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PAGE 26—SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022 Soludo’s sour grapes In one of the most debated statements in the Holy Writ, the Roman Governor of Palestine, Pontius Pilate asks the Nazarene Rabbi, Yeshua, brought before him for trial, “Qui Est Veritas?” So, What is Truth? It is a very complicated question, because the truth is like light passing. As it passes, you might see a shade of gray, or you might see gray itself. It is complicated. And this was precisely what Dr. Charles Soludo, former Professor of Economics at the University of Nigeria; former Federal Economic Adviser; former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and current Governor of Anambra State could not fathom when he wrote that long rambling treatise on Peter Obi last week. It all began when he came on air for an interview on Channels TV, and he was asked about the state of the investments purportedly made by Mr. Obi, who is running on the Labour Party ticket, and who has made capital about his prudence while he was in office in Anambra State as governor. He not only saved N75 billion in cash for Anambra State, he made investments for the state from which it presumably still benefits. This question by the Chanel’s TV Anchor elicited a chuckle from Soludo, who categorically dismissed such claims. In his precise words, whatever investments made by Obi as governor was currently “worth next to nothing.” Yo! That was a crushing blow. It was clearly, carefully aimed directly at the solar plexus of Peter Obi’s cardinal claim, on which he has anchored his electability – his capacity, competence, and all what not. If Obi’s investment are now worth “next to nothing,” then it must mean that no one can “verify” the basis of his campaign’s thrust. His prudence. His integrity. His visionary impulse. His signature. That thing that makes him very attractive to a new generation of Nigerian voters who are searching for alternatives, and who are investing almost pagan hope on him. It was not long before the “Obidients” – those convinced, Internet savvy phalanx of Peter Obi’s supporters took on Dr. Soludo, and began to interrogate, and counter him with their own facts, which, they had, well, “verified.” The rustle grew to a din, and Dr. Soludo would have none of it. In what can now only be described as an excess of bile, he fired off a long treatise, in a way only a Professor could – long, coruscating, footnoted – and frankly tedious essay that took on Peter Obi. It was a shocking display. And Soludo might be ruing his decision to write this publicly, although he did claim he was not averse to a good fight. It was only part 1 of his take on Obi, and he is quite likely to come down with a second part. But what does the first part of this Soludo polemic on Peter Obi say? What does it do? What it says and what it does, I assure you dear Did Peter Obi leave behind substantial money in the coffers of Anambra State as part of a rainy day savings for the state? reader, are not quite the same. But let us start with what it says. In his essay, at the risk of needless rehash for the reader quite capable of reading themselves, Dr. Soludo began by drawing an analogy between himself and “Our Lord and saviour” who was crucified for telling the truth. He did not tell us that Pilate had asked our Lord and saviour – “Qui Est Veritas”? What is truth? But never mind. Charlie Nwa Mgbafor – as Dr. Soludo actually says he prefers to be called – situates his talk about Peter Obi’s investment claims in Anambra State as actually part of his campaign promise to the people: “I promised that I won’t be the usual politician, and will not knowingly lie to the people.” And so, the question remains, did he lie about Peter Obi’s accomplishments in Anambra, specifically to throw a spanner in his fast spinning political wheel? Did Peter Obi’s administration make investments on behalf of Anambra State government? Where are these investments and what are their current, verifiable worth? Did Peter Obi leave behind substantial money in the coffers of Anambra State as part of a rainy day savings for the state? Did he meet the Millennium goals set, and in spite of the funds he saved for Anambra State, did he embark on providing other social services in Education, public health, energy, security, and other social services and infrastructure? I do wish to say, on a personal note, and I do not intend this to be an endorsement of Peter Obi, but my personal experience travelling through Anambra state, from Owerri to Abatete through Orlu, and once from Oba, through Nnewi to Awka, was that compared to other states of the South East, and other places in Nigeria through which I had traversed, Anambra State had the best network of really well-built rural roads that I’d seen in Nigeria. I