Chief Bisi Akande, served as deputy governor of the Old Oyo State in the Second Republic and was at the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999 elected governor of Osun State.
Chief Bisi Akande
He subsequently emerged as national chairman of the Action Congress, and the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, one of the political parties that merged to form the All Progressives Congress, APC and served as the new party’s interim national chairman before he voluntarily bowed out.
On the occasion of his 77th birthday last Saturday, he spoke in an interview on several issues of national importance. Excerpts:
What is your reaction to the continuous defection of politicians from the PDP to APC?
The situation is like bringing together two pieces of wood to make furniture. If the wood is weak, the furniture will not be strong enough. It is true that we put the party (APC) together in a hurry and we put it together by merging political parties but before it became a political party, and glued into one, election had come and we seemed to be more concerned with election than the making of the party.
Duty of elders
Immediately after the election, indiscipline set in and definitely, with such a situation, there will be bickering from here to there. It is the duty of elders including myself to remove the bickering and bring the party together in a stronger form and we are going to achieve that.
It seems the president put the budget together in a hurry?
The party and the government are not the same thing. The government is a product of the party and it’s like a factory making a product, once the product gets to the store, you don’t ask question as to how the product is made.
The party has produced the government, I don’t know what goes on in the government because I am not a part of the government, so, as to know whether the budget was put up in a hurry or not, I wouldn’t be able to tell you but, you would know that budgets are departmental product and there are numerous departments in the federal government.
If you look at what they call budget, it’s a paper of about 300 pages or more or even thousand pages, because a budget of a department can be about 15 or 20 and about 1,000 departments, you are having about 1000 pages, so how does it get missing? I don’t want to go to that because to me, it’s a peripheral issue. The main issue is, is the government doing it in the right direction and which is the right direction?
The government promised three major things which are: the government promised that it was going to fight corruption, it was going to confront terrorism and it was going to reduce unemployment. If there was no peace, you can’t do anything so, the government started by removing terrorism and creating peace, which is the right direction.
Removing terrorism
If there is corruption, there will be no infrastructure, if you give out money, three billion to go and make a road, if the money is stolen on the way, you won’t have roads and there will be unemployment.
So, the government followed immediately by confronting corruption, the beginning of solving the problem of unemployment is the result of the budget, the budget was placed before the National Assembly no matter what the peripheral stories as to which paper got lost and which did not.
What particular thing would you put in place to make a difference in Nigeria should you have the opportunity of leading the country?
So, if I were to be president of Nigeria today, I will look at the circumstance and the situation on the ground but I think as an observer and as a leader, what I think should be done is to concentrate on how Nigeria will feed itself. If its by force, I am ready to join the army of people that will go back to the farm, enough of riding Okada all over the streets, we must all go back individually to make sure that we are able to feed ourselves.
In the olden days when we were young, the patriarch of a home, as soon as a child becomes of age and ready to marry, they give him a portion of land where he would start cultivating, from the first harvest, he will start feeding his family, no more taking from the father.
Do you still believe Fiscal federalism and how can it be attained in Nigeria?
Well, I belong to the old school which never believed in 36 states. The old school which I belong believes in maximum of 18 states and minimum of six. In other words, the whole Yoruba states will be one state because I believe in the creation of state according to cultural unity of the people and the strongest element of culture is language.
If you are talking about fiscal federalism, I don’t know, one way or the other, merging would start because I will support it anyway because fiscal federalism means living according to your earning, live within your means and every state will have to find money to manage its own self and it won’t be wrong then if my state is having three commissioners.
Your own state might have seven, the next state might have ten and the other might have fifteen; it’s just like when you are getting money from federal government because the idea of fiscal federalism came because of the sharing of the crude oil money, I don’t believe in that, I believe in sharing money by derivation; whatever I contribute from my state into the federal treasury should come back to me.
There are insinuations that Buhari is trying to edge you and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu out of political reckoning?
As for me, I know that I am in the best of terms with Bola Tinubu and I am in the best of agreement with Buhari. What Buhari is thinking about me is a question you have to put forward to Buhari but as at last Monday, I was still talking to the presidency.
Idea of fiscal federalism
So, I don’t feel marginalised and I don’t think anybody is marginalising me but whether anybody is planning it or not, is a question you are going to put to the right quarters.
Do you support the agitation for Biafra?
Well, those who were born when the idea of Biafra was first muted would be in trepidation seeing anybody talking about Biafra today. If Nigerians want to disintegrate and they can do it by negotiation, well, what can anybody do about that? But if Nigeria would try to separate the way Biafra demanded between 1967 and 1970, it might be too bad. I was alive then. I was wise enough to know that war was not good and I will not pray that what befell the first Biafra should befall the new Biafra.
What’s your reaction to Abike Dabiri’s comment that the spate of defection from PDP to APC being shameful?
You know, in a country where most leaders are parasites, a parasite, when it kills the original host, it will have to go to another host and kill it. Only we in the APC should be careful, the defection is not a strange thing but I know it’s always done by parasites. I have always remained in one line of politics. I wasn’t a politician before, it was Baba Ayo Fasanmi in 1977 who took me to Chief Awolowo and introduced me to him. If I would use his words and the words of Chief Awolowo, Chief Awolowo said he was rejected in Ila before that time, and he had not been in Ila since the beginning of the military and that he wanted to come back to Ila through me, he wanted me to be his friend.
