“If you lay with a scorpion, don’t be surprised when it finally stings you.”

― DaShanne Stokes

One fateful day,  Juan Souza Carlos, a Brazilian billionaire, received a fax message at his Sao Paulo office. Not too many people of the generation X and Y know much about fax messages. In the recent past, it was a veritable means of communication. The message was an unsolicited proposal from some Chief in Nigeria who for the purposes of this story, we shall refer to Chief Ike Aminu, to the effect that there was some big money lying in the Central Bank of Nigeria and looking for its rightful owner. On Chief Aminu’s investigation, it was found out that the owner of the money was dead, and the money was going to be forfeited as unclaimed if no body showed up to own it. The money was about $750m. An arrangement has been concluded by some senior bank officials such that all Mr. Carlos needed to do was to visit Nigeria, meet with the officials, agree on sharing formula and bingo, the money would be wired, and everyone would have fun for the rest of their lives. Mr. Carlos agreed to come to Nigeria and was picked up by Chief Aminu and lodged in a five-star hotel. In the morning Chief Aminu and his partners picked him up and they went to Central Bank Head Office, then in Tinubu Square, Lagos. They were given a red-carpet reception and eventually were ushered into the expansive office of the “Governor”. The business was briskly concluded and Mr. Carlos was convinced it was a genuine prospect. It was not illogical to assume that the wily Mr. Carlos would have also planned to renege on the bastards once money hit his account in Brazil in a ‘dog-eat-dog’ style. All he needed to do was to provide his letter headed paper and fly back to Brazil and begin to wait for his wired funds. He returned to Brazil and waited. A few days later, he received a call from his new partners to inform him all was going well but that the bank was insisting on upfront  payment of taxes and some fund for greasing some palms for the funds to be released. The withholding tax of 10% and the ‘PR’ of another 5% were what was standing between them and $750m. These amounted to over $112K which was insignificant compared to the main funds. They had been able to mobilise $10K and hoping that Mr. Carlos would come up with the balance. Not suspecting anything, Mr. Carlos wired the balance to Nigeria immediately . The Mugu, or Maga, had fallen! In the next few weeks, different stories would follow, pointing to how more money would be required in pursuit of the non-existent claim of the funds in the Central Bank. 

Welcome to the world of the typical Advance Fee Fraud of the 80s and 90s. The name is derived from the demand of advance fees in pursuit of a larger amount of funds. The victim is in pursuit of a larger sum while the beneficiary is targeting a smaller amount which the victim would pay in advance. There are numerous forms of scam in practically all forms of endeavour. The victims are made all sorts of promises including love, marriage and money. At the end of it all, the target is to fleece the victim and defraud her of her money. 

Inevitably, the advance fee fraud scheme of those days (known as 419, derived from the relevant section (419) of the Nigerian criminal code), could not endure as people quickly became wise to the scam. The internet quickly gave vent to another ‘419’ scam that has earned Nigeria a reputation across the globe. The Yahoo scam started sometime after Yahoo Mail came into existence in 1997. Their preference for the Yahoo Messenger made the cyber fraudsters to be known locally as “Yahoo boys”. All they require to operate are laptops connected to the internet that runs almost on a 24-hour basis, Premium software exclusively for hacking purposes and a Virtual Private Network (VPN) application to mask their location.

Those involved in the illicit business have several ways of duping their victims and new ways are being developed daily. Beyond the already discussed forms, there are business email compromise, email phishing, identity theft/impersonation and outright hacking into accounts. Interestingly, some of the fraudsters often resort to seeking metaphysical powers from herbalists and native doctors that they believe will enable them to hypnotise or control their victims for the time they are on their radar. This latter category of scammers is called ‘Yahoo Plus boys or ‘G-boys.’

Yahoo boys are also known to be actively involved in ATM fraud. The debut of crypto currency is an added advantage to this trade as they are able to anonymously receive fraudulent proceeds. Holding foreign accounts to receive funds also help the profile of the fraudsters, though this only applies to the big Yahoo boys. 

A more complex scheme is phishing, a technique used to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details. They stand at ATM galleries to feign assistance to vulnerable illiterate users, the old and the physically challenged and later swap cards to defraud them. Others are able to steal the PIN of unsuspecting users of the ATM and use the cards on the internet to shop or pay for goods.

To facilitate their trade, the scammers invest in informal networks, which revolve around banks, security agencies, co-fraudsters and sometimes, families. The common means of collecting fraudulent money in Nigeria is through the banks, mostly through the foreign money transfer companies like Western Union and MoneyGram. Through compromised bank staff, fraudsters use fake identity to access funds, particularly where the fraudster would have used a foreign name and would not have a recognized identity card in that name. 

Internet fraud was mostly carried out at public cafés. However, with regular raids on these internet cafés and the arrest of suspected fraudsters by the police, the “yahoo boys” have simply moved their bases. The proliferation of internet service providers in Nigeria has also made it even easier for scammers to operate. It is now as simple as buying modems and surfing the internet within the confines of their apartments. The “yahoo boys” stay in physical communes of like-minded individuals and use this network to launch internet attacks. 

In the area of romance, for instance, the scammers could  to set up an account either on Facebook or Instagram using the stolen identity of a soldier stationed in Syria/Baghdad/Afghanistan/Iraq fighting rebels. His profile is embellished with uploaded happy moments of the white military officer using a fake name. The ‘yahoo’ scammer then sends direct messages to his targets, mostly women in their 50’s to 60’s, who are either divorced, widowed or lonely. Once they win their confidence, they swoop in all kinds of ways. To set up a close to reality transaction, the yahoo boy may arrange with a fake delivery company and send a fake package to the victim. The victim would be expected to pay for receiving the package including all handling charges. By the time she parts with funds, she would start the endless wait for a nonexistent package. The business of fleecing the lady continues until she finds out that she had fallen into the hands of fraudsters. Sometimes, the victims are too embarrassed to report the matter to law enforcement agents. 

There is no doubt that many young Nigerians are involved in these crimes. Of all these, the hacking method is the most sophisticated. Here, the email or system of a top executive is hacked into and his password, PIN and other details are stolen and used to operate his accounts from where funds are stolen without his knowledge. Hacking into bank accounts has also become popular as a result of this scheme. Account holders who compromise their identities are at risk here. The fraudster is able to steal funds from their victim’s accounts from either an ATM, transfer to another account or by shopping.

It should be noted that most of these crimes are perpetrated by young Nigerians. The country has rightly or wrongly earned a reputation as the fraud capital of the world. In fact, there is a story of a victim who said that when he thought about the ingenuity and hard work deployed by the people who defrauded him, he concluded that they really worked hard for the money and should keep it. So, if our young ones are so talented, even in doing fraud why wouldn’t they deploy their skills to positive ventures?

There is no doubt that many young Nigerians are involved in these crimes. Of all these, the hacking method is the most sophisticated. Here, the email or system of a top executive is hacked into and his password, PIN and other details are stolen and used to operate his accounts from where funds are stolen without his knowledge. Hacking into bank accounts has also become popular as a result of this scheme. Account holders who compromise their identities are at risk here. The fraudster is able to steal funds from their victim’s accounts from either an ATM, transfer to another account or by shopping.

It should be noted that most of these crimes are perpetrated by young Nigerians. The country has rightly or wrongly earned a reputation as the fraud capital of the world. In fact, there is a story of a victim who said that when he thought about the ingenuity and hard work deployed by the people who defrauded him, he concluded that they really worked hard for the money and should keep it. So, if our young ones are so talented, even in doing fraud why wouldn’t they deploy their skills to positive ventures? 

There is no doubt that the level of unemployment and poverty in the land is one of the major reasons why we have so much of our youth involved in this despicable business. With close to 50% of our population living in abject poverty, and a youth unemployment figure of similar proportion, it is counterintuitive that this line of business would become attractive to these highly skilled and enlightened but idle individuals. Furthermore, a value system that glorifies the penchant for fast and easy money has not helped matters. Before now, most cultures in Nigeria would frown at ill-gotten wealth and not associate with someone who they were not sure of the source of his wealth. Today, the case is different as the successful scammers are honoured with chieftaincy titles and doctorate degrees, while musicians sing their praises and families worship them.

There have been many cases of fraudsters that have been caught in the recent times. One of them is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in the United States for internet fraud that caused $11m losses to his victims. He was a rising star within the country’s private sector to the extent that he once graced the front page of an elite magazine, as an under 30 young millionaire. 

Another celebrated case was a Dubai resident who flaunted his extravagant lifestyle on social media. He arrived in the United States to face criminal charges where he was alleged to have conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from business email compromise (BEC) frauds and other scams, including schemes targeting a U.S. law firm, a foreign bank and an English Premier League soccer club. He and others further allegedly conspired to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from other fraudulent schemes and computer intrusions, including one scheme to steal £100 million from an English Premier League soccer club. In the process of the investigation, a top-ranking local police officer was implicated.

