The spectre of my
father’s memory was never remote from me even at the campus of Ile-Ife. Everywhere I went I came across his old
colleagues. One of the first acts of my
aunt, Mrs. ’Bisi Adejumo was to take me along to visit to the University
Vice-Chancellor, Professor ’Wande Abimbola.
He had been a colleague and friend of my father whilst at the University
of Lagos. He was reputed to have ‘mystical’ powers always dressed in the
Yoruba traditional gown, ‘agbada’ he
had the traditional title of ‘Awise’
and always bestrode the campus with a horsewhip.
He was very
knowledgeable about the history of ‘Ifa’,
his area of specialisation. On
reflection I now agree with Professor Wole Soyinka’s suggestion that ‘his face usually betrayed a facial
immobility that wavered between bewilderment and cunning watchfulness.’ My aunty reckoned getting to know the VC would
make it easier for me to transfer to the Law Faculty later on in my second
year. His official residence, deep in
the campus staff quarters creatively nestled upon a hill, was palatial,
beautifully laid out on modulating surfaces, and he lived like a chief of
state. Professor ’Kola Folayan an
Historian and the Dean Faculty of Arts was another of my father’s old classmate
who I saw on an occasional basis and there was the mercurial Professor Olajide
Aluko of the Department of International Relations.
Professor Aluko had
been on the same Ph.D. programme with my father at the London School of
Economics sharing Professor James Mayall as their supervisor. I met James Mayall in 1991 when I was
thinking of pursuing a Masters’ degree at the London School of Economics, he
was very kind and complimentary about my father and confirmed what I already
suspected, that my father had a reflective personality.
With the introductions,
out of the way I settled into a life of politics. My first year as a History student was a very
relaxed year because my lectures started on Monday mornings and ended on
Wednesday nights. This left me with lots
of time on my hands and travelling becoming one of my occupations. It was not unusual for me to travel to Ibadan
on Wednesday night and return on Sunday night.
After a relatively successful first year in the History Department under
the tutelage of Prof Omosini and a cream of first-rate lecturers, I left the
department transferring to the Faculty of Law. This occurred with the kind assistance of Professor ’Kola Folayan and
Professor Jonathan Fagbemi, the Dean of the Law Faculty.
I felt immense joy and
pride and thought I was finally on my way to achieve great things. Above everything else I was now finally
reunited with my twin in the same Faculty on the same campus. I was following in her footsteps taking the
same path she had trod two years before.
She was now in her third year and had moved to Moremi Hall, the hall for
ladies in their penultimate and final years.
The hall was located a few meters from the Faculty of Science Building
and was named after an ancient heroine, Princess Moremi, who was once a ruler
in Yorubaland. It was built between 1973
and 1974 with a capacity of about 1,228 students.
There was my regular
haunt, the Students’ Union Building which was a complex of offices, rooms and
shops near the University Sports Centre. It was the secretariat of the
Students’ Union government where all the elected officers were based. In front of it, was a statute of students in
their academic gowns and fists clenched and raised up reminiscent of the black
power salute. The building was opposite
Oduduwa Hall, the main University auditorium and venue of many social events,
University convocation, and matriculation ceremonies and film shows. The breathtaking
architecture of Oduduwa was also very functional for it was split into a
covered section and an open section, which was like a modern day coliseum. I had my own office in Angola Hall beside the
buttery but I often visited the choice restaurants that lay underneath the
building or went to see the Union President.
During my first year tumultuous events occurred in the Union. The President, ’Wale Lawal was impeached; the
Union’s official Peugeot estate car was burnt down and Kola Onifade aka
‘Mazini’ was maliciously accused of this act by some of the Socialist
boys.
This was a strategic
error on their part for these events led to the demystification of the NANS
National President who prior to that was considered heroic and beyond reproach
and dented the Socialist Group’s credibility.
The Socialist had ‘blacklisted’
‘Mazini’ but he would triumph over them and later be exonerated. Afterwards ‘Mazini’ contested and was duly
elected to the Students’ Representative Council representing the Arts Faculty. He was furious and hurt with the treatment he
received and decided to take on the Socialist boys, I thought he must be raving
mad!
The Socialists had a
long-standing alliance with some of those in the Liberal Grouping, A.T.P. Alao,
’Wole Iyamu, Ibrahim Pam, ’Kembi Adejare and Jerry. They were ex-Union officials better known for
their longevity on campus and were pragmatists.
They were not as organised as the Socialists but they were a political
force of some sort. The Socialists
always treated them with a degree of suspicion but entered into an alliance of
convenience with them. I joined the
magazine of the Liberal Group as a correspondent and in doing so incurred the
wrath of the Socialists early in my Part One.
The charge was that I was moving too close to the Liberal’s boys.
Olubunmi Oyewole, now a Lagos State High Court Judge, had the task of calling
me to order and educating me on the need to keep a respectful distance from the
Liberals. Then you had the ‘SUs’, the ‘Born-Again’ Christians mostly belonging
to the Evangelical Christian Union and affiliate of NIFES, Brother Joe Takon
was prominent among them. Their chances
of winning elections were always limited by their uncommon fidelity to the
truth. I was always sympathetic to them
but due to my lust for ‘power’, I saw them as politically irrelevant. It was later in time that ‘Mazini’, ‘Garibaldi’
and others constituted themselves into another counterweight group.
