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WHEN REBELLION IS A VIRTUE by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode
Published
1 year agoon
WHEN REBELLION IS A VIRTUE by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode
Unfolding events in Africa continue to intrigue the world and the fact that no less than seven military coups have been successfully effected in no less than seven African countries in the last three years gives cause for concern.
What is the cause for these violent acts of mutiny and rebellion and can there be any justification for such behaviour?
How legitimate were the mandates of those that have been toppled and are the soldiers that have carried out these ostensibly illegal acts of insurrection, revolution and treason and taken power by the barrel of a gun criminals and rebels that should be shot at the stake or God-sent and divinely-inspired heroes, liberators and deliverers of their respective countries and people?
Can their actions be justified in some cases or are they appropriate for all and can such a course of action ever be deemed appropriate for our country Nigeria?
When is rebellion a virtue and when is it a curse?
When is mutiny, revolution and a call to arms appropriate and when is it not?
What does one do with civilian dictators and sit-tight Presidents who have sold and mortgaged the future and destiny of their nation to the Western imperialists and neo-colonial powers and who torment their people and refuse to leave office.
These are just some of the questions that yours truly seeks to answer in this contribution.
Enjoy the ride!
On the 13th March 1962, in his
address on the first anniversary of the Alliance for Progress, John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States of America, said the following:
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”.
In the history of humanity few have enunciated such a profound yet obvious home truth as President Kennedy has done with these famous words.
Sadly even fewer have learnt anything from them.
Those that doubt this have much to learn.
Consider the following.
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and President Paul Biya of Cameroon have ruled their African countries for 23 and 42 years respectively.
Approximately one week ago they were both constrained to sack, retire, redeploy and replace much of their Military High Command, senior Army commanders and thousands of commissioned and non-commissioned officers in the light of the wave of military coups that have swept West and Central Africa and just one day after the one that took place in Gabon.
This was clearly a panic measure on both their parts. They did it out of rabid fear and in a desperate attempt to thwart, pre-empt and prevent a military coup and stave off an anticipated mutiny in their respective Armed Forces.
Unfortunately for them such peripheral and ineffectual remedies and desperate attempts to ward off all opposition and dissent in an attempt to hold on to power forever will not work because their so-called “mandates” lack legitimacy and they do not have the backing of the people.
Worse still they are both oblivious of and totally blind to the rationale and ethos of mutiny and armed rebellion and are clearly ignorant of the essence and motivation for military coups.
Simply put, no matter who your senior military commanders are, whether the old or the new and no matter how many times you sack, retire, redeploy or change them, when you are an illegitimate, depraved and evil leader who crushes, murders, persecutes and incarcerates members of the opposition and who rigs elections, refuses to leave power, torments the people and imposes a corrupt, bloodthirsty and blood-lusting dictatorship and dynasty of barbarism and tyranny on his nation, coups, mutiny, rebellion, revolution and insurrection become inevitable: it is only a question of time.
The great Mexican revolutionary and courageous hero, Emiliano Zapata said “if there is no justice for the people, let there be no peace for the Government”.
This sentiment is what we see playing out in the hearts and minds of most Africans today: no justice for the people and no peace for the Government.
In addition to that the Holy Bible says “there is no peace for the wicked”.
Is it any wonder that sit tight rulers and life-long dictators like Kagame, Biya and others are scared of their own shadow, are shivering under their beds and enjoy no peace?
It is a fulfilment of scripture: it cannot be resisted or broken.
And what is our response to these vile, unjust and wicked leaders who, like King Louis XIV (the Sun King) of France, regard themselves as being the living manifestation and embodiment of the state?
Surely it is nothing but hate, defiance, contempt, disdain and rebellion.
It is the same response that you will get from a wounded and cornered dog whose back is up against a wall: it will strike back and fight for its very life in the most ferocious, gallant and fearless manner.
That is where most Africans that are saddled with life-time rulers and civilian dictators in their respective countries are today.
They harbour a burning rage and violent anger in their hearts and minds and rebellion and revolution is brewing in their spirits and souls.
And surely no-one can blame them for that.
As William Shakespeare wrote in his famous play ‘Macbeth’, “unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles”.
If you do not stand up, resist, fight back and “breed unnatural troubles” when confronted with wickedness, injustice and tyranny, you cannot expect to ever enjoy your God-given right of freedom and neither will you ever witness emancipation from subjugation and oppression.