I felt flattered and humbled and I didn’t know how to reply him but I put some questions to Awolowo which he answered satisfactorily, and from that time, I came back to Ila to work very hard to see that Ila people accepted Awolowo and I am happy that Ila people have accepted Awolowo since then and they still accept Awolowo till today and that is why I belong, to the Awolowo school of politics. Since that time, I never defected and I will never defect, I will remain in that progressive school of politics.
Political parasites
But those who are defecting from one party to the other, by nature, they are political parasites, they have killed the original hosts which was PDP and they are now coming to APC which is the new host, and it’s for APC to guard its own loins and prevent the parasites from killing the party because a parasite has no root of its own but feeds on the little food that the host is having.
So running away from PDP to APC, APC must be careful in dealing with those parasites. But, that may not prevent true democracy because it depends on how we define democracy, the type of democracy in Nigeria is not anywhere in the world, it’s a moribund democracy.
Would you advise the Federal Government to implement some of the recommendations that were made during the 2014 National Conference?
I don’t know what is in the report of the conference and I don’t believe that the way the conference was set up was Nigerian. That conference never included APC which is at least the largest party as shown by election; so, if the largest party is cut out of a conference, the result of the conference to start with, is not tenable but I don’t know what the report says, therefore I cannot tell you if the report should be implemented. I refused to read the report because I didn’t believe in the setting up of the conference.
First Republic Commissioner for Education and Commissioner for Health in the defunct Western Region, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, 90, tells KAYODE FALADE andLEKE BAIYEWU about the defunct Action Group, Chief Obafemi and Mrs. HID Awolowo, and the crisis in Afenifere
WITH your closeness to the sage, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, what can you say about his wife, Mrs HID Awolowo, who died recently?
Bola Tinubu
The thing that was really outstanding about her was her relationship with her husband. She was a true wife. She was to him a consultant and a friend – a dependable friend — and, of course, a good wife. She was a very astute businesswoman but at the same time she still found time to go about with her husband politicking; even when her husband was in travail from 1962 up till 1964; when there was a coalition of a sort between the National Council of Nigerian Citizens and the Action Group; when a party called United Progressive Alliance was formed. Awolowo was in prison and Michael Opara was the national leader of the NCNC, but then, Mama (HID) did not sit down at home in Ibadan mourning her husband’s incarceration, rather, she was ready and willing to go out to campaign.
There was a particular day when Opara came to Ibadan, in spite of all restrictions that he must not come to Ibadan because, at that time, there was a very strong opposition put up by Chief S. L. Akintola – who also formed his own party, the Nigerian National Democratic Party. Then, there was another party formed by some northern people, the Nigerian National Alliance. There was also the United Progressive Grand Alliance. But Mama, in spite of all the opposition, joined Opara in campaigning when he came to Ibadan. She was to us a great pillar and, of course, a worthy example for many women on what their relationship should be with their husband.
How was her relationship with her husband’s political associates, considering the fact that politicians now worship wives of political leaders and sometimes go on their kneels to address the women?
Are you referring to the present situation of things whereby a commissioner will kneel before a governor’s wife? There was nothing like that at all! Mama was fond of all of us. There was nothing like that; we wouldn’t even do that for Awolowo then, how much less his wife. To kneel before talking to Awolowo’s wife? There was nothing like that. As far as we were concerned – even though we were very young then – everybody would hold his head erect when speaking with the leader of the party or with his wife, of course with a bit of affection and respect to either of them. But to kneel down, there was nothing like that.
When and how did you get involved with the Awolowos?
I gained admission into Wesley College, Ibadan in 1946. At that time, a childhood friend of mine was working at the Cooperative Bank which was headquartered in Ibadan. He was residing in the boys’ quarters of the Awolowos at Oke Ado. Whenever we had free time, I would go to Oke Ado to see my friend and I would greet Awolowo. The relationship started from there on a very low-key note. I finished from Wesley College at the end of 1949 and I was posted to Sagamu in 1950, where I taught. But then, I was the secretary to a number of organisations, one of them was the Wesley Guild.
Politics was about to start, particularly around 1951. By then, Awolowo was already in it. But before then, he was a councillor at the Ijebu-Remo Divisional Council; together with S. T. Oredehin of Ogere, who later became the Organising Secretary of the AG; and Dosunmu of Iperu, who was the Administrative Secretary of the party. Occasionally, the Wesley Guild would organise events and as the secretary, I might be asked to write to Chief Awolowo to come and lecture us. I remember between 1951 and 1952, AG was new on ground and I was asked to write to invite him to come and deliver a lecture. I wrote him and I followed up to make sure that he acceded to our request. Thus, the relationship continued to develop and when the AG came, I enrolled. I joined the party in 1952 and I formed a branch of the party here in Isara.
What was the significant thing about the AG that made youths like you to join the party or was it because Awolowo, a Yoruba, founded it?
Not, at all. One, during the First Republic, the AG was the only political party that was properly formed. Neither the NCNC nor the Northern Peoples’ Congress was so formed. For example, there was a group of very few people doing politics in Lagos but because Zik (Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe) was fresh from America and a very good speaker – a very beautiful speaker – there was a lot of attraction to him. One day, somebody went to him and said, ‘Excuse me sir, why don’t you let us get more people, particularly ex-students of King’s College, to join us and form a party? And we have some Cameroonians here.’ And he (Zik) said, ‘That is a good idea.’ They invited ex-students of King’s College and some Cameroonians. They had meetings on two occasions and decided to have a name. The name they gave to their organisation was National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons.
