Reminiscences with Adeseye Ogunlewe

Kingsley Adeseye Ogunlewe represented the Lagos East senatorial district from 1999 to 2003 on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform before he defected to the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP). He later became a minister of works from July 2003 to March 2006. In this interview, the 72-year-old former minister spoke on his schooldays, political journey, […]

Kingsley Adeseye Ogunlewe represented the Lagos East senatorial district from 1999 to 2003 on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform before he defected to the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP). He later became a minister of works from July 2003 to March 2006. In this interview, the 72-year-old former minister spoke on his schooldays, political journey, the controversial emergence of Bola Tinubu as governor of Lagos State, the assassination of Funsho Williams, among other things of interest. 

 

What was growing up like?

I was born into the Fadugba Ogunlewe royal family in Igbogbo, Ikorodu division of Lagos State. My parents were Mr Olugbusi Ogunlewe and Mrs Mabel Ajoke Ogunlewe. My father became the royal father of Igbogbo in 1943 and died in 1977. He was an educated king, to the extent that he was a Customary Court judge of the Ikorodu division for over 10 years. 

When the Queen of England came in 1956, for, among other things, the commissioning of Ikorodu Road, she conferred on my father the Member of the British Empire (MBE) honour. He was the most educated king in the Ikeja division at that time and represented Ikeja in the House of Chiefs. He was a classmate to Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe. 

I was born on Okoya Street in Idumagbo, Oko Awo area of Lagos Island. I lost my parents very early in life. It could be quite uncomfortable growing up in central Lagos at that time because we had so many people living in one room, while the majority slept outside. The toilets in such environment were the pit type where some residents carried their faeces about at night to dispose of. On some occasions, we had to pursue them not to empty their faeces around our area. 

As a child, I was rascally. There was a playing field at the back of our house called the Oko Awo Field where we used to play football and sometimes fight. During the Yoruba Egungun festival when masquerades like Tarzan, Arojagba cultural dance and many others would be on display, I had to be part of them. Also, when Igunnuko and Gelede dancers came out, we, the youth in the area, had to be part of them. 

The most interesting one was during the Ramadan when amateur musicians we called Ajiwere entertained with their were songs, at dawn, Muslims who were awake to eat the sahur (predawn meal). We would follow the Ajiwere all around our area singing and dancing. The Ajiwere is what translated to the popular Fuji brand of Yoruba music today. 

Towards the end of the Ramadan period, we would converge on the palace of the Oba of Lagos to watch the Ajiwere musicians compete among themselves, as the communities too, like Itafaaji, Oluwo, etc, also did against one another. 

Your name is Kingsley, but you have been talking about your activities during Ramadan then as if you were a Muslim. Where did you blend in?   

The interesting thing then was that there was totally no discrimination or religious bias as Muslims paraded the streets during Ramadan. Everybody followed them. I went to St. Patrick Primary School, a Christian missionary school, but half of my classmates were Muslims. In my church, Muslims served on the altar and they didn’t say because of that, they would convert to Christianity. As youths growing up, we saw all that as pure friendship. That was in the 1940s and 1950s. 

The communal relationship at that time needed to be made case studies. If your son offended someone in House No. 6 and you were leaving in House No. 20, his parents would bring him to House No. 6 for punishment, aside from the punishment his parents would mete out to him. Anybody in the community could send you on an errand and you must obey.  We grew up as members of one community. 

After the civil war, the British established boys and girls clubs, which helped in developing sports in Lagos Island. I was a member of the Oko Awo Boys and Girls Club, where we played table tennis, football etc. The best table tennis player in West Africa then, Jubril Ikotun, came from Lagos Island. We had the Onikan Stadium where school sports were developed. In each community, there were big playing grounds where clubs like Seven Brothers played competitive tennis. The fields developed many Nigerian footballers. That’s what we should go back to now – grassroots sport development. 

What interesting developments marked your schooldays?