All these go to show that whitewashing proceeds of crime and pretending to be genuine can help but not for too long. On the other hand, flaunting it will show the fraudster the way to jail, very quickly. For some time now, hardly does a week pass without the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) parading young men for cyber fraud or some being jailed by courts for internet fraud-related offences. The foregoing indicate that we have a major challenge facing us as a society. Nigeria now has the unenviable reputation of being a major cyber-corruption hub. Just a week ago, 60 suspected internet fraudsters were arrested by EFCC at a ‘yahoo boys’ awards night in Abeokuta, Ogun state Capital. The event was christened “Peer Youth Awards” and was organised to reward high level internet fraudsters. 

These developments have long term adverse consequences for Nigeria and Nigerians, wherever they may be domiciled. The shameful acts of these few members of our society have completely fouled the pleasant fragrance of numerous hardworking and successful Nigerians, who are quietly doing their honest and noble businesses. 

At the end of the day, we do not benefit from whatever miserly returns that come from these criminal endeavours. They need to be snuffed out quickly or we all will continue to pay for the thoughtless acts of a few of us. This is the kernel of our discussion today. We have so many in our society who have become indifferent towards the penchant for our society to look away from, or even venerate, wealth acquired from questionable and criminal sources. It is a time bomb that needs to be diffused by ensuring that we avoid such characters and the proceeds of their illegal pursuits. Eventually, we will, in one way or the other, pay the price for our disregard of their actions. It is a war that must be fought in families, communities, schools, religious organisations and elsewhere. It is a war that we must win.

•Dr Otti can be reached via [email protected]

Fellow Nigerians, I had a most unusual interview with a man I had always described in the last three decades as the ultimate Crown Prince, Abdul-Lateef Kolawole Abiola, the son of Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. We’ve been friends ever since and I had written countless stories about him but this is our longest and most revealing interview ever. I thought I needed to share it with you on this page, though the full interview will be published in The Boss online newspaper this weekend…
Please, enjoy these excerpts…

Dele Momodu: This is a very rare interview. And for me it is a great honour and privilege to have you. And I like the fact that about two days ago when we spoke, you told me that I could feel free and ask anything. So tell us about yourself from the very beginning

Kola Abiola: Thank you. I am Abdul-Lateef Kola Abiola. I was born into humble beginnings, to late Bashorun MKO Abiola and Alhaja Simbiat Abiola. I am one that has been further humbled by events in my life and that makes me what I am today. That more than describes me as per who I am and why I do what I do today.

Can you take it further back to when you were in school and all that?

Kola Abiola: I came back from England, and started at the University Staff School, Akoka. At that time, my late mum was a lecturer at YabaTech and my father was an accountant. She was teaching back then Textiles Designs. I remember that me and my young ones will walk all the way from UNILAG to YabaTech to wait for my mom to finish before we could go home. From there, I went to Baptist High School where I lived with the principal then; did a bit there before going to Ibadan Grammar School. When I came back on holidays, I had severe Jaundice, and couldn’t go back. I ended up spending six months at home recuperating. Later, I did a term at Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School before my mum shipped me all the way to Aiyetoro in form three. Well, I finished secondary school in Aiyetoro, and went to San Francisco State. Then I went to Berkeley and then to Colorado State University. I have a Bachelors in Finance and MBA in Business Administration. That’s me!

What were the things that molded you knowing very well that daddy was busy, and you stayed with mum?

Abiola: I thank God for her. She always told all five of us that we are not MKO kids, and that we are Simbiat’s kid, especially when dad became polygamous, and as a result of that, the discipline was extra. She was very religious, and she made sure we were religious as well. She was a Taliban in the house. The moment you were able to convince and get her on your side, she will be you one hundred percent. I owe a preponderance of who I am today to her. It is a shame that she didn’t long enough to see us achieve. I wished that by the time she left, the youngest of us, Wura, was doing a PhD. In that respect, she saw us to a point where we could handle things for ourselves. It’s been 29 years since she left, and like I said, one has been humbled by events over my life. She died at 54. I lost my daughter; I lost my father. She is just one who has taught me to be careful, and she’s been very very deep in my thoughts. I took from her in that once that I have decided on what to do, I do it though it takes a while and lot of consideration.

My father and I were connected so well. They say when you look so much like your father, you make enemies of yourselves, certainly not in my case. I think it was by design and my mother ensured that the friendship was there to a point my father couldn’t do anything without calling Kola. In its own little way, it became a problem in the family. She made me come home early just to be around him. The relationship between me and my dad is a design created by Simbiat.

Your father started and grew so many businesses. Could you tell us some of the businesses because I know you were involved in some of them

Kola Abiola: It all started with ITT which he was a part owner. He was an employee, but became a part owner. From that came RCN, Radio Communications Nigeria, and from there came the Bakery (Wonderloaf), and then Concord Press, and then Abiola farms, Concorde Airlines and African Concord. Basically, that is it. Yes, I was involved in a lot of them. A lot of them have been around before I got back. It took me all my service years in Zaria to go back and forth; to restructure and reorganise a lot of the entities. I had to clean them up prior to the arrival of my other brothers so they can step in and take it from me to better heights. Unfortunately, we collectively became a victim of politics – a whole June 12 and electoral history. We all know what happened back then. But more importantly, the government fought us with all their might and the businesses itself became casualties of life. I am not sure anything survived by that time. At the height of it all, we were the highest employer of labour in the country. We had offices in every state. The Concord Press, Airlines, RCN, ITT etc. Like I have said in the past, MKO was well ahead of his time, not to talk about the Abiola Babes etc. He was well ahead of his time. Unfortunately, he paid the price for that also.

Let’s talk about something more international. Before my question, let me use this opportunity for giving me the opportunity to handle the public relations of that country many years ago (1991/1992) Thank you so much for believing in me. What happened to Summit Oil? I know you must have spent about N400 million or more when money was money, but suddenly…

Kola Abiola: Well, we were one of the first indigenous companies to drill and find oil, and that is when we launched. It created a lot of excitement, not just for my family, but for the industry as a whole because it was fully indigenous. And MKO was a strong believer in indigenous challenge. So it was a wholly Nigerian affair. That also extended to the equity and funding of the operation. Now, when the election was annulled, the licence was cancelled. We had two concessions back then; they were cancelled. We started with one that was split into two, and we paid for the second one. And it is funny how things work, but I will probably get it another time. We paid for both, and when the then government of General Sani Abacha came in, he cancelled the licence; we waited till he left office when President Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in, we got back both licences. We had to do that by reclassifying the concession. We are a Niger Delta based concession with 55 years of exploration time to convert to oil mining licence to an oil prospecting licence. Now, by the time General Abacha left, there was no way we could still run that concession under that regime, so we had to reclassify it to another basin, which took 10 years to prospect and convert the licence. There are some details I can’t tell now, but anyway, after we reclassify it, we still had another problem with the regime. President Obasanjo didn’t quite understand why we had two concessions. We tried to show him that we didn’t operate the second concession because because the licence was suspended. And we actually paid for the two concessions. Anyway, the long and short of the matter is that he actually cancelled one and left us with one. And we continued operating on the one that we had.

But fortunately when late President Musa Yar’dua came to power, I approached him; but before then, we had taken DPR to court because we paid for the concession. We also paid for the data to the original owners of the concession. So we went to court. So when President Yar’dua came, I approached him and explained my situation, which he knew about anyway. And he returned the concession back to us. So we had an out of court settlement, and that’s how we got it back. We have been trying ever since to make it work. We have gone from the first, and we are virtually on the last because it is a long tedious governmental process just to get it operational again. But I have a total commitment to sum it up because of one particular thing; when we signed the signature bonus back then, and we were going to pay for it, my father was approached by family members who didn’t quite understand why he would leave so much and give so much in my hands to go and take the risk, he said well, he believed so much in Kola, and that Kola can achieve this thing, and as Kola has said, ‘we are going from being rich to wealth’.

He honestly believed I know what I was talking about – that’s number one. Number two – I told my that I believe this is what is we are going to be vying for. He said everything was my headache. I said yes, but the only difference was that I didn’t take it as my headache sooner than he cared. He told me if you make this work, you will make my burden a lot more easier. I took up the challenge, and when we struck oil, I proved everybody right. I proved to everybody that this thing will work. Events that happened subsequently were totally out of my control, and because of that till date, I have been travelling to make it works, and that is why I am stuck at it. I have put in a lot of my resources just to make it work. Despite all the setback, I’m still at it, and isha Allah, I am almost there.

