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Family That Helped Kenyatta Ascend To Presidency Complains Of Neglect

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The family of a former colonial chief whose kin vacated his parliamentary seat for former President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta to ascend to the presidency has complained of being neglected by the state despite the sacrifice.

Senior Chief Njiiri wa Karanja family from Kinyona in Murang’a County says they have never benefited from the sacrifice despite playing a key role in giving birth to the Kenyatta regime and the Kikuyu community to ascend to power…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Chief Njiiri, very powerful during the colonial era and Mzee Jomo Kenyatta were longtime friends and had a very strong bond, believed to be from their fathers Ngengi wa Mungai and Karanja wa Njiiri, who hailed from Ngenda village in Murang’a County before settling in Gatundu South, Kiambu County and Kigumo in Murang’a respectively.
He is said to have convinced his son, Kariuki Njiiri, a first time member of Parliament of Kigumo constituency to relinquish his seat for Mzee Kenyatta to allow him join the Legislative Assembly (Legco) in 1961.

According to Charles Karanja, 85, a son to Chief Njiiri, Mzee Kenyatta was a close friend to the family and visited them often.

He in fact, helped to educate Kariuki, when he was the Principal, Kenya Teachers College in Githunguri, before helping him further his studies in India, Cairo in Egypt and the Lincoln University in the United States.

After studies, Kariuki returned to Kenya in the mid-1950s and in 1958, took an interest in the Kigumo parliamentary seat, which he won.

“As a family, we were very happy when he won. We now had double power. We knew the area would be developed and that we would get big government jobs,” said Karanja.

However, the celebration would be short-lived, as the country’s politics was changing after the announcement that Mzee Kenyatta would be released from detention.Kenyatta and five others had been held captive in Kapenguria after being charged with managing Mau Mau, a radical movement that tried to push the British administration out of Kenya.

“The British administration made sure Kenyatta missed the 1961 elections, before they released him. However, since everybody knew that he would be released that year, the ground had been prepared.

All parliamentary aspirants campaigned with the promise that they will relinquish their seat for Mzee Kenyatta once he is released,” he adds.
However, Karanja says after he was released in August that year, none of those who had promised to vacate their seat for Mzee did so.

He says constitutionally, only MPs from areas where Mzee had interests or a cosmopolitan constituency like Nairobi were obliged to vacate their seat. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

“Among those that were targeted were Tom Mboya of Nairobi and James Gichuru and Mbiyu Koinange of Kiambu. None was keen to leave their seats. In fact, some felt challenged if Kenyatta went to Legco,” he adds.

“Time was running out for Mzee to join Legco and the situation looked doomed for him, forcing Chief Njiiri to convince his son Kariuki to vacate his seat for Kenyatta,” he says.
“The negotiations were done first in our house in the presence of me, Kariuki the MP, my father and Mzee Kenyatta and a few of his handlers. That is how we handed power. Mzee Kenyatta said he would come officially for a ceremony after the dust settled, but that was that,” he adds.

Njiiri had to convince the colonial government that Kenyatta hailed from Murang’a, before Kariuki would be allowed to relinquish his seat for him.
Kenyatta then became the Kigumo MP and from June 1963 to December 1963, he was the first Prime Minister and then became the first President of independent Kenya.

He claimed had Kariuki not vacated his seat for Kenyatta, the meteoric rise of Kenyatta to the presidency would have been doomed.
Kariuki got back the seat in 1963 and served as an assistant minister in Kenyatta’s government until 1969 elections when he lost the seat.

He died in 1975 following a road accident at Juja, a year after his father’s death. Three years later Kenyatta followed him to the grave.

His relatives feel the friendship and the strong bond that existed between the families was lost after the death of the three.

Nahason Karanja, another son of Chief Njiiri, says the Kenyatta family and the Kikuyu community owes them a lot for helping bring the presidency to Central Kenya.He says despite the bold move by one of their own, the family has at no time been recognized during national events

 

 

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METRO

I Just Met This Guy, He Took Me To a Hotel When We Got There, What He Did Left Me Outraged

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I walked into an eatery one afternoon to order takeout. While I waited for my food I kept busy with my phone. A man walked up to me with determination on his face. He smiled and said “Hello my name is Victor. I have been trying to get your attention from my table over there (he points to a far-off table). READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

You didn’t even blink in my direction.” I looked at him and said “Sorry I’ve been engrossed with my phone.” He said “I can see that. I suppose that’s how to get your attention, through your phone. Can you give me your number then?” I didn’t mind giving…Read Full Story Here……..

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1999 Toronto Saga: How Former Speaker, Salisu Buhari, Declared False Age and Forged University Certificate

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On the 3rd of June, 1999, Salisu Buhari, a 29-year-old Nigerian businessman who made his fortune dealing in computers, was elected as the speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria, a position which constitutionally made him the fourth most important person in Nigeria.

Unknowing to his colleagues, the government and the whole of Nigeria, Salisu Buhari was not qualified for the office he occupied. Few weeks after he was elected, findings revealed that Salisu Buhari, the sixth Speaker of the House of Rep. forged his way to power…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

The News Magazine released an article on the 19th of July, 1999 claiming that Salisu Buhari is seven years younger than the 36 years he claimed to be and that he didn’t attend the University of Toronto in Canada not to talk of graduating from the institution. The News Magazine had more than enough proofs to back their claims thus suppressing all threats made by Salisu Buhari and his lawyers to sue them for libel.

Salisu Buhari
Salisu Buhari

It was made known to the world that Salisu Buhari, the self-acclaimed Toronto University graduate, was actually born in 1970 and not in 1963 which he claimed. This rendered him unqualified to be the Speaker as section 65 subsection 1 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria disqualified anybody under 30 years from contesting membership of the House of Representatives.

