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| 9ice talk with the GDA…’I have great plans for my people in 2015′ |
Famous Nigerian Hip-pop star Alexander Abolore Ajifolajifaola Akande
aka 9ice has revealed for the first time one of life’s incidences that influenced
his decision to go into politics and serve his people in Ogbomosho area of Oyo
state in 2015.
Recalling a childhood characterized with poverty and life
threatening instances that nearly aborted his dream, the MOBO Awards star and
father of four loving children (A son and three daughters) told Africa’s number
1 Celebrity encounter blog asabeafrika
during a recent encounter inside White
House Hotel, Joel Ogunnaike, GRA Ikeja, Lagos-South West Nigeria life
experiences that built his resolve for political leadership. The successful
entertainer with over 15 awards to his credit who promised to go into politics
during the nationwide January 9, 2012 fuel subsidy protest in Lagos recently
joined Nigeria’s major opposition party All
Progressive Congress with an aspiration to represent the people of Ogbomosho Federal constituency come
2015. Returning from a week familiarization tour of Ogbomosho Federal
constituency last week, 9ice spoke
first to asabeafrika in a
memoir-like series last Tuesday September 30th beside the swimming
pool area of the White House Hotel, GRA Ikeja in presence of some
his political aides and image maker, Don
Tony Anifite aka Don T MD/CEO DycotyleDon Entertainment Ltd. The two
hours encounter revealed so many things about 9ice and probably gave a hint of what his memoir would be like
later in life. Enjoy the excerpts only on your soar away Africa’s number 1
Celebrity encounter blog asabeafrika.
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| 9ice in a hot chat with GDA…’In Ogbomosho, the graduates drive Okada |
Long hiatus & 9ice time @ Mile 12
Opening the
encounter session with an accusation that the artistes has remained so,
so scarce in recent times and what could have been responsible for such AWOL
(Absent without Leave); The MOBO Award winner cleared his throat with a huge
laugh before his response “Well, I will say it is due to hard work and so many
other things. When you are cooking the meal nobody sees or feel the pain of the
cooking but everyone will see and enjoy the physical meal when it is ready but
nobody dares to ask what went through the process of cooking. So, we are
cooking so many things behind the scene and people can always wait to see the
result of what we are cooking. I am sure that is the reason why I have been
very scarce. Right now, I am working on a new album that will be released in
January 2015. We are equally shooting videos form some of my songs that has no
video. This is one project that has engaged so much of our time and we are
happy to be busy for a reason”.
encounter session with an accusation that the artistes has remained so,
so scarce in recent times and what could have been responsible for such AWOL
(Absent without Leave); The MOBO Award winner cleared his throat with a huge
laugh before his response “Well, I will say it is due to hard work and so many
other things. When you are cooking the meal nobody sees or feel the pain of the
cooking but everyone will see and enjoy the physical meal when it is ready but
nobody dares to ask what went through the process of cooking. So, we are
cooking so many things behind the scene and people can always wait to see the
result of what we are cooking. I am sure that is the reason why I have been
very scarce. Right now, I am working on a new album that will be released in
January 2015. We are equally shooting videos form some of my songs that has no
video. This is one project that has engaged so much of our time and we are
happy to be busy for a reason”.
The last time 9ice performed at Mile 12,
during the opening of World famous Television presenter, Dayo Adeneye’s hotel, DC
Suites and Bar, the Grammy aspiring artiste threw the roof of the venue
open with over 2000 fans forcefully asking for more of his creative lines. So,
what is the secret of 9ice’s staying power? The artiste replied thus “The
secret of my staying power does not really reside with me. The secret radiates
between me and my fans. When you are singing and people are responding, it
makes you want to do more. So, it is me dishing out my creative energy and them
responding with a receptive energy. So, it is a two way affair between me and
my fans. But the biggest of it all is
the God factor; Musician are more like prophets and the first thing is for God
to give you a message to pass across to people; the second thing is how the
people receive that message and third is how you can keep reinventing the
platform of the message which is you. You must keep rebranding and rebuilding
yourself. So far so good, God has played a big role in my career by ordaining
my footstep and equally putting me in the right direction. And we must equally
give more appreciation to fans for accepting my brand of music; and not just
accepting the music alone but for their dedication to my person and brand,
following me all though the bad times and the good times and whenever I climb
the stage, singing the same songs they still embrace it as if it were new. So,
I will say ‘a big thank you to all my fans home and abroad for keeping it real
with me”
during the opening of World famous Television presenter, Dayo Adeneye’s hotel, DC
Suites and Bar, the Grammy aspiring artiste threw the roof of the venue
open with over 2000 fans forcefully asking for more of his creative lines. So,
what is the secret of 9ice’s staying power? The artiste replied thus “The
secret of my staying power does not really reside with me. The secret radiates
between me and my fans. When you are singing and people are responding, it
makes you want to do more. So, it is me dishing out my creative energy and them
responding with a receptive energy. So, it is a two way affair between me and
my fans. But the biggest of it all is
the God factor; Musician are more like prophets and the first thing is for God
to give you a message to pass across to people; the second thing is how the
people receive that message and third is how you can keep reinventing the
platform of the message which is you. You must keep rebranding and rebuilding
yourself. So far so good, God has played a big role in my career by ordaining
my footstep and equally putting me in the right direction. And we must equally
give more appreciation to fans for accepting my brand of music; and not just
accepting the music alone but for their dedication to my person and brand,
following me all though the bad times and the good times and whenever I climb
the stage, singing the same songs they still embrace it as if it were new. So,
I will say ‘a big thank you to all my fans home and abroad for keeping it real
with me”
“The Bible and the
Quran will take time before the consequences yield. But if we find someone who
can tell us all what he will do for us and that person is man enough to drink
the radiator water, honestly I won’t contest again. I will support the person
and say ‘good, this is our candidate, let us support the person. That was one
way I had to assure these people that I am not the same as others that have
come to deceive them in the past”
To some entertainment analysts 9ice remains
one of the very few Nigerian artistes who are very scarce at the moment yet
popular in the minds of their fans due to the creative and inspiring works. The other one is Bisade Ologunde aka Lagbaja. 9ice spoke on why it is
like that for him “I think it is the uniqueness of my brand, that even when
they listen to 30, 40 artistes, there is still that missing vim in their amusement
accomplishment that makes them to keep asking for 9ICE. I am of that
opinion that my brand of music is the only missing link that makes fans to
still keep looking for me even when I am off for a while because we have so
many artistes who do so many good songs and deliver good music but somehow,
somehow, my fans still lay claims to that peculiar gift of music that I offer.
