AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR
Aso Villa, Abuja
Nigeria.

Dear Sir,

BEFORE IT IS REALLY TOO LATE FOR ALL OF US

It is with utmost regard and respect for the exalted office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which you presently hold that I write this letter. I want to affirm that I, as a citizen of this great Nation by birth, do hold the irrepressible right to offer timely advice to you as President knowing quite well the gross implications that your actions and inactions can have on my future aspirations and hopes.

I was personally dazed to read the contents of the letter sent to your office from the former President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR dated December 2, 2013. While that letter was received with utter surprise from many quarters, keen observers of the polity realized from the tone of that letter, that it could well become the de facto starting point for an unavoidable revolution if the issues raised therein are not very well addressed. Your initial silence on the said issues was quite ominous; it was the kind of silence which initially vindicated the former President. I am sure you have heard of the saying that ‘silence means consent’ somewhere along the line of your years of experience.

Dear President, if we will be true to ourselves, I must make it clear to you that your ‘attack dogs’ who now pride themselves as ‘attack lions’ did a very rash job in giving adequate response on your behalf. I, as well as many other Nigerians, felt you could have paid a huge debt of honour by promptly responding to such issues of National Security in person. It was better late than never though, as the reply you tendered on the 22nd December, 2013 left many Nigerians savouring your writing prowess and the well-crafted manner in which you offered your much awaited response.

In a bid to refresh your memory and lay a good foundation for the recommendations I intend to make to you sir, I should be quick to remind you of certain weighty allegations that the former President levelled against you. I would love to summarize them below:
He accused you of certain actions that could promote ethnic divisiveness by your seeming inability to curb the careless utterances of your kinsmen on 2015.
The former President seems to find you culpable in the controversial acquittal of Al-Mustapha by the Court of Appeal. He seems to think he (Al-Mustapha) would never have walked free from those allegations except he had some Federal weight thrown behind him.
On issues of the economy, Baba believes you are somehow mishandling the NNPC culminating in the outcry of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi over the non-remittance of oil revenue to the federation account.
On National security, he accused you of being incapable of curbing the Boko Haram menace in the North while making it clear that certain actions and inactions of yours are promoting the menace.
On PDP crisis, he accused you of promoting the current crisis in the PDP in a bid to outlaw every force or person who might be opposed to your 2015 agenda.

Despite the vast array of accusations he did bring forward against your person and your government, I find these five listed above being of the weightiest proportions and capable of fuelling the breakdown of law and order. However, I received your reply with a certain degree of satisfaction at the very first thought. On a second thought, I realized the responses you gave to these allegations are quite insufficient towards dousing the tension already generated in the hearts of Nigerians. I admired the literary beauty of the text but somehow was not satisfied with the responses you gave, I simply feel you can do more.

I believe, as a staunch supporter in fairness and justice, that the utterances of certain kinsmen, in the mix of Asari-Dokubo and Edwin Clarke are shouting caution. When people from your ethnic extraction begin to make such derogatory statements, it reflects a desperate move by your people to keep you in power beyond 2015 even if Nigeria has to crash and burn in the process. Northerners could make such crash and burn utterances and we will understandably see the frustration they feel at having to concede the Presidency to a minority tribe again in 2015, but when your tribal people makes such utterances, it reeks of power greed and demonic desperation. This aura you must avoid by all possible means. Charity at least begins at home.

I followed the Al-Mustapha case from the years of President Olusegun Obasanjo as Commander-In-Chief and I came to realize the Federal High Court which pronounced a death sentence on him, found incriminating evidence against him. However, when a Federal Court of Appeal controversially sets free that one who was already sentenced to death, it becomes a question of a possible judicial incompetence, or a most likely political interference. Whatever the problem might be of the two, I find that the Federal Court of Appeal has become the home of magic. I here remember Aregbesola vs. Oyinlola which was a judicial magic of never-seen-before proportions and I beg your attention towards addressing a possible decay in this arm of government. In Al-Mustapha’s case, I believe if the blame truthfully lands on the Federal High Court due to incompetence, you should take pro-active measure to avoid such gross incapacity in the future. If on the other hand the blame lands at the doorstep of politicians directly or indirectly deriving power from you, I feel you should take decisive steps to stop such actions capable of rubbishing the trust that common men have in the judicial system as the last hope of the common man.

When Sanusi Lamido came up with a letter to your office reporting NNPC’s failure to remit oil revenue into the federation account, a mild drama ensued. If Lamido Sanusi comes out wrong, that will be a serious incapability on his part for failing to know enough about an account under his watch. If NNPC turns out to be wrong, it will mean a serious case of corruption in the organization or in the Executive. Whichever way it goes, I believe either Lamido Sanusi or NNPC has to bear the brunt on this one. One of them must be culpable, one for incapability and the other for corruption. On this matter too, you certainly need to show Nigerians the real colour of truth. And to call your attention to the bogus claims by Mallam Sanusi that he was misinterpreted, Nigerians have refused to believe that fabrication and are waiting for concrete evidence that he was truly misinterpreted. That evidence, the proof of that media misinterpretation, has to come from you.

Boko Haram on that hand is a National crisis that does not really take its roots from the incapability of government, but from the defect in the principles governing most Northern societies. A vast majority of those young people involved in this menace were former Al-Majiris who found the insurgent group as a solace to their sufferings of previous years. They were gullible because they were hungry, foolish because they are poor. Their problem is not related to education, it is related to poverty, extreme hunger. If this menace of Boko Haram will ever be curbed to the roots, your government must take pro-active measures to alleviate poverty and eradicate hunger. By poverty alleviation I do not mean those political window-dressings, I mean serious poverty alleviation programmes that reaches into the core grassroots.

If we take into account the current trends in the Peoples Democratic Party, especially the unguarded utterances of the current National Chairman of the party, one will wonder if you are not indeed culpable in the crisis rocking the PDP. It is not a tenable excuse for you as the National leader of the party to claim that Alhaji Bamanga Tukur is acting without reverence to your office and has never had to take instructions from your person; no Nigerian will believe that excuse. The recent ill-managed crisis with the G7 Governors is an attestation to the fact that the internal crisis resolution mechanism of the PDP is currently grounded. If you must restore confidence in your person as the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, you must make immediate moves to reconcile all aggrieved party members who feel disenfranchised and bring everybody back together to a round table of brotherhood. To achieve this feat, I do not believe Alhaji Tukur has to be removed; I believe his vocal instrument only need to be tamed.

In discharging my responsibilities as a citizen of Nigeria to the government of my country in offering advice that is timely and constructive, I wish to put on record that there are various actions your government has taken that should be reviewed. One that quickly rushes to my mind at this time is the National Pardon granted to DSP Alamiesigha who was convicted of corruption within and outside the shores of the country. His show of shame when his trial in United Kingdom began (that act of disguise as a woman), strongly disqualifies him from the list of people who deserve such Presidential pardon. I beg not to assume you forgave him because he was your former boss, rather I want to give you the benefit of all doubts that you will very soon review the actions and come forward with a resounding apology to all Nigerians who feel slighted by that ill-conceived action of your government. If it was magnanimity, it went too far and if it was pity, it was a wasted one.

