Yesterday,
I urged all Nigerians to be wary of any populist tendency from the Acting
President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, given our experiences with our leaders, in
the recent past. I must however proceed now to tell everyone of the little that
I know about Prof Osinbajo.
Very
amiable person, unusually humble, intelligent and God-fearing, a people's man.
I'd observed him more closely, after his appointment as the Attorney-General of
Lagos State, given the bold policy reforms that he was pioneering, within the
Lagos Judiciary, focusing more on transparency and good governance.
I
also knew him as head of a transparency initiative, committed to abolishing all
forms of corruption and abuses. During his tenure as Attorney-General of Lagos
State, he facilitated electronic recording in the courts, spearheaded the
radical amendment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, which has
since been copied in most states and indeed by the federal government. He
created new judicial divisions for the courts and revolutionized the welfare
packages of judges and magistrates. I can go on and on, but that is not all
about the Osinbajo that I know.
He
is a thorough bred intellectual, with profound knowledge of the Nigerian Law of
Evidence, running a very successful legal practice, in Lagos. In no time, he
was promoted a professor of law and was also elevated to the Inner Bar, as a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria. But this is just so little about the Osinbajo that
I know.
The
one that I know is Pastor Prof, a thorough bred Christian of the old breed,
committed to the work of social engineering and human transformation, through
faith based projects. At the time, he was an Area Pastor of Jesus House, Ikoyi,
which had become more like a haven for the transformation of the down trodden
of the land.
His
wife, the ever youthful Mummy Dolapo, was always busy running an orphanage in
the building next to the church, where teenage girls who have been abandoned
and abused, were daily being impacted, transformed and rehabilitated.
The
Pastor Prof that I know took the job of the Servant of the Lord, opted to be
just the protocol officer of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, and was always on ground as
one of the comperes at major programmes in RCCG camp.
He
was so transparent and clean that at the time of his glorious exit from the
service of Lagos State, the Governor had to convene a special executive council
meeting, to deliberate on the kind of gift suitable for a man without any
record of blemish. It was then decided that a plot of land be bought for him in
a private development in the Lekki area.
The
Pastor Prof that I know, is a consummate prayer warrior, always fasting and on
his knees, most times. All the times that I met him in his modest apartment in
the camp, he was always upstairs, praying, and I had to keep going and coming,
for hours, to meet with him, on most occasions.
The
Pastor Prof that I know, is such a gentlemen to the core, so very natural and
simple, with no taste for allurement and the mundane. Very sincere and open
minded. In his very modern chambers in Victoria Island, I had cause to work
with him on some cases, and he is tolerant, even to a fault.
On
a particular day when he was to have his lunch, he called me inside his office,
to join him. And I looked at the food, boiled potatoes and smoked fish! I was
just thinking aloud in my mind, wondering if Prof knew that I could just empty
the whole bunch in my system all at once! It was then I got to know that Prof
thrives on fasting and prayers. Just that.
And
eventually Prof was appointed a provincial pastor of Rccg, in high brow Banana
Island, but Prof just remained Prof, nothing moving him, nothing changing him.
He
is fulfilled in virtuously all areas of his endeavor. The dream of every
academician is to become a professor, the highest position in any ministry is
the Commissioner, the highest rank in the Rccg is that of a pastor and the
highest office in Nigeria is that of the President, for which he is now acting.
And
of course the best an individual can be is to have a real relationship with
Christ. This is the Prof that I know. And indeed I know so very much of his
many good parts that cannot possibly be shared. As with all mortals, everyone
has his own challenges, as some have pointed at the alleged financial drainage
of Lagos State, Alpha Beta, as the brainchild of Prof.
However,
I now have to work with the Vice-President and the Acting President, who
presently directs the affairs of our dear country Nigeria. In this regard, I
would be glad that the Prof that I used to know, should be his own man, work
the talk and carry Nigerians along. He should put action into his many promises
of true federalism, restructuring, resource control, economic revival and then
bridge the sickening gap between the affluent and the poor masses of our
people, very urgently.
In
this new assignment of mine, I will hold the Acting President in the same
esteem as with the Pastor Prof that I used to know, believing that his history
and record will stand him in a good position to influence and implement true
change for our people, and not just political slogans, as is common with soap
box politicians.
And
so if the Pastor Prof that I used to know is still himself, it shall be well
with Nigeria.
So
let work begin, as we start holding the Acting President accountable, to the
people and to God, as I truly don't know and I have not worked with Prof the
politician.
Thank
you.
Ebun-Olu
Adegboruwa, Esq
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