How else would you remove and replace power-obsessed dictators like Ali ‘Make Some Noise’ Bongo of Gabon, Field Marshall Idi Amin Dada of Uganda, Papa Doc and his son Baby Doc Duvalier of Haiti and the mentally-ill Jean Bedie Bokassa of the Central African Republic (who declared himself the Black Napoleon and Emperor for life and who kept the freshly decapitated heads of his enemies in his fridge)?
How else can a cruel, sadistic, psychopathic, sociopathic, narcisstic, unjust, vicious, depraved and malevolent tyrant who has broken the spirit of his people, enslaved them for decades and turned them into what can best be described as grovelling quislings, servile and compliant zombies and snivelling lackeys be removed from power if not by resistance, rebellion and the force of arms?
To move against such monsters and topple them by ANY means possible is surely a divine duty and obligation and one which every single one of the Holy Books not only encourages but also insists on.
The Holy Bible, for example, enjoins us to “resist evil” in the same way that Jehu resisted Jezebel, Moses resisted Pharaoh, David resisted Goliath, Peter resisted Herod and Paul resisted the Romans.
Can we be expected to do anything less?
Is it not the injustice and tyranny that the French, the Russian, the American, the English, the Chinese and many others were subjected to hundreds of years ago that pushed them to the wall and inspired and provoked them to take up arms and unleash some of the most violent and bloodthirsty rebellions and revolutions in the history of humanity?
Was this not the right and proper thing for them to do and had it not been for their resistance to such barbarous oppression and subjugation from their erstwhile oppressors and slave masters would they be the free, civilised, great and powerful nations that they are today?
Had it not been for Flt. Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings’ revolution and coup d’etat in 1979 and 1983 respectively would Ghana be the great and stable nation and flourishing democracy that she is today?
Had it not been for Nelson Mandela and the gallant and heroic struggle, resistence and open rebellion of the ANC and its armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (meaning “Spear of the Nation”), would South Africa had been rid of white minority rule today, would the cruel and inhuman system of apartheid still not be in place, would the majority black population still not be referred to as “filthy kafirs” and nothing but “hewers of the wood and drawers of the water” and would the Boers still not be in power up until today?
Had it not been for Fidel Castro’s revolution and armed struggle, with the support of great men like Che Guevera, would Cuba have ever been able to break the yoke of the hegemony and tyranny of the United States of America and rid themselves of their corrupt Yankee-loving President Fulgencio Batista?
We must learn from the history of others and not continue to accept injustice simply because we believe that we must keep the peace at the expense of our fundamental liberties, human rights, basic humanity and God-given freedom.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States of America said, “the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism: ownership of Government by an individual, by a group or by any other controlling private power.”
Is this not what we are witnessing in much of Africa today?
Is this not the elephant in the room that few care to admit exists much less talk about on our continent today?
If a so-called leader degrades you to a point of being regarded and treated as nothing but a worthless animal, dashes all your aspirations, controls your essence and very being and takes everything away from you, including your future and that of your loved ones, is it not logical and indeed mandatory for you to rise up in resistence, fight for your rights and, if necessary, break every state-imposed rule in the book in order to restore your God-given self-respect, self-esteem, dignity, freedom and fundamental rights?
Must the cruel will and vainglorious and gluttonous aspirations and desires of the few be imposed on the destiny and future of the many?
Must an entire nation bend the knee to one man and his family in perpetuity?
Were some born to rule whilst others were born to be slaves?
This is the tragedy of Africa and these questions need to be answered.
Can we boast of being a continent where justice reigns and men treat one another in an equitable, humane and just manner?
Why do we as a people glorify injustice and wickedness and why do we so readily accept it?
Do those that deserve to lead ever really get a chance to do so given the sit tight mentality, inexplicable cruelty and lust for power of most African leaders?
What makes it worse is that most of those “leaders” are loyal servants and willing slaves of the Western neo-colonial powers and imperialists who see no wrong in the pain, suffering, hunger, abject poverty, penury, bondage, shame and disgrace that they have thrown the people of their respective nation’s into.
As a matter of fact it is to the advantage of the western powers for such gutless and feckless quislings to remain in power for life simply because it guarantees the fact that Africa will remain servile, docile, impoverished, underdeveloped, weak and totally dependent on their goodwill, accursed aid and wretched loans forever.
This is what much of Africa has been reduced to by their “leaders” with thankfully a few notable exceptions such as the leadership in Egypt, South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia, Ethiopia, Ghana and a handful of others.
The rest are in the main nothing but cheap and inconsequential peddlers of filth and falsehood, tin pot dictators, hopeless pretenders, clowns and court jesters and propagators of falsehood, rubbish and arrant nonsense.
