Pendulum

Pendulum: Before the Crucifixion of Ibrahim Magu

Published

4 years ago

July 10, 2020

Eric

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, please, allow me to make some quick clarifications as a preamble to my epistle to you this week. I do not know Ibrahim Magu personally. What I know of him comes mainly from what I have read on the pages of newspapers and saw on television and social media platforms. On a few occasions, I have been privy to and been regaled with stories about some of his exploits and that of his agency, the much dreaded, all-consuming Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

From a distance, I have always been bemused by Magu’s swashbuckling gait and palpable arrogance, bathed in what I could only perceive as his unfortunate ignorance of his ephemeral position and circumstances. He appeared rude and crude, an all-conquering Emperor in front of whom trembled and quaked his pitiless, pitiable and pitiful victims. God forgive my perception. He probably is not totally like that. He might actually be a nice man, although simple, you cannot definitely classify him as! Indeed, to a lot of his fans and admirers he was Nemesis come to render judgement and punishment upon his hapless quarry, who were considered worthy of his iron fist approach because of their looting and brigandage.

I have often wondered how Nigeria handed the power of life and death to such a man. He is of course not the first. His predecessors have, save for maybe one of them, been exactly the same. The trappings, appurtenances and incidents of power seems to not only becloud their judgement, it turns them into monsters who have no sense of fairness, equilibrium or justice, and certainly little or no respect for the laws of the land especially the constitution. It is an understatement to conclude that Nigeria has been an extremely backward country in our choice of leaders. No private company in its right senses would hand over the position of Chief Executive to a man who has never managed One Million Naira in a Trillion Naira conglomerate, particularly when that man had previously been indicted.

But what have we not seen in Nigeria in the name of ethnicity, religion, quota system, zoning, Federal character, gender balancing, godfatherism, nepotism and all such nonsense? A nation that derides and sometimes even hates talent, diligence, intelligence and merit in all their ramifications and instead rewards mediocrity, failure, fraud and also felons would always find it hard to make any progress. We all know this fact but are irredeemably jinxed and foolishly and carelessly we are reluctant and refuse to change our perfidious ways and habits, or at least our leaders are.

I will waste no tears and lay no wreaths at the political burial of Ibrahim Magu. What goes around comes around. He is about to have a sad taste of the poison he forced others to swallow. But I will never join those who would bury him without an inquest. I have no doubt that his end has come at the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). As they say in America, he is a gonna, as dead as a dodo. Even if he survives the probe, that usually leads nowhere, and bears no fruits, he has already been stripped naked in the marketplace. There is no longer any hiding place for him. He has definitely fallen in the public esteem. He cannot live the allegations against him down. No amount of denials and protestations of innocence can cure the ills visited upon him or clean the mud which has enveloped him like a miasma of cow dung or horse shit. He’s been used and dumped, like others before him. I’m surprised that as a marksman himself, he did not see the bullets coming and could not escape being hit by dodging the fusillade and barrage of shots. Now, this is the crux of the matter.

I will not rejoice over the fall of a man who was easily one of the most powerful souls in our country. Magu should have memorised Isaac Newton’s Law of Motion and Gravity. You don’t have to be a student of Physics to understand the simple principle of the law of gravity, that whatever goes up must come down ultimately unless you enter another orbit. Magu forgot that he was merely a tin god with feet of clay. He was a mere mortal after-all. Those before him did their own gra-gra before being booted out, sometimes, unceremoniously. In his own case, he fought on too many fronts. He had enemies within and enemies without. He was a master at viciousness and vindictiveness. Some even wonder if he has any milk of human kindness inside him. He fought like he had personal scores to settle in a position where equity and justice should be the watchword. He jettisoned the famous legal principle that a man is innocent until proven guilty. His tenure witnessed the worst examples of media trial. He spent more time feeding the media with junk stories than supplying the courts with copious and valid evidence. He murdered the rule of Law and the few of us who pleaded against kangarooism were called unprintable names. Now that the chickens have come home to roost, we shall still plead that Magu and his collaborators be given fair hearing. I won’t jump to hurried conclusions like all those spreading lurid rumours that he has stolen billions of Naira, that he bought many expensive houses by proxy, and so on, but it is good for him to now know how it feels when EFCC regales the public with the stuff of which successful thriller novels are made when he was dealing with people who were merely suspects.

