60 garlands for Omo’ba Tunde Ologburo

BY OLUSOLA SANNI

At the time when the late High Chief Lamidi Adedibu was the generalissimo of Ibadan politics, every journalist in town knew that it was more profitable to apply discretion in the way stories from Molete would be reported. Baba Adedibu was such an enigmatic personae and his army of supporters who literally took shelter in his Molete residence held him in high esteem. They would not tolerate a bad media.

So, it was more or less incumbent on journalists reporting Adedibu in those days to have inside sources in Molete who would, unwittingly most times, give you exclusive stories. Although everything about Molete’s politics was an outdoor affair as nothing was done behind closed doors most of the time – except for times when VIPs have a ‘personal message’ for Baba.

Basically, the purpose of keeping sources inside Molete was not primarily for fetching stories. They serve more as informants, giving a reporter an early alert about their stories which fell out of favour with Baba or any of his strong men. At that time, I was an Assistant Editor with the now rested Nigerian Compass and I had exclusive responsibility of reporting Molete for the newspaper.

I had run a story which had a brush with one of Adedibu’s strong men and, like most journalists who had similar experience would testify, the moment your mobile phone starts ringing ceaselessly after your story is published, your instinct tells you that you have run into trouble waters with your latest byline.

Such was the situation I found myself one Sunday morning in 2008. I had published a story about one of Adedibu’s strong men and words had come in that Molete was very upset with me.

A certain Alhaji Abass Oloko was desperate to see me because he felt I had been unfair to him in my reportorial. Later that Sunday evening, Alhaji Oloko and I met and we cleared issues about his disapproval of some details in my story. We subsequently became good friends and he invited me to his house a couple of times.

In the early days of our friendship, my interaction with Alhaji Oloko was basically about media relations. Although he too soon became one of my Molete sources, he was also eager to introduce me to some individuals in Oyo State private sector circle. Alhaji Abass, as he is fondly called, contrary to the popular impression about him, is a soft-hearted gentleman.

One day, he told me that he wanted me to join him in visiting one of the quiet influencers in Oyo State’s politics and I obliged him. The venue was somewhere at Akobo, at a building which I later found out to be an office apartment for Alhaji’s friend. Alhaji Abass climbed the stairs to go meet with his friend while I elected to wait outside by the car.

After about 45 minutes, Alhaji Abass came back with another man. He was much avuncular and spoke with some charm in his voice which foretells his genteel mannerism. The introduction was done and the strange man told me his name was Alhaji Tunde Ologburo. The three of us stood for a moment to discuss issues and personalities in Oyo State’s politics and later shared telephone numbers.

In some ways that I could not predictably explain, I found an attraction to Alhaji Ologburo and we struck a friendship. He comes across as someone who is meticulous about his inter-personal relationships. In no time he also introduced me to other influencers in Ibadan’s social circle and some of his other contemporaries in the private sector. Alhaji Ologburo is a socialite per excellence and his panache is infectiously endearing. He retains an enviable spotlight seat in the hall of fame of socialites in the entire Yorubaland and belongs in the elite club of individuals in the social circle who have an established business address. He is a CEO of one of the finest structural engineering companies in Nigeria. He is a well respected character and one that is polite to people of lower status to him.

Our relationship blossomed and we soon became family friends. My exposure to his family life earned him even more respect from me. I got to know that he is a committed family man with all his children being well educated. His brilliance and the sartorial splendor he exudes are permanent feature of every member of his family.

Perhaps the most remarkable attribute I discovered about him is his passion for excellence. I should also state that he can be abrasive sometimes, especially when he is marching towards a set goal. He is a goal driven individual and does not tolerate sluggish advances. On few occasions when we have had to work together in some political think-tank, I get to know him as a master strategists and likes to surround himself with a small, but very effective team. He is an outstanding team-player.

Alhaji Ologburo is a well accomplished man. He is blessed with a very beautiful and Godly family and you do not need to know him for long before coming to understand that his wife is pillar that supports his giant strides. He and his wife, Alhaja Omobolanle Ologburo are born with a silver spoon. Their parents are among the first generation of aristocratic and noble families from their native home of Oyo township.

But even in spite of their blue blood, their simple characterization of life makes everything about their home quite peachy.

To my egbon, friend and mentor, Omo’ba Tunde Ologburo, the celebration of six decades of life counts more than the numbers in it. It is a celebration of a life of impact, purpose and accomplishments. Happy birthday to a rare gem and wish you many more years of success to yourself, your family and your community.

Sanni is a publicist and politician. He writes from Ibadan