POLITICS: MADU, SEUN AND STABILIZER

By Femi Abulude

There is this vibrant middle aged guy of Igbo extraction in my neighbourhood. His name is Maduabuchi but we fondly call him Madu. He is into electronics merchandise at Idumota Market in Lagos Island. He even claimed he has another branch at Alaba International Market along Badagry expressway, in Lagos. Madu is always ready to deliver electronics appliances and electrical wires at cheaper rates to willing residents.

Madu has also caught the Biafra bug. His voice was always the loudest among his peers whenever they were discussing national issues. Understandably, he always defended the Biafra course.

The following discussion took place between Madu and one of his friends Seun recently.

MADU:     Oga Seun, is it true that if we succeeded in this Biafra mandate, all the Igbos in Lagos would go home?

SEUN:       Madu, I am afraid, it would not only be in Lagos but throughout Nigeria. That is the home truth.

MADU:     What would then happen to my property here and my shops at Idumota and Alaba?

SEUN:       You may have to leave them or sell them. If you don’t want to do these, you may decide to carry them along with you.

MADU:     Carry them to where, Oga Seun?

SEUN:       To your village of course!

MADU:     You can’t be serious Oga Seun. Is it possible to carry house? Is it also true that I’ll have to obtain visa to come back to Nigeria?

SEUN:       Madu don’t put me in trouble. Is it possible for you to travel to another country without obtaining visa?

MADU:     So Nigeria would now become another country if we achieved Biafra?

SEUN:       Madu, provide the answer yourself. Please let us put an end to this discussion. I am no longer comfortable with it. How much is a set of stabilizer? I need a new one for my computer.

MADU:     Oga Seun you are dodging my question.

SEUN:       “Madu, me, I no know book!” When you are going to Idumota tomorrow call on me, so that you can collect the money for the stabilizer. I need it urgently.

MADU:     I get your message Oga Seun. We really need to stabilize this our country, Nigeria…

MADU:     (sings) This Nigeria na we own make he no pafuka…

OPINION: GENERAL ADEYINKA ADEBAYO; DEMISE OF AN APOSTLE OF PEACE

The death of General Robert Adeyinka Adebayo father of Richard Adeniyi Adebayo came as rude shock. Why? This baba was a reference point and always ready to lend his voice and render useful and meaningful advice to issues that concern Yoruba in particular and Nigeria in general.

I had my first personal encounter with this sage and military colossus in 1993 when I was the manager in charge of promotions of KSA Holdings. King Sunny Ade was organizing his foundation (KSA foundation) and I was at the same time gathering materials for a book I was writing on him.

General Adebayo was a member of this foundation. I had an interview with him which I copied verbatim below:-

“Sunny is a nice man who respects his elders. He is humble and generous. Though I met him by accident, I have not regretted my association with him.

Ideally, I am not supposed to be a member of his foundation being his elder, because a foundation is supposed to outlive its founder, but as his ardent fan and one of the people that propped up his musical career, I don’t have other choice than to make him realize his dream.

I met him through a friend, Late Chief Adeleke Osijinrin in 1967, few days before the Nigerian civil war. I had just lost my Dad and we were looking for a juju artiste to play at the funeral ceremony after Tunde Nightingale told us of his in ability to play for us, because of his earlier commitments.

This friend of mine enthusiastically told me about this new juju sensation in Lagos called Sunny Ade, we contacted him and he played for us at Iyin – Ekiti and we all enjoyed his music.

Sunny did one thing after the show that I had never experienced before. He came to me with some of his band boys in the morning and offered me all the money they made. He said the money was their own contribution to my father’s funeral!

I was surprised by this generosity, I noticed that he came to this party in a chartered bus, so I called one of my friends who was an accountant with SCOA motors and handed the money over to him. I instructed him to give Sunny a bus when they got back to Lagos. That was how he got his first bus.”

Why did they tag him Owanbe Governor? As could be deducted in this interview, General Adebayo was a socialite and one can hardly blame him on this. The Western Region in which he took over as the second military governor in 1966 had just gone through a political turmoil.

