Good morning, Mr President. This piece continues the sketch of the actors in the pro-democracy struggle in Nigeria that began in the last instalment. Do note that the CD had an interim leadership committee, more or less collegiate, before its democratisation.
The committee comprised Mr. Rufai Ibrahim, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, and a Representative of Women in Nigeria (WIN). The National Deputy Chairmen were Dr Yomi Ferreira, Malam M.G. Umar, Mrs Glory Kilanko, Mr Femi Falana, Mahmud Abdul Aminu, and Mallam Kabir Yusuf. The Vice Chairmen were Alhaja Daniju of blessed memory, Prof Tunde Oduleye, and Mr. Festus Okoye.
The General Secretary was Mr. Yima Sen (God bless his soul). Deputy General Secretaries included Dr. Segun Osoba (the academic), Malam Salihu Lukman, and Mr Kenneth Narbur. The Assistant General Secretaries were Mr Femi Ojudu, Barr Anthony Akika, Mr Abubakar Momoh, Debo Adeniran, Barr Yinka Orokoto; Chima Ubani; and Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Mr Owei Lakemfa, Dr. Festus Iyayi, were also members of the Interim Committee.
The interim leadership was preceded by a clarion call for democracy made by the following individuals as representatives of their organisations: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (Movement against Second Slavery); Olisa Agbakoba (Civil Liberties Organisation); Beko Ransome-Kuti, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights; Opeyemi Bamidele (NANS); Femi Falana (National Association of Democratic Lawyers); Debo Adeniran (Gani Fawehinmi Solidarity Association); Oladipo Fashina ( Committee for Unity and Progress); Glory Kilanko (Women in Nigeria).
General Abacha struck on November 17, 1993, due to the political impasse and the consequent delegitimisation of the Shonekan interim government, the contraption set up by General Babangida. The coup happened with the knowledge of elements of the civil society and the mainstream politicians believing that General Abacha would validate the election and hand over power to Abiola. Respected people like Lateef Jakande, Olu Onagoruwa, and Ebenezer Babatope undermined their reputations by participating in the Abacha military government.
The failure of the Abacha junta to validate Abiola’s mandate led to the entrance of NADECO into the scene in May 1994, leveraging on the hardwork of the CD and joining the push for the military to go. Some of the people at its founding meeting were General Adebayo, Chief Ayo Opadokun, Raph Obioha, Arthur Nwankwo, Abraham Adesanya, Bola Tinubu, Commodore Dan Suleiman, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, Pa Adekunle Ajasin, Pa Tony Enahoro, Ndubuisi Kanu, Bola Ige, Olu Falae, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Lt-General Alani Akinrinade, Olufemi Olutoye, Sam Mbakwe, Christian Onoh, Ganiyu Dawodu, Akin Aduwo, Professor Wole Soyinka, Mohammed Arzika, Uma Eleazu, and Beko Ransome-Kuti among others.
Truly, the entrance of NADECO gave a fillip to the agitation to force out the military from the political scene. The process was bolstered by the wide-cat action by the Ovie Kokori-led Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG). This shut down the country for nearly three months.
It was true paralysis that goaded another around of emigration of some Nigerians who could not cope with the season of anomie, apologies to Soyinka. The visible political impasse facilitated the issuance of travelling visas by the Western embassies in Nigeria who were generally sympathetic to the situation.
Towards the end of 1994, a lot of prominent Nigerians had fled abroad to escape Abacha’s goons. Chief Anthony Enahoro, Professor Wole Soyinka, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, a former Nigerian Foreign Minister, and Bola Tinubu, among others.
Many of them coalesced into NADECO abroad led by Pa Enahoro. Prof Soyinka formed the National Liberation Front of Nigeria that later facilitated the establishment of Radio Kudirat, a platform in which Kayode Fayemi (who had been resident in the UK before the political impasse), the late Philip Ilenbarenemen, a Sea Dog, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, who had left the country after the Orkar Coup detat, was himself the leader of Organisation of Nigerians Abroad (ONA) were familiar voices.
Other exiles include Amos Akingba, Chief Oyegun, Lt-General Akinrinade, Commodore Dan Suleiman, Professor Adebayo Williams whose caustic pen had warned of the “Road to Kigali”, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, and Yemi Adegoke (for a comprehensive list of contributions from the exiled community and Nigerians in the diaspora, see Kunle Oderemi’s Interview with Col Tony Nyiam in the Nigerian Tribune of June 30, 2024).
On the media front, the Nigerian media rose to its historical mission in the fashion of the fight against colonial rule that has earned it the sobriquet of the freest press in Africa. Beginning from the fall of the Second Republic, the media fearlessly engaged with the military rulers thereby incurring bruises and deaths. From the annulment period up to the advent of the Abacha junta, the media went into a war mode with scathing criticisms of the military that made it a target for repression.
Many media houses were prescribed and de-proscribed at the whims of the military rulers while the practitioners were hounded into incarceration. Leading actors in this respect were Mr Nosa Igiebor of Tell Magazine with his colleagues, Onomen Osifo Whisky, Dele Omotunde, Ayodele Akinkuotu, Dare Babarinsa, and Ademola Oyinlola. Some of their reporters were caught in the line of duty such as George Mba who was implicated in a Phantom coup plot and its Kano Bureau Chief, Osa Director, arrested and detained in Kano. Mr Igiebor who had nine lives, scaled the fence, across the ocean into the British isle.
