The Power I found In Writing By Saint-Olawale Jimoh

  Few days ago, I had reason to go through my old file and stumbled on the duplicate of the petition I wrote to the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Bureau Of Employment Generation in 2007. Later in the night, as I nestled on my bed I pondered on the controversy generated by the petition and the recognition it earned me in the Bureau. As I type the piece I still doubt if my colleagues who were also affected by the 'mistakes' made by the staff of the agency ever had the faintest idea of  how far I went to seek justice on the matter.
  That year, I was among the first batch of the beneficiaries of the Ogun State Graduates Assistance Scheme (OGUGRADS) introduced by the prodigiously talented former Governor of Ogun State, His Excellency Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
  As the programme continued, my monthly allowance with that of my few colleagues were stopped while other beneficiaries got theirs  regularly. We collectively approached the agency to lodge our complaints severally but they told us different story each tιмe we visited and as was their usually practice, they demanded for more tιмe to investigate and correct the anomalies which has prevented us from getting paid for three months. Despite all our efforts and the cost of transporting ourselves from Ijebu-Ode to Abeokuta nothing positive happened. When it dragged into four months, I thought I needed to act.
    One beautiful Saturday morning of September, 2007. I drafted my petition and made it two copies. One addressed to the Governor and the other to the Permanent Secretary(PS) of the Bureau. After matured consideration, I withheld one and handed the other by hand to the Secretary to the PS there at OGEGEP building in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta the following Monday. The woman passed my message to the PS and having perused the content, the then Permanent Secretary, Mr Niyi Olatiloye, a completely perfect gentleman was embittered. He summoned a meeting of all his staff at once. As I learnt, three members of staff were queried instantly and the remaining were given marching order to quickly investigate the cause and make correction immediately.
   My picture and details were posted on their information board as the entire Bureau launched investigation into my case. By Thursday morning same week, I received a call from the Bureau that the PS would be glad to have a meeting with me that morning! I was flabbergasted. The PS asking to have a meeting with me? I couldn't believe it. When I got the call the second tιмe I told the caller to tell PS that I won't be available that morning. I assured them I might come the following ∂αy if I'm disposed and have the transport fares. They agreed to foot the bills and I consented.
  When I arrived there on the morning of last Friday of the month of September, three of their staff were already at the gate. I asked if it was because of me they waited at the gate. They denied yet they all left the gate at once as they ushered me directly to the office of the PS. One of them told me the PS has been around and has arrived earlier because of me.
  We met the PS by his office door. He discharged others and ushered me into his spacious and neatly furnished office. As we conversed, he told me he has gotten to the root of the matter and wanted to assure me I'll get all my unpaid allowances in few days' tιмe. At this juncture, I disagreed. I told him I have another copy of the petition addressed to the Governor and I can go and deliver it at once. He didn't like the idea. He looked straight at me, sighed then rose up and made for the door. I was alone in his office for about 7 minutes before he joined me again. This tιмe, he requested that I accompanied him to the bank to make some verifications on same issue. I had no option, I followed him.  As we drove through Oke-Ilewo to link Lalubu street he started the conversation again. He told me there won't be any need for me to petition anyone again. He assured I'll get paid same ∂αy.
   We finally parked in front of FCMB Lalubu branch and walked in. I sat among other customers waiting to be attended to while he went straight to see the Branch Manager. Before I left the bank that ∂αy, I got four alerts for the four unpaid allowances!
  The PS was kind enough to wait and endure till I got all the alerts before he dropped me off at Kuto where I got a bus back home. But for the petition, I wouldn't have been able to get justice on the issue. The letter visited where I couldn't reach. A well written message is one way we can reach people who are beyond our reach and propel discussions to a greater level. James Lendall Basford said 'a man may speak with his tongue and only be heard around the corner; but another man may speak with his pen and be heard around the globe.

THE LITTLE HINGES THAT SWING BIG DOORS (A Case Study of HON. OLADIPUPO ADEBUTU) By Saint-Olawale Jimoh

