Some
said what she threw at the building was an egg. Others claimed it was a local
grenade. What was not in dispute is that whatever the half-naked elderly woman threw
at the office of the Federal Electoral Commission [FEDECO] was powerful enough
to set the building on fire. In a twinkle of an eye, the office was up in
flames. It was not the only compound on fire. From Akure to Ondo, from Owo to
Ado-Ekiti, the whole of Ondo State was burning.
The
protesters were unstoppable. The half-naked woman was strolling ahead of the
protesters like an army general. Once a building was identified for her, out
came her magical egg and the next moment the building would be on fire. Anywhere
you turned to in Akure, the skyline was enveloped in thick, dark smoke.
People
were not spared. First to fall victim of the rampaging crowd was Hon. Olaiya
Fagbamigbe who was a member of the Federal House of Representatives in Lagos.
Fagbamigbe was the publisher of the trilogy of collected speeches of Chief
Obafemi Awolowo titled
Voice of Reason,
Voice of Wisdom, and Voice of Courage. You have seen the books? He was not the only one. He was killed along with his brother, James Fagbamigbe. Hon. Tunde
Agunbiade was also caught in the crossfire. He was a member of the Ondo State
House of Assembly.
From
one house to another. From one street to another. From one town to another, the
carnage went on and on. The thunderstorms of tragedy continued to reverberate
throughout the length and the breadth of Ondo State. It was a day Ondo State
would never forget. But what could have turned the hitherto peaceful state to a
theatre of war? What could have turned a
people who were formerly in the same political family into sworn enemies?
Four
years earlier, the Unity Party of Nigeria – the political party founded by the
legendary Obafemi Awolowo – had won a landslide victory to produce the first
democratically elected Governor of the State. It was an unprecedented victory. UPN
had coasted home to victory with 94.50% of the votes cast, leaving the four
other political parties [National Party of Nigeria, Nigeria Peoples Party,
Great Nigeria Peoples Party and Peoples Redemption Party] to share the
remaining 5.50% amongst themselves. Of the 66 State House of Assembly seats,
UPN won 65 leaving NPN with only one seat.
To
many a political watcher, the emergence of Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin and Chief Victor Akinwole Omoboriowo as the Governor
and the Deputy Governor respectively was the best thing that could have
happened to the State. Ajasin was elderly and full of wisdom. At 71 in 1979, he
had earned his stripes as a tested administrator, legislator, school principal,
and as a member of the Federal Advisory Council. Awolowo respected his
maturity, experience, and loyalty. Omoboriowo, on the other hand, was youthful
and vibrant. Like Awolowo, he was a socialist by orientation and a legal practitioner by profession. In
1979, he was 47 years old. Awolowo admired his passion, brilliance, and energy.
 |
| Governor Ajasin |
If
the people of Ondo State had expected anything, it was that the Governor and
the Deputy Governor would get on well like a house on fire. For one, both of
them were committed Awoists to the core. The Action Group was founded in Owo – Chief Ajasin's hometown. On his own part, Chief Omoboriowo was an
extremely loyal party man. He was the author of a seminal work on the philosophy
of Awolowo appropriately titled Awoism –
Selected Themes on the Complex Ideology of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. What
could therefore go wrong?
 |
| Deputy Governor Omoboriowo |
What
was however unknown outside the party caucus is that Omoboriowo was not
Ajasin’s preferred choice of running mate. According to him: “Omoboriowo was not the man I had intended as
my running mate, and my future deputy. But I picked Omoboriowo at the instance
of Chief Awolowo who vouched for his capability and loyalty.”
On
his own part, Omoboriowo considered Ajasin as being too old to be the governor.
When Awolowo asked him for names of possible candidates to fly the flag of the
party during the 1979 Elections, he responded by mentioning the names of Chief
Reuben Fasoranti, Professor Sam Aluko, Chief Ayo Fasanmi and Banji Akintoye.
Apparently not satisfied with the response, Awolowo prodded him for other
likely candidates. It was at that point that Omoboriowo volunteered Ajasin’s
name.
The
Leader then smiled and informed him that Ajasin appeared to be the most
experienced among the names so far mentioned. Omoboriowo immediately raised two
fundamental points against the candidacy of the retired school principal. His
first objection was that Ajasin at 71 was too old to be a governor. His second
point of objection was the desire of the Ekitis to produce the governor on
account of their population which was said to be the largest in the old Ondo
State. Ajasin was from Owo.
In
response to Omoboriowo’s objection, Awolowo was said to have responded with “…We have to balance Ajasin’s age with the
dynamism of a person from the main ethnic group in the State.” Hence the
choice of Omoboriowo, an Ekiti man, as Ajasin’s running mate.
