By Reuben Abati

I used to have a friend we called Alhaji Bashy. He was not a Muslim. No. But he called himself Alhaji Bashy, even if that was not his real name. You want to know his real name? It was Theophilus. And his wife was named Ruth. His children? He was yet to have one. Even Ruth was called his wife by designation. We were all young in those days, and any woman to whom you wrote regular love letters and poems, and she gave you attention was your wife. In those days, you didn’t have to give a woman a N100 million worth of car to assure her that you were in love, you did not have to go as far as Offa to rob a bank so you could earn a living.

 

Once you grabbed a woman and you could send her titillating love poems and she believed, you gained the right to press all buttons, and shake every table in her body. The Vice Chancellor of one university in those days became very notorious. He said his students were among the brightest in the country but that he could not vouch for those students’ tendency and ability to explore the internal anatomy of the female homo sapiens! The laughter that greeted that announcement stretched from one part of the country to another.

 

And the women didn’t complain. They were happy to have a man who loved them genuinely. You didn’t have to put a ring on their fingers. They would cook for you, wash your clothes, kneel down to greet your mother, your father, your siblings, pray for you, and even if you didn’t marry them at the end of the day, they would still not take offence. They would resolve that the will of God had been done. The moment they agreed to become your friend, they became automatically your wife and some of them even if they married other men later, would remain on pension in your life forever. Yes, in this country, women used to survive like that on such anticipatory approval that had life-long consequences. I confess that I am still paying pension but I won’t name the women.

 

As you can see, anticipatory approval started in Nigeria a long time ago. Not just with girlfriends who became bush meat or fiancées or eventually wives, or other people’s wives. In those days, even persons who had no bicycle, and were professional trekkers boasted about their leggedes-benz. They turned their legs into a brand of the Mercedes Benz! Those who could barely afford a pair of slippers insisted they would one day ride the Mercedez.

 

Now come on, that was a popular luxury car in those days. Only important folks could afford it. So rugged, that car was nick-named “the German mistake”. Alhaji Bashy, even when we all smoked garri with groundnuts and watched the big boys who came from town to toast campus babes with ordinary suya, had big dreams. He believed he would also one day be able to buy his girlfriend the barbecued meat called “’suya” and a Mercedes. And Ruth was happy to hear that one day she too would ride a car. She was happy with Alhaji Bashy.

 

It was a different country we lived in. The men appreciated the women. Whatever went wrong, the women knelt down and begged their men and the men reciprocated by honouring the women. Nigeria was a community of happy people, anyone that behaved anyhow was ostrasized. I recall even being referred to on many occasions as Mallam when my only connection with Mallam things was to wait for the eid-el-kabir season to eat the generous portions of ram meat that Muslims gave their Christian compatriots.

 

We all ate together and enjoyed together and married across religious and ethnic divides. Our country was then just one happy place. Oh, what a happy place. Muslims and Christians played with one another and the festive season was the best time to show boundless amity. Cows didn’t pose a threat to farm produce. Every disagreement was resolved either in the bedroom or the beer parlour or at communal associations. Alhaji Bashy used to joke that Muslim girls were better than Christian girls and if we reminded him that his Ruth was Christian, he would laugh from one end of his mouth to the other, his 32 teeth in full display, and he would say:

 

“It is good to be good, when you are good to a woman, or any person, he or she will be nice to you, Christian or Muslim. Love knows no religion. Nobody is a Mallam or pastor in the bedroom.”

 

“Alha-ji Bay- sheeey”, we would all scream

 

“It is nice to be nice, because nice is nice, ” he responded.

 

Bashy was a good guy. He was incapable of hurting another fellow. No matter how serious the situation was, he reduced it all to laughter. The only thing that mattered to him was Ruth, the sugar in his tea, the puff-puff in his mouth, the woman he loved, the hope of his future. Ruth. I remember Ruth. She was that type of woman God created in a relaxed mood. You know how it is: some women look like God created them in a busy and tired moment, and hence they come out looking anyhow. But Ruth: God took his time. Any time she walked into a gathering of men, all the men had their instruments standing at attention in honour and in respect, and in anticipation. But she had eyes only for Bashy, and many used to wonder what he saw in the guy and his gross features. We all sulked and grumbled believing that God sometimes gives the best to the ugliest.

 

Then all of a sudden, June 12 happened. June 12, 1993 was the day our country held its freest and fairest election since 1922 when the first democratic elections were held. After colonial rule and influence, a short period of civilian rule and a prolonged military rule, another democratic interregnum, Nigerians eventually became tired of military rule. The rest of the world was moving towards democracy. The Berlin wall had collapsed. Across the world, everyone wanted the people to be the owners of power and masters of their own destiny. In our country, everyone wanted to escape the trap of authoritarianism. On June 12, 1993, the military had asked the people to choose a President – one of their own. Bashy was one of those who supported Chief MKO Abiola, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). MKO promised Nigerians hope, progress and abundant welfare. One Baba Gana Kingibe was his running mate. The two of them were Muslims, but nobody raised any questions. Nigerians voted for their Muslim-Muslim ticket. It was a national unity ticket. The Christians didn’t mind. The people wanted change and it didn’t matter to them whatever shape the revolution took.

