Long
before he came into national reckoning during the hey days of the fight
against military rule, Idowu Obasa first cut his teeth as a
student-activist at the then University of Ife, where he and other
notable students activists of the period led the popular anti-government
protest, better known as the ‘Ali must go’ protest.
A chattered accountant and economist, Obasa’s well-rounded training
in his university days was put to use in the 90s when Nigerians were
locked in a fierce battle against the military regime of General
Badamosi Babangida and that of his successor, General Sanni Abacha.
At the time, Obasa had a choice job with popular accounting firm,
KPMG. But it was a period when the nation needed men who could dare the
consequence and speak truth to the military leaders. The young Obasa
found willing allies in like minds, like Bayo Onanuga, Babafemi Ojudu,
Dapo Olorunyomi and others who, in Obasa’s words, were willing to
‘publish and be damned’.
As predicted, the then young men and their family members suffered
various forms of deprivation, while a few of them spent time in jail for
daring to challenge the authorities. While many innocent Nigerians lost
their lives, with many more losing a limb or two, Obasa has lived to
tell his story.
“The closure of National Concord by IBB led to the resignation of
Bayo Onanuga and the other guys from the Concord. They came together
with the plan to start a magazine. I resigned from the KPMG and joined
others to start The News,” Obasa recollects.
The young men knew what they were going into and were well prepared for it. I
Asked what the motivation was for him and his team, knowing that the
military government would come after them, Obasa burst into a prolonged
laughter, then shot back: “We were fired by the imagination that we
would make a difference in the country. Don’t forget that it was a
period in the country when you work and run a business successfully. It
is a complete different story now because of what they did to this
country. We were not so much concerned about the profit, but about
publishing and be damned. My own particular role was to run the
business aspect.
“We started very professionally. We had a well-thought visibility
study and we were well accepted in the market. Of course, there was a
lot of prudent management. But, I think it was the acceptability that
helped us. People dared the military government to buy our publications.
Even most of the shareholders didn’t want to identify with us. We know
some people who ran away when the heat became too much for them. But the
people doggedly supported us by buying the publications. It was an
unusual time, and there were no adverts, but the sales helped us.”
Would he repeat all he did back then if confronted with a similar
situation now? Obasa smiled, and said, “but you know that I love life,”
then continued to explain. “We were young, and we were risk itself. The
day after the death of Abacha, we were in Ghana for a conference. I was
in a discussion with Kola Ilori of Tell, and we said, maybe if we were
old and considered ourselves, we would not have written most of the
stories that we wrote. But you see, we were young and didn’t understand
the meaning of risk at the time. We didn’t have the kind of
responsibility and fear that old age brings. We were married, but we
were like unmarried men.
“Even the company was not registered with our own names. We had an
idea of what we were going into. Now, when I think of the type of risks
we took in those days, I just smile and ask myself how we did it. For
me, I like life, but I think it was just because we didn’t give fear any
thought at the time. It was perfectly arranged that I would be the
rear-guard person, and even when I wrote, I didn’t write with my name,
and I had no face.
“I think that was what helped me when eventually Zakari Biu came for
me, after they had picked some of us and locked them up in jail, while
others ran away into exile. Despite this, the magazine was still
publishing. It was at that time that they reckoned that they should pick
me up. I was there when they came, but they didn’t have a proper
description. And foolishly, when they came, they were beating everybody
they met in the reception. Maybe by providence, I was at the reception
at the time. And so they threw me out like every other person before
they went inside. There was another colleague, Wole Odofin, he was the
production manager and we had a little resemblance. So they simply went
for him, believing that it was Idowu Obasa. For at least one month, they
did not believe he was not Idowu Obasa; they kept him for several
months.”
He was emphatic with his response when asked if he would describe
himself as a hero of the period. For him, apart from providing the
necessary leadership that sustained our publications during the period,
the real heroes were the reporters who sourced the stories at the risk
of their lives.
“I wouldn’t say I suffered much, probably because they thought I was a
mere accountant who should not know much about a story. But at a point,
they started to pick anybody they could lay their hands on, but at that
time, I had learnt how to evade them. But the real heroes of that time
were the young journalists. They were all young men of courage. These
young men risked their lives.
“When Femi Ojodu was in detention in Ikoyi, he would smuggle out
notes to me. And one day, because he thought he would die in detention,
he sent me a note giving me instructions about his family. He ended it
with an advice that we should cut down on the numbers of publications so
that we can sustain the publications. you know we were publishing three
papers at the time. I called a meeting at one of our secret locations,
and I gave them the message. But David Odeh, who later became editor of
PM News, was so sad that he was almost crying. He shouted that we would
not give up. I quickly withdrew the suggestion. To me, that was courage.
“These young men were not being paid, and yet they were willing to
continue the work for the love of the country. They, rather than us,
were the real heroes. For the directors, we knew what we were going
into. But the young journalists simply came to work.”
