A kidnapped professor tells his story - Occasional Kwatriot Kwesi Yankah writes

October 30 was my birthday; but this suffered a jolt by tragic news trickling in. A colleague professor had been held hostage in Nigeria.

Sunday, two major events marked my birthday. First, a church service at Ofankor ICGC, to hear a powerful message by Pastor Fiifi Otabi.

It was a great church service, which by sheer coincidence also honored October borns in the congregation.

And here was I mingling with October borns to cut a huge birthday cake dedicated to the celebrants.

Daavi and I had earlier been called by the Pastor for a special prayer.

Afternoon. I attended a spectacular concert by the Harmonious Chorale, clearly the best in the country. It was a special event also because, I was honored with a birthday celebration at the concert. God bless the world class Harmonious Chorale.

But as we sat through my day, chatting with Auntie Joyce Aryee and other colleagues, my heart was heavy with grief.

An academic colleague of mine had been held hostage in Nigeria by kidnappers, Professor Adigun Agbaje. The last time I saw Adigun was May this year at a meeting in Ada, of the executive of the African Humanities Association.

Mid-October, three weeks ago, we were scheduled to meet again in Stellenbosch, South Africa for a mentorship workshop. However Adigun and other colleagues from Nigeria could not make it having had challenges obtaining a visa. But being a good friend, I sent him my Facebook post on the venture, telling him how we missed him.

Adigun’s WhatsApp response to my message was, ‘Beautiful, thanks for sharing.” That was 24th October. 29th October, on the eve of my birthday, came the news. Professor Adigun Agbaje, a former Pro-Vice Chancellor at University of Ibadan had been kidnapped and held hostage, while driving around 6 pm, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

He was returning to Ibadan from Lagos. Agbaje is a professor of political science, who frequently visits the political science department in Legon and other universities. He had also been an Associate Director of the African Humanities Programme, succeeding my good self in 2017. Many a time, we had bunched together at meetings, together with Bertram of Da’ar and Fred of Rhodes University. In 2013, while I was President of Central University, Adigun came over on my invitation to give a distinguished speaker lecture on, ‘Electoral Politics and the Travails of Democracy in Africa.’

News of his captivity shook his colleagues and academic networks around the world. Nigerian newspapers were awash with the tragic narrative. According to the sketchy news flow, a ransom of 50 million Naira (US$100,000 ) was being demanded by his captors as a condition for this release. As I sat through various events on my birthday in Ghana here, I was simply absent-minded. My silent prayer was that his captors would consider his age (in the mid sixties) and set him free. If nothing at all, he should at least be given access to any routine medication required.

Late night Sunday, I got a number of missed calls to which I responded the next morning; the latest news triggered a sigh of relief. Adigun had been released by his captors, but was still not available since he was receiving medical attention. He had however summarized his harrowing experience in a written message released through his son, parts of which read:

It’s a new day, and I am happy to be alive. I was released by my kidnappers yesterday evening after spending two nights in the thick forests of Ogun and Oyo states. My mind goes to the five others who are still left with the kidnappers: two young ladies, two young men and a middle aged man. I was shot in the head during the abduction process. I thank God the bullet that went through my car’s windscreen left only a skin deep wound on my head even though it left a gaping hole in the cap I was wearing. I did not even know about this till Saturday morning when I saw caked blood on my cap.

I am undergoing comprehensive heath checks and so it may take some time to thank all my family and in-laws to my children, my own friends , colleagues and all Nigerians. For now I would like to thank the following… I am quite grateful for all your efforts. You all kept hope alive and ensured that the sensitive negotiations came to a successful end when I regained my freedom yesterday evening.

My heart goes to those female undergraduates, the young men and the middle aged person I left behind with the kidnappers. I may not be reachable now but as soon as I get medical clearance from my doctors, I will be thanking all of you personally.

Adewale Agbaje
31st October, 2022