 

But the military stood in the people’s way and the entire country went adrift. The military annulled the election and aborted the people’s hopes. Alhaji Bashy was one of MKO’s men. He worked for him. He followed him. He became his disciple. “MKO-o o-oooooo is our man oooo” became his national anthem.” He was one of those who believed Chief should stand up to the soldiers and claim his mandate. He reported at MKO’s home in the morning and left at night. He attended meetings he didn’t need to attend, but he did all the same because he believed in democracy.

 

He told me once that if Chief was allowed to claim his mandate, Nigeria would become one of the best countries in the world. But the military hierarchy, after an overdose of peppersoup diet, obviously and in retrospect, refused to hand over Abiola’s mandate to him. People like Bashy insisted on a revolution. He was at Epetedo where MKO claimed his mandate in a historic statement. History was made at that moment and MKO’s followers were proud of his courage and resolve. When Alhaji Bashy returned from that event and I saw him, I knew something had gone wrong. His eyes were blood-shot. ‘MKO or nobody”, he screamed throughout the night

 

Those were sad days. Two days later, Ruth, the centre of Bashy’s life was attacked by a group of men. They raped her. They slashed her throat. They dumped her in front of Bashy’s flat. Alhaji Bashy was detained for a month. They said he killed her. But he didn’t. I was one of the people who went to the police station to testify that Bashy was a lover-boy, not a killer and that Ruth, with her buttocks that rolled as if it was responding to unheard music was all that he lived for. Bashy was released. The revolution that he wanted did not happen, because shortly after, Chief MKO Abiola was arrested and detained by the military authorities. He never came back alive. They said he drank tea and he died.

 

Bashy was devastated. He took to the bottle. He drowned his sorrow in alcohol. He became a shadow of himself. He owned a rickety Beetle. The Beetle, a Volkswagen star brand in those days, was known for its ruggedness. Bashy managed to buy a used one for N22, 000 – a lot of money in those days. The only problem was that his Beetle had to be pushed before it would move. Some of us who were his close friends knew this routine. Whenever Bashy wanted to leave, we would start moving away strategically to prevent being forced to jump-start his notorious Beetle.

 

It was really a tug of war, so difficult to know who was driving the other between Bashy and his wretched car. The only problem was that once you helped to push and the car jumped alive, a huge of volume of smoke escaping from the exhaust would suddenly emit onto your face. Pure carbon monoxide: Bashy would speed off, but you would be there struggling for oxygen and cursing that you’d never do it again. The more alcoholic Bashy became, the more unpredictable he also became. He was a shadow of his former self. It was as if the light that kept his life aglow had been switched off.

 

One day, on his way to his abode in Ajangbadi; armed robbers accosted him. Our country was extraordinarily lawless and ruthless and unsafe. Hadji Bashy told me the story himself, a day after. They stopped his car and asked him to come down. Come down! Come down! They pointed guns at him, each of his three assailants holding a gun. Bashy was dead drunk. He was dead to the world.

 

“Eyin boys, bawo ni. What is happening?”

 

“Are you crazy? You think we are joking with you?”

 

“Shut up” he said he told them. “I know you. You people are thieves. Armed robbers. Idiots”.

 

“Since you know, oya give us everything you have”, one of them replied.

 

“What do I have? I am coming from a June 12 event. You people should join us to make Nigeria better. Join hands with us to create Hope for this country.”

 

“Ha. Pastor ma leleyi oh, Ti Nigeria ba good, you think we will be here on this road robbing people. Gbagbe e o omo. Gbori n be. Irin tutu re oh,” one of the boys reportedly said. “Irin…Irin ise. Iyalaya anybagga”

 

The boys behaved as if they were drugged. Bashy himself was drunk. They kept their guns pointed at him.

 

“Ewo eyin boys, I have just 2, 000. We will share it. You people will take N1, 000 and I will keep 1, 000 because I will have to buy fuel into this jalopy tomorrow morning . If you don’t agree, let me know now.”

 

He said the robbers burst out laughing. Bashy went about with a carton of beer since Ruth died. He drank as he drove. He went to the back seat of the car. He had four bottles left. He took two bottles and gave to the robbers. He asked them to take two and he would keep two bottles for himself. He then turned on the car radio, inserted a cassette and asked the robbers to let them have fun. He started dancing, after opening two bottles of beer. Two of the robbers couldn’t believe what they had just seen. They laughed. One of them said:

 

“There is something in this Lagos oh. What will somebody not see on this job? This one doesn’t even know he is being robbed. He is too drunk to be aware.”

 

“June 12, my brothers. June 12. Let us show these bloody soldiers that on June 12 we stand,” Bashy told them.

 

The robbers collected two bottles of beer and the N1, 000 and drove off. I saw Bashy the following morning. I found him with a bottle of coke in his mouth. He was listening to the music of Reggae artist, Ras Kimono, a rhumba styleee…stai-leeee. He looked so dejected. I was alarmed. He told me his story.

 

“Bashy, what happened?”

 

“Nothing”

 

“No something happened. You are drinking coca cola in the morning. What happened to schnapps?”

 

“I will never taste alcohol again”

 

“How? Why?’

 

“Can you believe that I encountered armed robbers yesterday and they didn’t shoot me? I told them off. I abused them, I told them I am a June 12 man and they still allowed me to go. I will never drink again.”

