which provided death by public execution for convicted armed robbers and those found to have aided and abetted armed robbery. His Lordship therefore sentenced each of them to life imprisonment. There was no Federal Court of Appeal in those days. It was only Western State that had a Court of Appeal and Kwara was not part of Western State. The four of them ran all the way to the Supreme Court. On May 3, 1973, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment. My Lord Justice Coker who delivered the judgment of the apex court dismissed the appeal of all the convicted persons and affirmed the life sentences imposed on them by the trial court. Chief Rotimi Williams later became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Mr. Richard Akinjide became a Chief, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Attorney General of the Federation. Mr. Anthony Ekundayo, the DPP, was elevated to the Bench as a Justice of the High Court of Kwara State. The trial Judge, My Lord Adesiyun was also elevated. His Lordship served as the Chief Judge of Benue State from 1976 until his retirement in 1985. History Does Not Forget! Historian is not a judge, History is. Olanrewaju Onigegewura©️

Problem in North perpetrated by elite who hate Nigeria -Mailafia by Segun Adewole

A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, says that the problems in northern Nigeria are perpetrated by those who hate Nigeria. He said that there is a peculiar ‘disease’ in northern Nigeria perpetrated by the elites who hate the country. He stated that, despite the widely-held belief about western education, Islam is not opposed to it. He added that the elites are the problem of Nigeria and that their activities prove it. Speaking in a Zoom conference monitored by The PUNCH on Sunday, Mailafia stated that the elites want nothing but the worst for the country. This is even as he decried the campaign against Western education being championed by Boko Haram terrorist group. According to him, “Those who say Western education is Haram don’t know the history of Islam.” He mentioned citadels of learning which existed in the Middle East in the past. “They were the Oxford, Cambridge and Yale of the medieval world and were far ahead in academics than Europe. “Algebra was invented by a Muslim scholar. Even when the Muslims settled in Spain, they brought back the knowledge of philosophy to the Europeans who were in the dark ages. “So, how can you say Western education is Haram? Do you even know what you are talking about? The Quran says ‘Go far beyond China to seek knowledge.’ “If it is true that Western education is bad, how come the UAE is trying to go to the moon? They are moving on,” Mailafia enthused. Lamenting the killings in the north, he said, “We have a peculiar disease in northern Nigeria perpetrated by elites who hate Nigeria and want nothing but the worst for our country. “That is what I’m beginning to see with all these killings.”

How former MD PPMC, Haruna Momoh ‘imprisoned’ ex petroleum minister, Deziani Madueke for five years and stole over $3b

