Temmy

Has BAT ever mentored an Arindin before? 🙄

You Cannot Cancel OAU! Nigerian President, General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), paid a visit to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II, in Ile-Ife in 1990. I remember waking up early that morning to buy moi moi and eko from Mama Toriola at the Urban Day junction. We had traveled from Port Harcourt (PH) for a weekend trip to Ife, and the entire city was tense. Armored tanks and military vehicles lined the Ife-Ibadan road, with soldiers stationed at every major corner. Nigeria was already on edge due to frequent military coups and changes in leadership. Heads of state often left town amid rumors, and indeed, a coup attempt occurred shortly after this visit: the Gideon Orkar (sometimes spelled Okar) coup d’état attempt on April 22, 1990. The visit to Ile-Ife (then still part of the old Oyo State; Osun State was created in 1991) met resistance from the vibrant student “Aluta” community, particularly students from the University of Ibadan (UI) and especially Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU, then University of Ife), including figures like Adeola Soetan (“Comrade Show”). Soetan was close friends with one of our neighbor’s children, who would later become SUG president. My dad would visit from Port Harcourt with Shell calendars and diaries, which we distributed to many professors and senior staff in the Omole Estate OAU staff quarters. One day, while dropping these off, I overheard conversations involving Soetan when he visited friends in the BQ (Boys’ Quarters). He was outspoken, and this was during the heat of SUG elections on campus. Soetan was elected SUG President in April 1990. He later became well-known for spending about 13 years on a five-year program, largely due to expulsions and persecutions linked to his activism under then-Vice Chancellor Professor Wale Omole. I eventually met Soetan on campus in 1999, around the time he was finally allowed to graduate. The OAU community was renowned for its strong anti-government stance and opposition to the military junta. I had a cousin, Wole Olawuni, who debated late into the night with relatives about whether students would turn out in large numbers to boo the Head of State once news of the visit spread the night before. He planned to join roadside protesters near the Urban Day market, despite a curfew imposed by the Oyo State Military Governor. His mother and sisters warned him it would be a fool’s errand to defy the curfew. On the day of the visit, students showed up in huge numbers. Babangida proceeded to the palace amid pomp, parade, and boos from the students. This landmark visit helped solidify Oba Sijuwade’s throne as one of significant influence among traditional rulers during the Babangida era. A short while after the visit, Gideon Orkar and his co-conspirators launched their unsuccessful coup attempt against the President from Dodan Barracks in Ikoyi, Lagos. In the aftermath, OAU was not spared: there were arrests of lecturers and students. For instance, on May 2, 1990, two OAU staff members (Professor Omotoye Olorode & Dr. Idowu Apowetu) were arrested, with others declared wanted. They were later released but dismissed, amid broader crackdowns on perceived critics. This deepened anti-government sentiment. OAU, alongside UNILAG & others, became a hotspot for protests. The university’s influential alumni and global academic reputation helped it push back against retribution. Politics and politicians became somewhat avoided on campus as part of its cultural DNA, a deep-seated distrust of self-serving political actors. The tenure of Professor Roger Makanjuola as Vice-Chancellor during the early PDP civilian era further reinforced the OAUs cautious, relatively apolitical approach toward candidates, regardless of party. OAU is not an institution that can be easily cancelled or bullied by any political force, irrespective of recent or past events. It’s not called “OBA AWON UNIVERSITY” for nothing!

That institution in Nsukka is not far.

What is so interesting is this: Atiku’s son is currently in APC working hard against his own father for Bola Tinubu to win in 2027. Atiku’s son does not believe in his own father to be president but it is Peter Obi’s followers that should abandon Obi to support Atiku. Madness.