Nov

2007

Late Chief Adisa Akinloye (1916 - 2007): 30 Minutes of Chance Meeting

Late Chief Adisa Akinloye (1916 - 2007):

30 Minutes of Chance Meeting

I was an undergraduate student at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Nigeria at the start of Nigeria’s Second Republic vibrant politics in 1978. During that period (1978 - 1983), Chief Augustus Meredith Adisa (AMA) Akinloye who sadly died on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 served as the undisputed National Chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the biggest of the mainstream political parties then.

The NPN under the indefatigable leadership of Chief Akinloye became the ruling party after the 1979 general elections that heralded Nigeria’s Second attempt at multi-party democracy, with Alhaji Shehu Shagari (Turakin Sokoto) as the First Executive President. The Second Republic politics and political events were very interesting; issues driven, national in orientation and context, educative, emotional, sensational, colourful and many a times marred by intolerance and political violence.

The imperfections of the politicians and democratic institutions of the Second Republic notwithstanding, Nigeria’s political economy during the unfortunate 16 years of military interregnum (1984 – 1999) and the 8 years of yet another attempt at multi-party democracy from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007 suffered greatly than any period in the annals of its developmental history. Other people might differ in opinion.

By providence, the less than 30 minutes chance meeting I had with the late Chief Akinloye some time in 2002 or there about, further convinced me that Nigerians, particularly the Nigerian Press, highly exaggerated the political and economic misdeeds of the Second Republic politicians and leaders. Furthermore, the past and recent revelations and uncovering of the political, economic and financial crimes perpetrated by the successive Nigerian governments, elected and unelected public office holders, private individuals and corporate bodies from 1984 to May 29, 2007 made the Second Republic politicians saints and honourable gentlemen and women.

Late Chief Akinloye in company of his wife and son, were on a private visit to Sokoto to see former president Alhaji Shehu Shagari; his political associate and friend. This was when I saw him face to face for the first time in my life! One of the reasons why I mentioned above, that the Second Republic politicians are saints compared to those who run and managed the affairs of this country from January 1984 to May 29, 2007 was the physical, health and financial conditions of Chief Akinloye at the time of the visit. He was very frail and cannot walk without leaning on his wife or son. He was very weak, fragile and incoherent as he speaks. He hardly remembers past events but was very strong minded gentleman to the core. He quickly recognised former president Shehu Shagari on sight and voice. They embraced and drove in the same car from the farm back to the town.

Yes, he was over 80 years in age. Yes, he was no longer relevant in the scheme of things in the Nigerian politics, public and business affairs since 1984. However, he was the most powerful, most influential and most democratic National Chairman of a national political party Nigeria has ever produced to date. Yet, in 2002 the physical, health and financial conditions of this truly detribalised Nigerian, a nationalist and an astute statesman have been let by the existing system to deteriorate to the level only found in the lowliest social rung of Nigeria’s socio-economic and political stratifications to say the least.

The unscheduled visit of late Chief Akinloye to see former president Shehu Shagari was strictly confidential and private. However, what removed its confidentiality was the mission of the trip itself. He came all the way from Ibadan to Shagari town to seek for the assistance of former president Shehu Shagari.

I was shocked to my bones to know that all what the gentleman, the great statesman, the great leader and the great politician wanted was a letter of introduction to be given to him by former president Shehu Shagari to the Honourable Minister of Water Resources, Barrister Muktari Shehu Shagari. The late Chief remarked that the family was going through a tough time, like any average Nigerian family. I need not to elaborate further as I must respect the privacy of the deceased.

The messages and lessons of this anecdote are many. Space constrain would not allow me to go into many of them. However, some years ago, Chief Audu I. Ogbe, two times minister in the Second Republic and a one time National Chairman of yet another biggest political party in Africa – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presented what I consider a comprehensive analysis of the demise of many of the Second Republic politicians and public office holders.

For example, he cited many of them who died as a result of absolute poverty; inability to put food on the table for family, inability to pay medical, schools and utility bills etc. Many of them sold their properties after exhausting all the savings for the rainy day. Many of them were highly indebted and many were officially declared bankrupt. Late Chief Akinloye and many of his contemporary Second Republic politicians still alive today suffered and are still suffering from these indignities of Nigeria’s faulty socio-economic and political development processes.

