Fani-Kayode & Ijaw Dominance of Yorubas – Another View – By Dr. Gigi Don-Pedro

Posted by admin Articles, Columnists, Gigi Don-Pedro, NNP Columnists Sunday, January 26th, 2014

By Dr. Gigi Don-Pedro | New York, USA | Jan. 26, 2014 – Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, the one-time minister of Aviation and the poster boy for ethnic jingoism is at it again. After making a name as the ultimate anti-Igbo crusader of all times with his inflammatory, ignorant and unsubstantiated claims about his Yoruba ethnic group over the Igbos, he has turned his ugly fangs against the peace-loving people of Ijaw whose land and limitless resources continue to sustain him and his Yoruba ethnic group.

Rather than sousing himself in a contrite disposition for his well-publicized bigotry against the hard working Igbos, those who have contributed greatly to the development of Nigeria, including Lagos and other Yoruba states, the ineffective minister has taken to the roof–top to incite the polity once again with his reckless pontification emanating from the figments of his conflicted and bigoted mind.

In his recent piece on his Facebook page, Mr. Fani-Kayode complained of what he called Ijaw dominance of the Yorubas and accused President Jonathan and those in his inner circle of hating the Yorubas. This claim is utterly laughable and exposes Mr. Fani-Kayode for who he really is – an attention seeker desperately seeking relevance. With all the Yorubas that are or have been in Jonathan’s cabinet in the last 3-4 years, it is indeed an aberration for Mr. Fani-Kayode to make such utterances. The facts speak for themselves.

Has he forgotten the likes of Chief Adetokunbo Kayode, SAN, (Defence), Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga (Finance), Sen. Akinlabi Olasunkanmi (Youth Development), Navy Capt. Omoniyi Caleb Olubolade (Rtd) (Special Duties/Police Affairs), Olugbenga Ashiru (External Affairs), Olusola Abada (Minister of State, Defence), Aderemi Babalola (Minister of State finance),Mrs. Olajumoke (Minister of State for FCT), Awodele Adewale (Minister of State Agriculture), Earnest Olubolade (Special Duties), Dr. Akinwunmi Ayo Adesina (Agriculture) and much more?

This is not to mention the likes of Dr. Reuben Abati and Dr. Doyin Okupe, both special advisers to the president, the face of the president, if you will. The president had a choice to select follow Ijaws to speak on his behalf, but instead, in the spirit of one Nigeria appointed two Yoruba sons. This is in addition to Prof. Dan Adebiyi, special adviser on special duties, Dr. Akinyosere, special adviser on foreign relations, Pius Olakunle Osunyikanmi, special advisers on international relations and others. All these are in addition to the several high ranking military officers of Yoruba extraction he has appointed to sensitive positions of national security. Let it be said that President Jonathan was the first president to appoint an Igbo officer, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, as military defense chief when all presidents before him had foreclosed that possibility given the unfounded mistrust of the Igbos by other nationalities. There could not be any further indication of President Jonathan’s de-tribalized disposition than this well deserved promotion of a hardworking Igbo son.

It should be noted that there are more Yorubas occupying choice positions in the president’s inner circle than there are Ijaws even among the special advisers. If Fani-Kayode’s claim stated above were to be taken seriously, one can easily conclude that since the president’s inner circle is dominated by his (Fani-Kayode’s) ethnic group, it is Yorubas that are hating fellow Yorubas.

Mr. Fani-Kayode does not have any moral grounds to claim Ijaw dominance when there is ample and verifiable evidence to the contrary. He should tell the world how many Ijaw sons and daughters were appointed ministers and special advisers from 1999-2007 under a Yoruba president? If it pleases him, this search can be extended to Mr. Obasanjo’s first run as Head of State, 1976-79. Even Hausa/northern leaders have been more generous in the appointment of Ijaw sons and daughters to high offices than Obasanjo, the first and only Yoruba president thus far, with apologies to Ernest Shonekan. We have not forgotten in a hurry how his pay master, Olusegun Obasanjo, dominated the Ijaws while he held sway that culminated in the destruction of an entire Ijaw town, Odi, (Bayelsa) under the supervision of Victor Malu as army chief, killing thousands.

Only recently, a federal court awarded N37 billion judgment to the people of Odi for the crime committed against them by a Yoruba president. And if the truth be told, Obasanjo should be tried by the World Court in Hague for crimes against humanity with such total disregard for human life. At least, Orji Kalu, the former governor of Abia has lend his voice to this call.

In November 1999 when this destruction occurred, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was deputy governor of Bayalsa State. Now as president, he could seek revenge by decimating Otta or even Mr. Fani-Kayode’s village on Osun State with impunity and nothing will happen just as nothing happened when Obasanjo decimated Odi. But President Jonathan is far more civil, enlightened, educated, sophisticated and measured than Obasanjo could ever be and there lies the difference between an Ijaw president and a Yoruba president.

If Mr. Fani-Kayode wants his ethnic Yoruba group to secede as he has often threatened, I do not believe that anyone will oppose this desire to exercise their fundamental human rights to self-determination. The Ijaws will continue to live in harmony with other ethnic nationalities as long as they do not take their largesse for granted or bite the finger that feeds the entire nation. Mr. Fani-Kayode should leave the Ijaws alone and instead invest his time and energy in more constructive endeavours.

Dr. Gigi Don-Pedro writes from New York, USAwp_posts