By Reuben Abati
We have been having a lot of problems with Adedibu. When we were working on unfortified spaghetti and macaroni that were smuggled into the country and that were unhealthy for consumption of our people, Chief Adedibu got to our office and threatened our staff and stopped that activity. He did not stop at that. When NAFDAC closed Kollington fisheries, Chief Adedibu sent his boys to go and open the warehouse. When my staff reported to me, I told them to go back and seal it. They went back and sealed the warehouse. Chief Adedibu sent his boys to go and re-open it. Nobody has ever done this in Nigeria since we started our activities. Chief Adedibu never allowed us to complete any investigation. He (has) never allowed us to carry out sanctions that we carry out in other states – Dora Akunyili, Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in Ibadan, October 17.
These were the words of the Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Dora Akunyili in the course of her visit to Ibadan, Oyo state to flag off the NAFDAC/NYSC Grassroots Sensitization programme, last week. She pushed her case in a similar tone at the office of the Governor of Oyo state, Alao Adebayo-Akala, she also did so at the palace of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana, and at an open forum with the people of Ibadan. It was as if Akunyiili went to Ibadan to deal with the Adedibu menace once and for all. Governor Alao-Akala, Adedibu's protege was reportedly shocked by the allegations and he promised, we are told, to "personally confront Baba Adedibu to make sure that he does not turn the state into a den for the enemies of NAFDAC." The Olubadan, who is not on good terms with Adedibu was said to have compared Akunyili to Jesus Christ; and he promised to invite Adedibu to his palace to come and defend himself against the allegations leveled against him.
Akunyili took her case to the court of public opinion where she told her audience: "Adedibu is terrorising us. And this hostility is actually led by Chief Adedibu. We are getting disturbed. The hostilities in Ibadan are mounting by the day. The agency has reached a critical point concerning its activities in Oyo state and if the hostility continues, we are not only going to arrest some people, we are going to move our office away from here… It was disheartening that the agency arrested some people who were handed over to the police but the people were released on the instruction of Chief Adedibu… How can we operate like this? We cannot continue in this manner".
At this interactive session with the public, Dora Akunyili was taken up by the Deputy Governor of Oyo state, Taofeek Arapaja who was in attendance. Arapaja accused Akunyili of insulting Chief Lamidi Adedibu without having "sufficient facts". The event later became melodramatic as the public booed Arapaja and he felt compelled to return the jeers. The situation then became riotous. Arapaja's reaction is understandable. He is an Adedibu protege. Other Adedibu defenders have also responded to Dora Akunyili's allegations. One Alhaji Taofeek Olayiwola says: "What concern Adedibu (sic) with NAFDAC again? It is a lie. He cannot do such a thing. He is loving and caring and by the way, his own family members have been benefiting from the activities of the agency. He cannot hamper the activities." Another Adedibu aide, Alhaji Yahya Adetuinji alleges that some people may have committed the atrocities in Adedibu's name to discredit him.
What can be said immediately however, is that Dora Akunyili, the NAFDAC boss has again demonstrated courage and strength of character, two attributes for which she has been justly honoured by an appreciative audience since she assumed leadership of an otherwise comatose NAFDAC. The Olubadan calls Akunyili Jesus Christ. This religious reference may be a bit too strong, but there is no doubting the fact that Dora Akunyili has so far done a good job of identifying and stigmatising the villains in Nigeria who procure, produce, buy and sell fake drugs and foods to the detriment of the population. She has fought the notorious traders in Onitsha market to a standstill. She has raised public awareness about the evil of counterfeit drug and food items.
She has managed to remind Nigerians of the existence of such a body as NAFDAC, before her, NAFDAC was relatively unknown, indeed it would not be too much to ask for a probe of former NAFDAC directors: what exactly were they doing? Akunyili has proven the point that one individual can make a difference. Her life has been threatened, she has been shot at several times, but she has remained undaunted in her crusade against fake drugs. Akunyili's agency was one of the bright spots of the Obasanjo administration. She has turned NAFDAC into one of the most active agencies of government.
By taking the fight to Ibadan, and to Adedibu, Akunyili has again shown the depth of her commitment. By naming Adedibu in public as an obstacle to NAFDAC operations, she succeeded in shaming him and that was why she got the support of the audience at Jogo Centre where the interactive NAFDAC/NYSC forum took place. She spoke out of frustration. It should have been possible for her and her staff to report Adedibu to the police, but part of her protest is that the police in Oyo state are under the control of Adedibu. He is so powerful that he can order the release of persons from police stations! Akunyili in pointing this out confirmed what the rest of Nigeria had always known: in Oyo state, Adedibu is above the law. He is "the law". The NAFDAC boss referred to "Adedibu's thugs": these miscreants wield more powers than the Nigeria Police .
There have been many cases of political violence in which Adedibu's men were implicated, but they continue to grow strong because the state simply looks the other way. It is common knowledge that Chief Adedibu is the political Godfather of Oyo state politics today. He determines who wins what election, and in the last elections, he achieved the feat of telling the people of Oyo state who will be in charge of government and he simply put his own people in power.