Let me at this point make known to you the mindset of most Nigerian youths towards your person and your government. When you came on board, we all identified with your vision, we saw hope in the promises you made and on why we so supported your aspiration, it is plainly because you represented a bridge between the old and the young. Now however, we are feeling terribly disappointed that till date, you are still defaulting in your promises to the old and the young. We have not completely written you off though, for we believe there is still much time to make amends and come to live up to the expectations that we placed on your shoulders. The likes of Jude Imagwe might tell you your government has no problem with youths, I must caution that you tread carefully in listening to people like Jude for they have lost touch with the real constituency that made them.

I must sincerely on behalf of those ‘lucky’ winners of your YOU-WIN programme appreciate your efforts towards youth development even though the programme reeks of selectivity and prior anointing. I believe if your government has to contribute to the development of youths, the efforts must go deeper and reach to the youths who are under-privileged and have no connection to the federal might. Poverty alleviation needs to reach the educated and uneducated alike, the disabled and the able, the local and the enlightened and all community of youths alike. Giving ten million naira to a very minute few of the youth population does not do justice to the serious poverty dealing with Nigerian youths, it infact makes mockery of it. If you want to help us, you should think of creating jobs, encouraging the growth of the private sector through ACCESSIBLE support to Small and Medium Enterprises and any other far-reaching interventions which you may find all-encompassing. I believe I speak the minds of Nigerian youths on this and you can verify my claims.

As I conclude, I do not believe we should blame you for the allegations raised against you by the former President; rather we should pity your situation. As a graduate of his school of thought which teaches despotism and styled dictatorship, one can only believe you cannot be better than your master. As a young leader who still has years ahead of him, I will just advise that you try and modify your core values and deliver the much needed dividends of democracy to the average Nigerians. You can do better than your predecessors if you work harder at being the beacon of hope that Nigerian youths see you to be.

While we should not blame you for how bad you may have done so far, I will advise you do not be embittered by the former President’s outburst. I believe he suddenly repented from his ‘old’ way of doing things because as Wayne Calloway, the CEO of PepsiCo said, “nothing focuses the mind better than the constant sight of a competitor who wants to wipe you off the map”. He believes your actions are geared towards eradicating his political legacies and rubbishing his National leadership status. My advice to you on this is to re-build his confidence in you, make him understand that you intend to make him proud. Just as a father can influence a son, I believe a son too can influence the father. Help OBJ face the haunting memories of his past, the mistakes he made as President, help him forgive himself and help him re-establish his elder statesman status in the earths of Nigerians who believed in him too at first. He was bad but we believe he changed, so let us all accept our father and help him re-settle into the Nigerian society.

With this letter, I believe I have done my duty to you as a follower, my duty to my country as a citizen and my duty to the society as a representative who probably self-anointed himself to air the minds of the people. I beg that you consider all that have been said and urgently resolve all issues raised. We can do better in this country for God is on our side and we sure cannot fail.

Receive the assurances of my best regards.

Oderinu Adedayo Tolulakin

OBJ REDEEMING HIS HONOUR...THE REST PROTECTING THEIR STOMACHS!

There is one reason for which I eternally cherish being of Yoruba descent, that reason being the richness and almost all-encompassing wisdom of the Yoruba adages and proverbs. One of such which I often try to disprove on mischievous grounds is, ‘agba kii wa l’oja, ki ori omo tuntun o wo’. This means ‘the head of a toddler cannot be bent in the market when there are elders around’. I often respond when this adage is employed that, the toddler’s head will not bend provided the elder present is not blind. If the elder present is blind, the head will not only bend, it might even break.
I am somewhat confident that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was acting in line with the wisdom of this Yoruba adage when he picked his pen to write the much talked about letter to President Goodluck Jonathan. As an elder, he tried to play the role assigned to the elder in that proverb by trying to make sure GEJ’s head as the toddler does not go bent. One will be constrained to ask if OBJ himself ever really listened to the voice of reason when he was President and Commander-In-Chief. In response to this question, I beg to twist the toddler-elder adage a fair bit. You see OBJ was an elder when he was in office as President (or what do you call a 60 something man?), and as an elder, it is scarcely possible to listen to another elder, he probably felt he knew better than all the young critics (I think we should let him be and let the past remain in the past).
No matter what mistakes an elder might have made, there comes a time when they realize such mistakes especially at the twilight of their lives, that time when honour comes before affluence and wisdom comes before gains. I am undoubtedly sure that OBJ is at that age already. Like he also said in his 18-page letter to GEJ, “Mr. President, I have passed the stage of being flattered, intimidated, threatened, frightened, induced or bought.” I am sure OBJ is at the stage where all that matters is the legacy he will be remembered for. In that wise, I think he was right to try and redeem his honour by playing the elder statesman role he will be ordinarily expected to play.
As Midori Koto wrote, “Honour isn't about making the right choices. It's about dealing with the consequences”. At least for once (as most Nigerians will claim), OBJ has decided to make the right choice without minding the consequences of such choices. He made it clear that even if he has to die for the cause he believes in, “death is the end of all human beings and may it come when God wills it to come”. Even if he might have lost it in the past, he is definitely doing the utmost including being ready to pay the supreme price, to regain that honour. I sure will offer him a standing ovation for this decision if I were to ever meet him one on one.
I paused and reflected for a second that, can we truly say OBJ’s letter reeked of hypocrisy? There are a whole lot of people who feel his stay in office was almost as disastrous as that of GEJ, but I beg to differ with this school of thought. I am not paid to sing his praise, but I feel obliged to vindicate him (OBJ) on certain areas where he has been misconstrued. As far as corruption is concerned, there is hardly any Nigerian President who took such steps to curb corruption as OBJ. Talk of imprisoning his friends (the Afolabis, Georges etc), talk of decisively crushing any and every personality who tried to bring the government to disrepute, OBJ did fight the anti-corruption fight to a reasonable end.
Today, reverse is the case. George has been declared innocent of corruption charges, Diepreye has been given a Presidential pardon despite his disgraceful act of disguise as a woman abroad, Al-Mustapha has been freed...talk of promoting corruption and GEJ’s name begins to ring a bell. I think when we talk about the fight against corruption, OBJ might have had his shortcomings, yet he has a far better track record than GEJ or even Yar’adua.
The fight against corruption is just one of the numerous dimensions to which we can draw a sharp distinction between the OBJ government and GEJ government. Talk of party discipline, talk of protection of the Excess Crude Account and a host of others. I am no employee of OBJ, but I must be bold to say he surpasses GEJ in the area of effective administration of the Nigerian entity. He was stubborn, defiant, Infact he was so many stubborn things rolled up into one, yet, at this time of his life, he has chosen to tread the path of honour.
The missive he sent to the President dated December 2, 2013 is a clear indication of OBJ’s desire to once and for all fight for his honour and defend the homeland. What response did this letter elicit from the Presidency? By presidency I do not mean the President himself, I mean a bunch of detractors that GEJ has constantly used to hide from the public eye. When Reuben Abati, Doyin Okupe and their protégés talk, you can be sure GEJ is trying to dodge some public outcry.
Instead of offering a direct response to the loads of accusations as the Balogun of Owu pointed out, Mr. President has decided to tread the path of dishonour and keep mum on the matter while he allows his media boys deafen the public ears with their inaudible noise. All Abati could say was, “the letter was highly unbecoming, mischievous and provocative”. He said, “the President himself will, at the appropriate time offer a full response to the most reckless, baseless, unjustifiable and indecorous charges levied against him and his administration by the former Head of State”. Of all that Abati said, I could make no concrete sense of this response other than the fact that GEJ will respond when he is ready. The letter was sent on the 2nd of December and as at today 17th December, there has been no response given! Do we expect a committee again? Or is he afraid to respond because he his culpable in these allegations? I wonder.
When Bamidele Salam (one of Okupe’s protégés) would speak up, he went poetic. His entire statement which he claimed to have ‘copied with permission’, was clearly a dramatic manner of insulting OBJ describing him as ‘Saint OBJ’. What I wonder is, whether he could have said otherwise given the supply of daily bread that runs his way from the presidency. Some phantom Ijaw groups are asking for the immediate probe of OBJ’s government from 1999 – 2007 as a way of silencing him. A bunch of cowards they are if they could not encourage their son to come out clean and defend his honour. Detraction is folly; clear response is what Nigerians expect.
Not to fool myself however, how do I expect these people to say otherwise when they get fed by supporting GEJ? While OBJ has his stomach full already and can afford to fight for his honour, these people have to fight for their own stomachs first! I applaud OBJ for his courage but I plead with him to forgive all those toddlers who would insult the elder, they truly know what they do, they just have to defend their daily bread first! 