At that time, southern Cameroon was part of Nigeria. Although later – about the middle of 1955 — there was an election for Cameroonians from the southern extraction to choose where they wanted to remain — in Nigeria or go back to Cameroon. Some of them stayed here but not many. Nevertheless, they didn’t change the name from NCNC to something else, even when Cameroonians were no longer there (in the party). That was how the NCNC came about.
In the case of the NPC, there was a Hausa/Fulani club – I don’t know how to pronounce the name of the club which was in Hausa. Around 1951 and 1952, with the emergence and prominence of the NCNC and the AG, the northern leaders thought they too should have a political party and they considered turning the name of the club into the Northern Peoples’ Congress. That was how NPC came on board.
What inspired Action Group’s formation?
In the case of the AG, however, Awolowo was watching what was going on in the country way back in 1946, when Governor Arthur Richards was here, and the way they (colonialists) were running the affairs of the country. Then, he felt that a political party would be appropriate. He had just returned from England as a lawyer. He called a meeting of so many people of Western Region. The first time, a very few people came – very few. The second time, they were very few; third time, very few; fourth time, very few. I think the sixth time too, a very few people came. And Awolowo said, ‘well, it is not worth our while calling meetings day after day and people will not be attending. I think we should give it up.’ And then, (late Pa Adekunle) Ajasin said, ‘No, let us make another attempt.’ That would be the seventh meeting. Ajasin said, ‘Let us take it that whoever comes will constitute the meeting.’ And Awolowo agreed. The seventh meeting was held and a sizeable number attended – not as much as was expected but it wasn’t as bad as the previous ones.
The meeting started and Awolowo addressed them on the need to have a political party. He said, ‘Because when you look at Nigeria, I have a vision of what might happen to the country very soon politically.’ He asked, ‘What kind of political party should we form? Should we form a party that will be elite-oriented or we should look towards the masses or the haves?’ We debated these options and came to the conclusion that we should look towards the masses. That was the decision that would become a political party that would cater and look after the welfare and the wellbeing of the masses of the Western Region. It started like that and began to build up till April 1951, when the party had grown up and people were already embracing and joining it. And a decision was taken that we should go to Owo to launch the party formally. We went to Owo – I think on April 14 – and the party was launched.
Then, the leaders took a decision that before launching the party, everything should be under wraps – everything about the would-be political party. If they allowed the information to go out, some people might, by way of criticism, kill it. Hence, we decided to keep it under wraps until when it was launched. The appeal was to the Third Class and the general masses of western Nigeria.
How was the party run?
We had what was called shadow cabinet. This is it: Let us assume you are in government. There are ministers running the government – of health, labour, agriculture, etc. There would be a set of ministers from the political party – a set of people appointed as shadow Ministers of Industries, Works, Health, Education, etc. The meaning and implication of this is that each of the shadow ministers would be working as if he or she was a minister. They would try to know what was going on in their ministries as shadow ministers, so that when the party meeting was to be held and the question arose about the education ministry – the question of teachers, are they adequate or not; the question of school fees or school facilities – it was the shadow minister of education who would answer all the questions. He or she would be as informed as a substantive minister. That was the AG.
Before we formed government, the questions arose; ‘How are we going to run our party? How are we going to make life better for the masses?’ We said since we had shadow ministers, they would advise us on what was going on in each ministry. Then, we would be able to plan ahead before we take over office. The question might arise for the shadow Minister of Education, ‘How many classrooms do you think we would need in Abeokuta Division or in Ijebu, Remo, Isan or Oyo?’ He would give a full answer. If we asked, ‘What would be the cost of the classrooms?’ He would say, ‘It won’t be more than £200 per classroom – built and furnished.’ That is on education. So it was for other ministries too. Then, we asked, ‘How do we prepare our budget?’ We were not in government then. Because the education ‘minister’ had given us the statistics, and other ‘ministers’ of health, works, etc., had given us their statistics, we would use the data to prepare our budget. We were not in government yet; we were only preparing for election.
What is the difference now?
The thing we have at the moment: For example, the National Assembly; the ascendancy of Saraki (as the Senate President) would never happen in the AG. It would never, never happen.
What would have happened, if he were a member of the AG?
It was more or less a coup; something he did to spite his party. He got elected (as Senate President) by using mostly members of the opposition. In the case of the AG, in 1950 or so, we wanted to appoint ministers and the list (of ministerial nominees) was to go to the governor – as it goes to the National Assembly or state House of Assembly now. The governor was an expatriate, before the Ooni (Oba Adesoji Aderemi) became the governor of Western Region after the expatriate left. The party leaders met. There were six or eight slots for ministerial positions and they said, ‘Let us make sure that we appoint at least a minister from each division or from a group of divisions.’ There were certain criteria they would use to choose who the minister should be. They met and chose about eight ministers – I can’t remember the exact number of ministerial slots available then. They gave Remo Division two slots – Awolowo and somebody. But Awolowo said, ‘Remo is a small place; don’t give two slots to Remo. Let Remo have one and other places, which are bigger, should have one or two as the case may be.’ The leaders objected, so they decided to choose somebody who was Awolowo’s friend. His name was M. S. Sowole from Ipara-Remo. The list was compiled and taken to the governor for his assent.
