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REMEMBERING MY FATHER AND HIS YORUBA TRADITIONAL PHILOSOPHY FIVE YEARS AFTER HIS DEMISE

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6 years ago

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BY: FEMI ODUFOWOKAN

Exactly five years today, 29th May 2013, my father, Chief John Abolaji Odufayo Odufowokan of Odunuga dynasty of Ijebu Land answered the call of Almighty. He died at an advanced age, about ninety years old.
He was a highly intelligent man despite the fact that he had little education (standard two) but equipped with the good dose of Yoruba traditional philosophy. He was a man that usually held strongly to his positions on issues unless you could convince him with superior positions or arguments. Sometimes, I had intentionally stuck to my position while I engaged him and not expecting him to easily detect my intent of wanting to engage him. He had told me on those occasions, “ti o ba gba temi, mo gba ti e” that is, “if you do not agree with my position, I agree with yours.” He would purposely say this statement to end the argument.
I remember him every day since his demise. One principle that he held and passed to those of us that lived with him and close to him is “Seven O’clock to Seven O’clock” (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) principle. My father would not go out of his house before seven a.m., and as a matter of his principle, he must be back in his home by seven p.m. As a young boy living with him in Ibadan, he had explained the rationale behind his “7 to7” principle to me. He said that the society was full of wicked people and wicked people mostly operate under the covers of night. Wicked people are not necessarily diabolic or occult practitioners alone, but those who can physically harm another person. By seven a.m. and till seven p.m., you can see people coming behind you and people going in your front or sideways. If need be for you to run to safety you will run and if by a chance you are harmed people will see the person that is responsible. On further probing him as to who would want to harm me, a young boy of the elementary school.
He had answered, “Ti owo ko ba ka igi araba, owo a ka egbo idi igi araba.” which has a meaning that if araba tree is too big and strong to be cut down, the roots of araba tree would be easier to cut. He also told me that “oru ko mo eni owo” i.e. darkness does not know a man of honour. Since that time, “7 to7” principle has always been part of me. On some occasions when I have to stay outside beyond “7 to 7”, particularly for political activities or any other compelling reason, I am always conscious and careful. I carried this to the extreme sometimes, for an example, when my children some time ago wanted to go to the mall around 8:00 p.m., in that part of the world, the weather was just like 6 p.m. of Nigeria time. When I told them it was late and that my father had told me and that we should always obey “7 to 7” principle and the reason behind the principle.
They started laughing and replied that even though it was 8:00 p.m., but it was not dark and besides the place is 24 hours country with sufficient security architecture. Not knowing what to tell them, I restored in telling them that one must not disobey his or her father, my father had said “7 to7”, and I am also telling you same.
Another interesting Yoruba philosophy that I learned from my father was when he had told a man at Ibadan where my father was the head of motor spare parts sellers of people that are of Ijebu origin. The position entrusted to him required that he was settling disputes that concerned Ijebu spare parts sellers. This man came to my father for some advice. At that time when my siblings and I were back from school, we were staying with my father at his shop. The man told my father that he doubted the paternity of his last child from his wife. My father asked him if he had any full proof or evidence (eri ti o da ju) that the child was not his, (there was no DNA or probably not popular then), but he gave a negative response. At this time, my father responded that “eni to ni igi obi lo ni eso ori e” i.e., the owner of the kola-nut tree is the owner of the fruits or seeds on the