I once read about Ceiline Dion and Les Brown many years ago. Their stories, apart from being inspiring, underscore the fact that every dream needs support. Celine Dion was born to a poor Canadian family in 1968. At 13 with no support from her family, a Canadian stranger Rene Angeli mortgaged his house to help Celine Dion realize her dream.
Another child was born but abandoned by a teenage mother. That child was picked up and later adopted and nursed by a small unknown 'hinge' called Mrs Miami Brown. The little child is today Les Brown, world renown motivational speaker.
I remembered these stories again last week when I visited a family I have known for years in a quiet small town near Sagamu. Ordinarily, I seldom visit the family except I have things to give them. I know their plight and how daily meals have become a recurring challenge to them. This time, I expected their condition to have gone worst under the 'Change' regime.
When I arrived in their compound last Tuesday, I couldn't believe my eyes seeing the good change that has taken place. Everyone looked well-fed and happy and they were all eager to offer me food.
While the merriment continued, I called the father of the house aside and asked about his two children whom during my last visit were mere errand kids to almost everyone in the neighbourhood. They weren't enrolled into any school at the time because of the family's financial crisis. The older was 7 years old while the younger was only 5. Their father told me same man who put smile on their faces put his kids in school and warned them not to tell anyone.
What excited the father most was that his boys are the ones topping their classes in terms of academic performances.
And who could their new messiah be? The old man was afraid to tell me but after much pestering, he mentioned Honourable 'Ladi Adebutu. I wasn't surprised. I have heard simiIar stories linked to him. In fact, based on my findings, the Adebutus have over the years demonstrated that giving back to their communities and the country at large is as important as being alive. Many educational institutions in the state can testify to the countless number of developmental projects that have been donated by the family and Hon Oladipupo Adebutu himself. Once upon at Igbosoro, there was a raging storm which removed the entire roof of a block of classroom. The incident claimed the life of a pupil whose parents were later contacted and compensated financially with the affected building re-roofed by Hon. Ladi Adebutu. At Imuti, near Ogijo, in same Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, I learnt he single-handedly started and completed a primary school for the community.
In our everyday life we see the impact of little efforts that transform lives and eventually produce giants! I call these efforts 'hinges' that are swinging BIG doors. Every big door you see, swings on very small hinges. Compared to the doors they swing; hinges are negligible. Sometimes, what уσυ need to sow into people's lives are negligible but they make impact.
Kudos to this distinguished Remo ambassador, may God bless what уσυ have!

One Big FCMB Customer And I: A case of transferred aggression. By Saint-Olawale Jimoh

Life is brutish in Nigeria because of the excruciating hardship Nigerian masses have been going through. For many families, hunger is the highest cause of their insomnia. There's aggression everywhere. Уσυ hardly see anyone smiling these days.
Few days ago, I stopped by to make a simple transaction in Sagamu Branch of FCMB. It was drizzling that late afternoon and many of those who love to hang around banks for reasons known only to them had run inside the bank. Anyone who knows Sagamu branch of FCMB will agree with me that its banking hall is less spacious than any standard.
I walked past the computer doors and I couldn't believe the crowd I met inside. The hall was dangerously congested and everyone, like bees buzzing and zooming towards the scent of sweet honey, jostled to get to the tellers in front. I joined the queue closer to the exit computer door and soon, I had few other persons behind me. I felt uncomfortable at first, but I found relief when I looked past the crowd, straight into the inner banking hall and my eyes feasted on the finest specimens of feminine gender seated right inside. While I allowed this indulgence, I felt a soft tap on my shoulder and I turned round at once.
"Уσυ are occupying my space young man!" An elder man in his late 50s said as I looked straight at him. He was tall, dark-complexioned and clad in a well starched and ironed Buba and Sokoto. Obviously a Yoruba man from his look.
'Really? But I didn't see уσυ here when..
"Then уσυ must be blind!" He cut in angrily.
At this moment I was madly enraged as well but I managed to bridle my anger. I looked up at him and asked him what he considered an insult.
'Is that how to address people?' I demanded and continued.
'At your age?'
'And уσυ are someone's father?'
'I pity уσυr children!'
I couldn't believe his reaction. He charged at me as he shouted at the top of his voice. It took the intervention of the security guys around to calm him. Other customers on the queue expressed shock seeing he started what he now considered an insult.
Throughout my stay in the bank that afternoon, he kept hissing and ranting while pointing at me from where he sat after he angrily left the queue.
Later, I was told he has been inside the bank for many hours to complain the N50 deducted twice from the money sent into his account.
But what's my own? Na me say make CBN or Buhari introduce Stamp Duty?

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI (RTD)ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE FULANI HERDSMEN by Saint-Olawale Jimoh

16th March, 2016


Dear Mr President,

  It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter and I pray уσυ would get the message and act swiftly as expected. To begin with, I am not a politician neither do I belong to any political party. I remain a witness to conscience and a disciple of truth. It's only when I observe the belligerent posture of things, that I get prompted to write. When I wrote few days ago that the hardship in our land is pregnant with twins and nursing a baby, it appeared as if I exaggerated the situation on ground. Today, things are getting worse. We have been through worst in the last few days and suffered enough under the weigh of this economic crunch. No electricity, no fuel, no job, no money..
   I know the people around уσυ may detest any news report that tends to suggest that people are going through excruciating hardship but some of us who are ordinary Nigerians would say it as it is. However, I shall leave this matter for another ∂αy.

