Recommitting Ourselves to Values and Promises

Ferdinand Agu

I have been asked to speak on behalf of the friends and well-wishers of Ike-Obosi, Osita Chidoka, the celebrant. We are assembled here to show of bonds of friendship, to share fond memories and to recommit ourselves to the values, dreams and promise that have made our brother Osita a very outstanding personality at 50.

Osita and I met in 1998 at the review of the ‘Abuja Master Plan’. He had finished his NYSC a few years back; and was easily the best Youth Corper in the Federal Capital Territory. That was why they retained him in the Federal Capital Development Authority. We met again at the occasion of the handing over from the military regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar to the civilian administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. That was at dawn of this Fourth Republic in 1999. He was the Assistant Secretary of the Federal Government Committee on the Handover which was headed by Major-General Nom. I go back this far to support what the former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan has just said: that Osita is a star. Even at that young age he was clearly destined to play an important part in the affairs of our nation.

Then we met again in year 2000, while we were both serving the late Chief Ojo Maduekwe, who was then the nation’s Minister of Transport. Suffice it to say that Osita was very outstanding. Even though he was the Personal Assistant to Chief Ojo Maduekwe, he was meritoriously nominated to attend a course in Singapore that was meant for heads of maritime administrations, admirals, director generals etc. And he came top of the class. He won the gold plaque for the course and came home adorned with laurels. On his return to Nigeria, in 2003, he coordinated the efforts to produce the first Port Reform Policy of the Obasanjo regime. That document went to the Federal Executive Council and was approved. Thereafter, like they say, the rest is history. We are all witnesses to Osita’s summon to power – as head of the Federal Road Safety Commission by President Obasanjo, three days to the end of his administration – at the age of 36. For a while it seemed that the appointment would not stand but the new President, Umaru Yar’Adua and his Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe moved swiftly to confirm Osita in that position. Seven years later. based on his sterling performance, Osita was appointment as Minister of Aviation by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Understandably, most of you know him as an outstanding politician and as an accomplished public servant – as a leading public man. It behoves me explain part of the reasons why he has been so successful at every point of call. I will do so because there are younger ones here and it is not enough for us or them to merely admire him. Our youth need heroes that they can relate to – in values and attributes. For example, in the early days of the Cuban Revolution, school children, every morning recited: ‘I want to be like Che’ (At other times it was: ‘I want to be like Camilo Cienfuegos. I am sure many of you will recall that the Argentine-born Ernesto Che Guevara was one of the most charismatic and enduring heroes of the Cuban revolution; and so was Camilio Cienfuegos). I want to see a day that young children in Nigeria will say ‘I want to be like Osita’.

Very early in life, Osita prepared himself for leadership. The cornerstone in that preparation, like he mentioned earlier today, was studying the Bible, So I will not talk about that. Instead, let me briefly talk about his literary bias. Osita has a very strong literary mind. He took to books very early in life. He once confided in me that he aspires to own as many books as the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The late sage owned a collection of over 11,000 books and on his death, they were donated to the Ogun State University. Osita’s collection of books is mounting. He hopes someday to pass them on a University in Anambra State. In terms of literary influences on Osita, permit me to mention a few. Kahlil Gibran was a spiritual and romantic Lebanese writer of the early 20th century. Some would call his works esoteric. Those of you that care to, can refer to his works in the Prophet, The Mad Man and host of others. The works of Kahlil Gibran, his discourse on the human condition evoked strong streams thought in Osita as a youth.

Secondly, let me recall when we did his 40th birthday – 10 years ago. Osita organised a live theatre group at the venue, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja to perform a sketch of the work – ‘Arrow of God’. That is the last novel of the famed African trilogy by Achebe, consisting of: Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God. The theme and cast of characters of that book furnish us with rich, enduring sociological impact and lessons. One sees the interplay of forces for a society in transition. The Igbo society of the time and setting of the book found itself in transition and in conflict. Of particular import are conflicts that result from ascribing the actions of leaders to the infallible will the gods instead of the rational judgement or irrational prejudice of the men that they are. If one extrapolates, it becomes evident that so many things in today’s Nigeria were handled and foreseen in the Arrow of God. Osita remains fascinated by the Arrow of God, because he strives to understand the nature and causes of our society’s transition and conflicts – at the ethnic and national levels.

