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MKO Abiola’s son, Jamiu opens can of worms

‘Our family is still disunited; the Will yet to be executed’

‘Some people are fraudulent, want to misappropriate the assets’

…speaks about his book, Realistic Hopes

JAMIU Abiodun Abiola is one of the children of late M.K.O. Abiola and late Kudirat Abiola, both of whom died in the course of the struggle for the actualization of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.  The young graduate of Political Science, French and Arabic from University of New York, Manhattan has just written a book entitled, Realistic Hopes.

The book written in English and Arabic is about a young man, Musa who broke the barrier of his poverty stricken family background to become a leader in his country and even went ahead to declare his love for the daughter of the richest man in his country.

ENCOMIUM Weekly met with Jamiu Abiola, the author of the captivating, romantic and political thriller book on why he wrote the book. He also fielded questions on family issues.

The book, Realistic Hopes
The book, Realistic Hopes

What would you say informed your writing the book, Realistic Hopes?

Writing the book, Realistic Hopes is very important to me because it is a book about Africa.  Africa is not making any progress because most of our leaders don’t have realistic hope and most of our people also don’t have realistic hopes unfortunately.

What is your definition of realistic hope?

Realistic hope is hope that is realizable.  Hopes that is not selfish and hope that actually helps human beings to live peacefully with their conscience.  Realistic hope is what actually makes people to be successful.  Realistic hope is knowing what you can do and trying your best in doing it so that you can succeed.  So, it is very important for a human being and country to have realistic hope.

When did the idea of writing this book come to you?

It’s been a very long time because we’ve been through a lot in my family. Even before my parents got involved in politics, I have been reading a lot. I read a lot because I am a linguist and I always want to improve my language power.  When I read on these languages I get a lot of information more than a lot of other people.  With all these ideas in my head, especially with the painful experience of the death of my parents on terms of political struggle in Nigeria, it made me realize that it is time for me to give something back, something meaningful.

The best way I can give something meaningful back to the people is by giving them knowledge.  This book is a cumulative experience of what I have learnt over the years about life and I want to share it with people.

How many days, weeks, months or years did it take you to write this book?

It wasn’t more than three months.  I started on the first day of last Ramadan (fasting period) and it took me practically not more than three months to write the book in Arabic and later in English because the ideas were there and bottled up for too long.

Why did you first write the book in Arabic?

I wrote in Arabic because I wanted to do something different and interesting. If I write in English then, it wouldn’t be a big deal to me because we all speak English.  I wanted to see if I could actually write in Arabic.  I thank God I was able to do it.

How did you become so proficient in Arabic to the extent that you write a novel in it?

When I was eight, my father (late MKO Abiola) sent me to International Community School, England.  It was a summer school.  Almost 99 per cent of the students in that school were from the Gulf Region – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar.  Most of them spoke Arabic even though we were in England.  A lot of times they made fun of me not being able to speak Arabic.  One day, a girl came to the school and she was black like me.  I thought she was a Nigerian and I heard her speaking Arabic with others.  I asked her why are you speaking Arabic.  She said, she was from Sudan and they speak Arabic in Sudan.  So, I was very upset.  When I got back to Nigeria after the summer holiday, I told my father that he had to get me an Arabic teacher.  My father got me a wonderful teacher called Mr. Fatai Abdulsalam who helped me a lot.  He taught me at weekends at home.  Then on my way to school, Kings College, Lagos, I went to Saudi Arabian Embassy and Sudanese Embassy to pick up their newspapers to read.  I was always reading the Arabic materials and by the time I was 10, I was able to speak Arabic perfectly.  I started at nine.

When I went to school in America at 14, I met a lot of Arabs there.  This helped me in improving my Arabic.  Later, I learnt French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese, all in America.

Why did you decide to learn all these languages?

Arabic is the key to anything else.  Scientists have said that Arabic is the most difficult and complicated language in the world.  So, once you can learn Arabic, it is easy to learn any other language.  It took me four months to learn German, two to four for Italian, Japanese was six months.

How many months did it take you to learn Arabic?

One year and two months. It was the most difficult.  But of course, I was very young then and you know children’s brain is like a sponge, it absorbs easily. I also speak all the dialects of the Arabic – Saudi and Egyptian.

So, how many foreign languages can you speak today?

Now, I speak more than ten languages today. I read them as well apart from Japanese, and I write all of them.  My third book is going to be written in German before I write in Arabic.

