Opinion
ADIEU MAMA CHRISTIANAH IBIRONKE OSHUNTOLA, CLASSIC “IYANIWURA”
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*By Tunde Olusunle*
Except you have the luxury of a precursor from your family, or you previously cultivated concrete amities, residential accommodation for a new employee deployed to work in Lagos can be a palpable challenge. I was recruited by the primordial Daily Times of Nigeria Plc in 1990 when Yemi Ogunbiyi, the charismatic, visionary and stamina-imbued former university scholar was chief executive of the organisation. My letter of employment was dated April 1990 but didn’t get to me until four months later. Even at that I had every cause to be thankful that it finally came. What if it got missing in the hands of the Nigerian Postal Service, (NIPOST) as was very plausible under the organisation’s virtual monopoly of mail distribution and courier services those days? I couldn’t wait to disengage from the services of the Kwara State government under which I had served in the four preceding years as a graduate teacher. So, Lagos, here I come!
I was a quasi-nomad during the first few months of resumption at the Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos complex of the erstwhile Daily Times. I stayed with a cousin in *Idi-Araba* and subsequently with Gbenga Ayeni my classmate and brother from our first day in the university who was already settled in the Daily Times. He was in the Lagos bureau of the London-based *West Africa* magazine which was owned by the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc. Such was the foresight of the iconic Babatunde Jose, first indigenous chief executive of the Daily Times octopus. I remember asking Ayeni during one of our exchanges whether the organisation was not bothered about the welfare of its personnel. Cruelly but matter-of-factly, he told me that so long as I diligently filed your copies, it wouldn’t matter to the newspaper behemoth whether I slept beneath Lagos bridges!
I reached out to my father in Ilorin who once told me he had a friend and former colleague in Lagos. My father had worked with Livestock Feeds Ltd which was a subsidiary of Pfizer Nigeria Ltd, from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. He was variously manager at the Kaduna and Benin City plants. Within the period, he had met Pastor Femi Oshuntola and both men developed a close relationship. They had both retired and settled variously in Ilorin and Lagos. I couldn’t continue living in Lagos like a *Fulani* herdsman so my father graciously gave me a note to his friend in Lagos and asked me to locate his friend.
I traced Baba Oshuntola’s place in Ifako-Ijaiye one of those evenings. Fortuitously, I met him. I introduced myself and handed over the note from my father to him. He pored through the correspondence and shook hands with me. He immediately called out to Mama Oshuntola his wife, introduced me and handed me over to her. The “handing over ceremony” had barely been completed when Mama called Jide and Bankole the two boys in the family. “He is your elder brother,” Mama told them. “He is the son of one of your father’s very close friends and works with the Daily Times. He will stay in your room for as long as he is with us so please tidy up the place and make it available.” And that was how I was taken in and integrated into the Oshuntola family. I participated in the daily family morning devotions and attended the Foursquare Gospel Church which was the family’s denomination.
As media practitioners our official schedules can be unpredictable. Technology was not as advanced those days as different from the pampering it has availed us in today’s world where we can do almost everything with our handheld devices. As a reporter or writer, you had to physically go after the story, interview your subjects and attend events from which you could derive your reports or essays. You wrote in longhand, secretaries in the newsrooms typed your copies, you proofread them, and in some instances you planned the pages as part of the newspaper production process. The open-ended process ensured you couldn’t place your hands on a specific closing time from work. As a young man, I also sat out with friends from time to time to have a few drinks and also take in some culinary ancillaries. The Oshuntolas understood my situation very well and never for once did they chastise me or lock me out. Rather, Mama’s worry would be about if I had had a meal all day or not.
