"Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable." - Frantz Fanon

"Nobody, no matter how highly placed; and no institution, no matter what it considers the rightness of its cause, will be considered a sacred cow or above the law in the bid to rid Nigeria of corrupt practices," - President Umaru Yar’Adua

I have always restrained myself from commenting publicly on the events in Oyo State, which happens to be my state, because of several reasons. One, I do not want thugs harassing my family or harassing me anytime I go to Nigeria to spend my leave, because these people we are dealing with are vicious, murderous people. Secondly, in most cases, I am too sad and disillusioned to bring myself to write anything about the state. This latter is borne by my belief that it is not always a good thing to write negative things about events, people or situations everytime. We should always look to write positive things, if we can. However, Nigeria’s political and moral situations as a whole has always been that of bringing out the pessimism and negativity in most of her people, such that we find it very difficult to celebrate achievement and excellence in all spheres of human activities in our country.

It is really a pity. We are often accused of being a difficult people to please. Yes, that is right, the reason being that at this stage in our nationhood and development (or underdevelopment, take your choice) Nigerian people expect a lot much more from their leaders, taking into consideration our wealth and human resources. Therein lies the problem – a dearth of good, sincere and committed leadership.

Talking of Oyo State, what now motivated and galvanised me to write about events in this sad excuse for a state government was the nice piece of editorial written by the Sun News Publishing “Let Oyo State work”  (Thursday, October 4, 2007) and that by The Guardian “Between Alao-Akala And Civil Servants In Oyo State” (Saturday, October 6, 2007). If only the renegade government of Oyo State and its backers and other selfish interests could read these and digest them and act on these and several other advice that have been proffered over the past 8 years.

The problems of Oyo State are the problems of Nigeria. In fact, a lot of Nigeria’s problems are reflected in the problems of Oyo State, if the truth be said, and those problems started a long time ago. And Oyo State is not unique. Nigeria has several problems, which means all the 36 states of Nigeria are conjoined in those same problems, however each state have local problems specific to them. Oyo State is by no means different.

It is not necessary here to delve into history, or else, this narrative might turn into a full blown book. Suffice it to say that the specific current problems of Oyo State, in my opinion, really began when the old Oyo State, comprising the current state and Osun State was split into two. This was further manifested when Governor Lamidi Adesina took over the reins of government of Oyo State, as it is today in 1999. To say that Lam Ade’s administration was a disaster is putting it really mildly. In fact, we are being kind to him for saying that. It was a monumental catastrophe. I will not go further than that in his case.

What followed a monumental catastrophe was another cataclysm in the form of the PDP government of Governor Rashid Ladoja. In fairness to this mild-mannered gentleman, he might have had good intentions, but the way he got into power haunted him and proved the cause of his downfall. You see, if you want to dine with the devil, you must have a very long spoon. Ladoja obviously is oblivious of this adage and other wise sayings. He bought his way into power, using the dubious power and influence of Chief Adedibu, and he found out to his great cost, that he could not tame the tiger. He had opened a Pandora’s Box. His plight again demonstrates the fact that power must be derived from the people, not through god-fathers, electoral corruptions and other trickeries to get into power. The people must really and truly vote for you and want you as their leader, otherwise, forget it. This is a lesson all our political leaders in Nigeria are yet to learn but must learn and realise.

Rashid Ladoja  just was not allowed to govern and he also, foolishly and naively, did not give himself any chance as he was all the time embroiled in a personal war of attrition and wits with his godfather. Although this is very arguable, the people of Oyo State, and indeed Nigeria, may never know what kind of governance Ladoja would have run, had he been allowed to serve his 4 years in full and in peace. It is a pity really, because he himself will not be judged kindly. The only sympathy people like me have for him is the illegal manner he was removed from office, not his performance as a governor.

Enter the greatest opportunist Alao-Akala. And utter chaos besieged Oyo State, actually in Ibadan, because in reality, other parts of the state were relatively peaceful. It is only that bedrock of Nigerian politics that erupted. I don’t think God and history will ever judge Alao-Akala and Adedibu well. And for that matter, all the so-called elders and monarchs of Oyo State, ex-president Obasanjo, the so-called Ibadan elders and elites. They are all culpable in this shameful and murderous farce.

On the face of it, it would seem like the Ibadans do not want anybody else to rule Oyo State. Well, this would seem to be the case judging from the posture and utterances of the so-called Ibadan elites, but then, who are they really? Their opinions nowadays are not worth anything. They buried their heads in the sand when they should be seen to be taking up the charge on behalf of the people of Ibadan and Oyo State. In fact, some of them were openly or discreetly going to pay obeisance to the Molete Thug-father and rubbing shoulders with him. One of them even was planning to make his son the Deputy Governor when and if Ladoja was removed; therefore he had to cuddle up to Chief Adedibu. It is a shame really.

