The Nation Newspaper

Category: Society

  • ‘I haven’t fulfilled my mission on earth’- says 92-year old cleric with 89 wives

    ‘I haven’t fulfilled my mission on earth’- says 92-year old cleric with 89 wives

    Not a few people rushed to the palatial building of the famous Bida, Niger State-based super polygamist, 92-year-old Alhaji Muhammed Bello Masaba, when the news of his death filtered out last week. It turned out, however, that his purported death was nothing more than an unfounded rumour.

    Famous for marrying 89 women against the maximum of four prescribed by Islam, the Islamic cleric has had a running battle with some Islamic scholars and traditional institution. Naturally, therefore, the news of his death generated massive interest from the social media.

    But during a visit to his Masaba Quarters in Bida, our correspondent found Pa Masaba, as he is fondly called, seated majestically among his followers, listening to their complaints and offering words of advice.

    He had earlier laughed off the calls our correspondent made to him about his rumoured death, saying, “I am not dead, I am alive. Allah’s divine assignment must be carried out. Although death is the ultimate end of all, I will fulfil my days and divine assignment.”

    He then invited our correspondent from Minna, the state capital, to his Bida home to dispel the rumour of his death.

    He said: “My dear, I have heard the wicked rumour being peddled, but Allah is greater than all the perpetrators of this wicked rumour.

    “Please, I am inviting you to come to Bida. I am now with all my children and other well wishers.

    “My health is in perfect condition and I have been attending to people since the wicked rumour went viral.”

    Off our correspondent went to Bida the next day for a chat with the super polygamist. Once at his compound, our correspondent had to climb the staircase to his three-storey building to meet him in his sitting room.

    On her way up the staircase, our correspondent met many of his wives and children as they swarmed up and down the staircase. Others around the compound were busy with the process of preparing lunchmeasuring the spices, cleaning the fish and so on. The mood in the compound was gay and there was not the slightest indication of sadness or despair in the face of any.

    Pa Masaba’s sitting room was filled with his followers. He was seated in a chair with his personal assistant seated close to him. Looking hale and hearty, he beamed a smile at the sight of the reporter.

    “You must have been here before,” he said, prompting the reporter to affirm his words. He then said he purposely invited a correspondent of The Nation to let the world know that he was hale and hearty. He then said he would not entertain any question because he was under “divine directive” not to speak to the media on any issue now.

    He said: “I only want you to come and see me. I am alive and well. I really cannot speak to you today because I am under divine directive not to speak to the media, either about my rumored death, my views about the nation, my family or anything. So I am not speaking. I follow every directive I receive from God.”

    After leaving the cleric, our correspondent engaged his personal assistant, Alhaji Matahiru Salahudeen Bello, who has been with him for more than 27 years, in a conversation.

    Bello disclosed that all Masaba’s followers were saddened by the rumour of his death, which he said must have emanated from the camp of his enemies. He said the cleric had never been sick, which made the rumour totally unfounded.

    Bello said: “Baba is not sick. He is well. This must be the work of his enemies. He is 92 years old now and he is enjoying life to the fullest.

    “We have been receiving calls from all over the country since the enemies planted the fake news of Baba’s death. The panic the report has caused can only be imagined. That is why we have asked Baba to stay outside and address the faithful.

    “Baba is not sick, not to talk of being dead. His enemies are at work. Like he has told us, no man can take his life when he is not due.

    “He climbs the staircase to his three-storey building every day. He went down at 4.30 this morning and climbed up a few hours before you arrived. No one helped him to climb the stairs.

    “Baba can do what a man of 65 cannot do. That is to show how healthy he is.”

    Speaking further about the super polygamist, Bello added: “Baba Masaba is not an ordinary being, he is an agent of God and he cures whatever sickness is brought to him.

    “His character is very good. He is good and open to everyone and extends his charity to all and sundry.

    “He is more than a father to me and many of us here. He is my mentor.”

    Asked how Pa Masaba treats the patients that are brought to him, Bello said the Islamic cleric treats them without medicine. But he expects everyone that comes to him to submit to the will of God.

    “Whatever sickness is brought to him, he treats it. He believes that God cures all and he is the agent that tells you how God will cure you.

    “He treats people without herbal or orthodox medicine. He expects his patients to submit to God and shun adultery, alcohol, fornication and other vices.

    “My wives, children and myself have been with him for almost 30 years, and we have been living without the application of drugs. The same goes for others.”

    Some of his followers who spoke with our correspondent expressed their wish for the Islamic cleric to live longer. “We want him to be alive. If possible, for many more years. He is more than a million to us,” one of them said.

    It was learnt that Pa Masaba has more than 5,000 dependants, who he feeds and houses. Most of his followers earn their living around the place where the building that houses the Masaba family is sited.

    One of them, who earns a living from cleaning people’s nails, says he earns between N2,500 and N3,000 every week cleaning nails for visitors and patients of the cleric.

  • How Buhari led us to flush out invaders from Chad-Retired Colonel Musiliu Olaore

    How Buhari led us to flush out invaders from Chad-Retired Colonel Musiliu Olaore

    Political commentator and public affairs analyst, Musiliu Shittu Olaore, retired from the Nigerian Army as a colonel about 14 years ago. He explains the circumstances that led to his exit, in this interview with ADEKUNLE JIMOH. He also relives his interesting times in the army. Excerpts:

    How would you describe yourself?

    I hail from Offa, Kwara State. I am also a practising medical doctor. I was born in Kumasi, Ghana, when my father went there on business. My father was trading in fish before he relocated to Nigeria in 1960.

    When were you born?

    I was born in the late 1950s. I started primary school in Ghana and completed it in Nigeria, mostly in mission schools like Baptist before my secondary education at the then Niger State Provincial Secondary School, Bida. It is now Government College, Bida. I finished from there in 1967 and proceeded to Government College, Keffi, in then Plateau State for Cambridge Higher School Certificate from 1967 to 1969.

