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Pendulum: Not Too Young To Run, Not Too Young To Do Business

Published

8 years ago

March 17, 2018

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, one of the hottest slogans in our country today is “not too young to rule.” I agree absolutely. When I was approached recently by one of the exponents of this campaign, Mr Dayo Israel to be precise, I wasted no time in lending my voice, and my column to propagate what for me is the only way forward for the development of our dear nation. The reason for my excitement and willingness to contribute in my own little way towards proclaiming the message of the youths was simple. I was born in 1960, the year of our Independence. I grew up in an era when the destiny of Nigeria was controlled largely by people in their twenties and thirties. Those forty years and over, tended to take a back seat, in an avuncular or patriarchal mode and allowed the young Turks to have the field. This was because they believed that their time had passed and, that the younger generation that was to live the future, needed to be in control of that future. It was such a golden era that held out great promises to the future we all dreamt of and have been dreaming about ever since. But partly for the evil invasion of military coups, and the disastrous civil war that left our Eastern parts ravaged and devastated, I’m reasonably certain that Nigeria would have gone very far in the comity of nations by now. The same mindset that had led to those young “elders” to vacate the scene for vigorous, vibrant and vivacious young leaders would have continued to hold sway for the mutual benefit of our citizens and the country at large.

However, what has happened is that some of the young people who held sway at that time, are still very much around, ruling directly or by proxy. Their position is strengthened by the decimation of our erudite and visionary political elite by military miscreants who were only interested in feathering their nests and self-preservation. Therefore, we have a few inept and ineffectual leaders in power, who still want to govern Nigeria, when they are nearer 80 than 70. In a country of extremely gifted and undoubtedly brilliant young men and women, this should give us cause for grave concern. I’ve listened to arguments from rabid gerontocrats who tell us that the young of today have not justified their agitation for power to be handed over to them. They point fingers at some young Governors and Ministers who bungled their privileged assignments and looted the treasury dry. I agree that there are some notorious youthful leaders who have misbehaved badly! But there must be an opportunity for evolution and atonement and it is not all doom and gloom. This is particularly more so, because it is the mediocrity, buffoonery and lack of merit of these geriatric leaders that has brought those they now accuse to the fore.

We should therefore consider the pedigree of those youthful delinquents before we burden our youths with their shame. They emerged in the first instance due to our lackadaisical attitude to politics. I believe that the lackadaisical attitude was fostered by the debilitating years of military misrule and the penchant of the soldiers for undertaken failed democratic exercises just to assuage our hunger for civilian rule. Thereafter, once upon a time, and even at this moment, many of us came to believe that politics is the exclusive preserve of nonentities and never-do-wells. Since we cannot eat our cake and still have it, we should understand that the dregs of society we throw up would ultimately be the leaders we deserve, but the rulers we deride. I believe Nigeria deserves much better and we have many youthful and upwardly mobile people around today. This was the basis of my excitement when I first encountered Mr Akinwunmi Ambode over four years ago at a location on Glover Road Ikoyi.

Mr Ambode had shared his vision with me on that occasion in the presence of Mr Idowu Ajanaku, and the first thing that struck me about him was his humility and simple mien. He demonstrated beyond doubt that he knew his onions. He discussed ideas and a vision for a Lagos State that would be the pride of the nation in the development of infrastructure, social amenities and above all communal responsibility. He was of the view that if Government delivered on its pledges to the people by providing them with social amenities and welfarist programmes, the people would eventually rise up to the challenge, and perform their civic duties by paying taxes and treating amenities and infrastructure of the State as if it was their own to be cared for and nurtured. This was probably the accountant and financial adviser in him talking from an impressive background of practical experience. Ambode’s intimidating resume was, therefore, another attraction for me. I love cosmopolitan leaders who have had the dual opportunity to school at home and abroad; well-travelled and very exposed to new ways and means of doing things. While such people need political platforms to realise their dreams and vision, politics, for them, can never be the only priority. They just want to get the job done and move on to the next project. In about three years of attaining power, even his most vociferous and acerbic critics admit, privately and, oftentimes, publicly, that Mr Ambode has shown enough verve, vigour and promise of a greater tomorrow for our country. He has made his generation proud. Since no human being is perfect, the Governor of Lagos has made his own mistakes and I’m elated that he has found the uncommon courage to retrace his steps. That is the hallmark of a true leader – the one who errs and swiftly admits the error and makes amends. There is no use stubbornly and irascibly clinging to a mistake that can easily be cured simply because you do not want people to believe that you are fallible, when fallibility is merely a human trait.

