Surajudeen Basiru: I Bear No Grudge Against Those Who Expelled Me From University.

Surajudeen Basiru: I Bear No Grudge Against Those Who Expelled Me From University.

Former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun State, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru is a lesson in determination to succeed in life. 

It was as if the whole world had crashed on him when the vocal, young, courageous activist student and his team members were shown the way out of the ivory tower in an unceremonious way many years ago. Today, he holds sway as a senator of the federal republic and chairman of the Senate committee on media and public affairs.

In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, he recalls that dark moment and how it turned round to impact positively on his life.

In what ways would you say that your childhood influenced your current status and personality?

I think it did in many respects. My early background has shaped my personality and what I do today. Ultimately, whatever we are in life is the totality of our experiences. I grew up in a modest family, had early education in Arabic and Islamic studies and also western education. When I was in secondary school, I was active in academic work and social life. I was a member of the cultural and dramatic society, and I left the school in the capacity of the public relations officer for that group. I also featured in many of the plays that we had then, which in a way honed my communication skill and ability to play distinct roles. I was also an assistant prefect, which also formed my early leadership experience. Though an arts student, I was the captain of the Mathematics class.

After that, I was briefly at the Islamic Theological School before proceeding to the University of Ilorin where I was active as a campus journalist, member of the Fire-Point Press Club, where we published a magazine which built my writing skill. I joined the social and political movement on campus. We formed cultural and current affairs association, an ideological group where we reviewed books on a daily basis and made ideological discussions.

I was also active in the students’ union. I contested and won the position of Assistant Secretary in the Arabic Students Association. In my second year in the university, I became the Assistant Secretary General of the students’ union and Clerk of the congress.

You were also active in students’ politics…

Yes. After my sojourn at the University of Ilorin, I was at the University of Lagos, where I studied Law and I was active in the Law Society as well as the student politics and the pro-democracy movement. I was active in the United Action for Democracy; Campaign for Democracy; Democratic Alternative and several other pro-democracy and human rights organisations.

As a legal practitioner, I honed my legal skill in a top commercial firm, Olaniwun Ajayi, and later joined as a partner, Muiz Banire Associates and was eventually appointed as a commissioner. All these formed the totality of what I am today.

Earlier, you said you went to an Islamic Theological School. Were you at any point thinking of becoming an Imam or a spiritual leader?

Actually, I did that in concomitant with the western education. In every Islamic home in Nigeria, especially the part where I come from, we take it as important to ensure children have knowledge of Islam. We see it as part of growing up. Moreover, that was my major at the University of Ilorin: Arabic and lslamic Studies. Possibly, if I had been allowed to graduate, maybe I would have taken a career in Islamic scholarship before I ended up studying Law at University of Lagos. Yes, I might have been a scholar in Islamic theology, but that would not have meant that I would have been an Islamic leader. But even as at now, I get involved in matters of religion. I believe that being in this world means that we are here for a purpose and the purpose is to serve the Almighty God.

What motivated you to study Law and advance to get a PhD?

I will say that my studying Law was accidental; it was as a result of my involvement in students’ union activities at the University of Ilorin. I was expelled together with some other student leaders and we felt that it was better to proceed to another institution to pursue another degree. One of our friends just said, ‘Why don’t we study Law, since we had already studied arts?’ That was how we enrolled for JAMB and we passed and were given admission. At the Law School, I was the third best in my set and I won the Graham Douglas Prize for Best Student in Corporate Law. I took some time to practice before enrolling for master’s programme. I was encouraged by one of my lecturers, Prof Imran Oluwole Smith, a leading scholar in Property Law, to enroll for PhD, and that was it. Part of my thesis has been published as a book in secured finance law.

Now that you are a successful lawyer, do you regret being expelled from the University of Ilorin?

There are no regrets. It was part of learning. I did not do anything that should be regrettable. We stood tall to have struggled for the upliftment of education. I remember that one of the struggles then was the academic reform campaign of 1991. So there’s nothing regrettable about it and, of course, we did not commit any offence in law except that according to our letters of expulsion, it was about our predisposition to confronting the constituted authority. Whatever that meant, whether they had carried out psychological evaluation or not to have come to that conclusion. So there is nothing to regret.

I have in the course of life met some of the people who were involved as academicians and administrators in the process that led to our expulsion, and I have had no cause to bear any grudge against them. Rather I will work with them to build a better society.

When you were appointed as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun state, what readily came to your mind?

Of course, before I was appointed into that position, I had been doing works that had relevance to that office. And before then, I was Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties. Part of the mandate of the Ministry of Special Duties include Law Reform and Social Sector Reform, and in that capacity, I was instrumental to the setting up of the Citizen Relationship Centre in Osun State, offering free legal services to the people of Osun, and we were instrumental in resolving hundreds of disputes and recovering billions of naira for citizens without having to go to court. We were also instrumental in making legislation which enabled the state to access the capital markets like the bonds law, the Omoluabi Conservation Law which was very innovative, which gave the state access to the capital market.

So being the Attorney General gave me a broader capacity and mandate to reform the law in the state. I was active, always going to the court. And every week, I had meetings with counsels in the chamber of the Attorney General where we reviewed cases and prepared for the week ahead. It was interesting and developmental for me and for the people of the state as the defender of justice.

