President Bola Tinubu on Thursday last week, named Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as his new Power Minister. He also forwarded his name to the Senate for approval and confirmation. Tegbe came into the picture after Adebayo Adelabu resigned from Tinubu’s cabinet to contest for the Oyo State Governorship seat. Adelabu, after more than two years as Power Minister, will be known in our history books as a monumental failure in that role. He could neither generate nor distribute power to over 200 million Nigerians. Despite that, he is interested in becoming a Governor! In the first instance, he had no business being appointed to the Power Ministry. A first-class graduate in Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Adelabu would have been more suited for the Finance Ministry or the Budget department. Now that he is out of the picture, whether the people of Oyo State, who are also impacted negatively by the darkness that the incompetent Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), dishes out to them would trust him enough to vote him as their next Governor remains to be seen. However, we will not forget that he came to the Power Ministry and left it in a worse state than he met it.

The question now begging an answer is if his successor, Tegbe, the right choice for the office?  Tegbe’s appointment comes at a critical juncture for Africa’s most populous economy, where persistent electricity shortages continue to weigh on growth, industrial output, and investor confidence. Nigeria, despite an installed capacity of more than 12,000 megawatts, struggles to deliver a fraction of that to homes and businesses due to transmission constraints, gas supply issues, and chronic liquidity problems across the value chain. Frequent grid collapses and tariff disputes have compounded the sector’s fragility, leaving successive administrations grappling with reforms that have yielded limited results. Tegbe, 60, enters the role with more than three decades of experience spanning consulting, fiscal policy, and institutional reform. A former senior partner at KPMG, he led advisory services across Africa, working on governance, regulatory frameworks, and large-scale transformation projects. His career has also included engagements with key institutions in Nigeria’s power sector, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company.

Until his appointment, he had served as Director-general of the Nigeria – China Strategic Partnership, where he coordinated development cooperation initiatives and investment engagements between Abuja and Beijing. He also Chairs Nigeria’s tax implementation committee, underscoring his role in shaping broader economic policy. Educated at the University of Ife, where he graduated with a first-class degree in Civil Engineering, Tegbe later attended executive programmes at institutions including Harvard Kennedy School, and the European Union of Business Administration, (INSEAD). His profile fits a pattern under Tinubu’s administration of appointing technocrats to key positions. Yet, the scale of the challenge ahead may test even the most seasoned reformer. So, is he a round peg in a round hole?

After his Civil Engineering degree at Ife, Tegbe was more at home with the Accounting profession. He became a Chartered Accountant, an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, INSEAD, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (FCIT), and Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT).

From his profile, it is obvious that Tegbe has little or limited knowledge of the power sector and may need more than six months to have a grasp of it. This is where the problem lies. Since the return to democratic dispensation in 1999, Nigeria has had 11 Ministers of Power. Many of them, going by their university qualifications, should not have been appointed to head the Ministry, as they have little or no Engineering background. They are neither Electrical nor Mechanical Engineers.

The late Bola Ige was in charge of the Ministry between 1999 and 2000. He was a known lawyer and politician who had no knowledge of the sector he was heading. He could not make any significant improvement in electricity generation and was later moved to the Justice Ministry.

Olusegun Agagu, who took over from him, was admitted to study Botany at the University of Ibadan, but he later changed to Geology, in which he graduated in 1971. Agagu went to the University of Texas between 1973 and 1974 for his Master’s degree in Geology, returning to Nigeria, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Petroleum Geology from the University of Ibadan.

Aliyu Modibbo Umar, who later headed the Ministry obtained a BA degree in Journalism from California State University, Long Beach, an MA in African Studies, and a PhD in Comparative Education from the University of California. Next came Liyel Imoke. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Economic at the University of Maryland in the United States in 1982. He then studied Law at the University of Buckingham, England, gaining an LLB degree in 1985, as well as a Master’s degree in Law, before attending the Nigerian Law School in 1988. I do not see a connection to the Engineering field to warrant his appointment to the Power Ministry.

Rilwan Lanre Babalola, who took over from Imoke, earned a Doctorate degree in Energy Economics from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, providing him with specialised knowledge in resource allocation and economic aspects of energy systems pertinent to infrastructure development. He entered Nigeria’s power sector through the Bureau of Public Entreprises (BPE), where he served as Deputy director and team leader for the Power Sector Reform Programme prior to 2008. Following his tenure at the BPE, Babalola briefly joined the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as Deputy General Manager for Tariff.  He has had extensive knowledge of the power sector and it was no surprise that President Tinubu now has him serving as his Special Adviser on Power and also as Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power Sector Reset and Restoration.

