A 33 year old Dellen Millard in Toronto, Canada has been found guilty of killing his 71 year old father for the purpose of inheriting his wealth, including millions of dollar. The father’s death was originally deemed a suicide.
Dellen Millard had pleaded not guilty in the death of his father, Wayne Millard, who was found in his bed with a bullet to the head on November 29, 2012.
Justice Maureen Forestell, who heard the case without a jury, said Dellen Millard carried out a planned and deliberate murder of his father, Vancouversun.com reported
“I am satisfied that Dellen Millard killed his father by shooting him in the left eye as he slept,” she said, drawing applause from some gathered in a Toronto courtroom on Monday. “I can find no theory consistent with innocence.”
Millard was seen crying softly after Forestell delivered her decision.
The Crown alleged Millard killed his father because millions in potential inheritance money was being squandered on a new aviation business for the family company, Millardair. The defence had argued Wayne Millard’s death was a suicide.
Millard had lied to the police after killing the father that the father suffered from depression and was an alcoholic.
“He carried some great sadness with him throughout life that I never knew — he never wanted to share that with me,” Dellen Millard told police.
The murder trial was the third for Dellen Millard, who has been convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Toronto woman Laura Babcock and Hamilton man Tim Bosma.
The month-long trial unfolded in June. The Attorney General granted the defence’s request for a judge-alone proceeding after agreeing that Millard’s notoriety, given the Bosma and Babcock murders, would make it impossible to find fair jurors.
The trial heard that Dellen Millard told police he found his father dead in bed around 6 p.m. on Nov. 29, 2012.
He told investigators he last saw his father alive around noon the day before and had stayed the night at his friend Mark Smich’s house.
Phone records indicate one of Millard’s phones moved from Smich’s house around 1 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2012, to his father’s home where it stayed until shortly after 6 a.m.
“I do not believe the statement of Dellen Millard that he stayed at Mark’s,” Forestell said. “I find it was fabricated to conceal he was involved in the death of his father.”
The trial also heard that Dellen Millard bought a handgun found next to his father’s body from a weapons dealer — evidence Forestell accepted.
“I find Dellen Millard purchased the revolver that killed Wayne Millard in July of 2012 and he possessed gun in the months preceding Wayne Millard’s death,” the judge said.
Aisha, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, in a warm embrace with the First Lady of Gambia, Mrs. Fatoumatta Barrow as the Special Adviser to Aisha Buhari, Dr. Hajo Sani (r) looks on today, Tuesday, Sept 25, during the high level meeting of African First Ladies as one of the events of the 73rd General Assembly of the United Nations Congress at the Conference Room 1, United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA. Photo by Sunday Aghaeze
What is going on in Osun state right now is nothing short of political theatre. It is keeping us all entertained, but it has also turned so many observers into emergency lawyers. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the Osun Gubernatorial election of September 22 inconclusive and has ordered a supplementary election at seven polling centres in four local councils on September 27. Many Nigerians are taking a keen interest in the Osun election. This should not be surprising. Every election season in Nigeria, what the law says or does not say is the concern of all kinds of experts who suddenly discover the country’s Constitution and call it out into action as they deem fit. In the last 48 hours, the Nigerian public space has been suffused with relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution on elections, with the more popular references being Sections 1(2), 69 and 179 (2) of the Constitution and Sections 68 (c), 69 and 153 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). Many interested parties have also been dredging up decided cases from the past. It is really entertaining to see both lawyers and non-lawyers alike referring to precedents from previous elections in Kogi, Bauchi, Edo, Katsina states, and court rulings in Osunbor vs Oshiomhole, Nwobasi vs Ogbaga and 2 ors., and Faleke vs INEC.
What are the issues? Issue 1: whether INEC has acted rightly within the purview of the law by declaring the Osun Gubernatorial election inconclusive? Issue 2: whether a candidate who won a simple majority and one-quarter of the votes in two-thirds of the local councils in the state as required under Section 179(2) of the 1999 Constitution, can be denied a prompt declaration on the grounds that the margin of his victory is lower than the number of cancelled votes? Issue 3: whether the guidelines provided for in the Electoral Act 2010, and the INEC Manual for Election officials, can override the Constitution? Issue 4: whether INEC has the powers to declare an election inconclusive? Issue 5: whether Senator Ademola Adeleke having been the first to go past the post in the Osun Gubernatorial election of September 22 should have been declared winner of the election?
Opinions on the matter are divided; even lawyers are offering contradictory opinions. Those who do not know what the Constitution looks like have also been busy quoting it. It is partly for this reason that I have argued elsewhere that the wise option before the People’s Democratic party (PDP) and its Osun Gubernatorial candidate, Ademola Adeleke, would be to go to court and seek an interlocutory injunction to stop INEC from going ahead with the proposed re-run until the more substantive issues in the case have been determined. They may also seek an order of mandamus from the court asking INEC to declare the results of the Osun State Gubernatorial election held on September 22. As at the time of this writing, neither the PDP nor Senator Ademola Adeleke has taken this course of action. They probably have taken the decision to participate in the rerun election.
