Kola Animasun
16 November 2008
column
Adams Oshiomhole conjures up for me some images.
That of some wellknown and militant trade unionists. He reminds me of Wahab Goodluck; of Nigeria's Labour Leader No. 1 - Michael Imoudu. There was also Hassan Sumonu.
When these leaders of men talked, their followers listened. And we are here talking of substantial part of the workers of this country.
They had stopped or closed this nation when they thought this country or its rulers needed to be taught some lessons. Imoudu was a thorn in the flesh of our colonial masters and he continued his trade union activities into the post-independence era of Nigeria.
Imoudu was selfless and except for the magnanimity of civilian administration, he would have died without a roof over his head. H.P. Adebola, another well-known unionist, went on to join the NCNC and became a parliamentarian of the House of Representatives.
He was urbane. I cannot remember a unionist heading a government, regional or central as it has now been the fortune of Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, ex-president of the Nigerian Labour Congress.
Adams fought many battles on the Labour front. And he won many of them. He brought panache into Labour practice and it was natural when he opted to do on the political field what he preached in Labour. You see, when Adams held sway as president of NLC, he was an alternative to the political president of Nigeria. But one was surprised that when the votes were cast and counted, Adams lost to a professor of law, Osunbor.
The first leg of the tribunal took nine months. Then the verdict was delivered on March 20, giving the governorship election to Oshiomhole. Of course Osunbor appealed against it. It has taken another seven months for the verdict that came on July 11, 2008. Adams has had to wait 18 months to enjoy the fruit of the election! The beauty of it is that the tenure will begin from November 11 for the next four years. Because the truth has prevailed, Adams wept. For joy.
Unbelievable! Adams went to the tribunal and the tribunal found, as of truth, that Adams really floored the professor as a matter of fact. Osunbor countered and went to the Appeal court and his (Osunbor) coffin was finally nailed. Adams Oshiomhole was sworn-in last Wednesday and is now the new governor of Edo State.
As a man, Adams has been a non-conformist and he would bring some remarkable changes to our lives. For a start, he has distanced himself from the affectation of being addressed as 'Your Excellency'.
He would not be so addressed: He would want to be addressed as Mr. Governor or Mr. Oshiomhole or simply use the prefix, Comrade. He would change his wardrobe but they would be made of his famous khaki wears and not designer suits or the balloons we know as agbada or babanriga.
Adams' orientation will not be only physical but they will touch our psyche of work. Take for example, Adams' government is not going to decree monthly sanitation.
He believes getting one's health on an even keel is not a monthly affair when a state shuts the economy for a whole day. It is a daily affair and he would create job opportunities for between 7,000 and 10,000. Rather than buy guns for the police, he would create jobs.
Adams would put round pegs in round holes: He would not give masons the job for which a carpenter fits perfectly. He would appoint an engineer in the ministry of works; a man trained in health discipline in ministry of health. He will insist on an educationist in the ministry of education. It is easier said than done and Adams is asking for a revolution.
A revolution in the way of doing things. He will have a fight on his hands with people who have profited from the old way. If Edo's new governor is allowed to do things the way he wants, those of them who have made it should be able to sleep easy.
Hoodlums, who otherwise would have been restless, would be put to useful jobs. Isn't it said that Satan finds jobs for an idle hand (and an idle mind)? Adams Oshiomhole has promised to give all their dues - the elders, the Federal Government and the people.
I can see the advent of Oshiomhole as affecting the way we do business countrywide. From now, this country will not be the same again.
How time flies
IT has been two years since the Sarkin Musulumi of Nigeria and the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar Sa'ad III mounted the caliphate. Time has moved so quickly that it looked like yesterday that Sultan Sa'ad Abubakar was called away from his soldiering.
In the two years, the Sultan has impressed on our consciousness his presence. Not by throwing his weight around, but by his contributions and activities. He has made his contributions to our debates on Almajiri; to poverty; to education and to philanthropy.
To think he has been with us for only two years! In these two years, he has travelled the world since mounting the throne. His trips have been very substantial - for lectures and / or seminars - contributing to the knowledge of the world and learning more.
He has set himself the task of welding the various religions together, showing thereby that there is no "compulsion in religion". And he has visited practically all parts of this great country. Everywhere he went, he left a fountain of goodwill and I doubt if any Sultan has matched or surpassed the mark.
Sultan Sa'ad Abubakar is a lover of education because he knows that education frees a nation and has asked the well-heeled to invest in it. Not one for talk, he has set an example by offering scholarships within his means. This Sultan will do more, if he lives longer. May Allah spare his life.
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