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Opinion: A Toast To Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi

Published

4 years ago

July 28, 2020

Editor

By Reuben Abati

Prince Julius Adewale Adelusi-Adeluyi who turns 80 this week, on Sunday August 2^nd, was our guest on Arise TV flagship programme – The Morning Show – yesterday, and although I had made some comments about this national icon in the course of that engagement, the format of a television interview does not really provide me enough scope for an extended appreciation of a man who is one of the most impressive, kind-hearted and inspiring persons that I know. I met Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi in the early 90s. The university where I taught Sociology of Literature, General Studies, Shakespeare and His Contemporaries and Modern African Drama had been shut down for about a year. This forced me to pay more attention to journalism, which I had been doing part-time since 1985 writing for romance magazines (I was Contributing Editor with Hints and Channelle magazines, and later Hearts magazine). I also wrote copiously for the mainstream media. Bored with sitting on campus which had become ghost town, I relocated to Lagos while waiting for the seemingly endless strike to end. I got trapped.

From being Editorial Page Editor at The Hammer newspaper, I ended up on the Editorial Board of The Guardian. Life assumed a meaning of its own from that point. I would soon become a popular book reviewer, my very first being one of General Olusegun Obasanjo’s books, and that opened up so many opportunities. It was in the course of all that talk here, talk there that I met Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi. He gave me his card and asked me to come and see him. “I think we have got something special here. I can see your potential. I read your writings and I see you going up and down giving a lecture here, a talk there, you review books and you seem to do everything so well. But you know, in this country, you can burn yourself out, just running up and down and it may never amount to anything. You have to be focused, disciplined, organized. You need to brush things up. Come and see me, we will talk a lot more.”

I went to see him. His office then was at Oregun. A three-storey imposing building in a modest street. The ground floor was a warehouse. The staff occupied the first floor. If I recall correctly, the second floor was divided into conference halls and meeting rooms. Prince’s office was on the top floor. As I went up to his office, my attention was caught by one particular item, a small board on the wall which contained stick-on notes of quotations about life, success and leadership, all notes written in his handwriting and with proper acknowledgement of the original source. I found that quite impressive and his secretary then was definitely ultra-efficient. When I was ushered into his office, a very big office, stretching from one end of the building to the last wall, I thought I was back at a University Library. From top-down and all around, there were books on virtually every subject in the world, all neatly arranged.

I have met quite a number of persons who are literally obsessed with books and documentation – General Aliyu Gusau, Odia Ofeimun, Kunle Ajibade, late Professor Dapo Adelugba, Professor Pat Utomi… but when I saw Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi’s library at that time, I was shocked. I came to Lagos with the impression that most people in Lagos were just after money, and that the serious-minded persons could only be found at the schools of higher education and media houses. My impression changed after that initial encounter with Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi. The man knew something about everything. As we chatted, he would stand up, go to an exact spot in his library and produce a book to back up his point. I discovered that apart from the stick-on quotes on the board that I saw, he kept a special diary of quotes on virtually every subject. I asked him why? He said as someone who got invited to speak on various subjects regularly, he needed to read and do research on a permanent basis and if he read anything he loved or found useful, he would immediately keep a record of it.

It was dazzling. I was excited making his acquaintance. But as I got up to go, I was shocked when he commented on my dressing. “I see you like this your adire, revolutionary attires a lot.” As a graduate student/assistant and later university teacher, I acquired quite a handful of adire (batik) materials which were sewn in different designs. It was popular material on campus. Our own teachers wore the same material or opted for the popular Ankara. These materials were affordable, and the designs looked good. We were trained to promote African culture and scholarship, certainly not to become coxcombs. I didn’t in any way feel inferior to anyone dressed up like a mannequin on the pages of GQ. In fact, my friends and I used to laugh at such persons. When I left the campus (my salary then was N900) and I got my first salary of N3,000 at The Guardian, I went to Oshodi market and bought more materials and sewed a wardrobe-full of caftans. Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi didn’t think that was good enough.