Once they do so, they may no longer be in a position to raise any a posterioriprotest about the election of September 22, as the principle of estoppel by conduct could automatically kick in, and be held against them, and that election would be validly inchoate as INEC has declared. Is it not better to put something on record? I am all for testing the law on the issues outlined above, more so as there has been a repeated tendency on the part of INEC, under President Muhammadu Buhari to use the tool of “inconclusive elections” mostly in elections where the ruling party seems to find it difficult to have its way. But why would the PDP and its candidate be reluctant to attempt a legal response at this point? Over-confidence that they will win? Or hope that they could still resort to the Election Petitions Tribunal later, if the need arises?
Adeleke and the PDP are probably aware of the declaration by Justice Adamu Abdu-Kafarati, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court at the commencement of the new Legal Year 2018/2019 last week. His Lordship disclosed that High Court Judges have been directed not to grant any stay or interlocutory injunctions in political cases. I don’t think anyone who needs the protection of the courts should be deterred by this. While it is advisable to protect the courts from the antics of political gladiators, I find His Lordship’s directive strange, for it would appear that what he has done is to ask the High Court to divest itself of its own jurisdiction. How can a court divest itself of its own jurisdiction through administrative fiat? Would it not be better to take every case on its own merit, expeditiously of course, and to ensure that the end of justice is served?
And perhaps, Adeleke and the PDP are also intimidated by the reference, in the last two days, to the Supreme Court decision in Faleke vs INEC and anor. (SC. 648/2016) NGSC 84 which is being relied upon by a few to justify INEC’s decision on the September 22 Osun election. It must be noted to start with that the material facts in that case are different, even if there are clear and unambiguous pronouncements in that ruling on the value of election guidelines, the powers of INEC to declare an election inchoate and the effect of Section 179 (2) (a) (b) of the Constitution. My suspicion is that the jurisprudence in Faleke’s case is now being exploited for political reasons. The Supreme Court in that case, may have unwittingly created an argument that it did not originally anticipate. There are unanswered questions: Can we use the Electoral Act or any other subsidiary legislation to vary the provisions of the Constitution? Can we use a subsidiary legislation to write into the Constitution what is not in it? I raise these questions for reflection.
This space not being a court of law, I shall proceed no further on this score. It is entirely up to Senator Ademola Adeleke and his party, to decide whether to go to court or not. But with Adeleke having led the Osun Gubernatorial polls with 254, 698 votes to Gboyega Oyetola (APC)’s 254, 345, leaving a margin of 353, and the former fulfilling the conditions in Section 179 (2) of the 1999 Constitution, it can be said that the sentiments of the people of Osun state are with Senator Ademola Adeleke and the PDP. The incumbent Governor of Osun State, Raufu Aregbesola and other APC leaders who before Sept. 22 had thought that they would win the election easily must have been shocked that the PDP candidate could put up such a strong performance. What they will also not easily admit is that Adeleke’s performance is from all indications, a vote against Aregbesola and the APC. It is a comment on the prevailing order in that state: a vote against non-payment of salaries, and pensions, and a comment on the arrogance of the APC elite. It has taken a dancing Senator to remind Governor Aregbesola of the extent of his party’s popularity in Osun state. That popularity contest will be determined this week.
My sympathy is with Ademola Adeleke, and not necessarily because he has the best credentials for the job, but if he is the choice of the people of Osun State, the people should be allowed to make their choice and no deliberate obstacles should be placed in their way. There is probably nothing his opponents have not done to stop him. He was accused of not having the requisite educational qualification for the office: secondary education – and was taken to court. The Court summoned the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and asked for clarification via a sworn affidavit. Adeleke was vindicated when the Examinations Council confirmed that he indeed sat for the School Certificate Examination in 1980/81. His critics didn’t give up.
They made big capital out of the fact that the Senator, as a secondary school student got an F9 in English language. They turned this into a butt of jokes, except that the law does not require Nigerian politicians to have anything more than fail grades for them to be eligible for office. With his F9 in English, Adeleke can in fact sometime in the future emerge as president or Vice President of Nigeria! His critics still wouldn’t give up. Three days to the election, the Police Headquarters in Abuja disclosed that Ademola Adeleke and one Sikiru Adeleke are the subject of an investigation involving an alleged fraudulent procurement of NECO certificates. They wanted him to report in Abuja. The president had to intervene and ask the Inspector-General of Police to back off. Adeleke was further cast in the image of a bumbler without brains who only knows how to dance all over the place. I think the fellow himself has not helped matters in this regard, though, but that is certainly not the focus of this commentary. What is certain is that every ad-hominem attack on Senator Adeleke has totally failed. He remains popular with the people of Osun state.
