IF you had asked me about Senator Musiliu Obanikoro a year or two ago, I would have dismissed him as one of the bad eggs of Nigerian politics, an uneducated and violent man who has no clue about the real essence of leadership and governance. Until sometime in July this year, I had never met Senator Obanikoro but interestingly, my opinion of his personality was based largely on what I heard or read about him. Recently, I took a little more interest in him when he became Minister of State for Defence. It happened that I visited Nigeria in June this year and was at a function in Owerri where he was invited to deliver the Celestine Onwuliri Third Memorial Lecture at the Imo State University.

He spoke on the subject; “Security and National Development.” Sincerely, I was shocked by the erudition and brilliance of his delivery. Is this not the man they said is uneducated and a thug? After this encounter, my impression changed and I took more interest in him and did a little more research on his person. I dare say there is a wide gulf between the real Obanikoro and the perception out there.
So when Obanikoro resigned in October 2014 to contest the Lagos gubernatorial election, my interest in the process was heightened. As one born and raised in Lagos before relocating to the United States, I believe the options facing Lagosians on who governs the state in the next dispensation are varied and rich.

On parade are people with enviable experience in public and private services as well as rich backgrounds in education, family values and impactful work life. There are also those who parade only the credentials of expected endorsements of godfathers. Having made their intentions known, openly or discreetly, their public and private lives have been subjected to diverse reviews and abuses.

A review of Senator Obanikoro’s public profile shows a man who has given all his life to public service. He can be described as a politician and administrator par excellence. An astonishing fact, however, is lack of any record of graft or public fund mismanagement in his over 35 years of active politics and public service in Nigeria.

More astonishing is his success as a family man who has maintained a nuclear family in a marriage of over 34 years! The Obanikoros are blessed with children who in their own rights have recorded impressive accomplishments. His first son, Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro has taken after his father in politics in what looks to be a promising career in public service.

Unlike other successful politicians we all know have got away with supposedly lying about universities attended, coupled with walking Nigerian
streets freely with the baggage of criminal and civil records, Obanikoro has never been arrested or docked for contravention of any law, either here in the United States where he bagged his BSc and MSc in Public Administration from Texas Southern University or in Nigeria.

People who argue otherwise have been unable to produce a single proof till date. Yet, this man has served Lagos State and the Nigerian nation in positions that others did not come out untainted.

From my personal research findings, he also produced results that his opposition would rather not permit to be placed in public domain.
Senator Obanikoro’s early political career included his appointment as a Director of Lagos Bulk Purchasing between 1987 and 1989 in which he chaired the Finance and Supplies Committee; his election as the Lagos State Deputy Chairman of the now defunct NRC in 1991; and his appointment as the caretaker chairman of the old Surulere Local Government.

These were the solid foundations he needed for the sound public service roles that followed. In 1997, he was elected the Chairman of Lagos Island Local Government, where he served until July 1998 the year Gen. Abacha died. In his brief tenure, Obanikoro became the first LG Chairman to pay for WAEC fees for all JSS 3 students in the local government.

His interest in education saw the distribution of over N10 million worth of teaching aids and furniture to all primary schools in the local government.
At the dawn of democracy in 1999, he became the Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture. His biggest achievement was the creation of the Black Heritage Festival in Lagos. The festivals were extremely successful, drawing large international participation and revenue generation for the state.

As a Senator, Obanikoro was famous for his aggressive push for a special status for Lagos State which was included in the bill he sponsored to amend the Federal Capital Territory Act. He was at the forefront of the motion on the surge and overflow of the Atlantic Ocean along the Bar Beach shoreline affecting residents in Victoria Island.

Earlier this year, Obanikoro was appointed a Minister of State for Defence. Though his tenure was brief, having served a little over seven months, Obanikoro would be remembered for taking the discourse on the nation’s battle with the deadly insurgence in the North-Eastern part of the country to the people. He championed effective engagement of the citizens on the war progress and recognised the challenging equipment profile of the Nigerian Army and under his administration.

Conclusively, the elite with sympathy for the party in power in Lagos today, have argued that Lagos does not need a politician as its governor. The benefit of hindsight, in the last 15 years, suggests a rethink. Lagos must understand that the role of experienced politicians and that of trained administrators are different. The politician is the atop-the tree leader. He sees far and wide and provides direction to the on-the-ground administrator based on what he knows is best for the people. Administrators implement while relying on the politician to clear the hurdles of public conflicts that come with governing a society as complex and dynamic as Lagos. The senator is both.

Collins Njemanzewrote from Washington DC.