Amen! Now, your dad was almost into everything. Could you tell us the story of Concord Airlines

Kola Abiola: Concord Airlines came by default actually. We had two aircraft; Mikilo and Kilo horse power – two HS125. And while it was for personal usage, we also use it as private charter. Along the line, the whole idea came that since we are running private charter, why don’t we start an airline, and that came. It wasn’t my idea; it was sold to him, but once he said he was going to be doing it, I followed him, and made it happen. But I was not going to do differently like it was done back then close to time aircraft that only has a few months to go and too expensive to manage, I decided to use double pops instead because I thought they were efficient, and with that, I can make lot more hubs and more connections. The idea was to have as pop as the operation, and we did that until it was also shut down.

Do you think it is something you would like to resurrect?

Kola Abiola: Good question. For me, it’s like fine China; You drop it on the floor, and its so difficult to get the pieces together again. There are somethings I don’t feel happy with, some that have a possibility, there are some that are still running, but I don’t think the airlines are one of those things in my book.

I started life in Lagos at the Concord Newspapers. What happened to Concord Newspapers because as at the time you invited me, you also wanted to resurrect it. What happened?

Kola Abiola: Concord was proscribed by the military government then, and while they occupied the premises, they virtually stole all the bags and most of the bags left became useless – that’s one. Two – I also felt that I could resuscitate it, which I still plan to resuscitate, using a totally different model. We are in a new age now; the days of having a huge printing press and a thousand and one people all over the place are gone. I discussed that with you, and I gave you the blue print on how I intend to do it. While it came back from date, it still have the problem of feeding its own self because the management then was still trying to maintain that old order. I even recall that we went to the state government of the day for help, and their own idea of helping then was to buy up the generators. I wondered how that would help; how a press would run without generators.. That’s another story entirely. It is doable. I know it’s going to come back. It is not going to come back in the guise which it went, but it’s going to come back in a hybreed of some sort. I am working on it.

One of the saddest things that happened was the story of the Abiola Farms. At a time there were fisheries and many more. What happened to all these?

Kola Abiola: The same thing. The farms collapsed because the military government believed that I had a secret airstrip on the farm – the one at Lafiagi and Taraba, and that I was flying in arms and training commandoes there. We didn’t have Boko Haram then let alone training commandoes (laughs). As a result, they shut it down – the same thing with the equipment. I even heard that family members went in there to beat down the equipment and selling the stuffs. The farms were something very dear to me. If there is one thing I have put hands into, the farms were the biggest satisfaction I ever heard. You truly reap what you sow. I got so involved that at the height of it, I was doing about 3000 hectares of maize, another thousand of sun flour. I have my hybreed for sorghum etc. I was really passionate about it.

I really really enjoyed working on it. Of all the companies, that was number one for me – there were kinds of value added, changes to the environment, to the people in those remote areas. The government of the day ended up hurting all these people thinking they were MKO or me. In Taraba for example, and because of the contributions I made there, there is a local government named after me. It is something that was so close to my heart. I felt so bad; there was nothing I could do. There is a limit one can take on government. I hear people say, you didn’t do this, you didn’t do that, you could have done this, you could have done that – I pray to God they never have to face government; they will always find a way to chop off your knee caps. And the system wants to bring you down. For me to be standing, and have survived it, I think I have done a great job so far.

Your dad was a global citizen. He touched lives everywhere, especially in Nigeria. I remember the case when the sultan Abubakar of Sokoto passed on, and he had to get involved in Maccido/Dasuki fiasco. Are you able to recollect what happened at that time because today, Nigeria is so divided that we hardly hear of something where a Yoruba man will go to Sokoto to settle traditional problems

Kola Abiola: My father was very close to the late Sultan Abubakar. The son is the present Sultan of Sokoto. He is very very close to me. When the issue came up and there were burnings and killings in Sokoto, my father and I got into an aircraft and moved to Sokoto. We met with the Sultan, and went to see Maccido also, and he was able to broker peace. You know in Islam, you must have faith; God gives, God takes away. We’ve seen what happened subsequently. But the truth of the matter is there was peace, Sultan Dasuki has been the Sultan of the emirate at some point in time so is his brother, Maccido. Everything is prescribed and ascribed by God. His going there doused a lot of the storm. He met with quite a lot of people in Sokoto that day, and by the time we left, there was a change, and peace returned. You see that goes to show why and what I believe about Nigeria. I have offices in every state. I am at home in every state in Nigeria because we reached out as Nigerians. I grew up in an environment that I couldn’t see anybody by ways or religion but purely by just being Nigerian. We have been to remote places for employees on functions just to support them. So that was just one of many things he did back then. When a Nigerian was given an award in Saudi Arabia, ne chartered a plane and flew everybody there. To me it is a norm. He was a good man.

You did your national service in Zaria. Today, a lot of people in your position will never do that. They will use long leg to come back to Lagos. What happened? How did you find yourself in Zaria?

Kola Abiola: I came home on holiday. My mum wanted me to go back for Ph.D but I just was ready to stay at home and do something. I worked at chemical company back then, but I wasn’t just fulfilled. I knew I could do a lot more coming back to Nigeria. So, I went and filed for my NYSC on my own , but my mum was like when are you going back, and I had to tell her that I want to do my NYSC. She had to make me promise that I would do a PhD, and I would do; I owe her that much. Maybe when my little girl goes back to school, I will join her and do that, but I will definitely do it isha Allah. I was posted to Kaduna, and as God would have it, the camp was in Zaria. Zaria was second home to me. He has a house there and the Emir was like his brother and godfather to me. And I was at home. Not just that, I went to Taraba so was so remote, and I had no problems there. I was at home, and like I said, I have a local government named after me. I had no problems.

The day my mum came to the farm to see what I was doing, she was like, Kola, what are you doing here. Your mates are are out there in Lagos, working in banks and oil companies. I answered her that dad said I should do it, and I am loving it. She said, I’m telling you you can’t continue here, but I reminded her that she was the one that said I should do whatever dad said, so why would she now want me to do otherwise. I made her understand that I was creating things there; I was making things out of nothing, and that’s where I thrive the most. I don’t think I’m a good trader, but when it comes to creating something from zero, I think that’s my strength. When she returned to Lagos, she got my dad to come down and see what I was doing in the place (laughs), and the same scenario played out in Lafiagi, I was comfortable everywhere. Even when I went to Edo State to start drilling oil. I am afraid to invest or do business anywhere. We all see ourselves as one, and that is what it is all about.

Your dad was involved in the fight for reparations against the many decades of slavery, and a lot of people has said the West was not comfortable with some aspects of his life. What informed the decision to go for reparation

Kola Abiola: You see…my father always fight for justice for the underdog. He felt he had the reach to make a difference. He would always put his best foot forward. Besides being a true Nigerian, he is very much a Pan Africanist, and he felt that you can’t become a strong economic unit if you don’t have the infrastructure, policies and things that could make it convenient for ease of trade and movement. As a result, drop all the barriers that hinder entry and exit of any country. You cannot create the economies if the entry cost is so high; when I have to fly to Italy to get to Gabon or fly to France to get to Cameroun when they are just next door. He felt by doing this, let them pay for that infrastructure that they deprive us because it was on our backs that those infrastructures were built – the cotton fields in America, the plantain fields in the Carribeans. He felt that if they can provide a marshal plan for the Germans, and give the Israelis something every year, why not do something that will make up for all we have lost overtime and generations. And he was very very passionate about that. He just felt that somebody has to start this, and overtime, it would be crystalise, and it is beginning to. Like you said, the man had a foresight, and everything he did was not by error. We are slowly but surely getting there.

At the end of January 1993, your dad suddenly went into politics, and I remember leaving Nduka Obaigbena’s house that night when we picked up the information, and I came to your house in Anthony Village to ask you. I’m sure you remember that night. (Long laughter)

Kola Abiola: Of course I remember…

Exactly, could you please tell us everything that transpired

Kola Abiola: Few months before that, we had a meeting at the hospital with my mum. My dad hinted about him running for president and politics. Her take was that ‘I wholly support you to do this, but there was a big but, allow President Ibrahim Babangida finish his programmes and do what he wants to do, and then you can step in and run’. She had reservations about the process. I think Deji, Agbo, myself, himself, I think Bolaji was also there. We agreed to let the process end; once it was done, we will take it up from there and run for the president. We wanted to see how far he would go with the process. About a week or two after, she passed away, and we were dealing with that. He couldn’t tell me what he was doing because he knew we had an understanding, but I was reading it and heard of it exactly the same way you heard of it. A lot of people were calling to know my whereabouts, I responded that I didn’t know anything about it. So, I came down. He couldn’t call me. Normally, I use to stop by on my way home before going to Anthony. He didn’t call me. I didn’t go. Some people were like daddy said he hasn’t seen you, and I answered that he should call me (laughter). But I came down, and I resigned from the company, and said it was time for me to equally move on. Then the process was going on and election format and strategies and so on and so forth. All along he kept on telling something that this thing is not bright – ‘where is Kola’. If he gets here, we will get the answers to all the questions I am having. Then one late night, around 2:30am, he came by my house. He called out me (he called me Kay). He said he was on his way home, and stopped to see his grand kids. I answered that his grand kids are upstairs. I took him upstairs, and we came back downstairs. He got into his car, came down again to hug me, and said in Yoruba, ‘are you just going to leave this to me to do, and you will not participate in it? Before that, Olu Akerele and I had talked about election, and I told him I wasn’t interested but I would give him a blue print on what he needs to do. I advised him to take it to him, and he would like it. Now, this was at the lobby downstairs. I sat him down and gave him step by step of what has to be done and how it needs to be done. I also predicted who was going to be VP. I think Olu still has a copy of the that thing. I read it line by line. I felt Olu must have gone to tell him that he needed to call Kola. He read and said it was making sense and ordered I be called. Those were the decoy he used to come and see me that night. So I was now that you are telling, I just have to look at it. That was how I got involved.