President Tinubu has also redesignated the Office of the Special Adviser (Energy) as the Special Adviser (Oil & Gas) to clarify roles and avoid duplication of functions within the energy governance framework.

Professor Bart Nnaji, who took over from Babalola, earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics at St John’s University in New York, USA. He then proceeded to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for his Masters and PhD in Engineering. He also obtained a Post Doctorate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nnaji founded Geometric Power Limited, Nigeria’s first indigenous-owned power development company in 2000. In 2010, he served as Special Adviser to the President on Power, and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power. He was Nigeria’s Minister of Power in 2011, and resigned in August 2012.

Osita Nebo had a degree in Mining Engineering, a Masters Degree in Metallurgical Engineering, and a Doctoral degree in Materials Engineering and Science, all at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. He was our Power Minister between 2013 and 2015.

Babatunde Raji Fashola was made a Super Minister in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari, heading the Ministries of Power, Works, and Housing. Despite being known as a lawyer and Senior Advocate with a degree in Law, he could not achieve much, necessitating the Power Ministry to be taken from him and handed to Saleh Mamman, who was appointed to head the Ministry in 2019. Saleh holds a Higher National Diploma in Electrical Electronics from Kaduna Polytechnic and an MBA in Business Administration from Bayero University. Abubakar Aliyu, who was Power Minister between 2021 and 2023, obtained an HND in Highway and Transportation Engineering from Kaduna Polytechnic and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil and Water Resources Engineering from the University of Maiduguri.

It is quite clear from the profiles of those that have been appointed to head the power ministry since 1999 that many of them had no business in that all-important Ministry. It is therefore not a surprise that we have been able to generate around 12,000 megawatts of power for a population of more than 200 million people, while only 4,000 megawatts is available for homes and offices across the country. In spite of government spending huge resources in ensuring that we get electricity, nothing seems to be working, no thanks to a well-established cabal as well as the lack of requisite qualifications by those in charge of the sector. Nigerians have been kept perpetually in darkness, so much so, that even the Presidency has installed solar panels as alternative power source in the Presidential Villa.

Nigeria’s power sector is one that is riddled with chronic systemic challenges characterized by inadequate generation, weak transmission infrastructure, and poor distribution capacity, leading to frequent grid collapses and unreliable supply. Major issues that would confront the new Minister, Tegbe, include gas supply shortages, high technical/commercial losses, massive market debts, and insufficient investment. The national grid is fragile, often unable to transport generated power to end users, and experiences frequent total or partial collapses. With generation hovering around 12,000 megawatts of installed capacity, actual generation often drops below 5,000 due to gas supply shortages, pipeline vandalism, and aging infrastructure at thermal stations. Distribution companies also suffer from massive financial losses, including high technical, commercial, and collection inefficiencies. Many consumers are not metered, leading to estimated billing disputes. Constant vandalism of gas pipelines and electricity infrastructure also significantly restricts power supply.

Yet, without electricity, there cannot be any meaningful development. In appointing Tegbe, President Tinubu seems to be aware of his limited knowledge of the sector and has now complimented that by bringing back Lanre Babalola on board. Babalola, a former Minister for Power, brings deep sectoral expertise and a proven understanding of the structural and operational challenges within the electricity value chain.

If the duo can work together to encourage state Governors to take charge of the power sector for their people, the sector’s deregulation will usher in better days for Nigerians. Despite being deregulated, many state Governors are shying away from taking this all-important step. The truth is that we can no longer rely on a single aging power grid to serve over 200 million Nigerians. Although it is a technical sector that may be beyond the understanding of most State Governors, the way to go is to have the political will and expertise from within and outside the shores of the country.

In the 21th century, when many smaller African countries are enjoying stable power supply, we should be bold enough to tell ourselves the truth that what is presently obtainable in Nigeria is a huge national embarrassment that should shame all of us. I have spent four days in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, with major parts in total darkness. IBEDC has been tagged as the most useless DISCO in the country, and they continue to wear their emblem of shame with pride.

I hope and pray that Tegbe and Babalola would be able to turn the sordid state of our power sector around within a short period of time.

See you next week.

