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Controversies Surrounding Death, Burial of High Chief Olu Benson Lulu Briggs
By Eric Elezuo
It was a huge sigh of relief when on Saturday, March 13, 2021, the remains of late Ijaw traditional ruler, philanthropist and businessman, High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, were finally committed to mother earth. The body of the deceased had remained in the mortuary since December 27, 2018 when he dropped dead shortly after arriving Accra, Ghana, for a month long vacation with a retinue of family members and staff, his wife of over two decades, Seinye Lulu Briggs, inclusive.
There are personalities whose remains have caused a lot of stir among family members; remaining in the custody of mortuary attendants for months and sometimes years, but Lulu Briggs unwarranted incarceration in the Accra morgue, was one case too many. The beef was centred on the widow, Seinye and the deceased children, led by one of his sons, Dumo Lulu Briggs.
While Dumo alleged that the widow had a hand in the death of his father, and therefore, has a case to answer, the widow, on her part felt she had been wrongly accused, and as a result, must prove her innocence. Consequently, both parties, each with a retinue of supporters drawn from various quarters including the business environment, traditional class, media and more, were locked in a battle of wits, which culminated in the 27 months stay of the body of the deceased in the mortuary.
Recall that in November 2017, Lulu Briggs escaped an assassination attempt at his hometown, Abonnema, in Akuku-Toru Local Council of Rivers State while on a peace and reconciliation meeting between chiefs, opinion leaders and elders of the area, in respect of the crisis rocking the position of the chairman of the council of chiefs.
He had just taken over from Chief Disrael Gbobo Bob-Manuel as Acting Chairman of the Council a week earlier.
Many however, are of the opinion that the major crux of the matter is nested on who lays his hands on the magnificent and sprawling estates of the deceased much more than proving that the billionaire businessman did not die of natural causes, and so the fierce debacle, springing up intrigues, accusations, counter accusations and elongated legal processes. In all these, the body of a man, who was said to be averse to long depositing of corpses in the mortuary, laid dejectedly in cold preservation, waiting for the warring factions to sheath their swords. But that was not to happen very soon.
The first sign of controversy regarding the death and burial of Lulu Briggs arose shortly after the sudden death on arrival to Accra, Ghana.
Seinye narrated as follows:
“On the 27th of December 2018, my beloved husband, High Chief (Dr.) O.B. Lulu-Briggs passed on to glory shortly after our arrival at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. We traveled on a chartered flight with family, friends and some members of our staff. As soon as we alighted from the flight and the captain and crew bade us farewell, my husband’s nurse asked for an ambulance when she noticed his pulse had dropped. The ambulance took him to the medical center at the airport where a doctor informed us that my husband had passed on. You cannot imagine how shocked we all were.
“Somehow, I managed to notify my husband’s son and eldest daughter Dumo and Solate. They arrived with their siblings on the evening of 28th December and on 29th December, as a family we all visited the mortuary where my husband’s body was eventually on the morning of 28th of December. Thereafter, Senibo and Dumo, his two elder sons, started making arrangements for a casket that would be used to bring back his body to Nigeria.
“While we were preparing for the burial, Senibo – my husband’s eldest son- informed us that he was not ready, and the initial burial date was canceled due to closeness of elections. After several family meetings we agreed on another date, which was 6th of April 2019. But that too was canceled.”
The cancellation of the second date, The Boss was told, was not unconnected with major discoveries in between. Within the period between December 2018 and when the next burial date was programmed, it was revealed that the content of the deceased’s Will had been made public, and therefore, warranted accusations, and need to respond to the arising accusations. Everyone wanted a huge piece of the cake, and they all went about it the best way the deemed fit. “Otherwise, why would a family keep their dead benefactor in the mortuary for that long. It’s all about a selfish interest,” a respondent told The Boss.
Dumo, being the eldest son of the deceased, was not ready to let the death of his father go uninvestigated, especially having suspected foul play. He therefore, instituted a judicial process to stop the burial until a verifiable autopsy has been conducted. He further stated that his father did not die of natural causes, rather was murdered, pointing accusing fingers at his stepmother, Seinye.
