By Ikeddy ISIGUZO
IN a taxi ride to “meet our friends from Kenya” at their hotel, I had what could be my best brainwave ever. I gingerly tested it with my brother and friend in Lagos who I was representing. He accepted it.
Minutes later at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, I was selling an idea to aides of Raila Odinga, former Prime Minister of Kenya, who was visiting, for us to put him on Arise TV to share his profoundly insightful principles and practices of democracy in Kenya which have impacted individual resilience across borders.
Enthusiastic as his aides were, they were in doubt on several counts – the possibility of getting on television so quickly, the logistics of getting to the station, and if Odinga’s punishing schedule in Nigeria would allow him to make the television appearance.
All these were happening on the night of 22 July 2025. I had not met Raila by then. I was more familiar through history with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Raila’s father, Kenya’s first Vice-President, and a significant figure in the famed struggle for Kenya’s independence. The older Odinga died in 1994 at 82 in Kisumu.
“We must reinforce democracy. Our people demand it. However, we need to find ways to make democracy function alongside established traditional systems of governance, conflict prevention, and resolution.” Odinga said as he addressed “The imperative of building Afrocentric governance frameworks for a new Africa” at the two-day International Conference on Africa’s Democracy (ICAD 2025) in Abuja.
“The Panels of the Wise and the Eminent African Personalities need to be main-streamed and strengthened. These two bodies can prove that Africa can still resolve its problems using the age-old systems of elders and wise men and women.
“Our own Continent’s Peace and Security Council should be our first port of call when conflicts arise. It should not be relegated to second fiddle to other initiatives aimed at bringing peace and stability to the continent.”
He also called on African nations to embrace the Digital and Artificial Intelligence revolution. Odinga charged: “Africa must find a way to end national rivalries, unite its people, modernise, and revitalise ancient African civilisations, and establish supranational institutions capable of competing globally. Regional economic communities are attempting this but are failing as foundations for African unity and renaissance. Africa cannot keep seeking markets in a world that is turning away from it.
“Therefore, a strong common market, borderless trade, open skies, open visa policies, and investments in infrastructure are essential. Trade will not only strengthen us economically but will also show us that we need each other, helping to move beyond seeing one another as competitors and rivals.”
On the threat of climate change, Odinga urged, “We know it can exacerbate inequality, increase poverty, and intensify food insecurity.’ We must make Africa a leader in the world by transforming disasters into a source of prosperity through the protection of remaining carbon sinks, greening production, and expanding our natural carbon sinks to remove carbon from the air.”
He had arrived the same day to honour the ICAD invitation. He got into the conference straight from the airport. His aides were rightly concerned on getting him into bed early enough the following day so that he can rest before boarding a morning flight back to Nairobi. Odinga was 80 on 7 January 2025.
On the way out, I pointed out the Arise TV studio to his aides, spoke to colleagues at Arise. The next day, thanks to them all, and especially Charles Aniagolu, the Prime Time anchor, Odinga spoke to Africa and the world about the continent’s struggles with democracy, mirroring it with his personal experience.
Again, thanks to Arise TV for the tributes it paid Odinga after the passing of the fearless, resilient man who stood for democracy bringing to the fore, the imperative of an unrelenting opposition to the sustenance of democracy.
A five-time presidential candidate, whose failures drove to achieve constitutional amendments that brought stability to Kenyan democracy, Odinga changed Kenyan politics for good.
“His major motivation was to see a better Kenya. Kenya was able to sustain the drive for democracy with the likes of Odinga,” said Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, Director-General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, during Arise TV’s special segment on Odinga on Wednesday.
A little after speaking with Arise on 23 July, he went into series of meetings and by past 2am Kenyan time (two hours ahead of Nigeria), he was still up reviewing events.
I finally met him then. Sitting about three feet from me, he continued his positions that Africa needed to succeed together and that it was possible if Africa worked together, opened borders to its residents, increased intra-continental trade, and exchanges of scholarships by creating opportunities for them.
He is politeness personified in words and deeds. When he spoke on phone with Chido Nwakanma in Lagos, he apologised that they could not meet and promised “a next time”.
For most of 2024, Odinga engaged in extensive campaigns all over Africa for Chairperson of the African Union Commission, AUC, the successor to Oganisation of African Unity, OAU, since 2002.
