Author: Ismail Omipidan

Publisher: Safari Books

Number of Pages: 309

Reviewer: Lasisi Olagunju

Strange things happen all over the world. In the Autumn of 1946, Muna Lee, a poet who worked with the United States Department of State, wrote a journal article that questions the integrity of book reviewers. The title of his piece is: “Can’t Book Reviewers Be Honest?” In that piece are two gross cases, one of them a confession. The first is the case of a reviewer who did the review of a whole book from the blurb – that is, from the book’s short description on the back cover. And, it turned out that even the writer of the blurb had never read what the book contained, and he was too dishonest to say so.

The second case is more scandalous. It is the confession made by one literary critic who wrote: “I have to confess that I once reviewed a book without having seen it. The editor was keen to have a review but could not obtain a copy, nor could I, so at last, on the strength of having read a score of books by the same author, I wrote a fairly long review, which apparently gave satisfaction.” It was that bad.

Both cases are not fiction. They happened some 80 years ago, the first in the United States, the second in Canada.

So, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I want to solemnly affirm that I have read the book I am reviewing here today. I took time to fine-combed it from the front of the cover, the title page, table of contents, the copyright page, the initial chapters that deal with what Omipidan describes as his father’s “Undying Love” and his mum’s “Unfulfilled Wish.” I moved from there and dashed across the labyrinth of the remaining chapters – where the real actions are – then to a motley part he describes as Reflections, and finally to the back of the cover where we have a brief on the author, and the blurb.

Omipidan’s ‘Persona non Grata’ has 31 short chapters with the Foreword written by Farooq Kperogi, the author’s immediate boss when he had his very first journalism experience at the Weekly Trust newspaper some 25 years ago. A foreword is a short introduction to a book. But what the book has from Kperogi is more than a short introduction. I see it as a thorough review of not just the book, but an authoritative X-Ray of the author. And it is a positive testimony and testimonial to the person we’ve come to know today as Ismail Omipidan.

The 309-page story of Omipidan runs more than what Robert Frost calls “a course of lucky events.” We encounter the opposite of luck and lucky in almost all the early chapters of his story. On those pages are unhappy signature stories of the author’s many falls and failures.

Why did the author write this and the way he went about it? In other words, what are the themes? A theme is the central idea, the literary element that recurs and dominates a text. There is the theme of discrimination: class, religion and ethnicity. I see a theme on why politicians win elections and why they lose. But the bigger theme I see is the place of fate in human struggles; the victory of conviction over life’s conflictual challenges. For this book, the recurring element is survival despite life’s rapids and falls; the win after the race.

The book is structured in a way that makes readers read defeat in the early chapters, then sweet triumph in later chapters. In other words, the theme is the transformation of a persona non grata to a persona grata; the movement from being unwelcome, unacceptable and rejected to being acceptable and accepted in the same space. My late mother would hear this and summarize everything in one line: “asale ni ojaa ntooro”, the calm of the evening market; “a clarification of life” – Robert Frost again.

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When a relatively young man writes a memoir, he is taking a huge, big risk. More importantly, politically exposed people are always very reluctant to write books about themselves – and, even about others. They are hesitant because they know that there are consequences for writing anything. There is this creation called Alagemo in Yoruba, the English man calls it Chameleon. We all know how big Chameleon is. Alagemo is asked why it walks so gingerly; it answers that it is afraid that the ground may cave in under its weight. I see Omipidan doing this, withholding names in some damaging aspects, not giving details in certain cases. But he, by and and large, exposed himself as someone who remembers everything and forgets nothing – except what he wants to forget.

A few minutes after I finished reading ‘Persona non Grata’, I spoke with the author – that was around 1 a.m on Thursday. I told him that with what I read in the book, I could make some predictions: He will lose a few friends; his other friends are likely to be more committed to their friendship with him while his enemies will certainly dig in and possibly draw new battle lines.

Now, some technical observations: Written in simple, everyday English language, Persona non Grata’s style is lucid and breezy. The plot structure is linear with the author unfolding himself and his life journey gradually in a chronological and sequential order. Originally from Ila Orangun in Osun State, Omipidan’s plane took off in a family where love and amity reigned in Otukpo, Benue State. Then the story subject took tentative steps out of the family and the Otukpo community where he encountered dawn. He finished his secondary education in 1992 in Benue State but failed his final exams – he did not pass that exam until 1995. That unpleasant experience appears to have fired and toughened his iron.

