By Kola Johnson
Is Nigeria a jinxed nation? I ask this question in the light of the astounding surfeit of vast resources it has pleased the supreme universal divinity above, to bestow on the geo-political terra firma embodying the corporate frame of the Nigerian nationhood.
It is presumed that my allusion to resources in the connotative context of this piece, should understandably embrace not only the God given bounties of material resources, but also the associated co-ordinate of human endowment.
It becomes utmostly necessary to emphasize right away at this juncture, that this piece is decidedly orientated to a disquisitionary elucidation of the human divide of the bipolar concept in question.
In this regard it becomes apposite to defer once again, to the repetitive ritual of emphatic restatement bordering on the propensity in the Nigerian system, to maroon the very cream of its vast human resource pearl, to frustrative wastage.
One of such clear examples is Pastor (Dr) Moses Iloh; a fiery social critic, distinguished patriot and statesman respected cleric and General Overseer of Soul Winning Chapel,Ebute-Metta Lagos, Ex Chairman International Cycling Federation ex Vice Chairman International Olympic Committee, ex board member, Nigeria Football Association (NFA) renowned footballer and member of the First Eleven, Plateau Highlander, and later ex First Eleven member of the Nigerian Ports Authority Football Club; founder of the Eclectic Movement, now Eclectic Network, a socio-political pressure group which ruled the political, waves in the 90s,a prolific writer orator, polemicist, philosopher, thinker, unusually deep mind, inspirational beacon of light, Veteran Labour Leader and indeed a stormy petrel and enfant terrible in the labour arena; redoubtable soldier of Christ; National Executive Member of CAN and PFN and one of the greatest humanitarian figures ever to have traversed the vast earthly space. Interestingly to the glory of God, this peculiar breed of homosapien an icon and legend of our time, clocked an 84 grand old age just recently.
A multidimensional man of many parts Iloh’s enigmatic frame is such that conjures the imagery of the blindmen and the elephant in the context of an argument among the former, who beholding the diversely constituent anatomy of the elephantine entity, was locked in combative contention as each had sought with authoritative assertiveness to outbid others to the effect that the defining frame of the elephant is none, but the particular anatomical feature beheld by him.
Indeed, at that point in time, when the renowned literary leviathan, and nobel laureate,Wole Soyinka described himself as belonging to the host of a wasted generation, thosepriviledged enough to know the man Iloh, would agree that no other epitaph would have been more apt enough, to vivify the abysmal underutilization bordering almost on sheer wastage – of this exemplary icon, legend, visionary figure and inspirational luminary.
His earliest manifest baptism in political activism and conscientization could be traced back to his days as a fiery member of the zikist movement in those epoch of the nationalist ferment, in a progressive synergy, that saw him rub shoulders with fellow veterans in the likes of Comrade Mokwugo Okoye, M.C.K Ajuluchukwu, Chike Ekuyasi,Tunji Otegbeye, Adewale Fashanu, Osita Agwuna, Mazi Mbonu Ojike, Raji Abdallahand a host of others, who shook the bastion of British Colonial stranglehold on Nigeria, to its very foundation .
Iloh who openly confessed to an inspirational tutelage from Michael Omnibus Imoudu, the number one labour leader of blessed memory – was also Ex president of the Amalgamated Tin Mines of Nigeria Ltd – an affiliate of a larger industrial macrocosm known as African Mines Workers Union which included Ghana, Sierra-Leone, among others.
An event which was to spell a major watershed during his stint as a labour leader,actually came about on a particular fateful occasion, when an European receptionist at Plateau Hotel, run by the British miners called a member of the Amalgamated Tin Mines a monkey.
Iloh in his official capacity as President of the ATMN which also was an affiliate of the British Miners Union, had invited an expert in the person of Mr. Hienson, from Britain, to empower the ATMN with industrial tutelage towards a deeper know-how of running their own union.
On the day in question, he sent on executive member of the union, to bring Hienson to their meeting venue, at a place known as Bukuru Iloh was shocked as the emissary came back with the report that he could not reach Hienson at the Plateau Hotel, run by the British Miners where he (Hienson) was lodged; as the European receptionist he met there, called him a monkey.
Coincidentally, Queen Elizabeth of England who would be arriving Nigeria vey soon then, would also be visiting the mines field. A highly enraged Iloh immediately served the management a three week ultimatum to get the gentleman repatriated or risk a total strike action, which if carried out, will make it impossible for the queen to visit the mines – field as scheduled.
This declaration by Iloh, was to elicit a back lash of severe threat, by the British-led management of the corporation, who a dubbed him a communist agent, and censored every letter that came through his post box in Jos, where he lived and worked.
