Over the years, these individuals, who were once in limelight as public officers, have not been visible. SUNNY Idachaba asks: Where they now?
Nicholas Ugbane
Former lawmaker, Senator Nicholas Ugbane, represented the people of Kogi-east senatorial district in the Senate between 2003 and 2011.
He served for two consecutive tenures. Senator Ugbane, according to records, is one of the political fathers of the state at creation owing to his influence in the days of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) that was the major opposition party in the country then. Sen Ugbane and the late Prince Abubakar Audu were the strong pillars of the party in the state such that the duo were able to capture the state for the party at a time that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power. That was why he was able to ride on the wings of the party to the Senate in 2003. In 2007 however, he crossed over from ANPP to PDP, this was when the fortunes of ANPP began to dwindle at the centre; thereafter, he secured PDP’s ticket for the second time, but failed in his bid to return the third time. While he was in the Senate, both during his first and second missionary journeys, he was very outspoken on many issues in plenary such that the leadership of the upper chamber nominated him into several committees like public account, Niger Delta, aviation, INEC, among others. Although in 2009, his name was mentioned in alleged plan to defraud the federal government to the tune of 10 billion naira, a fund meant for rural electrification.
However, till date, Sen Ugbane has not been found guilty by any competent court, as a proof that those allegations were mere trump up charges, but painfully for him, while his ordeal with the anti graft agencies lasted, the National Assembly where he served his people meritoriously wrongly included his name among senators involved in corruption-related offences on its website. In reaction to this insensitivity, Sen Ugbane through his media aide, Abel Ada Musa, wrote NASS requesting it to update its record by removing Ugbane’s name from the database of senators indicted for corruption. According to him, “Despite the decision of two separate court sittings in Abuja discharging him of allegation bothering on corruption in the two cases and no appeal pending, Sen Ugbane has continued to be an unhappy man. This is because the records and website of the National Assembly where he served as a senator in the 5th and 6th Senate has continued to reflect the pendency of the said cases. We urge the National Assembly and particularly the Senate to update its record and website to reflect the current state of affairs as regards the criminal allegation against him.” For a long while now, this ex-lawmaker has continued to maintain low profile as he shuttles between Egume, his community in Dekina local government area of the state, Lokoja and Abuja, but has not been involved in any serious issue of politics.
Mohammed Abba Gana
Mohammed Abba Gana is the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo between 2001 and 2003. He was the immediate predecessor of Mallam Nasir El Rufai, the minister who spearheaded the restoration of Abuja master plan leading to demolition of several structures contrary to the plan of the city. After Chief Obasanjo dropped him from the cabinet in 2003, his vice, Atiku Abubakar, picked Gana as his personal adviser on civil society matters. He occupied that position for a while, but following the frosty relationship between Atiku and Obasanjo during their second tenure, he was again sacked by Obasanjo, on the ground that the presidency wanted to prune down the number of employees attached to the number two citizen’s office in order to reduce the cost of governance. However, he remained a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after then. It was under this Borno state born politician as FCT minister that a lot of existing edifices in the nation’s capital were erected. Such include the second phase of the Federal Secretariat Complex otherwise known as Bullet building, the second phase of the National Assembly building, Abuja National Stadium, Games Village, opening of new districts, Millennium Park, among others. Analysts say the blueprints for all that El Rufai did were actually drafted by Gana as minister of the territory. Gana, while reflecting on his days as FCT minister and his working relationship with Obasanjo said, “I never had any sour relationship while working with Obasanjo. I actually liked working with him because he gave me all the opportunities and I gave him respect being an elder to me. The reason he remains relevant up till now is that he is intelligent and diligent. He pays attention to details and he reads too. You know that reading improves the soul and cures the mind. During Ramadan, he fasted with us. His government was not all PDP; he brought Bola Ige from Alliance for Democracy (AD) and so many others from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) as ministers, special assistants and chairmen; it was an inclusive government.”
This former minister, who is now almost 78 years old says he spent the bulk of his life time working in the public service. While marking his 73 birthday few years back, he said, “I have been in the public service most of my life. Life in itself is meaningless unless you relate with people because God did not create us to be on our own. It is for us to live together, so do good whenever you can; make peace and avoid bitterness and anger. Know that the world would end and we would be accountable to God.”
There was no record of his defection from the PDP up till now that he appeared to have finally retired, but no one knows what he is doing now especially as he ‘claimed’ in one of his interviews during his 73 birthday that he would ever remain strong on national discourse. This is especially so as his region is about the most insecure in the country.
Sienne Allwell Brown
Sienne Allwell Brown used to rock on the network news of Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in the 80s and early 90s as one of the finest newscasters of her time. Madam Sienne, as she was called, is also a trained lawyer and television presenter. Long after her sojourn in the NTA, she pitched her tent with Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas Company (NLNG) as the general manager, External Communications in the year 2000. At a point in her life, she got married to Razaq Lawal which changed her identity on the NTA to become Sienne Razaq Brown. The marriage, however failed. She later got married to Nim Tariah but it again failed for inexplicable reasons. One remarkable thing about this woman, now in her late 60s, is that in outfit, she is fashionable in every sense of the word. Reputed for not repeating attires twice because of the arrays of different fabrics she wears every time she appears on the screen, she was an inspiration to many fashion designers. Like Ruth Benamaisia Opia, she also made her debut on radio at the then Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Ikoyi, Lagos before being seconded to television. Writing about her, a national daily said, “She took time off for her ‘A’ Levels in 1979 at Kilburn Polytechnic, London followed by a degree in Law from the Middlesex University, London in 1984. She returned to the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Bar in 1985. She is a Justice of Peace and a titled citizen of Grand Bonny Kingdom.”
At a time, she was also the general manager of Rivers State Television during the tenure of Lt. Col. Dauda Komo as military governor of the state. She grew up in Aba, Abia state but originally hails from Rivers state. In 2012, following the retirement of then NTA director general, Magatawa, she was tipped to be the replacement before it was changed. A well-known face up to the mid 90’s, she spent over two decades as a broadcaster before she left. It’s not clear where she is presently.
