Opinion
Pantami: Buhari’s terrorising minister
By Tunde Odesola
(Published in The PUNCH, on Monday, April 26, 2021)
Like its ruthless boa cousin, the viper gives birth to its young ones live – no eggs, no hatching. But there’s no love lost between the viper and its brood.
Immediately after birth, each newborn killer-serpent slithers away into solitary brutality, bearing an ancestral DNA that comprises a forked tongue, pronged fangs and a gland of poison; no cares or caress of a lullabying mother. Ropy monsters unleashed.
Nigeria’s President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is a wonderful father with the milk of human kindness. Unlike the viper, Buhari takes extreme care of his children – biological, ethnical and political – and heeds the scriptures piously.
A cardinal belief of the sententious General Buhari, an untalkative herdsman, is contained in the scriptural admonition which says, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?”
So, when Yusuf, Buhari’s grand prix son, wished for assorted dangerously fast motorbikes as playthings, Buhari did not give him a snake instead. Yusuf got all the toys he wished for.
As a patriotic admirer of the President, I won’t diminish the worth of Yusuf and say that the costliest motorbike in the world, the Neiman Marcus Limited Edition Fighter, which goes for just $11m, is too costly to be gotten by the begotten son.
That would be an insult to our Yusuf who’s ingrained with plenty of home-taught manners handed down by his incorruptible, stern and frugal father.
When his daughter, Hanan, asked for the presidential jet to ‘go take foto for Bauchi’, Buhari, again, heeded the scriptures, which enjoins parents not to give stone when their children ask for bread.
But the milk of human kindness froze in Buhari in 1984 when he flung the late Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, into jail while the then President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, a Fulani, was put under posh house arrest after the Buhari junta criminally toppled a democratically elected government and dismantled the country’s democratic institutions.
President Buhari hates jagbajantis when it’s not done by the members of his household, clan or puppets in his inner circle. A case in point of such jagbajantis is the public aiding and abetting of terrorism by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, a Fulani like Buhari.
Legally speaking, an aider/abettor is as criminally liable as the principal suspect(s).
In a 2015 interview, Buhari said that as military Head-of-State between 1983 and 1985, he took an active part in the promulgation of Decree 4, which invoked the death sentence against people found guilty of dealing in hard drugs.
Bartholomew Azubuike Owoh, a former employee of the Nigeria Airways; Lawal Akanni Ojuolape, a spare parts dealer; and Bernard Ogedengbe, a sailor, were found guilty of dealing in drugs long before the promulgation of Decree 4.
However, the Buhari repressive regime backdated the infamous Decree 4 of 1985 to ensure that the three drug suspects were convicted and shot publicly in Kirikiri, Lagos. This was against a public outcry which saw the death sentence as barbaric and called for long prison terms as deserving punishments for the greedy, criminal trio.
Explaining he had no regrets for the public execution, 30 years after, Buhari disagreed with the pleas for the convicts, and defended the action of his fascist regime in these words, “Pleas, pleas; those that they destroyed, did they listen to their pleas for them not to make hard drugs available to destroy their children and community?”
During their incarceration and trial, the three non-Fulani convicts begged for mercy and vowed that they had departed from their old ways, but the Buhari junta didn’t listen; disbelieving that the leopard would ever change its spots.
As a foremost herdsman, President Buhari may not be familiar with the goose and the gander; otherwise, he should’ve known that what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
For throwing Ekwueme, an Igbo, into jail, and leaving Shagari, a Fulani, to enjoy life under house arrest, despite being charged with the same offences as Ekwueme, Buhari disdained the goose, the gander, the sauce and pushed justice under the bus.
If Buhari had any sense of justice, Pantami should have been sacked immediately the viral videos of his cold-blooded support for terrorism surfaced online, to erase the global ridicule which casts Nigeria as the country of the clown with a crown.
If Buhari could express no regret for killing the three drug peddlers, 30 years after, he shouldn’t have given a second thought to giving Pantami the heave-ho and making him face prosecution for supporting terrorism. But Pantami is a Fulani.
For the avoidance of doubt, Pantami, who’s now 50, was older than Owoh (26), Ojuolape (30) and Ogedengbe (29) when he committed his crime against humanity 14 years ago, saying he feels happy whenever infidels are killed. Tearfully, he also said that Boko Haram members were Muslim brothers who shouldn’t be killed like infidels.