Is it true that your mum ever told daddy not to go into politics?

Kola Abiola: No. She said he can go into it but let the IBB programme come to conclusion first.

But the programme was elongated. Do you think your dad got impatient with the transition programme, and is it true that he sent people to Babangida to find out if he was ready to go finally

Kola Abiola: Yea, but either way, it is neither here or there. The difference in us, the five of us, was there was no Simbiat, and that told on us, and is still telling on us till today. I really don’t know how best to explain that but you see I was very very close to dad, but there was a limit to how I can look up to him and say my mind with the kind of training she had given to us. There is a limit I can confront him. In the past, I could speak to him, and he could tell where I was coming from. I have a sense that he was not fully on board, I could go to mum. But I seem to be the only one in the room that seems to say things differently. Everybody around him were not saying things based on my perspective; based on the love I have for the man. I think deep about things, and rarely do I speak on things and they don’t come to pass. It is just a gift. I don’t just open up and say things. And that is the reason I don’t give too many interviews as well. This is because my views can be very extreme. I have learnt overtime to manage my tongue and be restraint. Still, there is a limit to how confrontational you can be with your dad. That will be a bit too much. I think that created a circumstance where I was alone in that room so to speak, and there was a limit to what I could achieve.

I am very interested in the SDP (Social Democratic Party) primaries in Jos. There was a lot of work to be done; horse threading, sleepless nights and sure daddy didn’t sleep for weeks. Could you recapture the essence of that marathon campaign to get the SDP ticket?

Kola Abiola: Well, no one, what we did was not conventional. We really planned a coup against the establishment. We were never meant to get that far but because we did things in a very unconventional manner. They couldn’t tell where we were going at any given time, and that gave us a head up. Now, I got very involved with the Yar’dua group. I was about 28, 29, and I have to learn very fast. And I am thankful to that whole process till tomorrow to late General Yar’dua and even late President Yar’dua. I really had a lot to learn at a very short time. We came in a little late in the game. I need to figure out where the power play is, and how we could use that power to achieve the objective. At every given point, we were betrayed. But because of my innocent, I think there was an advantage in that. I see it and brush it up and move to the next thing. I was moving from one person to another, and because they viewed me as a small boy, wondering what I wanted, they listened. In the cause of that, it gave dad an advantage that a lot of what they won’t say to him, or find out, I could. And he trusted me a lot, even at that age. He was so sure it was in the best interest of the objective.

I wanted noting but to deliver the ticket, and I knew it. We paid for every hotel and guest houses in Jos to find out that Baba Kingibe camp has governors on their side, and they were threatening every hotelier not to allow me put any delegate in their hotel or their licences would be cancelled. But thank God, we had camped everybody in Kaduna first. We moved them on the day of the election straight to the stadium. So whatever we paid then was gone. I couldn’t even find a place to sleep myself. It was a problem in Jos then. I was determined to make sure things work. So it was an exercise I will have write about because of the kind of games that played out. Someone that comes to mind is Baba Adedibu for example. I have the highest respect for the man. As young as I was, he would sit me down and said in Yoruba, ‘Kola, what exactly do you want’. I will lay them out, and he will make sure they are achieved. At no given point did he do otherwise. Never! And even when some were playing games, he would say ‘don’t worry, you would get what you want. It may not come out exactly, but you will get what you want’. And I got what I wanted back then. Even in my voting party, it was meant to be different at the stadium. The games were played across states, even in my state, Ogun.

Now, your dad got the ticket. Let’s move on to the general election. I was not in Nigeria on the day of the election because your dad had sent me to Vienna to represent him as Gani Fawehinmi was getting a Bureaucracy award. But on Monday, June 14, I called Nduka Obaigbena in Nigeria, and he told me he has been trying to reach me, and if I could reach Chief Abiola, I should tell him to reach President Babangida urgently. I said why, and he said because he was going to win but they are not going to give it to him. And I said how can someone win an election and they won’t give it to him. Do you think, in retrospect, that it was an error that daddy did not reach out to Babangida early enough?

Kola Abiola: Well, I did. I did the reaching out on behalf of him. We did. It’s just that both sides allowed too many people to get in the middle of friendship. I have always felt the two of them can sort things out for themselves. It’s destiny I guess. There was even a particular case where after the annulment and everything, I actually approached General Babangida, and I said ‘sir, are you going to leave?’ And he said, ‘Kola, yes, I am going to go’. That was the day I believed he was going to go. Everybody around him didn’t believe he was going to go. Those around my dad didn’t believe he was going to go. Unlike the Yar’dua group, those around my dad didn’t have a plan in case Babangida goes. I tried to my them see otherwise.

Talking about Babangida, do you believe that some people worked on him not to hand over to your dad because I later learnt around 1998/99 from Dr. Rilwan Lukman, whom I visited when Chief Olu Falaye was running against Chief Obasanjo, and he told me that the owners of Nigeria (that was my first to hear of owners of Nigeria) have decided on Obasanjo not Falaye. Do you think the owners of Nigeria intervened at that point?

Kola Abiola: You know what. Honestly, I’m not sure Babangida was held hostage by anybody. I think he was held hostage by a process he created himself. That process had dragged for too long that he had no choice. He started with registering multi-parties, and returned to cancel it. After that, he created two parties, and built party offices for everybody nationwide. There was no way he could walk back from it He was already hostage to a process that was so dragged out and was about to consume him. That is what leadership is all about. You have to be objective enough to take decisions even at your own expense. For a process that has dragged out for so long, I want to believe that; yea, there might be people who would not want to go for their own selfish reasons. But for the leader himself, he has to make that call irrespective. I think he was held hostage by the process he had created that was endless as opposed to individuals. That’s my summary there.

President Babangida stepped aside, and Ernest Shonekan from the same Egba House stepped in. Why do you think they invited him, and why do you think he accepted

Kola Abiola: Well, I really don’t know. You see, governance will never be in a vacuum. Never! Like I said earlier, I had a meeting with him (Babangida), and he said to me directly and said, ‘Kola, I want to go’. I went back and conveyed this to my side, and they didn’t believe me, and made no plans whatever for plan B. We had another group – the Yar’dua group, who were saying let’s have this in place in case he goes. There will never be a vacuum – somebody will step in at some point. If the objective is for him to leave, let’s make sure he leaves first, and then we take the next step. But our own side of the fence didn’t believe he would leave, and so made no plan B, and that’s what happened. Now, as to why they picked Chief Shonekan, he was kind of in there already holding a position in IBB’s government. It was easier to move from there. It was not they went somewhere to fetch him, no, he was already in government. Maybe that was convenient, I don’t know. Like I said, we had no plan B.

It has been alleged that Chief Abiola was one of those who said Chief Shonekan should be sacked, and then Abacha took power because he promised to return power…

Kola Abiola: That was a mistake, and I said that back then. It’s treason – whether it is a military or civilian person involved, it is treason. No military man will do that. If he fails he is dead. We won’t plan a coup to get a handover. I didn’t see that coming, and I said that was a big mistake. To call him to take over government to do the right thing? Who does that? If he fails, he dies. If he takes that risk, he did that for himself.

Two days after the Abacha coup, we were with your dad in his study. I remember Prof Agbalajobi, Alhaji Tede Olukoya, Alhaji Adetona and a few others were there with hi, and he actually wanted to issue a strong statement against Abacha, and they advised him against it, and actually advised him to reach out to Gen Abacha. That night, your dad asked me to drop some documents, and the following morning that his vice, Babagana Kingibe, Ebenezer Babatope Babatope and others have decided to join the Abacha government.

Kola Abiola: I actually told him that myself. You see, before that, I knew. It was more like window dressing to make it look like sanction. I had already told my dad that this guy was already in the government, and when I told him, it was a very difficult thing for him to swallow. I could feel for him. He said they all going to be the biggest losers. I really felt so bad, but I had to tell him. But when the meeting was called, he just flowed with it, and didn’t say anything.