It is the prayer of everybody to have loyal subordinates while controlling the affairs of ones country. The major problem of the people in power is their kitchen cabinets. I mean, the aides and family. Most of these aides are from low-class background and their thinking is that stealing or monopolizing the resources of the leaders they are serving will make them rich, even richer than their friends. This is quite contrary to their erroneous beliefs. One can only be rich and powerful through the help one renders while in office. The story, of Haruna Momoh, the former MD of Petroleum Product Marketing Company, PPMC is pathetic. He single-handedly destroyed the reputation of Mrs Deziani Madueke. How he met Deziani Haruna Mommoh was a manager in one of the subsidiaries of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC in Porthacourt while Mrs Deziani Madueke was working with Shell Petroleum in Port Harcourt. When Deziani became the minister of petroleum, She invited Momoh to join her. Unknown to her, Momoh is well known among his colleague as an arrogant empty barrel. He was once accused at his office in Port Harcourt of being a kleptomania. Immediately Deziani appointed him as a managing director in NNPC, the Auchi born Momoh went back home and consulted his marabout on how to take total control of Madueke. Not too long after, Madueke fell for Momoh’s antics. The composition of things changed such that nobody, not even the staff of NNPC could see Madueke without first seeing Momoh. Infact, one of the insiders privy to the whole situation quoted Madueke as always complaining to one of her family members about feeling jittery and uncomposed each time Momoh comes to her office. It became so bad that Deziani’s children had to pass through Momoh if they needed anything from their mother. The N25 per liter bribe on Project Finance International allocation to marketers were being collected by Momoh’s girl friend without Deziani’s knowledge. It got to a stage that Momoh began thinking of contesting the gubernatorial election in Edo State where he comes from. What money can not do, more money will do it. That was Momoh’s slogan. Recently, The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFFC began fresh moves to seize nine Dubai properties worth about $1.6b, traced to Momoh. Already, the EFCC has obtained an interim forfeiture order from a Federal High Court in Lagos to seize the properties. According to our source who prefers to remain anonymous, Momoh’s high taste and greed for worldly things made him acquire many properties in many countries. Among his listed properties in Dubai are as follows: Unit 1402 PS 14th Floor, located at Metro Central, Tecom, near Internet City Metro Station, Dubai, UAE; Unit 712 ES, 7th Floor, located at First Central, off Sheikh Zayed, Tecom, Al Barsha 3 Dubai, UAE; and Unit 512, 5th Floor, located at First Group, Marina Hotels, Al Seba Street, Plot 394-426 Dubai AE-AJ, UAE. Other properties traced to Momoh include Unit 503 1 Bedroom Heritage, 5th Floor, located at First Central, Dubai Media City, Tecom, off Sheikh Zayed Tecom, Al Barsha 3, Dubai, UAE; Unit 1910 ES Heritage, 19th Floor, located at First Central, Dubai Media City, Tecom, off Sheikh Zayed Tecom; Unit 2507 Dubai Sports City; Unit 314 Dubai Sports City; and Unit 1002, Tecom Barsha 125616. The EFCC has also accused Momoh and others at large of conspiring to launder about 9 billion naira. The money has since been forfeited permanently to the Federal Government. The spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed to The Street Journal correspondent yesterday that Momoh was under investigation but has remained evasive. How Haruna Momoh used wife to launder $700m – ICPC If you think that the above properties in Dubai is a big deal, another heart breaking sleeze perpetuated by Momoh and exposed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC will make you think otherwise. Jane Asuquo, an ICPC witness told a Federal High Court, in Abuja, that Momoh used his wife, Ochuko, to launder $700million between 2012 and 2015 when he was the MD at PPMC. Ochuko Momoh , was on March 9, arraigned before Justice Taiwo by the ICPC. She was arraigned alongside Blessing Azuka-Ngozi, Stanbic-IBTC Bank Plc, Energopol Nigeria Limited, Blaid Construction Limited and Blaid Farms Limited on a 22-count charge which was later reduced to 13 counts. The 1st defendant in the new charge, Momoh, is currently at large. During examination by the ICPC Lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, Asuquo said, “Sometime in 2015, ICPC received a petition against Haruna Momoh freezing PPMC about 700 million dollars. The petition was initially assigned to another team at that time which had Paul Bassey, James Udoh etc, as members.” Asuquo, an Assistant Chief Investigative Officer with the commission, said the case was reassigned to her team on July 19, 2018. “We went through the file to see what our colleagues had done,” she recalled, adding that the team discovered that Ochuko had a number of companies which she used in conniving with her husband to defraud the PPMC. “After we went through the file, we sent letters of invitation to 1st and 2nd defendants and requested documents from financial institutions used, the Bureau de Change (BDC) operators, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), FCTA and other companies registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, etc. We received responses to letters sent out such as statements of account, account opening documents and other relevant documents,” she said. She said letters were written to Stanbic-IBTC Bank, Union Bank, UBA, Access Diamond Bank Heritage Bank and Citibank. Asuquo, however, said three letters were written to Ochuko, inviting her to the office but she failed to honour them. The witness narrated how money was moved out of PPMC in tranches in the name of award of contracts. Asuquo said investigations by the commission revealed that Ochuko and her children had over 50 accounts domiciled in different banks. “There were lots of cash flows in these accounts running into billions in naira and in dollars. The investigation also revealed that the accounts were opened between 2012 and 2015 when Momoh was head of PPMC. We had a course to invite some banks like Stanbic-IBTC because when we went through the bank statements of Stanbic-IBTC, we discovered lots of abnormal inflows; a situation of somebody making a deposit of about N10 million in one day. We drew the attention of the bank to these and invited them if such transactions were normal and if they report this to NFIU and CBN,” she remarked. Asuquo said that the bank, in a response letter, admitted that such an act was “abnormal.” She said in the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Energopol Nigeria Limited had no office in Port Harcourt as claimed in their documents. “The company address only exists on paper,” she stated, noting that further investigation showed that the bank statements of Blaid Construction Limited, though duly registered with CAC, did not indicate how salaries of the staff were paid contrary to the claim that they have over 10 employees working in the company. “We requested for contract documents from PPMC and they obliged us. We discovered that in 2013, when Momoh was still the MD, he awarded a contract of N250 million to Blaid Construction Company, owned by his wife. We sought to invite the former PPMC MD but they responded that he could not be traced through his last address”. Meanwhile, the federal government has secured an interim forfeiture order from the Federal High Court in Abuja to seize 2.4 billion naira and properties allegedly linked to Momoh. In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa, on Monday, the ICPC alleged Momoh illegally acquired the said monies and properties. The ICPC said the properties to be forfeited are Plot 199, Ebitu Ukiwe Street, Utako, Nos. 21, 22, 23 and 26 Olympia Estate, Kaura District, Plot 1824, Cadastral Zone, BO7, Katampe, plot 1827, Cadastral Zone, BO7, Katampe and No. 6 Casamance street, Wuse Zone 3, all in Federal Capital, Abuja. The question on the lips of many people in Nigeria is why NNPC is so porous that an individual can steal so much within a short period of time. Stanley Madora of Mandora oil and gas said that there was no auditing firm checking the account of the NNPC until recently. And most of the money stolen is the proceed of bribery and corruption. “They don’t steal directly from the NNPC but rob marketers and prospective customers. Imagine, they were collecting $4 on every litre of crude oil exported by this country,” Madora said.

IBB under fire for saying June 12 was annulled to save Abiola By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Editor /Innocent Duru/Justina Asishna, Minna/Alao Abiodun