According to the BBC, Pantami, in various unrefuted viral videos, volunteered to lead a jihad to Shendam, Plateau State, “where there had been a deadly religious conflict, to fight in defence of the Muslims.”
The BBC added, “In a 2006 speech, Mr Pantami publicly offered his condolences after the death of al-Qaeda’s leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
“More than 300 persons died while thousands were displaced in (the) religious violence that engulfed Jos, Plateau State, in 2009,” the BBC said.
But Buhari said Pantami had repented, after his words had incited and sent many to their early graves. And he didn’t accept the repentance of Owoh, Ojuolape and Ogedengbe. He also clamped Ekwueme into jail because he was Igbo and left Shagari out of jail because he was Fulani.
Someone who attended a secondary school and whose certificate is not missing should tell President Buhari the secondary school story of Saul who repented on the way to Damascus.
While Saul turned over a new leaf upon repentance, Pantami never repented until he was unmasked and forced to apologise in fear of a possible backlash from the US and other western powers.
Pantami’s apology wasn’t for his respect for Nigerians because like his political godfather, Buhari, Pantami has no respect for the opinion of Nigerians. If he does, he should’ve tendered his resignation letter immediately his disgraceful acts surfaced online. His public apology was for fear of being put on the No Fly list by the US, nothing more.
Let’s get this clear, incitement to kill is a criminal offence. The great teacher and human rights activist, Tai Solarin, was yanked from his Mayflower School, Ikenne, at night, and ridiculed before the whole world on TV for merely accusing the murderous regime of General Ibrahim Babangida of stashing public funds abroad. Oh, I forgot; Solarin wasn’t Fulani, Pantami is.
If fate didn’t expose the racy Yusuf in an expensive motorbike accident in December 2017, and the media didn’t expose the overindulged Hanan on a presidential jet photo-shoot, Nigerians wouldn’t know the hypocrisy called Buhari. Aso Rock’s media loudspeakers would’ve dismissed the stories of Yusuf and Hanan as seditious, subversive, mutinous and treasonable.
But the President’s media megaphones are shocked beyond silence whenever the great Aisha blows the lid off the Pandora Box in Buhari’s Aso Rock, revealing the cat-and-dog cohabitation involving the members of the first family and their relatives, setting tongues wagging that a man who cannot control his family, can never control a county, let alone a country.
Worried by the growing desolation of the Oba Akran industrial hub in Ikeja, Lagos, a childhood friend of mine, who was passing through the area, called me last week and said, “Tunde, I’m passing through Oba Akran now, it’s a ghost of its old self. Most of the companies have packed up.”
Then, my mind went to Ghana and sadness overcame my heart. In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty.
Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com
Facebook: @tunde odesola
Twitter: @tunde_odesola
Opinion
Osun election: Àtàọ́ja should stop running joro-jara-joro
Osun election: Àtàọ́ja should stop running joro-jara-joro
Tunde Odesola
(Published in the PUNCH, on Friday, July 24, 2026)
It’s midmorning in Àtàọ́ja’s palace. The sun beamed a friendly smile, quite different from the furious furnace it was preparing for the afternoon. As gently as the breeze caressed the trees in the palace, two pigeons landed on silent feet in the courtyard. They were on a joint mission. To scavenge. Looking right and left, up and down, beaks at work, wings at the ready, the bouncy birds pecked food in the palace soil. For the male and female pigeons, danger lies not in flying; it lies in walking. Sycophancy walks naked on the palace grounds.
Even the king’s kààakí was caught unawares. It couldn’t herald what was about to happen because everything occurred at a dizzying speed. The Àtàọ́ja, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, ran out from the inner recess of the palace, his agbada òfì billowing in the Osogbo wind; kira-kita, kira-kita, the king bolted like Usain Bolt. Where is the king running to?
In his breakneck flight, Àtàọ́ja Osogbo forgot to wear his neck beads! I-m-a-g-i-n-e! But he luckily remembered to wear his cap. I suspect it was ancestral forefathers known as ‘àwọn alálẹ̀’ who reminded him to wear his shoes. Otherwise, the king might have appeared out of sorts at the state government event he was fleeing to.
