Nigeria 2019 Elections - The True Face of Electioneering

FRIDAY February 22

It is 7:28 p.m. and dark outside in a quiet village in Delta Central. A tall young man no more than 25 years walks into a group of youth standing not too far from the bright light emanating from the window of a building two feet from where they stood. The group is familiar with each other, sharing pleasantries, their main discussion about the presidential election less than 48 hours away.

The focus now shifts to the young man who walked in minutes ago. His name is Friday. When asked by a member of the group what he thinks about the election, he declares with a sly grin: "We are ready. We know the party wey go win!" He turns and looks at his audience who watch him enraptured. "I get 4 PVCs!" Friday declares, explaining that he had gotten the PVCs since 2015 as a member of the Umbrella party. 

He said he registered all four PVCs at four different communities in the Delta Central area. Going by his ancestral village, he is from Unit 3 of the Polling Centre but plans to go to three more centres within a 5 kilometre stretch to vote. He goes on to explain how he uses petrol to wipe off the ink stain on his finger used to vote in each polling unit, explaining that as a security agent approved by the senior Party Agent in charge of the units, all he needed to do was notify his gang of 5 per polling unit informing them he was leaving. They have a code, a signal for this particular mission. That is his cue to move with speed as soon as he's done voting. Thereafter he navigates his way to the next polling units. 

Asked how he could have quick access to voting on time in all three polling centres, he replies: "Na we-we dey there. We know how we dey run am." He gets paid N10,000 for this particular job. He has already been advanced N5000 and would get the balance after the election.

Earlier in the day word got out that prisoners have been released unexpectedly from prison without due legal process. Many in the community speak in concerned whispers about the appearance of a notorious prisoner known for armed robbery and thuggery. Someone in the group said: "Na to waste their lives in ballot snatching and thuggery that is why dem release them from prison nau." When someone asked Friday if he was aware of this, he says he's aware of the prisoner’s release explaining that the prisoners belong to the party with the broom logo who have been freed without official procedures with the singular goal to rig the elections in any manner possible.

Someone threw a direct question to Friday, asking if his umbrella party also have such prisoners released to carry out similar rigging. Friday nods his head ever so slightly in the affirmative in a manner that betrayed impulsive body language over quick-thinking response as his eyes widen in muted excitement at the same time. He turned his head away momentarily then turns back to reply: "I cannot answer that." 

When asked again, he repeated the same sentence, "I cannot answer that." A moment later he leaves and waves goodbye to the others who wished him well. Many in the group expressed deep concern about Friday’s safety, some saying he's not a smart young man and may not survive past the election should he be caught. Despite the order of the President that any caught in the act of ballot snatching will be gunned down, the devil-may-care attitude of youth in the Delta Central emboldens them to do the unthinkable.

SATURDAY March 23

The time is 5:30 a.m. I rush into the waiting car taking me to the designated polling unit. There’s a 6-6 curfew of no movement. The polling centre is far and I didn’t bring along my jogging shoes not to mention I had no idea how to get to the polling unit on my own.

We drove down the dark streets into partially lite streets leading to the polling centre. Within 10 minutes we arrived at the town hall where the election would take place. The building is locked. I take a stroll to another open centre and sat back waiting till the scheduled time for voting at 8:00 a.m. 

The community is quiet, many still asleep. A few persons can be seen fetching water from a pump. Some other early-rising voters join me too. They were keen on not being denied their rights to vote. The no-movement curfew was not going to be an excuse.

At 7:25 a.m. I head out to the town hall hoping I can be amongst the first on the queue, believing voting would start on time. As I walk through the street the stench of weed suffocates the air. It is 34 degrees hot. The burning heat from 5 gas-flaring nozzles radiates into the atmosphere adding to the scotching bite. The thick, irritating humidity makes the skin crawl with sticky sweat.

The sound of thumping Nigerian pop music pumps a continuous rhythm of gyrating sounds, mixing with the gay excited air of citizens out and about to vote – determined to vote. Today they decide who becomes the president of Nigeria and who would occupy the senatorial seats at the national assembly.

Ironically, you can smell and taste the deep stench of poverty, see the grains of sad echoes of unfulfilled dreams and feel pains of muffled outcry on the faces, homes and lives of people living in his community. The main road is tarred but modern facilities are not a common sight. Mud houses litter the community with some cement houses. The common building architecture are bungalows with one or two storey buildings scattered throughout the villages.

A dog sleeps on the white sandy ground like it has no care in the world, its eyes shut to the goings on around it. And even after much teasing by children and an adult to make it change its position, it refused to get up – a metaphor of voters' apathy seeping through the psyche and attitude of many who still feel their votes won’t count.

I move through a number of communities in the Delta Central and can't fail to observe the large number of young men dressed in singlets and boxers or jeans, some with sagging boxers or jeans bare-chested, drinking, smoking and generally lazing around. Many I’m told are thugs and their job is to 'snatch ballot boxes' should they think the election has been compromised in any way as they perceived. 

