Article
Governors, gunmen and gestapo governance
By Tunde Olusunle
The media handlers of Yahaya Bello, the overtly exuberant governor of Kogi State, have been in overdrive in the last few days. They’ve been issuing rebuttal after rejoinder after release, all in a spirited attempt to absolve their principal of a most calamitous *faux pax* he recently committed. He just might have unwittingly illuminated preexisting fogs in general thought, and cleared cobwebs in the public eye. Bello’s wrong-headed gaffe most probably, would ordinarily have been dismissed as a tolerable incidence of *logorrhoea,* that verbal affliction which makes people “over-talk.” The gist of his exegesis, however, transcends what can be papered over courtesy of inchoate contestations, vacuous statements and discombulated appearances on television. Understandably and deservedly, Bello’s treatise commands deeper dilation against the backdrop of what has become the new normal, in a sleepy state hitherto famous for its tranquil, welcoming attributes.
While addressing his kinsmen at Ihima, Okehi local government area in the “central” senatorial zone of the state recently, Bello made a detour into his indigenous *Ebira* language, the major tongue spoken in that section of the state. *Ogori* and *Magongo,* the other ethnicities in the same zone, are wholly subsumed by the Ebira. He exhorted his listeners to record his address and play back for those who were not physically present. The video clip which is still trending on the internet, has been subtitled in instances to enable listeners, grasp the meat of Bello’s homily.
First, he made it very clear that as incumbent governor, he was not inclined to have anybody but his kinsman and protege, succeed him. He reeled out some of the projects his administration had sited in Ebiraland which would not have been possible, under a governor from another zone. He alluded to the Confluence University of Science and Technology, (CUSTECH) in Osara; the upgrading of the Obangede Specialist Hospital and the road repairs and rehabilitation being undertaken in his zone. Even if he did not enunciate further, Bello’s drift was in direct reference to the preceding monocultural grip on governance in the state, of the *Igala* dominated Kogi East zone. Beginning from January 1992 all the way to January 2016, straddling the regimes of Abubakar Audu, Ibrahim Idris and Idris Wada, Kogi East grossed at least 18 years in the state’s helmsman’s position. There was of course a military interregnum, between November 1993 and May 1999.
At the expiration of Bello’s second term in office January 2024, Kogi Central would have spent eight years in “Lugard House,” Lokoja, the way Government House in the state is addressed. For the benefit of hindsight, Bello’s ascent to the governorship was purely providential. The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in the 2015 gubernatorial election, Abubakar Audu, was coasting home to victory in the contest, trouncing his major opponent, Idris Wada of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP). Sadly, however, Audu died before the tallying of the final election results. Some opaque interpretation of the electoral laws was undertaken by Abubakar Malami, SAN, attorney general of the federation and a pronouncement was made by the Supreme Court upholding this. Bello who came a very distant second in the governorship primary which produced Audu, was bequeathed with the ticket. Still sulking over his loss in his first ever electoral contest, Bello had indeed, largely withdrawn from political activities and was weighing his options.
Yahaya Bello’s contention at the “Okehi Declaration,” suggests that he will unilaterally impose on the state in 2024, an Ebira successor, who will anchor the relay for two more terms of four years each. This is to ensure that Kogi Central approximates the subsisting record of Kogi East, when the zone would have chalked 16 years by 2032, two years short of the Igala record. Curiously, instructively, in all of these political permutations, Kogi West, the third leg in the sociopolitical tripod of Kogi State, home to the *Okun-Yoruba* people in the main, is not featuring. In the 31 year existence of the state, the area has not produced a substantive governor, except for a three-month stint in 2008. Erstwhile Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Clarence Olafemi, stood in as acting governor, following the nullification of the 2007 governorship election of Ibrahim Idris, by the courts. The ruling called for fresh polls between Idris and Abubakar Audu.
Bello at the Ihima outing, warned those he described as critics of his administration, telling his listeners that he was “a seasoned gun-handler.” As a decorated marksman, he promised to pursue his political adversaries, all the way into their hiding holes. Issuing a categorical threat, Bello said: “I’m coming after those who abuse us, who poke their hands in our mouths. Those fingers will be severed from their hands. I will pursue them to their bedrooms and hiding places. Those of you who harbour or protect such characters must be ready to confront the boiling point of my wrath when I come. My eyes will be flaming with fire and I will ensure you are burnt. Anyone who opposes my agenda will be picked up and kept in a place where he will never see the sun again.” Indeed, en route the decisive actualisation of his political masterplan to install a “homeboy” as successor, Bello announced to his audience that the coming politicking and elections “will be very hot and those who cross my path will be spontaneously consumed.” He reminded his congregants, that he is the famous “white lion” who still roars and feeds on his preys. Kogi State is just about becoming an expansive, modern day shooting range, in the hands of gangsters.