“Look”, he said. “People are beginning to notice you. You appear on television. You write newspaper articles. You get invited as MC at big events. Everybody can see that you are smart. But you must be professional. Lagos is not about revolution. You are not here for a revolution. You are here to succeed, to make a mark. You must dress the part. You won’t get anywhere, I am sorry, in these revolutionary attires. If you are going to the village for a meeting, yes, or you are meeting with your scholarly friends, oh, very good, but if you are going to show up at the NIIA to review a book or give a lecture, then you must look professional. You can’t show up as if you are going for a cultural dance.”

We ended up sitting down again for a conversation. He told me about how as far back as 1967, he was Secretary General of the International Students Association. He was also Vice President (International Affairs) of the National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS). He studied Pharmacy at the then University of Ife and after graduation, he worked at Pfizer where by the age of 30, he was already a Director. But he gave all that up and decided to set up his own practice, Juli Pharmacy, which in 1986 became the first indigenously promoted Nigerian company to be quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. “So you see”, he told me, “I know all these things about aluta continua, changing the world and all that but if you want to be a professional, then be professional, don’t be part of the crowd. Stand out. Nobody will trust you if they think all you have is just raw intelligence, and no focus.” These days when Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi calls, he is likely to end our conversation with a joke; “By the way Reuben, I see the ties are looking sharper everyday and we now wear suits. If I may ask, what happened to those our famous the-struggle-continues-attires?” And we would have a hearty, prolonged father-and-son laughter. Of course, anyone who knows Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi knows that he is a man of style, always well turned out in his impeccably neat white attires. In his younger days, as an executive, he matched the style always to the occasion. He is the best life coach that I know.

He has had such a rich life experience, he offers advice not just on style and appearance but also diction and life issues. Every year he would invite me to his office in January: “Okay, what are your goals for this year? What do you intend to achieve?” I used to be a bit confused about that but I soon got used to it. “You have to set targets. Every year, you must set goals. Life is too short. No matter how brilliant you are, you can’t just drift through life. You must be purposeful” he would say. Before the end of every year, I will again be invited for a review: “What have you achieved this year? What value have you added?” These days, he is likely to ask more questions about the children: “How are my grandchildren? “I hear James is…and Elizabeth… you see you think that you are brilliant, but my grand-children are showing you that they are smarter. Iyawo has done a great job… e ba mi ki awon omo mi o ati iyawo pe o ku ise, o se mo dupe o.” And I am not alone. Over the decades, Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi has been a mentor to the younger generation in every community with which he is associated: students unionism, Pharmacy, law, Rotary International, the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) community, the Catholic Church (especially St Leo’s Cathedral, Toyin Street, Ikeja), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), his native Ado Ekiti community, and Nigeria. He served as a leader of the global students’ union. He has also been President and Life Patron of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN). He is President still, of the Pharmacy Academy of Nigeria. Pharmacy remains his first love. He went to read law and graduated from the Nigerian Law School as the best overall student in his set with First Class Honours.

He is also the doyen of the Rotary Club of Lagos. I got to know a lot about Rotary through him and Mr. Yemi Akeju who once nominated me for a Rotary Scholarship. Mr. Akeju later offered me a job at Ideas Communications. I remain closely associated with the club. I don’t turn down Rotary invitations except I cannot help it, because of the examples of Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi and Mr. Akeju. The Rotary ideal is Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi’s guiding philosophy. He enjoys giving. He likes to serve. I visited him earlier this year, before the COVID-19 challenge. The first thing I noticed as I stepped into his office, now in Ikeja, was the absence of the bookshelves. “Where are the books?”, I asked him. He told me to remove my jacket and drink tea or coffee. I couldn’t wait. “The books, where are they?” I asked because I know the old man loves his books so much, he doesn’t lend them out. He would tell me: “You are welcome to read any of these books you are interested in, but you can’t take them away. When you have the time, come here, take over the space, do your research and read as much as you want.” It turned out as I discovered that the man finally gave all his books and documents away. He donated all to his alma mater, Obafemi Awolowo University, where there is now a Juli Library, for the benefit of a larger community of knowledge-seekers.