My wife, Funmi and I were still in courtship and she worked with “CSS Bookshop Press” in Lagos. I introduced her to the Oshuntolas and she was wholly and totally embraced. She was accredited to Mama Oshuntola’s kitchen and she took turns with the ladies in the family at the time, Yemisi, Bunmi and Opeyemi to prepare meals for the family. A trained and retired nurse like my own mother, Mama Oshuntola operated the “Golden Mother Clinic and Maternity Centre” within the complex of the family house which was established in 1985. It remains the go-to medical facility in the Ifako-Ijaiye district on account of its uncompromising professionalism. To be sure, the very first child with which my family was blessed, was born into Mama Oshuntola’s arms! I was out there chasing what to write about when my wife fell into labour. By this time we had secured an apartment a whistling distance from the Oshuntolas. Once they got to know that my wife was feeling the pangs of birth, Baba Oshuntola quickly drove to our home to pick up my wife. Such unparalleled affection by the Oshuntola clan.
The good news was conveyed to me via land telephone which was the vogue those days while I was attending a meeting of the editorial board in Daily Times. I promptly obtained permission to go see my folks. I went straight to Mama Oshuntola’s office on arrival to thank her for her motherly kindness. She referred me straightaway to the private ward my wife and newborn were. “Go to that room,” she ordered, “Greet your wife and kiss her, take the baby in your arms and pray together as a blessed family.” If that was touching, then wait for the next. After complying with her guidance I returned to her office to ask for our bill. “You have no bill to settle,” she shocked me. “But quickly get across to your mother in Ilorin and your mother-in-law in Ibadan. Mother and child remain under my watch until I see one of the grandmas.” That was how conscientiously motherly, how generous in spirit she was.
On one of my cross-country tours prospecting for business opportunities, I experienced more bowel movements than normal. My driver had to pull over from the road on many occasions. I had a message to deliver to the Oshuntolas as I got into Lagos on that occasion so their residence was my first port of call and I planned to proceed to the hotel thereafter. I was welcomed by Mama Oshuntola who promptly took me to her office. “You look dehydrated, pale and fatigued,” she said as she checked my vitals. I told her my experience on the trip. Unknown to me, I was suffering from food poisoning. She summoned one of the senior hospital staff and I was taken to a VIP ward. My wrist watch and telephone were taken and handed over to Bankole as a drip was set up for me. I was monitored all through the night. That is the classic Mama Oshuntola.
Christianah Ibironke Oshuntola (nee Odeneye) was born on new year’s day, January 1, 1946 in Ijebu-Awa, Ijebu-Igbo local government area of Ogun State. She had her foundational education in primary and secondary schools in her home community. She was briefly a teacher in Aperin near Ibadan before crossing over to the Catholic Hospital, Oke-Agbo, Ijebu-Igbo as an auxiliary nurse in 1963. Committed to the pursuit of her dream nursing career, she attended the Nursing School in Eleiyele, Ibadan and completed her practical training at the Ijebu-Igbo General Hospital. Upon qualifying as a nurse and duly certificated, she worked at the Ikeja General Hospital, Lagos, between 1969 and 1970. She proceeded to the Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos for her midwifery training from 1970 to 1971.
She obtained a one-year “out-station” experience at the Ejirin Health Centre, Epe and returned to the General Hospital, Ikeja in 1972 and stayed on till 1979. Mama Oshuntola desired to impact her community with her knowledge and experience in healthcare provision. The Ifako-Ijaiye area was just developing and the visionary Mama Oshuntola reckoned that residents of the emergent district could do with proximal medical facilities as against more distant ones. For six years beginning from 1979 therefore, she garnered requisite insights in managing a private health concern by working at County Hospital, Ogba, Ikeja. In March 1985, her dream for a self-owned clinic came to fruition with the setting up of “Golden Mother Clinic and Maternity.” That name is the authentication of who she truly was, a mother with a heart of gold. The outfit will be 40 years in 2025.
Mama got wedded to Pastor Olufemi Oshuntola in 1966 and the union has been blessed with five children and many grandchildren, biological and adopted. Baba Oshuntola passed in 2013 and was interned in Oyo his hometown in Oyo State. Mama Oshuntola was as diligent in service to God as she was in her profession as a lifesaver. She was well-known at the local, zonal and district levels of the Foursquare Gospel Church. She was President of the Foursquare Women International, (FWI) for six years and was ordained a “Deaconess” for her good works. She was further promoted to the rank of “Elder” as she ascended higher leadership levels in the mission. Within her local community, Mama Oshuntola was President of the “Ifako Progressive Union,” (IPU) for 10 years.