do not say this lightly. But Dr. Soludo is that man in the arena to which he refers in his essay, and ought to come clean, knowing that even the name he bears compels him to be wary of overreach. Yes, indeed. Many may not know, Soludo’s last name is, in the Igbo language, something of an ominous warning: SOLU- UDO. It basically means, “Beware of the deity, Udo” – lest he strikes one dead. I ask because, it does seem to me that Dr. Soludo spent all his ink circling on the questions of Peter Obi’s political decisions and the Igbo “emotive Nzogbu-Nzogbu political dance.” It is a shocking copout! And therein, I thought, lay what essentially was Charles Soludo’s sour grapes. In that very unambiguous backhand on Obi and Igbo political ambitions and action: “Let’s be clear about it” writes Dr. Charles Soludo, “Peter Obi knows that he can’t win and he won’t win. He knows the game he is playing, and we know too; and he knows we know. The game he is playing is the main reason he didn’t return to APGA. The brutal truth (and some will say God forbid) is there are only two persons/parties seriously contesting the President: the rest is exciting drama.” But if Peter Obi knows that he will not win, why is he campaigning? Who loves to go through this punishing circuit, and puts his health at risk, just for the fun of it? It is difficult to see the logic of Soludo’s claim. But it is equally foolhardy not to take a pause and listen to him. What does he know that the rest of us do not? He says in politics you don’t get what you deserve. That may well be true. He predicts, based on his own internally generated polling that Peter Obi may not even get more that 25% in 4 States, one of which would most likely be Anambra. Basically, he suggest that Peter Obi, is somehow working for Bola Tinubu. He says the Igbo are not politically organized enough and are not ready for power. So, here is the question for Charles: when would the Igbo be ready? Perhaps only when Charles Soludo gets to be in the arena? And that brings me to the part of what Soludo’s essay on Peter Obi has done. It fully, and squarely, exposed the wide chasm between Igbo political actors, and the mass of Igbo people. The contemporary generation of Igbo political leadership is weak and inferior. They lack the confidence and weight of the political leaders of an earlier generation, who were powerful forces. There is nothing more tragic, and moredangerous for a people than for their own leaders to be nothing more than servants of the leaders of other people. That is what has happened to the Igbo. What played out in the PDP and the APC Primaries, in which every Igbo politician was a bagcarrier to another politician either in the North, the West, or the South-South, highlights the political danger the Igbo faces in the current Nigerian environment with this current generation of leaders. There are two faces of Igbo politics today whom the Igbo can trust: Mr. Enyinnaya Abaribe, and Mr. Peter Obi. The rest have demonstrated that they can sell Igbo interest for peanuts, and therefore cannot be trusted. That is why most of them are ranged against Peter Obi. They see the kind of political threat he has come to be. Obi’s unwillingness to be a “Boy-Boy politician” like his Igbo political peers, and his courage to cut his ties with PDP just before a political disgrace, and cut a wide swath with the Labour Party is what has endeared him to a multitude of Nigerians, including the Igbo voters who are settled across Nigeria. In spite of what Soludo seems to suggest, Peter Obi has momentum. It may well be true that the Labour Party has not been able to field candidates nationwide, but its presidential candidate is enjoying a following that is much more serious than what Charles Soludo thinks is frenzied political theater. His readings of the electoral strength of the South East, does not take into account Igbo spread for instance, across Nigeria, which accounts for significant urban votes, North and South. He is also not seeing that Peter Obi is deliberately not campaigning as an “Igbo candidate,” or on the premise of the old regionalist political categories: he is campaigning as a Pan-Nigerian candidate. I will refer Charles Soludo to the factors that gave the NCNC a wide plurality of votes in the December 1959 elections. Those factors may well be at play in the current era in 2023. But that said, Soludo’s admonitions, even if it is, as it clearly seems to be, sour grapes, and left-handed charity, must be taken with some seriousness. Labour Party Stewards must organize the ground floor, if they wish to win,they must not only get out the votes, but they must hold the grounds, and demonstrate electoral strength. That would be the best way to silence Charles Soludo, not by bullying him. Charles Soludo is wrong: Peter Obi is in reckoning. That is the