Yoruba people have a history of respecting honour and dignity. They value honour so much that there are fewer things a Yoruba person value above honour. This is because honour is the bedrock upon which the concept of ‘omoluabi’ is founded, such that, without honour, a man cannot and can never claim to be an omoluabi. It is therefore a puzzling state of affair to notice so-called Yoruba person/people rubbishing their honour for momentary pecuniary gains. And to worsen the matter, this condemnable act is not only becoming widespread among our people, it is growing at an exponential rate. Honour has been thrown to the dogs and swine.
I am compelled to put pen to paper to clear the air over a number of personal and not so personal issues. This is necessitated by half truths and entire lies which Gani Adams and his co-travellers feed the general public and uninformed members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), especially through the far reaching social media platform.
I have had cause to engage a number of Adams co-travellers on the social media platform, particularly facebook. And I have several times been disappointed by the obvious lack of the knowledge about the organisation (OPC) they claim to belong to. However, the knowledge that the social media has helped and continues to help irrational beings such as Donald Trump achieve their objectives bolstered my resolve to serve this eye-opener to both the gullible and arijenimadaru who still pander to Adams biddings.
As a member of the top hierarchy of the OPC, and one of those (along with others now branded 10 million boys) who sacrificed and contributed to making Gani Adams what he is today, I cannot help but comment –and if possible, from the top of the mountain- as the actions of some devious elements are rubbishing the spirit and ideals upon which the OPC is founded and for which many promising lives have been lost.
From the outgrowth of the Campaign for Democracy (CD), through its membership and partnership with other civil rights and pro-democracy groups –including and not limited to UAD, JACON, CDHR, etc- that fought the then military dictatorship to a standstill, the OPC is now as formidable an organisation as its then colleagues in the anti-military rule battles.
With the return to civil rule in 1999 –we are not yet in a democracy- one would expect the organisation to have a reprieve from the jackboot and therefore begin a process of self-consolidation and unhampered growth. However, that was not to be the case as President Olusegun Obasanjo (foisted upon Nigerians by a cabal of former military officers, especially of northern origin) proved to be (figuratively) a pain in the neck of the OPC, among others.
A few months after Obasanjo’s ascension to the presidency of Nigeria, he gave a shoot at sight order against members of the OPC. Overzealous security operatives, including men of the Nigerian Armed Forces were sent to hunt down members of our organisation. In this Gestapo like move, many innocent and hapless individuals (including non-OPC members) were murdered in cold blood while hundreds of others were arrested, tortured and incarcerated without trial.
Gani Adams, as the main target of the government since he replaced Dr. Frederick Faseun as the leader of the OPC on 1 March 1999, eventually handed himself over to the authorities to put an end to the siege on the OPC. It was a difficult decision to arrive at, but the best given the prevailing circumstances. And it was one arrived upon through consultations with the hierarchy of the organisation as people who would be directly affected by the decision.
Thus upon the arrest of Adams, rather than the organisation to implode upon itself, it witnessed another period of growth (of astronomical proportions) likened only to the period of Faseun’s detention. Members were mobilised to courts on the day(s) of his appearances. At times, comrades were mobilised to several courts simultaneously to thwart any of government’s plan to dock him secretly and more importantly, to show Adams, the government of the day and the whole world in general, that the OPC remained unintimidated, irrevocably resolute and fully behind their unfairly persecuted, detained and prosecuted leader, Adams.
As fate would have it, Adams was eventually released. And no matter the amount of briefings and debriefing he could be given after the release, there is no way Adams could truly appreciate the efforts put into securing his release.
Many of our leaders in Yorubaland were approached over the matter with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu –then executive governor of Lagos- the eventual person used by Eledumare. But to reach Tinubu, we had to get the support of Barr. Ajibola Ige –federal minister of Power and Steel as well as Justice under Obasanjo- who directed Justice Adewale Thompson to speak to Asiwaju on the matter.
Today, all that is history. And like the proverbial stream that is doomed to dry up, Gani has forgotten his source and the route through which he coursed before arriving at his present position.
Tinubu who after the release called Gani aside and advised him to go and marry, who provided the funds with which the ‘White House’ at Abule-Ado, Lagos was built and who provided the greatest single donation for Adams wedding and who served as the Father of the Day at the occasion is now Gani Adams greatest enemy. Such is the hatred and disdain Gani Adams now harbours for Tinubu that he (Adams) has severally through media interviews boasted that he (Adams) would rather go astray in the bush than to tread upon the path upon which Tinubu has trodden. This invariably implies that he would rather lead his millions of followers (OPC members) astray than to submit to the counsels of Tinubu (even if that proves to be the best thing to do). And all these for the financial inducement (billions of naira worth) from the Goodluck Jonathan administration
The Tinubu case is not isolated. There are many other instances of Adams returning to bite the fingers that once fed him. Is it the case of the late Ambassador Segun Olusola of the African Refugees Foundation (AREF) and Ajibulu Moniya Galleries fame? The elder statesman -since he was courted and convinced to support the OPC and its cause- threw his doors open to the OPC. And he made sure he attended all OPC programmes he was invited to and on the one or two occasions when he couldn’t attend, his son ‘Jimi represented him, to demonstrate the high esteem in which the former Nigerian ambassador to Ethiopia held the OPC.
