Obafemi Awolowo

By Obadiah Mailafia

Obafemi Awolowo: CHIEF, you are looking resplendent in your heavenly regalia. The aura around you is radiant and glorious. I am overwhelmed Sir!

Smiling triumphantly, the avatar replies: “Well, thank you much for your kind compliments. But my appearance should not surprise you. Jesus told the Apostles that in His Father’s house there are many mansions; were it not so He would have told them. I am here with Hannah Idowu Dideolu, my priceless jewel of inestimable value. It is joy inexpressible to be reunited with her and with Segun, Wole, and Ayo.”

Chief, why did you appear to me in a vision on the eve of your departure from this earthly plane on May 9 1987? I was just a young lad in my twenties, newly married and recently appointed a Fellow of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru. I never was part of the Awo cult. But you have always been my model of what a leader and statesman should be.

“Obadiah, my son, you still have a long way to go to understand some of these mysteries. Only deep calls on to deep. In the spiritual realm we are all electrical transmission stations. Those who radiate similar vibrations will find each other. Distance has no meaning in our intergalactic universe. When the prophet Elijah was caught up by the chariots of fire, he had to let go his mantle. The Creator sent me to Nigeria on a mission to help the country fulfil her destiny as one of the greatest nations on the earth. Unfortunately, my enemies thwarted me at every turn. That mission has been passed to people like you. I can only wish you well.”

But I feel unworthy Sir.

“God is no respecter of persons. He can raise even donkeys to do his work if the workmen are unwilling. I see that you are making progress. But there is room for improvement.  Always remember that only the pure in heart shall see God. And only those who conquer the fear of death can begin truly to live. The only thing to fear is fear itself. Without moral courage you cannot achieve greatness. I recommend to you my philosophy of mental magnitude. You must learn to be master of your brief”.

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Sir, Nigeria is dying. The drums of war have filled the air while vultures circle over an overcast sky. Is there any hope?

Looking visibly troubled, the Orisa sighed: “Yes, some people seem hell-bent on plunging the country into another civil war. No country can survive two civil wars. Biafra was a tragedy that consumed two million souls. I was General Yakubu Gowon’s deputy and finance minister. We had to keep this country together because of our innate conviction about its high and noble destiny. What is happening today, however, is unprecedented in the annals of our republic. The state has become a Leviathan that sucks the blood of its citizens. And they are using the murderous herdsmen to provoke a religious war. No country could endure that kind of trauma for long without something giving in.”

But, Sir, how did we get to this sorry state of affairs?

“The roots of the current crisis go back a long way – as far back as 1960. The perfidious British bequeathed us a monstrous behemoth that was programmed to fail. And they handed over power to people that patently never believed in the very concept of Nigerian nationhood. They were planted there as agents of informal empire. Many of our so-called leaders have actually been agents of foreign powers. It may surprise you to know that the real masterminds of the assassination of Murtala Muhammed were neither Dimka nor Bisalla. Murtala was killed by his inner circles on the orders of foreign powers. They came to power as renegades and they continue to this day as Fifth Columnists, lording it over our benighted peoples. The Jihadist tendencies of these brigands have gained the upper hand and it is these people that want to drive our country into the abyss.”

Sir, who are the enemies of our people today?

“The enemies of Nigeria are both internal and external. The internal are the financiers and backers of Boko Haram and the herdsmen militia bandits. They are to be found in government, the armed forces, security services and the private sector. Their aim is to reinvent our country in the image of the Caliphate and to destroy the secular ethos that defines our constitutional federalism. The 1999 Constitution that they forged through the backdoor is an illegitimate contraption. It has neither moral nor political legitimacy because it never emanated from the collective will of “We, the people”. Let me make it abundantly clear: Muslims are not our enemies. They are our brothers and sisters. They too have been victims of the genocidal violence visited on an unarmed and defenceless people. You must reach out to them and, together, build a new coalition against the evil that struts the land like the old whore of Babylon. Nigeria’s foreign enemies include international terrorist organisations such as the Islamic Brotherhood, Hezbollah, Al-Qaida and ISWA.

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They also include foreign powers such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey. France is one of our deadliest foes. The country thrives in being a parasite and scavenger on our continent. They see Nigeria as the big elephant standing on their path to conquest and hegemony. And they are using our neighbours as staging posts for armed bandits that are seeking to destroy our country. The USA is also not a friend. Their game plan under the New American Century is to dismember large countries such as Russia, Iraq, Iran, DRC and Nigeria; countries with vast natural resources which they covet. This military doctrine largely informs current NATO thinking and strategic action. They will stop at nothing, including deployment of bacteriological warfare. I prophesy that the century we are in will prove to be a Century of anti-Humanism and anti-Enlightenment. To be forewarned is to be fore-armed!”

So, what can we do?

“You see, what you call your leader today is a holographic counterfeit that is a hostage to fortune. He is no longer in-charge. Our best hope is for a new constitutional settlement where power is devolved to the regions. We need no more than five regions: North, Middle Belt, West, East and South-South. We need a decentralised federation in which the regions have relative autonomy to develop according to their pace and temperament and on the basis of ethno-religious self-determination. Meanwhile, communities that face an existential threat must be allowed to put in place security arrangements to protect themselves. This is why we the ancient Orishas, from Obatala and Yemowo to Erinle, Olokun and Yemoja, fully endorse Amotekun.

The shedding of innocent blood is an abomination for our ancestors and the immortal deities. Both municipal and international law give people who face a threat to their very survival the right – and duty – to defend themselves. It is also a sacrosanct principle of natural justice and universal ethics. You know that I am a patriot and a nationalist at heart. But if the forces of reaction totally resist political reforms to redress our egregious inequities, then we have no choice but to end the fraud entirely. If all else fails, we would insist on an independent Oduduwa Republic for the Yoruba.

All who desire to leave the contraption must be allowed to go. A forced marriage has never worked in real life. It will not work in the 21st century. Forcing couples to remain together is the surest path to tragedy. On your frail shoulders lies the life-chances of 200 million people. Get to work at once, before darkness eclipses the land!”

VANGUARD