Losing Their Heads At The Headies By Toni Kan

imageMichael Jackson, The King of Pop, died on June 25, 2009.

On that same day, legendary actress, Farrah Fawcett succumbed to cancer after a long battle. Two days earlier, television personality, Ed McMahon had passed on.

In the days and weeks after June 25th, one would have been forgiven if one had assumed that only one famous person died that week. The news channels and tabloids were filled with stories about Michael Jackson whose death had ended up as controversial as his life. And it was as if Farrah Fawcett had chosen the wrong-est day to die. She and McMahon had as Fela sang, “died wrongfully”.

This thought occupied my mind as news of Olamide and Don Jazzy’s incipient beef filtered out then mushroomed into something ugly and still trending. Their beef and the subsequent twitter and social media frenzy left a casualty in its wake: the talented and beautiful rapper Eva Alordiah and her boyfriend now fiancée, model and OAP, Ceaser who had chosen The Headies to propose.

That singular romantic gesture has been buried under the luridness of the uncomely beef, first between Olamide and The Headies, then Don Jazzy and Olamide and now, the unfortunate co-option of D’Ja’s body parts as collateral damage.

Ceaser must be wishing he had chosen a less contentious stage.

A second casualty is Timi Dakolo, whose subliminally excellent song, “Wish Me Well”, won 3 awards; a fact that seems all but forgotten.

For the benefit of those recently arrived from Mars, The Headies, Nigeria’s answer to the Grammy’s held on January 1, 2016 two days later than the earlier advertised December 30, 2015. That night, Reekado Banks, an artist under Don Jazzy’s label, the Mavins was voted the Next Rated Artist for 2015. The award comes with a brand new car.

The category is usually left open for fans of the nominees to vote and pick the winner and this time they picked Reekado Banks over his stable mate, Koredo Bello, (Korede’s ‘Godwin’ was a 2015 anthem), Cynthia Morgan, Yung Grey C, Lil Kesh and a host of other talented young cats whose stars shone in 2015.

Olamide, stable head at YBNL which Lil Kesh calls home was pissed at Reekado Bank’s choice and went up stage to make his displeasure known, a little while after Lil Kesh had pulled a Burna Boy and stomped out with his entourage racing to catch up with him.

For those who do not follow these things. In 2013, Burna lost out to Sean Tizzle in the Next Rate Category and he had left the venue in a huff.

Lil Kesh didn’t invent that ish!

Anyway, after Olamide left the stage having pulled off his best Kanye West impression, Don Jazzy came on stage to receive an award and then made a direct reference to Olamide – Egbon Olamide if you want the car, come and take it.

Olamide subsequently lost it. He went on twitter where he morphed from a Bariga boy into Mel Gibson, spewing unprintable abuse at Don Jazzy. In his tirade Olamide did not just call out Don Jazzy with respect to the night’s event, he blamed the hit maker for Dbanj’s predicament, called him a fake who claims other people’s productions and then ended with a threat of harm befalling Don Jazzy if he steps foot on the mainland but in all that rabid rant, Olamide’s talent for word play shone bright when he tweeted “Leave trash for LAWMA”.

There have been heated arguments on social media with many blaming Don Jazzy for making a direct reference to Olamide. Those who put forward this argument forget that Don Jazzy mediated his comment by calling Olamide, who is younger, Egbon?

While Don Jazzy might have mentioned Olamide’s name, the question that baffles is this: how did a reference to a car lead Olamide on a terrible tirade that managed to drag in Dbanj and D’ja? For how long has Olamide had it in for Don Jazzy? For how long has he held Dbanj’s downward spiral against Don Jazzy? Or Wande Coal’s rapid decline?

There is no better key for unlocking the heart’s secret than booze and some time’s rage.

To return to the major issue, Reekado Banks besting Lil Kesh. Both artistes are new and they both don’t have debut albums yet. Their fame rests squarely on what I like to call the “Davido Effect”, that amazing phenomenon where a nascent artiste finds fame and sometimes fortune on the strength of his singles and collaborations.

Reekado Banks has been helped by the Don Jazzy machine which is not to deny his talent having beaten off competition from over 1000 others to win the Don Jazzy Talent hunt alongside Korede Bello and D’Ja.

Lil Kesh, on the other side, has ridden to fame on the back of Olamide’s YBNL as well as an amazing street savvy and yuck-mouthed-ness. For one who doesn’t speak Yoruba, Lil Kesh still manages to get his dirt on my tongue but he has a flow that is almost as good as Olamide’s.

Both artistes are good and deserved to win unfortunately there was only one plaque and the artistes with the meanest social media machine won.

That said, we will come back to this in a few years’ time and I can wager a bet; Reekado Banks will have a longer career than Lil Kesh and the reason is simple. Think Lil Kesh and Reekado Banks and you should remember Obesere and Pasuma. Pasuma is Oganla, Obesere is, well, Obesere, a washed up has been whose yuck mouth took him as far as it once took Luke Campbell of 2 Live Crew.

There are limits to the freak show.

(Someone claiming to be Dj Timmy however, thinks that Lil Kesh will have more musical longevity compared to Reekado Banks. Time will tell. Read his open letter blasting The Headies, Olamide, Don Jazzy here.)

And oh, there was the Ycee and Vector side show. Well, Jagaban is a good song but it doesn’t compare to King Kong.

And you can take that to the bank.

 

Source: Sabinews.com

On Olamide: Why Bigger-Than-You Discussions Are Important, By Joy Isi Bewaji

imageIn a zero fuck world, many important discussions are drowned at the deep end of insouciance. The complexities of our realities, the variance of opinions, our prejudices, and our visceral interests find sustenance in stubborn and arrogant insular beliefs, backed by facile generalization.

It is a pattern that is cheered by social media. The louder the voice, the bigger the support. Nobody checks for good judgment or nous.

Be loud. Be vulgar. Smash a table. Climb on a podium and throw invective. Speak under the influence of cheap drugs. Give the middle finger. Put a gun to your head. Hit harder.

In all of that mess, the tiny voice of reason is the needle in a haystack. Almost impossible to find.

Reason has no place in a society that lives on the edge of inanity. A people who defer to mob justice to solve almost all their problems. A desperate culture that burns a house to kill a roach… it is almost hilarious to engage it in any significant conversation.

The majority dictates the tone of a discourse; matters that affect the dignity of others are left in the hands of marauders- people who find extreme pleasure in sticking a finger into your anus, simply to humiliate you.

Dealing with this majority in matters of misogyny or good ol’ sexism, for instance, is a big joke.

Yes, I see you roll your eyes. May your eyeballs not drop into your mouth and you mistakenly chew it.

One of the bigger-than-you issues of 2015 was Blossom’s campaign against NewAge chargers- a blatant sexist Ad that reinforced the culture of body-shaming in its most uncomfortable manner.

There’s only one gender that suffers body shaming in fluid consistency. Women are body shamed for everything- for being too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short, too dark, plenty pimples, no breasts, big breasts, no hips, flat buttocks, big nose, short hair, big feet… we begin to find our confidence in these body parts.

That was what irritated Blossom, and I supported that movement, I was ready to wear a t-shirt for it!

It was yet another needle (in a haystack). A bigger-than-you issue. How do you fight an Ad agency for sexism when the entire industry- stretching back to the 1800s, all the way to Miami and Australia- rely on making women feel inadequate and insecure just so they can sell products as flippant as lipstick and shampoo?

How do you win sexism in advertising when it is the only air it breathes all over the world?

Our voices drowned in the noise of “bhet, is it your nyash?”

It is the same way I feel about Olamide, his music, his tantrums and his goons.

The bigger-than-you issue makes it impossible for even self-proclaimed feminists to see how despicable his recent actions are.
Here is a musician whose entire career is built on misogyny (like many others). The bigger-than-you issue wears everybody out as far as music goes. We have come to accept the toxicity of sexist music. Even when the music tells you it is going to fuck you, cut off your breasts, stuff it in the fridge, and rape your roommate…we dance to it. We have lost that fight. We cannot find the seams; we do not know where to pull out the threads.

Misogyny in music is one big elephant; its varied interpretations from even the discerning will make you sad. So we have resigned to rolling our waists and supporting the misogynist of choice in any given situation.

I cannot wrap my head around how only very few people find Olamide guilty in the Headies drama. This man cursed out on Live TV, he wrecked the Headies green room, he tweeted the most disgraceful tweets, threatened another artiste, sent his goons to shame a female colleague…yet we find it entertaining, hilarious, some kind of zero-fuck state of mind that is commendable. We tolerate this madness the way we tolerate the music- a sweet-sounding tale of how women are fucked, fake, good for only a few raunchy things, and discarded. His biggest fans are women. They pay to listen to him tell them about their body parts, then they write cute reviews about it all.
The bigger-than-you issue of addressing this man’s immaturity is going to get lost in all the hailing and support he has received for being a jerk.

He is street… as if that makes him a higher being, allowed to throw a fit, kill thousands in the wilderness, drown an entire nation, scatter the people at Babel…because he is upset Lil Kesh did not win.

Since when did ‘street’ care about awards?

The nerve of us to even find any fault in… “Olamide if you want the car, come and collect it”. The impudence to question Don Jazzy’s motives, when we are confronted with bigger issues of lack of discernment.

We have endorsed this puerile outburst of Olamide.

We shall reap its consequences.

A Long Way From Redemption, By Debo Adesina

imageI HAVE a huge affection for former president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, even though I can hardly explain it.

I met him a few times before and during his reign as Nigeria’s helmsman but remember two occasions vividly on account of their significance. Others, if I wish, I could also pass on with self-inflating relish to those needing a little lesson on my station in life, as in ‘when I was with the President …’ even though those were town hall gatherings involving a hundred other journalists. But, little matter.

One was shortly after he was catapulted to the governorship of Bayelsa State upon the impeachment of his predecessor, the late Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha. He was in Lagos for meetings with some party elders and a dinner with some journalists was arranged. By some design, I was asked to sit with the new governor. Genial, humble and even shy, we spoke freely and I was taken in by his humility.

I, of the fine wine consumption club, did my level best at what was on offer that day while the main man was on water. Taken aback by what I thought was some pretence, I asked him why he was not operating at my wave-length, thereby rendering our side-talk boring, he smiled and politely informed me that he already had a glass of wine or two earlier and that was it for him for the day.