    In 1970, I proceeded for my medical course at the University of Lagos where I qualified as a medical doctor in 1975. I did my housemanship between 1975 and 1976 and went for the mandatory National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) in 1977. Then in 1978, I joined the army.

    Will you say you were born with silver spoon?

    No. My father was a moderate man. He was self-contented. That is why I am following in his footsteps.

    Why did you elect to enlist in the Nigerian Army?

    When I left the NYSC, I saw the military as a bastion of vigour and good life. Otherwise, after NYSC, I was asked to come to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for my post-graduate programme in Gynaecology. But whilst serving as a youth corps member, I saw the benefits of serving the nation on a higher scale. That is why when I completed my NYSC programme, I went back to LUTH and started the post-graduate programme. But not more than three months into the programme, I just saw my name in Daily Times that I should come for an interview in Ibadan, because I had applied while serving as a youth corps member.

    So I went and the late General Mamman Vasta asked, “So you are a medical doctor?” and I said yes. He said we need people like you in the army. That was how I joined the army. Afterwards, I had to go back to LUTH to tell them of my decision. The authorities of LUTH encouraged me to stay back and finish my post-graduate programme but I refused. That was how I joined the army in October 1978. I spent 24 years, six months and four days. I voluntarily retired from the army in 2003.

    Since retirement, I have not really engaged in any active work, because one thing about the military is that once you serve there and retire and you are contented, you will not want to serve under anybody again. Except maybe you just want to offer service.

    Tell us about your major postings in the army

    Having completed my mandatory military training in the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna and Nigerian Military Depot, Zaria, both in Kaduna State, I was posted to the military hospital Enugu, as captain, general duties medical officer. While I was there, within eight months, I was seconded to serve in the United Nations peace-keeping force in Lebanon, to lead the contingent under the command of the late Lt-Col. Yohanna Madaki. I came back to the military hospital. From there, I was posted out again on a course at the Command and Staff College, Jaji, in Kaduna State. From Jaji, I was posted to Yola, then in Gongola State as Commanding Officer, 15 Field Ambulance Brigade, under the Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General Y.Y Kure.

    From there, the Maitasine riot broke out in Kano and spread to Yola. The then General Officer Commanding (GOC), General Muhammadu Buhari, now the current president, visited us in Yola and said we should be ready to move to that place. I pinned down at Munguno field hospital as the commander of the field hospital and Baga axis in Borno State. The then General Buhari came down from Jos. We were there. And when Chad operations came again, we moved to Baga under Buhari as GOC 3rd Armoured Division. We flushed them up to Chad. In fact, the then Chadian President complained to Alhaji Shehu Shagari why Nigeria was invading his country. Buhari’s coming is not ordinary; it is divine. He is one of the greatest Nigerians that can look anybody in the face. He is not corrupt. He does not drink, he does not smoke and he does not womanise.

    We are not in this world to make money but for God and humanity. When we finished the Chad operations, I came back to Yola and from there to the Military Hospital Jos as senior medical officer. After two years, I was posted out to the Military Hospital, Yaba, Lagos from 1987 to 1989, and from there, I was posted to Markudi as Commanding Officer of the 31 Infantry Brigade Para-trooper. After, I was posted back to my headquarters in Lagosthe Nigerian Army Medical Corps. I was there for four years.

    In 1994, I was moved from there to 44 Armed Forces Reference Hospital, Kaduna. After one or two years, I was posted to Enugu again as medical officer of the whole 82 division. From there I went back to Lagos. All my children knew about all these movements, as I always took them along.

    Do you have a hospital of your own?

    No, I don’t. But I am proposing to have one, because a medical doctor is always one for life. But I will not tell you lies, very soon, I will have my own hospital. Over the years, I have been a political commentator and an analyst.

    Are you married?

    Yes, I am married and blessed with three boys and one girl. They are graduates now in various disciplines.

    Do you have any regrets in life?

    My greatest regret is that when I was in the army, I saw that the professionals were not being treated like the non-professionals. So I started asking myself, ‘I’m I in the right place?’ But I trudged on. When it was time for me to go, I voluntarily retired; not that anyone forced me. It was because of the discrimination in promotions; that certain categories of soldiers could not go beyond certain ranks. I said I didn’t bargain for such brazen discrimination. Another regret was when my wife quit the marriage, leaving me with four toddlers. I was saying, would I cope? Since she left me, I have not remarried. God helped me to train them; even when my late mother said I should bring them to her, I refused. To God be the glory, all of them are graduates. That is my joy.

    What are your happiest moments?

    When I saw my children growing and they were graduating. When the last two finished, that was my happiest moment. Because I voluntarily resigned so that I would take care of these children no matter what, and God has been very faithful to me.

    What were your challenges during active service?

    The army operates on discipline. It is not about whether you are right or you have a contrary opinion. Once a decision is taken by a superior officer, you must abide. Anybody who joins the military and he is not subservient cannot last. Even though you are right, you must obey before complaints. Then you can now go round and sell your idea again quietly. That is why the army is able to fight. When they say go right, left or centre, you don’t ask why. If you look back, you are court-martialled and shot dead on the field. The peace time court-martial is also there. The normal discipline of the army is spelt out when you are joining the army.

    What are your comments on the country’s economic recession?

    Look, the revelations about mind-bugling corruption of military officers having billions of naira, malls and shops! Look, they should be shot! Professionals who have gone to the universities doing their works or trading don’t have such huge amount of money. They just go to government and embark on a looting spree. The judiciary is not helping matters. Judges just grant frivolous interlocutory injunctions. Nigeria is not ready for democracy. We need militocracy; what the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe referred to in 1976 as diarchy; that is a combination of military and civilian rule.

    I am happy the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) said he has received petitions, promising to look into them. President Muhammadu Buhari should liaise with the CJN for accelerated completion of all corruption-related cases.

    Would you say you are a fulfilled man?

