BY SUFUYAN OJEIFO
The single-mindedness of Captain Hosa Okunbo, a business mogul of
international repute and a proud son of Benin Kingdom, is not an issue
for speculation. He has consistently walked his talk and this is
writ-large in the way he continues to put his nose to the grindstone in
his commitment to add value to everything he does for country and for
the uplift of humanity.
His life is an open book that can be read and digested in order to
appreciate the existential challenges he confronts and how, by a
combination of providence and hard work, he continues to surmount them.
His solid achievements in the business domain are testaments to his
character of integrity, disciplined disposition and crystallization of
his successful brand.
Captain Hosa or Cappy, as he is fondly called by his friends, deploys
his magic wand, which approximates the Midas touch, in building his
network of businesses in the contexts and contestations between
contending and countervailing forces in the political economy. Thus, the
magnitude of his reinforcing persona ramifies the atmospherics and the
nuances of society, especially in the intercourse between economy and
politics.
Consequently, it becomes inexorably difficult to maintain a delicate
balance or even a streak of either interest or disinterest in the
goings-on in the polity, especially the subset of Edo State, where he
comes from. Captain Hosa has deployed his God-given riches to affect
lives positively in the State, which anyone who is politically
perceptive can attest to; hence he has virtually become a household name
in the Benin Kingdom.
Whereas, mischief makers always abound in the cosmos of human
interactions, it is thus understandable why some of them who have
deliberately chosen to be uncomfortable with his legerdemain that finds
anchorage in his eleemosynary persona have become jittery and are
insinuating him into their own political designs. This is an
unconscionable red herring.
Specifically, the elements that have chosen to concoct a series of
conspiracy theories to draw out Captain Hosa to either confirm or deny
his interest in the governorship of Edo State, are only afraid of their
own shadows. They have, in recent times, saturated the mainstream and
social media with speculations that he is set to contest the
governorship ticket on the platform of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) in 2020.
But to be sure, “Cappy”, has been largely engrossed in growing his
businesses and adding values to his efficient service delivery records
both in and outside Nigeria. I can modestly claim some access to him
and he has not, for once, shared with me any such thought or plan.
Interestingly, those who are afraid of certain possibility that
potentially threatens their position are the ones conjuring the thought
and plan for him.
It is therefore the height of imprudent strategic politics to attack a
man who has kept to his own space with a view to drawing him out to talk
about issues that are political and for which he has yet to develop
passion or interest. I must weigh in at this point that Captain Hosa
that I know is a straightforward individual who does not shy away from
taking on responsibility for his intentions or actions, knowing full
well that they are what define character.
I concur with this assertion, which was once reinforced by H.L. Dietrich
in his eternal saying that “We are all victims, Anselmo. Our destinies
are decided by the cosmic rolls of the dice, the winds of the stars, the
vagrant breezes of fortune that blow from the windmills of the gods.”
The cosmic, the winds, breezes of fortune and the windmills of the gods
are significant in the contemplation and consideration of any form of
voyage, be it economic or political.
Captain Hosa is thus not an insular individuality to be taken out of the
existential contexts that these factors ramify. Consequently, if he is
interested in contesting the forthcoming Edo governorship in 2020 or any
time thereafter, by now, he might have appropriately put the issue in
the public domain, without dithering since he must have counted the cost
and been largely convinced of his decision.
It is interesting to observe that in a haze of partisan frenzy, there is
the penchant to resort to all manner of propaganda, outright lies and
half-truth in furtherance of some devious agenda. In putting together
this third party response or intervention, _pro bono publico_, I am
quite mindful of the tentative political condition in my dear state of
Edo. The crisis in the APC political family, fuelled by some prominent
stakeholders in the state chapter of the party is unfortunate.
Stakeholders must explore all reasonable avenues to come to an amicable
resolution of the crisis.
And, this process must be all inclusive. The decision to save the APC
family must be catholic in nature, texture and content. If it requires a
great deal of sacrifices, all and sundry must be ready to commit to the
process. I must, however, state that nobody should be intimidated or
even pampered in the task of salvaging the APC in Edo from those who
have constituted themselves to bulls in a China shop.
However, let me take this opportunity to assume, without conceding, that
in the event Captain Hosa decides to throw his hat in the ring, he would
not have been considered a non-starter by virtue of his antecedents and
pedigree. And, if he does not join the governorship fray, it would not
be that he could not have done so. It would just be that he considers
tendering to his business empires and other acts of charity as equally
important and satisfying in building a legacy of value addition to
humanity and for appreciation by posterity.
Significantly, these are all conjectures until the man himself speaks or
refuses to speak. The late MKO Abiola was wont to mouth the proverb that
says: “The hairs on the head of a man cannot be shaven in his
absence.” So, it is for Captain Hosa. We are all guilty of trying to
shave him clean in his absence. However, I believe that, regardless of
rumours doing the round, Edo people should maintain their calm and keep
hope alive until they get to the bridge before determining how to cross
it.
Edo State is politically sophisticated and the people know what they
want. No one can take the people for granted or lead them by the nose
in the direction of selfish and bigoted ends. The people will always be
in the picture of how their destinies will be forged. And, as for
Captain Hosa, I am sure he would be amused about the rumours doing the
round and relating with them as mere wishes and imaginations of their
authors to cause a needless distraction of focus from deploying his
expanding business empire in bolstering economic growth of the nation.
· OJEIFO CONTRIBUTED THIS PIECE FROM ABUJA VIA
OJWONDERNGR@YAHOO.COM
Sufuyan Ojeifo
Editor- in- Chief
The Congresswatch Magazine
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