Founder and President of KAFTAN TV, Comrade Barrister Adewole Adebayo, on Friday, October 8 2021, stressed the importance of Nigerians to work together to create a new nation that they can all be proud of.
Adebayo made this call at a Lecture to celebrate the 50th birthday of the National Chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr. Tanko Yinusa, in Abuja,
The lecture was held at the Treasure Suits Central Area, Abuja.
Other speakers at the event include the former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Segun Mimiko; Senator Ben Obi, Dr. Biola Akiode, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Mr. Jude Iferanmi, Senator Shehu Sani, among others.
Adebayo, who led the conversation at the public lecture, spoke on the topic: “The future of Nigeria and the unabating crises of the Almajiris, Area Boys, Baby Factory Children on the worsening Banditry and Insecurity in Nigeria, What Panacea?”
While congratulating the celebrant, Adebayo said for various reasons, which are not insurmountable, Nigerians are currently unable to agree on the most effective ways for the country to get back on the track of sustainable development.
“Let me start by wishing Dr. Tanko Yinusa a very Happy Birthday. Many years of struggle at the detriment of his personal career. Let me give kudos to everyone who is here to mark this occasion. Of what is importance is it for us to find solutions to the issues that have been raised.
“When Tanko was born 50 years ago, General Gowon was the Head of State, Awolowo was Minister of Finance, Aminu Kano was Minister of Health and we have just come out of the civil war and so many things were supposed to have been solved. So, the problems that consumed the childhood of Tanko and his adult life that we define him with today marching on the streets with Gani Fawehinmi, making protest all over Lagos and marching with the famous man who doesn’t march anymore, President Buhari,” he said.
Adebayo blamed previous Nigerian leaders for failing to enunciate policies that would have addressed the issues. He maintained that the problems festered due to the negligence of the past leaders.
According to him, “Those problems should have been solved before Tanko was born because when we were working towards Independence, we had self-government and the realistic goals of the leaders who led us at that time was that in one decade we would eradicate the problems that we are now discussing. We did not eradicate them. Rather, they became big cancers that have grown and also sponsoring other cancers.
“Professor Utomi once wrote an article titled, ‘Why Nations Are Poor,’ which I read many years ago, and I read very interesting analysis that he provided, and you can go into the econometric of all analyses of why nations are poor. But, in my opinion, nations are poor because they have poor people within them. The only way to tell if a country is poor is to look at the number of poor people living there,” he continued.
The Ife and American-trained lawyer stated that in order for a new country to be born, the oppressed must bond together with people of like-minds to pull the country out of the woods.
“My contribution will begin by stating that we must find Nigeria’s soul and establish a new republic, which must be established by the forgotten people. Our problems are not socialist or capitalist, as we thought, because you can distribute using socialist methods and produce using capitalist methods.
“Scandinavian countries have demonstrated this by running their own oil companies in an efficient capitalist manner because they sell their products in a capitalist market. When wealth does arrive, it is distributed socially, so that there is no difference between the child of the oil company’s managing director and the child of a bus driver on a street in Oslo, Norway.”
The media mogul and philanthropist also stated that Nigeria is not devoid of ideas because the country is brimming with brilliant individuals.
“We are from the tropics, where we are naturally brilliant because we eat all of the plantings and other natural things that make us brilliant. So, in Nigeria, it is easy to produce 50 professors in a village where no bicycles are produced. One billion dollars can be put into a community of one million people, which should be enough, but seven people would syphon all of the money, and the debate over isms will continue.
“Poverty is thus not complicated. The existence of the poor calls our intelligence into question, because how do you define the poor? The poor are not those who do not own a Mercedes. The poor are people who want to live and enjoy the simple pleasures of life but are unable to do so. The fact that they are in our midst is a problem that we must address.”
Going back in time, the legal luminary stated that vulnerable people existed in African kingdoms and empires prior to the colonial era, but that leaders of those kingdoms and empires were responsible for resolving their societal problems. As a result, he urged the current generation of leaders and followers to learn from history.
“If we go back in time and examine the empires and kingdoms that we established in Africa, we will see that these issues arose during those times. The people faced the same issues at the time, and when the Arabs and later the Portuguese arrived, they found little poverty in the land, despite the fact that there was not a single Professor in Oyo when Clapperton arrived. There were no Harvard or internationally renowned scholars, but the society was so well-organized that foreigners themselves testified that resources were plentiful,” he said.
