Benin City Crusade 1999: Remembering Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke

by Eromose Ileso

On 7 December 2019, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke founder of Christ for All Nations (CfaN) closed his earthly chapter, when he transited to glory. In that earthly chapter were bevies of different pages. In one of those pages was his visit to Benin City 20 years ago for the great Gospel crusade. The crusade held from 5-9 October, 1999 at the Garrick Memorial Secondary School ground opposite the Ekhewan Campus of the University of Benin.

At the time, it was his first visit to Nigeria since the 1991 planned crusade in Kano sparked religious riot. As a result, that 1999 crusade in Benin City was unique in more ways than one.

There was frenzy and great anticipation in the air all over the city as the crusade drew near. Such large gathering of Christians and non-Christians alike especially one brought about by one man outside Edo State had not been witnessed by many including me up to that moment. The Deputy governor Mike Ogiadohme at the time had indicated that it was indeed the largest gathering of any kind in the state. 

A year earlier, in my local church assembly, a group or cell as some opt to call it was established. It had an evangelistic mandate to follow-up new comers and new converts. I had joined it when it was formed. As a result, a year later, when counselors were selected that would attend to the harvest of souls that was being anticipated at the crusade, I was picked as a counselor. There was an identification card with the bearer’s name and name of church inscribed on it. 

On the days of the Crusade, churches that were part of it, had designated points, with the CfaN booklets "Now That You are Saved" as well as the a new converts decision form attached to it to take the personal details of these new converts.

The crusade held just four months after Nigeria moved out from the clutches of military rule, and such large gathering was uncommon and unprecedented. Another thing that stood out, was the sophistication of the equipment used using the crusade. The nature of the sound system meant the speakers could be held for miles, as far as Ring road and beyond. The stanchion used in elevation of the huge sound speakers was also a new innovation many hadn't seen before for a crusade.

The unity of purpose among church leaders was evident too, as most worked together to attain the aim of reconciling people to Christ during the event.

It was interesting doing this in those days. The passion was infectious. The body of Christ at the time had a focus and, it hadn't attained most of the notoriety that it is associated with these days, because of those that have continue to desecrate the faith by their unbiblical acts and omissions. The core focus then was the ministry of reconciliation. Bringing people to Christ was what drove most Christians at the time. While, this still largely hold sway, the spirit of discernment has become an absolute necessity to know the genuine worshipers of God.

The city of Benin was willing and this was evident by the enthusiasm displayed by all and sundry. Even the downpour that visited the city during the week of the programme did not dampen the spirit. So it was, in the days of the crusade, the ground was packed with thousands of people who came from far and near. As vehicles were mostly restricted after the close of each day, I engaged in my own share of trekking at the time from Ekhewan road through Edebiri, to Plymouth and subsequently through to Ring road to board a bus home. 
On one of the nights of the crusade, after the close of that day's session, I stopped by at the home of a mentor the late Engineer Noble Egharevba, whose flat at Edebiri was just a few yards from the crusade ground, and it was a route that huge crowds walked through at the close of each day’s session. He wasn't at home, but his Mum whom we fondly called Mama J was. So it was an extension of seeing him with her around.

Those where days when there was no mobile phone, so the problem of being mugged and losing your mobile device at night while in a large crowd wasn't an issue at the time.

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke had a patent simplistic way of preaching the gospel and breaking it down for everyone to grab the message he was passing across especially his audience. He shared a light moment during the Benin crusade that the crowd on the days he preached became accustomed to. During his sermons, he always exclaimed using the letter "eee" in a drawn-out fashion. An expression the crowd later picked up and always squeaked along with him, whenever he uttered it. He observed the crowd was amused by it, so during the course of the crusade, he used it several times, and when the crowd quipped along, he always had a pristine grin. It was a moment that the interpreter also found amusing. He preached on the opening night, while Peter Vandenberg mounted the podium the following day.

While the Benin City crusade held in the evenings, the Fire Conference for church workers and ministers commenced the morning of the following day. It held at the headquarters of the New Covenant Gospel Church. I attended a session. The place was crammed. Besides, the time the auditorium was dedicated in May, 1994 by Archbishop Benson Idahosa, as well as the several meetings held there when it was still under construction; it was the highest number of people to have gathered at the auditorium as a completed edifice. The gallery, basement, and entire ground floor were packed. The same could be said of those that couldn't find a place to sit inside. There were television monitors everywhere including at the basement where I was. 

On the final day of the conference, Reinhard Bonnke did something extraordinary. He laid hands on everybody in attendance in that meeting. Because of the sheer number of people there that day, he stood on a table by the pulpit which enabled him to stand some feet above the floor, so as people walked by his left and right side this enabled him to put his hands on the heads of two persons at once. It made the process faster. Everything was organised, those in the gallery and ground floor were the first people he attended to, before those of us at the basement were ushered into the auditorium in a queue of two to be touched by him. While, he did this, Pastor Jude a gospel singer from Church of God Mission, sang for hours with such panache and fervour that day.

An unsavoury episode of the Benin crusade twenty years ago that relatively took the shine off the programme was the demise of several persons on the opening night of the event. This was due to a stampede. I wasn't aware that such an ugly incident occurred until well into the second day of the programme. It was a sad episode. However, everything regarding the programme eventually passed off without incidence. There was always an announcement during subsequent nights after that incident urging people to thread carefully while leaving the ground.

