Joseph and Rabi - The Two Icons Who Built My Character - Kayode Ogundamisi

Dear Friends and Compatriots,

I would like to thank you all for your birthday wishes, I am forever grateful to each and every one of you. I took my time to read each message and read every message; my 46^th birthday went like every other birthday, a normal day no fanfare, few phone calls and a prayer or two from my two darling sisters.

Since I am not one for birthday parties and celebrations, its been my tradition in recent years to write one or two personal stories on my birthday, it was extremely pleasing that I was able to spend the day in my city of birth Lagos and please find below the words that came to my mind, forgive me if you find the personal story boring and apolitical but I am hoping the story will strike one or two friends. Thank you again and may the good Lord bless each and every one of you, may God forgive us our sins and give our leaders and followers alike the wisdom to turn liberate Nigeria from Nigerians.

Yours truly,

Kayode Ogundamisi

Joseph and Rabi - The Two Icons Who Built My Character  - Kayode Ogundamisi

I was born on the 12th of August 1968 in Mushin, Lagos Nigeria. My mother told me I was delivered by an ‘elewe omo’ (traditional midwifes who use local herbs in the practice of medicine).

My arrival into Nigeria was as a result of the union between a liberal Christian father whose main hobby was telling stories of heroic and not so heroic tales of his experience as a young man who served in Nigeria’s military.

Joseph My father migrated from Ikare Akoko and marries his fellow Akoko ‘girlfriend’ in Lagos. My Fathers greatest gift to me was his unrelenting repetition of the phrase “Kayode I will tell you over and over again, contentment is the key to peace of mind”.



My mother was the opposite, a strong Muslim, extremely ambitious, courageous and sometimes carefree to the point that we felt she didn’t care about her children.

My mum would say “go and wander in the forest, go and survive, that is the reality of life”. She is the mother who would be told her son had gotten into a fight and would simply shrug her shoulders replying, “that is what a man should do to survive”. Till date I am still trying to understand my mother.

Here is one woman who in one day found Lagos too ‘fake and unwelcoming’ and simply gathered her belongings, left Lagos to settle not in the urban town of Ikare but the deep farmlands in the village, farming, trading, engaging in local politics and also rebellious in every way. Her first love was the Akoko land, the cocoa farm, I still cant understand her love for farming, she speaks to the land, her spiritual attachment 
to planting and harvesting is still a mystery.

When I listen to my father discuss his role during the Nigerian civil war and how I was born as he was away fighting to keep Nigeria one. All I saw was the picture of my mother in the trenches; my father never cut the picture of someone who could hurt a fly, he was principled but reserved, stubborn with a difference, several time i have witnessed him conceding every inch of any argument to my mother.

It was my father who taught me how to cook, how to wash dishes after every meal, how not to go to bed without having your bath, how to respect others without losing your own dignity, how to stay away from an argument if it will lead to violence. He was the soldier with the touch of a woman and you know, women are perceived to be weak but in reality strong in every sense of the word.

It was Joseph Ogundamisi who showered me with the love of MOTHER & FATHER but it was my strong mother who conferred courage on me. It was she who set me free at an early stage in life, and to her I owe a lot when it comes to my spirit of resilience but to both of them I owe ALL and it is to the glory of God, the love of Late Joseph Ogundamisi and the indomitable spirit of my mother that today August 12 2014, precisely 46 years after she gave birth to me that what they bestowed on me is the resolute belief that nothing is more satisfying than a duty to humanity, a duty to serve those whose voices may be trampled on.

It is to them that I owe my appreciation of the fact that serving your community and being involved in activities to make your country better is not a gift to your people but a privilege.

My country and my community do not owe me a thank you for thinking about the downtrodden, I owe God a lot for giving me the privilege to appreciate that walking away into your own comfort zone when others are suffering is the greatest disservice to humanity. 



And when people wonder why I don’t get shaken by attempts to arm-twist me, or force me into a path I am not convince is right, they fail to see that I am a product of 2 great icons and today, I say thank you to a father who left the world in hurry and a big loving thank you to a mother we breathed courage into my lungs.