All manner of ideas and suggestions are available to a leader. More often than not, not all government advisers share the vision of their principal. As a matter of fact, different people go into politics with different motives and mind-sets. A good leader would have to sift the wheat from the chaff, and swim or perish. Governor Ambode like a supersonic jet has entered his fair share of turbulence. The most raging, and mother of all, controversies, in Lagos right now, is the appointment of a company called Visionscape to take over a substantial chunk of waste management in Lagos State. Both Ambode and the waste managers have almost been wasted by those vehemently opposed to Visionscape and, possibly, Ambode himself. If anybody thought it was a joke that would soon blow over, they were wrong in underrating the determination, and total opposition, of those who felt short-changed by the new deal.

On a personal note, I experienced their fury after I posted an innocuous endorsement of Governor Ambode for a second term on my Instagram page. In this season of intolerance and cheap blackmail, the voltrons, as we call them, descended upon my page to throw darts , barbs and even missiles at Ambode and his supposed friend, Mr Adeniyi Makanjuola. I read that the whole of Lagos State has been taken over by garbage and filth. Some of the comments forced me to search other sites and I looked for any available information about this company they called unprintable names. What I unearthed was quite depressing. In fact, it scared me about what the future holds for our dear beloved country. It seems we have lost our ability to dialogue and understand each other forever. The unsubstantiated and unjustified ferocious attack on Adeniyi and his company made me to shudder with trepidation. I will tell you why.

I had read that Visionscape was a cheap company that lacks the capacity to handle the magnitude of the filth that a megacity like Lagos would generally generate. I doubt if anyone cared to probe further because my findings reveal otherwise. Unfortunately, social media thrives largely on self-help publications, imaginary and sometimes illusionary artificial and virtual reality. You need no education, exposure, job experience, known address or any advanced publishing technology to disseminate your drivel, jibes and even falsehoods. Your smartphone and sufficient data would achieve what all newspapers would never be able to distribute these days. And the more salacious the stories, the quicker they go viral.

Our youths who want to lead Nigeria should find pride, without prejudice, in Adeniyi Makanjuola of Visionscape. I have no doubt that whatever the challenges he may be facing today, he has a very bright future ahead. He comes from a background of serial investments, ranging from aviation to oil & gas, energy, finance and environmental utilities. Before returning to Nigeria at the age of 23, Adeniyi had completed his degree in Financial Economics from the University of Essex and obtained an M.Sc. in Urban Planning and Development from the University College London. On his return, he dabbled into aviation after discovering a lacuna in the onshore helicopter services business. What started like a hobby soon blossomed into a major player in the market place. Caverton Helicopters boasts of probably the single largest fleet of ultramodern helicopters in sub-Saharan Africa. Adeniyi has his fingers in many pies. His dream is to surpass the Dangotes, Adenugas and Elumelus of Africa. His foray into business has been passionate, rapid, remarkable and audacious.

Adeniyi and Harry Ackerman have worked closely in mining, oil & gas exploration in West Africa and the Middle East. The duo became partners as far back as 2009 after the latter suffered an excruciating injury in his fledgling rugby career. State-led strategies and privatisation of public utilities inspired Adeniyi to venture into familiar territories in Africa. Lagos being one of the 26 mega cities in the world is a natural place to be. The duo teamed up with local Emirati, Ali Ahli and led Visionscape Group, an environmental utility company, into the market to tackle the herculean task of cleaning up what was previously described as one of the dirtiest cities in the world. These ambitious entrepreneurs are poised to employ over 30,000 employees now, and much more later. It is not a joke. The anticipated turnover runs into billions, and naturally, there must be a lot of keen and vested interest as well as corporate disenchantment and envy. Indeed, it has been a battle of wits since they came into the high-wired deal that they agreed with the Lagos State Government.

