Daniel’s New Foe

The battle for the control of Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State throws up Buruji Kashamu, a wealthy businessman, as the latest political figure in the gunsight of Governor Gbenga Daniel

By Bamidele Johnson

Until recently, Prince Buruji Kashamu, a wealthy businessman with interests in hospitality, construction and oil among others, was barely known in politics. Kashamu, however, was a fixture on the social circuit, where his praises were sung by fuji musicians, especially K1 The Ultimate.

These days, Kashamu is better known as a political figure through Omo-Ilu Foundation, a group within the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State.

Omo-Ilu Foundation, according to Kashamu, came into existence as a result of the PDP crisis, which broke out in the state last year. Principally, the group was set up to reconcile Governor Gbenga Daniel, whom Kashamu said he first met in 2006, with the party’s elders, who feel alienated by the governor; the 15 members of the state legislature opposed to Daniel and some members of the National Assembly representing the state, who accuse the governor of running the party as a private empire.

Members and sympathisers of Omo-Ilu Foundation claim that the group, with the support of Daniel, succeeded in achieving some degree of reconciliation. Much of this success is credited to Kashamu, whose wealth provided the basis for “empowering underprivileged members of the Ogun State society, including members of the PDP”. The group claims to have distributed 200 cars, 100 motorcycles and a hundred grinding machines to those who need them.

Kashamu’s supporters claim that his generosity won back many of the party’s disaffected members to Daniel’s side. Many of these were also said to have taken oaths to remain loyal to the governor.

But the smooth relationship between Kashamu and Daniel, who met through a serving senator from the state, was not destined to last. In fact, it has become a war of attrition. Sources close to Kashamu allege that the feud started because Daniel felt threatened by the success of Omo-Ilu and the hold it has established on members of the party. Before the feud erupted, said sources, Daniel had planted two of his loyalists in the group to report discussions at meetings to him. Also, he had directed that anybody desirous of distributing gifts to party members should seek authorisation from him. On one occasion, Kashamu was said to have written to the governor, seeking permission to distribute some items to party members, but his letter went unacknowledged. On account of that, the businessman did not bother to seek permission the next time he wanted to do so.

Kashamu claims that he has no plans to take over the party or support a candidate to become governor. His desire, he said, is to ensure that every member of the party has a sense of belonging, something he reckons is made impossible by Daniel’s perceived personalisation of the party.

The evidence of personalisation, Kashamu alleges, is the elevation OGD Forum,  a group formed by the governor, over the PDP. Key members of the OGD Forum like Kola Onadipe, Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, and Deji Kalejaiye, state PDP Director of Organisation, have been accused of being responsible for presenting Omo-Ilu to the governor as a group with objectives other than reconciliation.

The reaction of the governor’s camp has been strong-handed. Twenty-two members of the party, suspected of having allegiance to Omo-Ilu, have been suspended from the party. The group has also been accused by the governor’s supporters of involvement in violence. The governor’s group recently raised the tempo of its campaign against the Omo-Ilu Foundation by openly objecting to its application for registration as a corporate, non-profit and non-governmental organisation.

In a stinging advertorial published in Sunday Tribune of 15 November and addressed to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, a group that calls itself Concerned Citizens of Ogun State denied that Omo-Ilu is affiliated to the PDP. It accused Omo-Ilu of dubious empowerment schemes and alleged that beneficiaries of such have taken oath of allegiance to Kashamu. “Omo-Ilu is a clandestine political movement whose activities are currently under police investigations in respect of its dubious philanthropic ‘Greek Gifts’, which often lead to violent clashes among its impoverished followers who, at diverse times, have unleashed violence on the good people of Ogun State,” the advertorial read.

The most poisonous of the group’s barbs were reserved for Kashamu, promoter of Omo-Ilu. “…Worse still, the principal trustee of the proposed Omo-Ilu Foundation, in the person of Prince Buruji Kashamu, is under the United States FBI investigation bothering (sic) on criminality, narcotic smuggling among others and has been indicted by a grand jury in the United States. He has also been declared a fugitive by the United States Federal Court,” the message alleged.

Kashamu has described the allegations against him as contrived and based on falsehood promoted by the sponsors of the advertorial. Documents made available to this magazine show that Kashamu was arrested in London in 1998 despite declaring to customs officials at the airport that he was carrying money in excess of 10,000 pounds sterling and the warrant for his arrest was discovered.

He was detained in a British jail and the United States began extradition proceedings. Kashamu maintained that attempts to prosecute him were based on mistaken identity. The British court agreed and discovered that the United States had deliberately withheld evidence favourable to Kashamu. A leader of the gang in the United States had rejected an identification of Kashamu from an arrest photo. The court ordered his release and dismissed the extradition order. He was released. However, he was re-arrested on the same warrant outside the court and a fresh extradition request was filed. This would spawn a three-year trial. But again, a British court, after extensive hearings, ruled that Kashamu was not the person referred to by some defendants in the matter. Two top officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency– Director of Investigations and the Director of Prosecutions– gave oral testimonies to the court. The documents also show that top officers of Interpol in the Republic of Benin, where Kashamu was based, and Togo also gave oral testimonies to the effect that Kashamu was not implicated in any drug dealing.

The court concluded that it is Kashamu’s half-brother, Wale, who closely resembles him, that was a drug dealer in Nigeria and Benin, and the one being sought by the government.

The documents also reveal, somewhat curiously, that the U.S authorities have retained the charges against Kashamu, whose lawyers have already started an action for their dismissal in the US District Court in Chicago.

His supporters have accused his opponents of an attempt to reboot an obsolete case and blame the development on Daniel who, allegedly, is desperate to damage Kashamu so as to weaken his popularity within the party.

Kashamu also contends that the governor’s supporters lied by saying that Omo-Ilu Foundation has no affiliation with the party. The initial name of the group, Kashamu claims, was OGD Omo-Ilu. OGD (Otunba Gbenga Daniel) is the governor’s political name.

The primary source of criminal allegations against him, Kashamu claims, is Rosemary Osula, his former wife. The controversial socialite and businesswoman was once enmeshed in a child theft matter in which Kashamu was a complainant. The government-abetted  attacks on the group does not seem to have greatly diminished interest in it. About 10 days ago in Ijebu-Igbo in Ijebu North Local Government Area,

Princess Adedapo Adetona, a niece to the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, announced her endorsement of Omo-Ilu because “it stands for justice, equity and peace”.

“I happy to be a member of Omo-Ilu. Basically, my father supports justice, fairness and equity. And I am happy that I am a member of this group,” she said.

The quarter heads in Ijebuland, known as Oloritun, are also reported to have weighed in with their support.

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