When he left Federal Road Safety Commission, we had a reception like this for him. His theme song then was Frank Sinatra version of: ‘I did it my way’. For Osita, it is a song with deep meaning and one that often triggers reflections. So, for those young ones that want to be like Osita, open your minds to reading, because readers are leaders. Yarn for and seek the meaning of things, especially the meaning of life and our experiences. Because Osita is exposed to a wide range of literature and thought process, you see what we witness today: a very modern man, a man of the world that is totally at ease with his tradition; one with full grasp of the story, myths and cultural symbolisms of his people and yet he understands the imperatives of nation-building; a man who appreciates that tomorrow’s Nigeria needs men that will come together with open minds, irrespective of their diverse backgrounds, to synthesize and reconcile our different tendencies.

The other thing I want to say about Osita, is that he has had many mentors and heroes. Over the years he has caught the eyes of some very outstanding Nigerians. It is not for me to name them here, but on his 40th birthday many of them spoke about Osita, including President Obasanjo, Babagana Kingibe – you name them. Others like former President Mahama, Prince Michael – the Duke of Kent, Chief Arthur Eze and late Chief Authur Nwankwo have proudly identified with Osita at various times. Today, we have President Jonathan – in person. He has commended Osita in glowing terms. And let me pay tribute to a particular mentor, the late Chief Ojo Maduekwe, a mentor we shared in common and whose untimely death we still lament. The wife is here today, Chief Mrs Ucha Maduekwe.

The great Athenian leader, Pericles, said this of his Athens: ‘We do not imitate, because we are a model to others’. Osita does not imitate, because on his own – he is a model. His brand is to continuously strive towards what the ancient Greek called sophrosyne – that is, excellence in character and soundness of mind. It is an ideal not easy to find or attain; but it is a worthy aspiration. Heroes and mentors may help one along the way but ultimately it is a personal quest. It cannot be achieved by imitation but rather by rigorous self-analysis, self-discovery and self-application. It is the power of his example in this honourable quest that will make our youths someday to declare: I want to be like Osita.

Going forward, Osita said here that he wants to devote the rest of his life to building hope in Nigeria. I admire that. I also share those hopes. I earnestly do. The event you (Osita) did in the 36 states of Nigeria tells us that there is hope. Hundreds of youths – your followers on Facebook and other social media – heeded your call to service. They organised and visited at least three hospitals in every state of the federation; and on your behalf delivered presents, help and succour to mothers and children that either shared the same birthday with you or were in despite need. I commend you for the inspiration and huge financial sacrifice. I commend them for enthusiasm, conviction and willingness to serve. Indeed, there are budding shoots of hope. There may yet be a national renewal, a rebirth.

But my fear is that we cannot go far with hope if there is no faith. We cannot claim to have faith in Nigeria if we do not have faith in ourselves; and, in our neighbours. For the Nigeria of our dreams to be true, we need hope but we also need faith – that is, faith in ourselves, faith in the next man, faith in the next group – regardless of religion, ethnicity, political, social and economic definition. And so, every Nigerian must ask himself or herself, do I really have faith in my neighbour? Any man or woman, especially those in public office that does not have faith in his or her neighbour does not believe in this country. By virtue of his example, I am delighted to hold Osita up as a man that believes in himself and believes in his neighbours. And, I challenge the upcoming generation and as well as all our leaders to show that they believe in themselves and in their neighbours.

Finally, Osita, I congratulate you. When you wedded, City People flashed a banner ‘Chidoka, Abuja big boy weds’. Then, we said it was a bit superfluous. Yet, every single day since that wedding, you have proved that you are not just an Abuja big boy, but that you are indeed a Nigeria big boy, and I say it in a positive way. When you left Federal Road Safety Commission, you said you did it your way. For the next phase of your life, that phase of building hope in Nigeria, I wish to recommend that you also incorporate or adapt the spirit of the ‘The Man in the Arena’ – by US President, Theodore Roosevelt. I refer to the speech he made at the Sorbonne, in France, on April 23rd, 1910 (He titled that speech ‘Citizenship in A Republic’ but it now popularly remembered for this part about the man in the arena: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. Shame on the man of cultivated taste who permits refinement to develop into fastidiousness that unfits him for doing the rough work of a workaday world).

Nigeria of tomorrow will belong to those who enter the arena, not those who sit and snivel and criticise, but those in the arena of nation building, men and women fighting in great combats of the times, willing to take the bruises to build a better Nigeria and a better world. You, Ike-Obosi, Osita Chidoka, are already in the arena. We wish you all the best. God will guard and guide you. God will bless you. I hail your wife and your family; and on behalf of all your friends, we say: do it your way and survive in the arena.

_Agu, a former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, delivered this speech at the birthday celebration of Osita Chidoka in Abuja, recently.