Do you think that was the night everything ended

Kola Abiola: I don’t think it ever ended for him. It never ended for him. During one conference Abacha organised, we were having a debate, and it was said that an exit date of the Abacha regime will be revealed at the conference. On our part, we were contemplating boycotting the conference, but I was like this is a military government, and as a result boycotting the conference will be of no consequence

After Abacha, your dad went to Ipetedo to make his declaration. Were you in support of that declaration

Kola Abiola: I was a proviso because we were then under a military regime, and anybody who says we should do this must be behind us. I think he had a press conference where he said he was going to appoint his own cabinet and all that. I was like all of us should go to the Ipetedo place. It wasn’t all about him alone. Let all of them forming the cabinet come there and declare the government with him. That was my own view. When he left – I only found out afterwards. That was my condition. I didn’t say they should not do it. I said if they are going to do it, let everyone of them go with him to do it.

He disappeared for about 13 days. He went into hiding, and I remembered he came out from Surulere to go home before he was finally arrested that night. Are you able to capture those moments?

Kola Abiola: I wasn’t there unfortunately. By the time I got there, he had been taken. I knew he was going to leave. He was coming home that day. I was meant to be at the house that day, but I had some personal things I had to take care of before heading there. But before I got there, the whole place had been sealed up and I couldn’t get to him.

For 13 days, you were not with him

Kola Abiola: I was. I even went to see General Abacha in Abuja. The late Isa Funtua was with him. Once they announced that I was around, he told me that I should wait. Alhaji excused himself, and said the General should see me because that what I was coming for was very important. We had a discussion, and I said we shouldn’t allow this event to corrupt our passion for each other. It was a long talk. We mentioned things I felt I couldn’t do. So I left, and that was the last time I saw him. The powerplay doesn’t understand friendship. That’s it. Once you sit on that seat – even if you don’t see things differently, the guys around you will tell it’s not what it choose to be. And I saw a lot of that back then. I’m even surprised they gave me the access I had back then. Maybe my innocence then was an advantage. I had nothing to hide, and I was honest with everybody. Even at my young age, I had always interacted with them at that level. That was the kind of exposure I got being with my dad.

And so your dad was arrested. Could you tell us what you were doing in those four years since you were at home. For me, I escaped to England

Kola Abiola: I was meant to be have been arrested in the alleged Obasanjo/Yar’dua coup. But I opted not to go. My father has been incarcerated, and if I leave, there is no one to be around. I decided to stay, and waited for them to arrest me in my house. But for some reason, it didn’t happen. Yes, it was a very difficult four years. For me, it was a learning process because I got to know his friends for what they truly are. I got to know family for what they truly are. I needed to sift fast a lot of things. I got to know a lot of truths that I didn’t know. What I thought will be a temporary thing became permanent when he passed away. There was a lot to absorb. I went to Abuja for two to three weeks trying to see him with Mustapha tossing us back and forth. But as God would have it, he ended up doing more time than anybody. As long as you stand for the truth, things will sort themselves out. The only thing we had running then was the bank, not like they didn’t try to take it over. It was a tough four years. Thank God for some investments we made back then in Dubai. It was tough, it was really tough. I had a small tutelage of my mum’s passing away before his incarceration – it was a small bit of it, but at least I had an idea of what it entails. But my dad’s situation was a full blown one; a case study.

You were arrested at some point. That was after the death of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola – God bless her soul – why were you arrested

Kola Abiola: What happened back then was – the last time I saw dad, he said we should change counsel. It was very funny that came up because from day one, I opposed Chief JOK Ajayi as counsel because I know a bit of antecedent between the two of them – the man never liked my dad. I didn’t think he would be there to truly do his judiciary responsibility in that case. I think I was right. I know I was right. So, I really never went to court when that guy was around. So when we saw the last time, he said I was right, and should change the counsel, I started the process and along the line, Alhaja Kudirat – his friends were with Aka-Bashorun – he came in with JOK Ajayi. And he found it difficult to withdraw his services, and I was bent on doing my instructions anyway. So we had an agreement with the late Segun Adetona. Dr Ore Falomo was there. She finally agreed that we withdraw his services, Before we left the meeting we agreed that we would have her write that letter, and then go with her, I sensed conspiracy. But they went and came back without her writing that letter. They came back and said I was right. And we just moved on and started the process. We had a scenario where he (Ajayi) continued with his services while Chief Afe Babalola came in with Chief Williams and decided to write this thing. the irony of it is that this man made it impossible.

Ajayi lodged the case in every court possible, and we have to start unwinding and undoing things before we now got to Supreme Court. He also came to the Supreme Court. When he was shot unfortunately, I was invited to make statement so I went, and got locked up claiming I was part of conspiracy that killed her, which is really unfortunate. Time has shown that I had nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, even her kids accused me of being a party to killing their mum. I don’t think they remembered that I was even locked up for that case, but its another story entirely. It was one of the difficult times I had to go through back then. What I have been doing is to hold the family together, but the system decided to split the family by accusing me of being part of the conspiracy that killed my own father’s wife. But also, I learnt one thing. The same group that was in support of Chief Ajayi then were all also incarcerated – Chief Adesanya and all of them. I think Chief Bola Ige was their lawyer. They went to court, but I refused to go to court because I didn’t do anything. I didn’t want to play into the hands of the military. I was released before all of them. I did about six months while they did about a year. I found out that the bigger the head, the bigger the headache.

And then, two days to July 7, 1998. Again, I was in London with Tokunbo Afikuyomi. We just left Nduka Ogbaigbena’s house (he had fled into exile then). We left very early in the morning – walked from Park Lane to Marble Arch. We saw a story on Chief Abiola in the Sunday Times of London that someone came to Nigeria with the then UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan and they said the condition they met your dad in prison was very bad. Then two days after we read that story, your dad passed on. Could you recollect what happened in the last 24 hours before you got the news of his death?

Kola Abiola: It was like any other day to me. I had gone for my usual workout, came back. I got a call from a friend of mine asking me if I have heard what was going on. This was before it became public. She was crying on the phone, and broke the news to me. At that point, I didn’t even know that the government of the day – Abubakar Abdulsalami had invited us to come and see him a day or two before. Conveniently, I was left out of that trip. I didn’t realise till I got to Abuja to mop up events. I got the news, and I spoke to Dr. Falomo and he made a call for me then. Then I got call from Abuja that I should come. Then it was all over the news that it has happened.

I just sat back, and you know, I had always felt it was just a temporary thing. I put a lot of things on hold because I have had some discussions with him, businesswise. If you recall, I had said that I wouldn’t get involved in whatever the family is involved in businesswise. So I was knocking out some things, waiting for the right time to discuss them with him first, and get the clearance before moving on. My situation with family that was temporary became real. I thank God that I had a space of time to get into where I understand things a little better and the different – it hit me real hard. And before then, because of all these dispute about changing counsel, and for the last one year before then, they didn’t give me access to him because i knew him in signs and papers so they refused to give me access to him. And, I also felt empty because dad was really my friend. He was my dad, he was my friend. I didn’t talked to him – yes – we all had our flaws, but he was a generally good man. He had no hate in him at all. Some will call it naive to have a heart like his, but it is not naive – giving everybody a chance to prove themselves. On getting to Abuja, I can’t telling myself so this thing is really real.

I met with Abdulsalami Abubakar. We went to what they called the State House Clinic, and I saw the condition they put him (laments). This country ehn… Two things that Nigeria does very well is to rubbish your leadership – if a man wins an election, and in the cause of the election, taken in a Black Maria to court. The other thing we also do very well is that we have become a country that does not care about our youths. That can’t be good. Once you rubbish such people, what are the youths supposed to look up to. They rubbish you if you have principles, and then expect the younger ones to have…a man wins an election nationwide, and you take him to court in a black maria. Then I went to the state house to see where they kept his corpse; the place was nasty, half refrigerated. The state House for God’s sake! It reminded me of my days in detention when I will sit out in the evenings and look at the Police Barrack and see the nastiness and I ask myself how do you expect these guys to show empathy to victims. I have seen scenarios where if you are cooking in the kitchen and decide to go to your room to collect salt, there is a possibility that your half cooked food might disappear. A guy dies on duty, and before his wife or parents know, someone is already there packing her out. I saw these things live there. Even in death, the treatment they gave him was disgusting. Just because he won an election. It doesn’t make any sense.

On the morning your dad passed on, a certain man, Yinka Ibidunni woke me up from bed in London just after 7am. He had been calling. He said they want to kill your father, and you are sleeping, and I said my father died in 1973. Which father again do they want to kill. He said your father, Abiola. I said who wants to kill him, he said he just listened to BBC world service and there was an interview from Thomas Pickering and Susan Rice who came from America to see Chief Abiola, and they asked them why do you want to see Abiola, Kofi Annan came, and Abiola said he was not going to bargain his mandate, Emeka Anyaoku came from the Commonwealth, Abiola said no deal. So what do you hope to get from Chief Abiola, They said they were going to persuade him to forget his mandate to which they asked them, ‘if he tells you no, what will happen’, and they responded that he would have become a danger to Nigeria. And lo and behold that evening, I was on to your sister, Wura Abiola, and we were going to issue a press statement that all the human rights people who were saying that Abiola should not leave the prison unless they gave his mandate to him, that we should get them to let Abiola come home….

