The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Olatunji Bello

  • Tunji Bello: A witness to history

    Tunji Bello: A witness to history

    Nearly a week after the official handover of the 550-seater architectural masterpiece that is now the Olatunji Bello Auditorium at the Epe Campus of the Lagos State University (LASU) to the officials of the institution, quite a lot has certainly been written about the rare philanthropy of my dear friend and brother, Olatunji Bello, the executive vice chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to fill a book of tributes. While much of the story has run in bits and parts of which the running threads in the various accounts is the exemplary generosity of the donor, the timeliness and uniqueness of the sacrifice, the public spiritedness that have come to define not just his chequered private and public life, I believe yours truly couldn’t but to preface this piece with an innocuous detail which I consider as bearing the imprimatur of Divine approval on the initiative as yours truly, and my colleague Tunji Adegboyega (Cyclone) undertook the 127-kilometre journey to the venue last Wednesday morning.

    We had arrived at the venue early enough – that is some few minutes after the 10 am kick-off time to meet the venue nearly packed full. It turned out a roll-call of who-is-who in public service and the professions; time to reconnect with old time buddies, friends and colleagues. The governor was there, so also was his deputy, Femi Hamzat, and the chair of the occasion, the minister of education and Tunji’s namesake, Tunji Alausa.   It was in every way, Tunji Bello’s day with past and present Lagos State executive council members represented.

    However, just before the event proper kicked-off, the skies suddenly became pregnant with the foreboding of a possible disruptive rain. Given that the event was an outdoor one, the prospect was somewhat troubling. In fact, the cultural troupe brought in to perform actually staged their performance under the light showers.

    By the way, with yours truly and Cyclone seated in a position that was particularly vulnerable, he on his part couldn’t but wonder aloud if the donor had thought of the minor rite of African logistics of putting the rainmakers on the standby particularly with nearly one-score traditional rulers clad in their traditional regalia seated on the front rows!

    While any thought of such question popping up was not only  bizarre but also late in coming, yours truly could only chuckle that the light showers which had become somewhat threatening at the point could only be a sign of blessing; or better still, a note of approval from the celestial realm which only the discerning could interpret; which probably explains why the blue skies soon after receded to give way to the clear sunny skies that would provide the much needed warmth to the event and thus put the stamp of Divine approval on the exemplary offering from a noble heart!  In the end, it was like the elements had determined that being Tunji Bello’s Day, they would ensure that nothing would be allowed to mar its success.

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    Call it an awesome moment in which the anxieties and not least the endless wonders of the nights, would melt into a beautiful testimony. It was a sight to behold.

    Of course, the story behind the auditorium story is already in the open. So are the lessons. Indeed, the story that began some 14 years as an annual prize in five disciplines of Law, Mass Communications, Social Sciences, Engineering and Medicine for brilliant but indigent students offers great lessons in the power of the small but silent beginning, of commitment and the perseverance to see worthy causes through. For while 14 years might seem like nothing given TB’s blessedness, yet, in a clime where showmanship has become something of popular culture, it is certainly a big deal that the seed of those years has not only survived but thrived. Seen in that context, the 550-seater auditorium would seem a mere icing on the cake, a natural progression of a life constantly in the purpose – an attestation to the character, something in the DNA of the dreamer that is beyond the ordinary.

    To those who somehow conceive of giving as something of a painless art, Tunji would offer two pragmatic counsels: nothing good comes easy; the other, a reminder of the Biblical parable that “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”.

    For Tunji, the moment came when he had to sell a prized property so the work could go on.

    Also worthy of note is that the project actually predated the vice chancellorship of his dear wife, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello. In fact, a huge dose of the credit deservedly belongs to her. As Tunji himself is wont to testify, the idea of giving back to the university was originally hers. However, on receiving what could only be the tiny mustard seed, his was to mull on the idea until it found concrete expression in the gigantic project that became the auditorium.

    Call it a divine arrangement: an idea conceived in the womb of our doughty professor being fertilised by the spouse and delivered during her tenure as vice chancellor.  I love the coincidence!

    My colleague, Segun Ayobolu has written on the Tunji Bello phenomenon and the grace of selfless giving just as Tunji Adegboyega has in his Sunday column echoed the same sentiment of the cheerful donor.

    Let me add that the Tunji Bello that I have known since 1986 on the Features Desk of the Concord newspapers actually embodies the truth about giving as life itself! However, while it is no surprise that names like the late Bashorun MKO Abiola and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu feature among those that inspired and continues to inspire him, those close to him, particularly those who have benefitted from his generosity, including yours truly, cannot but testify to the uniqueness of his persona, particularly his innate propensity for charity and charitable causes.

    Let me end this with a simple takeaway: the fact that one does require a big pocket to start giving. I love how Tunji elliptically puts it: If God gives you a dream or an idea, he will somehow avail the means to bring it to accomplishment!

