These eminent Nigerians were public servants whose records while in office need no introduction, but for posterity sake, they need to be preserved. This is because, long after they exited public office, it’s not certain what they are into presently; writes SUNNY IDACHABA.
Bolanle Onagoruwa
Bolanle Ayodele Onagoruwa was a director-general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the body statutorily charged with the mandate of privatising/and commercialising public quoted companies where the government holds substantial shares. She was in that capacity from March 2010 to August of the same year before her sudden removal for inexplicable reasons.
On assumption of office, she promised a transparent privatisation process that would promote equity, fairness and justice, saying all efforts about privatisation under her watch would be thorough, fair, open and transparent by abiding to regulations and providing level playing fields to all potential investors interested in any of the ailing public enterprises.
A Law graduate from the University of Lagos, she also attended Harvard Business School in 2003 where she obtained Post Graduate Diploma in Politics and International Relations. Prior to the appointment as DG, she had held various managerial positions in the organisation from 2000 as deputy director of legal services and operation and later promoted as director Oil & Gas; director Industry and Manufacturing, director National Parks & Stadia; director, National Facilities and Agricultural Resources and director Electric Power.
In all of these positions, it’s on record that she was diligent in her duties. While in BPE as DG, she continued the implementation of a clear strategy for disposing some of government’s shares in companies that were mostly regarded as problematic and technologically moribund.
She was on the path towards transparency, especially with the privatisation of the power sector and Manitoba when her sacking was suddenly announced.
A commentator, Chuks Egwim, said, “The sacking of the director general of BPE is nothing new. since the privatisation agency was set up in 1999, only Ms. Irene Chigbue was allowed to complete a four-year term. All the others suffered a short lived tenure, including Nasir el-Rufai.”
On his part, former chairman Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi, shocked by her removal, said, “In spite of the glitches it will create in the electricity privatisation programme, there is no stopping the sector reforms. There is no going back with the power reforms and Mr. President should have the courage to continue with the process. We at NERC will continue to ensure that the integrity of the market is protected for the success of the privatisation.”
Her exit did not come as a surprise in view of the noticeable strained relationship between her and former vice president Namadi Sambo, who is the chairman, National Council on Privatisation (NCP), a body that supervises BPE. After her removal, she took up appointment at the Federal Capital Territory Administration as Secretary, Social Development and Education and Special Assistant to the President between June 2004 and July 2007. While there, she initiated and completed the drafting of the education plan for the FCT. That’s not all; she initiated a strong data sourcing drive and the established Education Management Information System (EMIS) for education in FCT and the establishment of an international standard orphanage in Jabi, Abuja.
For a long while now, it’s not clear where this woman could be.
Adetokunbo Kayode
Adetokunbo Kayode, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), came to prominence under the former regime of President Umaru Musa Yar Adua as minister of culture and tourism. A former member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before he dumped the party, he was one of the leaders of the party in his home state of Ondo.
Under former President Jonathan, he was appointed, first as the Attorney General and later as minister of defence, a position he occupied till 2015. That was his last public appointment and by extension appearance to date; however, long before his exit from the PDP, he was involved in intra-party crisis in his state and because of the role he was said to have played against protecting the interests of party members when Labour Party (LP) under Olusegun Mimiko held sway in the state, this former minister was suspended.
While delivering a keynote address during the International Federation of Women Lawyers in Akure in 2015, Kayode announced to his audience an end to his participation in politics when he said, “I will continue to stand, not for any political office. I don’t have the stomach for that, not any more. But even as I change my political platform, a move which is already in process, I will continue to concentrate on my law practice and business and do projects that will help the public, women and children.”
Since then, nothing has been heard about him again.
Virginia Etiaba
At a time when no one thought this Anambra state-born trained-teacher who was the deputy to Peter Obi as governor of the state would come to reckoning, providence dropped the opportunity in her hands such that she became the first female from the South-east extraction to have occupied the position of a governor in Nigeria for, at least, three months. Following the impeachment of then Governor Peter Obi by the state assembly over some allegations, Etiaba became the next person in line, but reports indicated that she initially declined the offer, but had to accept it because it was a constitutional matter.
However, all through the period Obi was out of office, she referred to him as her boss, therefore when the Court of Appeal nullified Obi’s purported impeachment, he returned to office and that was how Etiaba resigned from office in 2007.
Since then, this woman who is now over 80 years old is said to have returned to her first love, which is teaching. Reports indicated that she ran a private educational centre in Nnewi, her home state, but since then, not much has been heard about her again.