Kola Abiola: You know MKO very well. If he drives down a street, he will stop by and tell them to check his battery. My dad is not that careless with his health. If he feels any inconvenience health-wise, he is on the next plane out. He will be like, Kola, I’m on BA flight tonight, I’m not feeling too well, and he is gone. Now, when you incarcerate a man like that for four years – he doesn’t have a regulate visitation of his doctor, even at the point we pleaded for him to go out for treatment, Chief GOKAjayi came out to challenge the judge for being an NRC person (can you remember?) and aborted that whole drive. It was just a matter of time. You didn’t need to put a gun to his head. We all know he had blood pressure issue, and no check-up for four years. This is a man that gets a check-up everyday. Like I said, if he drives past a clinic, he will tell the driver to stop so he could check his blood pressure – any clinic and anywhere. And once it is more than normal, he is on the next flight out. Definitely, he was killed. I mean you don’t have to put a knife or gun to his head or spike his drink or whatever it takes. If you have malaria for two weeks, and you don’t get treatment, what’s going to happen? Not to talk about the number of tabs and vitamins dad pops in every morning. Maybe that is why I’m even not a believer in vitamins today because he pops vitamins regularly. He had a tablet for everyday in his bag. And you lock up such a man for four years and think he is not going to die. Of course he is going to die. So he was killed, period. No matter the circumstances or how you want to peddle it.

After his death, you have had a lot of family issues. How are you resolving the family issues. I am aware that there has been litigations. What happened to his will, for example. There was a time you were accused of forging and rewriting the will to favour you and your siblings. So, what has been happening?

Kola Abiola: Number one – I must say one thing – MKO not coming home was a blessing in disguise for a lot of family members because if the man I saw last and the man that had gone through what he went through had come home, a lot of things would have changed. A lot of things. Two – would I change a will that doesn’t even benefit me. That will was dated quite alright, but wasn’t up to date, but that was the last will signed. There was a will he wrote that gave me the right to do and undo everything. But thank God, it was not signed. If it was the one signed, I don’t think I would here speaking with you today. But thank God I wasn’t signed. The copy is there in the file. Wouldn’t I rather forge the signature on that one and leave this one behind – I don’t get it. Number three – I don’t get anything from this will, the way it is now because everything that I could’ve possibly get that was going to my mum were given to me because my mum passed away before him. So whatever thing they are doing now is out of sentiment. Finish. The so-called DNA issue – these kids were doing a blood test in the man’s lifetime, not after death, and they know themselves. They had done it in his lifetime…

Not after death, and they know themselves. They have done it in his lifetime. Their mothers knew they did in his lifetime so why would I want to forge that – to the point that he wrote in his will specifically that a lady has two kids for him but only one (the lady had taken him to court in England) is his. How would I have known that. I can go on and on. But you see, leadership requires objectivity even at your own expense.

If I had wanted to manipulate – remember they were all very young while I was working in these companies – but because of my responsibility to him, his ideals and what he would like to see, that’s why there is something for them to keep. Everything I have inherited has come from my mother 100 percent. And I’m still getting it from her till tomorrow. Because my mum was always the entrepreneur in the house. Even I dare say that all the funding of ITT in those days was Simbiat Abiola. We know we had assets that weren’t utilised, and they were acquired by her. But I have a typical way of doing things. You put your husband as Chairman. Despite the fact that the man was polygamous, everything was the same. She didn’t change anything, and she didn’t even leave a will. So automatically, everything goes back to him.

She didn’t leave a will. I hear a lot of things. You see I can go to sleep at night, I can jog the

By Dakuku Peterside 

Though a Christian celebration, Christmas has turned into a cosmopolitan, cultural, and social celebration marked and enjoyed worldwide by different religious adherents. In Nigeria, a religiously diverse nation, many homes, Muslims, Christians, and traditional religion practitioners, celebrate the spirit of friendship and comradery among different people, enjoy harmless fun, exchange gifts, and share the love that is the hallmark of Christmas.

The frenzy of Christmas and new year celebrations will soon remove our attention from more immense socio-economic challenges pushing Nigeria to the edge. Nigerians never allow any political, economic, or social condition to dampen their Christmas and new year spirit as they enter the festivities celebration mood especially starting from the first week in December. No matter what the year has brought, people go into Christmas and new year celebrations with renewed hope for the bright future of Nigeria.The festivity will be low key for some, and others will still explore fun to the maximum. For some , Omicron variant of Covid-19 may define how they spend the seasonal celebrations.

However, Nigerians have concerns they wish their leaders and government could address, so they have fulfilled celebrations and look forward to 2022 with hope and optimism. These concerns emanate from the yearly experience of people nearer to Christmas celebrations, and these issues have been a recurring decimal in Nigeria during the infamous ember months. Top on the list is insecurity.

Although there have always been fears of insecurity during Christmas periods in the past because of a sense of heightened quest to make money legitimately and unscrupulously, among many people, especially the youths, the desire to show off with the latest gadgets, toys, cars, clothes, and other accoutrements of ostentation pushes many people to engage in various forms of criminality.

In recent times, insecurity has taken a more sinister dimension than previously. The secessionist agitations in the Southeast, the banditry and terrorism of the Northeast and Northwest, the mayhem of Fulani herders and their conflicts with farmers in the Southwest and middle belt region. We also have  kidnapping and militancy in the South-South and these entail
that most nooks and crannies of Nigeria are insecure. Some have a yearly ritual of travelling back to their villages to commune with family and God. This year, many are having a rethink about making those journies .

The above issue is especially so with people from the Southeast living in faraway North or Southwest. They will struggle to understand the killings in their hometowns and the constant sit-at-home orders by IPOB. Fear is the new normal, and people are afraid for their lives and from harm. Government should do everything within its powers to assure Nigerians of their safety. An orchestrated and detailed plan of providing security, especially in known hot spots by the security apparatus, is essential to instill confidence in the people.

Travelling by road should be made more secure by the government. I sincerely hope that government will give Nigerians the Christmas gift of providing robust security during this festive season on our major highways. If the government has any plans and activities towards offering protection, it should let the citizens know to inspire confidence before the yuletide starts proper.

Besides insecurity in road transportation, traffic management is another bane of road transportation in Nigeria. Traffic jams are prevalent in most urban areas, but with the festive season approaching, this exacerbates and becomes a source of anguish and irritation to drivers and passengers. Government should start on time to plan how to provide robust traffic management and control systems, utilising modern technology. An efficient road traffic control system is a great Christmas gift Nigerians will cherish from the government.

Our gateways are often overwhelmed at peak times during the Christmas season. The airports especially are crowded with people coming back from big cities or abroad to spend Christmas with their families. Often, with crowding comes the collapse of efficient service provision, touting, flouting of rules and best practices in safety, poor crowd management and flouting of laws on Covid 19. The facilities are sometimes not kept in good shape and our gateways, often the first point of contact with foreigners coming into the country, become glorified motor parks where anything and everything goes. The government will use the little time it has now to plan and implement an efficient and effective airport management system that is fit for purpose and will utilise appropriate resources to run the airports effectively. Foreigners and visitors must feel welcomed to Nigeria and have a positive perception of Nigeria in the first few minutes of entering our airports.

Christmas is a festive season, and food prices tend to go up due to high demand. This year has been exceptional. Food prices all year have been increasing at above 10% . Already, the cost of staple food has gone beyond the affordability of many Nigerians. Although the government does not have direct control over the cost of food, Nigerians will appreciate any macro-level intervention it can make to stabilise the price of food. Any measures taken by the government to stabilise the cost of food will be a Christmas gift most Nigerians will love.

Next to food price issues is the rising cost of fuel and gasoline. The gas price has increased by over 200% in the past year. The price of petrol, although stable, for now, is feared to rise drastically if the government goes ahead to remove the fuel subsidy. Nigerians at the lower ebb of the economic strata are feeling the bite of the increase in fuel and gas prices. If they cannot afford foodstuff and Gas to cook food, that will threaten their existence. The direct implications of this are the prevalence of malnutrition, diseases and sometimes death.

An increase in transport fare due to a rise in the cost of fuel will have a significant negative impact on poor people. Fuel scarcity is prevalent during the Christmas period. So far, the government has done a great job to reduce the case of fuel scarcity in Nigeria. We hope that the government will put all strategies and operations to avert any fuel scarcity and force the price of goods not to skyrocket during this festive period. Any positive action in this direction from the government will be a great Christmas gift for many Nigerians.
The reality is that fears are growing that inflation could burn red hot, as Nigerians pay higher prices on everything from airfares and electricity to rents, fuel, transport, food items and cooking Gas. The government should not be aloof to these fears and concerns but must work collaboratively with the private sector to reduce these concerns on many Nigerian citizens. On the side of the citizens , we expect economic common sense . People must avoid the temptation of seeing this season as a period of profligacy.