It was good Yahaya Bello spoke his mind the way he did. His communication managers, unfortunately, have been running around, trying spiritedly, to rewrite the narrative, freely and consciously spewed by their boss. They forget that *the word is an egg.* A Yoruba proverb indeed reminds us that *alcoholic intoxication is just an enabler of the unfettered expression of long-harboured thoughts. Such thoughts had previously been catalysed, and were just awaiting public ventilation in due season.* Bello definitely knows what he is saying. Puzzles and consternation about the post-2016 descent of Kogi State into a full-scale Hobbesian state, may just be receiving illumination, thanks to the candour demonstrated by Bello in his address.
Sadly, spontaneously sadly, the celebrated confluence state, hitherto an oasis of serenity, has spiralled into a jungle of the rule of the gun. Certain incidents have happened in the recent political past of Kogi State, which are getting clearer now, thanks to Yahaya Bello’s recent outburts. Ahead of the February 2019 presidential election, hooded gunmen besieged the Lokoja home of former governor Ibrahim Idris, where elders of the PDP were strategising for the polls. Dignitaries at the meeting included Tunde Ogbeha, (a retired army general and former senator); Salifu Atawodi, (a retired air vice marshal); Dino Melaye, Biodun Ojo; Tolorunju Faniyi; Musa Ahmadu, (all former federal parliamentarians), among other senior stakeholders. It took Ogbeha’s phone call to the Commander, Command Army Records, Lokoja, to detail personnel to disband the hoodlums. Instructively, upon the arrival of the military, the hooded gang simply strolled leisurely, albeit confidently, into the adjoining premises of Government House, Lokoja.
Months later, the gubernatorial primary of the PDP in Kogi State, was disrupted by unknown gunmen who invaded the Lokoja stadium, venue of the process. Past midnight when the votes were being tallied, electricity in the stadium was suddenly put out as the sports arena erupted into a cacophony of gunfire. Adamawa State governor, Umaru Fintiri who was delegated by the PDP headquarters to oversee the process, was shielded out of the stadium, by his very professional and courageous security aides. A similar scenario played out on the eve of the gubernatorial election proper, when the delegated anchor of the Kogi State PDP governorship election, Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, was briefing leaders of the party at a Lokoja hotel. Again, masked men breached the hotel premises and intimidated members of the PDP. Makinde’s security apparachik stood firm and repelled the invaders.
Days after, a PDP woman leader, Salome Abuh, was shot at, locked up in her home and incinerated in Ochadamu, in Ofu LGA, for standing for her political preference, during governorship election, late 2019. Early July 2020, staff of the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, were attacked by gunmen suspected to have been sponsored by the Kogi State government. The medical workers were planning a press conference to implore the federal government to establish a COVID-19 screening centre in the state,, when they were assaulted, within the premises of the hospital. Voters in Lokoja the state capital, will not forget in a hurry, the aerial attacks visited on them on election day, November 2019. A helicopter reportedly procured from the Nigeria Police, was deployed to fire live bullets at voters in the densely populated capital, which typically posts high election figures.
Yahaya Bello’s recent advisory re-echoes the Ebira song which was spontaneously composed in the aftermath of Bello’s “victory” at the 2019 polls. The video clip which has been trending for three years now, features excited youngsters singing and dancing to the rhythm of a song, celebrating Bello’s triumph. While part of the song was in Ebira, it was interspersed with English. It suggested that “nobody can deny the Ebiras a second term at the helm in Kogi State. As many people as attempted to vote according to their conscience rejecting the Ebira candidate, Yahaya Bello, were treated to the rhythm of gunfire, *ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta.”* Simply put, what we have in place in Kogi State today, is democracy by the barrel of the gun.
On the tail of Yahaya Bello’s outing was yet another threat, woven around the senatorial election next February. The major speaker at that event, declared that the forthcoming parliamentary poll, is a direct contest between Ebiraland and Delta State. You wonder why? Abubakar Sadiku Ohere, a serving commissioner under Bello is the APC candidate for the office, while Natasha Akpoti, also a “daughter of the soil,” and PDP flagbearer. She recently got married to Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri and a businessman from Delta State, at a well-attended ceremony. Her marriage to someone outside her geocultural hemisphere has now been clad in the mould of what Catholics refer to as a grevious sin. Such is the magnitude of toxicity which is being thrown up in the Kogi political space, months before the polls, from supposedly high places.
Just months ago, Bello who had relocated to Abuja for about 18 months while contesting for the ticket of the nation’s presidency, under the banner of his party, expended tonnes and tonnes of resources belonging to Kogi State, on a vainglorious quest. It was a season of good, brisk business for the media, print, electronic and advertising, though. Bello marketed “youthfulness and capacity” as his strong points. His pseudo-seriousness actually hoodwinked some otherwise circumspect political watchers, who bought into the real possibility of his eventual emergence as the candidate of the APC, at the last presidential primary. Nigerians have definitely dodged a bullet by being spared the prospects of having a sniper as national helmsman.