What was your most challenging moment as the Attorney General in Osun State?

That was when I got to know that there was an injunction against holding the local government elections in the state. I was at the meeting of the Council of Legal Education. I was surprised when I got to know that an ex parte injunction was obtained against the government. I made my initial enquiry and found that there was no information as to whether we had been served or not. I think I rushed to the media to say that we were not part of the suit and we were not served. Eventually I think that was a lapse in the handling of our matters in the Abuja Licensing Office. Eventually, we got to know that we were actually served when the court asked us to show cause why the interim order should not be granted. Of course, we took the challenge and filed application to challenge the interim order because they were obtained ex parte, and also when 14 days elapsed and the order had not been elongated, we filed an application that the order had expired and elapsed, relying on the supreme court reference in that matter. Eventually the court agreed with us and the order was declared to have elapsed, and that paved way for conducting the local government election.

It was challenging because we had to work round the clock to ensure that a democratic election was conducted at that level.

Did becoming a senator come on a platter?

I will rather say that the leadership of my party, APC, had so much confidence in my ability to deliver and the people of Osun Central also gave me the mandate to do so. It was a challenging decision for the leadership of our party getting me to replace an astute, intellectual that was the Chief Whip, Prof Olusola Adeyeye. But the decision was taken and the party gave me the mandate. We conducted a campaign that cut across. I recall that there was no community in my senatorial district that I did not personally visit. We campaigned to the groups, organised the students, youths, women and other relevant groups to work for our success and we won virtually all the 10 local governments and 110 wards in the constituency with a wide margin.

You are presently the Senate spokesperson. What have been the challenges of the office?

The Senate itself is a misunderstood institution, and that is because out of the three arms of government, the legislative arm appears to be the least understood. You will recall that during the military era, the first onslaught was always directed at the legislative arm because the military makes laws by decrees. Our people don’t yet understand the tremendous work that the legislative arm is doing. I must also confess that the previous House of Assembly possibly did not give a good account of themselves in terms of some untoward activities. So the challenge is to ensure that people understand the necessity for the Senate to also project the work we are doing to resonate according to the aspirations and yearnings of the people.

Leadership also requires that you take some tough decisions at some times. It is not all the time that your decision gets mass appeal, so it is our job to articulate that the Senate acts in the best interest of the populace. I must also say that I am fortunate because we have in the 9th Senate one that has done tremendously well in actualising the yearnings and aspirations of the people and capable of galvanizing our economy and putting forward laws that will advance our society.

People say that the present Senate president has curtailed unnecessary spending. But do you foresee the senate working on reducing the salaries and emoluments of legislators?

As legislators, we don’t fix our salaries. There is a body, Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Commission. They are the ones that fix remuneration and allowances of all political office holders, and i think they are the ones to be addressed about such.

If you had not studied Law, which other profession would you have loved to be in?

I don’t know. I am not God. God has a way of pre-ordaining our destinies.

If you were not in government, which would you prefer, teaching law in the university or private practice?

I have had the benefit of combining both: private legal practice where I practised at the top of my profession. I have had the benefit of working with leading lights in our profession. Even as a commissioner, i was a volunteer lecturer at Osun State university for about five years. After leaving as the state’s Attorney General, I was given employment as a lecturer at Osun State University. I had to resign when I got the ticket to contest for a seat at the Senate.

What early memories in life do you recall from time to time?

There are so many interesting memories, many that will be in my forthcoming memoir. Is it the travelling in a petrol tanker during the struggle against the military? Or is it getting our people in Ebute Metta to get involved in resisting the military dictatorship? Or is it the organisation of underground publications to articulate the struggle against the military? I have had so many stimulating experiences. I was also a great fan of live theatre in Oshogbo, which we used to campaign for Aregbesola’s election.

What things about your early life would you have loved to change if you had the opportunity?

I don’t think i would love to change anything. I have lived an enjoyable life, interesting and stimulating.

What vanities of life can you not help being without?

Life is a totality of what one makes out of it. As you worship God, you are also expected to live your life to the fullest, and that is why when we pray as Muslims, we tell God to grant us the best of this world and also grant us the best of hereafter.

Which was your first car?

(Laughs) I had a Mazda 626 as a youth corps member, and it was an interesting experience. I virtually learnt so much about managing a car then, managing clutch kit, cleaning injector head and so on. I have great memory of that Mazda 626 which was a green colour.

What do you value the most in life?

I value humanity most and the ability to impact on others, making people around me to radiate joy and happiness as much as possible.

What sports did you grow up doing and have you developed new ones?

I used to play tennis and football; what we used to call ‘set’ in those days that is the five-a-side game. We used to also do some small gambling with dice then when we were in secondary school. Now the sporting exercise that I do is to walk when my schedule permits me.

What about music, what other arts appeal to you?

I listen to every kind of music, traditional, pop, reggae and so on, depending on the circumstance. I don’t restrict myself to a particular one. I like Obesere, Haruna Ishola, Ayinla Omowura, Fela, Bob Marley, Don Williams and so on.