 

Bashy kept to his promise. He has not been invited to the special national honours ceremony for Bashorun MKO Abiola. He died two years ago. He is survived by a daughter. Ruth’s daughter…

 

The candidate of the National Republican Convention, NRC in the 1993 presidential election has spoken on decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to declare June 12, the day the election was held as Democracy Day in honour of his opponent, late Moshood Kashimawo Abiola who contested was believed to have won the election under the Social Democratic Party, SDP, but was not allowed to take office.

In a statement released late Saturday evening, the NRC presidential candidate urged President Buhari to reconsider his decision to declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day in honour of the late MKO Abiola who died in government’s custody after he was arrested in the process of reclaiming his mandate.

Tofa said that “whatever may be the prevailing sentiment and politics in Abuja, the idea that June 12 should be the new Democracy Day is also a matter that deserves serious reconsideration”.

The NRC candidate who decisions to declare a new democracy day should be “beyond some political cold calculations,” claimed many people are worried about “the brazen one-sidedness of this curious presidential action.”

But he said he does not begrudge the late MKO Abiola who described as his ‘friend’ over the honour.

 

THE FULL TEXT OF PRESS STATEMENT

 

In the Holy Name of God, The Merciful.

 

Following the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to honour my late friend, Alhaji Mashood K. Abiola (may Allah grant him peace) and officially recognise him as the winner of the inconclusive 12th June 1993 presidential election in which I was a candidate, I have been inundated by calls from friends, well-wishers, former political associates and journalists.

 

While some worry about the brazen one-sidedness of this curious presidential action, especially given the list of invitees to Tuesday’s event at the Villa supposedly to mark ‘Democracy Day’, there are also those who canvass that I be so honoured with a similar award of GCFR, if the motive indeed was noble and meant to serve the end of justice. As much as I appreciate the goodwill, in this circumstance, however, I have to say that I would not accept it as it is, even if given.

 

While I do not begrudge the President his power to bestow favour on whomsoever he pleases, it is also important, especially for history, for all actions from the highest authority in the country to be based on fair play and law. Needless to say, being one of the two presidential candidates in that election does not in any way define me or my achievements in life; it was not even the most important one.

 

However, as I have reiterated many times in the past, I am grateful to the numerous Nigerians from across the length and breadth of the country who made enormous sacrifices in the National Republican Convention (NRC) asvwell as the millions of our citizens who voted for both the late Abiola and myself in that historic election.

 

Much more importantly, I am most grateful to Almighty God for the several Honours He has bestowed on me; all of which have enriched my life. As for my friend, M. K. O. Abiola, what he needs most is our sincere prayers for Allah’s mercy and the gift of Paradise for him. While some of us   cherish his memory as a departed friend and compatriot, there are many who will continue to exploit it and to glory in it for their own benefits.

 

For those who may have forgotten or never knew, the late Abiola was a close personal friend of mine, a relationship dating back to the Second Republic when I was the National Financial Secretary of the then ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and he was the Ogun State Chairman of the party. So, I do not in any way begrudge him the post-humous honour, even when I insist that the right thing must be done at all times.

 

Meanwhile, whatever may be the prevailing sentiment and politics in Abuja, the idea that June 12 should be the new Democracy Day is also a matter that deserves serious reconsideration. Such decisions should be beyond some political cold calculations.

 

Finally, like all, I am also travelling on the path prepared for me by God Almighty. He controls my destiny and I pray He will continue to favour and to guide me. All Power belongs to Him alone. He gives it to whom He pleases and He Has Power over all things, including every ambition.

 

May The Almighty, in whose Hands lie our destinies keep our beloved country and peoples together in unity, peace and prosperity.

 

LONG LIVE THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.

 

35 containers of tramadol seized at ports – NAFDAC

 

Tramadol

 

By Mustapha Sumaila

 

Abuja, June 10, 2018 (NAN) Prof. Moji Adeyeye, Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says the agency has seized not fewer than 35 containers of tramadol at various ports in the country.

 

Adeyeye disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

 

She said nine out of the seized containers of tramadol were released to NAFDAC by the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), and had been destroyed by her agency.

 

“We are seriously working with the custom on this and each time they seize any container, they usually invite us to come and see the containers with tramadol.

 

“So far, 35 containers were seized and only nine of them have been handed over to NAFDAC which we have destroyed,” she said.

 

She, however, decried the delay by the custom in handing over the rest of the containers to her agency.

 

The NAFDAC boss stated that tramadol was a restricted drug but had been abused by Nigerian youths who use it without prescription.

 

According to Adeyeye, who is also a professor of pharmacology, the drug destroys children’s brain thereby threatening the future generation of the nation.

 

She lauded the present administration for placing an embargo on codeine, which she said, like tramadol, should only be given only by prescription as done in advanced country.

 

The director general said the agency was more determined and committed than ever to stem the menace of illicit and fake drugs in the country. (NAN)

 

SERAP Wants CCB, ICPC To Prosecute Deputy Speaker, Yusuff Over Alleged N1.1 Billion Water Contract Scam

June 10, 2018

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Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has asked the Acting Chairmen of both the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) “to jointly investigate allegations of incompatibility, apparent conflict of interest and abuse of office involving Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Lasun Yusuff using his personal company to win water contracts amounting to about N1.1 billion from the Ministry of Water Resources, and to collaborate with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in any such investigation.”

