All posts by Abraham Ameh

Comments Off on Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

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Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

With independence realized from colonial rule, Africa had its fair share of sit-tight Presidents. The continent started off with one-party states that knew only one leader who satisfied demands for elections but making sure that these “African Kings” regularly and purportedly scored over 90% of votes cast. Then came a spate of “African Kings in military uniforms” who equally stayed put in power and died in office and were succeeded by their sons or carefully chosen loyalist. Of course, there were those who had mother luck smile on them and acquired power against all odds like Daniel arap Moi but who in turn stayed put only to be eventually swept aside by historical pressures towards democratization given the push for multi-partyism.

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Sit-Tight Presidents Syndrome: A Changing African Past

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Comments Off on Return to Addis on A Special Assignment

Return to Addis on A Special Assignment

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Return to Addis on A Special Assignment

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D

I returned to Addis Ababa yesterday November 6, 2019 to join a meeting of the Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Migration, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons 4-8 November 2019. I could not join at the beginning as I had a commitment in Lagos on November 5, 2019.

Being back to Addis Ababa is no longer a story. After all, I was here from October 26-30, 2019, to attend an AU meeting that I was duly invited for and arrived only to be told a day after my arrival that it would likely be cancelled and indeed even before I could go through getting a temporary pass, friends told a few Ambassadors who had been in the hall that the meeting had been adjourned sine die.

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Return to Addis on a Special Assignment 

   

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Comments Off on Retirement an opportunity to refresh and restart Part 1 & II

Retirement an opportunity to refresh and restart Part 1 & II

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Retirement an opportunity to refresh and restart Part 1 & II

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

It is exactly a year and 3 days that I returned to Lagos, Nigeria after almost 24 years of working at the United Nations at different peace operations. I had cut my teeth inside Somalia for almost 2 years under the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at a time late General Mohamed Farah Aidid wanted to kill meddlesome peacekeepers as a way to drive them out of his country. We relocated to Nairobi, where I continued my work on Somalia for 11 years before moving to Liberia on post-conflict peace keeping mission.

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Retirement an opportunity to refresh and restart Part 1 and II

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Comments Off on Relaxing with J.P Clark’s “The Wives Revolt”

Relaxing with J.P Clark’s “The Wives Revolt”

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Relaxing with J.P Clark’s “The Wives Revolt”

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

It is usual that family and friends pass comments on my not relaxing enough. I am always put on the defensive. So, when Data Phido sent a short note asking if I was in Lagos last Thursday, and I responded in the affirmative, she offered me four seats at the Command Performance of J.P. Clark’s The Wives’ Revolt which held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos on March 29, 2018. Two repeat performances are scheduled for Sunday, March 31, 2019 and I highly recommend attendance.

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Relaxing with J.P Clark’s The Wives Revolt

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Comments Off on President Buhari as I think of Him

President Buhari as I think of Him

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President Buhari as I think of Him

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

Over time, I have learnt that it is best to focus more on what people do than what they say. That does not mean not to pay attention to what people say because there are people who say it as they see it. What they say, you can literally take to the bank. There are others who say the opposite of what they intend to do and as soon as they speak, you know you have to do a lot of analysis to arrive at what they are likely going to do. Then there are those who keep extremely mum as the dust swirls around them. They possibly can see trends and want to avoid being pigeonholed. They either expect the dice to fall in their favour to subsequently rejoice. If the dice doesn’t fall as preferred or even as discretely engineered, they would find it easy to beat a retreat without losing anything. Of course, we can build several personality types along the continuum of those who say what they mean and those who say the exact opposite as well as those who claim to be diplomatic as if diplomacy is the art of lying.