This was the “WETIE” era; the period of bonfire when properties of political rivals were been burnt, when human lives were not worth a dime

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was the political leader of the region, had been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on charges of treasonable felony by Alhaji Tafawa Balewa led Federal government. This did not go down well with his followers.

The premier of the Region, Sir Ladoke Akintola had been swept off by the first military coup of January 15, 1966. Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, who came after Akintola was later assassinated along with the military head of state, General Aguiyi Ironsi in a counter coup of July 1966 in Ibadan the capital of Western Region! Tension was high. Some of those who survived the imbroglio were thrown into jail. This was the period of Jackals.

General Adeyinka Adebayo brought hope. He brought joy. He brought peace. He needed to reach out to all the warring parties. This he did successfully in a place hitherto referred to as “Wild – Wild – West”. This made him a regular patron at social ceremonies. The tag “Owanbe” could be translated as “Was he present at the party? And the answer: “Owanbe” he was present!

General Adeyinka Adebayo had played his own role and he is probably giving accounts of his stewardship now. Adieu the ever present Governor; peace maker Baba Niyi, Baba Yoruba, our veteran war hero!

POLITICS: AISHA’S OUTBURST; SAVING BUHARI FROM HIMSELF.

The media was Agog with Aisha Buhari’s outburst on how some cabals have hijacked power from her husband and core APC party faithfuls.

Her response to the question asked by the BBC Hausa reporter that what did she think was responsible for the slowness in the government was revealing. Aisha burst out like an overstretched dam. 

Excerpts:

“In my view I am not a government official and I speak as a woman and a mother. It is known that we will not have a smooth four – year tenure. The first problem is the way this government came into being. No one can say I brought this government into power. People came together and said enough is enough. Nearly half of this people are not involved in running it. They have brought some people who are not politicians, People who did not know what we said we would do and not do during the campaigns, some of them have come out to say they are not politicians but they are sitting in political positions.

Don’t forget some separated from their wives because of politics, some lost their children, some women lose their husbands;  there is nothing that did not happen. But now, with the way things are going, I am not happy because we just started the journey; we have not reached the end. We know that some people who labored have not been brought on board but now those who were  brought  and given positions like head of agencies for example, ( you see such a person fighting his state governor  because they couldn’t contest for the seat with him in PDP and the Governor in the APC, they traded insults), Today, such people are the ones calling the shots”.

If people are wondering about the timing of her Outburst, this was not her first attempt. During a dinner party organized in honor of APC women and Youths at the inception of this administration, Aisha had this to say;

“There is nothing people did not say about the past administration. It is not Jonathan that is not good but the people around him. So, the people that are going to be around General Buhari have to be very careful because this election ended peacefully. We are praying and hoping that people around him should know that it took him twelve years to get to that position and they must know that they are coming to serve the masses, Not General Buhari in Person. It is the people that are around him that will determine the political health of our state”.

The salient question here is that in whose interest is Aisha’s comment? Looking at it critically it all boils down to the general interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. Nigerians can only be great when we put our interest aside and put the interest of this great Nation on the top burner. This woman could have just kept quiet like most of the First ladies before her and kept on enjoying the pecks of affluence and power, but she has decided to be on the side of the masses. Perhaps, If Patience Jonathan had toiled this path, her husband would not have lost the election and shown the way out of the Aso rock villa the way he did.

Aisha’s statement has just confirmed the fear of the majority. People have been wondering if this was the CHANGE they bought line hook and sinker and voted for. It has been confirmed that the proponents of CHANGE are not the ones behind the driver’s seat. That is why the vehicle could not more smoothly. We are now in a period of uncertainty and this is dangerous, if we were to be in the military era, what is happening is a veritable excuse for a coup de tat!

How well do we even know about this man Buhari that we put all our hope on him? Here is a man that was told when he was the military head of states that Gen Ibrahim Babangida was planning to overthrow him. He called Babangida and accused him openly. That one did not deny the accusation but gave a flimsy excuse that some people accused him of brandishing a gun during one of their SMC meetings. The issue was laid to rest just like that. Few months later, Babangida swept him aside in a Palace Coup.

Aisha knew her husband inside out. Nigerians should sit up. There is fire on the mountain! Not Yet Uhuru!