The two major parties, the broom and the umbrella hold sway amongst the many rearing to vote. No other party out of the 91 registered parties approved by INEC had any show of presence in this particular area. In some other parts of Delta Central. Delta South and Delta North there were up to 5 parties with voters ready to contest key elected positions.

At 8:00 a.m. the polling centre where I’m supposed to vote isn’t opened. 

At 9:03 a.m. when I passed by again, voting materials have not yet arrived.

By 9:55 a.m. an important political stalwart receives a call: "The bus have not arrived yet?" he queries the voice on the other side of the phone. He walks away from the small crowd trying to gather near him to eavesdrop. Later he walks back to his anxious waiting team and says to no one in particular: “I cannot understand why money already set aside for a job to be done isn't carried out.”, his face in a disturbed grimace. He whips his phone from the pocket of his African print trouser and makes another call. All is settled. 

Voters sit in scattered numbers around the polling unit, many of the senior citizens dressed in their traditional outfit with shoes and caps to match. A number of the youth who came out too were well kitted to the nines like it was Christmas. It was a bold statement that seems to proclaim: voting is serious business. Dress well to vote.

Three days prior however, the incumbent government announced that electorates who were indigenes of the state based in Abuja and Lagos will be provided buses at designated terminals to convey them down to Delta State to participate in the election no matter the party they intended to vote for.  Few resident indigenes I spoke with in the community said they saw 2 buses from which many voters alighted from, others said they saw 5 buses. The question on the lips of many was: this action by the government to convey voters for free from these locations, is it lobbying or vote buying? Many agreed it was lobbying since those ferried were not forced to do so in lieu of voting. Yet the big elephant in the room still hung: won’t this influence these voters to change their minds?

Someone in the audience with an angry scowl complained bitterly that teachers too had been compromised with bribes from the education secretary whose appointment required he delivers votes for the governor, else he will not return as a political appointee. The sum of N1.5 million was given to the executives of the Nigeria Union of Teachers after they had mobilised their members for a townhall meeting with the education secretary. While the excos shared N800,000, the balance of N700,000 was shared amongst its members, each taking away the sum of N1,500 only. Teachers who were not present at the forum were not given. They were considered 'traitors' or 'non compliant'. This caused some ill feelings. Two other persons in the group confirmed that the story was true, saying they had friends and family members who benefited from the largess.

At 10:15 a.m., a messenger runs to the political stalwart to announce that the bus conveying voting materials have arrived, but not at the central polling area where it was designated to be, but rather at a sub polling unit 4 kilometres away. "But they know we have more enemies that way nau!" a senior party agent whined, vexed. Another said, “But that is not the approved polling centre! Why take it there?” Quickly, they summon an emergency meeting to work out how to retrieve the INEC materials then dispersed secretly.

By 11:24 a.m. the voting materials was yet to arrive. Old men and women, including persons with disability fall asleep under the hot sun, barely protected by the shadows of the roofs of buildings. Many of the youth move about, their faces scrunched up. They are restive and eager to get done with the election.

A group of 15 men, ages 40-78 years gather together to play traditional drink-pouring and libation, welcoming one another as is the custom. Monies are placed on plates with kolanuts and drinks. Traditional poetry rules and the best orator holds the audience in his spell, mesmerizing them with ancestral idioms, proverbs and wise sayings. The senior citizens love this form of play and camaraderie, especially since it was such a rear treat to have so many wealthier and more sophisticated cosmopolitan visitors living outside the village come around for the voting exercise.

A sudden rush amongst the crowd announced the arrival of INEC Materials at 12:11 p.m. followed by a stampede of persons fighting to be the first in line to vote, many refusing to queue but keen on getting inside the hall rather than stand outside on a proper queue. 

A prominent party stalwart keen on delivering his constituency in the keenly contested elections calls on all to stay calm and form a queue. INEC officials and ad-hoc staff make strong pleas that seemed to fall on deaf ears. After much back and forth quarrels and tongue lashings, three queues were formed which later became two lines for 2 units.

Later, we get to learn that the reason for the late arrival of the materials was because the election materials had been seized by the opposition party with the broom logo. It took long negotiations, palm greasing and lengthy diplomacy of the party stalwart of the current party with the umbrella logo to finally get the gang who hijacked the materials to finally let go.

Just before I voted at 14:45 p.m., an elderly man struggling to walk with his walking stick caused a stir amongst the party agents inside the polling centre when he voted for the opposition in full glare of many. Because he couldn’t read and see clearly, one of the INEC officials assisted him with the process, asking him which party he preferred, and then guided him to thumb print on the preferred logo. There was no cubicle at this centre so everyone saw the elderly man’s party choice. 

A party leader who saw this happening exclaimed: “But how can he vote APC! Doesn’t he know this is a PDP community?” More grumblings from others watching the scene escaped people’s mouth. The larger number angry at the elderly man but a few more persons were concerned that the secrecy that goes with voting was violated and would prefer no one saw which party they voted for. After a while, a quiet calm set in after the old man was escorted away. By this time though, about one third of the voters on queue had already voted. Voting continued well past 5:00 p.m. considering it started more than four hours behind schedule.

Finally, everyone returns home to await the official announcement of the results from INEC even though many party agents, members and staunch supporters of the current party have high hopes their party will trump the opposition in these units.