Please, let me now break it down gently. Those who decided to set up EFCC and ICPC without giving them total autonomy and absolute authority knew what they were doing. They were aware that otherwise people at the helm of affairs would have to live in perpetual fear and trepidation of not stepping on too many powerful toes. They would have to permanently study and gauge the body language of their avuncular benefactors. How would a junior Police officer control more power than the Inspector General of Police. Is that not the height of foolhardiness? However, by creating those agencies, the Federal Government, under the President Olusegun Obasanjo Administration, had wittingly or unwittingly whittled down the power of the Police to investigate crime, prosecute criminals and maintain Law and Order. They had created an alternative law enforcement agency, which under the control of unprincipled men could wield unbridled power and inflict incalculable terror on those that came within their purview.

I will continue to say that the overlapping duplication of functions within the different arms and tiers of government have been a major factor in the total confusion that continues to put many things in disarray in our country. The motive behind setting up EFCC was always suspect and suspicious when we already had other Police agencies like the Criminal Investigation Department, Special Fraud Unit, and also headed still by Police officers. Why do we like frittering away our very scarce resources on needless white elephant institutions?

I have been writing about the excesses of EFCC since the time of Nuhu Ribadu who, I believe, later saw the sense in my admonitions. On one occasion in 2007, I virtually exchanged verbal fisticuffs with Nuhu Ribadu’s aides on the pages of Thisday. They came after me and I went after them. Men with absolute power hate to be told the truth. And it was a simple and straightforward advice I gave that became a problem. I told them to follow and obey the rule of Law. Under Obasanjo, like they did against Judges not too long ago, they broke into people’s homes in the dead of the night, tore down window units, of reputable businessman in the bad books of government, when there were better and decorous ways of doing things. They were fond of going after Chairmen of limited liability companies instead of going after the supposedly erring companies and chose to destroy everything and everyone in sight! They crippled many businesses and many families on the assumption that allegation meant conviction. In the end, they usually had little or compelling evidence to secure conviction in a court of law. Sometimes it was so ludicrous because their evidence was not just based on salacious hearsay, but on scurrilous tales found in shady and oftentimes shadowy media platforms. A really sad state of affairs.

I warned Ribadu that his day would come when he himself would be a victim of a witch-hunt. And it didn’t take forever before he fell from the pinnacle of the temple and landed with a thunderous fall. He had to flee and as soon as humanly possible he ran out of the country and sought refuge and solace abroad. I expected others who took over his post, from time to time, to learn useful lessons for history, but hell no.

Madam Farida Mzamber Waziri came with her own dark goggles and became as menacing as they come. The fear of Farida was the beginning of wisdom. But at least she was knowledgeable, charming and smart. She was later sacked by President Goodluck Jonathan. Ironically, a rival agency, the Independent and Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) was asked to probe her. I wonder what became of the investigation. I guess that like all such nebulous enquiries, its report is gathering dust in somebody, cobweb covered cabinet.

Ibrahim Lamorde soon took over. He was younger and more urbane and seemed to have learnt didactic lessons that nothing lasts forever. He had served briefly in 2008 after Ribadu was sacked and Madam Waziri came in as substantive Chairman. He later took over from the same Waziri. He at least was not as abrasive as his predecessors and was more civilised and less prone to sensationalism. He was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015 and was succeeded by Ibrahim Magu. Interestingly, Magu was never confirmed by the Senate as a substantive Chairman because of allegations of impropriety levelled against him by the Department of State Security (DSS) another powerful security agency. One would have thought that this experience would have chastened Magu and made him act with great circumspection and integrity. Instead, it seemed to give him the hump. It was like he had a chip on his shoulders and was determined to force himself upon those he considered as his traducers and trample on those he felt had persecuted him unjustly.