He stated that Nigeria is blessed, but that it has not had leaders who are capable of managing its human and natural resources.
“There are two ways to be impoverished; the first is that you can’t produce enough. This is true for those born in arid regions where there is no water or sufficient resources. Fortunately, that is not the case in Nigeria. Another way to be poor is to produce and have it stolen from you. And if you are producing and it is being stolen, you should be aware that the thief and the owner of the items live not too far apart because the thief needs to be close to where the people are in order to steal. So, if you say your poverty is affecting you, it is not a curse from above, and it is not desired that Nigerians collect their reward in heaven because that has recently been used as an excuse.
“There are a few key issues I’d like us to address, and once we do, the problems of Agbero, the baby factory, and Almajiri will be resolved. The term “Almajiri” has been abused because it represents a failure of a school system. The Almajiri is a failed institution that could have served a purpose if it had not been abused. So, I don’t want us to say that the existence of the almajiri system automatically leads to poverty, because it is the abuse of that system, as well as the states’ inability to support it and ensure that there is no abuse in it, that has led to the crisis we are facing.”
Adebayo called for a shift in the country’s mindset and orientation. He bemoaned the fact that, while the imperial power established Nigeria as a business, subsequent generations of Nigerians have continued to view and run the country with a business mindset.
“This is not meant to be disparaging, but Nigeria began as a business rather than a country. It was a company, Royal Niger Company, that learned from their experience in India. So, we’re coming together to carry on a business started by Sir Thomas Goldie and his friends. It was a country designed for exploitation and profit. Nigeria later became a British colony due to business.
“Nigeria was being run by the company, and when Britain realized that it could cost more to run the country by the company, Britain decided to buy the country from the company, and at the end of the day, Nigeria was sold to Britain for profit. Even Frederick Lugard was a private company employee rather than a British government employee.
“But those of us who live in Nigeria must understand that our forefathers, not the people who live there, but the structure that we inherited, built this country for profit and business. The lesson we must learn is to deviate from that path.
“People who served in the Oyo Army for 400 years were the same people who served the Fulani in Ilorin and the children of the same people who served the British to sack Sokoto in 1903. As a result, it demonstrates that people’s loyalty is linked to their socioeconomic interests. Their great grandchildren are now working for foreign companies to exploit Nigeria’s resources. So, the issue is not one of identity, but rather one of loyalty. We must now ensure that our allegiance is with the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He also expressed hope that Nigerian politicians will begin to prioritise the country over personal interests.
“What gave rise to all of these problems was the fact that, when Nigeria gained independence in 1960, our independence leaders failed to recognize the distinction between independence and freedom. A country can be independent, but the people who live within it may not be free. It’s similar to a company establishing a subsidiary and appointing a Board of Directors, but that doesn’t mean the workers in the company are no longer employees.”
He explained that since independence, the relationship between rulers and ruled has remained unchanged, adding that what the country has till date is what he termed “indigenization of western rule”.
Adebayo stated that the fact that the common man in the country has been marginalized for a long time is to blame for the various challenges that have befallen the country.
“So, in a nutshell, the reason we have almajiri and all of this is that the benefits of independence have not been devolved to the people,” he opined.
He extolled the virtues of Late Mallam Aminu Kano, whom he referred to as his political mentor, and said that studying Aminu Kano’s life and times would help Nigerians understand the problem and find a way out of the crisis.
“Now, I will investigate the life of the only political mentor I have, Aminu Kano, because if we understand Aminu Kano, we will be able to solve all of our problems. There is no need for a theory. Aminu Kano was raised in the North. He was born in the 1920, and in 1940s he began to notice things around him, including what he referred to as the family compact rule.
“As a foresightful Fulani, he predicted that the system we had at the time would fail. He wasn’t just talking about it in Kano; he was also talking about it while teaching in Sokoto. He founded his first political party, Bauchi Political Union, and then collaborated with others to found NEPU. When NEPU arrived, the message was clear.
“Another thing we must understand about Aminu Kano is that if you read all of his writings, as well as those of Awolowo and ZIK, you will never see him attack ethnic or religious identity. They attacked the problem, but nowadays it is difficult to discuss any issue, no matter how minor, such as a traffic jam, without blaming it on one of the tribes. We must now go beyond this if we are to make progress.