His long walk to freedom took him out of that corner of the country (Otukpo); he fanned out to Ibadan, he was soon back to Otukpo, then to Kano, then to Lagos, back to Kano, to Maiduguri, to Abuja, to Kaduna, back to Abuja, then back to where his ancestors belonged – Osun State.

Encased in his development of the theme of victory over failure is his story of unfair rejection and harassment by teachers in school, by bosses at work and by those who thought they held the yam and the knife of his life. There are southerners who still believe that Omipidan is more northern than the jaki of Kano. Such persons should read his story, particularly the chapter on page 19 which he gives the title: ‘North South Dichotomy.’ There are some other parts of the book that reek of harassment and rejection anchored on tribalism, sectionalism and nepotism.

Ismail was discriminated against in the north, he was insulted and harassed in the South for being a ‘northerner’. He applied for internship at The Punch in 1998, his application was successful but he soon found out the meaning of blood being thicker than water. He says that the head of admin of that newspaper house gave his place to someone else who was close to her. Ismail said he wasted no time before complaining in writing to the then Managing Director, Mr Ademola Osinubi, who asked the editor, Mr. Gbemiga Ogunleye, to right the wrong for him; and it was done. The day he assumed duties, the admin woman looked at him and said “you have not started work, you are already writing petition” (see page 20-21). But his ordeal was not over. He got to the newsroom, the newseditor looked at his letter and said, “Awon omọ Málà yi, kí ni wọn kộ won? (these children from the north, what did they teach them?)” The man then sent him to the foreign desk (page 23). If you are familiar with the ecology of the newsroom, you would know that what we call the Foreign Desk is the Siberia of newspaper journalism in Nigeria. Daily Trust was Ismail’s first place of work after he got his National Diploma in Mass Communication. He wrote that he was engaged as a stringer. He believed he was denied a full staffer place there because of his ethnicity. He quotes the oga patapata of that place in support of his suspicion. Read his account on page 33 to 37; particularly page 37.

By and large, Ismail Omipidan’s ‘Persona non Grata’ is a successful tour de force on the politics of fate and power, subterfuge and the busybody called the media. It offers a challenge to the many big men, and small men who will feel offended by the content to write their own story.

Ismail wanted to read Mass Communication at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1999, but he was told by a lecturer that the school also ran a diploma programme and so he could not come with a Kaduna Polytechnic diploma and think he would get admission. The author says “that was how I lost the admission that year” (page 44).

The following year (2000), he tried Bayero University, Kano. He met the admission officer of the department who deliberately spoke to him in Hausa, a language he didn’t understand that time. Then the man told him in English what nuanced persons should never say to anyone’s hearing. Ismail is worth quoting here: “I never knew he was talking to me. He now beckoned on me and said ‘are you not Ismail, the owner of these documents’ (showing me the papers I gave to him). I told him I was the one. He said, ‘you are a Muslim and you don’t understand Hausa.’ He threw my papers at me and walked me out of his office, saying, ‘if you can’t speak Hausa, you’re not fit for BUK.’ That was how I lost the BUK admission also” (page 44-45).

There are several instances of such crass apartheid in this story of a man whose name changes with beats and seasons. To the incumbent Vice President, he is Mallam Samaila – you will read that in multiple places in the book); he was “Wale Omipidan” to the Daily Trust/Weekly Trust which needed him for ethnic balancing and as key to certain southern news sources. Of course, to many of us who met him after his storms and turbulence, he is Ismail Omipidan, the Yoruba boy from the north. Interrogating each of those names is very helpful in understanding the persona that we see speaking in the book.

Ismail practised dangerous journalism. Colleagues who are privy to his intrusive engagements with Boko Haram in Borno and the OPC in Lagos will find his words on these two phenomena engaging.

