Interviews
|
|
News Headlines
|
|
Written by By FEMI ADEOTI
|
|
Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo, a mathemathician, engineer, administrator and politician became the Western Regional Commissioner for Economic Development in 1962 at the age of 27. He was the youngest in the cabinet of Dr. Majekodunmi’s administration for six months. He came on board again when the then Colonel Adeyinka Adebayo was appointed military governor of old Western State.
In 1983, Olunloyo contested on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and won the governorship of the old Oyo State. He defeated the then incumbent, the late Chief Bola Ige, of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). However, he lost the seat three months later to the duo of General Muhammad Buhari and the late General Tunde Idiagbon who sacked the the Shehu Shagari government on December 31, 1983.
Daily Sun had a seven-hour “encounter” with Olunloyo at his Malete, Ibadan, Oyo State, residence recently. He practically opened up on almost all issues. He did not pretend, and he refused to hide anything. Excerpts:
1983 gubernatorial polls in old Oyo State
How I got the ticket of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN)? When I wanted to get that ticket, I consulted a number of people. One of the persons I consulted was the present Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Otugade Odulana. He is a strategist and a tactician. Then the three Lais in Ibadan, Lai Durosaro, Lai Oyadina and Lai Olugbesan.
I used my Owu ancestry and went to Olusegun Obasanjo to ask him about some strategies and tactics. Like the miser he is always, he said he had no money. I pulled out his drawer and found dollars, pound sterlings etc in his Ota farm. I said “my brother, you said you have no money, but this is money.” He said “no, no. This one belongs to the chicken. (Owo Adie)’
He asked: “How can we get support from Kano?” I said “what concerns Kano with Oyo State politics?” He said: “Kano is linked with Ile-Ife. The king in Kano, and the king in Ife. There are also other connections.” Obasanjo then gave me some strategies and tactics which I applied.
The late Chief Adisa Akinloye (then National Chairman, NPN) was not willing to support me. I got him essentially through Alhaji Alao Arisekola (Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland). Chief Richard Akinjide was not very keen in supporting me. I found a very good friend of his who got him around and compelled him to support me. And that is Chief Kolapo Ishola (a former governor of Oyo State). Chief Lamidi Adedibu was backing Alhaji Kola Gbadamosi, the present chairman, Local Government Service Commission in the Alao-Akala government.
A mighty strategy was laid out. Ibadan is a very noisy and complicated place. So, the major strategy was to reduce the number of candidates in Ibadan to one, and encourage the multiplicity of candidates in other places. What could be called an “illegal primary” was held at the Greenspings Hotel, Old Ife Road, Ibadan.
There were 30 constituencies in Ibadan/Ibarapa area. What you call Ibadanland now with 11 local governments as well as Ibarapa. We then got 626 people in these areas to Greensprings. We all agreed unanimously to reduce the number of candidates to one. There were 11 candidates. This would be disastrous if allowed to go on.
Out of the 626 votes I came first with 286 votes. Gbadamosi came second with 134 votes. Then you had Chief Bayo Akande, the businessman who is the chairman of Splash FM Radio, Ibadan, now. Chief Theo Akinyele, former Secretary to the Government and Otun Bobajiro of Ibadan and the last but not the least, (Chief) Olaifa. At that election, some people did not contest. The last person got 26 votes. So, I won that non-party shadow election.
The good thing about that primary is that everybody abided by it unlike now. They all surrendered, and all of them came round to support me. They also gathered funds, knowing that I didn’t have money. But 90 percent of my funds were provided by Arisekola. He first gave me 25 brand new vehicles including jeeps and buses. Then I got through my good friend, Alhaji Olotu Abidoye. We are still good friends till today. He is a very reliable man. He is a member of the Sports Council. We grew up with the late (Alhaji) Lekan Salami, who was a very strong supporter.
Alhaja Aminat Abiodun, the present Iyalode of Ibadan, was one of my strongest supporter.. She was the first person who compelled and financed me to do the election. She discouraged all my opponents from contesting against me.
Son of the soil
“Son of the soil” thing was actually a trade mark, which sometimes translated in a negative way. It started from a very grave mistake that the late (Chief) Bola Ige made. (He was governor of old Oyo State then.) I don’t know what was responsible. A brilliant person like Ige was caught emotionally making an unfortunate mistake. He was one of the best gentleman like Christopher Okogbo. He was one of the brightest users of English language and Yoruba. He was a polyglot. He said something to the effect (later confirmed by many) that there was nobody in Ibadan suitable for governorship.
After many years, that he made that reckless statement, I confronted (Alhaji) Lam Adesina (ex-governor of Oyo State). I said “Lam, you have been governor for four years. Were you dead or alive in 1982 when Ige made that obviously unacceptable statement? You would have become deputy governor to an Ijesaman, married to an Ibadan woman.” He said “nobody was fit.” I said, “here you are, you are fit and you survived the four years.”
That statement spurred Ibadan people up to get an Ibadanman. I qualified eminently, because I was a strong pro-Akintola (premier of the defunct Western Region) person. I was strongly pro-Adegoke Adelabu. I had been commissioners in four ministries. I was also chairman of the biggest parastatal, which is now called Odua Group. It was WNDC (Western Nigerian Development Corporation) then. I had been Commissioner for Economic Planning, Community Development, Education, Special Duties, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and Education a second time. All these were behind me.
Remember also, I had played vital role in getting the Alaafin of Oyo on that throne. My mother is a Muslem, I was named on the eighth day in the Islamic way as Abdulhakeem i.e. A man of knowledge. The Immam, Sadiku Folorunso, who gave me that name, was Immam of Popo Yemoja, Ibadan. When I was contesting that election, he became the Chief Immam of Ibadan. Together with a good friend of my family and of my in-laws, and that was Asanike (former Olubadan of Ibadan), a man of great courage.
All these people, whether it was the church, where my father was the organist, the whole town was using Ige’s statement to garner support for me. Akinloye addressed a press conference and said “we have a son who can do it.” (Omo wa ni, ki eje ose). Nearly all the obas, were behind me.
Ooni predicted my victory three months before election
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, did something on May 13, 1983. He called up all the political parties’ representatives in old Oyo State to Ile-Ife. He addressed us that the Oduduwa Shrine, the Ife temple had said the election would be bloody. There would be loss of life and mayhem. He said we should go and control our supporters and followers.
He announced to us three months before the election the result of the election. All of us were present there, ask (Chief Bisi) Akande (he was Ige’s deputy then), he was present. The Ooni came and said this election coming in three months’ time would be won by Olunloyo. He said it before everybody. Ige came, and left Akande there to represent him.
All the other candidates were there. Lekan Balogun was the candidate of the NPP. They announced the result to us. They left us, went to the shrine and brought out the result. We saw smoke coming out from the back of the shrine. Ooni came out and he said Olunloyo would win, but the government would not last for a long time.
He said he saw that Olunloyo was on a donkey, riding it. Ige was trekking besides him. After sometimes, Olunloyo returned to his house, and Ige was taken away. And it happened exactly. For two years and eight months, Ige was taken away. After 10 days, I returned to my house. We were told this on May 13, 1983, that election took place on August 13, 1983. The obas and all contributed money, it was a long time, more 25 years. The Alaafin, the Ooni everybody contributed money and gave it to me.
