Last Friday in Lagos, Silverbird Televison owned by the “Commonsense” senator, Mr. Ben Murray-Bruce, organised an award night in which a legion of those the television station tagged achievers and outstanding performers in various fields and callings were acknowledged and celebrated. Two of the awards, however, stood out of the crowd: “Man of the Year” award given to the Rivers State Gov. Nyesom Wike and the “Man of the People” award won by his Ekiti State counterpart, Gov. Peter Ayodele Fayose. Incidentally, both are vocal opposition politicians and state governors but while Fayose is a second term governor and cannot run again but is preparing his deputy governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka, to take over from him, Wike is not only eligible for second term, he is, in fact, seriously preparing for it.
I have never been a fan of awards; especially funny and fawning awards. It is not that awards are bad in themselves; there can be nothing wrong if we locate, appreciate, and celebrate people who have braved all odds to make a difference in different facets of life; more so in the public or governance sector. In the aridity of conscionable and conscientious leaders, the oasis of excellence and commitment to the public good deserves to be celebrated. Otherwise, something really terrible will be wrong with a reward system that penalises infractions and shames the perfidious but neglects to appreciate and reward good conduct as a means of holding them up as role models for others, especially the coming generations.
However, from time immemorial good intentions have been often perverted; which is why original products have imitation or fake. Awards have become an avenue for smart alec to commercialise an otherwise noble venture to acquire filthy lucre, duping the unwary and conning the entire citizenry. Most times, good intentions are stood upon their head and the least qualified cart away the prize. Many awards have become the exclusive preserves of the highest bidder; these days, according to some reports, they are paid for in dollars and not in the local currency any more – in hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more.
This is not to say that it is all awards that have gone this way of harlotry. Those awards that still keep to the finest traditions they are meant to serve have my approval. I have no reason to doubt that the Silverbird award belongs in this category. For one, I am privileged to know that some of the awardees are people of integrity who will not pay for awards – and who, in fact, had bluntly refused to do so when approached in the past. For another, it will be a very sad day indeed if, after Murray-Bruce’s public grandstanding on issues of morality, integrity, and good governance, he lends his name to the commercialisation of awards.
That settled, my hunch is how the two flagship awards of “Man of the Year” and “Man of the People” were arrived at. According to Murray-Bruce, there was balloting: “This award was voted by the people of Nigeria. In other words, it was earned. I am honoured to know a man called Gov. Wike. He is a terrific governor, Mr. Project”. Murray-Bruce was lavish in his praise of a subject whose feet he is expected to hold to the fire. “Terrific governor” – I almost typed “terrible governor”! Until Wike redeemed himself by standing up to be counted on the side of the Nigerian people against the monumental failure of the Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration, I used to call him “Noisesome Wike”, a pun on his name Nyesom. Murray-Bruce did not disclose the “INEC” that conducted the election and whether under-age voters (a la Kano State) made a mockery of the voters’ register used!
I must confess that I have not been in Rivers for more than a decade and therefore can only rely on secondary sources that Wike has done so well in the area of infrastructural development. Judging by similar reports, it is safe to conclude that Wike is not the only one making waves in that regard. I have it on good authority that his Bayelsa counterpart, Dickson Seriake, is also a titan in that respect. I live in Lagos and can attest to the very impressive performance of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode. Travelling in Ekiti, I have also seen the giant strides of Fayose in the face of paucity of funds.
Possibly, it must be the combination of public advocacy with aggressive infrastructural development that gave Wike an edge over Seriake or Ambode; that is, if the entire process was not skewed from the very beginning to deliver a desired result. I smell politics in the air! All of this may have something to do with preparations for 2019 but we are yet to address the needful. I have said it before, and it bears repeating here, that Southern politicians should call the bluff of the North. Working together and working hard, they can dictate the flow and tide of Nigeria’s politics rather than be satisfied with their present slavish kow-toeing to the North. The three political zones of the South working with the Middle Belt will not only cut the North to size but also produce a president in 2019.
I consider the “Man of the People” award won by Fayose to be higher and more meritorious than the “Man of the Year” award. It is a just reward for, and appropriate recognition of, Fayose’s self-inflicted role of Leader of Opposition to APC/Buhari’s misrule. It reminds me of the “Senior Advocate of the Masses” bestowed on the late stormy petrel, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, before those reportedly denying him the Senior Advocate of Nigeria title felt compelled to give way. Fayose and Wike complement each other perfectly in their advocacy that has served the interests of our suffering people well; they must endeavour to keep it so..
LAST WORD: After last week’s “Akeredolu: One-year anniversary”, his Commissioner for Information, who is my own dear brother, Yemi Olowolabi, called and we spoke extensively. He was emphatic that no governor in Ondo state’s recent history has done as much as his boss in one year. I give it to him; he should know because he has been in and out of governments in the state while I am an “Ondo State abroad” person. But – and this is a very big but – Akeredolu’s fawning statement on Buhari’s performance is not only ludicrous but also provocative, to say the least. How many of them are “satisfied” with Buhari’s performance as president and who are the “people of Ondo state” that have decided to re-elect Buhari for a second term? Thank God Akeredolu hails from Owo like I do; so he should understand this saying of my grandma: That when he, Akeredolu, made that offensive statement, he did not speak with his mouth but spoke through his bum-bum. He farted and messed up the atmosphere real bad!
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