I watched the video of a traditional ruler from Igboland, Eze Ogbunechendo of Ezema Kingdom, HRM Igwe Lawrence Okolie Agbuzu OON, CFR, making three controversial statements at the first National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit held in Abuja last Tuesday.

The first was his contention that there was nothing like the Southern Nigeria Traditional Council, which the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, its chairman, had said there was. To further contradict Igwe Agbuzu, the Ooni’s assertion was corroborated by another Igbo monarch, the Eze Aro IX, Dr. Eberechukwu Kanu Oji, who said the Southern Nigeria Traditional Council was actually inaugurated sometime ago in Oyo state with him, Eberechukwu, as its Publicity Secretary.

Whether or not the council exists is not my beef here, but I tend to support the views of Igwe Agbuzu that the entirety of the council – Northern, Southern, and National – should be democratised to reflect the present realities of agitations against marginalization of minority groups and the strident call for power-sharing in all its ramifications – political, economic, social, cultural, name it!

Said Agbuzu: “Now, again, they were talking about the Southern Traditional Rulers Committee on Health, and the eminent Professor Mohammed Pate was saying that this will become an annual event—what we are doing today—if I heard him correctly. The truth of the matter is that there is nothing like a Southern Traditional Rulers Council. If you come here and give money to people on that basis, it is not correct.

“The South is not the North. We have our system. We need unity in diversity. So, if you want to deal with us, deal with us in the Southeast. If you have resources for us, give it to us. Don’t give it to people who come and say they represent a traditional rulers council. Democracy is a representative government, and anybody who goes to present himself without his people is not democratic or traditional. So, get it right.”

Well said! Responding, however, the Eze Aro IX described the Southern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Council as “a movement—a journey—comprising members from across the entire southern part of Nigeria. He (Ooni) is our chairman. We have the co-chair here from the Southeast and we have eminent traditional rulers from across the southern parts of Nigeria.

“We have come together to advance the cause of the Southern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Council. The President was part of the inauguration of the Southern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Council. It happened in Oyo, and we had representatives from the press, the government, and stakeholders at that inauguration. Since that inauguration, the Southern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Council has been active.

“We have had our AGM, which took place in Ogun State. We have undertaken several activities together. So, please, for the purposes of clearing any doubts, the Southern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Council exists. The Southern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Council is united, with traditional rulers and royal fathers from across the entire southern Nigeria—all represented here.”

Nigeria’s Traditional Council: A house divided?

Chairman of the disputed Southern Nigeria Traditional Council and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi, nailed it with a take-it or leave-it statement: “The Southern Traditional Rulers Council is very optional. You don’t need to join us if you don’t want to, but it is a force—a formidable force—among traditional institutions for us to come together…” Who will hear that and not tremble?

But why should the National Council of Traditional Rulers be co-chaired only by the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife? The chairmanship should rotate beyond these two important traditional rulers. Maybe a zonal structure of six geo-political groups will be a starting point. But unknown to him, Igwe Agbuzu must have hurt the sensitivity and sensibilities of some of his colleagues from the North when he said whereas a monolithic council for that part of the country might be okay, a similar configuration for the South is not!

Who told him all traditional rulers from the North fancy to be under the Sultan’s beck-and-call? Just like the Igwe seeks the “liberation” of his South-east or Igboland from Yoruba/Ooni domination, so also do we have traditional rulers from the North who resent the Sultan’s domination and desire to break loose from it. So, let the council be democratised totally and completely; no half-measures.

Igwe Agbuzu also pleaded passionately for the IPOB secessionist leader, Nnamdi Kanu, but he goofed in that his plea is somehow belated. It should have come when Kanu’s fate was not yet decided and he was still a detainee. But he no longer is!

Kanu has been tried by a court of competent jurisdiction of charges that were read to him in open court and in a language which he clearly understood. He was given: the ample opportunity to defend himself and he did. We saw him even change defence counsel and, on one occasion, he elected to take over his own defence. Having had his day in court, as they say, he was found guilty as charged and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

As we speak, and as the Igwe rightly mentioned, Kanu is serving his prison term in Sokoto prisons. He is now a prisoner and not a detainee. And the processes of releasing or granting reprieve to a prisoner differs from those of a detainee.

Was President Tinubu impressed?

The third controversial statement made by Igwe Agbuzu, which drew prolonged laughter from his audience that, incidentally, included President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was his comparing Nnamdi Kanu with Yoruba self-determination nationalist, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho. Saying that those of them in the south-east see Igboho as the counterpart of Nnamdi Kanu, he added that it grieved his heart to see Igboho walk free while Kanu is in prison.