Nigerians would like to have hope in the future, which is the true bedrock of development and patriotism.A recent study by professors at the University of Miami has shown that in nations where people are more optimistic about the future, the impact of the economic recession is weaker, economic expansion is vibrant, and recovery faster. Nigerians need a new lease of hope and optimism buoyed by a combination of heightened government action on security and a clear roadmap of tackling our immediate economic, social, and political challenges. That way we can navigating the future with confidence.
Finally , the government must be ready to engage the people . If there is any challenge we have today it is the fact that the citizenry feels hopeless and do not have much expectations .

BULLYING AT DOWEN? WAITING FOR THE TRUTH

The tragic news of the death of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni of Dowen College Lagos has brought the issue of bullying in schools at all levels to the fore once more. There are conflicting narratives about the root cause of young Sylvester’s death. First is the claim by his family that the 12- year-old boy, before his passage, stated that some of his peers in school tried to initiate him into a cult group, forced him to drink some strange liquid which he resisted. And he was beaten up, which led to his death at a Warri hospital. Before he passed, the cousin alleged that he mentioned five names of those involved.

There is counter-narrative from the school authorities. They claimed that late Sylvester sustained injury from playing football with colleagues. He was given first aid, but the situation deteriorated as young Sylvester complained of hip pain the next day and was attended to by the school doctor. The school invited the parents to pick him up for proper medical attention when there was no improvement.

The two versions of the same story above are far apart and conflicting. The critical issue now is whose version Nigerians should believe and the implication for society? The fact remains that we may not know the truth of what happened to Sylvester until the investigation into the matter is concluded. As traumatic and emotive as the story is, it is suggested that everyone should desist from jumping to hasty conclusions until we get the facts laid out by the investigators.

The families of Sylvester and the school management must allow for a thorough investigation of the issue. I will implore the investigators to look beyond the specifics of what led to Sylvester’s demise and focus on broader issues of a “culture of bullying” and the structures of bullying, including clandestine groups in our schools . They should also look at the broader scope of these bullying cultures across the schools within the local area to establish a “pattern of bullying behaviours” that threatens the fabrics of society.

Our society deserves to know the truth about this issue. Nothing but the truth can assure all that the safety of young people is the minimum our country can guarantee our young people and their parents. Truth in the context is costly. The dynamic nature of the case may becloud people’s objectivity and make them pander to sensationalism
and media trial. Social media is awash with claims and counterclaims of evidence to justify one version of the story or the other.
People may easily condone seductive rumours, half-truths, wild allegations, or outright falsehood sold to them through social media, which may persuade the court of public opinion towards accepting the bullying narrative. If that narrative turns out untrue, it becomes difficult to undo the damage that it may have caused to society. The dilemma is that if we dismiss the bullying narrative because we want to preserve the reputation of our institution at the expense of endangering the lives of others who may be victims tomorrow, posterity will not be kind to us.

Whatever the case may be, the inconvenient truth is that the state owes us the duty of going to any length to establish the truth of this matter promptly, logically, and credibly. That is the only thing that can assuage the fears of all citizens, parents, students, teachers, and school authorities on this matter. Even if bullying is not directly linked to the death of
Sylvester, it is endemic in our schools. There is a statistical increase in cases of bullying and physical intimidation in our educational institutions. No one knows whether the trend reflects the rise of a violent culture in the wider society. But it does seem that the attraction of the profit motive is swamping the responsibility of private school administrators to protect the young ones entrusted to their care.
.It is time for a rigorous review of the administration and welfare aspects of the many private schools in the state. An industry with such robust patronage requires a strict regime of regulation and oversight. That is the best safeguard against tragedies such as the one that just befell young citizen Sylvester.

In line with William Golding’s Lord of The Flies, young people have a proclivity to run wild and hurt each other deeply when adults have not established rules and regulations that guide relationships between and among young people. Young people with a Jack-like disposition may create mayhem within a school environment and institute a reign of terror and pain on others without any compulsion.

By Ebere Frankline Chisom*

Breaking the Ice and Setting the Stage Right

The Nigerian primary education sector has through the years been plagued by a number of phenomena amongst which are child labour and child abuse. The Almajiri system in another light has not always been considered a problem to the primary education system not until recent studies and developments proved contrary.

While primary or basic education has been identified to be a major and incontrovertible drive for development particularly sustainable one of any nation, yet the existence and prevalence of these nefarious activities, circumstances and institutions militating against Nigeria’s primary education system does not augur well for the endeared Nigeria.

Conscious of these verities, the Nigerian government over the years introduced a number of policies and measures by way of reformations to shield the primary education scheme within the country from the ills of child labour, child abuse and the Almajiri system as well as to ensure that the institution of primary education achieves its original goals and objectives. Amongst such measures as evolved are the ratification of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 138 prohibiting child labour, the promulgation of the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act 2003, the enactment of the Child’s Right Act 2003 etc.

It is against this background that this article attempts to examine the extent to which the bane of child labour, child abuse and the Almajiri system as extant in Nigeria, constitute a problem to the wellbeing of Nigeria as a country while proffering timely recommendations to salvage Nigeria’s primary education system.

Child Labour and Child Abuse as Stubborn Problems Impacting on the Nigerian Primary Education System

The phenomenon and concept of Child Labour is defined by the International Labour Organisation as the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially or morally harmful while, child abuse or child maltreatment refers to a physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child, especially by a parent or a guardian.

As affecting Nigeria, the Child Rights Act which is primus inter pares on rights accruing to children in Nigeria defines Child Labour under its broad provisions of Section 28 in terms identifiable to those of the International Labour Organisation. On the other hand, Child abuse is regulated by the cumulative provisions of the Nigerian Criminal, Tortuous and Family Law and incorporates a number of offences which has oftentimes being subject of determination in Courts such as general child injuries, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect etc.

Yet, Nigeria, despite having enacted significant laws aimed at curbing the practices of child labour and abuse, statistics evaluating the prevalence of child labour and abuse are very alarming. In fact, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimations puts child labour prevalence in Nigeria at 43% of the entire children populace while child abuse stands at 60% of the entire children populace revealing a real-failure of extant mechanisms.

However, the effects of these statistics cannot be more appreciated other than in relation to the primary education system of Nigeria which further has a compounding effect on the sustainable development objectives of Nigeria as education has been identified as a critical drive for sustainable development. In effect, children engaged in child labour are usually underrepresented in primary school settings in Nigeria due to non-enrolment or even availability of little or no time for academic activities on the part of the affected children. The resulting effect being total or partial abstention from schooling. The very few who are able to attend classes usually end up with bad grades resulting from their engagements which either do not afford them sufficient time for studying or render them too weak for studies. This is further accentuated by the fact that stress in early ages can disrupt learning and cognitive abilities significantly.

Indeed, the issue of child labour in Nigeria in recent years has been on a perpetual increase. This is despite the provisions of extant laws in force in Nigeria which prohibits child labour in all its forms. However, due to Nigerians’ acculturation to impunity, the practice does not only prevail in local and urban communities but even within institutions set up to mitigate it. Hence, in some parts of the country, pupils are made to cultivate large farmlands and clear big bushes under the pretext of studying agriculture and practicing sanitation respectively.

The cumulative effect of these is a drastic fall in the standard of education at the primary school level which consequently has severe effects on the whole educational apparatus and the developmental objectives of the country.

The Almajiri System and Its Nefarious Effects on the Nigerian Formal Primary Education System

“Almajiranci”, Hausa for the Arabic word “al-Muhajirun” and the Anglicised “Almajiri System of Education” is a system of Islamic education practiced across the world and prevalent in present day northern Nigeria. Historically and as affecting Nigeria, the Almajiri System originated in the Kanem-Borno empire as early as the 13^th century with the introduction of Islam in the region. The practice would have gained momentum with the advent of the Sokoto caliphate of Usman Dan Fodio in the early 19^th century and would have continued to the colonisation of Nigeria and further into the Independent Nigeria.

As a system, it originally consisted of Islamic theological boarding schools, funded by the State treasury and tasked with the responsibility of inculcating Islamic knowledge and doctrines in the Almajirai who usually are young children. However, with the British colonization of Nigeria, State funding of these schools was stopped.  As a build-up to these developments, the mallams engaged these vulnerable children into alms begging in order to meet up with the most basic needs of feeding and clothing. Today, Almajiri has become synonymous with street begging in Nigeria.

While this is appreciated, it is noteworthy that the Almajiri system of education and the formal primary education system in Nigeria has for the most part been incompatible despite government attempts at running parallel educational systems. Hence, in a turn of events, the government had made attempts to integrate the Almajiri System into the formal primary education system, albeit with colossal failures.