It
was against the backdrop of this strange pairing that the party recorded its landslide
victory in the 1979 Elections.
The
first cracks began to appear on the wall of the party in the State barely six
months after their inauguration. Probably on account of his advanced age, it
was assumed that Ajasin would not be able to effectively discharge his
functions as the governor, thereby ceding the responsibility to his younger
deputy. Ajasin however proved the bookmakers wrong by not only being active but
also by showing that he was not ready to be an armchair governor. After all, ori ti a fi se ewe ko ti kuro l’orun [the
head which an elder used as a young person does not desert him in old age].
This
is how Ajasin put it: “Omoboriowo had
expected that I would only be able to reign and not to rule. As far as he was
concerned, I was going to be the de jure Governor while he would be the de
facto Governor.” On his own part,
Omoboriowo attributed the genesis of the problem to Ajasin’s conservatism: “Chief Awolowo believed that it was elderly
people who could administer without problems. No, it turned out that the
elderly people, because of their set ideas, created more problems than members
of the younger generation.”
The
problem was further compounded by the operation of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979. As you are already aware, the Constitution
did not provide specific executive functions for the Deputy Governor. It was left
to the discretion of the Governor to assign duties and responsibilities to his
deputy as he thought fit.
Omoboriowo
claimed to have been sidelined in the running of the government of the State.
It was his case that major decisions were taken by the Governor without his
knowledge. Instances of these include: the dismissal of Professor C. S. Ola as
the Secretary to the State Government; the dismissal of Dr. Bode Olowoporoku as
the Commissioner for Economic Planning; the decision to establish six branches
of the Owena Bank in different parts of the State; and the appointment of all
full-time members of corporations, amongst others.
It
was also claimed that the Governor was in the habit of paying unscheduled
official visits to industries and corporations under Omoboriowo’s schedule of
duties without the knowledge of the deputy governor. An instance was given
where the governor went to ‘commission’ the Ero Dam Project which was largely
supervised by Omoboriowo without the latter’s knowledge.
That
was not all. Ajasin was also accused of being discriminatory against the Ekitis.
It was claimed that no major project was sited in Ekitiland and that Ekiti were
being treated as second-class citizens of the state. The governor was accused
of dismissing people who were sympathetic to Omoboriowo and replacing them with
his own loyalists.
On
August 11, 1981, Omoboriowo sent a memorandum to his boss in which he brought
up the issue of his marginalization in the administration of the State. In the
memo, Omoboriowo stated: “…I have just
read this morning on the pages of newspapers that you have removed the
Honourable Commissioner for Economic Planning and Statistics, Dr. M. O.
Olowoporoku from office. I do not wish to go into the merits or otherwise of
the termination, but in a major matter like this Your Excellency should have
mentioned it to me before terminating the appointment…”
If
the issues had been limited to the foregoing perhaps the situation would not
have snowballed into the mayhem it became. Perhaps the gathering clouds would
have disappeared eventually. Perhaps…
To
the people in Ajasin’s camp, Omoboriowo was nothing but an overambitious young
man who was not ready to wait for his turn. It was felt that Omoboriowo’s game
plan was to portray Ajasin as ineffective and show the people of Ondo State
that he was the brainbox of the administration and that the Governor was merely
a rubber stamp for Omoboriowo’s intellect and ideas.
At
party meetings, it was said that Omoboriowo would try to outdo Ajasin by making
contributions that suggested that he had a superior knowledge and was better
informed than his boss on the subject matter under discussion. In many cases,
the deputy governor was accused of being in the habit of jumping up to answer
questions specifically directed at the governor in order to project himself as
someone more knowledgeable and capable.
It
was also observed that the press was giving more publicity to the deputy more
than the Governor. Every function attended by Omoboriowo was given lavish press
coverage, usually on the front page whilst the governor’s programmes were
tucked somewhere amongst obituary and advertisements. To the governor’s team,
this was nothing but acts of a rebellious deputy who did not wish his boss
well.
On
the allegation that he was not being allowed to ‘commission’ projects which he
superintended, Ajasin’s response was that as the person elected the governor by
the people, he considered it his responsibility and duty to personally
commission projects which, in most cases, usually have plaques with his name on
it. It was also his view that the people would feel more honoured by his
presence than that of his deputy.
In
dismissing the allegation of Ekiti marginalization leveled against the Governor,
Prof Sam Aluko was of the view that the story came mainly from Messrs Akerele
and Babatola who wanted to be full-time chairmen of Ondo State Radio Corporation
and Housing Corporation respectively but were given part-time appointments.