And that was exactly what happened. At 8:30 p.m. news filtered that the party with the umbrella logo had the highest votes in these particular units.

But what would be the overall presidential and national assembly results from this community after the results from all the wards are collated? Which party will clinch it?

SUNDAY February 24

It’s 19:38 a.m. A bike with two men on it zoom past the street bumping with speed chanting a song, their voice loud: "Omo-Agege is a go!"

Five minutes later two more bikes speed past, the bikers shouting: "APC! Progress!" right behind them were children chanting in local dialect: “APC 5 over 10." "E gha na, e yen yen!" the literal translation means: You who vote, just keep pressing the brown!  "APC! Change Okowa!"

The partially lite street is now crowded with a moving jubilant crowd of youngsters from age 8 years and above in the midst of mostly older youth between 19-28 years old alongside more matured older men and few ladies, all shouting, chanting, singing with lots of exaggerated hailings, their joy palpable.

The community has gotten their desire. Their votes counted. President Muhammadu Buhari is returned as President of Nigeria, so is Omo-Agege returned to the 9th assembly as senator.

But is that choice the overall reflection in other wards and communities across Nigeria?

After almost 72 hours wait, INEC officially announces President Muhammadu Buhari winner of the presidential race while Atiku Abubakar emerged second with a 3.5million votes difference.

Gubernatorial Election

SATURDAY March 9th 

Driving through the community, an uncomfortable deadly quietness hung over the air as though people had deserted the place. It is 7:25 a.m. but the community seems to be fast asleep. The usual boisterousness that prevailed during the presidential election was absent. Not one single adult could be seen on the street. A few number of children pop their heads out from mud windows to see who the visitor in the car passing through their street was. They turn their face away, uninterested. The sound of voices from televisions filter into the quiet air, holding the gazes of the children spell bound to the screens.

In front of the town hall marked as the polling centre are three canopies. These were not there the last time the presidential elections held.

Soon the reason for the unusual calm and quietness in the community was uncovered. The week before, a strategic meeting with members of the community held. All youth, adults and adult groups were met and given gifts of monies. An average of N3k was given to male elders with an additional N10k was given at an earlier general meeting with all the male leaders and key male figures in the community and a token of N5k was given to each woman in the community. It was covert lobbying. A pre-emptive and strategic measure taken to prevent overt vote buying on election day. Electioneering has gotten more sophisticated, the money trail now more expansive.

I was already seated near the town hall under one of the canopies with about twenty other persons who had come from Warri to vote in their village. I repeatedly check my wristwatch, anxious to get done with the voting, hoping INEC officials will do better with timing this time. It was all wishful thinking.

At 8:55 a.m. the adults begin to stroll lazily out of shacks, mud, and cement houses leisurely taking up seats arranged under the canopies. Three large canopies were set up for voters to sit and wait their turns until the polling centre opens and voting commence. Many elders, majority of them dubbed 'Justices of Peace', have their special canopy. Older and middle aged women sit under this same canopy with the men. Another canopy with more nursing mothers and children, by default, occupied the last canopy.

At 10:40 a.m. election materials arrives.

By 11:07 a.m. voters were asked to cue in two separate lines.

Three patrol cars manned by 10 police officers and 2 military men in military outfits patrol the units. Different patrol vans move in and out, patrolling the entire breathe of the community in rotation. Seven women make up these mix team of police and army. They have a quick security meeting then zoom off in two patrol vehicles to create an air of seriousness.

Young party agents walk with bounce in their steps busy with activities expected of them to discharge. Some proudly don their tags around their necks, while others preferred to hold their tags in their hands moving about, sending coded signals to each other, whispering at other times and in one gusto move as a team to specific areas in and around the polling units. There does not seem to be any 'opposition' tension in the air. They have all 'reconciled' their differences.

There are two types of agents: the ones with tags and the ones without. The ones with tags are better dressed and slightly composed. The other set, dressed like street thugs in new clothes were more boisterous and aggressive.

It's 13:03 p.m. The sudden tasty smell of jollof rice swirling in the air set the olfactory lobe into overdrive causing a frenzy, scattering the queue. Many of the voters on queue made a run toward the smell of cooked meal. Instant quarrel amongst voters bursts forth. Shouts of “It’s my own,” "Where my own", "Give me too naa", "Why you no wan give me my share" rent the air, heightening the tensed excitement, many more no longer keen on staying on the queue to vote. Their priorities changed.

At 13:19 p.m., the sun bursts through the sky in one yellow flame of heat, shattering the cooler atmosphere long enjoyed for 6 hours amidst the struggle for packaged jollof rice.

At 13:25 p.m. a drunk voter jumps into a crowd of sitting voters waiting their turn to be served jollof rice, disrupting the merry calm. He charges in, picks up a white plastic chair and tries to haul it at another voter but was stopped in his tracks by three men. He shouts unintelligently, his words a slur. For another 3 mins they try to wrestle the chair from his hand while trying to stop him from attacking those who held on to his arms as he tried to kick and punch anyone within his reach. Then unexpectedly he wrestles himself free from their grasp rushing out the same way he rushed in.

