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City People Lecture: Scraps Of ODIA OFEIMUN “How To Restructure NIGERIA Without Tears”
The City People Magazine held its founders day lecture last week Thursday, 22nd September 2016 at the White House Event Centre along Toyin Street in Lagos.
Internationally celebrated writer and poet, Odia Ofeimun was the Guest Speaker and trust the Edo born writer he held his listeners spell bound as he delivered his well researched paper on How To Restructure The Nigerian Federation which earned him a standing ovation.
His speech last week really showed Odia at his best as he dropped his bombshell on the need to restructure the Nigerian federation which he says is inevitable.
According to him, unless Nigeria is restructured not much can be achieved in the country. In his lecture he surveyed the history of Nigeria and concluded that the damage wrought by British colonialism needs to be corrected through restructuring so that all the various ethnic nationalities may become genuinely self-governing and ready to exercise the creativity that is so much part of the national character.
Odia says the real issue, as he sees it is not Regionalism or Ethnicity. He says it is a refusal to accept that Ethnicity is an important status in the life of all human beings irrespective of where they live, whether it is in Britain, America, Russia, wherever and those who are denying the embrace of their own nationality are been denied a way of having wholesomeness as human beings, and as spiritual beings and as human beings in the life that they live. “If you remove from a people, their sense of engagements with their close neighbours you are actually removing from them a sense of self. We all need it. And the idea that Tribalism necessarily distorts a sense of national unity is not true at all. In those days, a group in the North opposed Free Education for children in the North. But Awolowo didn’t quite understand why they would oppose free education since their kids are supposed to benefit more. But the Northern group argued that if they implemented Free Education, more money will be spent in the South than in the North because there are more children in schools in the South than in the North.
Awolowo’s arguments was straight forward. If it is true that the population of the North is more than that of the South, if more children are in school, it will follow that the total in this period will outstrip the South, in the monies they collect. What this people want is for the North to continue to be the determinent of events in Nigeria.
Odia revealed in his lecture how the British colonialist prepared Northerners to rule by putting them ahead of other groups by the size of population, the land and by military power. Northerners were specially drafted into the Army to prepare for the day when soldiers will be the deciders of who to rule, he explained.
He also explained how to bring about and ensure True federalism via motions to be passed by all the Houses of Assemblies in Nigeria. He says Nigerians need to be mobilised to understnad how aspects of the National Conference recommendations can be implemented. He advocated that Nigerian political leaders should go back and read Awolowo’s recommendations on how to restructure Nigeria.
He says some of what is wrong with Nigeria is the absence of vibrant political parties that functioned in the way political parties functioned in the 1st Republic. He advocated for parties to have functional party offices.
He frowned at the budget padding scandal currently rocking the National Assembly. He wondered why although Buhari came in saying he wants to fight corruption but the minders of the National Assembly seemed uninterested in having an income policy that is of any value even to themselves or anyone else.
They just want to continue to make demands on the system and get away with it. There is nowhere in the world where a legislator who pads a budget will not be considered a thief and treated as such within the Law. It won’t happen in Britain because the process of putting your own special demands in the budget will pass through process which means you have proper bureaucracy that deals with it.
Odia advocated for the setting up strong and proper political parties that are based on subscription. What we have just experienced today tells you why it has been impossible. In the days of the Unity Party of Nigeria we never gave money to people to attend meetings. They actually come to the meetings and drop something if you call a senatorial meeting now and people know there will be no envelopes to be given out or money to be shared, you won’t see anybody. At some level you will actually find people who would actually meet people who would like to work for the party but they don’t have money of their own. These days’ people will do anything to collect money from the candidate.
Some people suggest a return to military rule as a way out. From what we have known from Military rule that is not an option. What people must remember is that the soldiers who took over in 1966, even within the army, were already more tribalistic and more corrupt than the civilians that they toppled.
The story of the Nigerian Army before that coup was the story of corruption and tribalism edged on by the system because, don’t forget, you have to have a quota to enter an army And if you are going to have a quota to enter an army, it means you are been told that you have to be a member of a proper ethnic group recognised before you could join the Nigerian Army.
There must be somebody one day who will come to fix all these and knock it together. I always knew that Buhari won’t have the spine to do it. To be able to do a thing like that you must be genuinely knowledge many of our leaders do not know Nigeria.