truth. The online in-laws I don’t know if you read it I did The story about how a woman could not get pregnant She sought out her Pastor for counselling He dropped his trousers for divine anointing of her womb He instructed her to go straight home to her husband and get him to do the needful God would complete his work That is how Baby one arrived When it was time for a junior one, the ‘enemies’ started to disturb the poor woman’s womb again Enter another round or rounds of divine anointing Sealed by the clueless husband Gbam! Baby two arrives The story would have remained unknown Buried in the bottomless pit of unspoken secrets The online in-laws were sitting in judgement of a case of a woman who had been defrauded by a Pastor They made the usual remarks about the misdeeds of some so-called men of God Auntie ‘miracle babies’ now comes and opens her mouth wide to tell of how her Pastor made it possible for her to become a mother through ‘special anointing’ Even the unshockable online in-laws were scandalized! They made all kinds of unsavoury comments A common thread being something about one of the two ‘participants’ firing blanks Auntie please shhhhhhhhhh. Otherwise, Uncle will hear and start looking for the nearest DNA lab. One of my wise friends taught me that the only difference between a stupid person and a wicked person is the intention The consequences are the same There was another matter brought before online inlaws A Nurse whose motherin-law is ill and bedridden The husband wants her to look after his mother – for free The sisters-in law want her to look after their mother – for free The Nurse said Yes - for a fee So, the online in-laws were asked, ‘Am I wrong to demand for compensation’? I did not understand the question So, the many answers of the online in-laws befuddled me even further Nurse. Mother. Husband. For better for worse The online in-laws were split on this one Some advised Auntie Nurse to ask her husband and in-laws to look for someone else or leave their own jobs to care for their mother Some more reasonable ones remembered the ‘For better for worse’ vows and suggested a deal that would make both sides happy Yet another story Rich man passes on and leaves a big house for his daughter in Ikoyi Daddy’s girl gets married and her husband and family want her to sign over the house to him Pooof! The marriage is over The online in-laws were unanimous on this one Daddy’s girl dodged a bullet Daddy, thank you for not sleeping too soundly in heaven Gold-digger husband, go and find work and build a house for your son-in-law to snatch from your own It is a rare case for a man to be totally blameless as far as online in-laws are concerned daughter Then there is the one about the newly-wed young man who had agreed with his wife that they would wait till they could afford a family. The poor man in question has probably not watched enough Nollywood movies He would have known how that story would end A collaboration between his wife, her mother and his mother gave birth to a conspiracy A condom ‘malfunctioned’ and a baby arrived Now there is no money for rent, food and other things And the collaborators are wringing their hands The online in-laws are fully sympathetic on this one It is a rare case for a man to be totally blameless as far as online in-laws are concerned Majority of online inlaws are women They do not spare other women even when they should show empathy and sensitivity They definitely take men they find wanting to the cleaners Their judgement is swift and relentless Not having all the facts of the case is never a deterrent I often wonder Why do people pour out their souls to total strangers? Is there no one they can talk to? What happened to privacy? Sadly, we live in a world that has changed in ways that are not good for us There are fewer people to trust Not many to listen or to be listened to Too many angels around us have feet of clay Many are lonely, isolated, scared, depressed So, they seek solace In a cold, charmless, judgmental, yet anonymous world A place where secrets can be shared in plain sight And both senseless and sensible advice offered Perhaps we should all try being more supportive to persons we know and can touch and feel Maybe if we listened more and cared more and talked about the misfortunes of others less Then those who need us might actually seek us out And not have to turn to the soulless world of the online in-laws A place where many problems come for no solutions If you are one of the many online in-laws Please show some empathy Who knows It might be your turn tomorrow May we all seek for and find comfort in the right places. •Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is a Gender Specialist, Social Entrepreneur and Writer. She is the Founder of Abovewhispers.com, an online community for women. She can be reached at BAF@abovewhispers.com
