OPINION
Musings On Atiku’s “Aluta” Career
By Tunde Olusunle
Permit me to commence by recommending the publication titled: Atiku: The Story of Atiku Abubakar to those with peripheral understanding of Nigeria’s charismatic former Vice President who was deputy to Olusegun Obasanjo. There’s been quantum misrepresentation underscored by plain political mischief, debauchery and chicanery in the public sphere, about the man.
The book under reference was authored by Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, one of Nigeria’s finest journalists and writers in his time, who, very sadly and tragically departed in year 2017. Onukaba had the distinction of having authored full length, painstakingly researched and brilliantly rendered biographies on Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former military Head of State and later, democratically elected President, and Atiku. The 338-page book on Atiku was published in 2006. It remains a key reference document on Atiku whose name has been a recurring decimal in national politics in the last four decades.We are generally cognisant of developments in our most recent political experience. The phenomenal failure of the preceding administration of Muhammadu Buhari could only have negatively impacted the fortunes of his aspiring successor flying the flag of his party, the All Progressives Congress, (APC), at the presidential poll. A rehash of the failings and faltering of Buhari who contested twice on the springboard of the APC, evokes palpable sighs, teary emotions, even gnashing of teeth. Those years of the locusts are best shifted to the depths of distant memory. The song and slogan on the streets encapsulated mass discontent and a steely determination to excoriate that regime which typified hunger, anger, poverty, insensitivity, insecurity and gloom in totality. Nigerians were poised to speak, loud and very clear with their voter’s cards at the polls.
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The APC superstructure, however, resorted to what the unforgettable Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, revered as precursor of Afrobeat, described as “government magic,” in one of his trademark political compositions. “White was turned into blue, red transformed into green,” as Fela’s song continues. Technological innovations acquired by INEC for humongous sums at the collective expense of taxpayers to facilitate seamsless electoral processes, were summarily dumped in the sewers. Returning officers of opposition parties were bludgeoned, ballot boxes grabbed, tallying sheets mutilated and voter figures presumably fiddled with. INEC in the wee hours of Wednesday March 1, 2023, announced a presidential result when votes were still being added together. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC, proclaimed results which didn’t send Nigerians to the streets in freestyle jubilation. Conversely, Nigeria was swaddled by cemetery-type quiet and has remained so ever since.
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In his continuing quest to ensure strict adherence to the rule of law in a democracy, Atiku immediately approached the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, to take another look at the suspect and hazy pronouncements of the PEPT. Side by side with this, Atiku, a veteran and hero of many struggles, stretched the net of his fishing expedition. The question of document adulteration, forgery and scamming has recurred in instances over time since the early months of the running republic. The very first Speaker of the House of Representatives back in 1999, Salisu Buhari, was forced to resign over allegations of certificate forgery. He had tendered a fake certificate from the “University of Toronto” in his quest for a seat in the lower parliament.
The first finance minister under Buhari, Kemi Adeosun, voluntarily resigned from office in 2018. Questions were raised about the authenticity of the certificate issued to her upon the completion of the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC). A quintessential omoluabi, the well groomed and well mannered within the Yoruba context, she quietly exited and moved on. She refused to be sucked in by the razzmatazz of Nigerian-style public office, where aides fall over themselves handling all manner of chores for the “oga at the top,” a phrase which became familiar years back. Adeosun demonstrated un-Nigerian grit to have chosen the path she did, despite serving under a President, Buhari, who himself could not present his “ordinary level school certificate” usually issued by the West African Examinations Council, (WAEC).
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News out of Chicago State University, (CSU) in the United States, in the inquest into the matter of alleged forgery instituted by Atiku against Tinubu, seems to validate previous presumptions. The President might just have manufactured his certificate. Following from documents submitted to INEC ahead of the presidential election, Tinubu made no entries for his primary and secondary schools, got admitted into the Chicago-based citadel for his tertiary institution and posted a blank section for his NYSC certificate. There is also the controversy about his gender during his studentship in CSU. Was he male or female? It has been virtually confirmed that Tinubu plausibly appropriated the social security number and sex of a female Nigerian student with that identity. The photograph of a lady by the name: “Adenike Abimbola Tinubu” has been trending on the internet in recent days. Tinubu’s frequently used first name, “Bola” is without a prefix or suffix. This is inconsistent with known Yoruba christening patterns. Atiku’s pakute, the Yoruba expression for “trap,” seems to have clapsed Tinubu’s ankle.
