President of the Yoruba Council of Elders and former Military Governor of the old Western State, Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo (retd.), in this interview with TOBI AWORINDE, talks about the war against Boko Haram and other issues You were the Aide-de-Camp to the late Governor General of Nigeria, Sir James Robertson, in 1957. As the first Nigerian to attain such a position, how would you describe the experience?
Being the ADC to Robertson was a very good experience. I consider it a great privilege because no Nigerian did it before me. It was a British officer that occupied that position before me. But when the governor general decided to have a Nigerian as ADC, I was lucky to be noticed as a senior Nigerian Army officer in Lagos then. Because of his relationship with our British leaders in the Army, he appointed me. But he didn’t just appoint me like that. We were meeting with the Army officers, British and Nigerian, every Sunday in a social gathering.
That was how he got to know me. He got used to me and I got used to him. When the question of appointment came, he decided that he would like to have me. That was how I became the first Nigerian Army officer to be ADC to the British governor general of the country then. It is a good thing that a Nigerian became an aide-de-camp to a British governor general. I got used to him and vice versa. In fact, my first son, Niyi, was born then and he (Robertson) became my son’s godfather during the period.
You have a number of pioneer achievements that set you apart from your peers. How often do you get requests from the Federal Government to perform advisory roles?
I would say every time and any time. When people know I’m around, they get in touch with me. Either I go to them or they come to me and we discuss generally about the past, the present and what we think of the future. Up till now, it is still going on. I’m used to it.
Since the emergence of Boko Haram, has the Federal Government sought your help in trying to tackle insecurity?
I don’t tackle, I only advise when they ask me for advice. Also, when I see something going wrong and I feel something should happen, I get in touch with them and we discuss at length regularly about the present and the future. And the Boko Haram you are talking about now was one of the areas in which I advised the officers, whether the commander-in-chief or military officers, because of my experience and seniority within the Armed Forces. We discuss regularly about the work we were doing back then, how we used to deal with such issues when we were there and what I think they should do in the future. Even now, we are still discussing.
How do you rate the performance of the security chiefs?
They are doing their best. They are doing well and they take advice.
You were the governor of the Western State during the civil war. Was there any point in time when you thought Biafra would win the war?
No, because first of all, as Governor of the Western Region then, (late) Chukwuemeka Ojukwu was very close to me. I encouraged him to come to the Army. He was Assistant District Officer in Umuahia, Abia when I was ADC to the governor general. He liked the Army and I encouraged him to join. He was very close to me and everything was going on well.
What were some of the traits you saw in him that made you want him to join the Army?
I wanted as many Nigerians as possible to join the Army. Luckily for me, I was the ADC to the governor general and my boss went on a visit to Umuahia in the East then, where he (Ojukwu) was ADO and we had the privilege of discussing together. That was how he became very close to me. Therefore, I encouraged him to join the Army and he did. And you would agree with me that he did extremely well.
What would you do differently to resolve Nigeria’s insurgency problem?
The Boko Haram thing is a problem that is affecting everybody, especially those of us (military officers) at the top. And when we were able to discuss it among ourselves, they took our advice, we dealt with it mutually and together we witnessed the results.
Do you think the Federal Government should grant amnesty to Boko Haram?
I think the government should first put its best into taking a decision on what to do. Whether there is amnesty or they go straight to fight and defeat them, the President has to take a decision on that.
What are some of the factors that will inform that decision?
It will be based on the decision of those at the top, the government and the people. They should get the leaders of the two groups – our leaders and their leaders.
Are you saying there should be open communication channels through negotiation?
There should be; there could be. And if it is not working, we should fight it out.
Just before Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure ended, you were sacked as Pro-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, which led you to describe him as disrespectful. What would he need to do to earn back your respect?
I have not lost my respect for him. At the same time, I wouldn’t react on his decision because he was the head of government. He had the opportunity or authority to do what he wanted. The only thing is that he didn’t consult me or somebody close to me before he took that decision.
What do you think led Jonathan to take such a decision?
I don’t think he was rightly advised on what to do. He should have either consulted me or people close to me – people who are his senior in government – before taking such a decision.
Has that affected your perception of him?
No, I don’t think he took any decision on his own. I was governor before; I wouldn’t just take a decision the way he took it without consulting either the person involved, either directly or through the people in government that are close to the person. If he had taken consultation from senior and experienced people, he wouldn’t have that problem.
What was your first reaction when you heard the news of Buhari’s emergence as winner of the March 28 presidential election?
I was very happy because I knew Buhari as a young military officer. Buhari worked with me before, when I was commanding the Nigerian troops in the Congo and he’s been with me since then. He was close to me then and he’s still close to me as of today. He’s a good officer and is highly intelligent. He loves the profession and he’s doing well as the leader of the nation. If he continues to behave the way he’s behaving, there won’t be any problem for him.
During the pre-election campaigns, Jonathan spent a significant amount of time in the South-West, but your organisation, the Yoruba Council of Elders, did not join those that openly supported him. Why were you silent?
The YCE is not political. It is not focused on politics alone. It is for the generality of the country, for problems of the entire country.
Do you think Buhari is taking the right approach to tackle Boko Haram by visiting neighbouring countries?
It is one of the good approaches that he should take, which I support. If he can get the other heads of government around Nigeria and take advice from them on what to do and also give them his advice, then when he needs to take a decision, he would know the right one to take.
In Buhari’s inaugural address, he said he would move the military headquaters to Maidiguri. Do you approve of the decision?
I don’t think he is moving the headquarters of the Army to Maiduguri. He is moving the command headquarters to deal with the situation there and I think that is the best way to do it.
Yorubas said they felt marginalised under Jonathan. Now that the Vice-President is from Yorubaland, what are some of your expectations of him?
It would be wrong for me to say that the Yoruba were marginalised during Jonathan’s period. What I think should happen is that every nationality within the country should be given a chance to have a say and that is the only way we can settle the problems in Nigeria. If Buhari allows only some people to benefit from good governance and he leaves some other people out, then we won’t achieve harmony. If he can get everybody together, he can find a solution to our problems as a country.
The issue of zoning has been a contentious one because of Nigeria’s diverse nature. Would you advise the All Progressives Congress to consider or discard the ideology?
Looking at the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, I would say there is nothing wrong (in zoning). The only thing is that they are different in politics. There is nothing wrong in coming together, discussing together, finding a solution together and advising the head of government. Also, the head of government should learn from their behaviours.
Are you interested in seeing the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference implemented by Buhari’s government?
I haven’t seen the recommendations but there must be some good things in the recommendations. Government should look at the recommendations and determine the good and bad parts of it. Then they should deal with it altogether.
The President said in his inaugural speech that he belonged to everybody and nobody. What do you understand by this?
I think he has said the right thing. I hope people will understand what he has said. He is President of everybody; he is not the President of certain people or some others. He should bring everybody together and find a solution to the problems of everybody.
Prior to Buhari’s swearing-in, there were speculations that he would investigate certain people in Jonathan’s government. Do you have faith in Buhari to keep his word that he would not victimise anyone?
Even if people thought he would do it, he shouldn’t do it because the whole country belongs to him and to all of us. Therefore, he should not engage in any form of witch-hunting in order to solve the problems.
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