Clearly those that have championed the campaign of calumny against Visionscape and Ambode know what they are doing and what they seek to achieve. They have been able to find support in people of like minds who can see no good in whatever others do to develop their environment and space. However, what they fail to realise is that for those for whom progress is the watchword, the sky can only be the limit. The venom of detractors only serves as an impetus to propel them to greater heights. I am not an apologist for Ambode and Visionscape but it seems to me that where great vision and courage has been shown, our duty is to give those involved a chance rather than condemn them form the outset.

Ambode and Visionscape should be content in the knowledge that those that have had eureka moments have never really been recognised and honoured in their own time. As the saying goes, time will tell!

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The APC Primaries: Winners And Losers, Sportsmanship And Democracy As The Ultimate Winner

Published

1 week ago

May 26, 2026

Sahara Weekly

By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare

Public Affairs Analyst and Media Consultant.

Politics, like sports, produces winners and losers. Every competition cannot end with everyone carrying home a trophy, and every election cannot produce multiple winners for a single office.

At the conclusion of every democratic contest, there will be celebrations in some camps and disappointment in others.

What ultimately distinguishes a mature democracy is not the absence of defeat, controversy or disagreement, but the capacity of participants to display sportsmanship, accept outcomes with dignity, pursue legitimate grievances through lawful channels and place the collective interest of democracy above personal ambitions.

The recently concluded primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have once again demonstrated both the beauty and complexity of democratic politics. Across Nigeria’s 8,809 wards, millions of party members participated in one of the most expensive and extensive internal democratic exercises ever undertaken by a political party on the African continent.

The party conducted primaries for 993 State House of Assembly constituencies, 360 House of Representatives constituencies, 109 Senate seats, governorship positions in states due for elections and the presidential ticket of the party. In practical terms, more than 1,462 legislative positions alone were subjected to democratic contests, in addition to governorship and presidential elections.

The magnitude of the exercise was extraordinary. Thousands of aspirants campaigned simultaneously across the federation. Millions of party members participated in selecting candidates. Thousands of election officials, observers, journalists, consultants, agents, volunteers and security personnel were mobilized. Ward structures came alive from the creeks of the Niger Delta to the savannah of the North, from the commercial centres of Lagos and Kano to remote communities scattered across the federation. Results were collated, disputes addressed and appeal mechanisms activated.

Yet, despite the sheer scale of the exercise, Nigeria remained peaceful.

Markets remained open. Businesses continued trading. Schools remained in session. Commercial flights took off and landed as scheduled. Public institutions functioned normally. Citizens carried on with their daily activities. The nation did not descend into widespread unrest despite the enormous political activity generated by the primaries.

That achievement deserves recognition and commendation.

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the APC primaries was the adoption of the direct primary system, a process many observers have compared to the participatory spirit of the famous Option A4 model introduced during the political transition programme of former military President Ibrahim Babangida. Through this mechanism, political power moved beyond governors, ministers, senators and political elites and was placed directly in the hands of ordinary party members at the grassroots.

For perhaps the first time on such a nationwide scale, APC members in villages, towns, cities and communities across Nigeria were given the opportunity to directly determine who would represent the party in future elections.

The message was unmistakable.

The party belongs to its members.

Not to governors.

Not to ministers.

Not to senators.

Not to political godfathers.

Not even to the President.

But to the ordinary men and women who constitute the foundation of the party.

That is the essence of democratic participation.

Direct primaries are expensive. There is no denying that reality. Conducting elections across 8,809 wards simultaneously requires enormous financial resources, manpower, logistics and administrative coordination. Results recording materials must be distributed. Officials deployed. Security arrangements made. Results collected and verified.

Yet democracy is rarely cheap.

Participation has a cost.

Inclusion has a cost.

Legitimacy has a cost.

The reward, however, is that power becomes decentralized and decision-making is transferred from a handful of influential actors to ordinary party members.

The direct primary system compels aspirants to return to the grassroots. It forces politicians to reconnect with ordinary members. It rewards political relationships built over years rather than influence exercised from air-conditioned offices.

Indeed, one of the major lessons from the APC primaries is that money alone cannot guarantee victory in a direct primary election.

