The lives and dignity of female children have been subjected to gross abuse in Becheve, a community in Obanliku Local Government Area, Cross River State, for ages. An age long traditional practice allows the betrothal of underage girls, including unborn ones, to men who in some cases are old enough to be their grandfathers.  The practice popularly known as money woman has not abated in spite of the adoption of the Child’s Rights Act by the state in 2009. Many innocent girls who are victims of the abusive practice are betrothed to their would-be husbands while they are still in their mothers’ wombs. Unfortunately, they are often denied access to basic education and treated as slaves by the aged hubbies. INNOCENT DURU reports that apart from the social deprivations they suffer, the hapless girls are dying from Vesico Virginal Fistula (VVF), among other health challenges.

• How men trade their innocent nieces into marriages to settle debts
• Why baby brides can’t break tradition –Monarch
• Victims denied basic education, regarded by in-laws as private property
• Health commissioner says they are dying in hundreds from VVF, other health challenges

It sounded like another Alice in the Wonderland tale, but Lovelyn (surname withheld) meant every word as she shared her ugly life experience. She was betrothed to an aged man while she was still in her mother’s womb and only escaped the servitude that would have been her lot by jumping out of the unholy arrangement.

“They told my mother while she was carrying my pregnancy that if I came out as a female child, I would be given out to the man as his wife,” said Lovelyn.

“It is no fiction; it is what happens in Becheve. As we speak, many innocent girls in the town are going through hell because of the practice, which they call money woman.”

Asked why her parents would agree to that kind of arrangement, Lovelyn said her father died a few days after she was born while her mother had no choice in the matter but comply with the agreement.

She said: “The betrothal process began immediately she gave birth to me, although I was still with my family. It was my mother’s family that gave me out to the man because my father had died a few days after I was born.

“My bride price was paid; I think it was about N40,000 or N50,000. The man was already above 60 years and going to 70. The only attraction is always the money. Once they see some small money, they will give their daughters out to the man that desires her.”

The smart girl that she was, Lovelyn had noticed how the practice had crippled the lives of many other girls around the community, so she began to plot her escape from the web of tradition she was entangled in if only to achieve her dream of going to school.

Recalling her escape from the forced marriage, she said: “When it was time for them to come and take me away, I made an arrangement with one Pastor Richard for my escape.

“I have many friends whose future was ruined by the practice. I remember Vivian, Charity, Jeniffer and Jacintha, to mention a few.

“Many girls who are only 14 or 15 years old are already giving birth from their forced marriages. Those of us that escaped with help from Pastor Richard have every reason to thank God.”

After her escape from Becheve, Lovelyn, who has since taken refuge in a Southwest state, was enrolled in a school. Now a senior secondary school (SSS) pupil, she says her ambition is to go to the university to study Law.

“I thank God that I can now read and write,” she said with a smile betraying excitement.

“I am in senior secondary school 2 going to SSS 3. If I had been married to the man, I would never have gone this far academically and my dream of going to a higher institution would have been dashed for life.

“I just thank God for using Pastor Richard to save me and others from their hands.”

But there is a part that still makes Lovelyn sad. She said while she is free, her elder sister is going through hell as a result of the traditional practice.

“She was a very brilliant girl and she had hoped to go far with her education, but she had her dream shattered when she was in primary three, as she was given out in marriage at that age.

“She is only 22 years old now, but she already has four children. She was married off at the age of 11. She had her first child at the age of 15.

“The man’s family had taken her away to Abuja when she was 11 and later brought her back to the man.

“There are many young girls who are not happy being in marriage but they cannot stop it. This is why we are calling on the government to help us stop the practice.”

Investigation conducted by our correspondent revealed that the case of Lovelyn has inspired many girls in the ugly arrangement to flee Becheve. One of them, Faith, who spoke from self-exile in a South-south state, recalled how she was given out as a replacement for a sister of hers who got married to another man before the man she was originally betrothed to could complete the payment of her dowry.

Faith said: “When my grandfather was still alive, he collected money from someone with a promise that he would give the man a wife. He later gave my aunt to the man. But when my grandfather died, the man stopped giving money to the family.

“My grandmother told the man not to worry; that even if my grandfather was dead, she was still there to continue the deal. She said she would give the man another wife if my aunt passed the age he was supposed to take her in as his wife.

“The man subsequently resumed giving her money. But before he could finish paying the dowry, my aunt was old enough to marry, so she got married to a man of her choice. My grandmother then asked our mother to give one of us out to the man and my mother gave him my elder sister.

“Unfortunately, my elder sister refused to go to him and my mother tricked me to go to the man while I was still very small.”

