The celebrations of Nigeria’s 50th Independence Anniversary have come and are almost gone but the fall-out are still topical. From the bomb planted by some faceless, heartless terrorists to the dinners, debates, symposia, workshops and national recognitions and awards by the President. The solidarity visit of African Heads of State and goodwill messages from world leaders added flavor to the frenzy.
I join the rest of the world in congratulating our dear President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces on this auspicious occasion and wish him and all Nigerians well. The Nigeria project must get done no matter the odds by the grace of God.
The giving of awards and recognitions by any leader is not an exercise done hastily but one well thought out and one based on unassailable and known facts and measured achievements. Such awards tell a lot about the evolution of a people and when it is got wrong, it leaves much to be desired and distorts history. In Africa however, the choice of recipients of awards are most of the time determined by political expediency. The ones we saw at the 50th Anniversary are not different from the African style.
Not minding that Africans hardly get it right at occasions like this, I still felt a need to put down my thoughts (which I insist, are my personal thoughts for which I take full responsibility) on a particular award or recognition of the night for the record and for posterity. A half truth told over and over again assumes the status of truth. I write on the award given to Alhaji Dantata for being the foremost businessman of his era.
While I do not harbor any malice against this respectable and industrious Nigerian of his time, I wish to state (and I want to be corrected if I am wrong) that Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu (of blessed memory) of the same era was shoulders higher than any businessman or woman of his time. He was a colossus, pragmatic and humble. I believe Alhaji Dantata could have qualified for an award or recognition but in another category.
My conviction that Ojukwu was the greatest businessman of his time is informed by not only what I saw and heard (as I was barely born then) but what is recorded even by the Nigerian Government in our National archives. I know as a fact that the Queen of England visited Nigeria in 1956 and was chauffeured by Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu’s personal driver and guess what car she drove in, his Rolls Royce. Mr. Abiefo was the chauffeur and only passed on a few years ago with the honour of having driven the Queen.
My claim of the humongous stature of Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu as a business mogul of his time is not just based on this feat. It is on record that he was the first president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, then the Lagos Stock Exchange. The record is there and his photograph today still adorns the Nigerian Stock Exchange gallery in Lagos. Under his Presidency of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, there was no rival claim or litigation on his Presidency as we see today. Stock prices were a true reflection of their value and there was harmony in the stock market.
Nigerian economy in Ojukwu’s era was an emerging economy but even at that, this great Nigerian carved a niche for himself by investing so much in blue chip Companies where he was either Chairman or Director. Amongst such Companies were Guinness, John Holt, Nigercem, Constain amongst others. In fact, due to his relationship with Mr. Constain, he, Mr. Constain became the guardian of Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu’s son, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu during his days as a student in Oxford University, England.
Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu was not just a good and large hearted businessman, he was a visionary. At a time when a lot of people did not reckon with the real estate sector, he moved in from the Capital Market and owned several houses in Ikoyi, Lagos and other highbrow areas in Nigeria. He also encouraged quite a lot of his friends both young and old to invest in the markets where he excelled. He encouraged his politician friends financially without counting the cost and asking for anything in return but good governance. The likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. M. I. Opara to mention but a few were beneficiaries of his benevolence. This is a mark of a good leader, friend, patriot and trail blazer.
Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu enjoyed the services of a number of lawyers including the late F.R.A. Williams, QC, S.A.N. He also enjoyed the services of other professionals at a time when his peers never believed in professionalism and were not ready to pay professionals for whatever reason. I can go on and on but I think the message is clear. Nobody did it better than he did. His educational foundation remains unrivaled to the glory of God.
I therefore wish that the honour due to this man never goes to another again.
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