TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT (TSA): END OF THE ROAD? By Ògbéni Czar

Between 2009 and 2012 only, a little above #9.3trillion were not remitted to the Federal Government accounts by the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government. These monies were FIXED in many commercial banks by the various agencies and government establishments, thereby leaving the Federal Government at their masses. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2003 in Section 22 (1) stipulates that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies can withhold 20% of operating surpluses and remit 80% of such to the Federal Government accounts. But over time, what has hitherto happened is that most, if not all MDAs stretch their operating expenses to cover the 80% expected to be remitted to the FG.

Ipso facto, we see deputy directors, directors, permanent secretaries, and their 'boiz' in the various offices build mansions, highrising in choice areas of Maitama, Asokoro, Aso Drive districts of Abuja. The Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) which expectedly should have monies from various government institutions continues therefore to 'beg for fund'. That was why corporation such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC was described as another 'country' because things were done with impunity. NNPC's operating expenses was about 101%, that is how lugubrious the situation was.

THE NEED FOR TSA

For the lay man who is not finance-oriented, what does Treasury Single Account (TSA) mean. The TSA is a mechanism that ensures that unlike what was obtained in the past where government institutions had proliferation of accounts with many commercial banks, the Federal Government will now have a single account for all its finances to be handled by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. A cross-session of the country has said it was wrong for CBN to embark on such 'move' because of its effects on banks businesses. It is true about ‪#‎6billion‬ or ‪#‎600billion‬(as said in some quarters) will be moped from the various banks but I made bold to say Nigerian economy cannot continue to be run for banks.

By the way, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2003 states that the CBN is a banker to government which by implication means it can conveniently perform retail banking. The Bank of England houses all government funds, ditto for France, Germany and some other countries world over. It is no gainsaying the fact that it is sickly for any economy to run its banking system on government deposits. The banking industry has hitherto ripped off the entire with their underhand dealings, frivolous charges, round-tripping and what have you. It is time for the industry to go back to the drawing board and think more on how to run its business profitably without necessarily shortchanging the government and the led!

DON'T LOSE SLEEP

Laudable as the move by the Federal Government to block leakages in its finances might be, hence the introduction of Treasury Single Account, TSA, it should also not lose sleep over it. The sacrosanct truth is that corruption is dynamic in nature, it is a monster which will always fight back. It is not alone to run a TSA, it is wholesome too to do everything humanly possible to ensure the possibility of the 'evil spirit' coming back in whatever form is blocked!

ECHOES OF THE PAST ABDUSALAMI ABUBAKAR EXPOSED!

HE IS VERY CORRUPT, MAJOR HAMZA AL-MUSTAPHA

SAYS IT’S "Masu Gudu, Su Gudu!!"

"When General Abdulsalami came to power, he exhibited an accumulated and accentuated thirst for money. I stumbled on some documents and video cassettes even while in retirement.

"There was the case of $40 million contributed by multinationals for General Sani Abacha’s transmutation to civilian president. I gave the cassette of his disclosure to help him clean the system not knowing that he would use it to clean me out of the system because three days later I was arrested. I urge the commission to investigate this money contributed by multinational towards Abacha’s self-succession.

"There was also the case of Engineer Buba Galadima, Director of NMA whom General Abdulsalami Abubakar directed to release N5 billion from the NMA to the minister through Chief Hope Ozodinma. But Galadima refused saying it was beyond his power to do so. That same afternoon, a lorry load of soldiers invaded his house managed him and took him to an unknown destination. He was ordered to put in his letter of resignation so as to look as if he resigned voluntarily but he refused and asked General Abubakar to fire him. He was fired and he was given two hours to vacate his official quarters.

"The N5 billion was to be shared like this: "1.35 to be given to the minister, Chief Hope would be given N265 million and $18 million would be given to General Abubakar. I have documents to prove this (He than tendered the documents).

"There is the issue of the printing of new naira denominations, of 100, 200 and 500. I shared Mustapha’s opinions on this which he explained in his testimony that it was a booby trap for President Olusegun Obasanjo to fail. I have 13 documents to prove this which I shall tender, before this commission.

