Tunde Olusunle
I was struck by the peculiarity of his name tag on our premiere meeting. The first time I saw such a striking configuration was when I encountered the configuration ‘PUN OMERUO’ on the chest of a former military administrator of Kogi State, who I would later serve as Chief Press Secretary (CPS). As a student of literature, I was amazed that the figure of speech, “pun,” could also be someone’s name. It turned out it was an acronym for Omeruo’s first names, Paul Uzoanya Ndimele. And here again, I was engaging another curious combination, ‘JOS OSHANUPIN.’ My first reaction in my mind was: Why would this man announce that he was born in Jos, the once-upon-a-time home of tourism in north central Nigeria, on his name tag? The hitherto temperate, calm and sedate abode of curiously stacked rocks and ranges, has, very sadly, been blighted by years of internecine confrontations between Fulani voyagers and indigenous pastoralists.
His turnout could not but strike you. His uniforms, typically starched khaki, well tucked into his trim, smart frame, was a delight to behold. Not for him the protruding abdomen of some of his colleagues who, to borrow from the peculiar lexicon of the grandmaster of grammatical bombast, Patrick Obahiagbon, had surrendered to wholesale “pepper-souping and isiewu-lizing.”
His trousers were neatly buried into his ever-gleaming black boots, his official regalia complemented by a beret adorned with a feathery tuft. This is not forgetting his famous swagger stick which he swung with supreme style and confidence. He acknowledged the compliments paid him by his officers and men, with a curt salute, as he routinely toured sections of what is described in the military as area of responsibility (AOR).
Julius Olakunle Sunday Oshanupin, (now you know where the “JOS” is coming from), was Commander, Guards Brigade, with specific responsibility for the protection of the President. Olusegun Obasanjo, himself a former army General was the President, Commander-in-Chief, (C-in-C). The grip of Oshanupin’s handshake is firm as he receives your hand, smiles and exchanges greetings with you in our indigenous Okun tongues. He is naturally delighted that someone like you a thoroughbred professional in your own right, who is serving in the same administration, also hails from his own corner of Nigeria. He knows that people from our parts, have to work extra-hard to earn recognition in a system characterised by twisted merit and a skewed reward system.
Oshanupin’s area of jurisdiction spanned the entire Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and abutting areas. A member of the elite armoured corps of the Nigerian Army, he was appointed to this to position when he was a Brigadier-General. The rank is usually abbreviated by the military as “Brig Gen.” A quiet operator, he was more regularly seen if there was an event which necessitated the movement of the President to events and locations outside the geographical area of the State House. From the International Conference Centre (ICC); to the Transcorp Hilton and the Sheraton Hotels, regular venues for state events therefore, Oshanupin was a regular fixture. He was also prominent on the escort entourage of the C-in-C en route his trips, locally or internationally. Working with an energetic, hyperactive President like Obasanjo, who devoted as much time to his primary assignment, and equal attention to international relations, by the way, was no cup of cake. A team player, he discharged his duties very distinctively and unobtrusively, earning deserved plaudits.
Elsewhere, I have alluded to a very striking photograph taken on the occasion of his decoration with the rank of Major General in 2005, which symbolised the true Nigerian-ness of the Obasanjo era. Obasanjo’s aide-de-camp (ADC), Christopher Jemitola, (then a Colonel), was at the left of that picture. Obasanjo was next, hanging the peeps of Oshanupin’s new rank from the left; he was followed by Oshanupin himself, and then Atiku Abubakar, Vice President to Obasanjo. In the ethno-religiously fractious polity which has been our lot since the coming of the incumbent dispensation, that photograph speaks volumes about Obasanjo’s painstaking efforts at multilevel balancing. Jemitola is from Edo State (South-south); Obasanjo, Ogun (South-est); Oshanupin, Kogi (North-central) and Atiku, Adamawa (North-east). This manner of accommodation and inclusiveness, has been serially trampled upon, even jettisoned by the present government.
Following Oshanupin’s retirement after a distinguished and eventful near four-decade service to fatherland over ten years ago, he has become most committed to, and visible in community service and development. And how he has spontaneously transmuted from the stern-faced, no-nonsense military General, to an inimitable pacifist and consensus builder, should constitute the subject of another discourse. At the levels of his hometown, Ekinrin Adde, Ijumu Local Government Area, and the Okun country, straddling the six Okun LGAs: Kabba Bunu; Ijumu; Mopamuro; Yagba East, Yagba West and ‘Oworoland’ in Lokoja LGA, Oshanupin has been at the fore of charting a new course for his people.