I can only say ‘thanks for your unshaken loyalty to 9ice’.
one of the very few Nigerian artistes who are very scarce at the moment yet
popular in the minds of their fans due to the creative and inspiring works. The other one is Bisade Ologunde aka Lagbaja. 9ice spoke on why it is
like that for him “I think it is the uniqueness of my brand, that even when
they listen to 30, 40 artistes, there is still that missing vim in their amusement
accomplishment that makes them to keep asking for 9ICE. I am of that
opinion that my brand of music is the only missing link that makes fans to
still keep looking for me even when I am off for a while because we have so
many artistes who do so many good songs and deliver good music but somehow,
somehow, my fans still lay claims to that peculiar gift of music that I offer.
I can only say ‘thanks for your unshaken loyalty to 9ice’.
 |
| 9ice to GDA….’People of Goodwill must rise to save the people from political ignorance’ |
The Pete-pete track and the pursuit
of the soap box
of the soap box
Listening to a track, PetePete done by 9ice
featuring soul-jazz singer Bukola Elemide aka ASA in his Tradition album, you will
feel 9ice’s
anger and bitterness towards bad politics in the Nigerian political
sector and this forms the basis of our next question to the Ogbomosho born
entertainer; hear his response which is not far from his lines in that track “I
think an average Nigerian is a politician; the only difference lays in the fact
that some are ‘practicing politicians while the majority are observers or
observing politicians’ so it depends on the class you belong. The reason is
that so many things are wrong and if things are wrong, you want to specifically
know why things are wrong; so every Nigerian is a politician because we are all
passionate about things that are going on in the society. We have seen
societies that are not as blessed as our own being successful and we are always
asking ‘Ah, ah, so what is wrong with our own society?” that consistency of
concern has turned every Nigerian into a politician. We all know everything
that is going wrong with us, it is just that it is only a few of us that can
summon the courage to come out and say “Ok, I want to challenge this thing, let
me see what I can do to make it right in my own way”, so, politics have always
been part of every average Nigerian”.
featuring soul-jazz singer Bukola Elemide aka ASA in his Tradition album, you will
feel 9ice’s
anger and bitterness towards bad politics in the Nigerian political
sector and this forms the basis of our next question to the Ogbomosho born
entertainer; hear his response which is not far from his lines in that track “I
think an average Nigerian is a politician; the only difference lays in the fact
that some are ‘practicing politicians while the majority are observers or
observing politicians’ so it depends on the class you belong. The reason is
that so many things are wrong and if things are wrong, you want to specifically
know why things are wrong; so every Nigerian is a politician because we are all
passionate about things that are going on in the society. We have seen
societies that are not as blessed as our own being successful and we are always
asking ‘Ah, ah, so what is wrong with our own society?” that consistency of
concern has turned every Nigerian into a politician. We all know everything
that is going wrong with us, it is just that it is only a few of us that can
summon the courage to come out and say “Ok, I want to challenge this thing, let
me see what I can do to make it right in my own way”, so, politics have always
been part of every average Nigerian”.
 |
| 9ice to asabeafrika….’What we need to do is to invite people of goodwill to the political sector’ |
The Childhood political murder that
haunts me till date
haunts me till date
Sighting an
example of how the evil of bad politics
has become the bane of a society with great potential, 9ice remembered a sad
episode during his childhood days which continues to hunt him with a passion to
lead politically “Look, a lot of things happened to my childhood that were not
just good to remember. There was a time when I was in JSS 1, I can remember we
had the first female local government chairperson in Somolu Bariga Local
Government area of Lagos which is the umbrella LGA area for my old
neighborhood, Bariga. Her name is Risi; she
was doing fantastically well but before the end of her first tenure they killed
her. She was murdered and for us it was a very sad loss at the time because she
was someone that was doing well. So, I wonder why when somebody is trying to
make things go well in our society some certain people, because they earn their
daily bread from the regime of greed, they will make sure that the regime of
goodness is halted. Risi was killed
and we all cried because at the early part of her first tenure she tarred Odunsi
Street which is the most popular street in Bariga. That is the street I
was born; Risi was the one that
tarred that road and even Arobadade Street, that is where we
have the major market in Bariga different from Alade market which is on
the major street. Risi did that
street up till the middle of the road and that is where development stopped for
that street till today, nobody else has done something further on that street,
no addition, nothing and this Risi was
the first female local government chairperson of Somolu Bariga Local Government
Area and she was murdered because of her intention to change society
and as young as I was then, everybody loved that woman; everybody knows that
the woman was making a great change in the society because our street came
clean during her tenure. If we have the
dry season, the dust will make us go sick and if it is raining season, we won’t
be able to come out of the house because of the water-logged road; it was that
bad for us then, just like now. And someone just came out and she was doing the
right thing and people just murdered her, till today, nobody could find her
assailants. It was a pure assassination and since that incident I have always
lived with the opinion that, ‘hey, there are few people like that in the
society who want to make change but our aggressively corrupt system keeps
silencing them. And the few who diligently want to sanitize society are afraid
for their life because on this journey of change that they embark on, they are
not sure if they are going to see tomorrow”.
