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Showing posts with label BLACK POWER. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BLACK POWER. Show all posts

Monday, March 16, 2015

BLACK PRESIDENT O!-OUR BLACK PRESIDENT IS BLACK WHEN HE CAN BE! -FROM ESSENCE.COM

from essence.com
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Sunday, March 08, 2015 | 5:42 PM

Flying With President Obama to Witness History in Selma

By Zerlina Maxwell
8 Comments
Selma 50 Anniversary March
I had the privilege of joining President Barack Obama and a small cadre of Black journalists aboard Air Force One on a trip to Selma on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
Sitting under the Seal of Air Force One yesterday, the President talked about the symbolism of that moment. It wasn't lost on anyone on board, with special souvenirs and M&M candies affixed with the president's signature, that none of us would be there without the blood spilled by those brave men and women half a decade earlier.
The president seemed hyper-aware of his position as a manifestation of progress. While some cynics may declare that "nothing has changed,” that sentiment doesn't seem to be consistent with reality as we flew to what used to be the heart of American racial terror.
While President Obama's election isn't the catalyst of a post-racial America fiction, that doesn't mean it was not transformational for the next generation. "I think that there’s no doubt that my election was a significant moment in the country’s racial history. I say that with all humility. If it hadn’t been me, it would have been somebody else. But a barrier was broken," the president said. "I think that legacy will continue in the minds of children who are growing up never having known to this point a President who wasn’t black. And I think that shapes attitudes among young African American children, but also among all children. And I’d like to think that that will have a useful, lasting effect in terms of people’s attitudes about who can do what, and changes people’s images of what’s possible for any child in America."
The president's children, Sasha and Malia, were there to bear witness and honor those who made our self-determination, through the vehicle of voting, possible. "[T]he thing that makes it most important for me is not what I have to say, but rather giving Malia and Sasha a chance to soak in some of the history that has given them opportunities that 50 years ago never could have been imagined, and that like all young people they may tend to sometimes take for granted."
Selma was a moment in which the world saw the ugly underbelly of white supremacy streaming live on national television.
Things have changed since 1965 even though with every tragic racial incident – from the L.A. Riots to Ferguson – American racial progress seems especially tenuous. Fifty years ago racist Jim Crow laws codified discrimination against Black people and denied their civil rights and basic human dignity. While the mechanics have changed, much of this bias has been embedded in our institutions, and at times it seems that while everything about race relations has changed, much remains the same.
President Obama noted this interesting timing; just days before his trip to Selma, the Department Of Justice confirmed, in a comprehensive report on the Ferguson police department, what the #BlackLivesMatter movement has been protesting around the nation since last summer. The 100 page report documents, in detail, the problem, and outlines a path forward in Ferguson and beyond.
"In some ways, the timing is good – the week that the report on Ferguson came out [is] around the same time that the task force that I put together in the aftermath of Ferguson [is] presenting its findings and recommendations too," President Obama said.
Speaking about how "Selma is now," the president said, "I think we have a great opportunity to not duplicate the spirit of 50 years ago, but at least draw inspiration from it and try to apply it in concrete ways that can restore trust between community and law enforcement around the country; that can refocus our efforts around criminal justice reform; that can spark a conversation around the continuing legacies in Jim Crow that led to impoverished and isolated communities; and that can provide some impetus for reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act," President Obama said.
Too often, Americans decry the slow pace of change. Yet one could not question that a seismic racial transformation happened in the last 50 years as we watched the nation's first Black president's motorcade ride through Selma. Residents lined the suburban streets for just a brief glimpse of President Obama as the First Family made their way to a crowd of 40,000 people ready for a celebration.
“[T]here are places and moments in America where this nation’s destiny has been decided. Many are sites of war – Concord and Lexington, Appomattox, Gettysburg. Others are the sites that symbolize the daring of America’s character – Independence Hall, Seneca Falls, Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral. Selma is such a place, the president said opening his rousing speech at the foot of the famous bridge.
Fifty years ago my late grandfather Reverend Elmer Williams marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and this weekend I went to Selma with America's President. Both of us are Black. Both of us would've been targets of violence in the Selma of yesteryear but, today, the President drove to and marched over this bridge, the staging for brutal confrontations, as the leader of the free world.
Zerlina Maxwell, J.D., is a political analyst and ESSENCE contributor. She writes about national politics, candidates, and specific policy and culture issues including domestic violence, sexual assault, victim blaming and gender inequality.