By 14:44 p.m. about 95% of voters have exercised their franchise. Yet, the voter turnout compared to that of the presidential and senatorial election was low. Whispers of dirty, gun-shooting, fiery election seeped through many communities, frightening many from turning up. Surprisingly, it was a very calm and peaceful election. Many who later learnt how peaceful it had gone so far regretted not showing up.

But by 16:51 p.m. the story changed just as the weather began to gather dark clouds. A gun shot was heard. Panic and fear rented the air as many, especially the elderly began to run for their homes or seek protection in other people’s homes. News filtered that another polling unit, about 4 kilometres away, someone had tried to snatch a ballot box but was quickly gunned down by a vigilant police officer.

At this point the polling unit was barricaded off to allow a smooth collation of the results. Some said this was usually about the time ballot box snatching was done. It was time to go home. I drove off glad to have fulfilled my civic duties.

Almost forty hours later around noon on March 11th, the official announcement was made. The Umbrella won. The incumbent Governor emerged winner of the gubernatorial election. His winning was met with jubilation in Delta North and Delta South while it was a mix reaction in some parts of Delta Central.

Gang rape in universities: the issue of poor parenting, naivety and red flags

By Oluwatosin Omojuyigbe

An undergraduate of the University of Lagos, on Tuesday, explained to a Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja, how eight undergraduates of the same institution allegedly gang-raped and blackmailed her with the video footage of the sexual assault.

The 19-year-old gave an account of the incident while giving evidence during the trial of some of the suspects.

Five of the suspects, Moboluwaji Omowole, 19; Chuka Chukwu, 19; Peace Nwankaba, 19; James Aguedu, 20; and Osemeka Josephine, 20, were arraigned on Tuesday on three counts of defilement of a child, permitting the defilement of a child on a premises and procuration (inducing any minor girl under the age of 18 to go from any place or to do any act with intent that such a girl may be, or knowing that it is likely that she will be, forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person).

Other students, who are alleged accomplices to the crime, are still at large.

According to the prosecutor, K. A. Momoh-Ayokanbi, the defendants and others at large committed the offences in January 2017 on the premises of UNILAG, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos.

The offences, according to Momoh-Ayokanbi, contravene sections 137, 138 and 140(1) (a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2015.

The victim, who was 17-year-old at the time of the incident, on Tuesday, told the court that she became friends with Nwankaba, who was her roommate when she moved into the school’s hostel during the 2016/2017 academic session, adding that Nwankaba lured her to be gang-raped.

She said, “I had three roommates, including Nwankaba. During the course of being in the room, Peace and I became friends; she even introduced me to her parents on our matriculation day in January 2017.

“One day, around noon, Peace called me on the phone and asked if I was around and if I wanted to hang out with a boy called Yinka (now at large) at the High Rise, which is a staff quarter in UNILAG; but at that time, I did not know what High Rise was; I told her and she said it was a hostel where people stayed.

“I told her I was not sure about hanging out and that I would think about it; she cut the line and called me again within the space of five minutes, but this time, it was Yinka, who was talking to me. He told me that it was supposed to be a hangout and Peace would be there; at that point, I agreed and since I didn’t know where the High Rise was, Yinka and Peace told me to meet them at the Jaja Hall, a male hostel in UNILAG.

“When I got there, I only met Yinka, who was with James, and I asked after Peace, but he told me that she was at the High Rise.

“When I got to the High Rise, I was led into a small building behind the High Rise, where I met Seriki (now at large) and a group of boys, but was assured by Yinka that Peace would come.

“James led me up the flights of stairs and we got into a room; there were boys on the corridor. I entered into the room with Seriki and James, but Yinka stayed outside; when I got into the room, I met two boys and a girl; the boys were Emmanuel (at large), I cannot remember the name of the second boy, and Josephine.

“When James and Seriki entered the room, Josephine and the two boys left and at that point, it was clear to me that Peace was not in the High Rise. Yinka then asked me to have sex with him, I said no but he forcefully removed my clothes; at this point, two other people, who were peering into the room, entered and held me down while Yinka forcefully had sex with me.

“In no particular order, the following took their turns: Daniel, James, Yinka, Bolu (first defendant), Seriki, Emmanuel and two other people, whose names I don’t know. They were eight men.”



The victim further told the court that she was subjected to further sexual assault by some of the defendants and their accomplices following the alleged gang rape.

She added, “When they were molesting me, there was a guy, who was sitting down making a video recording of all that was happening on a phone. My first instinct was to get the phone from him but I was outnumbered. At the point when they were leaving, they led me outside the building and they told me that they had a footage of what happened.

“They said if I didn’t want to be popular in school, I had to answer them anytime they wanted to have sex. They collected my number and shared it among themselves.”

She further told the court that because she did not know how to handle the situation, she kept everything that happened to herself, as she was scared that she would get into trouble because of the video.

The victim added that on two other occasions, she was subjected to more gang rape by members of the group, who now included Simi, Randy, Idowu and Eddy (all at large), noting that the assault occurred at Chukwu’s parents house at the Pako area of Yaba.