•Afenifere, NADECO blast ex- president Prominent pro-democracy crusaders and rights activists yesterday chided former military president, Ibrahim Babangida following his latest claims that he annulled the June 12, 1993, presidential election because there would have been a coup in the country. The election was won by Chief Moshood Abiola, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who later died in detention after he declared himself president. Babangida who spoke on Arise Television said there would have been a violent change of government if the election had ‘materialised. He ruled Nigeria between August 27, 1985, and August 1993. He will be 80 years old later this month. He said: “If it materialised, there would’ve been a coup d’etat — which could have been violent. That’s all I can confirm. “It didn’t happen thanks to the engineering and the ‘maradonic’ way we handled you guys in the society. But that could’ve given room for more instability in the country. He alleged massive pressure from within and outside the military to cause trouble on account of the outcome of the election. “The military can do it because they have the weapons to do it, and others (civil society groups) can use agitation,” he said. Reacting to the Babangida claims, Afenifere and NADECO chieftains said the former military ruler was turning history on its head. Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, said Babangida never wanted to vacate office in the first place and had a predetermined agenda. He lamented that that posturing was typical of ambitious military rulers from the North who loathed democratic transition and succession. Adebanjo said the annulment contributed to disunity and suspicion that an ethnic group was bent on dominating other groups. He maintained that the military drivers of the transition programme have gone into history as enemies of the people. Adebanjo said: “Babangida never wanted to go. He was changing the goal post during the game. “They only want unity according to their terms. They want to dictate the conditions for unity. We should sit down and agree. Otherwise, the deceit will continue.” An Afenifere chieftain, Senator Olabiyi Durojaye, lamented that the historic poll results were cancelled after Nigeria held a free and fair exercise. He said the annulment was annoying because Nigerians were full of expectations about a new dawn in the post-military era. Durojaye, who was detained by the military over the pro-democracy struggle, said if Babangida had any information about an imminent coup, there was no evidence that he shared it with his colleagues in the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) and other critical stakeholders. Noting that many have not overcome the shock of the annulment, he said:”History will take care of all the actors.” NADECO chieftain and Third Republic House of Representatives Chief Whip, Olawale Oshun, accused Babangida of engaging in what he described as deliberate falsehood. He said no one would buy unfounded rationalization and deceit Oshun, who is the leader of Afenifere Renewal Group(ARG), said Babangida has God to contend with because his action led to the death of many young people along Ikorodu Road, Lagos when Abacha’s men opened fire during protest. He said IBB’s account contradicted those of his colleagues in the AFRC, who were also taken aback by the annulment of the popular will. Oshun said Babangida never wanted to vacate office, adding that in that plot to perpetuate the military, Gen. Sani Abacha was smarter. He also lamented that the former military President polarized the polity in a bid to remain in power. Oshun said:”He did not want to go. I was in the House of Representatives at that time. I knew the efforts he made to compromise the House to remain in office. The House was polarized. “Of course, there were some ambitious men around him: people like Mark, who were not pleased with an Abiola presidency. But, officers like Col. Umar stood their ground on the election.” While arguing that IBB lied during the television interview, he added:”He should tell that to the marines. Nigerians voted. He should have allowed it to stand. “ Abiola won in the barracks. He said soldiers wanted to stage a coup. Are the soldiers more than millions of Nigerians who voted? IBB ruined our country. “ Why we took decision to annul MKO’s victory Babangida, in the interview in which he also spoke on various national issues,branded his justification for the annulment of the June 12,1993 presidential election as his “honest reason” for the action. His words: “If it materialised, there would’ve been a coup d’etat — which could have been violent. That’s all I can confirm. “It didn’t happen thanks to the engineering and the ‘maradonic’ way we handled you guys in the society. But that could’ve given room for more instability in the country. “The military can do it because they have the weapons to do it, and others (civil society groups) can use agitation.” He laid claims to “deft political moves” during his reign. Such moves,he said,earned him the nickname ‘Maradona’ after the later Argentine footballer,Diego Maradona,who was renowned for his dribbling skills. He said:“The definition of Maradona I got from the media is because of deft political moves. That’s the way the media described it. “That’s the very good thing about the Nigerian media and Nigerian people, you have to anticipate them. If you anticipate them, then you live well with them. They call me ‘evil genius’, I marvel at that. The contradiction — you can’t be evil and then a genius.” Babangida said his administration fought corruption better than the Buhari government is currently doing. He cited the case of a military governor he claimed to have fired for alleged corruption involving about N300, 000 at that time. He contrasted that with what he said now obtains when governors who stole billions of naira are walking free. He said Nigeria’s military rulers are saints compared to civilians in terms of their handling of the nation’s wealth. “You cannot compare what we did with what is on the ground now in terms of corruption. Corruption is more now. We are saints when compared to what is happening in the democratic era,” he said. “When I was in leadership, I sacked a governor for misappropriating less than N313,000 but today, billions are being stolen and misappropriated, a lot of them are in court but still parade themselves in the streets. So tell me, who else is better at fighting corruption?” My type of Nigeria’s next ruler Babangida,an avowed supporter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said he has identified three persons who meet his criteria for Nigeria’s next President. He said: “I have started visualising a good Nigerian leader. He should be a person who travels this country and has friends in every state of the country; a person who is very vast in the economy, a person who is a good politician who is ready to talk to Nigerians. “I have seen about three already. The person should be in his 60s and I believe if we get such person, Nigeria will get it right.” He said zoning is not particularly good for the country. “We will have to make a choice either we want to practice democracy the way it should be practised or according to our whims and caprices,” he said. “The way it should be done is to allow the process to be followed and allow anyone interested to throw his cap in regardless of where he comes from. Whether now or in the future, we will have to jettison the zoning system or power shift.” Babangida who overthrew President Muhammadu Buhari in 1985 described their relationship as “still very good.” “I am happy that we relate well.” He accused the media of causing “the seeming rift between us.” Nigeria’s unity non-negotiable He expressed opposition to current agitation to balkanize the country by separatists. He called for talks on how to strengthen the unity of the country. He blamed the current agitations on “the tyranny of the elites.” He added: “The politicians and elites are to be blamed. “It is always good to agitate but because there is this belief that this country should be one. When they make the noise, they find that it won’t get supported, because Nigerians generally don’t believe in anything that would disturb their peace of mind. They won’t do it.” ”If you look back, if you take a place like Baga, in the north-east, the Igbo man, Yoruba man travelled up to Baga for trading, he lived very comfortably, he lived very well with the people around there. “If you go to Lagos, the same thing, Yorubas, Igbos, who hold political appointments at local levels live very well with the people. “I think we, the coming elites, did not succeed in imbibing that culture (culture of unity) for the country, so we rather live with the culture that the Europeans handed over to us — Northern Nigeria, Eastern Nigeria, Western Nigeria. “There is a disconnect between leadership and followership. We don’t have core values anymore in the country which can be defended at any time. The way out is that leaders should understand Nigeria and Nigerians; use their intellect for the benefit of the people. “There is too much control in the way the economy is now, there is a need to open it further, tap into the God-given talent of the people of the country.”