There was a man called Bode Thomas; he went to Ikorodu to meet Pa S. O. Gbadamosi — the father of Rasheed Gbadamosi – and told him that the distribution of the ministerial slots was imbalanced. He asked Gbadamosi, ‘We appointed ministers but who is representing the Lagos Colony among those we suggested in the list already sent to the governor?’ Lagos Colony included Ikorodu, Ikeja, Yaba, Ebute Meta – apart from Lagos. They realised that Lagos Colony had been left out. Both Gbadamosi and ‘SOG’ decided to go to Awolowo. Awolowo said another meeting had to be called. They called another meeting and the issue was thrown open for discussion. They discovered that there was nobody representing Lagos Colony. They said, ‘What shall we do? We have to drop one (the second slot) from Remo.’ Awolowo did not object; he knew he was dealing with enlightened people. Awolowo was only 43 when they were doing all these beautiful things. They were just God-sent, not the rubbish that we are seeing now.
But then, they had already informed M. S. Sowole (Awolowo’s friend) that he was going to be minister. But they agreed that they were going to delete Sowole’s name. Then, they debated who would represent Lagos Colony. They said, ‘Let us choose Akran of Badagry’ Not the present Oba Akran. The challenge was now who would inform Sowole (about the swap). They told Awolowo, ‘You are the leader, it is your responsibility to inform Sowole about the new development.’ Hence, the leader had the most unpleasant task of going to his friend to say, ‘My friend, you are no longer going to be minister.’ He went to Sowole and told him he wasn’t going to be minister anymore; that one of the slots given to Remo had been given to Lagos Colony, which had no slot. And Sowole said, ‘Fine, if that is the decision of the party.’ What the party did after the election was to ensure that Sowole was given a ‘comfortable’ position comparable to a ministerial position.
Today, if somebody told any person who had been told he would be commissioner or minister, and then a message went back to him to say, ‘You are no longer going to be commissioner or minister,’ how would the person take it? He may resign from the party. But Sowole accepted it. Awolowo, again, went ahead to withdraw the list earlier submitted to the governor and submitted the new one. That is to show you the kind of leadership in Awolowo. The governor told Awolowo, ‘Don’t come back again to change the list.’ And Awolowo replied, ‘Your Excellency, I will come back here as many times as the situation demands.’ That was Awolowo for you.
Why were AG members so selfless?
What happened in the short story was simple — party supremacy. You can also call it party discipline. The party said to the person who had been promised a position that, ‘You’re no longer going to be.’ And he said, ‘Yes sir.’ And he never forsook the party; he never went away to another political party or say, ‘I’m going to resign’ or ‘I’m going to take you to court.’ Not, at all. He was disciplined.
I will give you similar examples of party discipline or party supremacy or party loyalty in the AG which, to me, is an ideal of a political party; to be a lesson and example of maintaining sanity in a political party.
The AG now in power (in the Western Region), the NPC and the NCNC were in coalition – the Igbo and the Hausa/Fulani; the East and the North. But they sent to the AG to send names of two persons who would be on two boards. The name of a reverend who later became a bishop, T. T. Solaru, was sent to the Board of the Nigerian Airways Corporation; the name of E. E. Esuwa, who was the secretary of the Nigerian Union of Teachers and whose son has a hospital in Surulere, was sent to another corporation. The government of the NPC was behaving irresponsibly and the AG decided to withdraw their members from the boards. The party sent to Esuwa and Solaru to resign and they both resigned immediately. Will politicians today resign? That is party supremacy, party discipline, party principle, and party loyalty.
Let me give you another one: There was a man called Olu Ibukun, an Akure man, who was preparing himself to contest election to the House of Assembly but the party had somebody from that area who was already serving as a member of the House. Awolowo heard about Olu Ibukun’s ambition to contest against our member. Awolowo went to Akure for something and he ran into Olu Ibukun and said, ‘Olu Ibukun, I understand you want to contest a seat in the House of Assembly against so-and-so.’ He said, ‘Yes sir.’ Awolowo said, ‘You’re joking. He has to finish his term, don’t contest against him. You must go and work for him and he must not lose. Don’t try to contest the seat; nothing like that.’ And Olu Ibukun had to obey the decision of the party. He campaigned for that man – I’ve forgotten his name – and our party won. After the party won, they made Olu Ibukun the Chairman of Western Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation.
With these AG examples you cited, can what Saraki did to the APC be seen as an indictment on the party?
When you say indictment, does it mean the party did not organise itself well? If you want to say that, yes. But at the same time, if you organise yourself well as a party, your members may still defy you.
You formed the AG with a common interest, which was nation building. But where people with different interests come together to form a party, is it not possible for the foundation to be faulty from the onset?
Then, a lot is wrong with the party. I told you; of the mainstream political parties in the First Republic, the AG was the only party that came about properly as a party should be formed. Therefore, scholars refer to the AG as one of the best parties in West Africa because it was a party that was well organised and well run. It is written in a book titled Political Parties authored by Sklar. You must know the genesis and the background of the political parties you have today. Did you know how the Peoples Democratic Party came about? (It was formed by) retired soldiers, retired National Party of Nigeria people and all sorts.
What about the Alliance for Democracy, which had the Awolowo-led Afenifere as its backbone?