Thankfully, when Àtàọ́ja Olanipekun reached his destination, he still had some breath in his lungs. He sat down, resplendent in white and blue agbada, clenched the microphone and confessed in Yoruba, “Ẹ̀ ri pé ń ò kólẹ̀kẹ̀ ọ́rùn? Mo sáré dé hin ni. Tí a bà á wá, wọ́n á ní, ‘Háà, kò mọ̀ le bọ́ta mọ́!’ Gbogbo ohun tí wọ́n ń sọ là ń gbọ́.”
I’ll translate the king’s speech in English: “Can’t you see that I am not wearing my royal beads? (It is because) I ran to this event. Because if I did not come, they would say, ‘Ha! He cannot come out again!’ We hear everything that they (opposition) are saying. I will not stop eulogising Adeleke Jackson Nurudeen for his excellent performance in Osun State.”
Unfortunately, Olanipekun thinks that by singing himself hoarse on the praise of ebullient Governor Ademola Adeleke, he is giving the re-election bid of the Asiwaju of Ede a boost. No, he is not. If he was, the apex socio-cultural association of Osogbo sons and daughters, the Osogbo Progressive Union, would not openly criticise him for publicly canvassing support for Adeleke and attacking the opposition on many occasions.
The penis of the bird does not dangle outside; it is tucked inside the bird, says a Yoruba proverb. This proverb preaches decorum. If the king had been decorous like other Osun kings, who, though, have their favourites among the governorship candidates, but who have kept their support within the ambit of decency, the OPU wouldn’t have embarrassed him with a public disclaimer.
The Timi of Ede, Oba Muniru Adesola Lawal, had been an exemplar in his support for Adeleke, who hails from his domain. The Timi had been regal: zero aggression, zero hate words, zero campaign against other parties. Oba Timi has shown emotional intelligence while fully supporting Adeleke, his son. That is how to be a father to all subjects. Of course, if Timi was blindfolded at the polling booth on election day, his royal thumb would still locate Accord Party on the ballot, whereas some carricachop from another land is claiming to know Ọ̀ṣọ́ more than Ọ̀ṣọ́’s mother.
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It’s undignifying for the elderly to run helter-skelter, says a Yoruba proverb distilled in these words, “Gbàmí, gbàmí ò ye àgbà.” Another proverb that cautions against kùrùkẹrẹ movement says, “Ẹní wọ bàtà ẹsẹ̀ òsì méjì, ó níbití ó ń lọ.”
The importance of royal objects such as crown, beads and staff is interrogated in the seminal work, “Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought,” written by Henry J. Drewal et al, and published by The Centre for African Art, New York, in 1989. Similarly, the royal totems – crown, beads and staff – are also a subject of scholarship in Rowland Abiodun’s “Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2014.
Drewal and Abiodun aver that in Yoruba thought, the crown, beads and staff are sacred totems that signify divine authority, spiritual protection, leadership, ancestral continuity, and the king’s covenant with the people and the gods.
In both books, the crown is regarded as a sacred emblem containing the spiritual essence that connects the present with the past. Royal beads signify dignity and prestige, abundance and prosperity, and spiritual energy. The staff is an instrument of authority, justice, fairness, and protection.
Joro-jara-joro is an onomatopoeic word that means helter-skelter. Onomatopoeic words are words that sound like their meanings. Examples: buzz, hiss, slap, sleep, twinkle, jab, splash, tear, bang, etc. Joro-jara-joro was amplified by Afrobeat creator Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in his 1976 song, “Zombie”, which mocks Nigerian soldiers’ blind allegiance to dictatorship.
In “Zombie”, Fela caricatures Nigerian soldiers as unthinking brutes whose sole skill is to chaotically rove joro-jara-joro against the masses, like zombies on the mission to “go and kill, go and quench, go and die”. Fela sings, “Zombie way na one way; joro-jara-joro/No break no jam, no sense; Na joro-jara-joro….”
There would have been no reason to write this article because I had made my intention clear enough in an earlier article entitled, “Governor Adeleke and a tale of three Àtàọ́jas,” published in The PUNCH on Friday, July 17, 2026. My preoccupation in the article was to call the attention of the monarch to some of his unkingly utterances. My intention wasn’t political. But an insinuation, especially from some irritating ‘e-rats’ and ‘data boys’, who attempted to paint my intervention in political colours, made this sequel inevitable.
