₦airaland Forum

OBelz:
It's will be put in a book and am trying to redeem myself. It not been easy.

The Lord is your strength

Eyitayo Jegede is winning this

enthronedbyGod1:
Coffin still dey every NBM temple, but it's no more physical and I'll explain.

In every normal NBM temple, there's the presence of 7 candles. These candles are placed on the floor in such a way as to depict a coffin.

The candles are drawn on the floor to represent a coffin.

When a Jew is being initiated , he walks on the ground with his knees into the 7 candles, with his eyes closed.
Na 4 inside 7 candles , them dey give Jew teeth and na there Jew dey take oath.
Na for inside 7 candles , catapult dey spit kokoma for Jew eyes take open am.
Na for inside 7 candles , kpoai dey place 7 untop Jew head , take confirm am strong man.

The most important part of the initiation takes place inside the 7 candles, which are placed on the floor to depict a coffin.

When I speak , I don't make statements anyhow.
People who know me on this forum , already know that.

Every kpoai or chief priest or elder knows this to be true, even some aiyes also know this.
However, you try for the other muyen story of kpoai.


I would have explained more on this issue, but I don't want to go spiritual again so as not to derail the thread

modified.

This is deep my brother may God in His infinite mercies continue to uphold you my brother to seve him.

enthronedbyGod1:
From the day I had a divine encounter with God in 2007 till today my life has been a mystery.
In that encounter God swore to make me invisible and also said a lot of unbelievable things will happen in my life and ministry. Things that will make the ear tingle.

I didn't put up the post for people to believe it. I put it up because I was instructed to do so by the Holy Spirit of which I didn't know why. I now know why.

By the grace of God that story has won 4 converts into God's kingdom. One of them used to be a very rugged axe man who has decided to abandon NBM and embrace God. He isn't the first cultists that has been won over by my stories.

Everyone has a purpose on this thread and this is my own purpose, to turn men from darkness to light.
To this end was I born and for this purpose came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth and everyone who is called into the way of the truth hears my voice.

The foolishness of God is indeed wiser than men.

God bless

I love your fighting spirits and penitence stand on spiritual matters. You are born again now and you are winning souls from kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ please keep it up.

julifeisgood:
No derailing, please. I've provided enough info already.

Thank you.

I love your spirit bro this is an OAU alumnus too, I was a friend to LOM P of JayCee back then name Sarge at Faj hall. Talking of President of JC then. Of course I know of AIESEC back then but was discouraged because many said it was more of big money to be a member. Very organized group like JayCee too

SLAP44:
I had to laugh at how confused this man is, torn between the greed of hanging onto power even in the face of mounting avoidable deaths and doing the right thing which is resigning so he preserve his image, and also to send a strong message which could cause a change in the way the country is being misled.

But he is doing a good job at pretending all is well, he will make at good actor after life at the villa.

God bless you my brother you actually took the words out of my mind, I said exactly this about this pretending pious looking fraud on my whatsapp group about 15 mins ago. Instead of this pretender to resign having his name soiled many times in this useless government but I know him he won't being a Tinubu slave

Damoche10:
Nigeria police should be swift in responding to distress calls...

So you still believe in Nigerian Police?

zudozz:
please add 15 penalties for Cristiano.. 15 out of the 28 goals are penalties..

Exactly my brother this is the truth about Penaldo

nikkybod:
Does it means that Nigeria Army cannot get the thieves if they were not shielded? Its unfortunate that the same game that was played on the poor Major General Otiki might be played on many other military guys who do not have a Godfather in the government. Their priority should be fighting terrorism rather they are busy ruining people. They should retire the innocent man and let him be rather than subjecting him to irrelevant punishment. Nigerians are watching!

You have said it all

Stolen N100m: Army yet to arrest five indicted soldiers 11 months after

Published June 28, 2020

‌
OLALEYE ALUKO

The Nigerian Army has yet to apprehend five runaway soldiers attached to the 8 Division, Sokoto State, who fled with over N100m operational money since July 2019.

A top source alleged that the soldiers were being shielded by some forces within and outside the army. The personnel were identified as Corporal Gabriel Oluwaniyi, Corporal Mohammed Aminu, Corporal Haruna, Oluji Joshua and Hayatudeen O.

Already, a General Court Martial which sat in Abuja and presided over by the Nigerian Army Chief of Policy and Plans, Lt Gen Lamidi Adeosun, on June 16 ordered the dismissal of a former General Officer Commanding of the division, Maj Gen Hakeem Otiki, over the alleged diversion.

Our correspondent learnt that the Nigerian Army Council would be meeting by September to review the judgment. According to military procedures, the council will decide whether to approve or upturn the GCM’s judgment handed over to the embattled general.

A top source said, “Otiki is due to retire by December 2020. He and Adeosun had once been tipped to succeed the Chief of Army Staff, because of their seniority and records. Otiki was the Commander, Infantry Corps in Jaji, Kaduna State, before he was appointed the 8 Division GOC in March 2019.

“There is evidence indicating that some of the soldiers who stole the money had been in connivance with some politicians before and during the 2019 elections in Sokoto State. They might have acted in cooperation with politicians who wanted to see the downfall of Otiki for whatever reason. The army council will be meeting in September to review the judgment handed over to Otiki, after which he may proceed to the Court of Appeal if he is still not satisfied.”

The Nigerian Army Council comprises four people: the Minister of Defence and Chairman of Council, Maj Gen Bashir Magashi (retd); the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Abayomi Olonisakin; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai; and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence who is Secretary of Council, Mr Sabi’u Zakari.

The military court had found Otiki guilty of “disobedience to service orders, theft of public property, diversion of operational money and engagement in private businesses.”

The GCM President, Adeosun, ordered his demotion to a Brigadier-General and dismissal from the service. The court ordered monies totalling N135.8m, and the United States $6,600 be returned to the coffers of the Nigerian Army.

Sources told our correspondent that fresh lobbying had begun in the Nigerian military to ensure that the Nigerian Army Council commutes Otiki’s sentence to retirement.

One of them said, “Otiki was indicted going by the provisions of the Manual of Financial Administration for the Armed Forces of Nigeria, 2017, because the funds, though being conveyed by soldiers, were deemed to still have been under his custody as the chief accounting officer of the 8 Division of the Nigerian Army in Sokoto.

“But interestingly, when Otiki was relieved of command as GOC and handed over to his successor, Major General Jide Ogunlade, he, (Ogunlade) agreed to sign the handover note because he was satisfied that there were no discrepancies in the 8 Division’s account. So, there is presently some lobbying to ensure that the army council retires Otiki instead of dismissing him.”

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col Sagir Musa, said “Please, I have no coments on any matter that is in court.”

https://punchng.com/stolen-n100m-army-yet-to-arrest-five-indicted-soldiers-11-months-after/

Copyright PUNCH.

Since the news of the arrest of the EFCC Boss, Ibrahim Magu broke, they have been insinuations from a US based blogger and a former aide to President Jonathan, Jackson Ude, that the embattled chairman had mentioned that he had given part of the controversial missing funds to the tune of N4billion to the VP.

Although the VP had since yesterday, debunked that news through his media office, it is coming as shocking information since the VP is seen as one of the cleanest of the appointees in the government.

Considering he is a pastor and for once, has never been caught in any controversial circumstance, it, therefore, came as a rude shock to his supporters and Nigerians in general when the VPs name was mentioned as a part of the beneficiaries of the said sum.

The VP, Yemi Osinbajo has already filed a complaint to the IG of police asking for criminal proceedings to be initiated against the blogger.
In a letter seen this afternoon, the VP had through his lawyer, Bayo Osipitan said the accused blogger, Jackson Ude had been fingered as the author of a story in which the embattled EFCC chairman who is currently facing a probe panel, had given N4Billion to the VP.

The Vice-President further noted that Jackson Ude was in the habit of publishing malicious articles against his person.

Other printed copies of some of the blogger’s allegedly false reports against the VP were also added to the petition.

However, in a split reaction, the US-based blogger called the bluff of the VP.

In his words, Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) cannot sue him while still occupying the office of the Vice president noting that it was not constitutional.
He however advised the VP that in other to sue him he must first resign his office and sue him as a normal Nigerian.

Ude further said the VP was using his office to intimidate him.

Another point to note is that for Ude to be properly put on trial and have his court papers served, he must be extradited to Nigeria to face trial.


https://mobile.twitter.com/jacksonpbn/status/1281231213508931586?p=v

Osinbajo is nothing but a pious fraud

Read it up here about Magu it was reported that after proving too difficult he eventually went cold when he was shown incriminating documents and files there and there he started confessing and it was alleged that he even gave Osinbajo N4 billion and you are asking for what? Over to Osinbajo

yaki84:
So the deputy governor was sent by amadioha to represent the land of thunder ab1?

This will forever Crack me up anytime

Wike is even going too far with 2023, anyone can write it down that this useless and demonic government of demonic Buhari (APC) shall not live to see 2023 before something gives way. This current mess we are in is not sustainable till 2021 let alone 2023. Watch APC implode with a bang this year 2020. Quote me on this.....

Patronize Us For Your Dishwashing Liquid Soap, Carwash Liquid Soap, Virgin Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Carrot Oil, Cold Pressed Coconut Oil etc at affordable rates for Wholesalers now. Wholesalers are those picking from 12 cartons upwards!

Features;

(1) The Hair Cream, rich, gives lustrous and fuller hair with shinning scalp. Also contains rapid hair growth formula.

(2) Essential oils are for Rapid Hair Growth. They contain 10 essential hair oils that are good on your natural hair, wigs and weaves giving it that shining and lasting silky texture.

(3) Coconut oil helps your hair shine and nourishes the scalp while acting as food to the hair.

(4) Carrot oil penetrates the hair roots to help prevent hair loss by making the roots stronger at the scalp.

(5) Avocado oil helps stimulate blood flow and unclog blocked follicles thereby fighting hair loss.

(6) Dish Wash Liquid Soap is a powerful anti stain liquid suitable for dishwashing and other kitchen utensils giving it that sparkling look you will always love. A little drop is all you need.

(7) Car Wash Liquid Soap helps remove stains from your cars, bikes making it look anew.

Contact The Distributor: 09085894826

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158722397607841&id=595332840

Ratello:
Ďo you understand the meaning of set up at all? He did nothing of such that's the essence of this thread

God bless you sir for expounding to him what he ought to have grabbed once from the simple analysis on this thread

What many failed to realize is that Gen Otiki is one of the likely name to be picked as the next Chief Of Army Staff since the position is going Southwards especially southwest but a certain Gen Adeosun who happens to be the head of the Court that tried and convicted Gen Otiki is highly interested ìn the same position. The bottom line is, Gen Hakeem Otiki was set up by the forces within that wants him out at all cost.

Gen. Otiki: Caught in the Web of Sokoto Election Politics!

The demotion and dismissal of Major General Hakeem Oladapo Otiki as ordered by the General Court Martial (GCM) of the Nigerian Army over missing money have sent tongues wagging.

Some sources were alleging that he did not perform ‘satisfactorily’ during the last election in Sokoto, hence his current ordeal and likely disgraceful exit from the institution he has served meritoriously for over 34 years, except if he gets any soft landing from the Army Council or at the Appeal.

