The Nation Newspaper

Category: Celebrity

  • Why I dumped my job at PPFN to sell suya with two degrees -NOA D-G Mike Omeri

    Why I dumped my job at PPFN to sell suya with two degrees -NOA D-G Mike Omeri

    The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mike Omeri, has traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria, preaching patriotism and good citizenship. In this interview with OKORIE UGURU, he talks about his passion for NOA, his growing up and the challenges that come with making a living in Nigeria. 

    What were your early years like as a child and student?

    I was born in Mubi in the present day Adamawa State in 1964. I went to school in that part of the country. We were nine children in the family but four are dead. I have also worked here and there, beginning as a class teacher. I taught in the primary school and at College Mary Immaculate, Zawan, Plateau State. I actually came in there as a national student from Maiduguri.

    I am actually from Plateau State, but because I had spent all my life in the north eastern states, when I got admission to school, I was sent to Plateau State, not as a citizen of the state, but as somebody from Borno State. When they were doing the postings, I was first sent to Kindiri but Kindiri was too cold and I could not cope with the weather. First, it was culture shock, but I could cope with the experience. But the weather was so cold. One of my uncles did not want me to go back to Maiduguri. He wanted me to come closer to him. That was how I went to Zawan, a few kilometres from Jos. So, that is how it has been.

    I began to develop interest in my community. In fact, when I went to the village for the first and second time, I discovered there were so many advantages that I never had in terms of knowing the terrain, the rivers, hills and all of those. So, I made it a point of duty to establish my contact with the community and the natural heritage, which other children got to know at young age. You would always see me in the morning taking a walk to explore the hills, rivers and so on in my village. I did that consistently for almost a month.

    People say I couldn’t do it because of the risk, but I did it. Nigeria was so peaceful at night. I just had a bottle of soft drink and water. These are the things that informed my philosophy in life. So, I was able to reconnect with my community despite the fact that I was not born there and I didn’t grow up there. Today, I play a prominent role there and even have the traditional title of the Obowo of Kiana.

    Lately, one would notice that various states are trying to hold their different festivals. What are you doing to see that these are done under one umbrella?

    My colleague, Mrs. Keshi, would be in a better position to answer that question because her agency is responsible for organising and coordinating such festivals. There has always been an annual festival which I know is hosted from state to state. She would be in a better position to answer that question.

    What do you think are the prospects of tourism in Nigeria?

    Well, like you rightly observed, I am attending the FTAN programme for the first time this year. The prospect of tourism is very green in the sense that there is a renewed government interest. The practitioners have kept faith over the years. The fact that you see this number coming together to discuss the way forward shows that there is still private commitment. So, with the position of government and what it is currently doing to ensure that the atmosphere and the environment is conducive and attractive, Nigeria would be a natural tourism destination in West Africa.

    Tourism is a platform for orientation as well as culture. We use their platform to promote the positive sides and valuable aspects of our culture. That is why the tourism industry must also have positive attitude in driving it. Without values, no matter the infrastructure provided, it will not attract or sustain patronage. So, the NOA will work with them.

    You have been at the forefront of the campaign that Nigerians should see the country as our common patrimony. Is it something you feel passionate about or just as a part of your responsibilities as the director general of NOA?

    I am lucky that I am doing my passion, even in public service. Loving Nigeria is an undisputed fact. As you see me, I do not have any investment outside Nigeria. I don’t even want to have a second building outside where I live, not to talk of abroad. I cannot do that. I still believe that this is the destination and that when we tap our resources and the energy and intelligence that are available within our country, we can be the best.

    How did you develop this passion?

    I got that from childhood, watching the attitude of our parents. My father was a policeman. He served outside his immediate environment and was always moving from one part of the country to the other. He kept telling us that we must love our country. He said we must be generous and respect our elders and even peers. I remember that each time he had to travel out, because Nigerian policemen then were majorly the people that went out to enforce peace in Congo and other parts of Africa, he would come back displaying a lot of medals. He would not talk about himself but about how they projected Nigeria, doing this and that, and how they were inspired by the colours of Nigeria.

    These continued to influence our lives as we grew up, including the need to look for alternatives in every situation. We also learnt that in every challenge, there are opportunities and that we should go looking for the opportunities instead of staying back complaining, criticising or abusing others. So, for me, NOA is just my passion. Like I said, I am lucky to be in public service and living out my passion.

    Some believe patriotism in Nigeria is a hard sell because of the multi-ethnic nature of the country. Do you agree?

    I have heard this kind of comment even from the elites and I say they are the problem. Anybody who says that, I say he or she is the problem. It shouldn’t be difficult if all of us believe that we have a country that needs all of us. It shouldn’t be difficult if we cultivate the habit of doing the things we should do. It shouldn’t be difficult because we don’t have any other country but Nigeria, and that it needs us and we must stand for it all the time in whatever we do, wherever and however.