In line with their zombie mentality, a particular ‘e-rat’ along with his fellow ‘data boys’ accused me of meddlesomeness and maintained that it lies within the rights of the Àtàọ́ja to express support for any candidate of his choice.
Clearly, the accusation of meddlesomeness was borne out of dripping ignorance. If not, an enlightened mind would see that the actions of the Àtàọ́ja diminish his traditional stool that represents the Yoruba worldview of unity, morality, justice, fairness and equity. The allegation that the Àtàọ́ja had the right to support any candidate of his choice is valid to the extent that such a right must not violate the principles of fair play, rule of law and decency.
By openly calling the opposition names in a viral video, did the Àtàọ́ja adhere to the principles of fairness and tolerance? By his vitriolic speeches, was he not stoking the embers of strife? If I could be provided with the evidence of one Osun traditional ruler who had been as politically intolerant as the Àtàọ́ja, against the ruling party, I shall tender an apology in my next article.
In one of the bad-taste videos, the Àtàọ́ja arrogantly disclosed how he rejected wise counsel by a concerned citizen, who told him the danger in his public support for Adeleke over other candidates. His words, “One of my people asked me why I am so audacious to the extent of overly supporting one candidate (Adeleke) over others; what if he doesn’t win?”
The king answered the worried citizen. Àtàọ́ja opened his mouth and played god, declaring with finality: “He will win.” Olanipekun’s divisive posture is most unbecoming of an ọba, whose palace should be an abode to seek conflict resolution by his subjects, including politicians. Àtàọ́ja should not be the epicentre of conflict.
In the recent past, I have ventilated my views on the actions of the Ooni of Ife, Oba of Lagos, Apetu of Ipetumodu, Alapomu of Apomu, Oluwo of Iwo, and Emir of Ilorin, among other traditional rulers. I strongly believe that it behoves the citizen to hold traditional rulers to the highest standards because the traditional institution embodies the ethos and pathos of a race.
For ‘e-rats’ and ‘data boys’, whose stock-in-trade is abuse, there is a lesson in the conduct of a member of the House of Representatives, Bamidele Salam. Salam is my friend of over 20 years. Though we have had moments of sharp disagreement, emotions never boiled over to name-calling.
One day, BS, that’s Salam’s nickname, saw my Facebook post on Governor Adeleke. In the post, I advised the governor against excessive dancing and to shear off some personalities who were following him about like houseflies following the wound on a dog’s ears. In the Facebook post about three years ago, I cautioned that the image of the governor dancing to the faintest of drumbeats amid a retinue of hangers-on was not good.
As soon as BS saw the post, he reached out to me on the phone and said, “Ọ̀rẹ́, ọ̀rọ̀ ò rí bẹ́yẹn o. Your post does not reflect the great work Adeleke is doing in Osun…” I smiled from the other end of the phone because Bamidele was pushing Adeleke’s narrative while ignoring the kernel of my Facebook post. When I insisted on the need for the governor to do better in regard to dancing, Bamidele said every man was a work in progress, including me. Bamidele’s example is how to engage intelligently; a lesson government and opposition ‘e-rats’ and ‘data boys’ should learn.
The demarcation between a ruling party and an opposition party is nebulous. Practically speaking, ideological philosophies among Nigeria’s political parties are nonexistent. This is why Àtàọ́ja should be careful in his untraditional support for Adeleke. The Adeleke he sees in the Accord Party today could be in the All Progressives Congress tomorrow. Olanipekun should not burn the bridge of friendship today because he might need to use the bridge tomorrow.
This is the lesson Àtàọ́ja Olanipekun should see in his recent visit to President Bola Tinubu in Abuja. When politicians do their thing, a respectable ọba should maintain a dignified distance. He should not be in the fray.
Are you shocked that Kabiyesi Olanipekun was in Aso Rock a few days ago? Yes, he was. As a guest of President Bola Tinubu. This is the story of how the monarch used one stone to kill two birds. Àtàọ́ja’s daughter was graduating from the Law School in Abuja. An influential Osun State indigene, worried by the king’s intolerant posture against the Osun All Progressives Congress, had arranged for the king to meet with the President. It took some time for the king to meet the President.