We then went on to talk about his plans and how he would adjust to his new office with its challenges. I remember vividly that many answers to my questions began with ‘my boss’. My boss already wanted us to do this for the people. My boss had this plan. My boss…
He was totally loyal to Alamieyeseigha and he did not put up a show to prove it. Just the way it was. Or, who he was.
Of course, the rest is history. He went on riding the same wave of luck to the vice presidency, acting presidency and then, shortly after our second significant meeting, the ultimate, the presidency.

As Umaru Musa Yar’Adua vegetated away and the cabal around him did so much to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians on his condition, rule by proxy while preventing Jonathan from assuming the reins, a friend of mine, a serving governor then, brought us together again. As I have narrated the story on the pages of this newspaper before, this second meeting was a more exclusive affair.

Yar’Adua was ill. Nothing was happening. All governors would gather in Abuja awaiting what to do next. The VP was just there, presiding over some meetings and assigning ministers to represent him at ceremonies.

A few of the governors went to Saudi Arabia to check on Yar’Adua, including his son-in-law, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi, whose new wife, the president’s daughter, had just been delivered of a baby. No one in that traveling group, I learnt, saw the dying president.

Upon their return, three of us, a member of that delegation to Saudi, Jonathan and my humble self, sat to discuss Nigeria in his office. A great listener, the vice president kept quiet all through, except for once when he tried to juggle his memory aloud about our previous meetings.

For about 35 minutes, we talked on the nation’s challenges and I had the privilege of telling him that he was riding a crest of goodwill similar to if not more than what was available over June 12, 1993, that in the midst of ongoing intrigues, he did not have to do much before ultimate power was thrusted upon him but he could seize the initiative on some matters and put up reassuring appearances to the nation. He was understandably cautious and rejected suggestions of anything that could make him look too ambitious. But the overall impression was that he was far from sure of himself or what he would do with the presidency if it eventually fell on him. And in our review of that meeting afterwards, I told the facilitator exactly that: a good man but looked to me like one who would tip-toe where he should stump around and whisper when the occasion called for a roar.

What Jonathan did with the office is already under review. A part, how Nigeria came under the thumb of Boko Haram, even when so much money was made available for the fight against the insurgents, and why the nation’s soldiers almost got humiliated, is the subject current national enthrallment.

An over-all verdict on his stewardship was already delivered via the ballot box. However, I have always thought, with the benefit of details, history would be fairer to him.

This nudged my submission to a friend some time ago that revisionists may cast Jonathan as a villain and his time in office as a better-forgotten era, history, the true record, may turn out a kinder and more objective chronicle. I then proceeded to liken Jonathan to former President Jimmy Carter of the United States of America who did one term from 1976 to 1980.

After running what was adjudged a poor shop as president, with the hostage crisis in Iran in which he couldn’t free Americans held captive in that country and his wimpy carriage characterised by preaching instead of governing, Carter after the White House was in odium.

A friend of his, James Laney once said: “It wasn’t just that he was unpopular, people avoided him… he was a pariah, a disgrace to the Democratic Party, because he was a loser.”

Nevertheless, it was not too long before the tide changed and the man’s true worth came to light. Details of his days in office, in hindsight, turned out a portrait not of an incompetent president but a compassionate, an incorruptible servant of the people.

Meanwhile, he threw himself into a lot of worthy courses, serving America and humanity as a whole. He is today an icon around the world, an elder statesman who personifies honesty, integrity and selfless service, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Carter and Jonathan, to me, have a few things in common. Small town boys. Humble background. Rising in life through a dint of hardwork. Decency of carriage. Humility, even in high office, often culminating in an image of weakness.

Post-presidency, I once expressed and still nurse the hope, there would be nothing stopping Jonathan emerging, with the passage of time, a Carter-incarnate, at least on the African continent, propelled forth by his noble conduct, his patriotism defined by his manner of leaving office.

However, as anyone would testify, Carter turned the tide to become the best former President America has ever had only because he never lost his character, his integrity in office. Therefore, when international statesmanship came on offer and available only to a man on a moral high ground, Carter stood out. Hence his glorious run.

Today, I hope what stood Carter in good stead for what he became post-presidency would stand Jonathan in good stead for what he can be, his adjudged poor performance in office notwithstanding.

The post-presidency years have not recast Carter as a great American President, they have not erased his supposedly poor performance, but they have reinforced his persona, his devotion to the values of service and, above all, his incorruptibility.

What would Jonathan’s post-presidency say about him?
I was not surprised to see Jonathan beside Carter in Atlanta, Georgia the other day, with the American ex-president pouring encomiums on the Nigerian and symbolisms took on an air of substance. I am not surprised at talks of prizes for him in honour of his final hurrah. Indeed, the Carterisation of Jonathan may be only a matter of time.

However, getting there would have to be testimony, not to the roads he built or didn’t, hospitals he constructed or didn’t, power plants he built or didn’t, elections he won or didn’t. It would be testimony to incorruptibility, to his character, his moral worth while in office.

Ibrahim Babangida, the former military head of state, the other day said Jonathan was a man who had to punch far above his weight, too inexperienced for the presidency. Even the ex-president’s ‘godfather’, Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, has weighed in with a verdict of poor performance or incompetence. Yet, I view all these as mere revisionism, which historical details of the man’s stewardship may eventually rubbish.

Those details are, however, coming out much sooner than anticipated and my romance with Jonathan is suffering a scare. Too much is being reported to have gone wrong on his watch. And no president, however unprepared or incompetent, should ever have allowed some of the things to arise let alone arrive on his desk.

As the review of his reign hits high gear, with the worms now tumbling out of many cans, I hope the former president’s sins in office would be confined to incompetence and un-preparedness. Otherwise, his journey to redemption, to Carterisation, would be a very long one.

 

A New Online Media Scourge, By Olatunji Dare

imageIn the attentive media audience, passive readers and listeners abound. But they are passive because they choose to be passive. Those who are not so inclined can react to media fare almost instantly, react to other reactions, and generally keep going a public conversation the type that the German sociologist and philosopher Jürgen Habermas drew on to conceptualise what he called the public sphere.

In the analogue era, one would have had to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper for that purpose. And of the dozens, sometimes hundreds of letters that arrive in the editor’s mailbag, only a handful gets published. Not infrequently, what gets published is not exactly what the writer had in mind. The submission is vetted for grammar, factualness and good taste, then cut to fit into the available space

In the digital era, the era of interactive media, anyone who can work an electronic mouse can post a response to a news story, feature, editorial, photo or article. Space is not a constraint. It helps, but there is no obligation to be factual or courteous or even decent. Out there, it is an unregulated, anarchic world, in which the writer has almost full control of his or her material.

Much of the feedback is valuable. Factual errors are pointed out, as are faulty reasoning; counter-arguments are laid out, other perspectives are explored, gaps are filled and language use is questioned, for the most part in an ameliorative spirit. There is even the occasional commendation for fine execution.

But a good deal of the feedback is often perverse and petulant. Columnists and other commentators are excoriated for not doing what they had not set out to do. Their academic and professional qualifications are called into question. Their looks are derided. Their antecedents up to three generations back are vilified. Name-calling, coarse and vulgar abuse and ethnic baiting are standard fare.
Some writers are urged earnestly to go do something violent to themselves, like hugging an electric transformer, getting crushed by Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation trains, or something even more lethal, all for the heinous crime of saying something that someone disagrees with, or for criticising a public figure from the respondent’s ethnic group.

You know when the mail is the product of an organizsed effort. There is a dreary sameness about the language. Change a singular noun to the plural, transpose a phrase here and there, throw in an advert elsewhere, and despite the various points of origin, which are for all practical purposes contrived, it is clear that some rented individuals are doing the writing at someone’s behest.

The package usually comes spiced with maledictions of the blood-curdling kind. You need a strong stomach and shock-resistant sensibilities to attend to that kind of stuff for long. Little about it is social; yet, this is the kind of thing one encounters daily on “social media” sites frequented by Nigerians.

Please add that term to your repertoire of oxymorons.

For, instead of serving as the digital-era equivalent of Habermas’s public sphere, it is often a hate-filled platform for trading insult and abuse and perpetuating prejudice.

In his time, Goodluck Jonathan kept a battalion of writers of that kind of stuff, pollutants of the fountains of public discourse who, for want of any other distinction, usually styled themselves “public affairs commentators” or “public affairs analysts.” Invariably they were based in Abuja. I hear they have since been disbanded and have found no new patrons yet.

But I digress.

Now, a new scourge has descended upon the feedback loop of our online newspapers.

When I go to my column online and find that as many as 10 readers have bothered to respond (most of the responses come as sms text messages) I feel gratified that the effort that went into writing it has not been wasted.

But to my dismay, not one of the reactions is actually about the column. If the authors of the so-called reactions read it at all, it made no impression on them. What they are doing is pivoting in the column to advertise all manner of merchandise for sale.

Here, by way of “response” to my last column, is Udom Mike, offering Dangote Cement at a “promo price of N1,100 per bag, and N4,000 for a bag or rice, directly from the factory. No middlemen or middlewomen. Minimum purchase of 100 bags of each commodity, please. And to facilitate purchase and delivery, Mike supplies the name and phone number of the contact person.

Chief Awosoga Awoniyi warns readers “not to die in silence” when all their problems can be solved by Ifa. Then he lists every disease known and unknown to medical science and promises to cure them with “instant results.” He also promises to ensure that your pocket never dries, that you never ask without receiving, and that you get quick promotion at work, on a job so secure that you can swear by it.

Awoniyi is no itinerant herbalist. He runs a Healing Home (telephone number supplied) that you can visit for consultation. Better to do that than to “die in silence”, you hear?

Adebowale (Big Boss) Adeyi is offering Dangote 3X cement for N1, 100 per bag, ex factory, minimum purchase of 200 bags. Consignment will be delivered within one day of requisition. Name and address of contact person supplied.

Precious Balogun is offering different brands of rice — Royal Stallion, Royal Umbrella, Mama Africa, Mama Gold, Ade Brazil, Rising Sun, Super Eagle — at a cheap rate, to be delivered anywhere in Nigeria. Hurry up; prices quoted are valid for three months only from date of post, because of price instability. Tomato puree of various brands also available.