    So, I hear it. Like I also mentioned earlier, there were certain things I did without knowing that I would play the role I’m playing today. For instance, I was selling suya (roast beef) when I already had two degrees, and I didn’t feel that I should  depend on anybody. I believed that there was a place for me to make it in Nigeria. So, I can look for opportunities in all of this country. It has paid off today. I am happy it did.

    Why did you go into suya business?

    It is interesting. It was between 1992 and 1993 that I made up my mind to do it. I was working with an NGO (non-governmental organisation) known as Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria and there were issues that collided with my conscience, so I couldn’t sustain it. I just gave up the job and said I could do any work so long as men do other works to survive. Legitimately, I can do any work. So, what is available? I said okay, let me go and sell suya. What the heck! I had seen people sell suya and they survived.

    How did you go about doing that?

    I had colleagues in the media who understood what I wanted to do. I established a place called Geshi in Jos. I recruited one or two other people to work with me. We just went to the market with N5,000 to purchase all the things that we needed. There were other friends of mine who also invested in the business, so we were together one way or the other. Every day, I went there to hang out, sell my suya and come back. It sustained me for the period that I had no employment. It will interest you to know that it was from there that the former military administrator of Plateau State, Col. Mohammadu Manah, who later became Senator Mohammadu Manah, appointed me his press secretary. The newspapers were awash with the story and cartoons, saying ‘Administrator appoints mai suya as press secretary’. Because I was selling suya, quite a lot of people didn’t know that I went to school.

    But I didn’t feel anything about it. I didn’t have a reason to do that as per my background. My father was a police officer. Nine of us had gone to school and were doing very well in their places of work. But I needed to find my own way in life.

    So it was not that you were desperate; you just wanted to work?

    I wanted to work. I shouldn’t be idle because my family, my friends could have everything that I needed but they were not mine. And what happens to my own talent? What happens to my conviction which I must express somewhere? I cannot be denied that by any other human being. So, I should look inward to see what I can do to survive.

    How much were you making in a day as a suya seller?

    When I wanted to start the suya business, like I told you, we invested N5,000. I found that I was making N2,500 and sometimes N5,000 in a day, which was more than my salary in a month at that time. Because of the way we introduced it, the media helped me, because I came from that constituency. They made the opening ceremony so glamorous as if we were bringing a different specie of suya from heaven. People were anxious to see the place.

    What we did was packaging. You would come to choose what you wanted. It was ala carte and we prepared it for you. We introduced another concept: while you waited for your suya, you could patronise other services. It was well packaged and it gave us an advantage.

    What has happened to the place?

    It is still there. Some younger people have taken over. There are committed Nigerians, some have passed on, but others are there. Then also, younger people have to be trained on tourism as a subject.

  • Ngozi Nkolenyi becomes grandmother

    There is nothing as gratifying as having your grandchild put a smile on your face, a lump in your throat and a warm feeling in your heart. The feeling of being a grandmother is simply amazing; in one moment, you are a woman, in the next, you become automatically wise and prehistoric.

    Ngozi Nkolenyi, one of the most stylish women on the social scene, is getting used to this feeling as she basks in its euphoria. The celebrated society woman is over the moon at the moment, and the reason is not far-fetched: she is now a grandmother. Her first son, ‎Obi, has just welcomed a baby from his stunning wife, Joan.

    Ngozi, who lost her husband a few years ago, is feeling like she is finally being compensated for having played the role of both parents to her children over the years. The UK-based couple is over the moon with the arrival of their bundle of joy.

  • ‘Even at 96, my mom was holding three business meetings thrice a week’

    ‘Even at 96, my mom was holding three business meetings thrice a week’

    When Alhaja Toyibat Yusuf Adeniji passed on recently and her 8th day prayers were held, activities at Medinna Estate, Gbagada, Lagos State where she last resided, virtually came to a standstill. Before she breathed her last at 96, she established modern day Islamic schools with Arabic syllabus, had links in the Arab world and owned a group of schools. As far back as 40 years ago, Alhaja Yusuf Adeniji set up a construction company that engages in building roads in Nigeria, and constructed structures including Gambia International Airport. She owned a quarry in Nigeria, imported marbles, established a community bank and was into large-scale farming and estate development, among others. One of her prominent daughters is Princess Fatima Sulu-Gambari, who herself is a prominent businesswoman. Fatima, whose husband, Alhaji Shuabu A. Sulu-Gambari is a brother to the current Emir of Ilorin, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO,  shares the personality of her mother and the influences she left behind.