Mama turned 78 on Monday January 1, 2024 and passed on a few weeks later. Her rites of passage have been scheduled for Thursday March 21 and Friday March 22, 2024 in Lagos. She was an incredibly generous, affectionate and inspirational matriarch. We will all miss her warmth, candour and earthiness. May her soul rest in the bosom of the Lord.
*Tunde Olusunle, PhD, is a Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA)*
Opinion
MUSINGS ON THE “RENEWED HOPE” AGENDA CABINET
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BY BOLAJI AFOLABI
For many football loving Nigerians, commencement of the 2024/25 league season across Europe was a welcoming break from the recurring palpitations occasioned by multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral challenges pervading national space. Given the ecstasy and excitement it provides, spectators and fans are very hopeful that for about 40 weekends, something cheering would occupy their minds; away from the ever-increasing national problems. Back in the ’80s, *INDEEP* , was a New York-based musical group that released ‘ *when boys talk’* after it’s hugely successful ‘ *last night a DJ saved my life* .’ A line in the former that, ‘ *boys* *talk politics* …’ came to mind after the Liverpool versus Ipswich Town English Premier League opener few weeks back.
Over an hour of chit chat which included analysis, opinions, arguments, and more; a regular fixture at most viewing centres the topic of discourse veered into politics. From national to states and party politics, it was a robust and enlightening exchange between and among all. To add colour, panache, and rib-cracking to the scenario, the writer threw a puzzle; asking the name of the person who superintendents a particular ministry. For over thirty minutes, the gathering became a mini “who wants to be a millionaire” show. Responses were funny, cynical, and befuddling. At the end, many got it wrong, no where near the actual answer.
Buoyed by this disturbing discovery, the writer did random survey asking name(s) of ministers from people. The results were thought provoking, challenging and revealing. Names of few ministers are readily called. Somehow, the ‘playful’ exercise brought concerns to the writer. That people cannot readily recall names of their respective state’s representative on the cabinet list was shocking. That many had to resort to Google for “escape route” was saddening. That educated elites flunked the poser gives worrying signs.
August last year, when President Bola Tinubu sworn in his 46-member cabinet team after successful screening and confirmation by the Senate, there were varied opinions. While some people criticized the number arguing that it would stifle the economy, others believed it was the right way to go considering urgent need for pragmatic development. A school of thought postulated that aside being the largest ministerial cabinet since 1999, the names do not evoke confidence and believability. Another school countered that with the injection of achievers in the private sector, and creation of new ministries, Tinubu’s cabinet should perform. Yet, a different group inferred that with the creation of new ministries including Creative Economy; and re-modelling of few such as Health and Social Welfare; Agriculture and Food Security; Water Resources and Sanitation the cabinet was primed to deliver.
After one year in their various capacities as ministers, just as it was during composition, opinions and views of Nigerians are divided about their performances. There has been wide-ranging comments and criticisms about the cabinet. From reports, it has been deluge of condemnation and few commendation. What about consistent talks of large numbers; wrong deployments; lack of understanding of briefs; and more? For many people, the ministerial team has not lived to the expectations of Nigerians. Some opined that they have not justified the confidence reposed in them by Tinubu.
By their actions, inactions, and activities one can categorize the cabinet in five groups. There are the performers; those showing promises; those who flatter; those missing in action; and outright failures. Some merely make ‘politically correct’ statements with less or no corresponding action. Sadly, there are those who have taken, and maintained sleeping-modes. Some do not have any concrete and ‘see-able’ programme. Some have been innocuously silent, absent, and forgotten by Nigerians. Some have performed abysmally low in spite their initial boastful, and pretentious posturing.
