Opinion

The Oracle: Different People, Different Forms of Government (Pt. 20)

Published

4 years ago

November 12, 2021

Eric

By Chief Mike Ozekhome

INTRODUCTION

Nepotism means favoritism that is granted to relatives in various fields, including business, politics, entertainment, sports, religion and other activities. The term originated with the assignment of nephews to important positions by Catholic popes and bishops.

ORIGIN OF NEPOTISM
The term comes from Italian word nepotismo, which is based on Latin root nepos meaning nephew. Since the Middle Ages and until the late 17th century, some Catholic popes and bishops – who had taken vows of chastity and, therefore, usually had no legitimate offspring of their own – gave their nephews such positions of preference as were often accorded by fathers to sons.
Several popes elevated nephews and other relatives to the cardinalate. Often, such appointments were a means of continuing a papal “dynasty”. For instance, Pope Callixtus III, Head of the Borgia family, made two of his nephews cardinals; one of them, Rodrigo, later used his position as a Cardinal as a stepping stone to the papacy, becoming Pope Alexander VI. Alexander then elevated Alessandro Farnese, his mistress’s brother, to cardinal; Farnese would later go on to become Pope Paul III.

POLITICAL
Nepotism is a common accusation in politics when the relative of a powerful figure ascends to similar power seemingly without appropriate qualifications.

EXAMPLES OF NEPOTIC COUNTRIES

AUSTRALIA

Anna Bligh, who won the 2009 Queensland State election, has been accused of nepotism by giving her husband Greg Withers a position as the Office of Climate Change head.

Shortly after his appointment as the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney in 2001, Peter Jensen was accused, in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation interview, of nepotism after nominating his brother Phillip Jensen as Dean of Sydney and appointing his wife Christine Jensen to an official position in the Sydney diocese.

GREECE
In Greece it is common practice for family members of current or former party leaders to be party members and get appointed as Ministers when the party is in government. In addition, there have been 3 Prime Ministers from the Papandreou family, 2 from the Mitsotakis family (1 currently serving), 2 from the Karamanlis family (a 3rd one is currently serving as Minister of transportation).

AZERBAIJAN
On 21 February, 2017, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife Mehriban Aliyeva to be Vice President of Azerbaijan.

BELGIUM
Over the past decade, criticism has been growing over the creation of political dynasties in Belgium, in which all of the traditional political parties have been involved. This phenomenon has been explained by the fact that prominent party members control the ranking of candidates on party lists for elections and a candidate’s place on a list determines whether or not he or she is elected.

CAMBODIA
Prime Minister Hun Sen and senior members of Parliament, are also known for their hand in getting family members into government positions. In the 2013, Cambodian parliamentary elections, at least eight candidates standing in the July election were sons of high-ranking Cambodian People’s Party officials. All ruling party sons lost, but were appointed into high government positions.

CHINA
For the past 3,000 years, nepotism has been common in China’s clan and extended family based culture. Confucius wrote about the importance of balancing “filial piety with merit”. The clan-based feudal system collapsed during Confucius’ lifetime, yet nepotism has continued through the modern age.

FRANCE
In October, 2009, Jean Sarkozy, the second son of the President of the French Republic Nicolas Sarkozy, was poised to become the director of the major EPAD authority despite lacking any higher education degree and professional experience. In 2008, he was voted regional Councilor of Neuilly-Sur-Seine, the town of which his father had previously been mayor.

INDIA
Corruption goes hand in hand with nepotism in India. It goes on in government and private jobs both. Nepotism is common in politics, judiciary, business and in the film industry. It goes on even in religious circles, arts, industry, and other types of organizations. Many members of Parliament and various Legislative Assemblies have a generations-long legacy of nepotic allocation of constituencies to their relatives. Many judges and advocates of the High courts and the Supreme Court are alleged to be appointed by exercising casteism, nepotism and favouritism, primarily because the Supreme Court and the High Courts uses a non-transparent undemocratic appointment process called Collegium which recommends to the President, in a legally binding manner, the names of judges to be appointed or promoted to the higher judiciary.

MAURITIUS
Since the first democratic elections of 1948 and subsequent elections the field of politics has been marked by a handful of families who have controlled the four major political parties which exist to this day.