This is the same man the people of Osun State gave majority votes on Saturday, September 22 in a Gubernatorial election that paraded 48 political parties and candidates, and they will probably do so again on Thursday. By hounding Ademola Adeleke with everything at their disposal, the Osun APC and their allies elsewhere, have turned him into the ordinary people’s hero. Public sentiment is in his favour, either in Osun or anywhere else in Nigeria, because of the perceived desperation of the APC. The declaration of the September 22 election merely fuels existing suspicions and the public’s sentiments. This is the more reason why INEC’s integrity and credibility is at stake. It must do everything to demonstrate that it is indeed an independent and unbiased umpire and not an agent of the ruling party. Both INEC and the ruling party must be seen to be consolidating our democracy and do nothing to undermine the country’s jurisprudence.
I don’t know whether the INEC Chairman and the Returning Officer for Osun watched the recent US Open Grand Slam final match between Serena Williams and the young Japanese tennis player, Naomi Osaka. There was a lot at stake in that match. If Serena Williams won, she would have matched the record 24 Grand Slam titles won by Australian player, Margaret Court. If Naomi Osaka won, she would be the first Japanese to win the US Open Grand Slam singles championship. But at the end of the match, both players were not the issue, even if Osaka won, but the chair umpire of the match who was accused of harsh calls against Serena Williams. Serena received a code violation warning for smashing her racket, she was accused of cheating, she was penalized a game for “verbal abuse.” The drama took the sweetness out of Naomi Osaka’s victory. INEC as umpire in the Osun election should avoid the temptation to turn itself into an issue.
Senator Ademola Adeleke and his party may be ahead with 353 votes so far, but having chosen to participate in the rerun, they must be aware that the two-horse race they have signed up for on Thursday can go in either direction. They must not smash their rackets. They must eschew verbal abuse. They should keep their eyes on the ball. They must appeal to the people of Osun state to be vigilant and the voters in the local councils where the rerun will be held should come out en masse as they did last Saturday. One more piece of advice for Adeleke: to win that election, he must cultivate the friendship of other opposition leaders in the State.
Other PDP leaders, including Senate President Bukola Saraki and Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, have been helping him to talk to Senator Iyiola Omisore, who has now emerged as the “beautiful bride” of the supplementary election, since most of the votes at stake on Thursday are concentrated in his political strongholds – Ife North and Ife South. Adeleke should reach out to him personally, and encourage him to mobilise his supporters to back the PDP- a party he defected from just before this same election. The APC are also talking to Omisore and he has set up a technical team to weigh the options before the Osun State Social Democratic Party (SDP). Omisore faces a critical moment in his political career. He must make a wise choice. Victory for Adeleke will shore up INEC’s credibility, allay all fears of manipulation, and create opportunity for the emergence of an inclusive government in Osun State, with implications for subsequent elections in 2019. But of course, the APC is not going to drop the ball either on account of public sentiments. Governor Raufu Aregbesola will seek to protect his legacy and future, and also seek to avoid the “Ekiti outcome. “ Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola will also want victory for himself. May the people’s will prevail.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was at the palace of the Ohimege of Koton Karfe in Kogi State, Alhaji Abdulrasak Sani Isa Koto today, Monday, to sympathize with him over the flood that had ravaged the area in recent time.
One of the Presidential aspirants of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang has expressed optimism that he will get the party’s ticket for the 2019 election, saying that God had already given it to him.
Jang, who was one of those screened today, Monday by the party’s Presidential screening committee headed by the former Vice President of Nigeria, Architect Namadi Sambo said: “the process (screening) was beautiful. Absolutely, I stand a chance to win the ticket. I am optimistic because I believe in God and I believe that God is going to give it to me.”
The Presidential aspirant who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after he was screened said that he was impressed that there is no bitterness in the ongoing campaign by the presidential aspirants.
“It is not about us, it is not about selfish interest, it is about our party and about this country. It is only PDP that can save this country.
“We are not going to be distracted. The focus before us is that we should ensure that PDP gets back into office on May 29, 2019”
Atiku Abubakar, who was also screened, expressed satisfaction with the exercise, even as the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal said that the exercise was conducted smoothly without any issue that called for concern.
Others who presented themselves for the screening are Senate President, Bukola Saraki, immediate past Senate President, David Mark, former Sokoto State governor, Attahiru Bafarawa and former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Tanimu Turaki. Others are the former chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi, and former lawmaker, Datti Baba-Ahmed.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Osun State gubernatorial Election Returning Officer, Professor Joseph Fuwape for declaring the last Saturday governorship election inconclusive.
The party also asked the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu to immediately summon the courage to do the needful by declaring its candidate in the election, Senator Ademola Adeleke, as winner.
In a statement today, Monday by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP stressed that the September 22 polls had already been concluded and results announced in all polling units and collation centres.