Ambruce Tamunosiki, for Nigerian Customs Service, announces that the auctioning of impounded cars has commenced at the Nigerian Customs Border Head Office Command Zone 2, Owode Ewekoro/Custom House Border (phone number supplied). Come take your pick, at the quoted prices among Toyota and Peugeot brands.

Abdullahi Momammed is also offering cars impounded by Customs for sale, together with laptops, at cheap and affordable prices. Marketing Zonal Officer Abdullahi Mohammed (retired) is standing by to help. Phone number supplied.

Enyi Enyi says to call Mr Bello Adams, the officer in charge, if you would like to own a choice vehicle at minimal cost. The Nigerian Government, no less, is using the medium to bring to it to your notice that Tokunbo vehicles in its custody are being sold off.

Abdullahi Aisha, who says he is advertising manager with the Nigerian Customs Service, is also putting on the auction block a large inventory of Customs-impounded cars. Interested buyers please consult a Mr Bankole Adeyemi (phone number supplied.

Paul Okoro is offering Dangote Cement direct from Obajana and Ibese factories for the promo price of just N1,000 per bag for purchases of 100 bags or more to individuals and distributors alike. Nationwide delivery available; names and phone numbers of contact persons supplied.

These crude and possibly fraudulent sales pitches are a gross perversion of the loop that is designed to provide useful feedback on media content. You encounter these irritants on the sites of most of the online Nigerian newspapers and journals. Even if they were advertisements duly paid for, they would be no less irritating. But they are nothing of the sort, just tawdry, opportunistic stunts.

Is there no way of ending this scourge?

Fashola: How The Rejected Stone Became The Cornerstone

image“This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.” Perhaps this biblical verse from the New Testament, offers an apt summation of the circumstances culminating in the nomination and subsequent swearing in of the former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola as a minister.

Infighting: The genesis

Recall, the former governor once canonized as the poster boy of good governance – by his immediate folk in the political arena, was vilified, objected and persecuted – by members of his political kindred, in the wake of an apparent falling-out between he (Fashola) and his ‘godfather’ and predecessor, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The once cordial relationship between both men, according to political pundits, hit the brick wall due to political differences, vested interests and the rights to choose Fashola’s successor. While Fashola preferred another candidate to serve as his successor, the ‘godfather’ anointed incumbent governor: Akinwunmi Ambode – against Fashola’s wish.

Though Tinubu has debunked rumors of a rift between him and his ‘godson’, the simmering cold war provoked a barrage of defamatory articles against Fashola.

Besides making unsubstantiated claims bordering on financial impropriety, the timing of their ill publications was carefully crafted to give impetus to a more sinister motive. As the media splurged on the defaming articles, the originators intended to undermine Fashola’s chances of being penciled down on Buhari’s now famous September Ministerial List. In a bid to achieve their myopic objectives, they chose to fight dirty.

Perhaps in their flights of fancy, the rabble-rousers had delusionally envisaged a situation where the immediate past governor would fade into obscurity and be rendered hamstrung in the political firmament. For them, resorting to wholesale calumny was the last throw of the dice in their futile attempt.

Reading between the lines, Fashola in his now famed rebuttal addressed the issues. He also made it implicitly clear to his detractors, he was aware; he was being targeted in a maleficent orchestration to dent his chances of being nominated for ministerial appointment.

Therein, he responded thus: “I cannot conclude without responding to the crusade of CACOL [Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders] and their ilk seeking my prosecution on allegations that have no proof and writing preemptive letters to the Presidency.” He added: “In case they are unaware, I am not looking for a job.”

At this juncture, permit me to say, ‘sorry Mr. Fashola!’ Why? Well, the reason is pretty obvious isn’t it? Fashola now has his work cut out for him.

Two feathers in Fashola’s cap

As was the case, when he appeared before the Senate at ministerial screening, wherein, he left the audience spellbound, while defining his concept of loyalty, Fashola, yet again stole the show at the swearing in ceremony of the new cabinet.

Yes! He brought his talismanic effect to bear once more – receiving the explicit mandate to superintend over the affairs of two key ministries – the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Works and Housing.

After a phenomenal reign as Governor of Lagos State, this feat no doubt sets him on the pantheon of Nigeria’s greatest administrators – much to the utter disappointment of the provocateurs – and their paymasters. The onerous task placed on Fashola to salvage both ministries, by President Muhammadu Buhari, underscores the president’s distinct recognition of the ethos that give vigor to the ‘Fashola Brand’ – hard work, dedication, forthrightness and vision.

Make no mistake, the long winding road ahead is fraught with challenges, but with Fashola on the driver’s seat, with regards to the state of affairs of both ministries, Nigerians can be assured of Fashola’s uncanny ability to deliver on expectations. Remember! This was the dynamo who tamed Lagos.

Familiar terrain

Following Fashola’s swearing-in, there have been talks in some section of the media impugning the rationale behind the decision to set him in charge of the Ministries of Power, Works and Housing. As a lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, some observers have been quick to note that the Ministry of Justice would have been befitting – and fit like a square peg – in a square hole.

To other observers, the rationale behind this submission is unfounded. Eight years, in the saddle as governor of Nigeria’s most boisterous state – coupled with his ability to tame it, formulating and actualizing blueprints in different facets of human endeavour – they submit, is clear-cut evidence Fashola is quite familiar with his new terrain. They couldn’t have been more spot-on.

Fashola’s stride in the power sector

While serving as Lagos State Governor, Fashola, it would be recalled initiated and brought to fruition five Independent Power Projects (IPPs) across the state. They include: the Island Power project, Island Power Project Expansion, Akute Power Project, Alausa Power Project and the Mainland Power Project. These feats were accomplished during his tenure despite legal constraints which limits the ability of states to produce power for the citizenry. .

Island Power project

Located at Marina, the Island Power Project boasts a capacity of 10 Megawatts. Commencing operations in May, 2011, this project remains the fastest executed (9 months) and one of the most successful Independent Power Projects in Nigeria. The project is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between LASG and Island Power Limited (IPL).

The project currently supplies power to General Hospital, Lagos (Including the Mortuary & Doctors quarters), Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos State Health Service Commission, High Court of Lagos State, High Court of Lagos State Annex, Igbosere Magistrate Court, Lagos House Marina, E-learning Centre, Lagos City Hall, Freedom Park and public lighting installations on 22 Streets within Lagos Island.

The project also includes an 18-km dedicated underground distribution network which guarantees power delivery to these public infrastructure targets all being powered using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The Island Power Project has drastically improved the reliability of power supply to the named facilities from 35% to 99.4% and provided constant street lighting and cost savings for the state.

Island Power Project Expansion II

Also situated in Marina, with a capacity of 10 Megawatts, this project provides 24 hours uninterrupted power supply to crucial Lagos State facilities within the health, education, security, water, waste management, science & technology, judicial, sport and transportation sectors on Lagos Island.

The project has extended the IPP distribution network from 18KM (Phase I) to 57KM. It has also increased the number of LASG facilities connected to the plant from 10 facilities to 38 facilities and public lighting network from 12.6KM to 70.7KM.

AKute Power Project

With a capacity of 12.15 Megawatts, the Akute Independent Power Project provides power for the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) water works located in Akute. The project is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between LASG and Akute Power Limited (APL). The Akute Intake facility is responsible for 80% of the water supply to Lagos.

The plant is currently operated on a 24-hour basis and enables the Lagos Water Corporation to pump over 130 million gallons of water daily. The plant also runs on environmentally friendly natural gas. This is delivered via a 13km pipeline from Gaslink Nigeria Limited’s existing gas distribution grid.

Alausa Power Project

Located at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State Capital, this project boasts a capacity of 10.4 Megawatts. Commencing operation in October, 2013, the Alausa Independent Power Project provides power for the Lagos State Government Secretariat and facilities within Alausa, Ikeja.

The project is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between LASG and Alausa Power Limited. This project is the most significant power project LASG has undertaken in regards to improving the state government’s service delivery to the public that visit the seat of government.

Mainland Power Project

With a capacity of 8.8 Megawatts the Mainland Independent Power Project provides power for Lagos State Government (LASG) facilities within Old Secretariat, Ikeja GRA. The project is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between LASG and Mainland Power Limited (IPL). This project will power Lagos State University Teaching hospital (LASUTH), High Courts, water works, Old Secretariat complex and over 20KM public lighting.

Though, they may seem as modest achievements, Fashola leaves Lagosians under no illusions to the fact that greater achievements in the power sector would have been recorded by his administration, but for laws which leaves state governments somewhat handicapped.

“If tomorrow, the National Assembly legislates that states should generate and distribute power, a state like Lagos will conveniently generate its own electricity and distribute same to its residents,” he once remarked.

Fahola’s strides in public works and housing

Fashola also boasts a stellar reputation in the area of public works and housing, evident in the long list of public works project – especially in housing, road design and construction These have earned him accolades and recognition – both locally and internationally.

Noteworthy, is his experience in bridging funding gaps and other challenges – through the formulation of innovative solutions. One of such novel schemes worthy of note is the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme Lagos HOMS – which delivers befitting and affordable housing to Lagosians – via flexible mortgage options.

Fashola and the Biblical Joseph

No doubt the sordid intrigues that played out before Fashola’s appointment as minister – with an unprecedented two portfolios – does bear similarities with the story of the biblical Jospeh. Like Fashola, Joseph was betrayed by members of his kin. More so, just like Joseph was sold into slavery in a foreign land, Fashola was equally cast out, alienated and left to his own devices.

As opposed to dampening Joseph’s dream, the pernicious actions of his brothers, conversely served as a catalyst to accelerate the crystallization of his dreams. In the same vein, the actions of some members of Fashola’s immediate political kindred further paved the way for his reemergence as a political colossus.

While Joseph later found favour in the land of Egypt after initial turbulence, so did Fashola find exceeding favour and responsibility in the Federal Capital Territory – after the initial storm.

Just as Joseph’s brothers soon came to him, on their knees begging and in dire need for aid as the biblical story puts it, only time will tell, if members of Fashola’s kindred, who betrayed him initially – will later come, cap in hand seeking his favours for the common good of Lagos State – by virtue of the exalted positions he currently bestrides.

