For Samuel Oyedokun, the pain is still raw. Days after his younger brother, Michael Oyedokun, a Mathematics teacher at Community High School, Ahoro-Esinle, in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, was abducted and gruesomely killed by kidnappers in Oyo State, the US-based Nigerian says the family remains traumatised and devastated. He speaks to WALE AKINSELURE about the tragedy that has shaken his family
Who was Michael Oyedokun to the family?
He was the first son of his mother. He had five siblings who are still alive. His mother died last year. We were in Nigeria for the burial of his mother last year. His mother was the second wife of my dad. He was my half-brother. He was next to me in the lineage of the family. I was his immediate elder brother. In most of his documentation, he listed me as his next of kin. As a person, he was my follower; he was always with me. He was dedicated, very humble, and easy-going; he was the epitome of humility and dedication. I studied Mathematics for my first degree; he also studied Mathematics. I attend Apostolic Faith Church; he joined me. So, that is how close he was to me. He was my mouthpiece in the family. He coordinated his other siblings. There is one other elder brother of mine. So, we still have an 80-year-old Oyedokun, who is the eldest in the family.
You mentioned that his mother is late. What about your father?
Our dad died in 2003.
How old was Michael when he died?
He was born on September 26, 1968. So, he was meant to be 58 years old by September.
Tell us about his immediate family.
He got married in 2007. He had his first son in 2008 and his second son in 2010. So, he had two sons. His wife and two sons are still alive.
Did he ever consider relocating abroad like you?
I left Nigeria for the United States in 2008. I made a little effort for him to come abroad. But, luckily for him, he got a teaching appointment with the Oyo State Government, which gave me some relief because those of us who japa in those days were looking for greener pastures. I graduated before him, but I couldn’t get a state appointment, despite my B.Sc. Ed in Mathematics. I didn’t get the privilege of a government job, but he was lucky to get the state appointment, so it was something to hold on to and remain in Nigeria with. He was content; he did not have that push to come abroad. Even when I got settled here and sent him a lot of job applications, he was never pushy about it. Mike was content and would say, “Brother, this place is okay; I am okay.” On the job, he rose to become a Vice Principal. He had a few years left before retirement.
How did you get the news of your brother’s abduction?
I got the news through social media. I know that my brother always travelled from Ogbomoso to Esinele Community High School, where he was a teacher. On that Friday morning, I saw on social media that there had been an attack on schools in Oyo. I could easily identify my brother’s school from the pictures I saw on social media. When I saw the pictures, I was shocked because he never told me that his school was in such a vulnerable environment. Whenever I called him, I used to express my fears about the news of insecurity in Nigeria that we keep hearing. Here abroad, I don’t know why, but the news we hear about Nigeria is usually the bad news. We hear about the activities of Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, and ISWAP, and that was why I didn’t come to Nigeria for many years. It was only about three years ago that I started coming to Nigeria again since I left. The burial of his mother was the second time I came to Nigeria. I was devastated when I got the news. I was not myself when I got the message.
Did you immediately contact family members after hearing the news?
Yes, I did. I made several calls. In fact, I got the news on the evening of that Friday. Earlier, Michael’s wife had been calling members of the family. So, by the time I called, she told me that Michael had not returned home, which was very unusual for him. She said Michael usually returned home immediately after school and was usually at home between 3 pm and 4 pm at most. He would always attend one meeting or the other in Ogbomoso later in the evening. She said they were looking for Michael, and then I knew that something had happened.
After he was kidnapped, did the abductors reach out to the family?
We would have loved them to reach out to us because immediately I heard the bad news that Friday night, I started reaching out to friends and family that Nigeria had happened to me. I told them to get ready because, in about three or four days, the kidnappers would ask him to speak with us. He was with two phones. So, I was expecting a call, but the call never came. No ransom was requested (weeps for a long time). After three days, I was expecting his call that they were demanding N10m or whatever amount. I would have told him, “Mike, that is why I am here. I am here for you. As long as I am alive, you will get out of their den alive.” But look at me now, where is my Michael? How much? I can’t get him back (weeps again).
How did you react after seeing the video?