The election was bloody in some places, but not in all places. A friend of mine was killed, Mr Amuwo. He was burnt to ashes at Oke-Ado, Ibadan. He came to Adedibu’s house, who was then chairman of the NPN in Ibadan Municipal. He left Adedibu and came to me, and things had already heated up by 9am on the day of election.
I told him to stay in my house, he was an Ijebuman. We had been friends since he was in the primary school, and we were in Government College, Ibadan. He insisted on going home. He said even if there was no transport, he would just walk to his house. He was killed and we know the people who killed him. Some of them are still alive. The person who killed him disappeared and went to his hometown, Ijebu-Igbo, (now in Ogun State). He had a house somewhere in Oke-Ado, Ibadan. The election was bloody also in Ilesa and some other places.
UPN printed 15 different results of the election
There was a lot of tension. The UPN and the Action Group they would always scream about what they wanted to do: ‘This election would be rigged!’ The state (Oyo) government was UPN, the Federal Government was NPN. But what did they (UPN) do? They said they (FG) would give us (Oyo UNP) ballot papers. I never saw any bunch of ballot papers.
Ige did some very funny things. He printed result sheets, Forms EC8 and EC8A, they filled them. They filled about 15 different kinds of results, they were cooked results.
Ige knew he would lose election
About a year before I was elected, the UPN gathered their prayer warriors and marabouts. They came to the conclusion that a man called Olunloyo would win the election, if he contested. I was just passing through a ministry at the secretariat one day when I was told. About two, three weeks after, I was told again. Who told me on the two occasions? The person is alive, he is now the Pro-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Chief Abiola Morakinyo. (Ige’s Commissioner for Finance).
He told me that they had made investigations that I would win the next election in 1983, if I contested. The first time he told me, I said: How can I win? I am not a member of any party’. Immediately he told me I went and joined the NPN at Ibadan South East Ward 9.
In December 1981, four men came to me in Lagos. They told me that they had found out from their marabouts that I would win 1983 election. As an engineer, I handled the Adelabu Market, Bodija, Akinbiyi Market for the Ibadan Municipal Government (IMG). IMG was owing me, Olakojo (present Oyo State SSG) was in the Treasury then. He later became Director of Administration at my campaign office and my Commissioner for Chieftaincy, and later Commissioner for Finance of Ike Nwosu.
I went to Mapo (office of the IMG) and begged the treasurer to pay me. In 1981 December, I asked him to pay me ‘I have just been told,’ in my usual character, I told him, ‘I will be the next governor of Oyo State. Pay me, don’t wait until I become governor. In 1982 I won the primaries, I went to the treasurer again and told him: ‘Pay me, I am on the way to become governor.’
In 1983, I won the election. I went to the treasurer and said: ‘Will you pay me now?’ So, he paid my money. That treasurer is Alhaji Adiama, he is alive. I remember Atinuke Ige and Bola Ige, we met at Igboora. I said ‘Atinuke, you are my sister. You are the wife of the present governor, and senior sister of the next governor.’ (Laughter) that was the way we took it.
Election tribunal
Ige insisted in challenging my election in the court and messed up the case. The electoral law at that time, allowed him only one or two prayers. You either say the election was rough and it should be cancelled. Or that it was not rough and you actually won. Once it is rough, you cannot win. If you are to win, it must not be rough.
He claimed in his prayers that it was not rough and that he won. Two days to the judgement, he then changed his plea that they should either say he won. Or if they cannot say he won, on the alternative, they should say that the election should be cancelled. The five judges met and took a decision, and the decision was in our favour, unanimously, 5-0. They ruled that he cannot make such an amendment. When it came to the substantive judgement. Three voted for me, none for him and two abstained. I won it 3-0, two abstained.
It went to the Court of Appeal, and it became 5-0. At the Supreme 7-0. But then the government had fallen by the time they concluded the case. The star of the legal case who did not take a kobo was (Chief) Richard Osuolale Abimbola Akinjide.
One of the highlights of the case at the tribunal in Ibadan was when he (Akinjide) cross-examined Ige. And Ige cracked up under the stress. Akinjide went poetic: “There are 15 kinds of results in my hand, check them. The first one is on FEDECO paper. The second result is not signed. The third is signed but not by the electoral officer for that constituency.”
An Owu man, Mr Alade from Erunmu (now dead), had hinted us that they (UPN) were printing some ballot papers. We asked him to pass the information to Eruobodo (late Busari Adelakun) at Lalupon. They were printing these result sheets with the government printer. We physically went to Onipasan, Eruobodo said: Ari yin o, ohun te nte yi, ente iro (we have seen you, you are printing fake results).
We asked for two of the result sheets to be brought out by women who were with the government printer. Akinjide then said, ‘I put it to you, Chief Bola Ige, that you are a master rigger.’ That was the proceeding at the tribunal.
When the military government came. (The military had no business in overthrowing that government. I went to (Tunde) Idiagbon, and asked him. ‘Why did you take power from us? Because people were stealing money left, right and center, and we were the cleaners of the system.’ And they set up one or two enquries. He was amazed that somebody could come up to him and say this.) They set up a commission of equiry to probe that election. Justice Babalakin, a retired justice of the Supreme Court was the chairman. Two days before their leaving, I wrote them. I said, ‘you ought to have summoned me. People have been shouting that the election was rigged. If it was rigged, I was a beneficiary of it. You have to hear my own side of the story.’
I went to the enquiry. I said; ‘look, all these political parties, none of them is innocent. We all had our master plans. This is the master plan of the NPN.’ I tendered it. ‘We also stole the master plan of the UP, this is it. There are two copies. One is in the government office. We want you to compel the military government to release it. This one we stole.’ We tendered it. ‘The NPP also had their master plan. These mater plans have to be studied in order to beat rigging in the future.’
The UPN lawyer then came to me and said, ‘please, if you don’t attack Awolowo, we will not attack you.’ I said, ‘how can I attack Awolowo? All of you use his image, you have no name of your own. I won’t touch Awolowo, he is a sacred horse.’
How Eruobodo facilitated Ige’s election in 1979
Eruobodo (Busari Adelakun) was not of the same genre with Adegoke Adelabu or Adedibu. He was not of the same stature. He was a relatively minor rabblerouser. He came into prominence as the man who facilitated Ige’s nomination as UPN’s candidate for the 1979 governorship election in old Oyo State.
Ige did not contest the governorship primaries of the UPN in 1978. The primary was done at Okeho and was won by (Chief) S.M. Afolabi.
Digression: Ige was an Ijesaman. Two powerful rich men, Ojo Ajanaku and Lawrence Omole represented the AG in Ilesa. They were always defeated by two powerful politicians, Sir Odeleye Fadahunsi and TunjiOlowofeyeku. Olowofoyeku was Akintola’s Attorney-General.
Odeleye was used to replace Ooni (Adesoji Aderemi) as Governor (of the defunct Western Region). They were pillars behind Akintola. The AG was a right wing merchant and natural ruler-oriented elite, while the UPN was more masses-oriented. It was left of centre, while the AG was right of centre.
