02042019 - Military uncovers arms factory in Benue

Buhari, Jonathan, Atiku and I (2)
AFTER the first encounter
with Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan on the day the
National Assembly
empowered him as Acting
President, I formed an
impression of him which has
not changed as I write: he
should have been a Vicar and
not a Nigerian politician.
I came to that conclusion
when he answered Pastor
Bakare’s question as to why
he did not move against
Yar’Adua’s ministers who
were misbehaving during the
power vacuum.
He in all innocence said:
“The father of my chief justice
when I was governor in
Bayelsa used to say that any
man that uses more than 20
per cent of his power would
become a nuisance to his
community”. My thought was
that the man does not fully
appreciate power politics in
this demoncrazy where a ruler
(not leader) has to use 100 per
cent of his power to be joined
with the strength of Miyetti
Allah to bring society under
total submission.
A few months after this
encounter, I discovered that
Jonathan was not faking it but
being his real self when he
made the statement I quoted
above.
Nuisance to his
community
I had made some scathing
remarks about him when he
made the statement I
referenced last week about the
National Conference. I ran
into my late friend, Mr.
Oronto Douglas in Abuja some
days after I made the
statement and was surprised
when he said to me: “Oga
read what you wrote about him
and he didn’t like it. He
demands an apology from
you."
That shocked me to the
marrows. A Nigerian
president with DSS, Police,
DMI, etc, and whose aides
may unofficially have
assassins at their beck and call
is demanding an apology from
a citizen for a harsh comment
he didn’t like.
I told Oronto to tell him I
apologise for the harsh
comments but still disliked his
comments.
There wasn’t any sign in the
horizon that I was going to
back Dr. Jonathan for the 2015
elections. Having packed it
up with the Buhari group
honourably, I was not going to
have a choice between the duo
in the following elections but
for the return to the core issue
that affects our polity.
In fact, in between the 2011
and 2015 elections, the Save
Nigeria Group I was very
active in had organised the
Occupy Nigeria at Ojota in
Lagos which almost brought
the Jonathan government
down. It was one of the most
powerful moves against any
government in the history of
Nigeria after a sudden
increase in the pump price of
For us in
Afenifere, our
job was cut out
as the subject of
returning
Nigeria to
federalism was
very cardinal
petrol while discussions
initiated by government on the
subject were still going on
around the country.
A meeting of SNG was called
in Lagos where a novel
decision was taken to involve
prominent entertainers in our
reaction against the hike in
pump price of fuel. We had
popular musicians like Femi
Kuti, KWAM 1, the late Ras
Kimono and Dede Mabiaku at
the planning sessions. The
first day of the protest drew
appreciable crowd. By the
second day the attendance
became massive.
By the third day we were
already fearing a stampede.
The fourth day became
something else. By the fifth
day we had to take a decision
to let the people go home for
the weekend so we could avoid
a major mishap that could
happen as the crowd already
grew beyond what we could
manage.
There have been talks about
that movement attracting
sponsorship. But as the person
who disbursed all the money
spent centrally for the five days
the action lasted, I can say that
we never spent more than
N7.5 million for all the days it
lasted.
I recall spending quality
time to put it across to Dr.
Jonathan when we met at
Otuoke after he left office that
the movement was not
bankrolled from anywhere.
By early 2014, words were
already filtering out that a
National Conference may be
on the way. As the year
progressed, Oronto reached
out on the subject and asked
for inputs with consultations at
the highest level.
The conference eventually
held for three months in Abuja
with the best possible quality
attendance across Nigeria
with a unanimous report after
serious give-and-take from the
disparate forces at the
Vanguard, TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2 2019 —17
conference.
some of us is different from
At the end of the conference what drives jobbers like them.
the President assured a few of A hollow professor even put
us who had audience with him in black and white that
that the reports would be “Odumakin collected money
implemented to move the from Jonathan campaign in
country forward.
2015 to set up a radio station”.
For us in Afenifere, our job He has been dragged before
was cut out as the subject of a Lagos High Court to come
returning Nigeria to and prove the
federalism was very cardinal. wild allegations.
It was on the basis of mere Suffice here to acknowledge
verbal commitment to the publicly the goodness of
subject that the group Jonathan which differentiates
supported the candidacy of him from many of the
General Muhammadu Buhari politicians around here.
in 2007. This time around we I had applied for a radio
had a President who already license in 2014 through the
organised a National NBC and I followed due
process.
Conference with reports in our
hands promising to implement
it if he returns. There was no
need for much debate on whom
to back for the elections and it
was within that context
Jonathan became my
candidate for 2015. I must say
here that if that situation
arises again, we would do it
again!
For the lousy lot who spew
the nonsense that Odumakin
jumped from Buhari to
Jonathan, they lack the depth
to appreciate the dynamics of
the seasons and what drives
Dear Yinka,
THANK
you for
reproducing the late
Prof. Pius Adesanmi’s
presentation. The rest of his
paper was published online. I
really condole with the
members of his family, friends,
students, professional
colleagues and the academic
community for the loss of this
intellectual giant.
He has written his name in
gold in the annuals of history
and be sure he goes marching
on like other great men before
him.
Please permit me to comment
on the part of his paper where
he mentioned you and others
for doing a “thankless job”
working with and for those
who claimed that they came to
be our liberators, but turned
out to be our oppressors and
promoters of poverty in the
land.
Let it be said that you and
Goodness of
Jonathan
My application was among
the several sent to the
Presidency for signature by
the Ministry of Information
under Mr. Labaran Maku who
resigned before the elections.
His exit led to the applications
sent to the Presidency being
reshuffled under the new
arrangement.
It was after Jonathan had
lost elections and was on his
way out of the Villa that I
mentioned to him that I had
an application awaiting his
signature.
He responded that he
signed some applications that
day but he would not know the
names of the applicants. I had
to check with my contacts at
NBC only to be told that my
application was replaced after
the exit of Maku, though it
was fully qualified. It was
then resent and Jonathan
signed it at a time he expected
nothing from me as he had
already lost his re-election bid.
My station was set up several
moths after he left office and I
never collected a dime from
him contrary to the wild and
malicious claim of the
professor that his campaign
gave me money in 2015 to do
it.
To be continued
FEEDBACK
Re: Pius Adesanmi: Endless Tears
others he named have not only
given voice to the
voiceless millions of Nigeria,
but have also done what these
millions cannot do for
themselves. Be neither
discouraged nor weary for
doing a thankless job in
standing up for and with the
masses.
If your struggles are faced
with challenges that are
frightening and you obtain no
present thanks, do not give
up the struggles. Do not
become a sluggard in the
struggle.
Remember that those
who return unkindness for
kindness shown them will
plant and harvest unkindness
in their lives.
Those who return evil for the
good done them evil will never
depart from them. This is a
natural law. The struggle must
continue.
—Tony O. Ekwe.
C
M
Y
K