General Otiki was the Commander Infantry Corps in Jaji, Kaduna State before he was appointed the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 8 Division Nigerian Army Sokoto, on March 16, 2019. The appointment came few days after the March 9 gubernatorial election in the state, which was declared inconclusive because the vote difference between the incumbent Governor Aminu Tambuwal and his challenger was lower than the cancelled votes.

On assumption of office, Otiki warned army personnel against any illegal involvement in the rescheduled election saying that such would attract severe reprimand. According to him, permission and clearance from army headquarters was mandatory for any officer and soldier to be on election duty.

While leading his troops on “Show of Force” to arouse public attention on military presence to confront all security challenges during and after the election, he called on public to be free and comfortable to come out and exercise their civic responsibility at the selected places for the election.

After the supplementary election on March 23, 2019, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tambuwal as the winner for securing the highest votes of 512, 002, defeating his close rival Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu of All Progressives Congress (APC) who polled 511, 660 votes.

The governor won by a small margin of 342 votes which created tension and confusion among the political elites in the state and Abuja.

PRNigeria could not confirm if the GOC was given any specific directive on the gubernatorial election.

According to credible sources, his deployment may not be unconnected to the aspiration of some politicians, who wanted him to provide military assistance in a bid to secure victory for one of the leading political parties during the re-run.

“Though his deployment was purely for military operations, some politician saw it as a strategic move to facilitate the outcome of the election in the state. That is why his travails was orchestrated by some powerful politicians who want him removed over his refusal to play ball.

“Beside, there are ample evidence indicating that some of the soldiers who stole the money had been in connivance with some politicians before and during the election. They might have acted in cahoot with politicians who want to see the downfall of the forthright, honest and cerebral General,” one of the sources said.

PRNigeria reported that the accused officer was a contemporary of the president of the court-martial, Lieutenant General Lamidi Adeosun, as both were admitted to the Nigerian Defence Academy at different times in 1983.

But Otiki, whose over 34 years unblemished career in the military, will likely end in sheer ignominy and utter dishonour, unless the Army Council temper justice with mercy. He was promoted Major General in December 2016, held strategic military position including Aide Camp (ADC) to Chief of General Staff during Abacha regime and Defence Attache. He would attain the 35 years maximum years of service on the 14th of December 2020.

The trouble for the ex-GOC started in July 2019, when he sent five soldiers to haul cash from Sokoto to Kaduna for the purchase of furniture and other items for the military barrack before the money allegedly got missing. General Otiki immediately reported the incident to the highest military authorities.

He was, last Wednesday, indicted by a General Court Martial over the ‘stolen’ money.

Military sources identified the fleeing soldiers, who have since been declared wanted, as Corporal Gabriel Oluwaniyi, Corporal Mohammed Aminu, Corporal Haruna, Oluji Joshua and Hayatudeen. One of them Lance Corporal Isah later returned the sum of N15 million as well as $6,600 to army authorities voluntarily and he was detained.

The court martial found Gen. Otiki guilty of disobedience to service orders, theft of public property, diverting operational money and engaging in private businesses. The tribunal ordered his demotion from major general to brigadier general and dismissal from the service.

The court also ordered that all monies totalling N135.8 million, $6,600 recovered be returned to the coffers of the Nigerian Army. It also ordered that another N150 million which could not be accounted for, be returned to the coffers of the Nigerian Army.

The judgement is, however, subject to approval of the army council.

In his final submission, Mr Otiki’s lead lawyer, Israel Olorundare, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, pleaded for clemency and urged the Nigerian Army to show mercy.

Mr Olorundare told the court that the accused officer had returned N100 million that was stolen by the soldiers detailed to escort the money to Kaduna, and that some of the projects for which N150 million was released to Mr Otiki were either completed or about to be completed.

PRNigeria reported that Mr Otiki whose wife, a native of Borno State, is seriously ill, he is also sick and was brought to the premises of the court-martial on a wheelchair.

In what appears as ‘ironical’ or perplexing, and also coming from an unexpected quarter, Lt. Gen. Adeosun, before giving the court martial’s judgement, said: “Many will be praying to have such an unblemished career and record of military service in the country like the accused senior army officer.”

The Army Chief of Policy and Plans (COPP) said that having confirmed that Maj. Gen. Otiki is a first time offender in his 34 years of “previously unblemished career in the army and to the Nigeria armed forces, it (the tribunal) would not fail in dispensing justice. We would do the very best with the humanness and kindness that the law allows.”

In a citation read by Colonel NG Mohammed of Department of Military Secretary at the tribunal, Otiki was described as “a discipline, loyal, hardworking and efficient officer and a good manager of men and resources under his command.”

Experts in Military Jurisprudence and civil legal luminaries are unanimous in their verdict that the sentencing amounted to killing a fly with a sledgehammer considering the antecedents of the senior officer and the facts of the case.

A military officer, who is versed in legal matters, told PRNigeria that the senior officer is a first offender (if at all he committed any offence) as attested to by Major General GAT Ochigbano, the Military Secretary (MS-A) in court.

The officer, who prefers anonymity, said: “He clearly testified on oath that having scrutinized Major General Otiki’s Service records as a cadet in Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna and as a commissioned officer in the Nigerian Army, the senior officer had no regimental entry (no offence committed) in his Service career.

“There was no consideration of his over 34 years of meritorious service to Nigeria, especially his modest contributions to the Chief of Army Staff vision, such as the successful rotation of 3,500 overstayed personnel serving in the North East while he was the Commander Infantry Corps. This was an effective Relieve-in-line for front-line troops, some of whom had spent over 4 years in the North East.”

He then added: “Operation Sharan Daji and Operation Harbin Kunama III were effectively and successfully conducted by the senior officer without any blemish while he was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division, Sokoto. Thus, there was relative peace, security and prosperity within his purview as GOC in contrast to what currently obtains in the North West. “

It seems nobody knows the fate of the five ‘obstinate’ and ‘unruly’ soldiers who eloped with the money; whether they were also tried in absentia over the incident.

But some prominent officers in the military have maintained that it is only by openly arraigning and diligently prosecuting them that justice would seem to have been served on Maj. Gen Otiki, who apparently appears to have been caught in the web of Sokoto 2019 gubernatorial politics.

Apart from General Adeosun who led the nine-month trial, others on the jury of the GCM include: Major General A Tarfa, Major General FO Agbugor, Major General FA Nadu, Major General N Mohammed, Major General CT Olukotu, Major General C C Okonkwo. He also named Major A Mohammed was the judge advocate; and Captain A Ibrahim the Liason Officer.

https://prnigeria.com/2020/06/21/otiki-web-sokoto-election/amp/

Now You Know The Truth!

Benin Kingdom in Edo is Yoruba territory — Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi
February 10, 2016Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji

The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Tuesday said Benin Kingdom in Edo State remained part of the expansive Yoruba race, a pronouncement that may spark fresh rivalry and altercation between people of the two ancient kingdoms.
The monarch made the comment in reaction to a statement credited to the palace of the Oba of Benin challenging the claim by the Alake of Egbaland, Adedotun Gbadebo, that the Ooni of Ife remained the pre-eminent spiritual leader in Yorubaland and environs.
Oba Ogunwusi, via a statement by his Director of Media and Public Affairs, Moses Olafare, made available to PREMIUM TIMES, said he was not interested in any supremacy battle with anyone but that he would continue to put the records straight and avoid distortion of history from any quarters.

The monarch said going by historical evidence detailing the Oduduwa lineage, Benin Kingdom remained part and parcel of Oduduwa House.
“We in Oduduwa land have always seen and regarded our people in Benin kingdom as part and parcel of Oduduwa House. They are our brothers and sisters, coupled with historical facts to back up this position,” Ooni Ogunwusi said.
“The statement credited to the Alake of Egbaland, did not emanate from us but the reality is that as a highly experienced and well informed monarch, Kabiyesi Alake, who is a bonafide Oodua descendant is entitled to his opinion based on his knowledge and understanding of history,” the Ooni said.

“Let me emphasize for the umpteenth time that Kabiyesi Ooni is less concerned over any supremacy hullabaloo. He is only interest for now in how the sacred throne of Oduduwa can explore measures through which the collective interest and genuine unity among Yoruba and other tribes within the larger House of Oduduwa can be enhanced.
“This informed his resolve to build bridges of harmony among Yourba Obas. I am resolutely committed to how Yoruba ethnic group can restore its glory and pride of position among other ethnic inclinations in Nigeria and don’t want to be dragged into supremacy contest or join issues with anybody.”
The traditional ruler said he recalled that about six years ago, attempt was made by some people to upturn history during the launch of a book titled: I REMAIN SIR, YOUR OBEDIENT SERVANT, which he said stood historical facts on its head.
Oba Ogunwusi stated that If the position espoused by the Oba of Benin Palace in the media “is aimed at distancing our people in Benin from the South West and Yoruba, so be it.”

He however added, “We still identify with them as our kinsmen, regardless of the attempt to change the course of history.”
The Alake had, while hosting the Oba Ogunwusi in his palace on February 7, rated the Ooni as the number one monarch in Yorubaland and other territories considered part of the Oduduwa House.
In his rating, Oba Gbadebo said Oba Ogunwusi was number one of the five principal Obas in Yorubaland, followed by the Alaafin of Oyo, then by the Oba of Benin (in third position), the Alake of Egbaland (fourth) and the Awujale of Ijebuland (fifth).

But in a swift reaction on Tuesday, the Esogban of Benin and Odionwere of the Kingdom, David Edebiri, rejected the ranking, saying the Ooni of Ife was a son of the Oba of Benin and that the Oba of Benin stool has no relationship with the Yoruba race.
The Esogban said, “We wanted to discard this report as something that was not necessary at all. We do not see how the Alake of Egbaland suddenly woke up to think that the Oba of Benin is also a Yoruba Oba.
“There is no basis for such classification; Oba of Benin has nothing to do with the Yoruba Obas. It is simply unnecessary, unless they simply want to stir up an unnecessary controversy.
“We are not in Yorubaland. To be frank, it is because many of them are not willing to come up with the truth, the word Oba is alien to Yoruba monarchy; it is not part of their title from time immemorial.
“For instance, the one they call the Oba of Lagos, these are recent adaptations. In the 50s, there was no Oba of Lagos, what we had was the Eleko of Eko. That is the title of the King there. In Ibadan, you have the Olu Ibadan. You come to Abeokuta, you have the Alake of Egba land. You come to Oyo, you have the Alaafin of Oyo. In Ilesha, you have the Owa-Obokun of IIesha. So no Yoruba monarch had as part of his titles the word Oba except the Oba of Benin.

“That word Oba is indigenous to Benin. It is only in recent times you find everybody bearing Oba. When the Western Regional conference of traditional rulers took place in Benin City in 1942, go and check the attendance, there was no other monarch in the whole of the Western Region then that bore the title of Oba, except the Oba of Benin.
“So it is an unnecessary excursion, an unnecessary attempt to turn history upside down by the Alake by classifying the Oba of Benin as third in the hierarchy of kings.
“Our own traditional history says that the Ooni of Ife was a Benin Prince who wandered from here to Ife, settled there and became the ruler there. That is the position, if they don’t know, they should send people here; we will teach them.