    Tell us about your late mother.

    Princess Fatima Sulu-Gambari
    Princess Fatima Sulu-Gambari

    My mother was 96 years; she was an educationist, an educationist who established modern Islamic nursery-primary school over 40 years ago. She was also a known philanthropist, a simple woman, she was into construction. The Sokoto-Igboho road from Ota, Ogun State, that road has been there for over 30 years now and it has not gone through another major construction. That should attest to the quality of the work that was done by her construction company then. The only repair work that has been done on that road was indeed a minor one by the Gbenga Daniel administration. The road has not been having pot holes and remains one of the best road works done in this country. It was a big construction company that she had, which was into building of many bridges, roads, estates and airports. She was into quarry business, and also dealt on all kinds of stone, marble and the rest of them. She was into estate development and had vast lands here and there.

    How was she able to combine the management of the schools with construction?

    (Shakes her head) She was doing both side by side. The education thing has always been a part of her. I guess she kept on moving from one thing to another.

    How do the schools look like these days?

    It is quite a large size now with huge edifice at her estate in Gbagada, and then there are other ones around Lagos. You know, it is a group of schools.

    Tell us about her background

    She hailed from Ago Iwoye in Ogun State, an Ijebu woman, from a prominent family and her paternal grandmother was related to the Alaafin of Oyo. She was also related to the Sikiru Adetona family in Ijebu Ode; they have a ruling house there.

    When did she pass on?

    She closed her eyes for the journey on Friday the 9th of this month, but the doctors confirmed her dead on Saturday. According to them, that was when the pulse stopped in the early hours of the day.

    Two weeks ago, your family had the eight day prayers for her, how was it like?

    From the first day to the eight day, it was a beehive of activities at her home in Gbagada. Islamic scholars, Ummas, Islamic groups and other associations and groups besieged her erstwhile residence. They all came to pay homage to a woman that was well loved for her philanthropy. She was a member of 90% of the Islamic organisations in Lagos State; 50% of Islamic associations outside Lagos State; the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, and many other trade groupings in and outside Nigeria. She loved women, and was a life Matron of many women organisations. She encouraged many young women into entrepreneurship. She taught them and gave them support. There were people from across West Africa who came around and stayed for days. She had partners from Iran, who came also, people that she was involved in the construction business together. She was also into

    imports of tiles and such from Iran; so all those people were here too to pay homage to her.

    You are one of the daughters who were close to her because I understand you actually were working with her, what’s the feeling like losing her? do you miss her?

    We will all miss her, and let me even tell you, apart from ‘we’ the children that are the biological children, Alhaja Toyibat had so many other children scattered around Nigeria and even outside the country. They sometimes even see her as more of their mother than we do. I hope you understand what I am trying to say here. That is because she showered them with love. It was very surprising that when she was alive, she favoured other people’s children more than she favoured us. She was sterner and firmer on us. I guess she was the kind of mother that anyone will love to have. That was in her way, a lesson and training for us.

    That was why all the way from Kano, Zaria, Abuja, Abeokuta, Ilorin, Ijebu Ode, they came, even from East Nigeria, we had an entourage from that area too; people who had benefited from her kindness or largesse or people who had benefited from her good advice at one time or the other. There were also ex-students who passed through her schools in the past, they all came. You can imagine the crowd on a daily basis. Throughout the first three days of her death, the Okada riders around Gbagada Estate, refused to collect money from passengers. Everyone who came without a personal car, was dropped free of charge at her residence. The Okada association said they refused to collect money from passengers because Alhaja was too kind to them.

    Now that she has passed on, will there be continuity at the group of schools that she used to run there?

    There certainly will be. Towards the end of her life, she had actually gone into partnership with some foreigners. A couple of months ago, they signed an agreement for new constructions to take place at the different schools. So the schools are going to have a huge turn around, it is going to be better actually with state of the art equipment.

    You were also working with her in the management of the schools, are you going to continue with that?

    I have a business of my own, but I was doing that because I actually studied education. However, though I was doing that, she was also much involved. She did not leave any of her businesses 100% to anybody to run. She was always involved. As a matter of fact, she was involved in the management of every aspect of her businesses, from the quarry, to the estates, to the construction company, the trading businesses and the schools. She did the management from her bedroom. Her business associates, managers, and staff came for meetings there. During her last days, that is, towards the time that she finally departed this world, she used to have at least three daily major meetings in her bedroom, three times a week. But before then, the meetings were usually more, and they were very regular. She was advised in later years to reduce the meetings.

    Wasn’t she going out for meetings?