This is particularly grave as the continuing existence of the Almajiri system constitutes a threat to the primary education system in Nigeria as the Almajiri System discourages children, parents and guardians from enrolling the children and wards into the formal primary education system given its relative inexpensiveness and the strong support the Almajiri System enjoys from the indigenous populace. The consequence of this is that the right to compulsory primary education for children guaranteed under the cumulative provisions of Section 18 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act 2003 is not upheld and the achievement of sustainable development goals is further impeded.

Final Remarks and the Way Forward

The phenomena of child labour and child abuse and the Almajiri System constitute serious problems to the Primary education system of Nigeria and ultimately to the sustainable development of Nigeria. This in effect refers to their cumulative effects of diminishing the relevance of the Primary education system in Nigeria or impeding the effective actualisation of the objectives of the institution of primary education in Nigeria.

While the government has over time attempted to remediate the situation, yet the effectiveness of extant mechanisms, measures and reformations remains minimal. In this light, it is respectfully proffered in guise of recommendations that the government proscribes the Almajiri System and enact laws to enable the prosecution of parents and guardians who consciously induce their children or wards into Almajiranci.

Furthermore, the government through the judiciary must muster enough political will that would ensure that matters of child labour and child abuse as affecting the primary education brought before it is properly scrutinized and convicted offenders appropriately dealt with. While this is done, a sensibilisation campaign on the importance of primary education has to be undertaken by the government and all stakeholders across the country to the effect of promoting the institution of primary education in Nigeria.

Finally, the government must increase funding of the Nigerian primary education system in line with the UNESCO standard of 15% – 26% of its annual budget to the effect of making primary education effectively and practically free particularly as poverty which is prevalent in Nigeria constitutes a major drive for child labour, child abuse and Almajiranci.

It is strongly contended that the implementation of these measures will effectively tackle the banes of child labour, child abuse and the Almajiranci while significantly improving the Nigerian primary education system.

* Ebere Frankline Chisom, (LLB Part II, ABU, Zaria) Member, Scientific Network on Eviction and Housing Rights (SNEHR), EVICT, University of Groningen, the Netherlands., [email protected], franklinechisom.com

By Alex Enumah

From the judgment of Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court in Abuja last Tuesday, the banishment of the former Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, by the Kano State Government on March 9, 2020 was not only an archaic and barbaric tradition, but an illegality which does not have a place under the 1999 Constitution, Alex Enumah writes

The deportation or banishment of deposed traditional rulers in Nigeria by government has been an age-long practice. During the military regime when the constitution was suspended, Nigerians had witnessed how traditional rulers were banished.

Even during the colonial era, the Oba of Benin, Ovonranwen Nogbaisi, was dethroned and deported to Calabar in 1887.

There were also cases where the Emir of Kano, Ado Sanusi; the Alake of Egba-land, Oba Ademola; the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Adeyemi; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, and the Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Mustapha Jokolo, were all dethroned and banished from their respective areas where they held sway.

Sanusi, who was seen as a reformist, had been critical of some government policies – a stance that frequently put him at loggerheads with ruling the politicians in the state. He was never shy of voicing his opinions on pressing issues within and outside the country. This seemed like a break with the tradition where an Emir can only be seen and not heard. More so, since the seat is not adequately protected by the Nigerian law, the norm has always been that even if a traditional ruler does not like the government in power, he exercises patience and act like he does; till the government’s tenure elapses, so as to protect his traditional seat. To many observers, it was just a matter of time before he would run into trouble

So when the Kano State Government led by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje dethroned the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, popularly called Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, on March 9, 2020 on claims of disloyalty and in-surbordination, and consequently banished him from Kano State to Nasarawa State, never to return to the state, many were not shocked.

However, it was obvious that the state government was biting more than it can chew as such an action is a breach of the1999 Constitution (as amended).

Little wonder a Federal High Court in Abuja not only described the action as archaic and barbaric tradition, but also unconstitutional.

Delivering judgment on a fundamental rights enforcement suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/357/2020, filed by Sanusi, the court presided over by Justice Anwuli Chikere, held that the Kano State Government has no power under any law to ban the former Emir from further visiting the city or to confine him to a particular part of the country without his consent.

Justice Chikere held that, having not committed any offence known to law, Sanusi should be able to enjoy the constitutionally guaranteed right of any Nigerian to reside in any part of the country, including Kano.

Justice Chikere, who upheld the argument by Sanusi’s legal team led by Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), declared as illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional, the purported house arrest and restrictions placed on the former Emir by the Kano government, the police and the Department of State Services (DSS).

While the judge did not say anything about the dethronement of Sanusi as it pertains to the Emirate Chieftaincy Law 2019, she voided his purported banishment to Awe in Nasarawa State on the grounds that it constituted a serious infringement of his fundamental human rights.

The judge said: “Fundamental rights law is weighty, inalienable and cannot be wished away as done by the respondents in the instant case.

“There is no provision in the Nigeria’s supreme law (Constitution) that, where a person is dethroned, he should be banished to another place without his consent.

“Every Nigerian citizen must be treated with dignity, except where such a citizen commits a capital offence.”

The Kano State Government had, shortly after dethroning Sanusi, forcefully moved him and his family members, with the help of men of the police and DSS, out of Kano, first to Abuja, then to Loko (Nasarawa State) and later to Awe, also in Nasarawa State.

He was confined to Awe until March 13, 2020 when Justice Chikere issued interlocutory injunction restraining the respondents in the suit from further restricting Sanusi’s movement.

Respondents in the suit included the Inspector General of Police (IG), the Director General of the DSS, the Attorney General of Kano State and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

Sanusi, who said he was not challenging his dethronement, had argued in the suit that his forceful removal from the palace, movement to Abuja and later to Awe, where he was restrained, violated his fundamental human rights guaranteed under sections 34, 35, 40, 41 and 46 of the Constitution.

Justice Chikere, in her judgment last Tuesday held that the manner Sanusi was forcefully removed from the palace after his dethronement and taken, first to Abuja and later to Awe in Nasarawa State against his will, was a gross violation of his rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.

She further held that the right to freedom of liberty and personal dignity granted under Section 34 of the Constitution cannot be violated as done by Kano government, the police and DSS, except with express order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

The judge declared as unlawful Sanusi’s purported banishment and proceeded to issue an order of perpetual injunction barring the first to third respondents from further arresting, detaining, harassing and containing Sanusi’s movement.

Justice Chikere declared as a nullity the Emirate Chieftaincy Law 2019 under which the Kano State Government claimed to have acted, on the grounds that it was in conflict with express provisions of the Constitution.

The judge, who awarded N10milion damages against the Kano State Government, the IG and the DSS, also ordered them to offer public apology to Sanusi to be published in at least, two national dailies.

Reacting to Sanusi’s banishment, a lawyer, Mahmood Abdulbasit Adewole, condemned the action of the Kano State Government, describing it was unlawful and unconstitutional

“The Government of Kano State has no right to act outside the clear and unambiguous provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (applicable to this case); even while acting under the state’s law, because Section 1 (3) of the 1999 Constitution provides for the nullity to the extent of the inconsistency of any law that contradicts the provisions of the Constitution. Section 35 (1) of the said Constitution guarantees the personal liberty of every citizen of Nigeria, except in the circumstances stated thereof. Section 41 (1) of the Constitution guarantees the right of every citizen to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom. In the instant case, the Kano State Government has not been able to establish that the banishment of the dethroned Emir Sanusi from Kano State and his deportation to Nasarawa State were in accordance with the clear provision of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. The Court of Appeal has settled this in the case of Government of Kebbi State vs. HRH Mustapha Jokolo (2013) LPER.

“In holding the view that the banishment was unconstitutional, we are not oblivious of the fact that Section 45 of the Constitution provides that “nothing in Sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society – (a) in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health, and (b) for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons.”

“Be that as it may, it is still our contention that the said Section 45 does not cover Section 35 of the same 1999 Constitution which guarantees the right to liberty. It is relevant at this juncture to state that the laws contemplated by the said Section 45 of the 1999 Constitution regarding the right to freedom of movement are no more than laws allowing the restriction of movement of the citizenry and imposition of a curfew during the threat or actual outbreak of war, violence, breakdown of law and order or an epidemic; or such laws allowing people suffering contagious diseases or psychiatric ailments to be confined to hospitals or psychiatric homes, while the instant case of the dethroned Emir does not fall in any of these categories.

“In conclusion, the competent court of law is the only recognised enforcer of any law that seeks to restrict the enjoyment of any constitutional right or freedom of any citizen in order to protect the right of that citizen and other members of the society. Therefore, no executive order of banishment or deportation can be justified under Section 45 of the 1999 Constitution, notwithstanding the rehash of the phrase “is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society”.

The Kano State Government, has however rejected the judgment and would be approaching the Appeal Court in the coming weeks.