 

The organization urged the anti-corruption agencies to “prosecute Mr Yusuff and other people and companies suspected to be involved if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence of abuse of office and complicity against them. We urge you to take steps within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, failing which SERAP will institute legal proceedings to compel the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to order your agencies to act in the public interest.”

 

In the petition dated 8 June 2018 and signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale, the organization said: “Investigating the allegations and prosecuting all those suspected to be involved would indicate your agencies’ willingness to exert your authorities and act as a deterrent against breaches of the code of conduct provisions, Nigeria’s anti-corruption legislation and international standards.”

 

The organization said, “Public officials allegedly securing to themselves and/or their companies and family members privileges rightly belonging to the public by by-passing or manipulating the formal procedures necessary for the award of these privileges is a textbook case of conflict of interest.”

 

The organization expressed “Concerns that Mr Yusuff’s alleged acts suggest abuse of his position as lawmaker, and apparent conflict of interest situation, as such acts were undertaken by the Deputy Speaker in the exercise of his legislative functions to presumably promote and advance the commercial and other interests of his own, Nur and Company Nigeria limited.”

 

According to the organization, “Rather than using his law-making functions to promote access to safe drinking water and sanitation services for Irepodun/Orolu/Olorunda/Osogbo Federal Constituency without any discrimination or disparity in the level of services, the Deputy Speaker would seem to be looking after his own interests and Nur and Company Nigeria limited–not those of the constituency he represents.”

 

The petition reads in part: “Bidding and winning the water project contract and the alleged mismanagement and/or stealing of about N1.1 billion meant to execute the project may have violated constitutional provisions and international standards on code of conduct for public officers and the Public Procurement Act.”

 

“SERAP notes that the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party prohibit conflict of interests and set ethical standards for public officers, including lawmakers. Both the Constitution and the Convention require public officers to abstain from all acts that may compromise the exercise of their public functions and are inconsistent with their entrusted positions.”

 

“Under article 19 of the convention, abuse of functions refers to a public official that is doing something which is illegal or something that the official has no legal authority to do, to obtain a personal economic benefit or cause an illegal damage to others. Article 13 requires the maintenance of transparent, competitive and efficient procurement systems as part of the measures against corruption.”

 

“Public officers also must discharge their public duties truthfully and faithfully, abide by the constitutional code of conduct, observe the primacy of public interest, and not allow their personal interest to influence their official conduct. SERAP believes that rather than serving the common interest of the public, the use of the personal and family company–Nur and Company Nigeria limited—to win over N1 billion water project contract would seem to put Mr Yusuff in a conflict of interest situation.”

 

“Conflict of interest represents a situation where the person exercising a public function such as law-making duties has a personal interest of patrimonial or commercial nature, which could influence the objective fulfilment of the duties incumbent on public officers.”

 

“The allegations of abuse of office and corruption have denied the communities affected the right of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, thereby exacerbating unequal access to drinking water and sanitation for the people of the constituency and Osun State in general. Such allegations also violate the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which guarantees the right to an adequate standard of living including the rights to water and sanitation. Nigeria has ratified the Covenant.”

 

“While the Constitution of Nigeria does not explicitly recognise the human rights to water and sanitation, the rights can be inferred from section 33 which guarantees the right to life. SERAP believes that the right to life includes the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and to human dignity. Denying the affected communities access to drinking water also amounts to violating the people of the constituency’s right to life.”

 

“The human right to safe drinking water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. Alleged embezzlement, misappropriation or other diversion of property prohibited under article 17 of the UN Convention against Corruption amounts to violations of the obligation to fulfill the human right to water.”

 

“According to reports, the Deputy Speaker allegedly used his personal company to win contracts amounting to about N1.1 billion from the Federal Government through the Ministry of Water Resources. Lasun, during his first term in the House, used his personal company – Nur and Company Nigeria limited, to bid and win two mini-water schemes in Osun State, as advertised on behalf of the ministry by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority.”

 

“The contracts, which are part of the National Assembly’s Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIP), otherwise known as “constituency projects,” were parts of the joint projects attracted to the state by 12 members of the National Assembly from Osun State, who had been elected to the two chambers between 2011 and 2015. Mr Yusuff, who represents Irepodun/Orolu/Olorunda/Osogbo Federal Constituency, and who was then the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Water Resources, allegedly used his position to bid and win the contract without the knowledge of his colleagues.”

 

“The Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA), reportedly said that it awarded the Ife-Odan scheme at the sum of N538,412,653.06; Ila-Orangun at the rate of N539,128,429.13 while N541,193,861.23 was approved for Ipetu Ijesha project. Several years after the award of the contract, it was yet to produce a drop of water. The Osun State Water Corporation in 2016 rejected the projects at Ife-Odan and Ila-Orangun, insisting that the contracts were not adequately executed.”

 

“According to reports, searches at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), allegedly revealed that Nur and Company Limited belongs to the Deputy Speaker as a director, with his wife – Mrs. Omowunmi Rasheeda Yusuff and his three children – Ayomide, Feyisara and Rasheeda – also serving as shareholders and directors.”

 

“SERAP therefore urges you to carry out joint investigation and prosecution in collaboration with the EFCC of the allegations of conflict of interest and apparent misuse of public funds by Mr Yusuff as highlighted above, and to recover any stolen public funds. Such investigation and prosecution would help to improve public confidence in public authorities and minimize the risks of bad government by public officials.”