Yahaya Bello has just acquitted himself as an uncharacteristic ambassador of his Ebira kinsmen, most of whom are courteous, civilised and cosmopolitan. He cannot be representing His Majesty Abdul Rahman Ado Ibrahim, or the Abdulrahman Okenes, Aliyu Attas, Tom Adabas, Patrick Adabas, Isa Ozi Salamis, Moses Okinos, Clem Baiyes, Austin Oniwons, George Omaku Ehusanis, Angela Okatahis, Ladi Ibrahims, Sunnie Ododos, Mercy Johnsons or the Natasha Akpotis. The departed A.T. Ahmeds, Musa Etudaiyes, Salihu Ibrahims, Joseph Makojus, Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojos, among other prominent Ebira personalities, were notably sober, sane and savvy people in their time.
He is not a good advert copy for Kogi State at large either, a geopolity famous for availing Nigeria across generations, some of the nation’s very best in the project of national development and reengineering. Need we rehash their names in hundreds and thousands here? The Sunday Awoniyis, Silas Daniyans, Moody Olorunmonus, Ayo Johns, David Medaiyese Jemibewons, George Oshos, Femi John Femis, Kola Jamodus, Eyitayo Lambos, Bayo Ojos, Mohammed Chris Allis, Mohammed Ndatsu Umarus, Abdulrasaq Isa Kutepas, Olusola Akanmodes, Olu Obafemis, Albert Anjorins, Olatunji Dares, Ola Oyelolas, John Baiyesheas, Julius Oshanupins, Yomi Awoniyis, Dapo Olorunyomis, Dapo Asajus, Yemi Akinwumis, Gbenga Ibileyes, Tunde Adelaiyes, Rt. Hon. Umar Ahmed Imam ,John Obaros ,are some of the finest human species one can find anywhere in the world.
This not forgetting the Ahmadu Alis, Yakubu Mohammeds, Ibrahim Ogohis, Isaac Alfas, Salifu Atawodis, Jibrin Usmans, Ibrahim Idris, Idris Wada, Jibrin Okutepas, Emmanuel Onucheyos, Patrick Okolos, Dan Okolos, Josephine Agbonikas, Gabriel Oyibos, Jeremiah Abalakas, Halima Musas, Humphrey Abbas, John Sani Egwugwu Illahs, Nicolas Ugbanes, Attai Aidokos, Armstrong Idachabas, who rank among the most cultured across the globe. The Francis Idachabas, P. S. Achimugus, Stephen Achemas, James Eneojo Ocholis, were fine personalities when they were here. Being identified as constituents of a governor who prides himself as a marksman is not an edifying ascription.
Yahaya Bello has to go beyond the predictable, puerile, disjointed alibis being pleaded by his image makers. Power must be exercised with caution, discipline and responsibility. He should be holding town hall meetings across the state now, apologising for his verbal somersaults and restating his subscription to civility in corporate governance. He must begin speedily, to exorcise the demons and monsters of bloodletting violence which have become an integral component of his administration’s DNA. This was unwittingly planted and groomed in the sociopolitical scheme of Kogi State, under his watch. For his information, every bullet that is fired, every innocent citizen hit, every drop of blood spilled in the name of Kogi politics henceforth, will be traced to him.
Bello’s predecessor governors, Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame of Plateau and Taraba states respectively, have just graduated from the “Kuje Corrections University,” with honours, albeit for different causes. De facto *Number Two Man* under the leadership of Sani Abacha, three-star army General and Chief of Army Staff at the time, Ishaya Bamaiyi, was kept out of circulation for eight long years. For all his closeness to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, PDP elder, Bode George, had his years behind the bars. Obasanjo himself, who was Nigeria’s military Head of State in 1976 when Bello was a toddler, was kept in the gulag for over three years, by the Abacha government.
Former Liberian President, Charles Ghankey Taylor, was tracked and picked up within Nigerian territory by INTERPOL in 2006, to answer for human rights abuses he committed in Liberia and Sierra Leone. He was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment in 2012, and is serving time in prison at The Hague. Taylor is 74, and with his prison term expiring in 40 years time, in 2062, he may “never see the sun again,” to deploy Bello’s expressions. Taylor, once a “lion” in the wilds of Liberia and Sierra Leone, is a lonely, miserable kitten in the cold cell of a foreign prison today. He no longer has those scruffy, substance-ingesting, bloodshot-eyed, gun-toting rebels and militias at his beck and call. Former Chadian President, Hissene Habre was exiled to Senegal after his ouster from office, concurrently tried in Chad and Senegal, and simultaneously sentenced to life imprisonment. He was convicted of various human rights offences. He died in exile last year at 79, interred in a distant cemetery in Dakar, not in N’Djamena, capital of his home country.
Entrenching democratic institutions may take a while. But then, we’ve taken the first steps as a democratic sociopolity. A word is enough for the discerning.
*Tunde Olusunle, PhD, poet, journalist, scholar and author, is a Member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE).*
By Adamu Muhd Usman
If a man is endowed with a generous mind, that is the best of nobility, and you are measured not by how much you undertake but by what you finally accomplish. In life, when you help the people around you to be good, you surely become the best. The people to be discussed in this column need to be attached to some of the above sayings. These personalities touched lives, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touched.
