Corruption: If Not For President Buhari, Nigeria Would Not Exceed 2015 – Obadan

 

Former deputy governor to Chief John Odigie Oyegun in the aborted Third Republic, Reverend Peter Obadan, was among those who joined the pro-democratic forces towards enthroning an egalitarian Nigeria society.
Obadan, who presently enjoys a quiet life with his grandchildren in his Government Reservation Area residence in Benin City, recounts his experience to Patrick Ochoga, with the benefit of hindsight vis-à-vis the state of the nation today.

Sir, what was growing up like in those days?

Well, for people in my age bracket it was fairly a difficult period. I was fortunate to be the son of a soldier and my mother was a trader. I was born in Lagos and later, there was a movement to the North and thereafter we returned to Lagos before my old man went to Congo for the war. But as soon as he came back, he fell ill and never recovered from it. We had to move out of the military barrack to the village and this time, I was about six years old. So it was a memorable period and I remembered all the military burial given to my late dad. I lost all my young friends in the barrack when I returned to the village where I started learning the language which was the first thing I was confronted with because I was used to speaking the Yoruba and the Hausa. My mother was very fluent in the two languages and not having a father and falling into the two hands of a step-father which is the custom of the people then because you had to be adopted by a younger brother. Incidentally, my late dad was the twentieth child his father. He married on the 20th of November and also had me on the 20th of October and unfortunately he also died on the 20th of July. It was a great pain to me that I lost a person so dear to me but I was well handled by my step father who did well as his resources could take him.

How did cope going through school after the demise of your father?

My step-father saw me through primary school; I had to start another set of movement because he got transferred to Ondo, Ijebu Ode and backed to Auchi, each time they moved, I moved with him. I finally finished my primary school in the village and gained admission to the Holy Trinity Grammar school, but the money was not there, I had to move to the modern school then, after some six weeks, they demanded some school fees again which he could not afford so I was sent back home to stay and I spent the rest of the year in the village until the following year and I will say God’s grace and mercy was upon me. When the late Cannon Ayeni, who was principal of Ujoele Grammar school came in to ask after my step father who then was a commentator with the ministry of information and wanted to find out who will I say came to look for my step-father? I only answered that his tall friend with tortoise car and he asked what class I was? I told him I was not in any class and he went back to discuss with the grandmother of my step-father and he came and said they will bring you to my school. So within 2 to 3 days, I had to be taken on a bicycle from Ora to Ujoele. The man brought me out at the assembly that I should be well cared for.

I immediately made friends and I found the boarding system very pleasing and he took charge of a season. Leaving secondary school, I had debts because my certificate will not be release to me until my school fee was completely settled. But God was on my side and I got a job with a practicing firm as an article clerk which the salary then was £10, whereas in the ministry my colleagues were earning £26 and out of the £10, £5 was sent to the school and i retained the other £3 to assist my step-father. Nobody took into consideration at that time that there will be changes in life and I was lucky to have known God at that age because I was associating with a vibrant church, the Church of God Mission, because then, the church was just starting with a very good pastor in the person of Benson Idahosa. I can tell you with the benefit of hindsight that all those of us related with him in the 70’s have no cause to regret because he was very futuristic. So life to me was ordered by God. I knew that if I had to catch up with my friends I need to read, I was also bless with a good partner to direct me.

So what followed later?

Before some of my mates could get into University I had registered with the Association of chartered Certified Accountant, (ACCA) of England. I had to seat for the exams at home never had the opportunity of going to University then, i took the first exam in June 1971, by the time the result came I was the only one who passed in the office and it was shocking to my boss because I went there with school certificate. I was head of accounts in Ethiope publishing; I had qualified before most of my classmates attended University. When the position of accountant general was made public, I was the most qualified in the state. But the governor then, Prof Ambrose Alli because he felt I was too young. I later applied to the University of Benin for my MBA. I was the first chartered accountant to go to the MBA.

At what point did you decide to join politics?

My ambition was to look at the computer world because I was fascinated by that. I had a childhood friend who incidentally became the first chartered accountant known to me in Nigeria to have a PhD Dr Lawrence Igiebor. But midway, I was drawn into politics, I was associating actively with the Labour in term of being friends to many comrades and assisting with their records, they also saw me as somebody they could also relied on. So, when it was necessary to have a deputy governor for the state, at that time I was succeeding with my practice and had left the firm of Osagie to set up Peter Obadan and Company, with branches in Kaduna, Porthacourt and Lagos and I had a school established in Benin City and Lagos. I was successful with the profession I loved so much. It was at that stage that some of the men me and said to me there is a need to associate politically and ofcourse many Christians were not happy because I was active with the full gospel business men’s fellowship because I was one of the early members. They were a lot of bombardment from all angles that one was backsliding for going into politics and that I was leaving what was right for what is wrong. But immediately the young man spoke to me I had a persuasion in my spirit that I needed to go for it. Politics as they say was dirty you cannot be outside to clean it, you have to be inside. One of the statement I made when I was chosen as the deputy governor to John Oyegun was that I will be a true representative of the Christian faith and I will be an example for others to follow.

Today, I see some of the brethren who castigated me then are more active into politics than even myself which gives me joy.

Tell us about your life while in exile?

Shortly after our administration came to an end after 22 months I had to go on exile which is a different story entirely. My self and governor Oyegun, were very active in exile, General Akinrilade , Prof Akinyemi, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Tokunbo Afikuyomi were all there. I stated in one of my books when Obasanjo was detained in exile, I have never seen somebody as pained over issue like that as I saw Oyegun, he very pained. Even in the winter he was carrying placard demonstrating that Obasanjo must be released and of course Akinyemi was moving from one place to another propagating the same thing, people like Dr Fayemi, Prof Sylvester, these people were very supportive of NADECO in exile. What we were having today are the things those of us in exile foresaw, the only exception was that we believed strongly in the parliamentary system not the presidential system and of course you know Pa Enahoro who led us there. We were working toward a new Nigeria that will give birth to a parliamentary system, most of us in exile believed that and looking for a way of dealing with the propensity of acquiring wealth.

Are you optimistic that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will make much impact in spite of the surmounting challenges?

I want to say that we are grateful to God that we have the person of Buhari , it is not easy to take up a challenge like this when you know the system has been broken down and there is nothing left. I think that is the role President Buhari is playing because many of us are already saying Nigeria will not exceed 2015 not because we didn’t want to continue in oneness, it is because of the level of corruption in the country, It was getting to the stage where children of the poor would have risen fiercely against the rich, the law would have been broken. I want to say looking back at history am grateful to God that am a witness to what is happening now. I would wished that people like Enahoro see this days, it is only for one to pray that Nigerians, firstly, should be patient with the administration of Buhari, and pray that his lieutenant s that will be called to support his administration would have learnt from the past and would appreciate the fact that good name is actually better than riches and thirdly, they should be determine to work hard so that we can have a legacy that children yet unborn can continue to appreciate. If we have these persons to help Buhari we will have a glorious country.