But in the inner recesses of Adams’ private chambers, the old man was no more than a tissue paper to wipe soiled hands and mouth. The Ambassador’s trouble (which he was actually never aware of) emanated from an advice he gave Adams on the need for Adams and the leadership of the OPC to be more transparent and accountable with the finances of the organisation. The old man who had then recently been appointed into the ‘Board of Trustees’ of the Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF) along with the erudite professor of African Philosophy, Sophie Oluwole was only trying to protect his own image. Although Adams retained the elderly man, using the ambassador’s goodwill to further Adams purposes, he had lost respect in Adams sight and was severally declared senile by Adams although his facade painted a contrary picture. This may be lost on a lot of people, but a very able lieutenant of the Ambassador, Prof Kolawole Raheem had an inkling of the behind the scenes shenanigans.
Before the OPC became financially independent, Pastor Temitope Joshua of ‘The Synagogue’ had been a major pillar upon which the OPC rested financially. Besides ad hoc support for specific purposes or projects, the ‘Man of God’ gave Gani Adams the sum of a two hundred and fifty thousand naira (N250,000:00) monthly for his upkeep. However, in return, Gani Adams turned upon his former mentor and did all in his power to bring him down. Adams inordinate ambition and tomfoolery led to the personality clash over the choice of a new Zarki for the town of Arigidi, a clash which eventually culminated in the cold-blooded murder (by Adams goons) of a native of the town who questioned Adams’ right to interfere in a matter which does not concern him, being a native of Epeme rather than the Arigidi he claims to originate from. That, by the way is another story for another day.
Sen. Felix Ogunwale gave Adams a Toyota Landcruiser sport utility van (SUV) for his wedding besides other financial support from time to time, Hon. Prince Adeleke Ajala, an Ogbomosho politician and former local government chairman also gave Adams a brand new Peugeot 405 sedan besides fifty thousand naira monthly which was collected over a long period. Mr. Wale Adedayo, Adams best man during his wedding and the brain behind the truce engineered by Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Engr. Banjo between the warring Adams and Faseun factions of the OPC. These are just a few instances of Adams’ fair-weather friendship which are usually and abruptly terminated when he has nothing to gain anymore.
Perhaps more telling and instructive to note is his dealings with one Pastor Sotayo and Tunde Jacobs. For members of the OPC to whom this piece is especially intended, Pastor Sotayo is the scion of the Antonio/Miranda family who claim ownership of the large portion of land extending from Anthony Village to Medina Estate, Gbagada, Lagos.
Sotayo had through Jacobs (publisher of Akede Oodua) involved the OPC in efforts to reclaim the aforementioned parcel of land. In return for its service, the OPC was compensated with several acres of land (approximately 140 plots of land then valued at about 11 million naira per plot) at Oke Alo, Gbagada, Lagos. As of today, all the land allocated to the OPC at Oke Alo has been sold by Adams. This includes the portion designated for the National Secretariat of the organisation. Not satisfied, he encroached on the family land and when challenged, had both Jacobs and eventually Pastor Sotayo cruelly dealt with to the point of threatening their lives.
So it was with Olumide Adeniji, Alhaji Issa Lawal, Mr. Modiu Abudu, Onajole Razaq, late Mr. Alimi who harboured Adams while he was declared wanted) (and other pioneer members of the Congress and the Civil Rights community who were either used and dumped or simply stabbed in the back when they lose relevance to Adams parochial interests.
It is with this in mind, and the memory of the warnings of a very dear friend and mutual acquaintance of Adams and I (one Mr. Burger who was an American returnee and fast food entrepreneur around the Akowonjo/Dopemu axis) that I was prompted to put pen to paper. Mr. Burger had one day while we (Gani and the 10 million boys) were relaxing asked Adams’ and the rest of us a seemingly innocuous question then. The question was ‘Are you sure that this Gani would not later betray you. Today, he may claim to have powers similar to Nostradamus, but in hindsight, it was just the power of clear observation which we who supported and followed Adams blindly could never observe because of the scales over our eyes.
I therefore advise all the jegudu jera and sycophants flocking around Adams now that, ‘oye to kan ara Iwo nbo wa kan ara Ede’. As for us, we own the OPC and nobody can intimidate us to relinquish what is ours. ‘Say what, say what…!’
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