By Bimbo “Congressman” Daramola
Our mortality humbles me.
One of the reasons why I personally do not hold life with so much of seriousness is the reality of our mortality as humans, this moment you are here, and the next you are gone.
Life has been described variously, some say it is like the chaff, that disappears when the wind blows, some say its like the dew or vapour and that disappears within a short while.
Oh some say life is a stage, and we are actors, and in all stages, the curtains will always fall after all performances.
No wonder why the Yorubas say, “e so fun alaso igbalode ko sora” i.e tell the one wearing the trendy fashion statement to be circumspect!
To further butress and a constant reminder of our limits and limitations as humans, again, I go into the deep vortex of Yoruba saying that amplifies this with the statement of ” iku a pa eni ta npe, iku a pa eni to npe ni” meaning death will take away the one who calls just as well as the one who is being called”, death is a leveller, its icy cold hands will wrap around every one someday, no wonder its called the grim reaper, whose vice grip no one can escape!
The reality is that we won’t be here forever, someday, somehow, we all have that appointment to keep.
On that day, when we keep that date, who we are, is or was, that powerful office, position, all that ephemeral and momentary power drunk driven, inspired and influenced “gra gra”, all that “you dont know who i am” mentality will not matter, what we will have would be our works which will exist only in memories.
When that call is made, that fat bank accounts or all that material acquisitions [sometimes looted, depriving others fair access to a better life] will not make sense, and what will be left will be the memories of our momentss on the stage called life.
I am attuned and aligned with these reality and these facts, and has become the quotient that compellingly moderates me, my choices and my life, incidentally I learnt this fact early and one of the persons who kind of reinforced my simplicity choices is General Mohammed Abdullahi, who only just departed to meet his maker.
I met General Mohammed Abdullahi late in 1999 with the return of democracy and the election of the then General Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Obasanjo as the civilian President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Soon after the election, before inauguration, the President- elect was in the “holding room” called the Defence House in Maitama, Abuja.
Here was the power house, where the latest men of power and powerful men from accross Nigeria converge to discuss the shape and form of the soon to be formed and incoming administration.
Your access was your well known identity, acceptance and warm reception by the “King and his most important palace courtiers”.
This was where I first saw him fleetingly, and the only way you could identify him was his preferred appearance in his all white quality but simple white material with the white Hausa cap and the matching white very classic slippers.
From these first moments all through the Eight years of President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR, I never saw him wear any other colour of dress or shoe !
Even when the then President had sporting event and he had to show up, his track suit was in sparking white just as his regular day to day all white ensemble for those eight years.
It was after my approval as the video biographer of the President that I got to know him more, by this time he had been appointed as the Chief of Staff to the President.
I was later to know that he was a retired soldier, a General,I think they said he was one of the “five majors”, I am not so sure now, he is of Ilorin extraction.
General Mohammed Abdullahi was like a mystery man all through his years as the Chief of Staff for Eight years of President Olusegun Obasanjo, this perception was reinforced by many things, first was the appearance, as earlier said forever to be in all white.
Secondly, you rarely see him, he was one of the hands behind the cradle alongside General Aliu Gusau the NSA both of them were high up in the world intelligence circuits, I later learnt, both were extremely powerful individuals, both of them were the super humans behind the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR.
Thirdly, You rarely see General Abdullahi, except in the long walk way when he is going to see the President or coming from the office, or occasionally, to see Vice President Atiku Abubakar and that’s not so often, I saw him a few times there.
Fourthly, he rarely talks or attends all those State dinners or political events, I cannot recall seeing him in those Eight years at such parties or political events, the few times I did were when foreign Presidents came visiting and not everyone, maybe when President Bill Clinton visited.
Political events was a NO NO for him.
For some reason by reason of my duties as a man saddled with the responsibility of putting together an internationally rated documentary of the President, i had to interphase with the office for a number of things, mostly to get temporary access for my crew who did not have permanent accreditation by Villa.
So in the course of getting approvals from the offices between COS, SCOP [Ambassador Coker] and DCOS [Ambassador Esan], and Dr.Gbolade Osinowo, of blessed memory [then S.A Political to the President] I had the rare opportunities of bumping into the “mystery man” who had become like a father after a while on the account of what he described as my seriousness with my job, particularly when I got important personalities to feature in the documentary like President Nelson Rohilala Mandela, the Madiba, United States Former Secretary of Defence, Robert McNamara, Former Chancellor of Germany, Helmut Schdmit all friends of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
When I pulled off all these international personalities by the grace of God in the documentary, they knew “i was not playing” and all of them started taking me serious.
And this was what endeared me to the “mystery man” as he would later said, when an incident that almost ruptured my relationship happened!
So that year, i cannot remember exactly, but I guess it was 2001 or 2002, it was his birthday, and because he had been good to me and supportive of my work, with facilitations and access to many important people within and without, very senior functionaries of government etc
To appreciate this vantage positioning that his support had given me and my duty, I decided to celebrate him, I got a good card, I think a few super quality brocades such as in had seen him wear, and cake 🎂, as birthday gifts to mark tha day, and also placed a full page advert in the reigning newspaper at the time, we did not have heavy social media influence and presence in our lives then.