After about four years of PDP and AD’s existence, there were people in the AD who felt that, ‘These elders are too powerful. We should rubbish them so that they would not be in a position to decide our fate if we want to run for second term. If we allow them, they may not allow us. So, let us rubbish them.’ These were Bola Tinubu (Lagos), Olusegun Osoba (Ogun), Lam Adesina (Oyo), Bisi Akande (Osun) and Niyi Adebayo (Ekiti).
Whereas, before they got there, it was we who voted for them; who organised their election. We never spent a kobo for the masses of western Nigeria; we didn’t have the money — no bicycles, motorcycles or cars. The only 12-seater bus we had was a gift from somebody, and it was I who asked for the gift to be given, including the insurance for the bus. That was all we had. And we won all the local governments; we won all the general elections up to the Senate. We were so successful that we went to each (state’s) House of Assembly in the old Western Nigeria, causing motions to be passed by members of each House that a National Conference should be held. But they thought, ‘We should rubbish these elderly people; they should go.’ Hence, they took power from us and did what they did. All those who were supporting us, all the young people, deserted us and went to them (the AD governors) because each governor had the wherewithal to give to these boys jobs, (parcels of) land, cars, etc.
Then, they left the party (AD) and formed their own party, the Action Congress. That is, a legion of those who left the AD and those who left the PDP formed the AC. Later, they changed the name of their party to Action Congress of Nigeria, which is now (part of) the All Progressives Congress. You have not heard at any time that Awolowo said his wife should be a member of the House of Assembly, a minister or member of a board. Have you heard that about Awolowo? Have you heard that Awolowo, at any time, made arrangements for any of his children to be part of government? For Oluwole Awolowo, the father first kicked against his political ambition. But when he saw that Oluwole was adamant, he then thought he should give him support because if he failed, people would say Awolowo had failed. They won’t know which Awolowo failed.
Are you saying the departure of the governors from the AD led to the downfall of the party and the breaking of the rank of the Yoruba leaders in Afenifere?
It is one of the reasons because they (the governors) just started to behave somehow. Aja ’o gbo fere olode mo (the dog stopped heeding the call by its owner). Tinubu said he was going to remove the chairman of his party (AD), Ganiyu Dawodu, who is now late. He wanted to remove Dawodu from the chairmanship of the party in Lagos; Dawodu had been with Awolowo since he left secondary school. He only spent about six months in John Holts before he joined the AG. And since then, he had been there (in the party) for well over 40 years. Now you (Tinubu) came, and because the man (Dawodu) was so strong politically in Lagos, Tinubu thought it would pay him to get rid of him. That was the beginning of our troubles. I went to Tinubu on three occasions to beg him not to remove Dawodu. He made up his mind and removed Dawodu.
In Ogun State here, the governor (Ogun) regarded himself and said so on one occasion as the ‘Supreme Court’ of Ogun State. There was a young man who misbehaved to our leader, Abraham Adesanya. Osoba was not around when the man misbehaved. He came back and the story of the man’s misbehaviour was just going round. And Osoba told the man, ‘To go the leader now and explain yourself.’ He did not say, ‘Go to Abraham Adesanya and apologise.’ You see the difference? The man went to Adesanya and the issue was not resolved. The man reported back at a meeting and he (Osoba) said, ‘I knew that would happen. I am the supreme court of this state,’ instead of saying, ‘Boy, go back to Adesanya and apologise to him.’ Is that not different?
What is the state of Afenifere, which was once the voice of the Yoruba nation, today?
They have spoilt it. There was nothing we did not do to settle the dispute. We tried as much as possible to get it resolved but the governors would not cooperate. They insisted they would go and they left to form another group.
Were they part of the Yoruba Council of Elders?
The YCE was another group formed to destroy Afenifere. It was Bola Ige who put up the YCE because he was grudging against us.
Is it the same YCE being headed by Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo (retd.) you are talking about?
Oh, yes! The first chairman (of the YCE) was Pa Emmanuel Alayande, I think.
What has happened to Afenifere?
The current position of Afenifere is that the soul of the Afenifere is still there and it is being carried by Chief Reuben Fasoranti, being the leader. But it is not with a lot of people who spread all over Western Nigeria as before, no. The reason is very simple: It has its origin from the doing of (former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim) Babangida. One of the things Babaginda did while in power was to destroy the middle class. He destroyed the middle class of the Yoruba people, just as he destroyed our industries, particularly the textile industry. If you ever know the number of industries we had before and how many we have now, you will agree with me that it is true. After this he destroyed our middle class and monetised politics. He built offices for political parties which he formed and gave them names, while the government was paying political officer holders. People were becoming poorer and poorer. With the passage of time, the poverty was growing and something that had never happened to the Yoruba race started to happen. Yoruba people started to beg. In the gone days you wouldn’t see any Yoruba man or woman begging along the streets. Not, at all. It won’t happen. But it is now happening. Take your car and go to a function. You will see men and women who will come around you, hailing and begging for money.
They (Babaginda and co) did it so that people became very poor; so that when the government said, ‘I want two persons,’ 10 persons would run there, hoping that money would come from there. That is one of the evil things the military brought upon us. Monetising politics destroyed our civil service. It was the civil service that would not have allowed corruption. If you were in the civil service in those days; if you were entitled to a car and you wanted to buy it, you would apply through your boss and your application would go to the Ministry of Finance. The ministry would organise with the car company for the vehicle you want. There would be only one cheque for that car and it would pass through only one person. It would be a cheque written by the ministry to the company. What you, the applicant for a car, hear is, ‘Go to the company and take your car. Your car is waiting.’ That is all. That was the control in those days. To steal or do rubbish wouldn’t happen. It was perfect discipline. But the soldiers came and destroyed that system.