The court had therefore, ordered an autopsy, with representatives of all the feuding parties present. This was embarked upon based on a police report, acting on a petition by the three eldest of the deceased’s seven children, which claimed among others, that “the children suggest that the deceased died a violent or unnatural death or has died a death of which the cause is unknown at present.”
At the end of the day, the Pathology laboratory of the ISO-certified 37 Military Hospital in Ghana, conducted the postmortem on July 19, 2019.
According to the result which was released following the orders of the Supreme Court of Ghana, the deceased reportedly did not die a violent death, ruling out insinuations by some of his relatives that he was murdered.
The cause of death of the High Chief as stated in his autopsy report was “right lung infarction and severe haemorrhages in both lungs due to or as a consequence of pulmonary thromboembolism, the most likely source is inferior vena cava, site of filter.”
Other significant conditions contributing to the death of the statesman, who was steadily climbing to his 89th birthday, according to the report, were “congestive cardiac failure, hypertensive heart and kidney disease.”
More significant pathological findings contained in the report included Hypertensive heart disease, complicated atherosclerosis of aorta and major vessels, right lung infarction with severe haemorrhages, chronic congestion of the liver, hypertensive nephropathy and many other debilitating pathologies.
The autopsy report was signed by both Dr Seth Attoh, the officer-in-charge of Pathology Division of 37 Military Hospital in Ghana and Dr Lawrence Edusei, the Specialist Pathologist of the same hospital.
The release of the autopsy report after months of litigations made some fundamental proofs including that the deceased businessman died of natural causes, and can now be buried, and that Seinye was innocent.
The road was therefore paved for a befitting burial and the preservation of his glowing legacies, but more hitches unceremoniously cropped up to ridicule the January 25, 2020 date later agreed upon by the family for the burial.
Before then, a flurry of activities were on to reconcile warring family members, even as Rivers Government showed interest in early resolution of the matter. There was every indication that a consensus might be reached soon on contentious issues for the burial to hold.
On December 23, 2019, a Ghanaian High Court- had imposed preconditions for the release of the body by the Ghanaian Police and Mortuary for onward transfer to Nigeria for burial. These preconditions, which according to Seinye Lulu Briggs were not difficult, were:
“That the delegation led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs that will convey the body of the deceased to Nigeria, should include two representatives of the Plaintiff/Widow, who should be part of the delegation that will convey the body to Nigeria;
”That the family of the deceased, led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, will give a binding unconditional undertaking that, under no circumstance will the family allow or suffer the Plaintiff/Widow to undergo any cruel, inhumane or barbaric customary practices in Nigeria, when the body is conveyed;
“That the family, led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, will further undertake that the Plaintiff/Widow will be ably represented in the burial and funeral preparations, and will be allowed to play her role as a widow mourning her deceased husband.”
While the court went further to order the filing of the report of the autopsy done on the deceased, the release of the filed autopsy report was blocked by an appeal by Dumo Lulu-Briggs. His reasons were not known but imagined. Some said not to allow the public know that High Chief Lulu-Briggs died of natural causes.
It was reported that in blocking the release of the filed autopsy report, Dumo made more accusations, one of which was that his father’s widow had buried the High Chief in March 2019. This was many months after the autopsy was authorised, conducted, released and verified. the accusation raised many questions of how, when and where.
On September 6, 2019, Dumo Lulu-Briggs secured an order from the Magistrate Court in Accra, Ghana to carry out an inquest and a second autopsy on his father’s body. This was countered by Seinye, who vehemently refused with an appeal at a higher court thereby stopping the release of the corpse for a second autopsy.
Giving her reasons for stopping the second inquest and autopsy, Seinye’s spokesperson, Oraye St. Franklyn, said:
“Dr (Mrs) Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs repeats that her appeal was made because Dumo without fulfilling any of the three pre-conditions imposed on him by the Court Judgement had gone to the mortuary to pick up the body of her husband in the company of her supposed nominated representatives none of whom she knew, authorized or whose identities she could verify. She views that action as desperation taken too far and part of a sinister plot to obtain the body of her husband in order to wickedly tear it open yet again in the guise of conducting a private autopsy; a sinister autopsy that would fabricate false evidence supporting Dumo’s contrived allegation of her killing her 88 year old husband whom she cared for and loved for more than 2 decades.”