For example, the National Assembly has been playing politics with the bill for the retirement benefits of Nigeria’s former presidents! It is interesting to know that former president Shehu Shagari after an upward review of his retirement benefits by the General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s regime in 1998, receives N15, 000 monthly (up from N7, 000 monthly before the upward review).

As a subsistence farmer, the net value of Shagari’s farm is far less than a month food and entertainment budget of a Government House at the State level. His allocated and yet to be developed plot in Abuja is under constant threat of revocation by the authorities until recently when it was walled and a Chalet erected to avoid contravening the development control rules and regulations of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA). Meanwhile, new generation public office holders are busy building multimillion naira mansions in choice places in Abuja and elsewhere overseas.

One of the reasons why Nigeria find itself in the present situation, whereby elected and unelected public office holders at all the levels of governance are found wanting; looting public treasuries and indulging in corrupt practices and other economic and financial crimes may be because Nigerians in these positions don’t want to see themselves in similar situations like what happened to and is happening to their Second Republic predecessors. Since there are no public funded guarantees and insurance against absolute poverty after leaving office without amassing illegal and questionable wealth and fortunes, the present crop of politicians and other public office holders decide to help themselves by looting public treasuries and indulging in all manner of economic and financial crimes.

Therefore, the fear of absolute poverty is the main driver of the greed and kleptocracy introduced into the Nigerian body politics by the “New Breed Politicians.” These set of politicians were mass-produced in the factories of the successive Nigerian military regime’s ill-conceived and misguided “Guided democracy” of the late 1980s and the late-1990s.

The story of late Chief Akinloye’s trip to Shagari town, Audu Ogbe’s analysis of the demise of the Second Republic politicians and even, the predicament of the retirement benefits issue of former present Shehu Shagari are very pathetic and calls for a rethink of our entire socio-economic and political institutional arrangements and order. If we are to succeed in entrenching the ethos of self-less public service, war against bribery and corruption and leadership by example as we are now beginning to see been re-introduced by His Excellency President Umaru Musa Yar Adua - an exemplary life of contentment that is worthy of emulation by all the politicians and citizens in the country, new socio-economic and political order must be put in place by the present administration. This is why the Sudanese business mogul-cum-philanthropist, Mo Ibrahim’s $5m African Leadership Award initiative is a timely and welcome development worthy of emulation and national institutionalisation in Nigeria.

No matter his shortcomings in life, late Chief Akinloye lived an exemplary life of his time that is worthy of recognition by the present generation of politicians and leaders. There is now doubt; the death of Chief Akinloye has further depleted the ranks of the first generation politicians in the country. Chief Akinloye would be missed not only by members of his immediate families but by a generality of Nigerians, political contemporaries still alive and, in particular, researchers and students of Nigerian political history, among others.

On behalf of the Board and Management of the Shehu Shagari World Institute for Leadership and Good Governance (SSWI) Sokoto, I join the teaming Nigerians in mourning the sad death of one of the movers and shakers of Nigerian politics and leadership; the man who wielded enormous political influence during his active days. He died at the ripe age of 91. May his gentle soul, rest in perfect peace. Amen.

Abubakar Atiku Nuhu-Koko

Executive Director

The Shehu Shagari World Institute for Leadership and Good Governance (SSWI)

Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria

aanuhukoko@yahoo.com

Tuesday, 20 November 2007

Your Comments

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Robot

# 1 | 21.11.2007 04:09

	Late Chief Adisa Akinloye (1916 - 2007): ...Read the full article.

dele26 dele26 is offline

# 2 | 21.11.2007 06:13

	Abubakar, thank you for the post, certainly a pathetic story: Insecurity, fear of the unknown and family pressure drive the politicians of today to amass wealth of unimaginable proportion to secure their tomorrow. But should hunger be an excuse for a farmer who stole a tuber of yam from another man’s farm? African Proverb: Well wishers: 'Ah! Amukun, eru e woo' Amukun: 'Isale ni ki ewo ojare’ From whatever angle you look at it the corrupt politicians of today inherited the corrupt tradition from the past leaders. Fact: I heard that the family of one of the first generation nationalists, an elder statesman for that matter earns certain percentage from every bottle of Coca-Cola sold to the suffering Nigerians. ‘Olorun oba lo le da ejo afi eyin pi eran’

Uche Nworah Uche Nworah is offline

# 3 | 21.11.2007 07:48

	It is not good to speak ill of the dead but I was in secondary school during the Shagari era and remember reading in one of the dailies at my uncle’s house in Enugu that Chief Adisa Meredith Akinloye had imported special bottles of champagne to celebrate his first one billion or is it one million naira. If he went on to mismanage his loot, then that does not mean that he did not profit from the financial recklessness of the period which prompted Onyeka Onwenu to produce the 1993 documentary – Nigeria: The Squandering of Riches, and subsequently opened the back door for the military to sneak in and take control of what remained of the national treasury. According to your analysis Shehu Shagari did not, and Adisa Akinloye did not also, so who did then and where is our money – the reported $300 billion looted by government officials since independence?

