Man of the Year 2009

Readers will be familiar with this column’s tradition of naming a “person of the year” at the end of every year. Indeed this ritual preceded this column, as I had made citations on the pages of The Guardian (2003 and 2004) before this column commenced in January 2006. From inception, only two individual awards have been made-Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for 2005 and Gani Fawehinmi (RIP) for 2008. I remain exceedingly proud of those two nominees and their examples, achievements and impact. Other winners have been teams or institutions-the Economic Team for 2003 and 2004, and the Judiciary, and the Supreme Court respectively for 2006 and 2007. In my view, these nominations have also been validated and vindicated.
I usually start with a shortlist of ten individuals, groups or institutions who in my view have made the most positive, tangible, verifiable and enduring contribution to the Nigerian nation. The nominees must also reflect positive values consistent with this column’s worldview regarding Nigeria’s economic, political and social development, and is not merely a popularity or populist rating. Last year, it was impossible to find ten nominees meeting the column’s benchmarks (reflecting the slowed pace of governance, policy and development of the Yar’adua era) and I was constrained to reduce the shortlist to only five names- Adams Oshiomole, Nuhu Ribadu, Rotimi Amaechi, Babatunde Raji Fashola and Chief Gani Fawehinmi with Gani being the eventual winner.
This year after careful reflection, my short-list comprises Super Eagles Coach Amodu Shuaibu,Presidential Adviser on Niger-Delta Timi Alaibe, Defence Minister Godwin Abbe, President Umaru Yar’adua, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Governor Danjuma Goje of Gombe State, former Green Eagles Star Adokiye Amiesimaka, Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) of Lagos State.
Whatever I think of him, Amodu Shuaibu must be considered for qualifying Nigeria for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. I personally do not consider him of sufficient quality to coach the Nigerian national team. But then the objective outcome is that he did not lose any game in the qualifying series, and is one of only five African coaches and indeed a small global coaching elite whose teams have qualified for the football mundial. However by his own admission, he owes the qualification not to competence, football techniques or strategies, but to the spiritual intervention of Pastor Joshua (!), and I may add perhaps Governor Amaechi’s Presidential Task Force. Timi Alaibe, Godwin Abbe and Umaru Yar’adua’s joint (and sole) basis for making the list is due to the apparently successful amnesty deal in the Niger-Delta.
The amnesty programme whatever sceptics (and I was one of those) thinks, appears to have recorded short term successes in terms of reducing violence and insecurity in the Niger-Delta region and provides a basis for negotiating a comprehensive strategy for peace and development in the region. Unfortunately it does not address the fundamental causes of the instability in the region (flawed federal structure; revenue allocation and resource control and management; environmental and social consequences of oil exploration; poverty and unemployment; corruption and mis-governance; unaccountable local, state and federal institutions etc) and therefore cannot be a sufficient basis, on its own, for resolving the problems of the region. In the President’s case, of course his remit goes beyond the Niger-Delta and his overall performance (or lack thereof) effectively cancels out whatever limited successes were recorded in the Niger-Delta.
Pastor Tunde Bakare remains one of the very few voices from the religious establishment speaking out for truth and integrity in Nigeria’s public life. Many of the others sadly appear to have become embedded within the country’s corrupt and self-serving system and have therefore kept resolutely quiet even as the Church’s credibility is compromised. Occasionally he may sound more like a politician than a clergy man, but then Jesus Christ will probably have chosen to speak out on behalf of the people rather than keep quiet in the face of oppression, corruption, and social injustice by an increasingly illegitimate and unaccountable government.
Governor Goje in spite of running a fairly sinecure state in North Eastern Nigeria caught my attention for his broad-mindedness and ability to foster ethnic, communal and religious unity, for which he was publicly acclaimed by his state branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Perhaps if other politicians, elected officials, traditional and religious leaders in Northern Nigeria imbibed similar ethos, the embarrassment of Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab may have been spared our nation. Adokiye Amiesimaka sparked controversy when he revealed that our “under-17” football team captain is probably over 25 years old. Unlike the corrupt sports administrators who think lying and age cheating is “one of those things”, this column recognises his high patriotism and integrity, values which our nation must re-build or else our national drift will continue and accelerate.
My top three nominees are Rotimi Amaechi, Lamido Sanusi and Babatunde Fashola. I am happy and proud to note that all three are members of my generation! Perhaps there is hope yet for Nigeria!!! Amaechi has been in office for slightly over two years. In that period, he has invested massively in education (building exceptional educational infrastructure and facilities), health, roads, power and has conceived an ambitious Greater Port Harcourt City. He attempts to articulate some social ideology and should have distinguished himself by the end of his term. Lamido Sanusi has courageously taken on the task of cleaning up Nigeria’s banking sector, and restoring ethics and professionalism to the industry. If he had not taken action, Nigeria may have experienced a massive industry collapse a few years down the line, even though he ought to have averted his mind more closely to the systemic implications of his actions and proactively considered options for minimising economic downsides.
But my man of the year 2009 is without doubt, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), the Governor we are proud to have in Lagos State. BRF has proved in just two and a half years that effective, focused and committed governance is possible in Nigeria. His performance is a vindication of his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and he has built on his preparation as Chief of Staff during Tinubu’s regime. BRF has defined a clear mission of making Lagos Africa’s model megacity and is working tangibly to achieve that goal. Given his achievements in less than three years, Lagos will be blessed and privileged to have him for eight years (and I suspect that the voters in Lagos will insist on that). His investments in roads, environment, mass transit, security, education, health and other sectors and the tangible results in such a short period are simply outstanding. He speaks to Lagosians truthfully, sensibly and passionately and is a new and admirable model for the Nigerian public servant. Yet he remains humble and committed to transforming Lagos rather than self-aggrandisement. My man of the year 2009 is Babatunde Raji Fashola.