By Mike Ebonugwo, Charles Kumolu & Bose Adelaja

SATURDAY, July 14, 2012 is a day Dr. Afolabi Daniyan says he will never forget. The medical practitioner has his reason which borders on a recent bitter experience he and his wife had in the hands of some soldiers on guard duty at the Ikeja Cantonment of the Nigerian Army.

Weeks after the incident, the bitter experience still rankles and constantly reminds him of the better forgotten era in Nigerian history when the military held sway with authoritarian intolerance, a period when the civil populace was always on the receiving end as harsh decisions and actions were always the rule rather than the exception.

This is because when Dr. Daniyan agreed to chair a wedding event on July 14, little did he know that he was keeping a date with humiliation in the hands of the men in military uniform. But honouring the invitation was important to the veteran medical practitioner given that the groom, who is a medical representative, holds him in high esteem.

Like the practice in most places, Daniyan felt comfortable attending the event with his Ukrainian-born wife, but it was a decision that turned embarrassing for them, no thanks to the soldiers they encountered at the gate of the military establishment.

Narrating his experience to Vanguard  Features, VF, he regretted that his wife was denied entry into the venue on the basis of her race since she was considered a white woman who should not be permitted to enter the Army Cantonment.

He said: “Saturday, July 14, was a day I’ll never forget. It was a day that I realised that in Nigeria the more things change, the more they go from bad to worse.

Wedding reception
My wife and I were invited to a wedding reception at the Ikeja Cantonment of the Nigerian Army. However, we weren’t just going as regular guests, as I had been humbled by the bride and groom with a request to be the chairman of the wedding reception. Not one to say no, I agreed.

“The wedding was due to start at 2pm; in light of the role I was to play, and in order not to be the cause of any delay in the ceremony, my wife and I made sure we got there before 2pm, we actually arrived at 1:45pm. Once we got to the gate, we were stopped by three security officers, one had on a blue shirt with black trousers, one had on the green apparel of the military police, and the third was in civilian clothing.

Dr Daniyan

“The officer in the blue uniform asked the driver to lower the window so he could speak to him. The driver complied with the request, only to be asked to lower the windows in the back as well so he could speak to the people in the back seat (my wife and I).

“Again, the driver complied. At this point in time, the security man took a look at my wife, who incidentally was dressed in Aso Ebi and then declared “Madam, you cannot enter the barracks! “Why?” my confused wife asked, to which he replied “Can’t you see you are Oyinbo, the Ministry of Defence has declared that no Oyinbo is allowed to enter any military barracks and that is final!”“Kilode” my wife replied in Yoruba, stating that she is Oyinbo in skin only, having lived in Nigeria most of her life.”

Daniyan added: “On my part, trying to appeal to his common sense, I asked him if it would make a difference that my wife and I had been married for about 40 years, with 30 years of our union being spent residing in Nigeria, and that she was also a Nigerian citizen by virtue of marriage. Getting rude and impatient, the officer retorted by saying he doesn’t care if she had been in Nigeria for 100 years, she was not coming in as “Oga had given the order.

Leaving the scene
“I asked if I could see the C.O, to which he replied with a “No.” I then proceeded to ask what his name was, to which he replied “Intelligence, at the gate is my name.” Obviously getting impatient he then indicated that I can come in, but my wife was barred, and if I dared argue further, he would ensure our “vehicle got shattered with bullets.”

He said that at this point he made attempts to call some retired military personnel to intervene. “I called one of my class mates and he said: ‘Bola, I am a military man, it is better you leave the scene. I tell you, it is a sad situation’. I asked him whom I can address my complaint to, he asked me to address it to Chief of Defence Staff, Abuja.

“The following day I called Brigadier Falola, an ophthalmologist who gave me their email. We have been sending the letter but it is being returned. I spoke to a lawyer who told me not to bother myself. I then went to tell a senator friend of mine; he said he read the story on his wife’s Ipad and thought I was just writing a play about Nigeria.

“He said he was surprised that such a thing is happening in Nigeria in the 21s Century. My thinking is that in the military hospital where I worked, we had white women. So with this type of restriction, are they going to tell white people working in military institutions to stop work?”

In a bid to avoid being physically humiliated, Daniyan, had to take his leave without entering the barracks. He said: “The whole encounter left me wondering. Is it possible that one man at the gate of a public institution can decide to unilaterally create laws that go against the laws of the land?

“After all, nowhere in Nigeria’s Constitution is freedom restricted based on skin colour. Ultimately, we decided to leave the officer at the gate to his own devices, called the bride and groom to say we would not be able to make it in, and went about doing what we had on our agenda for the rest of the day.”

Daniyan is, however, demanding an unreserved apology from the military authorities, stressing that his wife of nearly 40 years was made to endure psychological trauma through the incident. “I want the Military authorities to correct the wrong and apoligise, they should tell the whole world that this is the law we have made about the white people. Do they want my children to leave Nigeria for their mother’s country in Europe?

Psychological trauma
My in-laws have been asking us come to Europe. You know how traumatised it is for children. For instance, my grand children can read and write, they read it and said: ‘Whao! And grand pa has always told us to come to Nigeria’. The psychological trauma is there that despite that I have been married to this man for a number of years, the society the man belongs to does not accept me.

“When did this law come up, that is what I don’t understand? I regard my wife as a Nigerian; what was she going to spy? She doesn’t have a camera, if she was asked to drop her phone, I wouldn’t have minded dropping my own also. My wife asked them: ‘If ‘I were to be a black woman, would you have denied me entrance’, to which the soldier replied no. My wife even asked if she was a member of Boko Haram. I am sure the venue was not within an administrative block.”

But reacting to VF’s inquiry on the incident, the Army Public Relations Officer, 81 Division, Lieutenant Col. Kayode Ogunsanya, affirmed that foreigners are restricted from entering into Military facilities in the country, adding that “if they must come in, then, they have to get permission from the authorities.

The personnel at the gate were on orders not to allow any foreigner into the barracks and if any foreigner must go into the barracks then he or she must have to get some permission from the authority.”  But he could not explicitly confirm whether the order also applies to foreigners married to Nigerians.