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Friday Sermon: Late Alhaji Babatunde Jose: Contentment Personified

Published

8 years ago

August 3, 2018

Eric

By Ibrahim Babatunde Jose ll

Contentment is a sign of a true believer. The virtue of contentment is closely connected with the virtue of putting trust in Allah. With contentment one feels inner peace and spirituality increases. He does not compare himself with those who are in better conditions, but rather he remembers those who are in worse conditions. For example, if someone is one-handed, he should be content and remember those who do not have hands at all. “Contentment is not the fulfilment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.” Contentment and patience earn one Paradise in the Hereafter. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “Riches does not mean having a great amount of property; real wealth is self-contentment.” Sahih Bukhari (Book 81, Chapter 15)

The (material) things which ye are given are but the conveniences of this life and the glitter thereof; but that which is with Allah is better and more enduring: Will ye not then be wise?

(Quran 28:60)

The greatest cause for the lack of contentment is greed and avariciousness, covetousness and ‘long throat’. These are very objectionable traits in any human being and they are the root cause of corruption. Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) said: “If a son of Adam (as) possessed two vast valleys wherein gold and silver flowed, he would still wish to search for the third one.”

One of the greatest legacy a man could bequeath to his children is a good name. Riches could be spent and wasted on the frivolous things of life and in a jiffy, the children have gone through it and are back to the state of poverty of their great grandfather. Houses are equally squandered through sales and forfeiture, having been used to borrow money. All else must pass away leaving the good name a man has built for himself. The greatest building bloc of a good name is a contented life. A life devoid of greed and avarice and covetousness. These are very apt description of late Alhaji Babatunde Jose.

Under the present clime, people like late Jose, with his first generation advantage would have amassed enough illicit wealth to last the coming generation of his offspring. He never did; yet he had all the opportunities.

He became Managing Director of the Daily Times and probably the highest paid chief executive of a publicly quoted company in Nigeria without moving to an executive official residence until nearly three years after he became Chairman of the company.

During his stay in Cooper Road, Ikoyi, the sprawling official residence, he was very conscious of the transit nature of the place. It was therefore very easy and painless for him to move back to his old residence in Apapa immediately after his retirement. Unlike the retirees of today who go away with a fleet of cars and SUVs, Alhaji Jose only went away with his old official car, a Mercedes 300S, LAA3.

He built his house in Victoria Island, courtesy of the Federal Government allocation of plots to deserving public figures at the time. Unfortunately, he never had the money to develop the plot. It would be built under contractor finance arrangement by Cappa, which rented out the place for five years in order to realize the N120,000 construction cost. He was only be able to move into the house in December 1980 in which he lived for 28 years till he died, without changing the furniture or the air-conditioning units in the house.

His life is therefore a lesson in contentment and personal satisfaction.

Even when he joined his friends, MKO Abiola, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Musa Bello and Alhaji Koko with the Pakistanis to float Habib Nigeria Bank Limited, he never for once abused the codes of corporate governance.

The Apotheosis

Jose was not only a journalist and newspaper administrator, he was a man who perfected the art of ‘walking a tightrope’ in the high tension ‘corridors of power’. He was usually consulted by heads of government and ministers on many national issues. During the first republic, he was the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on Publicity. This gave him unfettered access to the Prime Minister; a privilege he never abused.

During Nigeria’s change over from left to right-hand drive, General Yakubu Gowon, appointed Alhaji Jose as the Chairman of the Committee. After that, he was appointed Chairman of the Nigeria Building Society which later became Federal Mortgage Bank.

He was also made a member of the Nigerian Pilgrims Board of which he eventually became the chairman. These positions of trust were never abused. Yet in modern parlance, they were ‘juicy’.

Despite the fact that the Daily Times was nationalized by the Murtala-Obasanjo Military Administration, and the eventual retirement of Jose at the young age of 50 in 1976, General Obasanjo changed his mind and asked him to return to the company but Jose politely declined the offer saying ‘where a man has said goodnight, he does not return to say good evening’. Obasanjo therefore appointed him pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian Television Authority NTA.