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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

YORUBAS OOOOO!-EKITI ELECTIONS!- COMMENTS OF THE PEOPLE INCLUDED!-ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE NATION NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA-THIS REPRINTED BY CHANGENIGERIA.COM.NG

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE NATION NEWSPAPER,THIS IS FROM CHANGENIGERIA.COM.NG

Further thoughts on Ekiti polls by: Segun Ayobolu

July 6, 2014 | Filed under: Commentary | Posted by:
The primary vocation of the intellectual is the pursuit and advocacy of truth no matter how distasteful or bitter. Paul Baran, the late American political economist, insisted that the intellectual must ruthlessly criticise everything under the sun with the determination and courage to pursue rational inquiry to wherever it may lead irrespective of the consequences. In a famous lecture at the University of Jos, the late Professor Aaron Gana, the eminent political scientist, linked this to the famous admonition by Jesus Christ that “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free”. The journalist is no intellectual. The nature of the profession gives little time for the kind of detailed and rigorous research undertaken by the intellectual. Journalists are said to write history in a hurry. Yet, we are no less bound by a commitment to truth as the intellectual. That is why it is said in the profession that while comments are free, facts are sacred.
Last week, I joined in the effort to make sense out of the June 21 governorship elections in Ekiti State, which saw an incumbent, Dr Kayode Fayemi, perceived to be high-performing losing comprehensively to a populist, theatrical and controversial Ayodele Fayose with a tainted record as an impeached former governor of the state. Like most other commentators, including the famous Professor Niyi Osundare, whose satirical poem, ‘A rice O compatriots, thy stomach’s call obey’ has gone viral on-line, I interpreted the outcome of the election as a vote by the Ekiti electorate for instant and transient material gratification rather than enduring development; an endorsement of crude distribution of food and cash to the people rather than initiating and pursuing projects and programmes to uplift them out of poverty.In his thoughtful public ruminations on the Ekiti polls, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) has raised pertinent questions, which have been misinterpreted as insulting the Ekiti people. Like the Governor, I also wondered if governance should be about distributing money to the poor or empowering them to be self-reliant through development projects.
I wondered how an incumbent governor could have lost in his own home town and ward in a credible election. Well, given the overwhelming responses to my column – phone calls, text messages, and emails – mostly from Ekiti indigenes, I am afraid I was dreadfully wrong. I reacted cognitively and logically to the Ekiti polls without a proper appraisal of the empirical realities.Yes, the excessive and intimidating militarisation of Ekiti before and during the election was unwarranted. The partisan use of security agents by the Minister of Defence, Musliu Obanikoro and Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan is contemptible and condemnable. The intimidation of APC political leaders, abridgement of the freedom of movement of APC governors and teargasing by mobile police of the Governor Fayemi’s convoy negated the creation of a level paying ground necessary for free and fair elections.
Yet, from the feedback I have received, the truth is that Mr Ayodele Fayose would still have won without all of these abuses. Indeed, it appears to me that violence would have broken out if, for any reason, Fayemi had been declared winner. It was that bad.Is it possible that Dr Fayemi could credibly have lost in his own home town, Isan-Ekiti? A reader from the town sent me a text message that he voted against the governor because he always insisted he was the governor of the whole of Ekiti State and not of Isan. Thus, they did not enjoy any special privilege from the fact of their son being governor. This may have been ethically right on the part of Fayemi but it was politically suicidal for him at home. Another response to my article was that Fayemi had built an imposing country home in Isan within his first year in office while most of the people remained immersed in poverty. The Fayemi government never successfully refuted the widespread rumour that the First Lady, Bisi Fayemi, allegedly built a higher institution in Ghana during his tenure. Thus, it is not that the people did not see and appreciate the massive infrastructure projects of the Fayemi administration. However, the construction of these projects were perceived as financially empowering a few in Fayemi’s inner circle many of whom were of no significant economic status before his emergence as governor. Thus, the quite natural and understandable insistence of the people that what is now popularly called ‘stomach infrastructure’ must be democratised and not restricted to the governor and his friends.