How I knew I would be king before ascending throne — Oba Ilori -Faboro • ‘What Gov Oyebanji should do to prosper Ekiti’ • Speaks on Ajodun Ido 2022 By Rotimi Ojomoyela The Olojudo of Ido Kingdom in Ido-Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Oba Ayorinde Ilori- Faboro, in this interview, speaks on growing up, the challenges he faced before ascending the throne, how he is administering the town, the 2022 edition of Ajodun Ido, what Governor Biodun Oyebanji should do to make Ekiti prosperous under him and constitutional role for monarchs in Nigeria among other issues. Excerpts: Ido is an ancient town and among historical towns in Yoruba land. What exactly can you tell us about the significance of the town, especially in relation to Kiriji War? Ido became very prominent during the war. When the war started, Ekiti people didn’t have a confederate army, it was a matter of the 16 Obas in Ekiti contributing warriors to the war effort but, initially, the Ibadan people were well organised and appeared to be overwhelming us. This made the people to start looking for professional warriors and that’s when the Olojudo on the throne at that time, Olayisade 1, invited my great-grandfather, Faboro, who was a professional warrior in Ilorin, to come and defend his fatherland. When he (Faboro) went to the war front, Ajero, Oore and Olojudo followed him, and his feat and prowess at the war front made Ido to gain prominence. That was how Ido became Ido-Faboro and our kingdom, Ido-Ekiti, became very popular and very significant, among the comity of towns in Yoruba land. Ido is an ancient town. The first Oba came from Ile Ife, precisely Ido Ife, settled down, united all the villages around and gave the name Ido to this place. So, he brought the villages under Ido from Ifaki, Usi, Ilogbo, Orin, Aaye, Ora, Ifishin and Ipole together under the kingship of Olojudo. That’s how Ido became one of the prominent 16 kingdoms in Ekiti and, because of the contribution of Ido warriors under Faboro to Kiriji War, Ekiti came together to establish a secondary school, Ekiti Parapo College, here. And the first General Hospital in Ekiti, which later became Federal Teaching Hospital, was also cited here in recognition of Ido’s contribution to the emancipation of Ekiti land. How has the town taken advantage of this h i s t o r i c a l significance to advance its cause? We have done well in the past. In 1954, we had a prominent politician, Papa S. K. Familoni, who was Governor Michael Adekunle Ajasin’s teacher. The respect they had for him made Ido to make waves and, when they established Ekiti Parapo College, Chief Ade Akomolafe, who passed on last year at the age of 105, was the first graduate from this community and, being his hometown, he was appointed as the first Principal of the college. We also had Chief J.M Akinola, a very brilliant individual and a Christ’s School product who later became the first Clerk of the House of Assembly in the old Western Region. When that crop of leaders became less prominent, recognition of Ido started receding. I think because of domestic politics, there was a struggle for the obaship of the town which started in 1915, Faboro’s son was enthroned here but some people went to the Oyinbo (colonialists) people at that time to say Adewa was not fit to be on the throne. On the strength of this, the colonialists removed Adewa and the same thing happened in 1939. Most of the aggrieved people at that time consequently withdrew their love for the town and that diminished the position of Ido and then, when the last Oba passed on, there was interregnum for nine years because of prolonged infighting, which really damaged the town and its goodwill. You know we are in a state where people hustle and run around to acquire recognition and attract development and, if you don’t have anybody doing this for you, it will limit your presence. Ido had nobody to run around for it and it affected us. However, with my emergence, I made it a point of duty to unite of our sons and daughters and bring them back home together. We have started to make Ido prominent again. What was growing up like? I didn’t grow up here. I was born in Ijero at a time my father was working for the Ministry of Agric before he was transferred to Ikole. Later in 1962, my father was transferred to Ado, so I went to school at Odo-Ado and there was an interval because he was transferred to Oyo and that affected me because I was working at Fashola Poultry Development Centre and I was in the bush. I had to stay with my father, running around and then my father was transferred to Akure where I finished primary school. In 1968, my father retired; that was how I came to Ido for the first time. In 1970, I entered secondary school and, in 1974, I travelled abroad. I was coming home at intervals but