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bishopbode@hotmail.com Atlanta, GA, USA

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A MEMORIAL FOR AJIBOLA IGE: WHAT DOES THE PRESIDENT KNOW?

ecember 23, 2004 marked three full years since the brutal murder of the late Attorney-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief James Ajibola Ige who also had the honor of serving as the first Executive Governor of old Oyo State in the same Nigeria and for many years was a distinguished leader of Nigeria.

Bola Ige was brutally murdered in his bedroom on the fateful night of that day while his official security guards were away from their duty posts on dinner break and some enemies from within his beloved Yoruba leaving the door wide open for the obviously well motivated assassins to wreck their irredeemable havoc. It was one assassination which reverberated throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria in particular and several parts of Africa in general.

Even outside Africa, as far away as Europe and America, Nigeria became a laughing stock for quite some time because of the discrepancy in the noise by the Federal Government of Nigeria on its so-called image laundry job to attract foreign investors and the obvious security issue in the murder of the country’s chief law officer. The hocus-pocus handling of the investigations by the Federal Government of Olusegun Obasanjo under whom the murdered man served or PDP governments(both Federal & Oyo State) has really convinced the world that the country is far from safe for investors while all the globe trotting of the President would be begging for credibility.

It is saddening that the manner the Government in Nigeria treated the investigations and prosecutions of this terrible killing of one of the most illustrious sons of Nigeria, which led to the death of his wife, Justice Atinuke Ige and also could be attributed to that of another patriot - Debo Akande.

It took the Police a long time before putting itself together to even go after the suspected perpetrators of the act and as thanks to Festus Kenyamo who catapulted them into action by presenting the main suspected killer to the public. Nigerians who have lost faith in Nigerian leaders whether in or out of Government saw the handling as shoddiness at its highest. A man was arrested to be the killer while another confessed to have been contracted to snuff out the late Attorney General’s life.

Eventually, the Police after God knows what, arrested Iyiola Omisore, the guy popularly called Fryo and the rest of Omisore’s crowd but left out the particular one who was seen in the act.

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It is a wonder that the number one man in Nigeria has kept mum over the ship-shod manner of the handling of the case. The world wants to know what happened to the man who was one of the murderers, recognized by a witness but who has been overlooked by the Police investigations.

The wicked silence of Mr. President on the outcome of Ige’s case is scary if his weeping at the funeral is reconciled against this.

Importantly, Obasanjo invited Ige into his government to help him shore up his credibility amongst his people and the subsequent formation of Yoruba Council of Elders did a lot in reducing the effects of Afenifere’s influence on Obasanjo’s sluggish image in Yoruba land. All were due to Bola Ige’s help.

There was high optimism in the air when some men were arrested for the high profile killing with people thinking that the murderers were going to be exposed but the judicial trial went on and on almost into a timelessness during which Bola Ige’s wife died of shock and his son had to leave town in a hurry. Do not forget that Obasanjo, the president of Nigeria was supposedly a friend of Bola Ige and had wept publicly at the burial with a promise that the killers would be fished out.

Nigerians should by now be wondering if the President knows something that they do not. This is based on the recent eleventh hour revelation by Obasanjo that some of his men confessed to him long ago that they actually did not win the 2003 elections but stole the people’s votes. It should be recalled that for many months, Anambra has been burning with many lives lost while the same Obasanjo maintained a silence until his chairman wrote him a letter which sparked out the usual lack of control in the former to let the cat out of the bag.

Does the President think his Police did a good job in not looking at the testimony of some witnesses who recollected one of the men who came to do the devil’s job at Ige’s home on 23rd day of December 2001? Is the President awaiting another letter from his chairman before telling Nigerians something new ? Does the President think it is right for a law officer to free murder accused without any trial ?

The above posers are because the Federal Government has taken a leading role in ensuring that the governor of Anambra (forget about Uba’s confession) does not get away with his resignation to Uba which made the Police to withdraw his security men and Obasanjo has always sermonized about his holiness !

Perhaps the President is covering up for his party which is in control of Oyo State which has shabbily handled the matter of Ige like other political killings in his party under his watch.

Ige was a leader of leaders whose uncanny ability to lead or organize the people will live in history for a very long time. His personal boldness in tackling issues head-on remains worthy of emulation in Nigeria while he never shied away from training younger elements of the society on the imperativeness of taking over the struggle for a better polity.

I had some memorable experiences of Bola Ige during his admirable time as one of the leaders of the Yoruba. He was a government commissioner while I was in African Church Grammar School at Apata Ganga and remember his giving a scholarship to one of our brilliant seniors in 1975. The School Principal was elated to announce at the morning assembly of the presence of the Western State Commissioner named Bola Ige who had granted a scholarship to a student whose achievement in the then West African Examination Council was exceedingly high. It was Grade 1 distinction. It was the first time of meeting Chief Bola Ige who later ruled Oyo State as the first executive governor.

The second was during his political campaigns around Oyo State in 1979 when as a Secondary school student facing final exam still had time to attend his rally . He was in town with the legendary Chief Obafemi Awolowo and it was tough to move about in the heavy crowd which attended the rally but managed to get close enough to Bola Ige to let him know that I remember him as the giver of scholarship to ‘senior’ Salako some years ago in Ibadan. He impressed me with the way I was listened to. He also told some of the overzealous sea of aides for the politicians to allow me to get close to their front set-up.