tree. As the husband of the woman, that the man is the owner of the child. I didn’t understand the basis of such declaration by my father until I was in part three of law programme, where the late Prof. Jelili Adebisi Omotola (Omo T) was teaching us land law. He told us one Latin word and the meaning i.e. “qui qui patator, solo solo cedi” which means whatever that is attached to the land belongs to the land. If someone erects a permanent fixture on another person’s lawful land, such a structure belongs to the owner of the land. Explicitly, whatever that is found attached to the land or underneath the land (other than mineral resources) belongs to the owner of the land. I understood the professor’s lecture better with “eni to ni igi obi lo ni eso ori e” that I had heard from my father when I was young.
Among other interesting Yoruba wise sayings, I learned from my father is “omo eye to nko fifo to fe ba adan fiiye gba ara, ile lo ma ba ara e”, meaning a young bird that is learning the art of flying game with a bat will fall on the ground. Naturally, a bat is that species of bird that has both the features of a bird and a rat. It is so skillful in flying to the extent that it can turn its head upside down. I heard this from my father when a younger woman was trying to engage in a fight with another older woman. The younger woman was so abusive and had no regard or respect for the older woman and the generality. Not quite long, the younger woman lost one of her grandsons living with her. She was so pained while crying and wailing, she said she was punished and cheated. As a young boy when I asked my father who punished and cheated the woman and for what reasons? My father said a young or baby bird that is just learning the art of flying is engaging in flying games with the bat that is why the younger woman fell on the ground. After much pressure from me, he told me that if truly the younger woman was punished and cheated from the quarter she suspected, she must have passed her boundary and did not known the limit of her strength compared to the older woman.
Another related Yoruba saying/proverb to the above, but seems to be contradictory to the above wise saying is an acknowledgment of powerlessness,at times of supernatural human being. As a young qualified lawyer, I went to the village where I met my dad. He had gone to the village before me. On getting there, I met him with a woman from another village selling pap (my father favourite meal in the morning), after greetings, I wanted to sit down, but my father wanted me to go greet people at the village about fifteen houses before I settled down. The woman objected on the ground that people are wicked that my father should not allow me to do such as he introduced me to the woman as his newly qualified lawyer and son. My father said for two reasons I should go round. Firstly our village is unique in the sense that it is a neclus family settlement. We are all from the same grandfather or great-grandfather – Odunuga. There is nobody in the village that is not our family or relation. Secondly, and perhaps the gist of the matter, my father said, “Oju oso ati aje ni won se bi oba ilu.” Meaning, witches, and wizards were alive and aware when the king of a town was born. I comprehended the saying literarily to mean that, if super natural human beings are interested in harming you as an adult, they could have done that before you were born or when you are an infant. Anytime I reflect on his Yoruba philosophies, I usually agreed with his saying that “ogbon, imo ati oye ko dogba” i.e. wisdom, understanding and knowledge are not the same. Having knowledge of something or situation may not necessarily mean you have an understanding (which is deeper) and of course, wisdom transcends both knowledge and understanding. May the Almighty Lord grant and continue to endow us with the trinity of wisdom, knowledge and understanding. There is no better way for me to remember him than the usefulness of the lessons of his Yoruba traditional philosophy.
“Erimoje olodo bi ere, o ba obinrin sun tomu tomu, aduro ki oba lodo Esa, Odimoro omo olowo ape, Olalomi Olofamojo”. Sleep on, sleep well, my father and my friend. I am benefitting from many of your Yoruba Philosophies.