Though there has been near-unanimity of opinion about the whimsical and undulating performances of the ministers, it is not all gloom and moody. Given the aggregation of views and opinions by people, there are few bright lights that evokes inspiration and confidence. In the midst of the class of largely non-ingenious, somewhat confused, overwhelmed, and disappointing failures, few have earned the applause and encomium of Nigerians. To reasonable extent, they have added depth and deliveries to the Tinubu administration. A bird’s eye review of these ministers; in no ranking order will suffice.
Nyesom Wike as the 17th minister of the federal capital territory is a paradox. To some, he is controversial and aggressive. Many others love his direct, frank, and open style of administration. Like or loathe him, vast majority of Abuja residents, and regular visitors commend his business-like approach to the delivery of outstanding projects and programmes spread in and around Nigeria’s capital. Under his watch, in addition to massive infrastructural development geared towards transforming Abuja, he has increased revenue generation to about 126.54 billion naira in the first 6 months of 2024, which is 53.5 percent higher than the figure in 2023. Public service reforms leading to establishment of FCT Civil Service Commission; appointments of Head of Service, and a dozen Permanent Secretaries; creation of Women Affairs, and Youth Development Secretariats. Extension of development to Area Councils to open up, and boost rural economy. Impressed by his excellent work rate and visible achievements, many describe him as the ‘poster boy’ of Tinubu’s government.
One can conclude that the Interior Minister, Olubunmi Tunji Ojo has shown passion, dedication, commitment in his tour of duty. The 42-year old Ondo state-born former lawmaker has displayed ingenuity and fervour in piloting the ministry. With the rare combination of brilliance, education, exposure, and experience, he has recorded achievements. These includes innovative templates for passport processing; clearance of over 200,000 passport backlogs in just 3 weeks. Facilitated the release of over 4,000 prison inmates; payment of outstanding allowances, and improvement of existing welfare structures of agencies; rehabilitation and upgrade of facilities. Cleared over 10 billion naira debts, owed by his predecessors in his first few months; procurement of patrol vehicles, and other necessary operational components for surveillance activities.
Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, the medical doctor turned banker and financial investment expert superintendents the nation’s industry, trade, investment ministry. Though she oversee a largely unknown but critical sector, she has made encouraging achievements which is expected to manifest from the third quarter of 2025. These includes $30 billion investment commitments by some international companies and agencies; $14 billion worth of FDI inflow; $10 billion offshore investments commitment in Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones. Secured $3 billion facility from AFREXIM to build an industrial park, and light manufacturing expected to generate about 20,000 jobs; over $2 billion partnership with an African Finance Corporation subsidiary to resuscitate the cotton and textile industries for massive economic boost, and job creation. Arguably, the best in the ministry since 1999, she needs to improve her public affairs management.
Under the pragmatic leadership of Engr. Dave Umahi, the Works ministry is being positioned to effectively and efficiently meet the expectations of Nigerians.The Abuja-Kano, Port Harcourt-Enugu expressways, and other federal roads critical to national development are receiving positive look-in. It is expected that Umahi will galvanise the FERMA to fix bad patches of roads across the country. The Aviation and Aerospace Development Ministry has posted some encouraging feats. Under the leadership of Festus Keyamo, the ministry facilitated Air Peace’s Lagos-London route; the US-Nigeria Open Skies Air Transport Agreement which is expected to enable local airlines operate more freely on this routes; resolution of trapped funds for foreign airlines; resolution of the Nigeria/Emirates Airline crisis, and few other initiatives.
Few other ministers overseeing justice; solid minerals; housing and urban development; finance and budget; health and social welfare; digital economy merits measured commendation. Can one say same about their colleagues in defence; education; environment; tourism; science and technology; creative economy; blue economy; agriculture and food security; steel development; water resources and sanitation; and niger delta affairs? Indeed, their respective contributions to the renewed hope agenda requires robust public scrutiny and citizenry inquisition.