example of how the evil of bad politics
has become the bane of a society with great potential, 9ice remembered a sad
episode during his childhood days which continues to hunt him with a passion to
lead politically “Look, a lot of things happened to my childhood that were not
just good to remember. There was a time when I was in JSS 1, I can remember we
had the first female local government chairperson in Somolu Bariga Local
Government area of Lagos which is the umbrella LGA area for my old
neighborhood, Bariga. Her name is Risi; she
was doing fantastically well but before the end of her first tenure they killed
her. She was murdered and for us it was a very sad loss at the time because she
was someone that was doing well. So, I wonder why when somebody is trying to
make things go well in our society some certain people, because they earn their
daily bread from the regime of greed, they will make sure that the regime of
goodness is halted. Risi was killed
and we all cried because at the early part of her first tenure she tarred Odunsi
Street which is the most popular street in Bariga. That is the street I
was born; Risi was the one that
tarred that road and even Arobadade Street, that is where we
have the major market in Bariga different from Alade market which is on
the major street. Risi did that
street up till the middle of the road and that is where development stopped for
that street till today, nobody else has done something further on that street,
no addition, nothing and this Risi was
the first female local government chairperson of Somolu Bariga Local Government
Area and she was murdered because of her intention to change society
and as young as I was then, everybody loved that woman; everybody knows that
the woman was making a great change in the society because our street came
clean during her tenure. If we have the
dry season, the dust will make us go sick and if it is raining season, we won’t
be able to come out of the house because of the water-logged road; it was that
bad for us then, just like now. And someone just came out and she was doing the
right thing and people just murdered her, till today, nobody could find her
assailants. It was a pure assassination and since that incident I have always
lived with the opinion that, ‘hey, there are few people like that in the
society who want to make change but our aggressively corrupt system keeps
silencing them. And the few who diligently want to sanitize society are afraid
for their life because on this journey of change that they embark on, they are
not sure if they are going to see tomorrow”.
 |
| 9ice to asabeafrika…’I will sponsor a bill that will bring an industrial presence to my constituency’ |
People of goodwill play politics
9ice told this blog that despite the fact that politics is dirty
and dangerous, people of goodwill and good intention like him must not run
away. He gave an example with Professor WoleSoyinka “You see as humble, as
prestigious, as famous and as highly renowned as Wole Soyinka is, Wole
Soyinka would feel bad if he does not compete for any political office
in this country. He is largely seen in global circles as the conscience of our
country Nigeria and the oracle of Africa. He is comfortable, he is well loved
and he is well respected but you can’t say because of your comfort-ability then
you will take a back seat and watch governance go to the dogs. There are so
many people lacking and you cannot cover your eyes to their own reality. Gbenga,
just imagine someone like (Professor) Wole Soyinka being in charge of the
affairs of this country, running government. Imagine the kind of change we will
experience in this country; his goodwill alone will bring the much desired
attention and patronage that will drive our country to greatness. Do you think
if Wole
Soyinka contests for the role of leadership in Nigeria and Nigerians
honestly chose him to lead, do you think he won’t win? The only reason why he
won’t win is the bad leadership factor. So, for me, we all can not be scared
and say ‘Ah, won fe pa mi, won fe semi
lese’ (They want to kill me, they
want to wound me) and you now say “Ok, je kemi na lo ma’a Gbe L’america abi je kin foripamo) Let me go and stay in America or
hide somewhere with my comfort. We cannot take that stand because things will
continue to get worse. If people with good conscience don’t decide now to come
into the political system, things will continue to go wrong and at the end of
it all, we will soon discover that we don’t have a society any longer. Because
the only better way we can make changes is for us to have good people come into
politics, not good people criticizing politics. We want good people to
participate in politics and see to the rapid change we so desired. Look at late
Chief Gani Fawehinmi who is my mentor,
may the heavens bless his soul. He criticized and he participated; he didn’t
just criticize and took a back seat. But he participated even though he was not
voted into power but he contested; he sacrificed his own time, professional
peace and comfort zone just like I am doing at the moment. So, we want people
like Wole
Soyinka, people who are not materially conscious; people who are
selfless. Look at the institution Wole Soyinka established; the Federal Road
Safety Corporation, it seems to be one of the few institutions till date that
is not enmeshed in bribery taking and other menaces you find with other
Para-military bodies. Imagine Wole Soyinka as our president? Would
there be need for bad roads, epileptic electricity and mass hunger? No, there
will be total transformation. So, we need people like that to come out and make
a change”
and dangerous, people of goodwill and good intention like him must not run
away. He gave an example with Professor WoleSoyinka “You see as humble, as
prestigious, as famous and as highly renowned as Wole Soyinka is, Wole
Soyinka would feel bad if he does not compete for any political office
in this country. He is largely seen in global circles as the conscience of our
country Nigeria and the oracle of Africa. He is comfortable, he is well loved
and he is well respected but you can’t say because of your comfort-ability then
you will take a back seat and watch governance go to the dogs. There are so
many people lacking and you cannot cover your eyes to their own reality. Gbenga,
just imagine someone like (Professor) Wole Soyinka being in charge of the
affairs of this country, running government. Imagine the kind of change we will
experience in this country; his goodwill alone will bring the much desired
attention and patronage that will drive our country to greatness. Do you think
if Wole
Soyinka contests for the role of leadership in Nigeria and Nigerians
honestly chose him to lead, do you think he won’t win? The only reason why he
won’t win is the bad leadership factor. So, for me, we all can not be scared
and say ‘Ah, won fe pa mi, won fe semi
lese’ (They want to kill me, they
want to wound me) and you now say “Ok, je kemi na lo ma’a Gbe L’america abi je kin foripamo) Let me go and stay in America or
hide somewhere with my comfort. We cannot take that stand because things will
continue to get worse. If people with good conscience don’t decide now to come
into the political system, things will continue to go wrong and at the end of
it all, we will soon discover that we don’t have a society any longer. Because
the only better way we can make changes is for us to have good people come into
politics, not good people criticizing politics. We want good people to
participate in politics and see to the rapid change we so desired. Look at late
Chief Gani Fawehinmi who is my mentor,
may the heavens bless his soul. He criticized and he participated; he didn’t
just criticize and took a back seat. But he participated even though he was not
voted into power but he contested; he sacrificed his own time, professional
peace and comfort zone just like I am doing at the moment. So, we want people
like Wole
Soyinka, people who are not materially conscious; people who are
selfless. Look at the institution Wole Soyinka established; the Federal Road
Safety Corporation, it seems to be one of the few institutions till date that
is not enmeshed in bribery taking and other menaces you find with other
Para-military bodies. Imagine Wole Soyinka as our president? Would
there be need for bad roads, epileptic electricity and mass hunger? No, there
will be total transformation. So, we need people like that to come out and make
a change”
 |
| Gbenga Dan Asabe presents a copy of Former Minister of Science & Technology, General Sam Momah’s new book ‘Nigeria |
What my trip to Ogbomosho did to me
On what the artiste turned politician met on
ground when he went for a familiarization tour of his constituency “I was
shocked because our trip was mainly for awareness. And not even awareness per
se, let’s go and visit some people that are on ground and know what their
mindset is like towards us; maybe they even have a better candidate on ground
already so that I can just gather my entire strength and support the person.
