By Femi Fani- Kayode.

http://www.modernghana.com/news/297948/1/the-truth-about-the-motion-for-nigerias-independen.html

There has been so much confusion, misunderstanding and misinformation about who actually moved the motion for Nigeria's independence. Given the fact that Nigeria will be 50 years old on October 1st and it marks our jubilee year as an independent nation I believe that it is time to to set the record straight and bring this matter to closure. And in order to do so successfully we must be guided by facts and historical records and not by sentiment or political considerations. The moment we allow our recollection or knowledge of history to be guided or beclouded by such perennial considerations we are finished as a people. The truth is that almost 90 per cent of Nigerians have been brought up to believe that the motion for Nigeria's independence was successfully moved by Chief Anthony Enahoro, a man that is undoubtedly one of our most revered nationalists and founding fathers. Though nothing can be taken away from Chief Enahoro in terms of his monumental contributions in our quest for independence (I would argue that he kicked off the process for that struggle with his gallant efforts in 1953) the fact remains that he was not the man that successfully moved the motion for Nigeria's independence. Another group of Nigerians believe that Chief S.L. Akintola, another great nationalist and elder statesman and the former Premier of the old Western Region, was responsible for the successful movement of the motion for Nigeria's independence. Again though there is no doubt that Chief Akintola played a major and critical role in the whole process, he was not the one that successfully moved the motion for Nigeria's independence. There is yet another school of thought that says that it was Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the much loved former Prime Minister of blessed memory that was the first to successfully move the motion for Nigeria's independence. Again this is not historically accurate. Sir Tafawa Balewa's 1959 motion was not the first successful motion for our independence and neither was it in actual fact a motion for independence at all. It was rather a motion to amend an already existing motion which had already been successfully moved and passed by Parliament and which had been accepted and acquiesced to by the British in 1958. That successful 1958 motion was moved by none other than my late father of blessed memory, Chief Remilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode Q.C., S.A.N, C.O.N, the former Deputy Premier of Nigeria's Western Region. Not only did he play a major role in the movement of the motion for Nigeria's independence but, as a matter of fact, his was the first successful motion for independence in Parliament that was accepted by the British and it was actually the one that got us our independence. His motion, which was moved in Parliament on the platform of the Action Group in July 1958, was actually the landmark and most significant motion of all when it comes to the issue of our independence. Let us look at the history, the records and the facts.

You will recall that Chief Anthony Enahoro moved a motion for ''self rule'' in the Federal House in 1953 which proposed that we should have our independence in 1956. Unfortunately it was rejected by Parliament and it therefore failed. It also resulted in a walk out by the northern NPC parliamentarians who were of the view that Nigeria was not yet ready for independence. The tensions and acrimony that came from all this and the terrible treatment that was meted out to the northern parliamentarians and leaders that were in the south as a result of the fact that they would not support Enahoro's motion resulted in the infamous Kano riots of 1953. In 1957 Chief S.L. Akintola moved a second motion for independence in Parliament and asked for us to gain our independence from the British in 1959. This motion was passed by the Federal House but the British authorities refused to acquiesce to it and consequently it failed. In 1958 my father moved the third motion for Nigeria's independence in the Federal Parliament and he asked that Nigeria should be given her independence on April 2nd 1960. The motion was not only passed by Parliament but it was also acquiesced to by the British and was therefore successful. That was indeed a great day and a great achievement for Nigeria. However in 1959, at the instance of the British Colonial authorities who said that they needed a few more months to put everything in place before leaving our shores, Sir Tafawa Balewa moved a motion for a slight amendment to be made to the original 1958 motion that had been passed and approved to the effect that the date of independence should be shifted from April 2nd to Oct. 1st instead. Sir Tafawa Balewa's motion for amendment was seconded by Chief Raymond Njoku, the Minister of Transport, and it was acquiesced to by the British. That is how we arrived at the date October 1st 1960 for our independence. The details of all this can be found in Hansard (which are the official record of proceedings of Parliament) and they can also be found in what in my view is one of the most detailed, authoritative and well-researched history books that has ever been written when it comes to the politics of the 50's in Nigeria titled "Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation" by the respected American historian, Professor Richard L. Sklar.

On page 269 of his book Sklar wrote the following "in July 1958, barrister Fani-Kayode had the distinction of moving the resolution for independence on April 2nd 1960, which was supported by all the parties in the Federal House of Representatives". Another excellent book that covers this topic and era very well is titled "Glimpses into Nigeria's History" and was written by Professor Sanya Onabamiro, a highly distinguished elder statesman and nationalist in his own right who was also one of the main political players at the time.

At pg.140 of his book and in reference to Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the Northern Region, Onabamiro wrote: "he was the bridge between the north and the south, between the old and the new, between the fast and the slow. Without such a bridge to swing the votes of the Northern members of the House of Representatives in support of the southern members, there was little hope that the crucial motion on “independence on April 2nd 1960" moved by an Action Group member of the House of Representatives in July 1958, would receive the unanimous endorsement of all the parties in the House as it did". Professor Onabamiro was writing about the Fani-Kayode motion of July 1958 and the "Action Group member" that he was referring to was my father. This is contrary to the assumption of some, including my dear and late egbon Chief Ladi Akintola (the distinguished son of the late Chief S.L. Akintola) who, in an article titled, "Between Akintola and Enahoro" which was written in 2001, wrote that when Onabamiro wrote this he was writing in reference to the motion that his father had previously moved on the same issue in 1957. Ladi Akintola was wrong. The 1957 motion which Akintola moved had asked for our independence in 1959 and though it was indeed passed by the Federal House it was not accepted or acquiesced to by the British. Consequently, just like the Enahoro motion of 1953, it failed and this is why we did not get our independence in 1959.

From the foregoing you can see that the successful movement of the motion for our independence in Parliament was as a result of the collective efforts of a number of prominent and notable people from different parts of the country and from different political parties that worked closely together on this issue over a period of time in the Federal House and that my father was one of those people. As a matter of fact he played a key and critical role in the proceedings. His 1958 motion for independence was highly significant because it was the only successful one and it was the one that actually got us independence in 1960. As I said earlier Tafawa Balewa's motion was not a motion for independence but rather a motion to slightly amend the original one that had already been approved by the House and acquiesed to by the British. The simple answer to the question as to who moved the motion to Nigeria's independence, in my view, is that Chiefs Anthony Enahoro, Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Remi Fani-Kayode, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Raymond Njoku, together with their respective political parties (Action Group, NPC and NCNC) all played major and key roles in this exercise and the credit for the successful passing of that motion should go not just to all those who, at different times, moved or attempted to the move the various motions but also to every single member of Parliament that sat on the relevant days and that voted for the various motions to be passed.

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode was the spokesperson to President Olusegun Obasanjo; he subsequently became Minister of Tourism & Culture & later served as Aviation Minister for Federal Republic of Nigeria . He is currently vying for the position of Governor in Osun State ( South-West , Nigeria ).

By Femi Fani-Kayode

There has been so much confusion, misunderstanding and misinformation about who actually moved the motion for Nigeria's independence. Given the fact that Nigeria will be 50 years old on October 1st and it marks our jubilee year as an independent nation I believe that it is time to to set the record straight and bring this matter to closure. And in order to do so successfully we must be guided by facts and historical records and not by sentiment or political considerations. The moment we allow our recollection or knowledge of history to be guided or beclouded by such perenniel considerations we are finished as a people. The truth is that almost 90 per cent of Nigerians have been brought up to believe that the motion for Nigeria's independence was successfully moved by Chief Anthony Enahoro, a man that is undoubtedly one of our most reverred nationalists and founding fathers. Though nothing can be taken away from Chief Enahoro in terms of his monumental contributions in our quest for independence (I would argue that he kicked off the process for that struggle with his gallant efforts in 1953) the fact remains that he was not the man that successfully moved the motion for Nigeria's independence. Another group of Nigerians believe that Chief S.L. Akintola, another great nationalist and elder statesman and the former Premier of the old Western Region, was responsible for the successful movement of the motion for Nigeria's independence. Again though there is no doubt that Chief Akintola played a major and critical role in the whole process, he was not the one that successfully moved the motion for Nigeria's independence. There is yet another school of thought that says that it was Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the much loved former Prime Minister of blessed memory that was the first to successfully move the motion for Nigeria's independence. Again this is not historically accurate. Sir Tafawa Balewa's 1959 motion was not the first successful motion for our independence and neither was it in actual fact a motion for independence at all . It was rather a motion to amend an already existing motion which had already been successfully moved and passed by Parliament and which had been accepted and aquiessed to by the British in 1958. That successful 1958 motion was moved by none other than my late father of blessed memory, Chief Remilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode Q.C., S.A.N, C.O.N, the former Deputy Premier of Nigeria's Western Region. Not only did he play a major role in the movement of the motion for Nigeria's independence but, as a matter of fact, his was the first successful motion for independence in Parliament that was acceepted by the British and it was actually the one that got us our independence. His motion, which was moved in Parliament on the platform of the Action Group on August 2nd 1958, was actually the landmark and most significant motion of all when it comes to the issue of our independence. Let us look at the history, the records and the facts.



You will recall that Chief Anthony Enahoro moved a motion for ''self rule'' in the Federal House in 1953 which proposed that we should have our independence in 1956. Unfortunately it was rejected by Parliament and it therefore failed. It also resulted in a walk out by the northern NPC parliamentarians who were of the view that Nigeria was not yet ready for independence. The tensions and acrimony that came from all this and the terrible treatment that was meted out to the northern parliamentarians and leaders that were in the south as a result of the fact that they would not support Enahoro's motion resulted in the infamous Kano riots of 1953. In 1957 Chief S.L. Akintola moved a second motion for independence in Parliament and asked for us to gain our independence from the British in 1959. This motion was passed by the Federal House but the British authorities refused to acquiese to it and consequently it failed. In 1958 my father moved the third motion for Nigeria's independence in the Federal Parliament and he asked that Nigeria should be given her independence on April 2nd 1960. The motion was not only passed by Parliament but it was also acquiesed to by the British and was therefore successful. That was indeed a great day and a great achievement for Nigeria. However in 1959, at the instance of the British Colonial authorities who said that they needed a few more months to put everything in place before leaving our shores, Sir Tafawa Balewa moved a motion for a slight amendment to be made to the original 1958 motion that had been passed and approved to the effect that the date of independence should be shifted from April 2nd to Oct. 1st instead. Sir Tafawa Balewa's motion for amendment was seconded by Chief Raymond Njoku, the Minister of Transport, and it was acquiesed to by the British. That is how we arrived at the date October 1st 1960 for our independence. The details of all this can be found in Hansard (which are the official record of proceedimgs of Parliament) and they can also be found in what in my view is one of the most detailed, authoritative and well-reseaerched history books that has ever been written when it comes to the politics of the 50's in Nigeria titled "Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation" by the respected American historian, Professor Richard L. Sklar.


On page 269 of his book Sklar wrote the following "in July 1958, barrister Fani-Kayode had the distinction of moving the resolution for independence on April 2nd !960, which was supported by all the parties in the Federal House of Representatives". Another excellent book that covers this topic and era very well is titled "Glimpses into Nigeria's History" and was written by Professor Sanya Onabamiro, a highly distinguished elder statesman and nationalist in his own right who was also one of the main political players at the time.



At pg.140 of his book and in reference to Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the Northern Region, Onabamiro wrote: "he was the bridge between the north and the south, between the old and the new, between the fast and the slow. Without such a bridge to swing the votes of the Northern members of the House of Representatives in support of the southern members, there was little hope that the crucial motion on “independence on April 2nd 1960" moved by an Action Group member of the House of Representatives in July 1958, would receive the unanimous endorsement of all the parties in the House as it did". Professor Onabamiro was writing about the Fani-Kayode motion of April 2nd 1958 and the "Action Group member" that he was referring to was my father. This is contrary to the assumption of some, including my dear and late egbon Chief Ladi Akintola (the distinguished son of the late Chief S.L. Akintola) who, in an article titled, "Between Akintola and Enahoro" which was written in 2001, wrote that when Onabamiro wrote this he was writing in reference to the motion that his father had previously moved on the same issue in !957. Ladi Akintola was wrong. The 1957 motion which Akintola moved had asked for our independence in 1959 and though it was indeed passed by the Federal House it was not accepted or acquiessed to by the British. Consequently, just like the Enahoro motion of 1953, it failed and this is why we did not get our independence in 1959.
From the foregoing you can see that the successful movement of the motion for our independence in Parliament was as a result of the collective efforts of a number of prominent and notable people from different parts of the country and from different political parties that worked closely together on this issue over a period of time in the Federal House and that my father was one of those people. As a matter of fact he played a key and critical role in the proceedings. His 1958 motion for independence was highly significant because it was the only successful one and it was the one that actually got us independence in 1960. As I said earlier Tafawa Balewa's motion was not a motion for independence but rather a motion to slightly amend the original one that had already been approved by the House and acquiesed to by the British. The simple answer to the question as to who moved the motion to Nigeria's independence, in my view, is that Chiefs Anthony Enahoro, Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Remi Fani-Kayode, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Raymond Njoku, together with their respective political parties (Action Group, NPC and NCNC) all played major and key roles in this exercise and the credit for the successful passing of that motion should go not just to all those who, at different times, moved or attempted to the move the various motions but also to every single member of Parliament that sat on the relevant days and that voted for the various motions to be passed.

http://www.modernghana.com/news/269660/1/re-femi-fani-kayode-as-an-assassin-in-government.html

Re: Femi Fani-Kayode As An Assassin In Government
By Bayo Oladeji & Jeffrey Henry


It is amazing just how malicious, vicious, bitter and ridiculous some people can be. It is in this light that one must see the write up titled ''Femi Fani-Kayode As An Assassin In Government, The Story Unfurls'' by one Enobong Umohette, a disgraced, dismissed and discredited former officer of Nigeria's State Security Services who wrote this piece and caused it to be published by Sahara reporters as far back as 2007.

It is also relevant to note that he wrote it and released it on the net just a few weeks after President Yar'adua first came to power and at a time when he thought that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, the former Aviation minister, was likely to be nominated by ex-President Obasanjo to go into Yar'adua's first cabinet. That he was sponsored by Yar'adua's hatchet men to write this rubbish not only about Fani-Kayode but also about his own former boss the former Director-General of the SSS, Col. Kayode Are and ex-President Obasanjo is stating the obvious. That these very serious and wild claims that he made in 2007 and the fact that those claims were thoroughly investigated and found to be false at that time is no longer news. That all those that he had apparently been commissioned to ''kill'' by Chief Fani-Kayode, Obasanjo and the D-G of the SSS and whose lives he claimed to have saved ALL dismissed his ridiculous claims with contempt at that time, and still do, is no longer news. That Umohette had an axe to grind with everyone that participated in the regime that he believed destroyed his budding career as a James Bond-type spy and security officer is no longer news. That he married an old German woman that was twice his age just to get a visa and then fled Nigeria in 2005 or thereabout is no longer news. That he did not make public all this ''mind-blowing,'' ''vital'' and ''sensitive'' information about Fani-Kayode's supposed plans to kill his fellow Nigerians which he, Umohette, apparently single-handedly thwarted, when the Chief was facing Ministerial Screening in the Senate in 2006 is, to say the least, very suspicious. Surely that would have been the best time to drop this bomb shell if all this were true. Again why did Umohette not go to the police or to the press when all these things were actually happening or better still why did he not resign from the SSS and completely quit the job of a spook and a professional assassin? The reason that he could not and did not do any of the above is the fact that the whole thing from beginning to end, including his ridiculous assertions that Fani-Kayode had tortured and killed his own brother and members of his staff were all carefully crafted and scripted lies and fabrications. It is what is called ''disinformation'' in security circles and that well-crafted disinformation was not concocted and fabricated until 2007 when Fani-Kayode left office, a full three years after he had last seen Umohette. What is news is that Sahara reporters would want to dig up and re-publish this old and discredited story again, having first published it in 2007,only a few weeks after publishing yet another discredited story about Fani-Kayode in which they claimed that he had published nude pictures of his daughter on facebook. But let us get back to Umohette. The truth is that his assertions are unsubstantiated and preposterous and it is a disgrace that anyone should or could stoop so low. The fact that Chief Fani-Kayode himself, his family, Col. Kayode Are, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and all the so-called targets and victims of the ''conspiracy to murder'', such as Segun Adeniyi, Remi Oyo, Dayo Asaju, Adams Oshiomole and all the others have also treated this deluded man's fairy tales with the contempt that it deserves by not even dignifying it with a response speaks volumes. And quite apart from that each of them is very close to Chief Fani-Kayode today despite the fact that they may have had some minor political differences in the past.

The suggestion that Chief Fani-Kayode has a penchant for wanting to kill anyone that disagrees with him is just childish and ridiculous just as is the scurrilous suggestion that the former Minister has killed his older brother Mr. Akinola Fani-Kayode, who happens to be a lawyer like him, and has secretly buried him somewhere in Ghana. As regards Umohette I did my investigations on him as far back as 2007 when he wrote this utterly disgraceful piece and a lot came to the fore. After a while it became very clear to me that we were dealing with a very dangerous, conflicted, emotionally disturbed, mentally unstable and utterly relentless young man who had a deep grudge with the former leadership of the SSS, the Fani-Kayode family, Fani-Kayode himself and most importantly the Obasanjo regime. The reasons which prompted his dismissal as one of Fani-Kayode's security officers, and then later from the SSS, can not be unconnected with the fact that he had contravened some of the rules that had bound him as a security officer and the fact that he consistently broke the law by selling ammunition to unknown persons, hiring out his weapon, pulling his gun on people and regularly threatening to kill them at the slightest provocation, begging guests and friends of Fani-Kayode for money, blackmailing and bullying, his fellow security officers, disappearing for long hours in the night without any explanation and so on and so forth. After this sort of pathological and strange behaviour went on for some time Fani-Kayode formerly reported the matter, in writing, to the SSS and asked for him to be replaced with another officer, which he was. And that was Fani-Kayode's crime for which Umohette swore to all those that cared to listen that he would one day get his revenge. But unknown to him his travails had just started and he continued to have problems within the SSS and in his next posting until they were forced to arrest, detain and investigate him on a much more serious issue. And that issue eventually led to his dismissal from the SSS. The issue concerned his alleged links to and assistance of some extreemly dangerous Al Qaeda suspects that were in SSS detention and that he chose to assist in return for money.

He apparently assisted them by making phone calls to their international contacts on their behalf and passing messages to them. This is a very serious crime. These were people who were kept in custody by the SSS and who were under interrogation. The top officials of the SSS found out about the communications these suspects had with their contacts, traced the calls and shockingly, all the calls were made from Umohette's phone numbers (which he did not deny when the discovery glared him in the face). Further investigations were made and it was clear that Umohette's level of involvement with these terrorist cells was quite deep. The other reason that he was dismissed was because of his deteriorating his mental state and erratic behaviour. This was apparently sparked off by the fact that he had earlier lost his brother, someone he loved very much, when the latter was killed by hired assassins. This sad incident affected his mental state deeply and the SSS took cognisance of that fact. From that point on, his undue fascination and delusions of he himself being a hired assassin and killing people got worse and worse and it was symptomatic of the fact that he was gradually losing his mind. He was placed under watch by them for a few months and within this period he was always with a gun and would sometimes shoot sporadically at people and in the air. This alarmed the SSS and they immediately approved his dismissal from the Service. The only reason that they did not prosecute him for this or any of the earlier Al Qaeda related offences was because he was clearly mad and the service did not wish for the country to know that they had an unstable and mentally deranged person in it's service.