My take is simple, despite the important roles assigned to EFCC, it is impossible for the agency to do its job efficiently and efficaciously. How would an agency go after those who funded the Presidential campaign of the man who nominated their head and signed his appointment letter? Is it possible for any President to pretend that the funders brought the money from heaven or any legitimate business? This is the real dilemma of fighting corruption in a country where it is absolutely impossible for supposed saints to win elections without sinners. In my view, the head of such an agency can only be truly independent if he is appointed by an independent body like the Senate, possibly from a short list of 3 to 5 candidates nominated by the Police Commission and not the Executive. After all, the head of the EFCC is still a police officer and a Commissioner of Police, not even an Assistant Inspector – General of Police. This police officer should spend only one term in the agency and must be absorbed back into the force upon the completion of his tenure.

My advice to the EFCC itself remains constant. Formulate a standardised approach to fighting crime. Stop going after alleged criminals as if it is a personal vendetta. Investigate the alleged crimes critically and diligently before approaching the courts. Rely on evidence properly obtained and not clutched from the air. Stop destroying alleged offenders and their businesses by shutting them down, defaming their promoters and the like unless absolutely necessary and must seek court orders on sound and truthful grounds. Stop being the accuser, prosecutor and Judge rolled into one. Avoid media trial as much as possible. It is often counter-productive because it sends negative signals globally that we are a country of criminals. Again, note that not all cases prosecuted by you are won by you. How would you compensate those who win their cases in court? You would have damaged them beyond redemption. Finally, try to prioritise your cases and accept plea bargaining as well as urgent refunds in order to save time and litigation courts, as well as manage the expectations of the public.

I also hope and pray that successive Federal Governments will stop using the EFCC as a tool of oppression and victimisation, and that the new Chairman would understand how transient his power is and show fairness to all, regardless of ethno-religious affiliations and political associations.

Ibrahim Magu did his best, despite his glaring shortcomings, and should be given a fair hearing and a free trial which he denied his luckless casualties.

One Emperor has fallen and is now writhing in a macabre dance of death. We await the new Emperor, benevolent or malevolent, we shall see!

Pendulum

Pendulum: Why I Have Faith in the Supreme Court

Published

6 months ago

October 13, 2023

Eric

By Dele Momodu

“WE MUST DO WHAT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE.

What is the argument on the other side? Only this, that no case has been found in which it has been done before. That argument does not appeal to me in the least. If we never do anything which has not been done before, we shall never get anywhere. The law will stand still while the rest of the world goes on, and that will be bad for both.” Lord Denning, Master of the Rolls (1899- 1999) PARKER v PARKER.”

Fellow Nigerians,

I’m not a Lawyer. But I’m surrounded by friends who are Lawyers. I enjoyed seeing Lawyers in their wigs and gowns and was tempted to read Law after my first degree at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you view my trajectory today, my application was bounced by the egg heads at the Faculty of Law, despite my first degree which, in some universities, would have been a prerequisite for my entry into a Law degree program. That is a story for another day. I simply accepted my destiny, with equanimity.

Since I had a fascination for Law, I privately engaged in picking and reading legal textbooks, especially anything to do with Jurisprudence and a bit of Company Law. I was particularly fascinated by the landmark cases of the iconic Jurist, Lord Denning, and how he broke rank with the traditional rules and previously held presumptions in English Law, by taking the road less travelled. I enjoyed, and relished, his radical views and witticisms. The above quote of Lord Denning is very relevant to my current topic about the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The main reason for my epistle to you today is simple and straightforward. Many Nigerians seem to have given up on our Judiciary. There are at least two monumental cases ongoing at the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the Presidential election appeals that were separately filed by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi against Bola Tinubu and INEC. Many people have called to ask why my principal, Atiku Abubakar, is wasting his time and resources on pursuing a fruitless case. None of them ever said he never had a good case. They merely gave the usual conspiracy theories as to how corrupt the Judiciary is in Nigeria, as well as the war chest of Bola Tinubu, which he’d never been known to shy away from deploying to maximum advantage. While it may be true that bribery and corruption is of a pandemic status in Nigeria, I still believe there are good people, and Judges, in Nigeria. We should therefore resist this campaign of calumny against our Judges. I have personally thrown this question at Atiku Abubakar a couple of times and he told me very firmly that he believes in the rule of Law. He mentioned how he’s been saved several times by taking his matter to the Judiciary.

