How we plotted Omoboriowo’s victory – Sen Uba Ahmed

[MrVan]

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

Senator Uba Ahmed was a two time member of the Nigerian Senate who came to national renown as Secretary General of the  defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN the ruling party at the federal level in the second republic.

Unarguably one of the most influential power brokers in that dispensation, Senator Ahmed was pivotal to some of the most epochal events of that era including the controversial victory of the party's gubernatorial candidate, Chief Akin Omoboriowo in the 1983 election.

Senator Uba Ahmed: Consensus not necessary Senator Ahmed in this interview unfolds some of the behind the scene events that shaped developments prior to the 1983 election even as he insists that Omoboriowo won the election. Senator Ahmed who subsequently served as Minister of Labour in the Sani Abacha regime also makes astounding revelations on the pros and cons of fiscal federalism. Excerpts:

What kind of man was Omoboriowo?

I knew Omoboriowo very well. He was very religious, very unmaterialistic and full of love for the Ekiti people. If he had any weakness at all, it was his trust or belief in people even from when he was registrar at University of Ife and he used his position to mobilise the Ondo people. He helped to mobilise and converted most of the elites in the area to the UPN. In any case, 53% of the then Ondo State were people from Ekiti and and about 13% of the people were the Ilajes from the waterside. Therefore, the Ekitis and the Ilajes would have formed about 56%.

He, (Omoboriowo) therefore contested for the governorship (1979) and by the computation of the demography, it was a reasonable ambition. But they negotiated his surrender to the older Michael Ajasin for him to be deputy governor and to take over from him, Ajasin after the first term, but it wasn't to be. And as a gentleman, he didn't go into violence, he only changed parties and you could have imagined how pleased we were to have a foothold in Yoruba land to show them the sincerity and the effectiveness of our party organisation. We also had a foothold in Ogun State through Soji Odunjo who was a commissioner in the cabinet of Governor Bisi Onabanjo whose father was one of the closest friends of Obafemi Awolowo who even went to prison with Awolowo. He was a tough fighter, a young man full of ambition, full of organisation with a lot of goodwill. He left his office as commissioner to come join us in NPN as nobody. That was because of the amount of truth he saw in our organisation. He behaved in truth to type—like one lawyer who was sent to go and spy on our convention with a few others but when they came and saw the way we were openly electing our party leaders, he couldnt resist and said this is true democracy. Instead of going back to report to his masters, he declared for NPN there at one cinema in Yaba where we were doing the election. That was on December 9, 1978.

So we made an inroad in Ondo. In making that inroad we knew already that the Ekitis were the most sophisticated group in the old Ondo State, they had the highest proportion of lawyers including Wole Olanikpekun who is one of the leading stars of the profession. They also have so many professors. So, when the time for changing batons came and like all the governors do, Ajasin chose to continue for a second term and naturally, the Ekiti people who are very honest and hardworking, couldn't accept for somebody to treat them like that. So, that was how they broke up UPN, they were not dismissed.

So are you saying that Omoboriowo or the Ekitis were betrayed by the UPN leadership?

No, I dont know what went between them and Awolowo but what I could probably suspect was that Awolowo would have probably supported Ajasin against Omoboriowo, but whether Awolowo was directly opposed to him, I don't know. So, they (Omoboriowo and majority of the members of the House of Assembly) walked out of the UPN. Having walked out of the UPN, Ajasin cut off their salaries, allowances, water, electricity supply and every amenity that should be given to elected gentlemen was denied them. So, when they came to us they never asked for a penny, but we knew this and we knew that if they were coming along with us and for them to remain steadfast, we must reduce the pains being inflicted upon them. So, we immediately moved in. We provided water tanker through our laision officer to be supplying the houses of the members of the House of Assembly water whether they belonged to NPN or UPN...

Is it that many of the House members followed Omoboriowo?

Virtually all the members, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Majority Leader and almost all of them including almost all the Committee chairmen in the House. Indeed, we were in control of the House and making inputs into the budget. After Ajasin would have made his proposal they would bring it to us and we would amend it to suit the needs of the man on the ground in Ondo State. After that they would send it to Ajasin which he was compelled to sign because if he didnt, he knew that with two third majority we would pass the budget in the House. So, in effect when Ajasin would prepare his UPN budget we would amend it to an NPN budget which was inclined towards infrastructure for citizens. But having signed the budget, he refused to implement anything.