Said he: “I listened to the opening address by His Imperial Majesty (the Ooni), and he was gingering all of us to work as a family, to work as a team, and to see Nigeria as one. This is good. But when you look at it, this same Imperial Majesty is arranging to confer a very high honour on Sunday Igboho who, in my own part of Nigeria and the Southeast, we see as a counterpart of Nnamdi Kanu.”

The whole hall, still managing to keep itself under control, erupted when he said, speaking directly to Mr. President: “Bring this man (Kanu) out. If we don’t want him in Nigeria, return him to Kenya or London where they took him from.” The cameras caught the president sprawling on his sofa soaked with laughter!

But is it as easy as that? And is the comparison between Sunday Igboho and Nnamdi Kanu not akin to comparing sleep with death and oranges with apples?

Dr. Sunday Dare, Presidential adviser on Media and Public Communication, while offering an explanation, stated that the methods adopted by both men and their impacts differed significantly. While Kanu’s actions involved armed rebellion, Igboho’s only focused on peaceful community defence against external threats.

For the sake of emphasis, Dare stated quite emphatically that there is “no basis for comparison” between Igboho and Kanu. Their actions, methods and consequences were fundamentally different. While Kanu crossed into armed rebellion and violent enforcement of his illegal, disruptive and destructive sit-at-home orders, Igboho “remained largely defensive and localised against perceived external threat, without the same level of state-targeted insurgency.”

Igboho’s activism was centred on defending communities in the south-west against criminal activities attributed to killer-herdsmen, alongside peaceful agitation for a Yoruba nation. Kanu, however, went violent with his own agitation, which “included the enforcement of sit-at-home orders (often through threats and violence), resulting in numerous deaths (reports cite over 700 fatalities linked to enforcement clashes and defiance killings).

“Other inimical activities (of Kanu) include attack on security forces, destruction of public infrastructure, and the formation of armed groups like the Eastern Security Network (ESN). Kanu’s rhetoric and actions escalated to calls that many viewed as inciting violence against the state and even against his own people in the southeast who defied (his) orders.”

In simple grammar: Kanu crossed the line; Igboho did not!

Too early to pardon Nnamdi Kanu

My own views on this matter tally with those of Dr. Dare. Responding earlier to a post on the same issue on a platform to which I belong, I had argued thus:

“Kanu and Igboho are not the same kettle of fish. Igboho did not announce sit-at-home in the southwest. He did not organise his own army to kill and maim security agents and ordinary people. He did not declare secession. He was only interested in protecting his people against Fulani terrorism. The same Fulani terrorists have been so declared as terrorists by the United States (and the international community).

“Igboho did not constitute himself into an affront to constituted authority. He respected Yoruba leaders and traditional institutions. He subjugated himself under control and did not pose as Lord of the Manor like Kanu did. He did not abuse judges. He did not denigrate the judiciary. He did not abuse everyone. He did not flex muscles with the powers-that-be but went on his belly before Yoruba traditional rulers begging for assistance.

“Igboho placed himself under control. Kanu puts himself outside of it. Igboho can be restrained. Kanu cannot. Igboho never advocated for the destruction of the southeast or Igbo land. Kanu advocated for the destruction of the southwest and Yorubaland. Kanu showed unmitigated hatred for the Yoruba both in speech and action. Igboho did not exhibit any such animosity towards the Igbo. I can go on and on!

“Therefore, Kanu must pay for the innocent lives he wasted. He must also pay for the destruction of lives and properties during #ENDSARS protests in Lagos. It is unfortunate that rather than acknowledge the truth, those pleading for Kanu are peddling cheap sentiments. It won’t work. But if it does, a dangerous precedent will be set. And when the Southwest explodes in retaliation, may the good Lord help us!

“Up till now, Kanu is still laying claim to controlling the southeast, belching out orders from his prison room. He pretends to still wield power, enforcing, elongating, reviewing and cancelling sit-at-home orders in the southeast. But he lied! It was Gov. Charles Soludo’s action that has put an end to sit-at-home in the southeast, if truly it has now ended. Kanu is merely trying to reap where he did not sow. He lays claim to the authority and powers he did not possess. He is too full of himself; self-conceited and too self-opinionated.

“Arrogant! Rude! Power drunk! Closet dictator! Who can restrain him and his rag-tag army in the entire southeast? He has no respect for anyone there. Who has he not abused there? Kanu rightly belongs where he is now – prison. Alternatively, a zoo!”

