15th anniversary of the assassination of Chief Bola Ige

Friday, 23rd December, 2016 was the 15th anniversary of the assassination of, Chief ’Bola Ige, Lawyer, Politician, Philosopher and former Governor of old Oyo State at this Bodija Estate, Ibadan home. At the time of his death, Chief Ige was the sitting Atorney-General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria. I was a Press Secretary of the late Chief Ige, better known and affectionately called Uncle ’Bola, when he was Oyo State Governor (1979-1983). May his noble soul rest in peace. Amen.

Thirty years ago, when Chief Ige’s bosom friend, Professor ’Wole Soyinka, won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first African in history, a reception was hosted on Sunday, December 16, 1986 by Chief Ige at his Esa-Oke, Osun State home, for Professor Soyinka. My wife and I were among the Iges guests at that ceremony.

A recall of my post Esa-Oke Nobel celebration article titled “Nobel And The Esa-Oke Connection” published on Page 13 of the Sunday Sketch issue of 23rd December, 1986, follows shortly. It recaptures the beautiful ceremony.

This tribute is, first, to honour the memory of Chief Ige, and appreciate my mentorship by him, his deep love for culture, creativity and arts. Secondly, it celebrates the thirtieth (30th) anniversary of Professor Soyinka winning the Nobel Prize for Literature. The first African in history. Fate made my path to cross  that of the Nobel laureate in 1967, while I was a 17-year-old Form Three student of African Church Grammar School, Apata-Ganga, Ibadan, Oyo State. Professor (then Mr.) ’Wole Soyinka, had been detained by retired General Yakubu Gowon – led Federal Military Government in Kaduna Prisons. His offence, according to the FMG, was that he had visited the then Military Governor of the defunct Eastern Region of Nigeria, the late Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who was on the verge of declaring the Eastern Region of Nigeria, a Republic of Biafra.

So, when the former Head of State, Gen. Gowon, proclaimed that “Mr. Soyinka will remain in prison detention till the war is over”, I wrote a letter to Gen. Gowon, pleading for the release of Soyinka or his trial in a court of law. I also wrote a letter of solidarity to Professor Soyinka in Kaduna prison. On his release in 1969, Professor Soyinka acknowledged my letter with thanks, and invited me to visit him at the former School of Drama (now Theatre Arts Department) of the University of Ibadan, where he was a lecturer.

Following is my 1986 article on the Nobel award celebration at Esa-Oke.

“For those of us who, due to no fault of ours, missed the presentation ceremony of this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature to God’s-gift-to-Nigeria-Professor Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka in Stockholm, Sweden, Esa-Oke (some 140 Kilometres to Ibadan, capital city of Oyo State), relived the December 10, 1986 ceremony last Sunday.

“Esa-Oke, the hometown of Chief ’Bola Ige, the first executive governor of Oyo State and Professor Soyinka’s bosom friend of 36 odd years, was agog with a mixture of Stockholm presentees and the rest of us to honour the living WS; lion of words, ‘god’ of the theatre, connoisseur of wine; brave hunter of games, humanist and a ‘Rank-Xerox’ of divine wisdom and culture.

“I am no stranger to the venue of the ‘home-washing’ of the Nobel Laureate, but I must  admit that the home of ‘Cicero’  had  never  witnessed the congregation of  Nigeria’s cream of the society in the likes of Mrs. Fransesca Emmanuel, permanent secretary  in the Federal Ministry of Sports; Chief  Tayo Akpata; Professor Abiola Irele; Alhaji Ali  Baba  from the Adamawa Hills  (in the words of Chief Ige) Professor Toriola  Solanke, husband  of Nigeria’s  First Lady SAN, Mama Folake; Oyo State’s former  head of service, Princess Teju Alakija, Mr. Femi Johnson of ‘Broking House’ in Ibadan; Professor Muyiwa Awe and his wife, Mama Bolanle, also a professor, Chief Segun Olusola (creator of NTA’s Village  Headmaster); Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, Director of Public Affairs (Guardian) and Soyinka’s ‘ADC’; Justice and Mrs. Tayo Onalaja; Chief Bode Akindele (Parakoyi  of Ibadan and recently  founder of ARAMED) Chief Bayo Akinnola (one-time Commissioner in the old Western State) and Professor  Obaro Ikime of the University of Ibadan.

“From Professor Soyinka’s clan, came Commonwealth latest poetry prince, Dr. Niyi  Osundare; Odia (oh dear, dear) Ofeimun; Dr.  Kole  Omotoso, Chief  Wale Ogunyemi, MON; Mr. Segun Sofowote; Mr. Yemi Farounbi, progenitor of ‘Arelu’; Dr. Tunde  Adeniran, (whose poem to WS  was read in absentia) Dr. Bode Sowande; Mr. O. Onibonoje, who left publishing for farming; Mr.  Peter  Ajayi, MD,  Sketch  Press, Mr. Tunde Odesanya of the Sunday Times, Mr. Sina Odugbemi, Dapo Aderinola of Peter Enahoro’s Africa  Now’ Mr. Sola Odunfa, (one-time Editor of the Punch), Barrister Akin Ige and his friend, Dr.  Adebayo Williams (Newswatch Columnist).