Having grossed one year as cabinet ministers, the searchlight has been on them. There has been repeated calls for total overhaul of the team. Some believe that the non-performance of many ministers has led to preponderance of socio-economic challenges. Pushing further, some argue that Nigerians are wallowing in pervasive poverty, escalating inflation, and gradual moral depravity due to the glaring disconnect between government and citizens. There is the general believe that re-jigging the cabinet is most ideal. Tinubu’s ministers should count themselves lucky for being chosen among 200 million Nigerians. A Yoruba proverb that you can facilitate employment for someone but you can’t do the job is most appropriate at this time. Tinubu should do the needful by embarking upon major surgery on his cabinet; to increase citizens believe, re-focus government, and ensure immediate service delivery. Capacity, competence, experience, and relevance should form the criterion for emplacing the proposed cabinet makeover.
* *BOLAJI AFOLABI, a development communications specialist was with the Office of Public Affairs in The Presidency*
Opinion
Before load shedding by telecoms operators begins
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By Sonny Aragba-Akpore
Nigerians are commonly used to electricity power load shedding which strategically reduces or cuts off electricity supply to different consumers or areas in a controlled manner. “This process helps balance demand with available resources.”
It is often planned and negotiated with local building owners. Utility providers monitor electricity demand and identify when it exceeds supply or nears capacity limits. They then create a load shedding plan that entails rotating power outages, temporary current disconnections and incentives to building owners for complying. Once demand decreases or additional power resources become available, the utility provider restores power to the affected areas.
Load shedding can also happen without prior planning. Power customers might experience involuntary load shedding when a utility electrical provider lowers or stops electricity distribution across a coverage area for a short period of time.
This type of load shedding is commonly referred to as a rolling blackout. Brownouts, another type of involuntary load shedding, are caused by a power supplier lowering voltage distribution during peak usage times to balance supply and demand.
Load shedding is about survival when telecom operators might start turning off some of their cell sites during less busy times to save on energy and costs.
This could help them minimize resources better and keep services running, even when it’s not a perfect solution. If telecom operators implement load-shedding, the quality of service could decline sharply. Load-shedding would likely result in reduced network coverage, slower internet speeds, and an increase in dropped calls according to an analyst.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria had over 164 million million active internet subscriptions as of March 2024,with mobile data accounting for the majority. A reduction in service quality could severely impact these users, leading to widespread frustration,this analyst added.
An alalyst describes load shedding as a deliberate shutdown of telecom services in a part or parts, generally to prevent the failure of the entire system when the demand strains the capacity of available infrastructure.
Plagued by incessant rising cost of operations, including the increased prices of diesel, infrastructure maintenance, and a depreciating naira, “have called on the NCC to approve a tariff increase to help mitigate their financial burdens.”
MTN, for instance,with a subscriber base of 81.7million as of March 2024,reported a first loss after tax of N137 billion since its 2019 listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2023. The telco incurred FX losses of N740 billion ($815.79 million at N907.1/$).
> “Airtel Africa, which had 63.3 million subscribers in Nigeria as of March 2024, reported a loss after tax of $89 million for its full year ended March 2024, primarily due to FX headwinds in Nigeria and Malawi. It lost $1.26 billion to derivative and FX exposures, with $770 million attributed to the naira’s devaluation.”
This has led to dwindled investment in the telecoms sector, Carl Cruz, chief executive officer of Airtel Nigeria, stated, adding that, “The devaluation of the Naira moving from N420/dollar to N760/dollar in a month’s time, to about N1500/dollar today, had indeed affected telecoms industry who rely heavily on importation of infrastructure to grow the sector.’
In the same vein, Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria, said operators are reluctant to invest, simply because of the high operating cost and the devaluation of naira, among other issues that have marred the growth of the sector.
According to him, the telecoms sector in Nigeria is now in an intensive care unit (ICU) gasping for breath, while calling on the government to intervene.
The sector is facing a lot of challenges of which if urgent action is not taken, it will dry up. The truth is that investors are not going to come to invest in the sector if the fundamental issues are not addressed. To rescue the sector from collapsing, there is a need to increase prices of telecom services.”