    Honestly, I am a fulfilled man. All my children are graduates. That is my greatest joy in life. Money or no money, what I will eat till I die, God has provided it. I am not looking for anything again than to be free and do what I want. What is this life all about?

  • My encounter with Obama after a call from White House —Ex-Miss Wheelchair Nigeria

    My encounter with Obama after a call from White House —Ex-Miss Wheelchair Nigeria

    HOW best could one describe you; a musician, an advocate for the physically challenged or an ex-beauty queen?

    What makes Grace Jerry’s life very interesting is that you can’t pin her to one thing. She is just an encapsulation of a lot of things. She is a recording artiste. What makes her an interesting recording artiste is that she uses music as a tool to create a lot of social good.  So, what I do basically is a blend of music and advocacy. That is why I say Grace is an embodiment of a lot of things put together.

    You mentioned music and social advocacy. Let’s talk about the social advocacy first…

    Grace is a disability rights advocate. I basically work to bring the issue of disability to the forefront. I do that through workshops, music and, as I mentioned earlier, through advocacy and campaigns. Interestingly, I co-founded an organisation called Inclusive Friends.  It is an organisation for and by persons with disability. We give faces and voices to people with disability and try to combat stigmatisation, marginalisation of persons with disability, and basically promote inclusion and equity for all.

    These are things you took on in your adult life. How was life with you before all this?

    Of course, you grow up with a lot of ambition. You want to be this and you want to be that. While growing up, I always said I wanted to be a journalist. There was this late broadcaster, Tokunbo Ajayi. I remember that whenever I watched her, I would say to myself one day, I would want to stay in front of the camera  and read the news. Of course growing up, all of that got to change.  I grew up in a family of singers. My mum happened to be a very strong chorister then in the Methodist Church. My auntie too. It was more of a singing family, I would say. So, singing kind of grew in me, and that is what I am doing till date.

    But then, going to school, I picked up other ambitions. I remember my first time in the university, I started with a diploma in Law. I wanted psychology, but eventually I found myself doing a diploma in Law. After that, I went back to start my degree programme in English Language.

    Interestingly, I am not doing anything pertaining to Law today. I am a singer and an advocate.  So, along the line, I think we just pick up things; we build capacity in a lot of things. I just found myself developing my knowledge in so many areas in line with development works, talking about the rights of people , especially the constituency that I represent.

    At what point did you decide that this is what you want you do?

    While in the university, I sustained the car accident that affected my spine. I sustained spinal cord injury. That happened on January 7, 2002. I was already in the university. Before then, I had never known the life of someone on a wheelchair. I had never been in close contact with anyone with disability. It was all strange to me. I had to learn to leave my life all over again.

    Were you a very active person before the accident?

    I was very active. I was very active in the church choir and very active in school. I was very sociable too. I would be the first on the dance floor in any party. I was really bubbling with life, and suddenly there was a change. I sustained the spinal cord injury and the doctor said I would have to be on the wheelchair for the rest of my life except there was a miracle. I remember it was a terrible phase for me at that period because, first of all, nobody knew I was going to survive. When I eventually survived it, adapting to my home first and foremost became an issue, because there was a staircase and here I was on a wheelchair. You know wheelchairs and steps don’t go together.

    There were also the bathrooms and so on. My environment was not just fit for the wheelchair. I remember there were lots of modifications that my parents had to carry out–knock off the steps so that my wheel chair could move freely. I had to start using one of the bathrooms in the house that was bigger, so that my chair could go through. I had to learn to put myself on and off the bed. It was not funny.

    After that, I was faced with the challenge of going back to school. Here was I in a school environment that there were staircases everywhere. My lecture hall particularly was even upstairs. Also, I couldn’t go back to church, because I used to be very active in church. In fact, the day the accident happened, I was on my way back home from a choir rehearsal. So, I could not even fit into my environment so to say. My home was modified, but my environment became my greatest challenge.

    I think that woke up something in me. I realised that if I didn’t draw the attention of people to accessibility challenge for persons with disability, they would never know or understand. This is because before it happened to me, I never knew, I never understood and I never bothered. So any opportunity I had… I remember my pastor had to make the church a little bit accessible for me to go in. After about a year plus, I was ready to be reintegrated back to my environment-to school, church and so on.

    Before you were physically reintegrated into the society, you must have fought some psychological battles. How was it?

    When the accident happened, at first when I was on admission at the hospital, I kept telling myself that in the next few days, I would be back on my feet. Three months on admission, nothing was happening. I was still lying down completely. They had to teach me to sit down. When I could sit down, they asked my parents to come with a wheelchair and my dad brought one. I started learning to sit on the wheelchair, to use the wheel chair and to move around the hospital environment. After three months, I was discharged to go home.

    I kept telling myself in the next one, two or three months, I would be back on my feet. One month turned into three months, one year, I just could not understand. The period of me being home, having to recover, a lot of my friends stopped visiting. I had a lot of friends in school. All of a sudden, they stopped visiting. I found that I was all alone most of the time. Friends from church too didn’t have time. So, I would always be home alone with my mum and dad.

    I remember it was so depressing, because I thought I had friends who cared. But all of a sudden, they were nowhere to be found. From morning till afternoon, I was all alone. I remember it was so depressing that I was venting it out on everyone around me. I became very violent and very rude. I would cry at the slightest provocation. I was so depressed to the point that I lost so much weight and my hair started falling off. It was terrible. However, I remember, I call it a reality talk that I had with my elder brother. He said to me, ‘Grace, if you are going to survive this, you need to make up your mind and survive. Nobody else will make up your mind for you. And if you want to rest, maybe you should make up your mind and die peacefully.’

    Because what I was doing was affecting everyone around me. People around me were not happy because I was not happy. Because for the first time after a long while, I had to think and I told myself that I was either going to allow disability define me or I define disability for what it is. That was a turning point in my life, because I made up my mind that I was going to be happy regardless of what had happened. I was going to get over this as quickly as possible, and I was going to use this a s a platform to talk about the challenges affecting people with disability.