CHIEF FEMI ODUFOWKAN
****Chief Femi Odufowokan is the immediate past council Chairman of Ijebu North East Local Government in Ogun State and a Lagos based Legal Practitioner

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EFCC indicts Sirika, brother in new N19bn fraud

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3 days ago

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May 14, 2024

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has charged former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, his brother, Ahmad Sirika; and his company – Enginos Nigeria Limited, with over N19.4bn fraud.

The sum is said to be for several aviation ministry contracts from the former minister to Enginos Nigeria Limited, owned by Sirika’s younger brother, Abubakar.

The Sirika brothers and Enginos Nigeria Limited will be arraigned before Justice Belgore of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Garki, Abuja today (Tuesday).

It is the second criminal charge the EFCC will be filing against the ex-aviation minister.

He was last Thursday arraigned for N2.7bn fraud before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja.

Sirika was arraigned on six counts alongside his daughter, Fatimah; brother-in-law, Jalal Hamma, and Al-Buraq Investment Ltd.

The defendants pleaded not guilty while Justice Sylvanus Oriji granted them N100m bail each, with the condition that they must not travel out of the country until the end of the criminal case.

On Monday, EFCC insiders informed The PUNCH that the anti-graft agency had filed a second charge against the ex-minister, bordering on N19.4bn fraud.

In the copy of the fresh charges sighted by our correspondent on Monday, the EFCC alleged that Sirika, “while being the Minister of Aviation, on or about 18th August 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did use your position to confer an unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited, whose alter ego, Ahmad Abubakar Sirika, is your biological brother, by using your position to influence the award to him, the contract for the construction of a terminal building at Katsina Airport for the sum of N1,345,586,500.00.”

According to the EFCC, Sirika’s alleged action was a violation of Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same section.

In another count, the EFCC alleged that “on or about 3rd of November, 2022, in Abuja,” Sirika used his position “to confer unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited, whose alter ego, Ahmad Abubakar Sirika, is your biological brother, by using your position to influence the award to him, the contract for the establishment of Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Centre at Katsina Airport for the sum of N3,811,497,685.00.”

In another count, he was accused of corruptly awarding a N615,195,275.00 contract to his brother for the procurement and installation of lift and air conditioners and power generators for the Aviation House in Abuja.

Furthermore, the EFCC alleged that Sirika, between August 2022 and May 2023 in Abuja, “had possession of an aggregate sum of N2,337, 840,674.16, which sum you knew indirectly represented the proceeds of criminal conducts of Hadi Abubakar Sirika, who was the Minister of Aviation at the time.”

It was revealed that the ex-minister’s younger brother, Abubakar, was earlier arrested and detained by the EFCC in connection with N3,212,258,930.18 paid to his company, Enginos Nigerian Limited’s bank account by the former minister.

 

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Nigerian Bank chiefs obtain N549bn insider loans in five years

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4 days ago

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May 13, 2024

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Directors and key management personnel of Deposit Money Banks borrowed about N549bn from their financial institutions in five years.

This is according to The PUNCH analysis of the banks’ annual reports filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited between 2019 and 2023.

However, the banks’ loans and advances to some directors and key management personnel as well as related party transactions dropped significantly in 2023.

These transactions dropped to N52.40bn for eight financial institutions compared to N111.31bn in 2022, indicating a 52.92 per cent decline in one year.

Financial institutions reviewed in the 2023 review include Access Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa, Fidelity Bank, Wema Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holding Plc and the FCMB Group.

This decline came amid the release of new corporate governance guidelines by the Central Bank of Nigeria which went into effect August 1, 2023.

In the circular dated July 13, 2023, and signed by Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Chibuzo Efobi, the guidelines which imposed responsibilities on the bank board and the executive compliance officers, supersede other previous codes, circulars and related directives, according to the apex bank.

The CBN guidelines on related party transactions said, “Banks shall establish a policy concerning insider trading and related party transactions by directors, senior executives, and employees, as well as publish the policy or a summary of that policy on their website. 22.2 The policy shall contain appropriate standards and procedures to ensure it is effectively implemented. 22.3 In addition to the requirements in Section 22.2, there shall be an internal review mechanism carried out by the internal audit function of the bank, to assess the compliance and effectiveness of the policy.

“22.4 Any director whose facility or that of his/her related interests remains nonperforming in any financial institution for more than one year shall cease to be on the board of the bank and shall be blacklisted from sitting on the board of such bank and that of any other financial institution under the purview of the CBN. 22.5 No director-related loans and/or interest thereon shall be written off without the CBN’s prior approval.”

Leading the pack in terms of major decline in loans to related parties and entities controlled by key management personnel was Fidelity Bank Plc, which went from N92.31bn at the end of December 2022 to N2.09bn at the end of last year.

