What is Edmund Obilo Doing?
By: Deji Yesufu
Thanks to the holidays, and Christmas, I have been forced out of solitude. The Seyi Makinde government has made driving a lot easier in central Ibadan, having embarked on a massive road rehabilitation regimen. Thank you, Mr. Governor. Everywhere I go in Ibadan, I see Nigerians enjoying the Yuletide. I am typing this note within the vicinity of Cocoa House – that massive structure, a testament to a functional Ibadan (once upon a time). What is very clear to me, as I behold all these is that time is fleeing away. The young do not know their history and they are in grave danger of repeating the mistakes of the past. This is what I think is running through Edmund Obilo’s mind as he appears to have now ventured on a journey that is aimed at reviving historical events with the hope that Nigeria might find some redemption in the process. I’ll explain more.
Edmund Obilo is called “The Radio Man”. Obilo was a pioneer staff of Splash FM Ibadan, the first private FM radio in this city (2007). Obilo holds a 3-hour broadcast on the same station every Saturday. Today, Edmund regaled us with stories of how Bola Ige was killed. It is interesting to note that Uncle Bola, one-time Governor of Oyo State, Cicero of Esa Oke, was killed in his Bodija home on the 23rd of December, 2001 – twenty-three years ago. That day happens to be my birthday. Obilo brings back memories of Bola Ige’s death by interviewing his daughter. Madam Funso Adegbola (nee Ige), was forty-one years old when her father was killed. She is 64 now. She brought back memories of the sad event that claimed her father’s life and that also almost certainly caused the early passing of their mother a year later. Ige’s wife died after the main witness, who was supposed to give the account that would convict the suspects, changed his testimony. The question this article is seeking answers to is this: what exactly is Edmund Obilo doing?
I ask this question because this brilliant radio anchor has suddenly embarked on a historical narration in the same period a celebrated legal case has enveloped Nigeria. Edmund Obilo’s interviews are asking “Who killed Bola Ige” in the same season Dele Farotimi published a book titled “Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System”. Is the radio man seeing something some of us are not seeing? I have written on how a failed judiciary plunged Nigeria into a civil war. In that article, I showed that a functional society cannot be separated from the rule of law. There are two ways to run a nation: either it is run by the rule of might and money, or it is run by the rule of law. I have shown in my article that modern societies run on agreements, and where those agreements are breached, there must be a functional court system to protect the weak. It is interesting to be reminded that once upon a time our nation’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Bola Ige, was murdered and that his family are yet to get justice for the killing of their father. Like Wole Soyinka said at Ige’s burial, the people who murdered that man are still among us. Many were in power then, and some are still in the seat of power now. Except a nation’s judiciary is jaundiced and criminal, there is no reason why Ige’s killers are not supposed to be behind bars or frying on an electric chair by now.
My thesis in this article remains “What is Edmund Obilo Doing?” I suspect if I were to ask Obilo himself, he would tell you he cannot say. I’ll however take the risk of hazarding a guess. Obilo is trying to bring about a revolution in Nigeria. It is going to be a silent, intellectual, and ultimately effective revolution. Any careful observer of our times will agree that Nigeria is ripe for revolution – the overthrow of the status quo and the installation of a functional system of government in this country. It is a shame that after sixty years of independence, this country can still not boast of free and fair elections. It is sad that money, and not the rule of law, is the final arbiter in our national life. And it is extremely distressing that this country has not installed a system that permits a level playing ground for all – regardless of your status in life. People like Edmund Obilo are reading the handwriting of the times and they suspect that unless a peaceful revolution brings about change to the Nigerian system, a violent revolution will be inevitable. And no one knows where such a revolution will lead.
It is these concerns that occupy my heart as I watch Ibadan people troop out to various recreational spots around the city to enjoy themselves. Things are difficult no doubt, yet the people have found a way to enjoy the times. It is often said that the people that will effect change in a society are usually not too many. The majority are all too frequently satisfied with the status quo. They prefer that the results of elections in the country remain rigged; they have no trouble with one man capturing state machinery with the might of his resources; they have no qualms with judges being influenced to miscarry justice; they are content with wages that cannot take them home; and, as Karl Marx suggest, they often employ religion to mollify their pain and suffering. There are a few who think otherwise. These few rise against the tide and demand change.
Modern history tells us that revolutions need to be violent. We can sort ourselves out in the law courts. Dele Farotimi has reached a point in his case against Aare Afe Babalola that the judiciary would be forced to adjudicate aright because his book has put them on the spot. Perhaps if we begin with a society where the law is respected, and everyone is equal before the judiciary, we will begin to approximate to the kind of society we are all hoping to have our children grow up in. After this, we could begin to have a semblance of free and fair elections in the country, where the will of the people is respected at the polls. And then we can begin to have individuals come to the seat of government who owe their office to the good-will of the people and not to a godfather – the very testimony of Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and perhaps one reason people consider that he is one of few Governors in this country that is performing.
Edmund Obilo is shedding light on Nigeria’s history: both recent and past. He is bringing young Nigerians to appreciate literature and helping them to grasp the philosophy of government. Obilo introduced me to all the written works of Obafemi Awolowo, and ever since I began to read them my thinking has changed – completely. A silent revolution has begun in Ibadan. I think in another twenty years we will begin to see the results. Another friend is convinced that we will see it for another five years. Whenever it comes, we can be confident that Nigeria has no choice but to catch up with other parts of the world where good governance occurs. Making a society work is not rocket science. This is one thing among many that Edmund Obilo is doing.
Deji Yesufu is the Pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY.
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