When confronted and saddled with a such a depressing and uninspiring coterie of destructive leaders is resistance and rebellion not the only way forward?
Is it any wonder that, according to a statement published in the Iranian Government’s website, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, whilst receiving Olivia Rouamba, the Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso, a country which recently experienced her own military coup and armed rebellion “praised the resistance of African countries in the face of colonialism and terrorism and hailed their stance as a sign of vigilance and awakening”.
A vivid illustration and graphic example of the indignity and injustice that the people of Africa have been subjected to is appropriate here.
Consider the fact that just 11 men, namely Paul Kagame of Rwanda (23 years), Paul Biya of Cameroons (42 years), Teodoro Mbasogo of Equitorial Guinea (43 years), Dennis Nguesso of Congo (38 years), Isias Afwerki of Eritrea (30 years), Yoweri Museveni of Uganda (37years), Alhassan Outtara of Ivory Coast (13 years), Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo (38 years), his son Faure Eyadema of Togo (18 years), Omar Bongo of Gabon (42 years) and his son Ali Bongo of Gabon (14 years) collectively ruled different African countries for a total of 347 years!
As my dear friend and brother Femi Adesina, the ersthwhile spokesman to President Muhammadu Buhari, would say: “Jumping Jehoshaphat!”
347 long years of bondage, suffering and trauma!
347 years of torture, incarceration, humiliation, slavery and the glorification and deification of a single man and his family!
347 years of an Orwellian nightmare unleashed and imposed upon millions of innocent, helpless and defenceless people whose dreams, aspirations and hopes were shattered and whose dignity, self-respect and sense of self-worth were crushed and buried.
347 years of pillaging, plundering, looting and stealing of their respective nation’s patrimony.
347 years of slaughtering, butchering and maiming of the few dissenting voices and courageous men and women who had the strength and fortitude to resist the evil and to rise up and say “no more!”
Is this not totally and completely unacceptable?
Is it not utterly repugnant and reprehensible?
Is it not a shame!
Worse still they have all done it in the name of democracy!
I am at a loss for words! I do not know whether to laugh or cry! The only thing I can say is “come and see AFRICA WONDER!”
A few comparisons are appropriate here.
The House of Romanov ruled Russia for 300 years. The House of Bourbon ruled France for 218 years.
The House of Plantagenet, Tudor and Stuart collectively and respectively ruled England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland for 500 years.
The House of Bourbon ruled Spain for 400 years. The House of Osman ruled Turkey for 700 years.
The House of Hohenzollern ruled Germany for 500 years. The House of Pahlavi ruled Iran for 54 years.
The House of Bernadotte ruled Sweden for 200 years. The House of Saud have ruled Saudi Arabia for 123 years.
The House of Alouite has ruled Morocco for the last 400 years.
The House of Orange-Nassau ruled Holland for 208 years.
These families of noble and bona fide Kings and Queens were all blue-blooded and were rooted in an enviable Royal heritage.
They hailed from a Royal lineage and they were indeed Royalty in every true sense of the word believing in the ‘divine right of Kings’.
The same cannot be said of our 11 pitiful and deluded sit-tight African rulers who have collectively ruled their domains for the last 354 years.
None of them can lay claim to blue blood or a royal heritage and lineage. Far from being blue their blood is rather something akin to the blood of rats.
Every single one of these 11 criminals and tyrants are unlettered, irreverent feral psychopaths whose bloodline is not worthy of mention.
Yet the truth is that all those African leaders, including the ones listed above, that have become sit-tight rulers and life-time President’s in their respective nations are NOT democrats: they are nothing but illegitimate pretenders, unhinged and psychotic meglomaniacs and irredeemable, unrepentant and vicious barbarians and power grabbers with no valid mandate.
They are also mostly social deviants and insidious cowards.
Simply put, they are an utter and complete disgrace to Africa.
The sooner they are removed from power the better for us all.
Thankfully in Nigeria, regardless of whatever challenges we may have been confronted with over the last 23 years, we have enjoyed reasonable and relatively sane Presidents, term limits, a credible Legislature, an independent Judiciary, a free press and the rule of law.
I would not endorse mutiny or rebellion against a democratically-elected, constitutional and legitimate Government such as ours which enjoys a lawful and freely-given mandate from the people and whose legitimacy has finally and rightfully been affirmed by the Presidential Election Tribunal.
I wholeheartedly oppose the agenda of coup plotters, rebels and subversives in Nigeria.