The doubting Thomases in Nigeria often predicate their skepticism on the fact that no Presidential election appeal has ever succeeded in removing an incumbent President. While this may true, I believe there is always the possibility of a first time in every situation, and this is the origin of statistics.

At least, we have the reinvigorating example of Sidi Dauda Bage, a Retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria who said in the case of SALEH v. ABAH & ORS (2017) LPELR-41914(SC)

“This Court must take the lead, in righting the wrongs in our society, if and when the opportunity presents itself as in this appeal. Allowing criminality and certificate forgery to continue to percolate into the streams, waters and oceans of our national polity would only mean our waters are and will remain dangerously contaminated. The purification efforts must start now, and be sustained as we seek, as a nation, to now ‘change’ from our old culture of reckless impunity. The Nigerian Constitution is supreme. It desires that no one who had ever presented forged certificate to INEC should contest election into Nigeria’s National Assembly. This is clear and sacrosanct. More compelling as a judicial determination had been taken by no less a technical panel sitting in, at least, a panel of three judges as Election Tribunal with constitutional mandate to determine such issues as they relate to elections and its outcomes, including eligibility. This has also been affirmed by the trial Court in this appeal. On these issues, our duty is to apply the Constitution and the law in its start, original form undiluted by ‘colourated’ interpretations.” (Pp 26 – 31 Paras E – B)

There is yet another superlative example: “THE POWER OF THE SUPREME COURT TO RECEIVE FRESH EVIDENCE:

Section 22 of The Supreme Court Act provides, inter alia, that *“The Supreme Court may, from time to time, make any order necessary for determining the real question in controversy in the appeal, and may amend any defect or error in the record of appeal, … and generally shall have full jurisdiction over the whole proceedings as if the proceedings had been instituted and prosecuted in the Supreme Court as a court of first instance and may rehear the case in whole or in part or may remit it to the court below for the purpose of such rehearing or may give such other directions as to the manner in which the court below shall deal with the case in accordance with the powers of that court.”*

In SENATOR HOSEA EHINLANWO V. CHIEF OLUSOLA OKE & ORS
(2008) JELR 48885 (SC), Onnoghen JSC (as he then was) held:

“Order 2 Rule 12 (1) of the Supreme Court Rules which guides the court in the applications of this nature provides, thus: “A party who wishes the court to receive the evidence of witnesses (where they were not called at the trial) or to order the production of any document, exhibit or other thing connected with the proceedings in accordance with the provisions of section 33 of the Act shall apply for leave on notice of motion prior to the date set down for the hearing of the appeal.” It is settled law that it is within the discretion of the court to decide whether or not to admit further/additional evidence on appeal. It is also settled that for the court to exercise that discretion one way or the other, it must act not only judicially but also judiciously. It is in an effort at attaining the standard of exercising its discretion judicially and judiciously that the courts have set down certain principles/conditions as guides. *The principles are: 1) the evidence sought to be adduced must be such that could not have been with reasonable diligence obtained for use at the trial; 2) the evidence should be such that if admitted would have an important, not necessarily crucial effect on the whole case, and, 3) the evidence must be such that it is apparently credible in the sense that it is capable of being believed and it need not be incontrovertible — see UBA Plc v. BTL Ind. Ltd. (2005) 10 NWLR (Pt. 933) 356 at 370–371. The above conditions must co-exist for the court to exercise its discretion in favour of the applicant.”
-SNC-U.