The issue had nothing to do with a non-Ibadan indigene ruling the state, but the qualities of the Non-Ibadan indigene. Unfortunately for the non-Ibadans, it had to come in the form of a disgraced, corrupt, former policeman who was said to be indicted by the Nigeria Police Force and then unceremoniously sacked. During the eleven months, that he ruled the state, after he had helped impeached his boss, he looted the treasury in connivance with his political godfather, who ironically, was also the political godfather of his former boss. And shameless and power-hungry as he is, even when the courts declared that he should vacate the seat for his boss, the man did not even have the decency to resign, despite all the humiliations that accompanied his removal as governor and the way his boss started treating him. There must be something in government and power that these Nigerian politicians cannot just give up – money, of course, or rather, the opportunity to steal money, lots and lots of it.

A little bit of digression here. We tend to think that elites and elders can do something to solve Nigeria’s problems. This is a very big NO, for the following reasons:

• These decrepit and morally bankrupt elders and elites were the causes of our problems in the first place, so they cannot, and do not have any solutions to offer. They also want to keep the status quo because of their selfish interests. They are very selfish, and they do not really care for the common Nigerian
• The elders and elites have lost the respect of the larger community and are not trusted. They are mostly discredited and compromised persons, including most of the monarchs in the Southern part of Nigeria.
• The world has changed its attitude to community leaders in general. Because these community leaders, including these elders and elites, have failed the community they are supposed to lead or serve, the community has lost confidence in them; however these lepers still crave one kind of relevance or the other, and thus still prefer to refer to themselves as elites or elders.

While I support the saying that “we cannot have elders in place and let the head of a newborn baby be malformed”, the problem is that we have had these elders overlooking, and indeed contributing to the malformation of newborn babies heads a million times since our independence. In fact as Yorubas will say, they are “Agba-iya’s” translated as “Useless old persons”

This is exactly what has been happening in Oyo State and Ibadan. The elders have either been cowardly in the face of truth, or they have been deliberately quiet because of selfish interests.

Take Chief Richard Akinjide, a man who is noted worldwide for his legal and judicial brilliance, a man who entered Nigerian politics, according to himself, at the age of 27, and held many political positions culminating in the position of Attorney General and Minister of Justice; a man of incomparable brilliance and vast experience in governance, law and the constitution, and an Ibadan man. You ask me, what has been this man’s contribution to the development of Ibadan, his hometown, and to Oyo State all his life? What specifically have been his roles in solving the current political and constitutional mayhem and problems facing Oyo State and Ibadan? What has he really done to uplift Ibadan except that Ibadans take pride in referring to him as a “son of the soil” to highlight achievements of Ibadan sons and daughters? I can’t point to a single thing, but please correct me if I am wrong. We still remember his historic calculations of 12 two thirds in 1979.

Yes, Obasanjo failed the Oyo State, Yorubas and Nigerians woefully.  However people like Chief Richard Akinjide (we like to think of him as an important and foremost Ibadan man) are the real culprits in Yorubaland and are never to be trusted. Throughout the eight years of Obasanjo in Aso Rock, I never heard or read where Uncle Richard ever criticised Obasanjo. The Chief was indeed one of those people who formed the Yoruba Council of Elders to counter Afenifere's opposition to Obasanjo. He is now criticising Obasanjo saying the government is 'the worst ever in Nigeria'.  He has conveniently forgotten that his government of Shehu Shagari from 1979 to 1983 spent 36 billion dollars left by the same Obasanjo and plunged Nigeria into a further debt of $30 billion, and which it was the same Obasanjo that cleared this debt on his second return.

While I concur that there were very serious faults and flaws with Obasanjo’s 8 year administration, I do not believe Chief Akinjide is in any way, yes anyway, qualified to pass judgement on Obasanjo, in his 9-page interview with the Sun Newspapers, for the simple reasons that when Obasanjo was President, Chief Akinjide never said a word against Obasanjo’s excesses. Secondly, Akinjide was no better than Obasanjo, in fact I rate Obasanjo much higher than him; thirdly, I have very serious doubts about Chief Akinjide’s timing of his criticism, and lastly Chief Akinjide was among those who formed the Yoruba Council of Elders to counter Afenifere's opposition to Obasanjo; so the man is double-speaking. Such men should not be taken seriously, as they are speaking from the sides of their mouth.

No Ibadan Chief, with all due respect to your age and other reputations, your time is over. You have not contributed anything significantly either to Ibadan, Oyo State or Nigeria to withstand the test of time. Sir, please leave quietly so as not to disturb the neighbours.

In this instance, Chief Akinjide is not the only one culpable. I can mention hundreds of so called Ibadan and Oyo State elites and elders. Where are the Chief Arisekolas and other rich elites, the numerous professors, the Oyo State Council of Obas, etc?

To add insult to injury, at a time, Raji Rasaki, former Military Governors of both Lagos and Ogun States was in the frame for running for the Governorship of Oyo State, because he had aligned himself with Chief Adedibu. After he lost out in this race, he was again touted as a potential Minister in Yar’Adua’s government. You can see that this has really descended into a farce and a joke. With all due respect again, what could this man of straw offer to the people of Oyo State? Is it by building “girders”? What were his achievements in Lagos and Ogun States except make money for himself and his then military heads of state?