In the case of our country rebellion is a curse and not a virtue.
I do not believe that a coup is desirable or appropriate here simply because, firstly, our Government does not seek to discourage, muzzle, stifle or crush dissent or legitimate and lawful criticism and opposition and secondly because we are not burdened with a sit-tight and insane ruler who seeks to remove term limits from our constitution and impose a vicious and corrupt family dynasty and civilian dictatorship on our nation and people.
Permit me to add that I have nothing but pity and contempt for those reckless opportunists, lazy intellectuals, shameless dreamers and dangerous schemers who erroneously compare our situation and circumstances with that of ill-fated and beleaguered countries like Togo, Cameroons, Mali, Niger, Gabon, Uganda, Sudan, Guniea, Ivory Coast, Chad and Burkina Faso and who actually believe that a coup is equally appropriate here.
Nothing could be further from the truth and, given the circumstances, another coup in Nigeria would be the worst thing that could ever happen to us as a nation today.
This is because firstly there is absolutely no need or justification for one and secondly because our experiences in the past with military governments was, to say the least, shockingly horrendous.
It took us just under 40 years of resistance, struggle and suffering during which we as a people were subjected to the most inhuman, extreme and barbaric form of terror, subjugation, humiliation and trauma and in which many were murdered, maimed, tortured, jailed, driven into exile and destroyed, to break the military yoke.
Those young people all over the social media, most of whom are millennials, Obidients and members of what has come to be known as the “GEN-Z” generation, that are busy fantasising and toying with the idea of a military coup, indulging in masturbatory illusions and calling for the Army to topple our Government and take over the reigns of power are naive, gullible, ignorant and irresponsible.
They do not know anything about the frightful dangers of military rule or the vicious, oppressive, draconian, repressive, reactionary, bloodthirsty and inherently unaccountable and unjust nature of military Governments.
They were not born when the June 12th struggle took place in 1993 and they know nothing about the series of bloody military interventions and coups that took place from Major Kaduna Nzeogwu’s January 15th 1966 mutiny (with all its attendant bloodshed) right up until 1999 when General Abdulsalami Abubakar finally relinquished power and handed it over to the democratically-elected Government of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
They do not know that the first and second coups in Nigeria, in January 1966 and July 1966 respectively, led to the slaughter and reprisal killings of thousands of Igbos in the North, our civil war in which three million people were killed and thereafter led to bloody coup after bloody coup for the next 29 years!
They do not know that between 1966 right up until 1999 we only had 4 years of democracy and constitutional Government and that within those years of military rule hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, millions of people suffered, human rights ceased to exist, thousands were unjustly sent to jail and our civic and educational institutions were infiltrated, corrupted and utterly annihilated.
They do not know and apparently neither do they care that millions of innocent and gallant souls over the years gave their lives and paid the supreme price for the democracy, freedom, civil liberties, human rights, constitutional guarantees and free speech that they enjoy today.
They do not know that to advocate for a return to military rule in Nigeria today is indeed a manifestation of madness in its crudest, rawest and most perverse form: it is neither justifiable or defensible.
I am constrained to concede that in some cases resistance and rebellion is a necessary evil which can and must be employed to remove tyrants and corrupt unconstitutional civilian life-time dictators who refuse to leave power and who have no democratic credentials or legitimate mandate from the people.
That is indeed the essence, thrust and overall mesage of this contribution.
I believe that such acts of insurrection, mutiny and rebellion may be necessary and appropriate in nations that are living under the subjugation, bondage and hegemony of corrupt and repressive life-time civilian dictators but I do not believe that they are appropriate for Nigeria.
I say this because in our country, for the last 24 years and since the advent of democracy in 1999, reasonable leaders with solid and incontrovertible democratic credentials, that are restricted by term limits and that respect civil liberties, human rights and the concept of a free press and the rule of law have led our nation and not sit-tight and corrupt monsters who seek to impose a feudal dynasty upon us.
That is the difference between the Nigerian experience and that of others.
Still on the dangerous, misplaced, asinine and thoroughly irresponsible notion that a coup d’etat and military intervention is the remedy to the challenges and problems that we are faced with in Nigeria today consider the following.
On September 3rd 2023 my good friend Charly Boy Oputa, a proud and diehard Obidient, posted the following on his X account:
“Oh lord how can we be praying in Nigeria and you are answering prayers in Gabon, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali”.
This saddened and disheartened me because it came from a man who I consider to be one of the most brilliant artists, keen minds and free thinkers in our nation and history.
