BEYOND POLITICS: BUNMI TUNJI-OJO AND THE PURSUIT OF LASTING LEGACY

BUNMI TUNJI-OJO AND THE PURSUIT OF LASTING LEGACY


"Pastor, power is transient and nobody holds political power for life. We all exit when our tenures are over. My drive, in life, is to touch as many lives as possible using politics as an instrument of human development." 

Above parting statement by Dr Bunmi Tunji-Ojo left me thinking deeply as I departed his house for my hotel room after a deep session with him. In my company was Comrade Ajayi Olusuyi, the National Spokesperson of PNT.  The statement got me thinking all through the day as I began to surf the internet in search of various leaders across the globe who actually left footprints on the sands of time and those who blew the chances of writing their names in gold. 

My thought, which was sparked by the statement of Dr Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, continued till the following day as I set out for the local wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport to catch my flight to Akure. I arrived early enough, checked in my luggage, obtained my boarding pass and moved upstairs to wait for my flight. I had barely settled down when I received a call from one of our people in the politics of Ondo State; asking me to thank BTO on his behalf for the extension of his kind gesture to him. Surprisingly, a   beautiful lady who was standing close by eavesdropped our conversation. She introduced herself as Precious and asked me: do you know BTO? I answered in the affirmative. To my amazement she showed me the screen of her phone and the picture of BTO was the screensaver. She continued her story by telling me that he was the one that helped her to secure her present job - a very lucrative and highly rewarding one. The lady engaged me all through the forty-minute flight to Akure. She inundated me with the several lives that BTO has touched and is still touching. I left her with a take-away: BTO is not a regular human being, he is an 'angel' in human form, such men come once in a generation. This was just one out of several similar encounters I have on a regular basis on the large heartedness and generosity of BTO.

Only God knows the number of lives BTO has touched, I cannot count the ones around me. He does all these without any form of discrimination, chauvinism or jingoism. Without any iota of doubt and of a truth, this is not about politics, there must be a higher driving force and the only possible one is that of leaving legacies behind in the hearts of men.

My conclusion was perhaps influenced by my ecclesiastical inclination and corroborated by the philosophy of Shakespeare: 'Life is stage and we are all actors.' Regardless of how powerful you are, you will exit when your time is over. 

Here, I like to admonish those occupying political offices today, you have two options: it is either people forget you when you leave office or you live forever in their hearts by reason of the things you do while in office. If all you live for is money, influence and power, you can never have enough and you would only be remembered for your greed and avarice.

It is instructive that our politicians should think of posterity rather than prosperity, humanity rather than continuity, and legacies rather than politics.

For us in Nigeria, 2026 and 2007 are election years. We must all be resolute to choose the best among the many lots of those aspiring to represent and govern us. As for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, by the grace of the Almighty God, he will be reelected to continue his good works in our dear country. As for us in Ondo State, we must not fail to deliver as we did in 2023, and even do more.

I admonish us not to be disturbed by the present harmattan and dry season. I am of the strong opinion that very soon we are going to have a change of weather. E mura sile nitori OJO N BO.



Olumide Obadele is the Director-General, 

Progressives Network for Tinubu

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