    She was, but she had this spacious bedroom, the size of her bedroom was unique. There was always a beehive of activities there. People came there to see her. She attended to all her business activities. Just as she attended to her staff with the smallest position, she was also hosting emirs and top society people in there. It was always a stream of people there to see her. It was fun in a way too. Even when we wanted to limit some people to the equally spacious sitting room, she would eventually invite them into the bedroom, where she would attend to them.

    In our home, there was no sacred place where strangers were barred from. Strangers could enter into any part of the house. There was no door that was ever closed, or strangers prevented from entering. Some people came and we told her that they were too many, that they should remain at the sitting room. She looked at us, smiled and said, this bedroom that you are trying to prevent people from entering, the day I die, people you have never seen, will come inside here, march around the whole place and see everything that you are trying to hide!’ And that was exactly what happened when she died.

    When she was ready that day, what did you learn from your mom?

    (Laughs) I learnt and gained a lot. I have an NGO which gives a helping hand to people. And that is what my mother was doing; she was giving a helping hand to people.

    Did you learn that from your mother?

    Yes I did, but my mother had her NGO called Toyibat Islamic Foundation. My NGO came about through an international foundation. It is a multilevel marketing programme. When I saw the international programme, I keyed into it because it met with my vision of helping people. It is an NGO that helps the less-privileged. In the process of doing that, it also empowers the person to be able to empower others through skill acquisition. I must say it is a win-win kind of programme, especially the multi-level aspect of it.

    With so much to do, where do you have time for multi-level marketing, considering that you run an NGO, run businesses, take part in your mom’s group of schools and so on?

    I have learnt how to handle that from my mom. She was a Jack of all trades and master of all. There were hardly any of the businesses that she ventured into that she didn’t get to the top of the sector. So, I have learnt that from her. I am not just doing all what you mentioned, but more importantly, I am also a mother and a wife. She taught me well. A long time ago, when I wake up in the morning, I will have to shuttle between three of her schools before noon in different extremes of Lagos and my own school in Badagry. It was strenuous. My mother was very tough, thorough and did not condone any mediocrity. She grew up in a man’s world but I must say that, life was a bit kind to women of her generation in the sense that during that period, women were not recognised. So what she did was to convince the men of that period that she can do it and she was given a chance. That was how they gave her the chance to build that road.

    She seemed to have stayed most of her time in Lagos.

    Yes, but then, my mom used to travel wide and far. She went to most places in Europe, Far east, Africa, the only place she did not go to was the USA. Apart from the USA, she went round the world.

    What did you like most about her?

    She never gave her businesses 100% to people, but when you are good at your job, she recognised that you are good and would tell you that you are good. She challenged her children. She used to give us duties that tasked us a great deal with caution that we should not fail. Then also her philanthropy knew no bounds. She took over the educational care of the children of her domestic staff, drivers, cleaners, cooks and so on. It was free education for their children. She carried the burden of that herself.

    Tell us about your background.

    I left Nigeria and when I got to England, I chose to study Law. I did that for two years but when I came to Nigeria, she told me she didn’t want me to study Law; that she had enough lawyers in the family. So when I returned to England, from Holborn Law Tutors, I moved to Montessori Centre. That was how I became a full-fledged educationist.

    Did you enjoy your stay in England then?

    It was fun. We had a community of Nigerians there. There were other nationals too. And the Muslim community there was large. We had a big Arab community. At that time, the Britons were just accepting Islam. Ramadan was usually a wonderful experience for me in England. It was a beautiful time then. The central mosque on Baker’s Street was a huge mosque. The Muslim community used to bring lots of varieties of food there and you eat and eat. There was a large community too of Arabs, ‘whites’, blacks and so on.

    Eventually you returned to Nigeria to work, how was it integrating back into the system back here?

    I didn’t return to Nigeria to work in a parastatal or other company. Since I returned, I have worked for my mom alone. So it was easy for me. But then my mom did not allow me to rest. She used to send me everywhere, Abuja today, Zurich tomorrow, Lebanon and so on. At some point, I didn’t have a specific job with her; I was here and there for her. My other siblings too were involved in other things for her.

    How about sports?

    I love sports, while my mom was a great football fan. She adored the Nigerian Eagles. Whenever the Eagles of Nigeria are playing, that day, she would hold special prayers on their behalf (laughs). And she encouraged sports in all her schools. In the whole of Kosofe local government, the school in Gbagada is the best when it comes to rugby, lawn tennis, table tennis and football and among the top 10 in Lagos. The school has trophies to show. Another part of her was the support of athletes to international sporting scene. There were some of the students who she noticed were gifted in sports and she sent them abroad straight away.

    What was your mom’s fashion and style like?