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Sadly, very tragically sadly, sections of the Nigerian elite are hailing, supporting and serenading Tinubu as the “actor” or “bad guy” in an action movie. He seems to have outwitted his adversaries in the plot of the screenplay, deploying a combination of street smartness and crookedness. He is adulated as the baba’sale, the don of the backwaters, in the storyline. And because the mythical Tinubu is involved in this mire, identity theft and certificate plagiarism are admissible and proper. Some of us have indeed been repeatedly vilified by Tinubu apologists and “e-rats” on the social media. I’ve serially maintained though that he doesn’t equate the values, qualities and standards of archetypal Yoruba forerunners.
The Obafemi Awolowos, Samuel Akintolas, Abraham Adesanyas, Adeniran Ogunsanyas, Lateef Jakandes, Adekunle Ajasins, Bisi Adebanjos, Bola Iges, Reuben Fasorantis, Ayo Adebanjos, Olu Falaes, authentic Yoruba frontiersmen, were substantially transparent and respected. The contemporary Asiwaju, however, might just have been found to be something of a perjurer. His hero-worshippers and cult followers, however, want him profiled simply as a lesser cheat! Reminds of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s uncanny distinction between “stealing” and “corruption!” Tinubu’s choristers are totally blinded to the spiral effects of this national and global embarrassment. The Nigerian President should be largely overboard in many ways.
Like my brother journalist and scholar Tivlumun Nyitse said at a forum, “those who made us believe that they were champions in the pursuit of truth, justice and fair play have suddenly lost their moral compass.” They have turned a blind eye to the discovery of a career impostor who has conned his way to the marketplace as lead performer in the community orchestra. They have spontaneously become the cheerleaders of a certified trickster. They are oblivious of how grievously this development can impact the worldview of the younger generation. Those our generation is frantically attempting to wean off fatalistic subscriptions to cultism, truancy, alcoholism, drugs, and so on, now have a ready-made model. They now know they can get to the very top irrespective of the crookedness of the route they ply.
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Social media reports are already proffering that the qualifications and certifications of some Nigerian professionals abroad will be re-evaluated. Previously, Nigerians across the world, especially in the United States and United Kingdom, always headlined the classifications of the most educated and most qualified professionals, amongst immigrants. As deliberate government policy, Nigeria indeed once exported excess human capacity to needy African and Caribbean countries under the “Technical Aids Corps,” (TAC), initiated by the government of former military President Ibrahim Babangida, three decades ago. We are now susceptible to hurtful taunts by cheeky immigration clerks in Johannesburg and Dubai, asking us for updates about the certificate forgery saga involving our President.
The prescription of popular revisit to the book Atiku: The Story of Atiku Abubakar, stems largely from the need to appreciate the beginnings of Atiku’s activist engagements. His triumph in forensically busting the compounded falsification, forgeries and frauds related to the President’s credentials, is product of longstanding, albeit subtle involvement in popular causes. He served his apprenticeship during his days as a student at the “School of Hygiene” (now known as the School of Health Technology), Kano, and the Institute of Administration of the Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU), Zaria, respectively. He was a student of both institutions between 1966 and 1969. In the former, Atiku’s deft handling of a brewing students’ disquiet earned him election as “President Emeritus!” He was just 20 at the time. While studying for a diploma in law in ABU, he contested for the positions of Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Speaker of the Students’ Union Parliament, concurrently. He won resoundingly. He was targeted for elimination by executioners loyal to former military Head of State, General Sani Abacha in his Kaduna home for his pro-democracy endeavours. These experiences, sharpened his dentition for his modern day enterprise.
