The Yeye Oodua, Chief  H.I.D Awolowo yesterday condemned what she considered to be an attempt to demystify the Awolowo family through a publication in a national newspaper (not Vanguard) titled ‘Awo family without an Awo’.

Writing with obvious anger and displeasure over the publication, the Matriarch of the revered Awolowo family went to a great length to set the records straight especially on issues raised in the publication. Part of Chief Awolowo’s response is reproduced below with minimal editing:

Ordinarily, I do not join issues with uninformed individuals nor do I comment on articles written in uncouth and downright vile and violent language. Hypocrites that claim to be more catholic than the Pope or more Awoist than his family when they in fact hobnob with so-called pariahs when it suits them and their pockets certainly do not engage my attention, usually.

However, this piece, the latest in a long campaign of calumny against my person and family and which, if reports are to be believed, is the opening salvo of a fresh campaign apparently aimed at destroying and demystifying the Awolowo family, deserves an appropriate response, particularly since, we are informed, such campaign has been adopted as the preferred policy and strategy by a particular political party to consolidate its hold on its newly acquired political power base.

At 95, I have lived long enough to expect common civility from younger ones, assuming that they received and imbibed proper home training. Having just lost my daughter less than two months ago, I also expect that normal people would spare me the kind of vitriolic attack that was unleashed on my person and my family, particularly as such an attack was entirely unprovoked.

It is pertinent to mention here that, for all their protestations as the true children of Awo, the top hierarchy of the leadership of the ACN has not deemed it fit to offer me their condolences on the bereavement either by telephone, letter, or personal visit, up till now.

I should certainly not expect anyone in their right mind to, in the same article, rake up the old wounds of the previous tragic loss of my first son and then proceed to question and, indeed, dismiss the notion that he could possibly have been fit to carry his illustrious father’s mantle. All in a bid to situate the authour’s ‘piper’ as the anointed heir of a heritage that can never be purchased.

For the avoidance of doubt, my son Olusegun was a graduate of Cambridge University and he was called to the bar in the UK after a stint at the Inner Temple, where his father also studied. These are facts that are open for verification by anyone who wishes to do so.

Our expectations of Segun were tragically cut short and it is a cruel irony that a so—called Awoist has chosen to taunt me with this. With friends like this, who needs an enemy?

The writer claims that, ‘in all his tribulations, the family (Awo) had was not his flesh and blood’. One of the basic tenets of journalism is that facts are sacred but comments are free. Perhaps it should not be surprising that the writer  failed even in this. I would like to refer him to the dedication contained in Awo’s last book, first published in 1987 ‘The Travails of Democracy and the Rule of Law’. I quote:

‘To my children, Omotola, Oluwole, Ayodele, Olatokunbo. They also bravely weathered the fierce and howling storm from sixty-two to sixty-six; they suffered mental agony in silence; they provided besides sources of cheer for Papa and Mama, in the four-year—long journey through the dark and dreary tunnel’.

As for my personal role in my husband’s life before, during and after the crisis, I commend to the writer most of his publications, particularly ‘AWO’, ‘My March Through Prison’, and ‘The Travails of Democracy and the Rule of Law’.

It is surely to the utter shame of a so-called avowed Awoist that he has exposed his absolute lack of any knowledge of Awo’s life. I would not be surprised if the writer was unaware, as many of his. cohorts also appear to be, that I was the first person to use the broom as a party symbol when lied the party’s campaign for the Federal elections that were held during my husband’s incarceration.

The writer’s dishonest claim of respect for Awo’s thoughts and opinions is further debunked by his notion that Awo was unable to correctly assess his wife of 48 years (at the time of his transition).

The abject insult that was heaped on my person by the writer, for daring to rise above partisanship and pursue the common good has caused me the kind of pain that can only be dealt with by offering it to God, whose wheel of justice may grind slowly but is guaranteed to grind exceedingly fine.

I notice a reference to ‘dynastic curse’ in the article under reference. I totally reject that in my family, by the blood of Jesus and I decree, by His power, that any contrary pronouncement shall return to its sender.

Like her father before her, she has taken electoral defeat in her stride and has since returned to her profession as an Occupational Health Physician. In other words, she has moved on. It is about time that everyone else did too.

I recall that some so-called Awoists refused to support the initiative on the pretext that the support of the ‘wrong crowd’ had also been invited. Of course, this did not prevent the full participation of these ‘purists’ in the fund-raising ceremony for Sir Ahmadu

Bello’s centenary celebrations, an event that was organised by the then Governors of the Northern states, none of whom belonged to the party of ‘the perfect ones’.

For clarification, I applaud the way in which the Governors and all concerned rallied to the cause of celebrating Sir Ahmadu Bello, one of Nigeria’s founding fathers. I simply quote this example to highlight the breathtaking hypocrisy of these modern-day Pharisees.

I believed then, and I still believe now that Chief Awolowo’s right to be honoured and celebrated, particularly in the territory in which he held sway and in which he performed the feats for which he will be forever remembered, should not be predicated on political party affiliation.