Afolabi had cut his teeth in politics, he was minor intermediate staff at the University of Ibadan. He was a very reliable pro-Awolowo person. He actually got his accolades by allegedly slapping Akintola at a campaign somewhere between Iree and Eripa (in Osun State). That was what made him popular. Akin Omoboriowo also won in (old) Ondo State. They were then asked to step down for two old reliables, (Chief) Michael Adekunle Ajasin. Omoboriowo agreed. In Oyo State, it was (Archdeacon) Emmanuel Oladipo Alayande.
At a meeting it was alleged that Alayande got a little bit roughened by the manners and language of Eruobodo. And he (Alayande) referred to certain people as illiterates. Eruobodo took exception to this and asked was he among the illiterates. Obviously, he looked like one. He now said the victory of the party hinged on him. He asked them to drop Alayande.
They said they couldn’t find a candidate. Eruobodo now said “Bola Ige can win.” So Ige was brought in and he won, and made Eruobodo a commissioner. I am not so sure that was the most suitable way of rewarding him. You could give bags of money, or some contracts.
UPN wrote its own obituary
There was one great thing about that election which I must tell you today which the press has not known. The UPN planned a very big rigging plan which we intercepted. They made a very strategic mistake. They were over-confident and they often discussed matters where they should not discuss them. They often discussed party matters. They had the party headquarters at Yemetu, Ibadan, and they often used it.
They often discussed party matters in the executive council. When you look at the Exco conclusions, minutes, you found discussions of party matters. We got to know about this. Then we set up an espionage system consisting of some labourers, messengers and some top civil servants. When they had produced these Exco memos, we got a spare copy. A particular location inside the secretariat, towards the back of the Water Corporation, in that bush, there we had our contacts such as drivers who would then deliver the message to us.
All these can be verified. They are in the records of the Oyo State Government. On August 11, 18, 25 and September 1, 1982 (all Wednesdays), the UPN led by Ige held crucial meetings and recorded everything in the Exco Chamber. They are in the book of minutes we stole extra copies, I tendered them at the Babalakin Probe Panel. I got a subpoena and Babalakin signed that Olurin (military governor) should release the big book where the thing is pasted and signed.
I showed them to General (Yakubu) Gowon, he is still alive, when he came to visit me in government. He is a very good friend and a very decent man. You will be shocked to hear this. Bola Ige signed all the papers. Inside the paper, the UPN examined their chances of winning the 1983 elections. They came to the conclusion that as things were, they would lose. The report was signed by Ige.
You cannot stop rigging unless you probe all the past allegations. We have to stop rigging because 2011 cannot be as is in the past. It cannot be business as usual. Obasanjo who said it was do-or-die is no longer here with us. Lamidi (Adedibu) is gone, for good or ill. So, we have to device a means of stopping rigging.
1962 National Census
The most interesting job I handled as the Western Regional Commissioner for Economic Development under Dr. Majekodunmi was the census of 1962. The figures were cooked and we insisted that the census should be corrected. Infact, it was later cancelled. Another census was done in 1963. I don’t know whether that one was not itself cooked. But we have been having census problems.
We detected that statistically, you cannot have 300 percent increase in population within 10 years. The 1952 figures were infact estimated, putting 17 millions in the North and 14 millions in the South, with eight in the East, six in the West.
I think politicians in the South were by and large relatively incompetent compared with those in the North. The North is a very advanced place not in terms of paper qualifications of people with Ph.D etc. These are sometimes not the correct indices. There is a unity to an extent in the North. The unity is caused by both history and religion. They understand clearly the common interest. They also have a very strong system of native administration, which we now call local government. They have a real understanding of politics. They know that if power is on their side, so many people will prosper. Whereas in the South, there is so much individualism.
I must say this of Dr. Majekodunmi, I was the youngest member of his cabinet. He gave me an absolute free hand to handle the census. Not once did he interfer with my actions and activities. I used to wonder, why would this man give free hand to a boy of 27? I was 27 then in 1962 and he was 47, he is 93 now. I was commissioner under Majekodunmi for seven months, June 21 to December 31, 1962. It was a successful tenure of office.
The same thing happened when General Yakubu Gowon influenced General Adeyinka Adebayo to reshuffle his cabinet and put me where the Alaafin of Oyo problem was. Adebayo not for once, not for all the pressures on him interfered even with me, or gave me one hint or another of how to solve the problem.
Do you know at that time, I had been thinking of privitazation of the economy, and selling government shares and everything about monetization? I had thought of all these in 1962.
Installation of Alaafin, Oba Adeyemi III
Oh! It was a long story. The central thing was the greatness of Adebayo. He had been deceived and misled. They got him into a very complicated position. General Adebayo is one of the greatest men I have ever met. Very open, generous and accommodating. When he became Military Governor of Western State, people exploited his honesty. He constituted a cabinet of 12 members, six pro-Action Group (Awolowo boys) and six pro-NCNC/UNDP (Akintola boys). I was one of the Akintola boys with an NCNC background.
There are three stages in what is called a ruling house chieftaincy. There is the nomination which is done by the family, whose turn it is to provide candidate(s). There is the appointment which is done by kingmakers. And thirdly and finally, the approval by the government. The vacancy occurred in January 26, 1968, but it was not filled until January 13, 1971. The cabinet was reshuffled on January 5, 1970, and I came in as Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. I solved the problem by January 14, 1971. I also solved the problems of the Owa of Idanre (now in Ondo State), the Balogun of Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Owa of Igbara-Oke, also in Ondo State and many others.
The head of the family had his own son as a candidate, and the declaration allowed more than one candidate. But what he did was always to remove the names of all the other applicants, except his son. He would then forward it to the kingmakers. The declaration demanded through the Head of the Princes without reservation, but he had put in reservation.
The first round of confusion was that the nomination was interfered with by the government in a very complicated and painful way. Each time they held meeting and they nominated more than one candidate, the chairman put forward only one candidate. The confusion was so great that the government set up a commission of enquiry. Chief Magistrate Obileye, may his soul rest in peace, was put in charge. He came to the conclusion, very strange, that there was only one candidate validly nominated. That was odd.
The light at the end of the tunnel was provided by a very great man, the late Justice Michael Ogundare. He was the counsel to that Obileye Enquiry. He was an officer in the Ministry of Justice. He eventually ended up as a judge of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He was the one who read the judgments on those very exciting cases including resource allocation. He read out the lead judgment in that case.
Ogundare recommended, as a minority voice, that the thing should be cancelled. The government decided to make an edict to say that only one candidate was lawfully nominated. The next thing was that they placed that single candidate before the kingmakers and the kingmakers rejected it two times.
The third time, they put in the name of Lamidi Adeyemi who was not even placed before them. The kingmakers were then brought to Ibadan and intimidated. They were led by the late Chief Esuola Akano, who was an exemplary person. Akano told Adebayo that they were ready to die and if they should kill them, they requested that their bodies should be released to their families. That they were not going to do anything wanted by Awolowo and Adebayo, and that is all! Awolowo backed the other man.