During their meeting, the President expressed worry over Àtàọ́ja’s political remarks against the APC in Osun, urging him to allow for a level playing field. I gathered that Àtàọ́ja told the President that he was sold on the Adeleke ticket. Personally, I do not fault Àtàọ́ja’s position – supporting a candidate of his choice; it’s his brickbat approach that is reproachable.
If Tinubu could open his doors to Olanipekun and sit down to dialogue with him, who says there cannot be a dialogue between Tinubu and Adeleke? And if a dialogue occurs between the two and an agreement is struck, would the king not feel uneasy relating with his ‘enemies’ in the APC? The king should always spare a thought for the flip side of things. That is what the wise do.
“Àgbàlagbà kìí ṣe lángbá, lángbá,” is a cautionary proverb for reckless elders. The pit of animosity must not be dug too deep because the digger might fall into it. A word is enough for the wise.
Kabiyesi Àtàọ́ja, kara o le o.
///
Email: tundeodes2003@yahoo.com
Facebook: @Tunde Odesola
X: @Tunde_Odesola
Osun election: Àtàọ́ja should stop running joro-jara-joro
Opinion
UI, UCH and the Question of Inclusive Leadership
UI, UCH and the Question of Inclusive Leadership
By Mallam Ibrahim Agunbiade
agunbiadeib@gmail.com
July 23, 2026
The appointment of Professor Peter Olamakinde Olapegba as the 14th substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), effective November 1, 2026, is deserving of congratulations. I wish him a successful tenure as he takes on the responsibility of leading Nigeria’s premier university.
The reported competitive process through which he emerged—following the assessment of eight candidates and the shortlisting of five for the final stage—is commendable, provided it was conducted transparently and strictly on merit.
However, this development also raises an important question that deserves honest and constructive discussion: When will a qualified Muslim have the opportunity to emerge as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan?
This question is not directed at Professor Olapegba or his Christian faith. If he emerged as the best candidate through a fair and transparent process, then he deserves the support of all Nigerians. My concern is whether qualified Nigerians of different faiths enjoy equal opportunities to compete for the highest leadership positions in our national institutions.
The same question applies to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, where a change in leadership is expected in the coming months. It is therefore time for stakeholders to begin constructive conversations about the appointment of the next Chief Medical Director (CMD).
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I believe that qualified and competent Muslim professionals should be encouraged and given a fair opportunity to compete for the position. If the best candidate happens to be a Muslim, there should be no hesitation in appointing that individual. Equally, if the best candidate is a Christian or belongs to another faith, the same principle of merit should apply.
This is not a call for religious quotas or preferential treatment. Rather, it is a call for a level playing field.
A Muslim should not be appointed simply because he is a Muslim, just as a Christian should not be appointed simply because he is a Christian. Leadership must be based on competence, integrity, experience, and the capacity to deliver.
However, merit can only be meaningful when every qualified candidate has a genuine opportunity to compete without bias or discrimination.
The University of Ibadan and UCH are national institutions that belong to all Nigerians. Their leadership should therefore reflect the principles of fairness, inclusiveness, equal opportunity, and merit.
As Professor Olapegba prepares to assume office, I congratulate him once again and wish him a successful tenure. At the same time, I believe this is the right moment to ask whether our leadership selection processes truly provide equal opportunities for all qualified Nigerians.
As the succession process at UCH approaches, I urge stakeholders to ensure that no qualified candidate is excluded—consciously or unconsciously—because of religious identity. Let the process be transparent, competitive, and firmly anchored on merit.
I am not asking for a Muslim to be appointed simply because he is a Muslim. I am asking that no qualified Muslim should be denied the opportunity to lead simply because of his religious identity.
The same principle should apply to every Nigerian, regardless of faith or background.
Let merit prevail. Let competence prevail. Let fairness prevail.
UI, UCH and the Question of Inclusive Leadership
Opinion
Case for replicating the Oyo kidnap-rescue template nationwide, By Farooq Kperogi
Case for replicating the Oyo kidnap-rescue template nationwide, By Farooq Kperogi
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Kperogi is a renowned columnist and United States-based professor of journalism
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