In our time, if a building or a road were to be constructed, tenders would be invited; contractors would apply. They would send their tender documents to the appropriate ministry. Then, there would be secretary and chairman of the Tenders Board. On the day fixed for the meeting of the board, the contractors and consultants would be there. Each ministry concerned would get in when it was its turn to come in. The tender documents would be opened in the presence of everybody – nothing behind. There was nothing like, ‘you see that road, you are going to save for our man; add so-and-so amount; the difference would be shared between you and I.’ And this will interest you: Do you know who the chairman of the board would be? It was the leader of the opposition. The leader of the opposition would be the chairman of the tender board. That is due process and accountability – everything above board. You can’t get that now.
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and a former Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, held a secret meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.
The visit came less than 24 hours after former President Olusegun Obasanjo met with Buhari.
Addressing State House correspondents after the one-hour meeting, Tinubu, who is a former Governor of Lagos State, said he did not come to submit any ministerial list to the President.
“What can I do about that, they have the right to speculate, they have the right to their lies and I have the right to debunk,” he said.
Bola Tinubu
However, a reliable source told one of our correspondents that the ministerial list was one of the topics discussed at the meeting.
The source said just as Tinubu was given the power to pick Buhari’s running mate during the electioneering, Buhari was giving him the privilege of filling some positions that should go to the South-West.
He said, “Buhari never marginalised the South-West as is being reported. Most of the northern appointments that Buhari made are those that will work closely with him in the villa and Tinubu was not really interested in them.
“It was Tinubu that recommended Babatunde Fowler to head the Federal Inland Revenue Service and that is the next best thing after oil which many people don’t understand.
“Buhari has insisted that people that are answering to cases of corruption will not be part of his government and Tinubu is aware of this. He has recommended a former commissioner in Lagos for appointment too and he will be part of Buhari’s economic team even if he is not appointed as a minister.”
When asked how many ministerial slots Buhari had given Tinubu, the source said he could not say for sure but added that Buhari was planning to compensate Tinubu for losing out to Senate President Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara during the National Assembly internal elections
He added, “Every state is expected to produce a minister and we already know that there will be some issues with some stubborn state governors. So, if Tinubu loses out at the ministerial level, he will be made to nominate the chairman of some parastatals and government agencies.”
When asked to explain why Tinubu and Akande chose to visit Buhari just a day after Obasanjo, the source said, “It was purely coincidental. Buhari is travelling out of the country tomorrow (today) and Tinubu wanted to tidy up some things before the President’s departure.”
Meanwhile, Tinubu has dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party’s allegations of dictatorship levelled against President Buhari.
Tinubu, in an interview with State House correspondents said the PDP should be quiet, if it did not have anything to say.
The former governor stated that the PDP created the rot that Buhari was cleaning, adding that the rot could not be swept under the carpet.
The PDP governors, after a meeting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on Tuesday said Nigeria was sliding into dictatorship under the leadership of Buhari.
Chief Bisi Akande
Defending the President, Tinubu said, “What is dictatorship about what he has done? He has helped to stimulate the economy in the various states and that is where the people are. So what is dictatorship? And the institutional paralysis had occurred in the country.
“It is very important for a steady man like the President to really help the nation recover from the paralysis and that is what he is doing so I don’t see what is dictatorial about that. If they don’t have anything to say, they rather be quiet. They created what is wrong here today and we can’t sweep that under the carpet. There must be rule of law.”
He also denied a claim that he went to the Presidential Villa to submit the ministerial list to Buhar, saying, “What can I do about that, they have the right to speculate, they have the right to their lies and I have the right to debunk.”
The APC leader said that there was no power struggle between him and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar
“Our party is not even looking at the direction of power struggle or anything of such. The support structure is to encourage and support the President as you have heard from Chief Bisi Akande, to help him institutionalize his goal, principle and vision for a new Nigeria,” Tinubu stated.
He defended Buhari against criticisms that trailed his delay in releasing ministerial list, adding that there was a pitfall in rushing.
Tinubu stated, “Rush can cascade into mistakes of unimaginable magnitude. There is equally glory and recovery in slowness, when you have a slow fix of a bad foundation. So to me, I would rather take the one that will last the country and endeavour for a longer period of time than the rush hour shopping.”
Also speaking ,Akande, who was at the meeting, said the President “inherited piles of rot.” He said that they discussed the rot the PDP left for it was defeated.
The Senate Minority Leader and front-line contender in the race for the Senate Presidency, Senator George Akume, on Friday disagreed with the Pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande and a leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over their declaration that zoning arrangement won’t be used to determine the next Senate President.
Akume, who spoke with journalists in his Abuja residence on Friday evening, maintained that the party, before now, had adopted a zoning arrangement which favoured the emergence of the president of the 8th senate, from the North Central, being his geopolitical zone.
Akande had, in an interview with The Punch earlier this week, said the party would not employ the use of zoning to determine the next senate president and that anybody was free to fight for the position.
He had said, “We want the best man to occupy the position. But the trouble is that some people have been talking about zoning and we are asking questions. Is it zoning according to nationality?