not many people knew me here, I had very few friends outside of my immediate family. But when the Olojudo stool became vacant and people started to mention my name, I was impressed that they didn’t know me yet they had so much love for me. This month marks my 13th year on the throne. I have studied the town, I know Ido fairly well. Kabiyesi doesn’t go out and there are still places I don’t know but I know a lot of people and this makes my administration to be effective. So, I am a typical Ekiti man. I grew up in Ikole, Ado, Akure; my mother was from Ilupeju. You cannot leave Ewi and be talking to Alawe and the immediate past governor made Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti the Chairman of the State Traditional Council. How can you make someone who is under me my boss? So, I won’t say I grew up in Ido. I know Ado more than Ido. I attended Christ’s School, Ado- Ekiti where I spent most of my formative years. Did it ever occur to you while growing up that you would one day become a king? I started having the feeling at age 35 and the feeling was very strong that I would end up in Ekiti. I had that intuition. I would say God started preparing my way here. Before assuming the throne of your forefathers, you were a seaman, making money and now you are here overseeing this kingdom. How have you been coping? I wasn’t a seaman when I became kabiyesi, I was even better than a seaman. I retired in January 1992 after spending about 17 years. I spent all my youthful days at sea, I was a Master Mariner. Then I went into the oil industry. I worked for a British company called OIR in Rivers State, we were working in Shell terminal in Bonny and I was working as an expatriate and being paid in dollars. Imagine someone collecting $20,000 as salary per month and now collecting N150, 000 monthly as king, it was a serious drop for me. But, that didn’t stop me, with the experience I went through. God assured me that I should go and do His work and He would look after me. Life is not about money alone, life is not about bread and butter alone, people put me here and they look up to me for direction and SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 20, 2022, PAGE 27 •Oba Ilori- Faboro leadership; this, to me, is more than silver and gold. This position has brought me from obscurity to limelight and the joy of seeing my people rallying round me for the development of our community is great. Tell us the challenges you faced before ascending the throne and how you surmounted them? There were very enormous. The number one challenge was spiritual pressure, financial problem because I told you that people didn’t know me. It was like my opponents, the people who were here before thought that the crown belonged to them alone, they didn’t know that other families were entitled to it. Though we are from the same stock, they thought that we did not exist. The former kabiyesi reigned for 61 years, all his children were born here; they thought the palace belonged to them. My wife also disagreed with me, especially concerning the remuneration but I assured her that everything would be okay. I went through hell, the governor of Ekiti then, Mr Ayo Fayose, was supporting my opponents and he used all the paraphernalia of office to frustrate my ascension but God is good. How has it been, being the Olojudo? I thank God. I would say the first five, six years, I was still very sad. As of the time I became kabiyesi, the town was dead, you couldn’t even get anything cold to drink here, we had to drive to Mr Biggs in Ado-Ekiti to get cold drinks because there was no power supply and my wife couldn’t cope easily, she is from Delta and my children, bringing them here was challenging because they were not used to living like this before. I went through hell. The palace was not like this, it was thick bush with all kinds of reptiles but we built it within a year and moved into the palace in December 2015. From 2009 to 2015, I was operating as king from my private house. We are still in the process, it’s not where I want it to be yet but my prayer is that God should take me to half of where I was before; we are still in the process of establishing ourselves with good sources of income. What would say are your exciting moments in the town? We celebrate Ido Day (Ajodun Ido) every last week of November. We used to do it in October but have now changed it to November to commemorate my coronation anniversary. We have shifted it to last week in November. Ido Day is a source of excitement, when sons and daughters of our great kingdom gather here and enjoy ourselves. God has blessed me with so many beautiful sons and daughters who make life worth the while. This is when we have Prophet Olu Alo coming home because he is from this town. He always holds revival here to pray for us, the town would be