By Steve Nwosu (steve@sunnewsonline.com )
Yes, Awo might be close to a deity for the greater number of us, but we can rest assured that its is not even every Yoruba man that would be ready to worship at his shrine. And that is not saying anything about the Awo/Akintola divide – because that would amount to crediting today's anti-Awo forces with the brains they lack. It would amount to elevating what is happening in today's Oyo State to the realm of ideology, which is definitely not the issue here. But that's just by the way.
I know that there are many Yoruba banzas (omo ale, for short) who have been thrust into position of relevance in contemporary Nigerian politics, but that still does not mean we can not demolish an 'ordinary' statue, use the concrete to build public toilet, and then mix fresh cement to erect a totally different statue – whether of a soldier or policeman (known or unknown).
It is, therefore, baffling that it is just for this seemingly inconsequential thing that Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala did that Afenifere and all the real and emergency Awoists would not let the amala politicians chop in peace any longer.
It seems Akala has committed haram by demolishing Awo's statue and hoisting that of an unknown soldier in its stead. And to make matters worse, some troublemakers are swearing that the soldier is not totally unknown. That, but for the missing potbelly, the statue bears a close semblance of a warrior farmer whose ancestors also fought in the Ibadan/Owu war. All noise, if you asked me.
But the din was so much that nobody knew what to believe any longer. Akala was saying one thing, his media spokesman was saying a not too similar thing. Afenifere was saying the exact opposite of what the Akala people were saying, while grand old man, Lamidi Adedibu brought a totally new dimension to the whole drama.
There was so much confusion! And the matter was made worse by the fact that neither Awo nor Gen. Abdulkarim Adisa who, as military administrator of Oyo State, allegedly commissioned the erection of the Unknown Soldier statue was around to explain things.
With Akala and his aides not offering any believable explanations, and with former governors Lam Adesina and Rasheed Ladoja all taking sides against the incumbent governor, the only person left to ask was the Unknown Soldier statue itself.
Two journalists, one from BBC and the other from the Silverbird group, decided to go to the statue to, as they say, hear from the horse's mouth. Apart from taking photographs of this new addition to Nigeria's celebrity list, the journalist also wanted to ask the statue one pressing question: "Whose image are you?"
But the authorities in Ibadan would not even let the statue speak for itself. They arrested the journalists before they got any close to the statue. And the pesky newshounds were detained until orders came from the office of the governor to let them go. So, as I write this Monday, nobody has been able to interview the statue to fill in the information gaps.
But Father-of-PDP Adedibu who seems to have solution to all the political problems of the state was said to be equally shocked at the controversy an ordinary statue was generating. And he has since intervened.
Adedibu is rumoured to have told journalists and the Awo fanatics not to worry, if all they wanted was for Awo's statue to be erected in Ibadan. He said that he would, in fact, erect an Awo statue in his compound in Molete, if that would let peace reign.
Now, I think that is one offer everyone who holds dearly to Awo's memories must take seriously. If we are hitting our heads on the wall that Awo's statue was demolished at the seat of government and replaced with that of a soldier, is it not proper to also ask ourselves if indeed the Government House is still the seat of power in Oyo State? Has the seat of power not since shifted from Agodi? And if we must then have Awo's statue at the seat of power, is Molete (in fact, Adedibu's home) not the best place to now have Awo's statue relocated to?
But, jokes apart, I think Awolowo has always had it coming. A few years back, there used to be an unmistakable statue of the late sage at the Allen roundabout in Ikeja, Lagos. Then one day, we woke up to see it razed down. They said the culprit was a certain mad man who had set up home in a kiosk near the statue.
It was shocking enough that the authorities had ignored the mad man for that long at that strategic point, but it was even more shocking that of all the rubbish to burn down at that place, the madman chose to start with Awo's statue.
But that was not even the story. The story was that when they eventually decided to replace the statue, the new one did not, in any way, look like Awo. Even the symbolic victory sign of the fingers looked rather concocted. But they told us it was the great sage - as if round-rimmed glasses and two parted middle fingers were all that there was to the Awo image.
So, when the statue at Ibadan was pulled down, my mind immediately went to the Allen junction incident. The only difference was that the mad men who pulled down the statue in Ibadan were suffering from a different kind of madness.
As for those championing the fight against Akala, all I have to say is: Awoism is a conviction, a way of life, a philosophy of governance based on justice and equity. If anyone feels these values do not make meaning to him, there is little anyone else can do. It is just like religion; some people clearly see the way to salvation and still choose the path to damnation and self-destruction.
Anybody, who wants to have Awo's statue, can go erect one in his compound or commission a roof-to-wall statue of the sage in one corner of their sitting room. That way, they can sleep and wake with Awo.
They should not force Akala, whose ways and manner run parallel to whatever Awo stood for, to hang an Awo talisman on his neck, just to please Afenifere.
Akala is a product of garrison politics while Awo is the god of true federalism, due process, egalitarian society and all those psychedelic norms from civilized climes. You cannot force the governor to bow before a strange god.
Ordinarily, if any politician deserves a life-size statue around Akala's government, should that politician not be Lamidi Adedibu? Which is why we should actually be commending the governor for resisting the 'natural' urge to hoist an Adedibu statue in place of Awo's. And we should also commend the amala politics godfather for not insisting that his statue be put in the stead of the Unknown Soldier's.