On December 27, 2019, Dumo’s lawyers went back to court to seek clarification of the preconditions before the remains could be released. A mild drama occur on the day in the courtroom as Seinye’s lawyers claimed that the matter will not be heard as it lacked merit. They said Dumo only wanted to further delay the burial of the late businessman. The court however, insisted that the matter would be heard, but went ahead to throw it out.
The Judge said: “I have been invited to clarify my order of the 23rd of December 2019. My order is self-explanatory and need no other clarification.
“I should not appear to be shifting the goal post so as to prejudice the appeal and the applications pending at the Supreme Court. Finding no need for the clarification, I dismiss the application.”
Much as Dumo and the family chiefs went ahead to unilaterally cancel the January 25 burial date, Seinye was optimistic it would hold, believing that the preconditions given to Lulu Briggs children were not difficult to meet.
While Dumo Briggs was withholding the release of the filed autopsy reports, Seinye was withholding the release of remains of the High Chief by her appeal at the High Court of Ghana. She maintained that unless Dumo release the autopsy report and fulfill the preconditions laid down by the court, she would not withdraw her appeal. The stalemate persisted. She maintained that till date none of the pathologists that represented all the parties (herself, Dumo, Police etc) had queried the outcome of the autopsy, and wondered why the report is held in secrecy. One of Dumo’s representatives was President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr Adedayo Faduyile.
In the midst of the apparent disagreements, Seinye alleged through her spokesperson that Dumo’s intention was to falsify a report, which might help him to alter her husband’s last will and testament.
“Dr (Mrs) Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs is of the firm belief that the reason Dumo is desperately clamouring for his private autopsy is to manipulate the outcome in order to procure a false report to use as the compelling tool in forcing her to set aside her husband’s last wishes as contained in his Last Will and Testament. Dr Mrs Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs states clearly that she maintains both her innocence and unpreparedness to set aside her husband’s last wishes as contained in his Last Will and Testament,” he said.
As matters deteriorate, the Amanayabo of Kalabari, King Theophilus J.T. Princewill, Amachree XI, waded in with a committee to help resolve this matter without further delay.
While the king tried to find a solution, two institutions; the Chiefs from Oruwari Briggs compound in Abonnema and the Abonnema chiefs were fighting dirty on the same issue. Seven chief from the Oruwari Briggs compound had placed an advert on national dailies, declaring the dead High Chief missing. The Abonnema Chiefs acted swiftly, placing a counter advertisement.
These controversies and litigations that trailed his demise, including legal tussles in Nigerian and Ghanaian Courts where he truly, finally came to a conclusive end, and the body was finally released and brought back to Nigeria on March 16, 2020. This was the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic and subsequent restrictions by the federal and state governments as regards funerals and large gatherings further dragged the final burial rites to a later date.
Speaking to the press in January at Abonnema on behalf of the Oruwari Briggs House, Ibim Dokubo, a lawyer, stated as follows: “It is our pleasure at this point to break the news that the late High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, OON, DCF, DSSRS, the Iniikeiroari V of Kalabari Kingdom and Paramount Head of Oruwari Briggs House of Abonnema will be committed to mother Earth on Saturday, March 13, 2021.
“The major reason we could not plan the burial ceremony was because for more than fifteen months we could not take custody of the mortal remains of High Chief O.B. Lulu- Briggs because of the series of Court cases that denied the family from taking custody of the body. The controversy (that) surrounded the demise of our Paramount Head was widely reported in the media.
“Even when on December 23, 2019, a High Court in Ghana ruled that the body of the monarch be released to the family led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, the matter was appealed up to the Supreme Court before the body was finally brought on March 16, 2020 into the waiting arms of the prevailing Covid restrictions.
“The overwhelming view was we needed to wait for the relaxation of the COVID-19 restrictions because High Chief O.B. Lulu-Briggs was a man of many parts, who had positively touched many lives.