According to the party, the country’s Electoral Law stated that once an election result was declared, INEC was bound to return a winner.
“Section 69 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) states that inter-alia `in an election to the office of the President or governor whether or not contested and in any contested election to any other elective office, the result shall be ascertained by counting the votes cast for each candidate’.
“And subject to the provisions of sections 133, 134 and 179 of the constitution, the candidate that receives the highest number of votes shall be declared elected by the appropriate Returning Officer.
“Concurrently, Section 179 (2), (a) (b) of the constitution directly prescribes that `a candidate for an election to the office of Governor of a State shall be deemed to have been duly elected where, there being two or more candidates – (a) he has the highest number of votes cast at the election;
“And (b) he has not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the State,” Ologbondiyan stated.
The party emphasized that INEC’s action in declaring a concluded election as inconclusive was “an annulment, totally duplicitous, constitutionally illegal, ultra-vires and as such null and void”.
The party said that the people of the state had chosen the PDP and its candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke and insisted that the said election was conclusive.
“Nevertheless, we insist that the September 22, 2018 election, under our laws, is conclusive and our candidate must be declared winner.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate in Osun State, Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola, has commended the people of the state for refusing to be bought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he accused of commercializing the votes in the Saturday governorship election.
“The Oyetola Campaign Organization commends the steadfastness of the people despite the commoditization of votes by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). We are aware of the vote buying and selling strategy of the PDP. We are proud that the people are resisting the provocation and temptation to sell their conscience.”
In a statement today by his spokesman, the APC governorship hopeful called on the people in the state to be vigilant as they go back to truly elect their governor in the rescheduled election on Thursday.
“We appeal to the people to be vigilant and ready to jealously guard their votes on Thursday as the PDP have commenced massive commoditization of peoples mandate through massive purchase of voter cards.”
He denied that there is a rift between him and the state Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, over last Saturday’s election, describing it as “irrational and present only in the imagination of detractors out to create disaffection within the APC camp ahead of Thursday’s Governorship Rerun.”
An All Progressives Congress (APC) senator, representing Borno South, Ali Ndume has written off the presidential ambition of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, saying it is a pipedream.
Speaking today, Monday, as a guest on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja, Senator Ndume said: “when somebody cannot manage the Senate, how can he manage Nigeria?
“When you present President Buhari and Saraki for people to choose from, you know it is very clear. The difference is very clear.”
The Senator made it clear that Senator Saraki can never be a threat to President Buhari’s second-term bid, adding that the senate president can only win election in his home state of Kwara.
“I think it is good he is going for the presidency of Nigeria and he will see that it is only Kwara people that will vote for him, not Nigerians.
“We are waiting, or at best you will see that may be people from North-Central will vote (for him) because he is from North-Central, but I don’t think Saraki will be Nigeria’s president.
Senator Ndume said that Saraki cannot be trusted with the country’s leadership, having used his position as senate president to “antagonise and sabotage” the current government.
“Where we got it wrong was where Senate President Saraki thought that the Senate is independent. The truth is that the legislature is not independent to the extent of operating like a different country.
“In America, the Vice President is the Senate President. Is the Vice President not a subordinate to the president?
“If it were in Nigeria, Saraki would have been the Vice President. Would he be sabotaging his principal?
“The Senate is supposed to support the government, not to sabotage the government, not to antagonise the government.”
Senator Ademola Adeleke is an accidental politician. His entry into the politics of Osun state was by happenstance. His eldest brother, Isiaka Adeleke, a former governor of the state, had suddenly died while serving in the Senate. A vacancy was thus created that must be filled by his constituents in Osun west senatorial zone. That was how the lot fell on Ademola to step into Isiaka’s big shoes.
Isiaka was a grassroots politician who connected very well with his people and touched their feelings of infirmity with the magnitude of his humanity, which was the reason the people of Ede, his home town, invested their trust and hope in him. As governor in the ill-fated Third Republic, he did not disappoint them; neither did he disappoint the entire state.
As senator, he represented them well, in his first term on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and in his second term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Isiaka’s desire was to rule Osun again as governor. But some eternally frightened political forces in the state had worked against his plan.
His sudden death and the circumstances that surrounded it fatally disrupted his planned 2019 governorship bid. However, his death has not diminished his people’s faith in him. To appreciate him for his unwavering leadership, they had ensured that Senator Ademola become a beneficiary of his (Isiaka’s) political followership. Both Ede North and South had also cumulatively given him over 35,000 votes in last Saturday’s governorship election.
The Adeleke “political” family is unique in a number of ways. Isiaka had a gift of the garb. His characteristic long cap, called serubawon (scare them) would later become his moniker. His immediate younger brother, Adedeji, who is father to the popular musician, Davido, is a billionaire businessman. Ademola, who was voted in to replace Isiaka in the senate, has dancing as his own niche.