At that stage, the governor introduced another round of confusion. They dismissed the Oyo Mesis (the kingmakers), seven of them. When the seven Oyo Mesis voted, two voted for the government candidate, and five voted against him. In reconstituting the replacement, they chose village chiefs, Elepe of Iseke, Aguo of Oyo and others. This was an insult on the tradition and the people of Oyo. The new kingmakers were immorally constituted in that, the two who voted for Ladepo, were included and five who voted against were thrown out. The seven (new Oyo Mesis) met, and within 10 minutes, they had appointed Ladepo, Aranlola’s son as the Alaafin of Oyo.
The last stage was the application of Section 21, which was the approval. That approval, however, never came. Section 21, more or else says that “notwithstanding the fact that this appointment has been made in accordance with the law and approved and registered declaration, the government may nevertheless approve or nevertheless set aside the said appointment, in the interest of peace, order and good governance.”
When I took over, that nomination and appointment had taken place waiting for approval. After several months of study, I brought out a new approach to the subject, and showed that a serious mistake had been made. And for this serious mistake, the involvement of an organization called Oyo Multipurpose, for this mistake, everything they had done was a nullity. You cannot put something on nothing, it will not stand.
The executive council I invited them in a memo that I wrote myself. After a long debate and extensive debate with the Attorney-General. I wrote him a one page letter, and he replied with a seven-page. It was unsatisfactory for me. I took it to the executive council, and it was overruled. That the thing was legally incorrect. That appointment was then nullified.
Then we began another process by allowing the man whose appointment was nullified to re-contest, as well as all other candidates. We took steps to make sure all candidates were put on a level-playing field. That was how Lamidi Adeyemi got in. On September 4, 1969, very desperate things were done. I will show you documents on this later. Oba Lamidi Adeyemi got in there after about three years of struggling.
Controversial picture published by National Concord
I was not sleeping. That was unfortunately, may his soul rest in peace, cooked up by (MKO) Abiola. I was resting my head on the table in (Adisa) Akinloye’s house, Itutaba, Ibadan. We had some interminable and boring meetings. I just put my head on the table. The next thing I found was a picture saying I was sleeping. Sleeping where? Was I sleeping in parliament?
Even when I am sleeping, my brain is more powerful than many of the people who are awake. What I can do when I am dozing, when some people are awake they can’t do it. I was not dozing, I was not sleeping. The point is this, sleeping where? On my bed? At a beer parlour? It was all kinds of lies against me.
Concord newspaper then published a cartoon, I was not only said to be sleeping, but with a bottle of beer on the table. If you look at the picture, you would see that there was no bottle or anything. It was a very ridiculous thing. Many people are unintelligent. I don’t bother myself with people who don’t have smart brains.
Abiola became very nervous, because he wanted to be national chairman of the NPN. He struggled with Akinloye. His next plan was to become president of Nigeria. He calculated from what I hear, that if he was to have a breakthrough in Oyo State. If Oyo State was the bastdion of NCNC. Action Group was a little stronger in Ogun and Ondo. Oyo and Osun were pro-Akintola.
He reckoned that if NPN got stronger and won in Oyo State, then that person would be too sure as presidential candidate. And Akinloye would then have a way to become president. He wanted to thwart that.
I got such an excellent support from the Concord until that day. The person who told me of this thing was no other person than Dele Giwa. He called me, and may I be cursed eternally if I am lying, and said Abiola asked them to do all they could to bring my candidate down. He said he told Abiola ‘this is nonsense.’ It was MKO’s undoing.
Later on, he needed my help when I was writing this Monday Think Tank in Tribune. He once went to Ikenne to see Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo. Lekan Are, Soaga (Simbi’s brother) went with him to ask Mama to stop me from writing for Tribune. Lekan Are told me he was bringing him here, I told him: ‘Don’t bring Abiola to my house. In any case, you are just coming from Ikenne. And I know you have failed at Ikenne.’Mama told a number of people of her interest in the article I wrote on Mondays, so it used to be the bumper day. They found that on Mondays, there was always a bumper sale when I wrote. General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida also told me of the debate in the military circles every Monday when my article came out. Babangida used to read the article.
I knew Abiola would win but would not rule
I saw vision and I wrote in the column one day. I saw ‘mandate’ in my dream at 1a.m. The first three letters, MAN, fell to the left, and D strayed to the right. I got an inspiration. The man is Abiola, the date is June 12. I titled the article: ‘Abiola, or June 12, or Both’. OR has two interpretations in English. OR inclusive or, OR exclusive. In Latin, they are two different words.
I came to the conclusion that those of us who are benefiaries of his generousity etc, would like the man to stay alive, even if he did not become president. That was my conclusion of that MANDATE. I also forcasted that he would never be made president. I spoke about it very clearly during Adedibu’s memorial lecture. He knew the bank accounts of all these people like David Mark, who is now the President of the Senate.
MKO claimed Mark put pressure on IBB not to handover to him
David Mark was Minister of Communications and had some clashes with Abiola, some misunderstandings. Abiola always told us Mark was one of those who put pressure on Babangida not to handover. And Mark continued to talk in that type of vein. He once said a military man, may be of a lowest rank, is better than a civilian who had all the qualifications. He is not my friend, but I don’t hate him. He was the one who said telephone is not for the poor, as if there was any telephone in Otukpoland when he was born. Things like that annoy me. All the same, he is a lucky man. He has money. He is in high position even though he struggled to get the seat.
He was one of those who put pressure on IBB. But I used to argue with IBB. What is the use? They would kill the president, they would kill the man who put him there. It is probably better for us to have one of them alive.
1983 coup
I didn’t bother myself. I had known about a week that they were planning a coup. I followed security very well. There was a sports festival where I was watching some of the people watching us. My Commissioner of Police was very good, he kept me well informed. That CP is no other man that a third-term Senator, Nuhu Aliyu.
He was the one who said he was not comfortable with the backgrounds of some of his colleague senators. I think there is a minority of people involved in malpractices. But certainly, what he said is probably not true of the majority.
Sun Newspapers, Lagos
|
|
|
News Headlines
|
|
Written by From ISMAIL OMIPIDAN, Kaduna
|
|
For those familiar with the country’s various border towns in the North, it is common to find Nigerien herdsmen riding on camels, sometimes in their hundreds, moving into Nigeria. Ordinarily, one would assume that they are hapless herdsmen trying to locate a greener pasture.
But renowned Zaria-based Islamic scholar, Sheik Mohammad Auwal Al-Bani, is insisting that henceforth, security operatives in the border posts must ensure such people are thoroughly checked, whenever they are found moving in hundreds.
Reason: Al-Bani has sensationally revealed that the arms and ammunition used by the late leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf and his group were brought into the country through them, through the Niger border in Maiduguri, especially. In fact, he insisted that the late Yusuf had allegedly linked up with a group in Algeria, and that it was the group that was sending the arms and ammunition through Niger.
He said the group also assisted with fund.
Hear him: “They load these weapons on top of camel in the name of grazing and enter Nigeria. Our Customs and Immigrations officers must take note of this. Anytime you see those Nigeriens crossing our border to Nigeria with animals, check them very well. They were the ones (Buzu) that came to Nigeria when Ja’afar (the late Kano-based Islamic scholar murdered in the wake of 2007 elections) was killed.
“If you remember, they say they (Buzu) normally disappear when they are shot and that bullets do not penetrate them. They came fully prepared for the Boko Haram war, and that was why they also made locally made pistols and bombs. Their plans was to plant the bombs in strategic places, so that you just be hearing explosions without knowing where they were coming from.”
