By Bion Bion
… As it is said that, a prophet is not respected in his own land rather in another but the case of Olorogun Gbagi is very different as his passion for both his people and others granted him honours and support from different parts of the country.
As a former minister, one and only viable aspirant among others not just in PDP but also in general, most of the Chieftancy titles bestowed on him is considered to be honourable as a mere man cannot bag such many titles.
Apart from the Chieftancy titles received earlier, the current title, “Aare-Atunluse of Akure Kingdom” given to him because of his kind gesture and detrabalised nature by the Deji of Akure Kingdom, Oba (Dr) Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, Odundun II and was referred to one special and great title as it also came all the way from Akure in Ondo state which is another tribe “Yoruba” showing that Olorogun (Barr) Kenneth Gbagi FNIM is truely a “Detrabalised man of many parts” and this title explains why diverse cultures cannot allow disintegration among Nigerians instead one love keeps Nigerians together irrespective of their tribe, colour and differences.
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It may interest you to know that, many were present from South-south, South-east, North and West to grace the occasion and make it a success for the two days of the month of October dated 8th, 9th, 2021.
Apart from the celebrant, who is the PDP Governorship aspirant for 2023, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi and his amiable wife, Hon. Justice Sybil Gbagi, JCA, his children.
Also in attendance was Dr. Eddy Olafeso, Chief (Mrs.) Tessy Tori, South South PDP Woman Leader, Chief Sir E.D.O. Obofukoro, Member of Elders Council, Delta State, Lady Princess Christy Obofukoro, High Chief Peter Ifie, Unuvworo of Ekpan.
Among Others are Chief Emuoboh Gbagi, Special Adviser to Delta State Governor on Youth Development, Elder (Chief) Solomon Ala, Senior Special Assistant to Delta State Governor, Political, a prominent Nigerian activist Mr. & Mrs. Zik Gbemre, International Human Right Activist, Elder Moor Ologitere, Barr. Fred Aburu.
However, the former South West Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Vice Chairman and one-time Commissioner for Information, Ondo State, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, first received the former minister, Olorogun Gbagi and his entourage in grand style at their arrival on Friday October 8th 2021 with a warm reception at his compound.
To top it all, it was a memorable event as that was the same day of the cultural and historic Ulefunta festival, which is the traditional annual leave period of the monarch that has always been celebrated from ancient days.
In an interview with the gentlemen of the press, the PDP Governorship Aspirant, Governor in waiting, the Aare-Atunluse of Akure Kingdom, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi specially aired his view on many of the received Chieftancy titles and reason for him being honoured by different tribes and he said, “Today to the glory of God, I am the Aare-Akinluse of Ancient empire of Akure founded 1180 BC”.
For some reason, you saw the letter the Aare wrote to me, “the reason why I reciprocated the honour”. I have never met the Aare in my life until that Friday 11:00pm, I never spoken to him just saw that letter and it reminded me what a proper nation ought to be a nation by itself suppose to look for good and great people with integrity and character as it it said, “support one criminal and bring down a nation”.
A nation is suppose to look irrespective of say whether its your brother, sister, mother or father, integrity and character does not give room for mediocrity so while I saw the letter of Deji of Akure, I was jolted the reason why you saw the funfare, and the Happiness to which I took the titles, having had titles and this made it very clear about all the titles I have, let me start from the first one.
The late Orodje of Okpe, a father figure, a former police man whom we grew up in his presence then appreciating what I am and what I stood for when I flew him to London with his wife and son during his downstate and when he came back from London he sent for me and said, “Kenneth, I want to do something for you and I don’t want you to refuse” and I said, ‘what? and he said, “I want to give you a chieftaincy title in December when I come back during my title period” and I kept quite that’s how he named me, “Ochuko of Okpe Kingdom”.
The second one, was very impressive which is the one of Ovie of Ugheli, I was in my house at Japparo when I was told by my security men that a king was at the gate to see me unlike that of the Owhrode of Olomu who knew me as we grew up together and that was the first time in my life seeing this particular king and I could remember I told my security men to open the gate and usher him in and he said, ‘I have come to give you a title, ‘Ojaruhrobo reri of Ugheli kingdom”. I felt very proud as a great man of integrity and character who still lives today, “may he live and reign as long as God allows him”.
The third one is the “Ovie of Olomu” who is the oldest man in Delta state today as a traditional man, he also said, I want to give me title because of my antecedents, the way I do things himself have travelled and I have helped him medically and what have you. There are lots of people I have helped in the country like judges and the rest of them and these made him want to give me a chieftancy title which he pleaded to me not to refuse and he gave me a title, “Ataneru – when you speak, you do’.
