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Ebenezer Babatope, in his 2007 diatribe against General Buhari, as reproduced in Reuben Abati’s blog, went, as he is wont to do, on a name dropping spree, as if such are, by themselves, enough to capture the complexity of our political existence, in the process of which no new knowledge is gained, no new road towards proximate strategy and tactics is adduced, where all issues are either left hanging or geared to ensure the continuation of the status quo.
Of course, there is nothing new in what he wrote about Buhari; and when he quoted Chief Awolowo as saying “the omens are still bad” upon assumption of power by the military under Buhari, Awo was also not saying anything new as he was a foremost opponent of military rule and would not welcome such, under any circumstance. A fact which enabled him to resign from Gowon’s regime when Gown reneged on his promise to hand over power by 1976. And Chief Awolowo was on record as saying that the “worst civilian regime is better than the best military regime”. So, for Ebenezer Babatope to now want to use Awo’s take on Buhari’s military regime is not only a-historical but also a disservice to Awo’s legacy and thoughts.
So, yes, Buhari’s regime did all of those things, which was the platform for Babangida’s assumption of power; for his first act was to release all of those detained and jailed while painting Buhari’s regime as dictatorial and neo-fascist.
This singular act endeared Babangida to the country whereupon many intellectuals of different persuasions enrolled in his regime and helped to stabilize it and in fact formulated and implemented policies for the regime; policies which included but not limited to, the Political Bureau, SAP, “popularly administered” by Chief Olu Falae, the “two-party system”, devaluation/privatization, popularly known as “kalokalo economics” named after Kalu Idika Kalu, its foremost proponent.
Ebenezer Babatope was the UPN’s Secretary of Organization; a position that ordinarily ought to place him in a better atmosphere to look beyond the surface in order to understand what was really going on so as to enable him formulate appropriate response.
But this was not the case; for there was a philosophical disconnect between his position as Organizing Secretary and any response to an emerging scenario. Hence, everything became centered on whether Buhari was a “lover of the Yoruba Nation” or not. Yet, from all publicly available information, Buhari was not privy to the coup that brought him to power, he was merely its public face. A Secretary of Organization of a party like the UPN was supposed to examine whether the dictatorship embarked upon by Buhari was actually a stage in a process of engraining the army into the people’s consciousness so as to make it the acceptable alternative to rulership in Nigeria. Thus, by making Buhari an enemy of the people, his successors would appear as better alternatives; and going by the known fact of Babangida’s hobnobbing with the “socialist” and “leftist” circles, in and out of the military, it was no surprise that they all rushed into his team once he assumed power and they created the template for his reign. If this aspect had been examined, they would not have made such a rush, and Babangida would not have been able to impose his will on the country as he did. And this is not simply a matter of hindsight; for such a prognosis was made and dismissed off-hand.
But then, what did this say about Buhari himself?
The country was in total economic and political mess as at the time of the coup; every one outside the NPN(and some inside) was of the opinion that a change must happen even as there were many routes to such a change; even the coalition of opposition, anchored by Abubakar Rimi was planning its own moves in its own way; hence, it was easy for a military mindset to fall into the “normal” military means of resolving issues, which is simply authoritarian. Buhari fell into this category, which was why his regime was characterized by such authoritarianism.
The army, historically, had been an agent of “northern” power in Nigeria; but as it is public knowledge, Buhari, as the military commander of Jos, went against the then federal Government orders to pursue invaders from Chad into their territory, and even under his dictatorship, he went after a foremost pillar of Fulani power, Umaru Dikko, who, but for providence, would have probably ended up facing the firing squad, under Buhari. Thus, as a product of such military-authoritarian consciousness, we cannot expect Buhari to act contrary, especially when it also appeared that the military was the only institution that could have stabilized the country, at the time.
So, the issue is not whether Buhari is or was a “lover of the Yoruba Nation”, for that is not the point. The Yoruba Nation is not looking for a “lover” but a situation whereby the quest for True Federalism would be made manifest.
Does Buhari fit this bill, in this circumstance? When Ebenezer Babatope queried Buhari’s actions as the PTF Chairman under Abacha, he did not query his own actions as Abacha’s Minister of Works, a position he held on to, even after his being asked to withdraw from the regime. Does this make Ebenezer Babatope a “hater” of the Yoruba Nation?