    She was a fashionable person, a designer too. She loved fashion and designed her clothes too. She was neat to a fault. As a duty, she had her bath twice a day and taught all the pupils to do the same. Even at over 90 years, she stuck to that routine. She was finicky about her posture, crossing her legs when she sat. On Fridays and Sundays, she worn white colour. Those days were the time when she held women meetings in the house. We had a steady culture of entertaining guests in our house. Daily, some form of cooking took place because a stream of people who were always coming in to see her.

    And how did she handle her domestic staff and other staff?

    My mom was very thorough. There was no trick that you could use on her. Her staff used to think that she had spies everywhere, but my mom told me that it was never so. That it is easy to know and understand people. She was a people’s person. She used to say that children of nowadays do not look down, they are always looking up! That is why they do not see. She said that there are movements that the staff make that give them away easily. All you need to do is look down. She taught me how to read body language.

    What were her unfulfilled dreams?

    My mom wanted to start a university. She went about it and eventually contacted a professor to handle it. But when the professor saw the magnitude of her other businesses, he prayed her to let him do it while she simply support him. My mom agreed and supported him.

  • Inside Julius Rone’s Abuja billion-dollar mansion

    Kingly luxury can only be truly defined in the comfort of the regal manor of Dr. Julius Rone. The recently erected billion-dollar mansion is a sight to behold. It dwarfs abodes once considered regal and causes poets to sink in confusion as they grapple with the adjectives to qualify Rone’s mansion.

    Rone’s mansion is a real life pictogram of the fabled Wonderland. The exterior is garlanded with carven images, flowers and bunches of knot-grass. Inside, it is ornamented with panes of quaint decor, embroidered fabric and devices. Its ambience of splendid dyes and luxury titivate like the damasked wings of the tiger-moth. The exterior utters elegance without obscenity.

    Inside, expensive incandescent bulbs brightly illuminate the architectural delight. Everywhere is spick-and-span and has the halo of an improvised Eden on earth. Pristine and exquisitely burnished with class, Rone’s mansion emphasizes without much effort the sheer tastefulness of the owner. The attention to detail that characterises the house is excellent. Both the interior and exterior decor were carefully chosen and planned with flawless finesse.

    His thirst for prestige was perhaps what drove him into acquiring the choice property in Maitama, one of Abuja’s most expensive residential areas. The new mansion reportedly cost him several billions. And in bid to make the edifice worthy of his stature, Rone painstakingly modelled it into an Eldorado of sort; replete with the trappings essential to a life of glamour and allure.

  • KWAM1 bailed, will submit self for further questioning – Police

    KWAM1 bailed, will submit self for further questioning – Police

    Detectives from the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau(CIIB), Ogun state grilled fuji music maestro, King Wasiu Ayinde, also called KWAM 1, for hours, on Tuesday, in connection with the shooting of a student of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago – Iwoye, three weeks ago.

    KWAM 1, who arrived the Eleweran, the Headquarters of the Ogun state Police Command, around 11a.m, was interrogated by the Operatives of CIIB for about six hours before granted release on bail.

    A member of the musician’s band had shot at the OOU student identified as Azeez Kofoworola of the department of Business Education last October 10 at a party in a hotel in Ago-Iwoye during the Ago-Iwoye Town’s  day celebration.

    A bullet alleged to have been fired by Ayinde’s boy  caught Kofoworola as he sat in an unmarked Honda Accord owned by an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Hassan Afeez.

    The party came to abrupt end while Kofoworola was taken to the the General hospital in Ijebu-Ode for treatment.

    The police had however, invited the Fuji musician for interrogation but he refused to honour the invitation until Tuesday.

    The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed this, said Wasiu’s case is being handled by detectives at the CIIB on the order of the Commissioner of Police.

    Oyeyemi further told journalists that KWAM 1 left the premises of the Eleweran Command Headquarters around 5: 30p.m on the promise that he would make himself available for further police investigation.

  • Marifa Whyte Attains new status

    Marifa Whyte Attains new status

    For those who have been wondering the whereabouts of Marifa Whyte, one of the most popular faces at high society parties, the pretty lady has simply been taking care of her son. Her friends and family members were overwhelmed with joy when the boy arrived years ago. Not just because of her husband’s financial influence but because of the thought that motherhood would rein her in from her fabulous lifestyle.

    The story Marifa’s pregnancy generated so much controversy that she decided to relocate abroad to have her baby.

    It’s been several months now since she returned to the country with her bundle of joy and improved status. For instance, her new residence on Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, is a beautiful grey edifice. More interestingly, she has two of the century’s best cars for her cruising pleasure.

    These, surely, must be the best of times for Marifa Whyte.