The book carries the title: Persona Non Grata. So, how did the author arrive at that? That is one information every book reviewer should be interested in before interrogating the text. I did that and discovered that a governor in a north eastern state pronounced that fatwa on this reporter because the newsman gave him no breathing space. Where I come from is where Ismail comes from. We say there that the king does not kill the bard. But the author wrote that this governor (of Borno State) one scary day in 2005 told his editors who were in Borno on a peace mission that he could not promise that Reporter Ismail Omipidan, the bard giving him headache would be safe again. The story is sweeter in the mouth of the story owner, so, let me quote the author: “He (the governor) said he knew the opposition was not giving me anything and he was willing to take care of me, but I refused to be on his side and that his people were already complaining and he did not want a situation where his supporters would hurt me. He declared he could no longer guarantee my security and safety in the state. He also told them that any day he woke up to see me, the day was spoilt…” (page 64). A Persona non Grata is an unacceptable or unwelcome person. The direct English translation of that Latin phrase is “person not welcome.” That exactly is what the governor pronounced on the reporter. It is an eerie moment to imagine.

Subsequent chapters after that verdict of the powerful expose the author as a journalist in power and politics. That is someone who said he almost joined the army but for the death of his would-be helper, General Hassan Katsina. I wonder how far he would have gone in that career and how safe democracy would have been in his hands. If you wonder why I say this, read his words in the chapter he headlined ‘Early Inspirations and Aspirations’ on pages 13 and 14.

You will find as very interesting the reporter’s perspectives on how and why President Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 presidential election; why the PDP has never won the governorship of Borno State and why it may never win. The book has very many pages of insights into the very difficult Osun State governorship election of 2022, the factors that drove the election, the litigation that followed the result, the BVAS controversy and other controversial moments around that period.

The chapters on his professional life are laced with encounters with politicians and principalities. At the level of structure, out of the 309 pages, I count about 124 pages (page 111 – 235) devoted to his experience in Osun politics. He, understandably, has many nice words for his boss, Ex Governor Gboyega Oyetola. Understandably too, his pen etched in that part of the book scathing remarks on people who are on the other side of Oyetola’s politics. He has more than one chapter on Alhaji Kashim Shettima, the current Vice President of Nigeria. In those chapters, he tells the story of Shettima, a man who has always been his own man and who would not inherit a governor’s enemy even while serving as a commissioner under that governor. The author tells how Shettima owned him, protected him and clothed his vulnerability at that moment he was declared unsafe by the chief security officer of Borno State. He writes more on Shettima. He uses his chapter on Boko Haram (page 243 – 252) to reply those who ask questions on Shettima’s tenure as governor of Borno State vis a vis the ascendancy of Boko Haram as a terror organization. He recalls the many gallant efforts of Governor Shettima which saw him fighting “the monsters to a standstill.”

Now, I have bored you retelling what has been eloquently told in the book. I will soon be done. But I will not be properly done without saying that no one came into this world without a blemish. The book has some blights, I spotted some mistakes.

See, I have chosen to call it the book of battles. It is well printed and illustrated with relevant and beautiful photographs. But I saw a few errors there which should not have been in this elegant work. I saw the name “Simeon Kolawole” on page 49 (instead of Simon Kolawole). There is also “Sufian Ojeifo” on page 71 (instead of Sufuyan Ojeifo). These are well established names in the Nigerian media. If the author inadvertently missed their spellings, the publishers shouldn’t have.

Conclusion

I suggested at the beginning of this review that the objective of the author appeared to be a demonstration and celebration of his triumph over rejection. I think he achieved that across the space he allocated to himself. He wrote exams and failed; repeated classes, wrote exams again and again and eventually passed. He sought admission to schools and was rejected, many and repeated times, but he eventually got what he wanted. He started work and faced rejection and discrimination north and south. But every place and space that rejected him eventually cuddled him. He is a success because he struggled to rise each time he fell. A Yoruba incantation best explains his doggedness- and luck: “ibi ti won ba ni ki gbebe ma gbe, ibe nii gbe. Ibi ti won ba ni ki tete ma te, ibe nii te.” I am bush enough to know the magical leaf called gbegbe; I am quite familiar with the medicinal vegetable called tete but, because of the consequences of mistranslation of those words of awon agba, I pass the task of translation of that incantation to the elders hearing me here, and to those who may read me after this session.

By and large, Ismail Omipidan’s ‘Persona non Grata’ is a successful tour de force on the politics of fate and power, subterfuge and the busybody called the media. It offers a challenge to the many big men, and small men who will feel offended by the content to write their own story. I congratulate the author. The book is a worthy addition to works on media and politics; the intrigues of national political engagements and, very importantly, the deep involvement of journalists in shaping politics and its discourses. I recommend it to all who desire answers to our perennially unanswered national question.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for listening.

