‘JUSTICE AKANBI JUDICAL PANEL OF ENQUIRY’

In August 1986, certain events conspired to ensure my rustication by the Military Government of General Ibrahim Babangida.  The government was livid and had set up a Judicial Panel of Enquiry into the ‘Ango Must Go’ crises.  The government was determined to get its own pound of flesh from University of Ife.  However, the Judge had a reputation of being one of the most fair-minded and independent on the bench.  The question was would he bend to the iron will of the regime and be used to deliver their goal?  The panel convened for its first session of sittings at the Conference Centre of the University of Ife and I was one of the dramatis personae at the time.  Justice Mustapha Akanbi then a Judge of the Federal Court of Appeal chaired the enquiry and Prince Orji Nwafor-Orizu, the son of the ex-Senate President and acting President of Nigeria was one of the members.

The transcript of the University’s own enquiry had been published and I had sought the counsel from Professor ’Kayode Adetugbo and a Law lecturer on the best approach to take.  I was urged to be pragmatic and not speak too much.  By then, I was feeling a sense of remorse and was determined to protect my own interests.  The Socialist Group had hired Mr. ’Femi Falana of Alao Aka Bashorun’s Law Firm to defend their own interests.  During the hearings, I was questioned on my membership of the Socialist Group but in all the questioning, I was not prepared to acknowledge membership.  I stated that as far as I was aware there was never any membership list. 

My role during the crises was probed in some depth.  I was not proud of my display at the enquiry!  During one of my interrogations I over heard Professor T. O. Odetola complain about how bad my pronunciation was, he referred to the word ‘thing’ which I pronounced ‘ting’.  I blame it on our sojourn in Abule-Oja, before then we spoke with an English affectation and clearer diction, but in order to fit into the area we had to adapt fast and our spoken English was the first casualty.  I resolved from then on that I would re-master the art of speaking English Language correctly to avoid a similar faux paux.  I have always wondered why the East and South Africans speak and pronounce words in English language much better than we do in Nigeria and I suspect the answer lies in their longer and deeper associations they had with the British during colonialism.

The panel re-convened in Lagos at the National Assembly Complex, it was while this was proceeding that the rustication of the following students was announced: Owoseni Ajayi, the Union President, ’Kehinde Bamgbetan, the Public Relations Officer, Olu Ojedokun, the Welfare Officer, (myself) by the Federal Military Government.  My twin had returned to Ile-Ife and upon hearing the news broke down in tears, she thought that was the end of my academic studies.  The truth was that I was not particularly sad; I simply thought my fantasies of relocating to England would be realised if the government made it impossible for me. 

The evening my mother received the news we went to see Professor Odunayo Olawoye of the Law Faculty of University of Lagos, my friend and school daughter’s father, to explore the possibility of a transfer to University of Lagos. After initially suggesting it, he advised against it but was happy to link me up to Alao Aka Bahorun a lawyer in the renowned firm of Barristers and Solicitors.  It was at this time that I re-discovered my Christian faith and decided that I had experienced enough of hiking around the mountains. The stakes were high I had been rusticated and the examinations that would promote my classmates to Part Three would be held in a week!  Miraculously my rustication was rescinded a day before examinations were due to start.  I was not given much hope by many of passing the examinations at short notice.  The examinations were the toughest I had ever sat but could not afford to fall at this hurdle!

Thank God, after weeks of tension and worry I discovered that I managed to pass all my papers by securing a ‘D’ in every one of them, I had amazingly survived!  Now with the Student’s Union in abeyance I could face my academics.  However, the re-dedication of my faith became a vivid reality, with careful mentoring from my lecturer Mr. Wale Ajai.  Now I began to openly profess my Christian faith, took to the regular attendance at Evangelical Christian Union fellowship meetings and joined the discipleship class.  Mr. Ajai was kind enough to give the keynote message at my 21^st year birthday party, held at the Student’s Union Building.   My goal now was to commence lecture room-to-lecture room evangelism and it would seem my affair with power had come to a shuddering stop!