The
publisher, The Drums, an online media said he has everything to be grateful to
His creator.
In
December 2018, he was ‘sacked’ by his former boss Aare Adams, on allegation of
‘dining with his boss’ enemy (Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu)’. Six months later,
precisely June 5, 2019, Akanni was attacked in Gbagada, Lagos by a mob whom he
suspected were sent by his former boss to eliminate him. Adams has since denied
the allegation and has even gone further to institute a legal battle with his
erstwhile godson.
It’s
exactly a year when Akanni escaped from his attackers.
To celebrate the first anniversary of the horrid experience, Akanni who has
since relocated to Canada to join his family for fear of being attacked again,
maintains that his former boss orchestrated the attack and he is still after his
life.
In
this interview, Akanni who claims he has put 21 years of his lifetime in OPC
and 17 as Gani Adam's main man.
Excerpts:
How
did you feel exactly a year after that attempted assassination?
Sincerely,
I don’t know how to thank God for sparing my life over a series of attacks against me, most especially that of June 5, 2019, which I will describe as a
‘miraculous escape’. I return all the glory and honour to Almighty God because I
would have been dead but for his grace. Every June 5 will forever remain a
memorable day in my life. A lot of people have gone through a similar incident.
You
were in Nigeria when this happened did
you ever see it coming?
Before the attack of June 5, my house in Magboro, Ogun State had been attacked and ransacked twice. I reported the incidents at Ibafo Police Station. The records are still there till tomorrow but the police couldn’t do anything. The good thing was that neither I nor any of my brothers were at home on two occasions.
When
those two attempts failed, I started contacting some monarchs and personalities
who are close to my former Boss Aare Gani Adams to talk to him because I knew
where the attacks were coming from. I did not get any feedback from them, so I
resorted to hiding here and there.
Did
you have a premonition?
Of course! A month before the attack, I got a tip-off that Aare Gani Adams was accusing some OPC (Oodua Peoples Congress, a Yoruba socio-cultural organisation which Adams remains a National Coordinator till date) members of allowing me to walk freely, that if it was when OPC was still OPC, Segun Akanni would have been a dead man. I never believed such a statement could come from someone I diligently served wholeheartedly for almost 17 years as well as followed blindly for about 22 years with all my life being put at risk.
I
called a prominent royal father and told him of the statements he (Aare Adams)
uttered. He promised to reach out to him which I believed he did. In the
evening of that day, I was attacked in Gbagada, I immediately called the same
royal father and narrated everything to him, he was speechless. The only
comments he made was: “Ahhhhhh, Segun!!! You said there was a plan to attack,
now I believe you. Where are you now?” I told him I was still hiding somewhere
before going to the hospital.
Be
sincere is that anybody you offended or defrauded that you felt was after your
life?
I’ve
never involved in any dubious or shady deals to think of someone whom I had
dealt with was after my life. My ways are pure but I knew the attacks were from
my former boss, Aare Gani Adams. I said this because I don’t think that
position is meant to sniff out the lives of people.
Could
you recall how you parted ways with your former boss?
It
all started on Monday, December 3rd, 2018. I was in his (Adams) house at Omole
Phase II. As usual, we were preparing to go to Ajah for a meeting. I was
chatting in the lobby of his house with a popular Nollywood Actor. Aare
just came to where we were and asked me to leave his house and pack all my
things. He alleged me of holding a meeting with Chief Femi Davies (Mr Femi
Davies was a friend to Aare and a Publisher of Metronewsonline) on Wednesday
November 28th, 2018, and another one on Sunday, December 2nd at 1 am.
Aare
Adams said Niyi (one of his staff in the office who was sick and was then at
home) was also there in the meeting. I’ve never met with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (
former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of APC) for once; only Ogbeni
Rauf Aregbesola (a two-time governor of Osun State) knows me.
He
said we agreed in the said meeting to plant an explosive in his house and in
the OPC’s NCC (National Coordinating Council) meeting slated for Ajah
later that day.
Before
then, I’ve not seen Chief Femi Davies for over four months.
He (Aare Adams) stated further that I have alliance and allegiance with Asiwaju Bola. Tinubu and some of his men and I was also revealing his secrets to Tinubu; that Asiwaju gave us N200m, a house in Canada and in Lekki. Just like that?
Aare Adams said I used to visit Asiwaju Tinubu’s house in Bourdillon (in Ikoyi, Lagos) at night after leaving his house. All the allegations against me are baseless, frivolous and unfounded. I didn’t have any meeting whatsoever with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief Femi Davies or any of their representatives. Everything was like a dream to me.
I
recall similar thing happened in 2012 when I was also alleged of romancing with
Tinubu, alongside one of his former friends, Mr Wale Adedayo. That time,
he said Asiwaju Tinubu gave me a poison to put in his food.