That would be your next book?

No, I have written a second book.  It’s Prisoner of Conscience.  It’s going to be in the market in few weeks, maybe four or five weeks. It has almost 400 pages.  Then I am about to write my third book entitled, Abiola, The Great Gambler.

In what language is your second book, The Prisoner of Conscience written?

I wrote it in Arabic and English.  It is about a Christian of Roman Catholic faith that fell in love with a Muslim in Lebanon.  Basically, it is a book about religious tolerance and co-existence.

When are you going to do the official launching of your first book, Realistic Hopes?

Most people do launching to raise money. I am not writing this book because I want to raise money. I am writing because I want to reach the readers directly. I have sold many copies of my book in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.  I don’t have to do any launching to reach out to these people.  People know quality, they know good stuff.  When they go to the shops in Egypt, even here at The Palms and Shoprite in Ikeja, my books have been selling. I don’t have to do a launching to sell my books.

Eventually, I would probably do something like that but it is not my priority.  My priority is to write books of good quality and the people will buy them.

Are you saying the book is in the market already?

The book has been in the market since January 1, 2014.

Where was the publication done?

Abroad. It was done abroad.  Most publications in Nigeria are done abroad.  Even publishing houses in Nigeria do their publications abroad.

What does it cost to do the publication abroad?

It costs me less than how much it would have cost me if I decided to publish here in Nigeria.  Once the production cost is less, Nigerians can actually buy it at a cheaper price.

What is the correlation between the title of your book, Realistic Hopes and Hope ’93, the political theme of your father’s presidential campaign in 1993?

There is a correlation because our lives in this family have always been about hope.  My father was about giving hope to people that he felt were hopeless.  Since our growth has always been about hope.  Even my mother hope, hope, hope.  That is what you get to hear from her.  So, when I thought about writing, the first thing that came to my mind was hope and of course, realistic hope.

Is it possible to connect with the hope preached by your dad and the one written in your book?

It is not a must for them to connect with my father’s hope and the one in the book I have written.  The most important thing is for them to connect with hope as it is. Hope is a very important thing.  That is what I want people to connect with.  People have to be able to connect with hope.  A lot of people are losing hope and I want them to connect with it.

Who will you say this book, Realistic Hopes is meant for?

For all ages, from 15 and above.  Anybody that can read will understand the book.  I made my book easy for readers.  Even a 14 year-old can understand my book.  In most of my books, the key characters are people we should emulate.  It’s a book on moral conduct and values.  That is the most important thing.

So, how much does it cost to get a copy of your book?

It is N2,000.  This is a book that has about 300 pages and good quality as well.  As time goes on, the price may even come down.

Your book is probably written to give hope to Nigerians, but many still believe the situation in the country is hopeless.  What is your take on this?

Yes, a lot of Nigerians are losing hope but I want them to realize that the country is not hopeless and it will never be hopeless.  I run the NNPC petrol station in Ikoyi, Lagos, and I always give people quality service.  As a matter of fact, the petrol station is going through renovation and at the end of the month it would be over.  Of course, when people see the quality service we provide, it will give them a lot of hope as well that business in Nigeria is not all about profit.  It is about giving back.  My businesses are always sending the same messages about morals, ethics and that wealth is from God.  Think about your hereafter, think about after your death.   I think with proper conduct by all of us, we can always be role models to others and we can from our conducts send hope to others.

What actually did you study?

I studied Political Science, French and Arabic.

Where did you study?

New York University., Manhattan. As a linguist you read a lot.  Studying literature or languages is almost the same thing.  Literature is a form of language and when you read a lot, you can also consider yourself as a literary expert.

One would have thought that you will use the occasion of June 12, which your father symbolized to launch the book?

It is something that could have happened but as I said, I want to reach out to the people directly.  Maybe I will use his birthday, but right now, my priority is to keep writing and keep reaching people directly.  The third book I am about to write is about him, MKO Abiola. It is entitled, Abiola, The Gambler.  That one should be out by November. It is going to be very descriptive.

Are you saying your dad took a great gamble in joining partisan politics?

He’s always gambling and always winning.  Now, he has won because he is in heaven by the grace of God.

But not many people will agree with you that he won?

Yes, in this world he lost but in hereafter, he won.  Human beings can only live for 100 years but what happens in the million years that he will live in hereafter?  Isn’t it better to lose in the 100 years than to lose in the million years?