Financial resources may facilitate campaigns. They may improve logistics. They may enhance visibility. But they cannot easily substitute for popularity, grassroots structures, credibility and sustained engagement with party members.

Several prominent political figures discovered this reality too late.

Some highly placed office holders failed to secure nominations despite their visibility and influence. Some former ministers who left executive positions in pursuit of elective offices discovered that occupying public office does not automatically translate into grassroots popularity. Some lawmakers who had become accustomed to political comfort zones found themselves confronted by party members eager to exercise independent judgment.

In several constituencies and districts, party members selected candidates they considered more suitable, available and accessible to represent their interests.

That is democracy at work.

The result may be painful for some aspirants, but democracy was never designed to guarantee victory and painless.

It was designed to guarantee opportunity.

It was designed to guarantee participation.

It was designed to guarantee free choice.

The beauty of direct primaries lies in their capacity to reflect the authentic mood of the grassroots. Political history repeatedly demonstrates that it is difficult to suppress a genuinely popular candidate when ordinary voters are given direct access to the ballot.

Nigeria’s democratic experience provides perhaps the most famous example. During the historic 1993 Nigerian presidential election, widely regarded as one of the freest elections in the nation’s history, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola secured victories across regional, ethnic and religious boundaries, including areas many analysts considered politically improbable against Bashir Tofa. The election demonstrated a timeless democratic truth: when citizens are genuinely allowed to express their preferences freely, popular candidates can transcend conventional political calculations.

That lesson remains relevant today.

It is difficult to defeat a candidate who genuinely enjoys overwhelming grassroots support when party members are given direct participation. The larger the electorate, the more difficult it becomes for narrow interests to impose outcomes contrary to popular sentiment.

The presidential primary itself was historic. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged as the APC presidential candidate after securing an overwhelming majority of 10.9 Million votes cast by party members nationwide.

While a party primary should never be confused with a general election, the turnout demonstrated significant organizational strength and grassroots mobilization within the party.

Many political observers have interpreted the participation figures as a vote of confidence in President Tinubu’s leadership of both the party and the government.

Equally significant was the fact that the President himself faced a challenger.

The APC did not prevent the challenger from contesting.

It did not treat the aspiration as an act of rebellion.

It did not deny him access to the democratic process.

Instead, it allowed him to exercise his democratic right to test his popularity before party members nationwide.

That is democracy.

That is inclusion.

That is confidence in democratic institutions.

Following his victory, President Tinubu emphasized unity, democratic participation and inclusiveness. In acknowledging his challenger, he reinforced the principle that democratic competition should not create permanent enemies but strengthen democratic culture.

Every political giant was once unknown.

Every governor was once an aspirant.

Every senator once sought support.

Every president once requested votes.

Democracy creates opportunities where privilege alone cannot guarantee success.

The APC National Chairman also consistently emphasized party unity, reconciliation and internal democracy throughout the process. His repeated message was that while contests may produce winners and losers, the larger family of the party must remain united after the competition.

That message remains important.

Political contests are temporary.

Political institutions endure.

One notable development that generated political discussion was the decision of Siminalayi Fubara not to seek a second-term APC ticket. According to public statements from APC leaders, he successfully passed the party’s screening process. However, for reasons known principally to himself and those within his political circle, he ultimately did not proceed with the contest. As an old African proverb reminds us, a man does not inquire too deeply into the circumstances surrounding his father’s death until he possesses the strength and wisdom to confront the answers. Politics often contains dimensions visible only to those directly involved.

Beyond politics, the APC primaries generated substantial economic activity throughout Nigeria.

Campaign offices were rented and furnished. Hotels recorded increased occupancy. Vehicles were hired. Airlines transported campaign teams. Restaurants and caterers supplied food for meetings, consultations and rallies. Event centres hosted stakeholder engagements and political gatherings.

The advertising and communications sector experienced one of its busiest periods in recent years.

Political public relations professionals, media strategists, consultants, advertising agencies, printers, graphic designers and branding companies secured contracts worth millions of naira.

Campaign posters, banners, billboards, flyers and promotional materials decorated communities nationwide. Television stations benefited from paid interviews and sponsored political programmes. Radio stations hosted campaign discussions and special broadcasts. Newspapers carried advertisements and feature articles. Online media platforms generated substantial revenue through campaign-related content and digital advertising.

Social media became a major arena of political engagement. Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube and WhatsApp were transformed into platforms for persuasion, mobilization and voter outreach. Content creators, digital consultants and social media managers found themselves in high demand.

Experiential campaigns flourished.

Town hall meetings.

Stakeholder consultations.

Youth engagements.

Women mobilization programmes.

Community interactions.

Ward meetings.

Political rallies.

All these activities created opportunities for event managers, decorators, photographers, videographers, sound engineers, logistics providers and countless service professionals.

Campaign merchandise flooded communities nationwide. Thousands of T-shirts, face caps, umbrellas, notebooks, calendars, shopping bags and promotional souvenirs were produced by local manufacturers. Textile suppliers benefited. Tailors secured contracts. Embroidery companies expanded production. Transportation providers moved supporters and campaign teams across communities.

From roadside printers in local government headquarters to major advertising agencies in Lagos and Abuja, countless businesses benefited from the circulation of campaign resources.

The APC primaries therefore became not merely a political exercise but also a significant contributor to economic activity and temporary employment generation.

Another issue that generated debate concerns aspirants facing investigations or court proceedings.

Here, constitutional principles must remain paramount.

An allegation is not a conviction.

An investigation is not a conviction.

A trial is not a conviction.

Under the rule of law, every citizen remains innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Political parties are not courts of law.

They are not judicial tribunals.

They are not moral temples established to determine guilt or innocence.

Their constitutional responsibility is to facilitate political participation within the framework of the law.

Where the Constitution, electoral laws or final judicial pronouncements disqualify an individual, such provisions must naturally be respected. However, where no legal disqualification exists, the determination of guilt remains exclusively the responsibility of the courts.

To replace due process with suspicion would undermine the foundations of constitutional democracy.

As Nelson Mandela once observed, a critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of democracy.

Criticism therefore has an important place in democratic society.

Complaints should be investigated.

Questions should be asked.

Transparency should be encouraged.

However, criticism must also be fair.

Achievements deserve recognition just as shortcomings deserve scrutiny.

At this point, one is reminded of the biblical admonition:

“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”

Before condemning an exercise involving millions of participants and thousands of contestants, critics should identify a democracy anywhere in the world that consistently conducts elections without disputes, petitions, appeals, disagreements or litigation.

Such perfection does not exist. Or it can be found in the graveyard only.

As Winston Churchill famously observed:

“Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried.”

Similarly, Barack Obama noted:

“The hallmark of a functioning democracy is not whether everybody agrees, but whether people can disagree peacefully.”

And Abraham Lincoln provided perhaps democracy’s most enduring definition:

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

Even William Shakespeare understood the complexities of leadership and public judgment when he wrote:

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”

Democratic societies succeed not because they are perfect but because they continually strive for improvement.

The APC primaries have also demonstrated a growing maturity within Nigeria’s democratic culture. Despite the enormous number of participants and contestants, democratic institutions continued to function. The republic endured. The political system absorbed disagreements without descending into widespread instability.

That is progress.

That is democratic consolidation.

At this stage, the wisdom of legendary Juju maestro Chief Ebenezer Obey becomes particularly relevant. In one of his memorable narratives, he tells the story of a father and son travelling with a donkey. When the father rode the donkey while the son walked, onlookers condemned him as heartless. When the father dismounted and allowed the son to ride while he walked, the same public condemned the son as disrespectful and the father as foolish. The lesson was profound: no matter what decision is taken, there will always be critics. Human beings are often difficult to satisfy completely.

Politics follows the same pattern.

No election will satisfy everyone.

No primary will please every aspirant.

No democratic process will escape criticism.

Leaders must therefore focus on fairness, participation, transparency and accountability, leaving posterity to render the final judgment.

However, every success story carries lessons and warnings.

The APC must not mistake success in internal primaries for guaranteed victory in the 2027 general elections.

A training session is not the same as a championship match against another formidable opponent.

Political strategists understand that internal party contests and national elections operate under entirely different dynamics. What succeeds within party structures may not automatically translate into victory against determined opposition parties in a general election.

The party must therefore avoid complacency.