And they don’t seem to care enough about the country to be able to draw up programmes that will ensure commitment to goals. It was a good example when APC appeared to believe a social welfare programme that maybe could create a critical mass of people who are educated enough to be consciencetised and made to work for party subscription.
For those who don’t know this 66 year old scholar and researcher well, let’s quickly tell you about him and why everyone usually likes to listen to him speak on topical issues. It is because of his deep knowledge of Nigerian history and politics, so also the personalities who have shaped our public policy.
Ofeimum is an institution, a moving library. He is prodigious, profound and practical. He is the author of over 40 books and he has given himself a fresh target of writing 15 new books between now and when he is 70. He is modest, sociable, fervent and a conversationalist with empathy for all. Interestingly, his books cover so many issues dealing with the Nigerian situation with some of them reaching back to Edo kingdom of the 15th century, which he so deftly links to addressing present day challenges in the State.
Recall it was Odia that settled the dust raised about Obas ranking, in his highly famous essay: “Why Oba Of Benin Is Number One”. Odia Ofeimun is not just a literary icon; quite frankly, his credentials are intimidating. Or what do you make of someone who is an author of over 40 books, Fellowship from Oxford University, Graduate of Political Science, University of Ibadan, where his poem won 1st prize as a student, former Private (political) Secretary to the late sage and foremost political figure in Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
Recipient of Fonlon Nichols Award for literary excellence and propagation of Human Rights by the African Literature Association.
Former member of Editorial Board of Guardian Newspapers Former Chairman, Editorial Board, AM News, The News and Tempo Magazines in the era of Guerrilla Journalism, former Publicity Secretary, General Secretary and President of Association of Nigerian Authors, founding Member PAN Africa Writers Association, former Administrative Officer in the Federal Public Service Commission, Assistant Divisional Officer (A.D.O) Kankia, old Kaduna State, a teacher at Ansarul Islam Grammar School, Ijomu Oro,
News reporter at Midwest Echo in Benin City, Factory Labourer at West African Thread Company, Apapa.
As a writer he is definitively a commanding polemicist.
His seminal books on Politics and Culture include Taking Nigeria Seriously, when does a Civil War come to an end, Remaking the Nigerian Project, a House of Many Mansions, in Search of Ogun: Soyinka Inspite of Nietzche and an Agenda for a Progressive Nigeria.
Apart from being a poet and journalist, Odia is also a politician who is interested in the politics of Nigeria and Edo, his homestate which explains why in April he joined the governorship race in Edo on the platform of Labour Party, making 7 key promises, namely (1) To Wipe Out Illiteracy For All Citizens From Age 5 To 60 (2) To Replan And Rebuild Every Village, Town And City (3) To Build A Super Dome Underground Railway Station At Oba Square In Benin City (4) To Create Full Employment By Producing In The First Instance 60% And More, Of The Goods And 80% More Of The Foods Consumed In Edo State (5) To Establish A Health Care System, Free For Majority Of Citizens (6) To Mobilise An Aggressive And (7) His Promises To Make Edo State A Proper House Of Culture.
Odia Ofeimum learnt a lot from the late sage, Awo who he worked with closely. He was a former Private (Political) Secretary to Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Nigeria’s foremost political philosopher and leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria.
TINUBU IS THE WISEST MAN EARTH -PROPHET IKURU.
by Collins Nkwocha
Nigerian prophet, prophet Godwin Ikuru of Jehovah Eye Salvation Ministry, Lagos magnetized everyone’s attention when he referred to the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the wisest man on earth regarding the appointment of Daniel Bwala as special Adviser on policy communications.
Speaking to reporters today in Lagos,
Prophet Ikuru applauded the president for choosing him and enunciated that he’s capable of delivering effectively and marketing the Renewed Hope Agenda of the president and urged Nigerians to stop the criticism because of what he said in the past “I’m personally happy with his appointment and I urge Nigerians to forget about the past, forget about what he must have said about the president some years ago which people are now disseminating on the social and taunting him a betrayal that lacks integrity, Nigerians should forget his past because he’s the best choice”.