That was what I and my team went for but on getting there the entire trip
turned into a campaign spree. It was like something they have been waiting for.
We had to make do with so many things that we didn’t plan for, they did banner,
they did posters and this were voluntary action by our ready made supporters
and I was like ‘Ah, ah, sebi a kan ni kawa
wo bi nkan seri ni?’ (We had only
come with the intention to view events and see what next) but to my surprise
they embraced us wholeheartedly because it was a change they were waiting for,
it was the change they were waiting for because in my own town, nothing is in
place. Nothing is there in terms of development. Over there it is the graduates
that are driving Okada motor cycles; until when you try to abuse them that they
will react and say ‘don’t talk to me like that o, I am a graduate’ and you
wonder ‘ehen, a graduate on Okada?’ Because that is what they will give them,
when our politicians says “Youth empowerment”, their own Youth empowerment is
to give you Okada, no single running company in the whole of Ogbomosho. This is
fact, you can go check; no single company that we can say ‘Ok, when we have our
brand new graduates o, at least this company you are on our own soil, kindly
ensure you employ 40% of our people, nothing.
ground when he went for a familiarization tour of his constituency “I was
shocked because our trip was mainly for awareness. And not even awareness per
se, let’s go and visit some people that are on ground and know what their
mindset is like towards us; maybe they even have a better candidate on ground
already so that I can just gather my entire strength and support the person.
That was what I and my team went for but on getting there the entire trip
turned into a campaign spree. It was like something they have been waiting for.
We had to make do with so many things that we didn’t plan for, they did banner,
they did posters and this were voluntary action by our ready made supporters
and I was like ‘Ah, ah, sebi a kan ni kawa
wo bi nkan seri ni?’ (We had only
come with the intention to view events and see what next) but to my surprise
they embraced us wholeheartedly because it was a change they were waiting for,
it was the change they were waiting for because in my own town, nothing is in
place. Nothing is there in terms of development. Over there it is the graduates
that are driving Okada motor cycles; until when you try to abuse them that they
will react and say ‘don’t talk to me like that o, I am a graduate’ and you
wonder ‘ehen, a graduate on Okada?’ Because that is what they will give them,
when our politicians says “Youth empowerment”, their own Youth empowerment is
to give you Okada, no single running company in the whole of Ogbomosho. This is
fact, you can go check; no single company that we can say ‘Ok, when we have our
brand new graduates o, at least this company you are on our own soil, kindly
ensure you employ 40% of our people, nothing.
 |
| 9ice to asabeafrika….’I am going to use my first 4 years salary to pay people of my constituency’ |
“If someone is sick in
Ogbomosho now, that mean they have to rush him or her to Ibadan and from
Ogbomosho to Ibadan it will take you nothing less than two hours because the
road is bad; that means there is a large possibility that the sick person might
even die before you get him or her to Ibadan either as a result of bad road or
delayed health care system which is not immediately in sight. So, how many
people can afford private hospital in Ogbomosho? You dash someone N500 won a de
ma se Adura bi Agbonrin”.
So, our coming was like the
change people were already waiting for because they were already tired. If I am
talking, they will interrupt and say ‘9ice, eight years ago, people have been
telling us this same thing’. They know much about all these agenda, manifestoes
and everything, they even tell you while you are talking, they can gage your
intention, and they know who means well and who is lying. That is how far the poverty has treated them,
they have been manipulated, they have been tricked, they have been caged, and
they have been maligned politically so they know all the tricks of a
politician. Before you even say it, they will say ‘We know this, we know it’.
Apart from Ekiti and Ondo I have not seen any Yoruba race that is as educated
and sophisticated as the Ogbomosho people but as they finish from school, there
is no job for them to do. The whole town is just in shamble, it is in total
disarray because graduates are driving Okada and if they are not driving Okada,
they are touts or Ogogoro drinkers. They are being used as instrument of
destruction”
change people were already waiting for because they were already tired. If I am
talking, they will interrupt and say ‘9ice, eight years ago, people have been
telling us this same thing’. They know much about all these agenda, manifestoes
and everything, they even tell you while you are talking, they can gage your
intention, and they know who means well and who is lying. That is how far the poverty has treated them,
they have been manipulated, they have been tricked, they have been caged, and
they have been maligned politically so they know all the tricks of a
politician. Before you even say it, they will say ‘We know this, we know it’.