"When General Abacha was alive the idea of the printing of new naira denominations was mooted. Three companies bided for the contract - J.B. of Munich; Thomas & Co. Of London, and Bodous of Germany. They all submitted their quotations. They all agreed on $30 per one thousand pieces but General Abacha said it was too much. The agreement was not sealed before his death. When General Abdulsalami came on board, he said it should be printed at $45 per thousand. G & D was given the contract of printing and here was the company reputed for tax evasion. The company has offices in Germany, Greece, Spain, Belgium, Argentina and other places, but only has a liaison office in Nigeria. The company evaded tax to the tune of 2 million Dutch marks in Germany. This is the same company given the job to print the money I commenced investigations into the activities of this company but General Abubakar ordered me to stop it. All these were known to him.

"The NTA in its news at 7 and 9 p.m. on January 11, 2001 reported that a container load of fake naira notes was discovered in Jos and Maiduguri. This is what I am talking about.

"During Abdulsalami’s time, our soldiers in ECOMOG were not treated well at all. General Victor Malu then ECOMOG Commander once had cause to complain of adulterated fuel sent to them. When the contract for the supply of food to our soldiers was changed, it was given to one lady, I will mention her name later.

When General Abacha was alive 45 dollars was approved a day for each of our soldiers but when Gen. Abubakar came to power he increased it. But instead of giving them the money, they were given the old rate, where is the balance?

"There is the issue of parting gift to each PRC member. N1 million was agreed as parting gift for each PRC member or 500,000 dollars. I inquired from two PRC members later differently. I asked them jokingly that I learnt you were all given ½ a million dollars as parting gift. Where is my own share now? But they told me it was only 50,000 dollars. So what happened to the remaining 450,000 dollars per each PRC member times the total PRC members?

Before General Abacha died, he left a foreign reserve of 9.7 billion dollars. There are papers to show this. But Abubakar claimed that only 7.17 billion dollars was left in the reserve what happened to the balance? This reserve that Abacha accumulated in five years, Abdulsalami depleted if in nine months.

"Eagle Square here in Abuja was being renovated yearly when General Oseni was FCT Minister. Consultants were appointed for the renovation at N230 million. But General Abdulsalami rejected this and opted for upward review of N2.3 billion as against N230m.

"Also through 59 million dollars he siphoned from government coffers he bought a house in London at 5 million pounds renovated it at 1 million pounds.

"Before General Abacha died he approved 66 million Dutch marks for the maintenance of Alpha jets and other aircraft. When Abubakar took over he wrote another memo for the sum of 44,275,000 dollars for the same maintenance. I would have wished he was here to cross check if this signature on these documents were his.

"There was also another memo from the CGS dated March 17 1999 at the injury time of the administration. There was request for the purchase of boats at 45 million dollars, purchase of amphibious plane at 21,747,660 dollars; and 5,000 rain coats jacket to cost 14,500,00 dollars. The normal cost of one rain coat to pocket were from rain is 45 dollar per piece and the total cost for the 5,000 rain coats should be 2,9000 dollars. It was signed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar to be purchased on ECOMOG issue, apart from the naval personnel that used to transport the food items, it was later given to merchant ships.

"There is the issue of Engineer Ibrahim Ali, MD of NPA. General Abubakar called him one day and told him since General Abacha did not give you free hand to do your duties, bring your quotation and I will give you the wherewithal to execute it. He brought it to Abdulsalami. He met Alhaji Gidado Idris, former Secretary to the Federation there. Abdulsalami approved it for execution but when Ali left Abdulsalami ordered Gidado Idris to fire Ali when Gidado wanted to refuse, he told him that if he didn’t do it somebody else would do it and that was how he was fired.

June 12: "Why Ooni Betrayed MKO Abiola......"- Oba Sikiru Adetona

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade’s role in the aftermath of the annulment of the 1993 presidential election is widely thought to have been less than noble. In Awujale, the recently released autobiography of Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, Sijuade’s connivance with those who annulled the election is brought into sharp focus

His position as the most revered traditional ruler in Yorubaland has not innoculated Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse 11, the Ooni of Ife, from public scorn. Since 1993, much of the mystique around him has been eroded, largely through the carnage sparked by the controversial annulment of the 1993 presidential election, aka June 12. Oba Sijuade came out of the annulment saga with grave reputational injuries from which he is yet to, and may not, recover, given the decision of Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, to re-invite public attention to Sijuwade’s role in one of the most grotesque episodes in Yoruba and Nigerian history.