A lecturer at the Ado-Ekiti University told me that most of the staff and students of the institution voted against Fayemi. If a Phd holder could not connect with his own academic colleagues, what are we talking about? And at the same time Fayemi was completely disconnected from the grassroots lumpen elements that were swept off their feet by Fayose’s populist antics despite the latter’s well- known flaws. Similarly, a national legislator of the APC from Ekiti State told me of how Fayemi had become inaccessible and alienated from the legislators at both the state and national levels and even many members of his cabinet. I am told that while many of Fayemi’s commissioners and special advisers could hardly boast of one million naira in their bank accounts, those in his inner circle had reportedly become stupendously wealthy. The Chief of Staff, Yemi Adaramodu, reportedly rude, arrogant and snobbish was a key factor in Fayemi’s loss.
An APC chieftain in Ado-Ekiti recalled how Fayose and Opeyemi Bamidele reached out to him morally and financially when he lost his mother while his own governor did not even give him a phone call. This illustrates how alienated the Fayemi government was even from his own party that was consequently demotivated from working for his re-election with passion and commitment.Otunba Niyi Adebayo reportedly had two commissioners in Fayemi’s government including the commissioner for works; his 22 year old son was Special Adviser on Diaspora Matters (whatever that means) to the governor and Adebayo had five cousins appointed at various levels of the administration. This was in addition to unrefuted reports of the former governor handling several contracts. Yet, many of those who fervently supported Fayemi intellectually, morally, financially and logistically during his three and a half year struggle to reclaim his mandate, including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu were kept at arms –length by Fayemi. The same Tinubu has stood valiantly by him following his June 21 defeat. Otunba Adebayo who could not even deliver his polling unit to Fayemi has remained thunderously silent while another of Fayemi’s cherished ‘godfathers’, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), who publicly supported Fayemi before the election has come out after the polls to say that Ekiti cannot afford to be in opposition! It is stunning that a highly respected SAN cannot appreciate the critical, indispensable necessity of opposition for healthy democracy and good governance. That, however, is a matter for another day.
I hate to write these bitter truths but have no choice but to honestly put out the feed- back generated by last week’s column. Dr. Fayemi is my friend but I deliberately refused to visit Ekiti throughout his tenure. I never requested for, nor was ever offered even a bottle of coke by his government. All I have written in support of his government and re-election have thus been based on principle and the facts as I saw it. But what I can now surmise is that an ordinarily brilliant, humble and unassuming Kayode Fayemi became transformed by power into a haughty, hubristic governor almost contemptuous of his party and people. It is ironical that a student of power like Fayemi turned out to be so inept in its usage and management. There is no way, for instance, that an astute politician would have allowed Opeyemi Bamidele, who played such a key role in his emergence as governor, to become such a bitter opponent.
The outcome of the June 21 election in Ekiti was a massive rejection of Fayemi’s style of governance and not necessarily of the APC. But the APC is suffering the consequences of condoning and ignoring the excesses of the governor. If Fayemi had got his politics right, a million bags of rice or a battalion of soldiers could not have delivered Ekiti to the PDP. Luckily for the APC, in Osun, Ogbeni Aregbesola is a solid grassroots politician; his lifestyle and attitude have not been perverted by power; he is a fervent and passionate party man; his massive development projects are integrated into the local economy and where he has inevitably had conflicts with interest groups, he has bent over backwards to explain his motives and resolve the issues. The loopholes that facilitated PDP’s victory in Ekiti do not exist in Osun. If the Ekiti elections reflected the will of the people, then it is very good for Nigeria’s democracy. This means that given his appalling non-performance, President Goodluck Jonathan is a very vulnerable incumbent in a credible 2015 election.
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Monday, July 14, 2014