Sadly on this occassion he has missed the mark and his words are nothing but disingenious and specious sophistry and dangerous talk in their worst and most primitive form.
Charly Boy is not only playing with fire but also encouraging others to indulge in treason and insurrection.
I wholeheartedly condemn his incendiary disposition and counsel and reject his malevolent and nebulous aspirations and prayers for our country.
Compounding the problem are comments like “our democracy is not working” coming from hitherto respected individials who are very much part of the system and who are leading members of the ruling party like my dear friend and brother, the Minister of Solid Minerals and former Governor of Ekiti state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
Kayode, who I have known for many years and who I have always had a soft spot for, is a staunch democrat and has an insightful and brilliant mind but on this occassion his comments are open to being misconstrued by the less discerning.
Such contributions do not help matters and may inadvertently encourage the gullible tribe of dissaffected and dissolutioned young and gullible radicals and hot heads in our country that are openly calling for a military coup to continue to indulge in their madness and to proceed in their wilfull and misplaced determination to climb the slippery slope of perfidy, delusion and ritualistic self-immolation with grave consequences for us all.
Simply put we all need to be careful about what we say and we must do nothing that will encourage or mislead others into charting a dangerous and violent course in Nigeria.
The remedy to the challenges in our country cannot be to kill democracy by encouraging the military to take power or to throw out the baby with the bathwater and treading such a damned path would be indicative of a curse.
The remedy lies in staying the course, keeping faith with the system, providing good governance, meeting the needs of the people, getting rid of the pervasive hunger and debilitating poverty in the land and gallantly defending our hard-earned democracy.
Let that sink into the minds, bodies, spirits and souls of the puerile ignoramuses, deluded reprobates, masochistic miscreants and suicidal fools that are praying for a coup d’etat in our land.
May God deliver them from their fecal dispostion and mental affliction and may He reject their unholy petitions!
Permit me to end this contribution with the following.
Reno Omokri wrote,
“How can such a tribal, fascist, intolerant mob like the Obidient movement think they can intimidate the judiciary into giving the third place winner victory? After today’s verdict, the DSS and the police must fish out that Obidient who threatened Justice Tsamani’s children, and any Obidient that continues to call for a military coup should be mercilessly dealt with irrespective of their status in society. What an utterly disgusting and reprehensible movement. Nothing but disgrace will be their portion! Because your yes daddy candidate lost you want coup. Never!”
I do not often find myself in agreement with my younger brother Reno but on this occassion I am glad to say that I most certainly do.
Even though we are on different sides of the political divide, with these words, he has expressed my sentiments and that of millions of other reasonable and rational Nigerians.
Those Obidients that are calling for a coup in Nigeria on social media simply because their candidate lost the presidential election and failed at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal are sick and they should be called to order.
Outside of that they should be picked up, locked up, charged with treason and either shot at the stake or jailed for life.
A word is enough for the wise.
Glory Hallelujah!
(FFK)
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Fuji Music Unites : Saheed Osupa’s Call For Peace And Respect (Video)
Published
17 hours agoon
November 23, 2024Fuji Music Unites : Saheed Osupa’s Call For Peace And Respect (Video)
In the wake of our recent article tracing the rich history of Fuji music and its pioneering figures, significant reactions have emerged within the Fuji community. Notably, videos from two of Fuji music’s most respected artists, K1 De Ultimate and Saheed Osupa, have surfaced, each echoing a powerful call for unity and peace within the genre.
*K1 De Ultimate’s Call for Unity*
K1 De Ultimate, a legendary figure in the Fuji music world, recently released a heartfelt video in which he acknowledged the leadership role of Ayinla Kollington. Known for his titles as the Oluomo of Lagos and Mayegun of Yorubaland, K1’s words carry significant weight. In the video, he passionately called for peace within the Fuji industry, emphasizing the importance of unity among Fuji musicians.
K1 De Ultimate extended his respects to a host of fellow Fuji artists, including Saheed Osupa, Pasuma Wonder, Taye Currency, Also Sefiu, Obesere, Malaika, Adéwálé Ayuba, Sir Shina Akanni, and many others, both living and passed on. This gesture of homage underscores the deep respect and camaraderie that exists within the Fuji community. By expressing gratitude and reiterating his leadership position, K1 De Ultimate has set a tone of reconciliation and collective appreciation for the contributions of all Fuji artists.