The medium chosen by Oba Adetona is Awujale, his recently released autobiography, in which the 11th chapter is dedicated to the annulment and the struggle for the de-annulment of the election won by the late Chief M.K.O Abiola.

In Awujale, Adetona presents what can hardly be described as a worm’s eye view. And in the book, the Ooni does not come out smelling like roses. As one of the most prominent Yoruba traditional rulers, Adetona was regularly invited to meetings with General Ibrahim Babangida, the military president that annulled the election and installed an Interim National Government, ING, headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan.

As the widespread anger provoked by the annulment and Babangida’s ING contraption raged, the former military president hoped to limit the damage to his reputation and that of his government, appealing to leaders from all the country’s geo-political zones, especially the South-West, which felt wounded because of Abiola.

For one of those meetings in Abuja, writes Adetona in Awujale, he arrived on a Thursday. The meeting was to hold the next day. While in his hotel room on the day of arrival, Adetona called the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, to say that there was a need for a meeting of Yoruba traditional rulers, where they could arrive at a common position to be presented at the next day’s meeting with Babangida. Adeyemi agreed. Adetona then suggested that there was also a need to inform the Ooni and asked Adeyemi to accompany him to Sijuwade’s room.

Adeyemi, however, was not keen because of the rivalry, over superiority, between him and the Ooni. Eventually, he gave in. The late Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, Oba of Lagos, was also informed. He agreed that a meeting was required, but refused to accompany them to the Ooni’s suite. However, he said he would support whatever position the meeting adopted.

In the Ooni’s suite, Adetona and Adeyemi met the Ife monarch dining with Alhaji Ado Bayero, Emir of Kano. Another Yoruba monarch, Oba Frederick Aroloye, the Owa of Idanre, writes Adetona, sat in a corner. When the two dining monarchs finished their meals, they went into the Ooni’s room for a discussion, after which the Ooni came out to meet Adetona and Adeyemi.

“When we told the Ooni the purpose of our meeting, he said he had met the Northern Emirs. Their position was the same as ours. We asked how and he said that they wanted a fresh meeting to be called of the Council of State along with us. The Council of State, as enshrined in the constitution, has powers to advise the President,” Adetona writes.

But what the Northern traditional rulers wanted was not exactly what the Yoruba monarchs wanted.

“Our mandate from the Yorubas was that the election had been concluded and our son was clearly the winner. So, all we wanted was that they should just simply release the results,” the author explains.

Adetona then insisted that if a Council of State meeting was to be called, it should be for the purpose of ensuring that the election was de-annulled and the wish of the people respected. The Ooni agreed. But the Alaafin, writes Adetona, said there was no need for another meeting because the key members of the Council had already expressed their opposition to the annulment.

When Adetona and the Alaafin left the Ooni, they went to discuss seating arrangements for the next day’s meeting with the other Yoruba traditional rulers. Apparently suspicious that the Ooni could switch positions, the monarchs agreed that they would sit in a way that would ensure that the Ife monarch was hemmed between two of them “so as to forestall any wavering of position.”

The planned sitting arrangement was foiled. As the traditional rulers walked into the venue of the meeting, they found seats that bore each attendee’s name. Babangida came in, explained the position of the government and sought reactions from his audience. The first came from Ibrahim Dasuki, then Sultan of Sokoto, who said very little apart from accusing the government of using traditional rulers to quell crises brought upon the nation by the government itself.

He suggested that Babangida should invite members of the Council of State to join the traditional rulers in the discussion of the annulment. The Ooni was the next to speak and presented the position of the Yoruba obas: declaration of Abiola as the winner.

It was something the meeting had not expected. “You could have heard a pin drop,” writes Adetona. Next was Bayero, who expressed no opposition to what the Ooni said, but called for a fresh Council of State meeting. After him spoke the Oba of Benin, who condemned the annulment and rejected calls for a Council of State meeting.

The natural rulers continued turning the heat on Babangida. According to Adetona, Gbong Gwon Jos, the late Chief Fom Bot, told the meeting that he could not return to his domain if Babangida did not to de-annul the election, as his subjects had demanded, and asked the former president to find accommodation for him in Abuja. A traditional ruler from the South-East, Adetona writes, was more dramatic, telling Babangida to quit as president. “Please go. Please go,” he shouted.