Just Do Good’: A June 12 Story

 

I used to have a friend we called Alhaji Bashy. He was not a Muslim. No. But he called himself Alhaji Bashy, even if that was not his real name. You want to know his real name? It was Theophilus. And his wife was named Ruth. His children? He was yet to have one. Even Ruth was called his wife by designation. We were all young in those days, and any woman to whom you wrote regular love letters and poems, and she gave you attention was your wife. In those days, you didn’t have to give a woman a N100 million worth of car to assure her that you were in love, you did not have to go as far as Offa to rob a bank so you could earn a living.

 

Once you grabbed a woman and you could send her titillating love poems and she believed, you gained the right to press all buttons, and shake every table in her body. The Vice Chancellor of one university in those days became very notorious. He said his students were among the brightest in the country but that he could not vouch for those students’ tendency and ability to explore the internal anatomy of the female homo sapiens! The laughter that greeted that announcement stretched from one part of the country to another.

 

And the women didn’t complain. They were happy to have a man who loved them genuinely. You didn’t have to put a ring on their fingers. They would cook for you, wash your clothes, kneel down to greet your mother, your father, your siblings, pray for you, and even if you didn’t marry them at the end of the day, they would still not take offence. They would resolve that the will of God had been done. The moment they agreed to become your friend, they became automatically your wife and some of them even if they married other men later, would remain on pension in your life forever. Yes, in this country, women used to survive like that on such anticipatory approval that had life-long consequences. I confess that I am still paying pension but I won’t name the women.

 

As you can see, anticipatory approval started in Nigeria a long time ago. Not just with girlfriends who became bush meat or fiancées or eventually wives, or other people’s wives. In those days, even persons who had no bicycle, and were professional trekkers boasted about their leggedes-benz. They turned their legs into a brand of the Mercedes Benz! Those who could barely afford a pair of slippers insisted they would one day ride the Mercedez.

 

Now come on, that was a popular luxury car in those days. Only important folks could afford it. So rugged, that car was nick-named “the German mistake”. Alhaji Bashy, even when we all smoked garri with groundnuts and watched the big boys who came from town to toast campus babes with ordinary suya, had big dreams. He believed he would also one day be able to buy his girlfriend the barbecued meat called “’suya” and a Mercedes. And Ruth was happy to hear that one day she too would ride a car. She was happy with Alhaji Bashy.

 

It was a different country we lived in. The men appreciated the women. Whatever went wrong, the women knelt down and begged their men and the men reciprocated by honouring the women. Nigeria was a community of happy people, anyone that behaved anyhow was ostrasized. I recall even being referred to on many occasions as Mallam when my only connection with Mallam things was to wait for the eid-el-kabir season to eat the generous portions of ram meat that Muslims gave their Christian compatriots.

 

We all ate together and enjoyed together and married across religious and ethnic divides. Our country was then just one happy place. Oh, what a happy place. Muslims and Christians played with one another and the festive season was the best time to show boundless amity. Cows didn’t pose a threat to farm produce. Every disagreement was resolved either in the bedroom or the beer parlour or at communal associations. Alhaji Bashy used to joke that Muslim girls were better than Christian girls and if we reminded him that his Ruth was Christian, he would laugh from one end of his mouth to the other, his 32 teeth in full display, and he would say:

 

“It is good to be good, when you are good to a woman, or any person, he or she will be nice to you, Christian or Muslim. Love knows no religion. Nobody is a Mallam or pastor in the bedroom.”

 

“Alha-ji Bay- sheeey”, we would all scream

 

“It is nice to be nice, because nice is nice, ” he responded.

 

Bashy was a good guy. He was incapable of hurting another fellow. No matter how serious the situation was, he reduced it all to laughter. The only thing that mattered to him was Ruth, the sugar in his tea, the puff-puff in his mouth, the woman he loved, the hope of his future. Ruth. I remember Ruth. She was that type of woman God created in a relaxed mood. You know how it is: some women look like God created them in a busy and tired moment, and hence they come out looking anyhow. But Ruth: God took his time. Any time she walked into a gathering of men, all the men had their instruments standing at attention in honour and in respect, and in anticipation. But she had eyes only for Bashy, and many used to wonder what he saw in the guy and his gross features. We all sulked and grumbled believing that God sometimes gives the best to the ugliest.

 

Then all of a sudden, June 12 happened. June 12, 1993 was the day our country held its freest and fairest election since 1922 when the first democratic elections were held. After colonial rule and influence, a short period of civilian rule and a prolonged military rule, another democratic interregnum, Nigerians eventually became tired of military rule. The rest of the world was moving towards democracy. The Berlin wall had collapsed. Across the world, everyone wanted the people to be the owners of power and masters of their own destiny. In our country, everyone wanted to escape the trap of authoritarianism. On June 12, 1993, the military had asked the people to choose a President – one of their own. Bashy was one of those who supported Chief MKO Abiola, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). MKO promised Nigerians hope, progress and abundant welfare. One Baba Gana Kingibe was his running mate. The two of them were Muslims, but nobody raised any questions. Nigerians voted for their Muslim-Muslim ticket. It was a national unity ticket. The Christians didn’t mind. The people wanted change and it didn’t matter to them whatever shape the revolution took.