 ‘How I fled from my 70-yr-old husband at 13′

Recalling how she was tricked to the supposed hubby’s home, Faith said: “I remember that one morning, I was going to visit my aunt but my grandmother told me that we should go to the next village to see my uncle. I did not know that it was the man she was taking me to.

“She took me there around 7 pm. When we got there, I saw people celebrating. After staying there for some days, they made the little ones in the area to start playing with me so that I would not be feeling lonely.

“One morning, I followed them to the stream, but before I came back, my grandmother had left. I asked them about her and they told me that she left a message that I should wait for her; that she had gone to the next village and would pick me up on her way back. I stayed there for one and a half years.

“After some time, I started realising what was happening, because they were not treating me like one of them. When it was raining, I would be the one to go and fetch water. It was as if they always wanted to ensure that I was sad even when everyone else is happy. They told me that I didn’t have any rights there because they bought me with money and that I was like a goat.

“There was a day I came back from the ranch and met my brother who had come on a visit, and told him that I wanted to leave. I asked him to explain what was happening but he said he didn’t understand what I was talking about.

“He responded in that way because he knew that if he told me the truth, I would leave.

“There was a day it was raining and they sent me and the man’s daughter to go and fetch firewood. When we got to the farm, an issue came up and the man’s daughter told me she didn’t know why she followed me to the farm when I was supposed to be going to the farm alone.

“She went on to say that I was like a goat to them and that they had to use me anyhow they wanted. I told her I didn’t have anything to do with her and asked if she thought I was in their house for the father’s money.

“I went on to tell her that her father should go to my grandfather’s grave and wake him up to pay his money. We ended up fighting on that day. I packed my things the next day and left the house to go back to my parents.

“My mother accepted me back but my father refused to. He said he also did money woman and would not allow me to stay in the house and poison the mind of the girl he had married through the practice.

“From there I went to my aunt’s house, but my grandmother and my uncle went there and told her not to allow me to stay with her. So, they drove me away from there and I rented a house on my own. But they still went to the landlord, returned my money and sent me away.

“I ended up going back to the man’s house.

“At that point, his wife told him that the only thing that would make me stay in the house was for him to make me pregnant. So, one evening, I went into my room to sleep only to see the man lying on my bed. I left and went to the other bed to sleep but he asked me to come and sleep beside him.

“I told him I did not understand what he meant but he said I should understand that I was his wife. I told him God forbid that I would be wife to a man who was old enough to be my grandfather.  I was only 12, going to 13 then.

“As we engaged in a heated argument, he brought out a cane to flog me but I hit him with wood and ran into a forest. It was around 11 pm and to trek from there to my father’s house would take about six hours. Thereafter, I fled the state.

“He has not come for me since then, but I believe they are still giving him false hope that I will return to him. I was nine years old when my mother took me to the man who was in his 70s.”

Like Lovelyn, Faith is also in school and highly excited at the prospects of fulfilling her life desire.

“I am schooling now and have just completed my junior WAEC. I want to study Law when I get to the university. If the man had impregnated me, education would have been out of it,” Faith said.

Controversy dogs practice

While some community leaders who spoke with our correspondent said the practice has been phased out after vigorous protestations from the youth, Pastor Richard Akonam of Rich Grace Foundation, who some girls said assisted them to escape early marriages, said the practice was still going on till date.

The Clan Head of Becheve, HRH Onum Sunday Ichile, said: “It used to be the practice here in Becheve. But in the 90s, the youths came out to say the practice was not proper; that it was affecting the education of the children.

“The youths came out and said no to it, insisting that we could not be forcing girls to get married to men that that are not their choice. That is the situation now.”

Corroborating Ichile’s views, the Paramount Ruler of Obanliku, HRM, Item Amos, said: “In those days, it was the pride of any man to have that kind of wife. But with exposure and agitations by the youths, the women started looking into the issue.

“The information got to the traditional rulers and we also looked at the negative aspects of it. As I am talking with you now, we have phased it out.  We have put down rules and regulations to guard against it.

“But we still have a challenge: some parents who betrothed the girls are late and may be do not have anybody to pay back what the man had paid. If those things are not returned, the man may go mystical and cause the girl some ailment that she may not be able to treat.

“We want a situation where individuals and governments would come to our aid and make some money available to us so that in a situation where a particular family cannot pay back, we can go in and see how we can assist the family to clear the debts and free the woman.

“That is the challenge we have now.”

Asked how many girls were stuck, the monarch said: “We are trying to come up with statistics so that we would know those who can pay back and those who cannot.