Yet despite his delusions and bitterness there is no doubt that Umohette had the presence of mind to have a deep hatred of the Obasanjo regime because he thought he was singled out for ''unjust'' punishment by them. This is despite the fact that his reasons for dismissal and everything that I have said here is in the records of the SSS. Quite apart from that I have taken time to check out the information myself and frankly speaking those records are not only accurate but Umohette's case has been a matter of great embarrassment to the SSS since 2005. The allegations he levelled against Chief Femi Fani-Kayode in his belated and baseless diatribe in 2007 and which have been republished by saharareporters again on 28th March 2010 are obviously malicious and were calculated to do as much damage to Chief Fani-Kayode's illustrious family and public career as possible. The question that should be asked and answered is who is after Chief Fani-Kayode and why? The facts and records are there at the SSS for verification as to why Umohette was dismissed from the SSS and his dismissal from service had no connection with the former Minister of Aviation. The Minister who he has been smearing with these crazy allegations hardly even knows him and he was assigned to him as one of his security officers for only a few months. As a security man who claims to be professional and efficient, he should have far better proof of his grave and wild assertions than simply his own verbal, ridiculous and highly questionable testimony. Does he not at least have tape recordings of these conspiracies or any other hard evidence apart from his word? Are we expected to trust and believe a character that is as flawed and as questionable as him? Since 2007 and up until today he has yet to present any proof of his very serious allegations. This is totally unacceptable and it is nothing but cheap blackmail, libel and slander.

These are just some of the problems that Nigerian public office holders and ex-public office holders sometimes encounter in Nigeria when an employee gets fired and this is not an exception. I challenge Umohette to answer the following questions: First of all, why did it take him so long to put these claims before the public? Why did he not speak out until he was fired? Does it mean that he was deeply involved with the conspiracy up until the time that he was fired? Does that not make him as guilty as anyone else? Has he ever killed people before as some have claimed? Is it true that he actually enjoys beating people and then killing them slowly? Can he provide any concrete evidence apart from his own words and recollection of events to his claims against Fani-Kayode's desire to kill people? Whilst Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was President, why did he not speak at that time? He may claim that his life may have been in danger if he had done so, but he could have safely done so from outside Nigeria because he had left the country well before Obasanjo left power. The truth is that he waited long enough for Umaru Yaradua to be elected into office so as to arouse sympathy from the new government in the hope that he would be reinstated by them and contracted to help deal with Obasanjo and all his boys. He was clearly being used by them to attack Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and he had every reason to take up that contract and job with great relish and pleasure. Umohette should desist from attempting to drag people down with him and most importantly, for his own sake he needs to seek medical attention about the state of his mind. The truth is that you need a sound mind to see the insanity in what you are doing and Umohette clearly does not have one.

He (Umohette) needs to admit his wrongdoings while he was in Service and if he wants to go back there, he should find some other means to do so other than attempting to run down an innocent man at the request of the Yaradua cabal, in order to make money and to gain cheap popularity. Fellow Nigerians, let us not accept every negative word and smear campaign that is thrown our way. Not all of us are privileged to know what is going on in the background and whenever or wherever negative and slurring reports are churned out, there MUST be concrete evidence to predicate them on, otherwise they should be disregarded and treated with the contempt and derision that they clearly deserve. The reasons I have stated for the outright dismissal of Enobong Umohette from the SSS can be verified by them. Nigerian politicians need to urgently play decent and respectable politics instead of unnecessarily using others to try and hack people down for no justifiable cause. Umohette should understand by now that Yar'Adua's days are over and that there is no way for him to get back to work for the SSS. There is also a need for him to stop all the disparaging disinformation and lies that he is spreading all over the world about innocent men and women. He should concentrate more on his mental rehabilitation, his family and his new found career in professional boxing. That would be a far more productive exercise. As for the long list of allegations that he has made against Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, his former principal and a man whose life and family he was supposed to guard with his own, they are nothing but a figment of his wild imagination and they are based on nothing but tissues of lies and falsehood. It is just as well that the former Minister, the former DG of SSS and ex President Olusegun Obasanjo has treated his childish allegations and assertions with the contempt and disgust that it deserves by simply ignoring him.

bayooladeji@yahoo.com
jhenry76424@yahoo.com

There is no doubt absolutely that Omoyele Sowore, publisher of saharareporters.com has distinguished himself creditably in the practice of online media, despite intimidation, victimization, death threats etc from those perceived to be haters of truths, who have destroyed and ruined our nation, politically and economically. His undergraduate days as student union President in University of Lagos, will also speak volume of his commitment to the path of truth emancipation of the oppressed. Similarly kudos should also be given to other operators of online media who have put their lives and career on the line all in the name of sheer determination of telling the truth and exposure of hidden facts of highhandedness and corrupt practices of our leaders; I think it is just right to acknowledge the likes of huhuonline.com, elendureports.com, pointblanknews.com, sharpedgenews.com, AfricanSearchlight, 9jabook.com, AfricanExaminer, UkpakaReports, Villagesquare, ThewillNigeria.com etc. Meanwhile, I have read with disdain the article which was published by saharareporters.com on Saturday 6th of March 2010, captioned—‘‘How Responsible A Father Is, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode?’’ and purportedly authored by one Yemisi Aderogba. The claims made by her in the report was not just spurious, deceptive, irresponsible and malicious, but a calculated political vendetta meant to malign, mudsling and pull down the good name built over the decades by the famous, responsible and reputable family of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. With due respect I think someone need to inform the author of the article that saharareporters.com squarely represents good investigative and thorough journalism work and will not in any way engage itself in any cheap publicity to cause unnecessary distractions. There are thousands of issues that are still screaming for attention which the public needs to know as it relates to our current national life; one would have expected Ms/Mrs/Miss Yemisi Aderogba to devote her energy in exploring such issues of national interest, rather than spreading falsehood, deceptions and fallacies to the public and making them look real, all for political and selfish gains; excellent journalism doesn’t work that way, this is highly unprofessional and unethical. I believe it is extremely unfair, callous and ungodly for anyone to intrude or hack into Chief Femi-Fani kayode’s Facebook account with the intention of painting him and his family in a light they don’t represent.

We are all aware that Facebook is a social network where friends get connected to one another for exchange of ideas, pleasantries, picture posting, and building of comment thread on varying and interesting topical issues. Chief Fani-Kayode believes that is a medium for him where he could unwind and meet with old friends from schools, churches, etc. Apart from that, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode out of his deep sense of humility and respect for his fellow human irrespective of their status and background, he chose facebook as one of his channels of communication to both his local and international fans. He is truly a man who has over time displayed some measure of regard and respect for the downtrodden in our society even when he was actively in government, unlike other politicians and highly influential figures in the society who treat them with disdain. It is obvious therefore that this writer is apparently riding on somebody’s back, because from all indications she is not a friend of Femi Fani-Kayode on the said social network (facebook) and even on his open fan page. May be this woman still need to explain to the world how she was able to access Fani-Kayode’s profile and get those pictures of his family members especially those of his innocent daughters. These are children who are well trained with best education; and even at their tender age, they have not only done their parents proud but the country at large in their chosen careers. Please try and get a life Yemisi Aderogba and leave Fani Kayode alone. If there are nude pictures please post them so that we can all see. I am his friend on facebook and I have never seen any form of nude pictures. Besides these pictures also exist on the photo albums of his daughters, and Femi Fani Kayode’s personal website www.femifanikayode.org, so why should you be misinforming the public.

It is instructive to also clarify that the author of this malicious publication and his biased commentators should understand that these are all young ladies between the ages of 19 and 23, so what on earth is all about this fuss? Again some idiot is talking about Yoruba culture. Who defines that? Are we to behave and think like villagers in the name of culture? Fani-Kayode represents meaningful and purposeful change. He is the modern day Yoruba man and that is why he is on facebook and he is not hiding anything from the public domain, he doesn’t believe in secrecy. Nigerians please wake up and stop being so petty. Again, the world is moving on and leaving you all behind because all you do is try to destroy our brightest and best in the country, like Fani-Kayode. That was why the world laughs at us. We are living in the 21st century and this is a globalised and free world. Whose business is it what pictures anyone publishes on his facebook page anyway? No matter who or what he is, he still has the right to privacy and so do his children. You may not like him but clearly the assertion that these are nude pictures is just a blatant lie. For records those pictures are certainly not nude pictures. They are just shots of 3 beautiful young ladies having fun in their privacy and living their lives. You have children of your own. Please leave these ones alone and invest your time and energy on something productive which you are paid for as an investigative journalist.

However, some of us are not surprised at all that this attack came this time from these enemies of success, having failed initially in their plot to silence Chief Femi Fani-Kayode in the political scene, especially in his ambition to becoming the Osun State Governor. It is indeed uncharitable for anyone to compare Farouk Muattalab extremism tendencies with that of Fani Kayode’s children. Fani Kayode did his best meritoriously as Special Adviser to the President, and as Minister of Culture and Aviation respectively in the immediate past administration, records don’t lie. I will also not be alarmed that it is the forces of corpsocracy that is at work here, since the fearless and dogged Fani Kayode has remain resolute in telling the truth everyday of his life, http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5519606-183/corpsology_umarus_gift_to_the_modern.csp. Meanwhile, I must commend saharareporters.com for its objective stance on this issue and for giving Chief Femi Fani-Kayode opportunity for redress so that lies and deception don’t metamorphose to be true, as erroneously intended by Yemisi Aderogba, http://www.saharareporters.com/articles/external-contrib/5441-how-responsible-a-father-is-mr-femi-fani-kayode.html.

Idowu Obasa is a social crusader/commentator and an alumni of University of Lagos, Akoka Yaba, Lagos. idowuobasa@ymail.com

By Bayo Oladeji   

Sunday, 07 March 2010

http://www.saharareporters.com/articles/external-contrib/5441-re-how-responsible-a-father-is-mr-femi-fani-kayode.html

We are utterly shocked and disgusted by the ridiculous and irresponsible assertions made by one Yemisi Aderogba in an article published by Saharareporters on March 7th 2010 which alleges that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, the former Minister of Aviation, has published nude pictures of his daughters on his Facebook page. This is a completely baseless, petty, vicious and childish assertion and, needless to say, it is simply not true.  It is nothing but a malicious fabrication which has been sponsored by Chief Fani-Kayode's political enemies and which is calculated to destroy his political career and to bring his children and family into disrepute. Quite apart from that we fail to understand why anyone in their right senses would see fit to invade Chief Fani-Kayode's privacy in this way, hack their way into his Facebook page and then come out, like a thief in the night, and tell the whole world that he or she saw nude pictures there knowing fully well that there were no such things there at all. This is surely a mark of sheer desperation on the part of the Chief's detractors.

For the want of doubt we wish to inform the public that exactly the same pictures have been posted on Chief Fani-Kayode's website at www.femifanikayode.org for the last few months and there is not one nude picture of his children there or anywhere else. In this, and in any other respect, Chief Fani-Kayode has absolutely nothing to hide or to be ashamed of.  Again Chief Fani-Kayode will not be deterred or distracted from his political ambitions and objectives by such fabrications and the fact of the matter is that the authors and sponsors of this irresponsible publication have already failed and will continue to do so.

We hereby challenge the said Yemisi Aderogba to publish ALL the said nude pictures wherever he or she sees fit if such pictures truly exist. Other than that we do not believe that there is a need for us to dignify any of the other ridiculous and defamatory allegations and submissions made in the said article with a response.

Needless to say we have absolute contempt for such submissions and views especially since they are rooted in insincerity, malevolence, lies and deceit. We think that it is a pity that former public office holders and their family members should be subjected to such falsehood and witch-hunting simply because they once served their country and because they are now on Facebook.  And that is precisely why most of them either do not bother going on Facebook or, when they do so, they limit their friends list and privacy settings to only those people that they know very well.

Also needless to say, the author of the article, and those that put him or her up to writing it, can hold any opinion about Chief Fani-Kayode that they deem fit. That does not in the least bit bother him or any of us and it takes nothing from him either: such things come with the territory and is part of the price that has to be paid for being a high profile public figure. It is however simply unacceptable and most irresponsible when the children of such a figure are targeted as well and all the more so when they have done no wrong. We leave the author of that article to God and to his or her conscience and we pray that whoever sent them to do this hatchet job will one day find peace within themselves. Whatever the case this does not in any way deter Chief Fani-Kayode from continuing to enjoy and operate his Facebook page and he will continue to interact with the almost 5000 friends that he has made there in the last few months.

We sincerely hope that in future before such material is published on a website that is as widely read and well respected as Saharareporters that that medium will make all the necessary efforts to cross check the veracity of the allegations that have been made by the writer. Anything less than that would be most unfair and most uncharitable.

In the final analysis, the question that needs to be asked is as follows: is it now a crime to post perfectly responsible, beautiful and decent pictures of someone's loved ones and family members on his personal website or in the privacy of his Facebook photo gallery simply because he or she comes from a prominent family and was once in public office?  We doubt it very much and we leave it to God to judge between Chief Fani-Kayode, his family members and those behind this despicable and ridiculous and ludicrous publication.

Bayo Oladeji
Special Assistant on Media to Chief Femi Fani-Kayode

By Chuks Akunna.

The bitterness and hatred with which Owei Lakemfa wrote his piece (titled “Fani-Kayode: Tales  His Father Told Him,” The Vanguard Newspaper, Nov 25th 2009) about Chief Femi Fani- Kayode and his late and highly respected father, the Balogun of Ife, Chief R.A Fani- Kayode Q.C., S.A.N, C.O.N clearly reveals the fact that he cannot be regarded as an impartial columnist who seeks to establish the truth but rather he can be seen more in the light of a subjective and venom- filled commentator who is on a hatchet job for unseen forces.

Let me start by saying that it is most uncharitable for a columnist to not only be intellectually dishonest but to try to foist his cheap and biased opinions on others by taking advantage of the fact that he has a column is absolutely despicable. He not only seeks to spread falsehood here but he also seeks to continue to perpetuate and spread age-old myths about some of our elder statesmen, nationalists and founding fathers and thereby bury them in the dustbin of history. What people like him fail to appreciate is the fact that a lie, no matter how often repeated, can never be the truth.

I will ignore the vicious comments that he made about Fani-Kayode the younger and the role that he played in Obasanjo’s government. Needless to say I do not share his petty views or his penchant for vitriol. What I will say however is that in my view Femi Fani-Kayode was not only an effective spokesman for President Olusegun Obasanjo but he was also an excellent Minister who is presently facing all manner of persecution  from the Yar’adua government  due to his proximity to Obasanjo and due to the fact that he presents a very real threat to the ambitions of a former senator  who was accused of the murder of Chief Bola Ige  and who sees Fani-Kayode as the only threat to his governorship bid for Osun state.

I do not believe for one minute that Fani- Kayode did anything wrong whilst in office and I believe that just as this government is seeking to destroy Obasanjo, Nuhu Ribadu and Nasir El Rufai, so they are trying to destroy him.

I remember very clearly how terrible it was to fly in this country before he was redeployed to the Ministry of  Aviation and how when he got there all the plane crashes that had taken place before then and in the previous year(5 crashes in one year) suddenly stopped.

This is what the great man that  Owei is now trying to denigrate and write about in such disdainful terms managed to achieve. You may not have liked Fani- Kayode’s style or even the nature of his job when he was at the Presidency but two things that you cannot take from him was firstly his brilliance and sheer eloquence when it came to his submissions and arguments and secondly his positive impact at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and then later at Aviation when he was appointed as a Minister.

And now to the main issue. So filled with hatred is Owei that he even seeks to deny Fani- Kayode the right to tell the world the truth about his fathers role in moving the motion for Nigeria’s independence. And Fani- Kayode is absolutely right on this and what he claimed can hardly be described as a tale as Owei is trying to suggest. The problem is that half education is the worst thing that can ever afflict anyone. As a matter of fact it is better not to be educated at all than to be half educated and to think that you know it all .

Owei should go and check Hansard of the late 50’s where all the proceedings that took place in Parliament in those days were recorded and read about what actually happened instead of relying on folktales and half truths. Luckily the British have kept such records even if we in Nigeria have refused to do so either  because we are incapable or because we are not interested in the truth but rather in falsehood and fabrication. Hansard confirms the fact that Enahoro attempted to move the motion in 1953 and it failed.

It confirms the fact that Chief S.L. Akintola successfully  moved the motion in 1957 in Parliament and argued that we should be granted independence in 1959.

The problem with Akintola’s motion however was that it was not accepted  by the British and consequently it failed as well and we did not get independence in 1959 as  Akintola  had wanted.  It was  not until 1958 when Chief Remi Fani- Kayode moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence in the Federal House, which he proposed should take place on April 2nd 1960 ,that it was not only successfully moved and accepted by Parliament but that it was also acquiesced to and accepted by  the British authorities.

There was a slight modification to the proposed month in 1959 when Sir Tafaewa Balewa moved a motion in Parliament that it should no longer be April 2nd 1960 but instead Oct. 1st,  That motion was seconded by Chief Raymond Njoku and it was accepted by Parliament and the British.

These are the facts that Fani-Kayode reiterated in his interview with Pointblanknews.com and they are incontrovertible. He also challenged his readers to go and read Richard  L. Sklar’s  book  (the respected American historian who was an authority  on the  politics of the 50’s and 60’s in Nigeria) titled “Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation” (pg.269). In his hatchet job Owei conveniently forgot to mention that reference and source. As a matter of fact he completely ignored it.

Now if Hansard is not to be believed by Owei and if Richard  L.Sklar is not good enough for him either, then perhaps Owei should go and read the respected Professor Sanya Onabamiro’s book titled “Perspectives on Nigeria’s History” (pg 140 )where again these facts and sequence of events were corroborated and confirmed. Professor Onabamiro was a big player in the politics of the 50’s and 60’s too and he should know.

It is a pity that people like Owei and I daresay countless others would go out of their way to distort the truth and attempt to pass off pure falsehood as truth all in an attempt to give the impression that no Fani-Kayode ever did anything good for Nigeria.

The most important  point  is that Femi Fani- Kayode, if nothing else, with his celebrated independence day interview with Pointblanknews.com(which was fully reproduced in the October2009 editions of  both the Nation and Leadership Newspapers) has successfully debunked the erroneous notion that Chief Anthony Enahoro successfully moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence, which sadly, is what most Nigerians believe.

Yet despite this Fani- Kayode was still very charitable to Enahoro by acknowledging the fact that he played a key role by beginning the process in 1953. Of course this was not enough for the likes of Owei: he just had to attempt to take him to the cleaners for setting the record straight and telling the truth.

