18112022

government
26 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2022
Leadership and service to humanity (2)
The author in this second instalment explains
that through leadership and service to humanity
the Buhari administration has undertaken key
road projects that have led to improvement in
the quality of life of the people
By BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA
AS we gather here today, let us remember
the months of April and May 2020 when
we were not only under lockdown, we saw
hundreds of thousands of people buried day
after day. Let us honour the leaders, whose
service has made it possible for us to converge
in large number again. They fought on our
behalf, an enemy that needed to be defeated
with brains not brawn. And this is the
increasingly needed leadership skill that our
civilisation demands. How to harness and
optimise existing resources, how to create
resources that do not exist, and how to deploy
them for optimal impact are some of the
challenges that today’s leader must confront
and overcome to renderimpactful service to
the human civilisation.
While the majority of persons who provide
the leadership that has made our civilisation
and quality of life what it is today were not in
government, there are also those who served
in government and we must not lose sight of
their leadership, contributions, their service,
and the impact on our lives, I will focus now
on a few examples. From a time that is situated
in ancient history, and perhaps locations that
are distant, let me make the season more
contemporary, and bring the location closer
to home. About seven years ago, a journey of
127 km from Lagos to Ibadan, which should
take just about 90 minutes, was a venture of
trepidation. You were not sure if you set out at
dawn whether you would get there before
nightfall. Between Enugu to Onitsha, a distance
of 110 km, I was told you’re required to make
forays into the bush with your vehicle to
complete, in a whole day, a journey that should
not exceed 90 minutes.
Every day and every Christmas season, the
East-West crossing across the Niger was a
difficult one to undertake to put it mildly,
because the existing bridge capacity has been
overwhelmed by vehicular, population and
business growth beyond its envisaged capacity
over six decades ago, and the new bridge, the
Second Niger Bridge has remained a mirage.
Between the mainland of Bodo, and the Island
of Bonny, which hosts Nigeria’s prolific gas
resources in Rivers State, and which traverses
the Opobo channel where the King Jaja
famously ruled; there has never been a road
crossing. Everything required to sustain life
on the Bonny Island travels by boats and
canoes not only with the added cost and risk
but at the mercy of the weather which has been
reported to occasionally cut off the mainland
from the island for days on end. These are
examples of the quality of life across sample
areas of Nigeria. But the Muhammadu Buhari
leadership at
the time of
dwindling
resources
and global
economic
difficulty is
finding
way. For the
first time in
h u m a n
civilisation,
BABATUNDE FASHOLA
B o d o
mainland
will be connected to Bonny Island by a 39 km
road and bridge project that is under
construction. The Afa/Nanabie creek has been
crossed by a bridge, Opobo channel is being
bridged for the first time in human history and
the project will finish in the third quarter of
2023. While Lagos-Ibadan, Enugu-Onitsha,
are still under construction there is a significant
journey time improvement of about two hours
and one hour 30 minutes respectively, from a
whole day. These are significant human
impacts. The long-awaited Second Niger
bridge is no longer a mirage. The main bridge
is completed. The remaining works left are
the connecting roads from the Onitsha and
Asaba ends. A survey across 12 recently
commissioned roads by the Federal
Government of Nigeria totalling 896.187 km
by interviewing drivers, commuters and people
who use the road regularly, showed that their
travel time on these roads have been reduced
a
by 56.2 percent. These are worthy impacts on
our population by the leadership provided by
the government.
As far as the impact of leadership and service
to humanity go, when the national housing
project of the Buhari administration was
initiated across 35 states in 2016 it was meant
to serve the generality of Nigerians and this is
happening through the open website portal
for applications. However, it has done more
than that. The promise of housing made to the
successful 1994 Super Eagles team remained
unredeemed until President Buhari approved
the redemption of this 28-year-old pledge
through the National Housing Programme.
In my view, this is a most profound and
impactful example of leadership and service
to humanity. From leaders without titles, to
leaders and governments with titles, I invite us
to quickly look at the role of leaders who have
spawned institutions for the purpose of
rendering service to humanity. These are
represented in the many foundations set up by
those who understand their leadership role,
who accept their responsibility and seek to do
something about it. Again, we do not need to
go to any distant region to find notable
examples. That work and the impact was
made manifest under the aegis of CACOVID,
the private sector aggregation of manpower
and resources, convened to support the people
and government of Nigeria in providing
leadership to navigate the challenges brought
on by the pandemic of COVID-19.