    Immediately I did that, I went back to church. Any opportunity I had to hold the microphone, I would tell people that if they had houses that had staircases or public places that had steps, they should tell those in charge to create rams so that people that are physically challenged should fit into the society. So I started using the platform of the church to advocate for people with disability until I had the opportunity of a bigger platform; that was the first ever Miss Wheelchair beauty pageant that was to take place here in Nigeria.

    What they were looking for was a spokeswoman who would advocate for the rights of persons with disability. That was for about 22.2 million Nigerians as at 2010. They wanted a woman that would go round, influence policies, structures until the rights of persons with disability are captured. So, when this platform came, I knew that this would even give the opportunity to advocate on a bigger level for my voice to be heard. And that was it. I seized the opportunity.

    Was it just because you needed a bigger platform or you wanted to also keep yourself occupied?

    For me, it was an opportunity, because the only stage I had was the church. Then here was a national event that would give me a national platform to talk about these issues and it would reach faster. Because I had the boldness to speak, I was like, why not speak out for that woman or for that man, or for this group of people who are not as bold as I am? So, I seized that stage to become the voice for the millions of people with disabilities.

    Tell me about the experience.

    So, we came over to Lagos for the pageant. We had women with disabilities from parts of the country, including the FCT.  We were about 40 women with disabilities who came to contest the position of Miss Wheelchair Nigeria. I remember we were put in a hostel and here I was with 39 other women with disabilities from all over the country, who were very intelligent. It was interesting for me because every one of them had big, articulated dreams to change the cause of people with disabilities. These were women that were professionals, and just listening to each of their stories made me even forget why I was there.

    The main pageant then came. We went through the various stages and we were asked questions on what we would do to change the cause of people with disabilities. To cut the long story short, I emerged the winner and became the first ever Miss Wheelchair Queen here in Nigeria.

    You were picked as one of the YALI young African leaders for a training in the United States where you met President Barack Obama. How was that?

    The United States Department of States gives opportunity to young African leaders who are already change makers in their communities through mentoring, volunteering, and generally created one form of social good or the other. The opportunity is provided every year. It is an initiative of President Obama, and we were placed in top institutes in the United States. We had an intense programme at the University of Virginia. The experience was amazing. I saw firsthand what access means to a person with disability. I stayed in the United States for eight weeks and I did not see the need to ask anyone to assist me to do anything. My room, my environment were all accessible. Nobody was staring at me; I was one with everybody. I couldn’t wait to get back home to begin to talk about it, say it the way it is and push for it. This does not cost much to modify.

    One of the high points of the trip was your meeting with President Obama…

    The music side of me actually gave me that opportunity, which I didn’t even expect.

    How did it come about that out of about 500 young Africans, you were given the honour?

    When I got the call from the White House…

    You were called from the White House?

    We had an opportunity for community engagement and we were going to perform either in songs or in poetry. We were to showcase whatever talent that God gave us. Before I went to the Unites States, I did a song celebrating Nigeria. When I went to the US and there was an opportunity to sing, I decided that I was going to change the Nigeria in the song to Africa since we went there to represent Africa.  I did the song on stage for a small community. It blew the minds of everyone that was there. The song was recorded in video, put on Youtube and in less than 24 hours it had over 100,000 hits. We came together with the people from the presidency on how we could make that even bigger and it would become the official YALI tribute. So, we came together, shot the video in the home of one America’s past presidents, Madison, and it went on Youtube again. That was what attracted the attention of the White House.

    Seven weeks into the programme, we were going to hold the town hall meeting with President Obama, then I got the call. That was at the end of our six weeks programme. The seventh week was for the town hall. That was the week I got the call. The first thing they said was that we’ve heard your song. That was how I knew that it was the song that first caught their attention.

    How did you know it was really the White House?

    I knew it was the White House because the school knew the call was coming and they got me ready. But at that moment, it still came as a surprise. But they already knew. I was the only one that was not in the picture of what was about to happen. That was it. When they called, we were about to move from Virginia to Washington DC and they were ready to take it up from there.

    As soon as we got to Washington DC, one of the ladies that was attached to President Obama from theWhite House and people from the US Department of States rallied round me and made sure I put my speech together. They looked at it and made sure it was okay.

    Did you need any special preparation?

    Of course I was going to introduce the President of the World, so to say. It needed to be good. There were lots of preparations around it. What made it interesting was that they made sure I wrote my speech myself. I would read it to them and they would say okay, this place should be this, what if you put it like this? They would play some of his videos, the things he said, but they made sure they put together my speech and made sure I was very comfortable to deliver my speech and say it naturally.

    On the day of the town hall meeting, before the main event started, I had the opportunity to meet him (Obama) backstage. We had our own little interaction before the main event. He was fun to be with. He was like oh, Gracie!

    He already knew your name?

    He already knew my my name and knew what I was doing back here in Nigeria. He was in the picture of almost everything.

    He had done the back ground check?

    Yes, I was meeting him for the first time and he had already known everything Grace Jerry was doing. He was very nice. He told me, I heard you are the one introducing me today. I can’t wait to hear you do that. He was basically commending my work here in Nigeria. The interaction was centred around my work for persons with disabilities. He wished me well and I left and went up stage to introduce him. That moment for me was difficult to describe but it was just wonderful.  When I think about it, it is like a dream. I was wonderful. I shone on that stage.  I did my introduction and for the first time, the community of persons with disability all over the world felt so much pride. A friend of mine said now inclusion is on the global map, for a person with disability to be on that stage and introduce the strongest man in our world and in our time, it was so much joy for the community.

    Looking back to when you had the accident that changed your life, did you ever think it was a twist of fate that could propel you to this height?

    I am a believer and I hold on to this scripture that says ‘All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.’ That scripture makes sense to me every day that I encounter something in my life. What the enemy meant for evil, God has turned it around for good.