“Within the North-Central alone, there are so many nationalities. Is it zoning according to religion? So, we want to be very careful so that we don’t introduce into our system what had not been there before.”
“We want to be careful, otherwise, we won’t be able to produce the best. We are trying to select the best man. We don’t want to entertain what brought the PDP down.”
Also, Tinubu, in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, said zoning will not be used to compromise the quality of leadership for the National Assembly adding that the party had decided to allow all those interested in the leadership of the federal parliament, to contest.
He had said, “Merit will not be compromised. You have to be competent, you have to possess the kind of character, attributes of the leader. You have to be pan-Nigerian and be a very solid character to lead the National Assembly and that is what we are talking about.
“We would not use zoning to determine and compromise the credibility, the qualification of an individual. If you take zoning as discriminatory in some instances, you might compromise the quality of an individual. Let everybody aspire.”
But Akume insisted that zoning was part and parcel of the politics of Nigeria, arguing that Dr.Goodluck Jonathan became the President of Nigeria as a result of zoning.
He said, “Even if zoning is not explicitly stated in the Constitution, there is always this letting to understanding that there must be fairness and balance in the occupation of strategic positions. We should not throw away zoning.
“In every zone, there are capable Nigerians that will hold their own in every endeavour. So, basically zoning is acceptable to me because it ensures stability. I have not heard from the party that they have jettisoned zoning.
“I remember, the last meeting we had, there was this issue that it has been zoned to North Central. I do not know it has been taken away because the party has not said they are taking it away but all I want to say is that the party made a comment on it.
“I am a faithful party man. I was part of the team that negotiated the merger of this party and I am also in the privilege position to talk about the dynamism of APC.”
Akume said there was nothing wrong with the North Central, and in particular, Benue State, producing the Senate President all the time even as he argued that the North-West, has also, always produced the president of the country.
President Goodluck Jonathan got yesterday a wake-up call from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
Time is running out on excuses, the party said, calling for a counter-terrorism strategy to combat insurgency in the Northeast.
The party, which also renewed its advocacy on new intelligence gathering infrastructure, said improved intelligence, de-radicalisation, information management and peace building processes should be accompanied by economic development plan for the troubled Northern Nigeria.
Also, the APC emphasised the importance of negotiation with the Boko Haram sect, instead of the government passing the buck to the opposition party to discredit perceived political foes.
APC Interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande noted that Nigeria “is at war”, adding that a stupendous national disaster was imminent, unless the government wakes up from its slumber.
He said: “Our nation stands on the rim of crisis. A stupendous national disaster beckons. But, this current leadership can help avert disaster, if they wake up to what true governance is. The time for excuses and half-measures is long past. The wellbeing of the nation hangs in the balance.
“If we do not act decisively, the demands of the moment will find us wanting and history will issue a terrible verdict against us.”
The eminent politician spoke with reporters in Lagos on national security and the Federal Government’s inability to restore order into a state of pandemonium. With him were other party officials, including the Interim National Vice Chairman, Senator Annie Okonkwo, Interim National Secretary, Alhaji Tijani Tumsah, Interim National Treasurer Hajia Sadiya Farouq, Interim National Women Leader Mrs. Sharon Ikeazon, National Organising Secretary Senator Osita Izunaso, Alhaji Kashim Imam, Lagos APC Vice Chairman Chief Funso Ologunde and Lagos APC Women Leader Mrs. Kemi Nelson.
Frowning at government’s “ineptitude”, Akande said the only thing that mattered to President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is power retention in 2015, and not the security of life and property.
He said since Boko Haram launched its terror campaign, over 1,500 people, had died. The figure excludes the 95 who died in the two bombings in Nyanya, Abuja and another 150 who were killed in Gamboru, Bornu State last week.
Akande said: “Twenty-six days after the abduction of iver 200 girls in Chibok, Bornu State, we neither know where they are nor are we close to knowing it, going by available information. Yet, 11 more girls have been abducted in Warabe.”
The party leader pointed out that, following attacks by the sect, the government had often boasted that it was on top of the situation, stressing that, when Nigerians became weary of the empty boast, the Federal Government shifted the blame on to the opposition, particularly the APC.
Akade said that the blame game had not ended the insurgency, recalling that more lives have been lost this year, owing to the government’s inaction.
He stressed: “Amid all these, valuable time was lost to deal with the insurgency. And now, we have reached a sorry pass. The government has lost the initiative to the terrorist.”Hailing the military for risking their lives to battle the insurgency, the former Osun State governor said the APC did not share the pessimism that soldiers lack the ability and capability to deal with the situation.
He said the military could surmount the challenge, if they are given the wherewithal.
Akande added: Our optimism stems from empirical facts. The Nigerian military has excelled in peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions around the world since our independence in 1960 to such an extent that Nigeria has become one of the top troops contributing nations around the world.
“However, stories emerging from the front in the battle with Boko Haram have been saddening: low morale among our troops, obsolete equipment, including guns that fail to fire and armoured personnel carriers that won’t move, given to our troops, and cases of deserters.
“When Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno called the attention of the nation to the fact that the insurgents’ morale was higher than that of our troops and that they were better armed than the soldiers we are sending to battle, he was roundly pilloried and shouted down.”
Akande renewed the APC’s call on the National Assembly to institute a probe into how the huge allocations for security had been spent.
