Omatseye’s vituperation, attempt to destroy Awolowo family - HID •Says ‘I cannot go into bondage of exclusive association with people who clearly resent us’

Written by Dapo Falade(Nigerian Tribune)


THE matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty, Yeye Odua HID Awolowo, has described the comments made by the chairman, Editorial Board of The
Nation newspaper, Mr Sam Omatseye, as a deliberate attempt to destroy and demystify the family of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

In a frontal, but an unprovoked attack on the Awolowo clan, Omatseye had written disparagingly in his column on the back page of The Nation (Monday, June 6, 2011 edition), entitled “Awo family without an Awo,” describing the wife of the sage and his children as unworthy to be called heirs to the Awolowo dynasty.

Among others, he had said, “I once wrote that this woman whom Awo once described as a jewel of inestimable value has lost value to his cause (sic). If he came back to life, he would have committed the extraordinary act of divorce after death (sic).”

He went further to castigate the sage’s children as he wrote: “The so-called real Awolowos who bear his surname cannot come up for mention. They are Awolowos but not Awoists. They stabbed their father in the back. They have committed ideological parricide…”

However, Chief (Mrs) Awolowo, in a press statement dated June 7, 2011 and which she personally signed, said that she would not have ordinarily joined issues with uninformed individuals or comment on articles written in uncouth and downright vile and violent language.

She described The Nation Editorial Board chairman and his sponsors as hypocrites that were only more catholic than the Pope or more Awoist than his (Awolowo’s) family, adding that this same set of people were actually hobnobbing with the people they called pariah when it suits them and their pockets.

“However, this piece, the latest in a long campaign of calumny against my person and family and which, if reports are to be believed, is the opening salvo of a fresh campaign apparently aimed at destroying and demystifying the Awolowo family, deserves an appropriate response,” she said.

She went further to say that the response became more pertinent, “particularly since, we are informed that such campaigns have been adopted as the preferred policy and strategy by a particular political party to consolidate its hold on its newly-acquired political power base.

“At 95, I have lived long enough to expect common civility from younger ones, assuming that they received and imbibed proper home training. Having just lost my daughter less than two months ago, I also expect that normal people would spare me the kind of vitriolic attack that was unleashed on my person and my family, particularly as such an attack was entirely unprovoked.

“It is pertinent to mention here that, for all their protestations as the true children of Awo, the top hierarchy of the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has not deemed it fit to offer me condolences on the bereavement, either by telephone, letter, or personal visit, up till now.”

She said that the attempt by Omatseye to rake up the old wounds of the tragic loss of her first son, Barrister Olusegun Awolowo (Snr) and the notion that the late Segun could possibly have not been fit to take on his father’s mantle was an attempt to situate his (Omatseye’s) sponsor “as the anointed heir of a heritage that can never be purchased.”

Stating that it was public knowledge that the late Olusegun was a graduate of the Cambridge University (UK) and was called to the bar after a brief stint at the Inner Temple (also in the UK), she said that Omatseye’s claim that the family the sage had was not his flesh and blood was short of the expectations from a top-flight journalist.

“One of the basic tenets of journalism is that facts are sacred, but comments are free. Perhaps, it should not be surprising that Omatseye failed even in this. I would like to refer him to the dedication contained in Awo’s last book, first published in 1987, The Travails of Democracy and the rule of Law.

“It is surely to the utter shame of a so-called Awoist that he exposed his absolute lack of any knowledge of Awo’s life. I would not be surprised if Omatseye was unaware, as many of his cohorts also appear to be, that I was the first person to use the broom as a party symbol when I led the party’s campaign for federal elections that were held during my husband’s incarceration,” she said.

Taking a swipe at Omatseye for failing to correctly assess Awo’s wife of 48 years, she said: “The abject insult that was heaped on my person by Omatseye, for daring to rise above partisanship and pursue the common good, has caused me the kind of pain that can only be dealt with by offering it to God, whose wheel of justice may grind slowly but is guaranteed to grind exceedingly fine.”

She also explained that the reason the Awolowo family did not attend the recent inauguration ceremonies of newly-elected political office holders across the country was due to the fact that the family was not invited. “As decent and dignified people, we know that etiquette does not permit you to attend functions to which you have not been invited.”

She, however, said that she was glad by Omatseye’s admission that all those who recently assumed governance in the South-West did so on Awo’s coat-tails, adding that the sage’s right to be honoured and celebrated for his numerous socio-economic feats should not be predicated on political party affiliation.