One of Odinga’s final disappointments was his loss of the election for the African Union Commission Chairperson, which held on Saturday 15 February 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
With the position zoned to East Africa, Youssouf won after the seventh round of balloting when he obtained the mandatory 33 votes to clinch the post at the expense of Odinga.
Odinga, the frontrunner for the leadership position before the summit, won the first round and Youssouf led from the second round after the Madagascan candidate dropped off the race.
Africa traded religion and other considerations for a competent, seasoned leadership for AUC.
Top on Odinga’s agenda for AU was continuation of the works he had done during his tenure as the AU High Commissioner for Infrastructure. He led policies and programmes that were important to opening up Africa for more internal engagements.
Worse was that AU has for years been mouthing the importance of democracy. It has no strong sanctions to implement it. Would a continent that claimed to be promoting democracy hand its leadership to Djibouti, a country that has not held democratic elections since its independence in 1977 from France.
The current President Ismail Guelleh, first elected in 1999, was the hand-picked successor to his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had ruled Djibouti from independence in 1977.
Guelleh was re-elected in 2005, 2011, 2016 and in 2021 for five-year terms. The elections were largely boycotted by the opposition amid complaints over widespread infractions.
Odinga goes home with his fire for democracy, a steadfast opposition leader who understood the tears of opposition but conquered them without fears.
Tributes have been pouring in for Odinga, many of them from many who would not lift a finger for democracy. His supporters turned out in hundreds of thousands to mourn the man who they admired for his industry, integrity, and commitment to democracy and recognising that it was incomplete without a vibrant opposition.
Bye, Odinga, Africa will remember you – that is the headline in Kiswahili
Finally…
ADAMS Oshiomole, as the national Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, three years ago, at a presidential rally had advertised that APC would provide refuge of for sinners, political leaders, in this case. “Once you join APC,” he told Edo party leaders who were dumping the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for APC, “your sins are forgiven”. Nigerians are interested in the uniqueness of the “sins” and why only APC can forgive them. We will discuss them in the coming weeks. In the interim, the credits for APC’s membership drive that appears to be for peculiar people go to Oshiomhole who saw tomorrow on 17 January 2019, who while on a live broadcast of APC’s re-election campaign for Muhammadu Buhari declared APC the refuge of sinners, joining APC brought instant pardon, Oshiomhole assured.
IS it possible that the Tinubu administration is so comprehensively bereft of shame? How can it release a list of those it has pardoned or reduced their prison terms, and it cannot defend the list? After outcries that the majority of the beneficiaries were involved in drug offences, government officials are telling the whole wide world – www – that the list is under review. I doubted the “review” until the mostly highly regarded Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Minister of Justice, and Attorney-General of the Federation signed a statement to that effect. What would be reviewed? A list that passed through the National Council of State, as the Constitution requires or were the “reviews” inadequate? Will more names get on the list, or will some names be deboarded? The shamelessness of the Tinubu administration embarrasses “we the people”.
WHAT does it mean when inflation “comes down to 18 per cent”? The announcement by the National Bureau of Statistics is being recorded as a major achievement of the administration since inflation at point was over 30 per cent. Why does the statistic not reflect in lower prices of food stuffs, other goods, and services. Harvests are on, corn, President Tinubu’s delicacy, agbado, is available but expensive. Nobody should blame Tinubu about the cost of agbado. He campaigned that we should eat agbado and cassava. He never promised that they would be cheap. Insecurity is a major factor in high prices of goods and services.
ANY leadership role in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, in the lingo of most of those who are in authority for the weirdest reasons, is a juicy appointment. Would that account for FCT having 34 Commissioners of Police in less than 50 years of its creation? From December 2022 to date, FCT has had six Commissioners of Police, serving an average of nine and half months each. Do these brief managements of the security of Abuja permit effectiveness?
CELEBRATIONS of the Super Eagles 4-0 defeat of Benin Republic in the final 2026 World Cup qualifying game, left me wondering if we have accepted our declivity in sports to the extent that we now celebrate any or “at all, at all” results. We are celebrating drawing five out of 10 matches. We can celebrate that after South Africa lost three points to FIFA’s sanction, we could not qualify. Before us is a testy turn and twist that can “still qualify us”. We are to beat two teams in Africa and beat other countries from Latin America and Asia to qualify.
ISIGUZO is a major commentator on minor issues