Kayode Ogundamisi



Lagos-Nigeria



12th August 12, 2014

VIDEO: Nigeria Must Remain Together - Dr Dora Nkem Akunyili at the National CON-frence Abuja

PHOTO! Caught on camera: Nigerian Embassy Alfa Abutu says he can smuggle stolen goods out of the UK in diplomatic bags

 An undercover investigation filmed by ITV's Exposure reveals how a worker at the Nigeria High Commission (NHC) claimed he could transport items, including stolen art, out of "any airport" using his diplomatic connections.

Posing as a criminal gang, the Exposure team, led by reporter Mark Williams-Thomas, met Alfa Abutu, in a London hotel. Abutu told them that he could transport their stolen art to Paris.

"Give me your suitcase, this suitcase usually has to be wrapped with the national flag before we can move it anywhere. And we use diplomatic vehicle whereby the police authorities will not stop us," Abutu said.

Exposure later told Abutu the art was worth nearly £1 million, to which he suggested a commission of £250,000. In a series of meetings with undercover reporters, Abutu also claimed he could help transfer money, and smuggle diamonds and gold out of the country using an embassy car and its associated privileges. DETAILS ON ITV WEBSITE 


http://www.itv.com/news/2014-03-26/caught-on-camera-embassy-worker-who-says-he-can-smuggle-stolen-goods-out-of-the-uk-in-diplomatic-bags/

Jonathan's 'Killer Squad' And Obasanjo's Amnesia-Letter from the Pot to The Kettle By Kayode Ogundamisi

I am not a fan of have General Olusegun Obasanjo but I have read his 16 page letter to President Jonathan trice. Obasanjo’s government remains the only civilian administration that imprisoned me UNJUSTLY for over a month simply for stating my views on the State of The Nigeria Nation under his regime.

When it comes to intolerance, grand corruption, deceit, moral bankruptcy, General Olusegun Obasanjo will sure be in the top-3 in the world league of misfits who ruled in Africa. Here is a man who slept with his sons wife inside Nigeria's presidential palace and even failed to put up a defence in court when the allegations came up. A man who sold every viable public cooperation to his cronies and concubines at give away prices.

Obasanjo is that man who betrayed every known good cause, he his the cunning fox that would arrive when a war had been won and claim victory, when it comes to 'playing both sides' OBJ is the master of the game. Here is a man who punished his Yoruba people for democratically rejecting his candidacy knowing fully well how evil he could be.

Well today is  not about Obasanjo, like I told the then SSS director Mr Kayode Are during interrogation in May 2003 at his palatial SSS Headquarters in Abuja, Obasanjo will go down in Yoruba history as an 'akotileta' a traitor and no matter what others see him for, a real Yoruba would always place him in the darkest side of our history.

In as much as I am sincerely convinced that in many ways Obasanjo is as profligate as Goodluck Jonathan, no patriot can dismiss his weighty allegations against President Jonathan. Truth irrespective of the medium through which it is communicated is sacrosanct and must be espoused by all men of goodwill and courage.

If GEJ is wise, he should retreat into whatever space in which he finds the inspiration to be himself,  beyond the reach of his kinsmen, self-serving special advisers, and sundry sycophants so he could read Obasanjo's letter as many times as it is necessary for him to apply his mind to the facts and consequently do the 'NEEDFULL'

Jonathan must free himself from his cave mentality, he should stop seeing Nigeria from a perspective of a timid man in need of sympathy, Jonathan behaves and carries himself like a man in need of validation and not the President of a country like Nigeria. He does not understand what it entails to be called a commander in chief. He spends more time currying for sympathy, every issue is about Jonathan. If Boko-Harram kills innocent Nigerians, Jonathan turns the debate into his person. Here is a President who always fails to see the bigger picture.

Initial reactions have said Obasanjo’s letter is like a kettle calling the pot black but that does not mitigate the fact that the current President and Commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is accused of extremely TREASONABLE ACTS against the Nigerian people; that is a very SERIOUS allegation. It behooves a clear unequivocal response from Dr. Jonathan who must first of all convince Nigerians of his suitability for the office he currently occupies and why he is even within speaking range of such grave charges.

Obasanjo's letter amplifies most of the reports dogging Jonathan; recruitment and training of snipers, serving the interest of only a section of his Ijaw ruling elite, discreetly exacerbating the Boko Harram insurgency as evident in his non-pragmatic way, colossal unprecedented corruption, dishonesty, nepotism and acute paranoia.