I remember another meeting which was at the local Airport in Ikeja Lagos when we were in transit to Kano for the traditional wedding of Prince Tokunbo Sijuwade. Bola Ige sat by himself in the open waiting lounge and you would not believe that there was nobody with him and here was a one time governor by himself and reading some newspapers. I took my seat beside him and announced that I was on my way to Kano too for the same wedding. He asked after my welfare as Nigeria had then been messed up by Babangida and company while he had started his practice of ‘siddon look’ which was proved right beyond any doubt . He sermonized on the need for all good people to cooperate to stop bad people from spoiling good things and the importance of youths participating in politics. I asked if it was possible for him to re-enter politics and he answered in affirmative but said only when ‘there is no cloud in the political sky’ .

My last glimpse of this illustrious Yoruba man was at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel in Ikeja where he was optimistic of running against Obasanjo in the 1999 Presidential Elections and he promised to meet Obasanjo, representing the other party in the campaign trains.

Bola Ige was in the mould of Ogedengbe the Ijesa warrior and had some extras like his fluency with major Nigerian languages. His classical mastery of English Language and superb display of love for Latin fascinated me a lot. His boldness in always hitting the nail, right in the head was deep and ability to coin matching words for institutions were some of his qualities.

He was a stout disciple of Obafemi Awolowo and kept his deep respect for the sage by refusing to criticize any of Awo’s children on the pages of newspapers. He did this many times when issues concerning Oluwole or Tokunbo came up even when it was obvious which side the wind should blow.

He was a man who did not dump Obasanjo despite the deep differences between the great sage and the former. He showed where he stood when he was one of the launchers at Obasanjo’s Public Launching of "My Command" by demanding that Obasanjo followed up with full explanations of his perceived dubious role in the 1979 Elections. He also did not deny Obasanjo’s friendship when he was almost expelled from the Unity Party of Nigeria over his observed too close friendship with the man who thwarted the presidential hope of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He later referred to this period as ‘The night of the long knives’ in which the then action governor of Lagos came to his rescue.

I am of the opinion that his long friendship with Obasanjo was one of the reasons why he chose to participate in stabilising Obasanjo’s government in 1999. He had a friendly confidence in Obasanjo and I suspect that the Bola Ige that the whole world knew, must have held some discussions with Obasanjo and got convinced before getting into the ship of government. Posterity will reveal if Bola Ige’s trust was misplaced and will judge as appropriate.

The optimism with which Bola ige started in 1999 was reflected when he promised as Minister of Mines and Power that he would ‘turn stone to bread’ in his assigned Ministry but Obasanjo quickly showed himself as one who must either dominate or scatter if not. He openly countered Bola Ige’s promise to provide uninterrupted power supply in a year by saying whoever said that did not know what he was saying. It was Obasanjo as characterized by Chief Sunday Awoniyi and discernible to all who know the character traits of this man now at the helms of affairs in Nigeria.

He was either unhappy with Bola Ige for trying to hit the popular tunes with Nigerians over him because Obasanjo is no doubt a very jealous person if his utterances on other leading figures in Nigeria are considered.

Bola Ige was slighted by the way another person was appointed by Obasanjo to take over Electricity affairs from Ige’s portfolio after punching holes in the Mines & Power Minister’s promise of regular supply of electricity within one year.

Many Nigerians and non-Nigerians are still asking the Federal Government in Nigeria, who killed Bola Ige. Some feel they know who killed Bola Ige following the ‘nest of killers’ statement of Nobel laureate which was confirmed by Kalu Orji Kalu and therefore continue to ask when the truth will be exposed while another school of thought want to know why he was killed .

Bola Ige was gunned down in his bedroom while still in service as Nigeria’s Attorney General of Justice. It was in the middle of serious political crisis in Osun State and soon after he was physically molested in the palace of Ooni of Ife who was severally supported by him in his Sunday Tribune Column.

Two close friends of Bola Ige also revealed that he already notified Obasanjo of his intention to quit his government in 2001 for time to regroup Alliance for Democracy party for 2003 elections

and this was done by way of letter to the President. Thanks to Professor Wole Soyinka and Dr.Adeleye who revealed this because this shows that Bola Ige did not forget where he belonged. He actually told one of the PDP ‘s men that he did not participate in their government to ‘eat’ when the man said he was invited to government to partake in food sharing.

The world demands from Obasanjo the exposure of the killers of Bola Ige, Harry Marshall, Dokibo and many others but the chief security of Nigeria has not lived up to expectations of Nigerians on the issue of security of lives since 1999.

The Nigerian Police and Ministry of Justice have a big role to play in fishing out the murderers of Bola Ige who are walking free in the society because they are protected by high powers while the President is aware that the family of the slained Ige can never be the same again having lost both parents while their bread winner was serving Obasanjo’s government.

It is a shame to both the governor of Oyo State and his Commissioner for justice who set free the suspected killers of the illustrious son of Yoruba land while they continue as if they own tomorrow which may put them on the same spot.

The Yoruba Council of Elders should not allow the killing of Ige to be swept under the carpet and the Afenifere should do more to expose the killers of their former deputy leader.

Bola Ige has crossed to the other side but the struggle definitely continues.