LIFE and times of Abubakar Audu

LIFE and times of  Abubakar Audu
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By Our Reporter  on November 29, 2015
BY COSMAS OMEGOH, (who was in Lokoja)
In Kogi State, the late Prince Abubakar Audu is largely seen and perceived as a colossus. He is dead quite alright and buried, yet he lives in the minds of the teeming pop­ulace who not only adore him but see him as their ‘saviour.’ He reigns among many who see his silhouette in the legacies he left behind as the first executive and two-time governor of Kogi State.
Some of his aides and disciples have long wept themselves blind, with puffy eyes. But they are no longer crying, rather they are rejoicing, fully consoled by the life and times of their man. Perhaps, there are others too, outside the borders of the state, who equally feel the same way.
Many, chanting the good deeds of the late Prince Abubakar Audu easily tick-off the empirical evi­dence on the fingers of their hands. And they sound so compelling to be ignored.
However, the late Igala prince had his flip side. And so when one of his former aides spoke on condition of anonymity to Sunday Sun straight from the heart, he provided a bigger picture of a man who was mortal after all. That appears to be an unbiased yet down to earth assessment of his principal – a man who bestrode Kogi State politics like a colossus. And this is coming from one who knew the late Prince Audu like the back of his palm. He summed up his impression and perception of the late All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate this way: “A good man, a no-nonsense, dogged fighter who always paid great attention to quality; he was one who abhorred waste like a plague. He was a very flamboyant fellow; give it to him, he was the most flamboyant politician in Kogi State and beyond and this eminent­ly reflected in his dressing; he was one who loved well-embroidered robes; in fact, every of his robe was heavily embroidered from the neck all the way down. His best colour was white – his mansions, his cars, all wore coats of white. He underlined his love for the white colour by bringing it to bear on all the buildings he constructed for the state while he was in office as governor. He was a man who hated stains; he had great taste for good things like posh cars. He also loved exotic two-storey mansions.
“By his nature, he loved adu­lation and relished it with delight. But he was such a humourous man who always made great sense with his words which sometimes might appear casual. He is perceived to be seemingly proud; in fact, those who say he is so may not be all together wrong because in his worst element he would not hesitate to talk down on anybody including his commissioners and civil servants while he was in of­fice, especially when he judged one to be wrong. What else should I say? He never forgot things easily. However, he was a great man, a father of Kogi State, a man who meant well for the people.”
The man and his po­litical life
Prince Audu was elected as the first executive governor of Kogi State in January 1992 on the platform of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC). In 1998, he was re-elected as gover­nor of the state on the platform of All Nigeria People’s Party. He con­tested again in 2007 and 2011 and lost both times. On both occasions, his son, Mustapha Audu, insists he was rigged out. His last shot at the Kogi gubernatorial crown would have been his last if he had lived; he had just one tenure to serve.
“He was one person many believed could turn things around,” said his former aide. “Indeed, he was a man who played politics without bitterness. Despite the fact that he was in APC, he was close to the governor, Captain Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When the Kogi House was opened recently in Abuja, he was there and made complimentary remarks and called for support for Captain Wada, calling him ‘a man who could make the difference.’ Even the governor used that in his campaign message.
“He believed that after him, power should go to the Okun (Yoruba speaking people of Kogi State). That was why he picked James Faleke as his deputy.
“But some people didn’t like that permutation. Not because they hated Faleke but because they per­ceived Faleke as a Lagos politician, having represented Lagos State in the National Assembly. So they believe that he was being foisted on the people by the APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Unresolved issues with EFCC
Until Prince Audu passed on last Sunday, he still had issues he was yet to fully resolve with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which was perceived as a political tool being used to weaken him – an attempt to smear him politically. “On one occasion, he was taken to the dock handcuffed. But when he re­turned, he said in his characteristic humorous style: ‘In my own case, I was handcuffed with my hands in front of me. But I am sorry for my assailants, when the tide changes, they would be handcuffed with their hands behind them. They would not have the opportunity to wipe their tears with their hands like I did during my turn.’
He was flamboyant and proud
One of the things being said about the late Prince Audu is that he was a very flamboyant politi­cian. Again, his former aide takes it from there. “Indeed, Oga was a flamboyant person. He loved ev­erything white. He loved two-sto­rey mansions in particular. Check out his houses in GRA Lokoja, Abuja, Lagos, Millionaire Quarters in Jos and his country home at Og­bonicha, all of them wear coats of white colour. That perhaps explains why his body was wrapped with white linen too for burial.
He was a man in love with exotic cars; he had them in assorted models. Most of them are painted white also. In Abuja, they are parked in vintage places and they were well decorated. But during his last campaign, he used black limou­sine jeeps throughout, maybe for security reasons.
“People say he was proud. Yes he was indeed. When he was annoyed, he could talk down to anyone, especially when one did what he didn’t like.
I recall one day when he was in office, a traditional ruler from the Okun community had to trot from his sight because he was evidently overdressed. He simply looked at him with disdain and the traditional ruler got the message and hurried off to change his dress. had to trot from his sight because he was
Yes, he often boasted about things he could do and he did them. He loved praises too. If you wanted to be his best friend, praise him for what he had done, for his good works.
“Give it to him, he was a dogged fighter. He was a man on the move. While he was governor, he was al­ways there to supervise the projects embarked on by his administration. He never compromised on quality and it reflected in all the projects he accomplished for the state as governor. All of them are still standing solid.