“He was a public servant, a labour leader, a politician, a businessman, a philanthropist par excellence and a very High Chief. It would therefore be a gross disservice to his memory to deny his legion of friends and associates the opportunity to honour him at his funeral.”
On March 13, 2021 therefore, the entire family came together, set up a broad-based burial committee and gave the patriarch the honour that he very well deserves.
All is well that ends well, according to William Shakespeare, and swords are sheathed today, paving the way for the grand funeral that was accorded the Abonnema High Chief in his hometown.
Contrary to beliefs, there were no disturbing incidents as the who in who in Ijaw kingdom and their friends were on ground to bid the great philanthropist farewell in dignity, panache and pomp.
High Chief O. B. Lulu Briggs was the founder of Moni Pulo Limited, and a prominent traditional influence in the affairs of Abonnema Kingdom of Rivers State. In 2012, he was named number 31 among the 40 richest men in Africa by Forbes.
His company has oil blocks in Ondo, Abia and Akwa-Ibom states. Its flagship project, OML 114, produces 10,000 barrels per day. Along with his wife, he funds the O.B Lulu Briggs Foundation, which provides humanitarian services to rural communities.
Opuda, as he was fondly called while growing up, was a man of many parts who rose from a humble beginning to become a great force in the business world, creating impacts and affecting humanity positively.
He had his primary education in Abonnema before moving to Calabar and Jos. Most of his learnings were privately sought before he left for the United Kingdom for advanced studies. This strong will to succeed marked him out and elevated him even among his contemporaries.
His first career experience as a clerk with the Mandilas and Karabaris. He later proved his mettle and showed signs of greatness when he joined the Nigerian Ports Authority in 1955, rising to the position of Principal Industrial Relations Officer. He served as secretary of NPA’s workers’ Union for seven years and chairman of the Maritime Trade Union Federation, Eastern Port from 1968-1971.
He was never found wanting in any of his positions, but wrote his name in gold through achievements that have remained unequalled.
By Eric Elezuo
The rich cultural border town of Jada in Adamawa State, Nigeria, came briskly alive during the week, when trusted colleagues and associates, party bigwigs and immediate family members, trooped in to honour a man, whose legacies of political sagacity and entrepreneurial wizardry have become a reference point, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as he celebrates his 79th birthday.
With fanfare, razzmatazz and deep-rooted joy, the about-to-become-octogenarian hosted a week-long soiree rooted in legit discourse, high profile networking and philanthropy for all and sundry.
Known for his near-impeccable public service image, Atiku is revered as the Midas of our time, converting almost nothing to something of immense value.
A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, once described the invincibility of the Wazirin Adamawa as follows:
1. Give him pure water and he’ll turn it into Farro water
2. Show him a Primary school and he’ll turn it into a world class univeristy
3. Show him a jetty and he’ll turn it into a world class port
4. Give him a bull and a heifer and just few years and he ll give you a herd
5. Give him a bag of chaff and he’ll mill it into animal feed
6. Give him a bottle of bala blue and he’ll turn the cream to farro juice
7. Give him a home and he’ll bring Nigeria into it as family members
8. Make him walk into an environment where there is contention and fight and see how they fade into peace.
From the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to the Yola Airport in Adamawa State, heartfelt accolades from supporters trailed every movement of the vice president, who absorbed all with equanimity, acknowledging greetings with finesse and humility, stopping at regular intervals for a deep hug and claspy handshake that says more friendship and camaraderie.
The grand finale of the activities was held at the Atiku Family Event Hall in Jada with a well-attended Commemoration Lecture that drew dignitaries and admirers including political associates, mentees, members of the diplomatic corps and many others from far and wide. Though it was meant to be an in-house celebration, it drew together distinct policy makers and more.
From one distinguished speaker to another, soul striking lectures and goodwill messages were delivered including tributes aimed at extolling the stateman-like qualities of His Excellency.