The late Alhaji Musa Abubakar, popularly known and called ‘Alhaji Musa Dan Sallah’ or ‘Alhaji Dan Sallah,’ was known for his atypical religious commitments, compassion, and distinctive philanthropy.
If Dangote is the most successful businessman in the world of today, Alhaji Musa Dan Sallah was the most successful businessman in Kafin-Hausa in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. If Dangote becomes famous for his wealth, religious engagements, and philanthropy, Alhaji Dan Sallah too.
Alhaji rose from a small business to a dealer and distributor of cement (Ashaka), flour, fuel, gas, and kerosene, as well as a marsh, rearing animals, and farming in both the rainy season and irrigation system.
His business flourished drastically despite his immense donations to charity and zakat giving. He established Islamiyya schools, encouraged, helped, and supported religious teaching and learning and clerics and pupils/students.
Alhaji Musa Dan Sallah built dozens of mosques (Masjid), including Friday (Juma’at) mosques. In and outside Kafin-Hausa town in Jigawa state. To my knowledge, I have never heard, seen, or known a person in our community who built a mosque like Alhaji Musa Abubakar Dan Sallah, the second to him, politics aside, don girma Allah (For God’s sake) is the present Jigawa state governor, Malam Umar Namadi (FCA), a.k.a. Dan Modi. And he has been doing that even before he delved into politics.
One of the things that makes me remember Alhaji Musa Dan Sallah in the month of Ramadan, during fasting. The way and manner he plans and gives out iftar and sadaqat (offering) must be eulogised. Alhaji Musa shared even meat; can someone remember pigeons (Baraysi or Tattabaru)? May Allah reward Alhaji Dan Sallah.
In the second republic (1979), he was an NPN party man and a leader. He was generous even in politics. ‘A kind politician’
Alhaji Musa Abubakar Dan Sallah was the grandfather of Shu’aib Isyaku, a.k.a. Dan Ladi Bayani. He was also the grandfather of Hajia Rakiya Musa Zakari and the biological father of my friend Alhaji Muhammad A Musa, a.k.a. Alhaji Bala, the former Kafin-Hausa local government secretary during H.E. Badaru’s tenure.
Alhaji Musa Abubakar Dan Sallah was a remarkable man of faith, kindness, simplicity, and generosity. He was deeply committed to fostering relationships, promoting reconciliation, and ensuring that everything is done in order, like the spread of Islam.
His house was a mecca of sorts for children, destitute and orphans who thronged in droves, especially during the Zakat period and the month of Ramadan for succour. Alhaji Musa Dan Sallah was a cheerful giver, and God loves cheerful givers. May Allah reward him and grant him eternal rest.
Alhaji Garba mai biredi is a name that rang in the 70s and 80s, especially when it comes to taking care of Almajirai (Islamic pupils/students) and their Malams (teachers). He devoted his life to helping, supporting, and encouraging learning and teaching of the Qur’an.
Also, when it comes to the issue of bakery in and outside Kafin-Hausa for deliciousness, health, affordability, and all that, just put a full stop there. The bakery is still in existence, which is the present day called ‘Salama bread.’ Thank God, his children have emulated the late father’s attitudes of faithfulness, generosity, simplicity, gentility, humility, etc.
I also remember him at the time of the Ramadan fast for what he is doing at iftar and other goodies he used to share with the general public. When you tried coming to his masjid (mosque) close to his house, you will love to come the next day for iftar (breaking the fast).
Alhaji Garba was faithful, an employer of labour, philanthropist, lover, helper, supporter, and encourager of Islamic religious activities. His moralities are worth commending and emulating. He was a very simple, gentle, humble, accommodating, simple-headed man, kind-hearted person, and so friendly. We exchanged nice pleasantries and jokes with him. He does call me ‘Dan Fulani’ as a native/tribal/cultural joke between Fulani and ancient or who were connected with Bare-bari (Kanuri people). May Allah reward him and have mercy on him.
The third person was the late ‘Alhaji, Malam, Baba Idris Suleiman.’ He is an elder brother to Baba Toro. Baba Idi, as some called him. He is the father of Hajiya Hauwa (something). and Alhaji Bello Mam B.
This old man was simple, gentle, and very religious. He liked commiting his life to Islamic activities. He was humble, gentle, and humane attitudes will not give you an edge; he is from a royal family. He is humane and simple to the core.
I remember him always when it comes to magnanimity. Yes, in kindness and generosity he always comes to my memory, especially during the month of Ramadan (fast) because I can vividly reflect back on my memory and guess or say it right. Back in the 70s and 80s, and partly in the 90s, there was no household (family) in the entire Kafin-Hausa town that did not benefit from his generosity at Ramadan every year. That ‘funkaso’ (wheat cake) Ayyah!!! May Allah reward Baba Malam Idi and admit him in Al-Jannar Firdaus.