He was every inch proactive in doing things. He practically abhorred waste. In fact, some of his detractors feared that if he emerged as governor, he would be on a vendetta mission. Perhaps they were right because he sounded it clear that he was coming to clean the ‘rot’ that past administrations that succeeded him had accumu­lated. They feared he would put them in jail. Many would agree with his conviction that most of the landmark achievements he made for the state have long been erased. Look at the abandonment of the the Kogi State Mass Transport Scheme, the Confluence Beach Hotel, which he built, among other projects.
A man of the people
Throughout Kogi State and beyond, late Prince Audu was popularly referred to as “Adu Oja” (people’s servant). He was a friendly fellow with good disposi­tion. Abubakar, one the mourners who attended the third-day fidau prayer, held at his home town Ogbonicha, said he knew the late Audu to be a very close friend of Governor Wada. “Politics couldn’t separate them,” he posited. “Of course, how could politics break their more than 40 years of friendship? When his death was announced, Governor Wada during his state broadcast was literally shaken and we all saw it. That showed how close they were.”
At the fidau prayer, Governor Wada who was represented by his deputy, Yomi Awoniyi, noted that the state was yet to come to terms with the death of Prince Audu. He urged the people to take solace in his legacies. Before then, he had declared a weeklong mourning pe­riod. He also directed that national flags in government buildings be flown at half mast.
On Monday when the social media started buzzing with news of his ‘resurrection’ from death, “Lokoja was up in frenzy,” his former aide told Sunday Sun. “People were roaring on the streets with excitement; they were running wild with jubilation when they heard the rumour. The town literally came back alive. I too fell for the gambit.”
Audu’s road to Lugard House, Lokoja
For the first timer, a journey from Lokoja to Ogbonicha in Ofu Local Government Area of the state would seem unarguably as far as the East is from the West. Ogbonicha is a serene community that nestles in the southernmost tip of Kogi State and is character­ized by Sudan savanna vege­tation, just a shouting distance from their neigbours in Enugu State. Going to the community by public transport is simply an ordeal; it takes practically three hours to reach the community. At some point, commercial motor­cycles are the only handy option. From Ejule Junction on the Lokoja-Ankpa Road, one has to endure a near 50km ride perched precariously on the motorcycle passenger seat.
Indeed, the road from Lokoja to Ankpa in Benue State and beyond, passing through Ofu Local Government is surprisingly well paved. A single carriage way, it has less potholes, a main feature that characterizes the country’s many highways that are more like roads to hell. That is the long, long road Prince Audu had taken twice to Lugard House in Lokoja. But on his very last attempt on Sunday, he failed to break the tape after coming very close. Sadly, he fell fatally inches away from the finishing line.
He had believed in winning, hoped for it and worked so hard for it as his son, Mustapha painfully testified.
“He was sure of victory. Even in his travails, he tasked me to mobilize to the collation centre to ensure that he was not rigged out again like it happened in the last elections.”
The younger Audu who main­tained that his father was such a great man, however, admitted that he went down fighting. And from the look of things, in the days lead­ing to the epic Kogi contest, the heavens probably began announc­ing the imminent demise of Prince Audu without anyone listening. Otherwise how can one explain this dirge on a billboard standing at the eastern flank of the bridge across the Niger River at Ajaokuta, mounted by the Kogi Youth Ad­vocacy for Excellence, in support of Prince Audu’s election. It reads: “You don’t know what you have until it is gone. We had you (Audu) but we thought you were not good enough.”
Audu’s country home
Audu’s ‘palace’ at Ogbonicha is an architectural masterpiece. It was carefully crafted for a man like him who had taste. It majes­tically sits on an expanse of land averaging five football fields in one. As the afternoon sun shone gloriously on it, it blazed with beauty. Inside the compound, far apart from each other, four other lesser yet imposing houses – all wearing dazzling white coat with exquisite roofing – stood gazing at the sun. The well maintained compound is surrounded by a shoulder-high wall painted white too. Even the house he was said to have built for his elder brother, who is the paramount ruler of Ogbonicha, is also painted in white. Somewhere, along the road leading to Ankpa and Nsukka, a house which he was said to have built when he was a commission­er in the old Benue State, though looking abandoned, still dazzles in white colour thus reaffirming that the late prince was in love with everything white.
When the Sunday Sun corre­spondent visited, the atmosphere inside his country home was se­rene with no fewer than 10 armed policemen and uniformed vigi­lance members keeping watch. Everybody and everything on the premises was forlorn because the prince himself was no more.
Life in Kogi after Audu and before sup­plementary poll
Many of his people, who fell for the rumour that Audu came back to life are gradually coming to terms with the stunning reality that their iconic leader now lies still in the belly of mother earth. They are getting back to the hustle and bustle of life, with some not too keen about the sup­plementary election in which the man they looked up to would not stand in as a contender.
And so in Kogi, life is calm. From Magondo to the South western part of the state, through Okene to Ogaminana, all is well. Everyone is equally calm in Ajao­kuta, the steel town. In Lokoja the state capital, everyone is going about their businesses. However, the event of the past few days has thrown up a lacuna which people easily gather to discuss. Everyone is a political commen­tator; everyone is forecasting the direction things will swing in the days ahead.