Thank God for social media, we are all learning Law on the go. The world is watching us and our Judiciary in particular. It is sad that our Executive arm of government is already on trial. Our Legislature is considered reckless, unpatriotic and irresponsible by many citizens and non-citizens alike. I do not know why and how they have fallen so low in the eyes of the same electorates who supposedly voted them into the hallowed Chambers. To make matters worse, the Nigerian media, which ordinarily should be the fourth estate of the realm, is also under severe attack of being compromised and divided across ethnic considerations and pecuniary gains by the government of Nigeria. This is the tragedy of our nation. So, to who then do we turn in this season of anomie? Atiku Abubakar had to approach the American Judiciary before he could unravel what should not take up to one hour to confirm at home, if the government agencies agreed to do their jobs according to international best practices.

Even foreign analysts are now painting lurid pictures of Armageddon, the final battle between the good and evil elements in our country. This should worry all of us. The Judiciary today can restore instant global prestige and adulation to our country. The Judges can automatically improve our economy by not kowtowing to the overbearing appurtenances of power, by not delivering technical judgments but being seen to ensure real justice. They can bring back the sinking influence and relevance of their profession.

A CBS newsreport that went viral yesterday should tell us that outsiders, apparently, understand the issues at stake more than us, and they appear even more concerned about the impending catastrophe, if adequate care is not taken. The explosive interview was granted by Gregory Copley, an expert in Defense and Foreign Affairs, an Editor and Publisher, to John Batchelor.This brutal analysis of our predicaments is worth listening to, reading, and digesting, if you can find it online…

Please, join me, in saying the Lord’s prayer, if you wish…

Pendulum

Pendulum: The Truth Tinubu Must Be Told

Published

6 months ago

October 7, 2023

Eric

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, once again, this is not the best of times in our dear beloved country, Nigeria. After we had thought, gladly and gleefully, that no government could be worse than the recent Buhari administration, we are now confronted by yet another monstrosity. In less than two months in power, Tinubu’s government started collapsing whatever positive legacy Buhari left behind. Yet, we would have assumed and expected a President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be far better prepared and more visionary than Buhari and his lacklustre team was. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case. While I’m not about to give an overview of Tinubu’s wobbly stewardship so far, and so soon, I’m constrained to put my thoughts and unequivocal opinion on the ongoing Tinubugate on paper. I’m doing this in my personal capacity as a Nigerian citizen and as a true and truthful friend of Tinubu. I believe only a true friend can look you straight, eyeballs to eyeballs, in the face, and tell one of the world’s most powerful men, the Gospel truth.

I have no doubts in my mind that the majority of Tinubu’s so-called friends and ubiquitous hangers-on are pretentious hypocrites. Tinubu has also not helped himself by encouraging both royals and puppets alike to worship at his feet and turning him into a demi-god. I’m convinced that they serve him no useful purpose. I will establish this fact in a minute.

The Tinubugate did not begin yesterday. It started after Tinubu returned from exile and metamorphosed into the Governor of Lagos State in 1999 and instantly became the biggest beneficiary of our epic battles in exile during the NADECO days. In all honesty, we were all happy that he was amply compensated for his salutary efforts.

But unknown to us, trouble was brewing. We didn’t know how or what led the legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, to exhume all manner of “false declarations” contained in the forms submitted for Tinubu’s gubernatorial bid. On October 11, 1999, just months after Tinubu contested and won his election, Chief Fawehinmi’s powerful interview was published on the cover of Newswatch magazine, with the screaming headline: WHY TINUBU MUST GO – Gani Fawehinmi. The fearless Lawyer also granted another interview on the cover of The Source magazine, with an even more acerbic headline: “TINUBU IS A CRIMINAL – Gani, and a rider below: Deserves 10 years in jail! On top of the same magazine was published a worrisome story: The Tinubu Story: THE SOURCE UNDER THREAT. This was the first tell-tale sign of the new and toxic Lagos State to come, a Lagos of one man, one permanent ruler, reminiscent of the Sicilian Mafia, which we privately rechristened the “Cosa Nostra” of Nigeria.
Some members of our “exile confraternity” were naturally alarmed. But we were somehow timid and, thus, carelessly dismissed Gani’s case as, at the very best, alarmist and unnecessarily meddlesome. A few of us who were very close to Gani Fawehinmi knew it would be difficult and of no effect, to approach him and try to persuade him to drop the case. The other sad revelation was when some of Tinubu’s commissioners started fretting and sweating profusely. God is my witness. Many of them, out of panic, about the imminent impeachment of Tinubu, were, stylishly, dissociating themselves from their boss. We heard all kinds of gibberish, from some of them, who are even in government today: “we brought our integrity into this government, we can’t allow anyone to tarnish it…”