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo recently acknowledged the contributions and sacrifice of your father to the present democratic rule.  What is your comment on this?

I don’t like looking at the past, I always look forward. The fact that he has actually acknowledged my father now is a good thing in the sense that I know that deep down in his heart he knew that my father sacrificed a lot for this country. But for reasons best known to him (Obasanjo), he kept that to himself.  Let us just focus on the fact that he has done it now and let’s be happy about that.

What will you also say about Chief Coker’s comment that those who did not allow your father to be president were jealous of his achievements and didn’t want him to be greater than them?

It is true.  But whatever the case maybe, my father was great.  We shouldn’t be focusing on these people because my father was the one who died for whatever they are enjoying today.  They may deny that in public but they can’t deny it to themselves.  They know the truth and that is enough for me.

How much would you say the family has been affected by the fact that the past governments have not deemed it right to recognize the contributions of your father and mother to the present democracy?

It is very painful.  These people fought and died for the democracy we have today.  It affected us because sometimes we question whether the struggle was worth it but that’s what God has destined and you can’t question God.  So, we embrace the struggle and hope that a day will come when the people will give them their acknowledgement. But most important, they should do what my parents wanted to do if they had made it to Aso Rock.  They should fix Nigeria and make Nigerians happy with democracy.  That is another way of immortalizing my parents.

Since your father died, there has been so much infighting within the family. Is the family united now?

The family is not united, and like any family in Africa that confronted the ruling government you are going to pay heavily.  That is what the family is paying because to transfer Nigeria from military to a democratic rule, the family carried most of that burden.  Of course, we are not going to deny it that a lot of people helped us. People like Chief Anthony Enahoro, Chief Frank Kokori, Chief Gani Fawehinmi and so on, but MKO Abiola’s family paid a very huge price.  When this happened, the family became disoriented because it was such a heavy burden.  But we thank God that we have not been destroyed.  God has done it and most of us are doing very well. But I won’t say the family is united.  Everybody is doing his own thing.  But whenever the need arises that we have to come together, we will find a way of coming together.

But one would have thought that after the DNA issue, the property of your late father would have been shared among the beneficiaries.  What is delaying it?

Some people went to court to stop the procedures.  Of course, they were manipulated by people that want things to remain the way they are so that they could illegally be selling off his assets and all that.

Whatever the case may be definitely all these things would be sorted out sooner than later.

So, for now the Will issue has not been settled?

It has not been settled.  Some people are very fraudulent and they want to misappropriate what doesn’t belong to them.  Whatever the case may be, this matter will be settled.  If not settled amicably, definitely it will be settled in court.

And you don’t mind the time it will take to settle?

Someone like me is independent minded.  We thank God that I am doing very well and a lot of my siblings are doing very well.  It is not that I am sitting down waiting for the estate to be shared.  All I know is that we know where the assets are.  Some people are trying to manipulate the assets, but whatever the case may be, when the time comes and they don’t do the right thing, we make sure that we use the court to settle it.

What is the relationship between you and your stepbrother, Kola?

I haven’t seen him in a very long time.  We don’t really talk. If we see, we can talk, we can laugh.  But we don’t look for each other.  I am not close to him at all.

Why?

We don’t have anything in common.

Your sister, Hafsat Abiola-Costello is in government of Ogun State.  Do you support her being in government?

Yes, I support her to be in government because she is very intelligent and she is also an activist.  We need people like that in government. I call them the conscience of governance.  She is doing a very good job.  She is in the Millennium Development Goal.  The governor she is working with is very intelligent.  He knows what he wants for the people and what is right for the people.  I am very happy she is in the government.

Is there any likelihood that you will also join?

I have not thought about anything like that, but whatever the case maybe, only God knows the future and the destiny of everybody.  So far, I am happy with managing the two NNPC petrol stations and writing my book. I also have a company that is into water filtration. I am happy with what I am doing.

What about your other siblings, the other children from your mother?

They are all doing well.  Half of us live in America.  Kafilat is a human resource analyst.  Haji is an accountant in America.  Moriam is a real estate analyst.  Lekan is a businessman, he does importation of cows and he is also into government contract.  Abdul is into IT and he is also involved in government contract as well.  We thank God we are all doing well.

Your wife is from Maiduguri, Borno State.  How are you enjoying the marriage?

I am very happy. I have four children, two boys and two girls.

-TOLANI ABATTI

Encomium

Written by Encomium

A media, tech and events company.

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