I seriously believe so! Time to grant Kanu reprieve, if at all, is not now. He should be allowed time to mature in prison. Unleashing him on civilised society at this point in time may be dangerous. Counter-productive, too! Time may temper him; so maybe we can return to review his case after 10, 15 or 20 years.

Good behaviour while in prison is also a key determinant of whether or not reprieve will be granted. And reprieve must never be allowed to trump justice. Justice demands that Kanu should sufficiently atone for his many crimes before he ever sees the light of day again. Otherwise, society suffers double jeopardy – which will be unfair to the countless number of victims of Kanu’s uncountable shenanigans!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of the Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the “ON THE LORD’S DAY” column in the Sunday Tribune and “TREASURES” column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

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Amb. Eche Abu-Obe, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made this known in a statement in Abuja.

“Following media reports on the petition submitted at No. 10 Downing Street by Mr Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho, the British High Commissioner in Abuja was invited to shed light on the issue.

“During the meeting , the High Commissioner noted with concern that the matter was over blown, indicating that the media reports were highly misleading.

“Furthermore, the High Commissioner informed that he was aware of the letter being delivered but added that it was merely an established practice of allowing the delivery of letters and petitions to No 10.

READ ALSO: Tinubu to CAF: Sanction those responsible for Eagles’ Libya ordeal

“It was not endorsed by any agency of the UK government nor the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee.

“The UK government typically does not concern itself with petitions concerning the sovereign affairs of another country,” Abu-Obe said.

He quoted the high commissioner to have informed that such petitions had been rejected by the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee and the UK Government in the past.

He further agreed to continue liaising with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as needed, while reiterating the importance of the bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

Source: NAN

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There is “two fighting”, as we used to say in those kindergarten days, between two prominent Yoruba Nation agitators – Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho and the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) leader, Gani Adams aka Iba Gani Adams and Are-Ona-Kakanfo. Igboho alleged that Gani Adams defamed him, damaged his reputation and assassinated his character in a leaked video that went viral. It makes no sense to repeat the contents of the video here.

Igboho is pained and, like Shylock in William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, he wants a pound of flesh from Gani Adams, first, to redeem his allegedly viciously damaged character and, secondly, to teach Adams an object lesson. Therefore, Igboho has approached the courts and is demanding damages in the region of N500 million from Adams.

The Yoruba have sterling qualities in many areas of human endeavour but, placed side-by-side Nigeria’s other nationalities, they are not known as good political strategists.

Efforts made by Adams and other concerned Yoruba leaders to placate Igboho has been in vain. Explanations by Adams that he meant no harm has fallen on Igboho’s deaf ears. When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. Therefore, supporters of the Yoruba Nation project at home and abroad are miffed that two foremost generals of their cherished cause are bent on washing their dirty linen in public. Rather than let wise counsel prevail, they seemingly have chosen to dance naked in public.

If I were Adams, I would have been circumspect enough not to voice what he was alleged to have said about Igboho. And if I were Igboho, I would be mindful to control the damage already done in the interest of the cause that I hold dear, and for which I have already suffered irreparable losses in the hands of the Nigerian state.

The altercations and vituperation between two Afenifere groups led respectively by Pa Reuben Fasoranti and Pa Ayo Adebanjo appeared to have receded in recent times from the very bad tempers that was witnessed in the period preceding, during and immediately after the last election. While it lasted, the disagreement was ferocious; it was also humbling. Two generals who share in the glory of the Awolowo years, still seen, till tomorrow, as the golden age of the Yoruba people, tugged relentlessly at each other as supporters urged them on.

Truth be told, it was a war of proxy of sorts, which some of the supporters instigated as well as cashed in upon to feather their own nests. Now, I imagine if I were the son of nonagenarian or octogenarian parents, whether I would allow that they be denied their well-deserved retirement and rest and be tossed up and down, dragged here and there by people cashing-in on their goodwill for self-aggrandizement.

READ ALSO: Deep calleth out to the deep…, By Bola Bolawole

Elders must learn to hand over the baton to the younger generations, not only in politics but also in business as well as in ministry. Recommended textbook: Pastor Wale Adefarasin’s “The succession crisis in Nigeria”. This book is available online. It is not only African heads of state that are guilty of the sit-tight syndrome; there are so many other closet president-for-life personalities in many aspects of our national life.

One of the qualities of good leadership is to know when to quit, not to stay beyond one’s welcome or usefulness. Quit the stage when the ovation is loudest! Hand over the baton to a worthy successor who will further build upon the foundation already laid. It is a relay kind of race, not a sprint. To the supporters or followers: Allow our living ancestors to take a bow! Leave them to retire and enjoy a well-deserved rest!