Let us digress a little. One of them, extremely close to Tinubu, was the first to tell us about “the falsification of Tinubu’s age, the identity of his original parents from Iragbiji, his forged academic records”, and so on. This chain-smoker claimed absolute knowledge of Tinubu’s life. He told us in my Accra home that anyone who tells Tinubu the truth is instantly marked down as an enemy, so he has stopped telling him the truth. With this kind of mindset, you can imagine what quality of advice Tinubu gets regularly.

Then, out of the blues, my very daring and loyal friend, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, decided to bite the bullet on behalf of Tinubu. What he did was reminiscent of the “lamb of God who took away the sins of the earth…” He, like a kamikaze soldier, took absolute responsibility for the errors contained in Tinubu’s files. Miraculously, Tinubu was saved, and we were all relieved. Everyone is asking me how has Tinubu compensated Afikuyomi, and my answer is I don’t know.

It is noteworthy that Festus Keyamo had jumped on the bandwagon of those seeking to impeach Tinubu at that time. This is another story for another day. I cannot wait for my memoirs to be ready in order to put names and faces to the main dramatis personae.

Let’s now fast forward to the year 2002. There was a popular magazine known as The Week. It planned a cover story on Tinubu. Somehow, the story leaked out to then Governor of Lagos State. Tinubu immediately, and with automatic alacrity, reached out to the Publisher of the magazine, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and pleaded that the scandalous story should be dropped. Out of love and respect for his friend, Atiku reached out to The Week magazine Management and got the story to be stepped down. The Editors were miffed by this development, and in the aftermath, led to the resignation and exit of the Editor, Mr Simon Kolawole.

The meat of my epistle today is that there are many didactic lessons to pick from this Tinubugate. Tinubu eventually left office in 2007. But he never really left Lagos alone. He became Nigeria’s ultimate godfather, who determined, almost to the pin, who gets what. Many of his acolytes knew he was capable of turning them into emergency Billionaires and were ready to stand ramrod on his mandate. This, I believe, is the crux of the matter.

Now, why do I blame Tinubu and his die-hard fans? Two major reasons are carelessness (or is it negligence?) and recklessness. Why would a man who left office since 2007, 16 long years ago, fail to clean up the records that nearly got him impeached in the first instance? And given the fact that he couldn’t have personally handled those documents himself, why did the hordes of minions claiming to love him till eternity fail to deliver a world-class file for his documents?

The Laws of Nigeria never insisted that a Presidential candidate must attend a university. In the last 16 years, Tinubu should have ensured his personal documents were thoroughly checked to be squeaky clean before submitting them to INEC. If necessary, he could have easily gone back to school (Atiku still went to school recently to update and upgrade himself) and try to erase all the previous controversial details. As for his conflicting dates of birth, he should have settled for a preferred birthday date, like President Olusegun Obasanjo did. It can never be a crime that a child’s parent did not record or obtain his birth certificate. As for claiming to have worked for Deloitte and others, he should have limited himself to “I have worked for big multinationals globally and they truly enjoyed my services and valued my contributions” without mentioning specific companies and dates.

