Daily Trust - the online edition

"The Big Man wants to see you!" That was how the expatriate Senior Assistant Secretary in the Premier’s Office – put it straight to Sunday, with a chuckle and in a whisper almost inaudible. At that time, Sunday was wearing a shirt but without a tie or jacket. "You can’t enter on the big man like that," the officer said, quickly untying his own necktie and handing it over to Sunday. "There, tie this." And he took off his jacket and threw it over Sunday’s shoulders. "There, that’s better."

Sunday was now ready and he gingerly made his way towards the office, wondering what he had done to qualify him to be summoned with such unceremonious abruptness.

He had every reason to wonder, because he was yet to be given any schedule as he had been in suspended animation as it were, since his appointment as an Administrative Officer, and he was yet to be confirmed by the Public Service Commission. The Commission, however, was not keen on appointing him to the position, because the qualification requirement specifically said a degree from any British university or attendance at the Institute of Administration and successfully passing a one-year course of study for potential Administrative Officers. Sunday considered himself qualified because the degree he acquired from Ibadan was in fact a degree of London University.

While the matter of his suitability or otherwise was under consideration, he reported to the Premier’s Office, the home base of all administrative officers. Since he had no formal schedule yet, Sunday busied himself with anything that caught his eyes or imagination. One of such things was a collection of reports from all the provinces for a particular year waiting for someone to deal with. Sunday came to its aid and read the loose document from cover to cover; and after editing it comprehensively, he submitted it to one of the officers. Eventually, the document found its way to the Premier’s desk. The Sardauna, highly impressed with the job, wanted to see the officer who edited it. That was the reason the Big Man wanted to see him.

When Sunday entered, he recalled that he had met the Sardauna in the same office before. The table was still where it had been when he last saw it several years ago. The office was spotlessly clean as it was then and the table top clear, a sign of a serious hard working occupant; and the Big Man, though with his friendly smile, was still intimidating enough.

But as before, he was so gentle and patronising. He commended him and guided him on how to improve on what he had already done by getting appropriate pictures from the Ministry of Information for inclusion in the report; and he directed that he should do the same for all other annual provincial reports for all the previous years, that had not been so processed.

The last time Sunday saw the Premier he was then a student at the Nigerian College, had gone to the Sardauna to solicit for a contribution to the effort by Mopa people to construct a community school. When he made his mission known, the messenger in front of Sardauna’s office simply told him the Sardauna was in and pointed him to an office. He just walked in like that; and the following conversation took place between the Big Man and the visiting student.

"Good morning, Sir," Sunday said, bowing.

"Good Morning. Yes, what can I do for you, young man? the Premier asked.

"Sir, my name is Sunday Awoniyi and I am from Mopa."

"Yes?"

"Sir, I came to ask you to contribute to our community school building project."

The Premier brought out twenty five pounds and handed them to Sunday, who bowed again, thanked him and issued a receipt for the amount and handed it over to the "Big Man". Just as he was about to go out, the Big Man called him back. "Young man, you have just committed an illegal act!" And without any waste of time, Sunday thrust his hand into his pocket, retrieved the Sardauna’s donation and deposited them on the table and wanted to retrieve the receipt, and then the Sardauna asked him to take back the money. He then lectured Sunday on the procedure to be followed before embarking on public collection. He told him that they should apply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kaduna for a permit in Northern Nigeria, and similar licenses from Ibadan and Enugu to cover collections in those two regions.

And here he was in that same office in front of that same Big Man; but the circumstances have all changed. In the first instance, he was a student who had came soliciting for donation; now he was an employee in the same office. Before he was the one impressed by the Sardauna’s simplicity and easy approachability despite all his greatness; now it was the Sardauna’s turn to be impressed by Sunday’s unpretentious brilliance and initiatives. The Premier was aware of the problem surrounding Sunday’s appointment, and glancing this way and that and looking over his shoulders as if to make sure no one was listening, the Sardauna whispered "They don’t like you here, young man. But keep up the good work."