If he had stopped there I would have given him the benefit of the doubt and attributed his rantings and inglorious submissions to nothing but a vulgar display of ignorance by a misguided writer. But no, it did not stop there but rather it got worse: this was a vicous hatchet job.

And Owei went even further than that. He actually attempted to pass off a quote by the late Oba Akran, a bitter  enemy of Chief Remi Fani- Kayode from a rival political party, as not only being an accurate and objective assessment of the man but also as a quote by the late Ladi Akintola, the son of the late Chief S.L Akintola.

Needless to say these were not Ladi Akintola’s own views about Chief Fani- Kayode: he simply quoted Oba Akran and if Owei expects that a man’s political enemies will say the best about him then he knows nothing about Nigerian politics. Owei adopted the same venal method when he quoted the respected Professor Wole Soyinka’s opinion of the late Fani-Kayode and  again the opinion of a less respected and notorious murderer and coup plotter by the name of Major Adewale Ademoyega, which the latter documented in his book.

But again Soyinka  was a political opponent of  Fani- Kayode and Ademoyega was a man that  had tried to kill him and who actually killed a number of other prominent people and their families in his attempt to take over Nigeria on January 15th 1966.

Does Owei really expect anyone to take the account of  a man like that (Ademoyega) seriously? And when armed men storm another man’s house looking for his life is it an act of bravery for the man to stay under his bed and attempt to hide under the sheets as Fani-Kayode refused to do or is  it not true courage for him to immediately get up and go outside and meet those that had come to take his life as Fani- Kayode did, apparently without any hesitation whatsoever.

And yet Owei calls him a coward for doing so and his only evidence of this apparent cowardice are the words of one or more of the mutineers all of whom have innocent blood on their hands? Again does Owei know what  military personnel and security people call disinformation?

Is it not obvious to him that the mutineers sought to justify their actions by painting their victims and prey and those they sought to kill as less than decent, honourable and courageous people? Is Owei so gullible or does it just suit his purpose to believe such drivel? In any case such was Chief Fani-Kayode’s impeccable english  and sheer eloquence that there is no way that he would have condescended to speaking pigeon english to anyone and certainly not to a bunch of bloodthirsty and wicked mutineers who had butchered and killed so many families that night.

The worst aspect of Ademoyega’s sordid tale is that he wasn’t even there to witness any of these events himself as he was not in Ibadan but in Lagos on that night where he was busying murdering General Maimalari his own commanding officer. Yet Femi Fani- Kayode was there himself and personally witnessed these events. Owei should not take the words and opinions of political opponents about one another too seriously and  he should not try to pass them off as truth or historical fact.

This is completely irresponsible and is the highest form of intellectual dishonesty. It is also against the ethics of journalism where they say that facts are sacred and opinion is cheap. I could also list the most wonderful things that people wrote about Chief Fani- Kayode in the 50’s and 60’s and publish them here but at best I would have to say that these were just the opinions of those that believed in him and that were on his side during that brutal and unfortunate conflict in the Western Region in the early sixties.

I would certainly not attempt to pass off these opinions as political and historical fact. Owei should learn from that. Again I could quote and give an account of many of the most uncharitable and unprintable things that the enemies of both Professor Soyinka and Major Ademoyega have said  about them in the past right here but that does not make such submissions necessarily true.

These are just the opinions of their opponents and the minute anyone starts regarding such opinions as being completely true and sacrosanct then they really are in danger  of being misled and of sounding absurd. If Owei believes that Chief Remi Fani- Kayode was a murderer,  arsonist, fascist, coward  and everything else under the sun he is entitled to his opinion but he surely does not expect that everyone will share his view. Worst still he cannot expect Chief Fani- Kayode’s most prominent and distinguished son not to set the record straight and tell the whole world about what he sees as his father’s positive and distinguished role in Nigeria’s history.

Owei cannot deny him that right, he cannot intimidate him or anyone else into silence and neither can he pass off lies, slander and falsehood of the most vindictive and vicious type as historical fact. It is no wonder that this country has not progressed when those that fought so hard and sacrificed so much for our nation’s independence are still being denigrated as a consequence of hatred and envy and an ancient political feud within the Action Group.

In my view Chief Remi Fani-Kayode was one of the greatest and most distinguished men that Nigeria has ever produced. A man that excelled in the legal profession and a man that represented the Action Group in Parliament throughout the 1950’s and who later went on to play a key role in the NCNC and NNDP.

During the early fifties and before going into Parliament this man was the National Youth Leader of the Action Group and by the early sixties after he decamped to the NCNC he was immediately elected as the Leader of the opposition in the Western House of Assembly. He later formed the NNDP Party with Chief S.L  Akintola and from there he was elected Deputy Premier of the Western Region.

Again  during the fight for independence Chief Fani-Kayode was locked up a number of times by the British Colonial authorities  and again later by the military regime of General Ironsi. We should revere such selfless men that have paid such a heavy price and given so much to this nation even if we were not on the same side as them politically and Owei should show a little more respect and decorum.

It is a pity that I do not know who or what his father was or is otherwise I could have done a nice piece on him too. Sadly though I have never heard of the man. Historical revisionists and bitter men like Owei should give peace a chance and allow the bitter wounds and political divisions of the past to heal.

And if his diatribe is an attempt to stop Femi Fani- Kayode from running for the governorship of Osun in 2011 or to deter him from continuing to set the record straight about the noble role that his father played in the politics and legal profession of Nigeria from the 50’s up until 1995 when he passed on, then Owei has made a grave miscalculation and clearly does not know the man.

His father was a lawyer, a great politician, a former Minister for Local Government Affairs in the government of the old western region and the powerful Deputy Premier of the Western region.

The son is also a lawyer, a great politician, a former Presidential Spokesman and a former Minister of Culture and Tourism and later Aviation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  He is now aspiring to be governor of his state.

That is no mean achievement and it would take more than a million Owei Lakemfa’s and their poisonous pens to destroy that type of rugged and courageous stock. People are just too enlightened and educated to buy into that type of negativity and propaganda nowadays.

My suggestion to Owei? Please stop wasting your time trying to destroy political dynasties and other peoples families: instead use your pen to build up people and to tell the truth.

That is a far more gratifying ,productive and rewarding vocation and that is what we expect from the likes of you.

Chuks Akunna

Abuja


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/11/25/re-fani-kayode-the-lies-and-distortions-of-owei-lakemfa/

By Emmanuel Ajibulu

So much has been said and written about Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode (Fani- Power) the former Deputy Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria in the last few decades but the truth is that outside the usual negative propaganda and historical distortions very little is actually known or appreciated about his massive contribution to both Nigeria's legal and political history. Even less is known about the rich and illustrious social, political and legal heritage from which he comes. This article is an attempt to give an insight into whom this man really was and to let people know about the notable contributions that he made to our history.

I have done a lot of research as a prelude to a biography that I am writing on�this great man and here I seek to present just a few of the historical facts as confirmed by a number of literary and historical sources. Here I am not too interested in opinions or who was politically right or wrong but only in historical facts about a man whom I believe is truly one of the greatest and most brilliant minds that this country has ever known. I believe that part of our problem in Nigeria is that for political reasons we distort everything including our own history and we tend to attribute the worst to those that we perceive to have been on the wrong side of any political divide. Well here I am not interested in politics but only in history and this article will be the first in a series that I am writing on each and everyone of Nigeria's most prominent elder statesmen. Most of them have gone now and are not here to defend and explain themselves. I believe out of the biggest players in the 50's and 60's only Alhaji Inuwa Wada and Alhaji Maitama Sule who are both interestingly enough from Kano are still alive. It is left to us then to do the research and to unearth the facts and let the new and up and coming generation of Nigerians know who these great men really were and what they managed to achieve before answering the divine great call.

Chief Remilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode, Q.C., S.A.N, C.O.N (1921-1995) was a leading Nigerian nationalist, elder-statesman, lawyer and politician. He was elected Deputy Premier of the Western region of Nigeria in 1963 and he played a major role in Nigeria's legal history and politics from the late 1940's right up until 1995. He hails from a prominent and well educated Yoruba family who are of Ife stock from South-Western Nigeria. His grandfather Rev. Emmanuel Adedapo Kayode was an Anglican Priest who had got his Master of Arts (Durham) degree from Fourah Bay College which at that time was part of Durham University and his father Victor Adedapo Kayode studied law at Cambridge University and went on to become a prominent lawyer and then a judge in Nigeria. His mother was Mrs. Aurora Kayode (nee Fanimokun) who was the daughter of the respected Rev. Joseph Fanimokun who had also been an Anglican priest, and had also got his Master of Arts (Durham) degree from Fourah Bay College and later became the Principal of the famous CMS Grammer School in Lagos from 1896 to 1914. After finishing at the famous Kings College in Lagos Remilekun Kayode was so close to his mother that he attached the prefix of her maiden name (Fani) to his father's name and that was how the name "Fani-Kayode" was created. Remilekun Fani- Kayode went to Cambridge University (Downing College) in 1941 after which he did the British Bar examinations where he came top in his year for the whole of the British Commonwealth. He was called to The British Bar at Middle Temple in 1945 and he went on to be appointed Queens Counsel (Q.C.) in 1960 (he was the third and youngest Nigerian ever to be made Q.C) and later Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1977 (he was the third Nigerian to be made a SAN). He set up the first Indigeneous Nigerian Law Firm in 1948 with Chief Frederick Rotimi Williams and Chief Bode Thomas who were also both lawyers who had been trained at Cambridge and London University respectively. The law firm was called "Thomas, Williams and Kayode". Remilekun Fani-Kayode played a major role in the struggle for Nigeria's Independence. In 1952 he, together with Rotimi Williams, Bode Thomas and a number of others were all detained by the British colonial authorities for the very active and passionate role that they played in the struggle against the British. He was elected the leader of the Action Group youth wing in 1954. He set up a formidable, militant and combative youth wing for the party who wore "black shirts" and used the "mosquito" as their emblem in order to reflect their disdain for British colonial rule. Again in 1954, he was elected into the Federal House of Assembly on the platform of Chief Obafemi Awolowo's Action Group and he continued his fight for Nigeria's Independence from there. He made eloquent, moving and passionate submissions on both national and International issues from the floor of the house. He was the Assistant Federal Secretary of the Action Group and in that respect played a pivotal role, with the Federal Secretary, the late Chief Ayo Rosiji, in the organisation and adminstration of the Action Group. He, alongside with Chief Awolowo, S. O. Ighodaro, E. O. Eyo, Adeyemi Lawson and S. G. Ikoku represented the Action Group at the 1957 London Constitutional Conference. This conference was mainly concerned with the revision of the 1954 constitution. Amongst their major achievements at this conference was the granting of self-government to western Nigeria. In 1957 he led the team of Action Group lawyers who represented and fought for the people of the Northern minorities at the Willinks minorities Commission in their quest for the creation of a middle belt region which would have been carved out of the old Northern Region of Nigeria. In July 1958 he successfully moved the motion for Nigeria's independence in the Federal House of Assembly. He argued that independence should take place on April 2nd 1960 (the minutes of Hansard, 1958; Richard Sklar's "Nigeria's political parties:Power in an Emergent African Nation",World Press,p6.269; pg269;Professor Onabamiro's "Perspectives on Nigeria's History" pg140).

It was accepted by the House and the motion was successfully moved. However the British appealed for a delay of 6 months and consequently in August 1960 Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister, moved another motion calling for a minor amendment to the original 1958 motion. He argued that the year 1960 should be retained as the year for independence as originally moved by Remilekun Fani-Kayode but that the month for that independence should be October. The motion for this minor amendment was seconded by Raymond Njoku, who was the Minister of Transport, and it was successful. That was how October 1st 1960 was agreed upon as the date for Nigeria's independence from Britain. In 1959 Remilekun Fani-Kayode resigned from the Action Group and joined the ( N. C. N. C) National Council of Nigeria and Cameroons, opposition party. In 1960 he was elected the leader of the N. C. N. C party in the Western House of Assembly. In 1963 he was elected Deputy Premier of the old Western region of Nigeria under Chief Samuel Akintola on the platform of the N. N. D. P party. He was also appointed Minister of Local Government Affairs for the Western Region in that same year. Again in 1963, he was conferred with the title of Balogun (Leader of the Warriors) of Ife by one of the most senior traditional rulers in Nigeria, His Royal Majesty Oba (Sir) Adesoji Aderemi, the late Ooni of Ife.

After the first ever military coup in Nigeria on January 15th 1966 Remilekun Fani-Kayode together with a number of other notable figures were all detained by the military government of General Aguiyi-Ironsi. They were later released. In July 1966 , after the northern counter-coup, led by Murtala Mohammed and Theophillus Danjuma and after Yakubu Gowon became Nigeria's Head of state, Remilekun Fani-Kayode left Nigeria with his whole family and moved to the seaside resort town of Brighton in South Eastern England. They set up home and lived there in exile, for many years. In 1978 he was one of those that founded and pioneered the National Party of Nigeria (N. P. N). In 1979 he was elected to the position of the National Vice Chairman of that party and in recognition of his contribution to national development he was conferred with the honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (C. O. N) by President Shehu Shagari.

In the mid-70's Remilekun Fani-Kayode was commissioned as a lay preacher of the Anglican Church (Christ Church Cathedral, Marina, Lagos) and later on in life he became an active and leading member of the Pentecostal / Evangelical movement in Nigeria. After the annulment of Chief Moshood Abiola's presidential election on June 12th 1993, Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode was one of those who openly wrote about and spoke out strongly against the annulment. He even went to court over the issue. In 1994 he was appointed into the Justice Kayode Eso panel of inquiry which effectively probed and helped to sanitize the Nigerian judiciary and rid it of corrupt judges.

Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode got married to Chief Mrs Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode (nee Sa'id), whose mother Alhaja Agbeke Sa'id (nee Williams), was the daughter of the famous Alhaji Isa Williams, one of the greatest and wealthiest muslim leaders and businessmen in Lagos in his day. Her first cousin, the late Justice Atanda Fatai-Williams, was a colleague of her husband, Remilekun Fani-Kayode, at Cambridge University and he went on to become the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983. Her father, Alhaji Nurudeen Sa'id was a civil servant from Ilesa, south western, Nigeria. Their daughter Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode became a devout and practising christian before getting married to Remilekun Fani Kayode and later became a leading member of the Pentecostal/Evangelical church. The two of them had five children: Akinola Adedapo Fani-Kayode, Rotimi Fani-Kayode (the famous photographer and artist who passed on in 1989), Chief Femi Fani-Kayode (who has been very active in politics for a number of years now, who was spokesman to President Olusegun Obasanjo and Minister of Culture and Tourism and later Aviation respectively and who has now stated his intention to run for the governorship position of Osun state in 2011), Toyin Fani-Kayode (Mrs Bajela) and Tolu Fani-Kayode (Mrs Fanning). Femi Fani-Kayode was the third child and the youngest son of his parents. Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode also had five other children: Aina Fani-Kayode (Mrs Ogunbe), Remilekun Junior Fani-Kayode (who was married to Nana Akuffo-Addo, the Oxford-trained Ghanian lawyer and politician, former Attorney-General and former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ghana and the leading presidential candidate for the 2008 presidential election in Ghana. They have two children but they were later divorced), Lola Fani-Kayode (the famous film producer who was actually his neice but was adopted by him from birth and raised as his own daughter), Tokunbo Fani-Kayode, Ladipo Fani-Kayode and he has over 30 grandchildren.

From all the facts that I have listed here very few can dispute the contention that the Fani-Kayodes as a family are truly of remarkable stock. They are a family of achievers and they appear to be irrepressible. Again it is very clear to me that with all his contributions to our history Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode has not been sufficiently celebrated in this country. As a matter of fact instead he has been brutally and in my view unfairly and unduly vilified and insulted without a proper regard to all the relevant facts. Well everyone is entitled to their opinion but as far as this author is concerned the record is clear and the facts speak for themselves. Fani-Kayode's contributions to the legal, political and social history of this country (Nigeria) were simply astounding. He was an illustrious scion of an equally illustrious family and whether anyone likes it or not it would be next to impossible to tarnish and destroy such a man or such a family and to attempt to consign them to the dustbin of history.


http://modernghana.com/news/251696/1/chief-remi-fani-kayode-the-facts-and-not-the-ficti.html

By Chuks Akunna.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/11/25/re-fani-kayode-the-lies-and-distortions-of-owei-lakemfa/

The bitterness and hatred with which Owei Lakemfa wrote his piece (titled “Fani-Kayode: Tales  His Father Told Him,” The Vanguard Newspaper, Nov 25th 2009) about Chief Femi Fani- Kayode and his late and highly respected father, the Balogun of Ife, Chief R.A Fani- Kayode Q.C., S.A.N, C.O.N clearly reveals the fact that he cannot be regarded as an impartial columnist who seeks to establish the truth but rather he can be seen more in the light of a subjective and venom- filled commentator who is on a hatchet job for unseen forces.

Let me start by saying that it is most uncharitable for a columnist to not only be intellectually dishonest but to try to foist his cheap and biased opinions on others by taking advantage of the fact that he has a column is absolutely despicable. He not only seeks to spread falsehood here but he also seeks to continue to perpetuate and spread age-old myths about some of our elder statesmen, nationalists and founding fathers and thereby bury them in the dustbin of history. What people like him fail to appreciate is the fact that a lie, no matter how often repeated, can never be the truth.

I will ignore the vicious comments that he made about Fani-Kayode the younger and the role that he played in Obasanjo’s government. Needless to say I do not share his petty views or his penchant for vitriol. What I will say however is that in my view Femi Fani-Kayode was not only an effective spokesman for President Olusegun Obasanjo but he was also an excellent Minister who is presently facing all manner of persecution  from the Yar’adua government  due to his proximity to Obasanjo and due to the fact that he presents a very real threat to the ambitions of a former senator  who was accused of the murder of Chief Bola Ige  and who sees Fani-Kayode as the only threat to his governorship bid for Osun state.

I do not believe for one minute that Fani- Kayode did anything wrong whilst in office and I believe that just as this government is seeking to destroy Obasanjo, Nuhu Ribadu and Nasir El Rufai, so they are trying to destroy him.

I remember very clearly how terrible it was to fly in this country before he was redeployed to the Ministry of  Aviation and how when he got there all the plane crashes that had taken place before then and in the previous year(5 crashes in one year) suddenly stopped.

This is what the great man that  Owei is now trying to denigrate and write about in such disdainful terms managed to achieve. You may not have liked Fani- Kayode’s style or even the nature of his job when he was at the Presidency but two things that you cannot take from him was firstly his brilliance and sheer eloquence when it came to his submissions and arguments and secondly his positive impact at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and then later at Aviation when he was appointed as a Minister.

And now to the main issue. So filled with hatred is Owei that he even seeks to deny Fani- Kayode the right to tell the world the truth about his fathers role in moving the motion for Nigeria’s independence. And Fani- Kayode is absolutely right on this and what he claimed can hardly be described as a tale as Owei is trying to suggest. The problem is that half education is the worst thing that can ever afflict anyone. As a matter of fact it is better not to be educated at all than to be half educated and to think that you know it all .