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Affectionately called and known as “Duro” among friends and family members, Raifu Durodoye, a Professor of Mathematics, had long dreamed of giving back to his country and particularly, his homeland, Osun State, having been constructively critical of the way Nigeria was squandering legacies and witnessing a wasted generation of potential geniuses.

The belief of Professor Durodoye is that the education we acquire as citizens of the world, should not be used almost exclusively for personal gain, in view of the fact that man’s development should not strictly be an internal matter which can altogether be divorced from the social, economic and political life of the society in which he lives; not even when the whole world itself has shrunk into a global community.

Professor Durodoye had regrettably watched the ways too many youths are living lives bereft of hope and had ruminated on the one-time resolve of Abraham Lincoln, who as a young man at a slave market, had whispered  to himself: “If I have the chance to hit this thing (slavery) I shall hit it hard.”

Shaped by his moral opposition to the inhuman activity, and with strong belief in the principles of liberty and equality, Lincoln, as America’s President, later solidified his commitment to ending slavery.

Conversely, the best moment Professor Durodoye had been waiting for and working assiduously to achieve however came when he seized the opportunity to facilitating Nigeria’s membership of Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), and promptly set the stage for sustenance of the educational reform in the country and the development of a roadmap for future generations of scientists.

He did not however attain the lofty height by mere sudden flight but through the educational system he encountered and the right approach given the teaching of Mathematics by his one time College tutor whose efforts he identified as having impacted on him tremendously.

“I credit my high school teacher, Mr. Akinola who taught Mathematics straight from memory with no reference to textbook except for reinforcement and assignment,” he attested.

“We are blessed with the system of education in Nigeria as the knowledge and the training we underwent provided solid foundation to compete anywhere in the world. My background at Saint Charles High School, Osogbo and the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, gave me easy and smooth academic ride at Marshall University.

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“I was a Part Two student at the University of Ibadan when I was offered scholarship, but with the right counselling from my academic father, Professor B.B. Adeleke, I transferred to Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia to complete my Bachelor’s degree, Masters at Texas A&M University, Commerce, TX and Doctorate at National American University.”

Durodoye, indeed represents a combination of future and success, in view of his belief that the future belongs to the patient and diligent individuals; no wonder why his name is an abridged symbol of Persistence and Patience, all of which epitomises innovation, struggles and achievements.

GLOBE Nigeria facilitator, Professor Durodoye, is a Professor of Mathematics at North Lake College in Texas, USA. He is from Osogbo, Osun State and had worked with experts in America and with officials of the Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria on developing educational materials to improve the teaching of Maths and science in schools in both countries.

Professor of Mathematics, Durodoye, and Physicist,Dr. Jim Roberts, Professor of Physics and Material Science, Projector Director of the Regional Collaborative for Excellence in Science Teaching UNT and Director of the Centre for Nonlinear Science UNT had been collaborating for over ten years on developing the educational materials and sharing their experiences with teachers in Nigeria as well as developing collaboration between schools in the two countries.

Towards this end, Professor Durodoye utilized a grant he received from Allied Consulting and Educational Partnership of Texas to organise workshops in which teachers from Nigeria participated at workshops held at the University of North Texas in 2002 and in 2005.

GLOBE was an essential component of the teaching materials used in the workshops, with Dr. Rebecca Boger, GLOBE Deputy Director, International/U.S. Partnerships and Outreach and International Project Scientist teaching many of the protocols in the Atmosphere, Phenology, Soils, Hydrology and Land Cover/ Biology investigations.

According to a release by U.S. Embassy, Public Affairs Information Section, GLOBE, as an education programme for K-12 students all over the world, has provided an inquiry-based, non-advocacy partnership encompassing over 11,000 GLOBE schools in 97 countries.

Dr Roberts corroborated the assertion and described GLOBE as the great integrator of science, adding: “In more than three decades of teaching physics to all levels, pre-medical engineers, physicist and teachers of science,  I have come to the conclusion that the GLOBE programme is the greatest vehicle to deliver science knowledge and to show the relevance of science to the needs of mankind that I have experienced during those years.”

Former Minister of Education, Professor Babalola Borisade, at the pact-signing agreement between GLOBE and Nigeria, was hopeful that Nigeria joining 88 other countries as a GLOBE member, would become an important partner in international environmental research while enhancing the scientific and mathematics skills of students and teachers in Nigeria.

He then acknowledged the efforts of Professor Durodoye through whose commitment, assiduity and tenacity, Nigeria became a member of GLOBE, positing that Nigeria joined because of its belief in the initiator of the programme, former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore, and the U.S.