Apart from Ekiti and Ondo I have not seen any Yoruba race that is as educated
and sophisticated as the Ogbomosho people but as they finish from school, there
is no job for them to do. The whole town is just in shamble, it is in total
disarray because graduates are driving Okada and if they are not driving Okada,
they are touts or Ogogoro drinkers. They are being used as instrument of
destruction”
 |
| 9ICE….In Nigeria, people bury good things under bad things |
Nice plans for Ogbomosho people in
the 1st 4years
the 1st 4years
Speaking on his level of commitment and
acceptance by the people 9ice says “I will say my assurance is 80% because when
I was telling people how I am going to bring about the desired change, they
were asking if I was running for governorship and I said to them that I don’t
need to be a governor to do all these things”. The artiste who is one of the
few global artiste to perform at late South African president and apartheid
hero, Nelson Mandela’s birthday says “I told the people that your representatives
in Abuja are being given (Financial) allocations to cater for all these things so
that what the governor will do will be minimal. I said to them, there is what
we call “Constituency allocation” and that constituency allocation is for you
people, so if a governor is even going to do anything it will be complimentary
and mostly in capital projects. But there are some certain things that are
expected from your representatives in Abuja; and this is why they are your
representatives at the center; things like providing transportation for
schools, like giving of exercise books to your students, like giving out text
books and other ameliorative supports. Those are minor things your governor is
not expected to do, you cant expect your governor to leave the capital in
Ibadan and start jumping into communities in Iseyin, Shaki,
Isale-Ora,
Igbo-Ora,
Ogbomoso
and going from one community to the other to distribute text books. That is why
we have senators, that is why we have representatives, that is why we have
counselors, that is why we have chairmen and chairpersons to take care of all
those small, small things. Bringing government and governance nearer to the
people let the people feel the presence of government through you so that when
the governor comes, it will be a complimentary effort in all. But I ask, where
are those constituency allowances going into? So, when I was enlightening them
about all these things they were like “Sir, are you running for governor” and I
said “No, I am not running for governor”. There are provisions for all these
things and even if there are no provisions I am there to make laws on your
behalf that will bring about those provisions in this constituency; that is why
I am there. Even if there are no laws already, I am there to make laws that my
people here will benefit from directly. Nothing is wrong in me putting a bill
forward to say ‘gentle men, in my constituency, there is no single industry. We
want just one industry situated there because we have so many bills begging for
endorsement from other constituencies and all I need to do is say ‘ok for me to
support your bill and make it become law, make sure one of these industries is
situated in my own town’. Is that too much for me to ask? But when I said it to
their hearing, it was like they have never heard those things before and they
don’t even believe that a house of representative member can do all these for
them”
acceptance by the people 9ice says “I will say my assurance is 80% because when
I was telling people how I am going to bring about the desired change, they
were asking if I was running for governorship and I said to them that I don’t
need to be a governor to do all these things”. The artiste who is one of the
few global artiste to perform at late South African president and apartheid
hero, Nelson Mandela’s birthday says “I told the people that your representatives
in Abuja are being given (Financial) allocations to cater for all these things so
that what the governor will do will be minimal. I said to them, there is what
we call “Constituency allocation” and that constituency allocation is for you
people, so if a governor is even going to do anything it will be complimentary
and mostly in capital projects. But there are some certain things that are
expected from your representatives in Abuja; and this is why they are your
representatives at the center; things like providing transportation for
schools, like giving of exercise books to your students, like giving out text
books and other ameliorative supports. Those are minor things your governor is
not expected to do, you cant expect your governor to leave the capital in
Ibadan and start jumping into communities in Iseyin, Shaki,
Isale-Ora,
Igbo-Ora,
Ogbomoso
and going from one community to the other to distribute text books. That is why
we have senators, that is why we have representatives, that is why we have
counselors, that is why we have chairmen and chairpersons to take care of all
those small, small things. Bringing government and governance nearer to the
people let the people feel the presence of government through you so that when
the governor comes, it will be a complimentary effort in all. But I ask, where
are those constituency allowances going into? So, when I was enlightening them
about all these things they were like “Sir, are you running for governor” and I
said “No, I am not running for governor”. There are provisions for all these
things and even if there are no provisions I am there to make laws on your
behalf that will bring about those provisions in this constituency; that is why
I am there. Even if there are no laws already, I am there to make laws that my
people here will benefit from directly. Nothing is wrong in me putting a bill
forward to say ‘gentle men, in my constituency, there is no single industry. We
want just one industry situated there because we have so many bills begging for
endorsement from other constituencies and all I need to do is say ‘ok for me to
support your bill and make it become law, make sure one of these industries is
situated in my own town’. Is that too much for me to ask? But when I said it to
their hearing, it was like they have never heard those things before and they
don’t even believe that a house of representative member can do all these for
them”
 |
| 9ice with Photo journalist, Dipeolu Abimbola |
9ice’s views on legislative democracy
9ice who is equally rounding up a law
degree program at a private University x-rayed the challenges of legislative
democracy in Nigeria “The problem we
have as regards to making laws at the lower house is what I call diversity of
political interest; you know you will have people that will come from APC and
others from PDP and other parties; so for you to make a success of a bill
depends on how much lobbying you can lobby,. Secondly you must have numerical
powers in the sense that you must have the power of number as to the party you
belong must have a bigger number in the house. These are the basic issues that
create problems in the decision organ of a successful bill. But even at that,
there are some basic things you should do for your constituency. To make matter
worst for the electorate, even if your
influence at that lower house is not felt in terms of making laws or bills that
will benefit your people but what about the constituency allowances that you
are being given while you are representing those people, what are you doing
with those funds? Okay, let’s say you can’t even make laws that will affect
their lives positively in Abuja or you are struggling to do something, go back
to them and explain, ‘this is what I am facing o ‘Kin sepe mi o se nkankan o,
ibi bayi lati meet difficulty o’. (it is not that I am idle on your behalf,
this is where I am facing difficulty o) Enlighten them, let them know. When I told
them that for the first four years of my
reign I will use my own basic salary to take care of the people, they said “Ah, iwo tun de, eleyi ni iwo tun fe fi
jewa’ (So this is what you want to use to deceive us?).