She added, “I started hearing stories and the narrative was as though I wanted it. Henry, a friend of Peace, told me that I was popular at the Jaja Hall and that there was a footage of the incident and I wanted to get away from it.

“I had a friend (name withheld), who belonged to the same organisation in the school as me; he liked me and when he heard about the story and video, he asked questions.

“Unknown to me, he reported to the school authorities and on March 1, 2017, he told me to follow him to Ecobank to withdraw money, but unknown to me, he wanted me to see the school counsellor.

“The school counsellor beckoned to me and I saw my bio-data with her; she asked me to follow her and at tat point, I knew who she was.

“I thought I was going to be expelled from the university; she pulled out a form and asked me to state what happened and I told her everything. She told me that the school was behind me and promised that the perpetrators would be caught.”

The victim added that the counsellor asked her to lure Omowole (first defendant) to a place on the school premises, where he was arrested and taken to the office of the Dean of Student Affairs, and he provided the names of his accomplices.

The presiding judge, Justice Sururat Soladoye, adjourned the case till March 18 for cross-examination of the victim and the hearing of the bail application of the defendants.

The judge ordered that the defendants be remanded in the Kirikiri Medium Security Prison.

This article was first in PUNCH and published here to amplify the story.                

Lady E Show: BBC Governorship Debate, Delta

When governorship candidates disregard addressing the electorates on debates, what do the electorates think of 2019 Delta Governorship Candidates?

      BBC Governorship Debate 

Delta 2019

By AUSTIN OYIBODE

As it happened at the debate organised by Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria where President Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar shunned the debate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and Great Ovedje Ogboru were conspicuously absent at the governorship debate organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation held at Asaba, the Delta state capital. Okowa, Ogboru run away from BBC Delta guber debate as Esanubi of AAC steals show.

Checks by Emeraldng.com revealed that six out of the 50 governorship candidates on the INEC list for the March 2 election were invited and the six were said to have given the signature to the debate put together by the BBC Pidgin News and a media consultant, Lady Ejiro Umukoro.

Umukoro, who was the brain behind the BBC Pidgin News debate has been making wave as a media consultant where she had organised several training programmes for journalists and won series of awards.

The debate which held at Orchid Hotels had only three contestants, Brando Omu of All Grand Alliance Party (AGAP), Odiakpo Obire of Progressives Peoples Alliance and Frank Esanubi of African Action Congress as the only candidates present at the debate.

There was no communication to the contrary to indicate reasons as to why Okowa, Ogboru and John Akwara of SDP could not show up for for the debate, neither did they send representatives to give reasons for their inability to show up.

It is noteworthy that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa during his campaigns challenged Great Ogboru and other candidates to a debate, a debate which Ogboru earlier turned down.

Among the three candidates who presented themselves for the debate, Frank Esanubi was adjudged as candidate with the best programme for the state.

Besides his ability to marshal out his agenda for the development, Esanubi, the 41-year-old governoship candidate was able to convince the audience as havimg better programmes for the development of the state.

His strong point was the plan to give N1million to Delta graduates after completing the national youth service corps and having acquired some entrepreneural skills to establish business which could make them self-reliant and job creators.

Answering a question on why should he plan to dash out N1million to graduates, Esanubi said it is not dash but is aimed at helping them to establish them to earn a living for themselves and become entrepreneurs.

Banking on his youthfulness and the “Not Too Young To Rule” campaign, Esanubi said Delta youths have suffered enough and it’s time for youths to take over the state from the old people who have been holding the state ransom over the years.

He said old people can no longer do the job of running the affairs of the nation as they have all failed and disappointed the people of Nigeria and Delta state.

Lady E Show: Tech for Females – Growing SMEs and Digital Opportunities i...

Asaba if becoming the next tech community hub is Delta State.

LightRay Reviews: A Voiceover Intro into Nwokolo's Memoir

A quick voice-over book review intro into the book: Assessing the 1914 Amalgamation of Nigeria Written by Chief John I. L. Nwokolo on his80th sojourn on earth.

Lady E Video Book Review Voiceover

LightRay Reviews: A Video Book Review Tribute at John Nwokolo's 80th

Assessing the Amalgamation of Nigeria, a Book Review of Chief John I. L. Nwokolo

LightRay Reviews

A Book Review: Assessing The 1914 Amalgamation Of Northern And Southern Protectorates Of Nigeria – The Journey So Far 

We are often shaped by our history. And in telling our stories, we draw from our individual perspectives, experiences, familial lineage, indigenous beliefs, folk wisdom, folklores, culture and value systems to tell our side of history (quick voice-over intro: https://youtu.be/DkcgB57PnYs).

In reading the much anticipated memoir of Ogbueshi John I. L. Nwokolo who launched his book,  Assessing the 1914 Amalgamation of Northern and Southern Protectorates - The Journey So Far on his 80th birthday 5th January 2019, (video documentary here: https://youtu.be/naQvDV_IRMQ), at St. Patrick’s College Asaba, Delta State, Nwokolo takes us through evocative timelines, some of which are not often as remembered as others. But a few he recollects poignantly re-ignites contentious issues still seen today in Modern Nigeria, especially in this season of elections in 2019 – an election many feel may change, albeit slightly, the dynamics of elections in Nigeria with more women vying for positions of presidents and key political offices alongside ‘youthful men’ across the political spectrum – and many Nigerians praying, as they often do, that this election will bring about the needed paradigm shift so yearned for.