Following the electoral defeat of the Labour Party in 2014 ex-Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam was arrested on suspicions of money laundering and conspiracy. A police raid of his house exposed several safes containing brand new bank notes to the value of Rs 220 Million rupees, exclusive credit cards and prescription medication tablets. His girlfriend Nandanee Oogarah-Soornack, accompanied by the ex-Prime Minister’s daughter Xara, had escaped Mauritius to her castle in Parmes, Italy a day before the proclamation of election results with an estimated Rs 800 Million rupees.

ROMANIA

Romania Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu’s family members “dominated” the country for decades. Elena Băsescu, the daughter of President Traian Băsescu, was elected in 2009, to the European Parliament, despite the fact that she had no significant professional or political experience.

SINGAPORE
Singapore’s government has been the target of numerous charges of nepotism, with several members of the Prime Minister’s family holding high posts. The family members dispute the charges as they arise.

SPAIN
Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, son of Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1980 to 2001, has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2001, and his daughter, Maria Teresa Samaranch Salisachs, has been president of the Spanish Federation of Sports on Ice since 2005.
Nepotism occurred in Spanish Colonial America when offices were given to family members.

SRI LANKA
Former President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been accused of nepotism, appointing three brothers to run important ministries and giving out other political positions to relatives, regardless of their merit. During his presidency, the Rajapaksa family held the Ministries of Finance, Defence, Ports and Aviation, and highways and road development. The president’s brother, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, was given the post of Defence Secretary. He also controlled the Armed Forces, the Police and the Coast Guard, and was responsible for immigration and emigration. Rajapaksa appointed his brother Basil Rajapaksa as minister of Economic Development. Together, the Rajapaksa brothers controlled over 70% of Sri Lanka’s public budget. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s eldest brother, Chamal Rajapaksa, was appointed as the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, and has held many other posts before, while his eldest son, Namal Rajapaksa, is also a member of the parliament and holds undisclosed portfolios.

UNITED KINGDOM
The Marquess of Salisbury, who was Prime Minister for three separate occasions from 1885-1902 for a total of approximately 14 years, appointed his nephew Arthur Balfour as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1887 and later as Prime Minister in 1902. This is supposedly the origin of the phrase Bob’s Your Uncle.
In February, 2010, Sir Christopher Kelly, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said that more than 200 MPs used Parliamentary allowances to employ their own relatives in a variety of office roles. He suggested that the practice should be banned.

In 2005, Councillor Ann Reid of York arranged for all nine sets of traffic lights on her daughter Hannah’s wedding route through York to be switched to green for the five-car convoy. As a result, the wedding party took only 10 minutes to pass through the city.

North Yorkshire Police’s Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell was disciplined by the IPCC in 2011, but refused to resign, after admitting that he assisted a relative through the first stages of a recruitment process.

Many Northern Irish politicians employ family members. In 2008, 19 elected politicians of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) directly employed family members and relatives constituted 27 of its 136 staff.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Palm Beach County, Florida schools reinforced nepotism rules as of 2012 to ensure an “equitable work environment”.

In December, 2012, a report from the Washington Post indicated various nepotism practices from the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia’s Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), including one family with five members working for the MWAA. One of the reasons given by the associate General Counsel to defend the alleged nepotism was if the employees are qualified and competed for the positions on their own, I don’t see a problem with relatives working in the same organization. The Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Congress pressured the MWAA to resolve practices of nepotism. Authority employees are no longer allowed to directly or indirectly influence hiring or promotion of relatives, as documented in their ethics policy.
John F. Kennedy made his brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General.

In 1979, Bill Clinton, within weeks of being newly elected as Governor of Arkansas, appointed his wife Hillary to chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee. In 1993, newly elected as President of the United States, he again appointed his wife to chair a Task Force on National Health Care Reform. In 2013, Bill appointed his daughter Chelsea a member of the governing board of the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative.

In 2017, President Donald Trump appointed both his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his daughter Ivanka (married to Kushner) into advisory roles to the President. Neither Jared nor Ivanka take a salary, and “advisor” is not an official tax-paid government employee position. In 2020, President Donald Trump appointed his son Eric Trump’s brother-in-law, 35-year-old Kyle Yunaska, to the position of NASA Deputy Chief of Staff. Yunaska holds an MBA (2009) and a 2007 Bachelor of Science in Management and Physics, both from East Carolina University, where he was a cross-country competitor. Yunaska is a paid government employee.