The impact of the great Gospel crusade on Benin City had the time was enormous. The crusade came at the dawn of a new millennium, which meant it was timely. And as a result, thousands of persons entered the new millennium in the new birth. I could still recall the size of new converts’ forms that my group as well as others had to sort out for effective follow-up.

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke traversed the length and breadth of Africa, turning people to Christ. In this, it would always be said in the annals of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ on the continent that this great man walked through Benin City in his life time. A page that would always be captured in the chapters of his life on Earth.

The Parable of the Cab Man

by Eromose Ileso

It was a hot afternoon on 26 March, 2019. The sun enveloped the horizon like the burning furnace of a bakery oven; I had just walked out of the Benson Idahosa University Campus at Ugbor, as part of my itinerary in that part of town. At the gate, while I waited for a cab, several taxis drove from the adjoining streets from where they had picked up passengers from various destinations to the BIU campus gate which is the last bus stop for most commercial vehicles that ply that route. As I stood by the gate, a cab man spotting a white singlet and a blue jean, had just arrived from one of his trips, parked his taxi at a vantage position, few metres from the gate, and a little over three minutes later, he started having a heated exchange with a fellow cab man. He was shouting on top of his voice, and using expletives on the other man. He told the other guy, “is it because you see me dey drive taxi”. Me and you no dey the same level” you dey craze” “many of my school mates from university na lecturer for this university.” He went on and on. The other guy, just kept repeating one sentence, “na mental stress dey wori you”.

For some reason, not known to me, he fastened his eyes on me with a forlorn gaze, while he continued his foul mouthed exchange with this other cab man. Another cab man, sought to intervene to calm down both parties, when he told the other guy, “rest na for the mata, you no know am”. So as he bellowed Ring road, I approached him to know his last stop, it was the Oba’s Palace, but he promised he would dropped me by the street where Bob Izua lives. Before we left, while other passengers had joined the ride, he continued his exchange of words with his fellow cab man. As he drove through the Government Reservation Area, he told me his story. First, he asserted that, these drivers in the park, because, they see you driving taxi with them, they tend to classify you as just another ‘bloody taxi driver’ without being oblivious of your story. Of course everybody has a story to tell. He who tells is the person that is heard.

It turned out, he is a graduate of English Education, who was initially into teaching of secondary school students, but opted to be a cab man, when he could not make ends meet with his teaching job. He talked with gusto about one of his teachers who taught him while he was in secondary school; he mentioned the man’s name and the style of composition he taught him. The popular formula of “Introduction, Body and Conclusion.” He said this had stuck to him since he left school. The reason, he brought up his teacher’s name during our conversation, was that he used it as a nexus. He saw his teacher in a pitiful state that suggested a likelihood of insanity, because of the ragtag state he was in. He felt pained, that such an intelligent man that imparted his life so much, was in such a state, but that was not enough reason for him not to respect the man, especially taking into consideration, the knowledge the man still possess, despite his current state of mental health. It is this he says riled him, with the other cab man, as the guy had continually shown a tendency to disrespect him. I kept on saying to him, that I understood him, and that I knew the position from which he spoke. As it was clear that his annoyance stemmed from the Nigeria situation.

As he drove through Ihama road, he talked about how he could have turned to illegal activities to get money, but he decided to toll the path of honest living and not manifest evil works. He spoke glowingly and passionately about the number of students he had taught while he was a teacher. He mentioned one of his students, a girl that hired the cab driver he had an exchange with. He alluded to the way the girl in question had venerated him, because he was once her teacher, while the other cab man was almost on his knees to earn the girl’s patronage.

As he left Airport road to link up with Upper Ezoti Street by the back of the Oba’s Palace, he pointed to the house of the principal of the secondary school he attended to me, and mentioned his name, but that the man was now late, having died several years ago. I asked him whether he grew up around the Oba’s Palace area? It turned out; he is an ‘Ogbe guy’ as those that grew up around that area are typically referred to.

While, he was dropping me off at my stop, a young teenage girl walking with a little boy passed by his car, and greeted him, ‘good afternoon Sir”, he said to me, that was one of the students I taught.” As I was alighting from the cab, I thought of what to say to him, because I would never know why he was so open about his personal life that day, combined with the fact that he had gazed at me several times, while he rained insults on the other cab man. He was still parked by the road, and not in any hurry to leave as most cab man usually does, ostensibly waiting for me to say something. When I finally came down from his cab, as I stood by the door, I shook his hand and said to him: “More grace, it is only a matter of time.” The manner he held my right hand with his two hands and thanked me, dawned on me that those words meant a lot to him. Like he needed a measure of reassurance that within the Nigeria sphere, where nothing is easy for the common man, he could still attain his dreams.

The question then is, what did this encounter portray?

It showed the lamentable state of Nigeria, where there are now more graduates driving taxis to irk out a living than at any time in the country’s economic history. In most cases, if not all, the decision by these classes of persons to be a private cab man wasn’t down to choice, but purely based on circumstances. All over the place, there are several brilliant and sound Nigerian graduates of various disciplines who for lack of jobs have resorted to driving cabs own by them, by the way.

Four days earlier, I was in another cab, being driven by a graduate. I knew he was one, because while the passengers discussed about the just concluded elections, especially the plight of corpers who had not been paid for the job they did as well as those that lost their lives. He stated that, when he served in Anambra state in 2013, he opted against working as an ad hoc staff for INEC despite being amongst those chosen and trained for the task, because according to him, he wanted to save his life, and return to his family in one piece.