    Sometimes when things happen, and people would say this is bad, this is terrible, I would tell them you just watch it, God is about to use that experience to give something that you have never ever imagined.

    When I had the accident, I thought God had actually left me. I asked, ‘God, what did I do wrong? I have always served you and I have been a believer all my life. Why did you allow this to happen?’ I did not know that what was meant to crush me was what was going to be a stepping stone to bring visibility to the work of disability and to make Grace Jerry a big brand. I use my story to encourage people. I tell them whatever happens and you don’t understand, just trust God. He will take that thing that looks seemingly evil and make something beautiful out of it.

  • Tribute to a worthy servant

    Tribute to a worthy servant

    A book, Eze Madumere: A True Manifestation of a Loyal Prince – Tributes to a Worthy Servant, written in honour of Imo Deputy Governor Prince Eze Madumere, was presented at the Sam Mbakwe Hall of Concorde Hotel, Owerri in Imo State, writes NNEKA NWANERI.

    What was meant to be a book launch almost turned out to be a political gathering of sort. Many came from far and wide to Imo State to honour one of their own and number two citizen of the state, Prince Eze Madumere.

    It was the presentation of Madumere’s biography written by Peter Claver Obi entitled: Eze Madumere: A True Manifestation of a Loyal Prince – Tributes to a Worthy Servant.

    The book is a pictorial compilation of some of the activities of the man with a brief touch on his contributions towards the success story of the state. It began with his friendship with Governor Rochas Okorocha and subsequently their mutual political interest. They then began their political sojourn that led to the ‘Rescue Mission’ of the state, being their slogan.

    The book was first reviewed by Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof Joseph Ahaneku  and then Prof. U.D. Anyanwu of the Department of History and International Studies, Imo State University.

     

  • Eulogies for Olusi at 80

    Eulogies for Olusi at 80

    All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Prince Tajudeen Olusi turned 80 last week. A three-day programme was held to welcome the politician into the octogenarian club, reports NNEKA NWANERI.

    Prince Tajudeen Olusi’s entrance into the octogenarian’s club last week was a big event. It came with its befitting  celebration. And so, the political family of All Progressives Party in Lagos State considered it necessary to honour him.

    All roads led to the Diva Events Centre, KM 25, Lekki Express Way Ajah last Thursday for a prayer session by Imam Shakiru Mofesaiye and a  reception thereafter.

    Though  a working day, there was a large turnout of hundreds of guests who decked in white attires and purple head gears and caps to match.

    In a remark, Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode noted that Olusi has contributed to the development of the state and the country, adding that Baba Olusi should not stop giving them fatherly advice .

    ‘’Baba Olusi did not keep quiet when there were low moments in our midst, we came in to ensure that any challenge that would constitute a clog in the wheel were resolved amicably. Baba has remained indefatigable,’’the governor added.

    Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye chaired the occasion as the birthday ‘boy’ cut his beautifully crafted mosque and golden crown cake.

    In response, Olusi thanked God for grace and mercy on his life, noting that his political sojourn has been a successful one.

    He said: “I never thought I would   not make it to 80  and never   thought of ending my life. God has granted me good health and love;no life threatening ailment.

    “So far, so good, I wish the country progress because the advancement of any country is a collective effort, but I will continue to contribute my quota  to the development of the country. I advise the youth to have faith in God, be contented and tolerant of one another. Patience should be their watchword while they work towards their goals in life.”

    At the event were Lagos Deputy Governor Idiat Oluranti Adebule, former Governor of Lagos Lateef Jakande and his wife Abimbola; Lagos APC chairman Henry Ajomale, a former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance Wale Edun, Secretary to the Lagos State government Tunji Bello and Cardinal James Odumbaku.

    Others were: Senator Anthony Adefuye, Oba Olatunji Hamzat,  Alhaji Mutiu Aare, Prince Murphy Adetoro, Hon. Abiodun Balogun, Hajia Fatima Tinubu, Chief Wale Oshun, Lagos white cap chiefs and Islamic scholars, among others.

  • I’m just too much

    Motorola is a world-class brand, no doubt. The company started as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928 after two brothers, Paul V. and Joseph E. Galvin, bought over the battery-eliminator plans and manufacturing equipment of the bankrupt Stewart Battery Company at an auction. When its first product, battery-eliminators became obsolete due to advancement in radio technology, the company began the production of inexpensive car radios, which became a huge success. This success led to the rebranding of the company as Motorola.

    The Motorola Company pioneered several technologies such as the first hand-held walkie-talkie in the world in 1940; hand-held AM SCR-536 radio that was vital to Allied communication in World War II; radio equipment for most NASA space-flights for decades beginning in 1958 with Explorer 1(the famous words of Neil Armstrong from the moon “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” were said on a Motorola transceiver in 1969); the world’s first large-screen portable transistorised cordless television; the world’s first commercial cellular device; and of course, the world’s first wireless cable modem gateway in 2002, among several other landmark achievements.

    With such seemingly unbeatable number of “firsts” recorded by Motorola, the company should top the list of the world’s leading companies, don’t you think? Well, that is where we are wrong. According to Forbes’ list of the “World’s Largest Companies 2015”, which measured the companies based on revenue, profit, assets and market value, Motorola is not in the first 500. What could have caused the fall of such a great company? Here are a few suggestions, which I believe we can also avoid in our lives:

    • First doesn’t mean best: it is a feat to pioneer development but it is a greater feat to stay ahead in the process. Each time Motorola came up with a new invention, other companies followed suit. That wasn’t a bad thing. The problem came when those companies started to do it better.
    • The stumbling block called success: one of the best ways to deal with success is to quickly put it behind and face the next goal. Success is progressive so it has no end. Knowledge doesn’t stop with what you know. Sometimes, the information already acquired stands in the way of the information needed. However, where one person’s expertise ends is where that of another begins. We must be willing to admit that there is something out there that is more than what we currently have. This is the ever learning attitude that can keep us relevant in life. While we are celebrating our achievements, someone else is working on an improvement on our efforts. There is no time to take a break from innovation.
    • Disconnect from the end user: it was reported by Network World that Motorola missed the opportunity to migrate to 3G because the US wireless carriers, its biggest customers, weren’t interested in it. Unfortunately, the end users were ready for the migration. We cannot overemphasise the importance of staying in touch with every level of those who use our products or services. The question we need to ask is “who do we need the most?” Middlemen are a means to an end; users must be our priority.
    • Failure to adapt to changes: I found this very strange considering Motorola’s commitment to research and development. However, we cannot deny that the company’s technology gradually became obsolete in the face of competition. Finding out new ways of doing things is the way to the future. Steve Jobs had this to say, “I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.” We must not be too enthralled with our achievements to realise that the world has moved on. We must accept that people are too restless and dynamic to celebrate our successes for eternity; before we know it, they are looking for the next best thing.

    When a problem lingers, it may be an indication that the  level of information is not adequate. According to Albert Einstein, “You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created”. If it is true that every solution to an existing problem stirs up other problems of its own, then we must never be satisfied with yesterday’s solutions. What we know now may be good enough to solve today’s problems; but make no mistake, it will never be adequate for tomorrow. We must never become “too much” to realise we have stopped learning for “so long”.

    •Dr. Amodu teaches at the Department of Mass Communication, Covenant University, Ogun State.

  • Where is Chris Uba?

    Where is Chris Uba?

    Little is being heard of erstwhile Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) strongman, Chris Uba, these days. Since the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) booted out the PDP in the battle for the presidency last year, Uba has remained politically wounded. Just like his party has lost a lot of blood and is in need of serious blood transfusion to revive its ailing fortunes, Uba’s political fortune is on the verge of asphyxiation.

    But unlike some of his political companions who have taken to wailing in the public space like over-pampered kids whose ice creams were taken away, Chris Uba has maintained relative silence.

  • Aisha Buhari’s passion for womenfolk

    Aisha Buhari’s passion for womenfolk

    As wife of the President of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari no doubt has access to all the comforts that life can offer, be it exotic cars, choice meals, luxurious living quarters or the opportunity to travel around the world to meet famous people when she is not playing host to dignitaries in the Presidential Villa.

    In the midst of all the prospects of opulence, however, the conservatively-attired first lady has not forgotten the plight of her primary constituency, the women, and she is taking steps to ensure that as many women as possible get opportunities to join her on the pedestal of achievement.

    She has launched several initiatives to empower the womenfolk while she is a patron and supporter of similar programmes launched by others.

    She was a guest at the recent SHE Forum Africa hosted by Inimfon Etuk. At the said forum themed Regroup, Reboot, Remove the Mask, the president’s wife expressed her desire for women to get access to the same privileges and doors as their male counterparts. She prayed that women would make common cause in order to better confront and solve issues of gender equality.

    The event, which held in Abuja, had in attendance some of the biggest names in women advocacy in the country. Apart from the First Lady, who was represented by former First Lady of Ekiti State and wife of the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, was the keynote speaker.

    In attendance were the President of Nigeria Women Trust Fund, Mrs Olufunke Baruwa, and the Chairperson of Better Life Programme for African Rural Woman, Hajia Aisha Babangida. Mrs Ebere Ifendu, the president ofWomen in Politics Foundation, also graced the colourful event.

  • Babatunde Okewale expands business scope

    Babatunde Okewale expands business scope

    At a time when the focus is on commercialism and pure profiteering from the needs of the teeming masses, many private medical practitioners have forgotten the Hippocratic Oath they swore to, and turning the noble profession into avenues to amass fortunes. The story is different for Dr Babatunde Okewale, the Chief Medical Director at St Ives Specialist Hospital. The ambitious man has been making a difference in the medical industry, growing the St Ives brand from its humble beginnings 20 years ago to its current status as the destination of choice for people seeking top class medical attention in the country.

    The Ikeja and Ikoyi branches of St Ives have been catering for those with health challenges in the areas of obstetrics and gynaecology. Come October 31, the hospital, under the leadership of Dr Okewale, is set to expand into specialist family care with the launch of St Ives Hospital First Family Clinic on Mojidi Street off Toyin Street, Ikeja.

  • How I survived STROKE —Ex-NITEL, Multi-Links executive director

    How I survived STROKE —Ex-NITEL, Multi-Links executive director

    Chief Ezekiel Fatoye, an engineer, has remained a strong force in the telecommunication industry in Nigeria for four decades. Even as a septuagenarian, he is still very active in and outside the boardroom. An ex-Executive Director at NITEL and Multi Links, Chief Fatoye is at present on the management team at Spectranet. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO at his Victoria Garden City home in Lekki, Lagos State, he speaks on the secrets of his healthy life as a septuagenarian without engaging in strenuous exercise. He also exposes the lifestyles of many of his contemporaries and the practices that kill corporate organisations.

    ONE notices that at 78, you are still looking healthy and fit. What is the secret?

    Well, I am not 100 per cent fit like I used to be. About four or five years ago, I had a stroke. But I thank God it was mild and I eventually overcame it. I am thanking to God for His mercy. It is God’s decision that I should be around till this moment. I thank Him for His unlimited mercy in my life.

    Why did you say so?

    Well, when one is 70 years of age, that is the time for one to be rounding off on life. Like my uncle, Chief Morakinyo used to say, ‘If you are 70, you have got your boarding pass and you are in the departure hall. If the flight is early, you are gone; if it is delayed, good for you. The flight could be delayed for 24 hours or longer if you are lucky (laughs). I think that is the truth. Look at the case of Stephen Keshi, a young man, very sportive, very energetic, but he just died like that!