At the 2006 Ondo State workshop in which 80 participants drawn from over 30 schools attended, Professor Durodoye described the period as “one of the best days of my life” and that the workshop which followed at Osun State where-in more than 60 University Professors, graduate students and Ministry of Education representatives participated was a fulfillment of his long-term ambition to give back to Osun State.

“I found home in a progressive community in which academic-assisted talent plays vital role. Improving the quality of humanity through education, healthcare delivery, economic development and agricultural mechanization are the focal points,” the Professor of Mathematics remarked.

Towards this end, Professor Durodoye utilized a grant he received from Allied Consulting and Educational Partnership of Texas to organise workshops in which teachers from Nigeria participated at workshops held at the University of North Texas in 2002 and in 2005.

Dr. Olusegun Agagu, the former Governor of Ondo State and Professor Rafiu Durodoye took the first giant step forward by hosting the first GLOBE Nigeria Trainer Workshop in Ondo State.

“With this workshop, Ondo State has developed a roadmap for the creation of a future generation of scientists by providing access and opportunity in Mathematics, science and technology, and a sustained professional development programme for teachers. This roadmap will be implemented in the next workshop in Osun State,” Professor Durodoye remarked at the occasion.

True to his words, a week-long second GLOBE workshop was subsequently held in 2007 at the African Regional Centre  for Space Science and Technology Education located at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

At the workshop, Mrs Tiffany Litton, one of the members of the international team described the forum as “a model of an international collaborative effort.”

To ensure long-term sustainability of GLOBE in Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the governor of the state, equally provided 20 schools with the necessary equipment to implement Atmosphere, Soil and  Hydrology protocols while including funding of the programme in the state budget to support future GLOBE workshops.

Professor Durodoye explained that his motive for facilitating Nigeria’s membership of GLOBE was to afford him the  opportunity to serve boys and girls in Mathematics, science and technology (STEM), starting from Osun State, adding that the original plan was the expansion of the project to  over 36 states of the country and link them with over 144 countries.

“With this strategy, we develop alumni as role models for the programme while serving as networking towards academic interactions and solicitation of financial resources,” Professor Durodoye stated.

According to him, the partnership between GLOBE students in Nigeria and other countries is partly intended to supplement research equipment, provide autonomy and confidence in the research experiments and protocols.

“The independent knowledge and skills will serve as paradigm of global integrity for our students,” he responded.

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News of the transition of Malam Kabir Dangogo hit me like a thunderbolt. Kabir was the man God used to throw me a lifeline when I was unceremoniously shown the door at the PUNCH newspapers on Christmas eve in 1998. My only baby at the time was just one year old and I had less than N500.00 (Five Hundred Naira) in my bank account. And that was because, like Yemi Olowolabi, Chief Press Secretary to the then Ondo State Gov. Olusegun Agagu, told me years after, I was a “Thank you” editor and not a “Ghana-Must-Go” editor! What Yemi meant was that all I savoured from the favours I dispensed during my tenure as editor was the “thank you” people said to me! Of course, he was correct! Did I, then, regret the unsavoury turn of events when they came? I did not! God – and Kabir – did not let me!

Kabir told me to put forward a proposal for the consultancy job of printing Union Bank’s newsletter – The Stallion. He came down from his highbrow Ikoyi residence to my Ogba popular side with his entire family, bringing with him gifts that my family treasured for many, many years. My wife cooked, we all ate, and felt at home together. You would think we were members of the same family. For years, I handled the editing, production, and printing of Union Bank magazines and newsletters and lived comfortably on the proceeds. Kabir fought tooth-and-nail to keep the job for me, and the moment he left, I lost it!

Kabir retired over irreconcilable differences between him and the management (G.A.T Oboh was GMD at the time) over the policy of making everyone a banker. A consummate Public Relations professional, Kabir never wanted to be anything else. When he retired, he relocated from Lagos to Abuja, then Kaduna, and later to his home state of Katsina, living close to the perimetres of the Government House. We regularly rubbed minds on the country’s volatile security situation. At a point we lost touch and when we got back talking again, I was sad to hear that he had suffered a stroke; but the cheery news was that he was recovering very well.