All over the country, there are several Nigeria University and Polytechnic graduates who are now full time or part-time cab drivers, some for lack of available jobs, others, after losing their jobs, had decided to use it as a means to make ends meet.  

In the past, it was popular for most Nigerians, to claim that, “the job wey Nigerians no go gree do for 9ja, na dem dey go do for Oyinbo land like the ones wey dey drive taxi’  That adage used to be a popular line by some who had sought to argue that Nigerians should stay back home to do jobs that ordinarily belies their status as graduates. Now in Nigeria, there are now Bachelor and Master Degree holders driving taxis. So the aforementioned adage has been taken over by events.

Just like that cab man at Ugbor, who asked when his situation would change from being a cab man, there are also several underemployed Nigerians in the same situation who are asking the same question daily.

Interestingly, I ran into the cab man in question again on 6 April, 2019 in his signature white singlet and blue jean. For reasons best known to him, he called me a pastor. And he said it multiple times. I boarded his cab to Ring Road again. As it turned out, he wasn’t in a reflective mood this time, but rather he was vivacious this time around, narrating his experiences with several of his passengers and the gist he had scooped from them over time some of which were unpleasant to the ears.

Using this cab man as a case study in relation to my second meeting with him, it showed another side of the average Nigerian, that despite the difficulties that many face daily, especially those that are either unemployed or underemployed, within the quest for survival, there is always room for light moments and the occasional humorous episodes that provide momentary laughter. That was the mood this cab man was in when I met him for the second time in two weeks.

The Nigerian spirit of putting up a brave face is seldom cast down, it is always willing, but the will could be sucked dry by the Nigerian situation that is lacking every bit the adequate support system for people struggling to lead a semblance of a near comfortable life. 

Professor Abhulimen Anao's key chapter in the Uniben 21st century story

by Eromose Ileso

In its near 50 year history, (currently 48 years) the University of Benin has had several Vice Chancellors. There are some whose name are remembered in infamy, while others that would always be in the exalted company of the esteemed. Professor Abhulimen Anao without a shadow of doubt belongs to the latter category.

The Professor of Accounting, now 78 was the University of Benin Vice Chancellor from 1999-2004. His ascension to the Vice Chancellorship came at a time when the ivory tower was at a crossroad in terms of a crisis of identity that stemmed from its paucity of infrastructure, to the labyrinthine state of the school's environment, and the dysfunctional condition of the internal workings of the school's administrative system.

The part he played in steering Uniben into the 21st century cannot be sniffed at, but this could be the case as there is a paucity of those who often look at history in our clime. As a student of history, I decided to look at this period in the history of the school by looking back at how the events at the time shaped the institution the way it is today.

At first, it had looked as if it would be more of the same at his ascension to that position. But a series of events set in motion a chain reaction that served as a catalyst for several aspects of the school to be revamped.

It was during his time that the University of Benin actually got a complete revamp of its infrastructure for the first time since its was founded, something only Professor Osayuki Oshodi, Vice Chancellor (2009-2014) has been able to both match and surpass.

His midas touch did not end at the school's infrastructure, but it extended to the use of technology. When Uniben became one of the first Nigerian Universities to have a website, where courses were registered online in 2002, as well as school fees paid via the online portal, rather than the manual way it was previously being done. I could remember the number of times I accompanied some friends to a cyber cafe at the June 12 Building to aid in the registration of their courses after the payment of school fees.

In a open letter to returning student on 14 October, 2002 on resumption for the 2002/2003 session, he mentioned, this feat as the Central Students Records and Processing Unit (CSRPU) which was established in 2001, became fully operational in 2002, and was fully computerized.

However, to get a clear picture of how he touched various aspects of the school, its important to take a cursory look at these areas and the series of events that sparked it.

In 1999, Nigeria returned to democratic rule under the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, and he met on ground the Education Tax Fund which came on stream by a military degree in 1993 as part of measures to solve the problem of funding in the education sector after the ASUU strike of 1992. 

It later morphed into the Education Trust Fund. (ETF), its stayed so on till it was repealed in 2011 with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) it upshot.

However, the nexus here is that there was some measure of funding that came some institutions way during the ETF years, and it seems that of Uniben was used judiciously going by what followed afterwards in terms of projects.

A major impact project was the building of a huge plant house close to the Faculty of Medicine building, which housed three huge generating plants that were used to power the halls of residence, especially Halls, 1, 2 and 3. Whose obsolete generating plant had struggled to provide sustained power at night. The plant also powered school street lights, which allowed the campus to be lit up at night.

While that was the first major project that brought a new phase to the school. There were noticeable changes in the school's environment whose flowers were regularly trimmed, grasses cleared and the convenience of halls of residence underwent regular clean up and drains regularly unclogged.  

It brought a measure of serenity to the school environs with a touch of flora scent.

The Faculty of Medicine building which was under construction for a number of years, and had virtually been completed, before he came into office, yet lacking in some vital fittings was finally completed, and that lecturers were made to relocate to their offices there.

Then President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo was around to commission the complex. He was the lecture for most students on that day, as classes were disrupted as students and staffs flocked to the ceremony to catch a glimpse of him.

It was noticeable that, halls of residence in the school, especially the aforementioned halls and hall 4 received major face lift during his time. Besides that, the Faculty of Social Sciences, which is aptly termed "Faculty" by all who went through Uniben, and a huge building at that, also got a face lift, probably for the first time since it was built.

It was during this period that the first phase of the Faculty of Education was built. This enabled students and staffs of the Faculty to have a building of their own, after years of putting up at the Facility of Social Sciences. The popular basement also received a major facelift.

Despite all these, it was a completely different set of events that changed the face of the school forever, and the domino effects reverberated across the communities that surrounds it.

In the nighties and early 2000s, Uniben was dotted with different wooden kiosk that were scattered around. There were several in the compound of halls 1-3, others lied around the vicinity of June 12 building, directly opposite hall 4. Some were close to the Junior Staff quarters, with a popular spot called. "Dreamz"

In September, 2001, the chain of events commenced with the disqualification of a popular candidate for the presidency of the Students Union Government, in the person of Obe Rasaq, as he then was. He was a student of the Faculty of Engineering. His disqualification did not go down well with some students especially engineering students, who had a history of spearheading challenges to constituted authority. They believed the school authorities were trying to rein on his popularity. Riot broke out as a result.

That singular action by some student changed the face of the school from a point of view of business, administration, transport, admission, security and other sectors.

During the student disturbances, some school properties were damaged, including portraits/paintings at the school's Akin Deko Auditorium.

The reaction of the school authorities was swift. University of Benin was shut down, students were asked to go home and Student Unionism was banned. The reforms that followed afterwards could not have been foreseen by any ethereal seer.

First, there was a demolition of all wooden structures within the school premises. All of which housed different joints ranging from bars, restaurant, phone booths, saloons, business centres, mini mart etc. They were scattered within the school premises.

In their place, shopping complexes were built across the school. From the June 12 building, to the Faculty of Social Sciences, Basement, and Faculty of Education, these complexes were made up of stores of varying sizes that replaced the wooden structures.

Owners of the previous wooden structures, who could not match the amount to rent the new stores at the new complexes, decided to close shop altogether. This move by the school affected several business owners at the time.

The reform moved from there to the outlying communities, especially Ekosodin.

Prior to the student crisis of 2001, residence of Ekosodin could access their community through the Uniben premises. Vehicle owners and motorbike users could drive in and out of the community through Uniben. But all this stopped in 2001.

Previously, the see through white gate at the Ekosodin security post was always opened throughout for vehicles and pedestrians. But the crisis served as a reason for the gate to be replaced by a huge black gate that remains shut to this day, with just the pedestrian gate open for students, staffs and other users. But it is always shut against all users whenever there are cult disturbances in Ekosodin. Leaving the student to access the school premises through the Benin-Lagos Expressway via the deplorable Ekosodin road.

Bikes and vehicles could drive in out of Ekosodin through the gate at the time, and added to that, it was a place known as a hotbed for cultism, so the school authorities moved to prevent a steady stream and easy access of this into the school environs, so the gate was shut permanently 17 years ago.

Besides, the aforementioned two, every student of the University of Benin was made to undergo certificate screening. The screening in question was on the secondary school leaving certificates that every student used to gain admission into the University. The screening affected several students as it turned out some either had fake result, or did not meet the subject entry requirements to gain admission in the first place. Some students whose GPA had them in First class position or Second Class Upper division, were dismissed from the school. Some voluntarily left before they could be screened out.

In his letter to students in 2002, he alluded to the certificate screening staying as a school policy.

“. . . the University will at some stage during the next two years subject you to certificate screening. Students who are found to have entered with false claims are usually expelled with ignominy . . . The screening of entry certificate became institutionalized in our system when it became apparent that a sizable number of our youth today resort to faking entry requirements in order to enter university."  Professor Abhulimen Anao 14 October, 2002.

This measure was introduced out of a need to ascertain those that were ‘truly’ students of the University. Because at the time, there was a widely held belief within the school hierarchy that most of the students at the centre of the disturbances, were not really students of the school.

In the end, a measure introduced to flush out these elements turned out to rub off on some 'good' students, who bend the rules to gain admission.

Certificate screening has become a school policy. What arose out of the aches of a student riot, over the disqualification of a student Union presidential aspirant, is today a thread in every school fabric in Nigeria.

As part of the screening exercise, every student was made to depose to an Affidavit of Non membership of Secret Cults before they could be allowed back to school. Added to that, there was a cultist renunciation programme that was organised by the school authorities. Cultist, many of whom were known to the school directly or indirectly got ultimatum to either come out to renounce their membership or had their names published and lose their studentship instead of the amnesty that was a product of the voluntary renunciation.

Several students took up the gauntlet and where left off the hook.

Prior to the reforms, and before the crisis, moving around Uniben was through the use of motorbikes. There seem to be a laissez faire approach to it. They had a main park at Main gate at the spot where the present shopping complex is presently located.

In my first and part of my second year in Uniben, I went to school from home, whenever I got to Main gate, majority of the time, the bike riders were always reluctant to take student to the Law Faculty, because of the distance. And the time they would use to take a student there, was enough to make double the amount for shorter distances such as the Faculty of Sciences, Engineering, Student Affairs and the Vice Chancellor's office that were close by. They could take a passenger there, and return to Main Gate in a jiffy, which was not the case when they carried a passenger to the Law Faculty. This was always the case during the morning rush hour, when there was a plethora of passengers, so they had enough choices.

As a result, on several occasions, I had to take bike to Hall 3 car park, before walking the short distance from there to the Law Faculty. It was particularly so in Year One, when Professor Otakpor had his Introduction to Logic class that commenced at 8am. He was magnanimous enough to had given students who stayed outside the campus, the grace of coming in 15 minutes past eight when he had his class.

But this transport arrangement in Uniben, changed after that crisis. Motorbikes were banned from operating within the school. Private cars and buses were introduced.

They could convey passengers to different places within the school. A major park was built at Main Gate, with another at the Faculty of Social Sciences. The price was pegged at 10 naira at the time. Any cab had to register before operating in the school compound. While car drop was a feature for those who either had a flavour for convenience, in a rush or lacked the gift of patience.

Also, during his time, he was instrumental in ensuring that a new and bigger health centre was built, just close to the I000 LT. A lecture theatre that he completed after it had been abandoned for a number of years.

The Afrihub Computer centre was another initiative of the school at the time, as well as the Uniben Integrated Enterprises which came on stream during his time as Vice Chancellor.

Looking back at the fallout of those reforms the University of Benin authorities undertook at the time under Professor Abhulimen Anao, the fact it still reverberates in the school, reflects the significance of those actions. Though it swept many off their feet, as the saying goes, that when it rains, it falls on the good and the bad. So it was that the reform affected several persons that had nothing to do with the disturbances.

Today, when I cast my mind back at those days, you could say his coming as the Vice Chancellor the penultimate year before the commencement of the 21st century was timely. Uniben was a chaotic and disorganised place when he came in. It's various organs were not as strong as they are today. Few would have had the strong will and courage to wield such a big stick to carry out a complete revamp of the entire school structure that set the tone for what is currently being enjoyed today.

The fact that only Professor Osayuki Oshodi has built on this, fourteen years after he left, speaks volumes, and it reveals that foresight is not a gift everybody in leadership position posseses. It took the former to lay the foundations for others to built on, because gestation period in any reform is always the difficult part, after that building become seamless. That is the position of the Univeristy of Benin as at today.

Download full transcript of Barack Obama's speech on Nelson Mandela's Centenary

The former United States President Barack Obama delivered a speech in Johannesburg, South Africa on 17th July, 2018 as part of events to mark Nelson Mandela's centenary.

Its a speech where the first black president of the United States covered a host of topical issues.

Full transcript is available for download below:

Barack Obama Speech.pdf
Barack Obama Speech.doc  

Benin City: An illusion of modernity

by Eromose Ileso

I have lived in Benin City ever since my family moved there from Afuze, Owan East Local Government area in 1984. That has been the case except when several moment of expediency took me outside it for a combined period of four years. Growing up at Oshodi Avenue in close proximity to the Bendel Pharmaceutical Company which spans through Medical and Federal roads in a neighbourhood camaraderie-ship, one could see the Edo State capital from different prism, especially with things that no longer exist today. 

Of the course of 18 years spent living in that part of the capital, there were the benefits of enjoying water from the Edo State Water Board, which was supplied from the Ikpoba River Dam at Okhoro. Even when this wasn't regular especially when there were long power outages, the water always flowed through pipes connected to different homes whenever power was restored.

Besides, the chairman of Tomline Engineering Company Elder Tes Sorae lived in that neighbourhood at the time, he regularly supplied water from taps outside his compound connected from an industrial borehole in his home. This was particularly a life saver for many especially when there was water scarcity, because the next available place for water at the time was Ikpoba River. This was a period when the private boreholes that are commonplace in the city today were non existent.

Apart from water supply, the defunct Bendel State Library Board at Okhoro road by Eghosa Grammar School was just two minutes walk from my home. It was a useful place where a community of book lovers spent their time studying. Before it was confined to the vehicle of history with epitaphs only the mind could relate to.

This period was also a time when the late sports legend Felix Okugbe took residents of Benin to the zenith of sports presentation on the state's broadcasting service. A time when Christopher Idahosa (Chris I.D.) the Reggae Messiah sang ethereal bini songs, a period when the state radio had outside broadcasting vans from where football matches from Ogbe Stadium were relayed live. An era of the Joe Fabrio on radio and the series Checkmate, Hotel de Jordan and the Rich Also Cry on television.

That was the Benin City of the past. A past mostly wrapped in the military era, when the direction of the state was premised on the state of mind of the military administrator posted to oversee it affairs.

However, taking a look at the present state of Benin City from different indices of development, a feeling of nostalgia sets in especially when one considers the fact that the state library board and the state water board are now virtually relics of history, while radio presenters with fake accents dominate the airwaves of the city.

However, it is the general state of Benin City, in terms of infrastructure and the fact that the city planners have failed to move with the times as the city has expanded beyond it core areas is what is most disturbing. Looking at the Edo State Capital, especially from the well paved and dualised Airport road, it could easily give a false impression of the city. Same goes for Akpapava, Sapele roads (up to third junction), Siluko road, 2nd East Circular road, Upper Lawani, Upper Mission, New Lagos road through Dawson road. But a cursory observation reveals a city that is wrapped in a cloak of labyrinth. Beyond Oredo Local Government area, where large spans of communities are still underdeveloped, the city has a false sense of modernity.

The city has expanded to Ovia North East to as much as Iyowa, Ikpoba Okha to Oghoghobi and beyond. Egor and Uhunmwonde to Eyean and Egba. But while the city continues to expand at a fast rate, the relevant authorities haven't mapped out plans to be ahead of the private home owners and developers. Most of the new emerging areas of the city lack any semblance of planning, paved roads are non existent, no markets, no community halls, no police stations, no government health centres, no libraries, no motor parks etc. Planning is left entirely to the community and they carry out their activities as they deem fit.

This state of affairs is a factor why the city is always on the fringes whenever it rains. This is particularly worse in areas such as Sapele road, where the depth and width of the drains cannot handle the volume of flood water as well as some areas where there are no drains. The situation around Obeh when it rains, with flood water that flows from the adjoining streets into the expressway without an outlet drain, reflects a lack of foresight on the part of the authorities that the city would expand to those areas at some point.  The same situation holds sway opposite the Army School of Transport and Supply (S&T), Isiohor where there is a large pool of flood water at the Benin-Lagos Expressway whenever it rains.

From old areas such as Saint Saviour, Uselu, Upper Adesuwa, Uwelu, Evbotubu and Texile Mill road, etc, its a tale of woes for city dwellers whenever it rains. Most are particularly cut off from accessing other areas of the city.

This is also the case from Ekosodin, Isiohor to Oluku in Ovia North East, when it rains. Most of these areas cannot boast of any paved roads, having motorable earth roads is entirely down to the effort of individuals. Where roads have been constructed, the quality of work done leaves much to be desired.

The supply of water to the new and emerging development areas in Benin is down to private boreholes sunk by house owners. The city's water infrastructure has ceased to expand and/or function in some cases, for over two decades.

A city where the markets become mudbound whenever it rains, a city where bus drivers ride their vehicles through marsh of muddy market streets, because there are no motor parks.

A city without a discernable plan for development as reflected by the informed infrastructural reality on ground cannot be said to be modern. A series of roads dualised doesn't give it a modern outlook, neither are the irregular street lights that only function in the city centre.

The question remains what is the plan of Benin City beyond Oredo and the city centre? It doesn't look as if there is one? With the city expanding at it's present rate, the environment in some areas would continue to suffer degradation. This is one reason why, some new areas are already suffering the effects of gully erosion.

It's a complete illusion to claim that Benin City is a modern state capital. It is anything, but.

The city has a long way to go in terms of attaining any semblance of modernity. When city dwellers can move freely whenever there is heavy downpour, that would be a first place to start that something new is happening in the Edo State Capital.

Besides, a place is as modern as the attitude of it inhabitants. For most residents of Benin City, the display of impunity at various times has become an habitual pass time. One of such is the violation of traffic lights by public and private vehicle owners without penalties. Some of the officers of the state traffic agency, ESTMA have been compromised. The "na my broda and na my person syndrome" has resulted in vehicle owners violating traffic rules in their presence. 

Apart from this, the way city dwellers dump their refuse into drains and at road sides is another blight on the Edo State capital. It reveals a set of people that is in total need of reorientation and complete attitudinal change. At major road arteries around the city, refuse is dumped indiscriminately. While the waste management system isn't perfect by any means, the manner in which most resident of Benin handle their waste shows they are as much of a problem holding the city backward as the authorities.

For a long time, Benin has been referred to as the ancient city, largely due to the Benin Traditional Council and the type of cultural mud houses that dots the city. Yet based on the informed infrastructural reality, there is little to show that the city has moved away from that description. To have new hotels, some dualised roads, cinemas, relaxation spots, etc. isn't enough to assert that a city is modern. 

The authorities have to develop adequate plans for the city especially in the emerging development areas and satellite towns, there should be adequate environmental assessment that would form the basis for infrastructure to be mapped out such as motor parks, police stations, markets, health centres, schools, community halls and transport hubs for the new areas emerging outside the city.

A city could attain some measure of modernity when it is properly planned, and it has a flood management system, traffic rules are observed and offenders punished, there is adequate water supply, good road infrastructure, pristine cleanliness, there is good emergency response mechanism, functional street lights and security of life and property are assured, amongst others. All these are either lacking or inadequate in Benin.

The Benin that the Portuguese explorers lauded for it's order and cleanliness when they visited in the 15th century ought to be more than it is today. That it's still known more positively for the exploits of the old Benin Empire and it present offshoot is an indictment on the authorities both past and present.

Image is subject to copyright of the owner

Between Northern Nigeria leaders and the legacy of King Faisal and Queen Iffat of Saudi Arabia on education of the girl child

by Eromose Ileso

The education of the girl child in Northern Nigeria has always been a divisive issue. It is an issue that has never been given the attention it deserves by the Northern establishment.

The girl child in Northern Nigeria is largely still regarded as part of the home furniture and most are given away in early marriage. Some in their pre-teen or early teens. This has been the norm and it has continued unabated.

It is an issue that was raised several times by the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi in his pubic speeches before he was practically boxed into a corner by elements who are against reform and are comfortable with the present status quo.

At various fora, before he went quiet, he harped on the need for Northern Nigeria leaders to fine tune mechanism in educating the girl child. It didn’t come has a surprise therefore that, because his views were largely anti-establishment, it didn’t garner the support it deserved. Instead, the message was cast aside, and the messenger has been curtailed.

These were the Emir's words at an event in April, 2017.

"The people need to prioritise their commitment toward  the education of female just like their male counterpart.

“We appeal to everybody, especially well-meaning individuals irrespective of party differences, to provide the environment to aid girl-child education,”

Now, this is still the position of most elements of Northern Nigeria leaders seventeen years into the 21st Century, where the education of the girl child is still seen as an afterthought. They are instead given away in early marriage thereby altering their development and future prospects.

Most of these leaders hide under the conservative vestries of Islam. Yet this is further away from the reason as could be seen from the legacies of King Faisal and Queen Iffat of Saudi Arabia.

As a way of background, King Faisal (1906-1975), was the king of Saudi Arabia between 1964-1975, before he was assassinated by a nephew. While Queen Iffat (1916-2000) was the wife of King Faisal. Both are credited with laying the foundation for the education of the girl child in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis practice the most conservative form of Islam, Wahhabism, where certain rights of women are tightly controlled and restricted. However, King Faisal during his time as head of the Saudi monarchy was able to persuade the obdurate conservative Saudi religious establishment on the need to educate the girl child.

In the words of Dr. Mai Yamani, King Faisal’s persuasion motto to the religious establishment was that “you educate women and they become better mothers”

It was through his words of persuasion, that Queen Iffat was able to pioneer the education for girls in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To which Mai Yamani, who was the daughter of Saudi’s Oil minister ( Ahmed Zaki Yamani) at the time ended up being an early beneficiary, as she was one of nine female students of one of such schools.

Mai Yamani was eighteen years old when King Faisal was assassinated on 25 March, 1975. Yet the benefit of that early education she gained through the foresight of the King and Queen, was reflected later on in her life. She went on to become the first Saudi Arabia woman to secure a Ph.D in Anthropology from the Oxford University, in the United Kingdom. This was after she had earlier schooled in the United States.

Now, the question is, imagine if Mai Yamani did not get that early education at the time she did? What trajectory would her life had taken?

You guess is as good as mine. Yet some might say, since her father was Saudi’s Oil minister. She would still have gotten the required education outside the Kingdom as shown by her career trajectory, with her father being a lawyer. But that is entirely missing the point.

At the time, King Faisal and Queen Iffat championed education of the girl child, Saudi Arabia as a kingdom was still largely under developed, and was still steeped in Islamic conversativism which by the way they still are. Yet they were able to lay the foundations for the education of the girl child so early in their development. And this is talking of something that is near and/or over fifty years now.

Whereas, by contrast, after over half a century, the education of the girl child in Northern Nigeria has not been given the seriousness it truly deserves. Whereas the girl-child is still being withdrawn from school by parents to work before they are given away in early marriage.

Saudi Arabia is the birth place of Islam. Yet, they laid the foundation of the education of the girl child at the early stages of their development as a kingdom through its third ruler in King Faisal. Northern Nigeria leaders on the other hand, are still loathe to embrace the importance of educating the girl child.

There is a serious lack of commitment on the part of the larger Northern Nigeria leadership to address issues of girl-child education. Many are still hiding under the cloak of religion to subjugate the future of many girls who would have gone on to better their lives if they are given the opportunity to get the required education.

According to available statistics, there are 10-12 million children out of school in Nigeria. A larger proportion of which are in the North, and the girl child's situation within that statistics is even worse off.

This low level of girl child education in Northern Nigeria has continue to cause an increase in early marriages that has resulted in the prevalence of vesico Vagina Fistula (VVF).

The Child Rights Act 2003 strengthens the right of a child to have the right to education and not be given out in early marriage.

However, eleven (11) of the twelve (12) states in Nigeria that are yet to domesticate the law are in the North. (Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Katsina and Zamfara).

Whereas, sixteen (16) of the seventeen (17) states in Southern Nigeria have domesticated the law with only Enugu state the odd one out. While it just eight states out of the Nineteen (19) Northern states that have domesticated the law.

Even though, record shows that only Lagos and Akwa Ibom states have actually started implementing the law since they domesticated it. Yet, a child cannot walk without first clawing.

The states that are yet to domesticate the law have not even started. Unlike those that have domesticated it since it was passed by the National Assembly fourteen years ago. (Southern Nigeria is dominated by predominantly Christians unlike Northern Nigeria)

There is an adage that, “you cannot be more Catholic than the Pope”. This applies to the situation with what King Faisal and Queen Iffat did to advance the fortunes of the girl-child, and what currently obtains in most of Northern Nigeria.

The birth place of Islam is in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Despite the strictest form of Islam in the form of Wahhabism that is widely practiced in the kingdom, the fortunes of the girl-child relative to education has not been subjugated the way it has been in Northern Nigeria over the years.

Rather, the authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are removing obstacles that have stood on the rights of women for decades.

On 26th September, 2017, King Salman issued a degree that would become effective from June, 2018 that allows women to drive themselves. A decision that many did not see coming despite years of women activism for them to be allowed to drive vehicles.

The question remains that if the most conservative Islamic nation on earth is moving towards advancing the cause of the girl child, what is the excuse of Northern Nigeria leaders?

Ekosodin: A stagnant stream in the midst of a flowing river

by Eromose Ileso
                                                       

A portion of Ekosodin road in it current state

When the names of certain places are mentioned, they invoke a feeling of nostalgia either in the picturesque, personal or prosaic sense.  There are many places in such sphere that bring about a reminisce when their names are mentioned. They immediately bring back memories flooding back that are either savoury or labyrinthine.

Ekosodin is one of such places, where anytime it is mentioned, it connotes a sense of negativity in the sub conscious of those who once lived there. Either through the cult related killings or the unrest between indigenes and students. But, others have a positive view of the place as not all things have negative a trail there.

Ekosodin is a community in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State that shares a boundary with the University of Benin. As a result it commands a large student population, apart from the local inhabitants. Practically it is an extension of the university, as it is separated by just a fence, and there is a gate that connects both places.

However, that is not the remit of this piece. Rather it is centred on the fact that in spite of the 'status' of Ekosodin, by being close to one of Nigeria’s foremost ivory towers, the University of Benin, the place has gone backward in recent years. It as if time has stood still as far as the place is concerned, while it moved on in other places.

In June 2017, a friend that graduated from the University of Benin in the early eighties had cause to ask me what Ekosodin was like presently. I was able to give an accurate assessment, prior to being asked that question. I had visited for the first time in over five years a few weeks earlier. Instead of changes for the better, it was a case of a community that has effectively receded to the extent that nature is firmly against the place.

Starting from the road that leads to the town, which has been the subject of terrible underhand dealings between indigenes and government officials’ alike with both taking turns to feast on what they consider as spoils. 

In 2002, the road was first awarded to a contractor by the Ovia North East Local Government with a remit that it should be completed within two months. The contractor set out to work, with earth sand used to fill the road from the beginning at the Benin-Lagos road towards the community itself, after that the contractor asphalted just about 200 metres of the road which ended by the first street on the road. (Ehigiegba Street) That was as good as it got. As there were reports at the time that monies meant for the construction of the road was shared by some indigenes of the community which is why the contractor couldn't complete it.

In 2014, the road was again awarded by the NDDC, the Niger Delta Development Commission. Again, it was a terrible job. A contractor that was clearly confused and one clearly devoid of what he was doing, initially did some work at the heart of Ekosodin at the gate, by constructing a gutter that was more like a funnel for fetching water than a drainage. While some part of the road towards the express were dug, and later covered. When they pretended to be working on the road months later, they asphalted it half way once again, this time by going beyond the first street, by ending at the third. (Igbineweka street)

At present, the road is a complete right off beyond the third street, after the boundary it shares with the Evbomore community, the portion of the road after that is so terrible that, it could easily be mistaken for a gully erosion site.

And talking of gully erosion, Ekosodin has also been hit by gully erosion with several houses swallowed up by the gully; it is so bad that it has affected some portion of the University of Benin premises. And the gully is getting wide at a fast pace and it has put the lives of people who live near it at risk.

When it rains or during rainy season, Ekosodin becomes a deluge. The popular Edo Street is usually overtaken by flood water, and virtually the entire community. You would only know how bad the situation is when you go deep into the community to see how terrible it is during the rains. And the access road to the community is receding so fast with flood water making it worse, with the road to the left of Ekosodin road when coming from inside the University of Benin, now completely bad as the entrance is now several feet above the main road because of flood water.

Many residents of the community now use the University of Benin as car park during the rainy season, as it is suicidal to the state of any vehicle to venture deep there during the rains. You only have to look at the state of the taxis that ply the road on a daily basis to see what the road could do to a vehicle.

Yet when the Ivory Tower that looms large over Ekosodin is considered against the back drop of the degenerating state of the community, you begin to wonder why the presence of the University of Benin has not fostered any development let alone any sustained development. Still the school remains the live-wire of the community’s economy.

Prior to 2002, when the main entrance to the community was through the Ekosodin gate via the school’s ground, when vehicles could access it through the gate, not much thought was given to working on the main access road leading to the community for years. Until the gate was shut permanently by Professor Aburime Anao, the vice chancellor at the time, following a student crisis cum riot, with only the pedestrian gate left open for students to use. The previous gate was a see through one that was always opened, but after the crisis, an elevated gate that fits more in a maximum security prison has been in place to this day.

At different times, the school has taken turns to carry out palliative measures on the road. However, that measure has receded in recent years, which has left the road in a terrible state.

The domino effects of the current state of Ekosodin is that some property owners there, are now putting it up for sale due to the fact that some have not been able to derive maximum returns from those properties as majority of them are hostels.

The environment and terrain at Ekosodin isn’t conducive in many ways especially when it rains. 

When Ekosodin became a name synonymous with the University of Benin more than four decades ago, little was known about Bwari in the Federal Capital, Abuja. Both have similar location in terms of how further away from the main road they are with Bwari some distance from the Abuja-Zuba expressway than Ekosodin is from Benin-Lagos expressway. But in terms of development, Ekosodin cannot boast of the most modicum of development. Ekosodin doesn’t even have a tarred road that runs through it.

For starters, Ekosodin is a paradox when everything about it is put side by side with how it has fared in all indices of capital development when compared to how the University of Benin has grown in leaps and bounds over the years.

The blame for the current state of Ekosodin lies squarely in the hands of the indigenes, their pursuit of self-interest has set the community backward in terms of development. When people who are not progressives approach a situation, the first thing they consider is to line their pockets.

With portions of the community rapidly giving way as environmental degradation hits it, it would take more than the reconstruction of the access road to the community for it to gain a semblance of light. The environmental state of Ekosodin has to be addressed, not just the gully erosion site, but several roads within the community that have become mini gully sites.

For what it is worth, Ekosodin would always retain a special place in the hearts of students who went through it either for good or bad. But whether, it one day becomes a place that would measure up in terms of developmental strides remains to be seen.