 

But the military stood in the people’s way and the entire country went adrift. The military annulled the election and aborted the people’s hopes. Alhaji Bashy was one of MKO’s men. He worked for him. He followed him. He became his disciple. “MKO-o o-oooooo is our man oooo” became his national anthem.” He was one of those who believed Chief should stand up to the soldiers and claim his mandate. He reported at MKO’s home in the morning and left at night. He attended meetings he didn’t need to attend, but he did all the same because he believed in democracy.

 

He told me once that if Chief was allowed to claim his mandate, Nigeria would become one of the best countries in the world. But the military hierarchy, after an overdose of peppersoup diet, obviously and in retrospect, refused to hand over Abiola’s mandate to him. People like Bashy insisted on a revolution. He was at Epetedo where MKO claimed his mandate in a historic statement. History was made at that moment and MKO’s followers were proud of his courage and resolve. When Alhaji Bashy returned from that event and I saw him, I knew something had gone wrong. His eyes were blood-shot. ‘MKO or nobody”, he screamed throughout the night

 

Those were sad days. Two days later, Ruth, the centre of Bashy’s life was attacked by a group of men. They raped her. They slashed her throat. They dumped her in front of Bashy’s flat. Alhaji Bashy was detained for a month. They said he killed her. But he didn’t. I was one of the people who went to the police station to testify that Bashy was a lover-boy, not a killer and that Ruth, with her buttocks that rolled as if it was responding to unheard music was all that he lived for. Bashy was released. The revolution that he wanted did not happen, because shortly after, Chief MKO Abiola was arrested and detained by the military authorities. He never came back alive. They said he drank tea and he died.

 

Bashy was devastated. He took to the bottle. He drowned his sorrow in alcohol. He became a shadow of himself. He owned a rickety Beetle. The Beetle, a Volkswagen star brand in those days, was known for its ruggedness. Bashy managed to buy a used one for N22, 000 – a lot of money in those days. The only problem was that his Beetle had to be pushed before it would move. Some of us who were his close friends knew this routine. Whenever Bashy wanted to leave, we would start moving away strategically to prevent being forced to jump-start his notorious Beetle.

 

It was really a tug of war, so difficult to know who was driving the other between Bashy and his wretched car. The only problem was that once you helped to push and the car jumped alive, a huge of volume of smoke escaping from the exhaust would suddenly emit onto your face. Pure carbon monoxide: Bashy would speed off, but you would be there struggling for oxygen and cursing that you’d never do it again. The more alcoholic Bashy became, the more unpredictable he also became. He was a shadow of his former self. It was as if the light that kept his life aglow had been switched off.

 

One day, on his way to his abode in Ajangbadi; armed robbers accosted him. Our country was extraordinarily lawless and ruthless and unsafe. Hadji Bashy told me the story himself, a day after. They stopped his car and asked him to come down. Come down! Come down! They pointed guns at him, each of his three assailants holding a gun. Bashy was dead drunk. He was dead to the world.

 

“Eyin boys, bawo ni. What is happening?”

 

“Are you crazy? You think we are joking with you?”

 

“Shut up” he said he told them. “I know you. You people are thieves. Armed robbers. Idiots”.

 

“Since you know, oya give us everything you have”, one of them replied.

 

“What do I have? I am coming from a June 12 event. You people should join us to make Nigeria better. Join hands with us to create Hope for this country.”

 

“Ha. Pastor ma leleyi oh, Ti Nigeria ba good, you think we will be here on this road robbing people. Gbagbe e o omo. Gbori n be. Irin tutu re oh,” one of the boys reportedly said. “Irin…Irin ise. Iyalaya anybagga”

 

The boys behaved as if they were drugged. Bashy himself was drunk. They kept their guns pointed at him.

 

“Ewo eyin boys, I have just 2, 000. We will share it. You people will take N1, 000 and I will keep 1, 000 because I will have to buy fuel into this jalopy tomorrow morning . If you don’t agree, let me know now.”

 

He said the robbers burst out laughing. Bashy went about with a carton of beer since Ruth died. He drank as he drove. He went to the back seat of the car. He had four bottles left. He took two bottles and gave to the robbers. He asked them to take two and he would keep two bottles for himself. He then turned on the car radio, inserted a cassette and asked the robbers to let them have fun. He started dancing, after opening two bottles of beer. Two of the robbers couldn’t believe what they had just seen. They laughed. One of them said:

 

“There is something in this Lagos oh. What will somebody not see on this job? This one doesn’t even know he is being robbed. He is too drunk to be aware.”

 

“June 12, my brothers. June 12. Let us show these bloody soldiers that on June 12 we stand,” Bashy told them.

 

The robbers collected two bottles of beer and the N1, 000 and drove off. I saw Bashy the following morning. I found him with a bottle of coke in his mouth. He was listening to the music of Reggae artist, Ras Kimono, a rhumba styleee…stai-leeee. He looked so dejected. I was alarmed. He told me his story.

 

“Bashy, what happened?”

 

“Nothing”

 

“No something happened. You are drinking coca cola in the morning. What happened to schnapps?”

 

“I will never taste alcohol again”

 

“How? Why?’

 

“Can you believe that I encountered armed robbers yesterday and they didn’t shoot me? I told them off. I abused them, I told them I am a June 12 man and they still allowed me to go. I will never drink again.”

