Oba of Lagos: I’ll expose role of Yoruba obas during Abacha’s regime after 2015

Lagos—OBA of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu I, yesterday in
Lagos, exploded, saying he would shake the nation
after the 2015 general elections. He threatened to
reveal roles played by some Yoruba Obas during
the regime of late military dictator, General Sani
Abacha.
Oba Akiolu, who was the father of the day at the
public presentation of a 368-page book titled,
“Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa”,
authored by Dr Kolawole Olaniyan, a renowned
lawyer and legal adviser in Amnesty International,
AI, noted that no single person should be blamed for
Nigeria’s woes.
His words: “I will shake this nation after the election
in February. The man who made the statement that
I lifted oil should cover his face in shame because I
was still a serving police officer and I wonder how I
would have such time to be involved in the lifting of
oil. Those who collected Abacha’s money know
themselves and I will quote witnesses. Let us stop
apportioning blames, forget the past and work
towards a better future for this country. Do not put
100 percent blame on President Goodluck Jonathan
because the person who caused the problem knows
himself.”
The Oba called on Nigerians to see the battle
against the scourge of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD,
Boko Haram insurgency, among other challenges
confronting Nigeria as a collective responsibility that
must be battled by all.
Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, who chaired the occasion on
behalf of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice
Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, described the death of a
Nigerian lady in Dubai for Ebola after she was
quarantined on arrival from Nigeria yesterday
morning as a result of deep corruption in the
system.
Falana said: “Because of massive corruption in the
continent today, the fundamental human rights of
the people have been severely infringed upon. What
the author has done in his book is that he has
challenged all of us to think about the effect of
corruption in the continent. The challenge of Ebola is
not being tackled under the provisions of the law.”
He also blamed corruption for the failure of the
Federal Government to allegedly care for Nigerian
soldiers fighting insurgency in Borno State,
especially without adequate weapons and welfare.
This led to the protest by their wives, saying “this is
a manifestation of the collapse of the Nigerian state.
So something must be done.”
In her remarks, Deputy Consul-General, United
States, US Embassy in Nigeria, Dehab Ghebreab,
said there was a link between human rights
violation and corruption in Africa.
According to her, “corruption can breed militancy
and insurgency, which we have been witnessing in
Africa.”
She stressed the determination of the US
government to support Africa in tacking the menace,
while commending steps taken by the author for the
book on human rights and corruption.
A senior advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr. Tayo
Oyetibo, applauded the author, saying it “will
definitely expand our scope and frontier of the
human rights law in Nigeria and Africa.”
Also in his remarks, Mr Richard Akinnola, an activist
said, “Corruption is not just about looting the
nation’s treasury, it is also corruption when our
value system is been infringed on.”
On his part, the author said he wrote the book to
expand the provisions of the law on human rights
law as well as expose the extent at which
corruption had denied Africans their natural
fundamental rights.