WHEN OSUN STATE GOVERNMENT RESORTS TO LIES AND CHEAP DECEIT!

It is common knowledge and of general expectation that the government of a State or country is supposed to serve to the best interest of the citizens of that state and/or country. The duty of government is widely believed to serve, protect and enforce the human rights and privileges of her citizens, with a view to building a peaceful and united society. The government in this regard will be expected to be an agent of truth, a fair umpire and of course a transparent mediator in moments of upheavals that may threaten the peaceful existence of the societal entity.
The year 2013 will definitely go down in history as the year Osun State made the headlines of most newspapers on a very frequent basis. One would be happy with this development under the right circumstances, but given the circumstance under which the State made headlines, it was most unfortunate that Osun became, in the eye of rational analysts, a State with a retrogressive Government. My State made headlines for its controversial education policy of school merger.
While the Federal Government and UNESCO are advocating increased establishment of schools especially in rural areas, to achieve the 2015 Millennium Development Goals target of ensuring mass literacy, the Osun State Government under the leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola began pursuing a policy of schools merger under the guise of achieving effective management of schools. As would be expected, there were ripple effects of the short-sighted policy and the effects were grave.
In Ejigbo, Muslim female students whose schools were merged with Ejigbo Baptist High School began clamouring for the school authority’s permission for them to continue to use the hijjab in the school. Who could blame them? The regulations of the school from which they were brought allowed for the use of hijjab while that of EBHS disallowed it since it is a Christian mission school. The refusal of the Principal to allow these students have their way nearly led to one of the most catastrophic educational/religious crisis ever witnessed in the South West region of Nigeria. The principal was harassed, the teachers had to scamper to safety and even the Ogiyan of Ejigbo land was insulted. It was a crazy day in Ejigbo!
This incident and some others in Iwo and Osogbo prompted the Osun State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria to take decisive action in fore-stalling future occurrences that may result in the breakdown of law and order in the State. The State CAN immediately challenged the State Government and demanded an immediate review of the policy or the State Government returns the Christian mission schools to the original owners. I think that was when the lies began!
Instead of bending to the public will and review the policy, the State Government resorted to a divide and rule approach through lies, deceits and cheap blackmails. The first move was the accusation that CAN was being used by the main opposition party in the State to cause mayhem and that accusation, fell flat on its face. They tried again, this time through the President of the Traditional Religious Worshippers Association of Osun State, Chief Idowu Awopetu. In his one-page communiqué in the Punch newspaper of Thursday, December 12 2013, he claimed that, “we have consulted our oracles as a firm believer in traditional religion and we were told that some persons in Osun CAN leadership are nothing cannon fodders for desperate politicians to engender crisis and cause mayhem of unimaginable proportions in the State. We are using this medium to call on security guards to be on alert, should there be any crisis in this state, they should know who should be held responsible”.
What I presume Chief Idowu Awopetu has forgotten is the fact that the crisis that erupted in EBHS was started by Muslim brothers and there was no retaliation of any sort from the Christian community. Again, he has forgotten that the crisis that erupted in BHS Iwo was not the making of CAN but that of those people who would stop at nothing to portray Islam as a religion of terror. I wonder however, that with all these facts staring Chief Idowu Awopetu in the face, it is definitely impossible that a supposed elder statesman would grossly ignore the facts and make malicious comments towards the leadership of CAN. He couldn’t have ignored the facts as a factor of himself, he was most probably urged to ignore the facts and go ahead with his vituperations. This government is trying to set the traditional worshippers and Muslims against the Christian community and that is a direct invitation to religious crisis.
As a contingency plan in case Awopetu’s publication fails, the State Government again silently sponsored a news item in The Punch newspaper of the same December 12, 2013. The news item claimed the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has distanced itself from the statements credited to CAN that the re-classification of schools in Osun State can lead to terrorism. The news item claimed that this position of PFN was made clear at a gathering with Government officials at Ibokun through one Pastor Joel Balogun.
However, the State Chapter of PFN promptly rubbished the news on Friday December 13, 2013. The State Chairman of PFN, Revd. Olasumbo Ige warned Governor Rauf Aregbesola against seeking to divide the Christian Association of Nigeria in his bid to force on the people of the State the merger of schools embarked upon by his administration. In their statement released to press men, the PFN claimed, “We want to state categorically that Osun State Chapter of PFN under the leadership of Rev. Olasumbo Ige never met with any government official on any issue. Again, we need to explain that PFN in Osun State has never at any time disagreed with our umbrella body, the CAN, either at the State or National levels”.
Now that the attempt through Pa. Awopetu and The Punch has failed and has even made it clear to the public the kind of dishonest government that Aregbesola heads, one can only wonder the kind of lie that will be told next. Instead of taking pro-active measures to stem the tide of violence in the Education sector of the State which resulted from the schools merger, Ogbeni and his merry band has resorted to lies and deceit. Only God knows when all the lies will stop, I pray 2014.
Let us all say a prayer for Osun State, that God will arise and smite all persons whose actions and inactions are geared towards unleashing a reign of terror and autocracy in our dear State. So help us God.  

MAY THE SUPER EAGLES NOT DISGRACE NIGERIA!

