Friends and associates of the slain Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, recently, gathered to reflect on what he stood for and, if there were changes in the system a decade ago when he was brutally murdered. Adewale Ajayi, in this report, captures what transpired at the colloquium.His exit was painful, the manner he was cut down was disgusting. And that a man of his calibre could be extinguished without much ado paints a hopeless picture on security in Nigeria. This year marked the 10 Chief James Ajibola Ige was killed by yet to be identified assassins.Chief Ige, then the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice was murdered in his house in Ibadan in December 23, 2001, just a few days to the celebration of Christmas. In order to keep his memory alive, his family organised a thanksgiving service at the Oduduwa Hall, Saint Anne's Anglican Church, Ibadan, recently. Also, a crop of his political associates had a colloquium at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, to ruminate on his life and his contribution to the advancement of the country.The event, organised by Bola Ige Centre for Justice, in conjunction with the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC), was well attended by academics and members of the civil society, while the political class, which was the late Ige's immediate constituency, was poorly represented.Present at the event were Professor Femi Osofisan, Professor Akin Oyebode, who was the guest lecturer; Professor Akinwunmi Isola, Professor Adelabu, Mr Bamidele Adigun, Comrade Wale Balogun, Oba Samuel Adeluyi Temilade and a crop of students of the OAU.Prior to the kick-off of the event, the audience were treated to a film entitled Ofinga, which emphasised the importance of family ties, and how the Yoruba valued reconciliation of family discord without resorting to going to court. Also, the students treated the audience to satirical songs bemoaning the situation of things in the country; how government had made life unbearable for them. High rate of unemployment, hike in school fees, insecurity and bleak future dominated the tone of their song.Corroborating their viewpoint, Comrade Balogun wondered the appropriate time ripe for Nigerian youths to assume leadership position, repudiating the phrase 'youths are leaders of tomorrow.' He stressed that most leaders celebrated today assumed leadership position even while in their twenties.The thrust of the discussion was insecurity, decaying social values and concerned about inability of Nigeria Police to track down the killers of Ige, ten years after he was assassinated.Professor Oyebode noted that despite promises made by the Federal Government to leave no stone unturned in fishing out Ige's killers, yet 10 years have passed without any clue to those responsible for the gruesome act.'All the promises to leave no stone unturned'in fishing out ige's killers have, up till today, remained empty and unfulfilled. This is symptomatic of an ineffectual, if not indeed compromised forensic state apparatus as well as callous compromise with the forces of evil.'He added that it would amounts to one of the wonders of the modern world, if the Nigeria Police eventually solve the riddle of Ige's murder.The former Vice-Chancellor of University of Ado Ekiti (UNAD) noted that those that eliminated the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice were enemies of Nigeria who did not want it to progress. That he had to be physically eliminated by those who did not wish the nation well bespeaks his uncanny power, authority and influence in the scheme of things in this country. Since his exit, it is quite an understatement to say that things have not been the same in our political situation.'He stressed the need to examine Bola Ige's legacy and how the country has fared since his exit, while noting that it is indubitable that things have gone from bad to worse in the last ten years. 'Without scintilla of doubt, this country is currently at a cross-roads in terms of its functionality and prospects to forge along in the task of re inventing itself. Ten years after the demise of Bola Ige, Nigeria's circumstance has definitely taken a turn for the worse in terms of both individual and national security,' he said.Professor Oyebode added that the country has been increasingly unable to challenge its youth and massively failed to offer them role models that can fire their imagination and as well help them channel their energies towards the growth and development of the country. He maintained that one was not sure if Nigerians deserved to be governed, as they currently being govern largely by inane, confused, incompetent under achievers.While assessing the feasibility of Vision 20:2020, he said that the vision is a mirage because the indices that would make it realisable are not there. He stressed that government needed to act fast, so that Nigeria will not experience the kind of revolution that took place in some Arab countries recently because the factors that can trigger it are imminent.'The collapse of public infrastructure, such as roads, hospitals and educational institutions, mass unemployment, lack of basic amenities that make life worth living and general insecurity should inform any discernible observer that the country is in its tenterhooks,' he said.He noted that even conservative elements within the ruling class have since been sounding alarms of an impending revolution.Professor Oyebode suggested that the best way out of the quagmire was convocation of Sovereign National Conference, canvassing that anybody that loves the country should think along that line and vote for its convocation.Speaking on the importance of celebrating Ige, Professor Akinwunmi, who chaired the occasion, said it was in line with the tradition of the Yoruba to always celebrate their heroes. He explained that there were three categories of hero: those who foresaw what the future was and plan ahead for the challenges, those that quietly work for the success of their people, and those who were put off when the masses were subjected to unimaginable indignation and as such would not hesitate to cry out loud to condemn it. He noted that Chief Ige qualified to be in the three categories.Though it is saddening that 10 years after an icon like Ige was brutally cut down, his killers are yet to be brought to book. That, on its own, is a decry in the system of justice in the country, which makes every other Nigerian to be despondent.
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