degree program at a private University x-rayed the challenges of legislative
democracy in Nigeria “The problem we
have as regards to making laws at the lower house is what I call diversity of
political interest; you know you will have people that will come from APC and
others from PDP and other parties; so for you to make a success of a bill
depends on how much lobbying you can lobby,. Secondly you must have numerical
powers in the sense that you must have the power of number as to the party you
belong must have a bigger number in the house. These are the basic issues that
create problems in the decision organ of a successful bill. But even at that,
there are some basic things you should do for your constituency. To make matter
worst for the electorate, even if your
influence at that lower house is not felt in terms of making laws or bills that
will benefit your people but what about the constituency allowances that you
are being given while you are representing those people, what are you doing
with those funds? Okay, let’s say you can’t even make laws that will affect
their lives positively in Abuja or you are struggling to do something, go back
to them and explain, ‘this is what I am facing o ‘Kin sepe mi o se nkankan o,
ibi bayi lati meet difficulty o’. (it is not that I am idle on your behalf,
this is where I am facing difficulty o) Enlighten them, let them know. When I told
them that for the first four years of my
reign I will use my own basic salary to take care of the people, they said “Ah, iwo tun de, eleyi ni iwo tun fe fi
jewa’ (So this is what you want to use to deceive us?).
So, I had to tell them
to bring radiator water, moni e gbe omi
radiator wa, e gbe Bible wa, e gbe Quran
wa (Bring radiator water, bring Bible and bring Quran). Tin ba ri eni other contestant ton contest fun position mi to ba le mu omi
radiator, mi oni contest mo, ma’a support onitohun’ (If I find any other
contestant who can drink this radiator water, I will throw my support behind
him and I wont contest again) because kiise dandan, kii se tipa-tikuuku pe I
won die there, no. sugbon tie ba relomi to le mu omi radiator yen, ma’a support
e (It is not by force that I represent you, but if anyone can drink this
radiator water, I am ready to drop my ambition and support the person) I am so particular about someone drinking that
radiator water as a sign of taking oath of allegiance because it will happen
very, very fast. The Bible and the Quran will take time before the consequences
yield. But if we find someone who can tell us all what he will do for us and
that person is man enough to drink the radiator water, honestly I won’t contest
again. I will support the person and say ‘good, this is our candidate, let us
support the person. That was one way I had to assure these people that I am not
the same as others that have come to deceive them in the past”
to bring radiator water, moni e gbe omi
radiator wa, e gbe Bible wa, e gbe Quran
wa (Bring radiator water, bring Bible and bring Quran). Tin ba ri eni other contestant ton contest fun position mi to ba le mu omi
radiator, mi oni contest mo, ma’a support onitohun’ (If I find any other
contestant who can drink this radiator water, I will throw my support behind
him and I wont contest again) because kiise dandan, kii se tipa-tikuuku pe I
won die there, no. sugbon tie ba relomi to le mu omi radiator yen, ma’a support
e (It is not by force that I represent you, but if anyone can drink this
radiator water, I am ready to drop my ambition and support the person) I am so particular about someone drinking that
radiator water as a sign of taking oath of allegiance because it will happen
very, very fast. The Bible and the Quran will take time before the consequences
yield. But if we find someone who can tell us all what he will do for us and
that person is man enough to drink the radiator water, honestly I won’t contest
again. I will support the person and say ‘good, this is our candidate, let us
support the person. That was one way I had to assure these people that I am not
the same as others that have come to deceive them in the past”
 |
| 9ice to asabeafrika….’We need to liberate people from political enslavement |
The Politics of 9ice
Unveiling
his agenda to asabeafrika, 9ice gave us a hint of what his
representation at the federal house will look like for the people of Ogbomosho
federal constituency “Part of our
agenda is youth empowerment by employment and I will explain that. Don’t give
them Okada motor cycle when you know
you won’t give them helmet or head and leg protector. Don’t tell students to go
and study micro-biology when there is no enviable field to practice
micro-biology. Empower them in what you know that they will practice
immediately, it should be services that people in the society needs immediately
like barbing, like making candles, like making soap, like making bread. Don’t
just come and lie that you want to teach them one American strategy that is non
available here.
his agenda to asabeafrika, 9ice gave us a hint of what his
representation at the federal house will look like for the people of Ogbomosho
federal constituency “Part of our
agenda is youth empowerment by employment and I will explain that. Don’t give
them Okada motor cycle when you know
you won’t give them helmet or head and leg protector. Don’t tell students to go
and study micro-biology when there is no enviable field to practice
micro-biology. Empower them in what you know that they will practice
immediately, it should be services that people in the society needs immediately
like barbing, like making candles, like making soap, like making bread. Don’t
just come and lie that you want to teach them one American strategy that is non
available here.
What you give them is what is called SMEs (Small Medium
Enterprise Scheme), if you want to be sincere to the letter of that name, and
then you must give them little funds to start what they have practiced. For
instance if you enjoyed the Adigun SME Scheme, you are there for
one month and you learn how to barb, we give you a small generator, we give you
a clipper, we give you a hairdressing equipment and we give you a small loan to
rent a shop and start that trade immediately. Don’t just learn and after you learn
you go back into your idleness or you start riding Okada or wa’a lo ma sun boli (Start roasting
plantain by the road side) Because if you learn a trade and you don’t have a
small fund to start and practice, that thing you learn will just waste away, that
is what I have realized”.
Enterprise Scheme), if you want to be sincere to the letter of that name, and
then you must give them little funds to start what they have practiced. For
instance if you enjoyed the Adigun SME Scheme, you are there for
one month and you learn how to barb, we give you a small generator, we give you
a clipper, we give you a hairdressing equipment and we give you a small loan to
rent a shop and start that trade immediately. Don’t just learn and after you learn
you go back into your idleness or you start riding Okada or wa’a lo ma sun boli (Start roasting
plantain by the road side) Because if you learn a trade and you don’t have a
small fund to start and practice, that thing you learn will just waste away, that
is what I have realized”.
 |
| 9ice to asabeafrika….’I was shocked to see a tout who spoke fluent English in Ogbomosho’ |
Encounter with a graduate tout
9ice shared one of his bizarre
experiences in Ogbomosho with asabeafrika “One of the guys who were
on my entourage was a chronic tout; we didn’t know he was a graduate. Until he
had a confrontation with one of my aides and he said “don’t talk to me like
that because I am a graduate” and I was like ‘Ehen?, graduate ke?’ I said ‘you
are a graduate?’ and after that incident the guy just stopped speaking Yoruba, O kan
bere si ni so foone ni (The guy started speaking English all through). Just
to assure us of his pedigree amidst the irony of his fate. And I 9ice was
wondering, what could make a graduate to become a tout? What could have made a graduate to become a
tout because the guy is so sound? I mean a graduate in this 2014 to be a tout?