Then Babangida cut in, explaining that the decision to annul or de-annul was not solely his, but that of the military heirachy. He kept on calling on others to speak, but the obas observed that he was calling only people who sat to his right. The obas sat to his left. This drew a protest from the Alaafin, who Babangida was forced to ask to speak.

The Oyo monarch insisted that another Council of State meeting was needless because the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, a member, was out of the country, while some other key members had expressed their disapproval of the annulment in the media. Other traditional rulers told Babangida that he should save the country from a huge crisis by respecting the wishes of Nigerians.

Then, Babangida attempted one more throw of the dice. In a somewhat emotional tone, he told the meeting how close he and Abiola were. His government, he added, had paid Abiola hefty debts owed him by previous regimes. The sum, Babangida said, was about $600million. The scent of money scrambled a particular royal head–the Ooni’s.

“When he heard this piece of information, the Ooni became angry and said something to the effect that if Babangida paid him (Ooni) that much, he would be living on the Island of Capri in Italy,” Adetona writes.

Sijuade then got up to go to the toilet. Adetona followed, spewing criticisms at his fellow oba for going against what the Yoruba traditional rulers had agreed on. After the meeting, watched by Uche Chukwumerije, Information Secretary in the Interim National Government, the Ooni told journalists that he was in support of Babangida’s position that a fresh election should be held and that the obas should return to their domains and tell their people to prepare for the election.

Adetona thought he had not heard Ooni right. “To assure myself that what I heard was true, I invited one of the reporters, who was there when the Ooni was speaking to my room. This was a reporter from The Nigerian Tribune. Fortunately, the Alaafin was with me when the reporter played the tape for us. We were stunned,” the Awujale writes.

From his hotel room, the Ooni called Adetona on the intercom and announced gleefully that he had told the world (through the media) of the Yoruba position. Adetona replied that he was not sure that Sijuwade’s claim was correct. Adetona, accompanied by the Alaafin and the reporter, went over to Sijuade’s room. The Ooni repeated his claim that he presented the Yoruba position to the press.

He was instantly put to shame, when the reporter was asked to play his tape, which contained the opposite of Ooni’s claim. Adetona and the Alaafin then pressured Ooni into granting another interview, restating the position of the Yoruba. He did and the reporter was asked to take the interview to media houses for publication the next day. The interview was published by newspapers the next day, but Chukwumerije had caused the first interview to be used on the network news of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA.

In the book, the Awujale was unsparing in his attack on former Nigerian leader, Olusegun Obasanjo. He described him as a Judas, “who would betray his people,” who lacks credibility and squandered “the enormous goodwill,” which he carried into office “with a performance that left him with a second term short of tangible achievements.”

Oba Adetona recalled an event on 24 July 2002, the late Abraham Adesanya’s 80th birthday in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, when in a ride with Obasanjo to a makeshift helipad he told Obasanjo how disappointed he had become over Obasanjo’s pussy-footing on the issue of federalism. “This was the dividing line for me in our relationship,” Awujale recalled and

Adesanya’s birthday presented an opportunity for him to tell Obasanjo how he felt about him, when they rode together in a Mercedes Benz limousine, with former Ogun governor, Olusegun Osoba, as witness. “It was going to be a short trip but I had something to say and so it had to be said quickly enough while the three of us shared some privacy. I said there was a time when I had trusted Obasanjo so much so that I could swear by his name, but that the trust was now gone. Obasanjo asked why. I answered that Obasanjo was no longer credible.” The Oba recalled further in the book, that at another time when he visited Obasanjo in Aso Rock, Obasanjo revisited their earlier conversation during which he told the Awujale, accusatorily, that he painted him a Judas. Awujale reconfirmed the labeling according to his account.

“I told him that I not only remembered but still maintained that he was a Judas who would betray his people…I had no qualms about speaking plainly to him. In high office, people who surround leaders tend to skirt around the truth,” Awujale wrote.