The fourth person was an all-round businessman. If you are talking of a typical, encompassing, promising business tycoon in Hausa land when you mention the person in the name of Alhaji Ismail, popularly known as Alhaji Badali, just match break. His name as a very wealthy man rang in Kafin-Hausa and its surroundings in the 70s and 80s. He engaged in farming, textiles, PZ (provisions), and transportation. Despite being a very rich man, his lifestyle was worth extolling, commending, and emulating. He was a humane, religious, and easygoing gentleman. His house was just a mecca of sorts, with people mostly his employees and those who came to seek help in one way or the other. He is the biological father of Muhammadu Gwadancy and my friend, Alhaji Musa Abdul Aziz, a.k.a. (Hajindo).
Alhaji Ismail promoted peace and made Kafin-Hausa a liberal place and brought positive initiatives to the community. He helped many to be their best and stand on their own. A philanthropist and a businessman. His life is a lesson and worth emulating. May Allah reward him and place him in the high garden. (Al-Janna)
The person at this juncture is last, not the least, in the list. He is my biological father, Malam (Alhaji) Usman Suleiman, popularly known and called ‘Manu.’. Manu is a name driven from Usman (u) by the Fulbe (Fulani). I can’t be selfish and self-centred if I include my father among the list of the persons in the Kafin-Hausa community who did something worthy of eulogising, commending, remembrance, and emulation. Because he did something that is a virtue.
In the 70s, 80s, and 90s, when any person on transit or a stranger, visitor, or wayfarer stepped into Kafin-Hausa town and he or she or they didn’t know anybody or didn’t have a place to put off. The person will be told and directed to go to ‘Manu’s house.’ If the person arrives at our place, even if my dad isn’t around, the person will get food to eat, water to drink, and a place to sleep, and no matter the number of people, when they come, they will definitely be attended to (accommodated). Also, there used to be a villa of Fulanis; the house used to be a Mecca of sorts, especially on market days and during festivities. Our house is an open house for everyone.
My father was a humane, philanthropic, reserved, accommodating, and well-orientated, civilised Fulani man. He believed in giving, as he said goodness comes from giving, and givers never lack. Also, those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others. It is true, those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all. May Allah reward him as well and admit him in Jannatul Firdaus, with the rest and all of us.
May Allah accept us if our lives come to an end. May Allah ease us from this trying moment. May Nigeria rise again and work positively well.
Adamu writes from Kafin-Hausa, Jigawa State.
What many Nigerians may not know, is that President Bola Tinubu and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, had parted ways long before the 2023 presidential election.
Whatever political relationship that existed between two, hit the hard rocks shortly after Muhammadu Buhari emerged president in the 2015 presidential election. Watchers of the power circle were quick to observe, that Buhari openly displayed his fascination with Tinubu’s strategic moves that paved the way for his emergence as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Buhari acknowledged the fact that without Tinubu’s mastery of the game, there was no way he could have beaten heavyweights like Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Aminu Tambuwal who contested the APC ticket with him. From beating the presidential primary hurdles, to clinching the APC ticket and capping it with a resounding victory in the 2015 presidential election, Buhari more or less elevated Tinubu to the status of his political god.
At his swearing-in ceremony on May 29, 2015, Buhari could hardly conceal his admiration for Tinubu. He kept pumping the hand of the former Lagos State governor in numerous hand shakes and gave him several pats in the back at every close encounter. It became obvious to the public that Buhari had found a benefactor and political godfather in Tinubu. What with his previous three failed attempts at the presidency in 2003, 2007 and 2011.
However, the camaraderie was short lived. Along the line, Buhari started giving Tinubu the cold shoulder a few months into the first leg of his presidency. And for a man not given to much restraint, Buhari continued to drive a wedge between Tinubu and his presidency. It wasn’t long before the content of a leaked memo to Buhari, authored by El-Rufai, revealed that Tinubu’s contribution to Buhari’s emergence as president was being “exaggerated.”
At that point, Tinubu got to understand why his initial chummy relationship with Buhari suddenly grew tepid. The thinly veiled rejection from the then president kept growing. The one-sided cold war became so pronounced that Tinubu’s wife, Remi, then a serving senator, was forced to voice her observation right on the floor of the Senate. She openly accused Buhari of ditching her husband after helping him to win the presidency.
But Buhari’s unprovoked indignation towards his benefactor continued unabated. Credible sources within the ruling APC at the time, observed that Tinubu was not allowed to make input into Buhari’s cabinet picks and other strategic appointments.
Right from his first tenure, a handful of power grabbers within and outside Buhari’s kitchen cabinet, were the ones running the government. They formed a cabal that ran rings around the stubbornly insular ex-president.
Members of the cabal had very little electoral value. They were sufficiently disdainful of Tinubu. They used their domineering influence to keep the Lagos Boy far away from their Aso Villa captive. They created the false impression of holding the joker for Buhari’s re-election in 2019. They started treating Tinubu as an expendable commodity as they kept widening the growing chasm between the Daura born ex-Army General and his political benefactor.
