BY SUFUYAN OJEIFO<\/p>\n
The single-mindedness of Captain Hosa Okunbo, a business mogul of
\ninternational repute and a proud son of Benin Kingdom, is not an issue
\nfor speculation.\u00a0 He has consistently walked his talk and this is
\nwrit-large in the way he continues to put his nose to the grindstone in
\nhis commitment to add value to everything he does for country and for
\nthe uplift of humanity.<\/p>\n
His life is an open book that can be read and digested in order to
\nappreciate the existential challenges he confronts and how, by a
\ncombination of providence and hard work, he continues to surmount them.
\nHis solid achievements in the business domain are testaments to his
\ncharacter of integrity, disciplined disposition and crystallization of
\nhis successful brand.<\/p>\n
Captain Hosa or Cappy, as he is fondly called by his friends, deploys
\nhis magic wand, which approximates the Midas touch, in building his
\nnetwork of businesses in the contexts and contestations between
\ncontending and countervailing forces in the political economy. Thus, the
\nmagnitude of his reinforcing persona ramifies the atmospherics and the
\nnuances of society, especially in the intercourse between economy and
\npolitics.<\/p>\n
Consequently, it becomes inexorably difficult to maintain a delicate
\nbalance or even a streak of either interest or disinterest in the
\ngoings-on in the polity, especially the subset of Edo State, where he
\ncomes from. Captain Hosa has deployed his God-given riches to affect
\nlives positively in the State, which anyone who is politically
\nperceptive can attest to; hence he has virtually become a household name
\nin the Benin Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Whereas, mischief makers always abound in the cosmos of human
\ninteractions, it is thus understandable why some of them who have
\ndeliberately chosen to be uncomfortable with his legerdemain that finds
\nanchorage in his eleemosynary persona have become jittery and are
\ninsinuating him into their own political designs.\u00a0 This is an
\nunconscionable red herring.<\/p>\n
Specifically, the elements that have chosen to concoct a series of
\nconspiracy theories to draw out Captain Hosa to either confirm or deny
\nhis interest in the governorship of Edo State, are only afraid of their
\nown shadows.\u00a0 They have, in recent times, saturated the mainstream and
\nsocial media with speculations that he is set to contest the
\ngovernorship ticket on the platform of the All Progressives Congress
\n(APC) in 2020.<\/p>\n
But to be sure, \u201cCappy\u201d, has been largely engrossed in growing his
\nbusinesses and adding values to his efficient service delivery records
\nboth in and outside Nigeria.\u00a0 I can modestly claim some access to him
\nand he has not, for once, shared with me any such thought or plan.
\nInterestingly, those who are afraid of certain possibility that
\npotentially threatens their position are the ones conjuring the thought
\nand plan for him.<\/p>\n
It is therefore the height of imprudent strategic politics to attack a
\nman who has kept to his own space with a view to drawing him out to talk
\nabout issues that are political and for which he has yet to develop
\npassion or interest. I must weigh in at this point that Captain Hosa
\nthat I know is a straightforward individual who does not shy away from
\ntaking on responsibility for his intentions or actions, knowing full
\nwell that they are what define character.<\/p>\n
I concur with this assertion, which was once reinforced by H.L. Dietrich
\nin his eternal saying that \u201cWe are all victims, Anselmo. Our destinies
\nare decided by the cosmic rolls of the dice, the winds of the stars, the
\nvagrant breezes of fortune that blow from the windmills of the gods.\u201d
\nThe cosmic, the winds, breezes of fortune and the windmills of the gods
\nare significant in the contemplation and consideration of any form of
\nvoyage, be it economic or political.<\/p>\n
Captain Hosa is thus not an insular individuality to be taken out of the
\nexistential contexts that these factors ramify.\u00a0 Consequently, if he is
\ninterested in contesting the forthcoming Edo governorship in 2020 or any
\ntime thereafter, by now, he might have appropriately put the issue in
\nthe public domain, without dithering since he must have counted the cost
\nand been largely convinced of his decision.<\/p>\n
It is interesting to observe that in a haze of partisan frenzy, there is
\nthe penchant to resort to all manner of propaganda, outright lies and
\nhalf-truth in furtherance of some devious agenda.\u00a0 In putting together
\nthis third party response or intervention, _pro bono publico_, I am
\nquite mindful of the tentative political condition in my dear state of
\nEdo.\u00a0 The crisis in the APC political family, fuelled by some prominent
\nstakeholders in the state chapter of the party is unfortunate.
\nStakeholders must explore all reasonable avenues to come to an amicable
\nresolution of the crisis.<\/p>\n
And, this process must be all inclusive.\u00a0 The decision to save the APC
\nfamily must be catholic in nature, texture and content. If it requires a
\ngreat deal of sacrifices, all and sundry must be ready to commit to the
\nprocess. I must, however, state that nobody should be intimidated or
\neven pampered in the task of salvaging the APC in Edo from those who
\nhave constituted themselves to bulls in a China shop.<\/p>\n
However, let me take this opportunity to assume, without conceding, that
\nin the event Captain Hosa decides to throw his hat in the ring, he would
\nnot have been considered a non-starter by virtue of his antecedents and
\npedigree. And, if he does not join the governorship fray, it would not
\nbe that he could not have done so.\u00a0 It would just be that he considers
\ntendering to his business empires and other acts of charity as equally
\nimportant and satisfying in building a legacy of value addition to
\nhumanity and for appreciation by posterity.<\/p>\n
Significantly, these are all conjectures until the man himself speaks or
\nrefuses to speak. The late MKO Abiola was wont to mouth the proverb that
\nsays: \u201cThe hairs on the head of a man cannot be shaven in his
\nabsence.\u201d So, it is for Captain Hosa. We are all guilty of trying to
\nshave him clean in his absence. However, I believe that, regardless of
\nrumours doing the round, Edo people should maintain their calm and keep
\nhope alive until they get to the bridge before determining how to cross
\nit.<\/p>\n
Edo State is politically sophisticated and the people know what they
\nwant.\u00a0 No one can take the people for granted or lead them by the nose
\nin the direction of selfish and bigoted ends. The people will always be
\nin the picture of how their destinies will be forged. And, as for
\nCaptain Hosa, I am sure he would be amused about the rumours doing the
\nround and relating with them as mere wishes and imaginations of their
\nauthors to cause a needless distraction of focus from deploying his
\nexpanding business empire in bolstering economic growth of the nation.<\/p>\n