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I Was Imprisoned, Demoted From Grade Level 12 to 4 for Opposing Privatisation of Public Establishments – 80-year-old Labour Activist

Published

3 years ago

July 26, 2022

80-year-old labour activist, Comrade Jonathan Ihonde, has disclosed that he was arrested, detained and demoted from Grade Level 12 to Grade Level 4 as a civil servant in the then old Mid-West Region and later to Bendel State because he opposed privatization of government-owned establishments.

Narrating his experience to the younger ones who were seated to learn from him at the third edition of Health of the Mother Health (HOMEF’s) ‘Learning from the Wise series’ the playwright, unionist, progressive political organizer and teacher, said he was arrested and detained because he stood against the privatization of government’s establishments under which over 17,000 workers were earning their daily bread in the then Mild-West Region and later Bendel State under the Military government.

The unionist narrated: “The man I helped to become the governor of Bendel State then arrested and detained me because I was fighting for social justice. I was not fighting for my family; I was not fighting for my children but for the common interest of the public. In fact, the arrests got to a level that my innocent wife had to go and tell her father that she never knew she was married to an armed robber. According to her, only armed robbers are arrested that way.

“The enemy of progress went to tell the authorities that Ihonde had started a ‘red revolution,’ so I was arrested at Dawson Road, Benin because I told the authorities that they cannot privatize a public organization that is very viable and profitable. It was during the military regime.

“When I was in detention at Oko Prison, the media world over, including Voice America, aired my arrest. The man who arrested me went to Urhonigbe Rubber Estate and said, ‘your stupid leader has been arrested; now resume your work. But they told him the man that called for the strike was yet to come and until he comes, they will not resume.”

He continues: “Why was I arrested you? We had in the then Mid-West Region and later Bendel State, one segment of our organization called MNDC now dissolved. The organization had Urhonigbe Rubber Estate; Ughelli Glass Factory; Ewohimi Oil Palm Plantation and Tenboga, Benin with more than 17,000 workers. Foreigners came from abroad to buy from these companies with hard currencies. With all these benefits, somebody just rose up and said he was going to sell these companies to private individuals. I then told my friend that that was not possible, so I resisted it.”

He warned the younger generation that the government’s claim that privatizing public establishments would make such establishments do better was a lie, just as he urged the public to resist such a move.

He warned: “Please be very careful. They will say the public (government) cannot manage its corporation well please, resist it, it is a big lie. Please resist it.”

He urged the younger generation not to be deterred by his ordeal but always be upright and fight for the interest of the public.

He added: “As younger people, don’t be deterred but don’t do any negative things. But be careful. You cannot be fighting for social justice and you are morally corrupt. If you want to fight against corruption, if you are fighting against oppression, you must not be guilty of all these.”

The octogenarian however said despite his fight for the interest of the common people, he was not appreciated by many including his immediate family until recently, adding that their point was that he did not use all the opportunities and the links he had to acquire material wealth.

The producer of the soap opera Hotel De Jordan on NTA in the then Mid-West and later Bendel State said: “People including my children believe that I wasted my time fighting for social justice. They believe that I did not use the opportunities I had to accumulate wealth. It is only recently that my children and some people started appreciating me and my works.”

The 80-year-old who was trained in the Soviet Union and a frontline leader in the Radio Television Theatre and Art Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU), while commenting on the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), urged Nigerians to support ASUU in their request for a better education system.

He added: “They are on strike; they are not fighting for themselves, they are not fighting for their pockets but for all of us; for a better educational system in our country; for a better education for our children.”

Earlier, initiator of the programme and Executive Director, HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, told those who were seated at the feet of the 80-year-old Playwright and author of Hotel De Jordan series on NTA years back, to learn from his wealth of experience, noted that the programme was a deliberate platform for forging a just and sustainable future through intergenerational dialogue with elders and knowledge holders.

Bassey, however, added that the third series with Comrade was not just the usual series as he said it was meant to celebrate and honour Comrade Ehonde on his 80th birthday and learn from his revolutionary wisdom.

News

Girls Are Leaders Shaping Better Future – UNICEF

Published

2 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi Field Office, says girls are not just survivors of adversity, but are leaders shaping a better future.