“We will show them landmarks. So this is unnecessary misrepresentation of history. Maybe the Alake wanted to mention a different place and not Benin.
“The monarchical rulership in this part of the world started from Benin during the era of the Ogisos. It was the son of the last Ogiso, Owodo, that wandered from here to Ife and he became a ruler there, carrying everything about the Benin monarchical system to that place. There is no basis for such classification.
“The Ooni of Ife, by historical facts, is a son of the Oba of Benin, so they are not in the same class. The Oba of Benin is the only one that answers Oba, the rest don’t. But today, we hear Oba here and there, they are all recent adaptations. I am saying categorically that the word Oba is indigenous to Benin and not to Yoruba nation.”

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/198255-benin-kingdom-edo-yoruba-territory-ooni-ife-adeyeye-ogunwusi.html

Yoruba and Benin Kingdoms: 
The missing gap of history
 
By
 
Kunle Sowunmi 
 
culled from VANGUARD Thursday, May 20, 2004 

The source of Yoruba from Benin is very authentic.

THE statement credited to Oba Erediauwa Omonoba Uku
Akpolokpolo, that the Yoruba race originated from
Benin Kingdom, was very rich in details and calls for
re-examination by historians of high repute from all
the Nigerian Universities and recognised institutions
not from uneducated and bias sources of chambers or
shrines of some Obas or traditional rulers as
presently being envisaged or contemplated. The
statement from Ooni of Ife disputing the fact of Oba
of Benin was not strong enough.

I was fascinated by the different versions of
uncoordinated folk stories we were told about the
origin of the Yoruba.  As a Yoruba man from Abeokuta I
was told Oduduwa was the first man created by God just
like the Bible said Adam and Eve were the first to be
created by God.

The Bible says Cain the only surviving child of Adam
and Eve went to another city called Nod to marry his
wife. The question is who created the wife, the wife's
parents or the family of the in-law if any. Just like
I asked in my innocent mind as a student in the
primary school then who created Oduduwa and how did
Oduduwa marry his wife? My Teacher never told me the
answer.  We were even told Oduduwa was the son of
Lamurudu from far East in Saudi Arabia and that some
of  ourYoruba cousin can be found in Uganda.  Many
conflicting stories which are very difficult to prove
or  binding on history.

These are some of the missing gaps of history.

 Oduduwa had sixteen children we were told and the
eldest was Orangun of Ila and the Egbas in Abeokuta
were descendants of the female child of Oduduwa named
Alaketu. None ever disputed the fact that Oranmiyan
the last born of Oduduwa also ruled the Benin Kingdom.
Why did Benin allowed the last child of Oduduwa to be
made a king over them or his descendants, if there was
no blue blood connection?  Oba of Benin gave a
detailed account of fact of history that are very
difficult to dispute.

The Yoruba share so many things in common with the
Edo's in names and culture, which must be the reason
why it is very difficult to dispute the version of
Omonoba Uku Akpolokpolo

Again, to the Bible, Adam and Eve never told or shown
Cain the only surviving child the Garden of Eden where
God created them, just like Oduduwa never shown the
place and real evidence how he was created by God.
Archeologically, the Yoruba race is not more than 2000
years meaning other tribes existed before the Oduduwa
appearance. None availability of any other serious
fact to negate this lend credibility to Oba Benin's
version.

Two  versions of  history

Both version of History from Oba of Benin and Yoruba
agreed that Oramiyan the last son of Oduduwa returned
to Ife from Benin after he installed his son, Eweka
the first as Oba of Benin.  He met  his father Oduduwa
who was very advanced in age and blind, more also all
properties had been shared and distributed among his
fifteen brothers and sisters. Alternatively, seven
brothers according to Oba of Benin, Oduduwa was at a
dilemma on what to do because he assumed Benin Kingdom
would be enough as Oranmiyan's inheritance. Both
version of history agreed that the name Benin meant
"the land of the annoyed" because Oranmiyan left the
place in annoyance. Again, Oba of Benin was right on
this. 

Oduduwa found an easy way out. He gave Oranmiyan his
staff as symbol to show his brothers and sisters to be
able to collect ten percent of revenue derived from
yearly harvest through out Yoruba land. With this,
Oranmiyan was able to collect over 150 percent of all
the returns throughout the uncoordinated kingdom.
Oduduwa also grudgingly agreed to allow his last son
Oranmiyan to be king at Ile Ife after his death. The
reason for this was unknown as this was against the
custom and tradition of giving priority to first child
or son who was Ila of Irangun.  On the other hand,
could it be said that Orangun was too afraid to
challenge his junior brother or Oranmiyan was indeed
the senior? This is something the present Orangun of
Ila should explain.

Oduduwa was primarily a priest and voodoo man. It is
said until today that it is only one day that is free
of ritual worship in Ile Ife and the day is never made
public. Oduduwa took vacation just for one day. In one
of the ritual ceremonies where nobody was allowed to
be seen outside, a foreign woman of no means of
tracing her background was captured and was to be used
as scarifices for the gods. She was later spared
because she was found to be pregnant beside, it was
against ritual requirement. The child from the woman
was dedicated to the gods and act as a servant to
assist Oduduwa in his day-to-day ritual and voodoo
job. The child was named Ooni: meaning "this is Spared
One"

After the death of Oduduwa his son, Oranmiyan was
invited to take over the job of his father, which was
primarily ritual and voodoo, as well as traditional
ruler of Ile Ife. Oranmiyan refused because he had
succeeded in building an economically viable place at
Oyo Ile with administratively sound method of
government around the Oyomesi council in chief and it
would be degrading to leave this and move to Ile Ife
to be involved in  daily ritual sacrifices.

 Oranmiyan gave a condition that he must be buried at
Ife to symbolise his right to Ife thrown. It was on
condition of this that Ooni  the son of the slave
woman that was captured and dedicated to gods that was
assisting Oduduwa continued the work of Oduduwa at
Ife. This is the reason why ALafin of Oyo will never
accept Ooni of Ife as a king or a superior in any
Yoruba gathering of Obas.

Ooni's assumed superiority was a British creation
because the King of England assumed a king at Ife, the
 cradle of Yoruba, must be superior to all Obas just
like the British did in Abeokuta by imposing Alake's
superiority over other Obas at Abeokuta. In case of
Egbas, Sorunke who led the Egbas from Ibadan to the
present Abeokuta was from Oke Ona, where Oba Tejuoso
is the King. This is the reason why there is conflict
between Alake and Osile till date.

Oranmiyan was buried at Ife and not at Oyo, which is
the reason for the Opa Oranyan at Ife till today. Ooni
was not a true son or direct descendant of Oduduwa and
his title was not recognised. Ooni was just his name
which became his title. Ooni like other Yoruba Obas
paid duties to Oranmiyan during and after the death of
Oduduwa.

 This practice stopped after the Oyo Empire was
destroyed. It is rather difficult to accept the Ooni's
version as against the Omonoba Polopolo.  Oranmiyan
was a belligerent person. A war hero and where his
brothers and sister refused to give the yearly ten
percent duty as agreed with the staff of Oduduwa he
would use force. He later appointed his
representatives in each of the kingdoms of Yoruba to
monitor the returns, thus the creation of Oyo Empire
that led to the end of the kingdom Oduduwa created
which was not properly coordinated. The new empire
grew with amazing rapidity throughout West Africa and
was like the Ghana or Shonghai Empire of the medieval
history in the south of Sahara. Oyo Empire started
slave trade to weaken opposition.

An administration like the British

Oranmiyan's administration was the best in Africa and
could be likened to the British system of
Administration during the colonial government. The
empire expanded up to the present Benin republic.
Those who escaped the control of Alafin are the
Yorubas living in Benin Republic, which was formerly
Dahomey, On the East side, Oranmiyan never bothered
Benin Kingdom because of his son, and his son never
looked for him. At least there was no record of
history of any transaction between father and son.
Benin Kingdom continued to progress and Oyo Empire
continued to expand to the west coast. In Lagos, there
could not be a clash, it was a place of reunion for
Edo's and Yoruba it was said Eko, which is Lagos, and
in our local dialect is a Benin word.

Oyo Empire later suffered from over expansion and some
local hero started to emerge to challenge the
authority of the Oyo kingdom or that of the Alafin of
Oyo. Among them was the Lisabi Agboagbo Akala who
liberated the Egbas from Oyo Empire to create a
fearless Egba Kingdom.

 Lisabi was never a king. In fact, he was murdered by
the Alake of Egbaland because of his popularity. Egbas
as a kingdom with its own National Anthem "Lori Oke
ati Pele" was merged with Nigeria by the British
Empire after 1914. In addition, Lagelu emerged from
Ibadan, Ogendegbe from Ijeshaland and Shou of
Ogbomosho and Ilorin through the deserter Chief of
Army Staff of Oyo who was killed by Alimi a Fulani;
thus, the end of Oyo Empire. The attack from the
Sokoto Caliphate from the North finally nailed the
coffin of the Oyo Empire.The collapse of the Oyo
Empire led to the Yoruba Wars.  The present Oyo town
has nothing to do with Old Oyo town, it was just a new
creation to symbolise the memory of the Old.

The Egbas and Ijebus took over the control of
southwest towards the Atlantics because of lucrative
slave trade and closeness to the white man. The
emergence of western civilisation further weakened the
Old Oyo empire, the empire collapsed and the ruminants
of it can still be found at the old site. The irony of
it is  Alafin of Oyo in the present Oyo town 
continued to  live in the memory of his ancestors'
glory of the Old Oyo empire.

In conclusion, Ooni who is not a direct son or
descendants of Oduduwa cannot be considered viable in
this discussion, but Alafin of Oyo must examine his
place in history and that of his senior brother
Orangun of Ila the first son who had disappeared into
history because he never challenged Oranmiyan. The
abdication of the thrown is a loss of right. However,
can a son be greater than his father? or can a river
be greater than its source? The source of Yoruba from
Benin is very authentic than Saudi Arabia or Lamurudu,
which cannot be traced, in Saudi Arabian history.

https://www.edo-nation.net/sowunmi1.htm

The Story Of The Benin's Kingdom In Connection To Oduduwa's Dynasty In Ile Ife!

EDO'S and the YORUBA'S are two ethnic groups divinely United through the destiny of EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA). ODUDUWA (EKALADERHAN) was the only son (prince) of OGISO OWODO (The 36TH OGISO of the OGISO Dynasty) of IGODOMIGODO (BENIN). The whole scenarios started more than a thousand years Ago in IGODOMIGODO ( Present day Benin City). The King who only had one male child (EKALADERHAN) and tens of daughters was very disturbed because of his only Son. So he send delegates to enquire why his wives could not have other male children. Among the delegates was one of the kings wife (ESAGHO) who had no child at all. On arrival and
consultation The Oracle revealed that it was the Kings wife (ESAGHO) who has been responsible for the king not having other male children through black magic hence she had none. The Oracle instructed that the woman should be used for sacrifice to the gods so that the rest women can have male children.