Oyo state is thus a classic case of how not to run a democracy and Adedibu is a threat to democracy in that state and by extension, Nigeria. His most memorable contribution to the show of shame in the House of Representatives for example is that Patricia Etteh should be left alone because she is a Yoruba woman and that any criticism of her leadership style is an attack on all Yoruba. The simplest response to the Adedibu menace is to say, that this is the quality of Nigerian leadership.
What manner of man would stand in the way of an agency that arrests the merchants of killer drugs? What sort of man would encourage the sale of fake drugs that can maim and kill? What man is this who cannot appreciate the work of NAFDAC? Who is this man who is prepared to reduce everything to politics, including the lives of people? The additional question must be asked: does Adedibu really love the people of Oyo state? Or he is just using them, that is the crowd that converges on his Molete residence to swallow dollops of amala? And why is Adedibu so audacious?
Akunyili's public protest in Ibadan last week may be a good strategy but it does not go far enough. Who was Akunyili reporting Adedibu to? To Governor Alao-Akala? Yes, the Governor has promised to take up the matter with Adedibu, but is he in any position to challenge, criticise or admonish the old man? "I will personally confront Baba Adedibu" , the governor promised. Can Alao-Akala call Adedibu to order? He owes his presence in Government House to the old man. I do not see him jeopardising his political interests just because some people are dying from the use of fake drugs sold openly and freely in Adedibu's markets. And the Olubadan? The king says he will invite Adedibu to respond to the allegations. Which Adedibu does the Olubadan want to invite? The same Adedibu who has made it clear to all and sundry that there are two traditional rulers in Ibadan?
The proper description for the Olubadan's statement is sweet talk. He was sweet-talking Akunyili. The Olubadan knows too well too that Adedibu could choose to ignore his invitation and that Adedibu is a man who today in Oyo state does precisely what pleases him. Akunyili also reported Adedibu to the people of Ibadan? The best that those ones could do is to boo and jeer and make catcalls. Should those people supporting Akunyili at the Jogo centre try to criticise Adedibu too openly, they could invite unto themselves a band of thugs who will not blink an eye, before using machetes freely on them. Adedibu is fond of saying "ko si un ti won o se. " That is, "I am untouchable; there is nothing they can do to me." And for now, that is a fact.
So what should Akunyili do? When next Adedibu stands in the way of NAFDAC operations, he or his agents should be promptly arrested. The police may release him later but NAFDAC would have shown that it will no longer be intimidated by the Adedibu menace. The agency should also document its allegations against Adedibu properly and formally and send a petition to the Presidency. During the Obasanjo era, Adedibu acquired power and notoriety because he enjoyed the support of the Presidency and the personal attention of the President. Adedibu is one of those liabilities that President Yar'Adua needs to cut down to size. He and his men are already testing the patience of the Federal Government. Will President Yar'Adua continue to fold his arms and allow Adedibu bring further embarrassment to his government and the PDP?
Akunyili has threatened to close down the NAFDAC office in Oyo state and leave the people at the mercy of merchants of fake drugs. To do so would be to violate the NAFDAC mission statement. It is the Adedibu menace that should be dealt with. Adedibu's thugs have been accused in the last four years of all kinds of atrocities in Oyo state including a recent assault on the hallowed grounds of a praying ground on Eid-il-Fitri day. Oyo state is desperately in need of the rule of law. President Yar'Adua who loves the rule of law so much he mentions it at every conversation should help rescue Oyo state from the rule of that one man called Lamidi Adedibu.
And The NYSC….
Dora Akunyili was in Ibadan to participate in a NAFDAC/NYSC interactive and sensitisation programme. About a week ago, a fresh batch of corps members reported in various training camps across the country. It is a good thing to sensitise our fresh graduates to the problem of fake drugs, but the news from the various NYSC camps across the country is rather discouraging.
The National Youth Service Commission, recently ordered by the Presidency to accommodate all graduates that are eligible for the national service programme is already mismanaging the current exercise. The welfare of corps members is a major challenge. Corps members are being kept in so-called camps where there are no toilets, not enough bed space, no water, no electricity.
Young persons who are probably travelling away from family and friends for the first time are being subjected to difficult conditions. One lady sent me a text: she and her colleagues bathe in the open because there are no bathrooms. When they want to empty their bowels they opt for what she calls "bush attack" because there are no toilets. The food is horrible and she sleeps at night, in the company of ten others in a millet store, The NYSC administrators had not even bothered to remove the millet bags before their arrival. They did so themselves and had to buy their own mattresses.
The story is the same in other NYSC camps where uniforms are either inadequate or the only source of food is the "mammy market" run by wives and girlfriends of NYSC officials. It is not Adedibu that is responsible for this, but the NYSC scam and the Adedibu menace are two sides of a widespread national rot.