*Saheed Osupa’s Message of Love and Respect*
In a similar vein, Saheed Osupa, another prominent Fuji musician, released a video where he offered sage advice to the Fuji world. In his characteristically poetic style, Osupa eulogized the founders of the Fuji music genre, expressing his profound love and respect for them, particularly Ayinla Kollington. His message resonated with the theme of unity, as he called upon all Fuji musicians to come together as one.
Osupa’s video concluded with a powerful statement: “Thank you everybody, no more war.” These words serve as a poignant reminder of the need for harmony and mutual respect within the Fuji music industry. His call to action encourages Fuji artists to put aside any differences and focus on their shared passion for music and cultural heritage.
*A Unified Fuji Music Community*
The messages from K1 De Ultimate and Saheed Osupa highlight the importance of recognizing and honoring the legacy of Fuji music’s pioneers while fostering a spirit of unity and peace among contemporary artists. It is essential for the Fuji community, especially the younger generation, to understand and appreciate the contributions of those who paved the way for the genre’s success.
As we look to the future of Fuji music, let us embrace the call for peace and collaboration. By doing so, we ensure that the rich history and cultural significance of Fuji music continue to inspire and unite fans and musicians alike. Together, we can preserve the legacy of Fuji music and create a harmonious future for this vibrant genre.
Watch Video Here;
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMhvXPbtE/
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMhvXPbtE/
Fuji mi, Fuji mi, the source—let us always remember and honor the unity that makes Fuji music so special.
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Dr. Felix Anyah Named among 100 Most Influential People Awards
Published
23 hours agoon
November 23, 2024Dr. Felix Anyah Named among 100 Most Influential People Awards
Dr. Felix Anyah, the Executive Chairman of Holy Trinity Medical Center has been honoured as part of the 100 Most Influential People Awards (MIPA), 2024 held at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel Accra, on November, 21st, 2024.
His recent award is in recognition of his influence on the growth and development of Ghana as a nation and on the socio-economic evolution of the people of its various communities. He has greatly improved the quality of life and their standing in the emergent global village. Not only has he served as a role model but have also created the opportunity for millions of Ghanians to become the best they can be.
The five-star event organised by the Business Executive Group, seeks to identify and publicly recognize outstanding personalities in Ghana whose professional expertise, experience and accomplishments have made them highly influential in the social, economic, political and cultural life of the country.
Interestingly, the medical guru has chalked several awards over the years.
Some of Dr Anyah’s awards over four decades of medical practice include , “Ghana’s Greatest Entrepreneur of All Time award, Most Respected CEO in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Best Health Care CEO from six different organizations in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and Overall Best CEO 2017 in both the public and private sectors in Ghana.
Dr Felix Anyah is a Healthcare Laureate, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).
Dr Anyah was the first Board Chairman for the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency under President John Dramani Mahama in 2015 to 2016 and the Acting Chief Executive Officer for Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital under President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017 to 2018.
Dr Anyah established the Holy Trinity Medical Centre in 1988 with five staff members, and has grown it to an outstanding health facility with 42 doctors and over 300 staff.
The New West Africa International Magazine, described him as ‘a symbol of selflessness and patriotism’.
The Business Executive Magazine also describes him as ‘the Ghanaian who is changing the world’.
A snippet of recognitions he has gotten include:
The Millennium Excellence Award in Medicine by the Millennium Excellence Foundation, with His Royal Majesty Asantehene, the King of Asante Kingdom, Otumfuor Osei Tutu II, the Founder, in the presence of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo at the Manhyia Palace.
Most Respected CEO- Health Sector in Ghana 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 by the Business Executive.
Overall Best CEO (Public and Private Sector) of the year 2017 by the 8th Ghana Entrepreneurs and Corporate Executive.
Best Health CEO of the year by the 7th Africa Health Legendary Awards.
Best Healthcare CEO of the year by the 8th Ghana Entrepreneurs Foundation.
Best CEO in Facility Management by the Business Executive Excellence Awards.
Health Laureate, the United Nations – Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
Best Integrative Health Provider of the year 2016 and 2017, by the 4th Business Executive Excellence Awards
Best Entrepreneur in Health Service Award
Best Occupational Health Practitioner by the 3rd Environmental, Health and Safety Awards.
Ghana Entrepreneur Hall of Fame (Health Services) by the Ghana Entrepreneur and Corporate Executive Awards.
Responsible Health and Wellbeing Facility of the year by the Responsible Business and Leadership Excellence Awards
Brand of the year (Health Facility) by the Ghana Corporate Brands Awards.
Lifetime Achievement in Medical Practice in Ghana by the Pillars of Modern Ghana Awards.
TNG Health Personality of the year by the Heroes of Distinction Awards.
