Felabrations, the activities marking the death of the music icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti were on till last weekend. Although he has been gone for almost two decades now, yet he lives on in the minds and hearts of music lovers the world over, many of whom never met him; many of whom were not even born when he was alive and performing. Such is the power of creativity; such is the value of enriching your environment with your worth that your stock continues to appreciate long after you are gone.
I must have interviewed him at least three times during the course of our respective careers and what I remember about him were the deep insights he brought to things, even outside of music. I should one of these days, take advantage of my notes, the private moments I had with him, and one memorable visit with late Kanmi Isola-Osobu to write about the side of Fela that was little known to the public. But today, my focus lies somewhere else.But I had met him. And like many people in my generation, I had watched him perform several times. He was particularly close to the top echelon of Punch management where I was plying my trade in those days as indeed he was to many top people in Public and Private organisations. Yet he had this common touch. He mingled with the rich and the poor, the powerful and the common with ease. He was enigmatic; and in his own way, very charismatic.
Around this period of Felabration, at least three prominent Nigerians also passed on. The deaths of Mike Enahoro, Gamaliel Onosode and DSP Alamaseyesigha, three titans in their respective vocations were announced. I had met and interviewed the first two while the last one came into prominence after my time. Mike Enahoro was a genius at what he did. And he did many things. He did them with such ease, dexterity and panache that they looked natural with him.
Yet they were products of hard work. Talent yes; but hard work all the same. Some people say he was shy, some say he was taciturn and aloof. I never experienced those traits. The first time I met him, it was he who reached out to me. And he also reached out to me the last time we met at a private dinner which was less than two years ago.
If there is any criticism, it is that he should and would have achieved more in a different clime. His talents in sports, music and communication were that prodigious. But his musical compositions, especially his evergreens with Roy Chicago will continue to stir the hearts of many music lovers.
Gamaliel Onosode, simply Mr, was a titan in the corporate world. He was the Chairman of many companies and he acquired the reputation of Mr Integrity in his business dealings. He was not a saint; very few in the corporate world are, but he carried himself well and earned the trust of those he partnered with. He once told me in an interview that he would wash a shirt immediately after wearing so he could wear it again during the week.
I didn’t believe him of course, but it was a pointer to how frugal he could be. He could have accumulated wealth and live a life of opulence given the blue chip companies he was associated with and the opportunities he had but he chose to live a disciplined and contented life that added value to the companies and people he came across. He’s gone now but his reputation and people he mentored will live on.
Emotions are mixed when it comes to DSP Alamseyesigha. Many Ijaws see him as a hero who spoke up fearlessly for them. He was to them, a rallying point in the collective aspirations of the Ijaw race. A leader they could queue behind because he would shield them. To many people outside the Ijaw enclave however, he was just another politician who knew what to say to get the people behind him but in the end, took more than he gave.
It is an inescapable fact that he was caught with almost three million pounds cash around him—on his person and in his house—when the British police swooped in on him. It is also a fact that his house in the UK was in an exclusive part of town that cost tens of millions to acquire. It is rumoured that he could not complete his medical treatment in Dubai for fear of being arrested. In other words, he might have lived if there had been a first class hospital anywhere in Nigeria that could attend to him.
Of what use then are the millions he allegedly stashed away if they could not be used to save his life. It reminds me of the story of a mad man who met with grave diggers working on the grave of a rich, prominent man—not unlike our DSP—who had just died. He said the grave diggers must be mad to even suggest that such a big man could be accommodated in such a tiny hole.
What about his acquisitions? DSP could have done more for humanity, his people and as it has turned out, himself. One good, international hospital in the South-South should not be difficult given the money that accrues to them. It is curious however that the Senate wants to honour him. As what? A role model?
We the living must think of our legacy while we can. And if we have the chance to serve, let us serve diligently and altruistically. We inadvertently serve our kith and kin if not ourselves when we serve selflessly. If Akpabio’s car accident had been worse than it was, he would have needed to be treated in Nigeria before being flown abroad.
All his money would not help him if the hospitals around him were to turn out to be mere consulting clinics or worse, clinics without consultants.
The new ministers have a blank cheque. They can choose to make Nigeria a better place by working assiduously for their father land. Or they can choose to work for themselves and their political god-fathers. At the end of the day, what befell Enahoro, Onosode and Alamseyeseigha will befall them also as it will the rest of us. No one can escape that tiny six feet hole. What will be said of them and the opportunities they had?
VANGUARD
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