Chief Oseni Elamah is the Executive Chairman of Edo State Internal Revenue Service and the ‘Okaoivbiore’ of Benin Kingdom. He recently clocked 55. In this interview with Osagie Otabor, he revealed how an encounter with the Benin monarch as a Crown Prince then made him to always do the right things.
How do you feel at 55?
As I became aware of myself, I begin to appreciate the blessings that God has endowed me with. Every day, every hour, I keep thanking God for the blessings he used me to extend to others. Having attained the age of 55, my main passion now is to see how I can mentor others to be responsible members of the society and to contribute their own quota to the development of society and humanity. I have a passion for mentoring and use the time not just to the service of humanity but to the service of God.
How were your early days in life?
I had a very humble background. I was born into a very large polygamous family in Auchi. My father being a very special high chief of Auchi. He was the Seriki Samali. He was a big entreprenuer. He established a business at Ikare-Ekiti. I was born in Auchi in 1959. I am a twin, the first set to be delivered at the Auchi General Hospital. I spent my early years with my parents. I later went to stay with my aunty. I came to Benin when I was six to live with my uncle in Benin City who was the Auditor-General of the then Mid-western state. I did my primary education at St Thomas Primary school along Airport road. I was born muslim but I got coverted to christianity during my stay with my uncle. I became a mass server. I attended Eghosa Grammer School. After my school certificate in 1978, I joined the then Bendel State as an audit clerk. From there, I got an in service training at the Auchi Polytechnic. Before going to Auchi Polytechnic, I got admission to read Architecture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka but my uncle wanted me to study accountancy. I left Auchi and worked briefly with the State Audit at Auchi. I went to Lagos because I wanted to write my professional examination. I got qualified as a chartered accountant. The rest is my working career. I did the stock exchange dealership exams. I am a stock broker till 1998 when my late mentor, the late Chief Arret Adams was appointed as Special Adviser on Petroluem to the regime of Abdulsalami Abubakar. I was equally appointed Senior Special Assistant to the office of the Special Adviser. I was there till 1999 when the administration handed over. I returned to Lagos in 1999 and became executive director in charge of business development in a company owned by the late Arret Adams. From there, we incorporated a new business, a joint venture company and I became the managing director. It was from that position I got appointed as the Executive Director, Finance and Investment of the Nigeria Social Investment Trust Fund. The comrade governor, who was then President of NLC, was the chairman of NSITF. We worked to ensure that workers social benefits were paid. Contributions were properly managed. The pension reform came and the NSITF being a foremost pension benefit administrator had to incorporate a pension fund administration under the pension fund act called Trust Fund Pensions. I was then seconded to be the pioneer Chief Executive. I was there till 2008 when I was appointed Special Adviser on Project Monitoring and Physical Governance. Before then I was appointed Chairman Assets Verification Committee to chart a new course for governance.
As a young audit clerk, what motivated you to raise an audit query for your boss who is now the Oba of Benin Kingdom when he was appointed Commissioner for Finance in Bendel State during the Military Administration of Maj-Gen. George Agbazika?
That is a very old story now. It was not fear but because of my innocence and my youth, I think it was more of respect and admiration. I was not conscious of his emerging position as a king because he was then the crown prince. In any event because of his cosmopolitan nature and exposure having served at the federal level because he retired as the Federal Permanent Secretary for Health. He was well abreast by the intricacies of the civil servcie and by extension the various audit procedure. My encounter was during the cash count and accounting procedure. Not until I became acquainted with civil service rules, the issue of audit query was seen as a normal working tool for the auditor to complete their jobs especially for things you don’t understand. By way of seeking for clarification, you raised an audit query requesting the correspondent to provide the necessary information or refund whatever amount remaining. Being a very young man, just coming from the secondary school, I did not know the intricases with civil service procedure. That action made a turning point in my life to the extent I made sure to do the right thing no matter the consideration parochial interest or any absurd things that will compromise my own innocency, honesty and integrity.
What made you believe in Governor Oshiomhole?
It is not different from the encounter what I see in others that have played a very important role in my life. It was the late Arret Adams who has a passion for bringing things that you think are impossible to be possible. When the Comrade Governor was the president of the NLC even though we knew way back home, we have not had any official interaction. When he was made the chairman of NSITF which was to collect contribution from workers in the private sector into a pool for their retirement benefit and the late Arret Adams had looked at the various organs of governnent and his own experience in government having been the pioneer Group Managing Director of NNPC, he felt what way we can assist him to succeed as chairman of NSITF, we then wrote a proposal to him on how NSITF can effectively collect the money, invest it so as to grow the fund and meet the mandate of paying to retirement benefit to individuals. It was that memo I took to him in Abuja. He said it was a good thing to take to the president. After a while, he said ‘Why don’t you come in to implement these things you wrote.’ I told him I cannot give him an answer. As I was going back, he has approach the president. He came back to discuss with my mentor. That was how I came into NSITF. I believe that all we did growing the fund we met from N5.6bn to about N48bn till we left in 2005. It shows there was a tremendous growth. It was that period I had a close working relationship with the now chairman of the state Economic Team, Mr. Godwin Obaseki who helped to put all the investment policies together that helped us. By the time Adams stopped being the chairman of NSITF, the management and the Board had confidence in me that when the pension reform came, they agreed I was the right persons to fit into the position.
What is your motivation to giving free ICT training to youths?
The passion I got kept from my statement of someone looking at for the future. I kept wanting to create job and employment opportunities for our youths. During my working days with the late Arret Adams, he made me to be writing several notes giving referral to various youths to get jobs. Some of the feedback from the employers was that some of them were not employable because they lacked ICT knowledge and education and that is the reason why we decided encourage them to get ICT training. For me, as a way of giving back to the society. I decided to set up an ICT institute in Auchi. The governor was on the board of governing council and other prominent people. We offer scholarship to indigent graduate and students who were seeking to acquire ICT knowledge and skills. With that we felt we could enhance their skills at getting jobs in banks. It paid off because that institute has trained over 10,000 graduates and most of them are gainfully employed. I still have this passion of giving ICT knowledge to our youths.
How have you been coping with tax collection in a state like Edo?
We had a vision when we came. The vision was to become the most efficient and effective revenue generating agency in Nigeria that will earn the tax payers confidence. Part of it was to create a tax friendly environment so that people will easily comply with existing tax laws in meeting up their civic obligations to government and the society. What we have that was our biggest assets was the governor himself having come to power through a popular electoral process and people having given their mandate freely were also willing to support their contributions through taxes. All we needed was to create that enabling environment to ensure that there is accountability, transparency and value for tax payers money that will enable us earn the confidence of tax paper. The key is the people. We have tried to clean up the system, plug all the loopholes that are in the system to ensure that whatever money generated and collected gets into government coffers. It is evident that the comrade governor has demonstrated leadership and the political will to ensuring that tax payers money is out to work in the state which is evident everywhere you go in the state.