Current (since 1995) US court rulings have held that the White House itself does not constitute an “agency” for the purposes of adhering to existing anti-nepotism laws on the books.

VENEZUELA
Nepotism is known to be practiced by President of the Venezuela National Assembly, Cilia Flores. Nine positions in the National Assembly were filled by Flores’ family members, including a mother-in-law, aunt, 3 siblings, a cousin and her mother, and 2 nephews.

ZIMBABWE
The late Robert Mugabe was reported to be preparing his wife Grace Mugabe to be the next president of Zimbabwe while he was president.[101] Vice President Joice Mujuru was previously considered to be the favored successor to Mugabe.

FUN TIMES
There are two sides to every coin. Life itself contains not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly. Let us now explore these.

“You dey buy pepper soup for who wan give you blow job. You get sense so?”.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“Everybody gets everything handed to them. The rich inherit it. I don’t mean just inheritance of money. I mean what people take for granted among the middle and upper classes, which is nepotism, the old-boy network”. (Toni Morrison).

Opinion

How Dr. Fatima Ibrahim Hamza (PT, mNSP) Became Kano’s Healthcare Star and a Model for African Women in Leadership

Published

2 days ago

December 6, 2025

Eric

By Dr. Sani Sa’idu Baba

My dear country men and women, over the years, I have been opportune to watch numerous speeches delivered by outstanding women shaping the global health sector especially those within Africa. Back home, I have also listened to towering figures like Dr. Hadiza Galadanci, the renowned O&G consultant whose passion for healthcare reform continues to inspire many. Even more closer home, there is Dr. Fatima Ibrahim Hamza, my classmate and colleague. Anyone who knew her from the beginning would remember a hardworking young woman who left no stone unturned in her pursuit of excellence. Today, she stands tall as one of the most powerful illustrations of what African women in leadership can achieve when brilliance, discipline, and integrity are brought together.

Before I dwell into the main business for this week, let me make this serious confession. If you are a regular traveler within Nigeria like myself, especially in the last two years, you will agree that no state currently matches Kano in healthcare delivery and institutional sophistication. This transformation is not accidental. It is the result of a coordinated, disciplined, and visionary ecosystem of leadership enabled by Kano State Governor, Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf. From the strategic drive of the Hospitals Management Board under the meticulous leadership of Dr. Mansur Nagoda, to the policy direction and oversight provided by the Ministry of Health led by the ever committed Dr. Abubakar Labaran, and the groundbreaking reforms championed by the Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board under the highly cerebral Professor Salisu Ahmed Ibrahim, the former Private Health Institution Management Agency (PHIMA) boss, a man who embodies competence, hard work, honesty, and principle, the progress of Kano’s health sector becomes easy to understand. With such a strong leadership backbone, it is no surprise that individuals like Dr. Fatima Ibrahim Hamza is thriving and redefining what effective healthcare leadership looks like in Nigeria.

Across the world, from top medical institutions to global leadership arenas, one truth echoes unmistakably: when women lead with vision, systems transform. Their leadership is rarely about theatrics or force; it is about empathy, innovation, discipline, and a capacity to drive change from the inside out. Kano State has, in recent years, witnessed this truth firsthand through the extraordinary work of Dr. Fatima at Sheikh Muhammad Jidda General Hospital.

In less than 2 years, Dr. Fatima has emerged as a phenomenon within Kano’s healthcare landscape. As the youngest hospital director in the state, she has demonstrated a style of leadership that mirrors the excellence seen in celebrated female leaders worldwide, women who inspire not by occupying space, but by redefining it. Her performance has earned her two high level commendations. First, a recognition by the Head of Service following a rigorous independent assessment of her achievements, and more recently, a formal commendation letter from the Hospitals Management Board acknowledging her professionalism, discipline, and transformative impact.

These acknowledgements are far more than administrative gestures, they place her in the company of women leaders whose influence reshaped nations: New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern with her empathy driven governance, Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with her courageous reforms, and Germany’s Angela Merkel with her disciplined, steady leadership. Dr. Fatima belongs to this esteemed lineage of women who do not wait for change, they create it.