You need to see marks all over his face which signifies his pedigree as a
confirmed tout but you know what? The guy shocked me. He really, really shocked
me and I felt like weeping for our democracy. The guy switches over and he
really impressed us with his level of English. That is the level of degradation
in that constituency which is equally the biggest constituency in Oyo state. It
consists of three local governments. We have Ogbomoso North, Ogbomoso
–South and Oriire Local Government. And that Oriire Local Government
(Where 9ICE hails from) is the biggest and we are blessed with mass land.
Within Oriire LGA you can be travelling for two hours from one village to the
other, we are not just talking about empty big lands o, we have arable lands
for farming but no one single tractor in sight, won sii nlo Oko ati ada (They still use cutlass and hoe), no
fertilizer centers for farmers to go get fertilizers for their farms; no credit
facilities for farmers so that they get small loans without cost which will
enable them to plant. Nothing like that in place; no primary health care
facility, no primary health care, if we finish this interview I will show you
some pictures on my laptop. No primary health care center that people can rush
to so that if you have malaria they can test you and give you a treatment and you can return home healthy.
experiences in Ogbomosho with asabeafrika “One of the guys who were
on my entourage was a chronic tout; we didn’t know he was a graduate. Until he
had a confrontation with one of my aides and he said “don’t talk to me like
that because I am a graduate” and I was like ‘Ehen?, graduate ke?’ I said ‘you
are a graduate?’ and after that incident the guy just stopped speaking Yoruba, O kan
bere si ni so foone ni (The guy started speaking English all through). Just
to assure us of his pedigree amidst the irony of his fate. And I 9ice was
wondering, what could make a graduate to become a tout? What could have made a graduate to become a
tout because the guy is so sound? I mean a graduate in this 2014 to be a tout?
You need to see marks all over his face which signifies his pedigree as a
confirmed tout but you know what? The guy shocked me. He really, really shocked
me and I felt like weeping for our democracy. The guy switches over and he
really impressed us with his level of English. That is the level of degradation
in that constituency which is equally the biggest constituency in Oyo state. It
consists of three local governments. We have Ogbomoso North, Ogbomoso
–South and Oriire Local Government. And that Oriire Local Government
(Where 9ICE hails from) is the biggest and we are blessed with mass land.
Within Oriire LGA you can be travelling for two hours from one village to the
other, we are not just talking about empty big lands o, we have arable lands
for farming but no one single tractor in sight, won sii nlo Oko ati ada (They still use cutlass and hoe), no
fertilizer centers for farmers to go get fertilizers for their farms; no credit
facilities for farmers so that they get small loans without cost which will
enable them to plant. Nothing like that in place; no primary health care
facility, no primary health care, if we finish this interview I will show you
some pictures on my laptop. No primary health care center that people can rush
to so that if you have malaria they can test you and give you a treatment and you can return home healthy.
 |
| The GDA starting the chat with 9ice |
But if it is
too much, they can now refer you to the General Hospital. In fact, how many
general hospitals do we have in Oyo state? If someone is sick in Ogbomosho now,
that mean they have to rush him or her to Ibadan and from Ogbomosho to Ibadan
it will take you nothing less than two hours because the road is bad; that means
there is a large possibility that the sick person might even die before you get
him or her to Ibadan either as a result of bad road or delayed health care
system which is not immediately in sight. So, how many people can afford
private hospital in Ogbomosho? You dash someone N500 won a de ma se Adura bi Agbonrin. And you will be wondering ‘how much is N500?.
The person will almost curse you in the course of praying for you that ‘ah, ah,
somebody just dashed me N500 without doing anything for him. That is how
poverty has affected the mind of our people; they have manipulated their sense
of reasoning. They will come with money and give them Okada (Motor Cycle) Haa,
won se empowerment, won a ko Okada mewa wa, in the name of doing empowerment,
they will bring just ten Okada motor cycles or ten sewing machines to bamboozle
the people but it is that ten motorcycle and ten sewing machine that the people
and the press will see. That is the end and you will only see this man four
years later coming hand in cap for votes. And when he or she comes again like
the person there now, she will give them wrappers and lipsticks. It is so bad
and really funny; and we have able youths, not disabled youth. Able youths,
they will just wake up in the morning to either jump on their Okada or go to
farm and what again?
too much, they can now refer you to the General Hospital. In fact, how many
general hospitals do we have in Oyo state? If someone is sick in Ogbomosho now,
that mean they have to rush him or her to Ibadan and from Ogbomosho to Ibadan
it will take you nothing less than two hours because the road is bad; that means
there is a large possibility that the sick person might even die before you get
him or her to Ibadan either as a result of bad road or delayed health care
system which is not immediately in sight. So, how many people can afford
private hospital in Ogbomosho? You dash someone N500 won a de ma se Adura bi Agbonrin. And you will be wondering ‘how much is N500?.