EKITI KETE O! - REAL "QUAKE IN EKITI" AS TELL MAGAZINE CALLED IT!- THE PEOPLE VOTE AGAINST TINUBU CONTROL!- FROM PUNCH NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA

from punchng.com

You are here: Home / News / Fashola should stop running his mouth, he’s a product of god-fatherism–Ayo Fayose

Fashola should stop running his mouth, he’s a product of god-fatherism–Ayo Fayose

July 5, 2014 by NIYI ODEBODE and ADELANI ADEPEGBA
   
 


Ayodele Fayose
Ayodele Fayose
The Governor-elect of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, in this interview with NIYI ODEBODE and ADELANI ADEPEGBA, comments on the controversy over his victory and politics in the South-West
Many people were shocked by the result of the Ekiti governorship election. Were you also shocked?
No, we know the facts on ground. We live by realities, not propaganda. There are no Nigerian politicians, serious politicians, irrespective of their political parties, that do not know that Fayose is on the ground and that Fayose’s name is a household name in Ekiti. Despite the fact that I have left office for eight years, I remain with the people. I have fought several elections, for and in support of even the All Progressives Congress. I supported Kayode Fayemi in the rerun. I was the beautiful bride then. It is their way when the going is good with them; when you are fighting on their side, you are the best in the world. Then, you will not be a criminal; then you will not be 419er; then you have integrity, then you will be celebrated. When you are against them; when you humble them, they call you all sorts of names. They look for theories that do not go with reality.
How would you respond to Governor Fashola’s comment that Governor Fayemi accepted defeat because he did not want bloodshed in Ekiti?
I really don’t want to join issues with them, particularly, Governor Fashola because I like him so much. I like his person and I have a lot of respect for him. But Governor Fashola is talking from two sides of his mouth. They say Fayose is not educated, according to them, but he is educated. He is learned but Fashola is not a product of internal democracy. Governor Fashola is a product of imposition, of god-fatherism. I remember when Fashola and Asiwaju Tinubu had issues, there were trumped-up charges against him through the House of Assembly. I remember vividly that he had to go to the court to clip their wings, otherwise they would have messed him up. And even at that, they still kept a tab on him. How would you be a governor, not elected in a transparent primary, but selected by one leader and you would still be surprised if an election was won through due process? Fashola knows that when he accused Asiwaju of not allowing due process or internal process in the party, Bola Tinubu told him, ‘Have you forgotten that if I followed due process, you would not be governor?’ So he cannot appreciate due process politically. When they were nominating commissioners, he didn’t have one commissioner. He cannot equally say this is my deputy. You know I chose my deputy myself, against all the odds. They gave him a deputy governor, probably, the only person I think he owns now is his wife. I am sure Fashola has forgotten that he is a lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and that the constitution of Nigeria says a man is adjudged innocent until otherwise proved by a court of competent jurisdiction. I don’t want to say anything negative about him. I would have asked a special adviser or somebody working under me to reply him, but because he is a governor, I have to reply him myself. Let me remind him very quickly, I was governor before him. He was an ordinary chief of staff at that time. I am his senior politically. If at all he knows anything about politics, I am his senior. We know the intrigues more than him. It is true he is sitting on a prime state like Lagos under the watch of his godfather, but he should not run his mouth. It is unfortunate that a man at his level is talking like that. I am an institution like his godfather in Ekiti. When I started, I didn’t have a godfather. I didn’t have anybody like the Saraki of Ilorin who put Bukola Saraki there. They should learn to allow democracy to run. I want to tell them, if care is not taken, they would lose Lagos. The tide, the movement is against them. One thing with the APC is that they would lure you to defect, the moment you defect, they would go and put you on the reserve bench. That is why they don’t have support continuously. When you work for them, as soon as you are used, they dump you. You can imagine a governor who is supposed to pay salaries and he refused to pay for two, three months, and election is coming, he is now rushing, borrowing money. The civil servants are now telling him, thank God for Ekiti election, if not for Ekiti election, this man would not pay us. Who is fooling who? Look at the heavy tax burden in Lagos, in all their states. The Tsunami is going to consume them and I am telling you the truth, it is not personal. I am not boasting, I am an institution in Ekiti. What is the business of Fashola in Ekiti? The problem is that they have all put their resources in Ekiti election and they lost. The bookmakers failed.
Despite the fact that Fayemi conceded defeat, you described it as political gimmick. Why?
Governor Fayemi does not have a choice than to concede. It is only honourable for him and I will continue to respect him even when it’s obvious he had no choice but to concede, that is the truth. In my village, people say if everybody doesn’t know the truth, you that is affected by an incident knows the truth; a sick man knows he is having pain in his tummy. Governor Fayemi knows the situation is bad.
But some people have argued that your victory was achieved through inducement of voters with rice and money?
Unfortunately, they (APC members) are the ones sharing money. I complained about them sharing money, check the records. In 2011, they brought money to every polling booth. Those people that were arrested during elections were caught with money. Which party did they belong to? The issue here is that they all know it. They are the ones that engaged in money politics. They buy all the buy-ables. I have been out of office for eight years, where will I get that kind of money to buy votes? The issue remains that somebody that eats your food must be convinced before he can vote for you. Can a meal of rice induce somebody to vote for you? Fayemi gave cooked rice, I gave uncooked rice. This is politics and you need everything to entice voters and rice was shared by me, almost two weeks before election.
Did you have to do that?