This is an indication of the disconnect; for the UPN was not an “ordinary” political party, having been founded upon the best of intellectual/ideological traditions, unwaveringly tilted towards Federalism; hence, its Organizing Secretary is expected to always look beyond the surface and project the historicity of the quest and not simply look for opportunities to “serve” for this is the only way to respond to not only Buhari’s dictatorship but also those of his successors and ultimately military rule. Such that, now that the questions left unresolved in the second republic are rearing their heads, the experience and knowledge gained with such a position should have mediated the responses the Yoruba Nation would offer.
Rather than go this route, Ebenezer Babatope went on a glorification of the “socialists” and “leftists” and “revolutionaries”, regaling us with their experiences, when we know that it is quite possible to have a historically wrong experience as his examples show. He mentioned the likes of Aminu Kano, Bala Usman, Umaru YarA’dua, Ola Oni, Bade Onimode, Eddie Madunagu, Baba Omojola et al, without contextualizing them as if all that matters is his own personal relationship with them.
Yet, Aminu Kano, as populist as he was, utilized the National Question to have his way in northern politics by creating his NEPU as a response to the overbearing influence of the NPC and he repeated same in the second republic with the formation of the PRP, while one of his “disciples” mentioned by Ebenezer Babatope, Bala Usman, whom he referred to as a “revolutionary historian”, utilized all of his intellectual capacity to deny the same National Question that was the basis for his party’s populism.
It took “June 12”, following on the heels of the collapse of the Soviet Union, to get the Ola Onis, Baba Omojolas and even an Edwin Madunagu et al to realize the necessity of resolving the National Question. Thus, for the Organizing Secretary of the UPN to simply de-contexualize the activities of these “comrades” is to negate the historical necessity of the party.
So, now that the contest in Nigeria is now between a former military dictator in the person of Buhari and a civilian dictator in the person of Goodluck Jonathan, one would expect a former Organizing Secretary of the UPN, founded on the deepest need for Federalism, to not only regale us with name droppings but situate a way forward by making a situational definition of the problem as a prelude to finding a solution.
We have been told over and over again, that the “north” is promoting a “born-to-rule” mentality. Yet, since the beginnings of the anti-colonial struggles, the West had always tried to secure a working relationship with the East; even the formation of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa in London in 1947, was a response to the rejection of such a working relationship. In 1953, when the motion for independence was moved, the East also balked, saying they would not want the “north” to leave Nigeria; in 1959, Awo wanted an alliance with the East(NCNC) which was rejected; same thing occurred in 1979 and even 1983, even as these latter rejections were predicated upon the relationship between the West and the East during the Nigeria-Biafra war, which war was unilaterally taken into Yorubaland by Biafra. Thus, historically, at all times, even if the “north” was to be accused of such a mentality, the East had always been its engine room.

Of course, in 2007, Ebenezer Babatope was in firm support of the PDP’s Umar Yar A’dua, who, but for his singular acknowledgment of the flaws that accompanied his election, floated no idea as to how to restructure Nigeria. The current civilian dictator has already done that, and he actually organized a National Conference to that effect. Meanwhile, the former military dictator has come out with his manifesto and a major point is in amending the Constitution to reflect the “True Federal Spirit”.
It could be argued that Buhari could or would jettison the idea once he assumed the presidency. This is why Ebenezer Babatope’s credentials as an Organizing Secretary of the UPN was queried; for it is not acceptable to take such an assumption as a fact or a reality but to ensure that it does not happen; especially when we know that the current civilian dictator, through the recommendations of his National Conference, has already de-federalized Nigeria, all he is waiting for is to formalize it through his imposed legislature.
Even though, Ebenezer Babatope was not speaking on behalf of Afenifere, in 2007 and 2011, the group supported this former military dictator on the premise that his regime would restructure; the wonder now is why the same group is now teaming up with the Ebenezer Babatopes to promote the civilian dictator thus leaving us no room to maneuver—of course, that is if we allow them.
By Leye Ige

The demise of Uncle Bola Ige and Pa Adesaya has turned Afenifere to Afenifeiranu so am not surprised at what they've become.
When last did you see any serious minded Yoruba politician among these people?, Leye abeg find better thing to write about and stop giving these losers an undeserved publicity.