As
fate would have it, Chief Adekunle Ajasin took ill in 1981. Naturally, the
deputy governor became the Acting Governor. It was alleged that Omoboriowo did
not believe that Ajasin could survive the illness. He therefore did not waste
time before consolidating his hold on power. He started making arrangements for
setting up his own government machinery. Dr. Bode Olowoporoku who had been
removed by Ajasin as a commissioner was offered the post of the Secretary to
the State Government.
At a
point, rumour of Ajasin’s death hit the state. As the acting governor,
Omoboriowo stood to be the major beneficiary if the news were to be true.
According to Aluko, this was the beginning of the trouble.
Ajasin
however did not die. He soon came back to Akure as the Governor. On his return,
a lot of people went to tell him that his Deputy was not very loyal and that he
behaved badly while he was sick. The Governor was also informed that his deputy
had given the impression to the state parliamentarians that were he to be the
substantive governor he would have met all their monetary demands.
If
there were cracks in the wall before Ajasin left for Lagos, the cracks widened
upon his return. By the end of 1981, the crisis had developed into open confrontation.
You know that ti ofon ba ti to si
gbegiri, o di ki eleko o ko eko re da ni [when a rat urinates into a soup, that's the end of the dinner]. The state became
polarized as government functionaries began to pitch their tent either for or
against the governor.
 |
| Ladoke Akintola |
Elders in and outside the state began to take steps to nip the crisis in the
bud. Many of them were old enough at the time of the crisis between Obafemi
Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola in the old Western Region. None of them wanted a
repeat of the bloodbath they witnessed in the 1960s. They therefore left no stone unturned
in their bid to resolve the feud between the warring leaders.
On
January 19, 1981, a peace meeting was called at the palace of the Ewi of
Ado-Ekiti. This was followed by another one on January 28 at the same venue. At
the two meetings both camps spoke about their grievances. It was at these meetings
that Ajasin pointed out that the cause of the crisis was Omoboriowo’s ambition to become the governor
in 1983, which Ajasin admitted was a legitimate ambition. It was however
Ajasin’s grouse that Omoboriowo was doing everything he could to earn cheap
popularity to make himself Ajasin’s unchallenged successor.
These
allegations were denied by Omoboriowo who claimed that at no time did he
entertain the thought of becoming a governor. In his defence, he claimed that:
“They sold to the governor the idea that
certain people were behind me for the 1983 governorship race. Before God and
man, I did not have an ambition to contest as governor.”
What
was however left unsaid was that as far back as late 1978 the impression had
been created in Omoboriowo’s camp that Ajasin would only govern for the first
two years and hand over the baton of leadership to Omoboriowo who would
complete the first term and run for another term.
This was confirmed by Olowoporoku who revealed that: “In fact our acceptance of him (Ajasin) as a candidate was because we
were told that Chief Obafemi Awolowo directed that Chief Ajasin should be
allowed two years after which Chief Omoboriowo would takeover. This was the
note and understanding with which we campaigned in the election of 1979.”
Prof
Aluko also appeared to corroborate the above statement of Olowoporoku when he
said that: “Chief Awolowo gave us the
impression that Ajasin was going to run one term only… It was planned that
after the one term, Omoboriowo would contest the nomination…”
It
was not certain if Chief Ajasin was a party to these ‘impressions’ and agreements.
What was however certain was that Ajasin, his advanced age notwithstanding, was
proving to be a very competent leader who was performing creditably well. It
was becoming clear that nothing would stop him from exercising his
constitutional right to re-contest in 1983.
To
prevent the festering wound from becoming an open sore, the leaders of Unity
Party of Nigeria mandated Chief Abraham Adesanya to look into the crisis. His
efforts came to naught. The governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Kayode
Jakande, also intervened without success.
As
you know egun nla lo n kehin igbale [it
is the biggest masquerade that is the last to come out of the grove], Chief
Obafemi Awolowo decided that the time had come for him as the Leader of the
Party to intervene in the matter. It was a two-day meeting that Awolowo
summoned. All party elders and leaders in the state were invited to the meeting.
|
| Obafemi Awolowo |
Chief
Awolowo listened patiently to both parties. The major grouse of Omoboriowo and
his team was that the deputy governor had been completely marginalized by the
governor in the running of the government. The governor was also accused of
refusing to provide official cars and personal offices to the members of the State
House of Assembly.