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Atiku’s battles and travails to salvage the Office of the Vice President from immolation by an overbearing President, and the political process from crass impunity by the political class, are properly documented. He pursued many of his misgivings all the way to the Supreme Court and succeeded. Osita Chidoka, a former aviation minister and Farooq Kperogi, a respected US-based Nigerian professor and public scholar have in recent treatises correctly canvassed acclamation for Atiku. His perspiration in helping Nigerians and the global community unravel the “masked man,” (not Lagbaja the masked artiste in this case), who has been our President since May 29, 2023 has paid off handsomely. Atiku invested uncommon ruggedness and peerless activism in the eventual unearthing of the fossils of Nigeria’s Number One Citizen’s cloudy, dodgy, even greasy credentials. Not too many previously knew the aluta component of the overall makeup of the typically calm and calculating Atiku.
The ball at this point, is squarely and effectively in the court of the man so openly disrobed, of Nigerians at large and the judiciary.
● Tunde Olusunle, PhD, poet, journalist, scholar, and author, is a member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE).
By Iliyasu GaduIf
you have visited the Mambilla plateau in Sardauna Local Government of Taraba state, you probably will not behold a better Eldorado in Nigeria. Everything about the place from the temperate weather, to the bewitching scenic beauty, to the agricultural produce and livestock is something you can never find in any part of Nigeria.
The weather is so clement all year round that you do not need an air conditioner in your home. The bananas are huge and succulent you will mistake them for plantain. Coffee, tea and beverages abound here as well as grapes, and avocado. Mambilla is also a potential tourist haven. The highest elevation in Nigeria, Chappal Wadi peak is one of the several wonders of nature in Mambilla.Adding to the scenic, breath taking beauty, the place hosts a variety of flora and fauna that if properly harnessed would rank as a top tourist destination not only in Nigeria but Africa. If Taraba state where Mambilla is located is likened and called “Nature’s gift to the Nation’’, then Mambilla can rightly be termed ‘’Nature’s gift to Taraba’’.Mambilla used to be part of Cameroon but due to the plebiscite organized by the United Nations for the English speaking parts of the country, the northern areas of which Mambilla right up to Mubi in Adamawa voted to join with Nigeria.The southern English speaking part of course decided to stay in Cameroon and we are all witnesses to the consequences of that decision on the area. For convincing the northern part of Cameroon which constitute parts of Taraba and Adamawa states today, we need to thank Sir Ahmadu Bello, the late premier of Northern Nigeria who campaigned vigorously in these areas and for whom the Sardauna Local Government where Mambilla is located, after his traditional title of ‘’Sardauna’’.But for all these beautiful attributes of Mambilla, there is an ugliness that cannot be hidden. Among the many useful things about the place is that it can also be a source for a massive power project of up to 3,000 megawatts. Surveys carried out decades ago had indicated that across the river that runs through Mambilla, a dam of that capacity can be built to supply power and irrigate the land for greater agricultural productivity.The reports of the baseline studies on this project had been in abeyance until 2003 when the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration as part of its power development programme decided to award a six billion dollar contract for the construction of the dam.Sunrise Power, a company owned by a well-known Lagos based wheeler dealer Leno Adesanya was the beneficiary of this contract which was signed off by Olu Agunloye the then Minister of Power during the Obasanjo administration.Before he was appointed as Minister of Power, we knew the tall Physicist and Ondo-born Agunloye as one time boss of the Federal Road Safety Corp. I can be too sure that both Agunloye and Leno Adesanya had ever visited Mambilla and what they knew of the place if at all may just be enough to fill the back of a postage stamp. But here they were, given the power to award and supervise the construction of a multi-billion dollar power project in what can be termed the boondocks of Nigeria.One can be sure that with such fellows at the helm and against such setting, the project will never see the light of day (no pun intended); never mind that the contractor goes by the name ‘’Sunrise’’ (No pun intended here).As it has now come to light 22 years later since the contract was awarded in 2003, earth had been shifted to clear the site of the project not to talk of turbines installed to power the dam and provide energy. But what is sure is that vast amounts of money has been expended so far mainly on litigations and ‘’investigations’’ into the project. The latest news on the project is that two former Nigerian leaders Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari appeared before a court of arbitration in