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| Chief Murithala Abiola, Head of MKO Abiola Family of Abeokuta, Ogun State |
Africa’s Number 1 Celebrity Encounter blog, Asabeafrika, Chief Murithala
Mohammed Abiola, the head of the prestigious Abiola family of Abeokuta,
Ogun State—South Western Nigeria opened up for the first time since the demise
of their bread winner on July 7, 1998 and revealed the secret reason why
Nigerian political leaders occupying the Abuja seat of power, Aso Rock, since 1999 keep losing their
lives (either spouses or husbands). The 75 years old family head of the
annulled June 12 Presidency winner while speaking on the position of the family
concerning the 24th anniversary of the celebration coming up this
Monday, lamented the poor state of the
family and how politicians have always used their mouth to praise MKO Abiola in public but neglected his
family in privacy. Chief Murhi a
London trained accountant who is presently mourning the death of his younger
brother, Engineer Tunde Saliu Abiola
who died on Wednesday May 24th after a battle with one of late MKO
Abiola’s wives, Mrs. Dele Desaolu Abiola equally revealed
why the family is banning Ogun State government from celebrating the June 12
event in their ancestral family house next Monday. The elderly Abiola said more to Asabeafrika. Enjoy the excerpts.
Sir, can you tell us the story of
this great family, the Moshood Abiola family?
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| Ologundudu, Bashorun MKO Abiola of blessed memory |
and I am very grateful for your assistance to the Abiola family. I think we have been together for some time and all
the time I used to speak for the family. Today, I am ordained to be the Head of
Abiola family. It is not by election,
it is by birth right. I am the oldest son of Abiola family today. Initially, MKO
was the head of the Abiola family.
When he was the head of the family, I was the family secretary. But today, he
is passed away and the responsibility falls upon me as Head of the family.
Fortunately, I am learned somehow, I am an accountant by profession. So I know
the history of the Abiola family. We
are a royal family in Gbagura-Abeokuta.
About 8 kingdom makes Gbagura, among
which is our own kingdom where our father was Balogun. It is Ojoo
kingdom of Abiola and we are entitled
to the crown because our forefathers carried a crown from their settlement to Abeokuta.
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| The GDA meets the family Head of the Royal MKO Abiola Family of Abeokuta, Chief Murithala Abiola |
entitled to contest for the stool of Agura of Gbagura. Even MKO tried it sometimes back but he was
persuaded to withdraw because he hailed from two kingdoms in Gbagura. His mother is from Iddo
kingdom while his father is from Ojoo. So on the two sides; he is
entitled to it (Crown). But the argument then was that he should step down
because he was rich and influential. Even, he built the palace, the present Agura of Gbagura is living today. MKO built the palace and since his
death, I have been trying to raise the issue. But Abeokuta as it were is much more of a cosmopolitan town because
most of the people from that town are learned, they are successful business
men. You can name it, so you can see a lot of envy and jealousy in the air.
There is rivalry in the air because Egba
consist of Egba Alake, Egba Oke-Ona where
the Tejuosho royalty came from.
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| Chief Murithala Abiola to Asabeafrika….’The Abiola family is very unique and respected family in Egba land’ |
Then,
Owu where Obasanjo comes from but the real issue is that people think that
every big personality from Egba comes
from Ake kingdom but for our
forefathers who were not learned, history would have been properly documented,
they didn’t document facts. No documentation. It was initially being called The
Alake of Ake. Ake is just a
kingdom in Egba land but education
was the in thing at the time because if you look as far back as possible, you
will see that civilization started in Egba
land. Even all this democratic system of government we are using today is from Egba land because the British who came to liberate us
appointed the Alake of Egba land to
be administering the province. It was Egba
Province at the time, not like now that we have states and local government
areas. But what is certain is, in any part of Nigeria, traditionally, we have what we call family institutions
because it is the family institution in one area that forms communities and it
is communities that form Local Government Areas. It is the LGA that now
constitutes states and it is the (amalgamation of) states that constitutes the
country—Nigeria.
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| Chief Murhi Abiola to Asabeafrika…’Our family is royalty and MKO nearly became the Agura of Gbagura in his life time’ |
This is how
evolution evolves and there is no part of Nigeria
that does not have a family institution. I could remember vividly that during
the 1993 elections, it was option A-4
which means you have to be elected from your ward down to your Local Government
Area down to your state because I took part in all these things before we ended
up in Jos for the presidential
primary. Since the government recognizes all these things I don’t know why our
family is not taken serious. Because what is happening today, I can’t
comprehend it as it relates to MKO
Abiola’s family and his sacrifice for democracy.
abandoned your family and only mouth the June 12 slogan without benefit to your
family?
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| President Muhammadu Buhari….Is he a victim of the MKO Abiola spell in Aso Rock? |
indication shows that we don’t have a government. I have been saying it for a
long time; we don’t have government in Nigeria.
The government that will not obey court order, the government that will send
lists of appointed officers to its legislative arm and the list will not be
honored or confirm. If there is a government, we don’t need to have all these
problems. I am handling another issue now; I think day before yesterday when Taju and Ramoni (His Younger brothers) came to me. I have written to (Gov
Ibikunle) Amosun (Ogun State
Governor) that the June 12 celebration they are doing, they are not going to do
it in my Papa’s house this year.
