An encounter with VP Osinbajo

Some days ago I stumbled on an amusing and similarly bemusing headline – “Acting President Osinbajo is not a ‘Nigerian”. It was a brief but interesting piece written by a lecturer, Dr. Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri, who after watching on live TV, the gracious manner with which the Vice President Osinbajo (then acting president conducting the affairs of the nation while President Buhari was on medical leave) managed an engagement with some Niger-Delta stakeholders in Edo State, concluded that the VP was not a “Nigerian”.

Putting it plainly, the lecturer was completely gobsmacked by the humility, intelligence, attentiveness, calm, and other alluring traits that define the whole of Osinbajo before arriving at that dazzling conclusion.

Of course, when Osinbajo’s characteristics are juxtaposed, as Ufuophu-Biri did assuredly infer, with those of many Nigerians, either in the public or private sector, one will discover how most of these individuals will hang high on the negatives and it will then become clearer why Ufuophu-Biri has deemed Osinbajo as un-Nigerian.

Nigeria is a country that is suffering from chronic leadership deficit amongst other encumbrances that are at the root of her advancement. And the evidences of this appalling deficit are visible everywhere. Therefore, there isn’t any point reiterating how poor political leadership has dragged Nigeria down thus far.

But seeing a truly exemplary figure like Osinbajo at the highest level of political decision-making in this country, and at this very moment should suggest that hope is not entirely lost.

With the little that I have gleaned about his person through close interaction at some point, I have no doubt that Osinbajo is a valuable asset to Nigeria and in so many fronts.

Most advanced nations are quite clever in highlighting the undertakings of their citizens that have attained milestones in different areas of human endeavours in order to inspire hope and to raise the standard of the process of leadership recruitment in these countries.

The astounding outcomes of this art of statecraft are examples people often mention as models for sound development. Thanks to my several entrepreneurial endeavours, I had a cherished opportunity to meet Prof, as the VP who is a professor of law is fondly called by his close friends and admirers.

I actually got introduced to the erudite scholar and pastor through another distinguished Nigerian and equally a highly accomplished lawyer, Odein Ajumogobia, Nigeria’s former minister of state for petroleum resources and former minister of foreign affairs.

It was in late 2012. At the start of the year, within my tranquil space in London, I had worked assiduously on a technology-enabled idea that will help to combat traffic offences and also improve transportation system in Lagos state.

And on the back of this, I had concluded a strategic partnership with a reputable tech-firm in the UK that will effectively deploy core technical sides of the project.

So the next step was to find a strong link in Lagos state that would connect me to the right agency in the state for the commencement of the project activities.

As such, I needed to get the buy-in of a dependable source whose word and personality is highly revered in the state; someone who could interpret a good idea on assessment and help to mitigate the unnecessary bottlenecks associated with government works in Nigeria.

As this was a revolutionary social enterprise that was ultimately designed to impact positively on the socio-economic life in Lagos state and Nigeria as a whole given the strategic place of the state to Nigeria’s economy, I was certain about the prospects of the innovation.

Sadly, in Nigeria, ideas don’t run just on its huge prospects.

More often, regardless of the positive impact the plan would have on the economic and social existence of the state, the idea must have a known face, strong hand and stable leg behind it before getting any attention in the right places. Therefore my major task was to get that influential figure that would use his social goodwill to support in pointing and leading the plan to the appropriate quarters.

I had tried a few contacts but the feedback I was getting was that many of the top individuals that could help had gone on “holiday”. And customarily, Nigerian “top people”, like the type I needed for the endorsement of this project don’t like to be “disturbed” during their holiday which is usually very long.

Osinbajo, being a former commissioner of justice and attorney general of Lagos and someone who had gained incredible respect and reputation in the state and across the country on the account of the impressive reforms that he brought to the state’s judiciary, I reckoned would be the desired enabler for the venture. Hence I decided to aim higher.

Therefore I called Ajumogbia, knowing he and Osinbajo had been good friends right from their days in the University of Lagos, to assist with my need.

Surprisingly, not too long after my respectful plea, Ajumogobia, who is a great epitome of human kindness, sent me a message saying that he had spoken to Osinbajo and he would be expecting to hear from me soon. He promptly gave me Osinbajo’s number.

The joy that enveloped me at the instance of this update was indescribable. After thanking Ajumogbia profusely for that unquantifiable gesture, I didn’t waste time to send an SMS to Osinbajo, to introduce myself. I followed up with a call a moment after.

As he picked the phone, he sounded so warm as if he had met me previously and that really doused those few seconds of fright that normally accompany a first (phone) conversation with influential people, particularly those in Nigeria who usually surround themselves with an air of haughtiness.

Imagine that the man was on holiday with his family. But he didn’t feel disturbed at all. He simply told me when he would be back in the country and advised that I send a reminder so we could fix a meeting.

When the time came, I sent the reminder to him. And he responded swiftly with a date and directions to his office. Sincerely with this kind of warmness, it’s just normal for anyone who understands the typical ways of Nigerian VIP to assert that Osinbajo is clearly atypical compared to most of the people in that elevated circle.

After my presentation at the meeting held in his office, I was stunned by the very critical and even technical posers he threw at me on the viability of the project. And he was absolutely pleased with the precision of my responses.

I was actually amazed by his interest in technology, and deep understanding of its use for growth.

A few days after, he had assembled some members of his Orderly Society Trust (OST), a development-focused organisation that he ran along with his wife before his election as VP, to engage with me for the implementation of the project.

Unsurprisingly, his staffers had conveniently picked Osinbajo’s culture of excellence and absolute courtesy. The two wonderful ladies, Folusho and Hadiza, that he mandated made fantastic efforts on the assignment.

As they were very prompt in sending messages to the strategic channels in Lagos state, as mandated by Prof, so were they providing me swift update on meetings and hitting Prof with timely details for effective delivery of the plan.

At a point during this process, Osinbajo himself personally wrote email messages, which I was put in copy, in which he formally introduced me and the project to Fola Arthur-Worrey, former executive head of Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) and Kayode Opeifa, former commissioner for transportation in Lagos state.

Upon receipt of the emails, the two gentlemen also received me very well. And the final action was to be taken on the project by the Opeifa’s office.

But due to the usual red-tapes the project didn’t take off until the enthronement of a new government in the state. And Osinbajo has become enormously occupied with both professional and national activities and the presidential election that came along the way.

Meanwhile, seeing that the Nigerian government Aso Villa Demo Day, an IT event primarily set out to inspire budding IT entrepreneurs and provide them with the necessary resources which was the reason the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zurkerberg met with President Buhari and VP Osinbajo, which was held recently was vigorously driven by the office of the VP and was perfectly delivered by some of the young IT buffs in the presidency, particularly from the VP’s office, could mean that the process of having the right kind of leadership has just begun.

So as the VP marks his diamond jubilee, all I wish for him his more vitality and grace and long life that will enable him to inspire truly more committed successor generations imbued with holistic attitude towards progress that will take Nigeria higher.