Owei should go and check Hansard of the late 50’s where all the proceedings that took place in Parliament in those days were recorded and read about what actually happened instead of relying on folktales and half truths. Luckily the British have kept such records even if we in Nigeria have refused to do so either  because we are incapable or because we are not interested in the truth but rather in falsehood and fabrication. Hansard confirms the fact that Enahoro attempted to move the motion in 1953 and it failed.

It confirms the fact that Chief S.L. Akintola successfully  moved the motion in 1957 in Parliament and argued that we should be granted independence in 1959.

The problem with Akintola’s motion however was that it was not accepted  by the British and consequently it failed as well and we did not get independence in 1959 as  Akintola  had wanted.  It was  not until 1958 when Chief Remi Fani- Kayode moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence in the Federal House, which he proposed should take place on April 2nd 1960 ,that it was not only successfully moved and accepted by Parliament but that it was also acquiesced to and accepted by  the British authorities.

There was a slight modification to the proposed month in 1959 when Sir Tafaewa Balewa moved a motion in Parliament that it should no longer be April 2nd 1960 but instead Oct. 1st,  That motion was seconded by Chief Raymond Njoku and it was accepted by Parliament and the British.

These are the facts that Fani-Kayode reiterated in his interview with Pointblanknews.com and they are incontrovertible. He also challenged his readers to go and read Richard  L. Sklar’s  book  (the respected American historian who was an authority  on the  politics of the 50’s and 60’s in Nigeria) titled “Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation” (pg.269). In his hatchet job Owei conveniently forgot to mention that reference and source. As a matter of fact he completely ignored it.

Now if Hansard is not to be believed by Owei and if Richard  L.Sklar is not good enough for him either, then perhaps Owei should go and read the respected Professor Sanya Onabamiro’s book titled “Perspectives on Nigeria’s History” (pg 140 )where again these facts and sequence of events were corroborated and confirmed. Professor Onabamiro was a big player in the politics of the 50’s and 60’s too and he should know.

It is a pity that people like Owei and I daresay countless others would go out of their way to distort the truth and attempt to pass off pure falsehood as truth all in an attempt to give the impression that no Fani-Kayode ever did anything good for Nigeria.

The most important  point  is that Femi Fani- Kayode, if nothing else, with his celebrated independence day interview with Pointblanknews.com(which was fully reproduced in the October2009 editions of  both the Nation and Leadership Newspapers) has successfully debunked the erroneous notion that Chief Anthony Enahoro successfully moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence, which sadly, is what most Nigerians believe.

Yet despite this Fani- Kayode was still very charitable to Enahoro by acknowledging the fact that he played a key role by beginning the process in 1953. Of course this was not enough for the likes of Owei: he just had to attempt to take him to the cleaners for setting the record straight and telling the truth.

If he had stopped there I would have given him the benefit of the doubt and attributed his rantings and inglorious submissions to nothing but a vulgar display of ignorance by a misguided writer. But no, it did not stop there but rather it got worse: this was a vicous hatchet job.

And Owei went even further than that. He actually attempted to pass off a quote by the late Oba Akran, a bitter  enemy of Chief Remi Fani- Kayode from a rival political party, as not only being an accurate and objective assessment of the man but also as a quote by the late Ladi Akintola, the son of the late Chief S.L Akintola.

Needless to say these were not Ladi Akintola’s own views about Chief Fani- Kayode: he simply quoted Oba Akran and if Owei expects that a man’s political enemies will say the best about him then he knows nothing about Nigerian politics. Owei adopted the same venal method when he quoted the respected Professor Wole Soyinka’s opinion of the late Fani-Kayode and  again the opinion of a less respected and notorious murderer and coup plotter by the name of Major Adewale Ademoyega, which the latter documented in his book.

But again Soyinka  was a political opponent of  Fani- Kayode and Ademoyega was a man that  had tried to kill him and who actually killed a number of other prominent people and their families in his attempt to take over Nigeria on January 15th 1966.

Does Owei really expect anyone to take the account of  a man like that (Ademoyega) seriously? And when armed men storm another man’s house looking for his life is it an act of bravery for the man to stay under his bed and attempt to hide under the sheets as Fani-Kayode refused to do or is  it not true courage for him to immediately get up and go outside and meet those that had come to take his life as Fani- Kayode did, apparently without any hesitation whatsoever.

And yet Owei calls him a coward for doing so and his only evidence of this apparent cowardice are the words of one or more of the mutineers all of whom have innocent blood on their hands? Again does Owei know what  military personnel and security people call disinformation?

Is it not obvious to him that the mutineers sought to justify their actions by painting their victims and prey and those they sought to kill as less than decent, honourable and courageous people? Is Owei so gullible or does it just suit his purpose to believe such drivel? In any case such was Chief Fani-Kayode’s impeccable english  and sheer eloquence that there is no way that he would have condescended to speaking pigeon english to anyone and certainly not to a bunch of bloodthirsty and wicked mutineers who had butchered and killed so many families that night.

The worst aspect of Ademoyega’s sordid tale is that he wasn’t even there to witness any of these events himself as he was not in Ibadan but in Lagos on that night where he was busying murdering General Maimalari his own commanding officer. Yet Femi Fani- Kayode was there himself and personally witnessed these events. Owei should not take the words and opinions of political opponents about one another too seriously and  he should not try to pass them off as truth or historical fact.

This is completely irresponsible and is the highest form of intellectual dishonesty. It is also against the ethics of journalism where they say that facts are sacred and opinion is cheap. I could also list the most wonderful things that people wrote about Chief Fani- Kayode in the 50’s and 60’s and publish them here but at best I would have to say that these were just the opinions of those that believed in him and that were on his side during that brutal and unfortunate conflict in the Western Region in the early sixties.

I would certainly not attempt to pass off these opinions as political and historical fact. Owei should learn from that. Again I could quote and give an account of many of the most uncharitable and unprintable things that the enemies of both Professor Soyinka and Major Ademoyega have said  about them in the past right here but that does not make such submissions necessarily true.

These are just the opinions of their opponents and the minute anyone starts regarding such opinions as being completely true and sacrosanct then they really are in danger  of being misled and of sounding absurd. If Owei believes that Chief Remi Fani- Kayode was a murderer,  arsonist, fascist, coward  and everything else under the sun he is entitled to his opinion but he surely does not expect that everyone will share his view. Worst still he cannot expect Chief Fani- Kayode’s most prominent and distinguished son not to set the record straight and tell the whole world about what he sees as his father’s positive and distinguished role in Nigeria’s history.

Owei cannot deny him that right, he cannot intimidate him or anyone else into silence and neither can he pass off lies, slander and falsehood of the most vindictive and vicious type as historical fact. It is no wonder that this country has not progressed when those that fought so hard and sacrificed so much for our nation’s independence are still being denigrated as a consequence of hatred and envy and an ancient political feud within the Action Group.

In my view Chief Remi Fani-Kayode was one of the greatest and most distinguished men that Nigeria has ever produced. A man that excelled in the legal profession and a man that represented the Action Group in Parliament throughout the 1950’s and who later went on to play a key role in the NCNC and NNDP.

During the early fifties and before going into Parliament this man was the National Youth Leader of the Action Group and by the early sixties after he decamped to the NCNC he was immediately elected as the Leader of the opposition in the Western House of Assembly. He later formed the NNDP Party with Chief S.L  Akintola and from there he was elected Deputy Premier of the Western Region.

Again  during the fight for independence Chief Fani-Kayode was locked up a number of times by the British Colonial authorities  and again later by the military regime of General Ironsi. We should revere such selfless men that have paid such a heavy price and given so much to this nation even if we were not on the same side as them politically and Owei should show a little more respect and decorum.

It is a pity that I do not know who or what his father was or is otherwise I could have done a nice piece on him too. Sadly though I have never heard of the man. Historical revisionists and bitter men like Owei should give peace a chance and allow the bitter wounds and political divisions of the past to heal.

And if his diatribe is an attempt to stop Femi Fani- Kayode from running for the governorship of Osun in 2011 or to deter him from continuing to set the record straight about the noble role that his father played in the politics and legal profession of Nigeria from the 50’s up until 1995 when he passed on, then Owei has made a grave miscalculation and clearly does not know the man.

His father was a lawyer, a great politician, a former Minister for Local Government Affairs in the government of the old western region and the powerful Deputy Premier of the Western region.

The son is also a lawyer, a great politician, a former Presidential Spokesman and a former Minister of Culture and Tourism and later Aviation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  He is now aspiring to be governor of his state.

That is no mean achievement and it would take more than a million Owei Lakemfa’s and their poisonous pens to destroy that type of rugged and courageous stock. People are just too enlightened and educated to buy into that type of negativity and propaganda nowadays.

My suggestion to Owei? Please stop wasting your time trying to destroy political dynasties and other peoples families: instead use your pen to build up people and to tell the truth.

That is a far more gratifying ,productive and rewarding vocation and that is what we expect from the likes of you.

Chuks Akunna

Abuja

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/11/25/re-fani-kayode-the-lies-and-distortions-of-owei-lakemfa/

ThisDay, October 24

Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State yesterday continued the sale of Expression of Intention forms to its 2011 gubernatorial aspirants as Senator Iyiola Omisore and the former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode paid N3 million to purchase the forms.
The Secretary to the Osun State Government, Alhaji Fatai Akinade Akinbade had equally paid N3 million for his form.
However THISDAY gathered yesterday that PDP chieftains in the state were not present when Omisore came-calling.
It was also gathered that Omisore's supporters were allegedly unruly as they poured water on passers-by, saying it typified baptism. People in return poured expletives on them.
Shortly after Omisore's departure, Fani-Kayode paid for his nomination form at the state party secretariat.
But the national leadership of the PDP has described the sale of Expression of Intention forms to aspirants for the 2011 election in the state as fraudulent and vowed to investigate unauthorised collection of money from aspirants.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali said: "As far as the PDP is concerned, we are not aware of any plans or any selection of candidates for 2011. We have not reached that point. So we are even surprised that somebody will allow himself to be fooled."It is fraudulent, I think whoever is behind this should stop it because we are going to investigate it to know those behind the act."
"I want to alert our members nationwide that so far PDP has not commenced the sale of forms for 2011 under whatever guise except the case of Anambra which has been disposed off recently. Please let people be alert, they should not allow themselves to be duped by 419 elements. They should be careful and not allow themselves to be lured into this inglorious act."
The party in the state had issued its own guidelines to aspirants interested in contesting the party primaries for 2011 without recourse to the national secretariat of the party. Part of the requirements issued by the chapter is the payment of prescribed fees for the collection of "Form of Intention" ranging from N100,000 to N3 million.
Prospective aspirants for gubernatorial primaries were billed N3 million; senatorial aspirants, N2 million while aspirants for House of Representatives are to part with N1 million. Also, aspirants interested in contesting the State House of Assembly and local government chairmanship primaries are to payN500,000 each while councillorship aspirants are to pay N100,000.
"Form of Intention" through Oshogbo branch of United Bank for Africa (UBA).

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=157888

Nigeria should indeed be elated to have Femi Fani-Kayode as one of its citizens who have done the country proud in no small measure. The genius was born on 16th October 1960 to Chief Remilekun Adetokunbo Fani-Kayode and to Chief (Mrs) Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode. Accordingly the little infant of those years was christened as David Oluwafemi Adewunmi Fani-Kayode.

From records of facts Chief Femi Fani-Kayode loves reading modern and ancient literature, playing polo, practicing karate, watching rugby and boxing, studying eschatology, studying European history, philosophy and literature, writing articles and poems, breeding and raising high pedigree guard dogs and shooting; in addition is on the famous social network (FACEBOOK). He speaks Yoruba, English and several other languages very fluently. He is an orator, public speaker and an optimist . Femi Fani-Kayode is happily married to Mrs. Regina Fani-Kayode (nee Hanson-Amonoo) from a distinguished Ghanian family and who is a pastor and a rising figure in the intercessionary ministry of the Pentecostal/Evangelical church.

God in his infinite mercy blessed his marriage with a beautiful daughter; Remi Fani-Kayode. Femi Fani- Kayode has 4 other daughters. The first, Folake (who is a graduate of Durham University) is a product of his first marriage to Saratu Attah, a distinguished Ghanian politician and businesswoman and the daughter of Alhaji Adamu Atta the former Governor of Kwara state. The other 3 daughters whose names are Temitope, Tobiloba and Tumininu came from another woman with whom he used to be briefly associated.

To those who do not know Femi Fani Kayode is a British trained lawyer, with enviable political pedigree and dogged stand for genuine activism for the realization of true democracy which eventually dove-tail to what Nigeria currently have in place (10 years of uninterrupted democracy 1999-to date). Femi Fani-Kayode went into self-exile and pitched his tent with the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) abroad, together with the likes of the Oxford-trained lawyer Chief Tunde Edu and others. Apart from these rare virtues, he still finds time to commune with God, he is an Evangelical Christian, essayist, a poet and he was the Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 until June 2006.

Consequently when his overwhelming achievements became a so glaring to Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, which even overshadowed that of the Minister of Information that time; a minor cabinet re-shuffle was done same year he was re-deployed and was appointed as the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from June 22nd to Nov 7th 2006 and subsequently as Minister of Aviation from Nov 7th 2006 to May 29th 2007.

After the successful completion of his programme in law school in the year1985, Femi Fani-Kayode worked in the law firm of Chief Rotimi Williams in Lagos after which he moved to his father's Law Firm "Fani- Kayode and Sowemimo". There he worked under the direct tutelage of his father and his uncle, the late and highly respected Chief Sobo Sowemimo S.A.N (whose older brother, the late Justice George Sodeinde Sowemimo, was the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1983 to 1985). Other notable personalities that were trained at this great law firm include Chief Robert Clarke S.A.N, Alhaji Femi Okunnu S.A.N, Seyi Sowemimo S.A.N Justice Moni Fafiade, Justice Niyi Ademola, Chief Kunle Alex-Duduyemi (the wealthy businessman from Ile-Ife, South-Western Nigeria who Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode mentored and trained), the Oxford-trained and brilliant Gbolahun Alastishe, the Cambridge-trained Abba Kyari (who later later became the managing director of one of Nigeria's largest banks), the Cambridge-trained Funke Aboyade, the Durham-trained Femi Lijadu and many other senior members of both the Nigerian Bar and bench. After working there for three years Femi Fani-Kayode was promoted to the position of a senior partner in 1989.

Some have argued that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is the best man for the position of Chief Executive Officer of Osun State after the tenure expiration of the current leadership. However, his wealth of knowledge and experience in the legal profession as well as his human rights activism, with his additional indelible achievements in the field of politics could seemingly afford him that position in Osun State (OSUN STATE GOVERNOR). Of course he is a man that enjoys undoubted support from his people both home and abroad, even the royal fathers will not take his issue with levity. Indeed he is one of Nigeria's best brand ever produced. Happy Birthday to you Chief FFK.

For more info about Femi Fani-Kayode please visit: http://www.femifanikayode.org/index.html


http://www.modernghana.com/news/244338/1/femi-fani-kayode-a-resourceful-icon-at-49.html

http://www.pointblanknews.com/os2240.html

Born 16 days after Nigeria’s independence to Chief Remilekun Adetokunbo Fani-Kayode and Mrs. Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode, also a chief, Femi Fani-Kayode means different things to different people. In the early 1880s, when very Nigerians could boast of the ability to scribble A,B,C, Femi’s great-grandfather, The Reverend Emmanuel Adedapo Kayode had already acquired a Master of Arts Degree from Durham University. By 1920, his grandfather, Victor Adedapo Kayode had obtained a masters degree in law at the prestigious Cambridge University. By 1941, Femi’s father, Remilekun Fani- Kayode took after his father by enrolling in Cambridge University. After obtaining an honours degree in law, Remilekun made history by becoming the best graduating student in the British Bar examinations in the whole of the British Commonwealth. In 1954 , Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode was elected into the Federal House of Assembly on the platform of the now defunct Action Group. In 1963 he was elected Deputy Premier of the old Western region of Nigeria under Chief Samuel Akintola in addition to another appointment as Minister of Local Government Affairs for the Western Region. Shortly after the military coup that sacked the First Republic, Femi Fani-Kayode moved to England. After going through public schools he obtained a degree in law from the same Cambridge University where his father and grandfather attended, making him one of the few Nigerian families with three generation of Cambridge graduates.

Even though he served as Ministers of Culture and Tourism and Aviation, the six-footer and British-accented Femi is perhaps most remembered for his role as Special Assistant on Public Affairs to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Hardly any day passed without Femi having to join issues with critics of the Obasanjo administration. The role, no doubt, earned him a lot of enemies and few admirers.

Since leaving government in May 2007, apart from a case between him and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the alleged misappropriation of certain aviation funds, very little has been heard from Femi Fani-Kayode. It was therefore an uphill task getting Femi to talk. Our joy, therefore, knew no bounds when we got a call from Fani-Kayode’s media assistant, Mr. Bayo Oladeji, that his boss was now disposed to granting us an exclusive interview. It was Femi in his element….

In a few days, Nigeria shall be celebrating her 49th independence anniversary. Incidentally, you were said to have been born 16 days after Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960. How do you feel?

Blessed be the name of the most high God, the God who is I am and the God, whom I serve, blessed be his holy name forever. Well, we give God the glory. I thank him that I am a Nigerian. I thank him for giving me life up till this time. I pray he continues to give me life and health for as long as it pleases him. I’m very thankful for being around to witness yet another birthday of Nigeria, and mine too.

Your website femifanikayode.org claims your father; Chief Remi Fani-Kayode of blessed memory moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence. Records however have it that it was Chief Anthony Enahoro that moved that historic motion. Now, what is the correct position? Who actually did what?