The Journey So Far hits the nail again on the topical issue: the amalgamation of Nigeria, questioning again and again an ongoing debate many take different sides on: was it a mistake, a curse or a blessing? But his approach in questioning this heated topic is more of a throwback on what he considers an important part of nationhood: teaching history in primary and secondary schools. Chief John Nwokolo noted that when he wrote his West Africa Examination Council exam (WAEC) in 1959, his history subject taught him that “a nation that cannot learn from history cannot make the kind of progress we expect.” The history subject he sat for was the British History and European History: 1066 to 1945, where a quote from Winston Churchill said that “Those who failed to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So, it is only a fool that allows the same to happen to him twice.”

If you are in doubt, let’s try your knowledge on this quick history test. How long did the Nigerian Civil War lasted? How long was the first Nigeria Republic? How long did the second republic last? And what about the third republic, how long did it last too? When did the fourth republic began? Too many questions? Did you get all, some or none? The answers are as follows: 3 years, 5 years, 4 years, aborted after 3 months with no president elected, and 1999. Each time Nigeria’s republic was truncated, its by-products has produced more confused values, widespread mortality, monumental corruption, terrorism, violence and war. 

To buttress why it is important to teach history, especially to children from early on, Nwokolo recounts in this book when he asked a senior secondary 2 (SS2) student: who Chief Obafemi Awolowo was. That question is like asking a British high school student who Winston Churchill was. The young man in question replied: “Obafemi has stopped playing football for Nigeria.” The student in question obviously meant Obafemi Martins, the footballer, and not the late sage and erudite politician. Some might be quick to say ‘oh it was just a common mistake’ but if a prize was attached to that question, certainly it would no longer be looked at with those same sets of eyes, right? 

For 34 years out of the Nigeria’s 57 years of Independence, history was not taught as a mainstream course in primary schools and up to some secondary school as a full independent course. It was not until June 2016 that the Nigeria Education Research and Development Commission (NERDC) woke up from its slumber, and in March 2018 an executive directive from the federal government was given to have history return to the school’s curriculum that saw a massive drive and social movement advocating strongly for this. The Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu stated that “the directive became imperative to bring about the desired social and behavioural change which, studying and learning about history, is key to realising this goal.” This has led to the disarticulation of history from social studies curriculum where it was buried, like something unworthy of being a stand-alone course or subject. This in turn resulted in the shortage of teachers of history and lecturers specialised in this field. The removal of history led to the abysmal drop in the number of people seeking admission to study it in the universities as there were no job prospects in the field upon graduation. 

The collective modern history of Nigeria is written by Europeans covering much of the time when the British empire, European colonisers, sea pirates masquerading as entrepreneurs held sway. The narratives of such documentation has often times been disproved and in a number of cases found to be outright falsehood, misrepresentations, myopic, pro-British, and distorted. Only in very few cases was the truth of our ancient cultures, civilisations, achievements, technologies, and way of life told exactly as they were. The recently concluded Edo FEST held in December

2018 was a reminder of those long buried untold truths tracking the 121 years in absentia of stolen Benin Bronzes scattered all over the world from Britain to Germany, in France and other places. Dr. Lutz Mukke, a German-Journalist and Africanist who is the initiator and manager of the Benin-Bronze-Project has put together a strong argument to have these pieces looted in 1897 be brought back to their original homeland.

“Unless the lion learns to tell his own story, his history will always be written by the hunter.” So goes an Igbo proverb fondly quoted by Chinua Achebe and Chief John Nwokolo.

The book, The Journey So Far takes us into the history of 5 important points of national history: The Amalgamation of Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria 1914; The 1951 Regional Elections in Ibadan in the Western Region; The January 1966 Coup d’état; The Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970; and The Unprecedented Increase in the number of insurgencies, agitation and militancy since independence. 

How we interpret often influences how we use it to move forward, the quality of leaders we choose, and even the electoral processes that brings about those given the mantle of leadership responsibility in key positions of power at both the states and national levels. 

It is interesting to note in Chapter 1, with the title: The Making of Nigeria how it made a simplistic division of Nigeria into 3 distinct ethnic lines, using the term RACE to delineate them into: Fulani / Hausa Race, Yoruba Race and Igbo Race. Using this as its standard, the book states that indigenous settlers of Northern Nigeria who spoke varied dialects and languages are lumped together based on the ‘unification’ by the Usman Dan Fodio’s Jihads, another ‘amalgamation’ of sorts into a caliphate, with its roots extending up to the Northern fringes of Yoruba and westward into the Northern parts of present Dahomey and the northern parts of Cameroun. 