Thus, it is no exaggeration to say Mr Jonathan is a ticking time bomb and Nigeria could implode with him. It is perceptive to say that might be his vindictive agenda because it appears the destruction of Nigeria will be “sweet” revenge for the many years of injustice against his Ijaw ethnic Nationality.

Mr Ebele is making a mistake, revenge brings extreme wrath. Why should he toy with the lives of his Ijaw people by capriciously tying his selfish ambition to their fate? May God give him the wisdom to consider his ways and make restitutions.

As for Olusegun Obasanjo and those who claim Jonathan promised not to contest in 2015. Can they for the sake of Nigeria stop sulking and contest against him if they think he's unfit. Jonathan did not make the promise to the Nigerian electorate, it is none of my business, so long he's constitutionally allowed to seek re-election, what is my business is that the President of my country is being accused of keeping trained snippers to kill assassinate opponents, that he's raising an army in his Ijaw homeland using our territorial water ways to smuggle and stockpile arms, that he's the commander in chief of corruption. That is a treasonable act against the people of Nigeria. If the allegations are proven to be true, Mr Jonathan is not fit to be the President of Nigeria.  

This is an auspicious moment for Obasanjo to apologise for the part he played in imposing a sick Y'aradua and an obviously incompetent Jonathan on a great Nation like Nigeria. There is nothing wrong with Nigeria being ruled by an Ijaw man; it is only reasonable that the man ought to have been the best of the Ijaw Nation rather than a man that is obviously unfit to be a clan head? A word is enough for those who have ears.

Follow Kayode Ogundamisi on Twitter on @ogundamisi

Political Killings in Ekiti Governor Kayode Fayemi Must Act! By Kayode Ogundamisi

The media has been awash with reports of killing and intimidation of perceived or real political opponents in Ekiti. The general perception is that supporters of Governor Kayode Fayemi are behind these dastardly acts. This is one politically masterminded killing too many.It behoves on Governor Kayode Fayemi to use his good offices to ensure that whoever was behind the reported liking of Mr Foluso Ogundare and assault on Mrs Beatrice Ige must face the full weight of the law accordingly.It is also important that such expectedly corrective or punitive actions must be transparent at all stages. Less of which Governor Fayemi' s silence and body language will be taken as a tacit support for these heinous acts. And that, surely, will diminish his reputation.Governor Fayemi should flash back to the evil reign of the People's Democratic Party and the hounding of political opponents by his predecessors, no one will forget in a hurry 14 Aug 2006 when a gubernatorial aspirant in Ekiti state, Professor Ayo Daramola was killed in cold blood that is one dark period in Ekiti.Dr Kayode Fayemi was elected on the platform of change and respect for human dignity; himself and his supporters faced unprecedented attack from supporters of then Governor Segun Oni of the People's Democratic Party. Fayemi literarily had to seek political asylum in Ondo state until the courts restored the mandate bestowed on him by the people of Ekiti State.I have known and related with Dr Fayemi for years and have no doubt about his democratic credentials, I also know him to be a champion for human and democratic rights, however his silence and body language as it relates political assassination under his watch is worrisome to those of us who can call him a friend.The alleged perpetuators are said to be his supporters, media reports allege the alleged killer of   Mr Foluso Ogundare is a serving lawmaker in the Ekiti State House of Assembly. The perpetuator must be identified and brought to justice, the Governor should immediately disassociate himself from anyone perpetuating violence, and political intimidation in his name, if the perpetuators are members of his political party, they must be expelled, sanctioned and handed them over to law enforcement agents without political interference.Reports of violence in Ekiti is not limited to Dr Fayemi' s supporters alone, all sides in the gubernatorial race have been implicated in various forms of violence and intimidation. All sides must have a rethink and let the people of Ekiti decide who will govern them in 2014.If Dr Fayemi does not do the needful I strongly believe his records will be tainted by self-serving bootlickers who perpetuate violence in his name just to fulfil their own ambition, if the silence from Ekiti Government House continues, observers will have no option than conclude that power seems to have consumed the good character of another 'activist' and known campaigner for human and democratic rights and that another hope is betrayed. A word is good enough for the wise.

You can follow Kayode Ogundamisi on the twitter handle @ogundamisi