In the meantime I had
joined the campaign team of ’Bimbo Bamidele who was campaigning to be the next
Union President. She was my opposite
number in Mozambique Hall as Chairperson; she was bright, articulate and
beautiful and a Law student. She was not
the typical ‘aluta’ student that you would imagine; she was cosmopolitan and her
voice drowned in sophistication. With
the backing of the Socialist boys, she became the first female President of the
Students’ Union. Prior to that, ladies
were content with the office of Vice President. Due to my role on her campaign team, I
became part of her close circle and acted as her envoy to a number of universities
including the University of Benin. I
also joined her on the team that travelled to visit the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, the paramount ruler in Ekitiland to resolve the intractable
Student Union crises at the university then named Obafemi Awolowo University. By the end of my first year, I had become a
regular feature on the Student’s Union scene.
Many speculated that my ambitions lay in the Presidency of the Student
Union but for now, I kept my counsel.
I was now a Law student
and a little application to my studies was required, I could not afford to
fail. Later on my twin and her friend
Abiola Ijalaye, the daughter of Professor David Ijalaye, a Law Professor, had
to repeat their third part of the Law programme after they were unable to pass
a re-sit examination. I later discovered
this happened only because she would not succumb to the seductions of a
particular lecturer. Ironically both of
them, ’Biola and ’Shade succumbed early to the ravages of cancer, united as
friends even in the transition to heaven!
Anyway chastened by
this I assumed the second year would be politically quiet for me while I
consolidated my studies. I was no longer a squatter and moved into an
accommodation ‘befitting’ my role as
the Angola Hall Chairman. However, as
the election season resumed in 1985 the Socialist boys had other plans for me,
they suggested I run for the Office of Assistant Secretary, however, after some
political calculations made on the assessment of my success as Angola Hall
Chairman, they conceded I run for the post of Welfare Officer. I felt at home with this and Mazini was
delighted for me. Whatever suspicions
Mazini had about my alliance with the Socialist boys he never betrayed it to
me. I constituted a campaign team and we
began to plot how to take the campus by storm.
This was no easy road,
there were about 20,000 students eligible to vote, dispersed over a campus the
size of 20 kilometres by 53 kilometres.
In the course of the campaign, my voice went hoarse, my legs ached and
studies were relegated to the background.
I ensured it was Panafism ‘everywhere’.
The charismatic ‘La Pre’, a Part Two
History undergraduate was my main rival for office. He was a resident of Obafemi Awolowo Hall and
had a large and loyal following mostly ex-students of Oyo State College of Arts
and Science (OSCAS) on whom he could rely on.
With words, industry and application I was able to peel off some of his
support. I laid out an ideal and I
prodded them to purchase it. All Union
Offices were being contested and the main protagonists were Ajayi Owoseni, a Part
Three Law Student who had previously been a teacher in Ijero-Ekiti and ‘Deji
Balogun an ex-journalist and reputed to be the leader of the ‘He dey happen boys’, the name used to
describe the middle class socialites. However,
Owoseni was odds on favourite to become the next President.
I rehearsed my speech
again and again and I was advised by my handlers that the speech had to come
from memory. I realised that in order to
appeal to the noblest and finest sentiments within the audience of Great Ife I
had to fill it with allusions to the greatest characters, events, and artistic
expressions of history. My speech
therefore embroidered with all of these.
I had acquired a white
flowing gown, an ‘agbada’, to be worn
on top of my ‘Danshiki’ and a new
black fez cap to provide me with a fresh look.
The Speech Night was held at the University Sports Centre. When
it came to my turn to speak, you could hear a pin drop, silence so essential to
me was secured. With my voice ringing with rhythm, I started out:
“Ladies
and Gentlemen, fellow compatriots, boys and girls, we face times of great
uncertainties, that is why I Panaf Olu Ojedokun I am contesting to be your new
Welfare Officer…. The past is a story told, the future may be written in gold…”
The more rhythm evinced,
the more enraptured the crowd became. At
the end of my speech the result was not in doubt. We retired to Angola Hall in the confidence
that victory we would win an unassailable victory. I was as expected declared the Welfare
Officer-elect and Ajayi Owoseni became President-elect, ’Joke Akinlade,
Vice-President-elect, Taiye Taiwo as Director of Socials-elect while ’Segun
Adeyemo aka ‘US’ succeeded me as the Angola Hall Chairman and Segun Carew aka
‘J O Jasper’ became the Hall Financial Secretary.
But that was only the
beginning of the political drama. We
still had to contend with the elections into the leadership of the legislative
arm and the potential fallout I was to experience. In the meantime I had invited ‘Mazini’ to
join me in my new official room at Obafemi Awolowo Hall, together with ’Kehinde
Bamgbetan who was elected the Public Relations Officer, we shared the room
located on the second floor and we had Medical Students as neighbours. The hall had been built in 1970 and was very
similar in style to Adekunle Fajuyi Hall.