He insisted that soldiers from Algeria, Somalia, Niger, Mauritania, including a few others who had fought on the side of the Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, were allegedly among those who fought on the side of the late Yusuf. Some of the soldiers, he further said, could fight for nine days non-stop without eating anything.
The Algeria connection
According to Al-Bani, the fatwa (religious opinion or promulgation as agreed by scholars within a school of thought) being bandied around by Yusuf and his group, condemning government work, were transported from Algeria to Nigeria. But even at that, the Islamic scholar, who insisted that the conditions that warranted it in Algeria were not prevalent in Nigeria. However, in Algeria, not all Islamic scholars are in agreement with the decision, largely because those who came up with the fatwa are not Islamic scholars but academics.
According to him, the fatwa dates back to the formation of an Interim Government in Algeria, following the aborted attempt by some Islamic fundamentalists to seize power in there. Once the election was stopped, he continued, they were asked to drop their guns and come for a dialogue; some accepted while others rejected the offer. This, he continued, led to the formation of Interim Government, and those opposed it, came up the fatwa that they should not be part of it.
“You can’t bring such a thing to Nigeria. You can’t impose a fatwa promulgated in Sokoto on Zaria; it can’t work because the conditions and environment are not the same. And, in any case, those who made the pronouncement in Algeria are not Islamic scholars; they are academic scholars. And that was why the Yusuf group could brand someone like the late Gumi as government Mallam. Anyone who is not with them is branded as a government Mallam.
“Most of the Yusuf’s boys were trained in Algeria. And they were taken there through the assistance of a Kano-based businessman on the pretext that they were going to study fiqhu (religious understanding). You can confirm this from one Mallam Abubakar Kazaure; he almost fell into their trap. He was approached, but he never went. Meanwhile, there in Algeria, instead of Islamic training, they give them military training.”
Islamic scholars and foreign aids
Al-Bani believes that all those collecting aids from foreign lands, including Saudi Arabia, are not being fair to Nigeria. According to him, those who give these aids would be the ones setting the agenda; as such a preacher would only be preaching their gospel.
He went further to say that even Islamic scholars who collect aids in form of assistance from the Nigeria government, be it state or at the federal level are equally guilty of same thing, as their affiliation with government would deprive them of their independence. He said: “(As an Islamic scholar) if you want to engage in the propagation of Islam through preaching, make sure you have your own money. And you can do this by engaging in either hand work or business, because you cannot be an employee of the government and still think you can speak about the ills in government, you will get the BUK lecturer’s treatment whose salary was stopped over such preaching.
“And if you get assistance from outside the country, like Saudi Arabia and the like, they will not just come here and build a mosque for you free; they have their own agenda, as you will only be required to preach what they want. I don’t collect money from anybody, both within and outside the country to do my propagation. I have my own business, and it is the proceeds I am using to build my structures.
“Those giving you (Mallams) money from Iran and Saudi Arabia are just trying to create confusion in Nigeria. And at this point, I want to caution our young ones who go for Hajj, and lesser Hajj, to be wary of the type of contacts they make over there. Different kinds of people will come and approach you there to say they will provide you with fund as assistance to further the propagation of Islam; they are doing it to further their own agenda.
“Late Ja’afar, may his soul rest in peace, may have suffered similar fate because he got support from a few international organizations to build mosque and schools. And here in Nigeria, a few politicians assisted with vehicles, and this brought some problem for him. “If you must propagate Islam, do it within your means. You must not necessarily have a big mosque or schools to start with.”
Why Boko Haram should be held responsible for the late Ja’afar’s death
He further revealed that the late Yusuf and his followers should have been the prime suspects in the gruesome murder of the late Kano-based Islamic scholar, Sheik Ja’afar, because they were the ones who threatened him before his death.
According to Al-Bani, “at the last lecture Mallam Ja’afar delivered on them (Boko Haram), he was whisked away from the venue, because the Boko Haram people besieged the mosque with dangerous weapons, as he was speaking, they will be shouting ‘it’s not true, you’re a liar, you’re an unbeliever,’ that was how Ja’afar was whisked away. There and then, they threatened to pursue him to Kano and deal with him; that is why I said they should be the prime suspects.
“And because of their hypocrisy, when Mallam died, Yusuf led his group to Kano to commiserate with the deceased family, but he was turned back by (one) Mallam AbdulWahab, who told him that they didn’t need his presence and prayers. The truth is that government was the last target for Boko Haram. Their first targets were Islamic scholars who do not subscribe to their ideas.
“In fact, each time he (Yusuf) was granted bail from Abuja; he would return to Maiduguri and be boasting that they dealt with ‘big men’ in Abuja, let alone one small rat called SAS (Senator Ali Sheriff, Borno Governor). We will catch him like a fowl, since their intention was to make Maiduguri their base,” the Islamic scholar said.
His advice to government
The Islamic scholar further opined that the failure of leadership at all levels in Nigeria, contributed, in no small measure, in making Boko Haram gospel gain currency.
Hear him: “Government must be sincere with the issue of governance in this country. They should ensure that they give the people what they want. For instance, in Sabon Gari Council of Kaduna State, they brought a female to represent us at the State House of Assembly. We told them we didn’t want because it is against our religion. We now asked if there was no any strong male candidate in the PDP; they said it was part of the party’s policy to give women some representation. We told them they should go and implement that in Southern Zaria; they (in Southern Zaria) would be comfortable with that. And for us, get a male competent enough to represent us.
“We are PDP, if you can’t tolerate us, leave the party for us. I am not campaigning but I am saying the right thing. However, we disagree with the injustice going on in the land. Not only PDP, but for other parties; we will not accept a female representative even in 2011, as we will oppose it, same way we did in 2007.
“Each time we talk like this, they will send SSS to us that we should stop interfering in politics, I think they are just being hypocritical about it, because they are the same people who will come to us to solicit for our support, to tell people to vote for them. Or is it that they want to turn us to their errand boys? Anybody they want us to vote for and we accept the person, SSS will not hear about it. But when we oppose their favoured candidate that is when SSS will come in. We are not their errand boys. I am a registered member of the PDP; I registered in Wuse 2, Abuja.
“Therefore, government must stop rigging and stealing of ballot boxes during elections, because these are the things people like Yusuf used against the government, and since the youths can see all these things happening, they will be forced to believe the like of Yusuf. And as such there is no way you can tell the youths that what Yusuf said was not true, when there are clear evidences of injustice in the land.
Sun News Publishing, Lagos
|
|
News Headlines
|
|
Written by By TAIWO AMODU (amodu@sunnewsonline.com)
|
|
Former General Secretary of the powerful National Union of Petroleum, Energy and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Frank Kokori, is disillusioned about the state of the Nigerian polity. Owing to this, he had refused to talk about the country. He had said: “If you talk from here to Jericho, the people will never change.”
When Kokori finally agreed to talk, it was vintage him. He described the present crop of politicians as traitors, insisting: “There are no elections in Nigeria up till today. This is sad. When I was in prison in my lonely cell in Bama, the only consolation I used to have was that the next government would be a democratic government.