Despite repeated pleas, the regulatory body has remained silent on the issue, causing frustration and uncertainty among industry players.
ALTON had earlier sent a working paper (memo) to the telecom regulator (NCC) saying that “the telecommunications industry has been significantly impacted by a myriad of macroeconomic challenges experienced in recent years due to the resulting exponential increase in broad business costs.”
“Of particular importance are:
*the upward trajectory in the inflation rate from 11.98% in 2019 to 21.34% in 2022 and currently 27.33% as at October 2023;
•rapid devaluation of the Naira evidenced by the recent upward movement at a rate of 68.5% from N461/$1 in December 2022 to N777/US$ as at the end of September 2023;and now over 1,590/a dollar.
•Sustained rise in energy prices with diesel currently retailing at an average price of N1,400/litre from N250/litre in January 2022.
With energy costs representing >40% of Mobile Network Operators’ operating expenses, tighter external financing conditions, higher debt service payments, and increased pressure on the Nigerian FOREX market, there has been a significant increase in the cost of production which has jeopardized MNOs’ capacity to maintain healthy margins in such a capital-intensive and FOREX- dependent industry as ours.
Despite these adverse economic headwinds, the telecommunications industry remains the only industry that has yet to effect any general tariff increase for its services in the last five years due to regulatory and political restrictions limiting the MNOs’ ability to react to the increased cost of doing business with our applications for these general increases still pending with the Commission one year after submission. The same cannot be said for our counterparts in other critical industries who have adjusted the retail prices of their goods and services with the support of their industry regulators to be reflective of their true business costs of production as a means of cushioning the net effect of the sky rocketing costs of doing business. We have attached, for the EVC’s consideration, a detailed overview of examples of such price increases in other sectors.
The operators also lament regulatory overlaps where unbudgetted expenditures are spent to defray unexpected expenses.
In their own position,ALTON also advocates for the co-creation of policies for the ICT sector,
better collaboration between ICT and non-ICT regulators with oversight over the sector (environment and consumer and corporate
governance) given the cross-cutting nature of digital services, which span multiple subject areas and regulatory frameworks.
“The Federal Government should also give the telecoms sector a special status like
> Agriculture and Manufacturing and introduce fiscal incentives for the sector, for example, the reduction of spectrum and numbering fees,replicate Road Infrastructure Tax Credit scheme for digital infrastructure projects.”
“ There is also a need to encourage market consolidation/collaboration arrangements to build stronger market players in the industry.”
“Implementation of the Open Data policy to make data accessible such that companies can collaborate with third-party developers, startups,
>> and other industries to develop applications, analytics tools, and
>> personalized services which will unlock new data-driven revenue
>> streams not only for telecoms but also for other industries such as banking, agriculture, manufacturing, “
“ We also require capable regulatory agencies overseeing and regulating these innovations. As such, the staff of relevant agencies will need to upskill and broaden their knowledge base while revising their frameworks to enhance technical and analytical capabilities.”
> ALTON laments that amid the formidable challenges facing the industry, “MNOs have also had to contend with a protracted history of non-payment by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other Financial Institutions (FIs) for their utilization of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services provided by MNOs from September 2019 till date.”
> “Regardless of the numerous ministerial and joint regulator-led interventions on this issue, commencing with the intervention of the immediate past Honorable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy (HMoCDE) in 2021, the consequent approval for disconnection of the banks issued by the Commission further to the HMoCDE’s directive in 2022, and the recent joint resolutions issued by the Commission and the CBN in August 2023 on the terms for defraying the debts owed, the DMBs and FIs have brazenly and persistently refused to meet their obligations to the MNOs through the malicious non-payment or, in many instances, the payment of a minuscule portion of their monthly invoices which has led to the accumulation of a massive debt of ⁓N200 Billion.”
> As a former Executive Director, Technical Services at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC (NIBSS), “we believe the EVC appreciates the facilitative role of telecommunications in the provision of financial services to Nigerians and how the USSD service has transformed digital banking and advanced financial inclusion in Nigeria, thereby, positively impacting the balance sheet of the DMBs and FIs.”