When the Super Eagles of Nigeria under Coach Stephen Keshi sealed the qualification to Brazil 2014, a lot of Nigerians were upbeat with the level the team has reached, the pattern of play, the crop of players and of course the fact that they were able to put all the pros and cons together to get e ticket into the World Cup which embarrassingly evaded Nigeria in 2010.
I for one was quite delighted that at last, Nigerian football was getting back to the days of glory and we could begin to see brilliant displays again. Despite the recent FIFA ranking that placed us 36th, a whole lot of us Nigerians still saw reason to celebrate as finally, the eagle was beginning to learn how to fly again. However glad I was, there was one thing I was afraid of, that the team despite the brilliant performances that won them the AFCON, will go on and put up a dismal performance at the World Cup. I am not being pessimistic; I am just facing the recent facts.
Prior to Stephen Keshi’s appointment as the Super Eagles Head Coach, Nigeria had been faced with the challenge of under-performance by the National team. The team was not just getting it right and something urgently needed to be done. When Keshi was finally employed, He began working wonders or so it seemed and everything seemed to be in the right direction. Alas, we won the African Cup of Nations in 2013 and went on to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. At this point, some people began to raise the fact that the problem the National team had all along had been the lack of quality players, on that I beg to differ.
Some other analysts again came up with speculations that the problem had been with the Technical team and since Keshi, the man with the Midas touch had been employed, all would begin to go well. Again, I beg to differ with this school of thought. The problem the National team had was one that surpassed the abilities or inabilities of the Technical team, it was one that was deeply rooted in the way football matters are being managed in our country. At this time, things seems to be going on well with the team, but I foresee some tumultuous days ahead if careful measures are not employed in good time. I here examine a few problems that are beginning to be evident.
While trying to prosecute the AFCON, Coach Stephen Keshi had to comb the nooks and crannies of the world to scout Nigerian footballers who had good potentials to be remarkable for the National team. In came the likes of Ogeyi Onazi, Emmanuel Emenike, Victor Moses, Ogu, Mba and a host of others into the National team as team favourites. He didn’t draft them into the team only because they were top performers in their various clubs, he drafted them in because they were top performers and they had the burning desire to do well for their country. They were simply thirsty for success and this paid off. The likes of Osaze Odemwingie who obviously felt too important had to be dropped. Things began going well with the team, the dressing room became peaceful and the Super Eagles began flying again.
However, after a barrage of successes, word came out that the NFF owed Coach Stephen Keshi a huge amount of money...salaries! What I wonder is, what excuse with the football governing body give for owing the Head Coach his rightfully earned salary? Is NFF broke? Are the officials not getting paid? Are they not even stealing money from that organization? So I realized, the first and greatest problem that football has in Nigeria is the NFF, the football governing body. If such situation were to persist, the morale of the coach will definitely be affected and performances will be below par.
The second important problem with Nigerian football is the way and manner certain analysts go about analysing their football. Just after qualifying Nigeria for the World Cup, many analysts began telling the coach to bring back the likes of Osaze to the team. In their opinion, the World Cup requires experienced players to perform. My problem with this thinking is, drafting players in and out of a National team affects the team’s dynamics and the players’ morale. How do you expect players to perform at their best when they know sooner or later, some arrogant unpatriotic lads are going to be called back into the team because of funny ‘experience’?
When I re-examine the Brazil National team that defeated Spain in the finals of the Confederations Cup, I realize when the potentials of young and hungry players are well honed, they can go on and put in top-flight performances for their teams. As young and new as that squad was, they became the first team to rout Spain in that manner in the last two or three years. Brazil did not because of experience call the likes of Ronaldinho back into full-time team action; they just simply built a more formidable team around young players who had the penchant for success.
The Super Eagles is already taking shape, whatever adjustments needs to be made are quite possible without bringing in legs that feel too important for the little contributions they can make. We should be thinking of encouraging the coach to build the right team spirit into the boys, blend them into a single entity instead of focusing on individual players.
If all these little dynamics are not addressed, I sincerely hope the Super Eagles do not go on to Brazil and embarrass the Nation and themselves. But even if they do embarrass us, I strongly believe that the faults accruable will most likely not be theirs to admit.
Go! Go!! Go Eagles!!!

SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN IN 2014 AND 2015

Henry Brooks Adams, the foremost American historian once said, ‘politics, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds’. Definitely then, bitterness has been long identified as the defining character of politics here and abroad. People are segregated along party lines based on certain hatred that might be either temporary or permanent. In countries where democracy has been strongly entrenched, these hatred-induced segregations are fairly permanent and often do not go beyond garrulous asperity. That is the reason why the Republicans and Democrats are two parallel lines that will never meet at any point.
In our country, the systematic organization of hatred is often temporary, but fiercely violent in nature. I could be disillusioned with the ways of PDP yesterday and go about singing their praise the next morning. Where the politics of the United States is based on a hateful segregation based on difference in principles, the politics of Nigeria is a hateful segregation which is often fluid and constantly changing, but based on GREED. Politicians in US do not cross-carpet from one party to the other because there is a wide difference in principle, politicians cross-carpet and cross-carpet again in Nigeria because they feel the need to satisfy their immediate greed and selfish desires.
There are varying forms of greed and selfish desires that breeds hatred in Nigerian politics. You hear of tribal differences, religious differences, financial differences and all manner of greed-induced self-aggrandizing desires. When a politician in Nigeria realizes the PDP cannot feed their greed, they cross-carpet to APC just to actualize their desires. I shake my head for this nation!
As the year 2014 (gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti States) and 2015 (general elections), there has been political permutations resulting in political cross-carpeting here and there. These games of greed are not the motivation for this piece. However, the inflammatory statements accompanying much of the cross-carpeting processes are what give a cause for alarm.
Asari Dokubo said earlier this year that if President Goodluck Jonathan is not allowed to run a second term in office, the entire nation will be on fire....I mean real fire, but that was not too scary!.Just recently however, Mallam Junaid Mohammed came up with the northern version of the threat when he threatened that blood will flow freely in Nigeria should President Goodluck Jonathan win a second term in office! Now that is some real inflammatory statement and a direct counter-threat to the statements of Asari Dokubo. If the Niger Delta people are threatening fire and the northerners are threatening blood, it means Nigeria is on the road to a Civil war in 2015.
In the south-west where elections where gubernatorial elections will hold in 2014, there has been various threats emanating from various quarters in the region. Initially, one will think the threats are only likely from two quarters, the PDP and the APC, but the situation seems to be getting a lot more complicated. The Labour Party seems to gathering more momentum in the south-west too as they continue receiving angry members of both the APC and PDP into their fold. Thus, the threat is fast becoming three-dimensional to the region. It is said that when two elephants fight, the grass under will suffer....but three elephants are about to suffer in the south-west...possible calamity wouldn’t you say?
Some over-optimistic people will say there will be no violence in 2014 and 2015, I beg to differ. If we face the reality of the situation, the body language of these greedy politicians is such that they are preparing very hard for violence in these election years. So I insist, something will happen in 2014 and 2015, something that might be really bizarre depending on whether or not some form of divine intervention helps us avert the looming danger.
I believe however, that the divine intervention that we so urgently need will be more effective if we prepare our minds for the possibilities of these years ahead and we as citizens of the country take decisive steps towards averting the danger. First, all youths must resolve not to be used as agents of violence. These politicians are old, fatigued, pot-bellied men who can hardly throw a stone not to talk of wield a weapon, they all require the strength of certain youths. Let us make a resolve as young persons not to give up our productive energy for proliferation of violence in Nigeria. When the dog becomes toothless, its barking becomes loud music.
Second, all citizens of voting age must seek to vote only on the instruction of their conscience and not by the power of any stipend paid to them by these greedy politicians. When we vote in good faith and guard our votes well, it becomes even more difficult for those elections to be rigged in any form. We can only avert the looming danger if we do these things and allow for the true power of the electorates to run its true course.
If we fail to discharge our duties as Nigerians to decisively say no to these agents of destruction, we are bound to be enslaved to them for years to come. Before the years to come however, something will definitely happen in 2014 and 2015 and unless we act to stop it, we are better off running to our most remote villages as there will be scarcely any hiding place from the kind of violence that these people threaten everyday.
God bless Nigeria.