“The money paid as bride price in some cases is much because the parents keep collecting money from the man. If they start from when the child is small, they will look at the pieces of kolanuts, goats, yams, and so on.”

On his part, Pastor Akonam strongly disagreed with claims that the practice had been phased out.

He said: “I believe that the state government will wake up to do something about it, because when you speak to the leadership of the community or of the tribe, they will tell you that the practice no longer exists. But when you dig deeper, you will find that it is still very much in operation.”

He went further to narrate how his foundation recently rescued some of the girls, saying: “We have been able to rescue some of the girls and sent them to skill acquisition centres. Some of them are on scholarship now. We are networking with some organisations that are helping some of them.

“One of the girls we rescued two years ago was only seven years old. Two of her sisters had been given out in that manner. One died at the age of 14 without a child, so they gave the man a replacement, but she also died at the age of 12. So they came for the third girl who was only seven years old. Thank God we rescued her and she is in school now.

“There is one right now whose husband died when she was six years old. Just two weeks ago, the family of the man went to bundle the girl who is between 15 and 16 years now. They are transferring her to the man’s next of kin. It is a funny practice but you know it is something that is planted in the culture and tradition. We are also looking at the natives themselves getting involved in speaking against the practice. Unfortunately, even those who are backing us do not want their voices to be heard.  They don’t want their faces to show for fear of being killed.”

Speaking on the sums paid as bride price, Akonam said: “Each case is different. We have had a man who sold his daughter for N10,000. Another one sold his for N20,000 and we redeemed that one with N50, 000.

“The reason is that once the marriage is contracted, each time the family of the girl visits the man, whatever he gives to them as kola, he attaches some cost to it. While the girl was sold for N20,000, the mother, the uncle and so on had also visited the man. So all the things they were give during the visits brought that money to N50,000.

“While the man is giving things to the in-laws, he records whatever he gives. But the in-laws who are receiving don’t keep records of what they collect.

“The girls are at the centre of this wickedness. None of the money is spent to take care of them. The money is only spent to service the family. The girl will have to labour and provide care for the man. It is a crazy thing.

“Most of the men take their wives while they are still young, because when they grow, it becomes difficult for them to take them to their houses. The ministry of health in some instances has helped some of those girls.  Some don’t suffer from VVF but some do and they are being treated.”

 Types of marriages practised in Becheve

Akonam said the Becheves have two basic types of marriages. One, he said, is where two consenting adults can live together for as long as they want.

He said: “Dowries are not paid in that respect and every child born in the marriage belongs to the family of the girl. The brother of the girl can decide to take the sister’s child and sell. The father of the child does not have a say in that; neither does the woman have a say.

“We have had instances where a woman’s younger brother was owing and could not pay and had to sell his sister’s daughter just to be able to pay the his debt.

“Money marriage, which is the second type of marriage, is where a man goes out on his own to buy a girl so that the children will be his children. If the girl happens to have female children, the man can as well sell to another man.

“Even if he decides to pimp his wife, it is nobody’s business, because she is his property.  And if the girl dies without having a child, the family of the girl must bring a replacement.”

Why baby brides can’t break away from marriages – Monarch

The paramount ruler of Obanliku, HRM, Item Amos, shed light on why many of the girls remain in forced marriage even when the conditions are unbearable.

He said: “The arrangement has spiritual connotations, and that is one of the things that put fears in the mind of the girl child not to break the arrangement. Even if the arrangement is hurting them, they have to endure so that nothing serious would happen to them.

“The arrangement does not allow the girl child to go to school. The practice gives the man the power to treat the girl child like a slave. The girl is deprived of opportunities like education or even socialising. Her presence at social gatherings is dictated by the man.

“The practice doesn’t allow the girl to exhibit her talent in any way.  That is why we

looked at it as something too barbaric. In fact, it is just like a kind of slavery.”

He added: “A girl can be given out even when she is in the womb. The arrangement will be going on in expectation that the baby in the womb will be a girl.

“In a situation where the baby is not a girl, they will have to wait for another pregnancy. Otherwise, if the man has another wife, they can now go for her girl child in order to replace that one.

“When a baby girl is born, the process (marriage) can start within one or two years or less than that.

“The girl does not have any option but to abide by the rules of the arrangement. She does not have the power to back out on the grounds that the man is too old for her.

“There is no education for the child because the man believes that if the girl goes to school, she will be exposed and she may come back and become stubborn or break the arrangement.”