First civilian President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari appointed him Chairman of a commission to advice on Hajj operations. Shagari also sent him to newly Independent Zimbabwe to help advice on financial feasibility of acquiring a privately owned newspaper which the Nigerian government was bankrolling for the government of that country. He did not see it as an opportunity for self-aggrandizement.

The Buhari/Idiagbon government sent him to London on an image laundering mission for the Nigerian government. On his return, he caused a stir when he returned some unspent money out of the fund given to him for the trip. General Idiagbon was flabbergasted and took him to General Buhari to witness what he has seen, as it was unprecedented.

Also, at the request of the same government, he was asked to advise on the reorganization of the Daily Times, which he did and it led to the appointment of his godson and protégée, Olusegun Osoba as Managing Director. He was also appointed a second time as Chairman of NTA.

It was to Alhaji Jose that the Babangida administration turned when it wanted to settle the intractable problem of General Tunde Idiagbon’s continued stay in Saudi Arabia after the coup that ousted his government. Jose travelled to Saudi with General Gado Nasco, Sheikh Gumi and Professor Galadanchi to persuade and bring Idiagbon back to Nigeria. President Babangida also appointed Alhaji Jose as the Chairman of the Nigeria Pilgrims Board.

It is important to note that during the Interim National Government of Chief Ernest Shonekan, Alhaji Jose was again approached to serve as the Chairman of the Eminent Persons Committee to advice on the June 12 impasse. Fortunately, Alhaji Jose resigned immediately the committee was inaugurated after realizing that it was a charade.

Alhaji Jose would later sit on the boards of many companies, only to find himself being elected President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria MAN. That perhaps marked his apotheosis.

In all these he never lost his head neither did he forget the son of whom he was. He would always remember the home from which came from. He never for once took undue advantage of his closeness to the corridor. That to me is the hallmark of a man of honor and principle. It demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt, contentment per excellence.

As a mark of his unshaken be belief in the certainty of death, he kept his burial things in a bag in his room, to the knowledge of all.

According to Tajudeen Gbadamosi, Emeritus Professor of history and an erudite Islamic scholar, “Alhaji Jose did not claim to be a moral leader. . . But we can certainly identify in him some sterling moral values: dedication sincerity of purpose, honesty, commitment to peace, selflessness and a high sense of responsibility.”

In 1946, Editor of the Daily Times, Mr Lijadu, wrote an awe-inspiring testimonial for Alhaji Jose in which he said “This is to certify that I have known Ishmael Adisa Babatunde Jose for over five years during which period I have always found him a hardworking, obedient and aspiring Youngman. His industry and ambition have been most exemplary and inspiring and have marked him out as a young man who ought to go far in life. . . . . . .” And indeed he went very far! As former President Olusegun Obasanjo described him in Abuja in 2001, as a “national role model and an Icon of Hope”.

Yesterday was a glorious day in his remembrance. The Fidau prayer was a high mass in nature with clerics of Anwar ul Islam, led by the venerable Chief Imam A B Yoosuf and a plethora of beautiful people in attendance. It was a most befitting anniversary. It was crowned with the naming of the school hall of Jubril Martin Memorial Grammar School as ‘Alhaji Isma’il Babatunde Jose Hall: The name of a good man was immortalized.

We pray: “O Allah! Forgive him, have mercy upon him, give him peace and absolve him. Receive him with honor and make his grave spacious; wash him with water, snow and hail. Cleanse him from faults as Thou wouldst cleanse a white garment from impurity. Requite him with an abode, with a family better than his family and with a mate better than his mate. Admit him to the Garden, and protect him from the torment of the grave and the torment of the fire.” Du’a Book by Refaaz Mohamed.

Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend

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Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

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South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

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NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.