Tunde meee Tunde meee is offline

# 4 | 21.11.2007 08:51

	Mr. Nuhu must justify his Salary but we must not relent in our duty to letting him know that no matter what he says, the records will be called upon to witness. Below is Uche Nworahs article in March 2006 when Akinloye was still alive. No rejoinder was written, no libel suit followed. Nigerian national hall of shame... After reading Pini Jason’s interview with Alhaji Shehu Shagari, I came away with the impression that the interview was a subtle attempt at ‘repackaging’ the senator wanabe and Nigeria’s second republic president, who alongside many others share the accolade of being the architects of our woes. As a result of my disappointment with the ‘easy’ questions which the interviewer asked, I am restating that though Shagari may deserve his rights and dues as an ex-head of state, he is no statesman and should not be regarded as one. If anything, he should be made to answer to Nigerians and formally account for his administration’s 4 – year ‘stewardship’. A period that witnessed unprecedented plunder and mismanagement of our common wealth. Until he does that, and satisfactorily too I will recommend that the Turakin Sokoto irrespective of his ‘sparkling’ curriculum vitae be inducted into the Nigerian national hall of shame. It was during his time that new phrases such as squander mania, abandoned project, embezzlement of public funds, pen robbery, white elephant project and so on were added to our national vocabulary. If you ask me, I think that Shagari and his likes should go and bury their heads in the sand. It was their mismanagement of our economy that opened the back door for the military to come in and pillage our national treasury. Was Umaru 'Mr ten percent' Dikko not his party man and transport minister? Where was he when Umaru Dikko was running his import license and form m scams? Was Adisa Meredith Akinloye not his party chairman? Where was Shagari when Akinloye imported special champagne to celebrate his first 1 billion naira back in 1983? Where did he think the money came from? Was Senator Uba 'Mr fix it' Ahmed not his party (NPN) secretary? Has he told Nigerians how they 'won' their elections in collaboration with Justice Ovie-Whisky of the then FEDECO using their magic formula? What did Shagari do for Nigeria? He launched the green revolution agricultural scheme right? But were they not the people that constantly imported ship loads of rice, vegetable cooking oil, salt etc which they used to bribe hungry Nigerians during elections. Surely Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu copied his amala politics philosophy from them. Has Shagari told us what happened to the Nitel/Necom building in Lagos? On the day that his cronies allegedly were burning down the building to cover their tracks after embezzling public funds, was he not reported in the media to be on his way out of Nigeria in one of such global junketing, a travel philosophy that OBJ has perfected. Was it not his administration that at a time when global oil prices were very high went ahead to introduce the politics of hunger to Nigerians and toying with our stomachs, his austerity measures scheme was to later inspire IBB to launch his own structural adjustment programme (SAP), the two economic programmes turned out to be monumental failures but served their purpose of keeping Nigerians occupied with thoughts about food, and wondering where the next one will come from. We are yet to recover from his government’s mismanagement of our economy and here we are trying to 'package' him as a statesman. Shame on us all. Maybe we need to playback Onyeka Onwenu's 1983 documentary Nigeria: A squandering of riches for him to see what a huge and monumental failure he was and how his administration set Nigeria backwards by at least 20 years. I'm sure he still remembers how much the naira was exchanging to the dollar at the inception of his administration, a time that Nigerians were treated like kings in Europe and America which they only visited on holidays or to study at the end of which they went back home to dream jobs. Was it not during Shagari’s era that the brain drain syndrome set in, and Nigerians started leaving in droves due to the rising unemployment and economic hardship? Shagari and his fellow has-been politicians should please ‘go and sit down’. They should enjoy their pension and leave Nigerians alone to suffer their collective fate, which their wastefulness have dragged us all into. That Shehu Shagari Interview