The Yoruba were divided into 2 main groups based on one: their ancestral descendants, an older indigenous stock whose religious centre was the City of Ife, and the second of the same stock, who traces their lineage to founders of Borno and Hausa states. According to book, the Yoruba kingdom was founded by Oduduwa, son of an Arabian King who was driven out of his father’s kingdom in the East who went on to conquer the people of Ife, settled there and by the 16th century an empire emerged that stretched itself into the forest lands of the Benin Kingdom who claimed relations to the Yorubas. In other words, the Benin Ruling Dynasty also have connections of Yoruba origin. The book goes on to say that some lineage of the Ijaws say they are from Ife. Even the great Zik had descendants of Bini extraction. People of the Ezechima and Ika extractions all lay claim to the Benin stock and by some extension, Yoruba. However, it is important to note here too that there’s an on-going debate about the origin of the word ‘Oba’. Is it of Yoruba or Benin origin? Interestingly, in both instances, before the word ‘Oba’ became commonplace in modern usage to both ethnic groups, the Yorubas used terms such as Ade for king. In the case of the king of Egba however, his ancestral title is Alake of Egbaland, and that of Ooni is Ooni of Ife, and that of Oyo as Alaafin of Oyo. Today the viceroys are known as Baale, meaning Father of the Land. 

Similar findings can be seen in that of Benin too. For as long as tradition had it, the title king in Benin was known as Ogie or Ogiso (which by the way were used both as title and names of the rulers in Benin Kingdom). It is claimed that it was from the time of Eweka I, son of a Yoruba Prince, Oranmiyan, when he came to the throne that the title ‘Oba’ became synonymous with kings of Benin monarchy as a title. This marked a shift in how kings of Benin from that extraction came to be so labelled. In order words, the title Oba was a coinage created to mark this differentiation after Oranmiyan overthrew Ogiso during a tumultuous political saga when imposition of candidates to settle home-grown dispute over who has the right to rule was, instead, settled by fiat in the 12th century. Incidentally, Oranmiyan was the one who transformed Benin into an empire.  Only until recently, was the head of the Oba of Bini buried in Ile Ife. 

This is why historical documentation matters from early on to forestall distortions while promoting ‘alt facts’ as was seen during British colonisation. He who wields power, often writes history that benefits him and ensures its propagation to outlive those of others. We see this to be true when the term Fulani-Hausa Race is used as a one-size-fits all classification of indigenous persons who reside in Northern Nigeria. Many indigenous settlers in the North are not comfortable to have their identity lumped into that single phrase even if they are lumped together geographically as ‘Northern Nigeria’, a more palatable reference. In telling history, therefore, it is important that ‘minorities’ are not merely glossed over because of their size or number. The once British Empire has today being reduced to Britain. That doesn’t make it any less relevant or insignificant. It is also important too that in telling history, separation be made between similarity in behaviour and race. That a certain race has a strong dominant personality or trait when observed in others doesn’t mean other ethnic group or tribes with similar disposition necessarily come from the same stock even though we are all part of the human race. 

According to the book under review, Assessing The 1914 Amalgamation Of Northern And Southern Protectorates Of Nigeria – The Journey So Far by Chief JOHN I. L. NWOKOLO, the Igbo tribe is said to share behavioural traits, values, beliefs, ancient practices with the Jews (a topic still in contention even amongst Igbos). He however noted that there is a stock of Igbo descendants who came from the land of Aro, Igbo Ukwu and Otuocha who can lay claim to being descendants of Jews. In addition, some other clans of Igbo extraction trace their origin as coming from Benin-Oduduwa extraction who settled at the riverine areas of Ika Igbo speaking tribes from the 17th century. The third genealogical trace of the Igbos are from the Benue-River origin who migrated from Igala country of the Benue River Country into the belt of Igboland in the 17th century to avoid the Fulani slave trade in towns such as Ebu, Illah and Asaba. This group who settled in the northern part of the Igbo territory are known as the Igala-Igbos. It therefore implies that the narrative that lumps the entire Igbo nation as descendants of Jews is an example of ‘alt fact’. It bears the error of sweeping generalisation. 

The Journey So Far, reminds us that the success of colonial rule in Nigeria was as a result of the use of indirect rule through the use of forced treaties with conquered local rulers and chiefs, obtained recognition of formal sovereignty over the territory of Nigeria at the Berlin Conference of 1885. It takes our mind to the time when Lokoja, the capital of today’s Kogi State was the first capital of the country Nigeria, having served as the administrative headquarters of the Northern Protectorate. It became Lord Lugard’s base after the amalgamation in 1914 of the Northern and Southern Protectorates. The River Niger and River Benue meet in Lokoja.

Chief John takes us to a nostalgic era of his past and the city that holds special place in his heart: Kaduna. He and his 9 siblings were born in Kaduna, notable for its bureaucrats, academics, jurists, and other professionals. He remembers Kaduna as a very vibrant place where citizens and foreigners alike found it safe and viable for trading, learning, and a good life where many persons today still bear the name ‘Kaduna’ while some the streets in Kaduna are also named after persons who made it home. 