It is instructive to note that Atiku, as he is easily recognized, is not just another politician; he is exceptionally versatile as a detribalised, prolific entrepreneur and a practitioner of politics without bitterness. It is not a wonder therefore that he has excelled in politics, public service, and entrepreneurship, most especially.
It was in the notes of the one of the keynote speakers, Chief Dele Momodu, that the underlying greatness, humane qualities and more of Atiku Abubakar were laid bare before public scrutiny.
Momodu, in a lecture he titled Alhaji Atiku Abubakar: The Consumate Democrat, took the audience down memory lane as he highlighted the uncommon humility the Waziri Adamawa demonstrated when he stepped down for MKO Abiola in 1993.
The details of Chief Momodu’s speech are as follows:
ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR: THE CONSUMMATE DEMOCRAT
It gives me great pleasure, and I consider it a privilege, to have been invited to speak about one of the greatest Nigerians alive today. There’s no way I would have turned down this request.
Just last week, I was invited to a roundtable meeting at the British House of Lords in London, also at the behest of Alhaji ATIKU ABUBAKAR. I wish to offer my sincere gratitude to ALHAJI for his confidence in me and his demonstration of love for me at all times.
My earliest recollection of Alhaji was wayback in 1993, in the beautiful city of Jos, where three political gladiators, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Chief Moshood Abiola had locked horns in a world heavyweight bout to decide who picks the Presidential ticket of the Social Democratic Party. I was barely 32/33 at that time but I was politically savvy and heavily inspired and motivated by my adopted father, Chief Moshood Abiola.
The SDP primary of that year remains unprecedented till this day. I will not bore you with details of the Convention that brought these juggernauts into a three horse race, which only one of them can, and must win. But there was a logjam and the only way a winner could have emerged was for one of them to step down and quit the race. This was a tough decision for all of them.
Alhaji Babagana Kingibe enjoyed the avuncular support of most of the SDP Governors. Alhaji Atiku had access to the extensive networks of his mentor Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. The Abiola team calculated well and smartly by reaching out to the godfather pronto. The incredible then happened. Without much ado, Alhaji stepped down and thus cleared the coast for the eventual victory of my adopted father, Chief Moshood Abiola. Since then, unknown to Alhaji Atiku, I have been his big fan. Alhaji did not throw tantrums or sulk endlessly like a baby. He did not seek to destroy their party. Not that he didn’t have enough reasons to be angry and bitter but he chose the path of uncommon equanimity and submitted himself to the immutable will of Allah at His appointed time.
What could have made matters worse, Alhaji Atiku failed to clinch the runningmate slot, against conventional wisdom of give and take. Again, Alhaji Atiku went back to his drawing board, and about his life peacefully without raining a tirade of insults against distinguished elders who have paid their dues to our country. Even when he had the opportunity to retaliate after the June 12 debacle, Alhaji followed a path of honor by supporting Chief Abiola, unconditionally, and for the revalidation of his mandate. Alhaji Atiku is not your common politician.
As fate would have it, he later contested the Governorship election in his home state and won. But before settling down to his Gubernatorial assignments, he was invited to be the Vice President to President Olusegun Obasanjo. He would soon become the most effective and influential Vice President ever in Nigeria. As the head of the economic team, he was able to attract and work with the best and brightest. The gentleman’s agreement was that he would Vice for the office of the President after one term, but again he was let down. He could have fought tooth and nail against his Boss, President Olusegun OBASANJO but he chose the path of absolute peace and patience. But his boss was unhappy that Alhaji and his friends ever challenged him. President OBASANJO went after them like bullets. And there were collateral damages here and there. Several of my friends in Alhaji’s office at the Presidential villa were summarily sacked.
I must confess that I have never seen a man like Alhaji before. He takes everything in his strides. Most politicians would have brought down the rooftops. His faith in Allah is unshakable. What should have been to his glory eventually became his albatross. But Allah compensated with extraordinary favor as a businessman. While his peers became parasites feeding fat on the State, Alhaji became King Midas and most businesses he touched turned to gold. Though he never abandoned his political dreams, he pursued his ambition with visionary clarity and painstaking discipline. He never engaged in violence. He rather invested unrelentingly in the rule of Law. Whenever he contested and he felt robbed of victory, he headed to the courts of the land. Many of his landmark cases have since enriched our jurisprudence and legal lexicon. He has remained a tireless fighter and defender of the rights of the common man.