He also introduced me to the world of the NGO. Long before environmental and population issues became the buzz words of a new century, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi founded the National Council for Population and Environmental Agency (NCPEA). I was one of his resource persons and looking back now, we did great work promoting the issues and collaborating with local and international stakeholders. When The Guardian and other newspapers were shut down maliciously by the Abacha Government in 1994, Prince came to my rescue. I ended up working as a Consultant at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for one year. I worked in about four Departments. I cannot disclose any further. When The Guardian was re-opened, I returned to the office even if the Consultancy brought in more money. Prince did not complain. He was okay with my choice. He never emphasizes money. It doesn’t mean much to him.

He was Secretary for Health during the 83-day interregnum in Nigerian history that was led by Chief Ernest Shonekan. It was quite a turning point in his career. Medical doctors did not want a Pharmacist or any medical worker as Minister of Health. They saw the position as their special preserve. The conflict and the controversy that this generated was perhaps the biggest moment in the rivalry of the experts in the history of the medical profession in Nigeria. It was Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi’s appointment that broke the jinx. A few years later, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed a health economist, Professor Lambo Eyitayo as Minister of Health.

Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi looks good at 80. If you were to ask him, what his most prized asset is, he will tell you: his wife. He is Julius. His wife is Julia, the woman of all seasons who has given us a great father and achiever. I enjoin us all to charge our glasses and hail 80 happy cheers to this in-coming octogenarian at the turn of the clock on August 2^nd: “This world is so hard and so stony/That if a man is to get through/ He’d need have the courage of Nelson/And plenty of Job’s patience too/But a man who is kind to another and cheerfully helps him along/God help such a man and brother/And here’s to his health in a song/And here’s to his health, and here’s to his health/And here’s to his health in a song…!“ Live long sir.

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Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway: Prioritize Existing Unfinished Projects, Peter Obi Tells FG

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Eric

Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, has advised the federal government to prioritize existing unfinished projects spread across the country instead of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.

Obi, in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, stated that the project was a misplaced priority given the numerous unfinished roads throughout the country.

The former governor of Anambra State mentioned that the budget allocated to the Ministry of Works is insufficient for significant progress on the country’s various unfinished roads, much less their completion.

Obi therefore, advised that the government prioritize the existing infrastructural projects in the country before embarking on any new and colossal projects like the Lagos-Calabar super highway project.

“The Federal Ministry of Works 2024 capital budget of N892,461,262,656.00, additional funding from multilateral loan projects of N94,828,535,243.00, alongside other expected contributions from sources like the China-Exim Bank and the World Bank, will not be enough for serious work on all the critical roads, some of which I enumerated above, let alone their completion.

So, why embark on another huge project that will not be completed in the next 20 or 30 years?

“To do so will only exacerbate the problem of abandoned, uncompleted projects that are not contributing to economic growth and overall development.

“Therefore, while acknowledging the potential benefits of coastal superhighway infrastructure, I urge prioritization of our existing uncompleted projects. We must allocate resources towards repairing and completing existing infrastructure.

“In any development formula, the primary focus should be on completing and rehabilitating existing infrastructure rather than embarking on colossal new projects that may never reach completion within the next 30 years,” Obi said.

Back in March, the Federal Government began constructing the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, designed to extend through 9 states with two spurs leading to the Northern States.

Recall that former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, had earlier described the project as a fraud.

“Umahi had announced that Hitech would fully fund the project, and based on this, there was no competitive bidding. He (Umahi) then said that Hitech could only raise just 6% of the money for the pilot phase. This smacks of deceit,” Atiku said.

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2027 Presidential Race: Opposition Parties Under Attack

Published

3 days ago

April 21, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

While it is still a whole three years before the next general election in 2027, The Boss has learnt that opposition parties in the countries are being muffled to pave the way for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to return to, and retain power.

From the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the Labour Party (LP), and down to the New Nigerian Peoples Paty (NNPP), crises have engulfed the rank and files, in what a source told this paper was the attempt and making of the ruling party, APC, to decimate, destabilize and make redundant the machineries of the opposition parties.

It is believed that by 2027, the apparatuses holding together the various opposition parties would have weakened irredeemably to the extent the country would seemingly nosedive into the inglorious one party state that every civil right advocate and democrats abhor.

It is alleged that all the crises in all the opposition parties are being engineered by the President Bola Tinubu-led ruling APC, with the hope of getting the fibres of their system weakened, thereby luring the members of the crisis-ridden parties into the APC.

