Connect with us

Pendulum

Pendulum: The Simple Way Forward for Nigeria  

Published

on

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, these are not the best of times, globally! That statement is even an understatement. The COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging planet earth has brought hell closer home. What we are witnessing is nothing short of apocalypse. Armageddon is here, full blast.

In the last couple of weeks, we lost many friends, some famous people, old and young. Most people, especially those who have crossed the danger line of age 60, are now very jittery, no matter how mighty their faith is. According to my dear Brother, Ali Baba, the legendary Nigerian comedian, a survivor, who lived to tell the tales of woe which the evil scourge leaves in its trail, there is no virus more devastatingly dangerous than this corona epidemic or pandemic or whatever title you choose to decorate it with. I have also read the gripping accounts of my long-time friend and colleague, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, a big man, a Special Adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Political Matters. He also received God’s mercy. I could hardly recognise him in the picture he posted. He looked gaunt and much darker, a radical departure from his robust former self. This is a man who, once upon a time survived General Sani Abacha’s Gulag, but for whom that was child’s play compared to this deadly attack. His experience confirms Ali Baba’s summation that this virus is no respecter of status or stature. Worse still, it leaves you poorer and impoverished, if you’re lucky to survive. The high and mighty now live in abject fear and trepidation. We, the lumpen proletariat, are not even safe despite the unfortunate and unfounded thesis that it is a rich man’s disease.

These days every death is regarded as originating from COVID-19. It has become not just the world’s worst menace, but also its biggest nuisance. Endless conspiracy theories are making things difficult. With vaccines now available, some are saying they won’t take it. However, for me and my house, the risk of taking it is lesser than just waiting for COVID-19 to strike. I wish those unwilling to be vaccinated best of luck. If anyone wanted to wipe out the Black race of the world, it is so easy and simple. Over 60 percent of our food and beverage come from overseas. 90 percent of our drugs flow in from different far-flung parts of the globe, including places we hardly know.

I expect that very soon, most international airlines will make it compulsory and mandatory to boldly display your vaccination certification before you can board any flight. It means many of my obstinate, and perhaps obdurate, friends would be stranded wherever the regulation meets them. I’m sure for a people as itinerant and as ubiquitous as Africans, many will change their Shakara in a jiffy.

My bigger concern is that even on a regular day, our dear beloved country cannot cope with regular diseases, not to now imagine this present monstrosity. Government hospitals are full to the brim, while private ones are even rejecting the millions of Naira they normally charge because they are over-subscribed and extremely fatigued. This brings me to the crux of the matter and the real meat of my epistle today.

Just imagine that amid this pandemic, Nigerian politicians are still living large. I watched the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration, led by President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday. I could not believe my eyes on seeing the sheer pomp, ostentation and grandeur of the ceremony. I thought I had suddenly been teleported to Scotland when I saw the full complement of piped pipers accompanying our President whose main attraction previously was his frugality and love for the poor. But it seems Abuja pollutes easily and metamorphose anyone into an irredeemably flamboyant robot. An undiscerning leader might be deceived into believing that he must behave in this manner to earn the respect of world leaders. But who doesn’t know Nigeria is almost criminally broke, and poorer than a church rat? Please, who in the world can’t see that we fund our profligate lifestyles with loans we can hardly repay. If it were easy to arrest, convict and sentence a whole country, Nigeria would have been slammed a death sentence for wasting its resources on frivolities! I also read yesterday that Nigeria is considering the satanic idea of selling government properties to fund the 2021 budget. What will they sell to fund the next? This is guaranteed to be wasted on some reckless politicians!

Where then do we go from here? Some people believe Nigeria is the most difficult country to govern. I vehemently disagree. Nigeria may be truly complex and complicated but our people are used to nothing good coming from their leaders and are therefore happy and content with whatever little they get.

The way forward is for all of us to first tell ourselves the gospel truth by identifying our main issues, which are obvious anyway. Our insatiable crave and craze for primitive acquisition and accumulation of wealth must be regulated and curtailed. This cannot be achieved by mere wishful thinking. Before President Buhari finally gained Presidential power after trying a record three times, in 2015, we were so sure he was the only angel from heaven who could put an instant magical end to our morbid corruption. While his heart and mind may have been very willing, his body language soon gave way to the image and mild-mannered temperament of a leader, not strong or capable enough and who lacked experience and exposure in certain areas of governance. This is probably a result of not running any major business of his own before becoming President. It is always easy to be cheated when you lack detailed knowledge of most of the transactions under your watch. Over-inflated contracts have been the biggest bane and destroyer of our country. Our profit margins are often outlandishly excessive. A business savvy leader would ordinarily know how to block many of these outrageous contracts. President Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealla plus Madam Due Process, Oby Ezekwesili, performed creditably well in that respect. That government was more disciplined and well-focused, the reason they were able to clear our debts without much ado, but sadly promptly acquired more all over again. I’m sure there are enough people in the current government who can achieve the same feats, but they are not reasonably empowered!