He dances very well, despite his massive frame. The flexibility of his body and the rhythmical movements are simply incredible that even a contortionist would be green with envy. Through the acrobatic boogie, he has wormed his way into the hearts of many Nigerians including me. The Senator Ademola brand has flourished on entertainment. He is certainly enjoying the acclaimed health benefits from what seems to be an off-putting physical activity.
For instance, how many overweight persons can move their bodies the way Senator Ademola does his? Video clips of his governorship electioneering were shared on the whatsapp social media platform where he was seen dancing while thousands of his supporters were singing and dancing along with him. His campaigns for the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun were not much of articulating his vision for the state or elucidating on how to fulfill his promises or party manifesto. As far as his supporters are concerned, he is the best for them at this intersection.
Dancing in politics historically was one veritable way by which political leaders mobilized and bonded with their followers. That would explain why the services of musicians, praise singers and dancers were always required at political parties’ events, especially campaigns that have always been a mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous. The sublimity of speeches is meant for the elite to decipher and appreciate, not for the uneducated hoi polloi; while the dance and song galore is for the commoners.
It is from that seemingly unsophisticated dance background that the Ademola phenomenon has blossomed and bludgeoned its way into the limelight of the vast political enclave that is Osun state and beyond. As he mounted the campaign podium on each occasion, the people would nudge him into dancing. A few times, he would chant thrice: PDP and the people would respond with the shout of: power! And, thereafter, the dance would continue.
The underlying message in the entire political saga that has crystallized in Osun state with the rather unexpected “inconclusive” outcome of the Osun governorship election is the readiness of the people not only to free themselves from the stranglehold of political forces that had held them captive for the past eight years but also to break their backs. For eight years, the politics and governance of Osun state have not largely inspired the people. Instead of happiness, the people have been sad.
Why would they not be sad when the government that was elected to serve them had become a task master or slave driver? For instance, for the past 34 months, the state government has not paid workers in full. Besides, it has accumulated a huge debt while its mega schools project, among others, has become shambolic and counterproductive. The civil servants have been dehumanized and the entire workforce pauperized.
Osun people who have for long been mourning have seen an opportunity to dance and smile in the full panoply of Senator Ademola Adeleke’s governorship. They have seen a self-effacing, amiable and listening leader on whose shoulders they can cry. But judging by his disposition, it appears the mourning period in Osun is over. Indeed, imole (light), which is his campaign slogan, with attendant joy, has come to Osun.
But for the joy not to be truncated, the Osun people have an opportunity to complete the process of their liberation. The INEC has rightly, except for its inconsistency in the application of its own rules, declared the governorship election inconclusive. The INEC has already fixed Thursday, September 27, 2018, for the rerun election in three polling units in Orolu Local Government Area due to disruption; two in Ife South due to malfunction of the smart card reader; one polling unit in Ife North due to over voting and one polling unit in Osogbo due to no-voting.
The total number of registered voters involved in the rerun is 3, 498. According to available information though unconfirmed, about 340 voters were cumulatively accredited to vote in these affected units last Saturday. This is where the APC, which is possibly banking on canceling out the 353 votes by which Senator Ademola is leading, should be very concerned. Going by history and pattern of voter turnout, it is possible that not up to a half of the registered voters will turn out for the rerun election.
Assuming that about that figure or even more turns out, the votes will certainly be split. PDP can still get a majority of the votes cast. And if the APC gets a majority of the votes, will it be enough to cancel out the 353 votes of the PDP? The rerun election should be taken very seriously by Osun people who crave liberation from the tradition of mourning. Light beckons on them in the final determination of their collective destiny; so also is dancing.
Moving towards the rerun election, I will not be surprised if the PDP works on an alliance with Senator Iyiola Omisore of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and other smaller parties that believe in the liberation of the state. The APC too is expected to make its moves to upstage the edge that the PDP currently enjoys in order to maintain the status quo, which it believes in.
Besides, on the day of the rerun election, I will not also be surprised to hear or read, if it is possible, that PDP leaders have volunteered as polling agents in the seven polling units so that the element of compromise is forestalled. APC could also do the same so that, overall, the exercise would be free and fair, with all the parties, especially the APC and the PDP, shunning desperation. It is expected that the INEC will maintain its neutrality by ensuring that votes cast by the electorate count.
Ojeifo, an Abuja-based journalist, writes via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com
The Igbo are very intelligent and hard-working people of Nigeria. I am one and I am proud to be. Certainly, their contributions to Nigeria’s building and unity can never be undermined. Down into the history of Nigeria, they are actually the real Nigerians who believe in the oneness and progress of the country. They are everywhere within Nigeria and wherever they find themselves, they establish themselves. They buy lands and build their own homes. They own properties and establish business outfits. Investigations have shown that the Igbo have developed many places across Nigeria more than they have developed their own original birthplaces, though unarguably, some find it hard to trace their ancestral origin due to their love to live in any part of Nigeria. Despite the fact that they have lost heavily through induced tribal and religious conflicts, that has not deterred them from pursuing legitimate livelihood anywhere in Nigeria.