Then EI-Rufai came out in the open. He took upon himself the task of “demystifying” Tinubu by rallying some of the man’s political associates for “insurrection” against their leader. From his base in Kaduna, he became a regular visitor in Lagos, which is the nucleus of Tinubu’s political base in the Southwest. He spared no expense as he openly canvased an end to the era of political godfathers. It was during one of his numerous “missionary journeys” that he asked an incumbent Lagos governor: “When are you going to retire your godfather from politics?” And the then first term governor replied: “Second tenure.” And this was a young man who, against all odds, rode on the godfather’s shoulders to the Lagos government house.
The phrase was a wrap for the godfather’s retirement when the governor gets his anticipated second tenure. He must have forgotten that Tinubu has several pairs of wide ear lobes spread across the state. So the voice note of the governor’s “second tenure” echoed through the walls of Bourdillon. If a governor you installed planned to retire you in his tenure, you can only put him back there at your own peril. That’s how that governor lost a potential re-election ticket in 2019. It was a political death. The man has since taken his seat on the reserve bench, watching events from the sidelines.
But the movie to push Tinubu off the cliff ahead of the 2023 race did not stop. Three other former Southwest governors, who the godfather fought tooth and nail to enthrone in their respective states, joined the fray. With goading by El-Rufai, the former Ekiti governor, Kayode Fayemi, took steps that culminated in challenging Tinubu for the 2023 presidential ticket of the APC. And on the prodding of the Buhari cabal, his Ogun State counterpart, Ibikunke Amosun, also threw his signature skyscraper cap in the ring. Similarly, Yemi Osinbajo, who was vice president to Buhari, also saw in the fray what he thought was an opportunity to upstage Tinubu in the quest for the party’s ticket. Perhaps, the open “rebellion” by the former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, must have been a blow that hit Tinubu below the belt. Fayemi, Amosun and Osinbajo went about their failed adventures without throwing darts at their estranged political benefactor. From his comfort zone as cabinet minister, the ex Osun governor mounted the rooftop to denigrate his former principal. It must have felt like the thrust of Brutus’ sword in Caesar’s groin. Et tu, Rauf? And this was a man who used to be the godfather’s consigliere. The four “renegade” members of the Tinubu political clan could not handle their individual and collective discomfiture when, against all odds, the man managed to dribble Muhammadu Buhari and his cabal to clinch the APC presidential ticket. The godfather crowned it by beating their ambush to win the presidential election subsequently.
Such character traits in the power politics of the Southwest are well documented by political historians. It happened in the First Republic. It was embraced in the Second Republic. It played out in the short lived Third Republic. In those three previous republics, power brokers in the North had forged alliances with overtly ambitious associates in the Southwest for the purposes of pulling down their powerful political leaders. As it was in 1963-1966, so it was in 1979-1983. Circa 1993 (June 12 annulment). It spilled over to the Fourth Republic, 1999 -2023 and still counting. The trend won’t stop with Tinubu. It will continue after him because politicians are a product of ambitions; moderate or inordinate. So the gentlemen who tested their strength with Tinubu for the APC’s 2023 presidential ticket, did not commit any crime.
El-Rufai’s Hidden Agenda
It must be stated clearly that El-Rufai bore no personal animosity towards Tinubu when he set out to instigate the Jagaban’s loyalists against their leader. The ex-Kaduna only played on the moderate or inordinate ambitions of a few of them for his own political gains. It was a long distance race towards 2023.
He knew of Tinubu’s burning desire to succeed Buhari. And he was smart enough to know that another northerner should not be president after Buhari’s eight years in the saddle. The plan was that El-Rufai wanted to be a running mate on the 2023 presidential ticket of the APC. He had figured it all out; that the party would not contemplate a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket. He had reasoned that being a Muslim, there was no way he could be on the same ticket with Tinubu who is a fellow Muslim. So for him to be on the 2023 ticket, the presidential candidate must be a Christian from the south, preferably from the Southwest. That was why he zeroed in on Fayemi. He was working towards having the ex-Ekiti governor or any other southern Christian as presidential candidate, with him as running mate to balance the religious equation. He must have based his permutations on the 2015 experience when the APC flatly rejected the idea of having another Muslim as Buhari’s running mate. So in his own calculation, he had reasoned that with Tinubu as the presidential candidate in 2023, he stood no chance of picking the vice presidential ticket. He had imagined the party would pick a northern Christian as Tinubu’s running mate, a choice that would automatically shut him out. But contrary to his calculations, Tinubu picked Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim as his running mate.
Candidate Buhari of 2015 and candidate Tinubu of 2023 presented two different scenarios. The two leaders are poles apart in terms of their public perception. The former president arrogantly wears his Islamic fundamentalist emblem like a badge of honour. Tinubu on the other hand, maintains a visage of a liberal Muslim with a pastor wife, and, perhaps a mix of Muslim and Christian among his children. In the Buhari case, a Muslim-Muslim ticket would have proved an electoral disaster for the APC. That ticket was redeemed with “Pastor” Osinbajo’s name on the ballot. It attenuated what the community of Christian voters would have perceived as “an extremist ticket.”