Nigeria, you killed my brother. And Nigeria happened to me (weeps uncontrollably). Up till now, I am still crying. I saw his head cut off. I saw that dagger. I saw his blood. I saw him mention his name (weeps again). I saw him. I saw his head cut off. I saw the dagger. I saw the blood.
What has this tragedy done to the family emotionally?
Don’t mention it. My 80-year-old brother is half-dead. He asked me to summon the courage to speak on behalf of the family. He can’t handle this interview. In fact, I don’t know how he will survive this. We are planning for his 80th birthday. I don’t know; we are praying he will be able to witness it. We are praying that it is not this incident that will take him to the grave earlier than expected. We were planning his birthday for August 1. His wife cries constantly. If I, his senior brother, can be crying like this, you can imagine the state of his wife. I don’t know how far she will be able to bear this. The two children are presently sitting the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. I don’t know what their results will be. We are just trying to console them. Their next paper is on June 1.
How traumatised is the family right now?
I am concerned about the emotional safety of his wife and children. They are demoralised. If they see any shadow, they are already terrified. If I close my eyes, I see blood and the head of my brother being cut off (weeps again). I keep seeing the picture of that dagger. If that can happen to me, you can imagine the state of the wife and children. I don’t know how they will survive this.
Do you feel the security agencies and government did not do enough to avert your brother’s killing?
I don’t know the bottleneck; I don’t know where the problem is; I don’t know what is holding them back. I don’t know the level of infiltration in our system. And we are being killed one by one (weeps again). Who will be next? My brother is gone. I don’t know who will be next.
What would justice look like for your family?
I don’t know why people God has prepared ahead of time to fight these bandits have not been given the go-ahead. I don’t know why our leaders are deceiving us by saying they are doing everything within their power to tackle this menace. Now my brother has been killed; Joel Adesiyan, another teacher, was shot dead. My brother was kidnapped and had to walk for many hours, for many miles, inside the forest before they eventually cut off his head on Sunday.
We still have a lot of children and teachers — seven teachers and 39 children — still there. This is the ninth day (last Saturday). What effort is being made to rescue them in the bush? What is going on? If abducted people have not been rescued, let alone the body of my brother, then what are we doing? I want the body of my brother retrieved, and I want those other 45 people still there to be rescued. And I want the government to release people God has prepared for this kind of task to go into the bush and fight them.
Who do you believe can tackle these kidnappers?
We have seen the likes of Sunday Adeyemo. We saw when he went to Igangan and what he did there. God has prepared him. If the government does not want to spend money, let them task people like Igboho to engage his boys to fight these people. He has talked about “Iru Ekun”, yet the government still ties his hands behind his back, and they are using him for politics. Let him be released to carry out this task. Today is the 10th day; for how long will our leaders continue to deceive us?
Would retrieving the body of Mr Michael be some form of relief for the family?
We Yoruba are very different from many other tribes. We cherish knowing the graves of our departed ones. So, it is going to be a huge relief for us. I want to get to Ogbomoso and see where he is buried.
What do you want the authorities to do now?
I know there are people among them attending to this incident with all their hearts. Kudos to them. God will bless them and crown their efforts with success. But I would say that if one method does not work, they should try another. They have different methods. I heard of the incident in Ekiti where the wife of a Vice Chairman was kidnapped, and that same day, the woman was rescued. There are occasions where people are kidnapped, and the government realises that the only option available is negotiation, and they negotiate and bring them back alive. My brother has died; probably God can use his blood to pave the way to redeem those 45 people still in captivity — if they are all still alive.
What support has the family received since the incident?
The body of Joel Adesiyan has been retrieved, and he has been buried. Before the burial, Oyo State Government officials, particularly the Commissioner for Women Affairs, visited the Adesiyan family on Tuesday. As she was leaving, she paid a condolence visit to our family in Ogbomoso. She dropped two bags of rice for the Adesiyan family and two bags of rice for us. The two bags of rice are there, and nobody is going to touch them. She promised that they would be coming back again, which may turn out to be a political statement.
Do you believe politics is overshadowing the tragedy?
It is glaring. If this happened in the United States, do you mean the whole 50 states of the US would not know that something had happened? They are still campaigning. The President was in Lagos on Saturday, engaged in a process targeted at the 2027 elections. The President has not deemed it fit to visit.
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