The Gold fish still shines at 90

Those who believe in the Almighty God as I do, know Him to be just, fair, compassionate and mysterious. Therefore, circumstances which I cannot explain but certainly ordained by the Almighty God, brought me close to Ambassador I.C. Olisemeka during his tour of duty as Ambassador to Israel, his last ambassadorial posting before becoming the […]

Those who believe in the Almighty God as I do, know Him to be just, fair, compassionate and mysterious. Therefore, circumstances which I cannot explain but certainly ordained by the Almighty God, brought me close to Ambassador I.C. Olisemeka during his tour of duty as Ambassador to Israel, his last ambassadorial posting before becoming the Foreign Minister of Nigeria. 

This remarkable senior colleague had served as High Commissioner or Ambassador in Kenya, Spain, United States of America, Canada and Israel in addition to being the Director-General (Permanent Secretary) in the ministry; the first career officer to achieve this feat.

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Ever since our fortuitous coming together, the two of us have not only remained close for almost three decades now; the relationship has grown stronger and stronger to the extent that I am received and treated as a member of his family.

Some ARCAN members humorously refer to us as “siemese twins.” Sometimes I ask myself of what I did to deserve the treatment. He has that confidence in me that he gives me the drafts of his beautifully and stylishly written write-ups in flawless English to read and comment or entrusting me with delicate assignments or entrusting me with huge sums of money or accompanying him to his farm at Gaube. 

In spite of him calling me or introducing me to his visitors as his friend, I have refrained from abusing the privilege. In fact, I drew the line that I must not cross.  

The Ministry, unfortunately, is a place of wild gossips, peddling of unverified jaundiced stories, especially about honest and decent officers who cannot be manipulated to do the biddings of the purveyors of such trash. 

It is a place where characters are needlessly besmirched without even a lazy attempt to verify. Before, I became close to Ambassador Olisemeka, I heard many stories about him but not over his intellect or competence-things like arrogance or not approachable or unfriendly. 

Those who chose to stay far away from him, would believe such churlish stories. Personally, I found him an extremely pleasant person, approachable, hospitable and generous. However, he hates dishonesty, abuse of office, corruption and falsehood. Be sure of your facts before approaching him. In addition, he is fiercely independent-minded. Because of this, he never lobbied for anything. All that he achieved during his long, illustrious and unblemished career, he achieved through dint of hard work and brilliance. Truly, a gold fish is easily recognized and fished out.  

Those who know me well, know that I am also fiercely independent- minded and whatever I say or do, it is out of conviction. I don’t hesitate to rate Ambassador Olisemeka far and above anyone I have come across, not only in the Ministry but outside of it. Patience is also one of his strong attributes. He was unjustly recalled from Washington and punitively posted to NIPPS as Directing  

–Staff instead of becoming the Permanent Secretary. 

It turned out to be of immense benefit to him because his sheer brilliance and the quality of his lectures endeared him to the course participants, some of whom later became the shakers and movers of Nigeria. They are still close to him – General Chris Abutu Garuba, General Halilu Akilu etc. The position of Director General (Permanent Secretary) which was capriciously denied him, he later got it. This is how God works.  

Sir, as you savour this important date in the midst of family and friends, I wish you many more years of celebration, good health and peace in this our immensely resource –blessed and rich country, but terribly managed and blighted. I am profoundly sorry that I am not with you in Ibusa to celebrate this milestone.   

Ambassador Sulaiman Dahiru (OFR) Muradin Deba