 Girls dying in hundreds from VVF, other health challenges – Health Commissioner

The Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu,  in a telephone chat with our correspondent, regretted that the practice had caused hundreds of  young girls their lives and made several others to suffer from VVF and other fistulas.

He said:  “Yes, we have been having cases of Vesico Virginal Fistula (VVF) in Cross River State as a result of the menace in Becheve. However, that is not the only source of the VVF cases that we have been having.

“Most of those children are given out sometimes before they are even born, based on the fact that their parents are owing money, and the men who take them in very early defile them even before they are 18.”

She added: “Sometimes, they get pregnant as children and have to give birth to other children. Remember that their reproductive organs are not matured at that age. So they go through the trauma of drop foot from peroneal nerve damage, VVF, Rectum Virginal Fistula or the Vesico Rectal Fistula. All of these fistulas can happen and lead to them dripping urine, being ostracised from the society and leading a very miserable life.

“Most of them don’t go to school and so it is all-round bad news for children from those areas.”

Asked if some of the girls have been dying as a result of the practice, she said: “For the girl-child, so far, we don’t have the exact number that have died as a result of early sexual exposure, but I want to say that they are in their hundreds over the years.

“At the last count, close to 43 of them have suffered VVF. However, most of them have actually got repaired. We have VVF centres in Ogoja and in Calabar. The treatment is free of charge and we have been doing the tests for them.”

She however expressed joy that the international community and indeed the state government had shown interest in what is happening in the area.

“The wife of the governor is doing a lot of projects in that community to see how she can empower them and stop the barbaric practice. Furthermore, from the health sector, we have done  a couple of health outreaches there.

“Sensitization is still going on, and we are working on a gender based violence policy and legislation to protect the people of Becheve,” she said.

Life is an irony. It is hard to fathom that a bowel that spews the deepest desires, often also emit the deadliest hate. No doubt, Modupe Oguntade is coming to grips with this twist of fate. Forget the wealth and status, the gilded and glamorous lives; they don’t necessarily guarantee longevity or contentment in marriage. What started as a rumour or the fabrication of a puerile mind that  veteran socialite, Modupe Oguntade  and her hubby of many years, H.E. George Adesola Oguntade,  have drawn the curtain on their marriage has proved to be true after all.  

Credible sources revealed to The Boss that things have fallen apart and the centre can no longer hold for the celebrated couple as madam was sent packing from their Lekki, Lagos home on Thursday, October 15, 2020. Her exit that day occurred after a serious altercation which led to her stuffing her belonging and valuables into many suitcases, hurling them into a waiting pick-up van and driving out of the premises.

In deed, what has transpired in the Oguntade Household is akin to what usually plays out in the popular 90s sit-com, Fuji House of Commotion.

Interestingly, the marriage had faced challenges from the outset and chief among the problems was the stiff opposition mounted by Oguntade’s children whose names according to Wikipedia are: Abosede Snr., Abimbola, Folu (SAN), Deola, Daniel, Yetunde Abosede Jnr and Jide.

For some inexplicable reasons, the children made their opposition to their father’s choice for second wife very obvious. They were not far from accommodating, and it was no surprise that Mrs. Oguntade too kept them at arm’s length. Then began the battle for Justice Oguntade’s heart and attention.

Unknown to the children, Justice Oguntade had known Mrs Oguntade, (who was previously married to Dr. Jimi Okunola Aina) for whom she bore all her three children: Jimi, Ayodele and Folusho from way back.

We gathered that the duo actually met in 1961 through her uncle, Alhaji Nurudeen Shitta-Bey, the 7th Seriki Musulumi of Lagos.

Modupe, who was a toddler then had come to see her uncle off to England at Apapa Wharf; Oguntade was also there to celebrate with his friend.

Therefore, when Justice Oguntade and Modupe reunited, it was a case of deep respect, devotion and love. She was so respectful that she calls him “Baba” (father) due to the age difference between them.

In no time, the duo became one of the most celebrated couples on the Lagos social scene on account of the status of Justice Oguntade as well as the powerful fashion statement that was always made by his wife, who had a good sense of style.

Over time, Mrs Oguntade seemed to have settled into her role and along the line too, she was able to win over one of her step daughters, a move that caused rancour between the children.

The Oguntade’s looked like your dream couple, always smiling and looking happy, but away from the prying eyes of the public, it was a ticking time bomb!

Despite the issues, multiple sources revealed to The Boss that Mrs Oguntade doted on the husband, and showered tender, loving care on her husband all the time, and that was why despite his children’s seeming angst, he stood firmly by her.

