This Is Oseloka Obaze by Valentine Obienyem
Several
centuries ago, a young metaphysical Yogi found it difficult explaining
Yoga to a non-initiate. Exasperated, he declared that: “It is only
through Yoga that Yoga may be known”. We face such frustrations in our
daily life.
Not too
long ago, the then Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi was going to
introduce Mr. Oseloka Obaze to me – as he contemplated how to attract
him from the comfort of his United Nations office in New York to join
hands in building a New Nigeria. When it seemed I was not noting
attributes he used to describe Mr. Obaze, he said: “Val, it needs seeing
Oseloka in action, following him through what he does for you to
understand the man”. For Mr. Peter Obi – who usually administers praises
in small doses – to give a full doze on OHO as he is popularly called
means there is something spectacular about the man. As far as I was
concerned then, may God help us to convince him to come back to Nigeria
for me to have the opportunity of studying him, having in view the
character traits that Mr. Peter Obi had mentioned.
In
the meantime, from professional habit, I undertook a background check
on Mr. Oseloka Obaze, and established that he is a man of substance and
accomplishments. We can actually say with surety about him, as Chathan
said of Garibaldi, that he is “One of those men who are no longer to be
found but in the pages of Plutarch”. Regarded as the father of
Biography, Plutarch, in a language that was distinctly his, pared and
compared great Romans with great Greeks, in the hope that he would pass
on some moral stimulus or heroic impulse of those great men to his
readers.
Oseloka’s
life – properly written – will be an inspiration to any one privileged
to read it. A native of Ochuche Umuodu in Ogbaru Local Government Area
of Anambra State, a town noted for its affability, he was born in 1955
in Ogidi, the home town of a man that considered him a great friend,
Professor Chinua Achebe; a man Oseloka has never ceased reverencing for
his character, principles and solid family life. In his E-Mail messages,
he permanently signs off with a quote from the literary Icon: “One of
the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised”,
which also summarizes his character. The detailed correspondence of his
ideas with those of Achebe – the two men being coins of the same mould
and mint though different in dates – is the story for another day.
OHO
was inured to self-control by the stoic examples of his parents and
teachers. Like all fond parents, they wanted best education for him,
such that he attended Christ the King College [CKC] and Dennis Memorial
Grammar School [DMGS], both in Onitsha. Particularly keen on the
primacy of education in the lives of men throughout the ages, he pursued
learning relentlessly. He attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln,
USA, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Political Science and
International Relations as well as Nebraska Wesleyan University, where
he studied Political Science. He also attended professional courses in a
number of internationally-acclaimed institutions in Italy, Austria and
Sweden – specializing in varied aspects of international relations and
diplomacy, including Dialogue and Mediation. This saw him being part of
the UN team that travelled to different countries to promote peace and
concord. From his first appointment into the United Nations in 1991 by
the then Secretary-General, Javier Perez de Cueller, OHO participated in
official missions to over 100 countries. His travels make one recall
the saying of the wise one that education comes one-fourth from the
teacher, one-fourth from travel, one-fourth from experience and the last
quarter from books. Indeed, Oseloka Obaze had utilized the
opportunities to acquire education from the 4 noted sources.
In
his pilgrimage on earth, OHO has contributed significantly to the
advancement of civilization internationally as well to the growth and
development of his State and country at large. Prior to his assignments
with the United Nations, he had served meritoriously in Nigeria’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs for about a decade – 1982 to 1991. Though
progressing in his career, he resigned his appointment on principle due
to certain policies antithetical to his strong belief in the
universally-acclaimed rights of men. He was promptly engaged by the
United Nations, which identified in him the qualities needed to lead men
along the parts of universal dignity.
As
the Governor of Anambra State determined to lead in accordance with
best practices, it was very tough call for Mr. Peter Obi. He sought
earnestly for men and women of integrity and competence that would work
with him in administration and the formulation and implementation of
policies and programmes that would elevate Anambra to a model State. One
of the lessons of history is that when we search for good people –
like a man searching for a wife – we are faced with the reality that
such people are not only in short supply, but difficult to find.