It should pay close attention to voter sentiment in the South-West and other strategic regions. Political strongholds should never be taken for granted.

Loyalty grows when citizens feel respected, heard and rewarded through good governance.

The APC must also move swiftly to reconcile aggrieved aspirants and their supporters.

Politics is a game of addition, not subtraction.

Every disappointed aspirant represents supporters, associates, financiers and political structures.

Ignoring grievances can create opportunities for opponents.

That is why reconciliation is not merely desirable.

It is essential.

The leadership of the party at national, state and local levels should embark upon deliberate consultations, peace initiatives and confidence-building measures. Political bridges should be repaired before they become political fault lines.

A farmer who neglects his crops should not be surprised when another farmer harvests them.

Political parties must continually cultivate, encourage and retain their members.

Most importantly, governments at all levels must remain focused on governance.

Citizens want more security.

Citizens want more jobs.

Citizens want more stable prices.

Citizens want more quality healthcare.

Citizens want more better schools.

Citizens want more better roads and affordable mass transportation system.

Citizens want more electricity.

Citizens want more housing.

Citizens want more economic opportunities.

Citizens want more macroeconomic stability translated into better microeconomic prosperity for families, workers, traders, artisans, farmers and small businesses.

Politics is not an end in itself.

It is a means to improving the lives of the people.

In the final analysis, the APC primaries have demonstrated government of the people , by the people , for the people and that internal democracy is alive and evolving within Nigeria’s political system. They have empowered ordinary party members. They have strengthened grassroots participation. They have generated economic activity. They have reinforced democratic competition. They have highlighted the importance of sportsmanship .

Finally .

There were winners.

There were losers.

There were celebrations.

There were disappointments.

Yet above all else, one truth stands unmistakably clear.

Democracy was the ultimate winner.

Political victories are temporary.

Political defeats are temporary.

But democratic institutions endure when citizens and leaders alike respect the rules of the game.

The APC primaries have provided another opportunity for Nigeria to deepen democratic culture, strengthen internal party democracy and reinforce the timeless principle that political legitimacy ultimately flows from the people.

And in the final judgment of history—not emotion, bitterness or temporary political passions—the enduring verdict may well be that while individuals won and lost, democracy itself emerged victorious.

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APC Ondo North Primary: Reports Show ATM in Early Lead

Published

2 weeks ago

May 20, 2026

Sahara Weekly

Reports from the field in Ondo North Senatorial District indicate that voters, officers, and agents at the voting centers across the wards have put Abdul Tunji Mohammed (ATM) in the lead.

According to the current figures collated from the centers, ATM is polling with wider margins of votes

Going by these figures, ATM is poised to win all the six Local Government in the Senatorial Districtt.

We urge all party members and supporters to remain peaceful as collation continues.

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Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele Hosts Ondo North Aspirant Abdul Tunji Mohammed, Backs Grassroots Development Agenda

Published

2 weeks ago

May 17, 2026

Sahara Weekly

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele recently hosted Chief Abdul Tunji Mohammed (ATM), a prominent aspirant for the Ondo North senatorial seat.

The meeting highlighted a strategic alignment between progressive forces, with both leaders emphasizing a shared vision for grassroots development and legislative excellence.

Senator Bamidele, a respected figure in Nigerian politics, is recognized for his contributions to national cohesion and impactful policymaking, drawing on his experience as a legal luminary and human rights activist.

Chief Mohammed, an astute businessman and dedicated grassroots mobilizer, has made a notable impact on Ondo North through his philanthropic work and commitment to constituents’ welfare. His approach blends corporate discipline, economic ingenuity, and a deep concern for people—qualities that have reshaped the region’s political narrative.

The two leaders discussed the district’s critical needs, exploring avenues for socioeconomic growth, legislative reform, and stronger community integration. Senator Bamidele stressed the importance of supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, a sentiment echoed by Chief Mohammed.

The convergence of Chief Mohammed’s vision with Senator Bamidele’s legislative experience offers hope for Ondo North. This synergy between grassroots ambition and seasoned mentorship points to a promising future for the district’s representation in the Senate. With ATM’s drive and the guidance of leaders like Senator Bamidele, Ondo North is positioned for progress and transformative governance.