Obasanjo: Village diplomacy saved 1978 land decree from protests

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo recounted a dramatic pre-dawn intervention that saved the 1978 Land Use Act from significant opposition. He revealed that a powerful farmers' association, the Agbekoya movement, was preparing to protest the decree, which faced stiff resistance from both the North and South of the country.

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When the Land Use Act was promulgated as a decree, a colleague came to me and said nobody liked it. The North didn’t like it, the South didn’t like it.

On the advice of elder statesman Chief Adebo, Obasanjo bypassed intermediaries and embarked on an overnight journey to the heart of Agbekoya territory. He arrived before sunrise and personally visited over a dozen villages, explaining the policy directly to the movement's leaders in their homes. This direct engagement, which concluded by 8 a.m., proved effective in quelling the planned protests.

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The elder statesman advised me to engage directly with the people instead of relying on intermediaries.

Obasanjo shared this story on a Saturday in Abuja during the public presentation of three books honoring former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar on his 84th birthday. He used the anecdote to underscore the value of direct consultation in governance. Obasanjo also identified Gen. Yakubu Gowon, the late Gen. Murtala Mohammed, the late Lt-Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, and Abubakar as four military leaders instrumental in shaping modern Nigeria's history.

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I left Lagos at about 2 am, got to Ibadan before dawn and visited villages to meet Agbekoya leaders in their homes.