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President Buhari as I think of Him  

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Comments Off on Participation in Oslo Peace Forum

Participation in Oslo Peace Forum

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Participation in Oslo Peace Forum

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

When Norway is mentioned, many people automatically think about peace. So, on landing in Oslo and picked up by Armir Sheikh, (President Foundation Dialogue for Peace), for the long drive to the city, I felt a lot of peaceful relief as I took in the greenery of the environment and chatted with Aamir who wasted no time in sharing information about his adopted country dotted with lamentations about the country he left as a kid. Bonding with Aamir was very easy as I informed him I had written my PhD dissertation on his country of origin, Pakistan. We agreed our two countries could benefit from peace that accompanies development. I knew his Foundation had joined with the Oslo Centre, headed by former Norwegian Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik to put on a seminar on Peaceful Coexistence, Religious tolerance and human trafficking. The President of the Office of His Royal Highness, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain also provided support for the Seminar.

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Participation in Oslo Peace Forum

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Comments Off on Operation Amotekun: Part One, Two and Three

Operation Amotekun: Part One, Two and Three

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Operation Amotekun: Part One, Two and Three

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

I lived in Nairobi for 11 years working for the United Nations on peace for Somalia. It meant I went into Mogadishu where I had earlier lived for two years (before the UN’s evacuation), on as needed basis. I was part of the UN’s support of the unending peace dialogues and conferences.

As I am wanting to do in many aspects of my life and shocked by the situation in Mogadishu, I thought through, planned and concluded that if Nigeria were to implode, I would choose to live in Nairobi or Accra if I must become a refugee. I enjoyed and made friends from far and wide in the city. But I knew and know that refugees have little choices. It depends on which country and/or community is willing to accept them.

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Operation Amotekun Parts 1-3

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Comments Off on Ọmọlúwàbí and Ojude-Oba

Ọmọlúwàbí and Ojude-Oba

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Ọmọlúwàbí and Ojude-Oba

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

The Ijębu people of Nigeria took on and domesticated the Durbar concept over a hundred years ago. The historical background to Ojude-Oba (Durbar among Ijębus) was well articulated in a Facebook posting by Engineer Kayode Sote last year. There is no doubt that the current paramount King of the Ijębus Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijębuland went far in modernising Ojude-Oba and made it a major annual carnival that is now on the cultural tourism circuit of Nigeria.

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Ọmọlúwàbí and Ojude Oba

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Comments Off on My View on The Viral Video on Ibrahim Idris

My View on The Viral Video on Ibrahim Idris

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My View on The Viral Video on Ibrahim Idris

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

The IG that I Knew was not an Imbecile
The viral video on Ibrahim Idris, the Nigerian Inspector-General of Police (IG), ostensibly portrayed as not being able to read a speech is of serious concern to Nigeria and beyond. The right question should be why we could entrust a major security apparatus to such a man. This video lends credence to the position coming out of the Nigerian Senate that Ibrahim Idris is not fit to hold such a high office. So, is the video a case of the Yoruba saying on causation/correlation to the effect that: “Aje ke l’ana, omo ku l’eni, tani ko mope Aje ana ni o pa omo je” (the Witch carried yesterday and a child died today, who does not know that the child was killed by the Witch)? Of course, I cannot conclude that the video came out of the Senate or those in support of the institution that is engaged in a power tussle with the IG.

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My View on The Viral Video on Ibrahim Idris

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Comments Off on Memorable Catch-up with a Good Friend

Memorable Catch-up with a Good Friend

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Memorable Catch-up with a Good Friend

Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.

A reasonable portion of today April 29, 2019, was spent with Olubukonla Onabolu reminiscing about different parts of my early life. Of course, with her Şina this and Şina that it is clear that it is a relationship of well over 52 years but we had not seen each other for about 48 years till today. Whenever I hear anyone call me Şina, I know immediately that such a person was from Araromi Street (New Road), Iloro Street and Igboburo through to Ita Ntebo and Odo-Egbo, all in Ijębu-Ode. Outside of those areas, I am Babafęmi to all else or simply put, ‘Fęmi.

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Memorable Catch up with a Good Friend 

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