 

Bashy kept to his promise. He has not been invited to the special national honours ceremony for Bashorun MKO Abiola. He died two years ago. He is survived by a daughter. Ruth’s daughter…

 

The candidate of the National Republican Convention, NRC in the 1993 presidential election has spoken on decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to declare June 12, the day the election was held as Democracy Day in honour of his opponent, late Moshood Kashimawo Abiola who contested was believed to have won the election under the Social Democratic Party, SDP, but was not allowed to take office.

In a statement released late Saturday evening, the NRC presidential candidate urged President Buhari to reconsider his decision to declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day in honour of the late MKO Abiola who died in government’s custody after he was arrested in the process of reclaiming his mandate.

Tofa said that “whatever may be the prevailing sentiment and politics in Abuja, the idea that June 12 should be the new Democracy Day is also a matter that deserves serious reconsideration”.

The NRC candidate who decisions to declare a new democracy day should be “beyond some political cold calculations,” claimed many people are worried about “the brazen one-sidedness of this curious presidential action.”

But he said he does not begrudge the late MKO Abiola who described as his ‘friend’ over the honour.

 

THE FULL TEXT OF PRESS STATEMENT

 

In the Holy Name of God, The Merciful.

 

Following the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to honour my late friend, Alhaji Mashood K. Abiola (may Allah grant him peace) and officially recognise him as the winner of the inconclusive 12th June 1993 presidential election in which I was a candidate, I have been inundated by calls from friends, well-wishers, former political associates and journalists.

 

While some worry about the brazen one-sidedness of this curious presidential action, especially given the list of invitees to Tuesday’s event at the Villa supposedly to mark ‘Democracy Day’, there are also those who canvass that I be so honoured with a similar award of GCFR, if the motive indeed was noble and meant to serve the end of justice. As much as I appreciate the goodwill, in this circumstance, however, I have to say that I would not accept it as it is, even if given.

 

While I do not begrudge the President his power to bestow favour on whomsoever he pleases, it is also important, especially for history, for all actions from the highest authority in the country to be based on fair play and law. Needless to say, being one of the two presidential candidates in that election does not in any way define me or my achievements in life; it was not even the most important one.

 

However, as I have reiterated many times in the past, I am grateful to the numerous Nigerians from across the length and breadth of the country who made enormous sacrifices in the National Republican Convention (NRC) asvwell as the millions of our citizens who voted for both the late Abiola and myself in that historic election.

 

Much more importantly, I am most grateful to Almighty God for the several Honours He has bestowed on me; all of which have enriched my life. As for my friend, M. K. O. Abiola, what he needs most is our sincere prayers for Allah’s mercy and the gift of Paradise for him. While some of us   cherish his memory as a departed friend and compatriot, there are many who will continue to exploit it and to glory in it for their own benefits.

 

For those who may have forgotten or never knew, the late Abiola was a close personal friend of mine, a relationship dating back to the Second Republic when I was the National Financial Secretary of the then ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and he was the Ogun State Chairman of the party. So, I do not in any way begrudge him the post-humous honour, even when I insist that the right thing must be done at all times.

 

Meanwhile, whatever may be the prevailing sentiment and politics in Abuja, the idea that June 12 should be the new Democracy Day is also a matter that deserves serious reconsideration. Such decisions should be beyond some political cold calculations.

 

Finally, like all, I am also travelling on the path prepared for me by God Almighty. He controls my destiny and I pray He will continue to favour and to guide me. All Power belongs to Him alone. He gives it to whom He pleases and He Has Power over all things, including every ambition.

 

May The Almighty, in whose Hands lie our destinies keep our beloved country and peoples together in unity, peace and prosperity.

 

LONG LIVE THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.

 

35 containers of tramadol seized at ports – NAFDAC

 

Tramadol

 

By Mustapha Sumaila

 

Abuja, June 10, 2018 (NAN) Prof. Moji Adeyeye, Director General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says the agency has seized not fewer than 35 containers of tramadol at various ports in the country.

 

Adeyeye disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

 

She said nine out of the seized containers of tramadol were released to NAFDAC by the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), and had been destroyed by her agency.

 

“We are seriously working with the custom on this and each time they seize any container, they usually invite us to come and see the containers with tramadol.

 

“So far, 35 containers were seized and only nine of them have been handed over to NAFDAC which we have destroyed,” she said.

 

She, however, decried the delay by the custom in handing over the rest of the containers to her agency.

 

The NAFDAC boss stated that tramadol was a restricted drug but had been abused by Nigerian youths who use it without prescription.

 

According to Adeyeye, who is also a professor of pharmacology, the drug destroys children’s brain thereby threatening the future generation of the nation.

 

She lauded the present administration for placing an embargo on codeine, which she said, like tramadol, should only be given only by prescription as done in advanced country.

 

The director general said the agency was more determined and committed than ever to stem the menace of illicit and fake drugs in the country. (NAN)

 

SERAP Wants CCB, ICPC To Prosecute Deputy Speaker, Yusuff Over Alleged N1.1 Billion Water Contract Scam

June 10, 2018

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Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has asked the Acting Chairmen of both the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) “to jointly investigate allegations of incompatibility, apparent conflict of interest and abuse of office involving Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Lasun Yusuff using his personal company to win water contracts amounting to about N1.1 billion from the Ministry of Water Resources, and to collaborate with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in any such investigation.”

