Tunde Akingbade
7 September 2008
column
THE event was a birthday ceremony. It was meant to be a place for wining and dining. It was meant to mark the 50 years of the sojourn of Richard Akinnola, one of Nigeria's most courageous judicial correspondents, one-time editor and author of numerous books on legal and human rights issues.
But the event turned out to be a place for revelation of some dark, political secrets of the journalist and his friends in the human rights world.
The chairman of the event, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of Daar Communications - the owners of Ray Power Radio and Africa Independent Television (AIT) held everyone spellbound including the mother of the celebrant when he revealed some of Akinnola's secret contributions to the political development of Nigeria.
The event which was graced by several editors and correspondents including the president, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, Mr. Wahab Oba, the chairman of the Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Taiwo Obe, a media consultant and Mr. Wale Dedayo, representative of Ogun State government became an avenue for revelations about the key roles Richard Akinnola and other journalists played in the gradual termination process of both the military regimes of General Ibrahim Babangida and ex-president Olusegun Obnasanjo who worked silently towards the elongation of his tenure for another third term.
Dr. Dokpesi revealed that Richard Akinnola, using his knowledge of the judiciary and human rights was part of the team that worked with Dr. Peter Odili when the race to look for someone to succeed ex-president Obasanjo was on.
According to Dokpesi, Richard was one of the strategists in the Odili's camp adding that his (Dokpesi's) relationship with Odili during the period was one of the reasons the former president was determined to crush him and his media business empire.
Dokpesi recalled that he met Richard 15 years ago at the birth of Ray Power. He noted that when the Obasanjo regime shut down his station and destroyed their office complex in Abuja, Richard was one of the people who stood by the station and provided known legal cases and information that made it possible for Ray Power/AIT stations to be back on air. "It is through the commitment and support of people like Richard that people can still see or hear our stations back on air,"said Dokpesi.
"Richard's efforts did not start with AIT/Raypower. He did the same thing with the Concord newspapers. He stands by the truth. He gives voice to the voiceless. He defends the people. When Obasanjo said he was trying to do transition to civilian rule, we looked around for a committed and dedicated Nigerian to help us in the process. No other name came to our mind order than Richard's name. We appealed to him to take the role in Dr. Peter Odili's campaign organization. If Obasanjo didn't do his political abracadabra in 2006, maybe we would have had a Minister of Information sitting down here", said Dokpesi pointing to Richard.
Dokpesi who flew into Lagos from Abuja for the ceremony received ovation at every point of his speech. He later presented his book titled: Discharged and Acquitted to the guests at the event. An elated Richard whose mother was present at the event recalled how he waded through the turbulent times during the dictatorial military regimes of General Muhammadu Buhari/Idiagbon, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Sanni Abacha.
He narrated to the gathering how he was either arrested or abducted by some of the agents of the military during the years of dictatorship. He also introduced to the audience, the identities and faces of some of his friends and colleagues with whom they confronted the military with various graffiti that made them uncomfortable. He revealed further that some of the colleagues were the ones who wrote Free Gani Fawehinmi with white inscriptions all over Lagos when the legal luminary was arrested and detained in 1990 by the Babangida regime at Gashua prison. Mr. Shola Oshunkeye, editor of The Spectator newspaper who proposed the toast recalled how Richard, Gani Fawehinmi, Fami Falana and Beko Ransome-Kuti.
Richard Akinnola's new 196 pages book which was presented at the ceremony has 36 chapters which captures in graphic details many stories written by the journalist in the past 27 years of his media career. As Dokpesi noted, the book is a compendium for all those who yearn for information on the judiciary, legal matters, the state of the nation, several personalities who have been of involved in the making or destruction of Nigerian's political landscape, economy and value system and journalism.
Historical landmarks
The book is a reminder of some historical landmarks in Nigeria. For example, one can read the issues surrounding the jailing of late Chief Olabisi Onabanjo, the murder of Pa Alfred Rewane, the execution of the first female armed robber in Nigeria with her son, how Major Debo Bashorun, a former Babangida aide came to court with three guns when he felt his former military masters wanted to arrest him and snuff life out of him. There are other interesting stories such as the Madaki/Olatubosun, affair of 1986, the racket of innocent prisoners facing firing squad.
The problems created by Decrees 2 and 4, the interview of the Ogoni 4 on Ken Saro-Wiwa the EFCC and Ribadu, the story of Justice Yaya Jinadu and many more. Of course, there are other sizzling parts of the book such as the author's encounter with ex-president Obasanjo in London and Fela Anikulpo-Kuti's funny utterances in court during his last trial.
Earlier, Akinnola's mother had stunned the audience when she revealed that when the celebrant was to be delivered, she laboured for over five hours in Akure, Ondo State. Akinnola it was revealed is a pastor. Unknown to many, his father was also a leader and preacher at St. Thomas Anglican Church
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