But come to think of it, I was initially at a loss as to why it has to be in Ibadan, of all places, that we would be erecting the statue of unknown soldiers. Why not at Fela's Kalakuta Republik? Why not at Odi? Zaki-Biam? But my colleague, Ikenna Emewu, soon explained the issues. He pointed out the many wars that had to be fought in Oyo to hoist the Akala administration: the Adedibu/Ladoja war, the Ladoja/Akala war, the INEC/election war against the people of Oyo, the Obasanjo war against the citizens of the state, the war against the civil servants, the war at BCOS and many others. Many of Adedibu's foot soldiers (including policemen who fought on the side of the Molete army) lost their lives in the battles. And now that their own man has finally mounted the saddle, it is only proper to erect a monument in their honour. And what other monument would be more apt to garrison democracy than a gun-wielding soldier? And let us not also forget that the Ota-based patron saint of their brand of politics is also a soldier.
More so, why would anyone want to have an Awo statue (the very symbol of genuine democracy in this part of the world) staring you in the face everyday and reminding you of what you are not? Why would anyone want to subject his conscience to such daily torture when you can remove it and put a more agreeable soldier image?
After all, if Awo were to be born in a more ancient Yoruba setting, he'd probably have been a great general of his people. Yes! Like Abiola was Aare Ona Kakanfo. And Akintola before him too. So, if Akala uses the image of one General to depict all these Generals, he is still on track. It's just that every administration chooses its own role models.
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http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=48619
Ten Years After, Zik Rests in Ruins
05.21.2006
As the chartered taxi led me into the Inosi Onira Retreat, the country home of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe that early morning of February 9, 2006, I was not quite sure I was at the right place. The Retreat, situated at No 1 Limca Road Onitsha, facing the famous Zik Round About, and the present home of Chief Chukwuma Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha looked so desolate that one wondered if a life inhabited it. The first sight to greet me was the completely burnt down gate house. A peep into the compound from the gate convinced me the place was deserted, and reminded me of the civil war days. As I contemplated turning back, a guard approached and seemed glad to open the gate for me after assuring me that indeed the Owelle was in. My taxi was let in and as it approached the only building in the Retreat still standing, I saw that two other visitors, an elderly man and his young daughter were waiting outside to see Chief Chukwuma Azikiwe who was yet to come down from his lodge. I was assured.
The Owelle himself opened the entrance door and ushered us into his parlour. As he sat down in his Royal Chair, I wondered if he could ever fit into the extremely large shoes left by his late father, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe.
What followed was the traditional breaking of kolanuts and the pouring of wine. The breaking of kolanuts for the Igbo man is a traditional form of prayer and obesance to the Almighty God, using the kolanut, God's wonderful fruit of peace and harmony, as the conduit for the prayers.
The kolanut ceremony over, I introduced my mission. I had come to inform the Owelle about a book on his late father I was putting together for public presentation on May 11, 2006, ten years after his fatherís death. The book, I explained, was to keep alive the name and ideals of the late Zik and further immortalise the great man. Proceeds from the public presentation would be channelled into the establishment of a Zik's Centre for Pan-African Studies.
Gradually, we got around to the issue of the burning down of Zik's house on November 6, 2005 by some yet-to-be-identified persons. With his invitation, I took a long walk round the vast compound, and what I saw was, to say the least, grim and extremely saddening. One duplex, where the Owelle, Chukwuma, used to stay was completely razed; the boysí quarters, garages and storerooms were completely burnt down by the fire, not even the bags of rice and other raw food items stored to mark Zikís post-humous 101st Birthday Anniversary were spared. I counted five damaged and burnt cars.
The only building standing, the main house where the Owelle now lives, bears numerous marks of destruction. Despite all attempts at setting it on fire, the house refused to, as it were, fall into enemy hands. But it paid dearly for its stubbornness: charred walls, shattered windows and doors, plundered furniture and fittings desecrated the once magnificent edifice.
Next, I visited Zik's grave and what I saw shocked me to my bones! I saw an uncompleted, unkept, uninspiring, and definitely abandoned grave, unbelievably so-so ordinary. So, here lay the bones of the Right Honourable Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria's first Senate President, first and only indigenous Governor-General and first President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, Queenís Counsel, Owelle of Onitsha, the man who in life could rouse the dead with his oratory, the man whose toils, sweat and sacrifice ensured that we have a Nigerian nation today. Or, having suffered in the hands of the colonialists to win us our independence is Zik still paying the price for his nationalism ten years after death?
The construction of the mausoleum which began with so much fanfare soon after burial is still far from being completed ten year after! The heavy iron rods brought for use in the construction rest in a suffocating manner on the grave, apparently suffocating the occupant. Could Zik be regretting in his grave that he was such a fool not to have amassed enough wealth in office in his lifetime, enough for his children and grandchildren to the tenth generation like the present day political office holders would do? At least, he would have been assured of a decent resting place.
Even more shocking was the head-less life-size statue of Zik just across the road directly opposite the compound. Like the fire, nobody could say who did it. But it is really a shame that the statue so conspicuously situated in the famous Round About named after Zik himself could be allowed to stay headless for so long. Tell me, how much would it cost to re-sculpt the head? Or has Zik become an outcast, a leper that nobody wants to touch?
For me, this is the time for good to rise above evil, for the sins of a few to be atoned by many. We must clothe the nakedness of Zik and restore his stripped glory. We all have a duty not to let the young generations of Nigerians and the generations yet unborn think that this is how we honour our heroes; that the reward for patriotism is pitiful neglect. It is the time to rebuild the Inosi Onira Retreat and make it truly a haven, a national Pride and Symbol of our independence. It is time to accord Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe a deserving restful place and turn his tomb, as it should, into a national monument and repository of history. It is time for us to bury our differences and our animosities and, in the name of God or Allah, or whoever you defer to, to ensure that Zik's soul rests in peace and not in ruins!
Henry Onukwuba,
Lagos.
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