Who was Bode Thomas?

Olabode Akanbi Thomas, popularly known as Bode Thomas, was born on October 1919 into the family of Andrew Thomas, a wealthy and influential Yoruba trader. He attended C.M.S. Grammar School, Bariga, a missionary school founded by the Church Missionary Society on the 6th of June, 1859

Bode Thomas studied Law in London alongside Chief FRA Williams and Remi Fani-Kayode (Femi Fani-Kayode’s father). Later on, Bode Thomas, FRA William and Remi Fani-Kayode established the first Law firm in Nigeria named Thomas, Williams and Kayode in Jankara Street, Lagos…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

Chief Bode Thomas rose to prominence at a young age. He became a member of the Regional House of Assembly in 1951. He represented the Western region as Minister of Transport under the Macpherson Constitution.

He was astute, workaholic, thoughtful and forward-looking. He was also a founding member of the Action Group. Prior to joining Action Group, he was a successful Lagos lawyer and was a member of the Nigerian Youth Movement.

Bode Thomas Vs Alaafin of Oyo

Reports claimed that Bode Thomas was a brilliant but very arrogant lawyer. He was said to be so arrogant to the extent that sometimes, people labelled him a bully. Judges hated the way he comported himself in court. They saw him as a brash and arrogant man.

Bode Thomas died in a controversial circumstance after his unfriendly encounter with Alaafin Adeyemi II, father of the current Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi III. Both Alaafin Adeyemi II and Thomas (who was the Balogun of Oyo in 1949) were members of the Oyo Divisional Council. At a time, the respected Alaafin was chairman of the council before Thomas took over. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

OldNaija gathered that on November 22 1953, when Chief Bode Thomas arrived at a meeting of the council, all the other councillors, except Alaafin Adeyemi, stood up to welcome him. He rudely said to the king “why were you sitting when I walked in? Why can’t you show me respect?” Bode was 34 years old while the Alaafin was in his 60s.

Alaafin Adeyemi II felt very embarrassed and he said to Bode, “shey emi on gbo mo baun? Emi ni ongbo bi aja mo baun? Ma gbo lo” which translates as “am I the one you are barking at like that? Am I the one you are barking at like a dog? Keep barking.”

It was alleged that Bode Thomas got home and started barking like a dog. He barked and barked throughout the night till he died the following day – November 23 1953. There were rumours that the Alaafin had Bode Thomas poisoned. He was survived by his wife, Lucretia Shobola Odunsi and children. Among his children are Abimbola, Eniola and Dapo.

Bode has a street named after him in Lagos. He served as a colonial minister of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria and privy counsellor of the historic Oyo clan of Yorubaland. He was a brilliant and successful man whose pride, they said, led to his fall.

Background

The clamor for democracy heightened after President Ibrahim Babangida annulled the June 12 1993 presidential election which proclaimed M.K.O Abiola as the winner.

Babangida annulled the election on the grounds of “electoral irregularities”. Before he stepped down from power on the 26th of August, 1993, he set up an interim government that would oversee the transition of power to a democratically elected government…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

The Earnest Shonekan-led Interim National Government had no plan whatsoever to cede power to Abiola, and this earned it opposition from Abiola and his loyalists.

During its short stay, the Interim National Government witnessed many pro-democracy protests in the country one of which was the hijacking of Nigerian Airways Airbus A310 by four Nigerian teenagers.

How It Happened

On the 25th of October, 1993, a domestic Nigerian Airways airbus scheduled to fly from Lagos to Abuja was hijacked by four Nigerian teenagers who claimed to be acting for the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD).  The teenagers – Richard Ogunderu, Benneth Oluwadaisi, Kabir Adenuga and Kenny Rasaq-Lawal cleverly smuggled toy guns into the plane and began operation mid-flight.

OldNaija gathered that there were 159 people on the hijacked Airbus 310. As soon as the plane reached about 30,000 feet above sea level, the boys sprang into action. They gained access to the cockpit and one of them announced,

“Ladies and gentlemen, this plane has been taken over by the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy, remain calm, we will not harm you. You will be told where the plane will land you.”

Their initial plan was to divert the Lagos-Abuja flight to Frankfurt in Germany but decided to land in Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic after the pilots insisted there wasn’t enough fuel to reach Frankfurt. The plane had sought to land in Ndjamena, Chad, for refueling but was denied permission and diverted to Niamey.

In 2009, Richard Ogunderu, one of the four hijackers, recounted his role in the incident; he recalled that “the air hostesses were almost stone-dead, gripped by fear. We wanted change. Our action confirmed that when a system is inhumane, it could produce the extreme in all of us.” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

He added, “I walked into the cockpit and seized the process, and then the others followed me. Two of us stayed back to intimidate the passengers. We took over the plane and asked the pilot to head for another country.”

The young hijackers stated the need to restore democracy and actualize the annulled June 12 election as the reasons for the hijack. Among other things they demanded were press freedom in Nigeria, the trial of all those who collaborated with the military regime, and the dissolution of the present interim government which they described as “illegal”.

During the operation, they separated men from women and government officials from ordinary citizens. On getting to Niger Republic, they freed 34 hostages. Those freed included Vice President Rong Yiren of China, said Souley Abdouleye, Niger’s transportation minister in 1993. The Interior Ministry said the people held included Nigerian Government officials and six crew members.

OldNaija gathered that the hijackers gave the Nigerian government a 72 hours ultimatum to meet their demands or else, they would blow up the plane with the hostages. Local and international media were amazed that such an incident could happen in Nigeria, considered an aviation safe haven.

The Rescue

The four teenagers had control of the plane for three days until the military stormed the premises. On the 28th of October, 1993, after Nigerian authorities gave the order to storm the aircraft, the hostages were rescued. The rescue operation left one dead (a member of the crew) and five injured, including one of the four captured hijackers, Richard Ogunderu. With their arms cramped on their backs, they were handcuffed and taken to prison.

Lawal, one of the four hijackers said they were taken to a prison in a community with day temperature in the range of 55 degree centigrade. “We were poorly fed. We could neither speak Hausa nor French and nobody spoke English to us.”

The hijackers spent nine years and four months in Niamey prison without family contact whatsoever. They were later released in 2002.