What sets her apart is her ability to merge vision with structure, compassion with competence, and humility with bold ambition. Staff members describe her as firm yet accessible, warm yet uncompromising on standards, traits that embody the modern leadership model the world is steadily embracing. Under her stewardship, Sheikh Jidda General Hospital has transformed from a routine public facility into an institution of possibility, demonstrating what happens when a capable woman is given the opportunity to lead without constraint.

The recent commendation letter from the Hospitals Management Board captures this evolution clearly: “Dr. Fatima has strengthened administrative coordination, improved patient care, elevated professional standards, and fostered a hospital environment where excellence has become the norm rather than the exception”. These outcomes are remarkable in a system that often battles bureaucratic bottlenecks and infrastructural limitations. Her work is proof that effective leadership especially in health must be visionary, intentional, and rooted in integrity.

In a period when global discourse places increasing emphasis on the importance of women in leadership particularly in healthcare, Dr. Fatima stands as a living testament to what is possible. She has demonstrated that leadership is never about gender, but capacity, clarity of purpose, and the willingness to serve with unwavering commitment.

Her rise sends a powerful message to young girls across Nigeria and Africa: that excellence has no gender boundaries. It is a call to institutions to trust and empower competent women. And it is a reminder to society that progress accelerates when leadership is guided by competence rather than stereotypes.

As Kano continues its journey toward comprehensive healthcare reform, Dr. Fatima represents a new chapter, one where leadership is defined not by age or gender, but by impact, innovation, and measurable progress. She is, without question, one of the most compelling examples of modern African women in leadership today.

May her story continue to enlighten, inspire, and redefine what African women can, and will achieve when given the opportunity to lead.

Dr. Baba writes from Kano, and can be reached via drssbaba@yahoo.com

Opinion

Book Review: Against the Odds by Dozy Mmobuosi

Published

4 days ago

December 4, 2025

Eric

By Sola Ojewusi

Against the Odds is an ambitious, deeply personal, and unflinchingly honest memoir that traces the remarkable rise of Dozy Mmobuosi, one of Nigeria’s most dynamic and controversial entrepreneurs. In this sweeping narrative, Mmobuosi reveals not just the public milestones of his career, but the intimate struggles, internal battles, and defining moments that shaped his identity and worldview.

The book is both a personal testimony and a broader commentary on leadership, innovation, and Africa’s future—and it succeeds in balancing these worlds with surprising emotional clarity.

A Candid Portrait of Beginnings

Mmobuosi’s story begins in the bustling, unpredictable ecosystem of Lagos, where early challenges served as the furnace that forged his ambitions. The memoir details the circumstances of his upbringing, the value systems passed down from family, and the early encounters that sparked his desire to build solutions at scale.

These foundational chapters do important work: they humanize the protagonist. Readers meet a young Dozy not as a business figurehead, but as a Nigerian navigating complex social, financial, and personal realities—realities that millions of Africans will find familiar.

The Making of an Entrepreneur

As the narrative progresses, the memoir transitions into the defining phase of Mmobuosi’s business evolution. Here, he walks readers through the origins of his earliest ventures and the relentless curiosity that led him to operate across multiple industries—fintech, agri-tech, telecoms, AI, healthcare, consumer goods, and beyond.

What is striking is the pattern of calculated risk-taking. Mmobuosi positions himself as someone unafraid to venture into uncharted territory, even when the cost of failure is steep. His explanations offer readers valuable insights into:
• market intuition
• the psychology of entrepreneurship
• the sacrifices required to build at scale
• the emotional and operational toll of high-growth ventures

These passages make the book not only readable but instructive—especially for emerging

African entrepreneurs.

Triumphs, Crises, and Public Scrutiny
One of the book’s most compelling strengths is its willingness to confront controversy head-on.

Mmobuosi addresses periods of intense scrutiny, institutional pressure, and personal trials.

Instead of glossing over these chapters, he uses them to illustrate the complexities of building businesses in emerging markets and navigating public perception.

The tone is reflective rather than defensive, inviting readers to consider the thin line between innovation and misunderstanding in environments where the rules are still being written.

This vulnerability is where the memoir finds its emotional resonance.

A Vision for Africa

Beyond personal history, Against the Odds expands into a passionate manifesto for African transformation. Mmobuosi articulates a vision of a continent whose young population, natural resources, and intellectual capital position it not as a follower, but a potential leader in global innovation.