And he kept it up and thus began a relationship based on mutual trust and respect, with the Sardauna taking him under his wings; and Sunday, in turn, giving quality service and devoted loyalty to the great cause for which the Sardauna provided the symbol and practical example of selfless leadership. In this relationship, Sunday acquitted himself very well; and the Sardauna was known to have on many occasions appreciated the solidity and timeliness of Sunday’s counsel. While the Premier lived, Sunday was in his Kitchen cabinet and member of the Sardauna’s inner circle.

Therefore, it was not at all surprising that Sunday took justifiable pride in his Northernness without forgetting or sacrificing his Yoruba identity. At any event, he never saw any contradiction or mutual exclusivity in this double loyalty – a loyalty to tribe that the suspicions of sectional politics had almost rendered sacrilegious and permanent. And despite the competitive acrimony of the type of politics played by the leadership of Nigeria’s major tribal groupings during the last days of colonisation and the First Republic, Sunday said he was never made to feel conscious of his ethnic identity as a disadvantage in the Sardauna-led, Hausa-Fulani dominated North. Nor even was his religious persuasion a hindrance to progress or recognition in the office and in the North of the grandson of Shehu Usman Danfodio.

He was a Northerner and he was Yoruba; Yoruba for him being one of many tribes like Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri and others. It was merely a point of origin and a label for identification and not a ground for superiority or inferiority or the complex that either can give. If there were Yorubas in the Western Region, so were there Hausas in Niger Republic. Accidents of geography should not be ground for tribal conspiracy or ethnic gang-up; rather they should merely give a sense of belonging. And in very practical terms, he had seen how the North had provided him a house and a home. In his attitude to the world he reciprocated by cultivating and exhibiting the best tracts of both worlds – the Yoruba spirit and the ethos of the North.

His abiding faith in the North was not inculcated in him by considerations of geography or by the genetic accident of birth; it was decided for him and indelibly reinforced and etched in his consciousness by considerations of a more practical nature and import – and immediacy.

If in Okene Middle School, he could be said to have been in his immediate environment, his sojourn at Barewa College, Zaria, was farther away from home. Yet it was in Zaria that he, a Christian and a Yorubaman, rose to be a leader in the school, not only in the areas where his intellect and physique had chosen him but in the area of overall strategic leadership to which only a tribally-blind system in search of its own best such as the one in Sardauna’s North could have elevated him.

In today’s North, torn apart by religious-communal strife, in an allusion to the situation of yesteryears, and in order to underscore the fact that today’s growing intolerance on both sides of the divide was not something inherent in the Northern character; Sunday had often recalled that when he was in Barewa College, it was in fact Christians who were the leaders – the prefects, house captains or the head students – and this was accepted by the Muslims majority. If leadership could be accepted then, peaceful coexistence shouldn’t be difficult today.

Sunday was a leader then as he would be a leader later in life. Leadership qualities manifested themselves quite early in his life. Academically, he led his peer because in every examination, he was on many occasions the first in his class – from primary school until he went to university. And he went to the best schools of his time. And in school society overall, he was first among equals because he was the school captain; and even in sports, he led – because in his final year, in addition to being house captain, he was college soccer captain as well

He attended Okene Middle School, the acclaimed best of the Middle Schools, and from there went on to Barewa College, the one and only, and the best of the secondary schools. For his A-Levels, he went to the Nigerian College at Zaria, from where he went to Nigeria’s premier university, the University of Ibadan, which was then a college of the University of London.

In his freshman year at the university, he read history, geography and English literature in preparation, everyone assumed, for an honours degree in any of the three. In those days, the struggle for an honours degree was intense among the students. Sunday did so well in all subjects that each of his three professors definitely wanted him to choose and settle down to do his honours in his subject.