We honour the service of these patriots. Our
civilisation is better, because they saved us.
While dealing with foundations, it would be
remiss of me not to mention the Azinge
Foundation, because it is their annual lecture
series that has provided the platform to have
this conversation. If you’ve been impacted by
this conversation, this is leadership by the
foundation through service. The Epiphany
The longawaited
Second Niger
bridge is no
longer a
mirage; the
main bridge is
completed
Azinge Foundation,
the brain child of the
celebrant is a
corporate vehicle for
the expression of
leadership through
service. Established in
2017, it is impacting
humanity through
the provision of
grants to “high
performing”
individuals through what it describes as “an
invitation only process.” It becomes very revealing
of the mindset of the founder and his vision for
humanity when one scrutinises one of the criteria
which an applicant for a funding grant must fulfil.
It says: “…the application must have a significant
and enduring practical impact on the lives of
Nigerians and Africans amongst other
conditions.” I find this qualification of a
“…significant and enduring practical impact
on the lives of Nigerians” so profoundly typical
of the person of Professor Epiphany Azinge,
SAN. I call it the Azinge Standard. This,
perhaps, has been his most indelible
leadership, contribution and service to
humanity - creating a new generation of
leaders. This was done by the thousands of
hours, spent in classrooms, teaching the next
generation, moulding their minds and
preparing them for the next set of challengesthe
nation will thrust upon them. That is impactful,
it is significant, it’s enduring and itis practical.
I am a product of that leadership of Professor
Azinge through service. I was in his
jurisprudence class in the 1986 to 1987
academic session in the University of Benin.
At the time nobody could see today, Professor
Azinge prepared me for today along with his
colleagues under the leadership of Professor
Itse Sagay, SAN. Perhaps to illustrate the
significant, enduring and practical impact of
teaching as ProfessorAzinge has done for most
of his life, it is helpful to tell a story. Please
indulge me. In the 19th century, specifically
1897, it is documented that there was a British
expedition in the ancient Benin kingdom
leading to the removal of Oba Ovonramwen.
What is not well documented is the extent of
the plundering and looting of the treasures of
the kingdom by the British.
Continues online:www.vanguardngr.com
•Being a paper presented by Babatunde
Raji Fashola, SAN at the 2022 Epiphany
Azinge foundation lecture at the Shehu
Musa Yar'Adua Centre, Abuja
Kola Abiola: The quintessential PRP
presidential candidate
BY SANYO PHILEMON
THE presidential candidate of
the People's Redemption Party,
PRP, Alhaji Lateef Kola Abiola (LKO),
the scion of the famous Bashorun
MKO Abiola Dynasty, is a household
name that needs no introduction in
Nigeria or anywhere else in the world.
It is not news, however, that LKO is
among the frontliners of those who
visibly wish to turn around the
nation's pungently battered fortunes
in all spheres of life such as
education, security, health, provision
of social amenities, attraction of
industries, and creation of a
conducive environment for job
creation for the teeming youths in the
society, among others. What could
have been stranger than fiction if the
late MKO Abiola's scion had not
shown interest in assisting the oppressed
masses through democratic means by running
for president in the upcoming February 2023
general elections. Though born with a silver
spoon in his mouth, LKO is neither
complacent nor comfortable with the plight of
the poor majority in this country, which is the
reason why he has decided to invest his time,
money, expertise, and other God-given
resources to ensure, through the ballot, that
this country is made better than how it has been
currently plundered by the President
Muhammad Buhari-led rudderless
administration under the aegis of the All
Progressives Congress, APC.
It is not for the fun of it that Alhaji Kola
Abiola opted to accomplish his presidential
ambition under the umbrella of the PRP but to
make a profound statement that he is a pan-
Nigerian political leader whose political star
would shine and perpetually radiate no matter
where he is operating from. Since LKO emerged
as the presidential candidate of the PRP, his
political endeavours have become a movement
as his tumultuous supporters mill around him
as ants do to sugar. One identifiable and
unique attribute of the PRP presidential
candidate is that he doesn't believe in riding
on the political fame of his late father, Bashorun
MKO Abiola, to gain political mileage from
any quarters. His actions and inaction have
portrayed him as a self-assured political
colossus who has carved a niche for himself in
all walks of life. Apart from a noticeable
resounding physical appearance with his
biological father, the acclaimed winner of the
1993 presidential election, which was annulled
by military president Ibrahim Babangida,
everything about him proves that he is an
indisputable replica of his late billionaire father.