The last time we spoke, he needed help for his son who was seeking employment with the NDLEA. After that, his lines went dead again. The next news was that of his demise, which I find too sad to describe; the same feelings I had when Mr. Kayode Awosanya of Mobil Producing Limited was killed by armed robbers/assassins during those giddy days of the June 12, 1993 crisis when the PUNCH newspapers were closed and proscribed again and again. During one of those closures, many staff members were taken off the payroll. For reasons I could not fathom, I was one of those affected. So, each day I stayed indoors devouring books, until one day when Moses Ebong, our Head of Cartoons, came with an artist’s impression of myself that he said Mobil Producing said he should deliver to me. In addition, he said Mr. Awosanya asked that I see him without delay. I went the next day and that was how this “Thank you” editor was handed the consultancy job of editing, producing, and printing Mobil Producing’s newsletter; which I did for many years! Sweet repose, continue to grant the soul of Mr. Kayode Awosanya, O Lord!

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While I was still ruminating on how to pen a tribute to Kabir, I stumbled on one written by Akaninyene Esiere and chose to adopt it because it captured the very essence of who Kabir was.  Excerpts:

“When he first proposed the idea of forming the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB), he ensured that I was included as a founding member. Mallam would not have thrived as a politician because he always called a spade a spade and never sugarcoated issues… Our paths crossed in the mid-1990s when I was a business reporter at Theweek magazine. He was the Principal Manager and Head of the Public Relations Department at Union Bank. I was one of the reporters whose business and finance articles he enjoyed reading. Dangogo came over to Union Bank from the Bank of the North, headquartered in Kano, where he was the Assistant General Manager in the same PR Department…

“Not long after he joined the bank, he became aware that the majority of the personnel in the department were not professional public relations practitioners. Apart from Gabriel Edem and Femi Akinmoladun, who was based in Abuja, others had backgrounds in different fields, including core banking. Dayo Sobowale, who had spent many years in the department, had been transferred to head the Ibadan Area Office before Dangogo assumed office. If you knew Kabir Dangogo a little, you would know that he was a thoroughbred public relations professional and wasn’t going to be able to speak the same language with those who were not familiar with the profession!

May Allah forgive Kabir his shortcomings and admit his soul into Jannatul Firdaus!

“Dangogo then obtained the approval of his bosses to recruit professionals into the department. I happened to be one of those people whose curriculum vitae he asked for. I cannot remember how many of us wrote the employment examination but I was surprised I was subsequently invited for interview… I knew I didn’t do well in the exams because the bank got the West African Examination Council to set it. And WAEC being WAEC decided to punish me for failing mathematics in my WAEC and brought so much mathematics again into this exam… I failed the exam but I still got the job. After I got the job, which I started on December 1, 1998, I asked Mallam Kabir Dangogo if I passed the exam. He told me I did not but that he asked the Human Resources Department to still invite me to the interview, believing that I would do well.

“I got the job because Kabir Dangogo believed in me and gave me a chance. In this same Nigeria where ethnicity and religion are the pillars and ladders of progress in life, a Fulani (was he Hausa?) Muslim from Katsina State saw competence in a person from a different religion, ethnicity, and state. Let me even shock you: three people were eventually recruited into the department through that exercise: Francis Barde, Cecile Agwu, and yours truly. That was Kabir Dangogo for you!

“To say that Kabir was a highly detribalized Nigerian is an understatement. Because he was a stickler for excellence, he was always looking for where to get the best quality service from. Most of the professionals or companies who rendered services to the department were not from the north. Here are some: Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi (of the Daily Times fame); Bola Bolawole (previously with The PUNCH); SO&U; Engr. Nsikak Essien; Dawn Functions; May Nzeribe, Taiwo Ola, to mention but a few. And most of his mentees were from the southern states; some of whom have written tributes in honour of their mentor.

“Kabir was a very well organized and meticulous person. He was principled; yes, annoyingly principled. He would hate to cut corners; to see people do so or behave anyhow. He had strong opinions about many things and how people and organizations behaved. He was not a tongue-in-cheek public relations expert and would call a spade by its name without thinking how you would feel. For him, being politically correct was politically incorrect. His dressings were top-notch; his office very inviting. His meals were special: he lectured us on why it was unhealthy to drink water while eating; he was a stickler for timeliness and very impatient with the notion of “African time”. He lived in an ideal state! All of this made Francis Barde to nickname him “Bature”, the Hausa word for an Englishman.

“Kabir Dangogo was a consummate and thoroughbred professional known across the length and breadth of the African continent as far as public relations was concerned… The Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) was his brainchild; and he was its founding President. He brought life to the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). He was regular at its monthly meetings and ensured that those of us in the department attended meetings on rota. He was the General Secretary of the Federation of African Public Relations Association (FAPRA).