dele26 dele26 is offline

# 5 | 21.11.2007 09:00

	Uuuuuunnnn, ‘oro pesi je’ – water don pas gari. =Tunde meee;2091822059>Mr. Nuhu must justify his Salary but we must not relent in our duty to letting him know that no matter what he says, the records will be called upon to witness. Below is Uche Nworahs article in March 2006 when Akinloye was still alive. No rejoinder was written, no libel suit followed. Nigerian national hall of shame... After reading Pini Jason’s interview with Alhaji Shehu Shagari, I came away with the impression that the interview was a subtle attempt at ‘repackaging’ the senator wanabe and Nigeria’s second republic president, who alongside many others share the accolade of being the architects of our woes. As a result of my disappointment with the ‘easy’ questions which the interviewer asked, I am restating that though Shagari may deserve his rights and dues as an ex-head of state, he is no statesman and should not be regarded as one. If anything, he should be made to answer to Nigerians and formally account for his administration’s 4 – year ‘stewardship’. A period that witnessed unprecedented plunder and mismanagement of our common wealth. Until he does that, and satisfactorily too I will recommend that the Turakin Sokoto irrespective of his ‘sparkling’ curriculum vitae be inducted into the Nigerian national hall of shame. It was during his time that new phrases such as squander mania, abandoned project, embezzlement of public funds, pen robbery, white elephant project and so on were added to our national vocabulary. If you ask me, I think that Shagari and his likes should go and bury their heads in the sand. It was their mismanagement of our economy that opened the back door for the military to come in and pillage our national treasury. Was Umaru 'Mr ten percent' Dikko not his party man and transport minister? Where was he when Umaru Dikko was running his import license and form m scams? Was Adisa Meredith Akinloye not his party chairman? Where was Shagari when Akinloye imported special champagne to celebrate his first 1 billion naira back in 1983? Where did he think the money came from? Was Senator Uba 'Mr fix it' Ahmed not his party (NPN) secretary? Has he told Nigerians how they 'won' their elections in collaboration with Justice Ovie-Whisky of the then FEDECO using their magic formula? What did Shagari do for Nigeria? He launched the green revolution agricultural scheme right? But were they not the people that constantly imported ship loads of rice, vegetable cooking oil, salt etc which they used to bribe hungry Nigerians during elections. Surely Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu copied his amala politics philosophy from them. Has Shagari told us what happened to the Nitel/Necom building in Lagos? On the day that his cronies allegedly were burning down the building to cover their tracks after embezzling public funds, was he not reported in the media to be on his way out of Nigeria in one of such global junketing, a travel philosophy that OBJ has perfected. Was it not his administration that at a time when global oil prices were very high went ahead to introduce the politics of hunger to Nigerians and toying with our stomachs, his austerity measures scheme was to later inspire IBB to launch his own structural adjustment programme (SAP), the two economic programmes turned out to be monumental failures but served their purpose of keeping Nigerians occupied with thoughts about food, and wondering where the next one will come from. We are yet to recover from his government’s mismanagement of our economy and here we are trying to 'package' him as a statesman. Shame on us all. Maybe we need to playback Onyeka Onwenu's 1983 documentary Nigeria: A squandering of riches for him to see what a huge and monumental failure he was and how his administration set Nigeria backwards by at least 20 years. I'm sure he still remembers how much the naira was exchanging to the dollar at the inception of his administration, a time that Nigerians were treated like kings in Europe and America which they only visited on holidays or to study at the end of which they went back home to dream jobs. Was it not during Shagari’s era that the brain drain syndrome set in, and Nigerians started leaving in droves due to the rising unemployment and economic hardship? Shagari and his fellow has-been politicians should please ‘go and sit down’. They should enjoy their pension and leave Nigerians alone to suffer their collective fate, which their wastefulness have dragged us all into. That Shehu Shagari Interview