On their way back to the Kings palace, ESAGHO confronted the other delegates and vowed that She will tell the King that she was Raped by the delegates, such offence attract death penalty. So she compel them to say it was EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) who was the cause of the problem. On their arrival, the message was delivered to the KING as compelled by ESAGHO. When The King heard the message, he was aggrieved but he cannot stop the gods from executing it request. So EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) was sentenced to die as a sacrificial lamb for the rest of his father's wife to have male children as indicted by the wicked wife (ESAGHO) . On the sacrificial day, the young lad (EKALADERHAN-ODUDUWA) was handed over to the Executioner and he was taking to the forest to be executed, but the executioner did not slay him but broke the chain used
in binding him into two because of the love and affection he had for the proficient young prince.The young prince later ran toward the western part of IGODOMIGODO (BENIN). After weeks of continuous roaming in the jungle, he find him self in UGHOTON (GWATO-This place is situated in the western riverine area of Bight of Benin). After a shot while in
UGHOTON, EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) realized that the place was a province of IGODOMIGODO (BENIN) because the EDO language was spoken there. So he left the place and moved further west until he find himself in ILE-IFE.

During this period, ILE- IFE was a conglomeration of principalities ruled over by smaller chiefs without any supreme ruler. OBATALA was one of the rulers in one of these principalities. At this same period, the YORUBA'S was constantly under attack by other rival tribes and they have been waiting for the Liberator King as prophesied by their Priest.
On arrival, EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) coexisted with the people of the newly found land (ILE-IFE). First he started as an iron smith (OGUN) which is the main profession and Deity of the people of IGODOMIGODO (BENIN) , He was also into clothes making with cotton. It came to a time when ILE-IFE came under attack by their rival tribe and
EKALADERHAN'S (ODUDUWA) home was also attacked. But unfortunately,the invaders met a fierce resistance from EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA).The prince fought with all his might arming himself with the tools he made for sales.The invaders were later defeated and chased out of the town. He later organized and equipped some hundred of
YORUBA brave warriors with Iron weapons and leather shields and foot wears and invaded the land of the rivals Tribes. It was these series of battles that brought about EKALADERHAN'S (ODUDUWA) fame and recognition in ILE-IFE.

The leaders of ILE-IFE now invited EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) to their gathering and ask him who he was. He gave his name as ODE-UWA (which translates in EDO *Path to Wealth*) He further told them that he is the son of OGIE-ISO (The King of the sky) . The word *OGIE-ISO* is the Ruling title of Kings that rules IGODOMIGODO in those period) from the East . As they heard him,they quickly prostrated and shouted KABIKABI O because the YORUBA'S now believed he is the liberator king foretold by the Oracle. He was made KING over ILE-IFE and was given a wife. He had one son, called OKANBI, OKANBI had EIGHT children (Onipopo of Popo, Onisabe of Sabe, Alara of Ilara, Ajero of Ijero, Orangun of Oke-Ila, Owa Obokun Ajibogun of Ijesaland and Oranmiyan) by his "legal" wife, and one (OOni) by his slave turned wife, named ORUNTO.

After many years there was no peace in the kingdom of IGODOMIGODO (BENIN) after the death of the last OGISO ( OGISO-OWODO) because the KING has no other male child to succeed him. There was feud between the chiefs of whom will rule as KING. The People was left without a king for decades of years with EVIAN (The great monster buster) as interim leader. It came to a time when the chief priest consulted the Divine God (OGHENE). The God instructed the priest through an Oracle to design a compass made of palm fronds.The spirit of the kings was invoked on the compass and immediately the compass
moved towards the west trailing EKALADERHAN'S (ODUDUWA) path, The Prince whom they believe was still alive somewhere. Emissaries were sent along the compass. Few weeks later,the compass arrived at ILE-IFE and settled at the KING'S palace hovering at the entrance to the KING'S courtyard.

At the appearance of the KING,the compass swiftly moved the Bearer to the feet of OKANBI. During this time, EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) was so old that he could no longer come out of his DEN. His Son OKANBI was in charge of the people affairs and he attended to the visitors from the East.The emissaries then delivered their message. after careful listening ,OKANBI convey the message to his Father (EKALADERHAN-
(ODUDUWA). When EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) heard the message, he ask his son OKANBI to bring them in to his Den for a chat. During the Chat, EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) communicated with the emissaries in EDO language. He was so please to see his people once again after so many years in Exile in ILE-IFE. The emissaries requested the KING to comeback Home (IGODMIGODO) or ask one of his grand Sons to come
along with them to rule as their KING. EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) who was already too old burst into tears and told his chiefs that the visitors were from his fathers land (IGODOMIGODO-BENIN) in the East.

Remembering what led to his departure from his father land, EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) decline their request because he had no trust on them because of what happened to him decades ago. But the emissaries begged with repentance and sincerity that they are changed people of a new generation. EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) now
gave them an option that they should return back to IGODOMIGODO (BENIN) with three LICE .He ask them to train the LICE for three years, that if the LICE can survive with them for three years, then he will give them one of his Grandson. The emissaries went back Home with Great Hope and kept the LICE in the hair of a Slave for three years. Three years later, the Emissaries shaved off the hair of the slave and removed the LICE in it. This time, the LICE has Increased from three to hundreds. The LICE was kept in a container and taking to ILE-IFE by the emissaries.

On their arrival, EKALADERHAN (ODUDUWA) has already passed away. His Son OKANBI who has been acting instead of his Father EKALADERHAN-(ODUDUWA) attended to them. When OKANBI saw the hundreds of LICE, he was convince that the people has really changed and his appointed Son will be in safe hands. So he ask his son
ORANMIYAN to go with them. OKANBI felt that the troublesome people could be dealt by a warrior like ORANMIYAN who has, before then, had repeatedly proved his mettle. He believed that ORANMIYAN would be able to do the assignment and put the fear of IRASHA in the feuding Chiefs. ORANMIYAN was a great, valiant warrior, the Yoruba people of his era used to describe him as a true son of ODUDUWA after his grand father who was the first towering warrior in YORUBA LAND, He (ORANMIYAN) was the de facto ruler carrying out war activities and defending ILE-IFE.

On arrival at IGODOMIGODO (BENIN), ORANMIYAN's war like acts put the City in order. ORANMIYAN was in IGODOMIGODO for only few years. But he never could stay for ever as a result of the strange disputes and cases he presides among the people which come to him. Such cases which he has never heard or witness in ILE-IFE. He exclaimed with great puzzle by calling the people ILE-IBINU (Place of problem/quarel). The word which was later corrupted as UBINU and later to BENIN by the PORTUGUESE (1453AD.). He had a son called EWEKA by the Daughter of OGIE-EGO of EGO . As his adventurous spirit took the better part of him, he installed his son EWEKA and returned to
ILE-IFE with the hope of becoming king. On his return to ILE-IFE, It dawned on ORANMIYAN that he could not ascend the throne with his father's support for his brother, ONNI (OKANBI concubine's Son). He therefore left with his warriors towards North West to found OYO-AJAKA-Ajaka (pressent day OYO) and became the first Alaafin of OYO. His Son EWEKA ruled as the first OBA of IGODOMIGODO (BENIN) and a new Era of OBA DYNASTY begin to this day of OBA EREDIAWA (the
38th Oba Of Benin, now deceased). 

IF YOUR LANGUAGE RECOGNISES MONEY AS *IGHO* or EGHO*,. YOU ARE FROM IGODOMIGODO (BENIN CITY). THE PRESENCE OF YORUBA IN EVERY PART OF WESTERN NIGERIA CAME UP AS A RESULT OF ODUDUWA'S OCCUPATION AND HIS DESCENDANTS CONQUEST, NOT BY BIRTHS. THE CONQUERED PEOPLE WERE FORCED TO LEARN YORUBA CULTURE AND TRADITION. THIS LATER BECAME PART OF THEIR CENTURIES LATER FOR THEY WERE ALL UNDER THE RULE OF ODUDUWAS SONS AND HIS PROMINENT WARRIORS. THE PRESENT EDO PEOPLE IN ALL PARTS OF THE MIDWESTERN NIGERIA CAME AS A RESULT OF BIRTHS AND MIGRATION DUE TO OVER POPULATION IN THE CENTRAL CITY OF IGODOMIGODO (BENIN CITY). PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE IN YOUR FRIENDS LIST AND ADDRESS BOOK. 

OBA GHA TO KPEREE, ISE! Compiled by Nosakhare Edwin Idehen.

Note: Rebuttals, corrections, contributions, clarifications will be appreciated!

What did you do immediately after that?

I called a congress immediately and at the congress of the students’ union, what we did was to set up some committees. We had a Search and Rescue Committee that started looking for all the students that were injured in the bush, on the paths, in their rooms and taking them to the Health Centre. We had another committee to look for people that would donate blood to the wounded persons. We had a security committee that went round Ife town and blocked all the exits leading out of Ife. It was later that we were able to catch Efosa and Emeka.

And when they were arrested, they were caught with clothes bearing the insignia of their cult group with blood on them. These guys gave us the list of names of all the cultists that came – those that were students of OAU and those that came from other schools. And it was the list that we used to track the students that we knew because we didn’t know some of them. They also confessed that the school authorities gave them N350,000 to buy ammunition on July 8 and the money was given to one man before it was later given to somebody from the University of Lagos, called Ado.

The Lagos Sate Criminal Intelligence Department arrested Ado and what Ado wrote was exactly the same thing the guys told us. We were able to apprehend about 33 persons out of the 48; some of them were arrested by the police. I know a guy who confessed to his pastor in church and somebody who was there and knew about the case called the police and he was arrested.

We monitored the case for three years and despite the distance, I made myself available in Lagos every Monday to Thursday. I used to travel between Ife and Lagos for three years, only for the judges to be fighting among themselves about who would become the state Attorney General and because of that, we heard that the case was transferred to Iwo. Before we got there, we were told the boys had been released. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed and the it also failed. That was the drama we saw and the police could not track the suspects again.

Reports say that immediately after the massacre, you addressed the students, how were you able to calm them down?

Yes, I did, as the President of the Students’ Union Government. I could have run away and let the students retaliate, vandalise, and molest anybody. Even the school’s principal officers could have been killed. If you recall, the child of Prof. Wale Omole was beaten but I ensured that nothing happened to her because the issue had gone beyond the use of violence. We had to follow the due process.

As a leader at that time, despite the shock, what mattered to me most were those who were injured or shot at because they needed urgent medical attention. So my priority was their safety. So what I did was to call a congress and we set up a committee to oversee that. It was at that congress that I addressed the students, so addressing the students was not very difficult. But I had to coordinate them.

Can you remember what you said to the students during the address?

We talked about the fact that cultists attacked students on campus and that they were calling on students’ union leaders to come out. We mentioned the fact that we had written letters to the school authorities that the cultists were still being seen on campus. We talked about the fact that all those students had earlier been arrested in March. The major thing I talked about that early morning was that we must apprehend the cultists that carried out the attack and that was what we did. After we apprehended Emeka and Efosa, we were able to get all the information about how money was given to them.