Two Senior Police Officers, namely Macphaean, a Briton and a Nigerian, known as TunjiGbadebo were specifically detailed to monitor his movement. He was reported to the British colonial governor of the northern region and also the colonial resident, also a Briton.
The worst of it according to Iloh was an editorial in the Daily Times, during the epoch ofAlhaji Babatunde Jose, which dismissed Iloh as an irresponsible leader. “But I was determined to suffer the consequences”, said Iloh who refused to budge. Eventually, the racist-apartheid apostle of a secretary was repartriated out of the country.
As a seasoned footballer, Iloh,a dashing left winger, was a regular member of the first eleven of the famous Plateau Highlander, now Mighty Jets of Jos. Affectionately known as the flying scorpion, he was a darling of football fans in the then northern region, including the fanatical soccer buff who would ever seize every available opportunity to register their presence at the then popular King George V Stadium, later Onikan Stadium, and now eventually named after the immortal soccer legend, Thunder Tesilimi AkaniBalogun A.K.A Thunderbolt – where Iloh was noted as a regular face, who thrilled fans with his soccer artistry, during his regular playing tours with his Plateau based Club to Lagos.
This prolific footballer, would also recall that he was among the team of players of the Plateau – based team who was delegated to meet and co-opt the legendary Thunder into the playing team of the Plateau – Highlanders. Balogun accepted, unfortunately, he failed to replicate the scoring streak for which he was idolized as an all-time legend, during his stint with the Plateau Club.
As a social critic, Iloh is hot, fiery, fearless courageous, valiant and no holds barred. He passes easily as the most consistently vocal and visible clergyman in the province of social criticism. The name Iloh resonates with a talismanic ring. Like the quintessential Lion he is, his voice shakes, quakes, rumbles, and richochets like a thunder in the jungle of social criticism. His fang is better not unleashed. Indeed to engage Iloh in a combative intellectual duel, is to risk and court hell. With his powerful gift of the gab, his stupefying gift of repertoire, his forensic wits, the compelling force of his logic and acute intellect, he packs a devastating punch that lands you silly on the canvas. He is the Nigerian version of the legendary Martin Luther King – that black power symbol of blessed memory – on the Nigerian landscape of reformational criticism.
The radical temper he exudes, his revolutionary propensity and justified impatience at socio-political derangement and dysfunction, is the exact form and content that essentially converge to the making of guerilla warriors in the mould of the Fidel Castro’s,che gue vera and their ilks, usually animated by justifiable restive impatience to topple the apple-cart of systemic negativities ravaging the fabric of society.
Were the status quo, as it is contemporarily extant, in the socio-political canvass, to be the same constituted scenario as was prevalent in Iloh’s younger days, when the adrenalin gush oozed with uncontainable quantum force, the seismic consequences would have been anybody’s guess.
His pathological streak of non-conformism and unaffectedly independent temper, was to manifest in a dramatically bizarre manner, when on a particular occasion, members of his Plateau-based club, paid a courtesy visit to the then ex-premier of the old northern region, in the person of Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, popularly known as the Sardauna of Sokoto
On that occasion, the players and contingent of the Plateau –based club, who had sought to impress and massage the huge ego of the flambuoyant Hausa Fulani potentate had unanimously chosen of theirown accord, to squat on the floor of the reception.
But Iloh’s iconoclastic turn of mind was such that you could predict with reasonablecertitude, that he would differ. And so did he. To be sure, in his customary code of dissidence – predicated often though on the solid rock of logic - he had perceived no credible reason why he would subject his inherent self-esteem and dignity to servile defilement, by crouching in a fit of subhuman debasement on bare ground, while a surfeit of beautiful but inanimate dumb chairs proudly stare down at them.
Thus did Iloh, refuse in his determined streak of non-conformism to squat or sit; but erect on his two feet in supreme confidence. Thus as the ebullient Sardauna eventually breezed in, he cast a queer strange look at the young Iloh. But the later at least, had succeeded in making his point.
It is therefore not surprising that today, Pastor Iloh stands out on account of the sophisticated evolution of his political mind, as heralding the first serious strategic, systematized, determined sustained and intensified drive at political proselytization and evangelism in the ecumenical firmament, based on his vigorous efforts atconsicentization of the general corpus of devotees on the Christian religious divide to partake as prime-movers on the collective deck of participation in the political life of their people and the larger national community.
It is against this background that it doesn’t occur as anything surprising that as a social critic and reformer, Iloh stands out in his own unique class in terms of the pugilistic devastation of his no holds barred mode of critical aggression.
