When I told Engr. Rahman Owokoniran, who had just been appointed the Commissioner for Housing, not to eat with Governor Bola Tinubu, he didn’t really think it was a big deal. Well, I wouldn’t blame him because my admonition was instinct-triggered. It wasn’t predicated on any theoretical postulation or empirical findings. But my instinct was somehow correct. It was based on a very strong perception derived from two noticeable cases that I witnessed inside Oga’s office.
I had eaten with the Governor on the same table several times before I stopped. On one or two occasions, I saw Oga refusing to sign a file for a Commissioner that just finished eating with him. I was wondering why he did that. We were in his office on that day when “Mr White” the Chef in charge of his food, served his lunch. Oga didn’t like eating alone especially when people were around him when his food was being served. He would invite everyone in sight to come and eat.
On this very day, the Commissioner in question was with us at the table. After we finished eating, Oga went back to his table while the Commissioner, who just relished a bowl of Amala with ẹfọ riro with the Governor, took his file to the Governor for signing. Oga politely told him; “Not today”. The Commissioner made strenuous effort to make the Governor sign the file but the more he tried, the more he failed as the Governor stood his ground. For about 15 to 20 minutes, the Commissioner pleaded with the Governor but the Governor didn’t budge.
I saw this kind of scene again inside Oga’s office some weeks after and I concluded that anytime he called me to come and eat, I would decline the invitation politely. So, when Engr. Rahman Owokoniran asked me to give him tips on how to have good working relationship with the Governor, I thought I should give him the advice even though I was not sure how it would end.
Almost a year into the new administration, the Commissioner for Housing, Rahman Owokoniran, invited me to his office for something “urgent”. He was so animated when I got to his office. The first thing he did was to thank me profusely for the advice I gave him. He went ahead to tell me that he had gone to the office of the Governor with 5 critical files that he had wanted to sign for some weeks.
On getting there, he met four Exco members in his office . When it was time for lunch , as usual, Oga invited them to join him at the table. He said he too was going to the table when he remembered my advice. He now told the Governor that he was okay. He said the Governor asked him; “Rahman, are you sure you are not eating?”
Yes, was his final answer. After the lunch, Oga went back to his table and said he (Rahman) should bring all his files. As he was signing his files, two of his colleagues who just finished eating with Oga also brought theirs but Oga told them immediately; “Not today”. He refused to sign their files for them. Some months after this episode, it was my turn.
There was this particular document that the Vice Chancellor of LASU, Prof. Lateef Akanni Hussain had wanted Oga to approve for the School. At that time, Oga was working from home. He sometimes did that to avoid distractions. He would only attend to very special cases and very special people. The VC told me how important and urgent the approval was. I offered to assist by going to “Bourdillon”. As an insider, I knew that the best time to get Oga’s attention at “Bourdillon”, was midnight.
I got to “Bourdillon” around midnight. As I was getting there, Oga was going out for a “crucial political meeting” with Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Anthony Adefuye, Chief Pius Akinyelure, Kayode Fayemi and Dele Alake. He told me to wait for him. He knew that whatever must have brought me to “Bourdillon” must be very important and urgent because I hardly went there for official transaction when I had easy access to him in the office. By 3am, they were back from the meeting without Chief Bisi Akande and Chief Pius Akinyelure. As soon as he got back, he asked for food.
He was served. As usual, he invited all of us to come and eat. I stayed back. He saw that I did not join them. He now said to me: “Se, iwo o ni jeun ni (Won’t you come and eat?)”. I simply replied him with a “Thank you Sir”. Can you imagine, a whole me that used to give people advice on “Not today”, Oga wanted to do “Not today” for me. Very funny. As soon as he finished eating, he invited me to come to the office: “Dapo Thomas, bring your file.” I was going to his office when Chief Anthony Adefuye followed me saying: “Bola, o ma ba emi na sign letter yi (Bola, please you are signing a letter for me too)”.
I almost replied him by saying “Not today” but trust my Oga, he didn’t waste time to reply him in Yoruba: ” Egbon, ki nṣe oni (Not today)”. He signed my document. As I came out of the office, I saw Dele Alake laughing. He probably knew about”Not today”. Oga shut his door and went upstairs greeting us: “O daaro (Goodnight everybody)”.
I had the opportunity to know more about “Not today” when he came to the office after his rest at home. Anytime Oga arrived in the office, I always made sure I was the first to see him within the office, especially when I had things to discuss with him. The Chief of Staff may join us later before the Commissioners would start arriving one after the other. Sometimes , if he felt our discussion was private and confidential, he would tell the “Landlord” not to open the door for anybody. I found a way to introduce the subject and , from his expression, he was somehow thrilled that finally, somebody had known this secret. He started by telling me the story of Arẹmu Alaso Ofi.
According to him, Arẹmu used to give his precious clothes to some of his friends who came to borrow them from him. It happened that on this particular day, one of Aremu’s friends came to borrow the “aso ofi” but met Arẹmu having his dinner. In line with the Yoruba culture of hospitality, Aremu invited the friend to come and eat. Bolstered by the invitation, the friend settled down to eat with Arẹmu.