You called for the resignation of Prof. Wale Omole as the vice-chancellor, why?

Yes, they mentioned his name at the station earlier in March 1999. They also mentioned his name after July 7 when we arrested Efosa and Emeka. We had also written several letters about the fact that the cultists were on campus. We had also written a letter that people’s lives were not secure, especially when the cultists were first caught and the VC couldn’t do anything about it. Those were the clear issues on the ground. They claimed that the batteries of all the walkie-talkies in the university were flat during the attack. It was a deliberate plan and we wouldn’t have called for anything lesser than that.

A judicial panel of enquiry made up of lawyers, educationists, students and journalists was inaugurated, how would you describe the job they did?

Well, they did the little they could do; they called for the vice-chancellor’s arrest and trial. They were not a court. And I know they equally asked that some persons who tried to alter some reports in order to muddle up facts should be punished. They called on the associations of some of them like the Nigerian Bar Association to punish them.

Some reports say the suspected cultists that you apprehended were tortured, is that true?

Efosa made his statement at the office of the Commissioner of Police; his statement was taken by a senior police officer. All the confessions he made to us tallied with what he wrote at the office of the Commissioner of Police. That was just before we arrested Kazo or Kareem Bello. Kareem Bello was arrested in company with people from Special Investigation Bureau in Osogbo; nobody tortured him. Yes, you could say that in the early hours of July 10, the cultists that were arrested could have been beaten by the mob of students in school. I won’t dispute that because there was so much anger in the air. It wasn’t any principal officers that gave us any evidence; I made sure we got the best of the evidence from them.

It was reported that one of the suspected cultists apprehended died, how did that happen?

That was not in our custody. Like I said, Emeka and Efosa were arrested and none of them died. Though the students were outraged by what happened and were seeking justice and all that, I must put it on record that even policemen joined in the search and arrest team that we constituted eventually, so there was no way that could have happened. So if there was anybody that died, it was those that were arrested in the early hours of that morning when we got the information.

Our students went to the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, The Polytechnic, Ibadan and several other institutions, based on the information they had. They were picking up all the notorious students that were involved in notorious acts in their various institutions. Imagine we didn’t have July 10, God knows what our citadels of learning would have turned into by now.

Apart from the five students that were killed, how many were injured?

I don’t know the number of students that were injured, but I remember that about 20 students were taken to hospital. Some broke their legs while running, some fell down, and some jumped and got injured. There was a student that was shot and was in a coma for several days.

It was said that six of those who carried out the attack were from OAU, four from the University of Ibadan, four from the University of Lagos, eight from the University of Calabar and possibly some from the University of Benin, is that true?

Yes, they were from different schools. Some were from Unilag, some from Uniben, and so on. We had about six of them from OAU; they were part of those arrested during the March episode and after that, none were arrested. So very few of them came from OAU; others came from different schools like you rightly said.

Can you mention the names of some brave students who played huge roles before and after the attack?

The Speaker of the students’ union, Saka Muhammed; he and Afrika were part of those that led the students to arrest those boys in March. He was equally there all through the time they were taking their records, until they were handed over to the police. Apart from my humble self that came in and took control, we had someone like Oyekanmi Taiwo. He was part of those that arrested Efosa as members of the search and rescue team that blocked all the exits. I can’t remember all their names but we operated as committees. There was also Sunday Adeyemi, who happened to be in one of the committees. I may not be able to remember names because it happened a long time ago.

What actions were taken after the case was dismissed, were there protests?

As at the time the case was dismissed, I was no more on the campus. The students’ union government on the ground held protests and rallies. I was called several times to talk about what happened. We did all that we could in our own capacity. The police commissioner told us that they were going to appeal and rearrest all those involved. But we were surprised that they were not rearrested. We heard that they had absconded, so the whole appeal itself couldn’t move forward. That was the exact situation; there was nothing we could do.

Having interacted with some of the victims, what kind of persons were they?

I didn’t know all five of them personally but I can talk about Tunde Oke. Oke happened to be a congressman. He was just a Part 1 student and was very passionate about the students’ union. He was not even called to any of the executive wing; he would come to congress, sit, and joke with the rest of the students. At protest grounds, he would be seen at the front with placards. He was interested in anything that had to do with the rights of students. He was a very brilliant young chap that was interesting to talk to about anything. Unfortunately, he was the first child of his family; the kind of person that the family would look up to as a source of joy but he was brought down at a very young age.

Talking about Afrika, Afrika happened to be the very first child of his family. Apart from the fact that he was the Secretary-General of the students’ union, he was a law student who believed in the fact that beyond the issue of law, imperialism should not be our path in Africa. He believed we must put African culture, tradition and beliefs into everything we do. You won’t believe he went to class all the time in traditional attire while others were busy putting on ties and shirts. He held the belief that you read and apply law and that it was not about the clothes or the white shirts being worn. At a point, they were forcing him to wear shirts and trousers. When he got to Part 3 and wanted to take a particular course, the condition was that, if he didn’t come to class wearing a shirt and a tie, they wouldn’t allow him in.

I was already waiting for that course and I gave him my support because I knew I was going to protest with him in that class and tell the lecturer there was nowhere it was stated that he must wear a particular type of dress to class. But unfortunately, that day didn’t come before he was killed. He was a very good person; he was very honest, humble, and level-headed. It was a personal pain to me that I lost him because I got all support I needed from him. I would tell you what happened when we were protesting at Yaba, Lagos and the police were firing at me at close range. Only Afrika, about seven others and I were present. We were nine that stayed back while others ran away. The nine of us faced them. I held the megaphone and was talking to an empty crowd that had run away. When the police eventually got to me, they hit me with the butt of the gun and the megaphone dropped from my hands. You wouldn’t believe how brave and courageous the gentleman was. He just moved down, picked the megaphone up, cleaned it and gave it back to me and said, ‘This is the megaphone Mr. President, continue your speech.’

I held that megaphone and continued and this left the police in disarray because they could not believe the kind of courage we exhibited. That was the kind of person he was as a union activist. He was determined, focused and courageous, so losing him at that time was exactly like losing a biological brother. For a brilliant person like that to be brought down and for this country to just pretend like nothing happened, pains me to my bone marrow. I know how his death affected his family; his parents are dead now but I can clearly say that if anything shortened their lives, it was probably the death of Afrika.

For Eviano, a Part 5 medical student, his family were waiting for him to finish. For Ajiteru, his family were waiting for him to complete his extra year and be through. Ekide was just in Part 2. It is so demoralising when you know you’re in a country where nothing can be done. I know their families went through hell because I witnessed what Afrika and Oke’s families went through.

Looking back now, how did you manage to spend the rest of your days on campus?

My interest was to ensure that justice was done. It was just about three months to finish from Ife because I was in my final year. After I finished, I went for my National Youth Service Corps programme but I had to change my state of service to Lagos for me to be coming to Osogbo for the case. For over three years, I couldn’t do anything fundamental apart from the fact that I was trying to seek justice. That means I added three and a half years extra and during those three and a half years, I travelled from Monday to Thursday from Lagos to Osogbo with lawyers. Aside from that, I ensured that every July 10, I was on that campus just to ensure that students picked up that agitation in the quest for justice.

Copyright PUNCH.

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

https://punchng.com/how-cultists-looking-for-me-gunned-down-oau-student-in-my-presence-legacy-ex-oau-sug-president/

Olanrewaju Adeleke A True Leader!

Can you recollect what happened on the day the five students were killed on campus?

Those boys found their way back into the campus in June after the school resumed. And right from the time we saw them on campus, we started alerting the university that we were seeing the guys they claimed they had suspended. They were a threat to the peace we enjoyed on campus and as far as we were concerned, justice had not been done. We had some programmes on July 7 and 9; we had some remembrance programmes in honour of the late Kudirat Abiola and some others. We invited lots of people from Lagos for symposia. We had about two or three programmes before July 9 and lots of guests, including human rights activists were giving talks.

And I was supposed to be at a programme in Lagos on July 10. I would have left on July 9, but some of our comrades wanted to attend that programme with me. So, because of the logistics and some other things, I had to wait behind but our guests who came for the July 9 programme left for Lagos.

While I was in my office, one of the cultists just walked in. And like I said, I was not around in March when they raided their home and found some weapons. I only got the report. He greeted me, said Mr. President and walked out. Fortunately for me, someone was with me in the office, giving me the appraisal of what we had done so far. It was around 7pm or 8pm. It was that gentleman that told me that one of the guys we were looking for was the one who just greeted me, so I had to quickly ask our people to look for him. We searched everywhere and couldn’t find him.

Then I went to my Hall of Residence. I never knew they had already planned to attack that night. While I was in my room, Afrika came to see me. There were some other comrades in my room that day. The ‘Kegites’ were having their annual programme – ‘Gyration’. It brings all Kegite clubs in the country together. Being the international headquarters, they all came to Ife for that festival. They wanted to honour Afrika by making him a member but he was too tired because of the programmes we had had.

So he begged them to allow him sleep till the moment when he would be honoured. He said they should send someone to wake him up. I told Afrika that to honour him, when they came around to wake him, he should call on me too. So we all went to our rooms, and his room was close to mine. Apart from my room, the room between my room and Afrika’s room, there was only one room left (on that line), which was next to the toilet. We went to bed but all other persons in my room went downstairs to join the Kegites’ gyration.

I was on the rug while others were on the bed, on the floor and on the rug in my room. When they left, I remained on the rug because I was tired. Around 4am or thereabouts, a lady came to wake me up. She wanted to see me and when she was told I was not at the Kegites’ gyration, she came upstairs. You need to know that in OAU, you could walk at anytime in the night regardless of your sex or age. You could be sure no fellow student would harass you, let alone cultists.

The lady asked why I was sleeping on the rug. She told me to sleep on the bed. About the time that I was about to sleep on the bed, someone knocked on my door. I think that was the last time they came to confirm if I was in the room. The person knocked and called my name – Legacy, Legacy. The lady answered and said I was tired. He advised the person to come sometime later in the day and allow me to rest. I knew she left me about that time and went to her hall. According to her, it was while she was on the stairs that she heard the first gunshot in Awolowo Hall.

Later, we got to know that about 48 armed men came and were shooting indiscriminately to disperse those at the Kegites’ gyration. Some of them were already on the floor where Afrika and I resided. But about the time they fired the first gunshot downstairs; I woke up and ran outside. The light in the corridor had been switched off. They had attacked someone that was sleeping outside; that was Yemi Ajiteru. He slept there with his girlfriend. He was equally a final-year student. The lady ran into the Kegites’ room downstairs. I think their attention was diverted to the person who was running behind them and they saw Ajiteru. As at the time they shot Ajiteru, I was right behind them and I saw as three guys opened fire on Ajiteru.

I was lucky to have come out when I heard the first gunshot that was used to disperse the Kegites. I was not sure if the gunshot came from Awolowo Hall until the time they opened fire on Ajiteru. That was when I ran back into my room.

There was a medical student living in the room between mine and Afrika’s. I had to go to the guy’s room and together we moved to the last room. It was a two-storey building. When they entered my room, they didn’t see me, so they went straight to Afrika’s room. Unfortunately for Afrika, he was sleeping in the room. Tunde Oke was also in the room as at that time. They shot Afrika right there on his bed and shot Tunde, who was by his side and hacked at their bodies as well.