The person will almost curse you in the course of praying for you that ‘ah, ah,
somebody just dashed me N500 without doing anything for him. That is how
poverty has affected the mind of our people; they have manipulated their sense
of reasoning. They will come with money and give them Okada (Motor Cycle) Haa,
won se empowerment, won a ko Okada mewa wa, in the name of doing empowerment,
they will bring just ten Okada motor cycles or ten sewing machines to bamboozle
the people but it is that ten motorcycle and ten sewing machine that the people
and the press will see. That is the end and you will only see this man four
years later coming hand in cap for votes. And when he or she comes again like
the person there now, she will give them wrappers and lipsticks. It is so bad
and really funny; and we have able youths, not disabled youth. Able youths,
they will just wake up in the morning to either jump on their Okada or go to
farm and what again?
 |
| 9ice to the GDA…’There is no single healthcare center in Ogbomosho |
In fact, apart from Okada riding and farming, majority of
them are politicians. They are largely political escorts ‘ah, mo n lo si ward mi’ (I am going to my ward) and after that they
go to one joint and drink. They will drink and drink until they forget the
reality of their predicament. In fact they have one cheap local drink, they
call it “Bullet”, and you can’t finish one can. It is like all these Red Bull
power drinks; you can’t even finish one before your head get messed up. It is
like a hundred naira, so what I have discovered is that our able men have
become frustrated, with lots of beer addict, lotto addicts and all sorts of
other vices to express their hopelessness and my question is “Where is
governance in all these?”. Don’t also forget that that is the same place where
we have the Ladoke Aknitola University, LAUTECH and Ladoke Akintola is not
a residential campus; so, students are being forced to pay huge amount of money
to rent houses because there is no hostel to stay, no theatre. In fact what we
even call “Korope” that Micra Vehicle that does short distance shuttle for
students; there is no single one for students to transport themselves from
school to their various homes. Instead they transport themselves on Okada motor
cycles and you see students die everyday. I think one of those Micra busses can’t
cost more than N300; 000 and they will carry four passengers. I mean even as a
representative for four years, if you fail to do anything, you can buy ten
Micra buses, get drivers and say ‘please, just ply from the campus gate to
‘Under G’ there is a particular place called ‘Under G’ in Ogbomosho, that is
where majority of the students are situated. Just tell them to ply Under-G to
campus. And you subsidize the amount; instead of twenty naira, take ten naira
from them and that will make life easier for them. In fact, how much is even a
BRT Bus? Maybe eleven million naira, a house of representative member of four
years tenure can easily afford it for the sake of alleviating the challenges of
the students in his or her constituency. Just your one tenure in Abuja buys
one, the next tenure buys another one, and words will go round that you are
doing something”
 |
| Gbenga Dan Asabe, Austin Eruotor, President, White House Hotels Ltd, Don Tony Anifite, CEO DycotyleDon Entertainment and Music Icon, Abolore Agbolade Akande-9ice |
How Politicians cheat
their constituencies
their constituencies
The
Gongo-Aso crooner gave a small narration of how corruption takes place between
the politician and people he is elected to represent “Poverty is the biggest
problem that has destroyed our collective destiny; a situation whereby you will give one person
(Representative) N20, go to Sokoto and give the people of Sokoto the N20 and
that person will say ‘Ok, Sokoto?’; on his way there, he will take N10 to
himself and once he gets to Sokoto, he will say “listen, people of Sokoto o,
you are being given N10 but this N10 I wont even give you at once, I will give
you N5’, meanwhile this same person has kept N10 in his pocket already and what about the
time factor fraud as well? They gave him
N20 this January and he will give them the N5 on top of the already edited N10
next January. He will take the money and go and fix the money in a bank until
when the money has generated enough interest then he take it again, remove the
interest and return the capital and by that time he (Politician) has been able
to make an overkill on the money and succeeded in giving the people an overdose
of poverty. Their time and their dividends have been demobilized within a long
stretch of time and what you have is a destroyed mentality. Even the man giving
the money has his own mentality of “Mo gbodo je lara awon people yi kin to
survive” (I must eat from this people I am serving before I can survive) they
don’t believe in themselves, they don’t believe they can actually make it
without stealing from the stock of Mr. A or Mr. B, their brain has been cursed
to believe that ‘I have to steal from Wale and Tunji to establish myself. It is
not about me, Taofeeq making money on my own and even share with Wale and Tunji
but to steal from Wale and Tunji before I can survive. That is the problem of
our democracy. Democracy of stealing; we don’t have leaders. The moment we have
good leaders our country will rise to greatness”.
Gongo-Aso crooner gave a small narration of how corruption takes place between
the politician and people he is elected to represent “Poverty is the biggest
problem that has destroyed our collective destiny; a situation whereby you will give one person
(Representative) N20, go to Sokoto and give the people of Sokoto the N20 and
that person will say ‘Ok, Sokoto?’; on his way there, he will take N10 to
himself and once he gets to Sokoto, he will say “listen, people of Sokoto o,
you are being given N10 but this N10 I wont even give you at once, I will give
you N5’, meanwhile this same person has kept N10 in his pocket already and what about the
time factor fraud as well? They gave him
N20 this January and he will give them the N5 on top of the already edited N10
next January. He will take the money and go and fix the money in a bank until
when the money has generated enough interest then he take it again, remove the
interest and return the capital and by that time he (Politician) has been able
to make an overkill on the money and succeeded in giving the people an overdose
of poverty. Their time and their dividends have been demobilized within a long
stretch of time and what you have is a destroyed mentality. Even the man giving
the money has his own mentality of “Mo gbodo je lara awon people yi kin to
survive” (I must eat from this people I am serving before I can survive) they
don’t believe in themselves, they don’t believe they can actually make it
without stealing from the stock of Mr. A or Mr. B, their brain has been cursed
to believe that ‘I have to steal from Wale and Tunji to establish myself. It is
not about me, Taofeeq making money on my own and even share with Wale and Tunji
but to steal from Wale and Tunji before I can survive. That is the problem of
our democracy. Democracy of stealing; we don’t have leaders. The moment we have
good leaders our country will rise to greatness”.
(Follow
us here tomorrow for the concluding
part of 9ICE’s exclusive titled “How I sold pepper for
King Sunny Ade’s Mum
to survive”. Only on your number 1 Celebrity encounters blog asabeafrika)
us here tomorrow for the concluding
part of 9ICE’s exclusive titled “How I sold pepper for
King Sunny Ade’s Mum
to survive”. Only on your number 1 Celebrity encounters blog asabeafrika)