It is a tragedy that such a man of sharp intellect and prodigious talents has been endlessly maligned in the name of politics.
It must be noted that many of our political icons had suffered similar persecution in the past. My sad conclusion is that when we refuse to encourage good people, the worst amongst us will continue to thrive.
I make bold to declare my maximum respect for ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR as a great man of ideas and ideals, a peacemaker, man of God, blessed family man, absolutely detribalised, very cosmopolitan, well educated, versatile, humble in spirit, unpretentious, experienced and exposed. He is without doubt a man of diversity and destiny. May Allah preserve him for the benefit of all us because in the days of tribulations, kids must run to the elders of the house. No one else is better prepared for this role at this auspicious moment.
Please, let’s all rise and give a standing ovation to a leader who has refused to give up on his goals…
Other speekers, who eulogized the celebrant in goodwill messages were former Adamawa Governor Jibrilla Bindow, Senator Ishaku Abbo, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani, Senator Abdulaziz Nyako and several others.
In his traditional soft-spoken nature, Atiku expressed gratitude to all attendees, with special appreciation to the organizers, and special mention of Prof. Ahmed Shehu (Pullo Jada) for their dedicated efforts to ensure the smooth sailing of the event.
THE MAN ATIKU ABUBAKAR
Below is brief history of the former Vice President as told by himself –
I was born on the 25th of November 1946 in Jada village, Adamawa State Like many of my generation, my father was opposed to Western education and tried to keep me out of school. When the government discovered this, my father spent a few days in jail. I was then enrolled in Jada primary school.
When I was only 11 years old, my father drowned and died while trying to cross a small river. The task of raising me then fell on my mother. At that age I resolved to work hard, remain focused and be successful in life to make my her proud. In 1960, I was admitted to Adamawa Provincial Secondary School in Yola.
Academically, I did well in English Language and Literature but I struggled with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. I spent most holidays working to earn extra money. In 1961, when I was 15 years old, my mother’s elder brother sold the family house in Jada without her knowledge and rendered us homeless. I spent that holiday working and from my earnings, I bought a house for my mother in Ganye. I became an orphan when my mother suffered a heart attack and died in 1984.
Post Secondary School
I graduated from secondary school in 1965. After that, I studied at the Nigeria Police College in Kaduna for a short while. I left when I was unable to present an O-Level Mathematics result. I worked briefly as a Tax Officer in the regional Ministry of Finance, from where I gained admission to the School of Hygiene in Kano in 1966.
I graduated with a Diploma in 1967, having served as Interim Student Union President at the School. In 1967 I enrolled for a Law Diploma at the Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration, on a scholarship from regional government. After graduation in 1969, I was employed by the Nigerian Customs Service.
Family
I met nineteen year old Titilayo Albert when I was serving at Idiroko, Lagos, and in December 1971 I married her secretly, because her family was initially opposed to the union. On 26 October 1972, Titi delivered a baby girl and we named her Fatima. Titi later gave birth to Adamu, Halima and Aminu.
In January 1979 I married Ladi Yakubu as my second wife. I wanted to expand the Abubakar family. I had no siblings and I felt extremely lonely as a child. I did not want my children to feel that way.
This is why I married more than one wife. My wives are my sisters, my friends, and my advisers and they complement one another. Ladi gave birth to Abba, Atiku, Zainab, Ummi-Hauwa, Maryam and Rukayatu.
In 1983 the late Lamido of Adamawa who had become like my father made me the Turaki of Adamawa. This position was usually reserved for one of the Emir’s favorite sons and was rarely given to non-royals like me. To ensure that I met the ‘blood tie’ requirement for the title, the Lamido gave me one of his daughters, Princess Rukaiyat, to marry.