Having
identified Oseloka Obaze as a potential member of his team, there was
the greater challenge of persuading him to leave the United Nations for
home.
It was not an easy task, and it took over a
year to conclude the process of OHO’s return. Peter Obi persevered as
he knew he would add value to his administration of Anambra State.
Oseloka’s
fame is highly acclaimed – to Occidental and Oriental eyes alike. Solid
with experience, travel and practical statesmanship, he is really a man
of substance. People and institutions who come in contact with him
continually express panegyrics of him. His superiors have nothing but
eulogies of him even as his contemporaries and subordinates acknowledge
his positive drive and frankness. As he disengaged from the service of
the United Nations in 2012, the Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon said in a
personal letter to Obaze dated 26 July, 2012,: “In your long
distinguished career … you have proven yourself as a most dedicated,
dependable and competent staff member. Throughout your service, you have
unfailingly upheld the highest standards of efficiency, competence
required of an international civil servant”. In the same vein, one of
his erstwhile colleagues gave this testimony: “I have worked with him
and I can tell you that he is a first-class diplomat who could re-phrase
in courteous elegance, the unvarnished utterances of any master. I can
also tell you that he is a model of diplomatic courtesy, his language
always polite. He can be described as a realist and a rationalist who
pierces the moral phrases of men that govern states to the actual
motives of policy.”
As
the Secretary to Anambra State Government, those that knew him were
aware of what he would do even as people that expressed surprise on why
so much energy was committed to wooing one man back home looked at him
grudging to prove his mettle. OHO was mettlesome enough, for he started
by re-designing the structure and operations of the Office of the
Secretary to the State Government to become a centre of attrition rather
than attraction. He thus rendered the Office service-oriented in the
best professional way possible. Soon, the staff began commenting on his
obstinate incorruptibility and addiction to principles, which engendered
a veritable epidemic of honesty in that Office. Steadily, everybody
started appreciating him, such that whenever a big task or a Committee
was needed to tackle any issue, the State Executive Council [EXCO] would
be united in saying “Let OHO head it”. Thus, he headed many strategic
Committees and became the Anambra’s Ambassador Plenipotentiary. Who best
did the State have to interface with the likes of Professors Chinua
Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Chukwuemeka Ike, among others?
His
sally into politics under APGA was short-lived. In an evident
conspiracy of the party’s leadership – that he would be even more
meticulous than Obi in the use of public funds – OHO was disqualified on
the absurd ground that he had no APGA Registration Card! He got the
message and laughed over it.
It
is on record that he was one of those who expressed a strong desire to
quit Anambra Government service after the tenure of Mr. Peter Obi, but
was persuaded to stay on by his successor. When things started falling
apart in terms of deviation from real governance, he had to resign. It
is remarkable that the day he was vacating office, civil servants
gathered in great throngs along the path he would drive out from, and
many, according to eye witnesses, wept in bidding him farewell. Some
carried placards stating: “We have lost a saint”.
As
a diplomat, author, poet, arbitrator, counsellor and strategic policy
advisor, Oseloka Obaze rivals the best and has received numerous
commendations and awards. He possesses the unique combination that would
guarantee and attain success in any organization he manages or State he
administers. He has the soul of an artist of the poet’s genre –
organized, sensuous and almost instinctively possessed of good taste
that does not pass moderation to Epicureanism. He is sober and
unostentatious, frugal and industrious, curious and studious, loyal and
patient, with an incredible capacity for details. These are really
welcome antidotes to the recklessness of today.
Of
course, he has his faults like any other mortal. Many years ago, Seneca
wrote: "I persist in praising not the life that I lead, but that which I
ought to lead. I follow it at a mighty distance, crawling". Of which of
us is this not true? But on balance, in the presence of OHO we are
warmed up by the fellowship of a man humane, essentially wholesome, and
complete.
On the home front, he is happily married to a medical Doctor, Dr. Ofunne Omo Obaze and they are blessed with children.
This Is Oseloka Obaze
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Saturday, September 02, 2017
Rating:
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