Slightly one year after the last presidential election, the two major opposition platforms, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party, have separately been embroiled in a crisis of confidence which has diminished their capacity to provide viable opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The crises in both opposition parties got to a head. The Labour Party led by its national chairman Julius Abure held its much-opposed national convention which was boycotted by its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi; its only governor, Alex Otti of Abia State; federal and state lawmakers elected on its platform, and the organised Labour.

In the Labour Labour, members have been embroiled in endless battle of supremacy with a faction led by Mr. Apapa steadily contesting the leadership of Julius Abure.

Consequently, the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, reverence as a leader in the fold, noting that whatever the party faces presently, that Nigeria’s problems are far bigger than the crises in his party.

The LP has been embroiled in crises — ranging from allegations of misappropriation of funds, and leadership tussle, to calls for the resignation of the party’s national chairman.

TheCable reported that “On March 27, the LP conducted a national convention in Anambra state where Julius Abure was re-elected as its national chairman.

Obi did not attend the convention, fuelling speculations that he may be mulling over ditching the LP for another platform.

Speaking during an appearance on HaveYourSay247, an interactive online session hosted by Rudolf Okonkwo over the weekend, Obi said he is confident that the crises rocking the LP will soon be resolved amicably.

“Whatever is happening in the Labour Party is so minute compared to what is happening in the country,” Obi said.

“So, for me, it is something we will resolve amicably, and it is not anything to worry about. Let us worry about the country.

“Let us worry about how the average Nigerian would be able to have a means of livelihood to be able to eat, that should be our worry.”

Obi said he has no interest in being the party’s leader but only to make sure things are done properly.

“I don’t see what I do in politics as being the leader of any place or not. My position is that just like I always say, I am not desperate to be president of Nigeria, I am desperate to see Nigeria work because I know it can work,” he added.

“We have a more desperate situation. Parties are just a means to be able to contest elections. What is important is that being a leader of a party does not reduce the price of food.

In the PDP, the shenanigans of former Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has practically kept the party in constant crisis with many observers concluding that the now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is working for the APC, and is just a mole in the PDP. Wike has denied the allegation, however,

But news filtered in last week as that the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, and Minister may have concluded plans to attend the much advertised National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), billed to hold on Thursday, in Abuja.

Impeccable source, who is in the know, told The Boss that the minister, whose membership of the PDP is yet to be revoked even as he frolicks with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and serving in the President Bola Tinubu government as a minister.

The Source told The Boss that Wike’s impending presence at the NEC meeting on Thursday was not unconnected with plans, already hatched with some governors, to weaken the opposition PDP.

“Yes, we have on good authority that FCT minister, Wike is planning to attend the NEC meeting tomorrow all in a bid to weaken the fabrics of the PDP, and pave the way for the continuation of the Tinubu administration come 2027, and by extension, relapse Nigeria to a full blown one party state.

“From every indication, Wike and his co-travellers, are bent on unleashing the same crisis ravaging the third force, Labour Party, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s Nigerian National People’s Party (NNPP) on the PDP for the APC to remain the only political party in the country, and ensure that Tinubu has no challenger, come 2027,” the Source said.

It would be recalled that Wike has boasted over and again that there’s no opposition against Tinubu’s re-emergence in 2027, and that they have made sure of that. He has been compensated with the Ministerial job after he withdrew support for his party, and supported the APC and Tinubu to emerge as national government.

The Source further revealed that in the attempt to actualize the intended one party state, a lot of funding is ongoing to ensure that concerned stakeholders are ‘settled’ handsomely.

Wike, prior, during and after the 2023 general elections, has been floating in between the two major political parties; the APC and the PDP. While he claim to still be a member of the PDP, he is functioning as a minister in an APC government, mocking the inability of his party to discipline him.

While political stakeholders concluded that the outcome of the Thursday’s PDP NEC meeting will determine the path Nigeria’s political trajectory will take, and that it may portend the end of multi-party system and political democracy if Wike succeeds in his plan; every page of what finally transpired at the meeting pointed to the fact.