At that time, the whole world was looking at Nigeria. The military was humiliated to the barracks… But these Nigerians have betrayed us; they are traitors. The present leadership of the country, from 1999 till today, are class traitors.”
Kokori spoke on this and many other things.
You have been silent for sometime now. Is it a deliberate act of aloofness towards developments in Nigeria or being afraid to talk?
Well, it’s not all the time people react to issues in the country, because if you talk from here to Jericho, the people will never change. We have been unfortunate to have political leaders who are dumb and deaf immediately they get to power.
When you have been in this type of struggle for a long time, you feel disappointed. I remember when we started the June 12 struggle. Without being immodest, I felt that if not for petroleum workers there wouldn’t have been anything like democracy. I knew the pressure on me. I know that the civil society, which we all belong to, became very vibrant at that time. People, like Beko Ransome-Kuti, who really were the pioneers of civil rights movement, with his Campaign for Democracy and Civil Liberties Organisation, did a lot.
How do you feel about the fact that what you fought for wasn’t realized? Today, people don’t even take labour leaders serious.
I am disillusioned really, totally. That is part of why I am no longer talking. First of all, I am growing older; that’s one. The vigour I had in those days is no more there. Now, I don’t have the power of coercion, because you must have the power of coercion to lead people. Today, the militants are being recognized, because they have what it takes. You see, the closest thing to armed struggle in world revolutionary battles is the organized labour: unarmed but you pull down any government you want; you can bring down any system.
I remember when I was released and the international community hosted me all over the world. I was in Washington DC, where some groups played host to me. One of them was the Federation of America Labour.
What’s your position on the amnesty for militants? Some have embraced it; others have jettisoned it. How do you view the monetary inducement?
Normally it is wrong and I am happy that MEND said it is not cheap like that. You see, any real revolutionary can’t take that and those collecting are mercenaries. The real, committed patriotic people from the Niger Delta will not take that and MEND has told government it won’t do that. I read a story recently where MEND said that some people in the police and the military have been approaching them, asking that they should give them their guns and collect N300, 000 for one AK47 rifle.
A lot of hoodlums have gone to derail the whole struggle. When you start kidnapping people, I think that is out of track. But like what everybody knows, the true problem of the Niger Delta is under development.
Yes, it has been there for so many years and Yar’Adua is just two years in office. So normally, I can’t lay any blame on Yar’Adua; moreover you see a lot of limitations he has in handling Niger Delta issue, but he should just be genuine with Nigerians.
It pains me that the National Assembly can’t amend the constitution. In other places, people sit down for six months, three months and produce a constitution that will give impetus and life to their citizens. Our people can’t. The first four years went by; the second four years of Obasanjo went by and now another three years is going; they are still fighting themselves over irrelevancies, trivialities and Nigerians are waiting!
There were no elections in Nigeria. When I was in prison in my lonely cell in Bama, the only consolation I used to have, was that the next government was going to be a democratic government. That time, the whole world was looking at Nigeria. The military was humiliated to the barracks. We don’t want them again. But these civilians have betrayed Nigerians; they are traitors. The present leadership in the country is made up of traitors.
Do you think Yar’Adua has displayed the sincerity expected of the occupant of that exalted office?
The Nigerian legislators are the biggest problem we have in this country. Other countries don’t have more than 35 legislators. Here, we have hundreds of them; yet, the governors easily pocket them. Do you know that the legislative arm is the most powerful arm in democracy? They could impeach a governor. If they tell a governor to work he must work or get punished. A president can be impeached. Half of the money that goes to a state is squandered in bribery, propaganda and publicity. Why do you blame the President if the National Assembly can’t function? The most powerful arms of government are the legislature and the judiciary.
There is an electoral report by the Justice Uwais committee before the government. No action has been taken so far
I earlier said that the power lies with the National Assembly. You and I know that the National Assembly can call the chief executive arm to order.
With the National Assembly dominated by PDP, do you suspect a conspiracy?
They are a disgrace. The National Assembly has the power to right the wrong, but they sold out. The lawmakers are the worst traitors in the country; only 10 percent is good. It is a shame. It is even worse that they didn’t have people’s mandate. Those who got their mandate from the people aren’t more than 15 percent. The other ones were just manipulated into the House; they bought their positions. Godfathers and the ruling party chose them.
When are you going to release your memoirs on June 12?
It will soon be out.
Finally, OMPADEC, NDDC, Niger Delta Ministry are gestures from government to address the problems in the Niger Delta. However, the agitations continue. What does your people really want from Nigeria?
The struggle in the Niger Delta is now complicated, but I think the basic thing is the sincerity of purpose by the government and the people themselves. You see, when I blame the Federal Government, I always think of my privileged political leaders in the Niger Delta: the governors and the lawmakers. They are sycophants. They are corrupt.
Sun News Publishing, Lagos
|
|
|
News Headlines
|
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Elder Said Dogo is the General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In this interview with our Correspondent, RANA BAYOK in Kaduna, Dogo who was a member of a delegation that presented a position paper on the plight of Northern Christians to the governors of the 19 northern states, maintains that injustice and all forms of discrimination cannot bring progress to the North. Here are excepts.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
News Headlines
|
|
Written by Jide Ajani, Deputy Editor
|
You needed to have seen Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, the former governor of Bayelsa State. In this very first tell-all interview with Sunday Vanguard, Alamieyeseigha discloses some disturbing truths about former President Olusegun Obasanjo and what actually led to his travails. Sober but not condescending, Alamieyeseigha admitted that mistakes may have been made but that they were made on the platform of expediency.
He admits that he may not have been a perfect person but was quick to add that persecution was merely his lot for speaking his mind. Some of his traducers, he maintains, have come to apologise to him. In this multi-part interview which started by 2:02 pm and ended at about 6:20 pm, last Wednesday, Alamieyeseigha made revelations.
A man with whom Obasanjo shares a history dating back to 1976, Alamieyeseigha says “I am at peace with myself today”. This is just a snippet, the least interesting part of the interview but chronology takes precedence hence the need to present the interview in the order it was conducted. The other parts would be run in following weeks and readers would be at liberty to make up their minds on how Nigeria was governed in the heady days of matthew Okikiolakan Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo.
Excerpts:
What have you been doing in the last four years?
(He looks up, shakes his head and begins) It has been a journey of life; four years after leaving office
Frankly speaking, I’m at peace with my family. I now have all the time to stay with them and give moral backing.
Apart from the paraphernalia of office, sirens, clearing the road, I’ve not seen anything spectacular in governance than the life I’m living now. I even have more persons, coming to me for one advice and counseling than when I was a governor. I’m being seen in the Niger Delta region as a godfather and people from all walks of life come to me for one form of assistance or the other. Indeed, the masterminds of my travails in the 2005 episode, most of them have come to beg me publicly and privately to forgive them and I’ve since forgiven them. I’m not an arrogant person so I’m not losing anything. I am down to earth and still doing what I used to do. There is nothing new in life that I was enjoying then that I am not enjoying today.
So, directly answering your question, I’ve always been contented with what I have.
That people can see you now, could that not be a function of the absence of the protocols?
Not necessarily so. When I was a governor, my government was people oriented; I did things that directly impacted my people. My people had access to me and people were never really shut out. Go and interview people on the streets of Bayelsa and ask them: Who was Alamieyeseigha? From 1999 to 2005 when I left office, my administration embarked on a number of people_oriented projects.
What specifically do you do now?
Since I left office I have not done any serious form of business or contract but I am surviving.
Well Nigerians are surviving too but yours would be of a different kind?
Yes surviving, surviving with my family, having time for them, asking: What do we have today, how are we going to utilize it.
But I must confess, being alive today is to the glory of God Almighty and it is only me who can tell the story of my survival so when I say I am surviving, I know what it means. It was not envisaged that I would survive. It was a grand design but today we thank God almighty, more than any other thing, that I am alive.
What actually happened?
To be precise, on the 18th of August 2005, that day happened to be Council of State meeting and we were all in Abuja for the meeting. I got a call from Nuhu Ribadu, chairman of EFCC, that ‘sir, go and reconcile with Obasanjo, he has directed that you and James Ibori, by all means should be roped in for corruption and disgraced out of office; that he believed that James Ibori had gone to reconcile and that I should also go quickly that he was a public servant, he carried out orders. I told him that I had done nothing wrong, that we were on good working terms.
However, after the Council of State meeting, I went to him and told him that I wanted to see him and he even joked that “your friend, Stella”, was not in town – that was around 7:30/8:00 pm.
Solomon Lar and his wife were there; they had lost a son so the wife came from Holland and was about going back, so it was a farewell visit of sort.
When he came out he wanted to see me I said no, please see Chief Solomon Lar first, which he did and they left. He then called me into his inner office.
As we entered, he did not even allow me to sit down, he said ‘DSP, you and Atiku want to take my job, you and Atiku want to take my job’. I then asked him, ‘what job’?
He said Atiku had come to tell him that I was going to run with him as Vice Presidential candidate. And I told him to the best of my knowledge that Atiku had not told me that I was going to run with him. I asked him, what are you trying to imply? He charged back ‘I am not leaving in 2007, a military man like you, instead of you to work with me, you’re supporting a bloody civilian.
I said, ‘Mr. President, are you now saying that in 2007, you are not going to leave?’
He said ‘Yes’.
I asked, ‘how are you going to do it, the constitution is very clear, you are serving your second term and at the end of this tenure, you should gracefully leave for others.
He said no, I am going to continue, ‘am I the oldest president in Africa’?
I said ‘Mr. President, can I say something?
He said ‘Yes, go ahead’.
I said ‘you will leave’.
You told him that?
Yes, I told him and he asked how?
I said ‘I bet on my life, you will leave. My loyalty to you will end on May 29, 2007, whether Atiku becomes President or not. I reminded him if he had forgotten that we all agreed in 1998 that you were only to run for four years – two years to stabilize the nation and another two years to launder our image abroad while Atiku would understudy you and take over when you leave.
I reminded him that in 2003, you were almost gone you were kneeling down, begging people, including myself. I was the only governor that got you back to power. I even threatened my other colleagues of what I was capable of doing if you were not allowed to continue. There is something in leadership and style that the North recognizes that we from the South do not. Not that I love Obasanjo more than my colleagues, I told them, but that they must allow Obasanjo to complete his two terms.
What did your colleagues from the North say?
Not just the North, there were some of my colleagues from the south who were there at the meeting too. I even told them that if Obasanjo was not allowed to complete his two terms, there would be no war in this country that we would not draw blood, but that we would all sit down and agree on how to negotiate and go our separate ways. I went that far to protect your job, because of that patriotic feeling that this nation belongs to all of us, that anybody can aspire.
In that meeting, I even confronted the chairman of the party, Audu Ogbeh. I asked who nominated him to be chairman of the party – it was Obasanjo. Every governor was in support of Gemade but for the fact that it was Obasanjo that nominated Ogbeh, we then reasoned that if we did not support Ogbeh, at the end of the day, the President, as the leader of the party would not fund the party and this would not be good. Indeed, Atiku summoned us many times, to accept Audu Ogbeh and I, Alamieyeseigha was the chairman of the convention that brought Ogbeh to power. I even asked Ogbeh whether he did not come to my lodge to beg me for support and that today, he is saying that Obasanjo was not marketable, that if you Ogbeh were marketable, would you have come to beg me for support. I did all that for Obasanjo.
You reminded him that night?
Yes, I reminded him of all that. I said ‘Mr. President, I think some of us in this country have to tell you the truth. I don’t think you have any new ideas after eight years in power to generate to better the lives of Nigerians. You would have run out of ideas.
‘Two, Mr. President, you are one of the richest people we know in Africa and beyond.
‘Three, you have made a name for yourself both in Nigeria and beyond, so what else do you want?
‘Four, Mr. President, if nobody has told you, you are no longer a young man.
‘I said Mr. President, all your children are grown up and are educated so what else do you want? I will suggest to you that you should relinquish power based on the constitutional provisions.
What was his response to all these?
He shouted at me, that ‘I will throw you out of my house’.
I said Mr. President, with due respect, this is not your house; so many people have passed through this place; you did not construct the place and I’m sure you know our language “Soldier Go, Soldier Come, Barracks Remain”. I am from Bayelsa State, the core state of the Niger Delta, that this house was built with my money.
I reminded him that I am more educated.
As you said all these he kept quiet?
Of course, he was not comfortable but he had to listen. Nigerians do not know Obasanjo; Obasanjo is a coward but Nigerians do not know. When he’s in a corner, he is a coward. If you hear Obasanjo shouting, he has people around him but if he is alone, please forget it.
We heard that you and Obasanjo have a very long history in the military?
Yes! In 1976, when the Air Force was to become autonomous, I received the regimental colours from Obasanjo. In 1979, I commanded the Air Force parade
Would you then blame him for his expectation of total support from you?
I don’t blame him but this was about Nigeria and not Obasanjo;
you mean after eight years?
Was Nigeria made for him?
So, let’s go back to that night in the Villa?
After I said all these he piped down but made it clear that it was only over his dead body that Atiku would be president of Nigeria. I told him that he was not God and I reminded him that he was sentenced to death and it was converted to 25 years in prison, 15 years, and he served three and a half years, people cleaned you up and you became the president. I asked him if he would not fear that type of God. Out of over 140 million people, you were favoured by that God. From 1979, the nation waited for you and in 1999, you became president and you’re still not grateful to God. I quoted Jeremiah chapter 13 for him, what God said he would do to ungrateful people.
Then I said Mr. President, you have done so many things in this country that I know of and for which you should be reminded. And he shouted, ‘what are those things, what are those things’?
Okay, what are those things?
I said ‘if you want me to remind you I will remind you’. And he said ‘say it, say it’.
I said in ‘1966, Mr. President, what happened?
In 1969, when the command structure of the armed forces was to be changed, when Adekunle was to be removed as GOC Third Marine Commando, and you were commanding Rear Garrison in Ibadan and Colonel Alabi was persuaded to speak to you to accept, when finally you became the GOC, what did you do to Colonel Alabi? If not for the late General Hassan Katsina, Colonel Alabi would have been a dead man you know that. In 1976, Mr. President, what happened to Murtala Mohammed – can you tell me what you knew about what happened? Mr. President, when Murtala Mohammed was purging the Armed Forces and the civil service for corruption, what was your own case and what role did Allison Ayida play in saving your neck and what did you do when eventually you became the president – Ayida was your first casualty. In 1979, Mr. President, when you were about to hand over power, truly what happened during that election between Awolowo and Shagari. I’m cutting all these things because I don’t want to go into details.