Remembering June 12, 23 years after By Oghene Omonisa

Tomorrow marks the 23rd anniversary of the historic presidential election held on Saturday, June 12, 1993. It was not only the first time a Southerner would win a presidential election, but it was an election widely adjudged to be the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s chequered political history. Its eventual annulment and the crises it sired all contributed to make the event historic. Major players Babangida General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), the then military President was a key actor in the event. The June 12 election had its roots in Babangida’s transition to civil rule programme. Beginning with a promise to hand over power to a democratically elected government, Gen. Babangida had in 1987 announced a transition programme which was scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 1987. The timetable included local government elections on a zero-party basis, the lifting of the ban on politics and the registration of political parties as well as the inauguration of elected state governments and the inauguration of a new president in 1990. However, Babangida later shifted the hand-over date to 1993. In December 1987, the regime successfully organized the local government elections on a zero-party basis and in 1989, Babangida legalised the formation of political parties. In pursuit of Babangida’s promise of making a clean break with the political past, the regime prohibited certain categories of former political office holders from contesting for elective office during the transition programme. These included persons who had held political offices at the federal or state levels in the civilian governments between 1960 and 1966, and 1979 and 1983, as well as former or serving state military governors or administrators, service chiefs in the armed forces and the police, including former military heads of state and the serving president. In justifying these measures in 1988, Babangida would tell his countrymen that “we have not chosen and have not sought to choose those who will succeed us. We have only decided on those who will not. We also have no vested interest in who succeeds our successors.” This would serve as his watchword throughout the transition period. However, Babangida would later ban all the six registered political parties and formed two political parties: the left-of-center Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the right-of-center National Republican Convention (NRC), which represented popular political views and ideological sentiments of majority of Nigerians. And he would later unban the earlier banned categories of politicians. The state and federal legislative elections duly took place in December 1991 and the newly elected officials were inaugurated on 2 January 1992, setting the stage for the last phase of the transition programme: the presidential election. But the presidential primaries of both parties were cancelled due to widespread allegations of irregularities. Babangida then dissolved all party structures in the country, and appointed caretaker committees to run the parties instead. He also disqualified all aspirants who had participated in the previous primaries from contesting any further elections during the transition programme. IBB After keenly contested presidential primaries, celebrated businessman and publisher, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO) and little-known Kano-based businessman, Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa emerged presidential candidates of SDP and NRC respectively. Then the final battle, the presidential election, was set for June 12, 1993. Abiola Highly loved and admired, Chief MKO Abiola had distinguished himself as a successful businessman who however had made much of his wealth through government patronage. Abiola had also indicated interest for the presidency in 1979 and 1983 under the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Very generous and flamboyant, Abiola donated to countless number of people and causes, and received numerous awards and chieftaincy titles within and outside Nigeria. Securing the presidential ticket of the SDP was a major step towards achieving his dream. Yar’Adua A political juggernaut, Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who was the deputy to then Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo from 1976 to 1979, had gone into business after retirement, but emerged a political force during the Babangida transition period. Though among the categories of politicians banned, he was the brain behind the People’s Front of Nigeria (PFN), one of the six political parties Babangida registered and later banned. With the establishment of the two government-founded political parties, the PFN moved into the SDP, where the group won majority of the elective posts within SDP. Following the unbanning of some categories of politicians, Yar’Adua indicated his interest in the presidential race, and he convincingly won the first round of the SDP primaries. However, his victory, like that of Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, was followed by protests by other aspirants, which led to the cancellation of the primaries in both parties, and the banning of all the aspirants from further participation in the presidential election. Abacha Gen. Sani Abacha is noted for not holding any non-military position before his emergence as the Head of State in November 1993. A die-hard loyalist of Babangida, Abacha played a major role in the success of Babangida’s coup as well as the failure of the 1990 coup attempt against Babangida. He was made the Chief of Army Staff and later became Minister of Defence at the time Babangida “stepped aside” in 1993. Not many Nigerians understood his role in the June 12 saga until much later. Nzeribe Maverick businessman and politician, Chief Arthur Francis Nzeribe was and has remained controversial. Very successful in business as in politics, he became a senator in the Second Republic and was one of the 23 presidential aspirants banned in 1992. Ironically, while he was vying to replace Babangida, he was also promoting the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN), whose primary objective was to keep Babangida in power for “four more years” because the political class was not ready for governance and that its members were corrupt. ABN’s activities largely enhanced the eventual annulment of the June 12 election. Intrigues Babangida’s sly and Machiavellian nature played a major role in the intrigues that came to characterise the June 12 saga. Obsessed with power, this Machiavellian nature therefore came to use in manipulating every opportunity to remain in power. The failure of many committed members of his government to understand this reluctance to relinquish power is attributable to his subterfuge, which made him successfully extend the termination date from 1990 to 1992 and later to 1993. For example, while Babangida openly dissociated his government from the activities of Nzeribe and his ABN, Nzeribe would later reveal that he met with Babangida regularly in Aso Rock. However, to loyalists like Colonel Abubakar Umar, Babangida was anxious to leave office. Umar was often ready to prove his trust, recalling, among many, how happy he met Babangida in his office after the successful primaries of both parties in 1993. The media, dominated by the South-West also played into Babangida’s hands with the arguments that it was incongruous for the presidential candidates of both SDP and NRC to come from the North, considering the fractious nature of Nigerian politics, where ethnicity and regionalism play a vital role. A major national newspaper even wrote an editorial calling for the cancellation of both primaries based on these arguments, which gave Babangida the second and