In footnotes, the bank however said that some of the related parties like A-Z Petroleum Limited, Dangote Group and Genesis Group as of 31 December 2022, had “exited the related party relationship post 2022 financial year in line with CBN requirement.”

In 2022, the total value of insider loans for 10 banks including Access Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa, Fidelity Bank, Wema Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holding Plc, FCMB Group, Unity Bank and Sterling Bank amounted to N131.04bn.

Fidelity Bank led the highest for the year, followed by Unity Bank at N17.32bn and UBA at N13.74bn.

In 2021, the loans to related parties of these financial institutions rose to N139.16bn with Fidelity Bank and UBA leading at N97.73bn and N15.28bn, respectively. GTCO trailed in third position with N6.859bn.

Between 2019 and 2020, a total of N226.6bn was disbursed as loans. In 2019, eleven banks borrowed its key management personnel a total sum of N29.65bn. The figure also includes loans to companies related to the directors.

An analysis showed that GTCO lent N155m, Zenith Bank (N1.76bn), UBA borrowed its directors N297m, Wema Bank (N5.2bn), Stanbic IBTC (N95m), FCMB (N4.8bn), Unity Bank(N7.14bn), Sterling Bank (N10.12bn) to related parties.

In 2020, the figure increased by 564 per cent or N167.32bn to N196.97bn.

Checks showed that Access Bank lent the highest with a total of N174bn to its directors and companies related to them. This was followed by Unity Bank with N7.55bn. Third on the list was Sterling Bank with N6.01bn.

Other banks including Fidelity borrowed its directors N986.2m, GTBank (N67.9m), Zenith Bank (N1.797bn), UBA (N206m), Wema Bank (N2.82bn), Stanbic IBTC (N332m), FCMB (N3.2bn), Unity Bank (N7.55bn), Sterling Bank (N6.01bn).

Commenting on the trend, the Chief Research Officer at InvestData Consulting, Ambrose Omordion said “In my language, they say, it is the yam that you know that you use to make pounded yam. If an organisation feels that the insider or director can pay the loans given to them, then there is no issue. It is when they do not pay that is where there would be issues.

“Like what is happening now in the economy, banks are not giving loans to ordinary companies unless those with names because of economic headwinds. If they give loans to the public and they are unable to repay, Non-Performing Loans will rise. If the banks offer to insiders that would pay, it is better for them.”

 

The Punch

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Court Orders Arrest of Ex-Naval Chief, Usman Jibrin Over Alleged N1.5billion Money Laundering Charges

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4 days ago

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May 12, 2024

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Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered the arrest of a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, and two other officers over N1.5 billion money laundering charge.

 

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) dragged the trio before the court over fraud N1.5bn allegations.

 

The court issued the arrest warrant after hearing a motion exparte marked FHC/ABJ/CR/158/2023 and filed by ICPC counsel, Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha.

 

In the motion, the lawyer submitted that Usman Jibrin Oyibe, Adam Imam Yusuf, Brigadier General Ishaya Gangum Bauka (first to third defendants), were investigated for allegations of money laundering and making false statements regarding diversion of funds in their respective military and paramilitary institutions, into companies in which they allegedly had stake.

 

According to him, at the commencement of the investigation into the allegations, the defendants were released on administrative bail on self-recognition because of their status as serving and former public figures and has since then refused to show up for possible arraignment in court.

 

The Lawyer prayed the court for a bench warrant against the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Respondents (Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin Oyibe, Adam Imam Yusuf, and Brigadier General Ishaya Gamgum Bauka) in charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/158/2023 which is pending before the court for the purpose of arresting and bringing them to court for their arraignment and trial.

 

Listed as first to sixth defendants in the 17-count charge are Usman Jibrin Oyibe, Adam Imam Yusuf, Brigadier General Ishaya Gangum Bauka, Lahab integrated & Multi Services Limited, Gate Coast Properties International Limited and Ummays Hummayd Energy Ltd

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