From 2015 when El-Rufai started playing Saul of Tarsus, up to the build up to the 2023 electioneering, Tinubu’s trust in the ex-Kaduna governor had grown as big as the mustard seed. It didn’t require any deep intuition for the president to see through El-Rufai’s half-hearted “on the road to Damascus” experience.
But Tinubu managed to play safe by summoning enough native wisdom in his relationship with El-Rufai when he was seeking the presidential ticket, and during the campaigns. He had observed how the then Kaduna governor switched allegiances from one presidential aspirant to another. He switched over to Tinubu when it was obvious that many of his fellow northern governors had settled for the former Lagos governor. Tinubu craftily wormed his way into El-Rufai’s heart by cajoling him and massaging his oversize ego. At his campaign stop in Kaduna, candidate Tinubu had “begged” El-Rufai not to leave Nigeria after his tenure because he would need his services for his administration to succeed. That was how a dead cat was sold and bought. Dealing with a complex character like El-Rufai required a great deal of wisdom…and gumption too.
Tinubu’s approach in disarming El-Rufai may find expression in a number of Yoruba proverbs:
Eni ma mu obo, a se bi obo. (If you want to catch a monkey, you must learn to act like a monkey). Adete o le fun wara, sugbon o le da wara nu. (A leper may not be helpful in milking a cow, but he can waste a whole bucket of milk if provoked). Bi owo eni o ba ti te eku ida, a ki bere iku to pa baba eni. (You don’t threaten to avenge your father’s unnatural death if you are holding a contested sword by the blade). Tinubu did not court El-Rufai for his electoral value. He only stooped to conquer. It was a wrong time for dissent within his party at that critical period. He could ill afford it. Even at that, he lost the majority votes in Kaduna State to Atiku Abubakar and his PDP. With the 2023 presidential election won and lost, El-Rufai spent considerable time drooling over the president-elect in the hope of securing a place in the emerging cabinet.
Tinubu’s Pound Of Flesh
Tinubu sent El-Rufai on a fool’s errand by adding his name to the list of ministerial nominees he forwarded to the Senate for screening and confirmation. Unconfirmed reports at the time, suggested that he was being considered as potential power minister. And before anyone could say Godwin Emefiele, El-Rufai had scurried to the Senate wing of the National Assembly, awaiting his turn in the screening exercise. The news hit him like thunderbolt; his screening had been put in abeyance on account of an unfavourable “security report.” The ex-Kaduna governor did not need a soothsayer to tell him that the “security report” comes in flesh and blood. Tinubu simply took his pound of flesh from El-Rufai by humbling him in the full glare of the public. The godfather never forgets. El-Rufai was caught off guard. He bleated. He brayed. He was dazed. It was a humiliating experience. He got hit by a ricochet from a bullet he had fired at the godfather.
El-Rufai had claimed that Tinubu’s role in Buhari’s 2015 electoral victory was exaggerated. But this same Buhari failed in three previous attempts. Did he mean to say that without Tinubu, Buhari would have won in the Southwest where he was rejected in three consecutive election circles? If he still insists that Tinubu’s role in Buhari’s election was exaggerated, then how would he rate his own contribution to Tinubu’s victory in 2023? Tinubu won 29.4 percent votes in El-Rufai’s Kaduna while Atiku won 40.8 percent. Check the records.
The long and short of the story, is that Jagaban outsmarted his opponent in a political chess game. It’s coup and counter coup. Tit for tat. And today, the godfather El-Rufai plotted to retire from politics, is now holding the sword by the hilt. What a thing about politics. In frustration, he dumped the APC for the Labour Party a few days ago. El-Rufai’s cat has undergone sphynx mutation. It is in desperate need of covering to shield its furless skin from the vagaries of the elements. May Shehu Sani’s wish for him never prevail.
By Abiodun KOMOLAFE
The passing of Chief Ayo Adebanjo, a renowned elder statesman and Afenifere chieftain, and the breaking news about Chief Edwin Clark, mark the end of an era.
Focusing primarily on Adebanjo, he represented, very much like Clark, the spirit of emancipation, which arose out of the earlier stages of the agitation for an end to the colonial incursion in Africa. Indeed, Clark was actually, as a student at Holborn College of Law in London, an active member of the West African Students’ Union (WASU). Between 1952 and 1965, he was also a member of the Honourable Society of Inner Temple, London.
WASU is of great significance, for it triggered off the current of thinking, based on the progressive philosophical base, not just for dismantling colonialism but for presenting a programme of action to guide the post-colonial state. The position of WASU affected the thinking of movements such as the Action Group (AG) in Nigeria and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) in Ghana, amongst others.
Indeed, the manifesto pledge of the AG, to ‘make life more abundant’, is aligned with WASU’s affiliation with the ground-breaking manifesto of the Labour Party in 1945, ‘Let us face the future’, which has stood as the most important manifesto ever issued. Significantly, it was the AG manifesto in 1951 which persuaded Adebanjo to switch from the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) to AG. The late sage obviously felt that AG’s manifesto was in alignment with his own political philosophy.