Paris, France to explain what they knew about the project.And why was this necessary?I recognise that the matter is sub judice both locally and abroad but I will take the liberty allowed under fair comment and the overriding interest of the right of the public to know, to shed some light on the shenanigans that have dogged the project.The long and short of it is that Sunrise was paid some mobilization money but did not for whatever reasons execute the contract fully. And to protect its contractual propriety over the project in order to prevent it from being re awarded to another contractor, Sunrise put a caveat emptor on the projector. This meant that for any consideration on the projector in whatever form, Sunrise had the right of first refusal over any other party including even the Nigerian government.This much came to light when the Buhari administration sought to revive the project from a decade of abeyance. The attempt by the Buhari administration to engage a Chinese contractor to do the project was stonewalled by Sunrise which took the matter to an International Arbitration court in Paris. As the Presidents under whose tenure the Mambilla project featured, both Obasanjo and Buhari were thus obligated to appear before the court of arbitration which they did.Another twist to the project is the role which Buhari’s second minister of power, Saleh Mamman played in the whole sordid saga. His predecessor in the ministry Babatude Fashola (SAN) being the smart lawyer that he is gave the project a wide berth knowing the legal entanglements associated with it. But Saleh Mamman who incidentally is an indigene of Taraba state and even has filial connections to the Mambilla area is now under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on allegations of misappropriating 32 billion naira under his watch as minister.Among the issues that had come to light is his alleged role in the Mambilla project where he claimed to have spent huge sums in paying compensation to owners of the land and clearing of the site for the project. This also included an engagement session for stakeholders of the project which took place at Transcorp Hotel Abuja. All these were in anticipation of the takeover of the project by the Chinese. But as we all know now the Sunrise’s decision to seek international arbitration stymied the move.In what had also added a dark shadow over the issue, a BBC on the spot investigation showed that despite the huge sums that were claimed to have been expended, nothing on ground justified such.This prompts us to ask why some pertinent questions.Why was Sunrise a company with no proven track record of handling energy projects of this nature awarded the Mambilla power project in the first place. Was it meant to be a flag contract in which a company without capacity is awarded such a contract on the understanding that it will be a conduit through which funds will be funnelled to parties unconnected to the project?Why did the Obasanjo and subsequent governments allow Sunrise which did little to commence the project after reportedly collecting some mobilization funds, to put a lock hold on the project for 22 years now, thereby stalling its take off? Where are the vocal anti-corruption watchdogs who all too often are quick and vigorous when similar issues occur in certain parts of the country?As it is, now that the issue had been taken to international arbitration it is likely that Nigeria’s quest to boost its power sector through the 3,000 megawatt capacity Mambilla power project will be delayed for long if not totally scrapped. And this will be down to a Nigerian company ironically called ‘’Sunrise’’ which rather than be the harbinger of power and energy as its name implies, has instead decided to do the opposite.Gadu can be reached via Ilgad2009@gmail.com and 08035355706 (Texts only).
The history of the country called Tanganyika began in 1885 when the Germans
colonized East Africa. Present day Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda became known
as German East Africa.
Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, its colonies were divided among
the victors under the treaty of Versailles.
The British named their colony Tanganyika and ruled over it from 1919 to 9 th of
December 1961 when it gained independence. Its first Prime Minister was Julius
Nyerere.
In 1964, the country merged with the island of Zanzibar to form a new nation
called the United Republic of Tanzania. The reason for the merger was for mutual
economic benefits and to integrate the peoples that lived on the mainland
Tanzania and the smaller island of Zanzibar.
At independence, the Tanzanian Army was formed from about one and a half
battalions of the colonial regional Army known as the King’s African Rifles which
had a sizeable number of British officers as well as nationals from other East
African countries.
Several factors led to the mutiny of the Tanzanian Army (the “Tanganyika Rifles”).
One was low pay and poor conditions. Another was the slow pace of
“Tanganyikalisation” of the army. Thirdly, there was an attempt to recruit fifteen
Israeli trained youth leaders into the army. The soldiers felt that the men were
unsuitable and the method of recruitment irregular.
