The memories of the late leader of the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisdation, Afenifere and chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) linger 17 years after his demise, due to his advocacy on justice, good governance, rule of law and true federalism, reports KUNLE ODEREMI.
Nigeria’s road to restoring civil rule on May 29, 1999 was frightening. The military establishment laced the path with landmines. Hundreds of lives were cut short under state-sponsored terror for demanding a return to civil rule. A number of innocent persons were maimed and their businesses ruined in the wake of the sustained political struggle led by Chief Abraham Adesanya, one the leaders of the pan-Yoruba organization Afenifere and the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), who died on April 27, 2008. He and the other compatriots that were opposed to military dictatorship, were undaunted as the military rolled out tanks and mortals against defenceless civilians. Adesanya consistently reminded Nigerians of the famous quotation of the American president Thomas Jefferson, that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. So, he led the struggle from the front, dared the lions and lionesses in their dens. He staked everything, including his personal safety, comfort of his family and professional career as legal practitioner in the quest for a new Nigeria and progressive society. On a number of times, he escaped the bullets of state-sponsored terrorists by the whiskers. He would forgo his personal liberty in defending the high and the low in the society. He suffered deprivation, humiliation and indignity in the hands of military junta that was bent on crushing and persecuting every perceived individual opposed to state capture.
He shared the principle of the Nobel Prize winner and late President Nelson Mandela of South Africa, who devoted his entire life fighting against all forms of injustice. Mandela, who was victimised and hounded into jail for fighting against the Apartheid policy in his country, had preferred to lose his life rather than succumb to discriminatory White minority rule in South Africa. He said: “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Adesanya also made a similar vow in the cause of his stoic struggle against injustice and impunity in Nigeria. In the season of anomie, when the military held the nation by the jugular, Adesanyo was uncompromising. Many of his co-travellers were forced into self-exile following threats to their lives by the military goons. Adesanya and others took the risk of sustaining the heat on the military dictators and resistance to quit power for civil rule. He and others became prisoners of war for exercising their fundamental rights that Nigerians deserved democracy as it flourishes in other climes.
Born on July 24, 1922 in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, Adesanya was a staunch member of the defunct Action Group (AG). He represented the Ijebu Constituency as a member of the House of Assembly from 1960 to 1966. A core Awoist, Adesanya was a member of the Committee of Friends, which later became the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in the Second Republic and won elected a senator on the ticket of the party in 1979. Following the circus show that characterized the transition to civil rule under the military regime and the consequent annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Adesanya was among the arrow heads of agitation for de-annulment. He and other compatriots under Afenifere, NADECO, along with pro-democracy organizations resisted the military establishment that colluded with a few pro-establishment politicians that aborted the mandate expressly given by the electorate to MKO Abiola. Following the incarceration of Abiola by the military junta after he tried to actualize his mandate, the struggle to reclaim Nigeria from the stranglehold of the military became fierce and deadly. Adesanya, who doubled as the leader of Afenifere and the Yoruba, as well as a driving force in NADECO, displayed uncommon courage and gallantry by confronting the oppressive regime in power. He became a major target for elimination but for providence, his life was almost cut shot on Lagos Island when assailants rained bullets on his car. He came out incredibly unscathed.
His consistent interventions in national issues, especially on the structural defects in the Nigerian federal arrangement assisted in stabilizing the polity. His effort served as an impetus to other stakeholders in the Nigerian project in reaching compromise on contentious national issues. Thus, Adesanaya and others in the prodemocracy movement ensured that the ghost of the June 12 annulment persistently haunted those that thwarted the will of the people. For instance, in his broadcast to the nation on the eighth anniversary of June 12, the highly philosophical politician denounced the willful damage done to the psyche of the electorate by a few of power usurpers. “In spite of the unambiguous decision of the Nigerian populace on their choice of leader in an election that was unarguably free and fair, a small cabal; I repeat, a small cabal of probably no more than 50-100 persons decided to reject the voice of the people. In doing so, they rejected the voice of God,’ he lamented. “The irresponsible annulment of the June 12 election has done more damage to the entire fabric of our national life than we can ever imagine. For one, it jolted Nigerians so severely that they retreated to their ethnic shells. Nigeria and Nigerians also suffered from the rule of the monster in General Sani Abacha as Head of State. His negative legacies continue to unfold by the day,” Adesanya decried. He faulted the few pro-establishment politicians and persons who tried to reduce the June 12 saga to primordial considerations. According to Adesanya, “The story of June 12 is not that of robbing Chief MKO Abiola , a Yoruba man of victory. This is what detractors would like us to believe. ‘June 12’ is also not the defeat of the Hausa-Fulani by the Yoruba nor is it victory of the South over the North, no! June 12 represents much more fundamental issues.”