On
their part, Ajasin and his group accused Omoboriowo of wanting to get him
involved in the running of government in such a way as to be seen to be the
brain behind Ajasin’s achievements. It was denied that Omoboriowo was
marginalized. In support of this, it was pointed out that the deputy governor
was in charge of the Water Corporation, Investment Corporation, Ondo State
Broadcasting Corporation, Okitipupa Oil Mills, Chieftaincy and House of
Assembly matters. Ajasin further explained that his deputy failed to discharge
his responsibilities in respect of these assignments because he was afraid of
failure.
 |
| Ajasin and Omoboriowo |
It
was an exhaustive meeting that took most of two days. Chief Omoboriowo
marshaled his arguments with all his skills as a legal practitioner. Chief
Ajasin’s analytical presentations showed that he was a professional teacher.
Chief Awolowo was not called the Leader for nothing. He brought his experience
to bear in resolving the seemingly intractable issues. The meeting eventually
came to a peaceful end with a Peace Treaty being signed by both parties as well
as Chief Awolowo.
It
was term of the Treaty that “The Governor
of the State shall with due dispatch, delegate specific responsibilities to the
Deputy Governor and give him a free hand to discharge such responsibilities.”
It was also a term of the Treaty that: “no
member of the Party shall make any public statement relating to nomination for
post of Governor or Deputy Governor.”
With
the Peace Treaty, relative calm returned to the state. On the surface, it
appeared that the snake of discord troubling the state had finally been smothered.
This was however only on the surface. Insiders in government knew that the
leaders continued to view each other with mistrust.
This
was the state of affairs until the time came for nominations for the 1983
General Election. The consensus of opinion in the UPN was that the incumbent
governors be given automatic ticket to fly the flag of the party for their
second term. However in almost all the UPN-controlled states, the deputy
governor or a cabinet member was interested in contesting the gubernatorial election.
In Oyo
State, the Asiwaju of Esa Oke, Chief Bola Ige, the incumbent faced stiff
opposition from his deputy, Chief Sunday Afolabi, as well as from Alhaji Busari
Adelakun (Eruobodo) and Chief M. A. Omisade. In Ogun State, Mrs. Titi Ajanaku and Chief
Odunjo wanted to slug it out with Chief Olabisi Onabanjo. The story was not
different in Bendel State where Dr. Isaac Okonjo, the Secretary to the State
Government wanted to contest against Prof. Ambrose Folorunso Alli. The only
exception was Lagos State where Alhaji Rafiu Jafojo had no problem in running again as
Deputy to Alhaji Jakande.
The
intra-party crisis was however not limited to the Unity Party of Nigeria. In
Kano State, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, the state governor did not see eye to eye
with his deputy, Alhaji Bibi Farouk. In Plateau State, Governor Solomon Lar and
his deputy, Alhaji Yakubu Danladi were locked in a perennial war of attrition.
At
the party’s special National Conference held in October in 1982, the sole issue
for discussion was the issue of automatic ticket for returning governors.
Following pressures from the prospective contestants who appeared to be very
vocal, the party resolved to allow shadow elections to be conducted in order to
test the acceptability and popularity of the incumbent.
It
was a triumphant Omoboriowo and his team that returned to Akure after the
National Conference. In accordance with the Peace Treaty, he resigned his
appointment as the Deputy Governor of the State. With the resignation, the
stage was now set for the epic battle between the governor and his former
deputy for the soul of Ondo State. They were joined in the contest by Banji
Akintoye, a senator.
Feelers
that the shadow elections were not going to be hitch free started appearing some
days to the elections. It was a requirement that for a member to qualify to
vote at constituency meeting, such a member must hold the party’s membership
card. The Ajasin group alleged that Omoboriowo and his team arranged with some
private printers in Akure to illegally print the party’s membership cards. The
Omoboriowo group however claimed that it was Ajasin group that was caught with the
freshly printed UPN membership cards.
On
November 11, 1982, the shadow elections took place in Akure. The Nomination
Committee for Ondo State was headed by Chief Sebastian Umoren from Cross River
State. All the four members of the Committee were from outside Ondo State. This
was understandably to ensure that none of the three candidates was unduly
favoured.
At
the end of the day, Ajasin polled 707 votes, Omoboriowo scored 531 and Akintoye
came third with 94 votes. These figures were however contested by Omoboriowo who claimed that his score was 532, with Ajasin and Akintoye scoring 479 and 94 votes respectfully.
With the result announced by the Nomination Committee, Chief Ajasin was declared the winner
and the party’s flag bearer for the gubernatorial election in 1983.
It
is on record that following the shadow elections, Chief Omoboriowo wanted to
mend fences with his boss, the governor. He was however prevented from doing so
by some members of his group.