When the medical student and I got to the last room, we met some other students there. At a point, I struggled to come out because I thought they were going from one room to another as they were shouting my name. They were shouting, ‘Legacy, if you’re bold, come out.’ I felt the right thing was to go out and confront them. But the guys in the room held me down. When they left, I came out and went to Afrika’s room. Afrika was dead but Tunde was still alive. He called my name and stretched his hand towards me to help him. I immediately looked outside to see if I could find a student, but I couldn’t find anybody. I went up and down. The person that I saw thought I was a ghost, so he ran back. I had to convince him that I was alive but before we got to Tunde Oke, he had lost so much blood, and he died. If I had got assistance early enough to be able to rescue him, he would have been saved.

When the cultists were coming upstairs earlier on, they met one guy on the staircase and he was also shot or probably it was when they were leaving. The guy’s name was Efe Ekidi. That made it four students – Afrika, Tunde, Ajiteru and Efe. They also attacked a lot of students with machetes and axes. There was one student (Charles) they met while going upstairs, they slapped him across the face and the guy retaliated, so they shot at him. They used an axe to cut him and he ran behind a door. The guy lost consciousness. When we picked up Tunde Oke, we were able to carry Charles too and take them to the General Hospital. He was unconscious for seven days and when he came out of his coma, that was when he knew that he had been brutally dealt with by the cultists but he survived it. I saw him last year or two years ago at Ijebu Ode. He is a successful lawyer.

The cultists branched at Fajuyi Hall while they were leaving and from one of the blocks, a student came out, not knowing they were there and he was shot. His name was Eviano Ekelemu, a Part 5 medical student. That made it five students that were murdered. Several other students were injured; some had minor gunshot wounds. Eventually, the cultists went back to my office where they had actually seen me earlier, thinking the information they had about me being in the room was not correct. They went to the students’ union building, broke into my office, shot at the glasses there, and used their axes to damage the fridge before they drove out of the campus.

The funny thing and the big question you ask yourself is why the batteries of all the walkie-talkies in all the halls of residence, at the Senate Building, and the different security checkpoints were flat at the same time as claimed by the school authorities. That is unbelievable. And the gate was left open for them to leave without anybody questioning them.

How cultists looking for me gunned down OAU student in my presence –Legacy, ex-OAU SUG president

June 13, 2020
‌
OAU Five is the name given to the five students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, who were killed during a series of shootings and murders which took place on the school campus on Saturday, July 10, 1999. It resulted in the death of five students and left many more students of the school injured. It was perpetrated by a squad of about 40 members of the Confraternity branch at the university, in collaboration with some of their colleagues from other schools. They invaded the Awolowo Hall of the university at around 4.30am, clad in black clothes, with their faces hidden by masks, and attacked students with guns and machetes. A former President of the school’s Students’ Union Government, Lanre Adeleke, popularly known as Legacy, who narrowly escaped death as he was also a target, tells BOLA BAMIGBOLA about the incident

When you remember an incident of over 20 years ago where five students of Obafemi Awolowo University were murdered in cold blood by cult members, what comes to your mind?

Well, it is the sad story of a country that is not yet developed, where justice is still elusive, where everything is wrong, where nobody is held accountable, and where the security of lives and property is not assured. It says a lot about the degeneration in the system. Is it the judiciary you want to talk about or the police, academic institutions, vice-chancellors and so on? Speaking of the killing of Afrika (George Iwilade) and the four other students, we have read about those who partook in it with facts to back it up. We want our (OAU) Students’ Union Government to revisit it so that Nigerians can have confidence that we are building a society that is safe for all of us.

For the sake of those who didn’t know what led to the killings, how did it happen?

It was at a period when we were coming out of the military era and cultism was virtually in most other schools but not in Ife (OAU). We had a union in Ife that was quite radical and didn’t allow the influence of cultists to take root on the campus. Aside from that, we had vice-chancellors taking orders from the military junta and equally not democratic. So it was a period when the Students’ Union Government put up strong resistance to the school’s vice-chancellor.

The resistance was about basic things: fighting for welfarism, rights of students to unite, talk and express themselves, demand for whatever they needed, accountability, and against obnoxious school fees and the likes. In a normal society where things are done right, such things would not have been a problem. In such places, a committee would look at them and do what is right but because of the way things were at that time, it was the use of force that prevailed. Students’ union executives were being expelled and the conflict was reverberating through the campus. It takes a university with a dynamic and active students’ union that is devoid of any interference in terms of cultism to have a school where cultism would not prevail and that was what we had in Ife.

Cultists were trying to have their way into the campus and the school authorities created an avenue for that and eventually supported them willfully. I will tell you that we first arrested four cultists on March 7, 1999. They were gathering for initiation and they had some students who were from other schools who wanted to join them in the initiation.

Before the initiation, a student drove into the car park where they were gathering along the road and splashed water on their car. They traced the student to Mozambique Hall and beat him up badly. But because we had a virile students’ union government, the student reported the matter at the Union Executives’ Block and we had to move round to know where those students came from but unfortunately they were not living in any hall of residence. They were living at the staff quarters where lecturers were supposed to be living; they were living in a ‘boys’ quarters’ meant for a lecturer. We found out that the ‘boys’ quarters’ was locked from behind but when those that went there were leaving, they noticed that there was movement inside the house. So, they entered the house and arrested some boys there, and what they found shocked everybody. They found four machine guns, among several other weapons and ammunition under the bed. So it was glaring that they were planning some things and they had to be taken to Awolowo Hall because the issue was beyond molestation of a fellow student.

So, what happened at Awolowo Hall?

Voluntarily, those students that were caught started confessing.They said they were on the campus for initiation and the weapons were for their initiation. One of them mentioned the name of a very senior staff member and said he knew about their activities and was actually their patron. At that point in time, there was no way we could have handed them over to the school authorities, so we took them to the police area command at Moore in Ife.

Since a senior staff member was implicated, we reported the case to the school management so that they could clarify some things. We felt in an intellectual community, that was the most befitting way of addressing the issue. What we wanted was for the person to denounce the relationship he allegedly had with the guys that were arrested and allow the rule of law to take its course. But unfortunately, the school management hurriedly closed down the school and sent students packing, which showed that something was fishy.

You would not believe that the set of students that were detained at Moore had been released before we got back to school. We realised the school authorities were behind their release and at the end of the day, we found out that their trial at the Magistrates’ Court was held between March 24 and 31, 1999, which I knew to be the fastest criminal case ever tried as at that time at the court.

All weapons and other evidence found with them were asked to be destroyed by the magistrate. When we returned to school in June 1999, we had to take it up with the school administration because we expected the school to make sure the case was followed up and that the affected students were expelled or suspended for being found to be involved in cultism. But the students were all over the place, moving round the campus and even attending lectures. We had to write several press releases to challenge the school authorities that it ought not to be so.

How could the culprits we apprehended be moving freely without any meaningful trial? We found out after July 10 from the judicial panel of enquiry that they were actually not given any trial as they had claimed. They were actually given letters after July 10. And eventually, they carried out their attack on July 10. What was glaring was that we resisted the attack after the killing of five students by going after them in the early hours of that day and apprehending them. The confessions those caught made that day made it glaring that the senior staff member supported them, even by giving money to them from the bursary.

It was corroborated by the bursar that money was given out for security operation to one man, who was alleged to have received the money and given it to one of the alleged cultists who came from Lagos. All the evidence was there and the judicial panel of enquiry was baffled.

It was even more glaring when the security officers of the school were asked how the cultists were able to escape when they came so early, around 4.30am, they could not say anything because contrary to the norm, the university closed its (main) gate at 12 midnight and didn’t open it until 6am. The cultists went out through that same gate they came in before 6am and were able to escape. Interestingly, the university had security gadgets like walkie-talkies and radio sets that were used to communicate at the halls of residence, quarters, main security unit, Senate Building and the gate. The walkie-talkies were connected and they all worked for 24 hours.

It will surprise you that when the security officers were asked questions before the judicial panel of enquiry, they claimed that all their batteries were flat at the same time, which must be a big lie. All we needed at that time was for a government that was determined to ensure that justice was done but unfortunately that did not happen.

What roles did you and some others play after the students were apprehended at the boys’ quarters?

I was not in school when they were apprehended. I was at a programme in Lagos State, but Afrika (Iwilade) and some others were the ones who apprehended those students. When I came back, they gave me the report and told me why they had to hand them over to the police at Moore. And to me, it was the best thing that they could have done. As the President of the Students’ Union Government, I had to send a letter to the school management, only for the vice-chancellor to shut down the school.

What eventually happened to the weapons found with the students?

The magistrate ruled that the four machine guns should be returned to either the armory of the police or that of the Nigerian Army; I’m not too sure now. He also ordered that other weapons should be destroyed and that the boys should be released. The trial was concluded within eight days; I have never seen that in my life.

27 years ago on June 8, 1993, The Guadian Published my advertisement in support of the Abiola/Kingibe ticket for the June 12 election. The advert was a culmination of events starting from University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, The Guardian Newspapers and relationships that formed my worldview.

At UNEC, during my first semester, I started a Newsletter titled “The Mirror” of which I was the reporter, editor and publisher. The newsletter was stenciled, cyclostyled and pasted across hostel and departmental notice boards weekly. The Newsletter endorsed Emejulu Okpala for President SUG, he won. Our relationship started as we formed Eastern Youth Forum as our political arm to raise consciousness amongst the people of old Eastern Region.

In 1992, ASUU went on a long strike and to occupy my time and realize my desire for journalism, I went to Rutam House and requested to meet the Managing Director, Lade Bonuola. He obliged me, listened to me patiently as I made my pitch for a part time job as a reporter. He asked a few questions, and I believe, struck by my audacity offered me a job with transport allowance as the only remuneration. I accepted happily. Editor, Emeka Izeze, discussed with me briefly and sent me to work as reporter at the Business Desk. I arrived the following day and me Bisi Ojediran, Head of the Desk, his initial surprise that I was not a Mass Communication student on internship dissipated quickly as he gave me assignments immediately to edit a story. My life as reporter started.

My main target at The Guardian was to meet and acquaint myself with members of the Editorial Board. The Guardian at that time was the most influential newspaper in the country. Their famous editorial titled TO SAVE NIGERIA, rattled General Babangida and gingered the emerging opposition to military rule. The Guardian was a prestigious newspaper. Back to my presence at Rutam House.

I started with Edwin Madunagu, whose Thursday articles was a must read for me since secondary school days. Through him I met many members of the Nigeria radical left. I sought out Olatunji Dare, whose Matters Miscellaneous and Tuesday writings was a delight to read. He was mostly busy chairing the board. Okey Ikechukwu of the Ijele fame held sway every Wednesday, I thought of him as one of the most perceptive writer around. Reuben Abati, at the time the youngest member of the board, wrote in his literary form of interesting dialogue every Friday, a fitting end to the week. How can I forget Sina Odugbemi, who I spent endless hours with listening to his intense logic. His Monday articles was a wonderful way to start my week. The relationships i developed with some of the editorial board members opened new vistas in my worldview.