Prophet Ikuru insisted that Bwala saw the sincerity and genuity of the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda and he decided to partake in it “even if he criticized the president, it was in the past, he saw the sincerity in the Renewed Hope Agenda and decided to join in nation building ,the president is ready to unite everyone in order to build Nigeria,that’s why someone like Wike is in his government,Bwala has what it’s required to be successful under Mr.president, as a wise man, the president saw it and decided to harness it ”
Finally, he praised Tinubu and referred to him as a great leader who is ready to involve everyone in his government, he maintained that his wisdom is magnanimous ,Baba is truly the wisest man on earth.
U.S. Courtroom Shock: Funke Ashekun, Husband Collapse as MFM Wins
Had FFK Faced Mehdi Hassan, Nigeria Would Have Spoken With Fire
By Mohammed Bello Doka
In politics, timing is everything. In diplomacy, character is everything. And in moments of national importance, leadership must be entrusted to individuals who possess not only experience but courage, intellect and an unshakable commitment to the nation they represent.
It is for this reason that the appointment of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode as Nigeria’s Ambassador to a foreign nation stands out as one of the most consequential diplomatic decisions in recent years.
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, better known in the South as “FFK” and in the North as “Sadauki”, is one of the most brilliant, experienced, accomplished, vocal, respected, educated, profound, intellectual, patriotic, disciplined, well-read, historically literate, versatile, forceful, persuasive, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, charming, eloquent, courageous and resilient men in Nigerian politics and he has paid his dues and proved his worth over the last 35 years in politics and political discourse.
In each role he has played he has excelled and succeeded even when he was in opposition.
His friends value him as a great and loyal defender and his traducers and political adversaries fear and respect him because when he goes to war he is utterly relentless, takes no prisoners and literally spits fire.
How I wish it was him that was interviewed by Mehdi Hassan of Al Jazeera and not the young and inexperienced Daniel Bwala because he would have not only humbled Hassan but also done Nigeria proud.
He played Bwala’s present role in the Presidential Villa 23 years ago as President Olusegun Obasanjo’s spokesman and not only brought the then President’s domestic enemies to their knees but also had a series of very hot exchanges with foreign Government officials like America’s Under-Secreatary of State for Africa Jendaye Fraser and the White House over the Charles Taylor issue and Liberia.
Tinubu decision to appoint him as an Ambassador for our nation was a wise one because he will fight for and protect the interests of Nigeria and the Nigerian community whetever he goes and will never sell his soul or bow to foreign imperialist interests.
His appointment is not about just rewarding loyalty for the key role he played in Tinubu’s presidentiel campaign organisation as Director of New Media and Special Operations in 2023 and the staunch support he has given the President over the last three years but also about putting a square peg in a square hole.
If you want to put Nigeria first Sadauki is the one to do it.
If he runs the Nigerian Mission in the country that he is sent to in the same way he ran the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Aviation when he was Minister to each of them one after the other twenty years ago he will do very well and both our nation and whichever nation he is posted to itself will benefit from his efforts.
History teaches that diplomacy is most effective when nations deploy individuals who possess both intellect and courage.
As the American statesman Henry Kissinger once noted, “Diplomacy is the art of restraining power.”
To do so successfully requires deep historical awareness and strategic clarity—qualities that have long defined Fani-Kayode’s political career.
Sending a politically seasoned voice like FFK to any nation that is a key partner to Nigeria signals that Bola Ahmed Tinubu intends to strengthen Nigeria’s diplomatic posture with confidence.
Throughout more than three decades in the political arena, Fani-Kayode has remained one of the most resilient and outspoken figures in Nigerian public life despite numerous challenges which would have broken and destroyed lesser men.
Regardless of all that was thrown at him he continues to pull through and come out victorious which is why many refer to him as the “Akanda Eledumare” and the “Ayanfe Oluwa” which mean “the strange one of God” and “the beloved of the Lord”.
There appears to be a divine dimension to his life that makes him unstoppable and irrepressible even though his enemies are legion.
One wonders what sets him apart and makes him so different.
There is no doubt that his education played a part in it and this set him apart from most.
He never went to school in Nigeria but was educated from the age of eight in England starting off at Holmewood House School in Kent, one of the UK’s best and most famous Preparatory schools, after which he attended the famous Harrow School just outside London which is, together with Eton College, an institution that is the exclusive preserve of high society in the UK, one of the two best private schools in that country where only the ruling elite, the rich, the well-to-do, the famous and only a tiny proportion of those in British high society can afford or even qualify to attend.