This national spirit, if imbibed by other ethnic groupings in Nigeria, especially the majority, it will conquer the easily instigated acrimony amongst Nigerians with their different backgrounds. While the Igbo stand out in this laudable dimension, it is regrettable to say that they lack abysmally in the political game in Nigeria. I may be wrong but I find it very difficult to comprehend why the Igbo have always allowed themselves to be used as mere political compliments. They are often very slow in keying into the ever evasive national politicking or “politricking”. And I think I cannot argue favourably if the Igbo have not been a laughable stock in Nigeria especially since 1999 when democracy was fully restored in Nigeria.
The Igbo had had the best opportunity in the 19 years of democratic governance, most particularly between 1999 and 2015. Even before the civil war, the Igbo were a favoured people in Nigeria. The only positions they have not had is the president and vice president of Nigeria since 1999. They do not need the vice presidential position, since it is generally believed in Nigeria that the position is a mere appendage to the President’s seat. Vice presidents between 1999 and 2015, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and Arch. Namadi Sambo are living references to that belief and practice. Like the situation found in many states of the Federation, it was tales of woe and frustration for the VPs and deputies. However, the vice president of Nigeria from 2015 Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, methinks, has a different experience. I am sure that late Dr. Alex Ekweme had a very wonderful experience as the vice president of Nigeria in the early 1980s. Within this period in review, the Igbo massively controlled the nation’s security and economy. Details on this can make a book or volumes. What more would a people require to solidify their political strength for the future! But alas, it was a lost opportunity.
The Igbo have allowed themselves to be deceived many times by themselves and by their enemies. Their agitations for this and that are anything induced by alien forces. They need restructuring so that they can taste the leadership of Nigeria under democracy like the other two major ethnic groups of Nigeria have done. When the ample opportunity came, it was taken to a son of a close ethnic group that actually represented them very well, though I doubt if he understood or spoke Igbo fluently. Besides, how many Igbo people can speak their language very fluently? Each time a real opportunity is coming to the Igbo, they prove hesitant to accept it basically on the grounds of the induced agitations that have outlived contemporary times. Why does it look as if the Igbo are being remotely controlled?
Personally, I cannot understand the strong opposition, not mere opposition but hatred a segment of the Igbo has for Buhari and his administration and by extension the party that produced him, the All Progressives Congress (APC). I have made extensive investigations on this through the social media and physical inquiries and can say that there is no genuine reason advanced by the segment. However, I was able to deduce three points. One is that the Igbo are roundly in the opposition, the PDP and APGA. Two is that the Buhari’s toughness on indiscipline and fiscal recklessness, embedded in corruption, has affected the free flow of wealth and lavish life. This, by extension, has manifested badly on traders and contractors who milk from the government purse in collaboration with top civil servants and government functionaries. The Igbo are referred to be the major traders and contractors.
The third, as I managed to figure out, is the status of Buhari as a God-fearing man, at least to the mortal comprehension. Any man with such spirit must don himself with integrity, honesty and humanity. Such man must be a warrior against evil. And reports are viral that Nigeria had been under the siege of the evil. Fighting evil with evil cannot yield any result than evil. That is why as the 2019 general elections approach, some Nigerians prefer to have any man who can guarantee reversion to the previous squandermaniac system, any man who can give rebirth to hooliganism, waste and looting with impunity so that “the money will circulate”. They do not like Buhari, not on performance, not on sincerity of purpose but because he is “stingy” – he is not sharing the national cake to those who have the ability to grab theirs even if with impunity. This is the greatest Buhari’s sin.
Despite the glaring facts and political development, the Igbo seem not to start reading the hand-writing on the wall. Though a cluster from the elite is accepting the reality, they need to work hard to ensure that they do not allow the forthcoming opportunity elude them. They have to impress on their followers to stop henceforth those distractive actions that have made other major groups of Nigeria suspicious about the Igbo, thus reluctant over leaving the leadership of the country under their care since the civil war which the Igbo were, allegedly, lured into.
The Igbo should play down on secession and prove the manhood in them. If there are three main men in Nigeria, the Igbo should not prove the weakest amongst them. In developed world, strength is not measured by number. They have all it takes to exert their strength in Nigeria. The current Igbo leadership should work in tune with the political grandeur in Nigeria today and strategize for the future. Those on the corridor of power in the present federal government are doing their best but assurances must be extracted that they are genuinely Nigerians and not pretenders because an Igbo adage says that every man has a heart which is a sealed bag and only the owner knows what it contains. The future of Nigeria is glittering. But who is he from the Igbo who can wear the big shoes to be left by Buhari?
Recall the controversies the few years of the leadership of their close clan generated in the country. The unity of Nigeria should never be compromised or mortgaged. There must be guarantee that whoever is to takeover power in Nigeria has the oneness and progress of Nigeria at heart like the Igbo have practically displayed. Maybe “the beautiful ones are not yet born”, because some of the Igbo leaders today hoping to takeover power from Buhari in 2023 have ethno-religious complexities. It is said that charity begins at home. Reflections show that some of these leaders have question marks on their management of the diverse human backgrounds and resources in their domains. How more this mismanagement can affect the nation at the federal level!
In one of my articles in support of Buhari’s reelection bid come 2019 and its connection with the Igbo Presidential aspiration, I was subjected to harsh criticism by some of my readers from my Igbo clan. Some described me as a Hausa man using a Yoruba newspaper “The Nigerian Tribune” to claim love for the Igbo and its hope to lead Nigeria. Some of them outrightly described me as a diehard Buharist, trying to lure the Igbo into voting Buhari on the mere account that he will hand over power to them in 2023. Some of them queried how Ajah gave birth to Muhammad? In the interpretation, Ajah is an Igbo name and Muhammad is a Hausa name. Simple! This is a very myopic conception in the 21st century. The Igbo and its leadership should accept the reality and review the approach to this (mis)conception.
I am Igbo with the full love for Igbo’s progress in Nigeria. As a political dude, every human being being a political animal, I am much interested in the actualization of an Igbo President of Nigeria than million of those who claim Igbo but only show their love for the Igbo on talk shows and social media. Many Igbo people dented with entrepreneurial spirit hardly make time to reflect deeply on the existence called Nigeria. They merely depend on stereotyped conjectures by some over-tortured politicians or conspicuously their religious orators who preach extensively of the world than of the soul. They are at it again, not only enlisting the Igbo on the need to ensure their civic duties towards Nigeria by acquiring the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PCVs), but unfortunately insisting that their followers must vote on the national divisive line of religion.
The Igbo must know that they have endured the second-class citizenship in Nigeria for too long and no one can change the situation except themselves. This means that they must think out of the box and reason magnanimously with the current political tide. The Igbo have no political party of their own that can match the political parties they regard as regional. I heard one prominent Igbo politician claiming that the All Progressive Congress (APC) is now for the North and Southwest while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or its affiliate CUPP is of the South.
Let me laud the labour and productivity minister, Chris Ngige, for his apt description of the Igbo. He said that the Igbo people are currently suffering from self-inflicted marginalization and have the opportunity to redeem themselves. He wants Igbo people to read the political calculations and see that Buhari will win in 2019 and asserted that only Buhari’s presidency in 2019 could guarantee Igbo presidency in 2023. The electoral strength of the whole Southeast cannot match that of Northwest alone or even that of the Southwest that is now completely APC territory.
The Yoruba who, I concur, are the stabilizers of Nigeria’s politics, as well as other ethnic groups are planning and working hard to takeover power in 2023. After all, it is generally believed that competence should be the yardstick for the nation’s elections, selections and appointments. That should be after the Igbo might have had their turn of leadership of Nigeria. But if the Igbo decide to maintain their obduracy and did not vote for Buhari in 2019, there is the consequence of being left out in the power sharing that will come thereafter. And I doubt if any God-fearing man will hand over power to his certified foe. Peradventure the Yoruba succeed Buhari, the Igbo will still cause stir as normal. But the consequences may be harsher than ever before. I rest my case.
Muhammad Ajah is an advocate of humanity, peace and good governance in Abuja. E-mail mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk.
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A 33 year old Dellen Millard in Toronto, Canada has been found guilty of killing his 71 year old father for the purpose of inheriting his wealth, including millions of dollar. The father’s death was originally deemed a suicide.
Osun Governorship: From Mourning To Dancing? By Sufuyan Ojeifo
Senator Ademola Adeleke is an accidental politician. His entry into the politics of Osun state was by happenstance. His eldest brother, Isiaka Adeleke, a former governor of the state, had suddenly died while serving in the Senate. A vacancy was thus created that must be filled by his constituents in Osun west senatorial zone. That was how the lot fell on Ademola to step into Isiaka’s big shoes.
Isiaka was a grassroots politician who connected very well with his people and touched their feelings of infirmity with the magnitude of his humanity, which was the reason the people of Ede, his home town, invested their trust and hope in him. As governor in the ill-fated Third Republic, he did not disappoint them; neither did he disappoint the entire state.
As senator, he represented them well, in his first term on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and in his second term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Isiaka’s desire was to rule Osun again as governor. But some eternally frightened political forces in the state had worked against his plan.
His sudden death and the circumstances that surrounded it fatally disrupted his planned 2019 governorship bid. However, his death has not diminished his people’s faith in him. To appreciate him for his unwavering leadership, they had ensured that Senator Ademola become a beneficiary of his (Isiaka’s) political followership. Both Ede North and South had also cumulatively given him over 35,000 votes in last Saturday’s governorship election.
The Adeleke “political” family is unique in a number of ways. Isiaka had a gift of the garb. His characteristic long cap, called serubawon (scare them) would later become his moniker. His immediate younger brother, Adedeji, who is father to the popular musician, Davido, is a billionaire businessman. Ademola, who was voted in to replace Isiaka in the senate, has dancing as his own niche.
He dances very well, despite his massive frame. The flexibility of his body and the rhythmical movements are simply incredible that even a contortionist would be green with envy. Through the acrobatic boogie, he has wormed his way into the hearts of many Nigerians including me. The Senator Ademola brand has flourished on entertainment. He is certainly enjoying the acclaimed health benefits from what seems to be an off-putting physical activity.
For instance, how many overweight persons can move their bodies the way Senator Ademola does his? Video clips of his governorship electioneering were shared on the whatsapp social media platform where he was seen dancing while thousands of his supporters were singing and dancing along with him. His campaigns for the September 22, 2018 governorship election in Osun were not much of articulating his vision for the state or elucidating on how to fulfill his promises or party manifesto. As far as his supporters are concerned, he is the best for them at this intersection.
Dancing in politics historically was one veritable way by which political leaders mobilized and bonded with their followers. That would explain why the services of musicians, praise singers and dancers were always required at political parties’ events, especially campaigns that have always been a mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous. The sublimity of speeches is meant for the elite to decipher and appreciate, not for the uneducated hoi polloi; while the dance and song galore is for the commoners.
It is from that seemingly unsophisticated dance background that the Ademola phenomenon has blossomed and bludgeoned its way into the limelight of the vast political enclave that is Osun state and beyond. As he mounted the campaign podium on each occasion, the people would nudge him into dancing. A few times, he would chant thrice: PDP and the people would respond with the shout of: power! And, thereafter, the dance would continue.
The underlying message in the entire political saga that has crystallized in Osun state with the rather unexpected “inconclusive” outcome of the Osun governorship election is the readiness of the people not only to free themselves from the stranglehold of political forces that had held them captive for the past eight years but also to break their backs. For eight years, the politics and governance of Osun state have not largely inspired the people. Instead of happiness, the people have been sad.
Why would they not be sad when the government that was elected to serve them had become a task master or slave driver? For instance, for the past 34 months, the state government has not paid workers in full. Besides, it has accumulated a huge debt while its mega schools project, among others, has become shambolic and counterproductive. The civil servants have been dehumanized and the entire workforce pauperized.
Osun people who have for long been mourning have seen an opportunity to dance and smile in the full panoply of Senator Ademola Adeleke’s governorship. They have seen a self-effacing, amiable and listening leader on whose shoulders they can cry. But judging by his disposition, it appears the mourning period in Osun is over. Indeed, imole (light), which is his campaign slogan, with attendant joy, has come to Osun.
But for the joy not to be truncated, the Osun people have an opportunity to complete the process of their liberation. The INEC has rightly, except for its inconsistency in the application of its own rules, declared the governorship election inconclusive. The INEC has already fixed Thursday, September 27, 2018, for the rerun election in three polling units in Orolu Local Government Area due to disruption; two in Ife South due to malfunction of the smart card reader; one polling unit in Ife North due to over voting and one polling unit in Osogbo due to no-voting.
The total number of registered voters involved in the rerun is 3, 498. According to available information though unconfirmed, about 340 voters were cumulatively accredited to vote in these affected units last Saturday. This is where the APC, which is possibly banking on canceling out the 353 votes by which Senator Ademola is leading, should be very concerned. Going by history and pattern of voter turnout, it is possible that not up to a half of the registered voters will turn out for the rerun election.
Assuming that about that figure or even more turns out, the votes will certainly be split. PDP can still get a majority of the votes cast. And if the APC gets a majority of the votes, will it be enough to cancel out the 353 votes of the PDP? The rerun election should be taken very seriously by Osun people who crave liberation from the tradition of mourning. Light beckons on them in the final determination of their collective destiny; so also is dancing.
Moving towards the rerun election, I will not be surprised if the PDP works on an alliance with Senator Iyiola Omisore of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and other smaller parties that believe in the liberation of the state. The APC too is expected to make its moves to upstage the edge that the PDP currently enjoys in order to maintain the status quo, which it believes in.
Besides, on the day of the rerun election, I will not also be surprised to hear or read, if it is possible, that PDP leaders have volunteered as polling agents in the seven polling units so that the element of compromise is forestalled. APC could also do the same so that, overall, the exercise would be free and fair, with all the parties, especially the APC and the PDP, shunning desperation. It is expected that the INEC will maintain its neutrality by ensuring that votes cast by the electorate count.
Ojeifo, an Abuja-based journalist, writes via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com