I said Mr. President when your military regime was to be probed you went to Joseph Wayas in the night, what did you do to him and how was a letter issued to you that you would not be probed? I said Mr. President, what happened and what did MKO Abiola do to you (all the letters you wrote, I was Special Adviser to Chukwumerije then as Minister, I was privileged to read them); what did the man do to you that you hated him with so much passion – somebody from your own state. Mr. President, you even projected yourself to be interim president. I said, Mr. President, did Abacha put you in jail wrongly? I said Mr. President, with all what General Abdulsalam Abubakar did for you, when you took over office, me and you know what and what you’ve done to that man, this is very current. He asked and shouted ‘what have I done to him, what have I done to him’?
I told him to let me just cite one: I reminded him that we were in the Council of State meeting and message came that his house was burning in Abuja here. He had to obtain permission, by the time he got there, the house was burnt to the ground – as I’m speaking to you have you one day asked about that incident?
All these made him very quiet.
I said Mr. President, what happened to Bola Ige, what happened to Dikibo, what happened to Marshall Harry?
I promise you that I was going to take you to the International Court of Justice for the destruction of Odi and I will do it.
Wait a minute. Was this a case of you discovering that you had crossed the Rubicon and there was no need pretending or a spirit came over you because talking to your president like that, in all honesty was crossing the line?
Yes!
Yes what? That you didn’t care any more or that you became possessed?
Yes I didn’t bother because he had threatened me that he would demonstrate to me that he wasn’t only Mr. President but that he would show me that he was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. That was his opening statement: ‘I will show you that I’m not only Mr. President but that I am also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, by the time I finish with you, you will know who you are’.
That angered me and it was an opportunity for me to empty what was bothering me once and for all because the same security forces were used to burn my lodge in Yenegoa. You won’t believe that I travelled and by the time I came back, they had gained entry into my house and they repainted my house and planted plastic explosives. As I entered the bombs started exploding and the whole building came down. That was in 2001.
But that was before you and Obasanjo had your problems?
Yes! I even went to him because I know, I am an ex-military man and I can pin point where it was coming from. I called bomb disposal people who came and established that they were bombs. So I came to Abuja and went straight to Mr. President who claimed that ‘I don’t know anything about it’, that the IG, Tafa Balogun would set up a high powered investigation team to look into it and I told him I did not want any investigation. I just made it clear that such should never be repeated, that if it happened I would fight back and if I fought back I may not know when to stop. It’s on record.
But there’s this story that you kept having altercations with him during meetings and that you were always confrontational – was that one of the occasions?
We were always having altercations.
So, how did the meeting of that night end?
Ha! It got to a time when the Director General of the SSS, Colonel Are, got worried and he came in and said, ‘Mr. President, you and your son today, what is the problem?’
Obasanjo told him that ‘this DSP na bad pickin, I will deal with him’.
It was so bad at a point that his children told him to leave DSP alone. His children Gboyega and Olu told him.
To cut everything short, he said he was going to let me be if I left Atiku; that ‘when I’m convinced that you are no longer with Atiku, I will leave you’
All these happened on August 18?
Yes and at that point, I left.
Some days later I was travelling to Germany for an operation. I wanted to follow British Airways, BA, I had BA ticket, I got to the airport, I changed my mind. Instead of going by BA, I bought Emirates and went to Dubai. It was later I got to know that there was something else awaiting me if I had flown BA. I got to know this through cross examination that why did I not fly BA which I had always flown for the past 30 years.
Lord Michaels of the British House of Lords came to my house in London and revealed to me the plans they had.
In fact, they’d gone further to America, that as long as I remained governor of Bayelsa State, the free flow of oil could not be guaranteed. America had said that by the year 2015, 25% of its energy requirement would come from the Gulf of Guinea and if there was such a powerful man who would disrupt this, according to the story they sold to them, he should be contained. So there were combined forces against me. My brother, my neighbour, in the Niger Delta was a local coordinator to assassinate me.
So how did your flying Emirate lead to your arrest?
From Dubai, I went to London, spent two days and went to Germany for my operations.
(Take a look at this: He flips his buba up and shows the denture of his protuberance, cut at an angle of almost 90% inwards some three inches before his navel) This is what people say that I went for tummy tuck, can you see the mark? Is this tummy tuck?
What was actually the problem then?
I had so many complications, respiratory and all that.
When I came out of the hospital, when I gained consciousness from the anesthesia, the first person I called was Obasanjo; that was my undoing. I told him I’ve just come out of operation and this was September 15. Immediately after, I started receiving funny texts.
Why did you call him?
I called him to tell him that the operation was successful and that I just regained consciousness and that once the stitches were removed I would come home. He even wished me quick recovery. He even told me his wife had just had eye surgery too and had just returned, that he was traveling to Spain, that he was going to tell his wife to call me – because I was relatively close to the wife.
When the texts and calls were coming in, I did not read the signs. I was alone in Germany and I just sent for my two children who were studying in London to come and keep me company. They came and we were there for three four days and on the day they removed the stitches, I said let me go back to London with these children because they had to go back to school. I flew business my children flew economy, but once the plane took off and became stabilized, they upgraded my children to business – how did they know that those were my children, I don’t know; this was BA.
Immediately the aircraft landed and the doors were opened, the Metropolitan Police came in and asked for Alamieyeseigha and his children. I stood up and said I am Alamieyeseigha and these are my two children they said ‘you are under arrest’. Under arrest for what I asked and they said it was for money laundering.
How, I asked.
I asked them if they were aware that I was a serving governor from Nigeria, a sovereign country. They said they knew all that and they said they had to handcuff me and I was handcuffed in the aircraft and brought out but as we came out of the aircraft, I saw Nuhu Ribadu standing at a corner – he was there to identify me.
I asked them a question whether they could arrest any serving governor from the United States if he had committed an offence within their jurisdiction, they said no but that ‘your president said we should arrest you. I asked: ‘My President? They said wait.
Constable Peter Clark, a private police detective, put the phone on speaker and called my President, he answered.
He said, ‘Mr. President Sir, the subject is with us’.
You could hear my President shouting, ‘DSP, hold him, hold him, hold him’.
And Ribadu was there?
Ribadu was just a few metres away. He was on another phone calling the Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, to send mobile policemen from Port Harcourt and Delta to Bayelsa State in case the people would react. It was very convincing so I stopped and I said okay, I am satisfied, but I started bleeding because that was the morning the stitches were removed. They searched us and took us through immigration. They searched me and my children, our luggage, nothing was found. They asked my children to go home.
Then they took me in their black maria to a police station close to the airport and transferred me to another vehicle and drove me close to my flat in London, 247 Water Gardens in Edge well road. I could see the building. We were inside the vehicle for about 45 minutes without coming down and then they took off and drove me outside London.
Vanguard Newspaper
|
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 6 |
|
|
E- Books for Downloads
|