Chief
Omoboriowo was now confronted with the task of choosing another platform to
actualize his political ambition. As a committed socialist of Awolowo school of
thought, he found it incongruous to pitch his tent with the National Party of
Nigeria, his former party’s archrival.
Overnight
he became the toast of the other political parties who were desperate to
dislodge Awolowo from the state. First to extend an invitation to Omoboriowo
was the newly registered Nigerian Advance Party promoted by Dr. Tunji
Braithwaite. The Nigerian People’s Party of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe also came
calling. They were followed in quick succession by the duo of Great Nigerian
People’s Party and Aminu Kano’s People Redemption Party.
After
extensive consultations with his group, it was decided that the NPN offered the
best alternative if they were desirous of extricating the state from the grip
of Ajasin. According to Omoboriowo: “We
agreed that the situation was too grave and the best thing to do was to take
the larger interest of the state into consideration. We opined that by joining the
NPN, the economic and social welfare of our people would be better catered for.
We also believe that the NPN was more democratic in its structure.”
 |
| Omoboriowo with Awolowo before things fell apart |
Finally,
on January 6, 1983, Omoboriowo cut his political umbilical cord from Chief
Obafemi Awolowo and the Unity Party of Nigeria. On that day, the author of Awoism signed a formal agreement with
the National Party of Nigeria at 10 Cooper Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. According to
James Okoroma, Chief Omoboriowo “was most
reluctant to sign an agreement with a party he had consistently criticized in
his writings and speeches. But according to him (Omoboriowo), that is ‘real
politick’…” With the agreement signed, sealed and delivered, the Rubicon
was crossed and things would never be the same again.
Back
in Akure, the campaign for the State House began in earnest. Unlike in 1979
when the election was practically a walk over for the UPN, this time around,
Ajasin had a formidable opponent in Omoboriowo and the NPN to contend with. The
campaign was as tough as it was intense. It appeared as if the two parties were
evenly matched. UPN was the party in power in the state and therefore had the
advantage of incumbency. NPN was the party in power at the centre and therefore
had the advantage of federal might.
As
the election day draw nearer, clashes between the supporters of the leading
parties became the order of the day. At Ado Ekiti, three prominent members of
the Unity Party of Nigeria were assassinated. The Ajasin group naturally
pointed accusing fingers at the NPN. This was refuted by Omoboriowo’s group who
claimed that the killings must have been the “handiwork of rival groups within
the UPN.”
 |
| Omoboriowo and Shagari |
On
August 13, 1983, Ondo citizens trooped out to cast their votes for their next
governor. A week earlier, on August 6, they had voted overwhelmingly for
Obafemi Awolowo in the Presidential Election. Though the winning margin was not
as high as it was in 1979, Awolowo’s UPN still led comfortably with 77.3%. Shehu
Shagari of NPN came a distant second with 20%. Buoyed by the result, Ajasin and
his group became more confident of coming out victorious.
On
their part, Omoboriowo and his group were also certain of victory. For one,
from mere 4% in 1979, the party had leapt to 20% in 1983. More importantly, it
was assumed that Ondo citizens voted for Awolowo as an individual and not UPN
as a party. It was therefore reasoned that as between Ajasin and Omoboriowo,
the latter was bound to carry the day. This assumption was not without basis.
It is on record that majority of the parliamentarians in the State belonged to
Omoboriowo’s camp. It is also a fact that out of 12 twelve commissioners in the
state, the governor could only count on the support of 6.
Though
the election was generally smooth and hitch-free, pockets of violence were
recorded in Ondo township. By evening,
it was all over. People waited with bated breath for the results to be
announced. The result of the presidential election which was conducted on
Saturday, August 6, was announced on Monday, August 8. It was therefore assumed
that by Monday, August 15, at the latest, the gubernatorial result would also
be announced.
There
was however a problem at the collation centre. It was found that the electoral
body had supplied the wrong forms to its returning officers. One party claimed
the action was deliberate, the other countered that it was inadvertent. As a
result of this technical problem, the results were entered into the wrong forms
which were supplied by the FEDECO. At the collation centre, the Chief Returning
Officer, refused to accept results which were entered into the wrong forms. To
compound the matter, FEDECO Officers and NPN agents produced results which were
recorded on the prescribed forms.
I
hope you are following me. Let me explain again. The result of election from
each ward was required to be recorded on a particular form and to be signed by
all party agents as well as the returning officer. As a result of the fact that
FEDECO gave out the wrong forms, the returning officers had no choice but to
record the results on the wrong form.