When Mrs. Modupe Abiola-Onitiri made her declaration of the sovereign state of Yoruba land, she was both grandstanding as well as making history. If a census is taken, I will not be surprised if there are elements of the Yoruba self-determination struggle that support her move: audacious to some, reckless to others. But such is the history of struggle the world over! When Isaac Adaka Boro decided to take up arms and fight for his Ijaw or South-south people, he was a fool to many; today, however, he is the hero of his people with monuments erected in his honour in many places.

The first persons to disown Onitiri were her erstwhile comrades in the agitation for a Yoruba Nation. What points were they trying to make? There are occasions when silence is golden! I am not a fan of Onitiri’s style of agitation. I do not think her modus operandi will achieve the desired result but I will not jump at the slightest opportunity to castigate her publicly. If you disagree with her style, go on with your own style and leave her with her’s. Demolishing the house where she made her declaration is infantile and begs the issue. What has the house got to do with it?

Many of those parading as leaders of the Yoruba Nation struggle are mere agitators with no sound knowledge of struggle. They are lumpen elements led by pseudo-radicals with no sound knowledge of the theory and praxis of struggle. The blind leading the blind. I believe, though, that one day, the Yoruba will have their Yoruba Nation, just like every other nationalities desirous of taking their destiny in their own hands will do – because it is the right thing to do; because it is the surest way to Nigeria’s greatness and development; and because it is the ONLY solution to the problems bedeviling the country. Point at one developed country where ethnic groups dominate ethnic groups. Nationalities are respected and allowed to control their own internal affairs and develop at their own pace. Whether we like it or not, that is where Nigeria must head.

Those castigating Onitiri for declaring Yoruba Nation came out a few days later to write a letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu demanding a referendum that would take the Yoruba people out of Nigeria! Tell me, where do they differ from the woman? Their point of divergence is “how” to achieve the same goal. But history teaches that no particular “how” suits the defenders of the status quo. So, if you think that because you stand on the rooftop to announce that your approach is non-violent, the authorities will be kinder to you than those who advocate armed struggle, you delude yourself!

And let no one think that those who are run underground today, dubbed as terrorists, will always remain so. Mandela was a “terrorist” before he became the first black president of South Africa. Fidel Castro and his comrades languished in jail before the tide turned against Fulgencio Batista. Mao Tse-tung and Lenin were “terrorists” who became leaders of their respective countries when their revolution succeeded.

My advice to Yoruba leaders is this: Stop castigating one another. They want to quit Nigeria; leave them to agitate for what they believe in. They want restructuring; let them go ahead and agitate for restructuring. Leave those who want to quit to quit. Those that want restructuring should focus on restructuring. Many roads, not one, lead to the market. The message is the same; only the rendition differs. So, why get in each other’s throat?

The Yoruba have sterling qualities in many areas of human endeavour but, placed side-by-side Nigeria’s other nationalities, they are not known as good political strategists. This is also showing in the way the leaders are prosecuting the Yoruba Nation struggle. They are quick to throw one another under the bus. How can a house divided against itself stand?

Many of those parading as leaders of the Yoruba Nation struggle are mere agitators with no sound knowledge of struggle. They are lumpen elements led by pseudo-radicals with no sound knowledge of the theory and praxis of struggle.

 FEEDBACK

Bola, I had exactly the same thoughts as you while driving through the Ibadan/Ife/Ondo road last week; an extremely shameful experience. Also shocking are the areas you mentioned on the just-concluded Lagos-Ibadan express road. Regrettably, this is what is going on all over the country. Is there any hope, one would ask! – Akin Akinsola.

Civil servants both at federal and state levels are the real corrupt elements in Nigeria. Each and every one of them have his/her registered companies in the drawers of their table. In the Ministry of Works which David Umahi heads, the president of the civil servants’ union told him that he (Umahi) cannot tell them what to do! Rather, they are the ones that will tell the Minister what to do! “We will be here, and you will come and go”, the guy told the minister in the open in a video that went viral! As for Bobrisky, somebody said the South-west conspired to save themselves from embarrassment and decided to put him out of circulation, for him to get back his senses. They did it in such a way as not to attract foreign-power interests. By his own name, Bobrisky knew he was playing a game that would eventually put him in trouble. – Mazi Coleman Obazi.

Phillip Shaibu deserves the treatment meted out to him by Obaseki. Shaibu bit the fingers that fed him right from obscurity up to prominence in Edo State politics. He openly disgraced Adams Oshiomhole, thinking he would be compensated for his disgraceful act. Phillip was not the first deputy governor to be impeached, neither will he be the last. -Mohamed Adeola Bello.