final extension. Meanwhile, it was a known fact that if Yar’Adua had not been banned, Abiola would not have won the SDP ticket, especially with Yar’Adua’s well established structure in the party. Yar’Adua also realised early enough that after four years in power, Abiola would be too powerful to dethrone. Therefore denying Abiola the party ticket was a task that must be achieved. Alhaji Babagana Kingibe, first chairman of the party, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, both members of the PFN in SDP, were used to frustrate Abiola’s ambition. However, Abiola brought his business acumen to play, by not only deploying his enormous wealth to maximum use, but by allegedly sending his private jet to bring Yar’Adua’s ailing father from Kaduna to Jos, venue of the final stage of the primaries, to plead with his son. Even with these manoeuvrings, the primary went to a second round as Abiola could not garner the required number of votes, only beating Kingibe with a slim margin. Atiku Abubakar needed to step down and declare his support for one of the two leading candidates, which would have made delegates who had voted for him to shift their loyalty to that candidate. But Atiku only announced that he was stepping down without openly declaring his support for either candidate. How Abiola still won has variously been described by political historians as the “Abiola magic”. Carrying on with his activities, Nzeribe had gone to court with a petition that he claimed had the signatures of 25 million Nigerians who did not want the election to hold because they wanted General Babangida to continue as president for four more years. Meanwhile, while the primaries were going on, Gen. Abacha was scheming, as was later revealed by many insiders, especially Col. Umar and Prof. Omo Omoruyi, former Director-General of the Centre for Democratic Studies, and a close confidant of Babangida. Abacha’s well-hidden ambition and loyalty made his moves unsuspicious. A successful transition would be the end of his ambition. He was therefore set to derail it. Nzeribe’s ABN activities were not only convenient for Babangida but for Abacha as well. Therefore, when the ABN secured a court order restraining the National Electoral Commission (NEC) from conducting the election, Abacha, with his loyalists within the government had insisted that the election should not to hold due to the court order. But Babangida reluctantly heeded the advice of Omoruyi and the election went ahead. Abiola’s clear lead gave Abacha his weapon: the military did not want Abiola. Due to Babangida’s trust in Abacha, when the Abacha-orchestrated over-blown intelligence on Abiola, military revolts and coups reached him, he believed them, not knowing that the reticent and dark-goggled general had his scheme. Umar who had worked with Abacha to see an end to the June 12 impasse in the heat of the crisis, would later admit that one needed to possess the power of clairvoyance to have been able to judge Abacha otherwise because Abacha displayed so much patriotism that he did not arouse suspicion. Election, annulment, aftermath With intrigues unknown to majority of Nigerians going on within and outside the confines of Aso Rock, the June 12 presidential election was held, where Abiola defeated Tofa in what Ciroma, the leading aspirant in the botched NRC primaries would describe as “fairly and squarely”, as he not only defeated Tofa in Kano State but even in Tofa’s local government area. From the officially and unofficially announced results, it was analysed then that even if the elections were cancelled in any of the then four major regions, Abiola would still have won with votes from the remaining three regions. However, while the results were being announced state by state, ABN, on June 15, returned to court with a petition to stop further announcements, which was granted by Justice Dahiru Saleh of an Abuja court. Justice Saleh would later declare the election null and void and of no effect whatsoever, on the ground that it had been conducted in violation of a restraining order. Finally, on June 23, the Federal Government announced the cancellation of the presidential election, suspended NEC, and repealed the law governing the final phase of the political transition programme. Banned politicians in the previous primaries were unbanned and legible to contest in a new presidential election. Babangida clearly dribbled till he scored an “own goal”. He therefore had no more reason to stay back. He would, in a live broadcast, eventually provide reasons for the cancellation, that it was in the interest of law and order, political stability and peace as “the courts had become intimidated and subjected to the manipulation of the political process and vested interests.” Babangida’s broadcast received world-wide condemnations, and led to riots, mostly in Abiola’s South-West Region. He would later “step aside” on August 26, a day earlier than his promised date, and named an Interim National Government (ING), headed by Chief Ernest Adekunle Shonekan, who was then Head of Transitional Council. However, Shonekan’s government lasted only 83 days when he was forced to resign by Abacha. Victims, beneficiariesAbiola Ironically, Chief Abiola, the presumed winner of the election remains the major victim of the annulment. On the first anniversary of the election in 1994, Abiola declared himself winner and announced a government of national unity. However, he was arrested and was on trial for treasonable felony until he died in detention five years later. Even some Federal Government contracts he had maintained for decades were terminated by Abacha. Abacha Although he was initially a beneficiary of the June 12 annulment, going by his scheming and eventual emergence as Head of State, he himself became a victim as he was consumed by the June 12 conflagration with his death. Yar’Adua Gen. Yar’Adua, who had quickly jumped at Babangida’s unbanning of banned politicians like himself, instantly jettisoned June 12 and embraced the ING, hoping to contest another presidential election. However, following the emergence of Abacha, who in 1994, organised his own National Constitutional Conference, Yar’Adua won a seat to represent Katsina State, where he was an outspoken delegate against military rule in continuation of his quest for the presidency by trying to constitutionally secure a brief stay for General Sani Abacha (rtd). He, alongside Gen. Obasanjo and others were however framed up for coup-plotting by Abacha, found guilty and sentenced by a military tribunal in 1995, to life imprisonment He later died in prison on December 8, 1997. Obasanjo Gen. Obasanjo had earned the disrespect of Abacha since the Babangida regime, and Abacha was well known to have considered his criticisms of that government as a product of pseudo-statesmanship. Following an interview in the early 1990s, in which Obasanjo had referred to Babangida’s government as a fraud, Abacha was alleged to have advised Babangida to arrest Obasanjo, an advice Babangida allegedly turned down. But when Abacha came to power and Obasanjo failed to realise that there was a different man at the helm of affairs, Abacha had to jail him on a trumped-up charge of coup-plotting to silence him. Obasanjo was believed to have been destined the way of Yar’Adua but for mysterious death of Abacha in 1998. However, from a victim, Obasanjo ironically became a beneficiary of June 12 following his release from prison by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, who succeeded Abacha. Abdulsalami with Babangida and other retired generals allegedly recruited Obasanjo for the presidential job. Obasanjo emerged the major beneficiary of the June 12 election annulment, because if there had not been annulment, there would not have been May 29, the date Obasanjo was sworn in, and which is today, Nigeria’s Democracy Day.