Well, the truth is that, my father was one of those who moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence. A lot of people don’t know the truth behind the events that preceded Nigeria’s independence because they have simply failed to check the Hansard of our parliament in the 1950s, which is the official record of all proceedings in parliament. I shall tell you how events unfolded and, of course, it is left for you to go and cross-check. Chief Anthony Enahoro is one of the greatest politicians that this country has ever known. He undoubtedly opened the door for the beginning of the process for Nigeria’s independence. Nobody can take anything from him on that score. He played an extremely important role, no doubt. But his was only a first step in a series of steps before we got our independence. In 1953, Chief Enahoro moved a motion that Nigeria should be granted independence in 1956. But the Northern (NPC) parliamentarians opposed the motion and killed it. The killing of the motion by the Northern lawmakers led to the walk-out of parliament by members of the Action Group and NCNC which were both parties that were made up of southerners. The Action Group and NCNC members in parliament felt that the North had betrayed the Nigerian cause by not supporting Enahoro’s motion for independence. The British, who were then our colonial masters, also rejected the motion, thereby sealing its fate. So the motion by Chief Enahoro failed, having been rejected by the North and by the British. But it started a process. As a consequence of the walk-out, as the Northern MPs came out of the Parliament they were abused and insulted and were pelted by enraged Southerners up till the time their train got to Ilorin. This was the first major political crisis that Nigeria witnessed. One of the key Northerners who complained about the stones being hurled at them at the time was the father of the current President, Umaru Yar’ Adua, whose name was Alhaji Musa Yar’ Adua who was minister of Lagos Affairs at that time. In 1957, Chief SL Akintola moved another motion that Nigeria be granted independence in 1959. This time around, the House unanimously accepted the motion. The only problem was that, the British rejected it. And so it died. The next stage was that in 1958, my father, Chief R.A. Fani-Kayode moved the third motion for Nigeria’s independence. His motion stated that Nigeria should be granted independence on April 2, 1960. It sailed through Parliament and was accepted and it was supported by the British. However in 1959, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa moved to amend the motion by my father that, instead of granting Nigeria independence on April 1, 1960, that the date should be shifted to October 1instead. This amendment, which was seconded by Chief Raymond Njoku, was accepted by the House and the British acquiesced to it. So looking at the process of Nigeria’s independence, there were actually four steps and a number of people must be commended for that. Chief Enahoro kick-started the process, Chief Akintola and my father continued it, and it was completed by Sir Tafawa Balewa. A number of people from virtually all the geo-political zones were involved in this process and it is good for Nigerians to be aware of this. All of this is recorded in Hansard, which I saw in the Colonial office in Britain. They should have it in the National Assembly library as well. It is very interesting to read all the documentation and see exactly what everybody said, what they contributed, how they said it and what the arguments were. There is also an American writer, called Richard L. Sklar, whose book is the leading authority on the politics of Nigeria in the 1950s and 60s. The title of the book is “Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation” and it is a must read for anyone that is interested in Nigerian politics of the 1950s and 1960s.

What was it like growing up as the son of Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode , the great Fani Power and the powerful Deputy Premier of the Western Region?

It was an extraordinary and wonderful experience growing up as the son of my father because he cared very much for his family in a very sort of traditional and very regimented and disciplined way. And he expected us to meet the standards set by those who came before us in my family. You were expected to do well in whatever you did. But it also had its’ problems and challenges, for example, it is not everybody that would ever wish to wake up in the middle of the night to see his father being forcefully taken away by soldiers. I had to go through that at the age of six.

You were about six years old when the military struck in what passed as the first coup d’état in Nigeria. Do you have any memories of that fateful night of January 15, 1966?

On that fateful night of January the 15 th, 1966, every single politician and officer that was taken by the coupists, apart from my dad, was tragically and sadly murdered. Sirs Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa, Chiefs S.L. Akintola, Festus Okotie Eboh-were all killed. Brigadier S.A Ademulegun, his wife (who was eight months pregnant), Brigadier Maimalari and many other officers and politicians were also killed. But that night, due to the hand of God, my father, instead of being killed at home before our very eyes, was taken to an army barracks in Lagos which had not been captured by the coupists. I believe that it was Bonny Camp. He was part of a very fierce gun battle between the coupists and the federal troops in that barracks. He was in the middle of the room in which the bitter exchange of gun fire took place. He was tied up and he was sitting in the middle of the room and any of those thousands of bullets flying around him could have killed him. But God spared his life and I thank him for that. That experience in itself was very traumatic and it was a defining moment for me. It had a profound effect on me in terms of my attitude to protecting my family, protecting myself, and the need to stay strong, focused and battle ready when faced with danger no matter the circumstance. It taught me that God is all powerful and will be there to see you through no matter what. I’ve had many, many challenges since then. Many whilst I was at school and after I left school. Many when I came back to Nigeria. Many before I went into government, many whilst I was in government and many since I left government, but I’ve consistently seen the hand of God in my life and in that of my family. God always sees us through and we always rise up, not because we are special, but because of God’s infinite mercy and grace upon our lives .

Are there any specific events you would say helped shape your life?

Quite a number of them. That night of January 15, 1966, even though I was very young, had a profound effect on me. You see, one of the soldiers that came to take my father away walked up to me. At the time, my father had been forced into a waiting Army lorry. My mother was screaming, and the whole place was in chaos. But one of the soldiers walked up to me, put his hand on my head and said, ‘Stop crying. We won’t kill your father.’ The moment he said that, I stopped crying and I found myself walking up to my mother and telling her, to stop crying as well, that my father would be alright and that they would not kill him. They then sped off with my dad and the whole family was on the balcony, wailing, I was the only person who found the voice to say, “No! Stop crying. He is going to come back”. And of course he did. From that day, whenever I’m passing through any difficulty and I feel I’ve heard a word from God, directly or through somebody, I don’t look back. I attributed the words of that soldier to the word of a higher power going through that man. Of course, it was miraculous because that prophecy or whatever you like to call it, was honoured. They were supposed to take my father to an army barracks in Abeokuta but, miraculously, they couldn’t find their way. They now decided to take him to Bonny Camp in Lagos, which happened to be still within the control of the loyalist federal forces. And that was how he was delivered by them. Okay, look at the gun battle, with all the bullets flying around. All the others (politicians) were killed in their homes. Why didn’t they kill my father right before us? He went out to meet them in a very courageous way. He didn’t fight them because he told us that if he started shooting from inside the house they may come in and kill us all. He said that it is him that they wanted and not us, so he went out to meet them. It is just providence. It increased my faith in the ability of God to do anything. Secondly, as a consequence of the attempted coup and all the troubles that followed it, we had to go to England, on exile. So that meant that meant that from about the age of seven I was at school in English boarding Schools. This was a very difficult experience for me and it made me different in terms of my thinking to most Nigerians. I was in an English public school at a very tender age. To survive at a boarding school in those days, you had to be extremely tough. I played rugby, I played polo, I boxed and I was a karate expert by the age of 18 because I had to learn to defend myself at a very early age. I was into very physical sports-boxing and all you can think of. I even used to box for my school when I was at Harrow. My whole mind was self-defense, self-defense, because I just found myself in a world where I was surrounded by hostilities and enemies. I was from a foreign land, and in an elite set of private schools and people were looking down on me because I was black and a Nigerian. In those days very few black people went into such schools in the UK and of the few that did, many did not survive it. I grew up through that very difficult English school system, which was particularly difficult if you were not a white, upper-class person. If you were a black upper-class person, as I was, it could also be very traumatic-the bullying, the insults, the fagging system which they had then. This was all done in the name of tradition. All said, I got the very best of education. Then of course, I went through the British university system, first to London University, and then I ended up in Cambridge and then back to Nigeria.

Talking about Cambridge, are you the second or third generation Fani-Kayode to attend that university?

I am a third generation Cambridge man. My great-grand father was at Durham University. My grand-father was at Cambridge where he studied law. My father was also at Cambridge where he studied law too. I also attended Cambridge and I also studied law. My oldest daughter, Folake, has just finished her first degree at Durham University, and she may be going to Cambridge, too, though she wants to spend a year doing something else before going there.

PBN: Are you seeking to set a world record in the number of generations of Fani-Kayodes that attended Cambridge University and studied Law?

(Laughter) Well, you know these days, it is difficult to tell a child what to do and what to study. Even when I was directed to go to Cambridge, I refused, preferring London University , where people had more fun and were less stuck in their books. By the time I finished my first degree, I said, ‘let me go and satisfy this man (my father) and family tradition.’ I loved it, and I suppose that Folake is following in her father’s footsteps in that regard.

Given that your father was among the major players in pre and post-independence Nigeria, was there any time he shared what could be regarded as the Nigeria of their dreams with you?

My father believed that Nigeria would become a modern industrialized democracy, where all tribes and religions were treated equally, where people would have freedom of speech, and where the rule of law would prevail. He believed that that would happen in Nigeria one day.

Did his political views change?

They most certainly did. Up until the 1993presidential elections my father was a conservative politician but the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election which Chief Moshood Abiola won shattered all that. The annulment changed his political views, and expectedly, that of many south western Nigerians who initially belonged to the conservative block. Since that annulment, it has been really difficult for Nigeria. We can only hope and pray that things get back to what the founding fathers had in mind for our country. We hope for the best and we believe God for the best.

When did you return to Nigeria after finishing university in the UK?

I returned to Nigeria in 1984 for the Nigerian Law School programme and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1985.

When did you go into politics?

I went into politics in 1987 with the formation of the September Club under the leadership of the late Dr. Hameed Kusamotu and Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi. In 1987, I became the National Youth Leader of the NNC, a political association of conservative minds led by the likes of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, Chief S.B. Awoniyi and Alhaji Adamu Ciroma and a few others. That metamorphosed into the National Republican Convention ( NRC). This was where I cut my political teeth. In 1990, I worked briefly as spokesman to Chief Tom Ikimi, the first and newly elected National Chairman of the NRC. A few months after that, I returned to the man that brought me into politics, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, the leading presidential aspirant of the party and worked as his special assistant from 1990 till 1992. Unfortunately, General Ibrahim Babangida banned him and many other so-called old breed politicians, including General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, (the present President‘s older brother) from holding public office and that put an end to our aspirations at that time. That was my first incursion into Nigerian politics.

Let’s talk about you and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. At some point, you happened to be a most grating critic of the man and his administration. But you ended up becoming one of his closest aides. Can you share with us what caused such a transmutation?

This is a question that I am often asked so please sit back, fasten your seat belt and let me explain it to you carefully. I have always believed in Nigeria. I have always loved and spoken up for Nigeria. Both at the war front during the civil war and in politics many of my extended family members and my father’s loyalists have sacrificed their lives for Nigeria. My family has been known to have worked for and believed in one united Nigeria for the last three generations. But June 12, 1993 raised question marks for us. The message June 12 appeared to send was that, hey! Somebody from the southern part of Nigeria cannot be President. After that, (Late General Sani) Abacha came in . He was killing people, destroying people from our part of the country (Southwest), locking them up and sending them into exile.

Yorubas were targeted in those days. At that point, I came to the conclusion that there was no point believing in Nigeria anymore. I believed that, as long as Abacha was in power, there was no place for the Yoruba in Nigeria. I believed that Nigeria should break up. We felt the need to save our people from extinction. They had already castrated us politically. Now, they were eliminating us. We needed to break up. Abacha would have served our purpose because with him, it would have been pretty easy to break up Nigeria. Then Abacha was killed. So was Abiola. After both men were killed, some very smart guys now came up with the idea that, ‘Hey! A Yoruba man should become the next President to appease the Yoruba.’ They settled for Obasanjo regardless of the fact that this man was clearly not the choice of the Yoruba. He was the choice of the North. So, we all opposed the choice of Obasanjo. Apart from a handful, every Yoruba man opposed Obasanjo up till the time he was elected in 1999. Most of us joined the AD with so much reluctance because, at the time, we didn’t even want to participate in the political transition. It was (Late) Chief Bola Ige that insisted that we participate. Even I was in exile at the time. When Obasanjo defeated our choice, Chief Olu Falae, the same Chief Bola Ige, our leader whom we looked up to, called us to come back and join Obasanjo’s government. Of course, he had joined Obasanjo as a minister even though he had opposed Obasanjo in the Presidential election and he was the founder of the opposition AD party. Chief Bola Ige, Akin Oshuntokun, Segun Awolowo and a few others asked me to come back to Nigeria to join a political association called the Progressive Action Movement in 2000. I heeded their call and returned in 2001. I eventually met Obasanjo. He asked me why I stopped believing in Nigeria, and why I had been attacking him so virulently. He took time to explain to me that Abacha may have killed and jailed several Yoruba people, but that the country had not been any safer for people from other parts of the country. He listed General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Pa Alfred Rewane, Bagulda Khalto and a host of others to buttress his argument. He felt I was wrong in my assessment of the country, and of him. He explained that he was not a puppet of the North or of Western donor agencies, and that he meant the best for Nigeria. I was touched by the fact that he was ready to apportion so much time to explain all this to me. I was moved by the fact that, in the face of attempts by some powerful forces to frustrate him, he was committed to the Nigerian cause. He managed to rekindle the love that I once had for Nigeria in me. He re - awoke the Nigerian spirit in me, gave me hope in our country again and told me that a new Nigeria where all tribes and religions were regarded as equal was now being re-established and built by him. He told me that there would be no more master and servant or horse and horse rider as long as he was in power. He told me that my thoughts for Nigeria were not the same as my father’s who had spent so much time and energy uniting Nigeria and building bridges amongst Nigerians. He advised me not to allow the failures of the Abacha government change my perceptions and dreams for our great country. It was at that point that I started falling in love with Nigeria again. Obasanjo made me realize the potentials in Nigeria if we were united. That it was possible to be one, no matter where you were from, whether you were Moslem or Christian, or from the North or South. That was where the process began. I realized that I made a mistake. Not just that. The South-west began to change its attitude to Obasanjo himself and the rest of Nigeria as a consequence of what he was doing. If you remember at the time, a lot of people began to move from AD to PDP and so, the South-west began integrating themselves into national politics. Obasanjo and Bola Ige actually brought the South-west back from the brink of secession and re-integrated them into the mainstream politics of Nigeria. And I think it was a very important role that Obasanjo played. Eventually I got close to him. There were elections in 2003, I participated in his campaign team, and he won and invited me to join in his government. But the objective, from the beginning, wasn’t to serve in his government. A series of events led to that, but I believe it was all by divine orchestration. It remains a privilege and honor for me to be close to such a great man, to have worked for him and to have served in his government.

They say that Obasanjo is a difficult man to work for. Did he give you a hard time and did you ever regret working for him?

Not at all because he was very protective of me. I made so many mistakes when I first started, particularly when I began as a minister. You learn on the ropes. He was very gracious to me. He gave me a very long rope when I was SA (Special Assistant). I reported directly to him, which upset quite a lot of people. I ran an autonomous office and a very strong team which was very effective. President Obasanjo supported and backed me all the way and this was a rare privilege.

Some people accused you of having been his attack dog…

I reject such an insulting label. I was not an attack dog and can never be anyone’s dog whether it is for attack or for defence. Rather I was what you what you could describe as the President’s armour bearer. You see, attack dogs don’t rationalize, they don’t strategize and ultimately they don’t think whereas armour bearers do. We were very good at what we were doing when we were at Public Affairs and I had a very good and loyal team working under me. I had a very good team and that was the secret. It was very clear from the outset that it was our job to tell the world about President Obasanjo and to disabuse their minds about the wrong impressions that many had of him. And there was plenty of virulent propaganda coming from people within and outside of the PDP against him. Some was even being sponsored by people from within his own government. We had to stave them off and fight them to a standstill on every front. Obasanjo was very supportive. My interaction with him was and is still at a very personal level and this helped us immensely.

Given all you claim you did to stave off attacks on your principal, then President Obasanjo, many still run away with the impression that he had a very battered image. Do you think public perception about him could have been worse or better?

You may claim that in your own mind, he may have a battered image now but when he was in power he did not have a battered image. If people choose to think in a particular way, it is entirely their prerogative and there is little anybody can do about that. For example, this is somebody in my view that achieved so much for Nigeria in terms of unifying the country, pulling Nigeria back from the brink, winning debt cancellation, consolidating the banks, precipitating the telecommunications revolution, creating a booming stock market, fighting inflation, building up our foreign reserves, strengthening the Naira, rebuilding our economy, restoring our voice and respect in the International community, enhancing the fight against graft, and so many other things. I can spend the whole day talking about the achievements of the Obasanjo administration. When you compare what he met on the ground when he became the President in 1999 and what he left on the ground when he left power in 2007 it is truly remarkable. But in Nigeria nobody likes to align with or say anything good about a man that is no longer in power or is no longer in office. In fact the norm here is to try to denigrate and destroy such people. Most people have very short memories. And if people choose to forget about all these good things and elect to dwell on the mistakes, or fabricate lies, there is nothing you can do. You can only leave it to posterity and history. Truth will always emerge, no matter how long it takes. Obasanjo had his time. He did his very best and he is gone now. I think it is more important to dwell on what is happening now or what happens tomorrow instead of being fixated on what he did or did not do wrong in the past. I was part of that administration and I am very proud of him. I think it is part of a political career which for me started in 1989 and which will continue into the future. For me, Obasanjo is a great Nigerian who created legacies which should be built upon.

Who, in your opinion, were the most formidable critics of former President Obasanjo, who also happened to be the most difficult to take on?

The most dangerous ones were the covert ones, but of those who were overt were undoubtedly Professor Wole Soyinka and Col. Abubakar Umar.

In what ways were they the most dangerous?

Because in my view they had immense credibility, tremendous goodwill. They were the few that were sincere in their criticisms and were both extremely tough. No matter what, they will not bend or compromise. You hit them with what you think was your best shot, and they just come straight back at you with a counter punch. They are both excellent warriors and I admire that. We may have disagreed vehemently, but they both always had my respect. It is just my opinion but I believe they gave us the hardest time of all. And you see, when they speak, they are not alone. They represent a whole power bloc and they cannot be taken lightly. Any government that is worth its salt should do their utmost to either bring them in or cultivate their support because either of them is single-handedly capable of pulling down a government with their criticisms. I have tremendous respect for them.

You talk of respect for them, but that didn’t deter you from being hard on them at the time?

I was just doing my job and you know the funny thing is that I am very close to them both and how much affection I have always had for them. Dangiwa Umar was my polo captain for many years at the Lagos Polo Club, and we were together in the Progressive Action Movement. On his part, Prof. Soyinka was our leader in NADECO, and he remains my leader. We used to have meetings at Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi’s house with him shortly after my return from Ghana and before I went into government. Even after joining government we consulted him for advice on a number of occasions.

But you still were hard on them at the time you were in government…

But they too were not soft on us. They gave me sleepless nights (laughter). You know we were fighting then because they disliked Obasanjo intensely and as they say, all is fair in love and war. I regret the fact that we went so far when the missiles started flying, but believe me, when I say we got as good as we gave when it came to those two distinguished individuals.

When mention is made of OBJ boys, your name, Nuhu Ribadu and el-Rufai’s come to mind. Interestingly, the three of you are today enmeshed in one crisis or another with the Nigerian state…

When you say, ‘enmeshed in one crisis or another,’ I see it in a different light. I see it as an opportunity to throw light on the issues and clarify them and set the records straight. I see it as an opportunity to prove to Nigerians and the world that, even though you were in government, you did nothing wrong, and that is why I will never run away from such matters. That is why I have elected to stay behind and clear my name. Like you said, it is an interesting coincidence that the so-called OBJ boys or girls are facing one problem or the other with the Nigerian State which they served to the best of their abilities. Why this is so, I cannot say. I will let you work it out. But for me, it is an opportunity to clear my name, and I am happy to be doing so.

While in government, you, Ribadu and el-Rufai played prominent roles in the face-off between Obasanjo and his erstwhile deputy, Atiku Abubakar. It was reported sometime that you visited Atiku to, ostensibly to make up with him. What informed that move? Was it borne out of any sense of regret on your part on what you did or didn’t do in the crisis?

