By Sufuyan Ojeifo
Whether or notit is true that dynamite comes in small packages is a matter
for public contemplation.But I saw what approximated to the truth in the
quote, attributed to an unknownauthor, after reading artist, hobbyist and
literati, Jonathan Magistad’sresponse to it, wherein he said “amen to
that! We little people are little ballsof power!”
Glasses-wearingMagistad is at home with his little stature but quick to
posit that his smallstature houses the magnitude of his intellectual
power. Therefore, what helacks in physical stature, he makes up for with
his brainy exertions. He fittinglydescribes his powerful cerebral output
as little balls of power.
Indeed, it isnot Magistad’s stature or the attire that he puts on that
defines hisquintessential personality. What defines him is far more
transcendent than theridiculous and the mundane. What defines him is his
mesmeric intellectualfirepower, which he deploys in its vast flourish to
address and interrogateexistential issues of life.
Magistad bearssome similitude with our own Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Surprisingly,Oshiomhole’s response to the issue of his diminutive stature
was implicitly aricochet of Magistad’s “we little people are little balls
of power.” ReadOshiomhole: “Some people say that I am short but fail to
tell the world what Iam short of.”
In a piece Iwrote in June 2018 titled: “APC and Oshiomhole’s legerdemain”
to capture theatmospherics and nuances of our encounter at the Ladi Kwali
Hall of SheratonHotel and Towers, Abuja, where he hosted a dinner in
celebration of theposthumous national honours conferred by President
Muhammadu Buhari on thewinner of the annulled June 12 1993 presidential
election, Chief M.K.O Abiolaand human rights lawyer, the late Chief Gani
Fawehinmi, I had weighed in with thevirtues that Oshiomhole is not short
of, to wit: brilliance, wits, patriotism,commitment and conviction.
I had expectedthose to whom he referred to take up the gauntlet by telling
the world whatOshiomhole is short of. Oshiomhole’s sense of personal
knowledge andappreciation of the assessment or measurement of his
individuality by the significantothers discounts the intent of those
significant others to put him down in thepublic space in a conquistadorial
fashion just because they are uncomfortablewith the force of oration and
intelligent ripostes of an irritating, diminutivebut restless spirit.
But Oshiomholehad long overcome all the artificial limitations and emerged
as the inimitablepublic space intellectual that he is. The comrade is a
restless and fecund orator ofthe very utilitarian hue. He has, without a
doubt, prepared himself forengagements with existential issues especially
those that verge on labourunionism, politics (governance) and economy.
Burnished inthe fiery furnace of trade unionism and labour activism in
particular, theIyamho-born labour leader cum politician epitomises a
mature andsharply-focused leadership that navigates the turbulent
trajectory of politicsin Edo state where he was governor for eight years
and in Nigeria where he isnational chair of the governing All Progressives
Congress (APC).
Oshiomhole iswired. Like a dynamite! Yes, the same dynamite – that
dangerous innovativeinvention by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred
Nobel which he patented in1867 and rapidly gained wide-scale use as a more
powerful alternative to blackpowder. The Oshiomhole dynamite has been more
potent than other elements thatpretend to be critical in national
discourses and conversations. He had ripped through the Nigerian polity
atdifferent epochs in episodic ramifications: at the levels of his robust
NigeriaLabour Congress (NLC) presidency and governorship of Edo state
Therefore,Oshiomhole must be handled with respect even by those who may
pretend to ownhim, as he cannot really be commercialized or privatized. He
is not a man givento political chicanery. He is however ready to go the
whole hog with anybody onshared principles and trust. In publicspace
engagements that require the deployment of facts, figures, logic and
evenadversarial stunts, in pushing through positions, Oshiomhole is not
anyone’srun-of-the-mill opponent.
As NLCpresident, he was the nemesis of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s
administrationin appropriate pump prices of petroleum products and salary
matters. As governor in Edo, he was a spike in theflesh of the political
godfathers. He successfully contended with theirinfluence to enjoy a
two-term governorship and install a successor.
In the saddleas national chair of the APC, he had deployed his mantras of
party disciplineand return of the party to the people to truncate the
governorship aspirationsof two ministers and to stop some self-appointed
imperial governors from usingtheir machinery in their states to foist
their anointed successors on thepeople through illegal indirect primary
election. Ogun and Imo States remaintwo good examples.
Oshiomhole hascontinued to rambunctiously exert his leadership mojo in the
affairs of the APCpost-2019 general election. He is in a joyous mood,
especially over the party’svictory in the presidential election. That the
APC controls the majority seatsin the National Assembly has equally
excited him.
He has kepthis eyes on the ball of driving party and government
architectures in synergyfor a robust delivery of the electioneering
promises that verge on takingNigeria to the next level. This, to him, is
doable with the right kind ofleadership in the Federal Legislature. This
is perhaps the reason he has ledthe party to think ahead by identifying
those that fit the positions.
Successfulbusiness mogul, Bill Gates, in his book “Thinking Ahead”
declared: “History isfull of now iconic examples- (remember) the Oxford
professor who in 1878dismissed the electric light bulb as a gimmick, (and
life proved he was wrong),the commissioner of US patents, who in 1899,
asked that his office be abolishedbecause everything that had been
invented has been invented.”
As far asOshiomhole is concerned, nothing is significantly settled that
needs no furtherimprovements by the party. Once the party has settled
issues at necessaryintersections, they remain settled. Sothe APC, under
his leadership, exists to prove wrong certain assumptions,conventions and
constitutional provisions about the election of NationalAssembly
leadership.
The “dynamite”has burrowed his head in the sand of the Federal
Legislature. Will there be an explosion?If there is, will it be positive,
over all, to the party? Expectedly yes, ifthe party perfects its moves and
stays surefooted on the process. Oshiomholehas the wits and the grits to
realise this. Meanwhile, this is wishing thecomrade chair a happy birthday
amid the post-election victory celebrations.
· Ojeifo contributed this piece via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com