The News magazine and its sister tabloid, the Tempo,were led by a team of editors, namely, Bayo Onanuga, Femi Ojudu, Dapo Olorunyomi, Kunle Ajibade, and Seye Kehinde. Ladi Lawal and the indefatigable Odia Ofeimun, former Private Secretary to Chief Obafemi Awolowo who acted as chair of the Editorial Board variously in the period known as Guerrilla journalism.
Mr Ajibade and Akin Adesokan from the news stable were among those incarcerated. Bagauda Kalto paid the ultimate price while Mr Olorunyomi was forced into exile and his wife Funmi bore harassment and detention. Mr Ike Okonta whose streamed master texts was hounded later joined the exiled community in the United Kingdom.
Recall the case of Nick Dazang and Labaran Maku, both editors of the Champion newspaper, who resigned from the newspaper instead of apologising to the military president over a perceived deleterious report when asked to do so by the proprietor of the paper, Mr Emmanuel Nwanyanwu.
We cannot forget the trio of Dele Momodu, George Noah, and Dayo Johnson (now deceased), who ran a daily news dispatch on events in Nigeria from their United Kingdom base. Moshood Fayemimo, the Editor-in-Chief of Razor magazine, a loud tabloid, was grabbed in Cotonou by the DMI operatives and held for a very long time. What of the inimitable Dr Olatunji Dare who became the instantaneous historian of the events of that period that he titled, The Diary of a Debacle, a serial in The Guardian which subsequently inspired my diary of COVID-19 in the same medium.
There were heroes in the Nigerian army over the June 12 debacle, Major Abubakar Kangiwar Umar, who resigned his commission over the annulment of June 12; Retried Colonel Yohanna Madaki, and General Ishola Williams who resigned his commission in the army following the Abacha coup.
Mr. President, I like to remember other elements in CD who constituted the engine room of the CD, namely, Innocent Chukuma, now late, Chiemeke Onyeisi, Debo Adeniran, Shina Loremikan, Ogaga Ifowodo, Luke Aghanenu, Didi Adodo (deceased), Barrister Kayode Oladele, Tony Akika, Segun Jegede, Jiti Ogunye, Femi Obayori, Owei Lakemfa, Glory Kilanko, Abiodun Aremu, Olusegun Mayegun, a former NANS president, Mahmud Aminu (also a former NANS president), Clement Nwankwo, Abdul Oroh, Uche Onyegoacha, Frederick Fasehun, Ayo Obe, Abiodun Kolawole, Francis Abayomi, Fabian Okoye, Osagie Obayuwana, Emmanuel Edigheji, Belo Aidelogie (deceased) and Chris Nderibe among others.
Often forgotten in the narrative is the Skyjack of October 25, 1993. While the fight for the recognition of Abiola’s mandate raged, four incensed Nigerian youths, namely, Richard Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Rasaq Lawal, all under 20 and students of the Federal Technology, Akure Skyjacked a Nigerian Airbus A310 that was flying from Lagos to Abuja and diverted it to Niger Republic where they were arrested and held for nine years before release.
The CD was an octopus with branches across the country and outside. In Ilorin, Ms. Joe Okei who was Assistant General Secretary of the Campaign for Democracy; Taiwo Otitolaye, Vice-Chairman, Plateau Zone of the CD; and John Ojewele, late Basil Chianson, Steve Aluko; Akin Abosanyin and Funsho Mojuba, who were chairman and secretary of the CD Kwara Branch at a time, were incarcerated. In Kaduna, Shehu Sanni, CD’s Vice-Chairman, Kaduna Zone, was held forth and consequently incarcerated. Nasser Kura, Y. Z. Yau, and Ibrahim Muazu held forth in Kano.
In Ibadan, Dr Ola Oni, his wife, Mrs Kehinde Ola Oni (a one-time Miss Western Nigeria), Moshood Erubami, Gbenga Awosode, Laoye Sanda, Sola Olorunyomi, Bade Onimode, David Ajetumobi, Prof. Akin Ojo, Alhaji Abioye of the Agbekoya fame, students at the University of Ibadan such as Babatunde Oluajo, Adeyinka Olarinmoye (Nee Bello-Ogunyomade)and Dapo Ola Oni among others (for more information June 12 supporters in Oyo State, See Festus Adedayo, Tinubu, Ibadan is Angry, The Cable, June 16, 2024).
In Benin, we had scores of comrades such as Felix Oriakhi, Belo Idaewor, Bode Steve, Charles Okolie, Chima Williams, Nnimmo Bassey, and Philip Idaewor, under the ideological guidance of Jonathan Ihonde and Festus Iyayi.
In the United Kingdom, Taiwo Akinola and Biodun Sowunmi, Chairman and Secretary of the United Kingdom branch of the CD were up and doing. In the UK, some other persons and groups keyed into the struggle for democracy in Nigeria such as Barr Dele Ogun, Oliver Azikiwe, and John Filani-led Nigerian Democratic Movement. We had an affiliate in Germany, the Congress of Nigerian Democrats in Germany (CONDIG) led by Kunle Animashaun with active members that included George Agboh.
To my knowledge, the group also assisted the exiled Nigerians. There were printers, like Panaf Olakanmi and Akanni Iromini who printed some of the leaflets and were equally harassed by the security operatives.
What I have done is to refresh your memory of that era beyond what you have been availed by court historians and revisionists in the Villa. This is not the end of the narrative. A Comprehensive history of the anti-military struggle will have to be written. I thank those who have managed to put in print their ordeals.
Enjoy the rest of the week, sir.
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