One thing these three personalities have in common is that they were once cabinet members in President Olusegun Obasanjo administration. They have been off the public space hence ELEOJO IDACHABA asks where are they now?
Professor Eyitayo Lambo
Professor Eyitayo Lambo, a trained health economist, was the minister of health under former President Olusegun Obasanjo from 2003 to 2007 when the life of that administration came to an end.
Prof Lambo, before his appointment as minister, had served as the regional adviser for health sector reforms, health care financing and health in socio-economic development in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) regional office for Africa from 1990 to 1999. He was the first economist to be employed in that capacity.
While serving in that capacity, he introduced health economics into the works of WHO in Africa and strengthened capacity in health economics in the WHO Regional Office for Africa before he went into voluntary retirement in 1999.
Lambo is credited as one of the few politically-neutral technocrats who serve under the President Obasanjo-led administration. He had a strong focus on long-term health sector reforms and good governance.
He is credited with having developed and implemented the first health sector reform programme for the country.
Also under him, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was launched after being on the drawing board for 40 years. Many health policies and legislations were also formulated during his tenure, including the National Health Bill.
Other associated with him as minister of health include the National Blood Transfusion Service and the refurbishing of the various teaching hospitals across the country.
The former minister had maintained that he was able to achieve the mile stones because of transparency and clear vision for the sector, which was shared by President Obasanjo and other critical stakeholders in the sector at the time.
Speaking on the state of NHIS in a media interview, Lambo said: “When I came on board in 2003, I wrote a 13-point agenda and NHIS was No 1 on my list that I presented to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He gave me full support and we launched the NHIS on June 6, 2005. That was my happiest day as minister.
“President Obasanjo was in attendance and in my speech, I told the people that considering my experience and calculation, all things being equal, we would get to the Promised Land where there would be universal health coverage by 2015, but the former president disagreed with me; rather, he insisted that by 2015, there would be universal health coverage.
“Before we handed over in 2007, we got some levels of coverage of about seven percent, but 12 years after, the country is below five per cent coverage. Having birthed that baby, I feel very sad today because I know what to do to implement the NHIS, but when you do things and it is not built upon, it makes you really sad.”
Not much, however, has been heard of him in a while especially as the country battles with myriads of problems in the healthcare sector.
Franklyn Ogbuewu
Franklyn Nchita Ogbuewu popularly known as Frank Ogbuewu was the minister of culture and tourism under President Obasanjo from 2003 to 2006 when he resigned to contest elective post and was succeeded by Femi Fani Kayode.
Prior to his appointment as minister he was Nigeria’s Ambassador to Greece as well as a one-time chairman of his Ikwo local government council in Ebonyi state in the early 90s.
Ogbuewu, a retiree of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), is on record as the longest serving minister of culture and tourism till date.
On leaving office as minister, he tried severally to be the governor of Ebonyi on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, he was unsuccessful.
The former minister, who is said to have been among top politicians who rallied behind Sam Egwu when he contested the governorship of the state in 1999 on the platform of the PDP, had a falling out with the party following his inability to succeed Egwu.
The Ebonyi chapter of the PDP eventual suspended him and he moved to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with the hope of actualising the dream. Though he got the governorship ticket of the party he still could not make it in the governorship election.
In recent times, he has not been seen in public gatherings.
Binta Ibrahim Musa
Hajiya Binta Ibrahim Musa is the former minister of state for education under President Obasanjo. She served under Fabian Osuji.
Her nomination as minister had received endorsement fro, different quarters including indigenes of Borno and Yobe states based in Kaduna. The group in a letter to the Clerk of the Senate by the president of the community, Muhammad B. Ibrahim (Danmasanin Biu), had expressed their support for her nomination. They expressed optimism that she would represent the zone well.
On assumption of office as junior minister, she pursued her passion for repositioning the teaching profession, insisting that adequate and quality teachers’ training and development was crucial to Nigeria’s education development.
In 2014 she was in news following a narrow escape from an early morning inferno that engulfed her residence in the Garki area of Abuja. However, eight of her family members were not that lucky as they were killed in fire.
She was said to have sustained injury during the incident and was rushed to a hospital within the city for treatment while the deceased were buried in Abuja.
This former minister has since then not been heard of.