When this time comes, will Fashola embrace them and take them back into his fold like Joseph did? Time will tell. Nonetheless, regardless of how things turnout, it’s expressly clear Fashola had the last laugh in this tale.

*IK Briggs writes from Media Accents Nigeria

Ken Saro-Wiwa: 20 Years After, By Owens Wiwa

imageTWENTY years ago this November, my brother, Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed for his work to rescue our Ogoni homeland in Nigeria from further destruction at the hands of Royal Dutch Shell. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss my brother, but he has especially been on my mind these last six months. I wish he could have seen the growing global movement rising up against Shell’s latest destructive plan: drilling in the ecologically important and fragile Arctic. Activists took to the water in colorful kayaks, hung from a 200ft high bridge, sent letters to President Obama and filled social media with cries of “Shell NO!”

In response, Shell was quoted by the news media as saying, “We have consistently stated that we respect the right of individuals to protest our Arctic operations so long as they do so safely and within the boundaries of law.” This false benevolence was not in evidence on November 10, 1995, when Shell allowed my brother and eight of his compatriots to be put to death, by the Nigerian maximum dictator, Mr. Abacha, for protesting the company’s operations in Ogoniland.

I do not know how Ken would have felt about the hand-over of the Nigerian Presidency from a Niger Deltan Jonathan to ex-Military Dictator Buhari. Former President Jonathan appointed Mr. Justice Auta – who sat on a military appointed Kangaroo Court that sentenced Ken to death – as Chief Judge of Abuja High Court and gave a National Award to General Abacha. President Buhari described thieving Abacha whose family is still returning hundreds of millions of dollars of Nigeria’s stolen money as a ‘good man’ and quickly appointed Colonel Hameed Ali who commanded the affairs of the same murderous Kangaroo Court as the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Custom. What kind of messages does this send to the people of the Niger Delta?

But I know what it is like to live amidst Shell’s oil operations. Ogoniland rests on some 1,000 square kilometres in the Niger Delta region of Southern Nigeria. In 1958, oil was discovered in Ogoniland and, over the next several decades, Shell became comfortable in its occupation, taking our centuries old home as though it were their own. But, where the Ogoni had practised caretaking and stewardship for this place that fed and provided for us, Shell left a trail of environmental devastation and terrible health impacts on the people still living there.

The slow poisoning of the land and water began almost immediately. There were constant oil spills and uncontrolled flares. Once thriving fishing areas grew too toxic to support even the smallest creatures and the mangroves – which acted as nurseries for marine life in its infancy – were choked at the roots. Their once bountiful leaves stripped away, leaving behind only skeletons.

When my brother insisted that Shell was committing genocide, the company bristled at the suggestion and took exception to his use of such an emotive word. Now, independent study funded by shell has provided compelling evidence and data that goes some way to vindicating my brother’s claims. The UNEP report on the environmental devastation in Ogoni lays the blame of ecological waste of my community firmly at Shell’s door and reports that it may take 25-30 years to clean up our environment. To me this sounds like the UN definition of genocide.

It was 1990 when my brother, a brilliant writer, founded the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). It was clear that Shell had no regard for the Ogoni people or this land which had been our home before recorded history. By this time, Ken had already spent more than 20 years advocating for greater Ogoni autonomy, at one point sacrificing a prestigious position as Regional Commissioner for Education in the Rivers State cabinet for his beliefs.

With MOSOP, Ken spoke and wrote about our plight. He educated and organised. He opened eyes to the great cost being paid in the pursuit of the great rewards Shell promised, and raised voices in solidarity and hope.

On January 4, 1993, 300,000 Ogoni celebrated the Year of Indigenous Peoples by protesting Shell. My brother addressed the crowd saying, “We have woken up to find our lands devastated by agents of death called oil companies. Our atmosphere has been totally polluted, our lands degraded, our waters contaminated, our trees poisoned, so much so that our flora and fauna have virtually disappeared.”

A study by the United Nations Environment Programme has shown that, despite the fact that no oil production has taken place in Ogoniland since 1993, oil spills continue to occur with fierce regularity.

This is the bounty that Shell has brought to the Indigenous people of Ogoniland. It promised prosperity and a bright tomorrow. When it wants to distract people from the price that will eventually be paid, Shell talks of jobs, crows about its lavish philanthropy and promises that no harm will be done, no chaos left in its wake.
When my brother Ken was executed, his last words were “Lord, take my soul…but the struggle continues.” I hope Ken is watching and seeing that from Ogoniland to the Arctic and beyond, people are rising up to say “Shell No!” They are standing strong against a corporation and an entire industry that will mortgage our future for quick profits.

• Dr. Owens Wiwa, a global health consultant and human rights activist, resides in Abuja.

Fani-Kayode, Nnamdi Kanu and The Brotherhood of Hate, By Emmanuel Ugwu,

In a shadow rebuttal to my piece, Femi Fani-Kayode and The Laughter of
Biafra which was an answer to Femi Fani-Kayode’s Nnnamdi Kanu and The Cry for
Biafra, a devotee of The Tsetse Who Flew To Cambridge, obviously under pressure to produce a passable riposte, stitched together tissues of his principal’s supposedly pro-Igbo remarks from yesteryear.

The patchwork of cherrypicked quotes, conceived as a positive testimonial, was supposed to negate my characterization of Fani-Kayode as a predatory Biafra secessionist and original vector of Igbo xenophobia.

Of course, the refutation was padded with signature curse words. I cannot respond to the master and his disciple in their native sewage language. I will dwell on the kernel of
issue.

Which is this: Fani-Kayode, a man possessed of the most belligerent instinct of territoriality, cannot invite himself ‘as a wildcard’ to a debate on the merits of an alleged Igbo breakaway agenda. He cannot presume to exercise the entitlement to vote on the direction of the Igbo race. He cannot arrogate to himself the luxury of invoking a sequel to Biafra.

Fani-Kayode’s self-appointed role in this project of Biafra necromancy is typing hawkish rhetoric on a laptop. That’s about the most strenuous tactile involvement he can vouchsafe the backward-walking Biafra movement.

When the reckless course of action he is urging explodes, the Yoruba chauvinist, a silver-spoon son, will not venture out of the bounds of his picture perfect life to participate in the ordered consequences. He will be ensconced in his bubble of comfort, occasionally drip-feeding the media his crocodile-tears commentary on the cataclysmic mess in born again Biafraland!

It’s a riddle, a surreal riddle, that a man who would banish foreigners from his delineated space has become a conflicted busybody dividing his time between campaigning for the eviction of the Fulanis from Yorubaland and trespassing into Igbo heartland and staking an opinion on the destiny of the Biafran landscape!

Fani-Kayode must not cheat on his own insularity. He should focus on raising alarm on all matters Afenifere, instead of feigning affection for the Igbos. Because the notoriety he has achieved as a hypocrite has sabotaged his ability to con sane people by display of fake concern.

The Igbo people know their lovers. The Igbos know those they can trust to contribute wisdom to the discussion of the tribe’s existential habitation. Femi Fani-Kayode doesn’t belong in that number.

Fani-Kayode is an incorrigible Igbo hater. Worse than that, he is a canvasser of Igbo hate. He has labored to legitimize the stigmatization of NdIgbo, even the most vulnerable of them, the destitute. This precludes him from presenting himself as a volunteer advocate for Biafra right to self-determination.

In the thick of the saga of the deportation of Igbo-born beggars from Lagos to Onitsha, Fani-Kayode desperately worked hard to contrive a scenario that would dead-end in a full scale, all-gloves-off, internecine Yoruba/Igbo clash.

When his frantic bid began to look frighteningly close to actualization, sane voices chastised him. Our man pleaded innocence. He argued that his xenophobic crusade was an act of love. He loved the Igbos so much he needed to show it by trying to cast them away.

He brandished a supporting evidence; the roll call of all Igbo females he had had dated since his first wet dream!

His present I Love The Igbos remonstration follows the pattern of its forerunner. This time, Fani-Kayode did not reference the young Igbo girl he is currently seeing. He had learned he could not cite a historical high girlfriend turnover, from his youth, as evidence of his present love for the lady’s ethnic group: Nigerians had denounced him and ludicrous innuendo. Yet, this new denial imitated that response.

He dredged up some past compliments he had paid a couple of Igbo persons and his favorite constituency of Igbo women to countervail his Igbophobia bona fides. He even hinted that he has excelled in the practice of Igbo love because he had ‘given’ many Igbo people jobs as a minister.

He ‘gave’ them jobs- out of his pocket! Like alms!

Another point he touts as a badge of honor is that he once challenged the anti-Igbo gaffe of the Oba of Lagos. Rilwanu Akiolu had warned Igbos in Lagos to vote for his preferred political party or risk being deported to the Lagoon. Fani-Kayode praises himself for affirming that the monarch had no power to intimidate any segment of the Lagos electorate; that Igbo indigenes in Lagos have the right to vote freely, like other Nigerians elsewhere.

The truth is that Fani-Kayode was merely doing a salaried job. He was hired as spokesman of Jonathan’s campaign. His brief was to promote the ticket of his hirer and to woo the demographic that is most likely to lean toward Peoples Democratic Party. He was under contractual obligation to push back a potentially vote-swaying game-changer.

He had to earn the pay cheque. A generous cheque- we would later discover. One that the most romantic sugar daddy in Nigeria needed to gift his girlfriend the surprise of a luxury car!

But Fani-Kayode’s Touch Not The Igbo Voters reply was bereft of any palpable human concern. He was striving to rescue the flailing campaign from looming defeat. His so-called love letter sprouted from vote lust. Majority of the Igbos, who constitute about 40% of the voter population in Lagos, was sympathetic to an extended presidency of a southerner.

Besides, it was odd that Fani-Kayode would be the person acting like an Igbo defender. He was, as he is always, credibly fake and incredibly fake. He had threatened Igbo-born residents of Lagos with similar fatal deportation; and he did that in more mystifying hyperboles.

The irony was obvious and off-putting. Wasn’t Fani-Kayode trying to harvest votes off the Igbos in Lagos because his previously declared Igbo fatwa had not caught fire? Was he not trumpeting the Igbos eligibility to universal suffrage because his original fantasy of having Lagos purged of people of Igbo extraction had failed to materialize?