Yes. Why was Governor Fayemi buying buses and inscribing Iyaloja, Igbo community on them close to the election period? Why was Governor Fayemi’s wife donating garri to the farmsteads? Why was he giving money to aged citizens and giving gifts including recharge cards to the people? Why did his wife do that? These are petty antics of politicians to draw voters and that does not change anything. A container of rice would not change the mind of anybody because the rice cannot last you till the election day. When you attend ward meetings, you give your people money because some of them may have come to meet you from various villages. You see, when you fail, you must accept and Fayemi lives in Ekiti and we are there together. Are they now holier than the Pope? Most of the hotels in Ekiti were booked by Governor Fayemi six months before the election and they gave rooms to all the policemen that came for the election. We knew what transpired. Fayemi has been honourable. Their fear is not about Ekiti anymore. They are saying all these because of Osun election. When something is consuming you, you will hold on to anything and all things. If you look at them very well, they were in shock for the first three days after the Ekiti election, they had to summon a NEC meeting to take a decision. They had to look for words, which they coined to describe what happened because they were caught by the reality of the international accreditation of that election which was adjudged free and fair. The court is the highway for them, but they will meet us there. Are they the owners of the court? They are not. They always think they know it all.
There is a belief that federal might played a role in your victory.
I don’t know what is called federal might. In those days, they used to snatch ballot boxes, you can’t do that again. There used to be multiple thumb printing, but the ballot papers are now customised to the polling booth and the ward. Even if you want to help somebody rig the election, it is not easy anymore. They should stop lying. Some of them said they militarised Ekiti and brought so many security personnel. The question is that the law is not made for the godly, but for the ungodly. The military personnel were not for those that wanted to vote peacefully, they were for those that wanted to create problems. Some of them came to Ekiti with voter’s cards that did not belong to them, stayed in various hotels and had charms on them, they were caught. Who were the people that were arrested in Anambra? Were they not APC members? The same APC members and it is their method to always want to change the story. Thank God, Fayemi was honourable enough. I remember Governor Adebayo did the same thing. Na today them dey lie? It is not today.
Is it true that Ekiti voters did not sack Governor Fayemi for non-performance?
Governor Fayemi did not perform, that is the truth. I stand to be corrected, but he did not perform. Let me ask him one question: Governor Fayemi should tell Ekiti and the public one road project initiated and completed by his administration-from bush clearing, earth removal, sand filling, compacting, surface dressing, drainage works, culvert, asphalt overlay, none. I stand to be corrected. Governor Fayemi only laid asphalt on all the roads that I did. The people of Ekiti State till today have not got a replacement for me. They were not part of the events that took me out of office. Historically, they still remain with Ayo Fayose in their hearts. Let me go to another sector: in education, when I left government, Ekiti was number 35 out of 36 states in the country when I took over from Governor Adebayo, I brought education with credit in five subjects in the external examination as a yardstick, I brought Ekiti in 2004 to 18th position. In 2005, I brought it to 13th, in 2006, it came to the 8th position. Today, we are back in number 34 under Governor Fayemi. So, tell me the performance, the hype in the media, is that performance? I stand to be corrected again, Governor Fayemi should point at one project started by his administration and completed; none. The governor’s lodge that he is building in Ayaba hill, is Ekiti the Federal Government that he is building Aso Rock? Of what economic value are those projects to the average man on the street? The pavilion was commissioned uncompleted. I don’t like to take on Governor Fayemi, but we have to treat these issues. These projects, of what economic benefits are they and at what cost? Again, let me say this, when I was governor, I did not borrow a dime to run my administration and I still left N10.4bn in the coffers of the state government at my departure. It is not about your professorship or doctorate degrees, or your being a SAN. They love me. It is not about education. It is about native intelligence and your ability to humble yourself and live with the people. Most of the people that are local politicians, I know their names, I know their houses, I know their farms. I know what they need. I helped them. I have their phone numbers. I announced my phone numbers on the radio, they call me, I picked calls, how many of the opposition politicians can put their numbers in the public domain for people to call them? How many of them can spend two days in their local government areas? I have gone to look for ward leaders sometimes during party primaries, they would be in their farms and I would meet them in their farms and still help some of them to make heaps. Sometimes, it is not about money. There is no ward in Ekiti that I don’t know people by names, at least 10 people per ward. If I don’t know your name, I have an idea of who you are. You know most politicians give their T-shirts free to supporters, I sold mine. My T-shirt is N300 because I am like the football star. My T-shirt is not free. When others give supporters their T-shirt, they leave it and buy my own. If you don’t buy my T-shirt, you would look like a leper. My hand band which has the inscription of my name is N100, my baseball cap is N200. I am as golden as that. There is a membership of the PDP that is general, but the membership of Ayo Fayose group costs N500. I have at least over 90,000 registered members; they beg to register. With all due respect to my supporters, I love them. I go to the remotest part of Ekiti, wherever you are. If you are having a naming ceremony, you will find me there. It doesn’t matter how poor you are. If I cannot give you a cow, I give you a ram. If you are drinking Agbo jedi (herbal concoction), I would join you. Women selling boli (roasted plantain) know me and I know them and I phone them from time to time. This is not a question of money. How many of our governors can go to roadside eateries and eat there? They said I am a jankara governor and I have used this to beat them. Every Sunday, I go to eat ‘iyan kolobe’ (pounded yam without soup) and I’d be there for one hour, but during the election period, my opponents started doing the same thing. They started buying maggi that costs N1000 for N5000, so the people knew that they wanted their votes.
