(Being the concluding part of Telling it as it is, the autobiography of Chief Ayo Adebanjo)
CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY
…On Nigeria’s Future
We cannot remain united in peace under the present system. The system must be restructured to reflect a truly federal constitu-tion. That’s the only thing that can guarantee peace and unity; and that’s the only thing that we can do for the progress of the coun-try. We must be federal in all its ramifications.
Again, the government needs to divest itself from many of its assumed roles and respon-sibilities.
Take, for instance, agriculture. What has the federal government got to do with agricul-ture? Where is its land? Why should there be allocation of funds from the federal government to the local governments?
Under the Independence Constitution, in agriculture, solid minerals, education and
other sectors, the federal government was only there to set standards. All the regions were autonomous. That was what enabled Chief Obafemi Awolowo to start the University of Ife (now named after him as Obafemi Awolowo University), Sir Ahmadu Bello, Ah-madu Bello University, Zaria (from the then College of Arts and Science), and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
That is the practice in all federal constitutions all over the world.
…On Marriage
I cannot claim to be an ideal man, to talk about marriage philosophically, but what I can talk about positively is that the type of influence it had on Chief Awolowo’s life was what it had on me due to my early close association with that family.
The way I held marriage was different. I was a divorcee. I met my present wife in England; 1 had married in Nigeria before. My first daughter (Mrs. Ayotunde Atteh) is over 60 years old now. She attended the Univesity of Ibadan and was from my first wife. We were legally married and legally divorced
As a matter of fact, I didn’t take marriage so seriously in my early life, so that by the time I even met my present wife, I had parted with this woman here in Nigeria. We had sued for divorce; we had gone to court.
I had another relationship with another lady with whom I had another daughter. That was when I was organising secretary for AG She was an Ibadan woman who was related to one of the officers of the party known as Akinlotan. He was our financial secretary. He regularly visited us. And the daughter then has had five children now and one of those children already has a child, which makes me a great grandfather.
As said earlier, I didn’t take marriage seriously in my early life. But during my work as organising secretary which brought me close to the Awolowo family, the way Papa treated Mama and my relationship with them, to be a responsible young man you couldn’t but be influenced by the expression of love that was exhibited in their relationship… the loyal, honest relationship.
Being very fanatical about the leadership of Chief Awolowo, and I believed that if I really wanted to be near him, and the way he was holding me, I was very careful that I shouldn’t be as flippant as I was before
As the organising secretary of his party at that time, I was held in high esteem in the community. As a matter of fact, he had to remark on an occasion that, ‘as a young man, I am surprised that they have never reported you in this area that you were messing around with their wives! I just laughed. He didn’t know that I was into some secret affairs at that time. Because of the respect I had for him, I had to be very discreet about my amoral relationship.
Papa too, as a man of the world, knew how to deal with young men. Even some elderly people there too like Chief Rewane and others. when we went on tour and Awo wanted to harass and discipline them, he would say, ‘Alfred, you will stay with me in my room tonight, and Rewane would say.
‘No, no, Papa…’ So, many of them like that…
Alfred, Tony, they would like to stay outside where they could be free anytime we went on campaign tours.
Papa had a very strong moral influence on his followers and those of them who otherwise could have been so reckless had to moderate their actions in awe of Papa. It was leadership by example, personified in all respects.
So, I can say that he (Awolowo) and the Late Revd S.I. Kale (my principal at CMS Grammar School) were the two people who most influenced my life.
At that time, we had what was called citizenship in our classes (current affairs and all that). So, in the last year of our leaving school, Kale conducted a class called Civics, and he asked, ‘If you were the principal of this school what would you do?’ And I said, ‘if I were the principal there are certain things you are doing which I would not do. ‘Like what?’ And I gave examples. But after the lecture that day, one of my classmates now told me, ‘You are arguing with the principal, you will see your testimonial!’
I had the best testimonial of our set; it was so well cast. (See chapter 1). He was one of the most disciplined principals around at that time… himself, Ransome-Kuti, Oyediran and others. So, anybody who had a good testimonial from Kale at that time was sure to get good attention anywhere he went.
…On What I Want to be Remembered For
I would like to be remembered for service to my God and as a very consistent political advocate. Since I joined the Action Group in 1951 as a youth, I have never been identified with any other political party. I started with the area council in Lagos, then I joined Egbe Omo Oduduwa, and when the AG came into existence, I was one of its early members.
My regrets today are that I should be resting now and enjoying myself all over the world by going on holidays; but unfortunately, I am still in the trenches because those things I was fighting for have not been achieved. So, instead of resting, I am still in the battle.
Politically now, I should be watching those who are doing it, but unfortunately all the simple things that we achieved under Chief Awolowo as a result of his socialist policy have been frittered away.
…About Life and Living
I think life has been kind to me generally.
Like Chief Awolowo once said, if I have a second chance, l’d like to come back as a Yoruba man and indeed as an Ijebu man.
I’ll attribute my longevity simply to God’s grace. Again, I don’t indulge in dubious issues; issues that my conscience cannot defend (that militate against my conscience). I am a contented fellow. For instance I have only two houses, the one I live in here in Lagos and the other in my country house at ljebu-Ogbo. I am neither a beneficiary of any government patronage, nor have I held any political post. All I have achieved in life has been through legal practice.
As for food, I avoid a lot of carbohydrates. I feed mainly on fish and chicken, plenty of fruits, and plenty of vegetables. I also do my regular exercises, at least one hour daily walking.
My advice on healthy living is based on what people say that ‘you are what you eat! Eat well and do a lot of exercises. I have a strict daily diet and exercise regimen.
Moreover, I am very lucky to have a very good wife, who has been very supportive since we got married in 1960.
and then