  • Two acts, Two Olatunjis

    Two acts, Two Olatunjis

    Two great developments happened last week, and they serve as beacons of large hearts in an age of greed. The first was the donation of a magnificent auditorium to the Lagos State University (LASU) by friend and brother Olatunji Bello, current CEO of the FCCPC. The other is a donation of a house to the Kogi State University by Olatunji Dare, well-known columnist and professor of Journalism.

    I attended the event of Bello’s donation, and in attendance were well-known dignitaries.

    Enter the BOS of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Enter his deputy, Femi Hamzat. Enter Aremo Segun Osoba, and many dignitaries.

    These two efforts were not just a show of love. they demonstrate that to give is better than to get, and the former makes sense only in the latter.

    Bello, a former editor, columnist and three-time commissioner and secretary to government in Lagos State, exemplifies what many lack who occupy public office: the meaning of giving. For many office holders, to give is to “dash” money and ignite the vanity of the man of power.  For Bello, he is giving as legacy. His wife, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, is the vice chancellor of a school that has grown under her watch to be a top-ranked institution and the most subscribed not only in Nigeria but on the sub-continent.

    The hall, an over 500-seater, is a modern edifice with tech bells and whistles, and should give the students a reason to ponder. Located in Epe, the place was corralled by the Nigerian army and made a wanton with their power and distorted glory, and former head of state General Sani Abacha was commander.

     The locals resisted them and uprooted them as nauseating neighbours.

    Today, it has moved from ragtag to renaissance, brute to beauty, which is the essence of learning

    Poet John Keats calls it truth is beauty. Bello started it also as a homage to his late father, and it was a testimony to how we can change thing with just a little thought.

     I recall a line an American trainer taught us in Concord Press about writing a lead sentence, and referred to a story of how a house gets its first brick.

     He crooned: “In the beginning there was nothing.” So, it was before Bello said, let there be an auditorium and we have a monument of the mind.

    Professor Dare has a similar story, only this time it is a tribute to his late mother. He started the idea years ago, and informed the university top brass including the ebullient Professor Olu Obafemi.

     The house is located in Kabba, and that is where he hails from in Kogi State. Dare, a role model in the media and self-effacing exemplar of fine prose, was not even present at the event, but local worthies, the cream of the community and university including Professor Obafemi, materialized for him.

    Theirs contradict what a Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of COZA said about Christ Apostolic Church Founder. That he had anointing but was poor.

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    Such an irresponsible drivel from a so-called man of God.

    He apologised, though without contrition. His ilk who populate the Pentecostal brand have raised money over values.

     Their followers deceive themselves they love God, but it is money over the holy of holies.

     Hear Jeremiah: “Let the rich man not glory in his riches.” Christ asked a rich man to sell his wealth to the poor. How many times have you heard that in the churches?

    What a coincidence. Two top media names, though of different generations, have bestowed grace to education.

     In an absorbing novel, The Safekeep  by Yael van der Wouden that won the women’s prize for Literature, the Dutch author makes the point that a house is not just a house, but a memory, a history, a hope and a striving.

    It is my hope that the students and faculty will make these two gems into fuel for progress.

     As Euripides wrote: “Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead forever.”

     These two are legacies forever.

  • Why I built auditorium for LASU, by Tunji Bello

    Why I built auditorium for LASU, by Tunji Bello

    Text of the speech delivered by the Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Olatunji Bello, at the inauguration of the newly-built Olatunji Bello Auditorium, a 550-capacity multi-purpose auditorium he donated to the Lagos State University (LASU),

    Let it be recognised that we are not just commissioning a chamber to impact knowledge, but also witness, firsthand, the force of faith, the prophetic power of the tongue and what is possible when we all commit to the pursuit of public good.

    By that I mean the audacity to envision what seems most impossible and then summoning a relentless push to make it happen.  At my 50th birthday in 2011, I had committed to instituting an annual prize in five disciplines namely, Law, Mass Communications, Social Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

    I was very intentional about the criteria to qualify. Academic brilliance was one. Two, coming from a poor background. And three, the beneficiary must be an indigene of our dear state of Lagos. The whole idea is targeting those brilliant minds at the risk of dropping out of academic pursuit on account of poverty. To the glory of God Almighty, we have been able to sustain that scholarship programme till date.

    So, as my 60th birthday approached in 2021, the concern was how I could do more. For me, the idea of throwing a big party to mark the occasion was completely off the table. My darling wife, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, the very able Madam Vice Chancellor of this great university, is the one who initially mooted the idea of building something for LASU to mark my 60th birthday. She was not yet the Vice Chancellor then. I never gave much thought to her suggestion immediately until few days later.