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of the Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the “ON THE LORD’S DAY” column in the Sunday Tribune and “TREASURES” column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

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After a hectic day last Sunday, I was already hauling myself into bed early when my phone rang. I missed the first call but the second came quickly thereafter and Baba (Prof. Banji Akintoye) broke the news to me that the Yoruba Nation fighter, Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho, has been released from what many have described as “protective custody” in the Republic of Benin. Igboho was kept first at Porto Novo and later at Cotonou. Baba mandated me to craft a news story to that effect. Igboho, he said, would be boarding a flight from Benin Republic to Germany – and not Nigeria – to reunite with his family at 11.00 pm. I said very well but counselled him to wait till 11.00 pm before releasing the press statement on Igboho’s release, which came after two years of a forced sojourn in a foreign land after he was chased out of his own country by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

A failed attempt at the assassination of Igboho when his Ibadan, Oyo State home was bombarded by security goons forced him to quickly relocate from the country. Some of his family, friends and associates, even pets, that the security goons met at Igboho’s home located in the Soka area of Ibadan were not as lucky as the Yoruba Nation freedom fighter himself. Igboho managed to reach Cotonou but his attempt to travel from there to Germany with his wife was thwarted, according to reports, by a combination of Nigerian and Beninoise security operatives. But for the vigilance and active opposition of the Yoruba population at the airport, Igboho would have been crated back to Nigeria as was the case with the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.  Like his military junta failed to “crate” Umaru Dikko from London to Nigeria, Buhari’s civilian administration also failed to have Igboho bundled from Cotonou to Abuja.

Thereafter, legal and diplomatic actions began on many fronts for and against the repatriation of Igboho from Benin Republic to Nigeria. The Nigerian government used its weight as the giant of Africa and the powerhouse of the West African (ECOWAS) sub-region to lean on its Republic of Benin counterpart to send Igboho back to Nigeria under the guise that he was a subversive element and terrorist undermining the security and territorial integrity of Nigeria. On the other hand, pro-Igboho elements led by the Yoruba Nation leader, Prof. Banji Akintoye, exerted pressure on the Beninoise government not to jeopardize Igboho’s safety by repatriating him to Nigeria. Igboho, they insisted, was a freedom fighter and nationalist activist and the peaceful agitation for a Yoruba Nation to be carved out of Nigeria is a legitimate nationalist aspiration recognized by the Charter of the United Nations Organization.

READ ALSO: If Atiku were a Yoruba elder…, By Bolanle Bolawole

In the end, the Beninoise government bent over backward to satisfy both ends: Igboho would not be allowed to continue on his journey from Cotonou to Germany, where it was feared he could begin to torment the Buhari administration just like Simon Ekpa of IPOB has used his base in Finland, another European nation, to promote IPOB interests and activities, but he would also not be returned to Nigeria as demanded by the Buhari administration.

The Yoruba indigenous group, mostly found in the south-east and south-south, accounts for 12% of the population of Benin Republic (nearly two million people), coming after the Fon 39% and the Adja and Mina (over 12%). There are 34 Yoruba Obas in Benin Republic. When we add the population of Yoruba migrants, then, the Yoruba constitute about one-quarter of the total population of the Benin Republic. While French is the country’s official language, Fon, Yom and Yoruba have the status of national languages. A visitor to Benin Republic, and even to its neighbour, the Republic of Togo, who is unable to speak French, will have no problem if he can speak Anago, which is what they call Yoruba.

Prof. Akintoye and other Yoruba Nation leaders who have also relocated from Nigeria to the Republic of Benin leveraged on this huge population (which no political leader can ignore) to mount pressure on the Beninoise government on Igboho. After courts in the Benin Republic freed Igboho, the Benin Government kept him in a “safe house” first in Porto Novo and later in Cotonou while a flurry of diplomatic and political activities continued to determine his fate. Now that Buhari is out of the way, Igboho has finally received the green light from the Benin Government for him to proceed on his journey to Germany, two years after!

Once Prof. Akintoye broke the news to me, I returned to bed. Two hours later at 10.00pm, Baba’s call woke me up again. Is the news ready? I had not even scribbled it! So, I quickly drafted a terse three-paragraph newsbreak and sent it to Baba for clearance: “Yoruba Nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho, has been released from protective custody in the neighbouring Republic of Benin. According to the Yoruba Nation leader, Prof. Banji Akintoye, Sunday Igboho’s release came a few hours ago and he is right now on his way to Germany to be reunited with his family. Further details later” I forwarded it to Baba and Baba okayed it: “Bola, lots of thanks. It is very apt” after which I rolled it out.