NIGERIA MUST DO, OR DIE!

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet who lived from 1759 – 1796 A.D. In one of his lines, he wrote, “Let us do or die”. As controversial as this statement sounds, it holds a lot of messages for the Nigerian society and her crop of leaders. Nigeria must do, or die! What do we have to do and why would we have to die? This question would most likely be answered at the conclusion of this piece.
Prior to 1960, a group of persons came together to pursue independence for the people of the Niger area. They as patriots made personal and collective sacrifices to achieve independence for the combined people of the Northern and Southern protectorates of the Niger area. In the year 1960, their efforts yielded the fruit of independence from the English colonial masters and Nigeria was born. Although there is no documented text of declaration of independence as is the case in America, yet, there is a medium in which the dreams of the founding fathers are clearly conveyed to us and their dream which was collective is fundamentally, the Nigerian dream.
The first line of the National anthem says: ‘Arise oh Compatriots’... and skipping to the last line of the second stanza, it says ‘to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign’. The role of the composer of the National Anthem which he played effectively was to communicate to every Nigerian that will be born in the future, the Nigerian dream as was originally designed by the Tafawa Balewas of blessed memory. That dream he made clear and the dream is, ‘to engage compatriots in the building of a just, egalitarian, peaceful and progressive society’. That was the dream, the creed and the reason why Nigeria came into being in the first place.
What must we do as a Nation? Nigeria and Nigerians must work towards achieving a just society. A society where there is fair treatment of all persons, whereon one will be victimized for their beliefs, race, religion or class. We must strive to build a nation where all, no matter the class and category, no matter the ethnic affiliation will feel part of the Nigerian project. We must build a nation where everyone, from the giants to the dwarfs, from the poor to the rich will have equal opportunities to maximize their God-given potentials. We must build a nation that accords the dignity of man to each and every citizen without fear or favour.
What again must we do as a Nation? We must build a society where we can all thrive together in an atmosphere and give a conducive environment for the actualization of the Nigerian dream. We must set aside ethnic, political, religious and social differences and build a Nation to which we can refer as ‘God’s own Nation’. We cannot go forward from here without standing together, we can do but nothing if we stand as 206 tribes acting for tribal advantages, we only will survive in this country if we learn to stick together just like the founding fathers did.
What else must we do? We must do everything individually and collectively possible to achieve good progress for our fatherland. We must promote the economy, we must build solid infrastructure, empower agriculture, improve upon our technology and science and we must do all these with the aim of achieving progress for our homeland. We are all employees in a giant entity, we must all work hard for only then can the rewards come out of the entity. We must oil the wheels, man the steering, and maintain the vehicle to ensure that the nation moves constantly in the direction which the founding fathers foresaw.
What if we do not do? As Robert Burns wrote, we must do, or die. There has been no time in history when it has been clearer to us than now what we must do and the consequences of not doing. If we refuse to do, we must then expect the Nigerian state to die a natural death. If we fail to water the tree of liberty with the collective sweats of patriots, we shall have no right to expect it to bring forth fruits and its natural death will be sure. We must do all the above or watch our nation die.
Boko Haram is already killing it, political violence is strangling it, corruption is shooting at it, religious intolerance is wrecking havoc on it and tribal divisions are dealing it massive blows. The signs are imminent, they are clearer to us than ever, that if we do not do and do right away, the death of the Nigerian state is just around the next bend. We must save our nation, or leave it to die. The words of Robert Burns comes to us again, we must do, or die!

DOYIN OKUPE, LAI MOHAMMED, LABARAN MAKU, FEMI FANI-KAYODE, EDWIN CLARKE AND THE DOMINANCE OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

Transparency International’s rating of corruption in nations of the world seem to rate Nigeria as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. How did we get to this point as a Nation? How did we allow the roots of corruption to take firm hold in the soil of our Nation? How and where did we miss it? How did we derail from the bright dream that the founding fathers saw? These questions continue ringing in my head whenever I ponder on how to make Nigeria better.
I once encountered one Alhaji Abdul-Hameed Danladi (I think he is the current Commissioner for Education in Niger State) when he came to deliver a lecture organized by an organization I use to be with in Minna, Niger State. He had a somewhat funny definition and/or description for ‘corruption’. In his words, “when you return from Mecca or Jerusalem and you insist that people call you Alhaji or J.P, you are corrupt. Those titles were valid in the holy lands because there, you were a pilgrim”. Funny definition don’t you think? Yet, it sounds true and at least, that is the way he sees corruption.
When this dispensation came on board under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR, there also came an opportunity for various political nitwits to showcase the extent to which they have de-generated in reasoning and in transparency. There came a crop of political jingoists who are extremely good at calling a black kettle white. The kinds of politicians who would claim, “in the last one year, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product has increased by 20%”, when in actual fact, the average Nigerian believes urgent actions are needed to avert famine especially in 2012 flood-stricken areas.
It was when these faces began popping up in media circles and their misleading and lie-laden write-ups began to show up in media circles that I came to realize exactly why corruption can never really leave the Nigerian society. I realized the true definition of corruption as the inability to stay true to the responsibility vested on you to protect the interests of a certain group of people or a society. In these National figures mentioned above, disappointment of public trust is grossly evident.
Labaran Maku was appointed Minister of Information just so he could serve as the information channel between government and its people. Alas, what Maku feeds us are lies upon lies upon more lies. Lai Mohammed who was supposed to serve as the true voice of the masses in trying to truthfully bring down corruption through democratic comments from the opposition camp is the kind of man who would stop at nothing to discredit the ruling party and praise his opposition party, even if he has to say ‘good afternoon’ early in the morning.
Doyin Okupe just recently claimed President GEJ is the Nigerian Mandela. Wonderfully, his employer who could not stand such utter disregard for truth publicly commented the next day that there are no upright politicians in Nigeria; what an irony! The same Okupe just recently went on air to claim that the 200 billion being demanded by ASUU has been deposited in a CBN account and almost immediately, ASUU came out to rubbish that claim saying they had not been notified of any action to that effect. Doyin Okupe epitomizes the level of corruption in Nigeria, that level where public officers betray the trust the society has in them.
I am particularly disappointed in Femi Fani-Kayode. When he left the ruling People’s Democratic Party, I felt he was leaving due to the evident injustice in the party and he will henceforth be a true voice of change and good politicking. However, instead of becoming this, he became that political mouth-runner who became famous for untrue and very inflammatory statements. He has left the region of truth and crossed the line of bitterness and that has made it impossible to say the truth to the people who so much believed in him, one of which I am.
There is not National figure in whom I am more disappointed than Sir Edwin Clarke. Whenever there is a point raised against the person or government of President GEJ, the elder statesman is always quick to come to rescue issuing statements that are unbecoming of an elder that he is supposed to be. When elders begin to derail from their elderly roles because the penny-size gains they will have access to, it becomes evidently clear that the Nigerian system is failing because of people in their mould. A lot of Edwin Clarkes in Nigeria and we will be on the journey to Civil War II by now.
Mention Asari Dokubo and see the height of tribalistic tendencies, listen to the comments of Nyesom Wike and see the way he has been handling the crisis in the University system and you realize why Nigeria is in trouble. When we live in a Nation where the likes of these people are leaders, you sure can expect the level of corruption currently here. Leaders who know it is night time but decide to tell the followers that morning has just broken.
If Nigeria will get out of the league of corrupt nations, we must expunge the likes of these people from the runnings of our government, disallow them from running our National purse and show them that we are resolute in taking nothing short of the truth. In our quest to find better alternatives, I do hope we make better choices than the likes of the fair General from who is so desperate to become President and the members of his gang.
God bless Nigeria!