    Some 10 years ago, you were sharing your hobbies in an interview, and you said that as a form of exercise, you could not imagine yourself jogging around the VGC after eating your favourite meal of pounded yam…

    (Laughs) Yes, that is what I am saying. They will tell you ‘oh, it is all about fitness. You are supposed to go swimming, run, jump and do all sorts to keep fit. Now, that was all part of Stephen Keshi’s job! He was running around the field, training footballers, but he just collapsed and died at 54. So, for me to be here sitting and talking with you, it is God, and I return all the glory to Him alone.

    So in what ways do you recreate these days?

    I go to church. I do the necessary things that I feel I have the ability to do. I laugh, work and leave the rest. In doing all that, I am already well exercised.

    You are known to have been part of innovations in the telecommunications industry. After your tenure as executive director in NITEL, you started Nigeria’s first private telecommunications firm, Multi-Links, and at the advent of GSM, you moved out of that market before the collapse of CDMA. What is your survival secret in telecommunication business?

    Well, I think when we were in NITEL, we could see what was happening. I mean with our exposure then, we knew that telecommunication was going to be privatised at some point. The government was struggling to diversify the telecommunications business because telecom was strictly a monopoly then for the government. But we saw the revolution coming and we asked ourselves, ‘what are we going to do?’ So, we positioned ourselves to be able to compete if eventually government brought in private people to invest in the sector. We knew much about the industry.

    In fact, we took part in the formation of the NCC. The initial money provided to run the NCC was raised by NITEL at that time, and most of our people also worked with NCC as board members. So, we knew that privatisation was coming at that time and we wanted to do something quickly before government came. Unfortunately, we were handicapped because of bureaucracy and procedures, limitations of budget approval, and that unfortunately created problem for NITEL. That was why NITEL could not function as much as people expected it to.

    A time came when government decided that NITEL would be sold. We felt that it was not good, just because it was going to be sold, to start running the place down, saying oh, NITEL is not good or NITEL is useless; trying to de-market NITEL. But that is what was done. If you have a car and you keep saying oh, this car is not good, people should come and buy it. Who will buy it? The person can throw any amount to you to claim the car! That was exactly what happened to NITEL. NITEL had a lot of investment potential. It had a lot of potential as a company, but the odds against it were just too much.

    Of course, NITEL can still do well. I learnt some people have finally bought it. If they run it well, they can even be bigger than any of the existing telecommunication organisations. I think they are now called M-TEL.

    Another issue that is pertinent to the sad NITEL episode was the fact that a lot of people were not paid their benefits and a huge number of people actually died. How did you handle that episode?

    See, that is a very serious area you have just mentioned. You see, when we left NITEL, we got our gratuity the same day and we entered into pension the following month. So, NITEL was well organised. We had already planned our retirement strategy. We saved enough money for NITEL so that if they invested the money, whatever accrued from the investment would be enough to pay pension. That was the plan we left behind in 1994. Unfortunately, the money was just squandered.

    We had money in foreign exchange. We also had in naira value, and we said okay, let us invest this and we can use whatever accrued on the investment to pay NITEL, and we had already worked it out. But when the next government came, they started spending the money. When PDP too came in 1999, they finished the money. They just got the money and wired it. They said ‘ok, pay them (pensioners) for three years, pay them more for three years, pay them five years and they paid us en bloc. Now, it is over five years ago that they have paid that money. When you sign to work for government and you sign for pension, it means that they are going to pay your pension for life. But in this case, the government decided they were going to pay them off.

    But why was this so?

    I am also surprised. In fact, many of my colleagues are dying now like chickens. Every day, they say this or that one has died. Why? Because they don’t have anything again. There is no money; nothing. They were relying on continuous pension. Five years ago, they finished all the money they paid. In fact, it got to a level the pensioners took government to court and won the case.

    So, what happened to that case?

    Of course, the Federal Government put up an appeal. They were at the verge of going to the Supreme Court and government urged them to withdraw the case for a round-table discussion. Now, there is even no penny to pay anybody. People who are working can’t earn enough money to live, so what will happen to the pensioners? So, daily, people are dying like chickens. In fact, I know the senior ones in NITEL who worked in Britain before, they have gone back to Britain to be collecting pension. They have their houses and they live comfortably well in Britain now. Imagine, after working for thirty-something years in their own country, they couldn’t live well. They worked for five or 10 years in Britain and they are living comfortably well. In fact, some of them are getting five hundred or three hundred pounds in a month. If you get that in a month, won’t you be able to survive? And if they come here with that money in their bank account, after converting it, they have something reasonable for them to survive.

    You were able to survive all that uncertainty by getting investors to establish Multi-Links. That business survived until the arrival of GSM in 2001 and you sold again to move up to data technology sector. How were you always able to see and move ahead?

    You see, one thing about life is that you have to think ahead of time. A telecommunication company requires big investment. You need a lot of money. It is not a little game. It is a game of cash; deep pocket. If you don’t have that, you cannot survive in telecommunications. And you have to look at the technology that is coming. You must review the type of technology that is coming. We saw it coming. We looked at the business and we decided to be truthful to ourselves. As we have in the political arena, so we have in the field of technology.

    CDMA was supposed to be superior in design to GSM. In fact, it was Quocom of America that developed CDMA. They made a good use of the technology and sold it to another company to develop it. Before that technology, CDMA was strictly used for the military. They used it for the military because of the nature of the security involved. They didn’t want anyone to clone it. It is so difficult to clone, and that was good for military intelligence, especially during the era of the cold war. So, when cold war was over in 1962, they decided to commercialise the technology and that was when they allowed it to be franchised, and that was how CDMA became a globally used telephony technology in some parts of the world.

    Of course, they could have come up with more value added innovation to it as the promoters of GSM did, but you know Quocom is a very small company. Erricson was the forehead of GSM. They were the people who really spent a lot of money to develop GSM. So, when Quocom was going through recession, they bought over Quocom. When they bought over Quocom, there was no way Quocom could go forward with her CDMA invention. Of course, they have spent a fortune on CDMA, and when Erricson took over, the CDMA went down and GSM began to thrive. So, we knew that GSM was going to wipe the market because of the value added. We were aware of the data technology, the SMS and all other facilities that came with it. So, it was obvious that CDMA had no chance to survive in that market anymore.