The much touted removal of the party chairman, who is believed to be a crony of the Abuja minister, Damagum, retained his seat, with his executives.

“It is very clear to everyone that a lot of money politics is being played to cajole many loyal members of the party, forcing them into frustration, and eventually it of the party. The option afterwards, will be the APC. This, will for all intent and purpose actualize the intended one party state as an APC agenda.

The Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso-led NNPP is not faring better either. The only governor under their ticket, Abba Kabir Yusuf, just had the confidence of their party on him withdrawn. He was fighting for his political life until suddenly it was announced the the APC in Kano has collapsed its structure into the NNPP.

“This is just another APC strategy to actualize their hidden intentions. Time will reveal the very sinister agenda they harboring,” an analyst said.

Much as 2027 is still three years away, but intrigues are in play to render Nigeria a one party state, and perpetuate the APC in power. The three other opposition parties are basically under attack to bring to pass this unpopular agenda.

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Akwa Ibom Government, Governor Umo Eno Receive Top Honors at the 10th Wonders of the World Expo in Lagos

Published

4 days ago

April 21, 2024

Admin

The Akwa Ibom State Government and Governor Pastor Umo Eno were recognized with Travellers Awards at the 10th Wonders of the World Expo in Lagos for their sustained enhancement of infrastructure, support for local talent, and dedication to investment in the tourism sector. The ceremony took place at the National Museum in Onikan, Lagos.

While Akwa Ibom won the Most Active Tourism State of the Year, Governor Eno was adjudged the most Tourism-Friendly Governor of the Year at the event that had Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Lola Ade John in attendance.

According to Amb. Ikechi Uko, Founder/Publisher of ATQ Magazine, the organizers of the event which is in its tenth edition, Akwa Ibom State won the top prize “in recognition of its valiant and resourceful efforts to drive and sustain domestic tourism by promoting the industry.

‘In 2023, Akwa Ibom was one of the states that hosted World Tourism Day (WTD ) events. The state also organized the famous Christmas Unplugged, which featured music, food, and cultures from all 31 LGAs as well as ensured friendly policies.”

While hoping that the Travellers Awards would spur Akwa Ibom to do more to dominate the domestic tourism industry, the organizers hoped that the state would gradually evolve into one of Nigeria’s top international tourism destinations.

That was not all, the state Commissioner of Culture and Tourism, Sir Charles Udoh was also recognized as one of the Top 100 Tourism Personalities in Nigeria for demonstrating exceptional leadership and innovation in the travel and tourism industry, while other Akwa Ibom indigenes and entity were also celebrated: Mrs. Ime Udo, Honorary Special Adviser to the Governor( Tourism) won Tourism Promoter of the Year, Favour Udo won Tourism Photographer of the Year, Loretta Effiong and Prince Uduak Sunday (Qua Tours) were listed among the Tourism Personalities of the Year and Ibom Air won Airline of the Year International.

In his remarks, Sir Charles Udoh, who represented the Governor at the event, thanked the organizers for the awards and noted that Akwa Ibom is certainly enjoying the golden era when it comes to tourism development. He stated that Governor Umo Eno is very keen on making Akwa Ibom a leading tourism destination with his programmes and policies.

He revealed that with the new Victor Attah International Airport nearing completion, the purchase of a ferry for the Oron-Calabar route, new developments along its coastline and the restoration work that will be done at all its major tourism sites, Akwa Ibom is well on the way to becoming the number one destination for all domestic and foreign tourists.

In her speech, Tourism Minister, Mrs. Ade John hailed the organizers for hosting the Expo, where practitioners were lectured by top experts while also rewarding those who have excelled in the past year.

She affirmed that her ministry is open to partnership with public and private sector operators, adding that tourism development can only be successful through collaborative efforts.

The event, which attracted leading and budding tourism professionals, also featured interactive and entertainment sessions.

Apart from Sir Charles Udoh and Mrs. Ime Udo, the Akwa Ibom State delegation, also included: Mr. Michael Effiong James, Senior Special Assistant (Lagos Liaison) to Governor, Mrs. Eme Bassey, Special Assistant to Governor (Lagos Liaison) and Akparawa John Offiong, Deputy Director ( Culture) Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

More photos below: