THE VANITY OF POWER AND A BIT OF NIGERIAN RECENT HISTORY

On Monday, July 6, 2020, Ibrahim Magu woke up, took his bath, knotted one of his many fancy ties and dressed up in his usual western suit and set out on the streets of Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. If anyone had told him as he was leaving home that someone born of a woman would have the audacity to block his convoy and order him to change his direction, I am almost certain that Ibrahim Magu would have laughed in the person's face and probably told the person that he was drinking a very bad variant of 'ogogoro'.

When Magu woke up that Monday morning, he was one of the most powerful men in Nigeria. Everyone, big or small, trembled at the mention of his name. He could order the arrest of anyone, detain anyone and using the enormous instruments under his control, send anyone to jail. After all, he was the Head of EFCC, the Czar of President Buhari's anti-corruption fight, the fulcrum of Buhari's presidency.

Ibrahim Magu was powerful, so powerful. The Nigerian senate which has the constitutional powers to confirm or reject his appointment as Chairman of EFCC, twice refused to confirm him but it did not matter. Magu became bigger than the constitution and for five years, based on some twisted logic, bestrode the nation as "Acting Chairman" of the EFCC!

On July 6, 2020, in a commando style, Ibrahim Magu was waylaid on his way from the EFCC Formella Street office in Abuja, and forced to go to Aso Rock Villa, to face a previously unknown presidential panel set up to investigate Magu's tenure and an alleged massive 'magu-magu' in the EFCC. In a twist of fate, the hunter became the hunted.

Magu who was reported to live in luxury in a house rented in the incredible sum of N40m and furnished with N43m is said to have spent the night of his arrest sleeping on bare chairs at the Louis Edet Police Headquarters in Abuja.   

In the morning of July 6, Magu was a powerful man. In the evening, he was a powerless man. Those who gave Magu the power had taken it.

At the beginning of June 2020, Adams Oshiomhole was one of the most powerful political players in the land. The former governor of Edo State and former President of the Nigerian Labour Congress wielded power with no apologies to anyone. Upon his election as Chairman of the ruling APC, Oshiomhole was reported to have warned a minister of the Federal Republic that if President Buhari would tolerate the minister's indiscretion, he, Adams Oshiomhole would not take the nonsense.  For most people in the APC, the fear of Oshiomhole was the beginning of wisdom.

Uche Nwosu, son-in-law of former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, will not forget Adams Oshiomhole in a hurry. Together, they danced and made merry at Dan Anyiam Stadium Owerri when Oshiomhole visited Imo State. Nwosu was the crown prince of the Okorocha dynasty, waiting to take over as Governor of Imo State. When push came to shove, Oshiomhole out flanked him, pulled the carpet under his feet and the rest, as they say, is now history.

Adams coordinated the plot that brought Buhari back as President at a time when Atiku Abubakar was seriously flexing his muscles. On every APC campaign stage across Nigeria, Oshiomhole, not the tallest of men, jumped higher than everyone else and spoke louder than everyone else.

In the normal order of things, Adams Oshiomhole, National Chairman of APC would never have considered Stephen Oshawo, Chairman of the APC Etsako Ward 10 in Edo State as a powerful man. But when it was time to cut Adams Oshiomhole to size, the real powers that be did not go to the Supreme Court, they went to Oshiomhole's ward and got his ward Chairman to suspend him.

In the normal order of things, if Adams Oshiomhole was looking behind for who would pull the carpet off his feet, he may have worried about the APC Deputy Chairmen or the Vice Chairman. I doubt that it would have occurred to him that it would be Victor Giadom, a little-known Assistant Secretary of his party that would be used to mess him up so badly.

In the normal order of things, Adams Oshiomhole, the sharp player on the political chess board would never have envisioned that the rules enshrined in the APC constitution would be so badly thrown to the dogs and that an APC National Executive Council Meeting would be held with two days-notice at the Aso Rock Villa at the instance of the said Assistant Secretary and the very powerful Adams Oshiomhole would be so emasculated in the public glare.

If we are sensitive about Nigerian history, we should understand that what has happened to the two men mentioned above can happen to any of us whether in the church, the mosque, the market group, a social club, a professional association or on the national stage. Let everyone be careful. Power is ephemeral and transient. It can disappear in a twinkle of an eye.

In my time, I have met a lot of small men intoxicated by power. They think that the power they wield belongs to them without realizing that the power belongs to the office they occupy, the uniform they wear or the chair they sit on. Many understand power to mean the ability to punish or subjugate others rather than the ability to uplift and put a smile on the faces of as many of God's children as possible. Will we ever understand the vanity of power? I don't know.

See you next week.

WHEN YOUR BIGGEST ASSET IS YOUR BIGGEST LIABILITY – THE JAGABAN ARMY TAKES ON THE OBIDIENTS!

Before his election as Lagos State Governor, I once met candidate Babajide Sanwo Olu at an event. He seemed a bit tentative, a little bit unsure even though he tried to provide an answer to every question. There is no doubt that he has grown on the job, more sure-footed and even likeable. You cannot accuse the governor of lack of intelligence or imagination.

But, let's be frank. There are many in Lagos state as intelligent, if not more intelligent than Sanwo Olu, who will never be Governor, Deputy Governor, Commissioner or even Permanent Secretary. Many will end their careers as middle level managers in some nameless organizations.

The difference is timing and that word, "Connection". At the right time, Babajide Sanwo-Olu became connected to the "Emperor" of Lagos, the one and only Jagaban Borgu, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and regardless of what the people of Lagos thought, it was decreed that Sanwo-Olu would be the next governor of Lagos. So said the "Emperor", so it came to be.

Many in Lagos had no problem with Akinwunmi Ambode, Sanwo-Olu's one term predecessor. To some of us, he was pro-active. We could see what he was trying to do with Lagos and thought that Lagos would be a good place if Ambode was allowed to do a second term. Despite his struggles, it was clear that Ambode could not survive the primaries of the APC having fallen out with the "Emperor". He was sent into political oblivion and was even set up for the EFCC to hound. Ambode did only one term not because the people of Lagos did not want him but because the Godfather who controls Lagos did not want him.

Before Ambode, Babatunde Fashola had a similar problem. Do you remember the loud groan by APC members, "Na project we go chop?" Fashola was said to have spent too much money on projects and very little on servicing the wheels of the APC spun by the Jagaban. He eventually became a "good boy", negotiated his way and served a second term.

Today, Nigerians go to the polls to elect their governors and state assembly members. All over the place, it is tense. In Lagos, it is like the 3^rd World- War has been unleashed. Everything is being deployed in the battle: thuggery, arson, violence, false ethnic propaganda, intimidation, Oro, blatant partisan political intervention of otherwise neutral Obas, etc.

This time last month, if anybody had suggested that Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Tinubu's boy, would be in a battle of his life to serve a second term as Governor of Lagos State, the person would have been accused of drinking too much "ogogoro". Apart from PDP's Jandor, who else did you see his posters around Lagos? All that changed on February 25, when Peter Obi, the guy with no poster, no structure, who does not give "shishi" and is purportedly supported by 'only four guys tweeting from one room', dusted the "Emperor" in his supposed homebase and stronghold!

That development sent shivers down the spine of many who have depended on the morsels from Alausa for their bread and butter. And so, the decision to wake up the Jagaban Army, assemble all hands-on-deck, clean and dirty, to launch a no-holds-bared counterattack against these "Obidient" people who are attempting to foist 'sacrilege' on Lagos!  

Sanwo Olu may not have had this kind of problem if he was not seen as the godson of the "Emperor".

Sanwo-Olu's greatest asset, the asset that made him Governor, has become his greatest liability … his albatross. I don't think there are many who will say that Sanwo Olu is a terrible governor. The battle in Lagos today is not really a battle against Babajide Sanwo-Olu. It has to do with the coming together on one side of many who are scared that an individual with insatiable appetite is deploying enormous resources obtained from Lagos State to acquire complete control of Nigeria, a nation of over two hundred million people. Another fear of the Sanwo-Olu camp is that scary word, PROBE. Will a new landlord at Alausa open the books and sniff at what exactly has been going on with the enormous resources of Lagos State. There is just too much at stake!

Make no mistake, the people against a Sanwo-Olu returning as governor are not just "Obidients" or Igbos. There are many Yorubas and people from across Nigeria who are just mad and tired of the politics of Lagos. They can't understand how for a long time, one individual has pocketed a whole Lagos. The politics of Lagos has been the politics of what one man says and what he wants. That is why there are suddenly, alignments and re-alignments, and many abandoning Jandor, despite his significant campaign, to join forces with Labour Party's previously little-known Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (GRV), who with the Peter Obi connection, is believed to have the best chance of wrestling power from Sanwo-Olu. One thing is clear; my extremely talented sister, Funke Akindele is not likely to be Deputy Governor of Lagos.

How will the war end? Nobody knows. The fact is that the people in the Tinubu camp are rattled, very rattled. People like MC Oluomo is said to be issuing open threats against those not willing to vote for Sanwo-Olu. The strategy appears to be to scare as many of the anti-Tinubu group as possible and keep them away from voting. There are so many factors that will be at play today: INEC, BVAS, Hackers, Police, Area Boys, Obas, Dollars, etc. Victory for either side will not be easy.