    Eventually, after much reflection, I agreed it has to be an auditorium, truly befitting and fit for purpose. By the time we invited the architect, Mr. Kunmi Ayinla, to come up with a building plan and give us the cost implications, I was frightened when I saw the budget drawn by the architect and was immediately filled with doubt as per the feasibility of going ahead to build an auditorium for LASU.

    But when God gives you a vision, God Almighty will also provide the means in miraculous ways. Of course, God’s miracle sometimes comes by having some brilliant ideas suddenly deposited in your mind. After days of wrestling with the architect’s budget in my head, it suddenly occurred to me I could ask those going to buy me gifts for the 60th birthday to monetize such and hand me the cash to do something really dear to my heart.

    It worked. A very wealthy friend and known businessman had wanted to surprise me with a brand new Toyota Land-cruiser Jeep. I appealed to him to convert it to cash. With donations from other able friends and well-wishers, we got started in 2021.

    I am of the belief that God Would never abandon whatever He Starts. Help came from some other quarters one least expected. Still, there were moments of doubts and temptations we encountered. But our faith never wavered. The toughest moment being late 2023 and early 2024 when the Naira went down and inflation upset all previous calculations. It meant that the costs were almost tripled at the point of buying finishing materials. To continue, I had to sell my property at Magodo estate to keep the workers on site in order that it may not become an abandoned project after three years of construction.

    To God be the glory, the rest is history.

    Without wishing to sound sanctimonious or all-righteous, one point I like to seize this moment to make is the consequential choice between transient enjoyment and posterity. Thus, by choosing to invest the money through sowing the seed in the vineyard of knowledge, I believe we are invariably preserving my 60th birthday cake in a way that it will be shared and savoured by many generations to come.

    Besides, this is my humble way of supporting the argument that public purpose is served better by helping public universities fill the infrastructural gap.

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    Certainly, the government alone cannot do it. Private individuals who really have the means should invest in public tertiary education to create more opportunities as prevalent in several developed countries.

    To the students soon to start benefiting from this auditorium in the production of ideas, let me say a few words of advice.  I hope you would draw inspiration from the words of the great American statesman, Benjamin Franklin, we engraved on the marble at the entrance. That, “Investment in education pays the best interest”. No truer words have ever been said or spoken.

    As you begin to take your seat and hear the voices of your lecturers echo through the Public Address System, I sincerely hope this auditorium will inspire you to double your zeal to excel in your academic pursuit and become the next Ayodele Awojobi, Wole Soyinka, Chike Obi, Isa Abubakar, Oluwasanmi, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, Ojetunji Aboyade, among other academic giants in our history. As parents, our fervent prayer is that you will be greater than us. Technology has indeed made the world a global village. In our time, the idea of library was a space filled with books, requiring you to walk a distance from the hostel.

    Today, the library is on your palm, at the click of your phone, providing you vast information on anything under the sun. So, you have no excuse or reason not to excel.

    I have been similarly inspired by my late father, Alhaji Azeez Olatunji Bello. I drew inspiration daily from his legacy. One such was how Ansar Ud Deen College at Isolo in Lagos started. When the idea of the school was mooted in early 1950s by the Ansar Deen Missionary Society, my dad didn’t hesitate before donating his vast tract of land as part of the process to build that school.

    To my dad, there was no better way to demonstrate a deep faith in the power of education to transform the society.

    Later in life, I was also inspired by the example of my late boss and mentor, Bashorun MKO Abiola, winner of June 12, Presidential Election, who, on a single day in the late 80s, announced an endowment for universities across Nigeria.

    Nor should we also forget the inspiring story of our dear President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who, on assumption of duties as governor in 1999, declared that all his salaries and allowances be donated to charities including orphanages.  He had also about four years ago announced an endowment fund of one billion naira to this great university.

    I have another good news for you the great students of LASU. Courtesy of VDT Communications, there will be free WiFi at the auditorium, to enhance your learning experience. On your behalf, I thank the Managing Director of VDT Communications, Mr. Biodun Omoniyi, who is a great friend of mine from childhood. As you can see, we are committed to your academic success. Let that inspire you to aim for academic excellence always.

    To the management of LASU, let me also announce an additional pledge right away. We recognise that maintenance remains a big challenge vis-a-vis managing public assets. Thanks to the thoughtful generosity of another friend of mine, the maintenance of this auditorium and its facilities will be handled by a private management company for another year. So that within a year, an appropriate and sustainable maintenance protocols would have been established for LASU authorities to assume full responsibilities thereafter.

    Before I conclude, let me put on record that this auditorium is my own token of appreciation to God Almighty for his grace and to my dear native Lagos State for the great opportunities given to me. First, I have also been one of the beneficiaries of the Lagos State Government’s scholarship award as an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan in the early 1980s. And later the privilege to serve in public office in various capacities.