MADIBA IS NOT EXACTLY A HERO

Nelson Rolihlala Mandela, the foremost South African leader died on the 5th December, 2013 from a lung infection. The world stood still, flags began flying at half mast and world leaders began sending in their condolences to the family of the man who somehow became the only turning point in the history of the black nation. Like Martin Luther King Jnr, Frederick Douglas and their likes, Madiba as he is fondly called stood up to white dominance, they made unflinching dedication to the course of the black people and today, thanks to them, the black race can say we amount to something.
However, as the mourning continues, I believe a few points of observation will be necessary at this crucial time in world history. Contrary to widespread beliefs, I do not exactly believe Nelson Mandela was a hero. He achieved remarkable things, stood out in history as one of the greatest that ever lived, yet to me he is not a hero.....HE IS FAR MORE! He surpasses the definition of a hero, his personality goes far beyond that of a legend, he is worth more in living and even in dying.
We should ask ourselves, what exactly does the name Madiba mean? Madiba is a South African title of respect for South Africa’s most famous icon, Nelson Rolihlala Mandela. While alive, Nelson Mandela was affectionately called Madiba by South Africans and people outside his country. Madiba is the name of the XHOSA tribe in South Africa that Mandela belonged to. In that region of Africa, naming a man after the name of his tribe is considered one of the greatest honours that can be given to a man. So Mandela was just not a hero, he was and will always be an embodiment of the values, the hopes and the aspirations of the African people.
Prior to the year 1990, Mandela had spent 27 years of his life in prison because he stood up to challenge the inhuman policies of the apartheid regime in South Africa. I examined this situation and I realized not many men alive can suffer such lengthy incarceration for the cause of his people and come back out fighting the same cause. This tells me, that Madiba was not just a hero; he qualifies to be considered a good believer in Christ and in God. He persevered, suffered just so his people could be free...Mandela was not a hero, he was and will remain so in dying, AN APOSTLE OF CHRIST.
At the expiration of his first tenure as President of South Africa in 1999, he refused to seek re-election. In his words to Olusegun Obasanjo, “Olu, show me one country in the world whose President is 84 years old”. Obviously, Madiba was still not aware of the greedy tendencies of the likes of Robert Mugabe and Paul Biya, yet he believed it was abysmal for a person to rule a nation at such advanced stages. Madiba was not just a hero, he was and will always be a model for governance, a reference point, a lesson in good manners for the likes of Mugabe, Eyadema family and the Biyas of Cameroon.
Madiba once said, “A man’s success is not in how many times he falls but in how many times he falls and rises again”. That statement directly speaks to many and speaks to me too, that failure is not final. He could have said this theoretically, yet, his life was a practical example of falling and rising after every fall. To me, Mandela was just not a hero, his life is a practical example of determination and persistence...the traits people like me need most.
I could go on and on....but as Obama said, “he no longer belongs to us; he now belongs to the ages”. When the roll is called up yonder, I believe Madiba will be counted as one of those through which God sent to man, the gift of freedom and equality for all men. His name is printed in gold, for the Mugabes, the Biyas, the Eyademas, the Jonathans, the Assads and their likes to see. When a great man bows out, then death beckons on little men to hasten up and do something. Mandela is out, I sincerely hope we do something to this crumbling world of ours.
Adieu Madiba...go take your place behind the stars!

ALAKISA N JO L'ORU...BO PE ILE A MO L'OLA!

I was a little younger than this when this wonderful home video was produced; it was titled ‘Saworo Ide’ meaning ‘Brass bell’ (I sincerely hope my interpretation will find favour with Yoruba linguists). I do not intend to rubbish the efforts of today’s actors, actresses and movie producers but I must sincerely say the films of nowadays can hardly compare with the soundness of the ‘Saworo Ide’ storyline. It was one wonderful piece of art.
In one of the scenes of the film, the prolific Yoruba elder statesman, Adebayo Faleti mockingly sang a song to one of the Chiefs of Oba Lapite (Kayode Oyewo). The song went this way, ‘alakisa n jo l’oru, bo pe ile a mo l’ola’ meaning ‘the man in rags is dancing in the middle of the night, no matter how long it takes, day will break tomorrow’. The man in rags could dance in the middle of the night truly, at least the darkness of the night would have made it impossible to see him in rags, but no matter how long it takes, when day breaks, the world will clearly see that he is still in rags and his shame will be uncovered.
I sincerely hope I did not confuse you with the funny analogy because that analogy is not the exact destination of this discourse. The destination of this discuss is the way that analogy applies to every evil doer who thinks for some instantaneous reasons, their evils will not be blown open. I have a very bad news for such people, when the truth is let loose just like daybreak in the analogy, their shame will no know bounds and the world will see them for the evil doers that they are.
All evil political office holders in Nigeria should get ready, daybreak is almost here and they will soon be put to shame, likewise all political leaders and their cohorts, light has almost come and darkness will have to give way. Let this warning sound clearly in the ears of the PDP manipulators and the APC liars, the APGA pretenders and the ACCORD sycophants, the LABOUR hypocrites and the DPP deceivers, let them know that when the freedom bell jingles, they will all be making merry in their prison cells. Let the warning sound and sound aloud, that when Karma comes around, alakisa won to n jo l’oru, bo pe ile a mo l’ola.
This warning bell should be sound aloud in the ears of Ogbeni Aregbesola, his cohorts and his blind-folded praise-singers, that when the justice bell sounds, a blanket of lies will not be sufficient to cover their naked shame. Let them know that the lies about the true amount of debt Osun State is in, the bogus contracts for the construction of Mega Schools, the propaganda about road construction that is leading to more flag-offs and no commissioning, let them know all these lies will soon be blown open and when day breaks, all lies will be exposed and all liars will go on vacation to prison.
Sound the warning bell to Stella Adaeze-Oduah, the woman with serious love for bullet-proof BMWs, let her know that when day breaks, no GEJ will be able to shield her from the repercussions of her wasteful spending and corruption. Assure her that she will have no place to run to when her shame is exposed, let her know.
Tell all the Tinubus, the Edwin Clarks, the Asari Dokubos, the hawks of the Nigerian political class that day will soon break and their rags will be seen. GEJ should watch his dancing steps, let this warning sound clear in his ears, that when what goes around comes around, he will languish in someplace worse than the Island of Patmos if he does not watch his steps.
Alakisa n jo l’oru, bo pe ile a mo l’ola.............  

I-BUCK FREE SKILL ACQUISITION PROGRAMME

Over the past few months we have attempted to execute free skill acquisition programmes in and around Ejigbo Local Government of Osun State, Nigeria.

The skills package includes Graphics and Web Design, Make-up Artistry, Wireworks, Animal Feed Production, Fish farming on large and medium scale, pig farming, snail farming and a host of others.

Each time we tried, technical difficulties made it impossible for us to proceed. However, after fine-tuning the entire process, we are ready to attempt executing this programme in a bid to better the lots of the vast population of unemployed youths in Nigeria.