As for parentage, I would have told the world about my humble background and poor parentage. It is nothing to be ashamed of, and it is not a crime to be adopted and acquire the name of one’s foster-parents. Everyone knew how Chief MKO Abiola played the role of a father figure in my life, including travelling all the way to Ijebu-Igbo and Ijebu-Ode for my wedding in 1992, but that never stopped me from celebrating my poor parents. And if there were peculiar reasons for obliterating ones original family history, that can still be easily explained. A public figure cannot afford to keep too many secrets. For far too long, Tinubu has blatantly refused to open up his private life to the members of the public. The repercussions of this stifness have been hugely calamitous to him and his immediate family. With more openness, this could have been avoided.

Let me now go to the specific handling of the Chicago scandals. For me, Tinubu and his noisy supporters have made matters far worse than it should have been. Only his blind and shameless supporters will continue to argue over a saga that started over five decades ago. All of us who knew the truth and looked the other way brought this calamity upon our country. And it is grossly unfair.

Instead of Tinubu standing up as a man to offer sincere and unreserved apologies to Nigerians, his “brood of vipers” are busy insulting the long-suffering people of Nigeria, and studiously rubbing salt and pepper on our festering wounds. This is most unfair. This can only aggravate the anger of our citizens, especially the youths.

The first thing Tinubu should do is to climb down his high horse and experience reality for once. No man, no matter how powerful, can achieve everything by force, all the time. The popular story of EFUNSETAN ANIWURA, IYALODE IBADAN is very instructive. Power is transient.

I’m certain there is a hand of God in this latest eruption about Tinubu’s record, which has refused to go away.it is no longer about Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso, Sowore and others. This is about Nigeria. Atiku has played his part honorably at home and abroad. What he achieved in Chicago was a monumental victory for our democracy. Because of Atiku, many Nigerians will have their pride restored. The burden has already been transferred to all of us. Whatever the outcome of the Supreme Court case, it is obvious to me that a new era beckons for us all except for those who choose to be voluntary slaves.

Pendulum

Pendulum: Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr: Refreshing Lessons for Generations

Published

12 months ago

May 6, 2023

Eric

By Japheth J. Omojuwa

This is neither a tribute to nor a piece in praise of Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr. Presidents have defied protocol to offer praises, even across the ocean. Kings have broken tradition in offering tributes and titles, captains of industry have queued behind themselves sharing memorable and inspiring accolades to a timeless icon who did his best to moderate the celebrations. Even if one defied these and decided to try against reason, King Sunny Ade’s Fayeyemi tribute is matchless and inimitable, and I could never reach Chief Ebenezer Obey’s depth and artistry in celebration of the man. Thus, there is nothing left to be said in form of praise or tributes that could surpass those already offered by these great men and women.

I have not come to praise the man; I have only come to address the spectators who were held spellbound by the spectacle and were left wondering what could be so great about a man whom most of them have never seen and only ever get to hear of. Often, when one gets sucked into the attraction of the show, the lessons get lost.

This once, we cannot afford to miss the lessons. The stories that contributed to the making of the man provide vital context for his greatness and offer a rich source of learning and inspiration for generations to come. When these stories are left untold, myths and falsehoods can fill the vacuum, perpetuating disempowering beliefs that hinder progress and growth. For instance, some may believe that wealth can only be acquired through unscrupulous means or cronyism.

When President Emmanuel Macron of France wrote in his tribute, ‘you are humble enough to often publicly declare that the confidence of several French companies at the beginning of your entrepreneurial adventure was instrumental in building the success that is yours today’, among other French alliances, he was making reference to the man who explored for more capital through the banks. A much harder way than through the disempowering stories that people tell to explain wealth they do not understand and in the same breath excuse their own misfortune.

The moniker, ‘The Bull,’ is not merely a name with a golden insignia; it reflects some of Adenuga’s most essential characteristics. The Bull is traditionally seen as a symbol of wealth and subterranean powers. It does not just make an entry; it makes an unforgettable one. It does not recognize defeat; any appearance of defeat is a retreat that often proves costly for those who stand in its path. These traits find expression in the success story of Globacom, which is a testament to Adenuga’s tenacity and determination.