The “further details” that were promised came with Sunday Igboho himself speaking on his release and the next line of action. He said: “Good day everyone. I remain myself, Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho. First of all, my sincere appreciation goes to God Almighty, the master of the universe, for making this day possible. I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to all Yoruba sons and daughters all over the world for their love and support before and after the loss of my dear mother, though she’s still being kept in the morgue, waiting for me to return and give her the befitting burial that she deserves.

“I give special thanks to President (Patrice) Talon of Benin Republic and to all the members of his cabinet. My gratitude goes to my heroic father, Professor Banji Akintoye, and to Professor Wole Soyinka for their support in the course of the struggle. May God reward you, Baba, for standing courageously for our Yoruba nation and for me! You promised to stand by me through my ordeal in the Benin Republic and you have fulfilled your promise. I will not forget to appreciate former President Olusegun Obasanjo (and) Baba Ayo Adebanjo for their role, even though only God gives freedom.

“Let me use this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to all religious leaders, pastors, alfas and traditional worshippers for their prayer day and night. Our royal fathers, Obas and Chiefs in Yoruba land, your love and support are so well appreciated. But we need more of your support to deliver our land from the slavery of the Fulani because Yoruba land is ours. Although I have many Obas on my list, Olugbon of Orile Igbon and deputy chairman, Oyo State Council of Obas, Oba Francis Olushola Alao; Kabiyesi Oba Topson Oni Bariga of Bariga, Oba Tejuoso; Oni Kenta of Orile Kenta; Olugbo of Ugbo kingdom, Oba Frederick Akinruntan Obateru; your love is well appreciated”

Igboho said he had a long list of people and organizations to appreciate but that the list is too long for him to exhaust in this particular statement. It nevertheless includes Mega Rally, USA under Prophet Ologunloluwa and the Directorate under the leadership of Barrister Ogedengbe; Ilana Omo Oodua, Canada; Igbega Omo Oodua, USA and Canada; Chief Dele Momodu, all media outlets (internet, print and electronic); “all my brothers from the East” and many others who wanted to remain incognito. He ended with a plea to all Yoruba sons and daughters to join hands “to make Yoruba land great”

One chapter has just been closed in the Yoruba struggle for self-actualization. In the coming days and weeks, we will hear all manner of stories about the undercurrents that led to Igboho’s freedom. Who played what role and what were the conditions attached, if any? Will Igboho be free to return to Nigeria any time soon and under what conditions, if any? What role, if any, did the presidency of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu play in Igboho’s release? Has the Nigerian government reviewed its uncompromising stance on Igboho and is he no longer a terrorist and security threat? Has Tinubu himself softened his stance on Yoruba Nation and its agitation for self-determination?

Another question is whether the release of Igboho will give a new lease of life to the Yoruba struggle for self-determination. Will the street rallies, which Igboho led successfully before he was run out of town by the Buhari administration, return? Will Igboho’s release add fillip to the sagging morale of other Yoruba Nation activists and give the tottering Yoruba self-determination struggle a shot in the arm? Will activists stop the bickering over post and position; receive the impetus to resolve doctrinaire disputes and stop trading incessant accusations of financial malfeasance?  Will the leadership re-dedicate itself anew to the task of rekindling the hope of millions of Yoruba Nation devotees at home and in the Diaspora? Time, as they say, will tell!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com / 0705 263 1058) former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director Editor-in-chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

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Justice Ladiran Akintola of Oyo State High Court, had on September 17, 2021 awarded N20 billion cost “as exemplary and aggravated damage” against the Department of State Services, DSS, over the invasion of Igboho’s residence on July 1, 2021.

The Court of Appeal judgment, delivered virtually, was read by Justice Muslim Hassan.

Hassan said that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter and thereby, set aside the judgment.

READ ALSO: Soyinka in Benin Republic, meets Igboho

According to him, the lower court judge ought not to have awarded the cost based on his personal parameter.

Hassan described the cost awarded as “outrageous”.

DSS allegedly invaded Igboho’s residence at Soka area of Ibadan, on July 1, 2021 over his agitation for the creation of Yoruba nation.

The invasion allegedly led to the destruction of Igboho’s property and death of two of his associates.

This, however, necessitated the filing of the suit with Igboho seeking an enforcement of his Fundamental Human Rights against the DSS.

However, Chief Yomi Alliyu (SAN), Counsel to Igboho, declined comments on the judgment, as he did not respond to messages sent to him for his reactions.

Source: NAN

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The meeting was held in the Republic of Benin where Igboho is being restricted after he was granted bail on health ground.