To pre-register for a seat in this programme, send a mail to ibuckresources@gmail.com containing your name and phone number or you may send same as a text message to 08025885374. Let's come learn together!

Team I-BUCK

www.facebook.com/ibuckresourceslimited

MONARCHS ARE TO PLAY THE ROLE OF POLITICAL OBSERVERS - HRH OBA SAKARIYAU OWOLABI OLADIMEJI 1, THE OLUKA ORANGUN OF IKA-EJIGBO

In our bid to bring Royalty closer to the people and portray Nigerian traditional rulers in the true light of fathers and community leaders that they are, our team had an exclusive interview session with the Oluka Orangun of Ika, Ejigbo Local Government Area, Osun State Nigeria on the 14th day of October, 2013. In this all-encompassing interview, the distinguished Monarch bares his mind on various issues pertaining to the ancient Ika town and his dreams of making Ika a better place during his reign. This interview that also touched on the culture, taboo and tradition of Ika people was not just satisfying but very educating. See excerpts below:

TO DOWNLOAD THE INTERVIEW IN AUDIO FORMAT, PLEASE CLICK HERE

1.       Can we meet you sir?

I am Alayeluwa, Oba Sakariyau Owolabi Oladimeji 1, the Oluka Orangun of Ika, Ejigbo Local Government.

2.    We believe you must have had a very interesting childhood. Can you let us in on your childhood background?

Smiles...Well, I cannot describe my childhood as a smooth one, Infact it was the grace of God that saw me through those days. When my mother died in the year 1960, the responsibility of taking care of me fell solely on my aged father who was already very sick at the time. He tried his best though, but when he could no longer combine managing his health condition with taking care of a little boy, he had to hand me over to my mother’s younger sister who took me to my mother’s family house (Babasale Compound, Ejigbo).

Ilorin:    February of 1961, my elder brother, Mustapha Oladimeji who was at the time working in a cloth factory in Ilorin as an apprentice sought the permission of his boss to have me come and live with him. The boss, an Ijesa man, consented to the request and gave him the permission to bring me in. Thus, in February 1961, my brother Mustapha came to pick me and took me to Ilorin with him.

3.       So, Kabiyesi, did you in the course of your sojourn in Ilorin have access to Education?

Yes, I had access to Primary Education while I was in Ilorin with my brother. I attended St. John’s Primary School, Idofian between 1962 to 1969 and that was the only school education I ever had.

4.       How come you did not have access to Education beyond Primary School? Was it that you lost interest or there was not sponsor?

It was in the year 1969 that Alhaji Yusuf Olorunkemi Agbalaya advised my brother to allow me move to Lagos so that I can make a living for myself too. At the time, things were not so easy and it was just right for me to take the opportunity to pursue greener pastures.

Lagos:   In the year 1969, month of May precisely, I moved down to Lagos into the house of Jimoh Adisa Olobi, the elder brother of Alhaji Yusuf Olorunkemi Agbalaya. Jimoh Olobi’s wife, Taibatu Gbeleola Adisa parented me and took very good care of me such that she was nearly a mother figure to me. Later in the year, Adisa Olobi decided it was best for me to go and learn a trade so that I can earn a living too and he took me to Sandcross where they sell fish, where I was to be an apprentice for the next five (5) months.

While I was working in Sandcross and earning fifteen (15) shillings, I met an old friend (we met in Idofian) who at the time was working in a bakery. The bakery apprenticeship looked so enticing to me because of the amount of money my friend told me they earned per day so I decided to join the bakery where this my friend was working. When I discussed with Yusuf Olorunkemi, he rejected the idea on the grounds that I was too young to begin making my own decisions on where or how I worked. Eventually, he reluctantly consented but insisted I was not going to work where my friend worked but he will take me to a friend of his who owned a bakery. He took me there and I began my journey as a baker which was to take me another four (4) years. I saved 300 Naira in the course of my work there and decided to move on after four years because I discovered I was working too hard and earning too little.

My first shop:    After four years as an apprentice in the bakery Yusuf Olorunkemi took me to, I decided to use the 300 Naira savings I had to establish a shop of my own. Alhaji Hassan Agbalaya, son of Yusuf Olorunkemi Agbalaya helped me secure a shop in Malu Road, Ajegunle and he introduced me to the book selling business that he was into at the time. So, I began selling books and I was in that business for three more years.

My Marriage:    On December 15, 1977 I got married to my first wife Taibatu Oladimeji of Olukola compound Ejigbo through Hassan Oladimeji, my elder brother.

The shop in Oluwole:     After three years of selling books, I began thinking of another line of business as I felt the book selling business was not bringing enough profit. So, I approached Sule Olanrewaju Ajao who I had also known from Idofian. He found a small shop for me in Oluwole area of Lagos and introduced me to the cloth selling business. I began selling imported shirts and trousers which Alhaji Abdul Aremu from Ilala, Kwara State was helping me transport. Not long after, 1979 precisely, Obasanjo placed an embargo on importation and difficulties came for those of us who were selling imported goods. Before the ban on importation, I already had 3000 Naira in savings and I felt luck was finally smiling on me. But after the importation, business became so bad that I ran into a debt of around 52,000 Naira. These difficulties made me decide to leave the cloth selling business also.

Building Materials Venture in Mushin: Once I decided to leave the cloth selling business, I went to meet Alhaji Agbalaya in Mushin who was in the building materials business. He wanted to introduce me to the business but I needed 10,000 Naira capital so I had to run to Alhaji Adebayo Adisa, the son of Alhaji Adisa Olobi. He gave me the capital and some very good advice. Alhaji Agbalaya introduced me to the building materials business and in no time I started importing building materials from Belgium. I imported my goods from Belgium for ten (10) years. Later, China became the world power in the manufacturing sector and their products were cheaper than Belgium too. I became the first building materials dealer in Lagos to have sold Made in China glass and since those late 80s, I have been doing business with Chinese people in the building materials sector.

5.       Claps....We must confess, you have answered our questions beyond expectation sir, taking us through the entire timeline of your rise to greatness, and God will grant you renewed strength sir. Sir, but how did your journey to the throne begin?

When in October 6, 2010 Oba Olosunde Emmanuel went to join his forefathers, I came home because I was very close to him before his death. When I left the palace where I went to offer my condolences, the Oosa of Ika invited me to his house and told me “ewu ti won bo sile yii o, iwo naa lo le wo o” meaning “this cloth that he (the dead Oluka) has put off, you are the only one who can wear it o”. He told me I should prepare to be the next king. I vehemently opposed the idea and told him I had no intention of becoming king.

                Again, Osolo called me some weeks after and told me he had a dream that I became king. To ward off the propositions they were making, I encouraged Waheed Jimoh, a younger brother of mine to go and contest for the Oluka stool. In the course of all these happenings, I came to Ika to discuss developmental issues with the Chiefs and while we were discussing, Ika people, old and young, women and children came singing to my house calling me Oluka, Kabiyesi etc. I started crying and it seemed it was from that day that it became clear to me that there was nothing I could do to reject the throne.

6.       During the reign of Oba Olosunde Emmanuel sir, the Ika king was referred to as Oluka. But since you ascended the throne six months ago, you have taken up the title ‘Oluka Orangun’. What exactly is the correct title of the Ika king?