Consensus builder
His patriotic zeal, tenacity of purpose, democratic credentials and statesmanship was attested to by some events that marked his life and times as a lawyer and leader of Afenifere. An instance will suffice, it is recalled that the Gamji Members Association, a pan-Arewa organization, chose Adesanya as the Special Guest of Honour at the first Abdulraham Okene Memorial lecture held at the Arewa House Kaduna on August 16, 2001. His message on the occasion that attracted leaders cutting across all shapes of opinion moulders and professionals and the representatives of the revered traditional institution in the North, was instructive. He stated: “Today is a historic day in the political history of Nigeria. The symbolism is not lost on me, and I know that it is not lost on the nation. What is this symbolism that I am referring to? This event is being held under the auspices of the Gamji members Association. Everyone knows that Gamji is the nickname for the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the first Premier of Northern Nigeria. This event is being held in Arewa House, the residence of the late Sardauna. You have invited me as the leader of Afenifere and the leader of the Yoruba to be your Special Guest of honour. History will record that this is the first time in Nigerian political history, whether ancient or modern when a descendant of Oduduwa will be honoured in such an environment so closely and so warmly associated with a descendant of Othman Dan Fodio.
The chairman of the occasion was Alhaji Liman ciroma, while the Grand Patron was Justice Maman Nasir. Acknowledging that the Yoruba land and the Arewaland have had considerable differences for more than a century, Adesanya said the antagonism often witnessed in the relationship was probably avoidable or unavoidable because each side was committed to protecting and defending the interests of their people. But he added that it behooved on responsible leadership to ensure that differences do not blow out of proportion. He concluded by advising that, “We the leaders of Arewa and Yoruba have taken the first positive steps today. Let us build on these steps. Let us shy away from confronting difficulties. We have the goodwill and strength and the wisdom to overcome any difficulties that may confront us in the days, the month and the years ahead.”
As true leader, Adesanya was passionate about his root and fought gallantly to guarantee the collective interest of the Yoruba wherever they resided or plied their trade as law-abiding citizens. Apart from emphsising that the June 12 debacle had no ethnic or geographical colouration, Adesanya demonstrated that his compassion for justice, rule of law and equity was for the good of all. Therefore, he was consistently unequivocal and unapologetic when he raised his voice against injustice being meted to the people. When others feared for his personal safety due to his bluntness, courage and effrontery to challenge the authorities, Adesanya declared that it was wrong not to speak truth to power in the face of persecution and harassment of the just and law-abiding citizens.
At the time the military regime unleashed its attack dogs on the people, especially in Yoruba land, the late politician braced the odds and held a world press conference in his capacity as the new leader of Afenifere on February 10, 1998 in Lagos to expose the systematic marginalization of the Yoruba for leading the crusade for good governance and participatory democracy. He itemized specified instances and areas which showed that the Yoruba had became an endangered species in the country under the Abacha regime. Adesanya gave a breakdown of the act of persecution of the Yoruba ethnic stock in virtually all the sectors. He provided a detailed analysis of the deprivation of the Yoruba of their rights in the banking sector, armed forces and other security services; federal civil service, companies and parastatals owned by the government; as well as the campaign of calumny and blackmail against Yoruba elders and leaders, among others.
“We can only state here that the current strong arm tactics against the Yoruba and the other perceived opponents of Abacha and his self-succession bid are indicators that he combined to build up a feeling of alienation of critical and important components of the Nigerian State,” he stated. He added; “We have been sidelined from the major sensitive positions in the army, the police, security and federally controlled institutions, not as a result of our incompetence or unpatriotic actions but because we are Yoruba.”
Come May 29, Nigerians would have had 26 years of civil rule. There have gains, pains and pitfalls, either created by human foibles or by deliberate actions. But, the warning issued by Adesanya on the eighth anniversary of the annulment of June 12 is germane, going by the stark realities facing Nigerians. His words: “We must always remember the sacrifices of hundreds of our people who spent months behind the bars, and several others who were hounded into exile for their principled defence of democracy and the gains of June 12.” But he was more poignant on what the Yoruba must do, saying: “I have always been proud of the role of the Yoruba have to play in the vanguard of the struggle for freedom in this country. Our strength is our integrity and moral rectitude. It is the currency of our politics. We must continue to uphold this tradition.”
The Patriots, in a draft bill for an Act to amend the 1999 Constitution in 2001 signed by Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Senator Adesanya, MCK Ajuluchukwu, and others had asserted the imperative of restructuring of the country so that it can attain nationhood. The advocacy is a major plank of Afenifere in the quest to redress the miasma that has continued to characterize the Nigerian project. The foresight of Adesanya and other eminent persons in The Patriots in taking that initiative stares Nigerians in the face till date. “Only a nation at peace with itself internally can play an effective and beneficial role in the international community. Therefore, the Nigerian political structure should be one that guarantees internal peace and stability.” They seem to have been vindicated, judging from the current sociopolitical and economic challenges in the country.
READ ALSO: Afenifere remembers Abraham Adesanya, 17 years after demise
and then