The Boss gathered that at the Oguntade home, Mrs. Oguntade’s word was law. She held court without any resistance. She was so fully in charge that when the step children visit, they would be welcomed downstairs. They did not have the temerity to venture to the upper chambers of the house!

In 2017, Justice Oguntade got the juicy appointment of Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and was obviously joyous but members of his family were reading the situation differently.

For his wife, moving to London was an opportunity to take complete charge of her man and flourish, away from her pesky stepchildren.

The children on the other hand were in a state of panic; they felt this would further alienate them.

They allegedly began to spread words to family members and friends that they needed better access to their father because Mrs Oguntade had not been doing a good job of caring for him. They even said she was bullying the old man!

Meanwhile, his arrival in London was big news! His historic visit to meet the queen at Buckingham Palace was well captured for posterity by Ovation International Magazine. It was a day of sheer grandeur.

About the occasion, the British Vogue of December 6, 2017 captioned it: “Queen Elizabeth turned a matchy matchy fashion moment with Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom”.

The High Commission’s Newsletter also had high praise for Mrs Oguntade’s years in Abuja House.

It wrote: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” -Mahatma Ghandi

“The resumption of His Excellency Justice G. A.Oguntade as the Nigeria High Commissioner to United Kingdom in 2017 was made more prominent all over the world when he visited the Queen with his wife, Her Excellency Mrs.) Modupe Oguntade wearing the Nigeria National dress in colour sync with the Queen’s dress. That is the kind of aura H.E. Mr Modupe Oguntade carries with her.

In pursuit of her passion, H.E Mrs. Modupe Oguntade loves to bring smiles to the faces of children, and the Nigerian children in Diaspora were not left out.

She organised a Children’s Day funfair on May 27, 2018. Prior to this occasion, there had never been such of its kind in the history of Nigerians in the Diaspora.

She was determined to offer hope, light and fun to the children of Nigerians in the Diaspora living in United Kingdom, to see and feel the beauty of our diverse culture, languages, food and most especially, the need to continue to promote the beauty of Nigeria through our children.

The event was graced by Nigerians in Diaspora and their children, staff of Nigeria High Commission, London and their children. It was held at the Baden Powell House SW7 5JS. Channels Television and BEN TV UK covered the beautiful event, hosted and personally sponsored by H.E Mrs Modupe Oguntade, and supported friends.

Surely, it was a day of unlimited fun for the children and their parents as they jumped on the bouncy castles, danced to music, learnt how to drum (African drums), face painting, African games, varieties of food and most especially, the Nigerian jollof! The children wished the day never came to an end as the memories of the event will linger.

Furthermore, each child had souvenir (Book: Colour Me Nigerian authored by Bukky Alakija and Nathalie Sofola) to take home courtesy of H.E Mrs Modupe Oguntade.

As part of the commonwealth countries, Nigeria partakes in all Commonwealth events in the United Kingdom. The Commonwealth Fair is an annual fair organised by commonwealth countries league.

Each commonwealth country gets to have a stand to display their food, culture, arts and craft etc.

On resumption, H. E Justice G. A Oguntade as the Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom his wife, H.E Mrs Modupe Oguntade, customarily represented Nigeria at the fair alongside other women who were wives of the diplomatic staff of the Nigeria High Commission in November 2018.

Thinking out of the box is one of the qualities of H.E Mrs Modupe Oguntade, she made sure the Nigerian stood out! By ensuring all the women at the Nigeria stand tie uniformed “ Gele” (asoebi) . This caused a lot of stare at the fair and garnered a lot of visitors to the Nigeria stand.

In a bid to support the Commonwealth Countries League, Her Excellency Mrs Oguntade hosted a summer gala in July 2019 to raise funds and awareness for projects of the Commonwealth Countries League which included education of girls, women empowerment, health and wellbeing .

She invited many dignitaries from Nigeria, and Nigerians in the Diaspora. Guests from countries of the Commonwealth were also present to join her in raising funds. Trust H.E Mrs Oguntade, her guests had lots of fun; they danced to good music in the garden at the residence of the Nigeria High Commissioner “Abuja House”. The weather was good, the sun smiled on everyone present, delicious Nigerian food was available as the day went by so fast.

Christmas in the United Kingdom cannot be compared to how we celebrate in Nigeria. In Nigeria, festive period are fun moments to visit friends and families, have a good party and rock the moment. H.E Mrs Modupe Oguntade made sure she personally hosted the children of the staff of Nigeria High Commission, London to a Christmas party each year since 2017. The children get well wrapped Christmas gifts courtesy of H.E Mrs Modupe Oguntade. You can also call her “Santa Claus”. Adults were not left out of the merriment as they listened to the rendition of good music and good food.