At various times, Oshanupin has chaired or co-chaired bodies like the: Okun Interest Group (OIG), with Dr Stephen Olorunfemi, and Okun Think Tank (OTT), the technocratic arm of the Okun Development Association (ODA), with Professor Eyitayo Lambo. Irrespective of the venue of a meeting concerning the Okun trajectory, and so long as Oshanupin is invited, you can be sure he will attend. Except of course if he is out of Nigeria, or is otherwise previously committed. From Isanlu, to Iyah-Gbedde, to Kabba, Ekinrin Adde, Lokoja, to Abuja, Oshanupin is either hosting, or attending meetings to build a new Okun mindset. His conviction is captured by his adaptation of a military expression, to wit that people should decidedly “chest out,” for causes they believe in. Be sure to be served frothing, farm-fresh palmwine, among other choice menus and beverages, should Oshanupin be the chief host, at any venue or location.
Instructively, Oshanupin was one of the Okun leaders who led a delegation to meet with former President Goodluck Jonathan on the eve of his election in 2011, to press for increased infrastructural development in Okunland. The meeting also canvassed the accommodation of more Okun people in the Jonathan administration. At that meeting, Okun leaders appealed to Jonathan for the conversion of the age-old College of Agriculture, Kabba into a full-fledged university. How Lokoja the Kogi State capital became the host of what is today the Federal University, will be subject for further inquisition. Key advocates of the adoption of the College of Agriculture, Kabba as site and location of a federal university, included: Lambo, (former Health Minister); Bayo Ojo, SAN, (former Attorney General and Justice Minister) and Oshanupin. They must be deservedly applauded. Oshanupin, and some other well-meaning Okun-minded people, were also part of those who virtually rammed the imperative for the development and fruition of the College of Education Technical Kabba, (COETK), down the throat of former Kogi State Governor, Ibrahim Idris.
This does not detract from the efforts of Clarence Olafemi, former Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, who acted as governor for a brief spell, during which the incumbent, Idris, had to undergo a court-ordered reelection between him and the late former Kogi Governor, Abubakar Audu in 2008. Aware of the repeated consignment of the project under the carpet by successive governments, Oshanupin and company therefore, virtually held a “pistol” to the throat of Idris, in a case of: “We (Okun people), will support you, only to the extent that you build for us COETK which had been on the drawing board since eternity.” Idris had no option than to agree, much as the physical growth of the institution has remained below par.
Worried about the wholesale hijack of politics in Okunland by sundry moneybags and jobbers, Oshanupin has serially advocated recourse to justice, fairness and equity, as minimum consideration, in the appropriation of offices and positions. He admonishes return to those ideals which bind our people together, away from the mercantilism and triumphalism which characterise contemporary politicking. His involvement in sociopolitical matters concerning the Kogi West zone, derives from this concern. The exploration of collaboration between Kogi West and Kogi Central which were both excised from the old Kwara State, and joined with Kogi East from the old Benue State, is also driven by considerations of respect for meritocracy, consensus building and fairness to all.
A critical component of Oshanupin’s drill in the military was that of “taking the enemy by surprise.” More than one occasion, Oshanupin had “caught” me by surprise in my own home. He is first to check up on you if you were indisposed, or had otherwise been out of circulation for a while. And he jokes with you in a mix of our idiolects and pidgin English, charging you in military lingo, to “wake up,” shake off your indisposition, that is. He is that compassionate. And he is not given to protocol and officialese, easily jumping behind the wheels of his car to catch up with meetings and appointments, for a former two-star General in the military. It wouldn’t matter if it’s a truck or a more cosy automobile, he moves. He is that unassuming and down-to-earth.
Jide, Oshanupin’s son found me out in church a few weeks back. He came over to my section and whispered to me that he was working with his siblings to put up a surprise reception for their father. The event he said, was to commemorate his platinum jubilee birthday. The birthday proper was on June 26, 2022, but the celebration had been moved forward by a few days. Recognising my relationship with the older Oshanupin, Jide conspiratorially told me: “He’s not aware of this plan, Sir.” I understood him, even though I was sceptical if the young Oshanupins could pull it off without giving themselves away to a very sharp and perceptive father.
Saturday July 9, 2022, all roads led to the Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja. Between walking through the expansive lobby, to posing for photographs at the “red carpet” entrance to the venue, and being ushered to your seat, your eyes caught familiar faces. It was a very well attended event which definitely achieved the surprise effect it was intended to have, a properly scripted ambush of an army General by his civilian children! It was an evening of colour and conviviality and reminiscences and tributes, food and drinks, music and dancing too.
• Olusunle is a poet, journalist, author and scholar