At
the collation centre, FEDECO turned around to inform the parties that the only
result recorded in the prescribed form was to be admissible. Strangely, both
FEDECO officers and NPN agents had results entered into the prescribed form
while the remaining five parties [NAP, NPP, PRP, GNPP and UPN] held copies on
the wrong form. That was not all, it was also discovered that there were
glaring differences in the figures in the copies held by FEDECO/NPN on one
hand, and the Group of 5 political parties on the other hand.
Naturally,
the five parties rejected both the declaration by FEDECO as well as the copies
produced by NPN and the returning officers. This resulted into a stalemate.
Outside
the FEDECO Office, citizens were becoming restive. Results in neighbouring
states were being announced one after the other. There was only a deafening
silence from Akure. People began to wonder what was going on.
In
the evening of August 15th, the Chief Returning Officer informed
party agents that he had been advised by the FEDECO headquarters in Lagos to
accept only the results submitted by its officials on the prescribed form. It
was at this point that the UPN directed its agents to withdraw from the
collation centre.
Ominous
clouds began to gather.
The
people of Ondo State woke up on the morning of August 16, 1983 to a popular
song of victory being played on Radio Nigeria, Akure.
The station had been established a month earlier by the Federal Government
allegedly as a counter force to the Ondo State Radio. It was a chorus sang by the Ozzidi King, the late Sunny Okosuns:
Baba ti ba wa se…. Baba ti ba wa se o, ohun ti o m ba wa leru, Baba ti ba wa se
[Father has done it for us... Father has done it for us. What had terrified us... Father has done it for us]
As
soon as the song ended, the voice of the Ondo State Returning Officer, Mr. Dipo
Alibaloye, came over the airwaves. In a few brief sentences, he announced the
results of the gubernatorial election as follow: UPN = 1,015,385; NPN =
1,288,981; NPP = 18,766; NAP = 13,848; GNPP =
11;720; and PRP = 7,454.
With
the result, Chief Victor Akinwole Omoboriowo, the Onibudo of Ile-Ife and the
Balogun of Ijero Ekiti, was declared as having been duly elected as the
Governor of Ondo State.
The
results had hardly been declared when all hell was let loose. In a minute, a massive
crowd had gathered. People poured into the streets of Akure from all corners.
Their target was none other than the FEDECO Office. The elderly woman leading
the mob wasted no time in throwing the object she was holding at the building.
The object must have been an explosive device as it exploded immediately on
hitting the building. The office went up in flames.
The
crowd was not finished. They proceeded to houses and residences of prominent
supporters of the newly declared governor. One after the other, houses and
buildings began to go up in flames. It was a day that Akure would never forget.
Properties were vandalized with reckless abandon. Security operatives, unable
to withstand the ferocity of the angry mob, abandoned their duty posts and
fled.
Any
supporter of Omoboriowo who was unfortunate to be caught was summarily dealt
with. According to different eyewitness accounts, some were roasted alive, some
had their heads chopped off, while others had their bodies mutilated. A
distinguished jurist who was in Akure at the time recorded that it was learnt
that “people were roasted publicly and
turned around over in the fire as for a goat or sheep.” By noon reports
began to filter in that violence had spread to other major towns and cities in
the state. It was one gory story after another. It was indeed a very terrible
day in the annals of political violence in Nigeria. It was a day blood flowed
freely on the streets of the state.
The
Omoboriowo group decided to fight back. They converged on the residence of
Chief Wunmi Adegbonmire, the Executive Chairman of the State Investment
Corporation who was a prominent supporter of Ajasin. They succeeded in burning down the building. The supporters were however too few and seemingly unpopular. The
counter attack soon fizzled out.
The
police was practically helpless in the face of the rampaging mob. The governor (Chief
Ajasin) contacted the State Commissioner of Police and ordered him to “do everything within his power to curtail
the protesters.” The Commissioner however responded that he and his men
were helpless, as the ferocious protesters had blocked all the roads in the town.
On
August 17, a day after the bloodbath, Chief Omoboriowo left Akure for Lagos in
the company of his wife and two loyalists. They were accompanied by six police officers who were
assigned to them for the purpose by the Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Chief
Adekunle Ajasin promptly proceeded to the Ondo State Election Tribunal to
challenge the result declared by FEDECO in favour of Chief Akin Omoboriowo. In the petition, Chief Ajasin urged the
Tribunal to declare that Mr. Omoboriowo was not duly elected by majority of
lawful votes and that instead, it was he, Ajasin who received 1,652,795 who
ought to be declared the winner.