When you talk of regrets, it would not be me that would have to express regrets. If anybody, it should be either President Obasanjo or Vice President Atiku Abubakar who were the protagonists in the crisis that should be doing so. I was appointed by the President to do a job. I was dedicated to that call of duty and discharged it to the best of my ability. Did we do some things that I would look back and say, ‘Oh! We should have done this in a different way, Yes!’ I came on board in 2003. The seeds for that division you talk about were sown between 1999 and 2003 before I got there. And when a seed of conflict is sown, very often people forget what caused it. You are at war, and winning that war is what becomes important. You are all shooting bullets at each other. It is like, may the best man remain standing and may it not be so for the other. We were in a war situation and I was a prominent player. It is always regrettable to have that kind of conflict. It is so sad because had we not indulged in that conflict, there wouldn’t have been this kind of discord and division in the party, and maybe things would have been different today. Did I regret that I was so hard on Atiku? Yes I did, because he was the Vice President. But, also remember that Atiku’s boys were also very hard on President Obasanjo. We all have to regret that we fought each other. The most beautiful thing, in my view, is that we now have the courage to say that what we all did to each other was wrong. Yes, I went to see Vice President Atiku Abubakar. I felt it was very important I did that. For me it was a spiritual issue: make your peace, move on and leave the rest to God. And when I went I felt that a great burden had been lifted off my shoulder. I believe he was happy that I came and he was very gracious to me. And I’m sure President Obasanjo was happy when Atiku came to visit him. All that is behind us. Of course, we all made mistakes and said things we shouldn’t have said. There were forces on both sides of the divide that were not only fueling the conflict, but were also benefiting from it. Atiku is a wonderful man and I wish him well in all his endeavors.

From all you have said, it would seem the crisis cost Atiku the Presidency?

There is no doubt about that. Had there not been a crisis, Atiku would likely have been the President today. But I also see the hand of God in everything that happened at that time. Only God knows tomorrow for any of us. But, I believe that sad sequence of events cost Atiku the Presidency.

When Yar’Adua took over, there were great expectations that some of you, key Obasanjo appointees, would make the list of the new government. Instead, you are being harassed…

I said to you earlier that I don’t believe that anything can happen in the life of any individual, for good or for bad, without God allowing it. If God wanted me to be a minister or anything else in government today I would be. If he has other plans for me in the private sector or elsewhere that is where I will be. I have served my country from 2003 to 2007 diligently, courageously and selflessly and that is more than enough for a life time as far as I am concerned. So why would I complain if I don’t make somebody else’s cabinet? In the life of any man and in the destiny of any nation, it is God’s counsel alone that stands. In everything that happens to anybody or any nation whether good or bad he has his purpose. So I have no regret and I thank God for everything, for what I did yesterday, for what am doing today and for what I will do tomorrow.

PBN: Is it true that this government is just persecuting you and the other OBJ boys simply because you are close to him and they want to spite him?

Please read my poem titled “Are You Being Persecuted” on femifanikayode.org. I think it answers your question. But the truth is that I would not look at who is behind or not behind this problem. Honestly, I do not know and do not bother myself with finding out who is behind or not behind it. I don’t like speculating over such things. You can’t even kill or persecute a person unless God allows it. If tomorrow I am killed, or anything happens to me, it is because God has allowed it. And do I fear death? Certainly not! Again please read my poem titled “If I Should Die” and it is one of my favorites not even death or persecution or tribulation can separate us from the love of the Lord, so why worry? Why fear? I am a Christian and that is what my Bible tells me. In any case what more do I want in this life? I praise God in all things and in all seasons both good and bad. I have led a good life for 49 years. You know I have been dead before and I have risen again. If you pull out a gun and put it to my head today, I would just say, “Lord Jesus, I praise your name and I am coming to you right now. Please take care of my beloved ones”. And I will go to him in glory and style. Other than that I don’t care. I have no bitterness in me against anyone. I see all that is happening to me as nothing but the usual trials and tribulations of any prominent politician who has a great destiny. In 1966 my father was locked up for six months and probed after the first coup in Nigeria when Ironsi was in power, so what is the big deal? Did he not survive it? I assure you that I will survive and this too shall pass. My pre-occupation for now is to clear my name. And that I would do, no matter how long it takes.

Some have wondered aloud as to why with all your years of sojourn in the UK, you didn’t flee Nigeria and possibly avert all that you are currently passing through. Did such thought ever cross your mind?

It never crossed my mind for one moment though many suggested it. I have three friends in the current British cabinet who were at school with me. I have about 15 friends who are British MPs, and virtually every single one of them said, you are eligible for British citizenship. So why not just come over and we would protect you. But I resolved many years ago not to go to exile again. I have done it twice before and I resolved not to do it again especially when people just seek to drag your name in the mud for nothing and when you know that you have done nothing wrong. I am the fourth generation Fani-Kayode who is educated. My great-grandfather was an Anglican priest who took Christianity to Ile-Ife. I revere this great legacy because it is something that money cannot buy and I have tremendous respect for my ancestors, particularly Rev.Adedapo Kayode, my great grandfather who was a preacher and the greatest of all the Kayodes. What do I tell him when I am called home? So what do I tell my children? That I ran away? What do I tell God? That I have lost my faith? Fani-Kayodes don’t run. We stand and we fight. I don’t care how long it is going to take me to clear my name. I was in Abuja for many months waiting for these people to come and arrest me. Everyday I thought they would come but they didn’t. Eventually we were told that they would come and they came and now we are in court.

How far has your trial gone?

I do not want to say anything about the case here out of respect for the court. But what I can say which is a matter of public record is that they (EFCC) are appealing an order granted in the Federal High Court. I believe that by the grace of God I shall be vindicated. I wish to use this medium to reiterate my innocence. The constitution says that I am innocent until proven guilty and I believe strongly in the Nigerian judiciary and that justice will be done in this matter.

Why is it that you have not said much since you left office?

I am naturally a very private person. Before I went into government, I used to write a lot of articles, play polo, socialize with my friends and I hardly ever stepped out of that small circle of friends. Nigerians became used to hearing from me from 2003 when I joined the Obasanjo administration because of the nature of my job. I was very visible and in the Newspapers and on the television almost every other day for a period of four years and after a while you get tired of that. So from the day we left government in May 2007, I purposed to go back to my family and stay away from public glare and the media and I have stuck to that. Since I left office, this is the first major interview that I am granting any media organization. You can testify to the fact that we have been scheduling and rescheduling this interview for the last one year and it has not been easy to get it. The last two and a half years have been a period of silence, sober reflection, introspection and regeneration for me. And I thank God for that.

Shortly after you left office, the media was awash with stories of how you stormed Abuja airport to free a certain Chioma Anasoh from airport security men. The lady was reportedly nabbed with over $250,000 US dollars.

This is not true. I did not go to the airport to save anyone and neither was the young lady whose name you mentioned and who was a senior member of my staff ever caught at the airport with $250,000. That much I can tell you. If you have any other questions about that incident you can please put them to her.

Is it the same Chioma Anasoh we did several stories on that had problems with you?

What problems were those?

That reportedly gave the EFCC tips about how to implicate you?

Implicate me in what? I assure you that nobody can implicate me in anything no matter how hard they try because I have done nothing wrong. In any case she has denied that, at least to me, so what more do I want? I leave such matters to God.

Your friend Nasir el-Rufai recently disclosed about how Obasanjo’s kitchen cabinet held several meetings that led to the emergence of Yar’ Adua as the President. Is it true that Obasanjo wanted Yar’ Adua as his successor?

There is no doubt that President Obasanjo took a position that Umaru Yar’Adua was to succeed him. We were called into a room and told that.

Who called you into the room?

President Obasanjo himself. There were about 10-15 of us- Nuhu Ribadu, Nasir el-Rufai, Uba Sani, Akin Osuntokun, Lawal Batagarawa, Frank Nweke, Ojo Maduekwe, myself and a few other people with whom he regularly met to analyse the way government was going.

Were there any other groups that he disclosed this to apart from yours?

Now, there were two powerful groups that had influence in the Villa. There was what I would call the intellectual group, which I just mentioned, and then there was another group led by Andy Uba. There were always tensions between the two groups because we always had diametrically opposing inclinations and views to most issues. It was in one of the meetings with our group that the President told us that Yar’Adua was his choice and that we should support him.

How did members of your group react?

Well, it wasn’t a command and obey issue. I remember vividly what everybody said on that day, only I don’t think it is fair for me to go into all that. Let me just put it this way. There was a division of opinion that day after the President had disclosed his choice of successor. There were some people that knew President Yar’Adua who had a view. Some of us didn’t know him and so we didn’t have any view.

Is it true that Nasir el-Rufai, Nuhu Ribadu and Lawal Batagarawa opposed the choice of Yar’ Adua vehemently at that meeting?

I will never be the one to tell you who said what and neither do I think it is fair for you to ask me that question.

Your father was the Deputy Premier of the old Western Region in the early 60’s. There are reports in the media that you are interested in running for the governorship of your state, Osun in 2011. How true is this?

I have stated my intention to do so publicly, subject to the will of God and subject to the blessing and support of my party elders, leaders and members. These are still very early days and a lot of consultations are still going on concerning this matter so let us wait and see how it unfolds. The Ooni of Ife, President Olusegun Obasanjo, Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the party leadership at all levels, the Presidency, the traditional rulers in the state and of course the good people of Osun state all have a role to play in deciding this issue so let us wait and see. Ultimately God’s counsel will stand and whoever he decides will emerge as the next governor of Osun state will emerge as governor.

The rumour is that it will be a very big struggle between you and your former friend, Senator Iyiola Omisore for the nomination of the PDP. You are both rumoured to be hot headed, tough and you are both meant to have many hard-line and dangerous followers and massive war chests. Don’t you fear that the whole thing may get messy and violent and ultimately get out of hand resulting in the loss of lives?

Hot headed and violent? Hard-line and dangerous followers? Not me. The days of violent and evil men in the politics of Nigeria are long gone. We are insisting on a change and now we are playing the politics of intellect, vision and ideas. At least that is what I believe in, not violence, bloodshed and standing armies. I abhor bloodshed and I am a Christian. You now describe Iyiola as my former friend? Look, as far as I am concerned he and I are still friends till today as far as I am aware and I certainly wish him well. So please don’t try to put a wedge between us. Now specifically to the issues you raised: firstly there are many other people that are interested in that race and not just Iyiola Omisore and I. for example, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade , the Secretary to the Osun State Government launched his campaign just a few days ago and many others from within and outside Ile-Ife will still come out. So these are still very early days. You cannot call it a two horse race today and neither do I think it will ever turn out to be one.

We hear that you are now very active in the internet community and that you are on Face book. How do you find it?

I think that it is wonderful. I have learnt so much from it and I have made so many new friends, both young and old. I have around 4000 wonderful face book friends now which is remarkable because I only joined about five months ago. I believe that the future belongs to all those young people on the net and on face book and I

think every politician should get on face book or any other social network and not be scared of explaining themselves and answering hard questions. And please feel free to join my list of friends on face book. I Even though he served as Ministers of Culture and Tourism and Aviation, the six-footer and British-accented Femi is perhaps most remembered for his role as Special Assistant on Public Affairs to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Hardly any day passed without Femi having to join issues with critics of the Obasanjo administration. The role, no doubt, earned him a lot of enemies and few admirers. love to have you on board. The only thing is that we don’t just talk politics there: we talk about everything under the Sun and that is what makes it fun.

We also noticed that you have been writing a lot of poems lately, what informed that?

Poetry is my passion. I simply love it. For me it is the most refined and sophisticated form of prose. It is in fact an art form and can be very passionate, expressive, inspiring and moving. It is also an eternal work which means it can be applied in all seasons. I have been reading poems since I was very young and I know all the great ones: even some off by heart. I have been writing poems for the last 10 years but it is only in the last two years that I have been releasing them slowly to the public, through my website and in some Nigerian magazines and newspapers. The response has been encouraging and I simply love writing them.

Which of them would you regard as your favorites?

There are so many and I love each and every one of them. Each one has its own story and they are mostly very inspiring. Some are about war, some love, somedeath, some women, etc, etc. I suppose that among my favorites are “Daughter of Zion”, “The Warrior”, “The Power of a Woman”, “The Calling of Our Lives”, “If I should Die”, “Why Do You Love God?” Remembering Macdreamie”, “Rejecting The Baphomite” and so many others. If you go to my website, www.femifanikayode.org and go to the poetry page you will find so many there. I hope you will enjoy them.

N19.5bn Aviation fund: Count me out – Fani-Kayode
By BEIFOH OSEWELE and NDUBUISI ORJI
Friday, July 10, 2009

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/july/10/national-10-07-2009-02.htm

Embattled erstwhile minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has said his present trial at a Federal High Court is completely unconnected with the contentious N19.5 billion Aviation Intervention Fund.

Reacting through an aide yesterday, the former special assistant to immediate past president Olusegun Obasanjo also denied that any money from the fund got missing, misappropriated or squandered during his tour of duty at the aviation ministry.

Fani-Kayode and his predecessor in office, Prof. Babalola Borisade are standing trial for allegedly misappropriating the fund which was created by the Obasanjo administration in the wake of the plane crashes that dogged the nation’s airspace in 2005.

Rising from the Federal Extensive Council meeting on Wednesday, incumbent Aviation Minister, Babatunde Omotoba, said he met only N3.5 billion of the fund without any trace of how the N16 billion was spent.
“The total amount of money allocated for the special aviation fund was N19.5 billion out f this, the Federal Government contributed N13 billion while the remaining sum of N6.5 billion was borrowed… I inherited N3.5 billion out of that amount,” the minister said.
But an aide to the former Aviation minister, who preferred anonymity put the lie to any suggestion that Fani-Kayode is being prosecuted in connection with funds that were purportedly missing from the N19.5 billion aviation intervention fund.

“That is not true,” the aide said, adding that “While we will not talk about a matter that is subjudice, we wish to set the record straight. The fact of the matter is that Chief Fani-Kayode’s trial has absolutely nothing to do with the N19.5 billion Aviation Intervention Fund and neither did one kobo of that fund got missing or was misappropriated or squandered under his watch.

“For the record, before he became minister of Aviation in November 2006, N8.5 billion of the fund had already been spent by his predecessor in office and there was nothing left in the intervention fund account.”
The source said following this development, President Obasanjo then released the balance of N11 billion to Chief Fani-Kayode out of which, Chief Fani-Kayode spent N3.8 billion on three major contracts, including the new Port Harcourt runway and the second Lagos runway and he left a whopping N7.2 billion in the intervention fund account when he left office in May 2007.
“We have all the banks statements and documents to prove these assertions and they can be made available to you,” the aide said.

It described as completely unfair and unacceptable for anybody or newspaper to suggest that “Fani-Kayode’s trial is in connection with the intervention fund when it is not.”
According to the aide, nowhere in the proceeding has the intervention fund been even mentioned.
“It was in July 2008 that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged chief to an Abuja Magistrate Court in respect of matters touching and concerning the Aviation Intervention Fund but those charges were withdrawn from court by the EFFCC themselves for lack of evidence about two months later (September 2008) and the matter died there,” it said.
“The present trial at the Federal High Court is completely unconnected to the aviation intervention fund.”


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/july/10/national-10-07-2009-02.htm

Why do you love God?

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode releases new poem on his website www.femifanikayode.org.

Why do you love God?

People often ask "why do you love God?" and yet the answer is simple and clear. I love God because He is God: the creator of all that is, the master of the universe and the source of all power and life. He holds the world together by the power of His word. He is high and lifted up and He alone is worthy of our praise. I love Him because He became a curse just for me. I love Him because He gave His life just for me. I love Him because He was afflicted with sickness just for me. I love Him because He was hated and became poor just for me. I love Him because He was scourged and scorned and rejected and beaten just for me. I love Him because He gave His son just for me. I love Him because He shed His blood just for me. I love Him because He suffered shame and pain and disgrace just for me. I love Him because He spoiled the principalities and powers just for me. I love Him because He rose again and conquered all just for me. I love Him because He paid the price and bought salvation just for me. I love Him because He is love itself. I love Him because He gave me hope, even in my shattered dreams. I love Him because His love for me is constant, faithful, unconditional and sure. I love Him because He is merciful and forgives me of all my sins. I love Him because He is tangible, not ephemeral and very real to me. I love Him because He accepts me just the way I am. I love Him because in spite of my weaknesses and imperfections He continues to fill me with His joy, His peace and His blessings. I love Him because He delivers me from my enemies and protects me night and day. I love Him because He gives me life and continues to preserve it.

I love Him because He leads me beside still waters and provides for me day after day. I love Him because He stills every storm and brings me to an expected end. I love Him because He annoints my head and lifts it up above my enemies. I love Him because He gives me health, he prospers me and He exalts my horn. I love Him because He enlarges my coast, He increases me and He scatters my adversaries. I love Him because His word strengthens me and continues to comfort and assure me. I love Him because He is everything to me and without Him I am nothing. I love Him because with Him I am everything and through Him I can do all things. I love Him because I know that He will never leave me or forsake me. I love Him because he has given His blessed assurance and because His Holy Spirit fights for me night and day. I love Him because He is the Lord of Hosts and He alone is faithful and true. I love Him because He is the Man of War and He is mighty and irresistable and terrible in battle. I love Him because He is the Prince of Peace who comforts and soothes and brings joy, even in the most difficult situations. I love Him because He rules the universe and He brings judgement and destruction to those who oppose Him. I love Him because the nations of this world are as a drop in the ocean to him and it's princes and kings are nothing before Him. I love Him because the earth is His footstool. I love Him because He is the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley and the Balm of Gilead . I love Him because He loves me too and He has proved it over and over again.

My love for the Lord is very real and nothing is more important and precious to me. My soul proclaims loudly both night and day that His name be blessed and blessed forever. My spirit testifies as each hour passes that Jesus is Lord both now and always. My body displays His spleandour and His glory and by Him we are beautiful and fearfully and wonderfully made. It is for these reasons and much much more that I will always love the Living God and that, like Joshua, I will forever proclaim that "as for me and my household, we shall serve the Lord" all the days of our lives and from generation to generation. May all that resides in every sphere of existence, in the universe and in every realm, love and worship and fear the Lord, for He alone is worthy of our praise.

________________ Ffk, 2009


http://triquerta.com/articles/why-do-u-love-God.html

http://www.tribune.com.ng/21072009/edit.html

The Nigerian Tribune in its Editorial Column of Tuesday the 21st of July, 2009 endorses Chief Femi Fani-Kayode as its Gubernatorial candidate.

POLITICIANS who want to be governors in 2011 have been indicating their desires. Chief Olufemi Fani-Kayode is one of them. He wants to take over the governorship baton from Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State on 29 May, 2011.

CHIEF Fani-Kayode is a brilliant individual. He must have taken after his father, Chief Remi Fani-Kayode, who was one of the shakers and movers of national politics in the First and Second Republics.

CHIEF Fani-Kayode (jnr) is not new in politics. He served as a Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo before his promotion to a ministerial post. While serving as a special assistant, he treated his principal’s critics with due respect and civility. Professors Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka were particularly well treated by Fani-Kayode, when they had reasons to join issues with Obasanjo.

WHEN the Osun State governorship aspirant was Minister of Aviation, he changed the face of the aviation workers and airports’ patrons. Some people even adjudged him the best aviation minister in Nigerian history.