From all indications she was having a superb time at the High Commission that was until some unsavoury stories began to hit the social media.

The stories gave a very contrary picture to the one painted above, they accused Mrs Oguntade of extortion, high-handedness and worse of all, infidelity! She was described as debauched and decadent.

Of course, she was very disturbed by these stories, her only feeling was that it was the handiwork of her enemies back home in Nigeria.

The stories still did not abate as preparations began for the March 10, 2020 80th birthday celebration of her husband.

An 80th birthday ordinarily should be an occasion to celebrate, rejoice and unite as a family but this event seemed to have ignited the bile within the Oguntade family-and that was when the cookie crumbled.

As the Matron of the house, Mrs Oguntade was in charge of all arrangements, of course, they felt shut out because they had virtually no roles to play, but were left with no choice than to fall in line.

The event itself was filled with splendour, colour and glamour, and as expected was attended by Nigeria’s rich and famous.

Held at the Hilton, Park Lane, it was the height of elegance and exclusivity. The Oguntade family and their 350 special guests had a great time. All members of the family were in attendance.

The Holy Communion service was officiated by the Most Reverend Josiah Idowu-Feran while music was provided by Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey.

Held in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak, some rumpus emanated from the high-calibre ceremony as the rumour mill became agog with the news that some guests had contracted the virus and that in fact two people died.

This was later debunked by Chief Olusegun Osoba and Ovation Publisher, Bashorun Dele Momodu, who both attended the birthday party.

It was later discovered that only one guest died days after attending the birthday and his death was due to other health complications that had nothing to do with COVID-19.

While the coronavirus story was making waves in the social media, bigger problems had engulfed the House of Oguntade.

First, the step daughter who was in the corner of Mrs Oguntade reportedly broke ranks with her over a phone conversation that she overheard.

That was not all, there was an incident of a missing suitcase. We gathered that the suitcase where all the gifts and cash presented to the celebrant was, disappeared from the Hilton.

A few phone calls later, it was discovered that one of Mrs Oguntade’s guests who had been given a ride on the private jet of Premier Lotto Chairman and Odole of Ife, Sir Kesington Adebutu had checked in the said luggage!

An enraged Justice Oguntade reportedly told Sir Kesington to kindly take the suitcase for safekeeping and later allegedly tongue-thrashed the wife.

Our sources revealed that the couple had such a bitter quarrel that week that they were not only on speaking terms but Justice Oguntade had gone ahead to give his wife the marching orders. This marked the beginning of the end as things seemed to snowball afterwards.

The news from London was cheering for the Oguntade children who had all along been only tolerating their mother-in-law. Now joined by their sibling who had hitherto broken ranks, they decided that Mrs Oguntade had to leave.

They reportedly accused her of systematically drugging their father with psychotic drugs especially Trazodone, and manipulating him to favour her and her children. They also accused her of selling cars that had been presented to him as gifts without his knowledge.

In London though, the situation had somehow become better and Justice Oguntade and wife had mended fences.

In fact, she had almost convinced her husband to stay put in London and not return to Nigeria again but he insisted that he had to return home, of course the children were also putting pressure. That was how they both flew on British Airways to Nigeria a week ago.

A mild drama ensued in the Oguntade Lekki home as the couple were flying into town.

Jimi Aina, eldest son of Mrs Oguntade had got wind that the step children were plotting to lock his mother out of her home and arranged security protection in form of some soldiers. The fully-armed men were dispatched to Lekki.

Not to be outdone, the children reached out to top persons in the security too, and they were able to get Police officers of their own to also stand guard.

The situation could have degenerated into a show of force and even worse if not for the intervention of Lagos Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu. He, it was, who was able to speak with Jimi, urged the soldiers to stand down and some form of normalcy eventually returned.

That was not all, news also filtered through that the children were going to storm the airport to stop Mrs Oguntade from even entering her husband’s car but they were told that such an action will be embarrassing to their father, so they jettisoned the idea.

Our sources revealed just to calm frayed nerve, it was a close of friend of Mrs Modupe Oguntade, Chief (Mrs.) Shade Okoya and her husband, Aare of Lagos, Chief Rasak Okoya who arranged airport security and vehicles to ferry the Oguntade’s home. But the battle line had been drawn.

So it was no surprise that a few days after their arrival, Mrs Oguntade and her daughter in-law, Deola, who is married to Mr Bolaji Ayorinde, SAN had an altercation.

We gathered that Mrs Oguntade was angry that the Oguntade children led by Mrs Deola Ayorinde had sent the cooks away without her knowledge. They were only brought back that day. The hot exchanges of the two women attracted Justice Oguntade.