I
was out of the office for two months. He eventually called me back to resume
because the allegations were not true.
But
you were also alleged of instigating his wife against him to cause family
disharmony.
I’m
aware of the allegation but I’m not guilty. Aside from instigating his wife, I was also
alleged of getting Canadian visas for his wife and children.
Meanwhile,
it was Aare himself who removed the names of his wife and that of his children
from the Canadian visa applications on the ground that the wife was being rude
to him. It was later that his wife went ahead and applied for the visa on her
own, and was granted a visa with the children. On this issue, I invited Zaki of
Arigidi (the monarch of Arigidi in Ondo State) to Lagos to appeal to Aare for an amicable settlement with his wife before the woman took that action. Whereas,
he later bought tickets for his wife and the kids to use the visas before they
expired. If he wasn't happy about the Visas, would he have bought tickets for
them to travel to Canada with the same Visas?
The attack was masterminded by two of Aare Gani Adams’ men. As I said earlier, I heard about their plans over a month before the attack.
It
was carefully arranged to eliminate me, so as to leave the impression that I
died in a mob attack. I couldn’t have imagined what would have happened to me
if I didn’t have a brainwave and take to my heels to escape being lynched by
the rampaging daredevil mob. They chased me everywhere and started shouting:
‘thief’! thief’!!, when it turned out they could not catch up with me.
In
fact their intention was to push me to the expressway so as to be run over by
a moving vehicle. It was by the grace of God that I escaped.
Was
there anything like a severance package after you quit relationship with your
former boss?
You
won’t believe that as at when I was leaving his house, I had no car or even
money in my three accounts after almost 17 years of working with him and 21
years in OPC. I was doing everything because of the future and the love I have for
Yoruba land.
The
worst of it all was that all leaders of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) were
asked to swear an oath for seven days never to relate with me again. Even, some
members of Oodua Progressive Union (OPU is an offshoot of OPC established to
woo Yoruba nationals in diaspora to return to their fatherland and invest)
were placed on oath as well.
I
was banned and barred from OPC and OPU activities, the organisation we jointly
struggle to found and built together.
I
remembered one night, during our normal discussions, I advised him to sheathe
sword with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu because of the role he (Asiwaju Tinubu) played
when he (Adams) was incarcerated for 14 months in 2005. He (Tinubu) was there
for us morally, physically and financially. He even sent former Governor of Osun
State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to check on him in Kuje Prison then.
It
was only Asiwaju Tinubu, Otunba Gbenga Daniel (another former governor of Ogun
State), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and a former Senator from Osun
State, Chief Felix Ogunwale who were there for us at those trying times.
I guess that was when Aare started thinking otherwise. I never knew he was
going to take the advice personal.
You were once a strong member of OPC and Personal Assistant to Otunba Adams.
Did you suspect your splitting with your former boss could have inspired the
attack?
“Splitting? I didn’t
split up with him, he edged me out when he realised I was becoming too popular more than what he expected. He told a lot of people that if he didn’t take such action, “Segun might likely take over the organisations from him in future
because people prefer to reach out to Segun for
anything instead of him.” All the
attacks against me happened as a result of the way he assassinated my
characters.”
Were
there things you think you did wrong while with OPC?
I
didn’t do anything wrong to have deserved such humiliation and victimisation.
My ways are pure. I was loyal to him 101 per cent. I was so loyal to the extent
of stepping on so many toes because of him. How
many will I mention? I swear!!! I didn't betray him. Quote me.
Your
boss is now the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, as his former PA and later
CoS, how would you describe your personal relationship with him?
My
relationship with him was very cordial. I was so loyal to him. I never thought
of any downfall for him once. I always thought of progress, promotion and
elevation for him because I believe if he’s elevated, we would all benefit from
it.
I
can’t count my contributions to his achievements and progress right from when I
started working with him from 2002 till December 3rd, 2018 when he edged me out
unceremoniously. Was it during the factional crises in OPC or when he was
incarcerated for 14 months? Is it about my role in his aspirations to become
Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, the pre and post-2015 general elections or in
the area of branding and repackaging of OPC? The formation of OPU.
No
holidays, no weekend, no time for my family. I worked everyday but God
knows the best! He will surely judge.
As
a former insider in OPC, what do you think actually create this animosity? Is
it suspicion on the part of your former boss or carelessness on your own part
The answer is simple!
As a matter of fact, Aare should stop creating enemies for himself. No one is after him; therefore he should stop suspecting people. He has trained lots of men, but none of those good hands are with him anymore. Once he suspects anyone, he tags that individual an enemy of OPC or OPU and sends him away from the organisations. Voluntary organizations? This is uncalled for, it's ridiculous. Lots of foundation members of OPC and OPU have been edged out by him. Why?