While they were still eating, another friend came to borrow the same aso ofi. Arẹmu excused himself to give the other friend the aso ofi. It was then that it dawned on the friend that was eating with Arẹmu that someone else had collected the aso ofi that he came for. That was when Arẹmu told him “Not today”.
He said he loved the moral of the story and decided to adopt it as part of his operational ground rules
in life. The reason he loved it was, according to him, “someone’s hospitality towards you is not a licence for you to lose focus of your own mission.”
Seeing that he was in a conversational mood, I asked him about his reaction to people betraying him. I asked the question because I was with him sometime when he was discussing with some of his friends about friends X,Y,Z who had betrayed him in the past. He mentioned two or three of his friends who forged his signature and cleared his accounts.
He had friends who were moles for his political opponents. He was very emotional in his response: ” I don’t feel bad when I am betrayed because it is the burden of my betrayer to explain to God why he has to repay my kindness with such perfidious act”. It was as if the Chief of Staff (Tunde Fashola) was waiting for him to drop that quote for me before interrupting our discussion. He had come to inform him of the report of the NYSC Operations Review Committee which was to be submitted to him in an hour’s time.
The presentation was officially on the manifest. I was so engrossed in the discussion (gossip session?) that I forgot completely that that day was Tuesday, 24 August 2004. I also forgot that as a member of the Committee I was to join other members at the Conference Room 30 minutes before the ceremony. I had to rush to my office to pick up a copy of the report before joining other members for a last minute group discussion. By the time I got there, I met the Chairman of the Committee, Chief Henry Ajomale, who was also the Commissioner for Special Duties, Opeyemi Bamidele (Member) and also the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Alhaji I.B.T Ajomagberin (Member), Chairman PPTESCOM, Mr Tola Animashaun (Secretary), PS (Special Duties) and Mr N.Y. OJO (Co-opted member).
During our second term which starred 29 May 2003, I operated under a very relaxed atmosphere as there was no more tension with the exit of Lai Muhammed. Everyone went about their jobs under a very conducive condition. Two reasons could have been responsible for these new developments in the Governor’s Office.
First, we had a youthful Chief of Staff who was very hardworking, well organized and highly cerebral. Tunde Fashola, the new COS, is like an area brother to me. We are both from Surulere . While I have Paddington blood in my system, he has Bode-Thomas/Sànyà blood in his system. I didn’t get to know him when he came to Eko Boys High School but I am sure he knew me or at best, he knew my brothers- Kunle Thomas (One Way) and Niyi Thomas. They probably were mates because I was their Senior by two or three years.
He is well built and has an athletic frame. He had a robust fascination for fine cigarettes which he smoked with familiar pleasure. He didn’t look to me like someone who loved trouble except perhaps you interfered with his Sunday “set” (an area football game) . He rarely shouted in the office but you must avoid getting him angry with your sloppiness. He was more of a quiet fighter than a rabble-rouser.
He organized his office as if it was about human life. He was very meticulous with details . He was a complex case study. He had a complicated fighting style that was ethereal. We both had mutual respect for each other. He obediently maintained his lane by allowing me to operate and dominate my space. Hey didn’t have problems with anyone initially until much later when some Commissioners started undermining his authority. He was given the power to act but by their actions and behaviour towards him, the Commissioners turned everything to academic.
They didn’t understand why as Exco members, they had to go through an “ordinary” Chief of Staff whose office was a glorified clearing house, before they could see the Governor or sign their files with the Governor. They probably didn’t raise this issue when Lai Muhammed was there because he is elderly.
As for Tunde, he was seen as a “small boy” in a big position. In order to resolve this impasse, Oga decided to embellish Tunde’s office with a very nebulous Commissionership title- Commissioner in the Office of the Governor hoping that this would bring him at par with the other Commissioners in terms of status. Not only was the office ridiculous, it never lasted because it shouldn’t have been created in the first instance. There was no law to flesh it up and being a lawyer, Tunde himself realized that it
was an experiment in mockery. To check the escalation of this comedy, the office died naturally without a remedy.
Secondly, in order to avoid the kind of friction between Lai Mohammed and I, the Governor thought of putting a structure in place for my office. He realized that my office was becoming ” Gbogbo iṣe (sundry duties)”. I was in charge of Obas’ files, Permanent Secretaries, Speech Villa, Resident media officers, monumental accidents, natural and made-made disasters, LASU affairs, “Ileya ram distributor” for state tertiary institutions, OPO (Overall Protocol Officer), Officer in charge of Masses. What the Governor conceived for me was very ingenious but, at the same time, very amazing.
He ended up appointing 44 Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants. I was made the Chairman of this new “Ministry of Special Assistants”. No wonder I received a letter dated February 16, 2005 from the Head of Service, Mr. Sunny Ajose, stating that the Governor had approved my upgrading to the post of a Senior Special Assistant “after due consideration was taken of your positive attributes such as integrity, capacity for hard work and ability to render selfless service “.