bubbling, so many activities and parties. It’s just like a carnival. What are the projects that have come into town since you ascended the throne and which one are you lacking? Like the palace we just built, I built it with the help of my people. We built the Magistrate Court and there are some other projects that people are donating to us. We are also looking towards building a Civic Center; we have done a lot of things. We have scholarships for indigent students. Aare Afe Babalola also did well for us when he brought his medical students to do their practical in the Federal Medical Center here and, in the process, it became a Teaching Hospital. The current Chief Medical Director, Professor Kunle Ajayi, is a very brilliant person, the place is peaceful now, a complete departure from the crisis-ridden past. That hospital alone has about 100 consultants; it gives me a lot of joy. Even if we don’t have public water, we have boreholes. The roads that pass through Ido are very solid. Electricity is still a challenge but we have solar energy. If you come here at night, you would think you are in London. Ajodun Ido is approaching. What are your expectations and who are the people you are expecting? It is the people of Ido that would celebrate the Day. So, our sons and daughters are coming home. Those abroad, especially US and United Kingdom, may not come home but we would see their hands. Our friends would also come. Normally when we are doing Ajodun Ido, we always have targets. We have a new governor, he is home grown, ‘Ekiti Boy’. I expect him to be here for the occasion and, even if he doesn’t come here, I am sure he would send people. I am not forcing people to come, we know the governor is busy and, by the grace of God, our son, Cyril Fasuyi, is going to be the next Senator for Ekiti North. We have another one, Tunde Ajayi, who is going to the House of Reps. Hopefully, when they are there, they would bring their friends, we would lift ourselves up. What new projects are you envisaging for Ido? We are building a Civic Centre. A son of the land is also building a hall, many halls and hotels are springing up. Our son, Otunba Toyin Akomolafe, is also building a magnificent hall for the Anglican Church. When I became kabiyesi, a plot of land was selling for N15, 000, N20, 000 but now, if you want to buy a plot of land, you would have about a million naira. And on the outskirts, the price is about N300, 000 to N400, 000. People are coming from outside to uplift us. How secured is Ido-Ekiti? The police here have been excellent and all the Obas under my leadership have hunters who we are paying from our own pockets. Unfortunately, two of the kidnappers arrested were from this town. They are in prison now. Ever since their arrest, crime has reduced considerably here. Opinions are divided over constitutional roles for traditional rulers like what we had in the First Republic. Where do you stand? You see, in the First Republic, Obas were very few. In this kingdom, we had Olojudo. In Ado Kingdom, we had the Ewi. In Ikole, we had Elekole. We had Alara in Aramoko and Oore in Moba but now everybody is important. Presently you even have hunters that have been made kabiyesi. Once you know the governor, you are elevated. The problem would be who will the government talk to? Would they still recognize the original owners of the land? You cannot leave the Olojudo and be talking to Olufaki or Olusi, there would be wahala because the kingdom belongs to Olojudo. Ido Kingdom owns Ifaki, Aaye, Usi, Ilogbo. But if the Olufaki is a friend to the governor, he would be talking to the governor. Politicians have been very terrible when it comes to dealing with traditional rulers but there are individuals who rise to the position of governor, who are smart, who know what to do and respect history. Your father paid tribute to my father and now you want to claim equality with me. Now, we have about 180 Obas in Ekiti. You cannot leave Ewi and be talking to Alawe and the immediate past governor made Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti the Chairman of the State Traditional Council. How can you make someone who is under me my boss? So, we have problems with politicians. If we have people we can trust in positions of authority, they will do what is right. What message do you have for the new governor? Like I said, the governor was one of the people who fought for the creation Ekiti State. He was a young man at that time and he was working with the kabiyesis at that time, Ewi, Alaaye, Alara, so, he knew how Ekiti was put together and, apart from that, we have a lot of confidence and hope in his ability to regain some of the good things that the state has lost in the past. So, being an intelligent person, I believe Ekiti would prosper under him.
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