My primary education was from 1952 to 1960, after which I moved to Oriwu College, Ikorodu. At that time, only the universities of Ibadan and Lagos were just developing. And our reference point at the time was the people we grew up with in the community. People like the Osenis, the Jinadus and those that attended famous secondary schools like Kings College and Eko Boys High School  were our role model. So, when we got to secondary schools, these were the people we were relating with, even when we came home on holidays. 

Schooling was very difficult at that time because there was no electricity in schools. We had to go to the brook to fetch water. I did a lot of menial jobs at that time. Thankfully, in 1964, we were through with secondary education.

I got employed at the Federal Board of Inland Revenue, Broad Street, Lagos, where I worked for three years. While working, I was doing my ‘A’ level. Some of my former classmates and I actually got admission to tertiary institutions, but we didn’t have the resources to pursue it. Then, the Federal Government established evening classes for those working and doing their ‘A’ levels, and workers in the Ministry of Education, who were graduates, were made to teach us. That was in 1965. We were very serious and many of us had three papers. We applied separately to the universities of Ife, Ibadan and Lagos. I was one of those admitted to the University of Ibadan to study Social Sciences with major in Geography.  

Some people didn’t believe I could secure admission to UI because to gain admission to the university at that time was very competitive, as it is now. In our time, the ’A’ level exam was Cambridge, and proceeding from there to one of the few top universities was like going to war.  For me, it was a privilege to attend the University of Ibadan. I stayed in Malambi Hall and it was fun all through. 

Till today, I remember my days at the university. It was an international university at that time. Most of our lecturers were Americans and we did enjoy ourselves, though what was most important for any serious undergraduate was to pass his exams. 

You hinted of funding problem when speaking earlier of admission. So how did you finance your university education?

There were indigent students; I just had to find my way into the group. But I later got a scholarship for three years after my brother, Dr Akinola Ogunlewe, had paid for the first year. He was based in England at that time. Can you believe that at that time the Ikeja Local Authority gave us scholarships? Imagine a local government giving scholarships to university students! It shows how strong local governments in Nigeria were. The Ikeja Municipal Local Administration was big. It extended to Ikorodu. That is one of the good arrangements missing in the country today.

Did you go back to the Board of Inland Revenue after your graduation in 1971?

No, I went to teach. I was posted to Ikorodu High School, and that was another experience entirely because it was a new school. There were young boys and girls that saw us as their uncles. Some of the students I taught are great men and women today, such as Justice Alogba, Professor Noah and Benson. These students were very brilliant. They respected us and were willing to learn. 

 After a year, I got a job with the Lagos State Government based on the agreement we had on the scholarship given us. Besides, when Lagos State was created, I was able to transfer my service from the Federal Inland Revenue Service to the Lagos State Government. I was employed as an Admin Officer on Grade Level 8 and posted to the Governor’s Office, City Hall, Lagos Island. 

I was the secretary to the State Executive Council under the military regime of Major General Mobolaji Johnson. I was trained by Mr Coker, Banmeke and some others on administration in Lagos State. I grew up in the system. I worked in the state’s planning commission as an assistant census officer. From there, I was moved to the Ministry of Works. 

In 1979, with the advent of civilian government, I became a director of works in the Public Works Corporation under Governor Lateef Kayode Jakande. Jakande came with a philosophy of Nigerian engineers actively participating in the development of the state’s economy. That is a glaring departure from what is happening now, where you allow expatriates to take over infrastructure development in the country. We must return to that period where every child had the opportunity to go to school, and everything needed in schools were given free.   

In reality, is that feasible today, considering population and cost?

Yes, it is still very feasible because there were papers on it, and that’s what will realistically bring development to the country. It’s through this that the citizens can remember the impact of government in their lives. If the people don’t have government’s impact in their lives, they can never be good citizens. That’s why we remember Chief Obafemi Awolowo till today. When I was in Primary 5 in 1956, I wouldn’t have been able to continue with my education but for the free education programme introduced by Awolowo in the Western Region. Today, we have over 14.5 million children in Nigeria who are supposed to be in school but are not. That’s not good for our country.

What was your experience in the Lateef Jakande administration?