So, you truly paid their salaries and allowances?

Just take it from me, we took over their rightful expenses which were denied to them.

Did Omoboriowo ever brief you on why he left UPN this is because Prince Olu Mafo the Majority Leader of the House said it was because the UPN leader backtracked on the promise of giving him the 1983 gubernatorial ticket?

A lot of things have been said about all these. Olu Mafo was one of the close disciples of Omoboriowo, so anything he tells you, believe him. The issue of him becoming a governor, I have told you was because Ajasin reneged on that promise. In any case, we were already controlling 66% of the House and we had been going there, making rallies, unaffected and therefore when Omoboriowo broke out and of course you know he became a governor. You know Ajasin didn't win.

But the tribunal overturned the victory?

No, no, the Supreme Court affirmed it after the coup of December 1983. Omoboriowo went to the Supreme Court and in January 1984 the Supreme Court gave the judgment in favour of Omoboriowo. So, Omoboriowo was in fact and indeed governor and today, history has to record that he won the election in Ondo State.

There was a general feeling that the NPN rigged the election. As the General Secretary of the NPN how do you take that?

Let me ask you. I have told you that the Ekiti people formed 53% of the State and the Illajes 13% and when you put that together and see that Ondo (town) was with us. You would see that when you put it all together we had almost 70%.

But if you were that popular why the arson and popular revolt that followed your victory?

That is the question. It was because they were shocked and bitter, they took us for granted. I went personally and lived in Akure to see through the election and the counting of the votes. The electoral officer was Col. Ayo Ariyo (rtd.). We knew where his sympathy was likely to be, so I had to sit there. Late Prof. Sam Aluko was also there. But after he won the election, Col. Ariyo was forced to sign victory for Ajasin and they did the same thing for the Senate. They wanted Ariyo to sign the victory for the Senate in Ondo against Kunle Agunbiade but I had to stand firm.

You see the reason for violence was that they were shocked that those people they took for granted could have such a master organisation which we had to snatch power from them. Otherwise, the question should rather be turned to them, 'why is it that after you won election that you want to kill them?'

They killed our people. The mother of Kunle Akingbade was murdered in his presence, they slaughtered her like a goat.

After the election, did you meet Omoboriowo?

After the coup, I went into exile for three years but I slept in his house when I returned. He became totally absorbed in Christian worship. He became a good Christian leader and he was giving his total time and service to church.

What is your comment on the agitation for fiscal federalism?

Get the balance sheet of Nigeria as it stood on the 31st of March 1953. You will find out from that sheet that the total foreign reserve of Nigeria as at then was richer than the total reserve of the rest of the African continent put together, even that of South Africa and Egypt. Nigeria was richer than Japan on the 31st of March 1953, but the colonial state decided to expend this money in exploring for oil and also the development of the county councils in England.

Secondly, I have heard Obasanjo and some others talking about Nigeria having to go into fiscal federalism. I believe that they do not know the meaning of the word.

Fiscal federalism is the situation where the federal government has no dependable revenue to take care of its responsibilities as a federal state. What you must understand in the nature of the creation Nigeria is that it is totally opposite with the nature of the creation of American federalism. When the American fathers formed the constitution of America, it was the 13 New England States and a few others that surrendered their powers and created a federation which is the American government of today.

So, under the colonial state, the centre had no revenue, the only way they were getting money was out of the earnings of the marketing boards of all the regions and the marketing boards that were contributing were the Western Marketing Board, the Eastern Marketing Board and then the Northern Marketing Board. When they sell their produce, 50% is given to the centre to develop itself and the remaining 50% is left with the regions. Now, the smaller states or ethnic groups then started demanding for their own independent regions and the British then commissioned a commission of enquiry from 1957 to 1958 and the chairman of the commission was Wilinkson and after going to every part of the country and meeting with every agitating ethnic group they were only able to recommend the creation of Mid-Western Region, but the commission also recommend that the Federal Government should put up a commission for the development of the riverine areas which today have also turned out to be the oil producing regions. So, between 1961 and 1963 the enabling law was passed and the commission was set up. Shehu Shagari who was at that time a junior minister in the office of the Prime Minister was appointed the chairman of the development commission.

One of my old colleagues Senator Zuoper was the Secretary of the commission and that was how it went on until the civil war.

 

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