But Sunday surprised everyone – the three deans and fellow students alike. Forever in pursuit of the substance and not the shadow of things, he decided not to do an honours at all. It was not the type or nomenclature of the degree certificate that he was interested in; his interest lay in the content – the quantum of knowledge – that he would imbibe. He was equally interested in all the three subject areas as he was good in all three and would continue with all of them and get the less favoured generalist degree. And that was what he did. But in fact he practically ended up with triple honours; because he could more than stand his ground with any honours degree graduate in any of the three disciplines.

Sunday was a leader in school as he would later be in the world at large. He was endowed by nature with all the traits of leadership; and for the practical leadership that came to him early in life, he was prepared by his innate aptitude and adequately groomed by his training. Thus, he was a leader by nature and by nurture – he always stood out among his equals. But his appeal was cross-generational, because with the younger generation, in whose eyes he stood well, he had an automatic, effortless knack for empathy. While his contemporaries followed him with pleasure, the youths revered him.

An eloquent and inspiring speaker, Sunday could, with carefully chosen words often expressed forcefully but without pretentions, almost at will move whoever he wanted to move. He could do this all the time only because he was scrupulously honest and down-to-earth in whatever he said. He was honest to himself, honest with his listeners and honest with his God; and he always stopped where he should.

Sunday was quick to see how his acceptance and matter-of-fact pre-eminence in the North despite his being from a minority tribe as the litmus test of the famed unity in diversity of the North. And he was even quicker to see how this unconditional acceptance stood in sharp and shameful contrast to the painful travails of his Yoruba kinsmen in the West itself. He never forgot in particular what he saw when he was in the university.

There Sunday met many brilliant students from the Western Region who could not secure Western Region scholarship, because their parents or guardians were members or supporters of the NCNC, the opposition party in the West, against the ruling Action Group, AG. When he thought about his own position, he just shook his head. Later he would ruminate over this very matter again and again. He said as a result he concluded that the large-heartedness and devotion to region by the Northern political leadership was not only unbeatable, it was unmatchable. He and six other students from Mopa got their own Northern Regional scholarships; despite the fact that his uncle had not only just been a member of the AG, but had in fact just defeated the NPC candidate in the 1954 Federal Elections; and virtually the whole area was voting AG.

That was why Sunday served his region and his Premier with exemplary resoluteness and enthusiasm; and this determination paid him back in full, for he rose to the top of whatever he aspired to. From the Sardauna, Sunday took the many qualities that made him great. He took the large-heartedness, the devotion to truth and loyalty to region, the devotion to youths and the workaholic spirit. And like the Sardauna, he was a known stickler for punctuality and for perfection in all he did.

Though towards the closing years of his life, Sunday would go into partisan politics and came to midwife the largest political party in Nigeria and indeed on the African continent, he would be remembered more as the quintessential civil servant. A civil servant he was and, even in memory, a civil a servant he would remain – and be remembered as someone who attempted, unsuccessfully, to import into the political arena the service ethos of focus and purpose. To the end, he remained a tireless exponent of the tenets and values of public service which, in the final analysis, must translate into service to the people.

Throughout his long and illustrious career in the Northern and Federal public services, Sunday was focused; and, despite the great temptations thrown his way, he remained focused and a man of irreproachable integrity. His concern for the people and for the public good never deserted him, and this remained his overriding concern; and until he breathed his last, his prime preoccupation was the promotion of national interest and the preservation of the peace.

A dedicated and efficient officer, Sunday was a bureaucrat of unusual effectiveness and one with a diverse array of accomplishment. His achievements in the area that matter – helping in the formulation and execution of well thought-out policy of lasting impact – were too numerous to mention, but two would always stand out because of their importance.

The two areas where he made his greatest contributions were the very crucial Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. With regards to the former, he introduced far-reaching changes towards achieving greater effectiveness in immigration and prison services. Every achievement made in these two areas owes its existence to the pioneering foresight and vision of Sunday.

With regard to the later, Sunday proposed the creation of an efficient and independent organisation divorced from the bureaucratic grip of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. He was one of the few in the service to have foreseen and predicted the growing importance that oil would take in the control and management of Nigeria’s economy, and to have seen the necessity for doing something about it immediately. He therefore drew up the blue print of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, as a body to recruit, motivate and deploy its staff to promote all aspects of national oil business.

