By Louis Odion, FNGE
The rapid footfalls on the staircase were eerily amplified by the pervading silence of that ungodly hour. Wiping sleep from my eyes instantly, I then could perceive the urgency in his now audible voice near my bedroom door.
“Louis, we just lost Olaitan!,” screamed Chief Oseni Elamah as soon as I opend the door. “They shot him at close range at home.”
“What?!!!” I yelled back in disbelief, trailing him as he paced back downstairs to his study which door was ajar.
The desk was yoked with a mountain of files awaiting scrutiny, the Plasma TV on the wall humming softly.
There we now stood in grieving shock on May 4, 2012, but still trying to imagine we were dreaming, hoping to be awakened from a nightmare.
Time was roughly 2AM.
What made the moment all the more chilling, more ghoulish was the haunting memory of one’s encounter with Olaitan Oyerinde (also a top functionary of Edo State Government) just some moments ago – fraternal banters over what would now appear the Last Supper; and one’s own near-death experience barely five days earlier.
It was the season of political peril, treachery and dark conspiracies in Edo State.
Earlier on April 29, providence had led me to pass the night at the residence of a fellow commissioner, Clem Agba, and so was absent when the gunmen stormed my private Benin residence at 2.30AM. They only fled after gun battle with the gallant vigilante boys who came to my folks’ rescue.
So, I was supposed to be in “protective custody” in Elamah’s GRA home when this tragic news of a colleague’s killing broke. From emerging facts, it is quite debatable if Olaitan’s brutal murder could not have been avoided. Critical intelligence was not shared. It is a story for another day. More insights will be offered in snippets from my soon-to-be-unveiled Edo memoirs.
Well, today is about the celebration of life. In recalling how the news of Olaitan’s passing reached me, I only wanted to draw attention to the often grueling routine less acknowledged actors like Elamah kept to change the Edo story at some point. Through creativity, courage and uncompromising stance, he, as the Chairman of the Edo State Inland Revenue Service, inspired the team that drove Edo’s IGR (internally generated revenue) from paltry N300m to N2b at some point. With Godwin Obaseki as the chairman of the Economic Team.
Elamah’s work ethic is quite exemplary. Then, he was always at his desk by 8AM and would be the last to leave the office. Even then, at home, he would treat files, forever concerned about fresh ideas to pursue to further boost the state’s revenue.
Such sterling qualities must have impressed the reverred Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa, to later decorate Elamah, an Auchi indigene, the Okaoivbiore of Bini Kingdom.
His outstanding record in Edo obviously led to his being head-hunted later in 2017 to serve as Executive Secretary of the Federal Revenue Service in Abuja headed by Tunde Fowler.
Indeed, shortly before my Edo odyssey, my big brother and media icon, the durable Nduka Irabor, had made some comments that turned out prophetic. Having himself left the newsroom to serve the Ika Federal Constituency at the House of Reps between 1999 and 2003, he counseled that I would likely find the new environment very strange as against the values of candour, self-criticism and forthrightness of the newsroom, jovially hinting that I would certainly encounter swines, ugly monkeys, serpents and rats, but reassuring: “I’m sure you’ll also find a few decent ones like Oseni Elamah. With people like Oseni around you, you’ll never feel lonely there.”
True, after the trauma of April 29, Elamah proved more than a true brother for the remaining period I was in Benin. I attest to his generosity not only in material terms, but also in spirit. Despite wide age gap, he has remained a loyal friend also.
The Okaoivbiore of Bini Kingdom turns 60 on Sunday (March 24), incidentally a day ahead of my own. Here is wishing the fellow Arian happy birthday in advance!