“The second thing we must understand is that in Nigeria, you can succeed and still fail. I was joking with Tanko that you were successful in assisting President Buhari in winning an election, but you still failed. And that is true of Sir Aminu Kano because the children of the Talakawas he fought for, went to school; they gained power, but they are worse than the oppressors Aminu Kano fought against.
“As a result, unless we address this and get to the bottom of the problem. In Nigeria, no matter how hard you try to solve the problem, the structure remains unchanged. So, you can say that this person is marginalised today, and you give him a chance. In less than a minute, he will further marginalize people. So, if his master, whose houseboy he was, rides a Peugeot 504, he wants to ride ten Rolls Royce cars.”
Adebayo maintained that the country’s problem is that its citizens are divided into multifarious camps. Those who do not belong to the ethnic camp, he claims, are either becoming bureaucratic champions or transnational camp leaders.
“My conclusion is that ethnic estates have been built in Nigeria, and many people are unfortunately following the ethnic estates. Many people nowadays are only concerned with the President’s origins. These ethnic estates are led and constructed by people who seek power at all costs.
“The second type of estate is religious estates, which have structures all over the country. Then there are bureaucratic estates, self-perpetuating bureaucrats who have cornered all of the country’s resources while bringing people to succeed them. So, as the government comes and goes, these bureaucrats will never leave, and not only will they not leave, but they will also not allow change to occur.
“Then there are the transnational estates, who are unconcerned. They will give you what you want once they have been paid. Regrettably, many Nigerians are joining transnational estates,” he lamented.
According to Adebayo, the solution is not far-fetched, and as a legal luminary who has studied and practiced in other countries’ constitutions, he said he is convinced that the primary solution to the country’s myriad of issues is already contained in Chapter 2 of the Nigerian constitution.
“The solutions are available at the end of the day. Nigeria’s problems are addressed in Chapter 2 of Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution. While many have argued that the Nigerian constitution is incomplete, as a constitutional lawyer, who practices in the United States and has studied every part of the American constitution, I disagree. I can state unequivocally that the Nigerian constitution is one of the best.
“We don’t have a problem with the constitution because you can give a Mercedes Benz to someone who doesn’t know how to drive and he will crash it, whereas you can give a bicycle to someone who knows how to ride it and he will ride it around the country.”
Adebayo concluded his lecture by urging the country’s privileged and less privileged citizens to work together to save the country.
“My recommendation is that we identify our common interests as a group. We do not have to be poor in order to fight for the poor. No wealthy individual has anything to lose by the disappearance of poverty in Nigeria. The world’s wealthiest people have solved the poverty problem while becoming even wealthier in the process. I implore those who are doing well to abandon the false belief that if the rich work together to eradicate poverty in the land, they will become poorer.” Adebayo concluded.
In his goodwill message, the former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Segun Mimiko, congratulated the celebrant, whom he claimed to have known for many years.
Mimiko noted that, “It’s not surprising that the topic of his birthday lecture is ‘Almajiri, the Area boys, and the baby factories’. My argument has always been that a society that fails to pay attention to vulnerable groups cannot progress.
“We must examine this phenomenal in the context of an ideology. It is all too easy to gloss over our fundamental issues by focusing on the north-south divide, identity, ethnicity, and religion. But, beyond that, there is a substructure and a solid ideology that drives Nigeria’s elite and political class.” Mimiko said.
In his appreciation message, the celebrant, Dr. Tanko Yinusa, expressed concern about the Almajiri, Area Boys, and baby factory phenominal and urged every Nigerian to see the issue as one that requires everyone’s attention.
He said: “I am deeply concerned about our children’s future because they will be the leaders of tomorrow. If you’ve ever studied these Almajiri, you’ve probably wondered how a mother could abandon her child and allow him/her to start begging for money on the street. We’ve seen young girls give birth to unwanted babies while being used as merchants, with their children sold to the highest bidder. You walk down a Lagos street and see young boys who should be in school, working as Agbero.
“Here’s the story: We should all be thinking about how we can help one another in the country. A poor man in the North is no different than a poor man in the West or South. Let us all rise up and be the keepers of our brothers and sisters.
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming. I’d like to thank Barrister Adewole Adebayo, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, Senator Ben Obi, and many others who have stood by me through thick and thin. I am not perfect, and I have made mistakes over the years, but one thing you can take to the bank is that I have the best interests of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at heart.” He concluded.