As far as I am aware, Chief Awolowo has not founded any of the political parties existing in Nigeria today. His political associates, those who actually knew him personally and worked with him, can be found in several different parties. Let me remind the writer and others like him that Awo expounded the theory of dialectics in his last presidential address to the UPN at Abeokuta in 1983.

His thoughts and -ideas have been proved beyond any doubt to be the blueprint for Nigeria’s, even Africa’s, development and it remains a source of joy to me to see and hear people from all political parties, using him as their roadmap to success in governance. Talk about vindication!

I, and my family, refuse therefore to be hamstrung or blackmailed into going into the . bondage of exclusive association with people who clearly resent and despise us and have made no secret of that fact.

We applaud all those who have tried their best to approximate Chief Awolowo’s record of service and we extend our best wishes to those, including those in the writer’s list, who are just setting out on their journey of governance.

We pray that they may succeed, even as Awo did. To do so, however, they have to remain faithful to his ideals and work sacrificially, as he did, for the benefit of the people in whose trust they today they occupy high office and whose expectations have been raised that another Awo era has arrived.

Finally, let me say this. When last I checked, there was no law in Nigeria that compelled anyone to go into partisan politics. Under a democratic dispensation, freedom of association is also guaranteed.

The writer would, no doubt, balk at any suggestion that he should forgo any of his rights as a bona fide citizen of Nigeria, including the above-mentioned rights and liberties, under any circumstances. As. my husband always used to say (and include in many of his writings), however, you must always concede the rights to others that you claim for yourself. This is an important lesson for the writer.

To the uninformed, Chief Awolowo’s legacies begin and end with partisan politics. Those who know better, however, recognise that his legacies as a thinker, visionary and administrator hold far wider and more profound implications for, and potential to impact, posterity. My children know this and remain free to choose, individually and collectively, which aspect of their paterfamilias’ legacy they wish to promote and progress.

My family fully recognizes, cherishes and welcomes the larger Awo family, regardless of status or location. But we will not be harassed into associating with anyone or group, no matter how loudly they proclaim their self-righteousness.
Let me end with one of Papa’s favourite quotes,

‘What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted!
Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just,
And he but unclothed, though lock’d up in steel,
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted’.

I hope this statement will be given the same prominence in The Nation newspaper as the offensive article.

jmaine:

Chameleon Alj Harem at his best . . . . . . . .Now you dey laff . You are a true breed of a typical Nigerian politician  . . Highly unstable individuals . .

sbeezy8:

Awo would be disappointed in his family

just because shes awo wife doesnt mean shes as smart or wise as him.

obj has said in many interviews he worked for the emergence of shagari over Awo-

Eko Ile:

lmao, every clown on NL have so much fear and respect for Asiwaju that they have to invoke his name to get attention.


God Bless Asiwaju Tinubu and Yorubaland and whatever Asiwaju is doing that's giving you endless heartburn and chronic blood pressure, may Asiwaju continue with vigor and vitality.

Amen

sbeezy8:

Awo would be disappointed in his family

just because shes awo wife doesnt mean shes as smart or wise as him.

obj has said in many interviews he worked for the emergence of shagari over Awo-

sbeezy8:

BS she said OGD has governed ogun state well- when i read that i could have reached through the comp n slappd her myself dumb azz statement- maybe cause shes old n OGD n pdp always hang around her influencing her opninion

Eko Ile:


Leave the old woman alone, people are tolerating her because of her late husband. See what she did to the tribune, the Tribune is the PDP's mouthpiece in the SW. I know Awo dey role inside grave at what den turn the Tribune into.

alj harem:


SMH   delusional person

u must be beaf of yorubaland

The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria has described the Nigerian Tribune as a relic of everything that has gone seriously wrong with the legacy left behind by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and said the paper, by its present loss of focus, is bringing shame to the revered name of the late sage.

The party said it is reacting to the flurry of tendentious and fictitious reporting the paper has indulged in in recent
times in a desperate effort to instigate crisis in Action Congress of Nigeria and urges the paper to live beyond its present pecuniary interests to appear in good lights to reactionary forces that now pick its wages.

In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that it is unfortunate that The Tribune has thrown decorum and respect to the winds by the unending strings of fictitious stories and hatchet editorials it has been inventing lately to ingratiate itself to the PDP both at the federal and regional levels. It advises The Tribune to learn from past mistakes some papers who sacrificed principle on the altars of expediency committed and retrace its mercenary ways.

It is a known fact that The Tribune was founded by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo on the ideals of progressivism and that while he was alive, the paper did its best to remain committed to these progressive ideals. It is unfortunate to know that since Chief Awolowo's death, a progressive degeneration has hit his legacies and the hallmark of that degeneration is the present putrid philosophy of the paper that fully promotes the dirty interests of buccaneers and irreverent as represented by the desperate politics of the PDP today. It is a great pity that The Tribune is today a propaganda organ for reactionary forces that worked against the interests and ideals of the founder. We know that The Tribune's present desperate disposition that has made it a wet rag for the PDP is founded on the knowledge that it does not make much from sales these days because of its retrogressive philosophy.
[b]
We are not surprised at the present position of The Tribune as it aligns with the pecuniary interests the paper has been promoting in recent times. We are not surprised that The Tribune is showing its anger at losing the clientele of the ousted PDP governors who stole their ways to power and who have cornered the paper as their mouthpiece against the people of the South West. We are not surprised that The Tribune is going out of its ways to cook false stories and fictions with the purpose of creating confusion in the ACN.