Then of course , the Okobaro of Ughievwen kingdom also gave me a title, ‘Ame of Ughievwen kingdom’ because of the way we met as he became king so I was the first chief as he receives his staff of office as a king.
It is no longer history that, I am from Oginibo parternally and maternally from Jesse. The king of Jesse will be giving me a title on October 23, 2021 in Jesse. You know obviously that, I am also the ‘Gbafimo of Lagos’ Akiolu the current king being my former student and Ugoeze amaka of Ubulu-Uku kingdom where my wife is from and I think after this one of Jesse, I will cap it up but there is a major problem because I know the Emir of Lafia will not agree so that one is a done deal after that one as much as possible, it is ended. I just want to tell you, is not that I want to acquire these title but just that some of them are people I can not just refuse.
Put it very squarely, Nigeria is not going to break, if you saw the culture yesterday where the Ibos, Yorubas, hausas came together to display there cultures at the Chieftancy title event rejoicing together that will assure you that Nigeria will not break. We live together as one if not for anything at all, it’s just the government that is using themselves to blockade them for themselves inorder to quale the people and exploit the people.
Nigeria as a people do not have enemy within ourselves, that’s why the ‘Deji of Akure could come all the way from Yoruba land to give me a Chieftaincy title, Emir of Lafia, HRH Justice Sidi Bage Mohammad 1 (JSC) Rtd. could come all the way from the North to honour me and the Oba of Lagos, Oba Akiolu could come all the way from Yoruba land to give me title. We had lived our lives within Nigeria as brothers in such a manner that we as a people have no problem and if there is any problem in Nigeria, it is the government as what ought to be beautiful, the happiest thing of our life is our population which everywhere in the world is a money spinner and an economic driver but all of that we are toying with in pains and we are where we are today in government.
If you ask me, I am very pained as a man who has done security all my life where my strength is from, all the people running away from PDP to APC are not APC they are all PDP members in blood, soul and body, they are all going to work together as PDP is going to produce the next President in Nigeria because “if you don’t marry two wives they say, you will not know which one is better and see the difference”.
When I left as a Minister in Nigeria, having created 13 universities within one year in office, we left Naira at N156 to one Dollar which was maintained but today one dollar is equal to N600, it’s no but within themselves, having skirmishes of Bokoharam or what have you but it was not in this magnitude of today.
Nobody pregenanted our wives, daughters, mothers on the guise that they are herdsmen, nobody thought of this gun taunting, this blood sunckingness, nobody thought about all these current omen.
Honestly, we as Nigerians must bring ourselves to thought and correct immediately what the situation is before the mercinaries or government of Nations other than our nation come to forcefully correct it for us. No government in this world will want to toil with Nigeria the way it is today because of the population of Nigeria which will explode the world infact we will not allow it to get out of hand the way we are going so I can assure you that “Nigeria will not break”.
Just like what happened in 2015, if you remember vividly I was telling Jonathan and I granted a press conference to Vanguard at a time if you follow what will happen, all these people threatening with certain forces EFCC, SSS saying, if you don’t join APC we will jail you, your children, they are not APC but PDP, they are only APC in the daytime and PDP in the night time, they will all come back later and we will have a situation where they will be a blackmail exactly what happened to Jonathan after the mirage of blackmail and what have you at a time even though they are PDP they voted for Buhari APC believing he has a six or seven point agenda but everybody has now come to see that it was just a “ruse”, they talk of security within how many days and all we have seen is no security at all, they talk of food availability infact food has become out of reach to the people for instance a bag of rice is now N36,000, a satchet of pure water sells at N10 – N20, what about garri, the supposed food of the poor is been considered in Nigeria today as not reachable so where then do we go from here? Just name one area that is good in this APC government? Is it the military, customs, navy they have all politicised everywhere, the whole thing has been bastardised.
I recall during Obasanjo government, he had federal character in place today its gone during Jonathan infact Federal character was even worse in favour of the North. Its all stories, nothing everybody is living under one threat or the other as a result of all these, the investment that was thriving which made Nigeria became the second or third country in the world doing investment but today all the investment have retrogressed, all gone so what I am saying is that, “we must have a common free economic situation to allow the state to thrive”.
Furtherance my advocacy is that, “we should as a people sit down to reverse a number of things that was left to us by our colonial masters that are no longer applicable to life and society today. We must avoid a second reoccurrence of endsars, the youths are crying, the youth needs to be provided for, we don’t have a demography of the youths per local government nor state, President buhari has nothing of such, I bet you.