Many exited at the point the government cancelled their mobile telecom licenses. Instead, The Bull charged on, refusing the small battle of a legal pursuit and instead focused on the big prize at the end of what was going to be a protracted bidding war for GSM licenses. Adenuga had to call on his grit again when the prize he won came without the trophy. The government had its cake and ate it. The Bull’s bouncebackability came into play again because well over a year later, he got the license that was fairly won in an open bidding process. When the stories get told, you cannot have a single blot on his shield. The Bull played by the rules, even when the rules were shifted against him, his staying power meant his team returned with victory. A hard-fought one but The Bull stayed invincible.

Other companies would have been happy to just start and do a continuous chase of those who had gone ahead of them, Mike Adenuga’s Globacom defied the norm by starting out with a paradigm shift that remains unmatched in Nigeria. Instead of chasing the competition and playing by their rules, by crashing the price of SIM cards and starting out with per second billing – others said this was not possible at the time – the competition had to bend to his game. The horses that started the race earlier were now doing the chase.

Adenuga’s Globacom dragged the industry on the path of perfect competition with his early moves, he then differentiated immediately by offering services the first and second movers had not even thought of. They were left competing with him at one end in a game whose rules he had redefined by his paradigm shifting bullish entry. He left himself alone without competition at other ends, advancing and flexing with technology above what was on offer. Translated to Yoruba, o ti ilekun mo won, o fi kokoro pa mo.

One reference the tributes intersect is his humility. Humility is an interesting phenomenon. You cannot be poor and be said to be humble. Poverty and humility appear to be parallel lines, yet they find intersection because poverty is already a humble position. Albeit a position that appears to be without the choice of the bearer. When it is said that a person is humble, one must pay attention. When you are so rich with means and power but appear to be unconscious of that elevated state of being especially in your dealings with people, that is humility. Some go out of their way to be seen to be humble. That defeats the purpose. Feigned humility is not humility. The Adenuga tributes refer to the sort of humility that the man himself would only come to see in the description of the people who experienced it. The humility of a man who just is.

Attention seeking appears to be humanity’s contemporary collective de rigueur. That could be explained by the ubiquity of the Internet and its appurtenances. Contemporary culture has now birthed a world where billionaires want to evolve into bloggers even as blogger aspire to be billionaires. We have built a universe and culture where staying relevant has become a daily endeavour, yet in all of that world, we all aspire to Mike Adenuga. The one who would rather not be seen, the one who finds comfort and apparent fulfilment in not being heard. Yet the one who has impacted people and institutions so much he brings life to another moniker of his, The Spirit of Africa. A reference that captures the essence of his values and the fact that one needs not be seen to make change happen, one needs not speak to be heard. And to make great impact, intentions and action are greater than fugazi moves, vain aesthetics and puerile drama.

The rich, in observing the tradition of noblesse oblige, have often committed to philanthropy. The Mike Adenuga principle goes above that sense of obligation because giving is entrenched in his persona. In a world where many keep records of those that they helped that never returned to say ‘thank you’, the millions opportune to be blessed by The Spirit of Africa do not get a chance to. Because his generosity leaves no room to collect appreciations. The giving and the changed lives are the essence of it all.

Conversely, you won’t find a person with a higher sense of appreciation, even for the little things.

Writing about personalities can be enjoyable, but there are times when addressing important issues should take precedence. This piece is not solely about an individual’s personality, but rather the enduring values necessary to navigate a constantly changing world. While exploring Dr. Mike Adenuga’s achievements could fill volumes, the focus here is on some of the values that propelled him to success and how we can apply them to our own daily challenges. As we confront new and complex problems, the lessons we learn from those who have gone before us can be invaluable. Dr. Adenuga’s life offers a powerful example of how these values can lead to great rewards, and this is a message that deserves to be heard by this generation and beyond.

He exemplifies E pluribus unum, and of him, there are lessons to be learned for generations to come. This is the legacy one must have a sense of appreciation for. Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr. GCON, CSG, CdrLH at 70 has left lessons for us in these Platinum number of years, we cannot afford to lose sight of these precious gems.

Japheth J. Omojuwa is the author of Digital: The New Code of Wealth and founder of Alpha Reach