How do you react to the belief that President Jonathan wants to ride on your victory to penetrate the South-West in a desperate attempt to win the 2015 election?
There is nothing like desperation. What you don’t have, you have to work to have it. My election is now a reference point in Nigeria that big names don’t win election. Your coat and babaringa don’t win elections. Go and cultivate the people. They are in shock because just for one day, we changed the tide. The tides are changing, the only thing that is constant is change and like I told you, in another two, three elections, it would be difficult to rig. Before, there was this belief that anybody could go to government and take money, but you can’t do it again because things are changing. These leaders should change with realities. Even in the PDP, in the South-West, no leader will disparage the party. We would suspend you. It doesn’t matter whether you are a former president or former governor, if you disparage the party again, we will take you out. I am telling you expressly. By no small means, posterity has put me in this position, if anybody wants to join the APC, let him go there. If former President Olusegun Obasanjo wants to join the APC, let him go to APC. Segun Oni has gone, we don’t beg for membership. We want loyal members of our party. Obasanjo should stop making uncomplimentary statements about the party, if he continues, we will suspend him; nobody is bigger than this party. When I fought the PDP, I wrote a letter of resignation and I left. You cannot be in a glass house and throw stones; so whosoever, no matter how big you are, you must be careful. You see, they said Segun Oni left, did he win his polling booth? Segun Oni was imposed, his allegiance was to the people that imposed him. We are not bothered about that, but some people have names, they have no ground supporters. Those who hired people like Segun Oni and gave him deputy chairman, South-West, they have hired what Yoruba call korofo, empty carton.
After you won the election, the EFCC said you still have a case to answer. What’s your reaction?
EFCC did not say that. There is an ongoing case with the EFCC. It is an ongoing case since 2007 and so there is no issue. I am not the only one going through it and I remain an innocent man until otherwise proven. So with all the EFCC case and the blackmail, I still won an election. They should borrow a leaf from there; there is something fundamental about me. They would all be living in this country when I would be at the top. They will be criticising me as I go to the top; that is their way. I am still going higher.
You mean you want to contest for the Presidency?
Well, maybe one day, after Jonathan. I will give Jonathan unalloyed loyalty and support. After Jonathan, if anybody wants to use me for anything higher, I will be glad to do it; it’s service.
What gives you the assurance that PDP’s victory in Ekiti will be replicated in Osun?
The PDP will win everywhere. What do you want me to say? You want me to tell you the PDP would not win? We will win everywhere, it’s normal because we have bruised their ego. We have taken the meat away from them. We have shown the whole world practical demonstration, if you are not on the ground, you can’t win this election. The APC will time out after Osun election.
What is the basis of your conviction?
I just said it to you. In the papers, they put all the hype, they put Governor Fayemi’s photo, they showed rallies. I’m a realist. I am on the ground. I am in the PDP. But I have a lot of respect for Aregbesola, anybody who is a governor should be respected because it’s a respectable office, but that does not take away the fact that I am a PDP man and I will work in the overall interest of the party.
There are fears that you may dismantle Fayemi’s programmes and policies…
I will rather consolidate on his achievements. He has done his bit, he has tried his best; nobody can finish governance, so why would I dismantle his programmes? Even if there are mistakes by his administration, I will draw his attention to them, we will talk about them. I want former governors to be like the military. They still respect one another. Like I told you, there is no reason to fight anybody. No fight, what I am interested in is to do my own bit. Four years is a short time. I just want to do my own bit and go. Unborn children of Ekiti will still be governors after me, so why would I fight Fayemi? I will equally draw Governor Fayemi to myself, draw Adebayo, draw Oni. I have defeated the three of them put together, but that doesn’t matter. That is politics.
The APC has said it will contest your electoral victory in court. Are you worried?
Good luck to them. I will meet them there. Are they the owners of the court? They always think they can buy people.
What specific programmes do you have for Ekiti people?
I have done it before. I did something in the past that made them appreciate me and brought me back. I will do more than that. If I enumerate my agenda, we would be here forever. But in infrastructure, my priority is to tar all the untarred roads in the state capital within 18 months. I am going to construct a fly-over in two strategic places in Ado-Ekiti to ease traffic. There are lots of things I will do to enhance the welfare of my people. If I were Governor Fayemi, I would not have built that governor’s house. I will build roads and other infrastructure that can impact the life of the common man. Things that can add value to the lives of the people are more important than things that would add value to the governor.
Some people have argued that your own kind of development programme is about stomachstructure and not infrastructure, how do you react to this?
Are we saying that people should remain in hunger perpetually because we are providing infrastructure?
An hungry man is an angry man. For four years people did not feel the direct impact of government, is that governance? The truth of the matter is every contract in Ekiti was a payback time for some people. Well, the consequence of not doing stomachstructure is for them to go back home.
You once said that your wife predicted your return to government house. Is she a prophetess?
It is a gift. A lot of people have the gift of God. She is a woman after God’s heart, I keep saying that. People say I should not put her in public domain, I should not talk about her. The fact remains that the hand of God is with her and remains upon her. When my wife said Fayose would come back, Fayemi’s wife kicked, she said what did he forget in Government House? Now, they know and they know better.
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Friday, May 24, 2013