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As a teenager, I was a member of “The Young Punchers”, a column reserved for young readers by The Punch to express their opinions on topical issues within the polity. The page was coordinated then by Madam Chinwe Ogbuka, and this got me glued to the paper even before I got the admission to study Mass Communication. Several years later when I needed to go for my internship, I did not think twice before settling for The Punch Newspapers. I submitted my letter to The Punch ahead and the request was approved on July 20, 1998 and I was asked to commence on the 27th of the same month. However, by the time I got to The Punch, the Head of Administration at the time who had swapped my place with another person close to her told me I had no space to undergo my internship. I felt devastated and confused as I came all the way from Kaduna prepared for the task ahead.

What you have just read is an excerpt from my book: “Persona Non Grata,” due to be unveiled soon. But today is Oga Gbemiga Ogunleye’s birthday.

I wasted no time in writing to the then Managing Director, Mr Ademola Osinubi, who mandated the editor, Mr Gbemiga Ogunleye , to intervene and he promptly did. By August 11, after my visit, the editor asked me to visit the admin department. As I was leaving  his  office  that  day,  he  gave  me  N200 (Two Hundred Naira) to support my transportation fare. By August 13, I finally secured a place for my internship but not without insults and name calling from the administration manager. I eventually resumed on August 17, 1998, following Mr Ogunleye’s intervention. On the day I eventually resumed, the admin woman looked at me and said in Yoruba that, “you have not started work, you are already writing a petition.”

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I told her it was not a petition per se but just to draw the MD’s attention to my plight. Here, I must single out Mr Ogunleye, who did not know me from Adam, yet provided a space for me to take my first step in the struggle for a place in the annals of Nigeria journalism practice. I will remain eternally grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to undergo my internship at  The Punch in 1998. It was what prepared me for today. May the Lord continue to uphold him and his household. I thank God for sending him to me at that hour of need.

Note:

What you have just read is an excerpt from my book: “Persona Non Grata,” due to be unveiled soon. But today is Oga Gbemiga Ogunleye’s birthday. I know he may have forgotten. But I kept my diary. Help me pray for him and his children, please. May Allah send helpers their way. Happy birthday to you, sir! Aseyi se amodun, sir.

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Historically, outcomes of Election Petitions Tribunal sittings have in no small way helped to deepen the country’s electoral system. I am therefore, convinced that like it happened previously, Osun’s case will be a litmus test for every critical stakeholder as we prepare for the 2023 general elections.

The revelations that will be coming from the Tribunal will no doubt be stunning, especially because since the introduction of the BVAS (Bimodal Voters Accreditation System) by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Osun will be the first place where the BVAS report is being subjected to critical analysis.

INEC as an institution would have done its best to ensure a seamless process. However, since those saddled with the responsibility of operating the technology are not angels, there are bound to be rooms for improvement.

In essence, the decision by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola to challenge the outcome of the July 16 Osun Governorship poll should never be seen as an attempt to impugn on the integrity of INEC. Far from it.

INEC as an institution would have done its best to ensure a seamless process. However, since those saddled with the responsibility of operating the technology are not angels, there are bound to be rooms for improvement.

Rather, Oyetola should be commended, for taking to the path of civility and the rule of law; for helping to deepen the country’s democratic values and the electoral system.

I, therefore, make bold to say that the outcome of the Osun Election Petitions Tribunal will go a long way in making INEC fill some gaps that might have been noticed ahead of the 2023 General Elections, just as the National Assembly would also be guided appropriately when proposing further amendments to the Electoral Act in the future. This is even more so because most of the reforms we have today as part of our electoral laws were borne out of the decisions of the court.

The revelations and subsequent decision of the Tribunal and those of the other two courts that would follow may as well be part of the future reforms.

READ ALSO: Use of BVAS, Result Viewing Portal have come to stay -INEC

What are the issues before the Tribunal? Fundamentally, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its candidate in that election, Oyetola, are challenging the eligibility of Senator Nurudeen Jackson Ademola Adeleke to stand for the election in the first instance. Additionally, they are contesting the fact that contrary to INEC’s declaration, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate in that election, Adeleke, did not score the lawful majority votes to be so declared as the winner of the July 16 governorship election.

What are the facts of the issues raised?

Recall that it is common knowledge that, in 2019, Senator Adeleke, who was declared eventual winner by INEC, faced criminal allegations of examination malpractice.