The Awujale was clearly not impressed by Obasanjo’s tenure as Nigeria’s leader. ‘‘Eight years in office was ample time to put electricity on a very strong footing. Eight years was enough to put down a strong foot against corruption and make a clear difference. Eight years was adequate for orderliness and the rule of law to triumph in every facet of our society. These were the basis upon which I gave my support for the office,” he submitted.

If You Build It People Will Come BY Ben Murray Bruce

One of the things that really riles me is when I receive complaints by foreigners and mostly Westerners about the difficulty in getting a visa to visit Nigeria. Not only is the process unnecessarily long and tedious, a Nigerian visa is also expensive and can cost as much as $200.  For a nation that wants to diversify her revenue base, this is the wrong approach.

This constraint is also one of the reasons why Nigerian fares poorly in the annual Ease of Doing Business ranking list in the Global Competitive Index (GCI) published by the World Economic Forum.

Last year, Nigeria fell seven places to 127th position from the 120th position we occupied in 2013. Not much has changed to expect a better rating this year.  And yet, we expect to be open for business!  The first thing that foreigners look at in determining the ease of doing business in a country is how easy it is to enter and leave that nation. We have our work cut out for us.

If I may ask, what will a Westerner want to do in Nigeria if not business or touring? They are very unlikely to engage in crime and we have checks in place to ensure that they do not sabotage our economy. So why make them jump through hoops to get a visa when it  is actually us that needs their business or presence as tourists?  Nigeria needs to take a cue from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and throw open her borders to business and pleasure seekers with the only requirement for entry being that you have money to spend in Nigeria.

Even if we need to place visa restrictions, we can do it for certain nations whose citizens will have a higher incentive to take advantage of our economy. We should not place the same conditions on everybody. That's crazy!

Recently, some missionaries from the United States wanted to visit Nigeria. They had plans to explore opening up schools or helping to staff schools that already exist. They also had plans to help Nigerian orphans get adopted by wealthy Americans. I am quite sad to say that the hoops put in their way discouraged them and eventually they did not actualise their plans. Instead of adopting from Nigeria, they ended up adopting Chinese.

This is not an isolated story. It keeps happening over and over again. I know of Westerners who wanted to set up a refinery in Nigeria and their attempts to get a visa where so tedious. Thank God they knew someone who knew the Ambassador in their country. Only then where things able to work out for them. But what about the ones that do not know anybody? Must you know someone to have your visa process fast tracked?  This ought not to be so.

The world has evolved and although it is now cliche to say it, but we now live in a global village. Globalisation is the present and future of the world. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, national borders have been falling and people now become world citizens instead of citizens of one nation.  Westerners and Asians are now so wealthy and are looking for new places to invest or visit as tourists and nations like the UAE are visionary enough to see this new world order and are tapping into it.

By making her visa policy so lenient, the UAE has attracted the world's business and tourist visitors. As long as you have money to spend, their borders are open to you. And what has been the result?  By opening up her borders to the world, the UAE's economy has more than doubled and though she is an oil rich nation, over 30 per cent of her Gross Domestic Product comes from her aviation industry. Between 10-12 per cent comes from the tourists industry. This is a total of over $180 billion per annum!

This amount would not have come into her economy if His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had not been visionary enough to open his nation's borders to the world for business and pleasure in the 1990s.  We do not have to reinvent the wheel in Nigeria. We can just replicate what has been done successfully in Dubai.  And it will be very shortsighted to say that foreigners will not visit Nigeria because of the crisis of terrorism we are currently going through.

The Mano River region had been war torn for decades starting from the late 80s, but that did not stop the growth of the tourist industry in the Republic of the Gambia. Gambia is one of those nations that liberalised its visa policy early enough and the result has been that tourism is the number one foreign exchange earner in that nation.  What about Kenya? Tourism in Kenya is the second largest source of foreign exchange revenue following agriculture. Their annual revenue from tourism is just a little over $1 billion per annum. Yet, this is a country that is grappling with terrorism just as we are.  Kenya has a very liberal visa policy that is raking in dollars for her economy. 