  • Walter Wagbatsama unruffled by EFCC threats

    If you come across the Executive Chairman of Ontario Oil and Gas Limited these days, you would most probably take him for a man in high spirits. His euphoric mood gives the impression that he has just struck a good business deal or won a huge contract. The truth, however, is that he is battling with a court case relating to fuel subsidy.

    In the wake of his travails with the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), not a few people thought that he might have run into troubled waters. But while the case is pending in court, there is nothing about his current disposition to suggest that his freedom is under any threat whatsoever.

    Even in the Abuja social circles, he remains the object of discussion and there is no indication that talks about him will fizzle out any time soon. He is married to Otsaye, an enchanting beauty, and their marriage is blessed with two children

  • Jite, Mina after the storm

    Jite, Mina after the storm

    The Managing Director of Notore Fertilizer, Jite Okoloko and his estranged wife, Mina, began their marital journey oblivious of the fact that when the storm of life rages, it consumes everything and everyone in its path.

    Jite and Mina were in no way ready for the raging storm that hit their marriage. Like a distressed ship, the marriage sank, leaving the duo drowned in a sea of regrets. Mina was a regular on the Nigerian social scene. One can even aver that she spent the greater part of her marriage putting up a front in public appearances, trying to convince the world that all is well in her home.

    Mina bounced back soon after her marriage collapsed, even before Jite could. Mina, who runs the prestigious spa and beauty centre, Beauty Concerns, on Victoria Island, Lagos, has regained her groove and is currently mingling on the socio-political scene. The half-Scottish beauty is constantly armed with an enchanting smile and has a sprint to her steps that cannot be missed.

    Her positive disposition and delightful personality have made her a darling of many on the socio-political scene.

    No doubt, there are so many things about Mina that Jite would miss. But the boss of Notore Fertilizer has also been associated with rumours of a second marriage. In the past few weeks, the high society has been taken over by rumour of Jite’s impending remarriage. For now, however, he remains yet a bachelor.

  • Godfrey Ogbechi’s strides

    For its sheer grandeur, the 50th birthday celebration of the Executive Director of Rain Oil Petroleum, Godfrey Ogbechi, will reverberate for a long time. Ogbechi is undoubtedly one of the big players in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. In addition to celebrating his golden age, he celebrated his perseverance, hard work and resultant rise to success and popularity on the social scene.

    The party, which was held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, offered loads of food and wine, while Waje entertained the guests with sonorous songs. As expected, other bigwigs in the Nigerian oil and gas sector stormed the event in their numbers to celebrate with Ogbechi.

    At 50, he radiates sophistication and wealth and spurs a perfect blend of public affection and admiration.

  • The sore side of retirement -Ex-Kogi Perm Sec Mubo Eniola

    The sore side of retirement -Ex-Kogi Perm Sec Mubo Eniola

    For someone like you that was used to usually travelling here and there, how is life after retirement from government service?

    It’s fun. I have prospects, so I am not edgy or worried. Though life is not rosy either but I have more time for my family now. I have time for my immediate environment. Though, the truth also is that sometimes, I have too much time on my hands.

    What are the things that you are looking at doing, especially having been in the tourism industry for long and having risen to the enviable position of a permanent secretary?

    Not everybody is made to provide service or supervise service like I have done all my life, especially in the last 30 years or so of my life. If you work diligently and you have not acquired illegal wealth in this country, you may not be able to do some gigantic things that your mates are doing. That is just the truth. So do not be surprised that you find me not having a chain of hotels and parks all over the place. I have not stolen money, so I do not have money. The little I have, I hope that I will be paid soon so that I can utilise it to do what I have in mind to do, and also to take care of myself.

    So what do you miss from active service?

    I miss the fun of tourism. You know, tourism is about work and play. That is what the job is about. So I miss that aspect. And you see, except you are determined and make yourself relevant one way or another, once you retire, they forget you. At that point, some people do not even want to hear your name again, regardless of your qualification and experience. It is a funny thing because it is as if the more you would have contributed, the more they do not want to see you. But for people like us who know of a struggling kind of life, we still make ourselves relevant somehow by still trying to do things that help to shape things in our environment.

    Tell us some of your fond memories in service.

    The first thing that I am happy about is that when Kogi State was created, I was the Pioneer General Manager of Kogi Hotels and Tourism Board in 1991 and I am happy that we were able to preserve and conserve all our colonial heritage.

    Can you tell us about some of these colonial heritage?