About 10a.m of that day i got a call from someone from his office informing me that Chief of Staff wanted to see me !
In my mind I sensed he had only just seen the advert, because he was such a diligent man, who was so hands on and worked like a young man, always holed up in his office, came in early and rarely leaves until late sometimes, he had a very pretty dutiful and warm secretary that we call Auntie Maureen then.
Anyway, the tone of the caller did not betray too much of what was to happen, but I was a bit worried, again this is not unusual with me, I placed congratulatory birthday adverts for
a number of Persons on their birthdays 🎂 from the President himself to the ADC[ Uncle Solo], I was not very close to Uncle Kayode the CSO, for some queer reasons, the Vice President, Dr Gbolade Osinowo and a few others who had taken me as a brother or Son in the course of my job.
I quickly rushed to the Villa with the other things that I wanted to take to his office.
As soon as I got in, I was ushered to a sit for a bit and a few moments later, he opened the door from inside and the Secretary waved me in.
The moment I got through the door, this time i knew something was wrong, his visage was not the man i used to know, that very white dentition and toothpaste smile against his very dark complexion was not there, and he barely grunted when I said Goodmorning Daddy and Happy Birthday.
Then he said what’s this pointing 👉 to the opened Thisday newspaper of that day, the page where my advert wishing him Happy Birthday was! I froze .
If there is anyone you wanted to offend back then in the villa, you had better be sure that the person is not the “mystery man” the all powerful Chief of Staff, General Mohammed Abdullahi.
From the grapevine and villa gist, we learnt he was one of the few that could tell the President anything and the President, a very strong and tough character will accept without changing it, we learnt this was because of the implicit confidence in his capacity, capabilities, his professional background and more importantly the twin virtues of his loyalty and incorruptible nature marinated in his very simple if not austere and spartan outlook to life, aside his Rolex wrist watch known to those who know, he could also pass as another regular person.
Frozen like a Statute before him, I did not have an answer to the question from him, in a minute I was lost, I was wondering if he did not like the picture, because the picture I used was cropped from another a picture with the President.
Only few people can boast of having General Abdullahi’s pictures as Chief of Staff, someone that you rarely see?
Even the picture used here was one of his very old pictures that I had to dig up!
Cut long story short, he said sternly, ” I don’t like this! I am not a Politician” and I am here at the behest of the President and just want to do my job not to be on the pages of newspapers” !
I went down gently and prostrated, begged him, I said i just wanted to celebrate him in my little way for all the fatherly support and expressions toward me.
He said ” you dont know me so much, I am not that kind of person, I appreciate that you did, but this is not my kind of life..”and almost immediately his countenance lightened, and I could not talk bout the other gifts, I managed to say I have a card and cake, he said that will be enough..and thanked me warmly as he shook my hands.
He stood up and escorted me to the door and acknowledged the cake, card and the gift that the Secretary said i brought.
That was what thawed the ice . I felt bad that I was not given an inkling of what was to happen, well maybe the people in his office did not also think it would be an issue.
Thereafter I kind of started avoiding him, a few times that I bumped into him, he would say in that Ilorin accent that he had not seen me in a while.
I cannot forget when there a gang up against me and some people wanted to frustrate the public Premier of the documentary, that was eventually attended by anybody that’s somebody in Nigeria in 2002, as one of the democracy day events, it was General Mohammed Abdullahi who was on my side, got me that day and of course with the President and Vice, Senate President all in attendance physically. I will forever be grateful Sir
The story of how he escorted President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR to the official residence of Vice President Atiku Abubakar GCON on a Sunday evening in the run up to the 2023 PDP Presidential primaries will be story for another day. I was there.
When I heard of the death of this very warm and diligent man, i had flurry of images and thoughts about the “mystery man” from my early encounters with him, that of a super powerful Nigerian with very respectable identity, who in spite of his place and personality in the power vortex, opted for a modest life defined by moderation,and a perfect example of simplicity on legs.
General Mohammed Abdullahi lived such a simple life, at a point he was being accused of, if not guilty of not allowing his first son to throw the influence of his father around, his first son, i think Shittu is his name was as reserved and almost replicating the quiet life that his father lived.
The public service records of General Mohammed Abdullahi never got stained or dented by any misconduct of malfeasance or travesty in any form, not one given to flaunting his identity and vast and rich network.
When his term ended as Chief of Staff to the President, he retreated to private life, hardly seen or heard from and about, no public appearances, no newspaper interviews, he maintained such a stoic dignified personality and a patriot till the end.
A man whose life commends to us moderation, modesty, humility and uncommon simplicity even when holding the reins of power.
May the gentle soul of this uncommon man of power rest in peace.
My condolences to the immediate and extended families and the good people of Ilorin emirate.
Aljannah firdaus, the “mystery man…”
Bimbo Daramola represented Oye/Ikole federal constituency of Ekiti State in the House of Representatives between 2011 and 2015. He was thereafter Chief of Staff to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives
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