Promotion of Healthy Society in Ghana by the Society of Medical and Dental Practitioners of Ghana.
Excellence in Private Sector Healthcare by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana.
Award for Contribution to Primary Healthcare in Ghana by the Ghana Employers Awards (GEA).
Hall of Fame Inductee-Health and Medical Service, by the Ghana Entrepreneur Awards.
Most Outstanding Persons of the Decade 2000-2010 by the Global Centre for Transformational Leadership.
Nelson Mandela Gold Award for Leadership by the Pan African Transparent Leadership Centre.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Africa Leadership Award.
Business Support Health Service of the year by the Ghana Entrepreneur Awards.
Golden Star for Exemplary and Effective Leadership in West Africa and Central Africa by the 15th Africa Security Watch Awards, Banjul-Gambia.
Seal of Distinction and Exemplary Leadership Award by the West Africa Nobles Forum.
Quality Leadership in Health Service 2016 and 2017, by the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana.
Lifetime Achievement Award by the Business Leaders Excellence Awards.
Premium Quality Healthcare Brand of the year Award by the Global Business Quality Awards.
Premium Quality West African Health Tourism Brand of the year.
Special Award, Health Tourism by the Diamond Jubilee Business Excellence Awards.
Plaque of Honors- Security Watch Africa.
Best Innovator in Medical Spa System by the 4th Business Executive Excellence Awards.
Outstanding Destination Spa of the year by the West Africa Business Excellence Awards.
Best Rehabilitation Medical Spa in West Africa by the 5th Business Executive Excellence Awards.
Spa and Health Service of the year by Entrepreneur Foundation of Ghana.
Best Spa in Ghana by the TMG Corporate Executive Excellence Awards.
Best Health/Medical Tourism Destination in West Africa by the West African Tourism Hospitality.
The Most Patronised Medical Tourism Destination by the TNG, Corporate Excellence Awards
Best Spa in Ghana by the West African Magazine.
Best Spa Platinum Award 2010, 2011, 2011 by the West African Tourism Hospitality Award.
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Celebrating Sir Edwin Ogidi-Gbegbaje At 60 By Jimmy Enyeh
Published
2 days agoon
November 22, 2024Celebrating Sir Edwin Ogidi-Gbegbaje At 60 By Jimmy Enyeh
Majority of Deltans are unanimous in their submissions that the name of
Sir Edwin Ogidi-Gbegbaje, a celebrated top civil servant and retired permanent secretary in Delta State Government House has been recorded in the good side of history.
As he clocked 60 today, family members, friends, associates and well wishers have been falling over themselves to pay tribute to a kind hearted and jolly good fellow.
Edwin, a scion of the famous Gbegbaje family in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, a family noted for producing top bureaucrats and influential public servants.
For 35 years until he retired in January 2024, he added values to Delta State civil service, deepening its positive nuances and was one of the people that nurtured the civil service of the young state upon creation in 1991 to its now enviable heights, setting it along with others on a trajectory that has made it one of the best in the country.
Gbegbaje’s story is far from the proverbial rags-to-riches . He was born into comfort and high society, but suddenly lost his affluent parents in his first and third years at the University of Jos, but with good counsel and guidance of relatives who were bureaucrats, Edwin Ogidi-Gbegbaje made a career choice that saw him becoming a permanent secretary at 46, a very rare feat in those days.
In an interview conducted three years ago to celebrate his 57 years, he offered a glimpse into his life, challenges and triumph. “I come from the larger Gbegbaje family in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State. We have quite several branches of the genealogical tree. We have the Abesan. The patriarch of the family is Chief Gbegbaje Dasone.
“We have Oloyo Gbegbaje and Ogidi Gbegbaje. My parents were civil servants like myself. My mum was a social welfare officer who rose through the ranks.During the late Ambrose Ali administration in Bendel State, she was appointed permanent secretary. My father was a medical doctor.
“He was the first radiologist in the defunct Bendel State and second in the country. My father was the chief consultant radiologist in Bendel State. I also have an uncle, Mr. K Gbegbaje who was a permanent secretary. When he retired, he became the Chairman of Bendel State Civil Service Commission. I have an uncle who was the first Accountant-General of Kwara State. He was in the northern civil service in the 60s.He later became Chairman of National Oil. I am from a family of bureaucrats. I attended Emotan Primary School in Benin.