PART of the N19.5 billion special intervention fund provided by the Obasanjo administration to tackle the rot in the aviation sector, which he met on assumption of office, was well utilised by the governor in waiting. All airports which benefited from the largesse are now of international standards.

WITH his records of excellent performances at the Presidency and the Ministry of Aviation, Osun State will be too lucky to have Fani-Kayode at its helm of affairs after Oyinlola. The state really needs a smooth talker with an analystical mind as the former minister for its rapid development. The state deserves no less a personality.

PRINCE Vincent Ogbulafor, PDP National Chairman, and Alhaji Ademola Rasaq, Osun State PDP chairman, should please take note of Fani-Kayode. The people of Osun are craving for Guvnor Femi Fani-Kayode.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/21072009/edit.html

Ooni of Ife Blesses Femi Fani-Kayode

July 3rd, Femi fani-kayode, the former Minister for Aviation was on a flying visit to Ile-Ife, Osun State to pay homage to Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade. The respected Oba gave Femi a royal blessing to succeed Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola in 2011. This might not be unconnected with the respect he wield s among fellow gubernatorial aspirants in Osun State. Fani-Kayode is one of the very few past leaders that can beat their chests and say they gave it their best shot while in power. Quite a number of people are presently extolling his virtues to the heavens without any recourse to sophistry or superfluous embellishment. If there is something that cannot be taken away from Chief Fani-Kayode it is his affinity with the grassroots and his acclaimed generosity. The PDP gubernatorial aspirant in Osun State has a temperament that is both refracted and subdued, depending on what issue he is discussing.

Beneath his polished accent however, lies a smoldering fire potent enough to consume the prevailing gerontocracy, and lethal enough to retire itinerant political jobbers traversing the political landscape. Youthful, but focused on his political future, Femi believes that the future of Nigeria is in her youth.

And he surrounds himself with some of the brightest minds of this generation. He never shies away from saying it as it is not minding whose ox is gored. He has done so many things to convince all that he has the can-do magic wand. After all, the spate of air crashes witnessed by Nigeria a few years ago abated during Femi’s tenure. And he brought some sanity into the aviation industry in the country before he finished his tenure.

http://triquerta.com/articles/ooni-of-ife.html?id=156

Remembering Macdreamie


Chief Femi Fani-Kayode releases new poem on his website www.femifanikayode.org.

Remembering Macdreamie

I would have done anything for the one I once loved, for she too had her place. She too had, and will always have, a small corner of my heart. After we parted ways I saw her everywhere and in everything and I constantly asked myself "what is she doing now?" It was driving me insane and I then knew that I simply could not live without her.

Anyone that could feel my pain would have freed me and allowed me to follow my heart even if it meant death and destruction for me, for at that brief moment in time my heart belonged to Macdreamie. I was half alive and half dead without her. I wanted to live again and only she could have brought me back to life. I would have done anything just to be with her. I would have followed her to the end of the earth and sought for her at the edges of hell. I would have given up everything just for Macdreamie.

We were indeed two people in one body: tied together by love and fate and bound together in spirit and soul by an irresistible, unbreakable and irrepressible cord. I would have gladly given my life for hers, despite all her eccentricities and complexities, for true love requires sacrifice and it is patient, forgiving, longsuffering and unconditional. I would have protected and provided for her till the day that i died. I would have made her the mother of my children and she would have been my love forever: my reason for living. But this was not to be because Macdreamie suddenly passed on and now she is lost to me forever.

She is no more, yet her smiles, her charm, her joy, her confidence and her strength will remain with me forever. She was selfless and special and all that she ever wanted to do was to make those around her happy. Alas she has gone forever but wherever her precious soul rests today in the heavenlies of our universe, it is my earnest and sincere prayer that the God of all that is forgives her for her sins, that her soul finds perfect peace and that her star continues to shine brightly.

Goodbye Macdreamie, goodbye my love, goodbye forever.

http://triquerta.com/articles/fanikayode-poem-remembering%20macdreamie.html

by Tunde Odesola, Osogbo

[url=http://The Punchng.com]This Punchng.com[/url], July 6th 2009

A formed Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-kayode, has described the allegation of oath – taking among the political class in Ogun State as ‘satanic’ and ‘despicable.’

Speaking with journalists in lle-lfe, on Friday, Fani-Kayode described his detention by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as rewarding.

Fan-Kayode, who confirmed his interest in the governorship race of Osun State in 2011, said he had the experience to move the state forward. Fani -Kayode is being tried by the EFCC for alleged corrupt practices and is out on bail.


“Subject to the support of my king, Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, subject to will of my part and the Nigerians in Osun State, I have an ambition to contest for the governorship of Osun State,” he said.

He explained that Oba Okunade Sijuwade, and the state Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, would play critical roles in determining who emerged as Osun governor in 2011.

Commenting on allegation of Oath-taking Ogun politicians, Fani-Kayode said, “I think it is an absolute disgrace. It’s just not against God but it is against everything that we were brought up to believe in.


“I pray that God will take absolute control in this country. I think people who indulge in such a practice should go and bury their heads in shame.”

The former minister said the tussle between ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, was an unfortunate incident, which threatened the stability of the PDP. He said, “There were two groups within the same government and two groups within the same party. It was an unfortunate series of events whose control was beyond any of us. I think we have learnt some lessons from it.

“Obasanjo has demonstrated his leadership quality by reconciling with the former vice- president. I have also visited the former vice-president and he give me a wonderful reception. We are one big family and I’m happy about that.”

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=148000

Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has said that the face-off between him and former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had been settled. Consequently, he said that for now, he had no regret for giving his full support to former President Olusegun Obasanjo during the crisis with Atiku.

Answering reporters questions in Ile-Ife on Saturday when he paid a visit on the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Fani-Kayode, who noted that the rift between Obasanjo and Atiku was unfortunate, stated that the reconciliation between the two leaders midwived by the Governor of Osun state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, was the best that could happen to the political class.

Fani -Kayode said, “The reconciliation between Chief Obasanjo and his deputy is the best thing to happen to this country, it is the best for the political class, the PDP and the nation. I think it was an unfortunate rift and President Obasanjo has demonstrated his leadership quality by reconciling with Atiku.“I have also visited the former vice president myself and he gave me a wonderful reception. We are one big family and I am happy about that.”

When asked whether he had any regret for attacking Atiku during the latter part of that administration, the former minister disclosed that as ‘soldier’, he was merely carrying out instruction from the government.“That period was an unfortunate series of event which had consequences and control beyond any of us and I think we have learnt some lessons from it. But as for me, I followed the order of my General any time any day,” he said. Fani-Kayode who has signified his intention to contest the next governorship election of Osun State on the platform of PDP condemned the introduction of blood oath-taking into the politics of the South-West , saying that the action, apart from being an absolute disgrace, is also against God.

“It is a disgrace and it is a shame and I completely abhor such practices and I think those who indulge in such should bury their heads in shame. Politics of blood taking, blood shedding, blood drinking and taking oath with the devil, killing of people and so on should be stopped,” he said,

Daughter of Zion

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode releases new poem on his website www.femifanikayode.org.

DAUGHTER OF ZION

O child of God, you looked into my eyes and you whispered deeply into my soul. You stirred my spirit and it leapt with joy. You touched my body and the fires began. You kissed my rose and you melted my heart. You brought me life and you prayed away death. You drove away despair and you ushered in hope. You wiped away my tears and you brought me joy. You have lived your life for me and yet you have so much to offer the world. I feel as if I am holding you back. Do you know that anywhere that you go you will flourish? Any endeavour that you set your heart to achieve, you will surely achieve. Any enterprise that you touch will meet with good success. This is because you have God's favour and annointing upon you and you are blessed. I am beginning to feel as if I am falling behind but please don't let my challenges hold you back. I leave my fate to God who has never failed me. As unworthy as I am I will never be ashamed. Yet you have the world at your feet so just go for it and make sure that you achieve your ambitions and your full potentials .I look at your vision, insight and power of creativity and I marvel.

I see your ability to deny self, to endure and to communicate with the Living God and I am as amazed as I am humbled. You simply cannot be held down or defeated by the rigours of life: you will always prevail. God brought you into my life just to show me how good and wonderful some people can be because all I have ever known, apart from you, is failure, rejection, betrayal, abuse, pain, scandal, misrepresentation and hostility. The Lord has shown me, through your shining example that the beautiful ones with kind, compassionate and generous hearts, though few, still exist in this ugly and cruel world. They are known as the true daughters of Zion, the daughters of prophecy, the warriors of the Lord whose mission in life is to bring hope to the hopeless and to effect God's plan and purpose for humanity and for this world.

They are the handmaidens of God: a scourge to the daughters of Jezebel and Dalilah, a terror to the mistresses of sorcery and witchcraft and a tormentor to the wicked one, the accuser of the brethren, the whispering serpent, Lucifer, satan, the fallen morning star himself. You are undeniably one of those beautiful daughters of Zion: the fearless and faithful vessels of joy and carriers of light and I am very proud of you. As for me, I am nothing but a simple and undeserving poet- warrior, a grateful beneficiary of God's manifold grace and wonderful blessings. Yet the God of Heaven knows that I live for Him, for you and for all my loved ones and I WILL DO ANYTHING in my power to effect His purpose in this evil world and to protect you all for as long as I live. This is because u have brought immeasurable joy to a life that has been so dented, abused and scarred by failure, betrayal, envy and hatred. This is because you chose to have faith in me when others had given up and had no hope in me."He is finished" they said and you boldly said that “no, he is not". "Leave him because he is not going anywhere again" they said and you told them, with confidence, faith and authority that "I will not and he will still go far".

May God bless you forever for those prophetic words of faith for it is indeed those simple yet powerful words that have taken me to where I am today and have kept me going, even when I had lost faith in myself. You are a blessing and one of the best things that has ever happened to me in my turbulent and complex life. May God not forsake me and may He give me the power, the opportunity, the ability and the strength to give you the very best that this world has to offer. Yet with or without me you will get the best because daughters of Zion are God's secret angels and they can never fail. You will get the best because you are the reason that the Lord has done so much for me. I am not worthy of Him or His presence but you, so perfect, so faithful and so kind are deserving of all that He has to offer both in this world and in the world to come. It is Him you need and not me. I am just a part and an aspect of what is and what will be your great and glorious life. I pray that you do not forsake or forget that "part and aspect" and that you will continue to have faith in him and not leave him behind. God bless you now and always and remember that you are destined for greatness and great you will be. I will love you forever.
________________ Ffk, 2008


[url]http://triquerta.com/articles/fanikayode-poem-daughter%20of%20zion.html[/url]

Fani-kayode’s Ex-Mistress, Chioma Anasoh in Distress
Say: I was used and dumped . . .

Miss Chioma Oluchi Anasoh, the special Assistant and one- time mistress of the former minister of aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode is now in distress. Informed sources close to her revealed that she presently reels in agony and that she is very bitter. The source, who is known to be Chioma’s close pal, further disclosed that Chioma’s anger and distress are borne out of the manner she was treated by the hawks in the government, who promised her heaven and earth, but reneged on their promises. The university of Lagos trained zoologist, we gathered, was offered several thousands of United State dollars, only half of which was allegedly paid. The source maintained that Chioma Anasoh was offered the money on the condition that she’d give the hawks information’s about her boss, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Chioma’s friend said what made her friend finally cave in to their request of tapes, data and document on the former aviation minister was that she was offered the post of special Assistant to the president and that if they got what they really needed from her, they would make her a member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). After Chioma Anasoh had allegedly betrayed her former boss and lover to the hawks who are after the lle-ife (Osun State) born politician, she was asked to wait for a while, for them to fulfill their promises to her.

But, after she had waited for some months, her close friend said she then approached the powerful elements for her balance and also demanded to be given the appointment she was promised. The source revealed that none was given to her. It was a furious Chioma that came back home this particular day. She fumed with intense anger. She was so mad and uttered many incoherent words. She said, she was used and dumped and how could they do such a thing to her, after she had fulfilled her part of the bargain… that day was so hot in the house. Chioma’s friend quipped.

However, unknown to Chioma, the hawks in the government had gone to investigate what she submitted to them and they found out that what she gave them were not true, but described as mere tales by moonlight. And it was at the junction that they resolved to discard her, as they had expected much from her, but what they got from the Abia State born lady was said to be next to nothing. And they are said to have hated her taking them for a ride. As months went by, when she had failed to get her balance and could not get the appointment, Chioma Oluchi Anasoh, we learnt, quietly slipped into distress, while her purse equally became leaner. She is said to have become very bitter and as she tried to pick up the pieces of her life, she always encountered problems. And we gathered that it got to the point that she allegedly now courts men for favors, just to meet her high demands. But this also couldn’t work out as she wants it to.

Her friend revealed an encounter she (Chioma) had with a topflight Lagos based businessman, but who happened to come from the north. Alhaji really like Chioma and things are working out for them. Although, Alhaji doesn’t know her as Chioma, he calls her Oluchi or Fatima, the name he gave her. And the man was paying all the bills. But, one day, the unexpected happened and the relationship crashed, Chioma’s friend narrated. We learnt that on this day, Alhaji had taken Chioma to a 5 Star Hotel on Victoria Island. After they had dined and wined, they retired to their suite in the hotel. On getting to their suite, they allegedly started to caress and kiss each other. And to have full grip of this lover. Alhaji was said to have taken off his clothes and was left with only boxer shorts.

He continued to kiss Chioma and led her to the bed. Our source revealed that when Chioma took Off her tops Alhaji was confronted with a tattoo with the inscription FFK (Femi Fani-Kayode) on Chioma’s left breast. The Alhaji, we were told, immediately jumped out of the bed hurriedly dressed up. The well educated and informed businessman was said to have tongue lashed Chioma “you told me that you are not Chioma, when your pictures are everywhere… walahitalai, you are truly an evil woman” the bizman was quoted to have said before he left the 29 year old lady in suite.

It would be recalled that Chioma also has a tattoo of a mermaid on her right side buttock. And the top of it was inscribed with the words Chioma and Femi forever. Informed sources disclose that frantic efforts she made to erase the tattoo have resulted into a black patch at that portion of her buttock. Our source further revealed that the businessman is now moving from one spiritual home to another, because he said that he had heard that anybody that has anything to do with the lady, who is said to have cosmic power would suffer ruination in his businesses. It would be recalled that Chioma made moves to become the second wife of the ex-aviation minister but the lawyer turned politician vehemently turned down the offer and instead resolved to remain with his only wife Regina. Informed sources disclosed that all the evil machinations of the ex-minister’s mistress were thwarted through ceaseless prayers, and now, Chief Fani-Kayode is said to be warming up for the Osun State guber race come 2011.
When the relationship crashed Chioma Oluchi Anasoh, was to have further slipped into distress and then became wild. It was in this state of mind that she approached those who contracted her to betray the former Aviation minister and told them that she would spill the beans, if they did not give her the promised appointment. The informed source disclosed that Chioma’s state of mind got to the point that she ceaselessly fumed before the hawks “you are owing me the appointment… and. I must get it. Even, I must see the president (Yar’adua) and tell him that you used and dumped me”.

Our source disclosed that when her ‘noise’ became unbearable the people who contracted her promised her again that they would find something for her. Now she is said to be dreaming of working in the presidency or at worst, work in a new generation bank or a multi national company. However, we gathered that her private moves of securing a job at one of the upscale banks have always resulted in failure, as no company is willing to do anything with her, on the fear that she may sell out the secrets of such company if she receives a good and irresistible offer from the enemies or co-competitors of such company. The lady friend of Chioma Anasoh impeccably told us that the one-time mistress of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, who insisted on being the politician’s second wife, is working on using a new identity to secure a job.

It would be recalled that sometime in March this year, an Abuja magistrate court issued a warrant of arrest of Chioma Oluchi Anasoh over alleged criminal breach of trust and cheating Chioma is alleged to have obtained the sum of $65,000 (US dollars) under false pretence. She allegedly obtained the sum from a businessman, Ifeanyi Okorie, sometime in February 2007 to execute some contracts she got from one ministry. And, she promised to secure some contracts for the businessman, but she did not. The businessman then ran to be police when Chioma became elusive, after the expiration of the appointment of her former boss, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. And apart from being declared wanted by EFCC is equally said to be hunting her.

Revealed! Why Fani-Kayode is being persecuted
, he refuses to be an EFCC witness


The on-going ordeal of a former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode may have to do with his refusal to serve as a principal witness against his predecessor in office, Dr Babalola Borishade.

Fani-Kayode who was the whistle-blower to the alleged N6.5billion safe tower project scams is currently on trial not for misappropriation of the N19.5billion Aviation intervention fund, as both the Senate and the EFCC investigators cleared him, but for alleged violation of money laundry. He was said to have lodged a total sum of N230m in his account while in office.

Interestingly, the said money was the total accumulated deposits made into the said account within a spate of two years and not that he was having the money in the same account.

Informed sources in the Presidency disclosed that the former spokesman to President Olusegun Obasanjo was paying for his blind loyalty to the former President, who has lost hold of power, and for his failure to be used in the on-going prosecution of his predecessor in office.

Hear him; “I pity the young man for what he is passing through because we all know he was never indicted by any panel that investigated the aviation fund. He was the one that even exposed the scam otherwise no one would have known the atrocity. But where he lost it was when he was said to have refused to be a witness against Borishade may be because the two are very close to President Obasanjo".

To buttress his point, our source brought out two copies of PUNCH NEWSPAPERS (editions of September 15, 2008 with a caption- Safe tower project: Borishade, Iyayi in fresh trouble. With a rider, Fani-Kayode may appear as EFCC witness (front page and page 7) and October 10, 2008, page 2 captioned “(EFCC) …drags Borishade, others to court’’.

In the September 15, 2008, the reporter, Tobi Soniyi stated inter alia; “The name of another former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, who was on July 2, 2008 arraigned before an Abuja Chief Magistrate’s Court with Borishade, Iyayi and Eder in connection with the N6.5bn Safe Tower Project, was missing from the charge sheet.

“Although Fani-Kayode is not on the list of witnesses in the proof of evidence attached to the charge, there were speculations that the EFCC had struck a deal with him, to use him as a witness.”

Then again on October 10, 2008, the paper while reporting on the arraignment of Borishade and others before an Abuja High Court, the same reporter, Tobi Soniyi stated among other things; “Another former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode , who was in July charged before an Abuja Magistrate’s Court alongside Borishade, Iyayi and Eder, was not in court on Thursday.

“The EFCC was silent on why he was not also arrested on Wednesday. There had been speculations that the anti-graft agency might have entered into a deal with him to serve as a prosecution witness”.

Apparently, it was when Fani-Kayode failed to accept the task of being a witness that led to his own arraignment. When a source was asked why he thought the EFCC came in with money laundry issue, he said; “only the EFCC could answer that question but we all know that the Senate Committee on Aviation did not find him culpable in the N6.5bn fraud and that was why nobody asked him to make any refund unlike Borishade and others who were asked to refund N5bn”.