  My concern and the main reason for this letter is to call your attention to the activities of your kinsmen on most land they visited throughout the country. I mean the Fulani militias and herdsmen who wreak havoc and slaughtered innocent Nigerians for reason best known to them.

I have read several articles online where уσυ were mentioned as the Life Patron of the Fulani Cattle Rearers' Association, which is the umbrella organisation of the Fulani herdsmen and militias. If true, then уσυ can use your position and the office уσυ presently occupy to call this people to order. Things are getting out of hand and уσυ  don't have to wait till your brothers wipe out some tribes before уσυ spring into action.

   Late last year, former Delta State police commissioner, Ikechukwu Aduba, insisted there is something more dangerous than terrorism in Nigeria. According to the interview he granted Nigerian Guardian in Asaba, the retired officer raised alarm over the illegal activities of Fulani cattle rearers and urged уσυ to address the situation before it is too late. He stated, “Boko Haram war is a minor issue when compared with what we are going to experience in the hands of Fulani cattle rearers in the nearest future if the issue is not addressed.
“In some places, especially in Delta State where I served as the commissioner of police, many people cannot go to the farm anymore for
fear of being attacked in the bush by cattle rearers. Many women have been raped in front of their husbands and children. Many people killed by the cattle rearers. It is a pathetic situation if cattle eat up people’s crops in the farm and the farm owner challenges them, it is a
big problem. If the farm owner keeps quite, his toil for the year will be in vain.

 Just a few days ago over 300 people were killed by same well-armed Fulani herdsmen in Agatu, Benue State. This is one of several cases all over the nation. What about the recent one in Ketu where some lives were lost? Yet in all of these and I stand to be corrected, that up till now no strong statement has come out from the government at the centre, as regards the activities of the fulani helpmsmen. I therefore want to beseech уσυ to carefully look into the matter and do justice. It would even be more appropriate to set up a committee to investigate some of these killings in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

FEMI ADETAYO: A Tale Of One Outstanding Nigerian Who Makes Me Feel Optimistic About Nigeria's Future. By Saint-Olawale Jimoh

I have met many young people in my life; I chose few as my friends but only three inspire me the most and Femi Adetayo is one of them. I think it was in 2008 if my memory serves me right, that I first met this prodigiously talented safety professional and motivational speaker. Before then, I had been seeing him around at the campus ground of the prestigious Gateway Industrial & Petro-Gas Institute we both attended few years ago. I heard few things about him but I clearly knew who he was and what he stands for when he stopped to talk with me while canvassing students to attend GIPI Students' Fellowship, a campus christian students' fellowship he founded with the support of few other persons.
   That day, I imagined what manner of person he was. We had only few lines of discussion and I was overwhelmingly impressed. It was not so much of his composure and pleasing countenance, it was more his sharpness of mind and his intrepidity of utterance. His words were rich and I hoped the conversation would not end that afternoon. He had faith. His mindset was different and for the first tιмє since I began interacting with people, I met a young man whose reasoning was absolutely different from that of any youth I know. He commands things yet nothing moves him, not even material things. Many at times, our anxiety about tomorrow gradually makes us backsliders at some points but here's a young man full of faith, yet so confident about the future.
   Today, this public speaker and life coach has touched the lives of so many Nigerian youths as a foremost motivational speaker and youth advocate. Through many radio programmes and several inspirational series on his website, he has helped many young ones find their purpose in life and build outstanding careers. Adetayo has in the last few years inspired numerous Nigerians to create solutions to the overwhelming problems the country is facing.
 He simply demonstrates hope that there is much more to us than what people in citadels of power spew at us. Indeed he's an asset to this generation.

For more of Femi Adetayo's inspirational series visit: https://onestopmotivate.wordpress.com/

De-goatification Of Our Yam Eaters by Saint-Olawale Jimoh

"..and so to dinner with Nduka Obaigbena- Dinner features giant snails, shrimp, smoked chicken and lamb, washed down with pink champagne. Every 10 minutes, Nduka’s cell phone rings. Every 30 minutes, a giant fist pounds a silver bell to demand more champagne.."
-Kehinde H. Thompson
(Twelve Days in West Africa: Abuja-Lagos -FT.com)