He challenges outdated narratives about Africa’s dependency, instead advocating for
homegrown technology, supply chain sovereignty, inclusive economic systems, and investment in human capital.

For development strategists, policymakers, and visionaries, these sections elevate the work from memoir to thought leadership.

The Writing: Accessible, Engaging, and Purposeful

Stylistically, the memoir is direct and approachable. Mmobuosi writes with clarity and intention, blending storytelling with reflection in a way that keeps the momentum steady. The pacing is effective: the book moves seamlessly from personal anecdotes to business lessons, from introspection to bold declarations.

Despite its business-heavy subject matter, the prose remains accessible to everyday readers.

The emotional honesty, in particular, will appeal to those who appreciate memoirs that feel lived rather than curated.

Why This Book Matters

Against the Odds arrives at a critical moment for Africa’s socioeconomic trajectory. As global attention shifts toward African innovation, the need for authentic narratives from those building within the system becomes essential.

Mmobuosi’s memoir offers:
• a case study in resilience
• an insider’s perspective on entrepreneurship in frontier markets
• a meditation on reputation, legacy, and leadership
• a rallying cry for African ambition

For readers like Sola Ojewusi, whose work intersects with media, policy, leadership, and social development, this book offers profound insight into the human stories driving Africa’s new generation of builders.

Final Verdict

Against the Odds is more than a success story—it is a layered, introspective, and timely work that captures the pressures and possibilities of modern African enterprise. It challenges stereotypes, raises important questions about leadership and impact, and ultimately delivers a narrative of persistence that audiences across the world will find relatable.

It is an essential read for anyone interested in the future of African innovation, the personal realities behind public leadership, and the enduring power of vision and resilience

Opinion

Redefining Self-leadership: Henry Ukazu As a Model

Published

5 days ago

December 3, 2025

Eric

By Abdulakeem Sodeeq SULYMAN

In a world filled with talents and unique gifts, nurturing oneself for an impact-filled living becomes one of the potent metrics for assuming how one’s life would unfold – either in the nearest or far future. I am sure the question you may be curious to ask is ‘what is the important quality that has shaped the life of every individual who has unleashed their ingenuity?’ Apparently, our society is filled with numerous people, who missed the track of their life. Their iniquity is boiled down to one thing – failure to lead oneself.

Realising how important it is to be your own leader has been the springboard for every transformative life. Notably, this also becomes the premise for appreciating and celebrating Henry Ukazu for setting the pace and modeling self-leadership in this era, where self-leadership is under-appreciated by our people. Self-leadership itself engineers purposeful and impactful living, turning individuals to sources of hope to others.

This is exactly what Henry Ukazu symbolises. The name Henry Ukazu is akin to many great things such as ‘Unleashing One’s Destiny,’ ‘Finding One’s Purpose’ and ‘Triumphant Living.’ Regardless of the impression one have formed about Henry Ukazu, one thing you cannot deny is his ability to be pure to nature and committed to his cause. Henry Ukazu is one of the rare people who still believed in the values of the human worth and has committed every penny of his to ensure that every human deserves to live the best life.

The trajectory of Henry Ukazu’s life is convincing enough to be choosing as an icon by anyone who chooses to climb the ladder of self-leadership. Oftentimes, Henry Ukazu always narrate how he faced the storms of life when birthing his purpose. He takes honour in his struggles, knowing full well that every stumbling blocks life throws at him helped in building himself. If not for self-leadership, he will not found honours in his struggles, let alone challenging himself to be an example of purposeful living to others.

Without mincing words, Henry Ukazu’s life has been blessed with the presence of many people, with some filling his life with disappointments, while some blessing him with immeasurable transformations. Surprisingly, Henry Ukazu has never chosen to be treating people negatively; rather he would only choose the path of honour by avoiding drama and let common sense prevail. That’s one of the height of simplicity!

Dear readers, do you know why today is important for celebrating Henry Ukazu? Today, 3rd December, is his birthday and with all sincerity, Henry Ukazu deserves to be celebrated because he has chosen the noble path, one filled with honours and recognitions for being an icon of inspiration and transformation to the mankind. As Henry Ukazu marks another year today, may the good Lord continue shielding him from all evils and guiding him in right directions, where posterity will feel his role and impacts!

Many happy returns, Sir!