    They are mostly Lord Lugard resource, the Mount Party of 1500 meters above sea level or River Niger level. We have the first primary school in Northern Nigeria; we have the first prison in Northern Nigeria. There are many firsts in Lokoja as representing the whole of Northern Nigeria. We have the Confluence of the River Niger and River Benue, which is natural. We have Lord Lugard Senior Staff Quarters, all these were preserved and conserved. We have the amoral, cenotaph of the first and second world wars in Lokoja; we have the largest European cemetery here. It is located in Lokoja. We even have the graveyards of the deposed Northern Emirs who resisted colonialism. They include such emirs as the emirs of Kano, the emir of Zazzau, which is Zaria, the emir of Bida, the emir of Futah, about seven of them. They were all buried in Lokoja and perhaps that is why we have a large population of the Hausa in Lokoja. So those things are there, they are preserved.

    At that time, people didn’t know their importance but they have been preserved and we insisted that they must not be destroyed. It is still there today and that is one thing that I have fond memories about.

    You were talking about relevance just now, so in what ways are you looking at being relevant or contributing to tourism in Kogi State and Nigeria as a whole?

    I hope that in the next one year, I will have the opportunity to uncover what my brain is telling me to do at this point in time. But even then, I have to receive my money which I am still expecting. There are some people who know that I am bristling with ideas, but I am also careful in the sense that most rich Nigerians just want to steal your idea and use it for themselves. But what I want to do is innovative, it is original and will be operated at the private sector level for maximum benefit. But I need my entitlements for me to be able to do that.

    How soon do you think that your entitlements will be paid?

    Sincerely, I hope it will be soon. That is my gratuity. I pray it will be soon. I am also working hard at ensuring that it is soon. That is going to be my saving grace.

    Now let’s talk about tourism, do you think the industry is growing in Nigeria? That’s because there is a feeling that government is getting more interested and which therefore should mean that the industry must be growing. Do you agree?

    The way I have seen tourism in the country in the last 10 years is that, during the period of ex-President Obasanjo, he took interest in tourism. He made efforts to rekindle that industry in the country. But unfortunately, even the ex-president  didn’t establish the structure permanently to ensure that any incoming government after him must continue with his laid down structure.

    That has been a problem. I am referring to the introduction of the Presidential Council on Tourism. He didn’t lay it down to ensure that nobody can change it. I guess he should have put it into the constitution or entrenched in the ministry’s code. He should have gone further to institutionalise it in such a way that the next president will maintain it and encourage its existence in every new government in the country.

    During Obasanjo’s government, tourism was making progress, and one felt that at last tourism has survived and arrived to stay in the country.

    But not so, we later realised as it is today that tourism has taken two steps forward, three steps backward. Sometimes even, tourism takes two steps forward, and then five steps backward. During Jonathan’s government, there was a lot of propaganda done in the area of tourism. There were things on paper, but there were no actions done regarding them.

    It is sad because such things truly happened and it happens when you do not put professionals in their place. It happens when you do not put the right people in the right place. The government should put professionals in the right places because they know what to do. As it is now, you hear someone say he wants to promote domestic tourism. But how do you go about that when you do not even know what domestic tourism is? You cannot implement what you do not even know.

    It is not by just saying it, then it will come to be, and the worse aspect of it is that, they do not know how, and they do not consult those who know how to promote domestic tourism. And when the professionals who know what to do get close to the person in charge in government, they rebuff them. It is sad because at that point, the professionals just leave them to their own folly. That is why you see them continue to do silly things in the name of promoting tourism and using that opportunity

    to amass ill-gotten wealth. They are busy looting allocations to tourism.

    Hospitality is an aspect of tourism, in recent years, some of our major cities have sprung up with hotels.

    Of course, the trend is everywhere. That is also taking place in Kogi State right now. Once people have money, they go and build hotels. But that is just a part of tourism. The government, like I said earlier, must promote our tourism assets. We must develop them, conserve them which is equally important. When you develop your tourism assets, maintain and conserve them, naturally, domestic tourism will happen. You will not have to force it at all. And once domestic tourism grows, international tourism will equally naturally follow.

    So what do you have to say about the increase in hotels all over?

    The building of hotels has to go with the development of sites, else, what are hotels there for? That is why most of the hotels are under-utilised except on weekends. Some function mostly on weekends except of course, in certain cities where conferences are usually held. But mostly in state capitals or most towns, then the hotels come alive at weekends when there are ceremonies like marriage, burial or installation of a traditional ruler and so on. Monday to Fridays, the hotels are mostly empty or their occupancy rate is very low.

    There is need for the development of resources where we have advantage. I am a supporter of the notion that any state that is interested in tourism should step aside and go ahead leaving the un-interested federal government behind. You do not have to wait for a Federal Government that is not interested in tourism. You don’t wait. You go ahead. Any state that knows the value of tourism should have a tourism programme and execute it just like they are trying to do in Cross River State.