“I proceeded to Edo College. When I left Edo College, I had the desire to leave Benin. Even when I was admitted into UNIBEN to study Economics and Statistics, I wasn’t enthusiastic. So, I got admission to study Political Science in Jos in 1981. Prof Emovon from UNIBEN was the Vice-Chancellor in Jos at the time. As I was entering, Jos ceased being a campus of the University of Ibadan. I was there from 1981 -1985. I graduated before my 21st birthday.
“Unfortunately, I lost my dad as I was entering the university in 1981. When I was just getting into my third year, I lost my mum.
It wasn’t easy being the eldest among my siblings. In fact, I was encouraged to come for Christmas holiday in Benin without knowing that the evening of my arrival in Benin was the period of my mum’s service of songs.
“I didn’t have an inkling that such a thing had happened. I didn’t even hear that she was ill. I was shocked when I saw canopies in my compound at Ovie Whiskey Avenue close to Ekhewan Campus. A prominent Jos-based businessman from Ughelli encouraged me to visit home for Christmas.
“I graduated in 1985 and taught at a secondary school in Iko-Eket, Cross River State. Just as I was finishing, there were some advertisements for jobs. I didn’t see the one for NNPC early enough.Towards the end of 1988, my uncle who was the Chairman of Bendel State Civil Service Commission, said since I couldn’t get a private sector job, I should participate in extended interviews, especially since I had sat for ASCON examination.
“He advised me to start a career in the civil service. By the end of 1988, letters of appointment were out. I wasn’t conscious of the fact that the person who resumes first becomes the senior in service. I didn’t resume early. My uncle said I was supposed to have resumed instead of waiting to resume in the New Year. A few of my friends who were conscious of it had resumed and they became my seniors in service. I resumed on January 3, 1989.
“That was how my career started. We were supposed to come in as administrative officers Grade 7, but at that time there was a decree. So, by the time we came in, we were designated as personnel officers. We were regarded as the special class.
“Upon the creation of Delta State on August 27, 1991, we all had to move to Asaba. In fact, the movement was swift.
We were all not fully prepared for the swift movement. There was a surge of human beings into Asaba with the state creation. A lot of us couldn’t get accommodation in Asaba when we came. In fact, I stayed in Ibusa for nine years. It was when I met my wife that we moved to Asaba. A lot of my colleagues were sleeping in the offices then.
On his retirement, the Delta State governor praised Gbegbaje’s contribution to the growth of the state.
Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, at the retirement thanks-giving service of Gbegbaje, urged civil servants in the state to emulate his virtues.
Speaking at a grand reception in honour of the celebrant at the Events Centre, Asaba, Governor Oborevwori described Ogidi-Gbegbaje as an intelligent, humble, diligent, transparent, process driven, selfless, accountable and compassionate bureaucrat.
While congratulating the retired Permanent Secretary for his diligent and patriotic service to the state, Oborevwori said Ogidi-Gbegbaje was very helpful in the last seven months of his administration.
According to him, “a lot has been said about Sir Eddy Ogidi-Gbegbaje and I also have a personal experience about him while I was Speaker and in the last seven months as Governor of Delta State, we have worked very closely and he helped me to settle down quickly.
“Sir Ogidi-Gbegbaje played his role very well, he is diligent in his duties and was always giving good and useful advise wherever he worked.
“Your service to humanity is something worth emulating and I must say that I enjoyed working with you. I congratulate you for 35 years of unblemished and meritorious service to the government and people of Delta State.
“We are going to miss you, the civil service will miss you, the machinery of government will miss you, you are retired but you are not tired, and your service is still needed.
“I want other civil servants to emulate your commitment to duty. So my message to other civil servants is that they should emulate Edwin Ogidi-Gbegbaje.
“If you look at his journey in the civil service from Bendel to Delta, you see his commitment to duty. Today, he has finished strong and we rejoice with him and his family”.
Chairman of the occasion and former Minister of Information, Professor Sam Oyovbaire, congratulated the celebrant for a successful retirement from service and urged other civil servants to emulate his kind virtues and commitment to duty.
From all indications, Edwin Ogidi-Gbagbaje is worth celebrating, he has touched numerous lives in the last six decades.
At the cusp of his 60th anniversary, the social and the civil service landscapes pulse with milestones he has achieved thus reasserting his worth as a rare force of nature. As family and friends join him in celebrating his 60th birthday, the image that pops into head is that of his genius and the passionate intensity he possesses, literally squizing water from stone as far as the public service is concerned. His brilliant performance as a permanent secretary, Delta State Government House, has earned him another appointment. He is currently the Chairman, Delta State Bureau for Pension and has been giving a splendid account of himself.
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