YORUBA RELIGION DEFENDED AGAINST THE YORUBA "MISEDUCATED" ELITE!- IFA TEACHING IN THE STATE OF OSUN INTRODUCED IN A NEW WAY BY OUR GREAT GOMINA RAUF AREGBESOLA-FROM THE OSUN DEFENDER,NIGERIA


OSUN DEFENDER

THE STUDY OF IFA IN OSUN SCHOOLS; A PATH TO REAL DEVELOPMENT

Opon Ifa and OpeleOne feels compelled to write this piece on the recent announcement by the government of the State of Osun on the introduction of the study of Ifa religion in all its schools. While no time should be wasted in congratulating the government led by the visionary Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on this courageous and needful step, a conscious attempt must also be made to educate those who may be genuinely regarded as ignorant on the socio-legal imperative of permitting a pan Yoruba ethos play a pivotal role in the development of a society. All efforts made at raising the level of development must be anchored on this all-embracing substratum. As for the mischievous and the proselytising hypocrites, commercial religionists with vast business empires which thrive on the very objects of deceptive public excoriation, we must hasten to allay their fears that this novel but necessary introduction will not affect the enterprise of “miraculous healing” and the promise of prosperity in a land already devastated by political locusts.
A multi cultural milieu, such as Nigeria, must recognise and accept the reality of ethno-religious pluralism and the attendant divergence to promote equity, fairness and justice among the ethnic nationalities and groups, the necessary conditions for amity, peaceful co-existence and realistic aspirations towards growth. This is the irreducible minimum below which no group should be subjected. The omniscient posture adopted by the adherents of the so called prominent religions, Christianity and Islam, exposes abysmal ignorance on the essence of other indigenous religions and explains why intolerance adorns an official garb in various shades. This combative attitude is also symptomatic of a post-colonial society still reeling from the debilitating effects of foreign subjugation in all ramifications.
The dubious and ostentatious display of piety by these self-appointed men of God, on one hand, and their obscene materialistic disposition, is more than sufficient to cause a serious study into the misfortune of a society in decline. We leave this interesting topic for another time. For now it suffices to assert that this present move by the government is the most significant since independence. If development is about the people, then it should be taken as given that understanding the ways of life of all who live in the society is a sine qua non to planning. The challenges faced by various categories of people compel introspection and determination which will ultimately lead to progress. Professional politicians, deprived of patronage for two years now in the State of Osun, considered the source of the people of the south western part of the country, will also stop at nothing to confuse the people who have been dispossessed over the years.
If our children are made to study foreign religions and some even get higher degrees, including PhDs, knowing other peoples’ cultures, then it is rather salutary that a government is considering making the study of Ifa religion an option in the school curriculum in the State of Osun, albeit belatedly. Nigeria is a place where elites take pride on being proficient speaking and writing other people’s languages. We crave advancement depending solely on the cultural ethos of other lands. Our claims to decency are often predicated on the fact of our adherence to the precepts of either of these foreign religions. We are nurtured to imbibe the customs and traditions of those who treated our ancestors with utter contempt. We grew to hate what is truly ours. We receive awards aping the ways of life of other lands. What belongs to us is despised and treated with unimaginable derision. Our cultures are subjected to foreign prisms in determining their acceptability.
It is expected that deluded beings, who either believe genuinely in the myth of superiority of these imposed sub-sets, products of the perceptions of other peoples on natural phenomena observable within their societies, will join issues with this truly progressive leader of the people. What we must, however, eschew is silence which suggests connivance at the unwarranted attacks on the dynamic governor who has turned the fortunes of the state around positively with the little resources at his disposal. Nuhu Ribadu, a man not known to suffer fools gladly, just attested to the sterling qualities of this exceptional character. Several other people have been commenting on this ascetic being whose energy belies his physical stature.
Religion was central to the development of ancient Egyptian civilization. The challenges faced by the Egyptians compelled them to look for solutions in the spiritual realm. Disasters, prominent among which was the constant inundation of the Nile were considered as sanctions from the celestial beings. These ancient people used their belief in life after life and the existence of a supernatural being, Ra, whose decisions were unquestionable, to interact with their natural environment. The modern world is the direct beneficiary of the legacies of their fecund minds. Their children were nurtured on the nuggets of beliefs which propelled keen observation of natural phenomena. This attitude gave provenance to the unparalleled scientific discoveries for which the Egyptians are still widely acknowledged.
The originality of the thought process ensured that all nations in the ancient world looked up to it. Greece became the greatest beneficiary of this unique ancient civilization and, by necessary implication, the western world in the modern sense of the expression. What the average hypocritical and ignorant Nigerian will regard as superstitious and sinful formed the basis upon which his faith predicated on this imported religion is established. The judicial system of the ancient Egyptians was an aggregate of their socio-cultural values. These were contained in the curricula of the schools at various levels of learning.
The Chinese also developed their civilization independent of other existing ones relying heavily on their cultural values. China today is an exemplar in advancement because it has never allowed any undue influence on her socio-political system built on oriental values. This country stands out today as a bulwark of inspiration when most western nations are grappling with issues of survival occasioned by debilitating economic circumstances. A Chinese child will never look up to the west for socio-economic redemption. The child believes that his/her language is the best and only learns other foreign languages to derive advantage in a competitive world. He/She does not in any way feel inferior to the western child. The state has no official religion yet the Chinese child is not precluded from studying any subject of interest.