The basis for the annulment of June 12, by Omo Omoruyi

OMO OMORUYI’S ANTECEDENTS I was involved in the three stages in the election process that produced what we call today ‘June 12’ Those of us who worked on the three stages never, never planned for its cancellation or annulment. For the reader, the three stages of an election process according to the standard text in election planning are the pre election day activities, the election day activities and the post-election day activities. In 1993, we passed the first and the second and the problem arose as we approached the third stage. The cancellation or annulment, which occurred after the second stage was alien to the plan and so could not have been thought of at all. It is over simplification of a complex issue for Chief Obasanjo to say that the cancellation arose from bad belle. What is bad belle? May be he should have said the cancellation and annulment was caused by drug barons! The military president also knew that the action taken then by the military, not by him as a personal decision, was not provided for in the decrees governing the transition programme. We must accept that Nigeria was under a military government. Did General Babangida stop the political class from fighting for what they believed in? This is critical to the issue of docility that would be addressed later in this piece. PRONOUNCING JUNE 12 ELECTION FREE AND FAIR One will recall that I was the only one in the government of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida that ever, at that time, pronounced, “the presidential election was free, fair and credible”. I still recall the interview I granted to my good friend Segun Adeniyi, who was then the Abuja reporter for African Concord. See African Concord June 26, 1993. This interview was granted on June 16, 1993, a week before the cancellation of the election that occurred on June 23. Thank you Segun for making me make that profound statement, that the June 12 presidential election was free, fair and credible. I still treasure that interview. WHY IBB DID NOT INSIST ON A RETRACTION To many people in government at that time, I should have been made by General Babangida to retract that statement. General Babangida knew me well that I speak from my heart. He knew that I came out of the university in 1989 to tell him the truth. He could not make me retract what he genuinely knew to be true. I still pay tribute to him for allowing me to be myself as a political scientist assisting him to promote democracy. This is why we are still friends. He knew that my statement was truthful and that that statement arose from what he asked me to do. One would recall that I granted that interview on June 16, 1993, few hours after the Chairman of NEC stopped displaying the election results on the board. From the machinery developed at the Centre for Democratic Studies (CDS) under the auspices of the National Election Monitoring Group (NEMG), and, in strict application of the guideline governing the presidential election, which we called then the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS), my office knew and had all the results including the winners and the losers as at June 15, 1993. Nigerians and the international community had all the results; the Presidency had all the results too. As at June 15, the winner of that election was known as Chief M.K.O.Abiola. What was left was for NEC to officially say so and for Chief Abiola to be sworn-in on August 27, 1993. One would recall that displaying the results on the board or announcing the final result officially was not what the decree said any way as constituting the result from the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS). Omoruyi: Buhari should have no place in the Council of State meetings The former President, Chief Obasanjo, belatedly, confessed, in the church, on June3, 2007 at Abeokuta, that his fellow Ogun/Egba indigene was prevented from being sworn-in as an elected president because of ‘bad belle’. This is hogwash; I said earlier that it was an over simplification of a complex issue that he too recognized at the Baptist Church in his sermon on June 20, 1998. Applying the secret and open elements (MOBS) to the process was what would have saved the 2007 election. It should be noted that MOBS was part of the 2007 Electoral Act; it was only for decoration as the application was a different issue. TWO BETRAYALS OF MKO BY OBASANJO I was elated when Chief Obasanjo in 1998, after his release from Abacha gulag, publicly announced at Owu Baptist Church what God told him about June 12 while he was meditating in prison. I wrote two essays on this matter after 1999 when he was forgetting his prophesy after he became president. Here is a man from the same place as Abiola; he openly rejected MKO that Chief Abiola was not the messiah Nigerians were waiting for. I was elated when he was publicly confessing after his release from the Abacha gulag that God spoke to him about June 12. When I read his sermon, my joy knew no bound. I said to myself in my lonely place in the US that the truth about June 12 and MKO would soon come to light. That he did not make do his prophesy through out his reign as President of Nigeria must have been one aspect of what the Anglican Bishop was referring to. Even in death, MKO Abiola was one case where Chief Obasanjo needs to seek God’s forgiveness. (These essays can be accessed from the www titled: OBJ; Go Back to Your Sermon on Olumo Rock 1 and 2”). Why Obasanjo did not refer to his prophecy after he became president was one of the greatest betrayals in Nigerian history. The second betrayal was his decision to ignore the fact of June 12 and Chief MKO Abiola until after leaving office when he openly said in his church that only bad belle made some people deny MKO his mandate. JUNE 12 WAS CRITICAL TO DEMOCRACY What was critical about the Olumo Rock Sermon was the profound statement of Chief Obasanjo “that without the resolution of the events of June 12, 1993, we may not have a firm and solid foundation to erect the structure of democracy on a lasting basis”. He was right then; is he not still right today? The issues in the annulment are still with us today. One would have thought that the issues in the annulment would have been addressed by Chief Obasanjo as part of his political program as soon as God made it possible for him to be the man to succeed the military. What is the contribution of Chief Abiola to democracy? From June 12, Nigerians and the world knew that he fought for the sanctity of the ballot box and died in its defense if we compare this with Chief Obasanjo’s contribution today, do we leave to history? But I can say from the election of April 2007 that Chief Obasanjo did not believe in multi-partism and paid lip service to the vote and voters as the basis of installing a government. Chief Obasanjo merely declaring May 29 every year “Democracy Day” is histrionics and not history. It cannot promote democracy. He did not need any one to preach to him that Chief Abiola should have been immortalized. He would have been implementing the sermon he preached at Owu on June 20, 1998. That is why I wrote him a two-part essays that he should go back to his Sermon on Olumo Rock. He too should read the sermon today after leaving office. Fortunately these essays were published in some Nigeria newspapers. People read it and commended me for reminding him. EARLY LIFE My father was a school master who trained many people in Benin. My mother did not go to school but she appreciates the efficacy of education. I am blessed. School master I was, university teacher I was, a committed democrat I was, politician I was. I grew up as a good Christian. In fact, there are three names I ever had in life, one, Monday because I was born on a Monday. Secondly, my father gave a name called Christian, but I abandoned that name in the 50s and kept a name called Omorionwan. That is the name I have today, very few people know that that is my name. Many people know Omo Omoruyi, they don’t know the meaning of Omo, it is Omorionwan which is adapted from Omonhionwan. This is my original name but