Mazini was becoming much feared by many, he had the habit of wearing
flowing gowns of the ‘Ankara’ variety
late into the night and early in the morning to preserve his modesty. He enjoyed issuing elaborate threats to his
perceived opponents, especially those of the Socialist Group. Some rumoured that he had ‘mystical powers’ and disguised some
hidden charms under his flowing gown but in reality it was all youthful bombast
and his claim to mysticism lay in the land of fertile imaginations.
At the first meeting of
the newly constituted Students’ Representative Council elections were held for
its principal officers. Olaitan
Akinwunmi aka ‘Santana’ from the Socialist Group who contested against
Olurotimi ‘Shadow’ a close ally of the Student Union President won the post of
Speakership because they were easily the most organised. Olaitan Akinwunmi aka ‘Santana’ settled into
the traditional room of the Speaker in Adekunle Fajuyi Hall and had began to
lay out plans for the next parliamentary session when something extra-ordinary
happened.
By custom and convention,
only members of the House were allowed to contest for the post of Speaker. However, the constitution was ambiguous about
the exact eligibility requirements. A
classmate of mine in the Law Faculty who was not a member of the Student
Representative Council had been disqualified from contesting became
disgruntled. He proceeded to the Judicial Council to challenge his
disqualification. Many suspected the
allies of Olurotimi aka ‘Shadow’ put him up to this. After a bit of horse-trading and high wire
politics the Judicial Council voting seven votes to six votes nullified the
election of ‘Santana’ as Speaker. This
was a shock to the Socialists and those of us who had supported him. The Students’ Representative Council was
reconvened in Moremi Hall Common Room for new elections to be held. The moon was out and shining brightly that
night, the air was fresh and many were determined to smoke out the ‘closet’ Socialists and their
supporters. It seemed there would be no
hiding place even in bosoms of Moremi Hall.
Therefore, against all
convention it was agreed that the election would be by show of hands. This presented a huge dilemma for me for I
could not betray the Socialists boys because they had been good to me,
supported me and not sought to control me.
I was determined to support them at risk to my popularity. ‘Mazini’ and Gbolahan aka ‘Garibaldi’ were at
the forefront of the opposition to the Socialist Group and had begun to suspect
my fidelity to them. Tension began to suffocate
the space in our room as my roommate began to sense that I was on the other
side. The elections were held and with
little hesitation, I raised my hands up to indicate support for ‘Santana’. He lost this time to Olurotimi ‘Shadow’ and
there was jubilation by ‘Mazini’ and his group. Many were aghast that Panaf was in ‘league’ with the Socialists and ‘Mazini’
threatened me at the scene with brimstone and fire! We all retreated to the Socialist Group’s
headquarters in Adekunle Fajuyi Hall to lick our wounds.
When I returned to our room
in Awolowo Hall, ‘Mazini’ fully expecting to be turfed out invited me to do my
worst. I really did not see the point in
making any enemies at this stage so calmly and coolly I responded to ‘Mazini’, assuring
him that I was not going to throw him out and even though we disagreed on principle,
he will always remain my friend. He accepted my entreaties and remained my
roommate. However, from then under
relentless pressure my alliance with the Socialist boys cooled.
As the Welfare Officer,
I had responsibility for all Students’ Union tenants and made it a point of
duty to pay an introductory visit them to introduce myself and get to know them. My visit to the proprietor of the main
restaurant produced a shock! He had welcomed
me into his office and then I tucked myself comfortably into the chair opposite
him when he offered me an envelope full of crisp notes! In a daze, I asked him what he thought he was
doing, he assured me he meant no harm it was simply something to defray my
election expenses. I erupted in disgust
and told him in certain terms he had attempted to bribe the wrong man. I also suggested I was minded to revoke his
tenancy. He pleaded with me and I left
cautioning him that he was on borrowed time.
I am afraid that even in 1986 he was not the only one who attempted to
bribe me, but because he was so casual with it, I suspect other office holders
before me may have indulged. The man,
however, was inscrutable; he instructed his staff to give me extra special
service and extra fried rice and assorted pieces of fish, my favourite
dish. In response, I issued advice to
all his staff that they could only provide me such extra special service
provided they did so to all students. I
was not surprised that afterwards normal service was resumed and all the
silliness ceased.
As the months wore on
my academic work began to take the strain, I hardly had any time to attend
lectures but made sure I attended all tutorials and borrowed notes from my
colleagues. In those tutorials, I have
fond memories of Professor Odunmosu, Dr. Boparai an Indian gentleman and Mr. Barnes
a Black American. Amazingly, I scored
the highest in a mock test held for the Law of Contract course. It was as if like my father I was treading
the same path. He had participated in
students’ demonstrations in Lagos against the Anglo-Defence Pact, ignoring
entreaties from his cousin, Uncle ’Dejo Ojedele, I was intentionally strolling
along the same path. However, this path
seemed even thornier and more precarious. To buy the book...https://www.createspace.com/4943826
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