Fani-Kayode is a patient of terminal racism. This is because he doesn’t have a strain of ethnic chauvinism. If he had it, owning it as a proprietary flaw, he would be able, with some effort, to tame himself. But he cannot tame himself. Ethnic chauvinism has him. Ethnic chauvinism owns and dominates him.

When there is no ethnic confrontation, Fani-Kayode, the hyperactive racist, would arrest some fleeting newsflash and rig it to provoke a reason to proclaim an inter-ethnic hate duel. He would not let Nigeria have a long interlude of tribal harmony. No, he reckons it his life calling to orchestrate divisive, ethnic contentions in the polity as frequently as possible.

It’s no surprise that Fani-Kayode’s soul has cleaved to Nnamdi Kanu, the hate entrepreneur who disguises as a freedom fighter. They are each other’s alter ego. They share so much in common they are interchangeable in their respective hate dealerships.

Take Fani-Kayode and enclose him in the broadcast cubicle of a pirate radio station in Europe. And he will unload tons of the vomit of hate on you just as casually as Nnamdi Kanu would do it. Transcribe one episode of Kanu’s broadcast. And you will have vitriol as toxic as any of Fani-Kayode’s bile-dyed releases.

Fani-Kayode says Nnamdi Kanu’s language is normal. This is true. They speak the same tongue. They share the same warped idea of normalness. That’s why Fani-Kayode sees the wellspring of Kanu’s acidic venom as rivers of living water!

Fani-Kayode’s defense of Kanu’s method is not linked with the welfare of the generality of the Igbo race. The Igbo people are wiser than to subscribe en masse to a secessionist lunacy. The Igbo people are nobler than to subject themselves to the leadership of a demented irredentist.

Fani-Kayode supports the second founding of Biafra on hate. It’s a foolish proposition. But the Cambridge graduate swears it is the effectual way to pursue the ‘right to self-determination.’ He avers that Biafra will be retrieved from extinction, if Radio Biafra would keep fouling the airwaves with the beatitudes of hate!

Fani-Kayode would sanction hate any day. He would hail a hawker of hate. He would laud a hate song. He would love to see the pregnancy of hate eject a new country. He would wish he could create a parallel planet of hate!

Fani-Kayode is attracted to a like nature. Time and chance have aligned to present him an opportunity to establish comradeship with his fellow hate preacher. And the overlap of their zeal for sponsoring Fulani/Hausa-Fulani xenophobia is a plausible ground for collaboration.

So I will advance Fani-Kayode a suggestion;

The trial of Kanu will, most probably, drag on for a while. And his long separation from the microphone is sure to progressively reduce the station’s rating- and ultimately atrophy the Gospel of Hate.

Since Femi is a consummate hate preacher and “a friend that sticks closer than a brother”, he should relocate to the UK address of Radio Biafra; and inherit his Brother-in-Hate’s vacant pulpit!

——————-

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija

Emmanuel Uchenna Ugwu engages the issues of the day with honest audacity. He writes with an intense passion that is tempered by prudence. He tweets via @emmaugwutheman

Buhari, Solve Dele Giwa’s Murder! By Sonala Olumhense

imageSeveral fascinating things happened in Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election. For me, among the most significant was the support offered to the eventual winner, Muhammadu Buhari by two journalists he sent to jail as military head of state.

Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson, by the selflessness and eloquence of their action, contributed to the historic victory of Nigeria’s current leader.

There is now a golden opportunity for Buhari, who claims to be a reformed democrat, to pay back the industry he once combated: he should re-open the Dele Giwa investigation, and identify the killers of a fine journalist in his prime.

There is no better time. Mr. Giwa was killed 29 years ago, in October 1986. Later that month, another Nigerian, one Chris Omeben, turned 50. He was a Deputy Inspector-General of Police.

For some reason, Mr. Omeben, now retired and in the twilight of his life, recently told the News Agency of Nigeria how he had been unable to find a suspect in Giwa’s murder.

Actually, that is not completely correct: he had had two men in mind. The first was a suspect arrived at in a roundabout kind of investigation. “We had an identification parade and got people of different physical attributes to be identified by [Mr. Giwa’s] day watch,” Mr. Omeben said.

“Eventually, when one of those paraded was said to bear a resemblance to the person that delivered the bomb, in spite of my insistence to have the man quizzed, we could not.”
Why? “Because interference now came from high places to protect the man,” the DIG revealed.

Note: Mr. Omeben knew the suspect who had “delivered the bomb.” He didn’t interrogate him because powerful forces—“high places—dissuaded him.

The problem is that Mr. Omeben did not dwell on those powerful forces that were shielding his prime suspect. He needed a fall guy.

Kayode Soyinka.

Mr. Soyinka was the London correspondent of Newswatch, Giwa’s journal. Also of Nigerian nationality, he did not lack reasons to be in Nigeria quite often, and on the day of the murder, he happened to have been staying with his Editor-in-Chief.

They were sharing the delights of Funmi Giwa’s breakfast fare when the parcel bomb arrived.

“On the breakfast table was a man called Kayode Soyinka, he was there; Dele was there and then the son Billy handed over the parcel,” our Sherlock Holmes said.

“And as he did so, I heard Soyinka left the table and went to the adjacent room.”

“Heard.”

You heard Sherlock right: “Heard.”

Sherlock’s entire case against Soyinka is somehow built around that word: “Heard,” as in hearsay. Soyinka mercifully outlived the big blast, but according to Sherlock, who claims to have been unable to interview the journalist, Soyinka is guilty of something because of the very fact that he lived.

Remember: Sherlock “heard” that Soyinka had survived because he slipped into an adjacent room. But from whom had he “heard”? Not the man who was slain; and certainly not the person whom he did not interrogate, and those were the only persons in the room.

Sherlock, in the manner of Louis XIV, who thought he was the French State, seemed to believe he was the Nigeria Police Force. Soyinka has always said, and he has evidence, that he was interviewed twice by the police, including at the First Foundation Hospital on the day of the murder.

But Sherlock discounts those interviews apparently because—being the police force—he didn’t get the personal chance to convert his prime suspect to murderer.

And so: from “I heard,” Sherlock declared: “My conclusion was that Soyinka knew what was coming and he left the room to hide behind the wall.”

Hopefully, this is not the way that real crime investigation is still being undertaken in the Nigeria Police, as that would explain why murders are rarely solved within Nigeria.

Until Giwa’s murder, the only Nigerians who had reason to know anything about explosives were the military and security agencies. How would Soyinka have known what wall to hide behind, and at what moment?

Mr. Omeben, 80 last month, casually dismisses the failure of the police to explore obvious military suspects. The problem was, and is, that the police have always had some kind of a priori procedural understanding that military personnel are never suspects.

As a result, in the Giwa murder the police found convenient excuses to avoid public interest in anyone hiding in a military uniform, a point Sherlock glosses over. To examine the tone of Mr. Omeben’s tale is to come to the sad conclusion that had he laid hands on Soyinka, he would have pinned a murder charge on him.

“Because interference now came from high places to protect the man…” Who was the man who was being shielded? And why was the police afraid of “high places” in the pursuit of the cause of law?

Who constituted “high places,” if that was indeed true, but General Ibrahim Babangida and his inner circle at that time? Let it be remembered that Babangida has since 1986 been popularly believed to be behind Giwa’s murder.

Sherlock had that one covered: “They started to insinuate that the assassination was masterminded by Babangida, Akilu etc…As a matter of fact, I had interrogated Akilu and he told me that yes they had invited Dele Giwa some few days before the assassination over a negative statement he made about Nigeria in a New York newspaper…He satisfied me with his explanation…Togun also absolved himself with his own explanation…”

It is shameful to think that these half-baked conjectures comprised, or was considered to be policing, and were officially sufficient in explaining Giwa’s murder. In real time, it is basically an investigation that—Lagos traffic and all and in an era pre-dating cell phones—any self-respecting journalist would have completed in one day. His editor would still have had him all over town through the night, digging for authentic information.

DIG Omeben’s 30-year old report—or lamentation—is a national embarrassment. It explains why there is so much impunity in Nigeria, and confirms that the police are sadly the principal impediment to the maintenance of law and order.

This is where President Buhari comes in. With one presidential order, he can resolve this 30-year old murder case, and set the police on its way to being a true and independent crime-fighting institution.

By ensuring that the Dele Giwa murder is finally and competently investigated and bringing to justice those responsible for it, he can confirm his commitment to the rule of law and to a free press, and bury forever the pesky ghost of Decree 4.

• sonala.olumhense@gmail.com
• Twitter: @SonalaOlumhense

Dele Giwa On Our Mind, By Tatalo Alamu

imageIt is just as well that Dele Giwa’s troubled ghost slipped back into our national consciousness just twelve months to the thirtieth anniversary of his martyrdom. As evident by the contradictions of democratic change, the ethical sandstorm in the senate, the swift blurring of line between political heroism and grandstanding villainy, the strange feeling of unease in the land, it is clear that the system is still working off the harmful effects of prolonged military rule.

Yet it would have been better to leave the ghost of Dele Giwa out of this painful and protracted process of national healing. Some wounds take much longer to heal and they react negatively to inflammation. Nigeria already has too many ghosts and their living survivors to contend with: from war orphans, coup widows, relics of assassinated politicians, poisoned patriots, state-executed exemplars, etc, etc. If we are to resurrect all these people we have sacrificed at the shrine of the nation, what an endless cortege of misery and shame!

But it is obvious that some people feel no misery or shame. A people that have not acquired a culture of shame in the course of their long history are an endangered people. After a long period of honourable silence over his questionable role in the official cover up of Dele Giwa’s murder, Chris Omeben, a retired Deputy Inspector General of police, has returned to the ring flagging his questionable red bull again.

In a bizarre ritual of self –exculpation, Omeben was reported to have told a press conference that his investigation into the death of Dele Giwa was impeded by the denial of access to the principal suspect: Kayode Soyinka who was the London Correspondent of Newswatch at that point in time. Soyinka was so close to his boss that he usually spent his official trips to Nigeria in Dele’s residence.