The
Tribunal was headed by His Lordship, Justice Olakunle Orojo who was the Chief
Judge of the State. His Lordship was assisted by Justice Edward Ojuolape,
Justice Sidney Afonja, Justice S. Akintan, and Justice A. O. Ogunleye.
On
Monday, September 5, 1983, trial in the case of Ajasin v. Omboriowo & Another started. Ajasin was represented
at the hearing by Chief G. O. K. Ajayi, SAN. Omoboriowo’s legal team was led by
the legendary Chief F. R. A Williams, SAN. Chief Ajasin called 40 witnesses to
prove his petition. Chief Omoboriowo called 18 witnesses. Neither of them
personally testified.
The
hearing of evidence took four and a half days. On Friday, September 9, counsel
for the parties addressed the court. The trial had taken the whole of 5 days.
No adjournment was sought by counsel and none was given by the Tribunal. After
the address of counsel, the learned Justices retired briefly into chambers to
deliberate on when to give judgment.
Back
in the courtroom, parties and witnesses waited anxiously to hear from their
Lordships when the judgment would be delivered. In a few minutes, the Justices
came back to the court and announced that judgment would be delivered the
following day, Saturday. So soon? The people in court exchanged meaningful
glances.
It
was clear that whatever the people were expecting, they were not expecting the
judgment to be delivered almost immediately. However, they would not have been
surprised if they had known the professionalism and dedication of the five
Honourable Justices who were on the panel. What people did not know was that
after the day’s hearing, His Lordship Orojo would not leave the chambers until he
had reviewed and summarized the
evidence. The result was that at the end of the hearing, His Lordship had
summarized all the evidence and had researched relevant legal principles.
Hardly
did anyone in Ondo State sleep that night. The news had spread quickly across
the state like harmattan fire. Overnight, rumours began to circulate to the
effect that the NPN had bribed the judges with millions of Naira in order to
give judgment in favour of Chief Omoboriowo. The NPN countered this by claiming
that the judges were agents of Chief Ajasin and would give judgment in his
favour.
It
was an anxious Ondo state that woke up on September 10, 1983. Though judgment
was to be delivered by 4pm, people who were brave enough had begun to assemble
in street corners as soon as the Muslims came back from the morning prayers.
The question on everybody’s lips was the same: where would the pendulum swing?
There was another question agitating people’s mind. Though it was largely
unspoken, yet it was as audible as if it had been uttered. What if…? No one was
ready to complete the question!
By
9am, the Lord Justices had assembled in the Chief Judge’s chambers. Justice
Orojo requested armed policemen to cordon off the Chief Judge’s office. No one
was to be allowed in or out of the office until the CJ directed otherwise.
Akure city was enveloped in a blanket of anxiety as news filtered out that the
Judges had started writing the judgment.
Back
in chambers, deliberations began in earnest by 9.30am. Justice Orojo explained
to his brother Justices what he had done on records and how he had summarized
and assessed the evidences as well as submissions of counsel. His Lordship
produced a draft which he had worked on overnight. Their Lordship then started
to consider the draft. As soon as a page was approved, it was passed on to the
secretariat for stenciling and reproduction.
By
3pm, the typed draft of the whole judgment was ready. Their Lordships reviewed
and approved it. It was immediately signed and endorsed by the Tribunal
members. Enough copies were produced for parties, their counsel and the media.
GBA!
GBA!! GBA!!! Court! The awaited moment had arrived. The courtroom was packed
full with security at the highest. Outside the court, the city of Akure itself
was flooded with armed soldiers and anti-riot policemen who had instructions to
deal with any further breakdown of law and order.
There
was pin drop silence in the room as Hon. Justice Orojo began to deliver the
judgment of the Tribunal. It took His Lordship one hour and three minutes to
deliver the landmark judgment. His Lordship began by identifying the task
before the Tribunal. According to His Lordship: “the issue before this court is to determine which of the conflicting
documents and figures are correct and genuine on the face of the evidence
before it.”
The
Tribunal then proceeded to consider the evidence led in respect of each of the
seven disputed local governments. As the court pronounced its decision in
respect of each local government, witnesses were seen frantically adding and
subtracting figures. It appeared that the sums were adding up on the side of
Ajasin. By the time His Lordship arrived at the 6th local
government, the pendulum had almost swung completely away from Omoboriowo.
But
the judgment was not yet over. His Lordship continued: “When these figures are added to the total figures admitted or conceded
on the pleadings, then the total number of votes received by the petitioner
[Ajasin] is 1,563,327 and by the 1st Respondent [Omoboriowo]
703,592. We therefore hold that the total votes received by the petitioner in
the gubernatorial election for Ondo State held on 13th August 1983
is 1,563,327 and that the votes received by the 1st Respondent is
703,592.”