Recall that Igboho was arrested and detained by the Interpol at Benin Republic airport on July 19, 2021 when he wanted to escape to Germany.

He had fled Nigeria following the storming of his Ibadan residence by the Department of State Services which accused him of stockpiling arms and plan to cause violence in the country.

At the meeting also was Professor Banji Akintoye who leads the Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide.

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The group said the claim by the  DSS was an attempt to evade the cost awarded against it by an Ibadan High Court for unlawful invasion of Igboho’s residence.

It would be recalled that the DSS on Tuesday, disclosed that the process of extraditing the Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Igboho to Nigeria was ongoing.

Igboho was arrested by the operatives of the Brigade Criminelle on July 19, 2021, while trying to travel through Benin Republic airport after the raid of his Ibadan residence on July 1, by the DSS operatives.

The spokesman of the group, Mr. Maxwell Adeleye, while speaking in Ibadan on Wednesday, during the inauguration of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide Elders Advisory Council, said Nigerian government had not filed any extradition charge against Igboho, but just a ploy to evade damages and cost awarded against them by the court.

He said, “They don’t want to pay the fine and that is why they wanted to quash the judgement.  Also, the appeal for stay of execution that was filed by DSS has not been granted by the court.”

The leader of the Ilana Omo Oodua, Prof. Banji Akintoye, while speaking at the event, said the Advisory Council became important to liaise with traditional rulers and other stakeholders towards making the dream of the self could not drive the course alone.

He urged everybody that loved development of Yoruba land to join hands towards its success.

According to him, “We are ready to fight for the self determination of Yoruba Nation until we succeed; there are some things the elders can do that the youths cannot do. Of course, the youth are also key towards the realisation of Yoruba Nation through protests, rallies, social media, and others but they also need the elders to champion the course.”

The Chairman of the Elders Advisory Council, Alhaji Ali Oyedeji, in his remarks, assured that members would collectively engage critical stakeholders in Yorubaland to key into the Yoruba redemption agenda for its peaceful approach toward its realisation.

He however said the recent attempt by some people occupying strategic positions in the group at blackmailing the leadership of the organisation was dead on arrival.

At the inauguration of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide Elders Advisory Council, the representatives of various Yoruba groups in attendance passed vote of confidence on the leadership of Prof Akintoye as the leader of Yoruba group championing the actualisation of Yoruba Nation.

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This is as it asserted that federal government was out to nail Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, at all costs by attempting to label him as a terrorist.

According to the group, the statement by Malami, linking Igboho to terrorism “was the height of an attempt to nail Adeyemo at all costs even without justification”.

The organisation, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, said the attitude of Malami on matters of rights of Nigerians and the need to use the law to edify the society had always called to question his capacity to hold the exalted office as the first law officer of the country.

According to the statement, one of the individuals who will feature prominently whenever the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari is being appraised is Malami because of what he did – and makes the government he serves to do – while in that office.

He maintained that his prominence would not be for exemplary positive contributions to the nation and to humanity but for the unprecedented damage he caused the administration he served to commit.

He said, “Signs for this ignoble record for Malami have been manifesting from his first year in office. But a confirmation of this came out through the press conference he held in Abuja on Friday, October 22, 2021 in which he tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to liken Mr. Sunday Adeyemo, a.k.a. Sunday Igboho, to Boko Haram terrorists.  His way of doing this was the revelation that there were financial transaction between a business firm, Adesun International Concept linked to Sunday Igboho and Abbal Bako & Sons linked to one Abdullahi Umar.

According to Malami, “Abdullahi Umar Usman is by way of financial transaction connected to Surajo Abubakar Muhammad Usman who was sentenced to a life imprisonment in UAE on charges of financing terrorism [Boko Haram])”. Malami asserted that the financial deal were “transaction outflows” between 2013 and 2021. Meaning that it was the company linked to Igboho that paid Abbal Bako and not the other way round.”

Ajayi insisted that the simple understanding of ‘sponsorship’ is that the sponsor would pay the one being sponsored, noting that in the  case of Igboho as claimed by Malami it was the supposed sponsored who paid the supposed sponsor which he said happened long before Igboho began his activities first as a human rights campaigner and later as a Yoruba nation agitator.

The statement read in part: “To worsen matters for Malami, he could not mention any specific terrorism act carried out by Igboho especially in regard to the financial transactions he was so excited to roll out. But then, Malami’s ‘war’ against self-determination agitators ought not to come to us as a surprise. For, he gave a hint of this when he was being screened by the Senate for his ministerial appointment. He had told the Senate that “My major task and intention are to ensure that our laws relating to treason and treasonable felony are indeed effectively brought to bear to ensure that this nation of ours remains one and the same.”