I was the Director of Works in his government, which provided infrastructural facilities for the people. This was one of the things that attracted me to politics – service above self. Under Jakande, I worked with selfless politicians and admired them for their dedication to service. I told myself that if these people could serve like this, one day I would be in a position to serve too.

Did you serve your full cycle before you retired?

No, I didn’t retire. I was given compulsory retirement by the government of Chief Michael Otedola. It was during the Social Democratic Party (SDP) versus National Republic Convention (NRC) politics when the NRC won in Lagos State with Otedola as governor. Unfortunately, most of us in the Lagos State civil service at that time were pro-SDP. There was an intra-party problem in the SDP whereby Yomi Edu emerged the party’s governorship candidate for the 1992 elections after the real contenders, Professor Femi Agbalajobi and Dapo Sarumi, couldn’t be separated in a supremacy battle and were consequently disqualified. 

The disunity in the SDP led to a faction voting for Chief Otedola of the NRC in protest and he won. After assuming office as governor, he didn’t spare any of us pro-SDP senior hands in the state’s administration. We were all sacked during his inauguration speech at the Onikan Stadium in 1991. I was already a permanent secretary, land and housing, which I had become during the Governor Mike Akhigbe military administration in Lagos State. I had served no fewer than five administrators before the December 31, 1983 coup which removed Jakande as governor. At that time, I was just about 30 years old. 

After the sack, what happened?

I was devastated as none of us prepared for it. We were given 14 days to vacate our homes in Ikoyi. In my own case, I had nowhere to go. I had no house of my own. I had to talk to my brother, Dr Akinola Ogunlewe, who gave me N70,000 to do some work on the house I had started building in 1981. I was able to move into the house at Ogudu.    

While in service I read Law at the University of Lagos, so after the sack I started practising. I was one of those that encouraged Akhigbe, the then military governor of Lagos State, to study Law at the same University of Lagos. He gave me the permanent secretary job. 

When I started practising, I found it difficult initially. I didn’t know what to do. I was just trying to survive. Fortunately, I had an apartment in Victoria Island, which I had acquired through a loan from a friend. I rented the apartment out. From the proceeds, I settled both the friend and my brother’s loans, and then went into politics. I desired to follow the footsteps of Chief Awolowo and his colleagues in the progressives’ camp because it was their dedication to the citizenry that had endeared him to the people. 

Did you, at any point in your career, meet Chief Obafemi Awolowo in an encounter worth recalling?

I met him on several occasions. Remember that Jakande’s administration came in on the platform of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), which Chief Awolowo led. The party leaders and state governors who were members of the party always met in Chief Awolowo’s house in Apapa, Lagos. The meeting was usually once in a year, with Awolowo as chairman. Any time such meeting was being held, I would be among those that would go with Alhaji Jakande to attend it. 

At the meeting, each governor would present his scorecard before the leaders. The governors’ achievements, challenges and future plans would be assessed, with marks awarded. There was a template they were working with, which included free education, free health services and rural development, as well as employment opportunities. They were assessed based on these four cardinal points. They had somebody to report to. All the speakers of the relevant states Assembly  would be there. 

The leaders would ask the governors, one after another, questions like: “How many classrooms have you constructed? How many houses have you constructed in your mass housing programme?’’ The governors would be asked questions to showcase their achievements, and they must be convincing. It was a form of assessment by the party, during which suggestions, advice and solutions would be proffered, going forward. 

In what capacity did you come into politics – elective or appointment?

I joined a friend of mine, Chief Funsho Williams, who wanted to be the governor of Lagos State. Chief Williams was in government, while I was outside, and I was working for him as the chairman of his campaign group. We did this for five years before the formation of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), which he joined. I learnt a lot about governance, people and empowerment during the period. 

Funsho Williams was assassinated on July 26, 2006 and you were arrested as an accomplice. Could you relate your experience?