I have no doubt that there are lots of credible personalities in Oyo State who could restore peace; development and progress to Oyo State, but the current crop of opportunists are not it. And those who can will never be given a chance unless something really drastic happens for the better. I personally do not care which area of Oyo State that person comes from – Ogbomosho, Ibadan, Oyo, Ibarapa, Shaki, Iseyin or wherever – what we need are honest, sincere man or woman. But we are not going to get that for a while, mark my words.

The current government of Alao-Akala is a gross aberration and a curse to Oyo State as a whole, not only Ibadan. It cannot work because it is so much compromised. The foundation has been built on sands. The man is grossly incompetent, corrupt and comes laden with a dearth of ideas. I do not know how his acolytes can ever sell him to the public. For him, you cannot sow maize and hope to harvest yams. The moment he was a party to his former boss’s removal, and started prostrating to Chief Adedibu, that was when he lost any credibility and respect he had, if he ever had one.

From all that has been happening since he became Governor over 3 months ago, it is glaring that he can never be a good governor or governs well. The man has been bumbling from one controversy to the other. He was sacking and replacing Chief Judges at will; devoting much energy and time to trying to undo what his predecessor had put in place, etc. ; the Electoral Tribunal is still examining his credentials and the way he got into power. The civil service and the people of Oyo State have clearly shown him that they do not want him in the Governor’s Office. A Governor who thinks the solution to a civil strike is to sack the whole of his civil service clearly does not have any idea about governance and the rule of law. But then, not many people are surprised by this inane and insane act. Many people have lost their lives as a result of what he brought upon the people of Oyo State, by his stubbornness to remain in office by all means. Can you imagine the cost to the people – schools closed, hospitals closed, civil service closed, no new developments and implementation of electoral promises? Nothing has worked in Oyo State even before he became governor, and nothing will work as long as he remains governor. Obviously, Mr Alao-Akala has not heard of the saying “Ilo ya, Onibode Apomu” (It is time to go, the Gatekeeper of Apomu)

The Sun Editorial again concluded that “Alao-Akala’s handling of episodes of trouble in the state since he came to power has been less than admirable. He carries on as if his government is backed by a decree. And unfortunately, for him to have a force like Adedibu, giving him inspiration and impetus, a different result is hardly expected....... Alao-Akala has proved his incapability to manage Oyo State”. And continued “Also we wish to appeal to the Nigerian authorities and everyone for that matter who could rein on Alhaji Adedibu to let the state be”.

The Sun newspaper editorial asked about the House of Assembly and I nearly died with laughter. “We are worried, however, by the silence of the state’s House of Assembly” the Editorial queried. Well, herein lies the question. House of Assembly indeed, more like House of Thugs. What can you expect from this dishonourable members, most of whom not only rigged themselves into the house but are also mostly in the pocket of the Governor or Chief Adedibu? Half of them are being challenged in the various electoral tribunals and the other half are in fear of their lives. No, I am not in the slightest doubt that the Oyo State House of Assembly can or will do anything. They are also part of the problem. Even the Federal Legislators and Senators from Oyo State do not have any solution or say in this. One of the Senators is even Adedibu’s son.

And for those elites and elders again, including Obasanjo (everybody sees Obasanjo’s hands in the problems of Oyo State), you are the cause of all these palaver in Oyo State. You allowed it to happen, and you must take responsibility for everything that happened, including the loss of lives and properties and the lack of progress in the state. It is time you admitted it, and stop laying blames elsewhere. You cannot resolve it because you are part and parcel of it, so please withdraw. You have shown yourselves incapable of any decency and selflessness. You have demonstrated that you do not love your people and you lack the wisdom and the capacity to behave like true leaders and elders who can move the state forward.

Please, dear compatriots, read “VIOLENCE", by Dr Festus Iyayi, a lecturer in Business Administration at the University of Benin. If you read that 'open-reality' novel, you will glean the solution to the problem of corruption and misrule in Nigeria. The practice of politics, democracy and capitalism in Nigeria is very, very crude and primitive. It is simply  red-blood politics, democracy and capitalism which is fuelled and sustained by violence orchestrated by our ruling elite. To change this, we MUST move away from theory and embrace praxis. Period! Otherwise, we are in for a continuing vicious circle of these shameless practices. I believe in praxis especially the one with a revolutionary bent.

Ever since we wholeheartedly embraced democracy in 1999, these problems have been replicated in one state or the other – Anambra, Ekiti, Oyo, Plateau. And we will have more. In others, they have very strong Governors and weak deputies. The latter are more or less domesticated properly and just follow their Governors, grabbing and satisfied at the crumbs passed on to them by their bosses.

So we see why Oyo State cannot work and will not work in the foreseeable future. If Alao-Akala and Adedibu are out of the calculations, we stand a chance. If the elites and elders are out of the equation, we might have a chance. It is quite possible that if the entire above mentioned are put in a room and a nuclear bomb is set off, Oyo State might have a chance to express itself as one of the leading states in Nigeria.

What do you say we try this last option? It will surely work.