₦airaland Forum

The Oyo State Government on Monday said the decision to pull down part of the Music House which belonged to Yinka Ayefele was not political, stressing that the building, which housed a radio station, Fresh FM, and valued at N800m, violated the physical planning law of the state.

At a press conference addressed by the Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Physical Planning and Development Control, Waheed Gbadamosi, the government said Ayefele failed to regularise the structural planning document for the building.

He added that due process was followed in the demolition of the Music House on Sunday.

Gbadamosi said, “On June 14, 2017, requests for approval were sent to Music House and 22 other radio stations in Oyo State. On August 18, 2017, a reminder letter was sent to Music House and the letter was received by Adebisi Akinkunmi. The action of the state government is not a witch-hunt. We even reported the radio stations to the National Broadcasting Commission.

“We also wrote to the Central Bank of Nigeria on some banks contravening the Oyo State Physical Planning and Development Control Law. Music House submitted a building plan on June 14, 2018, which necessitated the joint inspection visit we carried out on June 25, 2018. It was discovered that it was meant to be an office complex and not a radio station, among some other infractions.”

He added that the building blocked residents of an estate behind it from having a clear view of the main road and that the demolition was as a result of non-compliance to the letters written to the radio station.

Gbadamosi also warned that unless the government’s directive was carried out by Ayefele, the reconstruction of the demolished part of the building would not be allowed.

However, Ayefele said he sent his wife to Ajimobi to spare the building pending when the papers demanded would be ready.

In a separate press conference addressed by Ayefele at the Music House on Monday, the ace musician said he spent three days in a hospital because of the shock caused by the demolition notice.

He said he was ready to relocate to another place if it would bring peace.

Ayefele said, “I was hosptalised from Tuesday to Saturday. From the hospital, I sent my wife to the governor on Friday to help me beg him. She begged him on her knees from 11pm to 4am.

“He told my wife that he was only acting on what people said. When my wife was going, he gave her $1,000; he also gave money to those who followed her to the house as a sign that he had accepted our pleading.

“When I was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, I sent a text message to the governor to thank him and I promised to see him. I was told that he would entertain my visit on Sunday. But early on that day, the house was demolished.

“I obtained all necessary documents and when they demanded fresh ones, I called my architect to design a new one. It is not a day’s job; we were in the process when they demolished the house. The house is not obstructing any view; but as far as I am concerned, if this building is causing trouble or accidents, I will vacate it for peace to reign. This is politically motivated.”

Gloom enveloped Majekolagbe Street, Ibafo, Ogun State on Wednesday after the remains of the street founder, Adewale Majekolagbe, were found dangling from a rope in his house.

Our correspondent, who visited the area, saw residents and landlords at the late Majekolagbe’s bungalow as the news of the tragedy spread.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the 59-year-old had disappeared from the community on Tuesday and had also stopped taking his telephone calls.

Concerned residents and members of the community development association were said to have forced the door to his house open and found his body dangling from the rope.

Our correspondent learnt that the Abeokuta, Ogun State indigene, wrote a note before his death, which was handed over to the police from the Ibafo division.

A resident, who sighted the note and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the deceased blamed his son for his suicide.

According to him, the note read, ‘(Son’s name withheld), you are the one that put me into this problem, which made me to take my life. 3.35pm.’

He said, “Every day, people usually converged on the frontage of his house to relax. Also, some members of Jehovah’s Witnesses visited him every evening. Around 8pm every day, he went to the house of one of his friends, where he would stay till around 11pm to 12am before returning to his house.

“Nobody saw him throughout yesterday (Tuesday) and when they called his mobile phone, he did not pick his calls. His first daughter also called him without a response. That was why people forced his door open and found his corpse in the house.

“He hanged himself in his late wife’s room. He left a suicide note. He indicated the time he killed himself. The note has been handed over to the police. What is curious is that some of us still don’t know what the son did to him that made him to kill himself. He did not say what his son did.”

Our correspondent, however, heard one of the landlords saying that the deceased had approached him for a loan of N50,000 on Monday.

The landlord, who regretted that he could not assist the victim, said he (Majekolagbe) had told him that his son was behind his travail.