Finally and most importantly, I believe that the North and the South or the South and the North should sit down irrespective of this game of political shift or what have you and come to a consensus to how we want to take power from this dead situation of no governance back to PDP and how we want to pick the mind of the greatest of our persons in PDP including those ones who are in PDP in the night and APC in the daytime visa-vis and bring our best to come and manage the affairs of the country and not to waste any further time rather than 2023 to write it right.
We as a country or people are frustrated, it will be very disastrous and we cannot afford any further mistake this time. Now if you pick people who are the ones acceptable in the nation, people like Gov. Okowa whether you like it or not, it appeals to the North, South, East, West because of his open nature as a person. We are looking for a leader that will bring to the helpless, peace and to the nation.
I know a lot of them but at the end of the day we need to settle down and reach a consensus that we have Nigeria better than where we met it. The unfortunate situation from 2015 till now of the government at the centre lives so much to be desired that we need to come together to correct it whether North, South, East, or West but as a people because this country belong to us all and God is not foolish when he gave this country to us as our own so we should make sure we make Nigeria better.
‘President Buhari has sent the PIB to the National Assembly’ what will be your suggestion?
No! its simple, my advice to the national assembly who has failed not to look at the historical perspective of this country to have pass such a water worthless PIB and that is exactly the reason why I refuse to comment all this while knowing it wont fly.
You cannot by gun take over what the people have been given by God so that particular PIB cannot see the light of the day because you need to collect the crude oil, the gas, the money, for you to be able to say you want to share and percentage them so if the people whom God has given these wealth, if it pleases God, he would have put in Lagos or Kadunna or in Kastina but it pleases God to put this oil in Niger Delta knowing that we are helpless as a way of God wanting to support us as His children, he gave us wealth so you cannot say you are helping them instead they are the one helping the country and we must get it right.
Also I want to thank Mr. President for being sensible knowing that, it is a time bomb, it’s not going to work because people sitting down up there, been blown by air condition brought by this same people while they sat down there saying we are giving them 5% are talking reasonably, the the PIB must be reviewed in favour of the community and create a council that will manage it on behalf of the individual community with those allocations with the companies that are operating within the parameter of that place for it to be sensible.
In my opinion, I do not see anyting less than 25% for it to be meaningful in because at the end of the day they should make do with 75% which is more than enough but at least give Niger Delta nothing less than 25% and once you do that then, you are creating peace.
Secondly, if Niger Delta is good for you to exploit oil, gas and what have you then you must relocate your company to the site and reside there. Let the oil companies relocate and stay in the community where they exploit their oil, you don’t have any oil company operating in Texas going to live in New York and pay tax to New York while exploring the oil it doesn’t work that way.
It is about time people start respecting the idiosyncracies of people continuously to there areas of production for them to see peace and believe we don’t want to go back to days of cutting pipes or destroying anything.
Let us sit on a roundtable and negotiate, what is Mobil and Chevron doing in Lagos and what money do they want to make in Lagos? They are tapping their oil, let the Government provide them adequate security like they can get in Lagos, provide them immigration and move them continually to the community where they tap oil from.
In any case I had made a proposal when I was a Minister, if Chevron move to Delta as we own 60% of all the drills, government should allow them to build an international airport and land their aircrafts in Delta state.
It’s the same custom in Lagos that are in Delta and same immigration in Lagos that are in Delta and we all are Nigerians, of course development will start flowing, the people will have a sense of belonging with Chevron and will like to support them because they will drive vehicles licensed here then get cook and nanny here and of course them coming to Delta will evolve in the economy.
In that vain, Mobil will have no business than to move it’s headquarters to Eket, sell their property in Lagos and let government take 60% and they take 40% then relocate to Eket so that the people of Eket will enjoy the benefits of what God has identify them with and deposited for them.
The PIB must go further in their amendment, let Shell go to Port Harcourt because they have no business in Lagos, if you calculate the money Shell spend on aircraft movement of their staff between Lagos and their various locations of operations which makes the country to bleed and whose money is this, it is still same oil producing community money that they are been spent while the community suffrs.
Do you know how many aircraft comes from Lagos everyday to Escavos bringing workers in and out not without them staying with the people? But the oil and gas is good for them to carry, it’s not going to work, the PIB must be totally reviewed.
I incidentally muted this idea to Deziani and Jonathan at a time as a minister. Let Agip and Snepco move to Bayelsa, get an airport for them to reside in the community.
The whole idea of people flying from Abuja to Lagos is a non starter, it’s not going to work. The PIB is a lasting peace document that must be corrected very carefully by President Buhari for it to work perfectly.