Omeben’s story is an old wives’ tale which does not dignify anybody, not the least a man who could easily have become the nation’s top cop. Soyinka’s response was bristling with fury and contempt. According to him, it was Omeben who actually prevented the principal suspects from being investigated. Ray Ekpu, Soyinka’s former boss and the man who succeeded Dele Giwa, weighed in along the same line virtually accusing Omeben of perfidy and dishonesty. There seems to be too many living historic witnesses willing to prick and puncture Omeben’s balloon of lies.

It is possible that in the twilight of his earthly sojourn, Omeben’s compromised conscience is finally pricking him. But repeating old lies is not the best way to go about restitution. Snooper can reveal to Omeben that he (columnist) spent the independence anniversary of October 1st 1986 in Dele Giwa’s house as his guest, that is two and a half weeks before his assassination. The conversation and the ambience remain as fresh as ever.

Like a self-healing wound relying entirely on its own internally produced anti-toxic agents, this nation is going through a painful and slow process of recovery. The martyrdom of Dele Giwa may well be one of the prices to pay in the tortuous and tormenting journey to authentic nationhood. This is why this morning, we bring you a piece which puts the Dele Giwa and Newswatch saga in proper perspective. Written exactly ten years ago to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the magazine, it has also turned out an unwitting obituary as the great magazine folded up shortly thereafter.

Ìpónjú Makes Me Yorùbá: What Else?, By Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú

imageThe Yorùbá as an ethnocultural identity has always been invented and reinvented as an adversarial reaction to the pressure of new collective identities. For a forceful, united, unified and purposeful identity, there must be ideals to live by that must never be broken, infringed upon or dishonoured. As of today, we have no such immutable ideal or ideals. We do not have a Yorùbá Spirit, that is inviolable!…To fashion out a unifying core, we must subject the Yorùbá as an idea to critical reflection for it to become normative. Throughout our history, the Yorùbá has been a product of conflict rather than consensus at every turn. There has been no unity in history except when confronted with Ìpónjú (adversity). To counter this adversarial response to internal crisis, we need a soul around which the Yorùbá identity can be crystallised. We need a moral dimension which is capable of articulating an identity and the recreation of our presence as a culture and nationality.

Bí ekòló bá júbà ilè, ilè á la’nu. Bí omodé bá mo’wó wè á bá àgbà jeun. Ìbà Olorun, ìbà ènìyàn. Ìbà eyín tí Elédùmarè gbé ilé ayé lé lówó, ìbà okùnrin, ìbà obìnrin, ìbà omodé, ìbà àgbà. E jé kí ó jú mií se o.

Introduction

In pre-colonial and colonial times, it was always in “Ìgbà Ìpónjú” (adversity) that we rallied around a Yorùbá identity. My task in this keynote lecture is to determine why the adversity model is not working and recommend the necessity of a transcendental Yorùbá identity that does not rely solely on the stimulus of Ìpónjú (adversity).

Who Are We?

Unknown to many, the mention of the name “Yoruba” in written tradition was first found in Ahmad Bābā’s (d. 1627) Mi’rāj al-su’ūd and in Infāq al-maysūr written by Muhammad Bello (d. 1837). These Arabic writers were the earliest to name us collectively as ‘yarba’ or ‘yaruba’ or ‘Yoruba’ as derived from the Arabic alphabet (ya-ra-ba). This was at a time when we were referring to ourselves by our diverse sub-ethnic identities such as Ife, Ekiti, Ijesa, Ibadan, Ijebu, Akoko and so on. Like other major ethnic groups in Nigeria, we considered ourselves as belonging to city-states or what is referred to as sub-ethnicities today. Each sub-ethnic group was politically independent with its own separate identities.

Yorùbá as a collective began to feel a need to identify themselves as a single ethnic nationality who understand each other’s language with minor dialectal differences after the 19th century wars against the Fulani.

The term Yorùbá originally referred only to the people of Oyo and this thought persists till today as my Àkókó people still describe Oyo traders in places like Ìkàré as that “Yorùbá blacksmith near the African maple tree as distinct from that Iwo butcher in the Oba’s market. “Bàbá Yoruba alágbède tó wà ní abé igi arère yen, yàtò sí okùnrin Ìwó alápàta”.(The story of Liadi alapata).

Yorùbá as a collective began to feel a need to identify themselves as a single ethnic nationality who understand each other’s language with minor dialectal differences after the 19th century wars against the Fulani. This war, forced many people, either into slavery or into refuge with neighbouring groups. Bishop Ajayi Crowther and Rev. Samuel Johnson who became educated in slavery, consulted with Hausa historians, who were literate in Arabic and had books written by Muslim scholars like Ahmed Baba where the name Yorùbá was mentioned. They popularised the word as a description of the whole group in books like History of the Yorubas by Rev. Samuel Johnson.

Pre-colonial Ìpónjú

Before colonialism began, the micro-national identities referred to in this lecture as sub-ethnicities in pre-colonial Yorùbá territory, engaged in invasive economic and territorial competition which eventually led to a century of civil wars. As long as these wars lasted, the truce from the various wars provided no basis nor did it create a catalyst for a pan-Yorùbá identity.

Samuel Johnson in The History of The Yorubas explains that “the nineteenth century Yorubaland was characterised by revolutionary political and economic changes. These changes stemmed from a series of constitutional and other socio-economic disruptions, initially in Oyo and later in other districts. The weakening of Oyo’s central administration after 1800, exacerbated by the spread of Islam and the expansion of legitimate trade generated rapid political changes. The most important of which was the century-long Yorùbá wars.” It is on record that Yorùbá warfare attracted substantial scholarship within Nigerian academia and outside of it. Eminent scholars like Professors Saburi Biobaku, Bolanle Awe, Adebanji Akintoye, Ade Ajayi, Toyin Falola and many more attributed the wars to attempts by various states to fill the vacuum created by the fall of Oyo. To this group, the wars were fallouts of state formation processes in Africa. However, the Anthony Hopkins Economic school linked the wars to global economic movements, especially those associated with falling revenue from trade in slaves, and later palm oil.

This state of flux within Yorùbá sub-ethnicities created the initial onset of Ìpónjú dynamics in the “age of confusion” as it was referred to, in some missionary literature.

Olatunji Ojo in his paper, “Ethnic Identity and Nineteenth-Century Yoruba Warfare”, bridged the two schools and brilliantly identified a third issue: The Identity Crisis. He wrote: “Peoples and communities occupied different strata within the social system. People were also classified based on ethnicity, class, age and even gender. Each of these identities or a combination of two or more dominated the course of the nineteenth century Yorùbá history. Therefore, whether with warfare, slavery, religious observations, and property ownership, there were issues over; who were the combatants? Who could be enslaved or not? Who could be killed at religious functions? The ways in which people identified themselves, and how others identified them were at stake in discussions about political control, religious rituals, property relation and how people fought against the status quo.”

This state of flux within Yorùbá sub-ethnicities created the initial onset of Ìpónjú dynamics in the “age of confusion” as it was referred to, in some missionary literature. J.D.Y Peel, in his book, Religious Encounter and the Making of the Yoruba, wrote that, the Yorùbás, “struggled to hold onto what they could of old identities and patterns of living. As they fled into safety or were driven into slavery, they carried the springs of social identity with them in their names, praise poems, body marks, food taboos, dialects and languages, political and religious practices.” As they settled down, they sought out others who shared or recognised these markers in their new settlements. The age of collective identity began.

These internal conflicts ravaged Yorubaland so much, it prevented no meaningful resistance against European colonial conquest. In 1861, the British established a protectorate over the port of Lagos and forced Ibadan to accept an “Ajélè” – resident administrator in 1893. Thus, colonialism began a process of subsuming ethnic identities under national identities which eventually would integrate Yorubaland into the geographic area that was carved to become Nigeria. This marked the onset of sporadic mega-Ìpónjú in Yoruba polity. Wíwá sínú orílè-èdè Nàíjíríà fa kíkó eran mérò.

Post-colonial Ìpónjú Dynamics

Starting with the establishment of Egbé Omo Odùduwà in London in 1945, under the leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. We responded to colonial Ìpónjú from whence a modern Yorùbá identity began to emerge within colonial and post-colonial nation-statist dynamics. The Egbé Omo Odùduwà, as an umbrella organisation to unite the Yorùbá, grew in importance in 1948 when heated debates that would decide Nigeria’s political future and nationalism began. Yorùbá politicians led by Chief Bode Thomas worked within the organisation, to chart a specific course for the development of Western Nigeria. This started the process that transformed the group into a political party called the Action Group. The party was to serve as the vehicle for realising its primary objective of mobilising the Yorùbá into one political umbrella and to implement the ideals and objectives of Egbé Omo Odùduwà.

From history, the Yoruba emerged as a contested concept and it was in Ìpónjú (adversity) that it became an evident, self-conscious entity. Yoruba as it is presently constituted, is a pivot and an organising metaphor of a very rich civilisation. The question of Yoruba Unity is often discussed to the exclusion of the fact that the evolution of Yoruba identity has a deep relationship with problems in the political landscape of pre-independence Nigeria.

Egbé Omo Odùduwà shaped the contemporary Yorùbá identity and it brought the Yorùbá into focus, first as a sociocultural concept and later as a political construct. From history, the Yoruba emerged as a contested concept and it was in Ìpónjú (adversity) that it became an evident, self-conscious entity. Yoruba as it is presently constituted, is a pivot and an organising metaphor of a very rich civilisation. The question of Yoruba Unity is often discussed to the exclusion of the fact that the evolution of Yoruba identity has a deep relationship with problems in the political landscape of pre-independence Nigeria. Our story cannot be about unity and inclusion without a distinct identity, which is embodied in a great complex of ideas and ideals. The lack of a grounded Yoruba core as the basis for a collective identity is predicated upon a fundamental ambivalence about the normative perspectives of collective identity in modern polity as defined by participation and solidarity. Enìkan kìí jé àwádé. Àjèjì owó kan kò gb’érù d’órí àti pé àgbájo owó la’fi nsò’yà

Yorùbá: An Idea and a Reality

The Yoruba as an idea is an expression of our culture’s struggle with its own contradictions and conflicts. It can be seen as social representation within a set of heterogenous cultural forms. These social representations are reproductions of reality that are prescriptive and they serve as controls for the formation of our collective identity. Can the Yorùbá evolve a collective identity that is not based on ethnoculturalism alone but also on economic and political integration? I don’t think so. The possibility of a transcendental collective identity that is not predicated on Ìpónjú is central to this lecture. My tentative answer to the question I posed, is that the idea of a collective Yorùbá identity that is not called into being by Ìpónjú is possible, if it focuses on a new notion of citizenship, participation and solidarity to a common core.