....smiles... Well, you asked a good question. I think I should take you through the history of Ika town so that you can fully understand what the correct thing should be. You see, the Ika people were originally Ila people (Ila-Orangun, Osun State). We left Ila-Orangun when there was a kingship tussle between our people and another family. When we got to Ejigbo, the then Ogiyan pointed his finger at this spot where Ika is located (Ogiyan na ika si ibi yi) and that was why we adopted the name ‘Ika’ meaning ‘ibi ti Oba na ika si’ (where the King pointed his finger).

                Due to the name of the town, it will be correct to give the ‘Oluka’ title to the king of Ika. However, we must try as much as possible to reflect our true background in the title of the king and that is why we have sought the consent of Ogiyan of Ejigbo land and currently seeking that of the State Government to officially adopt the title ‘Oluka Orangun’ of Ika land which will help us keep in touch with our ancestral Ila-Orangun lineage.

7.       Is there any taboo or ancestral fact related to Ika town?

Ika people have been granted freedom by God to live life to the fullest without inhibitions by taboos. However, there is this Olokun river in Ika. No matter how much you cook any fish caught in that river, it never gets done. Fishes from that river whether caught by an indigene or a stranger can never get done. We do not know why or how that came to be but that is how it has always been.

8.       Has the Ika indigenes been supportive since you ascended the throne?

Alhamdulillah... The Ika people, old, young, women and even children have been very supportive since I came on the throne and I have no single cause to regret my ascension to the throne of my ancestors.

9.       Sir, as a traditional ruler on one hand and a devout Muslim on the other hand, how do you combine your Islamic obligations with the traditional demands of being an Oba?

Those two are distinctively different. There must always be a place for religion in one’s life. However, as a king, one must also identify with the traditional aspect of being king because when you become a king, you are king over everybody, Christians, Muslims and Traditionalists alike. One must find time to identify with all of them.

10.   Kabiyesi, being a businessman before you ascended the throne of your forefathers, how do you combine the strenuous demands of running your business with the exhaustive demands of being king and still find time to relax?

Well, God has given me a very wonderful family that has been very supportive. In actual fact, I no longer stress myself over anything. My son is the Managing Director of my Company (SAOLAD Nigeria Limited, Lagos) and he is doing a very good job taking the company to greater heights than I ever could. As well, the Ika people have been very wonderful so I do not have to go through much stress in administering the community. I virtually rest all day.

11.   As the Oluka Orangun of Ika land, what are the programmes you have in mind to better the lot of Ika people?

Thank you. When I came on the throne, I came with a determination to make life easier for Ika and her people anywhere they may be. When I became king, I discovered there was a periodic contribution being made by Ika indigenes towards execution of major developmental projects. I immediately stopped that practice and right now, whatever major project we have to execute, I fund it. The only thing the people may have to deal with is the maintenance of such projects. Out of the seven boreholes in the community, Government sunk five (5), Eagles Club Ejigbo gave us one (1) and I funded the sinking of the other one.

                Currently, I have financed the rehabilitation of three (3) roads in the community and we are still planning to do more in a bid to better the living conditions of the people of Ika. All the people have to do is ensure such projects are safeguarded and maintained as and when due.

12.   On the Issue of Local Government creation doing the rounds in Osun State, how do you think Ika community will benefit from the splitting of Ejigbo Local Government?

You should know there is no community that will not benefit from having the seat of Governance closer to them. If Ejigbo Local Government gets her wish of becoming two Local Governments, governance will be closer to us and will consequently bring development closer.

13.   At present sir, the Oluka Orangun is not a member of the Ejigbo Local Government Traditional Council. What are you doing to become part of the council?

I will say we are working and not working. We are working because I am fervently praying that Oluka Orangun will be considered worthy of being a member of the traditional council. We are not working because we have resolved not to go lobbying for a seat in the council because that will mean we are power-hungry and we believe it is God who can put anybody in any position.

14.   We must say kudos to you sir for the way you have been thrashing our questions from the start, you are indeed a man of words sir. What is the relationship between you and the Ogiyan of Ejigbo land like?

....smiles....I believe I deserve a very wonderful round of applause when we are through so let us just continue. I have a very wonderful relationship with the Ogiyan of Ejigbo land. Infact, I can call him my father, my adviser and my boss. First, my mother’s father is from the same family as the Ogiyan of Ejigbo land, so he is my father. Second, he is well respected king in Nigeria, one that other Obas are proud to associate with so he is my boss. Third, he is a man of wide experience, a prolific man of words so he is a great adviser.

15.   Sir, we will generously give you rounds upon rounds of applause when we are through. In most towns, there are often disputes over how many ruling houses there are and who and who belongs to those ruling houses. What is the ruling house arrangement in Ika like?

For the first time, I will want to skip this question. There are deliberations ongoing about the Ika ruling house arrangement. Those deliberations are aimed at putting our records straight so that no family will feel cheated. If I give a conclusive response now, people will begin to think I have made a resolution on the issue. When the town concludes deliberations, we will put the accurate number of ruling houses and their names in the gazette.

16.   Who are those influential Ika indigenes that you will hope to partner with in moving the town forward?

You see, there is a difference between ‘go to school’ and ‘I want to go to school’. There is a difference between being begged to do something and desiring to do something. These influential people know they are indigenes of Ika, we can only pray God will put the desires in their hearts so they can voluntarily come home and help their community.       

17.   In what areas do you believe Ika community needs Government intervention?

The issue I consider to be utmost for Ika at the moment is for Government to give Ika community its own ward in the ongoing INEC delimitation exercise. The community is now bigger and should be taken out of the cluster of communities making up the present Ward 10 of Ejigbo Local Government and given a separate ward. This will bring development closer to our people.

18.   Kabiyesi sir, what do you believe should be the role of monarchs in politics?

I believe that a King should not be found identifying with political parties. Rather, a King should play the role of an observer. When he observes that a political office holder is doing well, he can advise his people to support such person to bring about more development but he must not get involved in the political game.

19.   What is your personal life principle sir?

Hmmm... I certainly do operate my life on the basis of honesty. I hate dishonesty because I trust everybody.

20.   How have you been coping on the home front? Are your wives helping you to effectively discharge your duties as a king?

....smiles....I thank God for endowing me with my own wives. As you already know, I have two wives and they both have been very supportive right from the onset. The children have also been wonderful and God has been moving us forward.

21.   Your advice to the youths sir.

All I will advise the youths is to always live a life of humility. When you are humble, everyone who is supposed to help you will be happy to help you.

22.   Will there be establishments of industries in Ika town during your reign and connections for the youths and people of Ika?

Let me not promise specifically that an industry will come at a specific time. However, we are seriously working on tapping the opportunities that our connections have afforded us to bring industries into Ika community. That notwithstanding, we have been making frantic efforts to ensure that we connect all Ika youths who are ready to work in any capacity that God affords us even before I became King and that will continue.

23.   Your word for the Nation at this festive period sir.

I implore Nigerians to come together in the spirit of love to move our Nation forward. When we are united, we will have the opportunity to face our challenges together and overcome them.

I believe the time is right to give you a resounding round of applause sir for the wonderful way in which you have thrashed all our questions. We pray that the good Lord who has set you on the throne of your forefathers will assist you in effectively running the Ika community and He will grant you long life in good health to fulfil all your heart’s desires towards this town.

.....claps.....Thanks you sir.