If you think Obasa’s radicalism started with his activities during
the Babangida and Abacha military administrations, you may need a little
excursion into his university days at the then University of Ife (now
Obafemi Awolowo University). “At Ife, I was so much involved in
students’ politics, I mean the radical unionism. That impacted in me the
passion to be always concerned about the happenings around me. And soon
after graduation, I worked with the NLC as a part-time lecturer of
workers education classes. It was not a paid job, but it was something
that I loved to do. We didn’t need to be paid for it.
“In 1978, I was actively involved in the ‘Ali must go’ protest by the
students. I was always in the parliament and we were the leaders of the
organisation known as the Young Socialists Movement and the Alliance
for Progressives Students. That made us to come into contacts with lots
of works written by Max, Lenning and other communists of the period. It
really helped us to know a lot about the workings of the society. As a
matter of fact, we dreamt of a communist Nigeria. And it set the tone
for what we would become later in life.”
But close to two decades after those perilous encounters with the
military authorities, Obasa has moved on to chart a new course for his
life. A former Chairman of Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area
(LCDA}, Obasa said he entered politics when he realised that most of
those in politics were not there for the general good of the people.
“That was why people like Femi Falana and a few others, including
myself, decided to enter the fray,” he said.
But since he quit office as Chairman of the LCDA in 2011, Obasa has
remained relatively quiet, contrary to the expectations of many who saw
him as one of the few bright lights in the politics of the state.
Since then, private business, rather than politics, has taken much,
if not all of his time, leading to rumours that he may have quit
politics. But he maintained that he has not quit politics.
“I think it is difficult to quit politics because the issues that
drove one into politics are still there. However, since I left the local
government, I have not contested any election and I have not taken any
public office. It is not every politician that needs to take public
office. But for me, politics is service, and that was what I did during
my time at Onigbongbo.
“The success story you see in Lagos today is the result of meticulous
planning. Many people may not know this, but soon after Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu won the governorship election in 1999, and because he had about
three months before he took over, he formed 53 committees to help come
up with a master plan for the state. You have health, education and
agriculture among several others.
These committees had some of the best brains that you can find in any
field, including some foreign assistance. A lot of international
organisations sent representatives to some of the committees. I was the
secretary of the agriculture committee. Many international organisations
sent their people to work with us on the committee. And at the end of
the day, a blueprint emerged from all the committees. Believe me, what
you see today is the result of the blueprint from the committees. And of
course, it was the fidelity of Asiwaju to the blueprint that made it
work. It was also the continuation of Fashola that ensured the success
of the blueprint. So, the center of excellence you see is the result of
planning.
“Having been involved in the politics of the state all this while, it
would be wrong to say that I have quit politics. You may not have seen
or heard about my political activities for some time now. But that may
be because I have not seen something worth my while or that I have seen,
but has not been offered. At any rate, I have something to do with my
time.”
Having something to do with his time includes running his private
business, which has seen him becoming a big player in the nation’s
growing betting industry.
“Winners Golden Bet is a subsidiary of Winners Golden Chance Lotto.
Winners Golden Bet is for sports betting, while Golden Chance is for
lotto. I got involved in lotto through Sanni Kabir, who is a director of
The News. It was he and his father who brought lotto into the country
many years ago. And it was during those days that he asked me to help
reorganise his business, which I did as an accountant. That was my first
contact with lotto. But all the problems that had to do with the
military problems made me drop the business. After peace returned, I got
involved in the business again. As a business man, my take is that you
can get involved in anything that can turn one naira to two, as long as
it is not illegal.”
For him, the return to lotto business is worth all the risks. “Lotto
is like a contributory business, and it is essentially played by the
poor. If you don’t win today, you may win tomorrow. And the fact that
playing it has become easy means it has become more attractive to the
people.”
Born in Zaria to parents from Abeokuta, Ogun State, Obasa had his
early education in Lagos when he was sent home to live with his
grandmother. The old woman did very well to ensure that her grandson
turned out successful in life. He proceeded to the then University of
Ife, where he read Economics.
“I went to the university with a scholarship from PZ. At that time,
there were jobs everywhere for young graduates. But for me, my first job
was with PZ. I took the scholarship in my second year in the
university. My father was a manager with PZ at the time.”
To most of those who know him, Obasa is not one to shy away from
enjoying life whenever the opportunity presents itself. And to the best
of his ability, he did enjoy life. But, interestingly, he has been
forced to slow down by age and some health issues. For him now, wine and
water remain the only drinks that are not forbidden.
“The only drink I touch now is wine. I had to stop drinking for
health reasons. And it was no longer good for me; so there was no other
choice than to stop it. I think what happened was that I abused my body.
But I know better now, and I exercise a lot now. I play tennis, do
walking and some other light exercises in the gym. But I also love to
dance; I dance a lot. I love juju music.’’