The wife complained that the daughter had hitherto called her a thief who stole plates and a piano from London, and now had the temerity to order her cooks around.

“I am tired. This is too much. This is my house. The atmosphere is too toxic and I would not take it anymore”, Mrs Oguntade reportedly yelled. She also noted that the problem in the family had caused her to develop High Blood Pressure.

Her husband explained that he, in fact, sent the cooks away, but she would have none of it because according to her, for years, she had been in charge of her kitchen and domestic affairs, and it was impossible for him to suddenly change overnight.

It was a very heated encounter in the presence of Jide, Oguntade’s last son.

In fact, Mrs. Oguntade accused the daughter in-law of being the brain behind the negative social media stories written about her and while also speaking, referred to Jide as her son.

But Mrs Ayorinde interjected. She countered that Jide was not, because Mrs Oguntade had never treated him as one. She reportedly said, “Don’t call him your son, all your three sons have at least one house each where is Jide’s own?” He also accused her and her sons of orchestrating Jide’s ouster from his job.

Also, Mrs Oguntade told her step daughter not to come to her house to give any orders, the step daughter fired back that she was in her father’s house and had her rights. While also accusing her step mother of raising her voice against the dad.

The back and forth went on for a few minutes and Justice Oguntade, who was there all along, was so embarrassed that he left the scene.

On the night of Wednesday, October 14, some prominent Nigerians including Chief Okoya were at the residence allegedly to appeal to Justice Oguntade.

We even heard that in the course of the discussion, Mrs Oguntade was accused of infidelity. She vehemently declared that she was innocent and wrongly accused. She reportedly swore by the Bible and Quran.

Another argument erupted on Thursday, leading to a shouting match between Justice Oguntade and wife. This one was so bad that the domestic staff had to call the children.

It was in the presence of the children that the respected Jurist said that he was no longer interested and that it was all over. He then ordered the wife out of their home!

We were told that Mrs Oguntade was adamant that she was not leaving, she said she was not going to step an inch out of the house, and almost engaged him in a fight, accusing him of taking the action because of his dalliances.

She reportedly told him that she was not going anywhere because she had nowhere to go. The Justice reportedly replied that he had built three houses for her three sons in Lekki and also built a house for her mother, Mrs Alexandria Motolani Adufe Haastrup (whom we learnt she has a strained relationship with recently); that she was free to move to any of them.

When it was obvious that Justice Oguntade was serious about his order for her to leave, Mrs Oguntade packed over 100 suitcases filled with clothes, watches and jewellery and left.

For now, the children seem to have won the battle of taking control of Justice Oguntade’s life and properties.

With their new leverage, the children had taken immediate action. We heard that they have already taken possession of a land allegedly owned by Justice Oguntade that was being developed by Mrs Oguntade’s sons. And now take turn to spend the night at their father’s house.

Though we do not know where Mrs Modupe Oguntade is living at the moment, sources revealed that close family friends like Chief Rasak Akanni Okoya and Oba of Lagos have waded into the matter with a view of settling the brouhaha and bringing the erstwhile lovebirds back together again.

By Yushau A. Shuaib

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is struggling to contain the protests of the EndSARS movement that has gripped the country like a wildfire, in a similar way that the previous administration of President Goodluck faced the challenge of tackling the Occupy Nigeria campaign in 2012.

Most campaigns through protest movements in Nigeria have been geared towards entrenching the rule of law, good governance, transparency and accountability, equity and justice. They have generally been mobilisations towards a freer and more livable society.

While in the past more than one week, the #EndSARS protests have been calling for an end to police brutality and oppression through the banning of the Federal-Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force, the Occupy Nigeria socio-political protest movement of 2012, was in response to fuel subsidy removal, alongside all the corruption endemic to the country’s petroleum industry, by the Federal Government of the day.

Similarly, in 2014, #BringBackOurGirls movement was launched as a pressure group for the release of the kidnapped Chibok School Girls, which subsequently drew a massive global attention. Some of the recognised and respected faces of those earlier movements, who have remained consistent in their advocacies for social causes are Aisha Yesufu, a human rights activist and Omoyele Sowore, a citizen journalist among others.

In other climes, mass protests are characterised by civil disobedience, social resistance, strike actions, demonstrations, and more recently online activism, especially in this age of the social media. For instance, the Arab Spring movement in 2010 was triggered by a Tunisian street vendor who set himself ablaze in protest against the confiscation of his wares, and the harassment and humiliation inflicted on him by government officials.