It was a planned work; well planned and ruthlessly executed. The only person who can judge it is God Almighty. My arrest was a phantom. His assassination was an executive killing and many people know who killed Funsho Williams. The Metropolitan Police came to Nigeria to carry out their investigation and arrived at some conclusions, and nobody is talking about that. Though they didn’t disclose those conclusions, they must have given the report to somebody. Let’s leave that to God. It was well-orchestrated. 

There was also some controversy about how Funsho Williams stepped down for Bola Tinubu at the AD governorship primary in 1999. You were an insider, so could you clear some doubts?

Tinubu had no chance in whatever form in Lagos politics at that time to have defeated Funsho Williams. It was the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) period, and the people wanted somebody who participated in their struggle. But then, when they were out of the country, we were on ground to build a strong political structure for Funsho Williams. At that period, we had five ‘fathers’ – Abraham Adesanya, Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Bola Ige and two others – whom we respected highly. These men wanted their own, either Wahab Dosunmu or Tinubu. 

Bola Tinubu did not initially want to be governor; his plan was to go to the Senate. We were attending a meeting at Chief Adebanjo’s House in Surulere when he came in from England. I am writing a book on this issue and it will be in the public domain soon. William’s defeat was orchestrated. Papa Adesanya was the chief returning officer at the primary election. They gave out ballot papers per local government. They knew clearly that Funsho Williams would win, so they cancelled the results of five local governments where he was very strong – Shomolu, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikorodu, Mainland and Agege  –  out of 20. Before we knew what was happening, they had already begged Williams to accept their results.  

On the day of the primary, Williams had been taken to the leaders by a lady in the morning, where they appealed to him to allow Bola Tinubu run and he should support him. Tinubu is an extremely lucky person. We got wind of his problem with his academic certificate from Jabita, that is, Shitta-Bey, who had filed in court a suit for the disqualification of Bola Tinubu because of what he had filled in his Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) form. We wanted to join issues with Shitta-Bey on it but the fathers called and begged us over it. 

For whatever it is worth, the man called Bola Tinubu must worship these elders throughout his entire life because they were the ones who saved him. It was they who prevailed on us and Funsho Williams agreed. It was Chief Olu Falae who invited us to his house in Victoria Island.  We were six there – Funsho Williams, myself, Aro Lambo, Kemi Nelson, Bola Tinubu and Senator Afikuyomi. Falae appealed to Williams to step down and become the campaign manager for Tinubu, which he accepted. I remember very well when Bola Tinubu declared to Williams that he (Williams) was the hero of democracy in Nigeria. That was how we started to campaign for Tinubu to win the election. 

What was the horse-trading have between Funsho William’s camp and Tinubu’s after the election?

After the election, I went to the Senate. My going to the Senate was by accident. I was the chief manager of Chief Tony Adefuye’s campaign team, who was once a senator but was seeking for re-election. He was disqualified in the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) and I was picked as a substitute. So, it was accidental under the UNCP. When the AD came, the position was again given to me as compensation. There was no competition at all. So while Bola Tinubu became the governor of Lagos State, I went to the Senate. 

What’s your relationship with Chief Bola Tinubu now?

We are still friends, but … 

When you were Minister of Works and Housing, there were some allegations against you over road repairs in Lagos State. Could you talk about it?

What happened was that the Lagos State government would erect billboards on federal roads with inscriptions such as ‘Please, bear with us,’ which we considered very bad. We saw this as an attempt to damage the image of the PDP in Lagos State. The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) won the governorship election in the state as a result of the propaganda, and, unfortunately, I was the Minister of Works and Housing. 

I told the Lagos State Government that we had agreed to repair the roads it labelled as bad, but I would not allow it to have control over them. What happened at that time is happening now between the state and the Minster of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who is also a member of the same party. You cannot relinquish the authority of the federal roads to the state because highways are common roads to all and no state can claim ownership of them. It was not a personal thing at all. 

You were also accused of having a hand in the erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo’s withholding of Lagos State’s allocation over creation of local council development areas. What was your role in that?

