‘How New York named street after Kudirat Abiola’

National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) member and United States-based paediatrician Dr Bashiru Dawodu was part of the rally in New York, following which the city named part of Manhattan’s 44th Street and Second Avenue after the late Kudirat Abiola. He tells ROBERT EGBE how he and other Nigerians fought against military rule from overseas and how this has prepared him for the intrigues of Nigerian politics.

For over a century, your family has had its roots in Oshodi 1 Constituency, where you were born and raised. You’ve also always been a ‘Lagos boy’; schooling in King’s College and graduating as a medical practitioner from the University of Lagos. What made you decide to go abroad?

I was privileged to get grants and scholarships from Lagos State. I applied for the grants to enable me know more medicine and become a specialist, so I can do more for our people. That’s why I went abroad in 1991. I was there till  2016. But I’ve been going back and forth from 2010. I had my training in paediatrics. I held various positions, including head of department, hospital administrator, chairman of the department, head of paediatrics at Mitchel County Paediatrics in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States of America. I was also chief medical director of the hospital. I was also involved in a lot of non-governmental stuff; I established and planned programmes for the local government where I practiced. I also designed policies. For instance, I designed asthma programmes, immunisation, sickle cell, teen health programmes etc. I also started Free Clinics, a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Free Clinics organised free medical missions and healthcare to several African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria. We’ve been doing that every year. We come to Nigeria, for instance, bi-annually. We were in Lagos just last month. I bankrolled most of our operations myself. Of course, we had volunteers.

What was your relationship with Nigerians in the US?

In the US, I was very active in my community. I was a member and patron of Eko Club International. It was an association of Lagos-bred Nigerians, or Nigerians with Lagos interests in the Diaspora. It carries out a lot of charitable activities in hospitals, or schools, or taking care of orphans in Lagos. It’s different from the Eko Club in Lagos, Surulere. I was very active politically in the US. We were able to organise and mobilise Nigerian-Americans to participate in US elections. We tried to get Nigerians to run for office as Mayor or council men; candidates that we felt were going to be favourable to not only Americans but also the Nigerians there, whether they were Democrats or Republicans. I’ve also been very active in Nigerian politics in the Diaspora. I’m a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Diaspora. I was in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). I was a founding member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). I was also in the Action Congress (AC), which later became the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). I was also a founding member of the APC in the Diaspora, of which I am still an active member.

What was your role in NADECO?

Basically we were concerned about (the late M. K. O.) Abiola’s mandate (following the cancellation of the June 1993 presidential election by military ruler Gen. Ibrahim Babangida). There were a lot of Nigerians in exile then. I was living in New York at the time. I remember that one of my friends, the late Sikiru Babalola, told me about this group, Democracy Now, and they were trying to fight the military government from remaining in office. When they went to (former US Secretary of State) Madeline Albright, she said the US had to hear from Nigerians before America could get involved in that. So, I started accompanying him to the meetings; this was in The Bronx, New York, with Baba Alao Aka-Bashorun. I remember that Pa Rabiu, an institutional, legendary activist in New York, was there. He was US-based but very Nigeria-centric, very well known. I also remember that Pa Anthony Enahoro was there. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd) was also there, among many others. This was the New York arm. People were doing things in Washington DC. So, we held a lot of protests. I remember the one we did for Abiola’s wife, the late Kudirat. The meetings eventually metamorphosed into NADECO, because most of the pioneer members were there at that time.

Protest for Kudirat?

This was in New York. We called it the ‘mother of all rallies in New York’, because it shut down a particular major highway in the city of Manhattan, New York. So, they had to name the road Kudirat Abiola Way. When you go to New York, you’ll see it. It’s in front of the Nigerian Embassy. So, the Mayor of New York gave us that concession after Kudirat was murdered.

When did you decide to become involved in politics in Nigeria?

It was during the ACN days that I made up my mind to go back to Nigeria and participate in politics. That was about 2007/2008. My Diaspora folks knew I was from Oshodi and they advised me to go to my local government, register with the ward and interact with the people and leaders. So, I did that and became part and parcel of the Nigerian arm of the party. It wasn’t really difficult to integrate, because I returned to a place where my entire lineage is. My father and mother were born here, very well-known members of the society. I did everything here, I’m a child of the community. Once I mentioned my name, they knew who my father and mother were. When I started, I found out there were a lot of health needs, so I began free medical checkups and give people free medications. They were very happy. I was a participant in the 2007 election primaries. I decided to contest for a seat in the House of Representatives, but the party leaders persuaded me to step down for Hon. Moroof Akindero, who later won during the general election. In 2011, I contested again, but lost out in the primary to the incumbent. In the 2015, I was the second runner-up in the primary. I’m very proud of what we did. Moving forward, politics is very dynamic. In the last primary, three of us contested, there are re-alignments now. A lot of people felt I was the best, but I didn’t really get a chance. But my structure is stronger now, because I have my own group in every ward which is integrated in mainstream groups. So, the situation is different now, because basically it looks as if all the structures over here support me for this House of Reps in 2019.

You’re a medical doctor. You save lives. Why politics?

A lot of people have asked me that question. Someone even said: You’re a doctor. What are you doing in politics? You need to go and treat patients. The way I see it is that people’s perception depends on their understanding of life. A doctor, a paediatritian, can only see at most 100 kids in a day. But the governor of a state can immunize thousands of children in a day. No doctor can do that. So, through governance and policy one can do more for the people than what individual professions can do. Government policy determines the road you walk or drive on, the air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat, where your kids go to school. So, it’s a very important part of life and I don’t think any profession should be excluded from that, if the man has good ideas.

Secondly, my community has done a lot for me and I see this as payback for them. For about 10 years now, I’ve gone round identifying their needs and I’ve come to the conclusion that most of the things I’m doing now on my own are better done via the government. So, the government is better placed. But thank God that we have a great government in Lagos.

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