1983 Political Killings in South-West: Relatives of Victims Still Nurture Emotional Ache

           BY MOSHOOD ISAMOTU

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For those who have forgotten or are too young to know, it is precisely 40 years ago that the South West was engulfed in a thick of political madness. It was a fallout of the general elections in 1983 that saw Alhaji Sheu Shagari winning a controversial second term as President of Nigeria in the Second Republic. The orgies of destruction and killings of political opponents that trailed the elections in the South West were unfathomable as families, kindreds, neighbors and friends turned recidivists to ventilate the loss of their political gods in the election conducted by the Federal Electoral Commission.

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I witnessed the killings and destruction first hand  but, like many, I had forgotten about the ugly incident until a friend and secondary school colleague painfully reminded me that ‘it is exactly forty years ago today political thugs killed my dad in Iwo.” Mr.  Kasali Akande’s only offence was to have belonged to a political party of his choice in the election in Iwo, in the old Oyo State. Those demonic scowls who poured gasoline on Mr. Akande and many others alive definitely would have forgotten about the calamity, but the families of the victims are still nurturing the emotional ache that may never heal in their generation. It is a case of those who defecated might have forgotten but those who cleared the mess will never forget.

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The incident was a repeat of the notorious ‘Operation Wet ẹ’ (wet him/her) of 1966 when similar violence engulfed the Region during the First Republic which eventually led to the first military coup in the country on 15 January 1966.

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The political violence that trailed the 1983 elections occurred in a few towns in the old S W states of Oyo, and Ondo, where the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo had lost the governorship seats to the main opposition party, the National Pary of Nigeria (NPN). Alhaji Sheu Shagari of the NPN had won the Presidency. Anyway, it was a pyrrhic victory for all the winners of that General Election as the military led by the then Major General Muhammed Buhari terminated the Republic on August 31, 1983. Chief (Dr.) Omololu Olunloyo (still alive) and Chief Akin Omoboriowo (both of NPN) were declared the winners of the governorship election for the Old Oyo and Ondo States in the election respectively while Chiefs Bola Ige and Michael Ajasin of the UPN were declared losers.  Alhaji Lateef Jakande and Chief Bisi Onabanjo of the UPN retained their governorship seat in Lagos and Ogun states respectively.

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The 1983 General election was more of a straight fight between the UPN and NPN in the S W, though there were other lesser political parties such as the Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe-led Nigerian People Party (NPP) and Alhaji Aminu Kano’s People Redemption Party (PRP).

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Back to the carnage. The people of the Old Oyo and Ondo states believed that under no circumstances should the opposition party (NPN) win in their states. NPN’s victory in the states would automatically mean a rejection of their political god, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. It would be a demystification of the ecumenical attributes of their political godfather of all seasons. So, they had to stage a bloody protest to affirm that they were still with Chief Awo, who had appeared and campaigned on the ‘moon’ for the election.

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The deadly protest by the Pro-Awo groups was a complete disorder. Reason took flight from the elderly, adults, and the young. The love that existed among my people was neutralized on the altar of political correctness. The question was not whether the election results were rigged. The extent of terror and irredeemable losses that people unleashed on their fellow human beings and brothers were beyond reason. Brothers turned murderous and Hedonistic overnight against their fellows because of politics in which they were not even to be direct beneficiaries.  Never again!

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In Iwo, immediately after the election results trickled in, tension built up as rumors of Chief Bola Ige’s loss filled the air.  At last, Chief (Dr.) Omololu Olunloyo of the NPN was declared the winner against the highly revered and anointed Chief Ige. No? Impossible! The people vowed and went mad. The atmosphere became electrified and the thick tension beclouded reasoning. The consensus verdict among the majority members of UPN was that the notable members of the NPN must not have their heads on their necks.

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In the midst of this psychomyogenic state, Chief Ige fired the gas light by making a combustible statement on the state radio about the election results from Iwo. In his classical distinguished diction, Chief Ige had said in Yoruba (paraphrase here): Eyin Iwo, bi ase jo je, ti asi jo mu, won ni wipe ibo – – – pere ni edi fun mi. Se beeni? (Iwo people, we have eaten and drank together, but they said this meager – – – number of votes was cast for me.  Is it true?)

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With that call-to-action statement, the political bile in the mind of the political troops exploded. Political thugs immediately marched out in large numbers as death agents to visit the homes of notable NPN members.

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The UPN campaign buses openly conveyed the hoodlums around to unleash terror. Some traditionalists also joined the troops in case any marked person proved stubborn. For two days, it was arson and looting uncensored as several people were burnt and property looted.

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The smoke from burnt homes, poultry pens, shops, and sadly, cremains (ashes from human carcasses) formed a thick cloud over the sky in Iwo. The heavens also wept with thunderous rain in reaction to the senseless killings. The elders were helpless and unfortunately, the town had no traditional ruler as Oba Omotosho Abimbola had died in 1982, and no replacement yet.

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At the end of the mindless violence, many key members of the NPN had been crucified for belonging to a ‘wrong’ party. The relics of some of the burnt buildings are still there today.

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As if it was a competition, the situation was the same in Ondo State, as prominent members of NPN in the state including Chief Olaiya Fagbamigbe and Kunle Agunbiade, and about 40 others were burnt. The situation was worse in Ede, Ife, and Modakeke towns, the strong base of ‘Up Awo’ in the South West like Iwo. I still remember an incident in Modakeke where political opponents were herded onto a bus and the vehicle was set ablaze. It was that horrible.

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My father, Alhaji Isamotu, very much apolitical, narrowly escaped when he was defending the building of his uncle, a prominent member of NPN from being burnt. It was a divine intervention for him as he was ‘wet’ with gasoline.

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One would have loved to know what the security agencies did in the saga and how many people were prosecuted thereafter.

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For the relatives of the victims, the memory of the loss of their loved ones in such horrible circumstances remains a blight spot in their lives. I see them curating and echoing the cry of anguish of their loved ones in the furnace.

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I prayed for my friend and others that, may God heal their wound and give them the grace to forgive and stop incubating the horror so that it does not become generational unforgiveness.

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I will send my friend, Akande Jr., books on ‘Radical Forgiveness’ by Collins and ‘Let It Go’ by T. D. Jakes. Maybe, they will help in healing his soul since I have no words to console him of forty years of Nociceptive, Neuropathic, Visceral, and Phantom pain caused by the immolation of his dear father at the age of less than 60.

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As the French will say ‘plus jamais’ (Never again).

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