He retired from the public service with honour when he attained the voluntary retirement age of 45 on 30th April 1977, after meritorious achievements. From the civil service he went into politics, where he tried to bring to bear to his participation, the same type of dedication and single-mindedness of purpose that came to distinguish his career. When circumstances beyond his control forced his exit from partisan politics, he did so gracefully and remained a reference point to politicians of all parties and to members of the public at large..

But he never kept quiet. He always spoke out when the circumstances demanded. And any time he spoke, he did so with candour and courage and Nigerians listened. While he shut out politics, he opened up to concern for communal well-being.

For those who came to him with problem or those who just wanted a listening ear, Sunday remained the shoulder to cry on. Even in the most difficult moments, he was the epitome of sympathetic patience who listened well and counselled even better. This was the philosophy behind his leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF.

As Secretary to the Executive Council, Sunday was in charge of the Northern Communications Flight and the release of grains from the strategic grain reserves after approval by the Executive Council. On one occasion, the Minister for Agric telephoned Sunday and told him to release grains from the strategic reserve in Kano to a community affected by flood that was finding it difficult to feed. He told Sunday that he had already discussed the matter with the Premier. When the Premier got his own memo, he returned it to Sunday with a query: "On whose instructions was this Written Opinion issued?" Sunday answered that it was issued on the instructions of the Minister for Agriculture. The Premier summoned the two of them, but at that crucial moment, the minister denied responsibility. From the comportment of both of them, the Premier instinctively knew Sunday was right. The Premier saw Sunday later in his office, burst into laughter and said to Sunday that he knew that the Minister lied. The Premier then gave Sunday a gift and counselled him that no one except him had the powers to direct the issuance of a Written Opinion, which is the name of the memo written to members of a committee or council to signify their approval for a matter that cannot wait till next meeting.

But he was destined to be at the wrong receiving end of his many acts of kindness and sacrifice. Many who had been beneficiaries of his goodness of heart had often turned around to repay him with acts of lowliness and imaginable unkindness. Perhaps of all such incidence, the most pathetic was that of an army officer and war hero who was suspected to have been part of the 15th January 1966 coup; and would almost certainly have been killed in the counter coup of July. He ran to Sunday, and after consultations with General Hassan Katsina and General Yakubu Gowon, the officer was flown out far away from Kaduna to a safe hide out until things returned to normal.

On another occasion, the same officer became the subject of a very damaging petition in 1975, and was about to be dismissed from the Nigerian Army when Sunday again came to the rescue. Yet the same man, who had been saved from the jaws of death and dismissal, stood between Sunday and the chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Sunday’s spirit of forgiveness considerateness were legendary; sometimes even looked almost superhuman. Out of kindness of examples, one particular incident most aptly captured the essence of this spirit. When he was in the primary school, he had an encounter with one of his teachers. What happened was that one of the naughty boys had written some disrespectful graffiti on the blackboard which the teacher found unpalatable. On seeing the writing the teacher asked the class who was the culprit? But none of the students volunteered the required information. The teacher then directed his question specifically to Chief Awoniyi. He told the teacher that he did not know. He repeated the question several times and he still got the same answer over and over again. The teacher became furious and sent two of the boys to ask two pupils to fetch cane for him. After unsuccessful attempt to force Sunday to cave in with verbal threat, the teacher decided to beat the hell out of Sunday to force him disclose the identity of the culprit. Not only did Sunday not yield, he did not even so much as yell, young as he was and did not even shed tears. Probably out of frustration, the teacher collected his books and stormed out of the class even though it was not yet the end of the period.

Much later, Chief Awoniyi while driving in his car saw the same teacher who had become old and looking wretched. He stopped by, greeted him and gave him some money; the man wanted to know who he was, but went away without telling the man who he was.