Here is the list of members of my “Ministry”:
1. Dapo Thomas, Chairman.
Senior Special Assistant (S.S.A. Policy & Programmes)
2. Alhaji Waheed A. Shitta – Secretary (S.S.A. Secretariat Matters)
3. Mr. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai – S.A. (Special Duties)
4. Hon. Kehinde B. Adepoju – S.A. (Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation)
5. Mr. Olusegun Mayegun – S.A. (Youth, Social & Sports Development)
6. Mrs. Bisi Adebajo S.A. (S.D./IGR)
7. Mr. S. O. Olawale S.A. (Transport)
8. Prince Wale Oladunjoye – S.A. (Grassroots Sports)
.
9. Mr. A. A. Gbajabiamila – S.S.A. (Public Finance/DMO
10. Toyin Caxton-Martins – S.S.A. (Foreign Affairs)
11. Arc. John-Bede Anthonio – S.S.A.(Special Project)
12. Mr Adetokunbo Odutola – S.S.A.(Lands, Rates)
13. Mr. Bode Fanimo S.A. (Deputy Governor)
14. Mr. Babajide A. Akinsanya – S.A. (C.O.S.)
15. Mr. Kola Odepeju – S.A. (Political)
16. Mr. Ahmed S. Abiuwa – S.A. (Energy)
17. Idowu Senbanjo – S.A. (Housing)
18. Alhaji A. G. O. Sadiq – S.A. (Local Government)
19. Dr. Adetokunbo Adedeji – S.A. (Waste to Wealth)
20. Mrs. Mojisola Sodipo – S.A. (Transportation & Lastma)
21. Mr. Akinade Joshua – S.A. (Security)
22. Alhaji M. K. O. Lucas – S.A. (PMO & SM)
23. Mr. Gbolahan Bago-Stowe – S.A. (KAI)
24. Prince R. A. Olaiya -S.A. (Environment)
25. Rev. Tunji Adebiyi – S.S.A. (Political)
26. Mr. Akintola Benson -S.S.A. (Media Relations)
27. Mr. E. S. J. Kappo – S.S.A. (Political – Badagry)
28. Mr. Hakeem B. Shittu – S.A. (Science & Tech.)
29. Mr. Toyin Amzat – S.S.A. (Local Government)
30. Hon. Wasiu Eshiniokun-Sanni – S.S.A (PLPB)
31. Mr. Adebayo Ojo – S.A. (Works and Infrastructure)
32. Miss Bola Banire – S.A. (I.T.)
33. Mr. Niyi Idowu – S.S.A. (General Administration)
34. Mr. Sunday Adepoiu – S.S.A. (Accounts)
35. Mr. Folabi Fasanmi- S.A. ( M.R.D.)
36. Mr. Bola Ilori – S.A. (Environment)
37. Hon. M. K. O. Akindele – S.A. (Health)
38. Dr Dolapo Badru – S.S.A. (Local and International)
39. Mrs Funmi Ajala – S.S.A. (Local Govt. Service Comm.)
40. Mr. Adelani Oni – S.A. (Govt. House)
41. Mr. M. O. Hamzat – S.A. (Computer Education)
42. Mr. Lanre Anjolaiya – S.A. (Media & Public Relations)
43. Mr. Tunji Odunlami – S.A. (Physical Planning)
44. Mr. Aina O. Salami – S.S.A. (Legal Affairs)
When this structure was put in place, I knew the Governor was projecting a kind of Think-tank for the next administration because as at the time it was set up, the life span of his own administration had theoretically expired. As at that time, succession race had commenced with interested candidates forming sitting room caucuses and working groups like “Friends of the In-coming” and “Abegi Team”.
As far as I was concerned, and based on my discussions with Oga, I got the message. All I needed to do was to form a government within a government with the objective of developing a manpower for future governments of the State. I saw my new group as the nucleus of both political and bureaucratic governance in Lagos State.
I studied the profiles of my members to have an idea of their pedigrees and to see how I could harness their potential for a comprehensive blueprint on manpower. After a critical study of their profiles, I started calling them one by one to my office for private discussions to enable me appraise their practical and professional competencies and expertise.
The private discussions would guide me in drawing up a direction for the kind of strategic conference I was planning. In my discussions with them, I discovered that their dominant concerns centred on welfare. They wanted monthly allowance aside from their salary while most of them needed official vehicles. I observed that most of them were committed to their work and to the government but having been in government for about two years without these essentials, frustration was setting in and their passion for work was declining.
I was happy I discussed with them one on one. I wrote a submission on their needs, particularly on allowances and cars, and I presented it to Oga. He was very impressed and happy with me. He looked at the list critically and saw that my name was not there. He asked me why and I told him that I got one during the first term.
He directed that I should go and include my name. But I told him that I would have to include Sunday Adepoju, Niyi Ìdòwú and Benson Akintola on the list as well. They were in the same situation. He agreed and directed that I should discuss with the Head of Service for proper processing. All my prayers were approved and implemented. It was time for a marathon workshop.
We were working on this when Hakeem Gbajabiamila and Tunde Fashola almost had a fight in the presence of Oga (and in Oga’s office for that matter), Dele Alake, Yemi Osinbajo and I, as part of the showdown to the 2007 guber race. The altercation was so hot that Oga had to…
*To be continued*