    Unfortunately, the tourism tempo in Cross River State tourism has slowed down because of the change in government. Lagos is making effort but not doing enough for tourism. They should do more than lip service. So after locating a tourism site, you conserve, you rehabilitate, do restoration work on the facility and then you build a fantasy land there. Let’s take disney world, for instance, somebody just decided to fantasise and then build, that is what tourism is about. It is about thinking the un- imaginable, get a back up and then implement. Tourism is also about providing access, land, sea, air, and road, make it cheap not limited to a particular group. Tourism in England started through the railway system. It was the cheapest means of transportation that the common man could reach and from there, the birth of domestic tourism came to be. You have to have a deliberate policy for tourism. Not

    just a word of mouth to promote tourism, and then wear the Nigerian flag. That does not translate into domestic tourism. So for someone who knows about tourism, when you see such, you cannot but laugh.

    Let’s talk about festivals, Nigeria is blessed with many festivals but only a few are popular and celebrated. What do you have to say about this?

    Every festival has its dos and don’ts, some are annual, while some are bi-annual. I believe that festivals that have cultural significance should be promoted. To promote festivals means provision of money. Most state governments do not put down funds for the promotion of festivals. The success that Calabar Carnival records is because of the commitment to it. There was seed money that has now been added to by the private sector. You will know that they mean business; that is why they must gain from it. Festivals must be well funded, they must be identified and they must have attraction value. Not every festival must be promoted, but once it has attraction value, meaning most people will want to go and watch, then the state government can promote it. Once they promote it, the money will come back.

    How about domestic tourism, are Nigerians travelling within Nigeria?

    Yes, we have public holidays but most Nigerians do not know where the tourism attractions are. Without knowing, how will they visit? So tourism sites must be promoted. Let Nigerians know where the tourism attractions are through promotions. Nigerians like enjoyment. An average Nigerian wants to enjoy his life; most families like recreation and fun. But they must know where to find such fun facilities and they must be empowered so they can go there to enjoy themselves.

    The truth is that we are not serious about tourism because if truly we are, there are ways that the population could be enticed to embark on domestic tourism. When you provide cheap transportation to a tourism attraction, people are motivated. There are specific packages that can be done, it is not limited to special packages to the UK or to Jerusalem and so on. Special packages can be done for local tourism. Then put a little money in their pocket and Nigerians will go there. But in a

    situation where the average Nigerian does not even have money to live by the day, how can he have money for tourism? So we have to do a re-think on tourism.

    If you have to advise the government of the day about domestic tourism, what will you say?

    Domestic tourism does not fall from heaven, there has to be a deliberate government policy to that effect. Ambassador Frank Ogbuewu, a former Minister of Culture and Tourism called the period of harmattan season an opportunity to promote tourism. But nobody paid attention to him. I was part of that project as a consultant, but nobody pursued it.The countries that enjoy domestic tourism today are those that have institutionalised those little social items that matter to tourism.

    In England when they were promoting their tourism, going on holiday was made compulsory. Eventually they knew where to go, knew how to reach there and they had money in their pocket because they had been made to save during the year for that purpose. Here, you do not have money to save. As a retiree in Nigeria, if you had not amassed wealth, it is difficult to survive.

    But you are still looking healthy, youthful and fit, so how do you do it?

    I do lots of exercises, I watch what I eat as I go older. I make myself to laugh a lot. That is the easiest way of avoiding uninvited diseases.

    So what do you think of outbound tourism in Nigeria?

    That is where you find the Nigerian they are everywhere, Dubai, UK, USA and so on. Within two months of Emirate Airlines introducing flights to Abuja, they had to change the capacity of their aircraft. That tells you the high volume of movement of people on the international route.

    How about inbound?

    There are no records. Any record you have now is a guess work. The so-called satellite tourism account is not heard of again. They have been talking about it at the NTDC for about 15 years now. But nothing to show for it. So we do not have proper records. All you have for Nigeria at World Tourism Organisation are estimates. No proper statistics. Information is distorted. But in other countries, these are basic pieces of information that can be accessed by anybody. So these are the deliberate policies that we are talking about that government must follow up and put in place. If you look at the Master plan for Nigerian tourism, you will see all this there. But right now, we do not know if or where that master plan is.

    The new government has a lot to do; they must appoint professionals into tourism positions. The government must also spring into action to ensure that all the relics from Kirnin Borno Empire are kept intact. They should not be destroyed by the insurgency going on in the northern part of the country. And of course we must have good security even for domestic tourism to thrive. Once you cannot move from one point to another, then domestic tourism cannot thrive.

    Do we have committed stockholders to drive tourism if the government were to have the will to take on the development of tourism in the country?

    There are committed Nigerians, some have passed on, but others are there. Then also, younger people have to be trained on tourism as a subject.