We want our teeming supporters to note that The Tribune's present dance of shame started during the June 12 debacle when the paper worked frenetically against the interests of progressive Nigerians who were demanding for the restoration of the mandate of Chief M.K.O Abiola. We want them to know that The Tribune has never departed from being the mouthpiece of the PDP in its twelve horrendous rape of Nigeria and for this yeoman's job, the paper has curried so much illicit patronage but has lost the moral right to pretend to represent the voices of Nigerians. We want Nigerians to see The Tribune as another cash-and-carry organ of the present misrule of the PDP and treat its tendentious stories as such.

We want to let the teeming supporters of the ACN to know that the stories The Tribune are dishing out about ACN presently are entirely false and do not reflect what is going on in our party and are merely regurgitated wishes of the PDP in its desperate wish to hold on to power by all means. We want Nigerians to know that The Tribune is one with the PDP in its effort to retains power for the purpose of robbing and dehumanizing Nigerians. We want to let Nigerians know that The Tribune at present is ruled by inordinate hunger for illicit patronage from the PDP both at the center and in the South West. We want to let South Westerners know that the glory has departed from The Tribune as it no longer cares about good name but what comes to it from the PDP font of illicit resources and for this, it is ready to do any dirty job. We want all to treat Tribune's recent hatchet jobs on the ACN as the desperate effort of a paper that is deficient in morality and principle to please its beneficiaries and we are sure these dirty jobs will fail, just as the PDP failed in twelve years to use power to better the lives of Nigerians.[/b]

Joe Igbokwe.

Publicity Secretary,

Lagos ACN.



http://www.elombah.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5131:the-glory-has-long-departed-from-the-nigerian-tribune-says-lagos-acn&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=67

jason123:

Its a known fact that an average Northerner will prefer to be a Yoruba man than an Igbo man! Guys, insult Tinubu and the SWall you want BUT NEVER INSULT AWO!!!

alj harem:

right on mark my brother


who like a cannibal

jason123:

Its a known fact that an average Northerner will prefer to be a Yoruba man than an Igbo man! Guys, insult Tinubu and the SWall you want BUT NEVER INSULT AWO!!!

jason123:

Its a known fact that an average Northerner will prefer to be a Yoruba man than an Igbo man! Guys, insult Tinubu and the SWall you want BUT NEVER INSULT AWO!!!

OAM4J
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Re: Awolowo’s Dynasty Cannot Be Rubbished – H.i.d. Awolowo Tells Tinubu And Co
« #21 on: Today at 04:26:19 AM »

I have just cleaned this thread. Please let's keep the discussion civil without any insult or ethnic bashing. Thank you.

felele:

Eko-Ile, sbeezy, and all the rest of the Tinubu houseboys on nairaland and elsewhere, hear this:

He who the Gods want to destroy, they first make mad.

Only a naughty person will point to his father's house with his left hand.

He who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind.

The days when you will regret providing your praise-singing services for Tinubu, Fashola and all things ACN are near. Indeed, they are already upon you. In a week when:

Your principal worked to make sure Yorubaland did not get the speakership of the House of Reps;

Your principal sponsored people to agitate for him to become the Asiwaju of Yorubaland - a title held by Awo in his lifetime;

He has now committed the ultimate blasphemy by attacking an innocent, harmless, grieving old woman, whose only sin is that she has assumed the role of the mother of the nation, refusing to be partisan;

But then, isn't that what he has always done, attack the weak and defenceless - Abraham Adesanya, Ganiyu Dawodu, Solanke Onasanya, Anthony Enahoro and so on, all tasted the sharp side of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, once they had helped him to become Governor of Lagos State

His time is coming, and it may be sooner than he or you his minions think, if the Lord tarries.

There is a God, and he does not pander to the wicked, contrary to Tinubu's assumptions. One day, God will judge you all.

ziddy:

Bola Ahmed Tinubu has captured the entire SW, bar Ondo, so he has so rightly surmised that he has no further need to continue hiding under the Awo Franchise. Thus he could afford to let his attack dog (Joe Igbokwe, who is probably Eko Ile/Baba Pooper) on the Awo family, for openly crossing over to the PDP.

Like we say in Yoruba land, ten kings, ten different seasons. Tinubu's season is here, but it too shall pass. Nothing lasts forever.

Awo was and is still till the most important Yoruba after Oduduwa as rightly written by Sam Omatseye.

Guyman02:

Bola Tinubu has brought glory to the South West, all he needs to do is to encourage ACN governors to continue to improve the well being of their people. He is a clever politician, the new Speaker is threatening to dump PDP with his supporters enmasse if the party decides to punish those who voted against their so-called zoning formular; and that has got people like OBJ and GEJ jittery.
That area father sure knows what he is doing.
The Awo family should realign themselves with the current trend and stop thinking that the people will continue to live under the shadow of the great sage. leaders come and go,