…the idea of a collective Yorùbá identity that is not called into being by Ìpónjú is possible, if it focuses on a new notion of citizenship, participation and solidarity to a common core.

The Yorùbá as an ethnocultural identity has always been invented and reinvented as an adversarial reaction to the pressure of new collective identities. For a forceful, united, unified and purposeful identity, there must be ideals to live by that must never be broken, infringed upon or dishonoured. As of today, we have no such immutable ideal or ideals. We do not have a Yorùbá Spirit, that is inviolable! It is incontrovertible that the cultural foundation of the Yorùbá is rooted in our common heritage and ancestry from Ile-Ife in addition to our humanist values and liberal outlook. To fashion out a unifying core, we must subject the Yorùbá as an idea to critical reflection for it to become normative. Throughout our history, the Yorùbá has been a product of conflict rather than consensus at every turn. There has been no unity in history except when confronted with Ìpónjú (adversity). To counter this adversarial response to internal crisis, we need a soul around which the Yorùbá identity can be crystallised. We need a moral dimension which is capable of articulating an identity and the recreation of our presence as a culture and nationality.

The history of the Yorùbá people is the history of its unifying culture, ideas, frontiers, as well as its divisions, both internal and external, and how it is enmeshed in the configurations of power and geo-political complexes within post-colonial Nigeria. Without question, the Yorùbá as a geographic group is constituted by history and constitutive of its own history. As narrated earlier, Yorùbá identity did not exist prior to its definition and codification. We also know that, the ethnocultural space was marred in irresolvable conflict of sub-ethnic cultures and oppositional collective identities before its construction. The idea of modern Yorùbá was constructed with strategic cultural and political goals in mind, and the reality that it represents, is also used strategically. From the foregoing, we can visualise the ethnocultural space known as Yorùbá as an idea, an identity and a reality. Which means, the Yorùbá as a nationality, is a structural force in which ideas and identities are formed within existing historical realities.

With all these great philosophical principles, the Yoruba is in want of a governing ideology. We do not have a comprehensive system of thought, a unified programme for the future, and a definitive political doctrine for mass mobilisation. This is what is called an ideology. We will have an ideology when we attach our geographic space with a concrete political interest.

Evidence from pockets of Yorùbá culture in West Africa, South America and some parts of North America bear witness to the Yoruba as the product of a complex civilisation that transcends its current region and polity. The evolution progressed as an idea and an identity that evolved as a cultural frame of reference, a geopolitical reality and later a self-conscious political block. The Yorùbá transformation, and the cultural shifts that happened with it, is conjoined with its ethno-cultural values with real effects on collective identities. With all these great philosophical principles, the Yoruba is in want of a governing ideology. We do not have a comprehensive system of thought, a unified programme for the future, and a definitive political doctrine for mass mobilisation. This is what is called an ideology. We will have an ideology when we attach our geographic space with a concrete political interest.

The task before us, is to use our cultural ideas as part of political-identity building processes for them to become ideologies. This generation, must rise to the occasion and form a cohesive collective identity in which the Yorùbá idea, identity and reality becomes a kind of consciousness. We must adopt what Pius Adesanmi on this platform called the Àtúnbí paradigm. We must be born again!

We cannot borrow this ideology. It must be organic, it must be home grown. Our elders say, Àwínná owó kò ye ‘ni, àgbàbò sòkòtò ko ye omo ènìyàn; bí kò fún un l’ésè á á sò ó; ohun eni ni íbá ‘ni mu. (It is improper for a respectable man with whom a subscription is kept to spend it; it is improper for a respectable man to borrow another man’s trousers. If it is not too big, it will be too small. It is only what is yours that fits perfectly). The task before us, is to use our cultural ideas as part of political-identity building processes for them to become ideologies. This generation, must rise to the occasion and form a cohesive collective identity in which the Yorùbá idea, identity and reality becomes a kind of consciousness. We must adopt what Pius Adesanmi on this platform called the Àtúnbí paradigm. We must be born again! It is an urgent necessity because, it was colonialism and conquest that unified Yorubaland. It was not peace, neither was it solidarity.

June 12: Catalytic Ìpónjú Identity

Ìkòkò to maa j’ata, won n’ìdí rè á kókó gbóná…June 12 remains one of the most remarkable dates in Nigeria’s political history as it has shaped Nigeria’s successive elections and democracy. The June 12, 1993 presidential election, widely acclaimed free and fair and won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola, was annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida led military regime when efforts to stop the election had failed. June 12, became a catalyst for Yoruba Ìpónjú identity as it reminded us of our identity as Yorùbás within Nigeria as a country. As a result of the annulment, we felt cheated and the Ìpónjú (adversity) acted as a catalyst for the reordering of our political priorities.

The June 12 Ìpónjú gave the needed bite to the Afénifére. The Afénifére was formed earlier in 1993 as a socio-cultural organisation for the Yoruba people. It had Abraham Adesanya as its leader and Chief Bola Ige as deputy leader. Other founding members were Pa Onasanya, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Adegbonmire, Okurounmu Femi, Ganiyu Dawodu, Olanihun Ajayi, Olu Falae, Adebayo Adefarati, Alhaji Adeyemo and Ayo Adebanjo. Ìpónjú galvanised the Afénifére and the entire Yoruba such that, when the Alliance for Democracy (AD) political party was formed in 1998, it adopted the Afénifére agenda as its official manifesto. As soon as the AD won in all Yorùbá states, everyone retreated to their sub-ethnic caves until the next Ìpónjú came along. Of course adversity is a constant in life but the ill-prepared are often taken unawares.

Ìpónjú came again! When the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2003 made an attempt to create a one party state, it used sophisticated chicanery and garrison politics to win the South West. Only Tinubu in Lagos State stood as the lone survivor of the political onslaught. The loss of Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and Edo States in the 2003 elections created the atmosphere for rancour and split within Afénifére. The politics was bitter and the level of treachery within the ranks grew. It became a classic situation of Àdàbà kò fi oúnjé s’òfun òrófó, olúkúlùkù nwa oúnjé s’énu ara rè. (The dove does not put food into the mouth of the green bush pigeon; each bird finds its own food). Some political juggernauts emerged from the ashes of the election loss. The loss reshaped Yorùbá politics and Yorùbá bò, wón ní, àkùko kékeré kò gbodò kò, níbití nla gbé wà. We are still paying the wages of the split today and facing the consequences of it.

In 2008 the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) was formed with the stated intent of reuniting the feuding factions as an alternative to the faction headed by the older generation of leaders. Once again, Yorùbá forgot the age long adage that says, Àgbà ní íje orí àdán, omodé ní je orí eyekéye. It is the elder who must be prepared to undertake the most difficult task while the younger people tackle less difficult problems. After each Ìpónjú, we retreat to our sub-ethnic caves until the next Ìpónjú comes along before we start scampering.

The national festival of Ìpónjú by the Jonathan administration exposed the ugly underbelly of Yorùbá politics. We seem to have forgotten that: A kìí korira atókùn ká dìgbò lu egúngún. You cannot hate the masquerade’s guide and opt to collide with the masquerade. Those who should take charge preferred the collision course. This time with a leprous masquerade. But the Yorùbá does not forget. The reason is not far fetched.

To give honour to whom it is due, the unity of an essentially Yorùbá tradition is a pervasive assumption underlying the visions for the Yorùbá by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Oni Akerele, Chief Akintola Williams, Professor Saburi Biobaku, Chief Abiodun Akinrele, Chief Ayo Rosiji, Chief Bode Thomas, Sir Adeyemo Alakija, Chief H. O. Davies, Dr. Abayomi, Dr. Akinola Maja and others. After the June 12 treachery, Chief Abraham Adesanya, General Alani Aknrinade, Chief Bola Ige, Chief Bisi Akande, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Professor Wole Soyinka and many unsung NADECO chieftains held the torch for us out of the desolate darkness of that era. The words of our elders taught us that: Méjí ni ilèkùn, bí kò sí s’ínú á sí s’òde, bí kò tì s’ínú á tì s’òde. (The door has too ways. If it does not open inwards, it opens outwards, if it does not shut outwards, it will shut inwards). With ever fewer options, a united Yorùbá became tenuous because of the Afénifére split.

As a consequence, the ARG adopted what I call the Igi Àrúwé (Regeneration) philosophy. It is based on the expectations and consolation of Teníbégilójù – where trees can rejuvenate after getting cut and they develop new branches and leaves. On social media, the Igi Àrúwé philosophy is being championed by my brothers, some of whom are here: Prof. Pius Adesanmi, Omoyele Sowore, Dipo Famakiwa, Dapo Rotifa, Ayo Turton and other powerful voices like Mallami Adekunle Kayode, Ayo Ojeniyi, Adekunle Al-Muftau Adeiite, Folashade Oshun, Dotun Oyeniyi and many others who are proudly Yorubas. In furtherance of the Igi Àrúwé philosophy so many young Yorùbás along with young people of other ethnicities fought and stopped the National Iponju of the Jonathan administration of which the Yorùbá got the largest share.

The national festival of Ìpónjú by the Jonathan administration exposed the ugly underbelly of Yorùbá politics. We seem to have forgotten that: A kìí korira atókùn ká dìgbò lu egúngún. You cannot hate the masquerade’s guide and opt to collide with the masquerade. Those who should take charge preferred the collision course. This time with a leprous masquerade. But the Yorùbá does not forget. The reason is not far fetched.

For Yorùbá Renaissance to happen, we must bow to a common inviolable core that must never be touched regardless of our differences in religion, sub-ethnicity, politics, education and social standing. My recommendation is that we must build a collective identity based on unity, character and Integrity as an immutable Yorùbá ideal – a YORÙBÁ SPIRIT. This is based on the notion that the idea of Yorùbá has always been linked to the pursuit of the values of Ìsòkan, Ìwà àti Òtító, which can be summed up as Unity, Character and Integrity.