She gave birth to Aisha, Hadiza, Aliyu, Asmau, Mustafa, Laila and Abdulsalam. I married Fatima Shettima in 1986. She gave birth to Amina (Meena), Mohammed and two sets of twins Ahmed and Shehu, Zainab and Aisha and then Hafsat. Jennifer Jamila Atiku-Abubakar is my last wife. She gave birth to Abdulmalik, Zara and my youngest child, Faisal.
Customs
My Customs career commenced on 30 June 1969. My first posting was at Idi-Iroko, a border town between Nigeria and Benin Republic. My other assignments included the Lagos Airport, Apapa Ports (1974), Ibadan Customs Command (1975), Kano Command (1976), Maiduguri (Area Comptroller, 1977), Kaduna (1980) and the Apapa Ports in 1982.
In April 1984, when I was the Murtala Muhammed Airport Area Administrator, my name was associated with a scandal that made headlines. As part of efforts to cripple corrupt politicians who had stashes of stolen cash in their possession, the new military government had phased out the old naira currency and replaced it with new ones. Orders had been given to ensure that all luggage entering the country was properly screened to prevent smuggling of the old notes. The Emir of Gwangu and Ambassador Dahiru Waziri had arrived from Saudi Arabia with many suitcases. As is customary, the suitcases were supposed to pass through Custom officers for check but the Emir’s son, who was a Major in the Army and also ADC to Head of State Gen Buhari drove straight to the Tarmac with soldiers, off-loaded the suitcases there, picked up his father and the Ambassador and drove away. The soldiers had threatened to shoot the Custom officers who had protested and tried to stop them. My officers reported in writing to me and I in turn reported the incidence to my boss, the Director of Customs. A few days later, one of the officers leaked the story to Guardian Newspapers and their correspondent called me to confirm if it was true. I did.
Soon after, Newspaper Headlines read, “Passenger with 53 suitcases leaves airport unchecked”. This scandal embarrassed the government and they tried to make me deny it happened. I refused and they threatened to throw me out of service. The Minister of Finance then, Soleye, who oversaw the Customs Service played a big role in ensuring I wasn’t dismissed. He had said it would be unfair to punish me for being honest and standing by my officers.
In 1987 I was promoted to Deputy Director of Customs and Excise in charge of Enforcement and Drugs. In April 1989, when I was 43, I voluntarily retired from Customs after 20 years of meritorious service.
Business
I’ve always had a good nose for business. In my early years as a Customs officer, I received a 31,000 naira Housing Loan, built a bungalow in Yola, and rented it out. With the rent I collected in advance, I bought a second plot and built another house. I continued building new houses with rent from completed ones and after a few years I had built 8 houses in choice areas in Yola. When I was transferred to Kaduna, I continued this process and in a few years I had 5 houses there.
In 1981, I moved into agriculture. I became the largest maize farmer in the whole of Gongola state. Unfortunately, due to Government policies that increased the cost of production, the business fell on hard times and closed in 1986.
The most successful business I ever ventured into was with Gabrielle Volpi, an Italian businessman. He intimated me about how profitable Oil and Gas Logistics business could be and, trusting his abilities, I partnered with him to form NICOTES which started operating from a container office at Apapa ports.
When the business began to grow, we relocated to Onne, Rivers State. The company, now known as INTELS (Integrated and Logistics Services) is a multi-billion naira company that has a staff of over 15,000 people and pays huge dividends to its shareholders. My other businesses include agriculture, feed making, plastics, printing, TV/radio media, and beverages.
Politics
I met Shehu Musa Yar’Adua towards the end of my Customs career. He invited me to the political meetings that were happening regularly in his Lagos home; and that was how my foray into politics began.
In 1989 the political meetings became Peoples Front of Nigeria and I was elected as the National Vice- Chairman.
We wish the Wazirin Adamawa a happy birthday, and many fruitful years ahead!
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News5 days agoJust In: Defence Minister Abubakar Badaru, Resigns, Tinubu Accepts
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USA4 days agoUS Lawmakers Meet Today over Reported Christian Genocide
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National4 days agoTinubu Names Immediate Past CDS Chris Musa As New Defence Minister
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Opinion3 days agoRedefining Self-leadership: Henry Ukazu As a Model