Political interference by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence, Oscar
Kambono did not help matters. He preferred to appoint to key positions officers
who had risen through the ranks with years of service, rather than young well
educated officers.
In the early hours of January 20 th 1964, under the leadership of Sgt. Hingo Ilogo,
the soldiers rounded up both British and African officers and locked them up at
Colito barracks. They then moved into Dar-es-Salaam and took effective control of
the city. Seventeen persons lost their lives in the ensuing melee.
Prime Minister Julius Nyerere fled the country but Oscar Kambono, remained
behind and began negotiations with the mutineers. Eventually, the British officers
were released from the guardrooms and flown out of the country.
Meanwhile, Nyerere made a written request for assistance from the British
government to quell the mutiny, through diplomatic channels. On the morning of
the 25 th January 1964, Royal marine commandos from the carrier Centaur situated
on the East African coastline of the Indian ocean, fanned into the city and put an
end to the mutiny.
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was subsequently re-instated as Prime Minister. He
disbanded the entire army and sought assistance from the Organisation of African
Unity. A Ministerial Committee met and it was decided that Nigeria be
approached for the needed assistance.
Minister Oscar Kambono arrived Lagos in late March and met with PM Tafawa
Balewa. An act of Parliament was passed and, by the first week of April, 1964 the
3rd Battalion of the Nigerian Army, stationed in Kaduna and commanded by 31
year old Lt. Col James Yakubu Pam, was airborne to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika.
In total, there were 533 soldiers and 24 officers. The mission was under the
general supervision of Brig. Samuel Ademulegun, Commander of the 1st Brigade,
Kaduna.
Lt. Col James Yakubu Pam was of Berom stock from Jos. A brilliant student, he
attended St Paul’s Primary School Jos, Central Primary School Pankshin and
Barewa College Zaria. He performed so well in his academics that he received an
“Exemption from the London Matriculation”, an honour reserved for students
who excelled.
He thereafter enlisted in the army and attended the West African Cadet Training
school, Teshi in Ghana, Eaton Hall Officer Cadet School and the Royal Military
Academy, Sandhurst both in the U.K.
One of his commanding officers in Sandhurst had this to say of him: “I have the
highest regard for this overseas cadet. He is determined to do well and never
spares himself in order to ensure this. He is most receptive, co-operative and
trustworthy.”
He received the Queen’s Commission as 2nd Lieutenant in 1955, the first from the
Middle Belt Region of Nigeria. He became an officer of the West African Frontier
Force (WAFF 45) and later the Nigeria Army (NA 14) at independence in 1960. He
had just returned from further training at the Joint Services Staff College,
Camberley, England when the order came to deploy to Tanganyika.
Lt. Col Pam’s selection for this assignment was also predicated on the fact that he
had participated in several military operations in the Cameroons and in the
United Nations Peace Keeping force in the Congo.
The third battalion had returned from service in Kasai Province of the Congo in
May 1963 when Lt. Col Pam took over command shortly afterwards from Lt.Col
Etches upon his departure as the last expatriate Commander of 3NA.
His orders were clear: chiefly, to ensure internal security, re-train the Tanganyikan
army and mount the normal Ceremonial Guards in the city.
The 3rd Battalion had just returned from service in Kasai Province of the Congo in
May 1963. Lt. Col Pam took over command shortly afterwards from Lt. Col Etches
upon his departure as the last expatriate commander of 3NA.
Meanwhile, Nyerere selected 1,500 young men from the youth wing of his
political party, the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) to form the
completely new Tangayikan Army.
His reason for adopting this unusual selection process was that he wanted an
army which came from national life and not an ėlite force. In his words: “the task
is to ensure that the officers and men are integrated into the government and
party so that they become no more a risk than, say, the civil service.”
Lt. Col Pam was tasked with the responsibility of turning these raw recruits into
competent soldiers within six months and he discharged his responsibilities
competently and efficiently.
Peace and security were maintained and the newly trained soldiers passed out on
1 st September 1964, less than five months after the 3NA set foot in Tanganyika.