Ìrì kérékéré ní ídi odò, irì wàwà ní ídi òjò, bí omodé méje bá ko oúnjé alé ní ídi ìjà àgbàlagbà. (Tiny drops of dew can become a stream, heavy dew sometimes turn to rain; whatever circumstance that causes seven children in a household to refuse dinner will ultimately cause a rift between their parents). The fight was open, it was dirty and there was so much filth involved. Again, we don’t forgive treachery in Yorùbá land.

The Way Forward: Beyond Ìpónjú

For Yorùbá Renaissance to happen, we must bow to a common inviolable core that must never be touched regardless of our differences in religion, sub-ethnicity, politics, education and social standing. My recommendation is that we must build a collective identity based on unity, character and Integrity as an immutable Yorùbá ideal – a YORÙBÁ SPIRIT. This is based on the notion that the idea of Yorùbá has always been linked to the pursuit of the values of Ìsòkan, Ìwà àti Òtító, which can be summed up as Unity, Character and Integrity. For a sufficient appreciation of these three values, I will go into the Ifá Corpus. For reasons of time, I will dwell on Ìwà and Òtító. Bí o tilè jé pé omo ìyá kan náà ni orí àti ìwà, ìwà ju orí lo. A sí mò wípé òótó dé ojà ó kùtà, owólówó ni a nra èké. Truth came to the market and could not be sold; yet we buy lies with ready cash.

Òtúrá Ògúndá
Òtúrá ré ‘rá, béèni ò dé ‘rá
Àkòtí r’àjò, béèni ò da ‘jò
Òtító inú yó ‘ni, ó l’ájekù j’oúnje lo
O dífá fún Òrúnmìlà
Tó nsawo lo sí ìlú iró
Òtúrá ré ‘rá, béèni ò dé ‘rá
Àkòtí r’àjò, béèni ò da ‘jò
Òtító inú yó ‘ni, ó l’ájekù j’oúnje lo
O dífá fún Òrúnmìlà
Tó nsawo lo sí ìlú èké
Òtúrá ré ‘rá, béèni ò dé ‘rá
Àkòtí r’àjò, béèni ò da ‘jò
Òtító inú yó ‘ni, ó l’ájekù j’oúnje lo
O dífá fún Òrúnmìlà
Tó nsawo lo sí ìlú òótó
Òtító dé o, omi alè Ifè
Enití ó bùú mu ò wopò!

Ìrosùn Ògúndá
Ajá suwòn títí ó fi d’éyín
Àgbó suwòn ti ròrò
Ajá ò ní ròrò
ká relé ká lo rè m’ágbò wá
A dífá f’órí, a bù fun ‘wà
N’íjó tí wón nbò wá s’ílé ayé
Ìwà nìkàn ló sòro
Orí kan kìí burú tó fi d’álè Ifè
Ìwà nìkàn ló sòro
Ìwà nìkàn ló sòro
Orí ìbá burú tó fi d’álè Ifè
Ìwà nìkàn ló sòro!

From antiquity all Yorùbás have shared belief in a universal God – Olodumare and the Yoruba language which we have in common. In contemporary times, Olodumare has become Jehovah and Allah in Christianity and Islam respectively. I argue that our cultural foundation is predicated on our belief in God and our common language. Even though, we were united by colonialism and conquest, instead of peace and solidarity. Our unity must be based on a framework of shared experiences, common goals and a collective plane. We must appreciate that identity is not only our defining characteristic as a group nor what we have in common but that which separates us from others within the Nigerian nation state. The representation or presentation of others must not matter to us. What should be of concern to us, is the nature of the difference that is being constructed because identities are relational. It is also important to distinguish between personal and collective identities. Being an Omolúàbí is a personal identity. Personally we can all be Omolúàbí and have the Omolúàbí ethos but we must subscribe to the Yoruba Spirit of Ìsòkan, Ìwà àti Òtító.

To my hosts, I will like to say,

My parting words to the Afénifére Renewal Group and the Yoruba nation is that we must shed our Ìpónjú identity and subject ourselves to and inviolable and immutable common core – the Yorùbá spirit of Ìsòkan, Ìwà àti Òtító. Yorùbá Ronu!

kí erú mo ara rè l’érú, kí ìwòfà mo ara rè n’ìwòfà, kí Omolúàbí mo ara rè l’érú òrun. Let the slave realise that he is a slave, let the pawn realise he is a pawn, let the Omolúàbí realise that he a slave of the gods. You are here to serve Yoruba land, do not expect any reward. In the end, I cannot do but galvanise you to the timeless composition and rhythm of a great cultural warrior and genius – the late Hubert Ogunde, who in his exasperation in 1964 wrote and performed the play – Yorùbá Ronu (Yorùbá Think!). In what was the first instance of literary censorship in post independence Nigeria, Ogunde delivered a biting attack on the premier of the Western region and his company was banned from the region. His exhortation is as relevant then as it is now. My parting words to the Afénifére Renewal Group and the Yoruba nation is that we must shed our Ìpónjú identity and subject ourselves to and inviolable and immutable common core – the Yorùbá spirit of Ìsòkan, Ìwà àti Òtító. Yorùbá Ronu!

Play

Mo wo Ile Aye o, aye sa malamala;
Mo ma b’oju w’orun okunkun losu bo’le;
Mo ni eri eyi o, kini sele si Yoruba omo Alade, kini sele si Yoruba omo Odua;
Ye, ye, ye, yeye, ye awa mase hun, oro nla nbe;
Yoruba nse r’awon nitori Owó, Yoruba jin r’awon l’ese nitori ipò;
Won gbebi f’alare, won gba’re f’elebi;
Won pe olè ko wa ja, won tun pe oloko wa mu;
Ogbon ti won gbon lo gbe won de Ilé Olà, ogbon na lo tun padawa si tunde won mole;
Awon ti won ti n s’Oga lojo to ti pe, tun pada wa d’eni a n f’owo ti s’eyin.
Yo, yo, yo, Yoruba yo yo yo bi ina ale;
Yoruba ru ru ru bi Omi Òkun;
Yoruba baba nse…Yo yo Yoruba ronu o!
Yoruba so’ra won di boolu f’araye gba;
To n ba gba won soke, won a tun gba’won s’isale o;
Eya ti o ti kere te le ni won ge kuru;
Awon ti ale f’ejo sun, ti di eni ati jo;
Yoruba joko sile regede, won fi owo l’owo;
Bi Agutan ti Abore n bo orisa re o!
Yo yo Yoruba r’onu o!
Ori ki ma i buru titi, ko bu ogun odun;
Leyin okunkun biribiri, Imole a tan;
Ejeka pe Olodumare, ka pe Oba lu Aye;
k’ayewa le dun ni igbehin, igbein lalayo;
Ile mo pe o, Ile dakun gbawa o, Ile o;
Ile ogere, a f’okó yeri…ile!
Alapo Ìkà, o te rere ka ibi…ile!
Ogba ragada bi eni yeye mi omo adaru pale Oge…Ile, dakun gba wa o…Ile!
Ibi ti n pa Ika l’enu mo…ile!
Aate i ka, o ko ti a pe Ile…Ile!
Ogbamu, gbamu oju Eledumare ko mase gbamu lowo aye…Ile…dakungba wa o…Ile
Ehen, ehen awa gbe ori ile yi pe o;Eni
ba dale, a ba ile lo…peregede o…ehen ehen awa gbe ori ile yi pe o;
Oduduwa bawa tun ile yi se o…to’wo, t’omo o…ehen…awa gbe ori ile yi pe o;
Oduduwa da wa l’are o, kaa si maa r’ere je o…ehen awa gbe ori ile yi pe o!
yo yo yo Yoruba ronu o!

English Translation!

I look down upon the Earth and it looks faded and jaded;
I look up to the skies and see darkness descending;
Oh! What a great pity!
What has become of the Yoruba?
What has befallen the children Odua?
Hey, hey hey hey, hey hey…We appear helpless and the situation ominous;
The Yoruba inflict rain on themselves for the sake of wealth;
The Yoruba under-mine one another in pursuit of position;
They declare the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent;
They induce thieves to invade a farm and invite the farmers to apprehend them;
The same cleverness that was responsible for their past successes;
Has now turned out to be their albatross;
Impactful leaders of the past have now been rendered irrelevant;
Yo, yo, yo Yoruba yo, yo, bright as light on a dark night;
Yoruba ru, ru, ru as the rumblings of the Sea;Yoruba baba deserves to be baba;
Yo, yo, yo. Yoruba reflect.
The Yoruba have turned themselves into a football for the world to kick about;
They are lobbed up into the sky and trapped down to the Earth;
A region that was already small, has its size further reduced;
And those through whom we could have sought redress;
Have been rendered men of yester years;
Yet the yoruba sits down helpless, like a sacrificial lamb;
Yo, yo, yo, Yoruba reflect;
But misfortune, I say, does not last for a lifetime;
For after darkness comes light;
So let us cry unto Edumare, the makers of heaven and earth to grant us recovery;
For he who last, laughs best;
Oh mother earth! I call upon you;
Mother earth, oh! Mother earth;
Please come to our aid, mother earth;
Slippery earth, whose head is shaved with a hard worker’s Hoe;
Whose wicked container spread out to contain evil;
Flung out as is mat, in the manner of my mother scion of those who spread ash to heal the earth;
Mother earth please come to our aid, mother earth!
Fame that confounds the wicked…mother earth please come to our aid, mother earth;
Spread out and cannot be folded…mother earth please come to our aid, mother earth!
The sheer expanse of Edumare’s view cannot be contained within human arms…oh mother earth, come to our aid!
Yes, yes, yes, yes, so we may live long on this earth;
Those who renege on oath will pay the price, yes yes yes, so we may live long;
Oduduwa, please aid us to replenish the earth for our success and fecundity…yes, yes, so we may live long on this earth;
Oduduwa vindicate us so that we can succeed;
Yes, yes, yes, so we may live long on this earth.
Yo, yo, yo. Yoruba reflect.

Thank you!

Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú, who maintains a weekly column on Politics and Socioeconomic issues every Tuesday, is a member of the Premium Times‘ Editorial Board. Follow her: @olufunmilayo

This is the Keynote address delivered at the 2015 Afenifere Renewal Group (USA Chapter) Conference delivered on October 17, 2015 at the Cobo Convention Centre, Detroit, Michigan.