Through Edwin Madunagu, I met a number of members of radical left. I lived on the same route with Reuben, so most nights we went home together. I learnt a lot.

As June 12 election approached, the radical left and the media were united in working to get Gen. Babangida out. Abiola was not the best choice but getting IBB out was more important. We met regularly and on one occasion we met at Baba Omojola’s place and he requested that if the police should interrupt our meeting we should all claim members of Mourners Association in a meeting to mourn our departed. As the forces loyal to the government fought to use the Muslim/Muslim ticket to rally support for Tofa, who we believe was the government lackey, we decided it was time to get the people of south east and Christians to focus on a single enemy. This led to the advert paid for by my father, who was strongly in support of Abiola.

The advert caused problems amongst members of Eastern Youth Forum. Comrade Akhaine Odion and others encouraged me to stay the course.

In 1994, just before the anniversary of June 12, I met Chief Abiola through the Managing Director of The Concord, Mr Stanley Egbochukwu.....the story of the meeting and the link with Eastern Mandate Union, Arthur Nwankwo, Fred Eno, Kudirat Abiola and others will be discussed in a Facebook live video on June 12, 7pm West African Time.

Join me

This thread will likely hit the I million views mark and beyond the sentimental attachment to it from its gravitational pull is too strong to be neglected.

Kenplay:
Wao… I read this excitement. I hope to have a career in the stock market.

Thanks for the recognition and acknowledgment please do

*-Duties and Functions of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)*

i. *Investors’ endorsement* thereby enhancing their confidence in the capital market.
ii. It ensures orderly, fair and equitable dealings in securities business.
iii. Promotes capital market growth and development.
iv. It ensures that information on the quoted companies is made available at all times in an efficient manner.
v. It creates the necessary atmosphere for the orderly growth and development of the market thereby giving full effect to the provision of the Decree.
vi. Price determination: this is one of the most important functions of the Securities and Exchange Commission. This is because if prices are not well fixed, the parties involved may not be satisfied.
vii. Above all, it is the apex regulatory body for NSE and its branches to which it is at liberty to delegate powers.

Let's examine the functions of the Nigerian Stock Exchange too for comparison;

*-Functions of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)*

i. To act as the central meeting place for members to buy and sell existing stocks and shares and for granting quotations to new shares/issues through the provision of new or fresh capital raised through the market.
ii. To provide machinery through stocks and shares for mobilizing private and public savings and making these available for productive investment.
iii. To provide opportunities for the continued operation and attraction of foreign capital for Nigeria’s development.
iv. To facilitate dealings in government securities.
v. To prescribe requirements for new listings and to regulate secondary trading activity and the activities of its dealing members.
vi. To make information on the quoted companies available for fair dealings.
vii. To protect the public from shady dealings and practice in quoted securities with the objective of ensuring fair dealings.

Looking at the above functions of the two bodies, one can tell that the SEC is the Alpha and Omega of operations in the Capital Market and not the NSE which is just a platform for trading that is subject to the regulations issue out by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to guide itself (NSE) aright in its mode of operations.

The genesis of the capital market crises in the years under review (2006 - 2009) came up to public attention shortly after Alhaji Aliko Dangote, then, President, Nigerian Stock Exchange, brought spurious allegations against the leadership of the NSE, (when he petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission) of financial imprudence that, according to him, has brought The Exchange to the verge of financial bankruptcy. This manner of approach Aliko Dangote took, was a breach against the ethics of business and operations in the industry because besides not notifying the management of this allegation before hand, he went behind to involve Accenture just to prove whatever points he intend to gain by that move. You can visit this link to see the responses to all the allegations raised by Dangote's letter against the NSE here; http://developer.investadvocate.com.ng/2010/08/04/nse-response-to-the-complaint-by-aliko-dangote/

It would be recalled that between 2006 and 2008, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), became a major channel for portfolio investors. But it was not long before the bubble burst. The fact is *she sounded the warning during this period to the two authorities regulating the affairs of the Capital and Money Markets but somehow they missed the mark and ignored her timely warning.* In her own words during an interview on why the market took a downward trend despite being in the saddle of leadership, she said, *"In the case of Nigeria, government did not make it possible because the bubble burst from the Western world. I saw it coming and I kept telling everybody because our economy depends on importation. We depend on the U.S, UK and other European countries; so, our life was intertwined. We practically imported everything. The problem you talked about first started in the U.S, and two or three years before it got to us I had been warning that it was coming. Nothing was done."*
She went further when asked *what would have been her expectations in terms of taking proactive and preventive measures having foreseen the impending danger,* she opined,

"Yes, our market was bubbling; we were making money and many of our patent companies were being affected in Europe. So it would definitely affect us. The indigenous companies were not affected but the share price movement would affect them because if UAC, John Holt, Guinness, Nigerian Breweries are being affected, there is no way Nigerian companies would not be affected. The wind had started in the U.S, it got to Europe. The impact on Nigeria could be less, but I did not expect that it would not get to us. The foreign exchange market would be the first to be affected and then the banks and the quoted companies. So, if there is recession, it goes around everywhere because both the money market and Equity market work hand-in-hand.*

*So, we were expecting it, but what made it worse — because I expected it to be minimal — was the second coming of banks to the capital market when banks were asked to increase their capital base to N25 billion. In the banks’ first coming (IPOs), Central Bank Governor, Chukwuma Soludo did exceedingly well. Our banks had capitalized. When they did the first coming to the Stock Exchange to raise money, they met the capitalisation benchmark; 23 of the 25 banks made it. The banks got good money and their eyes were opened. They were impressed with the kind of money they raised and what they eventually had in their vaults, so they went back for more money. I kept warning against it."*

Visit here to read more about the warnings she gave the two regulatory bodies, SEC and CBN, in order to avoid the effects of the economic meltdown she foresaw especially between 2006 to 2008; https://m.guardian.ng/business-services/okereke-onyiuke-i-warned-banks-against-raising-idle-funds-but-ego-trip-and-unhealthy-competition/amp/

*-The Amazon In Her Own Script of Leadership/Stewardship*

Here is a woman of substance that brought many firsts and sterling performances to a Stock Market that was under performing among her peers within the African region and beyond. The moment the "Iron Lady" took up the mantle of leadership at the 22-Storey head office of the Stock Exchange, at Custom street, Lagos, on January 2000 till she left in August 4th, 2010, *she had established the Nigerian Stock Exchange as a force to reckon with in the world of "stock markets that generate rich returns on investments for economic growth" of the host country. On assuming duty in 1983, she dazzled the Council and Management of The Nigerian Stock Exchange by strengthening the organisation’s research base. She was highly instrumental to the computerization of the Exchange in 1985, a development which included the creation of “The Nigerian Stock Exchange” All Shares Index - a barometer that gauges the mood of economy. In the same year, she spearheaded the training of potential Stockbrokers by starting off The Stock Exchange’s Authorised Clerkship Examination.* Today, the examination is midwifed by the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS). The credit goes to her that Nigeria ’s Stockbrokers have a pride of place in the international stock markets.

She brought her technical know-how to bear on the Exchange at the inception of the Privatisation and Commercialisation Programme of the Federal Government. As the head of the Exchange’s Quotations Department, she was the Chairman for the Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation (TCPC) now Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE). Her laudable contributions to the committee’s achievements earned her special commendation from The Exchange and Federal Government of Nigeria.

In April, 1997, her efforts as the Project Director of the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Limited was crowned with success with the commencement of automated delivery that is Central Depository, Clearing and Settlement System. Her concerted efforts with Rasak Oladejo, the Project Director of Automated Trading System (ATS) culminated in the success story of the new trading regime in April, 1999 (T+5) and on March 1st, 2000 (T+3) in line with developments in advanced markets. As an accomplished securities strategist, she emerged as the Chairman of the African Stock Exchange’s Association (ASEA) listing Committee whose mandate is to produce a standardized Minimum Listing Requirements for ASEA Members to facilitate cross border listing in Africa . She has always served on the ASEA Committee on harmonisation of qualifying examination for stockbrokers in Africa .

She was about to retire in September of 2010 after granting a world press conference in July 2009, on her stewardship and intention to work out a succession plan that will take over from her in order to set the Exchange on a path of greatness when the allegations started flying in about the crisis rocking the Capital market especially the Stock Exchange under her charge. The allegations were that she superintended over abusive processes that led to the crash of the capital market that ranges from; stealing of investors’ funds, falsification of records, and insider dealings. She gave her own response that excuse her office from the complicities that led to the crash by citing;

* Poor regulations by the regulatory agencies, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), are to blame for the downfall of a troubled market that was already shaken by the 2009 global economic crisis.

* The indiscriminate granting of margin loans by the banks to all manners of investors and market operators. While margin loans by themselves are not bad, because they help to create more liquidity in the market, globally. However, in the case of Nigeria, the banks gave out these loans indiscriminately, and in most cases insisted that such margin loans were used to purchase their own shares;

* Reckless dealings by the banks which drew no sanctions from the regulatory bodies, that is SEC and CBN;

* Unguarded pronouncements by the two bodies, especially the CBN, which she alleged were "wild and irresponsible" was the last straw that tore the market apart. Especially when a certain CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was being reported as having described the capital market as kalu kalu, a Hausa word implying a casino;

* It was also established by her that SEC was sourcing operational funds from the Stock Exchange that was supposed to be regulated by the SEC. She alleged while presenting her case before the House Committee on Capital Market matters that, "SEC was collecting 0.3% of shareholdings from NSE"

You can visit here to read more about this sub heading; https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/5007-okereke-onyuike_accuses_oteh_cbn_of_abuses.html

*My Take*

Looking at the cited points above, especially the functions of the SEC and NSE, it would be right to say that there is little she could do to prevent the shady deals that pervade that era when the regulatory body, SEC, is alive and kicking. We must also note that what she predicted as regards the recession that engulfed the capital market and her position on the excesses of investors (especially the banks) were absolutely correct. Also, taking into considerations her timely warnings coupled with the corrective measures she put in place to checkmate the looming danger but was ignored, it will be a great disservice to her efforts for all what she had done to the growth and sustenance of the Nigerian Stock Exchange to allege that Dr (Mrs) Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, OON was a misfit at the saddle of the Capital Market during her 10 years and 7 months+ as the Director General of the NSE. Her years of professional experience in the New York Stock Exchange were brought to bear on the market, and the NSE recorded an impressive boom. That was when banks fell over themselves in pursuit of enhanced capital from Initial Public Offering (IPOs) and other market derivatives. *The bubble was to burst following the global economic crunch of 2008 through 2009 (which was never her fault);* the NSE took the plunge and many Nigerians especially banks with their alleged malpractices got their fingers burnt. Expectedly, the market was engulfed by an administrative turmoil (bottlenecks) and a controversial government intervention (political influence) few months before the September 2010 official retirement of Okereke-Onyiuke, which saw her exiting the stage on August 4th, 2010!