According to Ajayi, as at that time, the scale of injustice and impunity had not been as heavy as it had been, though Afenifere and others were even by then talking about restructuring, stating that for Malami to even as at the time of his ministerial screening, talk about laws on ‘treason and treasonable felony’ meant that he came to the office with a mission to quell any attempt by Nigerians to call for good governance.

The Afenifere spokesman said if a fraction of the energy being put into hounding rights agitators such as Nnamdi Kanu, Omoyele Sowore, Sunday Adeyemo and others had been channeled into fighting insecurity and corruption, Nigeria would not be in the socio-economic and political doldrums it had been at the moment.

“It is a big pity that this government seems to be more interested in quelling agitations for self-determination rather than confronting insecurity and economic tragedy that are fast sinking the country into an undeserved dungeon,” he stated.

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Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is currently being prosecuted at the Federal High Court Abuja by the federal government for alleged  treason and terrorism.

Malami, while briefing newsmen, said that the eventual re-arrest of Kanu in June, and some members of his group led to the inauguration of a Presidential Ad-hoc Committee comprising 24 members from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Information among other.

He said that the committee, after investigations, released it’s report titled: “Investigation report on acts of terrorism and allied offences perpetrated by Nnamdi Kanu, and report on the sponsors and financiers of Sunday Igboho and associates.”

According to him, the committee, headed by him, made a number of findings including that Kanu instigated wild spread violence in different parts of the country.

“The committee finds as a fact, that consequent upon the instigating directives of Nnamdi Kanu, members of IPOB/ESN carried out massive attacks on democratic institutions especially INEC facilities with a view to hampering democratic process in Nigeria.

“That acting on the instigating directives of Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB members and #EndSARS protesters attacked and killed many security agents, destroyed several public and private properties, including Police stations, public transport buses and other facilities across the country.

“That on Oct. 21, 2020, Nnamdi Kanu through an online call-in radio programme (Radio Biafra), further instigated IPOB members to burn down all police stations and kill government security forces.

“This directive was carried out and several security personnel (especially Police Officers) were killed and public and private properties destroyed,” Malami said.

The minister also said that the federal government had received the report on financiers of Sunday Adeyemo (a.k.a Sunday Igboho).

“The report revealed that Igboho is a director and signatory to Adesun International Concept Limited registered on April 23, 2010.

“Adesun International Concept Limited also has Oladele Oyetunji and Aderopo Adeyemo as directors.

“Igboho is linked to 43 bank accounts in 9 banks.”

According to Malami, the major financier of the fugitive and separatists was found to be a federal lawmaker in the National Assembly.

“A total sum of N127 million was received by Igboho from his financiers between Oct. 23, 2013 and Sept. 28, 2020 through Adesun International Concept Ltd accounts.

“A total sum of N273 million transaction outflows was recorded from Igboho’s account between March 15, 2013 and March 11,  2021.

“Investigation reveals that Adesun International Concept Ltd (belonging to Igboho) transferred the sum of N12,750,000 to Abbal Bako & Sons.

“It might be recalled that Abbal Bako & Sons and its promoter Abdullahi Umar Usman are suspects in the on-going Joint Terrorist Financing Investigation.

“Abdullahi Umar Usman is by way of financial transaction connected to Surajo Muhammad (who was sentenced to life imprisonment in UAE on charges of financing terrorism (Boko Haram),” Malami said.

The minister explained that the report showed the nexus between separatists’ agitation, terrorism financing and disruptions of peace in the country.

“The report found connections of financial transaction between Adesun International Concept Ltd (belonging to Igboho) and some construction companies and businesses among others.”

Malami, however, assured that the federal government remained resolute in its determination to have a peaceful Nigeria.

He said the government would  do all that was necessary within the context of the legal provisions in ensuring that the matter was given the deserved attention and those found guilty would be made to face the wrath of the law.

Source: NAN

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An Oyo State High Court gave the order on Friday describing the July 1 invasion of the residence of Igboho by DSS operatives as unlawful.

The order followed the suit filed by Igboho against the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, DSS and the director of the DSS in Oyo State.

Igboho requested that he should be paid N5.5 billion following the raid of his Ibadan residence by the operatives.

It would be recalled that two persons were reportedly killed and 12 other persons arrested during the raid.

He listed items said to have been removed from his house during the invasion as including N2 million cash, travel documents, gold jewellery, wristwatches, two mobile phones, and other items.

In the judgement delivered by Justice Ladiran Akintola, the court described the invasion as a mark of arbitrary aggression and prejudices against Igboho.

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