The fact that the EFCC failed to correct the newspaper lends credibility to this theory going round in the country. But to some it was a payback time to the so-called Obasanjo boys who were in charge during the last era. The “boys” include the former EFCC chief, Nuhu Ribadu, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Development Authority, Nasir El-Rufai and a few others who are facing one prosecution or the other. To the Obasanjo camp, it is persecution but to the present government, it is prosecution. The Judiciary will decide who is right and wrong.

[url]http://triquerta.com/articles/revealed!%20why%20fani-kayode%20is%20being%20persecuted.html?id=131[/url]

Onyeka Andrews, a 26 year- old sociologist from Agbor in Delta State is now being thumbed – up as the most stylist society lady in the city Centre of Unity, Abuja. Fondly called Eka Andrew by her friends, the elegant and ravishingly beautiful lady who is said to come from a very good family and is well brought up, has been affirmed as a fashion aficionado in the nation’s capital. Her fashion tastes are often described as a reference point for the upwardly mobile society ladies who crave for style beauty and elegance. She is said to have described style as the comfortable outlook of an individual.

The stylish society lady, whose life is said to be peaceful and private, we impeccably gathered, just came back from a short holiday in Europe, where she attended a fashion show in Milan (ltaly) and did some shopping and site seeing in Paris (France).
Amiable and down-to-earth Eka Andrews, who is said to be fluent in lbo and Hausa, is known to quite a number of reputable perfumeries in Europe, South- East Asia and America. A notable perfume collector, she is reputed to have notable designers’ choices like Emprio Armani Code, Versace, Vera Wang, Lactose, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Christiana Aguilera amongst others in her wardrobe . On her relationship with the former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, some sources close to Onyeka revealed that contrary to speculations in the media, she and the ex-minister are just very close friends and not lovers. Even though we gathered that there is little doubt that Eka is madly in love with the former member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and that he’s also very fond of her.

Femi Fani-KayodeEka Andrews recently told a Lagos-based celebrity magazine: “What people don’t understand about Chief is that he loves his wife, Aunty Regina so much that he can never leave her. I respect and admire him for that, and that is why he and I understand each other so well and are so close.


“Others have tried to take his wife’s position or have tried to be the second wife and they have failed, because they don’t appreciate just how committed and loyal he is to his family. He may be a bit of the outgoing type, but when madam blows the whistle and draws the line, he comes running. That is Chief Femi Fani-Kayode for you, but most people don’t know or appreciate this, especially that horrible girl from Imo State (Chioma Anasoh) that he got involved with. I understand him, appreciate him and respect him and his family and that is why we are so close.”
Eka Andrews, a fashionista of adorable fashion articles and accessories whose carriage is unique, has just opened her own marketing company and public relations firm in Abuja. And the place is said to be quite a sight to see.

http://triquerta.com/articles/onyeka-andrew.html?id=126

Indications are rife that the new-found lover of a former minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, Onyeka, has gone into hiding to avoid what close friends say are “mounting threats to eliminate her”.

Fani-Kayode, who hooked up with Onyeka shortly after he was allegedly betrayed by his lover of over four years, Chioma Anasoh, is said to be unsettled by the threat to Onyeka, and has been seeking advice from close friends and associates on how best to protect his heartthrob without the matter becoming public property.

Sources close to the former minister’s new mistress told Triquerta.com that Onyeka had been receiving crank calls from a yet-to- be identified female voice warning her to “keep away from my man or face the consequences,”. The frequency of the calls reportedly heightened shortly after Triquerta.com broke the story on Fani’s fresh affair.

“Onyeka has had to change her phone numbers, but the worry is that the calls, usually from a blocked number, keep streaming in. They often come at very late hours, forcing my friend (Onyeka) to turn off her phones once it is 10 pm,” offered the source, adding, “But this has not been effective as her phones usually beep with threat messages once they are turned on in the mornings.”

Some of the text messages said to have been received by Onyeka read, “Fire burns; FFK (Femi Fani-Kayode) is mine for life; Oil and water do not mix, so FFK can’t have you and me at the same time; By the time I finish with you, you shall not have any place to hide; You may be the third wife, but l remain the second. Period,” among others.

On who the suspect is the source offered: “You know that lady (Chioma) sold out to the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), thinking it would be a good way to rid herself of FFK, thereby avenge his refusal to take her as wife number two. As you may know, the case is not likely to go the way of EFCC and Chioma.

“One theory is that, having failed to nail FFK, and nearing the end of her tether, the Chioma I know, being a desperate lady who has been known to do several desperate and diabolic things, would naturally not have any qualms with destroying Onyeka, if any opportunity reared its head” the lady explained.

Tasked on the possibility of the crank calls actually emanating from anybody but Chioma wife, the source said: “That possibility is very, very remote. Mind you that we can actually use antecedents to predict a person’s behavior, even though that may be misleading sometimes.

“Chioma has a history of running any lady who as much as winked at FFK out of town. There is this Ada girl whose father Chioma actually threatened to kill. Well, the girl’s dad died two months later in very mysterious circumstances and Chioma popped champagne,” the lady offered.

The lady, who is believed to have known Fani-Kayode for at least 10 years, told Triquerta.com how the former minister, friends and associates battled to help cure Chioma of the mental condition known as kleptomania.

She narrated how Chioma would embarrass Fani-Kayode by lifting such things as jewelry, small electronics, artworks, among other valuables, from the homes of his very close friends, particularly his colleague-ministers at the time.

“There was this particular incident where some of us, FFK and Chioma inclusive, visited the then FCT ( Federal Capital Territory) minister, Mallam el-Rufai. We were all in the living room, engrossed in the discussions and arguments over (former President) Obasanjo’s problem with (his Veepee) Atiku.

“The discussion was terminated b el-Rufai’s wife, who ran into the sitting room, yelling. Lo and behold was Chioma, in her bedroom, with her bag stuffed with the woman’s jewelry. The embarrassment was beyond description. Not that this was her first time, but to have done it to somebody like el-Rufai, I mean, we were so humiliated,” she recounted.

The lady source also told Triquerta.com why, in late 2006, Fani-Kayode was in the news as reports wafted in that one of his security aides fired gunshots in the precincts of the federal secretariat.

She recounted: “ SSS (secret service) personnel do not subscribe to the bunkum called accidental discharge. Chioma was sighted by some of the security men in the federal secretariat attempting to remove some ministry (of aviation) property. When they made to arrest her, one of the details attached to FFK, sensing the embarrassment that would cause his boss, fired several shots in the air. With the security men scared stiff off their skins, Chioma, the security detail and her driver bolted.

“l guess it was only Daily Trust (newspaper) that reported the incident, because FFK had to beg the editors not to run such ignominious story on his mistress in their papers. That close shave that almost ruined the career of the SS personnel did not deter Chioma from continuing to lift things, even when it was apparent to the blind that she had literarily every good thing that money can buy. I guess it is the medical condition thing,” she lamented.

On what FFK and his new mistress were doing about the threats, the source disclosed that they were adopting a wait-and-see approach, hoping that, somehow, the mysterious caller would cease to call, or be apprehended.

In the meantime, Onyeka is said to be avoiding public places such as cinemas and supermarkets, and has hired a bodyguard. “The life of this girl who used to be so outgoing has been so constricted that she is verging on frustration,” the source added.

http://triquerta.com/articles/death-threats.html?id=119

An Abuja Chief Magistrate Court has ordered the arrest of one Miss Chioma Oluchi Anasoh, a former Special Assistant to ex-Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, over alleged criminal breach of trust and cheating.

The order was given last Friday the 20th of March by the court at Wuse Zone 11, Abuja.The Magistrate mandated all police officers nationwide to arrest Anasoh, 29 of 5 Frederick Chiluba Street, Asokoro, Abuja and bring her to the court to face charges “for obtaining the sum of $65,000 under false pretence.”

Her problem allegedly began with a petition filed against her by a businessman, Ifeanyi Okorie before the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Force CID, FCT Command, Abuja.

The petitioner alleged that the lady falsely obtained $65,000 from him sometime in February, 2007 to execute some contracts she got from the Ministry of Aviation using proxy companies without the knowledge of her boss with a vow to repay the same within three months with an additional 30 percent interest.

The petitioner was said to have given the money to Miss Anasoh as a result of the long standing business relationship existing between the two of them and because of her prominence in the Ministry of Aviation.

She was alleged to have failed to secure the contract and also failed to refund the said $65,000.

Okorie reportedly ran to the police after “the lady became elusive and evasive especially after the expiration of the appointment of Fani-Kayode as minister.

The petitioner also alleged that the lady had relocated from her residence in Abuja hence the need for a court intervention.



http://www.triquerta.com/articles/chioma-anasoh-wanted.html?id=116

Femi Fani-Kayode is a Nigerian Politician

Find out more from him on his website

http://www.femifanikayode.org

You may go to his biography section
http://femifanikayode.org/biography.html

Its a follow up on Fani-kayode I read here in Nairaland on politics. It actually posted in Religion as well.

A SPIRITUAL PROFILE OF CHIOMA OLUCHI ANASOH
- a former mistress and aid of Fani-Kayode
She is absolutely evil. She is a CRAB and a SERPENT (both COBRA and VIPER) in the spirit realm. She is a spiritual daughter of JEZEBEL and DALILA and she is a child of the sea from the MARINE KINGDOM (MERMAID). Her spirit names are OLUCHI and SEVENTERIA. She has seven levels of power in her eyes alone and she also has the power of the voice (a SWEET, INNOCENT, CHILD-LIKE and ANGELIC VOICE which DISARMS, DECEIVES, SEDUCES and MESMERISES her victims).
She is a magnet for evil and she DEVOURS, ABORTS, DELAYS and DIVERTS PRAYERS and GOD’S PROPHECIES and PURPOSES in the lives of her victims and partners. Her greatest weapon is DECEPTION: SHE LOOKS and SOUNDS CHARMING, VULNERABLE and HARMLESS and she has a STRONG SEDUCTIVE and LYING SPIRIT. Yet she is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS and walks with the SPIRIT OF DESTRUCTION (ABADDON) and DEATH (ASMODEUS) which she invokes at will. Wherever she goes DEATH, DISASTER, POVERTY, FAILURE, DEFEAT, SCANDAL, HATRED and SHAME follow her and SHE BRINGS THEM INTO THE LIFE OF HER VICTIMS AND PARTNERS. She DESTROYS THEIR GLORY, THEIR WEALTH, THEIR STRENGTH, THEIR DESTINY, THEIR WEALTH, THEIR FAVOUR, THEIR GRACE, THEIR SOULS, THEIR HEALTH and then when she has finished sucking all this away SHE SUDDENLY LEAVES THEM FOR DEAD.
She is a SUCCUBUS DEMON which means she sucks THE LIFE, THE BLOOD and THE GOODNESS OUT OF MEN and WOMEN and REPLACES THEM WITH DISASTER. HER FAVORITE TARGETS ARE MARRIED MEN AND MEN OF WEALTH, PROMISE, AND POWER AND SHE DELIGHTS IN DESTROYING MARRIAGES AND MEN'S DESTINIES. She does this by trapping and tying down their souls (with her dark net) so that effectively they have become her slaves in the realm of the spirit. They think of nothing but her and they can do nothing without her. When she has finished destroying them and all that is theirs she then crushes their soul and breaks their spirit by leaving them suddenly without notice or trace. This usually kills the man physically or turns him into a living dead because she has trapped his soul.
SHE IS A MERMAID WHOSE BOTTOM HALF SWITCHES AND ALTERNATES FROM FISH TO SNAKE. She has a trident 3 pronged spear in her right hand and a dark net in her left which she uses to trap and bind the souls and emotions of her victims. She finally kills with the trident. She has long dark hair and a crown on her head. Her whole spirit body is very dark. Her greatest source of energy and power is WILD and UNRESTRAINED RITUAL SEX (with both men and women) which she uses to GENERATE SATANIC POWER, TO CAST SPELLS, TO DRAIN ALL THE GLORY, BLESSINGS and GOODNESS OUT OF HER PARTNERS and to transfer all MANNER OF EVIL, BAD LUCK AND SICKNESSES to them. SHE IS THE STRONGEST VOICE IN HER COVEN AND SHE IS A GRADE "A" WARRIOR IN THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS. She is extremely effective and has many victims under her belt as trophies. SHE ALSO BELIEVES THAT SHE HAS NEVER AND CAN NEVER FAIL IN HER EVIL ASSIGNMENTS. THE DEVIL HIMSELF SLEEPS WITH HER IN BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND SPIRIT REALM WHICH IS WHY SHE IS VERY PROUD AND ARROGANT. The only way to stop and destroy her is by consistent and violent intercession and constant appeals to God for Mercy and Deliverance for her many victims. She knows that she will not live long and she will not have any children on earth (she has 3 in the realm of the spirit with her spirit husband) and that is why she moves on quickly to destroy as many souls as possible before going back to her realm.
Contrary to popular belief she is much stronger and higher up in the Satanic Kingdom than her physical mother (ANTOINETTE) who is just a destroyer and a bloodsucking witch. Yet she also draws extra power from her mother and when the Mother Dies or becomes Bedridden Oluchi will inherit all her powers to add to her awesome arsenal. This personality is extremely dangerous, extremely deceptive, and extremely crafty and is best avoided. She must be prayed into the grave as soon as possible. SHE IS FULLY AWARE OF WHAT SHE IS DOING AND SHE ENJOYS WREAKING HAVOC AND FIGHTING SPIRITUAL WARS.  HER DESTRUCTION AND DEATH WILL BE A GREAT BLOW TO THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS AND A GREAT VICTORY FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Thank God for Jesus and the Power of the Blood. Anyone that has crossed her and yet has continued to live must have a very strong spirit and was simply protected by God. That person should just thank God. Yet she has now been exposed and caged by the power of the Holy Spirit and the destroyer has now become the destroyed. HER END IS IMMINENT.

===================================================================================
Find more from
www.4shared.com
http://www.4shared.com/file/93215035/636c5c06/chioma_oluchi_anasoh.html

Does anybody has her pics?

A SPIRITUAL PROFILE OF CHIOMA OLUCHI ANASOH
- a former mistress and aid of Fani-Kayode
She is absolutely evil. She is a CRAB and a SERPENT (both COBRA and VIPER) in the spirit realm. She is a spiritual daughter of JEZEBEL and DALILA and she is a child of the sea from the MARINE KINGDOM (MERMAID). Her spirit names are OLUCHI and SEVENTERIA. She has seven levels of power in her eyes alone and she also has the power of the voice (a SWEET, INNOCENT, CHILD-LIKE and ANGELIC VOICE which DISARMS, DECEIVES, SEDUCES and MESMERISES her victims).
She is a magnet for evil and she DEVOURS, ABORTS, DELAYS and DIVERTS PRAYERS and GOD’S PROPHECIES and PURPOSES in the lives of her victims and partners. Her greatest weapon is DECEPTION: SHE LOOKS and SOUNDS CHARMING, VULNERABLE and HARMLESS and she has a STRONG SEDUCTIVE and LYING SPIRIT. Yet she is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS and walks with the SPIRIT OF DESTRUCTION (ABADDON) and DEATH (ASMODEUS) which she invokes at will. Wherever she goes DEATH, DISASTER, POVERTY, FAILURE, DEFEAT, SCANDAL, HATRED and SHAME follow her and SHE BRINGS THEM INTO THE LIFE OF HER VICTIMS AND PARTNERS. She DESTROYS THEIR GLORY, THEIR WEALTH, THEIR STRENGTH, THEIR DESTINY, THEIR WEALTH, THEIR FAVOUR, THEIR GRACE, THEIR SOULS, THEIR HEALTH and then when she has finished sucking all this away SHE SUDDENLY LEAVES THEM FOR DEAD.
She is a SUCCUBUS DEMON which means she sucks THE LIFE, THE BLOOD and THE GOODNESS OUT OF MEN and WOMEN and REPLACES THEM WITH DISASTER. HER FAVORITE TARGETS ARE MARRIED MEN AND MEN OF WEALTH, PROMISE, AND POWER AND SHE DELIGHTS IN DESTROYING MARRIAGES AND MEN'S DESTINIES. She does this by trapping and tying down their souls (with her dark net) so that effectively they have become her slaves in the realm of the spirit. They think of nothing but her and they can do nothing without her. When she has finished destroying them and all that is theirs she then crushes their soul and breaks their spirit by leaving them suddenly without notice or trace. This usually kills the man physically or turns him into a living dead because she has trapped his soul.
SHE IS A MERMAID WHOSE BOTTOM HALF SWITCHES AND ALTERNATES FROM FISH TO SNAKE. She has a trident 3 pronged spear in her right hand and a dark net in her left which she uses to trap and bind the souls and emotions of her victims. She finally kills with the trident. She has long dark hair and a crown on her head. Her whole spirit body is very dark. Her greatest source of energy and power is WILD and UNRESTRAINED RITUAL SEX (with both men and women) which she uses to GENERATE SATANIC POWER, TO CAST SPELLS, TO DRAIN ALL THE GLORY, BLESSINGS and GOODNESS OUT OF HER PARTNERS and to transfer all MANNER OF EVIL, BAD LUCK AND SICKNESSES to them. SHE IS THE STRONGEST VOICE IN HER COVEN AND SHE IS A GRADE "A" WARRIOR IN THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS. She is extremely effective and has many victims under her belt as trophies. SHE ALSO BELIEVES THAT SHE HAS NEVER AND CAN NEVER FAIL IN HER EVIL ASSIGNMENTS. THE DEVIL HIMSELF SLEEPS WITH HER IN BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND SPIRIT REALM WHICH IS WHY SHE IS VERY PROUD AND ARROGANT. The only way to stop and destroy her is by consistent and violent intercession and constant appeals to God for Mercy and Deliverance for her many victims. She knows that she will not live long and she will not have any children on earth (she has 3 in the realm of the spirit with her spirit husband) and that is why she moves on quickly to destroy as many souls as possible before going back to her realm.
Contrary to popular belief she is much stronger and higher up in the Satanic Kingdom than her physical mother (ANTOINETTE) who is just a destroyer and a bloodsucking witch. Yet she also draws extra power from her mother and when the Mother Dies or becomes Bedridden Oluchi will inherit all her powers to add to her awesome arsenal. This personality is extremely dangerous, extremely deceptive, and extremely crafty and is best avoided. She must be prayed into the grave as soon as possible. SHE IS FULLY AWARE OF WHAT SHE IS DOING AND SHE ENJOYS WREAKING HAVOC AND FIGHTING SPIRITUAL WARS.  HER DESTRUCTION AND DEATH WILL BE A GREAT BLOW TO THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS AND A GREAT VICTORY FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Thank God for Jesus and the Power of the Blood. Anyone that has crossed her and yet has continued to live must have a very strong spirit and was simply protected by God. That person should just thank God. Yet she has now been exposed and caged by the power of the Holy Spirit and the destroyer has now become the destroyed. HER END IS IMMINENT.

====================================================================================================
check the article below on www.4shared.com
http://www.4shared.com/file/93215035/636c5c06/chioma_oluchi_anasoh.html

Guys anybody has picture of this girl
let us share it in 4shared.com