tonsoyo tonsoyo is offline

# 6 | 21.11.2007 09:57

	When I started to read this article I thought what nonsense, but I was no longer surprised when I got to the end of the article and saw the designation of the writer. He is paid to do exactly what he did here launder the image of Shagari and his misguided co-travellers in the Second Republic. The story of Akinloye and the rest, if indeed he was broke before he died is summed up in this Yoruba's saying "Ile ti a fi ito mo, iri ni yoo wo" A house built with saliva/spits shall be pulled down by early morning dews. The foundation for the official recklessness and wanton looting of our treasury was actually laid by the Second Republic politicians. There was sanity in the affairs of Nigerian politicians in the First Republic, even though they have their own excesses. But in the Second Republic caution was thrown into the winds. We need to remember that Oil was selling for an average of $38.00 a barrel in 1980, equivalent to today's $100.00 taking inflationary indices into consideration. Our Second Republic politicians went to town squandering the money like no man's business. How can we quickly forget the NPN's Convention held at Gboko, where beggars and Praise singers were showered with brand new Peugeot 504 and 505 cars, several of them. One of the topshots was said to have donated 15 cars in all, at that occasion. How can we forget so quickly Umar Dikko and his Presidential Task Force which was the insatiable conduit for siphoning our money. A reason Idi-Agbon was particularly desperate to get him and Akinloye. The story of Akinloye might have been exaggerated a little there by Uche Nwora, Akinloye did not purport to be celebrating his first billion, but ordered personalized Champagne to celeberate his birthday. It is good development if he got broke and become a pauper in our lifetime. What about Uba Ahmed, the super Perm Sec Alhaji Alhaji, Joseph Wayas and other super corrupt politicians of the Second Republic. Those people had "buffet" time stealing our money at that time. Just like these second republic politicians the houses made from saliva/spit of suffering and toiling Nigerians, being built by the present crop of politicians shall also be fell at the arrival of the morning dews.

WaleAkin WaleAkin is offline

# 7 | 21.11.2007 10:21

	Tonsoyo, Uche et al, I watched the funeral event of late Akinloye on TV last week held at Ibadan and the cream dela creme of Nigeria were present- Do we then say that he was indeed a good/patriotic Nigerian when he was alive? According to reports, the bill of the funeral was picked up by the Oyo State government in appreciation of his goodworks to the people of Ibadan, Oyo and Nigeria as a whole. Do we have any NVS member who can tell us in plain grammar the wrong-doings of Chief Adisa Akinloye? Cheers

tonsoyo tonsoyo is offline

# 8 | 21.11.2007 11:08

	=WaleAkin;2091822093>Tonsoyo, Uche et al, I watched the funeral event of late Akinloye on TV last week held at Ibadan and the cream dela creme of Nigeria were present- Do we then say that he was indeed a good/patriotic Nigerian when he was alive? According to reports, the bill of the funeral was picked up by the Oyo State government in appreciation of his goodworks to the people of Ibadan, Oyo and Nigeria as a whole. Do we have any NVS member who can tell us in plain grammar the wrong-doings of Chief Adisa Akinloye? Cheers The question should be the "goodworks" that qualifies him for the burial with public fund. We need you to tell us that. Of course we all know who the cream de la creme are in Nigeria. Just few of them can point to any achievement, how many people are employed in their services and how they make their money. I am sure Adedibu and Alao-Akala are parts of that "the cream de la creme" I doubt if you read my above, Akinloye's NPN was the most corrupt elected administration that Nigeria has had to date. It was a story of total financial recklessness in Nigeria. Maybe you have forgotten the story of the Second Republic, please go back and check. They had a dull looking and non-assertive Shagari for a leader, so they stole as they pleased. The difference between that administration and OBJ is that Nigerians of today know better than they knew at that time. The foreign bank accounts was available to all of them to hide their loots. But the combination of American government policing funds all over the world, post 9/11 and the Ribadu factor makes it almost impossible for our present and OBJ era looters to conveniently hide their loots. Also the internet as the high-speed information highway is serving as an avenue to expose them, are the reason we think these people stole more. The Second Republic politicians were a kind of run away train when it comes to financial recklessness. Can you point to a single achievement of that era? Upon the fact that oil was sold at the highest rate at that time?

dele26 dele26 is offline

# 9 | 21.11.2007 11:19

	WaleAkin, there you go again ...........Àjànàkú kúro ni “A rí ǹkan fìrí”; bí a bá rérin ká wí. The elephant is more than something of which one says, “I caught a fleeting glimpse of something”; if one saw an elephant, one should say so. what other plain grammar do you want? =WaleAkin;2091822093>Tonsoyo, Uche et al, Do we have any NVS member who can tell us in plain grammar the wrong-doings of Chief Adisa Akinloye? Cheers

Bunch17 Bunch17 is offline

# 10 | 21.11.2007 11:30

	=WaleAkin;2091822093> Do we have any NVS member who can tell us in plain grammar the wrong-doings of Chief Adisa Akinloye? Abeg, abeg, abeg make you edit/modify/whatever.... I take it that this was a slip of the finger.

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