*The Post Okereke-Onyiuke Plan For The NSE (Demutualisation Policy)*

In a swift reaction to the crises the Exchange suffered but endured as a result of the Abuja Stock Exchange (ASE) and the Chartered Institute of StockBrokers (CIS) rebellion, a rebellion orchestrated by the Ndanusa-led SEC, the Council of the Stock Exchange under the Presidency of Alhaji Abdul Razak and Leadership of Dr (Mrs) Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke in July 2002 had plan to demutualise (or become a company limited by shares with a commercial structure and operations) the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It is said that the Council of the NSE would be restructured. Implementing the demutualization plan would see members of the Council of NSE ‘compensated with the allotment of properly evaluated shares of NSE, commensurate to their hitherto honorary services to NSE. Thereafter, members of the Council of NSE will be restructured to reflect proportionately all the stakeholders or interest groups of the Nigeria capital market and, of course, the shareholders of NSE. Under the Abdul Razak implementation plan, it will be the responsibility of the Council of NSE to assess the value of ordinary shares of NSE, and the proportion in which they are to be held between members of the council of NSE on the one hand and existing ordinary members of NSE. Razak recommended the proportion of 100:1 ordinary share. The essence of this *Demutualisation Policy* of the Dr Okereke-led NSE, is to give Nigerians the opportunity to become shareholders of their own company; they will also get the Annual Reports, and it will become profit making. It would be standardised and controlled because the people that are members would be the general public, companies and individuals. To know more about this demutualisation policy, it's many benefits and why it is still not implemented since 2010 Madam Okereke left office, visit this link; https://m.guardian.ng/business-services/okereke-onyiuke-i-warned-banks-against-raising-idle-funds-but-ego-trip-and-unhealthy-competition/amp/

*Her Legal Battles*

It was a tough and windy road after the Amazon left office as her traducers were hellbent to see her disgraced and probably end up in jail. All the allegations of financial recklessness, manipulations of share prices and the likes tabled before her at the court of law she fought and emerged victorious at the end of the whole case. Eventually she had to settle out of court and even won a N500 million sum against the Securities and Exchange Commission for unlawful removal from office. Another credence to the fact that she was not culpable in all the allegations levelled against her which to me is another plus to her sterling performances and glowing career. To read more visit; https://t.guardian.ng/news/court-dismisses-appeal-against-former-sec-dg-okereke-onyiuke/ and this too; https://trwstockbrokers./2018/03/12/finally-stock-exchange-settles-employment-dispute-with-ex-dg-okereke-onyiuke-others/

*Who Is Dr (Mrs) Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke?*

Born in Bonny, Rivers State on November 2, 1950, Okereke-Onyiuke had her elementary education at Queens College, Enugu before proceeding to City University of New York, USA where she also obtained her MBA, specializing in Finance and Computer Science. She later earned a Doctor of Philosophy as well as Doctor of Administration in Finance and Securities Market from the Graduate School of the City University. Okereke-Onyiuke had been Exchange Services Manager, System Consultant at the New York Stock Exchange before joining the NSE and rose to become its Director General in 2000. Okereke-Onyiuke served as visiting professor for MBA, MBF and MSC classes for the University of Lagos from 1995 to 1997. She served as Exchange Services Manager and Systems Consultant at the New York Stock Exchange from 1976 to 1983. Since 2000, the Exchange witnessed tremendous changes and growth.

@Temitope

*The Decisive Role Of Leadership In The Capital Market Crash Of 2006-2009 In Nigeria!*

*Preface*

First thing first, I count it a great privilege to offer myself to dig deep into the archives of history to discus this topic on leadership role of the "Capital Market Crash of 2006 - 2009" in Nigeria. It is my firm belief that the leadership quality of the then Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Dr (Mrs) Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, that span January 2000 to August 4th, 2010 brought many positive results that stood the test of time till date after her tenure, this I will expose in the course of this work. It is within my jurisdiction as the author here to set in right perspectives by taking a detailed look into the genesis of the crisis that eventually rocked the stock market to its foundation and left it in comatose today far from the bubbling era of yearly IPOs that kept the investing public glued to their TV sets and newspapers monitoring stock reports updates, and creating almost national passions to invest their hard-earned monies in the profitable and money-spinning capital market.

*Introduction*

Before I proceed, let's understand what the Stock Market is all about. *The NSE is a company limited by guarantee and led by a body of individuals and organizations called the "Council of the NSE".* Its day-to-day affairs are run by a management headed by the Director General (the appellation CEO or Chief Executive Officer was added by the former head, Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke). As a rule, the NSE has a President with two Vice Presidents to also function in leadership roles especially during shareholders meetings, conferences and other capacities as deemed fit by the management they are also part of the Council of Management of the NSE. The NSE is not an organization that comes under the direct oversight of the Presidency or any government institution with the exceptions of the SEC and the National Assembly. This simply means that the NSE is a Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO), making and enforcing rules for its members which cannot be dictated to by any external statutory bodies except for compliance to the rules governing it's mode of operations as monitored by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in case of abuse of office or statutory duties can be summoned by the committee of capital markets regulation within the National Assembly. It regulates its members (brokerage firms). It also regulates its listed companies to ensure compliance with listing rules. The Stock Market is a market for securities transaction, that is, a place where securities (shares, bonds, equities) are bought and/or sold for easier trading. The Stock Exchange can also be a mechanism (barometer as some would suggest) which can measure and detect the symptoms of an impending economic boom or decline long before the predicted prosperity or decline actually occurs. This simply implies that "a healthy Stock Exchange means a booming and buoyant economy while an unhealthy stock market signifies an ailing economy".

The question now is, *"Is The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) The Major And Only Player/Authority In The Capital Market?"* This is where we now expatiate further that as much as the NSE is mostly talked about in the day to day activities at the Capital Market, it is not the only major player but a nucleus in the family of players in the industry. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) comes to mind here but before then, let's consider this; in 1973, the government promulgated the Capital Issues Commission (CIC) Decree of 1973, which eventually metamorphosed into the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) we have today to give legal backing and more power to the commission in place of the capital issues committee so as to enhance the implementation of the Nigeria Enterprises Promotion Decree (NEPD). However, the CIC continued to operate as a department in the CBN but had the function of determining the price, timing, and the amount of offers for sale or subscription as set up by the Financial System Review Committee headed by Dr. Pius Okigbo (the then Economic Adviser to the federal government). The Okigbo’s committee among other things recommended the following:

i) Facilitate effective management of the economy
ii) Provide non-inflationary support for the economy
iii) Ensure that no viable project is frustrated singly for lack of fund
iv) Achieve greater mobilization of savings and its efficient and effective channeling
v) Insulate the economy as much as possible and as much as desirable from the vicissitudes of the international economic scene.
vi) The establishment of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to replace Capital Issues Commission (CIC) and the establishment of additional stock exchange. This resulted to the establishment of trading floors at Kaduna, Port Harcourt and the Lagos Stock Exchange (LSE) that was later redesigned as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

We must bear it in mind that the *Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission was established in 1977 by Securities Act of 1979 and re-enacted in 1988 to be the apex regulatory body of the Nigerian Capital Market.* In other words, it is the government regulator of the Nigerian capital market whose legal muscle is derived from the investments and securities act of 1999. This simply implies that the Securities and Exchange Commission is more of a regulatory body and an authority in the affairs of business than the Nigerian Stock Exchange, this I will shed more light on as we move on.

*An Unethical And Political Intervention Into The Affairs Of The Stock Market*

Although the years under review here are between 2006 to 2009 let it be known that the crisis within the capital market dated back to 1996 when there was a political tone to the hierarchy of leadership between the Nigerian Stock Exchange headquartered in Lagos and the hurriedly set up Abuja Stock and Commodities Exchange (ASCE) which was kickstarted as a result of the political motivated Dennis Odife's Report. It must be noted that the highly-controversial establishment of the moribound Abuja Stock Exchange (ASE) was based on the report on capital market reform put together by the committee led by an investment banker and capital market expert, Dennis Odife, was premised on the structure of leadership, both at the Council of the NSE and its management team. They want the Nigerian Stock Exchange to revert back to its original name of Lagos Stock Exchange in order to accommodate the newly formed Abuja Stock Exchange but this was firmly resisted by the well oiled and coordinated management team of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Hence the need to set up a parallel Exchange at Abuja in order to serve the personal interests of some powerful socio-political elites, and questionable doubts regarding how the Nigerian Stock Exchange was being run at the top level.

To add flesh to this audacious move, Dennis Odife and the rest of his team had already found an ally in the then Director General of the Securities & Exchange Commission, Mallam Suleyman Ndanusa, with the support of the late General Sani Abacha’s administration took an unprecedented step of issuing an order of removal of Alhaji Abdul Razak as the President of the NSE and Ndi Okereke-Onyuike, the Director General. This wrong move was fought by the management of the NSE due to the unity within them and at last it was settle out of court. It is more of "let's create a money making machine like what they have down south in Lagos here up north in Abuja" but it was bound to fail. Thanks to the Lagos team resistance!

The other notable unethical move to undermine the leadership of the NSE, took place shortly after the Odife's drama. It was a well planned rebellion against the Nigerian Stock Exchange, this time around, it came from within the rank and file of the stockbrokers, under the umbrella of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) then headed by Mr. Remi Bakare, then Registrar of the Institute. It was reported that the CIS had sent a bill to the then House of Assembly, allegedly pushed by Honourable Lanre Laoshe on behalf of Mr. Bakare. The Bill sought to allow the CIS licence the Stock Exchange and other capital market operators. The Bakare-led rebellion was crushed as usual by the NSE as it weighed in on the National Assembly's timely intervention through the House Committees on Human Rights, Legal Matters and Judiciary and other power blocs. The consequences of this ‘unethical initiative’ by Mr. Remi Bakare have proven a lesson on how not to take on the NSE. Others have learnt this lesson well by heart and have chosen to avoid such open confrontations. One big lesson to take from these scenarios is that, *some forces from the political cycle* would always want to influence the decisions and workings of the stock management's team (like it was revealed above) but each time they tried they will always meet an impregnable wall. As you read on, it will be revealed to us how eventually the NSE caved in to external pressures they had hitherto withstood under the leadership of an air tight management team commandeered by Dr (Mrs) Okereke-Onyiuke which reminds me of the popular creed that, "good leadership is everything"!

*The Genesis Of The Capital Market Crises (2006 - 2009)*

One mystery about good leadership is their telepathic relationship to the futuristic effects of what is about to unfold and their creative power to always work out modalities to curtail its damnable consequences. The bullish trend (positive growth, that is when securities are fairing well) and bearish trend (negative growth, that is when securities prices are falling) of the stock market is largely influenced by three factors in the economy which are; political, economical and societal in nature. These market movers can be identified under the followings; Tax regulations, Inflation, Earnings, Interest rates, Domestic political run out, Terrorism and times of war, Oil and energy prices, Crime and fraud, Political and Social Uncertainties, Foreign Portfolio Investors etc. Let me stress that as we have the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) being the authorised regulator of banking activities and other financial institutions in the money market so also we have the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) playing the same role too in the capital market and in the process overseeing the activities of the NSE. To prove it further, let's examine the functions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);

I really appreciate those reaching out to me through this post for advice please feel free as you prepare towards the Post Covid-19 time