it is always too long to call. And for you journalists, I leave it as Omo-Omoruyi. But officially I am Omonhionwan Omoruyi. Why the abandonment of Christian name? I did not think I should carry this European name. Besides, it was one day, my father and I were talking and he said God bless you, Ovbionwahionwan. I now said ‘Papa, I will keep that name’, that is, one’s child can never abandon one. But because it will be difficult for people to pronounce it, I decided to change it to Omorhionwan. And all my schools in America, it is Omorhionwan Omoruyi. And Omoruyi is the name of my mother. My grand father was Chief Obamoyi of Benin at Sakpoba Road . Battling Cancer I had cancer in 2008. I did not know I had cancer. I knew I was having the problem of walking. I just gave out my daughter in marriage in Benin in September 2007. And I managed to crawl out of Benin and went to Abuja . I went to the National Hospital, from January-February 2008, they kept giving me pain killers and finally I broke down. Then, through the support of my lawyer, Barr. Omonuwa, they took me to the US, and flew me to Boston Medical Center. That day was a miracle day, it was a day God intervened in my favour. If I had stayed a day longer in Nigeria, I would have been dead. Life stopped from coming gradually, from my two legs up to my navel, no life. And then they rushed me to the theater, a neuro-surgeon opened me up and then they discovered what is called spinal cord compression which was gradually invading my spinal cord. And they discovered eight or nine cancerous tumor. And further analysis discovered that the cancer had spread to my lungs, to my bone, you name it. They call it megastatic prostrate cancer. I had to undergo radiation, rehabilitation to bring about life back to my two legs. Today I give thanks to God. I am still alive today because of God. By, May 31, this year, I became 74 years old. I spent it to further reflect on what God has done for me. How do I spend my time as a cancer survivor? I believe in the efficacy of prayers and God has been answering my prayers and sustaining me. God has also used several people to assist me: late President Yar’Adua, Gen.Danjuma and his wife, Governor Oshiomhole, former Governor Osunbor. If Osunbor was given the ticket of the PDP, I would have had difficulty on who to support because Osunbor is a good man. Osunbor is a very good man but, unfortunately, the PDP does not appreciate any good thing. I told Osunbor that those people will not nominate you and it happened. Fears of a cancer survivor The fears are usually two: The fear of reoccurrence, it can come back. Nobody can tell you I am hundred per cent sure. When you say survivor it means abated. It is not that all the cancer cells are dead. It can give you more years too. The other fear is the fear of sudden death. To me, I no longer, as a Christian, have the fear of that. If it comes today, oh, God has been kind to me. One cannot achieve all he wants in life, but I have tried, I have paid my dues in this country as a professor, as a partisan politician, as public policy man, as a promoter of democracy, therefore to begin to worry that I have not achieved enough is not normal. I am a contented man, I don’t need too much. I have four children, two boys and two girls, and I am satisfied with what they are doing in life. I am not afraid of death and have told people I don’t want state tribute. If you want to help me, give me today what to eat because I don’t want a flamboyant burial. Having gone for test two months ago, it has not come back and I can go about. I no longer use walking stick, I could eat and also sleep well. It is one thing which is difficult to tell people how one will survive, how one will end. I pray it does not come back but I thank God. On Gen.Owoye Azazi’s statement on PDP and insurgency? Azazi is the National Security Adviser and he was right on what he said. I am not sure he made a statement different from what he told the president. As NSA, he is the closest man to the President on matters of national security. When I said he made a guided statement, he tried not to say too much out side and he must have said so much to his Oga. So any one who tries to persecute him does not know what he is talking about. He is a four-star General; so he is not a baby. He was only trying to advise the PDP to put its home in order. What are we even talking about, is it not obvious that there is a group in PDP that does not want Jonathan? That group from the North even predicted that they were going to make governance uncomfortable for him if he wins the election. Are we not seeing it now? Gen.Danjuma made a statement recently also talking about the same issue, about Nigeria being on fire. And Danjuma does not speak too often, so when he says some things, go and weigh it very seriously. Another military man, Shuwa, in one of the papers, tried to challenge Gen.Danjuma. But let me tell you, Prof. Ango Abdulahi, former VC Ahmadu Bello University, in repeating what Ahmadu Bello said, in response to Chief Enahoro’s motion of 1953, that 1914 amalgamation was an error. Whether you believe him or not, it is the amalgamation which says the North will continue to rule this country and that the South will continue to be follow-follow. That is the basis of the annulment of June 12. I have said it so many times, it is in my book, The Tale of June 12. Sir James Robertson even said it in his book that putting Nigeria together was an error. That they did not address the ethnic issue, and that ethnic issue made the North the permanent ruler and the South the permanent servant. And we call it a conjugal power structure. And you don’t use one person one vote to reverse the conjugal power structure to make the husband the wife and vice versa. So what happened in June 12 was that the wife, by virtue of the votes, was now making Abiola the husband. But the Oga said no way, it can’t happen. And I wrote a note to President Jonathan, I said, Sir, the reason Abiola could not be President in 1993 are the reason why they are objecting to you today. The same reason why Azikiwe could not be Executive President, the same reason why Awolowo could not be, the same reason why Ekwueme could not be. But the same reason why OBJ could be because he is somebody they could use. If you are not a southerner they can use, then you are in trouble’. That is what Azazi was trying to explain that the zoning formula of the PDP clearly does not provide for the southerner to be a presidential candidate. He did not say any thing unusual. That is why I suggested a solution, the fundamental restructuring of Nigeria . It is the answer to our problem. We should sit down and discuss. There are two problems we should resolve: one, how to live together, we have not resolve it. How to govern Nigeria, we have not resolved it, it is in my book. So, to me, these are the two fundamental questions that should be resolved. Jonathan should not discard that problem, it is the fact. I love what EK Clark said recently too on the issue. If oil were discovered in Kaduna , if oil was discovered in Ibadan or Enugu, who owns the oil would not be an issue. Since oil is now found in an area which was neglected in Nigeria, that is why everybody is talking the way they are talking today. This was why EK Clark talked about 13 per cent derivation. I am working on a draft on a paper I submitted to the South-South governors in 1999, what I call the politics of oil. I believe that we must address that question, who owns oil. If it were found in the North or Enugu or Ibadan, it would have been another story. Jonathan and 2015 Why should that be an issue? The constitution provides for a second term for him if he wants. But it will be unfair for him to start talking about it now that they want to disorganize him. OBJ came to power on the same principle of one term based on the agreement he signed with the North. But he came for a second term. Nobody should disturb Jonathan in the interest of the nation. But those blowing bombs to destabilize Jonathan should know that others have the capacity to respond; so everybody should be careful.