    If it was just voice market, yes, CDMA would have been okay. But now the system is beyond voice. It is now data that is the major business. So, that is what we saw and we said, gentlemen, I think we have to move; that in another few years to come, things would change. So, you find that eventually, we now sought data and we started data in a very unique way, and I think data is the new way to go. Eventually, penetration is coming high in Nigeria and eventually, it is going to be the in-thing.

    As it were now, it seems MULTI-Links has sunk in shape and visibility. Is it right to say that TELCOM of South Africa made a mistake by buying MULTI-Links off you considering what happened to them a few years afterwards?

    That is a story for another day. But if you insist, I will tell you yes, they ran away.

    Why do you think they had to run away?

    Anyway, I don’t know whether I will be allowed to say anything, because my feeling is TELCOM failed in the area of corporate governance. Corporate governance killed the company. At the time they left, they shouldn’t have left. They came to Nigeria with the impression that they were coming to live like kings. They got accommodation in Lekki. They said they could not live in Lekki, they went to take multiple residence in Banana Island. I mean that was quite ridiculous. They took apartment in an environment where they were paying dollars. They didn’t want to ride cars, they wanted to ride jeep. Everybody, every TELCOM man had a jeep, whether he was a cleaner from South Africa or whatever he was, he must drive a jeep.

    And they had one weakness, which also culminated in their failure, and I warned them before I left there. I think they have this racial arrogance. They had three races running the administration of Multi Links at the time they took over. They had Nigerians separate, Indians separate and South Africans separate. But South Africans were on top, every other person was down. That was what they were doing, and I warned the man there. I even put it in writing. I said, ‘Look, I warn you not to behave like this; the thing will not augur well for you if you continue like this.’

    You think the Indians should have taken vantage positions because of their technological know-how?

    No, they could have used anybody, but don’t discriminate. Don’t show it up. You know this apartheid background they are coming from really affected their psyche and that really destroyed morale. Some of them are white, and that really led to a big problem. Come to think of it again, there were other things they did that did not augur well for the development of the company. In some cases, they went to hire sites in areas they never had network. They went to Adamawa, Yobe and all those far-flung areas to hire sites where they didn’t have signals and they didn’t even plan to have anything there. And they were paying.

    Not only that, they now set up another company, which they said would be responsible for the operation of the service. Then they were going to pay 18 per cent of their gross income to that company, and that company had no staff. Multi-Links staff would be doing their jobs and they would still pay the company 18 per cent. Then the real company, which is Multi-Links, they had nothing for them. When the revenue was going down, they then signed an obnoxious agreement with that company. They signed 10 years. When they eventually found that they were in trouble, they decided to run away. The people they borrowed the sites from, they were already owing them over a $100 million. The houses they paid three years rent for in one place, they couldn’t stay there and ultimately, the landlord could not return the three years money to them.

    So, when you consider all this, you will see a multitude of actions that led to failure. That is why I told you it was corporate governance issue that ruined them. When they now ran into total confusion, they called Helliot, the people they were owing money, to come and buy the company over, and the people said, ‘well, we are not operators, we only provide services.’ They said, ‘okay, bring $10 million and we will give you the company.’ That was what they did to Helliot. They transferred the whole thing to them and said ‘okay, liquidate all what we are owing you, take the company over.’

    So Helliot took over?

    Helliot was like, how would they cope? How would they get the company on? That was how they brought Demola Elesho to go and look at the way to bring the company on. But because they could not expand anymore and the others were expanding and they were losing customers every day, subscribers were dumping their network, they went lean. They are still operating now.

    So, what is the story of Spectranet where you are now?

    Like I told you earlier, we have seen that the future is data. What we wanted to do was more than just data. We wanted to create a complete bundle where you have voice, television and data together. Like in Britain, if you say you want to buy Sky today, you have a telephone line, you have television and you have the data or wifi or whatever you want to have in your house. That is a complete bundle. That is what we wanted to do. But first of all, government did not appreciate our effort. We said okay, we want to run fibre to every home in Lagos and Abuja, so that every home will be able to have television, telephone and data. That was our major plan: land line, television and data. Even at the initial stage, we were discussing with Sky in London to see how we could partner with them in the area of buying content from them.

    And how is Spectranet doing in terms of market share?

    I think we have a good lead. We are okay in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Abuja and even in Ibadan. We are okay now. But the only problem that data people have is the cost of the bandwidth, although it is coming down now. The cost of the bandwidth, that is the one that carries signals from Main-One or Glo or SAT-3 or whatever to enable our international cyber link. And why it is costly is because people who invest in bandwidth want quick returns on investment. Yes, they have the capacity but they are now reducing the capacity because of the cost. The cost is too high. If the cost has been reasonable, maybe the cost of running data would have come down completely, because it takes a bigger chunk of the production cost. That is the bandwidth cost. So, if that comes down like in many countries, we could enjoy cheaper data consumption.

    In some countries, the equivalent is N9 per metre. But in Nigeria, they are asking for N12,000. So, this is the real challenge we are facing. But I can equally tell you that they are coming down. In fairness to them, they are coming down because of the competition between Glo, MTN and May-ONE. Those are the three companies that are offering data services. Of course NITEL also has, but I don’t know if they still function.

    We learnt NITEL is coming with a 4GE data speed and they promise to make that a niche game. Do you see that succeeding?

    Well, that is what they said; they want to start from the top. You see, people are running away from landline. And that was what NITEL was doing before. Anybody that has ‘national carrier’ is obliged to provide landline. Glo and M-Tel are supposed to provide landline because they are national carriers. Glo is second national carrier, while M-Tel is first national carrier. They are supposed to provide Nigerians with land phones. For instance, if I want a land telephone in my house now, who do I apply to? I guess nobody.