To put things into perspective, tourism is to Gambia and Kenya what oil is to Nigeria. To put things into even more perspective, oil is not a renewable resource. It has a shelf life. It will finish one day or lose value sooner than that. But tourism is a renewable resource. It will always exists. As an economic mainstay, it is safer than oil!  Americans have a saying which is true. They say, if you build it, people will come. If Nigeria builds up her capacity to host the world, the world will come!  A good place to start would be by liberalising our visa policy. Let us make it easy for people to visit Nigeria. This will have the effect of increasing travel to Nigeria and our aviation industry will boom!

We have Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) with many nations but we are not utilising them. However, those nations are utilising theirs and Nigerians are trooping to their countries to spend dollars. By now, it is almost a notorious fact that the Lagos-London-Lagos route is perhaps the most profitable route in the would for British Airways because Nigerians are trooping to the United Kingdom for holidays. Why can't we flip that? The reverse is the case for Gambia. 50,000 British tourists visit The Gambia every year.

The United Kingdom is not making money from The Gambia, it is The Gambia that is making money from them which is as it should be!  
Turkey has now liberalised her visa policy such that if you have a British or American visa you do not need a Turkish visa to enter Turkey as long as you fly Turkish Airlines! Do you know how many billions of dollars Turkey has reaped by that policy? People will come to Nigeria. We must believe in ourselves and in our economy.  And that brings me to business registration. We must make it easy to register a business in Nigeria. Currently it is too difficult and expensive to open a business in Nigeria.

Registering a company with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) can cost up to N60,000 and takes weeks to finalise. Meanwhile in the US you can register a business in a day with less than $50 and you do not have to leave your house! We must make if easy for people to open business in Nigeria. We must also make it easier for business to open accounts in Nigerian banks.  We must never underestimate the big difference small changes can make. These are small changes that are within our power to make and if we make them we will be stunned at the positive multiplier effect they will cause.
My name is Ben Murray Bruce and I just want to make commonsense! 

· Murray Bruce is the senator representing Bayelsa East in the Senate and is the Chairman of the Silverbird Group

GOOD BYE, OUR DEAR KABIYESI BY DELE MOMODU

Fellow Nigerians, let me confess that my trip to the ancient city of Ife last Thursday was a most harrowing experience. As a matter of fact, the drive itself was very smooth devoid of the usual hurly-burly on that notorious Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. We set forth on our journey around noon not knowing what to expect along the way. Road travel in Nigeria has defied common logic. You require methods to the malfeasance and madness of our dare-devil drivers. We drove all the way to Ibadan without any major drama of bottlenecks and we thanked God for journey mercies.

The second leg of our journey was from Ibadan to Ile-Ife. We tried to navigate our way from the ubiquitous gridlock around Iwo Road and meandered our way through the backstreet towards the Ibadan Airport to link up the Ife Road without much ado. The trouble came where we least expected. As we approached the Asejire Dam which used to be one of my favourite sights as a kid, we suddenly noticed a logjam ahead. Many passengers had abandoned their vehicles to assemble on the Asejire Bridge like locusts. We were momentarily alarmed wondering what had gone wrong on this usually peaceful stretch.

Alas, a vehicle which I suspected to be a public transport had sped and obviously somersaulted into the rocky river. We saw a deluge of Federal Road Safety Corps operatives struggling hard with what looked like a rescue mission as well as trying to clear the crowd of onlookers for easy passage of travellers like us. I actually seemed to appreciate their passionate dedication to the work of saving lives. Anyway, we prayed for survivors to emerge from that cataclysmic dive and continued on our voyage.

We arrived Ile-Ife with some anxiety because we didn’t know what to expect. Rumour had developed wings like bushfire in harmattan about a certain palace errand of The Ooni of Ife who must mandatorily accompany him on his journey to the great beyond by being buried alive with the King. Many of my Ghanaian friends had called to ask me about this odoriferous news about the disappearance of The Ooni’s Abobaku.

All efforts to explain the falsity of those claims were rebuffed by doubting Thomases. I was forced to tweet and explain that only two kings reigned in the last 85 years in Ile-Ife namely, Oba Adesoji Tadeniawo Aderemi and Oba Okunade Adele Sijuwade Olubuse II. I knew when Oba Aderemi passed on and there was no one buried with him. It is impossible for a living human being to be buried with a king at this time and age and I can say authoritatively that the law abiding Ife Chiefs will never commit such carnivorous murder.