No less than eight British Prime Ministers, including the great Sir Winston Churchill, and countless British cabinet ministers attended Harrow and so did many leaders, diplomats and top politicians from many foreign countries.
After finishing at Harrow he attended some of the top universities in the world, including London University (SOAS) and Cambridge University (Pembroke College) where he did so well.
As a matter of fact his great grandfather, Rev. Emmanuel Adelabi Kayode, attended Furrough Bay College which at that time was part of Durham University and graduated with an MA (Hons.) in Theology in 1893. His grandfather Justice Adedapo Kayode attended Cambridge University (Selwyn College) where he studied law and graduated in 1922. His father Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode attended Cambridge University (Downing College) where he studied law and graduated in 1943. Sadauki himself graduated in law at Cambridge University (Pembroke College) in 1984 whilst his daughter Folake Fani-Kayode graduated from Durham University in 2009.
No African family has an uninterrupted streak of 116 years of Oxbridge-level university graduates except for the Fani-Kayode’s which is something that both his family and every patriotic Nigerian should be proud of.
It therefore makes perfect sense that a man from such a distinguished pedigree and intimidating lineage and that has such an extraordinary intellectual heritage should represent Nigeria on the international stage.
There is also his role in the debate on Gaza which made him a hero in the eyes of millions of people in the Global South both amongst Christians and Muslims.
He spoke out consistently about what he described as the genocide being committed against the Palestinians and he was prepared to put his life and career on the line for this cause even though most Nigerian leaders and politicians refused to say what he was saying publicly out of fear of the Zionist lobby and the Jewish state.
His sense of patriotism is unquestionable and nothing reflects this better than his series of essays written against Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Opposition Conservative Party and his write up against one Ben Llewelyn-Jones, who at that time was the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, when the former consistently sought to insult and denigrate Nigeria and the Nigerian people and the latter attempted to interfere in our internal affairs by making statements in support of Peter Obi and his Obidients in the 2023 presidential elections.
Sadauki successfully put them both in their place and when American Senator Ted Cruz, President Donald Trump, Congressman Tim Riley and other American politicians began to peddle the false narrative and fake gospel of Christian genocide and persecution in Nigeria Sadauki, a devout Christian himself, rose to the challenge and more than any other Nigerian wrote about the issue in a series of essays pointing out the fact that as many Muslims were being killed as Christians by the terrorists in our country and that Christians were not being persecuted by our Government and are in fact faring better when it comes to positions in the security apparatus and governance under Tinubu than they did in the previous administration.
He also spoke out boldly against President Trump and his administration when they accused the Government of South Africa of indulging in genocide against the white minority population in their country and pointed out the fact that South Africa, like Brazil, was a shining example of a successful multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural nation that was treating its white minority population with the greatest respect. Few Africans said a word to defend South Africa at the time even though they knew that Trump was wrong but Sadauki did so without thinking twice.
He is clearly a strong Pan-Africanist and a believer in the importance of the African Union, African solidarity, the BRICS coalition and the Global South alliance comprising of China, Russia, South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other emerging world powers.
This is commendable and it reflects his courage and disdain for those that display ignorance, disdain and contempt for our nation and people and that seek to denigrate and misrepresent us.
Sadauki is not the type that bows and quivers before Westerners like so many other Nigerian leaders and politicians but rather takes pride in his Nigerian culture, race, heritage and identity and is prepared to defend us and speak for us no matter whose ox is gored and who is involved.
In an increasingly competitive global environment, Nigeria requires diplomats capable not only of negotiation but also of defending national interests with conviction.
If the energy, eloquence and intellectual fire that have defined Fani-Kayode’s political life accompany him to the country to which he has been posted, his tenure may well become one of the most consequential chapters in Nigeria’s modern diplomatic engagements.
I wish him well and I thank God that he is back in the saddle of public office after so many years.
What more could any of us ask of this great and noble son of Nigeria?
This is undoubtedly the quality of personnel and leaders that we need on the international stage.
I hope and pray that in his endeavours and during the course of his work he meets with Mehdi Hassan in a debate and prove to him and the rest of the world that Nigeria still has men that can not only match them but that can also remove their trousers in any verbal encounter. Bwala put us to shame but FFK can redeem us before the eyes of the world.
(Mohammed Bello Doka, the author of this essay, is the publisher of Abuja Network News and can be reached via [email protected])
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