The next problem is nepotism and ethnic jingoism. I’m not even sure if this is not our biggest problem. I personally don’t mind where our leaders come from, but when you blatantly handpick incompetent people for parochial reasons, because they are your kinsmen, the country is bound to suffer and struggle forever. Every Nigerian leader knows this obvious fact but most of them are not willing to make the necessary amends and adjustment. What we need is a government and leadership that makes merit and meritocracy utmost priority. This is not difficult. I will never get tired of emphasising to the present government that if it wants to modestly succeed within the limited time remaining between now and 2023, it must rejig its government architecture and grant the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo fuller and greater powers. Based on what we witnessed when the President went on medical vacation years back, Professor Osinbajo is more than qualified, able and competent. Let me reassure the Presidency, and the conspiracy theorists resident therein, that Osinbajo has not sent or paid me to say this o, because I know how they reason inside the Villa. This is only a patriotic act that should be seriously considered. The hitherto alleged brain box of this government, former Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, has passed on and I’m not sure the current Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, has even a minuscule amount of the power and authority wielded by his immediate predecessor, although he is imbued with global experience and exposure. What I see in Professor Gambari is a gentleman trying hard not to step on the fat toes of some increasingly frustrated cabal.

Religion is our next major albatross. Until we leave individual citizens to attend to their God and Prophets, Nigeria will never develop. A country as cataclysmically broke as Nigeria has no business funding religious obligations. Religious strife has sent many of our citizens on hasty unplanned trips to heaven or hell. This is the handiwork of certain government operatives who often promote one religion above the other. There’s nothing more dangerous than turning religions into cults.

Our economy is in tatters and every cost saving measure must be considered and activated. A President as powerful as Buhari should use the fear and respect political leaders have for him to the advantage of Nigeria. It would be unfortunate if he leaves the country worse than he met it. He must use this power to urgently address the pressing and compelling matter of restructuring. The last strongman who could have done it was President Olusegun Obasanjo, but he finished meekly and weakly. The issue of a new constitution anchored on a less expensive political system must be speedily explored. Nigeria can no longer afford this atrocious American Presidential system of government. Our States are also too unwieldy. We must consider a return to Parliamentarianism and Regionalism both of which make for greater accountability and development. If we do not kill our lavish rent-seeking political ecosystem, I’m certain it will eventually kill our country. In the name of God and all that is good, let our politicians have pity on Nigeria and Nigerians. We cannot sustain this present system without collapsing eventually!

Government needs to hands off a lot of things. Obviously, many of our leaders are parasites. A consortium of reputable organisations at home and abroad should be invited to handle our privatisation exercises. Politicians cannot and should never be involved. This is our last hope. Many insisting that government must continue to run our country as its personal business and enterprise are opportunistic political parasites and profiteers who can never survive outside power. Apart from the unbearably high tariffs sanctioned by a gormless regulator, the relative success achieved by our electricity discos should serve as veritable guide to what genuinely transparent privatisation exercise can achieve. I commend the hard work of the Rotimi Amaechi led Ministry of Transport on resurrecting our dead railway. Before it collapses again under a new government, it should be offered to private investors and shareholders. I’m sure many Nigerians would also now agree with former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who suggested that our cash cow, NNPC, should be privatised. I have concluded that most of the incompetent leaders who find themselves in government positions in Nigeria have no business in our business!

A sound economy is the bedrock of a healthy nation. We must put an end to our voodoo economy of trial and error, hit and miss! For far too long, we’ve made too much noise about diversification but done little or nothing about it. Nigeria is blessed with virtually everything, but we have precious little to show for it. We must reposition our youths and provide them with relevant vocational education to make them employable and turn them into potential entrepreneurs. The level of unemployment has become highly volatile and inimical to the well-being of our country.

We must reconsider how we elect our leaders. Until we get the right set of leaders, we are going nowhere! Our electoral system remains one of the worst in the world and we have presented bad examples to many Africans looking up to Nigeria for positive inspiration. We certainly possess quality leaders at home and abroad who can bail us out of our mess, but our outrageously backward style cannot encourage or sustain them. It is to our eternal shame that the American President-elect Joe Biden has already appointed Nigerians into his government. Back home, these guys would never have been noticed and if noticed may have been disqualified and wasted on the altar of Federal Character and religion! Do we really need anyone to tell us that we are our own worst enemies? As long as we continue operating an antiquated system of selecting and electing leaders, nothing good can come the way of Nigeria.

Finally, let me say emphatically that we must rebuild our comatose institutions. We all witnessed the challenges recently faced by the United States of America after its November 3, 2020, elections, which the existence of strong institutions helped to successfully resolve. If not for time tested and enduring institutions, America would have collapsed under the watch of the rambunctious and rampaging Donald Trump and his army of insurrectionists. In the end, a whole Donald Trump was turned into a sulking, penitent baby after being horse whipped by much younger CEO’s at Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. Imagine a President crying falsely and endlessly about being rigged out and not vice versa. I dare anyone in Nigeria to have declared victory over the autocratic President Muhammadu Buhari. The person will be scattered in no time. Now imagine Professor Yemi Osinbajo pronouncing Atiku Abubakar as winner. I don’t want to imagine what would happen. Could those same companies block an African dictator on its platforms and survive? No way! I have read how the Ugandan leader, Yoweri Museveni shut down the internet in Uganda for the current elections. That’s what President Trump would have done. He must envy his fellow tyrants in Africa who would rather die in power than go home to spend quality time with their families and  grandchildren.

It is a powerful lesson to us, that the Eldorado we crave will continue to be a mirage unless we fight and build strong unassailable institutions…

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pendulum

Pendulum: Why I Have Faith in the Supreme Court

Published

on

By

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…

Continue Reading

Pendulum

Pendulum: The Truth Tinubu Must Be Told

Published

on

By

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.

Continue Reading

Pendulum

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

Published

on

By

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

Continue Reading

Trending