Banjo: Demise of guerilla scholar

Statesmen, politicians and leaders of self-determination groups joined the associates and relations of the pro-democracy crusader, the late Prof. Segun Banjo, for his funeral in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, last week. In this piece, Segun Balogun recalls the life and times of the scholar and his contributions to the democratic order.

HUMAN rights activists and leader of self-determination groups in Yorubaland have converged on Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State to bid a pro-democracy crusader, Prof. Segun Banjo, farewell.

Banjo was an anatomy professor of repute, who later became famous for his daring armed struggle against the despotic military rule of General Sani Abacha in the mid 90s during the pro-democracy fight against annulment of June 12 presidential election. He passed away in his Ijebu-Ode home in April at the age of 79, quietly and unsung like many heroes of pro-democracy struggle in Nigeria.

In 1995, following the annulment of the June 12 election believed to have been won by Chief M.K.O Abiola, a business mogul, he had organised insurgence to overthrow Abacha through armed insurrection. His action has become a reference point that inspires many younger ones to always stand up and fight against injustice.

The groups therefore gathered for the planned 250-man procession in honour of the man they dubbed ‘selfless father of Yoruba liberation,’ distributing a leaflet to everyone in their track with one central message – that Nigeria must be restructured in line with federalist principles.

Dressed in red T-shirts with emblazoned picture of the late professor, the groups defied the scorching sun as they marched through major streets of Ijebu Ode, rousing sleepy dusts and singing solidarity songs that reechoed Banjo’s call for Yoruba self determination and lately, restructuring of Nigeria. Locals lined the streets, some viewed from their windows and balconies.

The leaflet, which was printed in English and Yoruba languages, contains extracts of interviews that Banjo granted while alive to document his motivation for and travails in the armed struggle he waged against a brutal despot.

If anyone knows nothing about Banjo before that day, a glance at the leaflet leaves the impression of him as a selfless patriot who sacrificed his career, lost his wife, son and everything he has in order for Nigerians to gain democratic rule.

In the leaflet, Banjo was quoted as saying “I lost everything. I lost my money. I lost my health. I lost all”, when asked to quantify his lost to the struggle he independently waged.

While revealing his motivation, he said the sight of seeing unarmed protesters shot by soldiers at Ojuelegba in Lagos during the June 12 struggle changed his mind.

“The soldiers stood afar giggling and pointing at the people who were on the ground bleeding dying and dead. Of course, I too went flat on the ground because that was the way to avoid gunshots,” he said.

“And I thought in my mind, these people were shooting human beings and were laughing as if they were shooting games. I was terribly disturbed by that incident. Then I made a determination to fight. I realised that talking would not remove Abacha; we had to fight him with weapons. I asked myself the question, ‘will all these soldiers still continue to laugh if they were faced with weapons? And will they still continue to fight?’ I told myself that 90 per cent of these people shooting unarmed people down will run if faced by an armed group with equal or superior weapons. I doubt they did it because [they believe] Abacha is worth dying for.”

 

Legendary patriotism:

The procession, led by leaders of the pan-Yoruba groups, went through the town to spread the gospel of revolution that Banjo lived for and was received at his home by his wife, Ngozi, who had joined the struggle and stayed with him during his travails in prison. She was introduced to the group by a journalists who first met Banjo 1996 in Ghana,  Adewale Adeoye. The journalist narrated her unbending spirit and unwavering commitment to Banjo’s chosen cause.

Some of the leaders that led the procession include: Hon. Olawale Oshun, chairman of Afenifere Renewal Group, a former deputy governor of Ogun State, Senator Adegbenga Kaka, Razaq Arogundade and Sina Akinpelu both of Oodua Peoples Congress New Era, Sunday Akinloye of Oodua Nationalist Coalition, Olorogun Adebanjo, leader of Oodua National Congress, Taofeek Adeyemi, Secretary of Reformed Oodua Peoples Congress, Chief Kunle Oshodi, leader of Agbekoya Reformed Society, Razaq Olokoba and Jubril Ogundimu both of Coalition of Oodua Self Determination Groups. Other participating groups include Oodua Liberation Movement, Oodua Youth Movement, Network of Yoruba Alliance, and others.