Ajasin
had won!
Jubilations
broke out across the length and breadth of Ondo State. UPN members trooped out
into the streets in their hundreds to celebrate their hard won victory. The battle
had been long and hard. They savoured the sweet taste of victory as their
counterparts in NPN licked their wounds and went back to the drawing board.
Four
days after the judgment, Chief Omoboriowo granted a media interview where he
was reported to have said that justice was miscarried in his case because of an
alleged fear of assassination on the part of the five-man panel headed by
Justice Orojo: “How can such a tribunal
be free enough to deliver impartial judgment?” He was reported to have queried.
Chief
Omoboriowo therefore decided to challenge the decision of the Tribunal at the
appellate level. At the Court of Appeal Benin, Omoboriowo was represented by
Prof. Alfred B. Kasumu, SAN, a distinguished professor of law. Among other
grounds, Omoboriowo argued that the Ondo State Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to
try his case.
The
appeal was heard by a panel of seven Lord Justices: Hon. Justices Beckley
Pepple, Sunday James Ette, Nnaemeka Agu, Adenekan Ademola, Rowland Okagbue,
Omo-Eboh and Uthman Muhammed.
On
September 27, 1983 – 17 days after the decision of the Tribunal – the Court of
Appeal delivered its judgment. It was a split decision. Justices Pepple, Ette,
Ademola, Okagbue and Omo-Eboh [the majority] dismissed Omoboriowo’s appeal. Justices
Agu and Muhammed however dissented. In their minority judgment, they upheld his
appeal and held that the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction on the ground that the
condition precedent to Ajasin’s petition being filed was not fulfilled and that
the petition was not properly served.
Ajasin
had won again!
Though
riled by the majority decision, Chief Omoboriowo was somewhat happy that the minority
decision agreed that his case had merit, for whatever it was worth. There was a
ray of hope. He proceeded to the Supreme Court.
On
October 1, 1983, Alhaji Shehu Shagari was sworn in for the second term as the
President of the Federal Republic Nigeria. In states across the Federation,
elected governors also took their oath of office. Ondo State however was an
exception. The pending appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal had left
the State without a governor, at least for the time being.
Finally,
on October 15, 1983, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in the case of Omboriowo v. Ajasin. It was another split decision. However this
time around, unlike the Court of Appeal where it was 5-2, it was now 6-1, with
only Justice Ayo Irikefe dissenting.
Ajasin
had won for the third and final time!
On
Tuesday, October 18, 1983, Ajasin was sworn in for his second term as the
Governor of Ondo State. In his address at the inauguration, he condoled with
the victims of the political mayhem: “We
must not also forget to spare a thought for those who lost their lives and
properties in the recent political disturbances in the state. May the soul of
the departed rest in peace.”
He
went on to assure the people of his administration’s commitment to security of
their lives and properties. In concluding his address, Ajasin extended an olive
branch to members of other political parties. “Let us put bitterness aside and realize that in whatever party we find
ourselves, this is our State and no one will build it up for us unless we do so
ourselves.”
Onigegewura
knows what you are thinking. You want to know what happened to Chief
Omoboriowo?
On
the day the Supreme Court delivered its judgment, President Shehu Shagari
invited Chief Omoboriowo to his residence. The President congratulated him for his
impressive performance at the polls and in defending his mandate. To compensate
him for his loss, the President offered him a ministerial portfolio.
The
Onibudo of Ile-Ife however declined the offer. He informed the President of his
decision to take a break from politics in order to face his law practice. In
his stead, he nominated one of his allies, Dr. Bode Olowoporoku, who was
eventually appointed by the President as the Minister in charge of Science and Technology.
And
that’s how the story ended. But that was not the end of the history…
I
thank you very warmly for taking the time to read the story.
I wish you a very
fantastic 2018!
Olanrewaju Onigegewura©
History Does Not Forget
The right of Olanrewaju Onigegewura© to be identified as the author of stories published on this blog has been asserted by him in accordance with the copyright laws.
Bibliography
Ajasin: Memoirs and Memories by Michael Adekunle Ajasin
Omoboriowo: Storm Rider by James Okoroma
Amazing Grace [My Memoirs] by J. Olakunle Orojo
Law Reports, Newspapers, and personal interviews
The
Tribunal was headed by His Lordship, Justice Olakunle Orojo who was the Chief
Judge of the State. His Lordship was assisted by Justice Edward Ojuolape,
Justice Sidney Afonja, Justice S. Akintan, and Justice A. O. Ogunleye.