“The Master of Ceremonies for the occasion was no less a personality than the host, Uncle ’Bola (he never bothers to argue with anybody about

’Wole Soyinka) who kicked  the ‘Esa-Oke’ show  open by drawing  the guests attention, after cocktails, to a performance by a ‘magician’ – in the person of Dr. Sowande.

‘It was halfway into the ‘magician show’ (a sketch of an alleged ECOWAS citizen’s bid to enter Nigeria) that the lion and guest of honour, Nobel Laureate Professor Soyinka entered the small dome in grandstyle!

‘I am sorry for the lateness. Our car broke down on the way and we had to charter a molue  (commercial bus) to get  here’. I can quote him to have said.

“He was welcome because the gathering heralded his arrival with claps as he took his seat to watch the ‘immigration’ drill ‘Mr.  Omowale  Dako Dacosta’  into  bargaining his entry  into his mother’s birth place – Lagos!

“The connoiseur of wine, who taught Mr. Femi Johnson wine in exchange for food lectures, stood up and strolling to the wine table, picked his choice and had his glass filled with a shot of whisky.

“From the dome, we trooped outside unto the green lawns to have lunch. In the meantime, Uncle ’Bola had announced the day’s programme to the hearing of all.

‘It would go like this’, as he requested for audience. Tunde Adeniran’s poem for ’Wole Soyinka will be read by Bode Sowande. Odia  Ofeimun will read two poems  of Soyinka. Professor Irele will sing. Someone (and that’s me) will read a letter meant for ’Wole which I have seen.  There will be a lucky dip for copies of ‘Before Our Very Eyes’ – a publication of tributes to ’Wole Soyinka by those who know him and then, sweet will be served. Uncle ’Bola added the note of finality.

“Lunch eventually came and Dr. Sowande read the poem dedicated to Professor Soyinka by a member of the Political Bureau, Dr. Tunde Adeniran. Odia Ofeimun recited ‘Abiku’ and one other poem by Soyinka. Dr. Biodun  Jeyifous read  a passage from  ’Wole Soyinka’s prison  notes (The Man Died) where  the prison governor (a discharged British  West African  Force Sergeant) warned  prisoners to behave or  else he would  put is knowledge of archaeology (studied  in Khartoum)  into practice since he had decided “not to impart his knowledge  in ecology to University under-graduates for nothing!” Whatever that means.

“Then came my turn. I read out my letter to Professor Soyinka  and recalled that day  in 1967, while a secondary  school student, I had  written him a letter of solidarity while in prison; how he had not been able to offer me a place on the defunct ‘Transition’ magazine which he edited while on self exile in Ghana in 1974.

“And in my attempt to prove that Esa-Oke does not ‘lack’ the qualities of Stockholm, I requested, through  Uncle ’Bola, that the  Nobel  Laureate come  forward to receive three items  from me  – the letter, a dubbed  copy  of my 1982 NTA,  Ibadan interview (Speak  Out) with  him and a manuscript.

“He rose like a lion and with a firm “I shall respond to your letter” commitment, Prof.  Soyinka went behind the microphone to applaud Dr. Osundare (Commonwealth poetry award winner) and Odia  Ofeimun as  two of the best up coming poets.

And if Sir Mobolaji Bank-Anthony wonders what Professor Soyinka intends to do with the cash gift he gave to the Nobel Laureate in London recently, Dr.  Osundare has been given the carte-blanche to spend it the way he (Osundare) thinks fit!  According to Soyinka, the sum is to supplement whatever is the value of Dr. Osundare’s Commonwealth prize for literature.

“The Esa Oke  show did not  end without Mrs. Emmanuel doing a solo  (command performance) for  her longtime acquaintance  in the form  of  ‘Meta, Meta  L’ore O’ – Mr. Johnson’s  turn  to sing (another Command  performance) was  skipped  because, according to him, he had lost  his voice – thanks to a Christmas party the night before!

“By the way, some newspaper reports last week that Professor Soyinka returned home wearing a black pair of shoes was false. Hear him, ‘I wore these brown shoes bought specially for the Nobel award ceremony’.

“Prof. Soyinka thanked his hosts, Chief Ige and his high court judge wife, Auntie Atinuke, and those of us who honoured the invitation to the ceremony.

“I pray the Professor was being sarcastic when he said the collection on him by critics and friends in ‘Before Our Very Eye’s is not “a factual account of me, but of the writers”

“Now, you know what Esa-Oke has got to do with the Nobel!”

The foregoing was my piece in 1986. It is thirty years ago that the late Chief ’Bola Ige celebrated his friend and the fifteenth anniversary of his (Ige) assassination. May Uncle Bola’s noble soul continue to rest in peace. Amen.