On the 21 st September 1964, the 3NA held a Ceremonial Parade and were
honoured by Prime Minister Julius Nyerere. Lt. Col James Yakubu Pam was gifted
a leopard skin, a shield and a spear as a token of appreciation for his outstanding
contribution to Tanganyika which had become Tanzania following its merger with
Zanzibar.
The reconstituted and re-trained Tanzanian Army has remained dedicated and
loyal to the country and its constitution till date.
In 1965, Lt. Col J.Y. Pam jssc was awarded the National Honour of Member of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFR) in recognition of his meritorious service.
Unfortunately, he was killed in the coup d’etat of January 15 th , 1966 before he
could formally receive the honour.
The National Award was subsequently received by his widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Pam
and his children 15 years later.
Prof. Ishaya C. Pam
For: The Family
By Tunde Rahman
Kemi Badenoch’s ill-advised denigration of Nigeria has refused to go away. Her belittlement of the country of her ancestry is still generating passionate public discourse within and outside the media space, and it appears the matter will not go away anytime soon.
Exasperated by Kemi Badenoch’s misguided attacks on Nigeria, Vice President Kashim Shettima recently counselled her to drop the Kemi in her name and bleach her ebony skin to white to further appease her Tory party and British establishment.
And perturbed and seemingly lost by all that, my daughter, Kemi Mushinat, who recently graduated in communication studies, asked what was wrong with the name Kemi. There is nothing wrong with the name, I explained. But a lot is wrong with Kemi Badenoch (Nee Adegoke), the leader of the British opposition Conservative Party, who opted to behave, as the Yoruba would describe it, “bi omo ale to fi owo osi ju we ile baba e”, meaning like a child who would go out to denigrate her ancestry by pointing the offensive finger at her roots.Honour and dignity are inherent in the name Oluwakemi, indeed in any name. But what confers dignity, what glorifies a name, is the character the bearer brings into it. Kemi Badenoch left much to be desired, disparaging Nigeria, our motherland. She painted a gory picture of her growing up years in Nigeria from the middle of the ’80s to around 1996, highlighting stories of poverty, infrastructure decay, decadence, corruption, police excesses, and leadership failure. Perhaps some of her narratives could be true, particularly in the time that immediately followed the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) misrule and the indiscretion of the emergent military regime.
However, her stories reek of generalisations and prejudices often associated with most analyses by a section of Western media and commentators. They view Nigeria with their jaundiced lenses, describing the country as made of a Muslim north and Christian south, oblivious of the various Christian minorities in the north and the plethora of Muslims in the south and the multiplicity of ethnic groups in the two divides that make a mockery of any analysis of a monolithic north or south. They view us Africans with many unproven, unorthodox assumptions.
My problem is with Badenoch, an African, whichever way you slice it, and the character she has chosen. When Vice President Shettima lambasted her for demeaning Nigeria, Kemi Badenoch thought she had a clincher. “I find it interesting that everybody defines me as Nigerian,” she said. “I identify less with the country than with the specific ethnicity (Yoruba). That’s what I am. I have nothing in common with the people from the north of the country, the Boko Haram where the Islamism is; those were our ethnic enemies and yet you end up being lumped in with those people.”
In that statement, the Tory leader disavowed Nigeria and excoriated the north but exalted the Yoruba. She repudiated the whole, attacking one part of the nation but embracing another. Kemi Badenoch grossly misfired, hiding under the finger of ethnic nationalism.
Perhaps it would have been pardonable if, for instance, she opposed Nigeria’s federal system and canvassed regionalism or confederacy. To condemn one race and elevate another is like playing one part against another. That utterance is dangerous in a diverse and volatile society like ours. The north (read the Hausa-Fulani, Kanuri, Tiv, Birom, Mangu, Ibira, Nupe, and many others who cohabit the entire northern region) is no enemy of the Yoruba as Badenoch insinuated.
The north voted massively for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba man, to emerge president in 2023, as they did for the late Bashorun MKO Abiola, the winner of the annulled June 12 election in 1993. To label them the enemies of the Yoruba is condemnable.