Mr Raphael Aiyedipe, the Education Officer, UNICEF Nigeria, Bauchi Field Office, stated this in Bauchi on Saturday during the commemoration of the 2025 International Day of the Girls.

According to him, across the globe, girls are rising, leading movements, challenging norms, innovating in science and technology, excelling in classrooms, and building communities.

Aiyedipe, however, said that yet, millions of girls still face barriers-violence, child marriage, lack of education, and mental health challenges.

He added that the facts were sobering, but the solutions were within reach.

“Today, we gather not just to commemorate, but to commit to amplify the voices of girls, to champion their rights, and to invest in their futures.

“This day is a call to action; a reminder that every girl deserves the freedom to dream; the tools to thrive; and the power to lead.

“It is a moment to listen to girls; to learn from them; and to stand beside them as allies and advocates, ” he said.

According to him, together let us amplify girls’ voices; support their leadership; and commit to creating safe, inclusive spaces where they can thrive.

“Together, we stand with girls because when girls lead, the world moves forward.

“When we invest in girls, we invest in stronger communities and brighter economies,” he said.

In her paper presentation entitled: ‘Breaking Barriers in Education: Why every Girl belongs in education”, Prof. Doris Boryo, advocated for the girl child education in the country.

Boryo, who is the Dean, Post Graduate Studies, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi, said when a girl was educated, it increases her involvement in political processes.

According to her, educated women were more likely to participate in political discussions, meetings and decision making.

These, she said, promote a more representative and effective government, safe sex education and infant mortality.

“If women all over the world had a secondary education, child deaths would be cut in half, saving millions of lives and it will decrease the level of child marriage.

“It also strengthens economies and advances the fight to end poverty.

“When women of a country are learned and educated, the whole economy develops and flourishes,” she said.

The Commissioner of Police in Bauchi state, Sani Omolori-Aliyu said the safety, dignity and rights of a girl child were protected by international convention on the rights of the girl child.

Represented by ASP Ladi Hycynth, the commissioner said that the convention also granted the girls right to survival, development, education, freedom from harm and exploitation.

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DSS, Police Partner NCCSALW To End Terrorism, Mop Up Illegal Arms

Published

2 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

The Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Police in Gombe state have joined forces with the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), Northeast Zonal Centre, under the Office of the National Security Adviser to President Bola Tinubu to mop up illegal arms and light weapons.

It could be recalled that the centre embarked on advocacy and collaborative visits to security stakeholders in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states last week to strengthen relationships in the fight against the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons in the country.

Speaking over the weekend when the Northeast Zonal Director of NCCSALW, Maj:-Gen. Abubakar Adamu (Rtd) paid him an advocacy and sensitization visit, the Director, State Security Service (DSS), Gombe state Command, Haruna Nuhu Koko, promised to support the centre effectively in intelligence sharing as well as advocacy and sensitisation.

Also speaking, the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Bello Yahaya, appreciated the Federal Government for establishing the centre and expressed the Police commitment in submitting all the small arms and light weapons in their custody to the centre

Earlier, the Northeast Zonal Director of NCCSALWA, charged both of them to be enlightening prosecutors that when judges make a judgement, such a judgement should come with the handing over of arms and ammunition to the centre for safe keeping or onward destruction.

“When the police or any other security agencies arrest and recover small arms and weapons, they should submit them to the centre and an agency with the constitutional right to keep and destroy them as and when due.

“Collaboration with all the stakeholders will go a long way in curtailing the menace of the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the country, thereby reducing the level of terrorism and banditry.

“The Centre has been mandated by the federal government to prosecute any individual involved in the proliferation of illicit weapons in the country and we are therefore seeking for more support and collaboration from all stakeholders in the Northeast.

The visits mark significant steps in strengthening the relationships between the NCCSALW and all arm bearing units as well as other stakeholders to put an end to terrorism, banditry and other security related issues in the country.

News

Nigerian Student Sets Record At KNUST

Published

2 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

A Nigerian student, Isaac Jesutofunmi Oniti, has reportedly set a record at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

He is said to be the youngest overall graduating student, aged 19, since the founding of the institution in 1952.

The former student of Seven Great Princes Academy bagged the enviable title of Valedictorian after earning a record Cumulative Weighted Average (CWA) of 87.23.