He was arrested and brought before the court. He was granted bail, and then he travelled abroad. He however did not show up again until he returned barely a year to the July election.

Interestingly, when he was running in 2018, he claimed to have registered for GCE O’ Level in 1981 but had F9 in English Language and was recorded absent for other subjects.

Ironically, his profile on the website of National Assembly at the time, also indicated that he is a holder of a Diploma Certificate in Criminology from Jacksonville State University (JSU), where he purportedly graduated from in 1986.

However, in an investigation carried out by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, at the time, the above claim was faulted by Buffy Lockette, the Director of Public Relations at the university.

The fact check done by ICIR further revealed that while it was true that  Senator Adeleke had indeed enrolled at the institution, he was never awarded any certificate.

A further inquiry from the West African Examination Council’s website at the time to verify Senator Adeleke’s O’ level result being paraded then, using examination number 19645/149 came back as “result not available for this candidate in the specified year and exams diet.” So, as at 2018, he had no O-level results.

But upon his return, he claimed he has a diploma, awarded to him mid last year, and that the said certificate qualified him for a B.Sc. in Criminal Justice, from the Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States.

Interestingly, he claimed to have obtained the degree barely 24 days after getting the said Diploma certificate.

Apart from challenging his eligibility, which is both a pre and post-election issue, the APC and its candidate are also challenging the election results in 749 polling units across 10 Local Governments.

Again, recall that after the election, the APC and its candidate applied for the BVAS report. For the purpose of education, Sections 47(2) of the Electoral Act says that to vote, the presiding officer shall use the smart card reader or any other technological device that maybe prescribed by the Commission for the accreditation of voters to “verify, authenticate the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the Commission.”

And for the purpose of Osun election, INEC had prescribed the BVAS as the only credible means of accreditation.

But the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the report of BVAS across 10 Local Governments in 749 polling units showed that accreditation through BVAS was less than the number of votes cast in those units.

However, once APC and its candidate filed their petitions in court, INEC later issued another CTC of the BVAS report to the PDP, claiming that as at the time the first one was issued, it had not syncronised the data in the BVAS.

The question will now be, what was the basis of declaring the election results? Is INEC right to have issued two BVAS reports that do not align? These and many more are some of the issues the Tribunal will be helping Nigerians to resolve in the days ahead, as it begins daily sittings tomorrow.

Berating INEC for the seeming confusion, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, HEDA, said the report had raised grave concern over the seeming difference in the copies given to the APC and the PDP.

It further said : “INEC is alleged to, having discovered the palpable inconsistencies between figures recorded as accredited votes on the EC8A (result sheet) and the BVAS Report, tampered with the contents of the original BVAS report to protect the mandate awarded to Ademola Adeleke and PDP, at the expense of credible election, by issuing a fresh CTC to the defendants, claiming the CTC earlier issued to APC and Oyetola was incomplete and unsynchronised.”

“Considering that the Ekiti and Osun elections were conducted and declared on the basis of BVAS, how possible and plausible is it for INEC to have declared a winner from an unsynchronized BVAS? Considering the BVAS report was issued more than 10 days after the Osun election.

The revelations and subsequent decision of the Tribunal and those of the other two courts that would follow may as well be part of the future reforms.

“As an Organisation committed to fighting against corruption, financial and electoral …, HEDA is concerned about this development. The Organisation observed the Osun election and engaged the process in collaboration with anti-corruption agencies to campaign against vote buying.”

One thing is clear: there are interesting days ahead. The two walks embarked upon by the APC recently to drum support for its presidential candidate and his running mate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, in Osun, are a pointer to one clear signal: APC is still very popular in Osun. It remains the party to beat.

Therefore, let all the supporters of Governor Oyetola remain calm, and resist the temptation to precipitate crisis by members of the opposition PDP. Like Oyetola said prophetically during one of the walks on the streets of Osogbo, where he trekked for over two hours, spanning about 11Km, and reiterated last Thursday when he and his Oyo counterpart flagged off the reconstruction of the 91km Osogbo-Iwo-Ibadan road, “Oyetola  will reclaim his mandate”.

*Omipidan, a former Political Editor with The Sun Newspapers is the spokesperson to Osun Governor.

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Tafa Balogun was appointed Nigeria’s 21st Inspector-General of Police on March 6, 2002, and left office in 2005.

He passed on in Lagos on Thursday, four days to his 75th birthday.