T h e
genuineness of
LKO to serve his
fatherland
conscientiously
is not in doubt,
as he is
pathologically
endowed with
sterling
leadership
qualities and an
The PRP's main
role in the general
elections would be
to act as a bridge
for the current
generation of
Nigerian youths
inherited humanitarian desire to make a
difference in a society where hunger, wants,
and needs walk the streets of the nation.
The PRP's presidential candidate can also be
described as a credible metaphorical bridge
between the youths and the oldies in Nigerian
society, which is a powerful reason why he
would easily blend in and meet the people's
yearnings and aspirations as the next
Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria. Unfolding events over the years
have, however, shown that LKO is a man of
the people who is always at home with both
the aristocratic and downtrodden members of
society, despite his noble and wealthy
background. His desire to diligently serve the
people of this country has drawn him to
becoming the next president of this country.
LKO is sufficiently lettered and well-exposed
through extensive travels across the world,
especially in the Western World, where there is
resemblance and demonstrated democratic
governance strictly governed by the rules of law.
Lateef Kola Abiola, was born on July 1, 1962,
in Abeokuta, Ogun State, into the family of
the late Bashorun MKO Abiola and Alhaja
Simbiat Abiola. LKO had his elementary and
•Alhaji Lateef Kola Abiola. PRP presidential
candidate
secondary school education in Ogun State
where he attended Baptist High School, later
did a term at Maryland Comprehensive
Secondary School, and later crossed over to
Aiyetoro, where he completed his secondary
education. After his secondary school
education, LKO went to Berkeley and then
Colorado State University, where he obtained
a bachelor's degree in Finance and an MBA
in business administration.
Kola's father was the co-owner of ITT and
also the owner of RCN (Radio
Communications Nigeria), Wonder Loaf
Bakery, Concord Press of Nigeria PLC, Abiola
Farms, Abiola Bookshops, Concorde Airlines,
and African Concord, among others. After his
compulsory one-year National Youth Service
Corps, NYSC, in Zaria, Kola restructured and
reorganised some of his father's companies.
It is on record that Bashorun MKO Abiola's
company was one of the first indigenous
companies to drill for and find oil, after it was
launched. It created a lot of excitement, not
just for their family, but for the whole country
because it was fully indigenous. The late
Bashorun MKO Abiola was awarded the
GCFR posthumously on June 6, 2018, by
President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria's
Democracy Day was changed to June 12.
LKO declared his intention to contest the
2023 presidential race under the platform of
the PRP on April 14, 2022. The PRP is a social
democratic political party in Nigeria. It is the
Second Republic reincarnation of the
Northern Elements Progressive Union,
NEPU, and the Fourth Republic
reincarnation of a similar namesake that was
floated by supporters of the late Mallam
Aminu Kano after his withdrawal from the
defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN. It is
beyond dispute that the PRP presidential
candidate, Alhaji Kola Abiola, and his
running mate, Haro Zego, who are fully
engaged in the 2023 presidential race, are
prepared to provide the nation with the needed
national leadership at this critical juncture
in its history.
The PRP Presidential candidate who made
the assertion when he and the governorship
candidates of his party received their
Certificates of Return from the National
Chairman of the party, Malam Falalu Bello,
has the following to say: "It reminds me of
1993. A lot of people came out to vote for the
first time because of MKO. We are going to
have a repeat of that in 2023. If we can win it
then, we should win it now. The PRP's main
role in the general elections would be to act
as a bridge for the current generation of
Nigerian youths. We are going to bring the
younger generation into politics, governance,
and leadership. I am appealing to the youths
to regard us as the vehicle of change. We
should make sure that at the next election,
we have the highest voter turnout. We will
make your voices and numbers count," LKO
promised. Kola Abiola tasked the party's
governorship candidates to ensure that the
youths obtain their PVCs as it is the only party
that doesn't have any encumbrances. He
added: "We will use that to build the future of
Nigeria. We are a national party. To everybody's
surprise, we had 3,625 delegates at the primary
elections. We are present in every local
government area. We have 22 candidates for
governorship elections, and we have more than
500 candidates vying for other different offices.
This is the largest in the PRP's history so far."
•Philemon, a political commentator,
wrote from Lagos