Nduka Obaigbena the Chairman, Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY newspaper only received #670m from the immediate past National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki (out of the squandered $2.1b meant for procurement of arms for Nigerian army) as compensation for terrorist attacks on his Abuja and Kaduna offices. He sure had good times with his share of Dasuki's largesse except that you cannot eat Nigeria's yam without problem even though we have been told we cannot put a goat, yam and plantain together and say that the goat should not eat yam.
   Prof Adesanmi once warned our yam eaters to desist from eating because Karma had poisoned it with all manner of illnesses ranging from cancer to kwashiokor to coccidiosis. But goats are habitually stubborn animals. Their sole intention is to eat not minding the economic condition; efforts involved in producing a tuber and the future of the owner of the devoured yams.
   Unlike in other civilized climes, pot belly is one of the distinct features of a typical Nigerian yam eater. Someone once said he was wondering when heavily 'pregnant' Reuben Abati whose phones no longer ring would give birth. Dokpesi's pregnancy cannot be hidden no matter what he wears; even as tiny as Amechi might want to appear at times, the quantity of yam trapped in his abdominal region is enough to feed more than three small African countries.
Some have perfected the art of eating without traces while some are specialist in denying the obvious. The other day, one former Executive squandering more than #200b without 'signing a cheque!'

Those who claim to know Pius Ayim before Jonathan's regime expressed shock seeing the change that has taken place in him after working under President Goodluck. His neck has become so fat that turning it has since become a difficult task for this former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF). He probably had eaten more yams than he could contain that the excess spilled to his neck region.

By definition, we the people and the abundant wealth of our nation are the “yam”. We unleash the “goats” on our “yam” when we choose leaders with no clear-cut vision; who has no mission in public office than to loot the treasury dry. This has been left to continue over the years so much that more the 75 per cent of our collective wealth are under the control and custody of these people. In those days, when a thief gets caught, he would be held at his throat to confess or pay for his offence with his life. The case is different when someone eats more than he could stomach or over drunk. He would be laid to the ground with his belly pressed repeatedly to enable him vomit what he wrongfully took in. This is the best treatment our looters deserved. They must first be made to vomit whatever that has been stored inside of them illegally. This will discourage our intending yam eaters.

#DASUKIGATE: ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE TO CHIEF OLU FALAE'S ROLE. By Saint-Olawale Jimoh

Considering how some supposedly enlightened and educated Nigerians react to issues of FB, one needs to be careful of what to comment on. These days, it's easy to get branded to a group while expressing your opinion. Some people basically can't admit that others can hold opinions without being APC or PDP. If you authored a piece that flawed any of Buhari's policies you're instantly branded 'PDP paid agent'. Write another which puts Buhari in good light, you are branded APC member. Yet we cannot because of these intentionally blind critics allow issues pass unaddressed.
   The ongoing Chief Olu Falae's case in #DasukiGate is another area I'll again disagree with those calling for the head of this elder stateman. Many faulted the old man's role in the corruption case and asked government to jail him if need be. I'm not soft pedaling for Chief Olu Falae neither am I against the anti-corruption war of President Buhari, only that we cannot all be on same page irrespective of the shape our submission takes, uncouth or mannered, petty or meaningful, lacking in substance or otherwise.

    Two lawyers among my Facebook friends wholeheartedly supported the argument. One analyzed the concept of 'accomplice before and after' in law while the other mentioned the 'Tainted Fruit of The Forbidden Tree' in Criminal Law. I assumed Chief Falae may be found culpable going by the analysis given by these two learned persons. In my layman view, I believe the man may really not have a case to answer as far as #Dasukigate is concerned asides the fact that he may have been unfair to his party members by not disclosing the exact amount he took from the 'unknown PDP official' that he claimed gave him just N5m. There's nothing wrong in taking money to mobilize for a particular candidate during election time. It's a tradition in this part of the world. In fact, only God knows how many billions were expended on Buhari/Oshinbajo campaign project.

  All my life, I had never seen a situation where a contractor asked his client the source of the money paid him for a project. Tony Anineh, a recognized PDP chieftain, approached Chief Olu Falae, who is equally an SDP chieftain  to canvas his party members to work for President Goodluck Jonathan in the last election. The man agreed and was given N100m to work with.  How the hell was Falae supposed to know the money was originally meant for arms procurement and kept in Sambo Dasuki's custody?  I had written many times that NOT BEING CORRUPT IS LACK OF OPPORTUNITY. Millions of Nigerians condemning Chief Falae today would have done same if they were in his shoes.
It's improper when some critics adduce corruption to Falae's action. As a matter of fact, it's similar to accusing Professor Wole Soyinka of corruption aftermath of the dinner wherein his host, Rotimi Amechi (now Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) allegedly spent a whopping 85million Naira to fete him.
I rest my case.