American students now come to Nigeria to study specific aspects of our much despised culture. They speak impeccable Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo, among other Nigerian languages. That is not a challenge to them at all. They are keen researchers on the mysteries of our ancestral past. They come to study Egungun cult, the talking drum and its significance in information dissemination, cultural values as encapsulated in the Odu Ifa corpus, among others. They become initiates of the Ifa religion which ignorant and ill-educated Africans denigrate. The tragedy of the whole scenario is that they are now in a position to educate us on our past. While we struggle to ape the Europeans, Americans and Arabs, we have become alienated from our origin. Nothing from us is good except it is subjected to western approval. So deracinated and uprooted from our origin have they become that fanatical members of some families openly destroy artifacts and other valuable vestiges of the glorious epoch when crass mercantilism had no impact on the psyche of the people.
Traditional rulers are the most pitiable characters of these tragic-comic elements. Some of them employed all manner of under hand methods to subvert the process of selection to become deluded kings in a republic. Once they ascend the so called throne of their fore-fathers they soon discover that their past was sinful. In their hypocritical exhibition of vacuous devotion, they destroy shrines and shun religious rites which justify their anachronistic existence in the first place. They invite commercial pastors to come and preach to their so called subjects to do away with the traditional ways. These religious businessmen in turn flaunt these clowns as trophies won in the battle to civilise the natives. They denigrate the very essence of their sustenance as custodians of the people’s customs and tradition.
They cherish the flowing three-piece traditional attire and the complementary pony tail, veritable emblems of indulgence and vanity. And just as their forbears collaborated with slave traders, commercial precursors of the proselytising hypocrites to raid villages and hamlets for slaves, they too are willing participants in the pillaging of the resources of the state at the local government level. Very few of them deserve attention in the midst of decent people.
Granted that the retrogressive position held on indigenous religions is correct, does it not make sense that our children are trained to know why their ancestral past must be condemned? We have fed generations of Nigerians, nay Africans, on foreign diets before independence through post colonial period to the present time. The ultimate ambition of an average child is to be white in everything. Is it not ironic that at a time when the western world looks towards African for cultural renaissance our people strive unabashedly to cast aside everything which reminds them of their beginnings?
Adherents of African traditional religions have been discriminated against over the years. The Nigerian experience has been heart-corroding. Supposedly educated religionists jettison family names which remind them of “pagan” practices. They adopt scriptural names of other cultures alien to the continent without understanding their significance. Thus we see funny names such as “Olugbemi” in place of “Fagbemi”. Jesus, which is a very common name among the Jews, is affixed to praise names to depict piety. What ignorance!
The new policy on education in the State of Osun will afford our children the opportunity to know that the difference you find in all religions of the world is in the practice. Doctrinal issues have now subsumed the didactic and edifying aspects of religion. In Nigeria economic consideration far out-weighs the sincere quest for spiritual regeneration. The Osun example has exposed the lie peddled by people who exploit religion for selfish purposes. Our children must be allowed to know something about what they are called upon to hate. They should be able to decide if there is any remarkable difference between the promoted religions and the message in the Ifa corpus. Students whose parents are adherents of Ifa religion must also be allowed to study their faith in an ambience devoid of discrimination and intolerance. Virtues such as continence, loyalty, honesty, piety, civic responsibility, devotion to parents and elders, humility, among others, are embedded in Ifa. Any child who has the good fortune of being nurtured on this unadulterated teaching will be useful to himself and the community at large. The hypocritical posture of politicians on this policy must be condemned.
Our children must be allowed to understand, for instance, that Esu, the perfect trickster with a dual personality is not Satan or Lucifer, the arch angel in the Christian pantheon of the gods. When our children hear names such as Esubiyi, Esugbayi or Esuronmbi, the ready connotation in their minds is the devil of the Bible or the Quran. They cannot fathom why anyone who is not insane will bear such names in the society. Beyond names, certain virtues are considered the exclusive preserve of the established religions. Experience has, however, shown that there is a wide gulf between mere avowal and the actual deeds of those who profess piety.
The very first lesson to the Ifa devotees is on contentment as against complacency.
“Ohun enu ri ni enu nje,
adifa fun igbin ti o je erupe la”.”
The mouth is satisfied with whatever comes as food just as the snail relishes in the nutrients of the soil.” There are fables of the adventures of Orunmila or Obatala which are also didactic. The treacherous deeds of the bush rat, Okete and Osanyin, are replete in the Ifa corpus. The consequences of unfaithful deeds are taught with the fables of these mythical characters. Temperance is a virtue of the gods and any mortal lucky enough to be endowed with this special gift will experience peace which is beyond the understanding of man. A man’s character determines how successful he will be on earth. The story of “Iwa” teaches us that one of the greatest gifts bequeathed by the gods to man is the ability to do what is right.
I had the rare privilege of listening to Professor Olu longe who informed most of us who were ignorant of the invaluable contribution of the Ifa religion to the Yoruba accounting system. The basis of the computer is the Odu. The first 8 in 2 places making 16 multiplied by 16 making 256 to infinity is the principle upon which the operation of the computer is based. Whoever insists that our children do not deserve to know this fact is not only ignorant but wicked. I enthusiastically recommend the eminent professor’s lecture, “Irapada Onka Isembaye wa ni ile Yoruba”, to those who may not know that such as the ancient Egyptian religion, the Ifa corpus contains aspects of science, mathematics, accounting, medicine and ethics. It is most unlikely that any child properly nurtured on these pristine values can ever grow to become a burden to the society.
The government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is among the very few that can be regarded as focused. All good people must come together to encourage this exceptional leader who has displayed rare administrative acumen amidst the daunting challenges faced by him since he assumed office as the governor. Other ACN governors should follow the good example of this diminutive man who has taken giant strides in ensuring real development in a state once ravaged by locusts.
Doyin Odebowale, PhD, LLB (Hons), BL.
Lecturer, Department of Classics, University of Ibadan.
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