OTUNBA GBENGA 'DANIEL-IN-THE-LION'S DEN' AND HIS FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF OGUN STATE HISTORY

A dead hero, they say, does not live to tell any stories; but 'he who fights and runs away, lives to [come back and] fight another day.' It is t h e r e f o r e n o t a n y overstatement or earth- shaking news, to tell anyone who cares to listen today that for former Governor of Ogun state, producer of some of Nigeria's greatest sons and daughters, is right to proclaim that “Out of public office once does not mean out politics and public life forever, no!”

He confesses in the acknowledgement to his revealing, new book, his memoirs entitled Daniel in the Lion's Den, that his wife and children to who the volume is partly dedicated, were the ones who vicariously egged him on into “daring to get into the murky waters of politics, in spite of their disavowal of my mission.”

Truly, detribalized Nigerian nationalist and sociable, grassroots politician par excellence with friends and associates across the states of the Federation, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, OGD for short, as he is fondly called by family, close friends and political fans as well fellow Scorpios, life.




After all, he was born only in 1956, into the family of the Most Reverend Adebola Daniel of Makun, Sagamu [who ensured the reign of discipline and orderliness in his homestead] and Madam Olaitan Daniel of Omu-Ijebu, Ogun State [through whom OGD was revealed to the world].

He went to the famous Baptist Boys' High School (BBHS) in Abeokuta [under the rock], which has produced a gag of other political and social lions from Ogun state with global reputations, among them former President Obasanjo, Professor Wole Soyinka, to name just a couple. Then he moved on to the equally famous Polytechnic, Ibadan (The Polytechnic!) where he wrote the 'A' Levels before proceeding to the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Lagos (Great Akokite!) where he won many scholarship awards, thereby revealing his academic excel lence traits and intellectual inclination, which were already adumbrated somewhat back in Abeokuta Baptist Boys High School.



While in BBHS the young Daniel had represented the famous school in Inter- School debates and Quiz Competition s, an activity which made him highly popular among his contemporaries.

The distinguished Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and of the prestigious Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Otunba Daniel cut his teeth, professional ly speaking, wi th the Metal Construction (West Africa) Limited before moving on to work at the H.F. Schroeder West Africa Limited in Lagos, rising to the position of Deputy Managing Director (DMD), the first African to sit at that desk in the history of the firm. He later set up his own vertical transportation, power generation and structural engineering business named Krestal Laurel, today a household business name which is blazing the trail in a world normal the preserve of foreign corporate octopuses.

A man of many parts, OGD is a recipient of several distinguished awards among them being listed among 100 Most Successful Nigerian Businessmen by the Concord newspapers, 1993, African Leadership Prize for Best Performed Governor in 2003, American Biographical Institute Incorporated Man of the Year 2004, National Post Graduate Medical College of Nigeria Honourary Fellowship 2004, Institute of Corporate Directors, Nigeria's Corporate Governance Award 2005, Zik Leadership Award 2006 and the African Business Leadership Consortium, London's 2010 African Star Excellency Award.

Man of culture and family head with all the implications for responsibility, Otunba Daniel is married to Yeye Olufunke Daniel and they are blessed with five children. Holder of over fifty traditional titles from across the Federation, including Fesojoye of Ile-Ife, Aare Ajagunmolu of Ejila Aworiland, Oganla of Yewaland Adimula of Ketuland, Olunla of Egbaland, Arole of Remoland, etc…

The man of culture whose feet are rooted in his origins despite the education and massive exposure he has experienced stated as far back as, had declared that igerians had stopped being their brothers' and sisters'' keepers, and that, that was why incessant civil unrest had become the regular fare in the polity.

He had since then begun to advocate the revival of our cultures and traditional values, which should enhance unity and the development of the country.

He left the corporate world on sabbatical and made spent make a foray into the rough'n tumble world of Nigeria's murky politics, making it to Government House Abeokuta where spent two terms from 2003 to 2011. In that time despite many major distractions, he brought “positive innovation coupled with productive, dynamic programmes, couple with economic empowerment policies and projects” which still recommend him for future leadership positions at any level.

His footprints in the sands of Ogun state's historical time are today attested to, even in writing for posterity, by many including his Media managers, the academia, and civil society groups, members of a usually very critical fraternity, among them: Kayode Oyesiku, a professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye and an expert in development.

Governors in Nigeria and elsewhere with a smoother ride in terms of reduced distractions and all that, have been known to still underperform, so you can only better appreciate the feat of the subject of our discussion, if you are taken through just a few of the many headaches of former Governor Daniel while in office, all captured in various documents by different witnesses, such as Adegbenro Adebanjo, 2008 [Acts of Daniel 1 and 2011 Acts of Daniel 2], Nurudeen Alliyu (Governance and subversion: Passages in the life of Ogun state Government 2008-2011 [Gratias Associates 2011].

Some may consider the parodied biblical title of the Gbenga Daniel Memoirs as an exaggeration. Yet, a look at some of the very many travails of the then Governor, who had come into Government House Abeokuta in a hail of glory as a 'messiah' of sorts, before the initial 'honey-moon' suddenly ended, and before you could say Otunba, things began to happen so fast that every Ogun state watcher got dizzy…

These are some of the episodes captured by Prof. Oyesiku (Ed.) and his co-contributors in the volume of essays entitled Governance and the Vulnerables [Olabisi Onabanjo Press].

One of the most celebrated of such, for instance, the land and related matters 'scandal,' which led to the (in) famous Amosun Truth Commission, tagged Tragi-Comedy Unlimited, was recently debunked when the court stated that the matter had been adequately disposed of. As a report by the Governor states in part, “everyone who sought a rebate got same” and the former governor says he stands to be corrected and awaits any counter-evidence.” and that the claim by a witness in the EFCC case which remains an irritant in the sabbatical from politics of the former governor, that his (the witness's), life was a hoax, even as other aspects of the pending matter will




be up for mention again November 9… Otunba Daniel's Memoirs, most aptly entitled Daniel in the Lion's Den, comes at a time most auspicious, and arrives on the heels of the explication by another equally controversial but perhaps similarly grossly misunderstood former Governor, Chief Mbadinuju, to whom many of his people have since tender public apology, can only assuage

frayed nerves in critical quarters and clear the air on a number of thorny issues hitherto shrouded in mystery.

Not one to forget his associates, past and present, Otunba Daniel reminisces about the people he

thanks profusely in his acknowledgement to the new book: “I wish to thank Akinyemi Onigbinde, my restless and impatient Editorial Consultant, who would rather see in me one of his students who has to meet extant deadlines for submission of assigned essays, rather than a busy Chief Executive in government administration who had to manage to squeeze time out for writing even in the context of the urgency of state matters within limited time frame.

“I appreciate Samson Dare, English Language teacher at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago- Iwoye, for making readable prose out of my lifeless engineering syntax and semantics. I equally appreciate the efforts of Lawumi Ilori and Marian Adekoye, two hardworking ladies who

worked the keyboard, especially for being able to cope with my scrawl … which sometimes may be unreadable.

“Most importantly, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), Nigeria's former Head of State who dutifully and with a sincerity of purpose midwife the Fourth Republic, for writing the foreword.

“While suggestions on issues and perspectives have come from different sources and have enriched the outcome, and for which everyone involved necessarily shares in its successful completion, I alone must bear the responsibility for the errors, that may be identified.”

We are sure at Kakaaki Magazine that the last has not yet been heard of this son of Makun Sagamu,

who has done so much for his people.