> “We maintain that it is beyond the pale for the banking industry to hold the telecommunications industry to ransom by its impenitent freeloading activities.
We, therefore, respectfully urge the EVC to take decisive action to put an end to this deplorable practice moreso as the provision of such USSD services to DMBs and FIs come at considerable cost to MNOs. “
> USSD services require substantial investment in enabling platforms such as Applications Programming Interface (APIs) and USSD Gateways for service delivery, cost of establishing signaling channels (a limited and critical network resource essential for the hitch-free service delivery) and the opportunity cost of utilizing these signaling channels and network services for USSD services instead of other prepaid network services such as Call/SMS set-up and delivery which cannot run in parallel with a USSD session.
Opinion
MAN LIKE WIKE
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By Elder OSF
I don’t want this piece to be about the man Wike. But in truth I’m writing about him. I believe there’s a difference between writing about someone and writing of someone, or by someone and with someone.
Don’t mind me I’m just messing with you. It’s about Wike I’m writing, yes. Whether it’s of him or by, through or with him is, at best, misleading semantics.
There’s something in Wike that everybody should have. Yes, your mind has caught it too.
That relentless drive to push beyond limits, to chart new courses, to break barriers, is something every human being needs to have.
First off, Wike is not Jesus Christ. This is not about his values as a person. We will have to agree that our opinions on his values will be different, and that despite the difference we can examine his life to pick some lessons.
Why Wike, someone might ask. It’s because it is Wike. His story checks out well in the space we occupy as Nigerians. It is Wike. Everybody knows Wike – with all his flaws and accomplishments.
How Wike became a Minister, no I don’t mean being the Minister-Governor of Abuja, I mean being junior Minister of Education under President Jonathan, was by defying the odds placed before him by the political system of that era. It also involved facing stiff opposition by his erstwhile boss, our forever beloved CRA, the then powerful Governor of Rivers State.
How Wike became Governor, was by first refusing to cancel himself even on the basis of ethnicity, given that CRA whom he was seeking to succeed was of the same ethnic stock as he was in a multi-ethnic and diverse state as Rivers. He was relentless. He went the full nine yards and beyond. Some of his tactics are definitely indefensible but his relentless drive somehow counts for something.
How Wike ousted Atiku from being President, insisting on power rotation to the South, which favoured the incumbent President is itself worth studying. Make no mistakes about the fact that I am aware that there are various variants of narratives on how that happened. My interest is not the story. It is the fact that Wike got what he wanted.
He got more. He is the first Nigerian politician to influence the politics of both the ruling political party and its main opposition in his home State of Rivers. The very first person in history to accomplish that.
How does Wike’s mind work?
I’d tell you. It is solutions oriented. The impossibility of accomplishing anything has been so stifled in Wike’s thinking that it is impossible not to see possibilities, a way out of the myriad of complexities he navigates in the labyrinth of his daily political affairs. He is like a slippery fish. At least he’s proven to be that so far. You can’t hold him down.
Many times we’ve expected it to be the end of his political career, but somehow, he manages to wriggle himself out. Fayose his friend knows some things he has not told us. He only alluded to Wike’s opponents seeing spirits when they oppose him. But that’s not enough. What does Fayose know?
He knows how Wike’s mind works. He knows that Wike finds the way and where he can’t, he creates a new pathway.
This is how every human being should be wired. Wike’s creativity is not unique to him. But he has masterly mined the power of the human mind to his own advantage. Showing time and again, that impossibility is nothing.
As I said earlier, this is not about Wike. It is about the mind that powers his moves. If we can frame our minds like that and taint them with the values that we cherish, we will live more fulfilled lives.
This is how a regular guy from Rumuepirikom was able to be Governor of two Nigerian states back to back even without being a member of the political party of the latter.
Curse him for many reasons. He is a politician. He signed up for it. But when you’re done, give the man his flowers. He deserves them.
Elder OSF
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