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Pendulum: Has APC Bewitched PDP or What? 

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By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, it is difficult for any keen observer of Nigerian politics not to reach the same conclusion with me, that the main opposition party, PDP, has been in a somnambulist state in the last six years. It has blatantly refused to take advantage of the failed Buhari Presidency and offer itself as a vibrant alternative and viable opposition to what has been a turgid even torrid and toxic government for Nigerians to deal with. I will explain comprehensively in this epistle why I have come to that logical conclusion.

As far back as 2018, I had reasonably concluded that APC was far worse, in government, than the PDP administration that it had cleverly and adroitly sacked from power by beguiling and mesmerising Nigerians with sweet words that had by 2018 led to little or no action. PDP had suffered almost irredeemably from the blistering propaganda attacks against its apparatchiks and certain colourful and powerful personages, in particular. Two things stood out in those poisonous campaigns of calumny mounted against the PDP by some of the best in the business; one, that PDP was the most corrupt political party in Africa and that some of its Ministers vamoosed with looted cash running into billions of dollars; two, that PDP lacked the capacity to tackle the abysmal security failure in the country and that only one Messiah, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, was the only saint left on earth to tackle both major weaknesses of the then PDP government. There was no doubt that most Nigerians bought into that superlative narrative as they trooped out en masse and expectantly to vote for the gentle and taciturn General.

However, as you know, if lies run upfront for 20 years, truth would catch up with it in just one day. APC had built a castle of spittle that was ever so brittle and only a mere dew would collapse it in no time. Many discerning Nigerians were quick to realize that they have been fooled by the new, but really only rebranded Party called the APC, .and taken on a flight of fancy. They were not different from the inconsolable preys of 419, victims of an abracadabra that makes it possible for someone to obtain huge sums from you, instalmentally and exponentially, by false pretence!

What you would have expected a serious political party to do upon losing the elections in the manner that they did was to quickly embark on a meticulous re-appraisal and reorganize its home in preparation for the next election. Instead, the Party seemed to have gone into total disarray. Its frontline men were suddenly abandoning a ship that was not really sinking but was only flailing in a turbulent sea. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of Nigeria’s politicians. The belief is that once you join the APC, the vaunted protector of anti-corruption, you would be safe notwithstanding the public stance. The aphorism is “sinners join the APC and have your sins wiped away and sin no more” even if seen to still be doing so. I am even of the opinion that if the ousted President Jonathan had had the guts to take on President Muhammadu Buhari in the same manner his good friend, former President John Dramani Mahama, did in Ghana, Nigeria would not have been thrown into what now seems to be a one-party state, today. He should have immediately become the leader of opposition who would rally his footsoldiers nationwide. This apparent lacuna in a strong and versatile leadership of the PDP inadvertently gave Buhari the power of life and death over us all. Despite this obvious fact, the PDP could still not paper over its divisions and close its ranks. Rather it continued to fight a war of attrition amongst its senior members. The air was stale and heavy with the bile of envy, jealousy and meanness.

In 2018, after I had finally given up on Buhari, I visited the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in Abuja and asked him a pertinent question? “Sir, don’t you think PDP has become a damaged brand and it may need urgent rebranding before the next election? No matter what you say, that name PDP would always evoke negative emotions in Nigerians, even if we now know that APC is much worse!” His response: “Dele, you’re very right, we need to rebrand PDP but there are serious challenges, more so, time is not on our side. A lot of resources have gone into producing souvenirs and such items…” That sounded reasonable but of course, I was not totally convinced. It was at that point that it physically dawned on me that we were living in a failed State and that we are all doomed. There was clearly no opposition worth mentioning in existence. It was indeed a great joke, but we still had to support the candidate thrown up by the PDP because the choice of the Party in power seemed anathema to us. Giving the huge failings we had seen by then and our prognosis of what the future entailed, it was clear that an unfocussed PDP was still better than a tried and tested APC Government that had shown itself as an expert in maladministration, graft, insecurity, nepotism, bigotry and anarchy. Notwithstanding our stance as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, the APC crushed the PDP in obviously manipulated elections. This was made possible because the PDP had simply gone AWOL (absent without Leave)…

But what happened after the 2019 elections when a failed political party still won the elections? It was more of the same. PDP has simply not gotten its act together. Instead, the petty squabbles have increased and there is no clear leadership path in the Party Secretariat. I wonder!  Should it not have occurred to PDP that it needed to undertake major surgical procedures in order to stay alive. Rather, the Party simply went into deeper slumber, sleeping and snoring.                       .

The PDP even failed to correct some of the exaggerated and preposterous allegations and indictments against its prominent members and officials. How come APC has not found it necessary to prosecute any alleged major culprit of the previous government? If APC knew those who stole billions of dollars, how come it has not attempted to abduct and crate them (a la Umaru Dikko) back to Nigeria to face justice instead of borrowing recklessly from the Chinese banks to plug the gaping financial hole that the APC government has sunk us into? At least we now know that this level of perfidy and crudeness is not beyond this government in the light of the Nnamdi Kanu debacle and the detention of the Igbo freedom fighter. The story of Chief Sunday Igboho Adeyemo is not too different.

In my view, PDP has bungled many chances because of its docile nature and tepid leadership. Everything is wrong with the country and yet we do not see any bright spark from the PDP.  It is so painful.

Our economy is in tatters. The Naira has gone totally South. The President’s apparition of a country with its currency at almost parity with the US Dollar has been revealed as being exactly that, an apparition for the President, and a continuing nightmare for the citizenry forced to endure rates never before experienced for any sustained period. And we are told, by those who should know, that this is just the beginning.