Government from celebrating the event in your family house?
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| Chief Murhi Abiola to Asabeafrika….’Nobody will rule in peace inside Aso Rock until we appease the spirit of MKO and honor his efforts’ |
not for the family, it is for the people of Ogun
state and the people of Nigeria as a whole. They are just camouflaging and
using us as a stooge. The father of MKO
(Alhaji Salawu Adenekan Abiola) has died for about 40 years now, even MKO himself, before he died did not even
put N2
in a plate before an Alaafa (Muslim
cleric/clerics) to pray for him. Then, his son (MKO) you (Nigerian Government?)
killed him and you are praying for him every year. The Baba himself dey vex now and it is part of the problem we are
having in the family.
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| Late MKO Abiola with his legendary Father late Chief Salaudeen Adenekan Abiola (Held to his right hand) |
I said is it two or three June 12 celebrations ago, that
I attended, I told the government and I don’t know if journalists reported it
properly but I am still confirming today that there must be a spiritual
sacrifice for MKO Abiola because MKO is not an ordinary person. People
who see what is happening now know that he is not an ordinary person; we have a
shrine in our compound that made MKO
to stay alive and that is why they call him Kashimawo. He used to
come and go, come and go, he will come and go, it is that shrine that made him
stay and the family is aware.
MKO Abiola staying after birth in 1937 and the deity has a shrine?
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| Late Symbol of Democracy Bashorun MKO Abiola….’His spirit must be appeased’ say Chief Murhi Abiola |
still there at Ita-Oje, we call it Oshoosi. That is the name of the
shrine, and when they are reporting that there are ghosts in Aso Rock, staffs are dying, people are
falling ill, occupants are either losing their own wives or losing their lives,
I told them that until, until, look… nobody will sit on that throne and enjoy
the place. Whether they like, let them take it or say I am lying, if they don’t
do the needful, nobody will be there and enjoy that place (Aso Rock). People
may be thee o, but they will not enjoy the place.
Aso Rock will keep dying unless they properly honor MKO Abiola’s spirit?
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| President Umar Yar ‘Adua equally died in Aso Rock on April 5, 2010 after two and a half years in power |
of MKO is still there. It is not out.
I am saying this to the world now.
MKO’s spirit now?
message, you will give the devil something the devil didn’t like. It is that
thing that will aggravate its annoyance. That is the issue. Ti
eyan ba fe b’esu nise, nkan ti o kin je le ma fun’. You
want to send the devil on an errand, give him what he doesn’t eat and you will
see him run the errand beyond what you imagine. The spirit of MKO Abiola is still leaving there and it
will never give peace to any occupier until a special sacrifice is carried out
for that Oshoosi deity in our family house.
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| General Sani Abacha….The man who locked MKO first died in Aso Rock on June 8, 1998 |
If that is not done, there
will be no peace in Aso Rock. I have told
them, I am saying my own but you know we are nobody so they can easily take us
for granted. They have always taken us for granted. And until it is done,
nobody will be in that Aso Rock and
do better thing. If the person’s life is longer there, he is very lucky.
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| Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State |
banning Governor Amosun from using your ancestral home to do this year’s June
12 celebration, have you ever sat with him to tell him what you want from the
government?
times we have made moves. We have been there but they will not allow us to see
him, a year before or so during June 12. I think it was three years ago, we
wanted to see him to discuss how we are going to do the June 12 we were not
allowed to. We saw the SSG and he said we should go and prepare an estimate for
the June 12 celebration.
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| Members of the Abiola Family of Abeokuta with late Eng. Tunde Abiola (In shirt and trouser) |
That we should prepare what will befit the government,
I asked my junior brothers that they should go and prepare a budget of N5
million since it is the government that is going to do something, we shouldn’t
do something that will be a disgrace to the government; going back to the
government now, the SSG said ‘ah, we
don’t have money because we too we are going to do T-shirt, face cap etc’.
I didn’t know he has constituted his own football club but he said ‘Secretary to the Government Football Club’
will like to meet the old players of Abiola
Babes. That very day (The day of the encounter) I was on field and I
played.
club?
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| Chief MM Abiola explaining a point to the GDA |
o but I played for Abiola babe as the manager, on that June 12 of 2015. I met some
of the old players, few of them because people like Toyin Ayinla, Isa Sofoluwe and one other guy from Ghana, MKO bought him for Abiola
Babe, he is playing center for us,
some of them were there. I saw some other old player who came to play because
it is a novelty match. So, at least I played for about 20 to 25 minutes before
they changed me.
age?
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| Chief Murithala Mohammed Abiola….Head of MKO Abiola Family of Abeokuta |
now, I am a footballer, I played for UAC,
I played for Mandilas in my days. I
played for University of Lagos. I am
a sports man (laughter). So, I still have the skill.
I should be 75.
Afrika TV by typing GbengaDanAsabe on your YouTube App and click the subscribe
button to watch full video of this interview on ‘How Segun Osoba, Gbenga Daniel
& Ibikunle Amosun treated Abiola Family’ next Monday June 12)