The reception at the home of the late professor on Awujale Street, Ijebu Ode, was a carnival as well as a seminar as some of the leaders took turn to eulogise Banjo and also to remind listeners that the purpose for which he laid down his life is yet to be achieved. They also praised Mrs. Banjo for her steadfastness and for “exemplifying the reason why the fractured relationship between the Igbo and Yoruba should not continue to degenerate.”

Olokoba said Banjo “has earned a good name for himself, which many rich people do not have and cannot get. Legacy is not like a property that you acquire with money. It is what you earned through dignified actions taken on behalf of the general wellbeing of the people. He played a prominent role in our struggle and we will never forget him. We shall immortalise him and ensure that his name is given a befitting chapter in our history.”

“We are here today to condole with the family of the man of honour, courage and one who has earned the trust of everyone of us including generations yet unborn. This house of his shall not perish,” said Ogundimu, who related how a team was sent to see to Banjo’s release from prison when the news of his arrest was broken to them.

It was the president of ONC, Adebanjo, whose speech narrated the link between Banjo and his late elder brother and veteran of Nigeria’s civil war, Victor Banjo and called for the immortalisation of the family as defenders of Yoruba nation.

“The prodemocracy struggle against Abacha’s government took a new turn when Prof Segun Banjo did what he did. We believe he did not die in vain, having taken the same path that his elder brother, Colonel Victor Banjo, took in defending Yoruba nation,” he said.

Agitation for structuring:

Oshun, in his speech said the history of “prodemocracy struggle in Nigeria and Yorubaland cannot be complete without a mention of what Prof Segun Banjo sacrificed and suffered.”

“We know that this struggle is still unfolding because we do not believe it is successful until Nigeria’s governance is properly restructured to entrench federalism principles and jettison unitary command structure.”

“The reason Nigeria is battling with all sorts of worsening violent crimes is largely due to the centralist nature of governance that takes away the right of the people to plan for their development and hand it over to the few who sits in Abuja.”

“In the Northwest region, The Kaduna-Abuja road is almost impassable now for fear of kidnappers and Zamfara banditry is as confounding. The Northeast has still not made the bend fully away from terrorism. The Niger Delta is currently calm but everyone knows that the restiveness of militancy is still rife. The middle belt and Southwest regions are grappling with herdsmen violent attacks and you have the Biafra agitation in Southeast.”

“People are not talking about these crises because they think they will resolve themselves with time as the case used to be. But they are not likely to resolve themselves unless we allow for effective governance structure that can tackle efficiently sociopolitical issues by implementing strategies peculiar to local environments and not the one handed down from Abuja. This is why we need restructuring.”

“The sacrifice that your husband and many of us undertake is to prevent Nigeria from getting to the sorry state it is today and ensure it is a progressive and better place for the forthcoming generation. Unfortunately, we have not achieved that, which is why those of us here are promising not to rest on our oars until we have restructuring in this country.”

 

Unfinished business:

Mrs Banjo, while fought back tears while narrating that Banjo up till his last breath, still believed in and was praying for the struggle to come to fruition. “He has a lot of plans on how the Nigerian society should be governed. He was a politician that was never given a chance to serve his people to his heart’s content,” she said.

“He was well travelled and wanted Nigeria to be as developed as other nations. When we were in the US, he sunk all our savings in the struggle to free Nigeria from despotic military rule. He told me that was what he wanted and I believed him.”

“On the day he was arrested, I was not even with him as I had gone to arrange for a cab. When I learnt of his arrest, people told me to run away. But I decided to stay with him because I love him and I believe in his patriotic agenda. I have no regret staying with him even till now, I feel proud and happy about what we did together.”

Mrs. Banjo however warned the groups about betrayal because “there is nothing that kills the kind of struggle that we did and that you people are doing faster.”

“We succeeded up till the point we did because we both refused every attempt to betray the cause. I had several people trying to talk me out of the struggle because I am Igbo and he is Yoruba and also because I have yet no child with him at the time. They would say I was much younger than him and should not waste my life. There were even such emissaries from government quarters.

“But I do not know how much money is enough to betray a cause. No matter the amount of money given, once you buy house and cars, it is exhausted. Is that enough? Do not betray each other for anything. It is better you do not join in the first instance or quietly withdraw and if you cannot continue. There is greater honour in that.”