The country is constantly plunged into darkness. The promises by our Ministers in charge of Power, that this would be a thing of the past within a short period of the assumption into office by the government in each of its two terms, has proven to be a mirage. There is no solution in sight. On the contrary the country seems to adopt half-baked policies which are badly implemented to solve what others have found to be a basic problem that does not need rocket science solutions. We must simply brace up for greater darkness. It is probably a fitting epithet to this Government, which prided itself as the Party of light, that gloom, darkness and doom abounds and follows it around.

Corruption has gripped the nation by the jugular. The very fabric of government and its appurtenances is woven up in a web of deceit, lack of integrity and astonishing and amazing corrupt practices that make the antics of previous governments pilloried and crucified for their corruption as mere child’s play. We  have simply never had it so bad. It is unbelievable and mind boggling.

Insecurity has become a cancer eating voraciously and rapidly at the very heart and soul of the nation. It is not just tolerated by the government; it is being festered and fostered by it. Bandits, hoodlums and terrorists hold sway all over the land. They control and command significant territories, particularly in Northern Nigeria. People are afraid of their well-being. There is not much they can do, except hope and pray. Recourse to prayer is becoming unfashionable because the problems seem to be growing in leaps and bounds rather than them abating. Our Pastors, Imams, Alfas and Marabouts are definitely getting it violently wrong, or we are fast becoming an accursed nation with the very worst devils springing from the pits of hell to come and torment, torture and traumatise us.

Nepotism, parochialism, bigotry and ethnicity have become the order of the day. The President seems to favour one part of the country at the expense of all the other parts. They are so far in the ascendancy and believe in their invincibility because they have their patron in power.

To top it all, it is a fact that if you remove Buhari from APC, the Party will fall yakata and smash into smithereens. And inexorably, the time constitutionally appointed to vote the new President draws nearer and nearer. One would have thought that an efficient opposition Party would realise this fact, and coupled with the gargantuan challenges currently facing the country, they would seize the moment, seize the initiative and drive the APC out of power. What do I see instead, indolence and inaction? This grieves my spirit because it means there’s virtually no hope for the country, if we allow a one party State to ultimately emerge!

No other opposition party currently has the structure, experience and exposure to take on the APC behemoth apart from the PDP. I have told many of my friends who are still nursing Presidential ambition that they should all gather in the two mainstream Parties or perish the thought completely. PDP remains formidable and potent if it allows itself to be well organised and well drilled.

Politics is a game of money and PDP controls some of the richest and most viable states in Nigeria. They are Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa and a few others. But for Rivers and Lagos in 2015, it would have been most difficult for Buhari to win on his fourth attempt. PDP still possesses the magic wand to produce the next President, if Nigeria remains intact by then, and the hawks of power do not succeed with their selfish rascality and dangerous plans.

In order to regain power from an obviously desperate APC that is hell bent on retaining power, PDP must rebrand urgently, change its name, attract younger folks and all those already disenfranchised, solidify its base in the South East, South South and grab a substantial chunk of South West. It already has some serious footholds in the North Central as well as North West and North East. If the next election holds, it is unlikely that APC would be able to replicate a Buhari phenomenon again. PDP should jazz up its game by changing its tactics and becoming more serious. At the moment it does not appear that the Party or its members have faith in themselves. They appear to be stumbling along and are happy to accept whatever PDP dictates to them. ImI’m yet to see any evidence of panic and needful reactions as APC countinues the onslaught of poaching more and more of PDP members.

Part of the necessary rebranding would be for PDP to begin to showcase the amazing performances of its Governors. Most people agree today that the PDP states are performing far better than the Federal Government and its allied states. States such as Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Oyo have become poster boards for the party. If PDP decides to stick to its old ways and refuses to be more audaciously creative, they should forget coming back to power soon.

I will urge those who do not like PDP to also try and proliferate APC. We should stop dissipating our energies and resources on new political parties. It is obvious that Nigeria is not ready for more than two major parties at the moment.

As for APC, all is not lost. It can still drag itself away from the precipice of defeat, It needs to consolidate on the strong talents and brains it has in the current government, starting from the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. The Party must retrace its steps and abandon the path to destruction and oblivion on which it has currently firmly placed itself and the country. It must eschew sectionalism, ethnicity and tribalism. It must act equitably, fairly and judiciously in the spread of appointments. It must be seen not to deploy favouritism and bias as its hallmark and handiwork. By doing that, it would also engage the cankerworm of insecurity and begin to win the war against bandits, terrorists and insurrection.

For me, it is not about which Party eventually wins the coveted prize. No, it must always be about which Party is best for our country at any particular time. Which party offers the array of talent that can take us from the age of backwardness to the technological age of hope and prosperity. Nigeria is too blessed to be controlled endlessly by its dregs. For too long now, we have been largely ruled by mediocres. Both PDP and APC have a chance to stop the rot and field the best. From this, only the nation and our dear pulverised and pummelled citizens can be the beneficiaries. I align with the recent thoughts and postulations of former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida on this sentiment. We all must learn useful lessons from the past and make necessary changes urgently.

If the PDP assumes its proper role and status, as the conscience and critic of the ruling Party, we will see tremendous improvement in both Parties and in the governance of our great country.

Let’s hope, it is not all a mirage…

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Pendulum: Why I Have Faith in the Supreme Court

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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…

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Pendulum: The Truth Tinubu Must Be Told

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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.

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

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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

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