 

The organization urged the anti-corruption agencies to “prosecute Mr Yusuff and other people and companies suspected to be involved if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence of abuse of office and complicity against them. We urge you to take steps within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, failing which SERAP will institute legal proceedings to compel the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to order your agencies to act in the public interest.”

 

In the petition dated 8 June 2018 and signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale, the organization said: “Investigating the allegations and prosecuting all those suspected to be involved would indicate your agencies’ willingness to exert your authorities and act as a deterrent against breaches of the code of conduct provisions, Nigeria’s anti-corruption legislation and international standards.”

 

The organization said, “Public officials allegedly securing to themselves and/or their companies and family members privileges rightly belonging to the public by by-passing or manipulating the formal procedures necessary for the award of these privileges is a textbook case of conflict of interest.”

 

The organization expressed “Concerns that Mr Yusuff’s alleged acts suggest abuse of his position as lawmaker, and apparent conflict of interest situation, as such acts were undertaken by the Deputy Speaker in the exercise of his legislative functions to presumably promote and advance the commercial and other interests of his own, Nur and Company Nigeria limited.”

 

According to the organization, “Rather than using his law-making functions to promote access to safe drinking water and sanitation services for Irepodun/Orolu/Olorunda/Osogbo Federal Constituency without any discrimination or disparity in the level of services, the Deputy Speaker would seem to be looking after his own interests and Nur and Company Nigeria limited–not those of the constituency he represents.”

 

The petition reads in part: “Bidding and winning the water project contract and the alleged mismanagement and/or stealing of about N1.1 billion meant to execute the project may have violated constitutional provisions and international standards on code of conduct for public officers and the Public Procurement Act.”

 

“SERAP notes that the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party prohibit conflict of interests and set ethical standards for public officers, including lawmakers. Both the Constitution and the Convention require public officers to abstain from all acts that may compromise the exercise of their public functions and are inconsistent with their entrusted positions.”

 

“Under article 19 of the convention, abuse of functions refers to a public official that is doing something which is illegal or something that the official has no legal authority to do, to obtain a personal economic benefit or cause an illegal damage to others. Article 13 requires the maintenance of transparent, competitive and efficient procurement systems as part of the measures against corruption.”

 

“Public officers also must discharge their public duties truthfully and faithfully, abide by the constitutional code of conduct, observe the primacy of public interest, and not allow their personal interest to influence their official conduct. SERAP believes that rather than serving the common interest of the public, the use of the personal and family company–Nur and Company Nigeria limited—to win over N1 billion water project contract would seem to put Mr Yusuff in a conflict of interest situation.”

 

“Conflict of interest represents a situation where the person exercising a public function such as law-making duties has a personal interest of patrimonial or commercial nature, which could influence the objective fulfilment of the duties incumbent on public officers.”

 

“The allegations of abuse of office and corruption have denied the communities affected the right of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, thereby exacerbating unequal access to drinking water and sanitation for the people of the constituency and Osun State in general. Such allegations also violate the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which guarantees the right to an adequate standard of living including the rights to water and sanitation. Nigeria has ratified the Covenant.”

 

“While the Constitution of Nigeria does not explicitly recognise the human rights to water and sanitation, the rights can be inferred from section 33 which guarantees the right to life. SERAP believes that the right to life includes the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and to human dignity. Denying the affected communities access to drinking water also amounts to violating the people of the constituency’s right to life.”

 

“The human right to safe drinking water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. Alleged embezzlement, misappropriation or other diversion of property prohibited under article 17 of the UN Convention against Corruption amounts to violations of the obligation to fulfill the human right to water.”

 

“According to reports, the Deputy Speaker allegedly used his personal company to win contracts amounting to about N1.1 billion from the Federal Government through the Ministry of Water Resources. Lasun, during his first term in the House, used his personal company – Nur and Company Nigeria limited, to bid and win two mini-water schemes in Osun State, as advertised on behalf of the ministry by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority.”

 

“The contracts, which are part of the National Assembly’s Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIP), otherwise known as “constituency projects,” were parts of the joint projects attracted to the state by 12 members of the National Assembly from Osun State, who had been elected to the two chambers between 2011 and 2015. Mr Yusuff, who represents Irepodun/Orolu/Olorunda/Osogbo Federal Constituency, and who was then the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Water Resources, allegedly used his position to bid and win the contract without the knowledge of his colleagues.”

 

“The Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA), reportedly said that it awarded the Ife-Odan scheme at the sum of N538,412,653.06; Ila-Orangun at the rate of N539,128,429.13 while N541,193,861.23 was approved for Ipetu Ijesha project. Several years after the award of the contract, it was yet to produce a drop of water. The Osun State Water Corporation in 2016 rejected the projects at Ife-Odan and Ila-Orangun, insisting that the contracts were not adequately executed.”

 

“According to reports, searches at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), allegedly revealed that Nur and Company Limited belongs to the Deputy Speaker as a director, with his wife – Mrs. Omowunmi Rasheeda Yusuff and his three children – Ayomide, Feyisara and Rasheeda – also serving as shareholders and directors.”

 

“SERAP therefore urges you to carry out joint investigation and prosecution in collaboration with the EFCC of the allegations of conflict of interest and apparent misuse of public funds by Mr Yusuff as highlighted above, and to recover any stolen public funds. Such investigation and prosecution would help to improve public confidence in public authorities and minimize the risks of bad government by public officials.”