The funeral prayer was observed in accordance with Islamic rites at the Ila-Orangun Central Eid Praying Ground.

Chief Imam of Ila-Orangun, Dr Abdulhammed Salahudeen, presided over the burial prayers where he preached the need for humans to discharge good deeds as death is inevitable.

Former Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, who spoke with newsmen at the side-line of the burial, described Balogun as one of the greatest gentle police officers Nigeria had ever produced.

Arase described the departed IG-P as a mentor and a father who impacted a lot of police officers intellectually.

“He was an operational icon, intellectual to the core; a cerebral officer. Even in death he remains my mentor and benefactor.

“He was like a big father when it comes to policing difficult issues. You can always go to him for advice and we will miss him for that,’’ Arase lamented.

The Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Mr Olawale Olokode, represented the current Inspector-General of Police, Mr Usman Alkali Baba, at the burial.

Mr Ismail Omipidan, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun and the Osun Finance Commissioner, Bola Oyebamiji, both represented the state government at the funeral heavily attended by police personnel.

Source: NAN

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The curfew was imposed on Sunday following the violence that characterized a land dispute.

In the statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Ismail Omipidan, the curfew would now be between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

The governor explained that the review of the curfew was as a result of the outcome of the meeting the government held with traditional rulers of the areas involved in the crisis.

He added that the traditional rulers had promised to ensure peace in another meeting the Commissioner of Police in the state held with them.

the statement reads: “Following the peace meetings, and with the return of peace to the affected towns, the governor has approved the relaxation of the 24-hour curfew declared last Sunday to forestall further breakdown of law and order.

“Consequently, the curfew will now run from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. daily, and will subsist until further notice.

“Security operatives will therefore remain in the two councils to enforce the new curfew directive with a view to further maintaining law and order.

“As we all know, the curfew was never declared to inflict hardship on our people in the first instance but to protect them and return normalcy to the affected communities.

“The Osun government appreciates the traditional rulers and all the security agencies for their various roles in ensuring that normalcy and peace returned to Erin-Osun and Ilobu.

“We commend citizens and residents for their show of understanding and cooperation so far.

“The governor also enjoins residents and citizens to always channel their grievances to the appropriate authorities and resist the temptation of taking laws into their own hands.”

Source: NAN

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Today, Tuesday, September 29, 2020, is the 66th birthday of my Principal, Adegboyega Oyetola. To celebrate him, I have elected to speak about a few of his attributes as a leader.

Interestingly, those attributes, one of which is the fact that running a State in a depressed economy is possible, have not only changed my perception about taking up the job of a media aide to a complete stranger, but have further rekindled my hope about the future of our State and the country at large.

I have said it before, but let me say for the umpteenth time that prior to my appointment in August last year, there was no prior relationship between my boss and me. I saw him for the first time in my life two weeks before I was appointed his Chief Press Secretary, CPS. On the first day of our meeting, which was with the outgoing CPS, a pleasant senior in the journalism profession and current editor of The Nation newspapers, Mr. Adeniyi Adesina, the governor simply said: “I have seen you from the CCTV while you were waiting to see me. My spirit works with you. But I don’t know if you will be willing to work with me.”

At that time, I was still skeptical. But two weeks later when I made up my mind, and I was to resume, my predecessor led me to Mr. Governor’s office to inform him I was resuming that day. Mr. Governor shook my hands, congratulated me and said: “Don’t worry, we will make you comfortable and help you to settle down.”

I moved into my official quarters same night and the rest as they say is now history. However, before settling down for the job, I gave myself three months within which to decide whether I wanted to stay or not, reason being that until I encountered Mr. Governor, I was one of those who believed one cannot do the job of a publicist for a person one barely knows. Besides, as a young man, I was also conscious of the brand I had built of myself over the years. I wouldn’t want anything to diminish that brand.

Despite the paucity of funds, my Principal has so far kept faith with the vision of the founding fathers of the state to sustainably build Ipinle Omoluabi – State of the Virtuous.

However, in less than one month, four incidents happened consecutively, all of which made me change my mind and I decided I had indeed come to Osun to stay.

The first happened when we were to respond to the LAUTECH Ogbomoso issue. I was barely two weeks old on the job and needed to issue a statement on the contentious Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) matter. I had gone to see Mr. Governor on the need to respond to certain misinformation in the public space concerning the issue at the time.