We drove through the famous Lagere Road and headed towards the Ife Palace and met a desolate town in the mourning process of their powerful king. It was almost surreal. We eventually got to the palace gate where we encountered several barricades and some youths who claimed they were Oro cultists. They lurched forward menacingly as if to pounce on us. Then we heard some shrieking chants. We stopped and our security escorts tried to bring the riotous situation under control. I think one of the guys recognised the occupants of the Ovation-branded car and shouted “it is Ovation, Dele Momodu is a son of Ife, he is our own and free to drive anywhere!” I felt humbled and we gave them something for their efforts.

We had been misinformed by someone that the Crown Prince Adetokunbo Sijuwade and the wives of the departed monarch were still ensconced somewhere in the palace of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race. The boys directed us on how to enter the palace. 

The gates were firmly locked but the second one swung open as our convoy approached snakelike. As we entered the palace proper, we experienced a certain eerie feeling. It was apparent something had gone desperately wrong. The place had lost its original allure and glamour. I thought we had mistakenly entered Fagunwa’s phantasmagorical forests. We continued towards the inner gates leading to The Ooni’s residences. We saw freshly-cut trees on the ground meant to block any intruder and nosey-parker. The place was virtually empty.

I wondered why we were allowed to drive inside the palace when there was no soul except a few Chiefs straddled in one corner performing their mandatory rites or whatever it was. I felt the urge to get out of that extra-terrestrial space as fast as possible. After all the hullabaloo of Abobaku, what if some human heads were needed? Could it possibly mean a few of us could be kidnapped or just vamoose into rarefied air without a trace in this vast world? I marvelled at the audacity that ever propelled us in that direction in the first instance but I felt assured because I was in the company of Princes and Princesses, including Prince Adedamola Aderemi, and Oro never affects them.. I was nevertheless a bit apprehensive but still excited about the potentially dangerous adventure.

We eventually turned around and left the palace. Memories of years gone by gushed back and took over my brains. So this is the end of another era, I asked rhetorically. I couldn’t imagine I will never visit Kabiyesi, The Ooni, in that massive sprawling palace again. Nothing destroys than death. The finality of it is most cruelly annoying. We then drove to a few places for some quick meetings.

Eventually, we went to visit Prince Adetokunbo Sijuwade in their private home.  The place was buzzling with activities in preparation for the interdenominational service that took place yesterday. We met two of the royal wives, Olori Ladun and Olori Odunayo. I saw many Sijuwade Princes and Princesses who had flown in to Nigeria from different parts of the universe. The new head of the family was completely knackered. The responsibilities on his shoulders are incredibly heavy.

While I was in the house with my friends, I got a call from the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who had been duly informed by Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi of my presence in our State. He was in his usual upbeat mood and he apologised that he won’t be able to host me as he had some prior engagements to deal with. I thanked him for the call and drove to the home of Olori Morisola Sijuwade, The Ooni’s most senior wife. She expressed delight at seeing us come around to honour her husband. We must have left Ife after 10pm and headed to Osogbo where we passed the night.

We checked into our hotel and agreed to meet at about 7am for breakfast. I managed to catch some sleep after working till 3am. By 6am, it was time to get ready. We gathered ourselves in about six cars and drove to Ife and arrived the venue in Enuwa, at about 10am. The Area Boys sprang on us and skilfully with two mobile phones from my friends while I managed to escape those rascals.

The Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo personally attended and this added some colour to the event. It was nice seeing Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, Major General Adeyinka Adebayo, Rear Admiral Akin Aduwo, Lt. General Alani Akinrinade, Prince Ayo Aderemi, Mrs Tola Oyediran and her sister, Dr Mrs Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu (both represented the Awolowo family), Prince Adedamola Aderemi (who has spent ample time with the Sijuwades right from London to Lagos), Senator Bamigbetan, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Babajide Omoworare, The Secretary to the State Government of Osun and so many others.

After visiting a few places including the old Buka of the Obafemi Awolowo University where we dealt ruthlessly with some piping hot amala and goat meat, we went to spend some time again with Prince Adetokunbo and the Oloris. Thereafter, I led the family in a short prayer and it became obvious I’m inching closer to my calling as a Pastor as I prophesied at Pastor Tunde Bakare’s 60th birthday celebration.