That act of the self-immolation of the street vendor, known as Mohammed Bouazizi, ignited the series of protests that became catalyst for the widespread revolution that swept across the Arab world. Through a succession of anti-government protests, uprisings, and in some extreme cases, armed rebellion, yet driven by different force fields, the Arab Spring movement consumed the regimes of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, while other regimes, such as that in Syria, were shaken to their foundation.

Just lately, the African continent witnessed the removal from office of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali after global outrage prompted by protest movements.

The funding of most protest movements is always shrouded in secrecy, just as the logistics arrangements for coup-de tats were in the past. In any case, intelligence services manage to detect, to some extent, where some of the funding for these movements are coming from, if these are channeled through the financial system.

The widespread use of social media platforms, with their relative anonymity, facilitates the effective coordination of large-scale and well-organised fund-raising schemes from multiple online donors, which are raising huge amounts of cash for logistics.

Crowdfunding is the practice of raising money for a project or venture from a large number of people via the Internet. Online fundraising, which has become part of the digital culture, is a form of alternative financing, driven through crowdsourcing, these days. It could be easier to identify the faces of campaigns, such as lawyers, journalists, social media influencers and human rights activists, however it is extremely difficult to identify the major financiers and donors who want to remain anonymous.

While crowdfunding accounts are legitimate and channelled for good causes, some of these are either created for other less than desirable purposes, which could be hijacked for political interests. Meanwhile, the EndSARS protest movement has raised over N37 million through crowdfunding, according to one of the leading groups in the protest, the Feminist Coalition. The figure shows an addition of N31 million in just four days, indicating a leap of about 487.8 per cent from the previous figure on October 10, which stood at N6,354,561.27.

While Flutterwave is one of the major crowdfunding platforms deployed in mobilising financial resources for the campaign, its Chairman and former Deputy Governor of CBN, Mr. Tunde Lemo is reported to have raised an alarm that “bad guys were moving money through them.” Hence, he said that he had directed the suspension of the fintech firm’s payment platform to prevent the illicit flow of funds through their channel to questionable causes.

So far, the Federal Government, and by implication the Nigeria Police, has given in to the demand of the protesters by disbanding the Federal-SARS or F-SARS and ordered all operatives of the now defunct unit to undergo psychological and medical examinations.

The police spokesperson, DCP Frank Mba, who has consistently engaged social media influencers and critical stakeholders on the development, announced the setting up of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), which will replace the disbanded F-SARS.

Frank added that former operatives of the defunct F-SARS would not be recruited into SWAT, as the new outfit will strictly be intelligence-driven and not embark on routine patrols.

Even with this development, many protesters have expressed skepticism at what they consider as the duplicity of the government in seeking to quell their campaign, which they have continued in a way now targeted at the newer hashtag, #EndSWAT and #EndInsecurityNow, in replacement of the earlier #EndSARS.

One of the founders of EndSARS agitation, Segun Awosanya, popularly known as Segalink, has distanced himself from any further protest with regard to ending F-SARS, after alleging that politicians and commercial criminals have hijacked the protest for their selfish ends.

In a series of recent tweets, Segalink has warned that the youths of the country would be endangering their lives if they insist on continuing with the protests after the government has agreed to all their demands.

It may therefore not be a coincidence that the strongly-worded but short statement by the Nigerian Military, warning to deal decisively with subversive elements and troublemakers, has also been issued.

The Army spokesperson, Colonel Sagir Musa, who issued the statement, added that the Nigerian Army “remains highly committed to defend(ing) the country and her democracy at all cost.”

Similarly, Major General John Enenche, the Coordinator Defence Media Operations also issued another strong warning on behalf all the security services. He said: “The Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies have observed with dismay some violence-related protests across the country; particularly the increasing number of attacks on peaceful protesters by thugs and miscreants.

This unfolding event against peace-loving Nigerians will not be condoned. Hence, thugs and miscreants are hereby warned to desist from engaging in violent activities against peaceful Nigerians henceforth, or face appropriate measures.”

Whatever may be the case, it is appropriate to reiterate here and now that citizens have the legitimate right to express their political, social and economic concerns in their country through demonstrations or protests. To this extent, the security agencies should know that violent crackdowns against protesters would always lead to untoward consequences, which would not augur well for the image of the federal government.

In crisis management, dialogue, constructive engagements, negotiations, and compromises are acceptable and sustainable approaches to peacebuilding. Let’s stay on this lane, please.

▪︎ Shuaib, Author “An Encounter with the Spymaster” and “Crisis Communication Strategies”
www.YAShuaib.com