Why we pulled out of Gani Adams faction of OPC -Abdulsalam
Dr. Marufu Olarewaju Abdulsalam is a former Kwara State coordinator of the Oodua Peoples’ Congress (OPC). Now he is National President of Oodua Progressives Congress; he said his group is pulling out of the Gani Adams-led OPC and that they decided to change the name of the organisation so that people will not think that they are still in the fold of the Gani Adams faction of the OPC. He spoke with our Correspondent in Ilorin, KEHINDE AKINPELU on that and many more.
******Why are you taking your group out of the mainstream OPC?
During President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, the OPC was banned and up till today the Federal Government is yet to lift that ban. So we can continue to struggle with the Federal Government on the legality or otherwise of the OPC.
As a result when consulted with the ‘who is who’ in Yoruba land, they advised us to give our own a change of name. So there is nothing bad to change from Oodua Peoples’ Congress to Oodua Progressives Congress
*******What is the difference between Oodua Progressives Congress and Oodua Peoples’ Congress?
There is a lot of differences. One you will recall that Oodua Peoples’ Congress has been banned. And registration process of the Oodua Progressives Congress is on with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CPC). When registered, we will embark on the promotion of Yoruba culture, different from the way OPC under Gani Adams did it. Gani Adams OPC is doing its festival for monetary gains and to popularise himself. Our own OPC will embark on Yoruba culture based on invitation. Unlike that of Gani Adams that normally hijacks the promotion of cultural heritages in Yoruba communities.
Like the Oya festival in Ira, Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State here. OPC started it without the involvement of the community. Like the Oke-Ibadan, Obatala festival in Igangan we jumped into it without formal invitation from the communities. The Ooro festival in Iseyin which OPC is celebrating, the community never invited the organisation. Some years ago we wanted to hijack the Sango festival in Oyo, but the Alaafin of Oyo rebuffed us. Since then the festival stopped.
We at the Oodua Progressives Congress are poised not to repeat the mistakes of the Gani Adams OPC. You recall that Gani Adams OPC festivals are based on Yoruba tradition alone, we will digest it in the Oodua Progressives Congress.
Here in Ilorin community, you can’t bring Sango festival here. You cannot bring Obatala festival here. What Ilorin people will cherish most is the promotion of Quran. The people believe that there culture and tradition is Quran. If they believe that that is their culture, why can’t we promote it by organising Quranic competitions? It is part of my OPC programmes.
And we want to be involved in agricultural revolution of the Federal Government. It is no longer fashionable to find members of the OPC to be involved in land grabbing. Most members of the Gani Adams Oodua Peoples’ Congress either belong to Okada riding or garage hooligans. We don’t want our members to be involved in all these things. These are some of the differences between Oodua Peoples’ Congress and Oodua Progressives Congress.
*****Talking about Oodua in Ilorin?
Oodua is a name for the Yoruba speaking sons and daughter. Here in Ilorin, we don’t have any other language but Yoruba. Even the Emir of Ilorin I met him severally speaking Yoruba fluently. We are Yoruba in Ilorin. And who ever speaks Yoruba belongs to Oodua race.
******Do you support the clamour for restructuring of Nigeria?
You see we have been saying it even before the advent of this democratic dispensation. As President Muhammadu Buhari we say that ‘if we don’t kill corruption, corruption may kill us.’ If we fail to restructure the country, this country may collapse. We need restructuring. For example if an indigene of Akwa Ibom is transferred to Kwara as the commissioner of police, it will take him some months to get used to the environment. But if you pick somebody from Ilorin, he will police the state effectively.
We need true federalism and resource control. All these are subsumed under restructuring. The President is in Abuja and all armed forces and para-military forces are under his control. It will be very easy for Mr. President to use these forces to clampdown on any community that is opposed to him. We need regionalism to reduce wastages in the country’s finances.
Some years ago, Boko Haram reared its ugly head. What caused it? The Boko Haram members said they wanted to Islamise their areas but the country said no. If that is what they want why can’t we give it to them to avoid all these avoidable bloodsheds. The lives of innocent souls both civilians and military would have been saved.
****Biafra agitators…
Yes. It is part of restructuring. Assuming we have restructured the country before now, they might not call for Biafra. Assuming they are controlling their own resources they might not call for Biafra. And only God knows what happens next.
******And the herdsmen and farmers’ clashes
The issue of killings here and there in Nigeria is totally worrisome; that is why I said earlier that we need state police. If there is state police, it will be very difficult for anybody in Abuja to call and influence the release of persons arrested for allegedly committing crimes. That is why there an upsurge in herdsmen/farmers clashes. The clashes assumed alarming dimension at the assumption of the present administration in the country. The herdsmen believe President Buhari is their own. They have become too big and swollen headed.
*******What is your view of the two years of President Buhari’s government?
Two years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been so pathetic. I am not a politician, but I am a Nigerian and everybody is entitled to his own opinion. Buhari may mean well for Nigeria, he may be angel as he wants us to believe. But he is surrounded by corrupt politicians. And it will be very difficult for his anti corruption war to succeed because a tree cannot make a forest. It will be very difficult for him to succeed and it will be very difficult for him to change the Nigerian mentality. That is why it is like we are moving from frying pan to fire.
******How do you react to the recent acquittal of Senate President Bukola Saraki at the CCT?
When the case started we gave it a very close monitoring. We believe that at the end of the show something will happen. If you say somebody is corrupt, you have your evidence. You go to court and the court said no this evidence is not genuine. You have nothing to do again.
But I read in the dailies recently that the Federal Government has appealed against the ruling. Let’s wait and see. But if Senator Saraki knows he is not corrupt he should let his mind be at peace.
******You recently got an award from American University, what criteria did the university consider in selecting you?
Honestly speaking, I don’t know how they picked my name. All I know is that whatever you are doing, do it well. When this issue of Gani Adams started, I challenged him. I have been the arrowhead. I went to Uthman Danfodio University and graduated in 1997 from the department of Islam and Arabic studies. I came down to Ilorin as an Islamic scholar to practicalise what I leant then. I taught in Ilorin here for good five and half years.
During this period I enrolled at the Kwara state Polytechnic for my ordinary and higher national diplomas in public administration. I got all these before 2002. It was 2002 that Gani Adams sat for a packaged WAEC.
With all these qualifications, we submitted ourselves to Gani Adams that he is our leader. That does not mean he is the most knowledgeable amongst us and it does not turn us to be his slaves.
On the award, I don’t know, may be the university got to know me through the numerous press statements we have been making on the internet. I just received a letter via courier service from American Trinity University. Two hours later I received another letter from Saint Pearls University, Port Novo giving me another doctorate award again. I then decided to go for that American first and next year that of Port Novo. That is what I can say about the awards.
******How many coordinators pulled out of Gani Adams faction with you?
We have Oyo, Ondo, Bayelsa, Delta and Osun states. Coordinators from eleven local government areas in Lagos State also pulled out. The Kaduna, Sokoto, Niger states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) all pulled out then. But later some thought Gani Adams has some spiritual powers to attack them and some of them ran back to him.
Since then, Oyo, Ondo, Bayelsa, Delta, Osun and Ekiti and myself from Kwara we have been together with some local government in Lagos.
Quote
Two years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been so pathetic. I am not a politician, but I am a Nigerian and everybody is entitled to his own opinion. Buhari may mean well for Nigeria, he may be angel as he wants us to believe. But he is surrounded by corrupt politicians. And it will be very difficult for his anti corruption war to succeed because a tree cannot make a forest. It will be very difficult for him to succeed and it will be very difficult for him to change the Nigerian mentality.