Also, it was made known that Salisu Buhari didn’t attend the University of Toronto in Canada not to talk of graduating with a degree in Business Administration in 1990. The University of Toronto, when asked, denied knowing Salisu Buhari. The management said they couldn’t find any record relating to the his name. Carlo Villanueva, an official of the Institution said,

Regarding your request for confirmation of degree for Mr. Ibrahim Salisu Buhari. We have searched our records and could not find anybody with the name you are inquiring with”.

Letter from University of Toronto
Letter from University of Toronto

Also, Salisu claimed that he did his national youth service at Standard Construction in Kano. This was proven false as records at the NYSC secretariat in Abuja could not produce his name among the 1991 corps members who served in the scheme. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Blocked in every way, he had no means of escape. After several open denial of the allegations and threats to sue The News Magazine, Salisu Buhari, on Thursday, July 23, 1999, eventually faced Nigerians and admitted declaring false age and forging certificate. In tears, he said,

“I apologize to you. I apologize to the nation. I apologize to my family and friends for all the distress I have caused them. I was misled in error by the zeal to serve the nation, I hope the nation will forgive me and give me the opportunity to serve again.”

He then resigned and walked into the shadows. In 2013, he made his return to the news and the public space when he was appointed as a member of the governing council of the University of Nigeria by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

Normally, the move garnered a lot of criticism. In a feeble attempt to justify the appointment, the Nigerian government explained that Buhari’s apology had earned him a presidential pardon from President Olusegun Obasanjo.

 

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The Man Called Adegoke Adelabu ‘Penkelemesi’

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Joseph Gbadamosi Adegoke Adelabu alias Adelabu Penkelemesi was a colossal in the political arena of Ibadan and the then Western Region before the independence of Nigeria in 1960.

He was born in Oke-Oluokun, Ibadan, on September 3, 1915 to Mr. Sanusi Ashiyanbi Adelabu and Mrs. Awujola Adelabu. At the tender age of five, Adegoke Adelabu lost his mother and then lived with his paternal aunt. Adegoke Adelabu attended St. David’s C.M.S School in Kudeti, Ibadan from 1925 to 1929; CMS Central School, Mapo, Ibadan in 1930 and Government College, where he was a head boy, from 1931 to 1936…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

In 1936, Adegoke won a U.A.C scholarship to study commerce in Yaba Higher College but eventually left the college six months later to work as an assistant to the UAC Ibadan district manager. After working with UAC for sometime, he was promoted to an Assistant Manager due to his hard and clever work. However, he left UAC in 1937 to start a business of his own which was unsuccessful. He later took up a civil service job, then returned to UAC in 1945 only to leave after a short period to start a textile trading business which was successful.

After acquiring little wealth from his textile business, Adegoke Adelabu got involved in politics. The starting point of his political career was traced to the period when Ibadan lineage chiefs (Mogajis) rose against Salami Agbaje, the then Otun Balogun of Ibadan, from becoming the Olubadan of Ibadan. In 1951, during the local elections, Adelabu and some other political elements formed a new party called the Ibadan People’s Party to challenge the already established Ibadan Progressive Union and fortunately for Adelabu, the new party won all six seats to the Western Regional Assembly. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

However, the Ibadan People’s Party broke apart after an informal alliance with NCNC was proposed by Adelabu. Adegoke Adelabu stayed with NCNC and became the secretary of the party’s Western Province Working Committee. In 1954, Adelabu became the chairman of Ibadan District Council. Also, in the Federal elections of 1954, Adegoke Adelabu won a seat to the House of Representatives and later became the First National Vice President of NCNC and appointed Minister of Social Services. He held this post along with his chairmanship of the Ibadan district council.

He later resigned from both positions after allegations of corruption by the opposition party, Action Group.
In 1956, Adelabu ran for a seat in the regional assembly as the leader of NCNC in the Western Region but his party lost majority seats to Action Group thus making Adelabu the leader of opposition in the Western House of Assembly.
Adegoke Adelabu alias Adelabu Penkelemesi was a strong politician, leader and had his ground, a firm ground, in Ibadan. He was found of using the phrase “Peculiar mess” whenever he address the public. The non-literate segment of his followers who had never heard of the words peculiar and mess and never knew its meaning Yorubanized the phrase into “Penkelemesi” and then added it to his name- Adegoke Adelabu Penkelemesi. The people so much loved Adelabu. He was indeed a ‘man of the people’. OldNaija gathered that when he became the Minister of Labour, he was given an official limousine car which he drove to Ibadan to show his friends and followers and declared that the car belonged to them, not him. Also, when Adelabu was given an official residence in Ikoyi, the most exquisite part of Lagos inhabited mostly by the British and French, he called drummers from his hometown to celebrate the success which the British and French residents found disturbing. Adegoke Adelabu simply said, “If they do not like noise and drumming, they are free to go back to their own country.” Adegoke Adelabu admitted being an egoist in a book he wrote in 1952 titled ‘Africa In Ebullition: Being a handbook of freedom for Nigerian nationalists’.

Adegoke Adelabu and Obafemi Awolowo
Adegoke Adelabu and Obafemi Awolowo

On March 25, 1958, at the age of 43, Adegoke Adelabu met his untimely death in a fatal car accident on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. His death sparked protest and chaos in Ibadan as many of his supporters claimed he was assassinated by his opponents with juju. Several properties were destroyed and people also lost their lives. The police arrested over 500 persons of whom 102 was charged with murder and others discharged and some, jailed. It was indeed a big loss, a “peculiar miss” for the people of Ibadan.

 

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