By Olumuyiwa Wahab Jimoh

Sir: It is not every day that great men are born. It is not all the time that great men realise their true potentials and manifest destinies. It is not all nations that are blessed to have indeed such great men not only born in their land but also are able to achieve and walk in their manifest destinies. When these combinations take place which is once in a life time and in few countries at a time, the energies that are released propel such blessed societies to greatness and make them stand out amongst the committee of nations.

It is truly in this context that people like us will always assuredly say that indeed Nigeria is a blessed country. That is why I have always told others in many fora that a country’s potential or greatness does not consist in their material possessions, their mineral resources or the skyscrapers dotting the landscapes but it can only be really found in the quantum and character of human resources or capital available to it at all times.

It is not ordinary that a man who by dint of hard work and commitment had given his life’s savings and creativity to the collective struggle for the emancipation of the Nigerian nation forsaking the comfort of quiet reticence either here or abroad, became a governor and out of five of his colleagues who came into office from the same platform; Alliance for Democracy (AD) became the only man standing when they sought re-election into office. This is within the context of the forces, pressures and manipulations including the boastings of the then President – Olusegun Obasanjo to the contrary.

It is not by accident that this man rather than basking in this euphoria and resting on his oars became an instrument for the total liberation of his people and the South West from the hegemonic influence of the PDP. He did not bemoan the fate that had befallen his party rather he rallied its membership and made them see the glorious future that lies ahead if they could do just the right thing. When you remember that one of the qualities of a great leader is that of having a great vision of a better tomorrow and also having the capacity of painting the picture of that glorious tomorrow clearly for his people to see and embrace.

Like a Phoenix, he championed the recovery of the stolen mandates given to the party’s candidates in the gubernatorial elections in Edo, Osun and Ekiti states respectively leading to the routing and excising of the PDP from the political map of the Southwest region. This vision led the party to transform itself into Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) recreating and re-inventing itself in the process and ensuring that the platform becomes a bastion for active engagement at the federal level in Nigeria offering the people of Nigeria an alternative but credible voice and platform for assessing and understanding governance issues in the country.

A man who has lived the last two decades of his life for the good of Nigeria; who has made a lot of sacrifices both in terms of his personal comfort, resources, health, family, skills, talents and time so that the nation may move forward deserves all our commendations. Most of his activities are built around building networks and given thoughts to the things that will make this country better. He hardly has time for frivolities as he considers anything that is not anchored on bringing progress to mankind and especially Nigeria a sheer waste of time.

He has tirelessly traversed the nooks and crannies of this land discussing, debating, persuading and reaching agreements and building crucial consensus with critical sectors of the nation in the course of establishing strategies for the emancipation of the citizenry and the nation from the clutches of oppression and degradation.

I join other well-wishers the world over to say, Happy birthday to this worthy son of Nigeria!

Olumuyiwa Wahab Jimoh was a former deputy majority leader representing Apapa Constituency 2.