Fascinating!

See you next week.

IF YOU THINK I WILL RUN AWAY FROM NIGERIA BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU DEY CRAZE!

IF YOU THINK I WILL RUN AWAY FROM NIGERIA BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU DEY CRAZE!

Once in secondary school, I got 12% in a mathematics exam. That tore my soul. Me, 12%? How did that happen?!

I usually do not blame anyone for whatever predicament I go through, believing that life is a challenge and only the strong survive.

I knew that the 12% result was my own making. Mathematics was never really a challenge to me, so I had taken it for granted. Any time the mathematics teacher was in class, I did cross word puzzles or read some comics. I paid no attention.

At exam time, my brain froze.  I panicked! I could not remember any formula. Something like BODMAS became strange and confusing. The reason was very simple. I did not practice at all. From being overconfident, I totally lost confidence.

The shame and humiliation that followed my 12% debacle affected me going through life. I resolved that 12% has no business with me and 12% success would not come my way again. Next term, I followed the mathematics teacher from class to class, took every note and practiced every formula. At the end of the term, I had an 'A' in the same mathematics. From then on, I considered 'B' a failure.  

Those who went to school with me and those who have worked with me thereafter will testify that I prepare, practice and practice for everything. I never want to go to a meeting without studying[to1]   the issues and fully understanding what I want to come out with at the end of the meeting. I do not embark on an event without checking every box over and over again and being sure that there is a Plan 'B', if Plan 'A' goes wrong. I am sure my lawyers are sick of me. I never let them take my case to court without being certain that the processes are very well done and that the facts and the law are on my side and every hearing notice is served. Nobody who works with me is allowed to send out a document with bad grammar or without the 'i's dotted, the 't's crossed and all the punctuation marks in place.

Have I always got an 'A'? Many of the times I have. There are however a few times that I have not. I recall going to a Lecturer at the University of Lagos to say that I wanted to retake his paper. I had scored a 'B' in the paper and was distressed. The lecturer was very angry with my 'audacity' and told me how stupid I was. He was emphatic that he does not give an 'A' to any student and that 'A' belonged to him. At the end of the day, I found out that my 'B' was the best result in the subject. What I have discovered is that if you strive for and 'A', the worst that is likely to come your way is a 'B'. 

In the university, as a student, I used to teach classes and I realized that my fellow students preferred my classes to those of the lecturers. They would ask me questions they would not dare ask the lecturers. I knew that the students would enjoy embarrassing me if it was obvious I did not know what I was talking about. So, before any class, I would go through the subject with a tooth comb and prepare for every possible question. What my colleagues did not know was that it was my way of preparing for exams.

I am that guy who would tell you bluntly that if you fail to plan, you have planned to fail. The problem is that there are too many lazy people, people who go through life without a plan and with little effort. They do not work for an 'A' and would readily accept "let my people go" which most times results in failure. Then, they will blame their failure on everyone else and everything else but themselves.

I have little material wealth but I have faith and happiness. I appreciate the grace that the Almighty has given me to work hard, focus on every challenge and achieve results that are pleasing. I love the gifts the good Lord has given me, and I try to use them the best I can for the good of as many of God's children as possible.

I have said before that I do not want to be Dangote or Otedola or Ronaldo or Donald Trump. My name is Tony Okoroji and I like it.

I know that the Almighty has given to each of his children our peculiar gifts. The problem is that rather than harness their gifts, some people are very busy with envy and covetousness and fixated on the gifts of others. Somebody should tell them that I do not want to be them and no matter how much they try, they cannot be me.

I have heard some people say that I am arrogant. I have also heard it said that they will drive people like us out of Nigeria.  No sir! Despite the challenges of Nigeria, I am in Nigeria to stay. Last time I checked; it was clear to me that both my late mother and father were Nigerians. At this time, Nigeria needs men, real men, men with staying power. I will not concede my rights as a Nigerian citizen to anyone. What some people consider arrogance is confidence. It is the kind of confidence that drove a guy like Peter Obi without structure and without 'shishi' to cause a never-before-seen political revolution in Nigeria, within a few months.

I am not so stupid that I do not understand that the wisdom and strength we deploy do not belong to us but to the Almighty. I am simply the guy who drives on a full tank of faith!

I know that hatred is a virus. It permeates your engine and destroys the effectiveness of your mechanism. I may defend myself, but I cannot hate anyone. That is why those who attack me with falsehood fail and keep failing.

What of those who think I will run away from Nigeria because of them? Dem dey craze!

 

See you next week.

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