Many historians and individuals reflecting back into history who bore the brunt of colonisation agree that it was a one-armed bandit that raped, plundered, kidnapped and destroyed whole cultures and resources of a people and their way of life. Of the 195 countries in today’s world, about 90% at the height of the British empire were invaded or colonised. Only 22 countries escaped the British invasion. In Africa that means 55 countries were colonised by the British and 7 others were colonised by power-hungry-colonialist-thinking Europeans. They include Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo Republic, Sao Tome, Chad, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire. The largest colony invaded was that of India that has since given birth to countries like Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Singapore.

Remember the opium war of 1841? Also known as the Anglo-Chinese Trade War? The British turned Singapore into the go-to trade hub for the production, sale and distribution of opium. China witnessed first-hand the debilitating effects of opioid in the lives of its citizens after they lost the Trade War to Britain and were forced to buy opium from Britain. 

In Chapter 3, The Journey So Far explains that after two decades of British occupation, the Northern provinces were yet to produce a single native who was sufficiently educated to fill the most minor clerical post in the office of any government department. The shortage of English-speaking educated class in Northern Nigeria made it necessary for the British to move thousands of Southerners into Northern Nigeria as clerks, teachers and artisans. These slots were mostly filled up by Easterners and very few Yourubas. By 1966, according to the book, an estimated 1,300,000 Easterners already lived in the North and another 500,000 had taken jobs and residence in Western Nigeria. The contrast in this migration showed a situation where Easterners lived as a segregated people from their Northern counterparts in ghetto quarters outside the walled towns known as Sabon Gari (Strangers Quarters); whereas in the West, Easterners were completely assimilated into Yorubaland. 

In this chapter, we also journeyed into that dramatic era of the Aba Women Riot in 1969. A revolt by the women in response to the draconian demands of the European Warrant Chiefs as they attacked European-owned stores, Barclays Bank, including Native Courts run by colonial officers, razing many of them and even broke into prison and released prisoners. But the British colonial officers who intervened killed more than 50 women and wounded over 50 others. The Aba Women Riot however, prompted the colonial authorities to drop their plans to impose tax on the market women which curbed the powers of the Warrant Chiefs. 

In 2009, the Akwa Ibom State Government under Chief Godswill Akpabio commemorated the gallantry of these slain women who stood their grounds and died for a just cause by erecting an obelisk at Ikot Abasi Local Government Secretariat. Every 16th of December, women gather at the arena to honour them. In addition, the Government erected a Hall of Fame Monument in remembrance of the courageous women killed in the riot. Senator Helen Esuene donated an Art Gallery Event Centre to keep alive the memory of these warrior women as martyrs worthy of celebration. 

The Clifford Constitution of 1922 is noted for introducing the elective principle that stimulated the formation of political organisations in Nigeria. Between 1923 and 1952, at least 8 notable parties had been formed:

1. National Council of Nigeria Citizens later became National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun, NCNC (defunct)

2. Action Group, AG 

3. Northern People’s Congress (NPC)

4. Northern Element Progressive Union, NEPU

5. The Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) – 1923, Herbert Macaulay’s party.

6. Lagos Youth Movement (1934)

7. The Nigerian Youth Movement. (NYM) – 1936

8. United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC)

Ever wondered how Western Nigeria got successful with free education for its indigenes? Chief Obafemi Awolowo introduced the Capitation Tax. It required all adult male to pay ten shillings and six pence that facilitated Free Education and other development programmes in Western Nigeria. Did you know that in the 1950s (1953) Nigeria had a Federal Minister of Social Services and Natural Resources? Its first minister was Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu a member of the NCNC and leader of the opposition party against AG. He was known to use terms such as “Peculiar Mess”, a phrase which was later altered by local traditional praise singers, musicians and drummers to “Penkelemessi, Adegoke Adelabu, Penkelemessi” when they began singing their hailing songs!

In the Journey so far, Nwokolo teases our memory once again as he reminds us of Chief Dennis Osadebey (GCON) who wrote a book in 1985 titled One Hundred and Ten Years of Christianity in Asaba and Neighbouring Towns. When you extrapolate that to 2019, that’s 144 years since the introduction of Christianity in Asaba. Osadebey was the leader of the Midwest Movement (Delta + Asaba) to become the first administrator in 1963. He was the first and only Premier of the Midwest Region. He was also Senate President in 1960; served as acting governor General in 1961 when he relieved Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe who went on leave in England. He established a cement factory in Okpilla, a Glass Factory at Ughelli and Textile Mill Factory in Asaba in 1964. 

Also remembered fondly is Mazi Mbonu Ojike in the 1950s who advised Nigerians to “Boycott the Boycottables”, a clear instruction to Nigerians to only patronise made in Nigeria goods.

Chapter 4 to Chapter 26 takes you on a worthwhile journey into the mind of a man who has lived to see 80 years of Nigeria. History sure offers us great insights into what worked and did not work, including the wisdom of hindsight to help us navigate the future better if we can just learn the lessons. 

Assessing The 1914 Amalgamation Of Northern And Southern Protectorates Of Nigeria – The Journey So Far By Chief John I. L. Nwokolo JP, is a reference book worth sitting in the shelves of your library; a book full of anecdotes that gets you seeing another perspective of the Nigeria story.