What next, I asked as we drove out of the compound. The Ife kingmakers don’t usually waste time in selecting their new king. I expect them to name one of the contenders in the next few weeks. The process is not going to be simple as there seems to be a motley crowd this time around. Ile-Ife is blessed with many successful and accomplished Princes who may be qualified.

I project that the Kingmakers will ask ruling house three out of the four ruling houses to present their candidates, namely, Osinkola, Giesi and Lafogido.  The Ogboru ruling house which presented the last Ooni, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, will not now be asked to present a candidate.  This follows the precedent when Osinkola ruling house was not asked to present a candidate when Oba Adesoji Aderemi Atobatele I joined his ancestors, thus paving the way for Ooni Sijuwade to be crowned.

According to Ife custom and tradition there is no order of rotation in the presentation of candidates by the respective ruling houses.  From the twentieth century to date, the last five Ooni’s have come from three not four ruling Houses:

(a)   Olubuse I from Ogboru - 1894 to 1909
(b)   Adekola from Osinkola – 1910 to 1910
(c)    Ademiluyi Ajagun from Lafogido – 1910 – 1930
(d)   Aderemi Atobatele from Osinkola – 1930 – 1980
(e)   Sijuwade Olubuse II from Ogboru – 1980 to 2015.

Prior to these Obas above who reigned in the 20th century, Lafogiddo had produced 7 Oonis, Osinklola had produced 3, Giesi had produced 6 and Ogboru had produced 2.

Attempts may have been made in the past between 1957 and 1979 to establish an order of rotation but these failed to fly and rotation was jettisoned by the Kingmakers in the one and only exercise in 1980.
There are already indications that virtually all the eligible ruling houses will present their candidates after a rigorous screening exercise to determine eligibility by those houses.  Some of the criteria they will utilise are whether the candidate is truly a prince from that particular ruling house, including whether the claimed royalty was bestowed honorarily on the candidate’s ancestor or the aspirant is descended from a male lineage. Similarly, tradition forbids an Ooni to have a living father and, patent disability or deformity is also a ground for exclusion.

The mood in Ile-Ife seems to favour younger candidates since the last two Ooni’s ascended the throne at the ages of 40 and 50 respectively. I predict therefore that nobody above 60 will be considered suitable by the Kingmakers.  
There are no clear contenders coming out for different reasons.  Firstly, a few of them wished to pay deference to the memory of Oba Sijuwade and did not feel that it was decorous to press a claim until his funeral was concluded. Secondly, some are in public service and will not want to risk their jobs.

Tthirdly, the financial obligations are usually quite significant and this has been the practice since time immemorial or, at least, since the passing of Ooni Ojigidiri as Oba Adesoji Aderemi wrote in his letter of July 28 1930 to The Resident of Oyo Province when laying his claim to the throne and; Fourthly, No claimant can say that he was anointed or blessed by the previous Ooni as most of the present contenders were close to Ooni Sijuwade in one way or the other.

Once the ruling houses have concluded their screening they ask the princely gladiators whether they are able to agree amongst themselves so that the house can present one common candidate.  If there is no agreement then the ruling house is compelled to forward the names of all those interested in vying for the stool to the kingmakers.

In Ife, there are six primary kingmakers who must act in consultation with the other secondary kingmakers before an Ooni is elected.  There are 8 Iharefe Chiefs on the Right headed by Obalufe (or Orunto as he is otherwise known) and 8 Modewa chiefs on the Left headed by Lowa. The Iharefe are the civil chiefs including the war chief, whilst the Modewas are the Palace courtiers. Three of the Iharefes namely, Obalufe, Obalaye and Ejio, form one half of the primary kingmakers whilst the remaining three come from the Modewa side and are namely, Lowa, Jaran and Agoro.

Prior to the selection by the six primary kingmakers, the Araba of Ife is requested by them to consult Ifa and determine the candidates that are worthy for consideration for the Title. Once the Araba puts forward those worthy of consideration, the 6 primary kingmakers make their choice after consulting with their remaining colleagues.

Thereafter the chosen person’s name is sent to the Governor who must appoint that person as the Ooni.  It is noteworthy that the kingmakers in Ife present only one person to the Governor as their choice of Ooni and the Governor therefore has little choice but to honour the selection of the kingmakers.