I didn’t play any role in that. It was a constitutional matter. Remember, Tinubu went to court over the issue, where the Federal Government got a judgement on the creation of the development areas. Lagos State decided to turn the new local governments to council development areas, which had been there. 

The argument was that the development areas could not derive the benefits of local governments from the state. They are a subsidiary to local government administration, but Tinubu wanted them to be local governments. It was celebrated that the state government had the power to create local governments. It was also echoed at the National Assembly that the local council development areas could not benefit from federal allocations. But to me, that was just on paper, for they are benefiting and elections are being conducted into them. This is against the decision of the Supreme Court, but nobody cares anymore.

What were your achievements as the Minister of Power, Works and Housing?

That will form a book. The concept of my ministerial administration was the involvement of indigenous participation in construction works. I was able to achieve this halfway before I was removed, but it was abandoned thereafter. We had bought equipment and asphalt plants in each zone of the federation. The Federal Government bought a lot of equipment. The intention was to use the equipment as a vehicle through which Nigerian engineers could be incorporated into road construction in the country. Unless we do this, Nigerian engineers can never grow. 

My obsession was not to allow the Lebanese, Indians and Chinese take over construction of our roads, leaving out thousands of our engineers to be roaming the streets in search of jobs. 

Government should create an institution through which equipment can be given to local engineers for construction. I bought all the equipment before my removal. They are still there till today. Our plan was to make the Federal Government plan with Nigerian engineers to form an institution, in a partnership deal, to ensure that the engineers participate in road construction. Before I left, we had started working on it. There are different layers of engineers – electrical, electronics, etc. And we were expecting them to form themselves into groups. That was what they did in China. They would then form companies that would be involved in road construction.

Was Obasanjo aware of this; and what did he do about it?

He was aware. You know, anything of that nature, expatriates will work against you. Foreign companies will never allow such things to fly. They will not want small companies to grow, and that is neo-colonialism because these are the areas they benefit from. This is second slavery in Africa. They will work against any policy that won’t favour them. This idea had been with me since 1974 when I was the general manager of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation when we didn’t have the asphalt plant we have in the state now in Ojodu, which I bought. 

Before the acquisition of the plant, it was these foreign companies that determined the rate at which the state would get asphalt for them to construct roads for us. All the engineers in the ministry said this was not sustainable and called for the state’s asphalt plant. It was controversial, but we achieved it. And that was when our engineers started constructing roads. When I became the minister, some bridges collapsed, but we used our local engineers to reconstruct them.    

At a point you left the progressives’ camp and crossed to the PDP. What happened?

AD was factionalised. There was Afenifere and the Afenifere Renewal Group. The party was broken into two. There was Abubakar as the chairman of a group and Sulaiman for the second group. I was in the Senate, and at that time there was an attempt by the PDP administration to impeach Obasanjo, so I, with some AD senators, crossed to the PDP. The AD senators thought that as Obasanjo’s kinsmen we should be able to help him by preventing the impeachment. Obasanjo didn’t know about this. We believed it wouldn’t be good history for a Yoruba man to be impeached as president of Nigeria. What I did was not only for Obasanjo but to save Nigeria’s democracy. We thought instead of impeachment, he should be allowed to complete his term.  

What brought you back to the progressives’ camp in 2011 to work for Fashola’s re-election?

In politics, when you see somebody you believe is working well and you believe in his agenda, why disturb him? That is my attitude in politics. Those that returned to the ACN were former members of the AD who had moved to the PDP. Some of the returnees were Fashola’s friends, admirers and relatives. Till today, most of them are still in the All Progressives Congress (APC). You see, it’s an outsider that cannot understand Nigerian politics. When you see politicians fighting, they are doing that for the purpose of winning elections. After the elections, what’s the purpose of fighting again? We work together. 

Can’t that be interpreted to mean that politicians merely manipulate the electorate for their own selfish interests?

 

That is the Nigerian politician for you. Sacrifice has eluded Nigerian politicians. Service above self is not common. From what I have seen among the politicians, it is only God that can save this country. The amount of wealth being displayed by politicians, both the young and old, men and women, is incredible.