He said after series of finger pointing and name calling, the reality of the grave danger looming on the country dawned on the President who acknowledged the abduction only 19 days after, when the opportunity to pursue the abductors and rescue the girls had been lost.
Akande recalled that President Jonathan was forced to acknowledge the abduction, ahead of the World Economic Forum on Africa hosted by Nigeria, because the attention of the international community shifted to the country because of the terrorist attacks.
He also alluded to the President’s wife, Mrs. Patience’s summoning and humiliation of government officials as if they were behind the abductions.
Akande chided the PDP Women Leader, Mrs. Kema Chikwe, for doubting the abduction and insisting that the names and pictures of the victims should be published without sparing a thought for the stigma that may assail the girls when they return home.
He, however, praised the offer of assistance by the international community, including Britain, Canada, China, France, United States, the Economic Community of West African States and the United Nations, pointing out that their proposed intervention had confirmed the belief that terrorism is a global battle.
However, he maintained that the security and safety of Nigerian citizens are the primary responsibilities of President Jonathan, adding that the Commander-in-Chief must not abdicate this duty simply because foreign powers have offered to assist Nigeria.
Akande urged vigilance and speed, saying that the decisions and actions taken in the next few weeks and months may determine whether Nigeria will overcome violent terrorism or sink deeper into lawlessness and disorder.
He said: “The challenge we face is much bigger than the pursuit of office or individual ambition. Even without the Boko Haram crisis, the nation ran itself as if on auto-pilot. The Jonathan Administration did little and depended on the ingenuity of the Nigerian people to fend for themselves and cover up governmental shortcoming.
“However, a crisis has come which no amount of private ingenuity can resolve. Only government can answer this call. The time has come for strategy and action. The time has come, but government has been found sorely wanting. Just as they have left the girls in the forest and at the mercy of armed terrorists without mercy, this government has left the nation in the cold.
“We must acknowledge that the nation has been brought low. We now suffer more violence and destruction than many places that are formally at war. For too many, Nigeria has become not a place to live but a place to die. We must change this evil equation. At moments like these, Nigeria needs a leadership that is bold, coherent, sincere and focused. Unfortunately, that is not the case right now for our dear nation.”
In Akande’s view, only a non-partisan approach can resolve the crisis. He urged that President to stop buck passing. He said: “Having imposed a state of emergency on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, he has assumed full responsibility for the security of those states and it is disingenuous of him to point accusing fingers at the governors of those states, who cannot even move around their states freely without clearance”
Noting that the Federal Government’s response has reached a strategic stalemate, Akande called for a multifaceted strategy to combat the crisis.
He urged the government to develop a counter-terrorism strategy. His words: “Presently, there is poor coordination between and integration of military means and political and economic objectives. There is currently no publicly known counter-terrorism strategy guiding the response to BH, and the impact of this can be seen in at least three ways: first is the chaos and confusion surrounding the government’s intention to explore a negotiated settlement by dialoguing with BH.
“One minute the government favours and seeks to dialogue and grant amnesty to Boko Haram; the next minute government rules it out. There are mixed signals from the government. Second is the lack of use and coordination of military, political and economic means, yet successful counter-insurgency requires close coordination of military, political and economic means and objectives.”
Akande also asked the government to buuild a new intelligence gathering infrastructure. He said: “In 2012, Nigeria announced plans for a new intelligence fusion centre to coordinate, improve and integrate intelligence gathering and sharing across agencies. We need to obtain more timely and actionable intelligence from local sources in the areas affected by Boko Haram. We would also establish an office of the Special Anti-Terrorism Coordinator.
On the need to improved intelligence, he said: “The solution to preventing, limiting and responding better to BH attacks does not lie in deploying more troops but in improving intelligence and increasing force enablers. The fight against BH will be enhanced if government focuses on these two elements.”
To the APC Chairman, an improved contingency planning can also be helpful. Major militaries around the world have plans for the major challenges they are likely to face, he said.
Akande also suggested an alignment of military and political solutions, pointing out that Boko Haram is unlikely to be defeated militarily.
He added: “Most insurgencies are ended through some form of negotiation. Government must develop a strategy along the lines of the policy followed by President Yar’Adua (over the MEND insurgency in the Niger Delta) at least to the extent that we use employment and other rehabilitative incentives to separate the rank and file from Boko Haram’s leadership.”
On the de-radicalisation strategy, he said: “The Northern region is in urgent need of a counter-radicalisation programme to prevent many more young people (illiterate and unemployed) from being radicalised. Such strategies would require initiatives to counter violent extremist ideology and create positive incentives against radicalisation (beyond the current focus on punitive measures – arrest, detention and killing), give voice and representation to young people in the region.”
The APC Chairman called for the regionalisation of the ECOWAS and AU response to ensure multinational security operations across the Sahel to track and hunt down Boko Haram insurgents.
He said the government should always reform the way information is released and managed on Boko Haram.
On the “Economic Development Plan for Northern Nigeria”, Akande said: “The proposed recovery fund for the Northeast is grossly inadequate window dressing. A real and massive effort is needed. Clearly, more financial resources are needed.
“Economic revival goes beyond providing substantial funds. It has to be guided by clear objectives, roles of public and private sectors and civil society groups, and must include social (education, health, religion, culture and traditional institutions), environmental, and political aspects, in addition to economic issues.”
Time is running out on excuses, the party said, calling for a counter-terrorism strategy to combat insurgency in the Northeast.