Same
goes for his friends who had been there for him when the going was rough and
tough in the past. None of them are with him again. This is where he’s getting
things wrong, truth must be said. If he continues this way, the leaders and the
members of the organizations will revolt against him one day. This will be
highly disastrous, he should restrain himself from bringing people down. Chief
Obafemi Awolowo who he claims he's emulating didn't live his life in this
manner. That's why people still believe in him after death.
“As a matter of fact, Aare should stop creating enemies for himself.
no one is after him; therefore he should stop suspecting people. He has trained lots of men, but none of those good hands are with
him anymore. once he suspects anyone, he tags that individual an enemy of OPC
or OPU and sends him away from the organisations. voluntary organizations?
same goes for his friends who had been there for him when the going was rough
and tough in the past. None of
them is with him again. This is where he’s getting things wrong, the truth must be
said.”
Are there things you regret now as non-member of OPC?
I
don’t have any regret for joining OPC. I joined the organisation in 1998 as a
way of contributing my efforts to the yearnings of depressed and deprived
people of Yoruba land. The Yoruba land is marginalised and I believed I could
play my own roles.
That
was the reason why I joined the organisation then.
What
did that experience teach you?
The
experience taught me not to put my hope in the hands of anyone because I
trusted Aare with all my life. I never thought I could be treated like a common
criminal. It’s a lesson for others to learn from.
Are
there things you suffered as a result of having to run out of Nigeria to save
your life and that of your family?
I
don’t want to remember many of the challenges I faced again. When a complainant
became an accused person, what will you do? Run for your life especially when I
didn’t have anyone to rescue me. Police failed to rescue me. I was in SARS
(Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad) to report the matter again, nothing was
done.
The
next thing was that Aare took me to court, claiming I lied against him, despite
clear evidence and facts against him. Can you imagine? I don’t want to talk too
much. You can see I’ve been avoiding talking to the media since the inception
of this issue.
I
have my reasons. I will write a book to set the record straight but not now.
We
also learned that you wrote a petition to United Nation alleging that your
former boss was after your life. How true and what’s the update now?
What
will I achieve from it? No, I never did. It was my NGO-Global Forum for Human
Rights and Sustainable Development that issued a press statement when I was
attacked ostensibly to draw the public’s attention to my plight. The
organisation appealed to Yoruba traditional rulers, prominent people, United
Nations and many other institutions on my behalf.
I
can’t pay evil with evil. I wasn’t brought up in that way. He (Aare) has been
helpful to me in one way or the others before. For that alone, I can’t
write a petition against him. I've left everything to God to judge.
Aare
knows I have my own influences and contacts but I will never write any petition
against him to the UN, EU (European Union) or anywhere. My visit to the United Nations’
office in New York was for another purpose. I’ve left everything to God to
judge. God knows the best. God is the decider, controller and everything.
Some
people believed there are some deep secrets or should we call it unwritten laws
within the OPC which is not known to non-initiates. Perhaps, your breaching
some of these unwritten laws may have led to your ordeal. How true is this?
As
I said earlier, I don’t want to expatiate further. I will write a book to put
the record straight when it is time but I never breached any unwritten law as
believed by some people. I was a loyal and dedicated member of OPC. Correct me
if I’m wrong. No one can beat my record. You can never hear any of his secrets
from me. I was brought up in a good family.
You
are now in Canada with your family. What do you miss about Nigeria and how soon
would you wish to come back?
I don’t miss anything about Nigeria because it’s a lawless nation, where you may never get justice even when you are right. And to come back to Nigeria? Not now!
Do you know how many people who had died in Nigeria as a result of this kind of attacks without any trace?
My
life and that of my family are in danger in Nigeria, I can’t dare it. OPC
members are spread around Nigeria and Aare has castigated me before them. Once
they sight me, I might not have the opportunity of escaping again. Let me remain
here. Aare is still after my life. If I had an opportunity of taking my
siblings out of Nigeria, I will do, my house in Magboro has been deserted
because of fear of attack. If not for God, I would have been a dead man.
Someone
who sends my name everywhere, he reins curses on me every day. How would he feel if someone does the same to his kids? Will he be happy? How could you build a house
and destroy it? He keeps tarnishing my good image, even up till tomorrow.
Whenever people visit him, he welcomes them with my issues.
What
have you been doing in Canada to keep body and soul together?
To
God be the glory, I’ve acquired more education opportunities here. I’ve added
to my certificates and I believe I will still study furthermore.
Once
this COVID-19 is over, I will get a good job from a good company. I have all it
takes to get a good job, the certificates are there to prove my competency.
Finally,
do a comparison between Nigeria and Canada in terms of security and relate it
with that attack that eventually forced you out of the country.
Culled from the Bold News
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