Mr. Governor reluctantly accepted that I do the statement. His initial hesitation was borne out of the fact that he detests controversy, no matter how little.

As I reached for the door, Governor Oyetola called me back, saying “CPS be sure of your facts, don’t give account of what we haven’t done. Don’t say things that will embarrass us. Say only those things we have done.”

That day, Mr. Governor made a strong impression on me. As I made to leave his office, I knew my job was simple as I wouldn’t struggle to communicate the policies and programmes of the administration to members of the public. Here is a fine gentleman, who doesn’t expect you to cook up fallacies to serve the public.

The second incident had to do with his speech. A draft was made. But as we were reviewing it together, we got to a stage, he said: “CPS, these are all lies. Remove those paragraphs. We haven’t done anything of the sort.” By the time we were done reviewing the speech, more than half of the body was gone. Many a principal would certainly have gladly read those lies and half truths to the public and still feel good.

The third incident happened at the Government House. It was in the evening. I was asked to contribute to a discussion. I had a contrary view to that of my Principal, the Governor. I stated this. He conceded to me, but said: “Look, come out of your shelf. Be free with me. Feel free with me. If I had not asked you, I would have taken a decision without hearing from you.”

The fourth and final one for the purpose of this piece occurred in Abuja. It was my first official trip with him. After the day’s job, he called me around 8pm, saying “CPS, have you been offered an accommodation?” I said no, but I quickly added: “I don’t need one. I have a home here. My family lives here, sir.”

He said: “In that case, do not be in a hurry to set out tomorrow. Take your time. Spend time with your family.”

I was happy that here is a man that values family. I got home that night, told my wife and we both concluded that a Principal who bothers about one’s family, not about his job alone, is worth one’s sacrifice. That was the day I made up my mind to stay. So far, I can say with all sense of modesty that I can stick out my neck for my Principal. He has so far not disappointed. But a full dose of that will come in two months time when we will be giving our mid-term report.

Suffice to say that in Osun, we may not have all the billions, but we are surely getting our priorities right under Governor Adegboyega Oyetola. Despite the paucity of funds, my Principal has so far kept faith with the vision of the founding fathers of the state to sustainably build Ipinle Omoluabi – State of the Virtuous.

Since coming on board about two years ago, the Governor has demonstrated that he not only understands and appreciates the peculiar needs of an average Osun person, but is also passionately interested in growing the state from where his predecessor left off.

Rather than reel out excuses, he has been fulfilling most of the promises he made to the citizens of the state during the electioneering. From the Igbajo road which was last touched 33 years ago, to Atakumosa Market which got burnt in 2015, my Principal has validated the popular axiom: “the way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

Interestingly, from his achievements so far, I make bold to say that what Osun citizens will get from Oyetola’s administration will be an enduring legacy that would not only stand the test of time, but also one that would be remarkably different and which would remain a reference point, long after he would have completed his tenure.

Hear what the Asiwaju of Igbajo, a legal luminary, Chief Solomon Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), who led a delegation of Igbajo Development Association (IDA) on a “Thank You” visit to Mr. Governor said last Sunday: “For many years, this (Ada-Igbajo) road has been crying for rehabilitation. Even before I became the Commissioner for justice in the State (1991-92), this road had been in a terrible state.

“But today, we thank God for using your government to come to our aid. This will go a long way to redefine many things in the benefiting communities.

“You have given us a great relief. Osun is very lucky to have you as Governor at this time. You have come to power with deep experience in both the private and the public sectors as reflected in the way and manner you have been prudently and sensibly running the resources and affairs of the State.”

Interestingly, from his achievements so far, I make bold to say that what Osun citizens will get from Oyetola’s administration will be an enduring legacy that would not only stand the test of time, but also one that would be remarkably different and which would remain a reference point, long after he would have completed his tenure.

My dear Principal, as you mark yet another birthday today, I pray to Allah to grant you the tolerance to deal with all the trials and travails that would be coming your way.

May Allah open His various ways of blessings and favour for you, today, as you add another year. He will protect you from all the evil tricks that emanate from Shaitan and his forces among men and jinn, overlook your shortcomings and show you grace and mercy. Amin.

I know that soon Allah shall give you that with which you will be well pleased.

Happy 66th birthday to you, sir!

*Omipidan is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of the State of Osun.

The post The other sides of Oyetola: Tribute to my Principal @ 66 appeared first on Frontpageng.