By the time the foremost nationalist switched to AG, the NCNC had undergone a significant shift in its ideology. Following the death of Herbert Macaulay, the party abandoned its initial stance on a federalist post-colonial state and adopted a highly centralized ‘unification’ position. This drastic change had far-reaching consequences, leading to disastrous effects that still plague the country today.
Adebanjo’s shift in allegiance revealed the politics of an era which was based on philosophical ideas and ideological thrusts. This is in marked contradistinction to today’s trend of ‘decamping’ for purely personal advancement and pecuniary benefits. He remained steadfast in his progressive beliefs from his early 20s until his passing at 96. This is why an era has passed, and the passing of that era should be treated with deep regret. The highly respected Nigerian did not shift from his ideological position, through tribulations, setbacks and defeats, including the prospect of going to jail.
During the 1962 treasonable felony trial, Adebanjo faced a choice: abandon his principles and gain a lucrative appointment by testifying for the prosecution, or stand firm. He chose the latter! Today, the political atmosphere is in direct contrast to the faithfulness exhibited by the Isanya Ogbo, Ijebu Ode-born leader and the nation is financially and morally poorer for it. Nigeria is today mired in the ’development of the underdevelopment’, underachievement and an alarming slide into the fringes in the world pecking order.
In my January 6, 2009 article, ‘Afenifere: Once upon an identity’, I wrote that many Yorubas believed the once-revered body had become extinct, with its relevance dying even before the passing of notable figures like Bola Ige and Abraham Adesanya. Fast-forward to today, and the question remains: how relevant is Afenifere in the face of widespread crises, including security concerns and rampant unemployment in the Southwest?
If a country’s politics is not ideologically driven, there are always consequences. In other words, if Nigeria had continued to produce people who believed in the ideological current and stayed faithful, the country could have lived to be at par with Brazil, which is the world’s 10th largest economy; if not, with India, which is the 5th largest.
Instructively, there was a clear ideological mandate of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that, in his first coming, that translated into practice moved forty million Brazilians out of poverty and built one million housing units annually for eight years. Nigeria could have achieved similar progress, and more, if it had continued to create the atmosphere that produced Ayo Adebanjo and people like him, such as Edwin Clark.
Speaking generally, Nigeria’s biggest problem is the attitude of its leaders and the popular. Imagine the plight of the average citizen! As fate would have it, Nigeria now has one of the highest poverty rates in the world, with significant spatial and socio-economic inequalities, exacerbating social unrest and instability. The living standards are going down, and there’s mass unemployment, with large trade deficits and dependence on oil exports not only resulting in economic stagnation but also hindering development. Here, corruption is a fair game.
Bribery is also a fair game. The trouble is that either is a seed; once it is sown, it will surely germinate,
then bear fruit. After that comes the harvest season.
The reality is unambiguous: many families survive on less than N5,000 per week, while the minimum wage barely covers the cost of a bag of rice. Soaring gasoline prices, inadequate education, healthcare and nutrition have all contributed to a vicious cycle of poverty and underdevelopment. To make matters worse, the inflation rate has skyrocketed to an all-time high, exacerbating the country’s economic challenges; and it is as if the gods are angry!
With these pressing issues staring us in the face, what concrete solutions is Afenifere proposing, and how is it engaging with organizations like the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) to address these challenges? Furthermore, as Afenifere’s stance seems to swing and swerve depending on the whims of its leaders, is the organization presenting solid position papers and working collaboratively with others to drive meaningful
change? The fall of giants like Ayo Adebanjo serves as a poignant reminder that the baton of leadership must be
passed to a new generation of Nigerians who are equally committed to the ideals of democracy, social justice, and federalism. In saner societies, Afenifere is supposed to have evolved into a research institute powerhouse for Southwest Nigeria, proffering ironclad solutions to state and local governments on education, internal security, food security and health challenges. But is in doing that?
How many people relate to Afenifere these days, apart from a tiny segment of the elite? Again, if one may ask, what’s the continued relevance of Afenifere? Its influence has waned, and its connection to the average person, particularly outside the elite circle, is tenuous at best. If you talk to somebody in Ijebu-Jesa, my Native Nazareth, what is his concern with Afenifere? Does he know what it stands for? With the last of the titans finding their way to their Creator, will Afenifere still be relevant in decades to come?
Adebanjo was once here! Now, he belongs in history! He has done his bit and he has left the stage. He fought tirelessly for his principles, unyielding in the face of adversity, and uncompromising in his pursuit of a more just and equitable society. His legacy, now forever entwined with the fabric of Afenifere, stands as an inspiration, illuminating the enduring importance of equity, good governance and social justice – timeless ideals that transcend the boundaries of mortality.
Adebanjo’s passing represents what we have lost and what might have been. The lesson from the passing of people like him should be taught in schools and documentary dramas made about their lives in order to instruct, guide and guard. Perhaps, it’d still be possible to rekindle that era!
May the beautiful souls of Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Edwin Clark find rest in the bosom of their
Creator!
May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!
*KOMOLAFE wrote from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State, Nigeria ( ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk )
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