As a gadfly of an eminently Socratic strain it goes without saying that Iloh remains an exemplary motivating model of emulation, setting the pace for the Chris Okoties, theTunde Bakares and Co, on the inherent primacy of ecumenical interventionism in the pivotal theater of the political process – as a factor of utilitarian pragmatism to the rebirth of an egalitarian nationhood.
Only recently when this man clocked a grand 84 years of age, one would have expected that such indicative milestone will be accompanied with the ritual cutting of cake, clinking of wine glasses among other celebrative item of rituals that make such annual anniversary usually tick.
Afterall, here is a man with every thing going well for him. Marvelous crop of offspring’s that stand out from every available indices, as invaluable treasured source of pride of every father. A heart throb, life and soul mate, better half and quintessential jewel of inestimable value, of whom the proud lucky husband, Pastor Iloh, would ever seize every available opportunity to boast about, to the envy of those who were not so lucky. Good name, reputation, integrity, fulfillment, vigorously blessed health.
Materially, he is comfortable, even though decidedly not in the league of money bag clerics, bursting at the seams with questionable derivation of wealth.
“Decidedly”, as afore-mentioned, because he could well have been, had he chosen of his own accord, to bring the primal will into play. Yet this distinguished man of peculiarly iconoclastic world view, had refused to mark the day even if with the minimally cheapest popping of a bottle of mineral, let alone any convening of a formal gathering.
Why? he would rather confess his hitherto subdued state of anger at the increasingly progressive failure of the political leadership, within the context of achievements receding in abysmally parlous proportion from the egalitarian vision of the national founding fathers.
This leading cleric of high repute expressed his perennial state of anguish and utterperplexion, at the worsening misery of the poor and downtrodden, the dungeonichopelessness of this lamentably pitiable under-priviledged bracket, accelerating at an ever-increasing tempo-more-so, in the face of the increasingly fattening lots of thelarcenic cabal of few priviledged oppressors.
But the highly respectable cleric is all the more miffed, enraged and iracund by the anti-progressive intervention of the ecumenical macrocosm of the general Christian body, held by him as culpable of reactionary pro-establishmentarian compromise with the power cabal of the moment.
That the general corpus of the body of Christ not only find it a herculean task to bind the demon of corruption but directly, or indirectly forge a rapportorial partnership with the contemporary power cabal, to foster its fissiparous multiplication across the socio-cultural landscape, is one malignant sore-point that have never ceased to haunt and traumatize his psyche. On this, those who know him would always readily testify; and extremely passionately too.
It was therefore no surprise that rather than all the ritual of merriment that was always the hall-mark of such occasion, Iloh chose the season of his birthday, to spring a grippingly exciting drama.
He used the occasion to launch a boutique in the church. A boutique in the church? Yes. That is why it was a boutique with a difference. A free boutique, where you do not pay to buy. A boutique, where you buy free. Absolutely free, with no dime in exchange, for as many as you were able to grab or garner.
That day visitors to the Soul Winning Chapel of the Ilohs, located at Bornu Way, EbuteMetta, will certainly marvel at the unusual spectacle. A bewildering array of choice textile items, clothing wears and shoes, which embraced the male and female species, including headties, sports wears, native wears, suites, jackets and ties – all inundated the bowel of the church auditorium. They glittered in the beauty of their innate quality – which in turn, lent the church a convivial aura and ambience. Members of the public were already gathered, including of course, the devoted host members of the church, in their multitude too.
As the main business of the day commenced in earnest, each section of guests seated at various points of the auditorium, were given a ticket each. Pronto, they sprung forth with every zeal and enthusiastic sense of catch, to help themselves with the best the boutique could offer.
The same process was repeated again and again with issuance of fresh tickets, until all items on offer at the shelves were vanished into one private coffer or the other – all in exchange with no dime.
Faces glittered and beamed in smiles as members and non-members alike, grabbed and hugged one another, while they compared their respective birthday booties. That is vintage Iloh.
Indeed, details of the humantarian exploits of Pastor Iloh and his dear wife, Rev. Mrs. Edith Iloh, though inexhaustible, would have to be told another day. This in a nutshell, is to allude to the Hope Kindergaten Nursery School, run by Pastor Iloh and his wife, with tuition, uniform, books, all free, including regular feeding of the pupils.
This is apart from the regular feeding of the poor and the widows, provision of medical care for them, and poverty alienation initiatives in form of regular vocational training aimed at placing them on a proper footing for self reliance.
Yet its interesting to know that a huge chunk of the beneficiaries are not members of the Soul Winning Chapel of the Ilohs, but rather residents within the neighbourhood, which included a considerable number of Muslims.
Kola Johnson is a Journalist and writes from Lagos