Opinion: How CPC Wing of APC Has Been Scheming To Taken Control Of The Party Structure Ahead of 2023 JoeKing2028

President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure in office ends in 2023. And the President has said that once he successfully hands over to his successor, he plans to retire to his hometown in Daura for a peaceful retirement. But analysts have predicted that Buhari’s exit from power could expose a huge power vacuum in his party, the All Progressive Congress. This is so because age might not allow the President to be actively involved in party affairs once he is out of office. This reality is one of the main reasons why some powerful individuals within the party are already scheming to position them to take charge. According to a media report in The Nation Newspapers, there are several tendencies struggling to take control of the party, but the real battle is between leaders of the former Action National Congress (ANC) and the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC). The ACN wing is credited with providing the intellectual base that drove APC to power, while the CPC provided the huge voting numbers. View pictures in App save up to 80% data.

The CPC group which has been laid back since the inception of the Buhari government is suddenly fighting to reposition itself within the party. They are doing this by ensuring that its members occupy top positions within the APC system. This has sometimes resulted in major friction between both camps both at the national and state levels. View pictures in App save up to 80% data.

In a bid to take over the party structure, the CPC induced the exit of Oshiomhole as party chairman and replaced him with Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni. The group took its quest for relevance further by announcing the dissolution of all the EXCO in the state chapters and replaced them with officials loyal to their course. In making its case, the CPC group insists that the ACN caucus has produced three APC Chairmen in succession (Chief Bisi Akande, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and Oshiomhole), adding that it was not the turn of CPC to reign.

The CPC also believes that it is the strongest of the merger components because it has the backing of 12million strong Buhari supporters who are ever ready to support the party ones called upon. View pictures in App save up to 80% data. Photo Credit: The Guardian This power struggle within the party is why many people are worried that Bola Ahmed Tinubu may not have his wish of becoming the party’s flagbearer in the 2023 election. The opposition against him is huge because Buni and his group have practically taken over the running of the party and they are determined to ensure that the ACN wing does not have their way before or after the 2023 elections. The question now is how will the ACN caucus take this? Only time will tell. What do you think about the situation that APC has found itself in? Please let us know in the comment section below. Also like and share so that others can comment too. Please note that all photos are for illustration purposes only.