Badenoch’s Yoruba roots emphasise good character and promote good neighbourliness, religious harmony, peaceful co-existence, respect for elders, and respect for other people’s rights. That is why Yoruba intermarry with members of different ethnic groups. It’s also commonplace in Yorubaland to find members of the same family having adherents of Islam and Christianity cohabiting together without any hassles. Boko Haram or its last vestiges poses a security challenge, perhaps a religious and sociopolitical challenge, for Nigeria, not just for the north or the north-east which is why the government and our armed forces have battled to a standstill and are still battling the insurgents.
Therefore, the values the UK Conservative leader espoused did not represent the Yoruba. They are not the values the Yoruba would showcase, uphold, and promote. Yoruba has a rich history of culture, tradition, leadership, and loyalty to constituted authority.
Badenoch’s formative years, which she derided with negative stories of decadence, perfidy, and corruption, were part of Nigeria’s dark periods when the military held the country and the people by the jugular.
Is Kemi Badenoch now giving the impression that nothing has changed in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos, where she grew up after birth in London? Is she giving the impression there have not been significant improvements in the standard of living and infrastructure, with the rehabilitation of existing roads and opening up of new ones; in transportation with the multi-modal system complemented by water transportation and now the rail system, among other things?
Despite its challenges, there is no doubt there has been a remarkable development in Lagos from the foundation laid by then Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now President Tinubu) from 1999 to 2007 till the present Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to the point that Lagos has emerged as one of largest economies in Africa. Lagos State has made significant progress across all indices of development such that if it were a country, it would have ranked the sixth largest economy on the continent.
What has emerged in the entire Kemi Badenoch’s saga is her seeming double-face or multiple-face. When she was campaigning to represent her diverse Dulwich and West Norwood Constituency in the UK Parliament in 2010, she had appealed to the Nigerian community, comprising Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani and Igbo, under the aegis of “Nigerians for Kemi Badenoch,” pleading for help in the election.
A campaign document that surfaced on social media showed she had reached out to all Nigerians in that constituency while highlighting her roots. In that document, Badenoch had said to her Nigerian supporters: “I need your help. I’m running for parliament in the 2010 UK general elections. The race is very tight. Last year, the News of the World surveyed this constituency, and the forecast was that I would win. Things are much tougher this year as the party has dropped nationally in the polls. I need your help.
“I am asking for your help now to support a Nigerian trying to improve our national image and do something great here.”
After winning the election, however, she deployed her situation in Nigeria as a talking point to rally support for her policies, for which she was accused of exploiting her roots for political gains.
Her rhetoric has drastically changed with her emergence as the Leader of the Conservative Party. In the carriage, conduct and statements, she is now out to please the White establishment, particularly the White wing of her Conservative Party, subjugating her people to make Britain look good. She doesn’t mind running down anyone, including the Nigerian people and the British blacks generally.
Will this advance her politics or status? I do not think so. The British respect culture and tradition. Running down a country’s history and culture may not attract much attention. Britain also respects her relations with other countries, particularly Nigeria, given our age-long relationship. Nigeria is a significant trade and investment partner of the UK in Africa. According to the UK Department for Business and Trade, as of December 20 2024, the total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Nigeria amounted to £7.2 billion in the four quarters up to the end of Q2 2024, an increase of 1.2% or £86 million in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023.
Britain would not want to harm that substantial trade partnership and excellent relationship between the two countries in any way.
Also, several Badenoch’s Conservative Party members do not share her attitude towards Nigeria. In Zanzibar, I recently ran into Jake Berry, a top Tory Party member and former cabinet member in the UK. While discussing the Badenoch matter, he said most Conservative Party members disagreed with her.
Kemi Badenoch has recorded an outstanding achievement in two decades of entering British politics. She joined the Conservative Party at the age of 25. Today, she stands not just as the Leader of the biggest party in Britain’s history but also as the highest black person in the United Kingdom. Her extraordinary accomplishment should have been used to inspire young people to achieve similar feats and as a foundation to inspire positive change in her country of origin, not to denigrate Nigeria or cause division and disaffection among her people. It is not too late for Badenoch to rethink and toe the line of rectitude.
Rahman is the senior special assistant on media matters to President Tinubu.
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