“Kabir liked to holiday in London, print beautiful diaries in London, order for expensive (he called them top quality!) corporate gifts from London! Occasionally, he would invite us to his official residence on Thompson Street, Ikoyi. Union Bank had the third largest number of properties in Nigeria after the federal government and UACN!

“When he retired from the bank in 2005, Dangogo moved to Abuja and then Kaduna where he set up a school for the teaching of public relations… For whatever reasons, he left Kaduna for Katsina, his homestead, and started to fall ill. The sickness saw him in and out of hospital. By September last year, he had gone into a coma and needed to be moved back to Kaduna for better treatment. When in October 2024 Mr. Barde visited him, Mallam Kabir Dangogo could not recognize his right hand man of nearly three decades! He breathed his last on March 6, 2025 at the age of 76 years. He will be sorely missed!”

May Allah forgive Kabir his shortcomings and admit his soul into Jannatul Firdaus!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of the Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the “ON THE LORD’S DAY” column in the Sunday Tribune and “TREASURES” column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

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President Tinubu made the announcement at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye during the commissioning of the Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona School of Governance Studies and the presentation of a book titled; “Reinventing Governance in Nigeria: The Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona Model.”

The president, represented by the Vice President,  Senator Kashim Shettima, said the monarch deserved the second highest honour in the land because of his contribution to nation-building and meritorious service to humanity.

Tinubu noted that the numerous contributions of Oba Adetona to national development, particularly in the education sector had expanded the sector to optimal delivery through various donations and endowments.

He described the monarch as  forthright with exceptional character who stood his ground and confronted injustice in all ramifications, commending him for his role in ensuring the return of democratic governance in Nigeria.

President Tinubu averred that Oba Sikiru Adetona School of Governance Studies would be taken over and managed by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru, Jos.

“Because Kabiyesi Adetona has honored our country and humanity with his many years of meritorious service, I, therefore, on this occasion of his 90th birthday ceremony confer on him the second highest national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of Niger, GCON.

“The National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, will be asked to take over the running and management of Oba Sikiru Adetona School of Governance Studies,” the president said.

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In his remarks, the governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, described Oba Adetona as a living legend and a phenomenon whose reign had been a monumental success and a pride to the entire Ijebuland and the state at large.

According to the governor, the monarch represented the beauty and the candour of the ancestral heritage of the Ijebu people, emphasizing that his passion for governance and accessible commitment to education led him to institute the Oba Sikiru Adetona Professorial Chair in Governance in the Department of Political Science of Olabisi Onabanjo University, OOU, Ago-Iwoye.

“This initiative has led and given birth to the establishment of the world class Oba Sikiru Adetona School of Governance, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“He championed the Ijebu Development Board on poverty eradication that has become a model in the entire country,” Abiodun submitted.

Also speaking, the Pro-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Toyin Ashiru, said the establishment of the School of Governance was aimed at fostering dialogue among scholars, policy makers and practitioners on matters of governance, leadership and public service, adding that it would serve as a hub for research, knowledge sharing and capacity building to equip people with needed skills for effective governance.

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, on his part, said the Awujale has contributed to the development of the school through the donation of offices, lecture and seminar rooms, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Library, assuring that the vision and mission of the school of Governance Studies would be vigorously pursued to make it a centre of excellence in good government and leadership in Nigeria and in the sub Saharan Africa.

In a lecture titled “Changing Nigeria’s Governance Narrative,” the occupant of the Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona Professorial Chair in Governance, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Prof. Akinsola Agagu, said Nigeria since independence, had been grappling with democratic crisis, corruption, mismanagement,  ineptitude, insecurity, among others.

He stated that that had led to non-achievement of dividends of independence in the country.

He attributed the deep root of the general governance and development crises in the country to absence of seamless intersection of democratic politics with democratic political and legal culture, emphasizing that the continued political crisis was due to flawed political culture which had reduced politics to a lawless and amoral vocation.

Prof. Agagu noted that to change the narrative and put the country in the right track, public spirited individuals at all facets of live were urgently needed, while patriotism, concern for the people, vision, honesty, transparency and accountability as well as impeccable character as exemplified by Oba Sikiru Adetona, should be the hallmark of those in position of leadership.

Responding, Oba Adetona appreciated the people for their support and for honouring him with their presence and prayed for the peace in the families, state, and the country.

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