He said, “Despite the heavy rain on Monday, Baba (Majekolagbe) came to my house. He was at my place for more than two hours. He initially asked if I had a loaf of bread that he could eat, which I told him I did not have. I told him that I had pap. We prepared and took it together.

“He then begged me give him a loan of N50,000. I told him that I had just transferred money from my account and there was nothing left. He said his son was at it again and the boy had put himself into another trouble. He sounded really distressed.”

The landlord said he heard that the deceased’s son owed some people over N1m, adding that the debt was put on Majekolagbe.

A shop where the late wife sold drinks, biscuits and other items, had been taken over by the victim, who continued the trade.

A resident said Majekolagbe was in a good mood last Saturday at the shop.

“I was at his shop that day and he said he would be marking his 60th birthday on December 27. He said he would celebrate it big time. He gave me a malt drink for free and said the celebration had started,” she said.

A woman on the street described the deceased as kind-hearted, adding that his late wife was also hospitable.

She said the son, alleged to have been the reason for the suicide, was also a great member of the family before things went awry.

She said, “When my family newly moved into this street, we brought a trailer load of property from Lagos. His late wife heard my dialect and upon learning that I came from Ekiti, she became excited. Despite the flood, she waded through the water to help us to move our property into our house. We were so close to the family that my children stayed with them when we had not found a school to put them. Both husband and wife were accommodating and loving.

“Even the boy in question used to be a chorister in a Pentecostal church. He was intelligent and assisted my children with their assignments. My children were fond of him.

“The man was the first to take ill. The sickness was serious that he became very lean. The wife supported him until he recovered. Suddenly, the woman also took ill. She died from a stroke. After that time, Baba started living alone in the house.”

Our correspondent gathered that the deceased was not attending any religious house until recently when he joined a local church.

Our correspondent, during the visit to the community, observed some Hausa men digging a grave in front of the deceased’s house.

Some family members, who entered the house, broke down in tears, while there were occasional arguments and blame-trading on the circumstances surrounding the death.

Majekolagbe’s three children were also sighted arriving the house.

When our correspondent approached a member of the family for comment, he said the family did not want the incident publicised.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident, adding that the police had a copy of the suicide note.

He said, “The man said his son got him annoyed and he decided to kill himself. He did not say in particular what his son did. He just said he could no longer withstand his son’s behaviour.”

An inmate at Awka Prisons in Anambra State, Jude Onwuzulike, has enrolled for a Master’s degree programme in Information Technology at the National Open University of Nigeria.

The 39-year-old man and father of four, who is serving a life jail term, matriculated on Monday during the seventh matriculation ceremony of the institution held at the Awka Prisons.

Speaking with Southern City News at the matriculation arena, Onwuzulike said he believed that one day, his education and knowledge would be of help to him.

He said he had earlier obtained a first degree and post-graduate diploma from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, respectively, before his ordeal.

He said, “My first degree was in Accounting in 2005, while the second was in Mathematics. When I came here, I did a post-graduate diploma in Information Technology and now, I’m doing a Master’s degree in the same discipline.”

Onwuzulike said he enrolled for Information Technology due to the unsatisfactory manner the case that led to his imprisonment was investigated.

“I noticed some lapses in the way the case that brought me here was investigated, which someone needs to correct. So, this course I’m studying will assist me to carry out forensic investigations in similar circumstances,” he added.

Describing the prison as not ideal for learning, Onwuzulike said it would only take someone who remained focused in life to maximise the opportunity.

He added, “Here, you see all kinds of people; the uneducated, those who lack parental upbringing and those who were brought up in the motor park. They will be distracting you, including asking you to switch off the lights for them to sleep and stuffs like that.”

Speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of NOUN, Prof Abdalla Adamu, who was represented by Dr Scholastica Ezeribe, expressed delight in Onwuzulike’s zeal.

Adamu said though the university’s matriculation took place on June 23, the management had to fix a special day for the inmate in view of the peculiarity of his case.

Adamu urged other inmates to take advantage of the free education provided by NOUN to better their lots.

He said, “The VC is so passionate about the programme that he graciously offered it to inmates free of charge in order to encourage them and to give them hope.”

On his part, the prison superintendent, Ezenam Andrew, said the programme was one of the reformative packages to make the inmates useful and productive so as not to be threats to the society after their time in prison.