By: MLS. Ibraheem Olasunkanmi Qoseem
A friend of mine, who is a loyal viewer of my WhatsApp status updates, recently reached out with a tinge of sarcasm: “What capacity does Oga Olohungbebe possess that warrants all these constant celebrations?” Of course, I immediately understood where this line of questioning was coming from.
He must have mistaken me for one of those “data boys” who praise-sing leaders for crumbs, glorifying mediocrity and false greatness. A sycophant, in short. How flattering!
Rather than react, I chose the noble route, I engaged him, patiently walking him through the extraordinary journey of a man who defines endless possibilities.
A man whose passion for genuine service is not the kind wrapped in propaganda and deceit, but the rare, raw kind that leaves trails of impact.
I had to point out to him, of course, that spotting a problem is one thing; solving it is another. And sustainable solutions? That’s an even rarer feat, one that defines our altruistic leader.
And because sometimes talk alone won’t do, I decided to suffocate him-lovingl- with evidence.
I even went the extra mile to check the timeline of this responsible man by all obtainable credentials, to evidently prove his impactful strides when he was serving in the Community Development Department at KWASU.
Oga wasn’t just sitting in an office. He went into communities. He lived the mantra of “University for Community Development.” His hands are everywhere around Malete and beyond, talk of boreholes, learning centers, rural projects. He did not build monuments to himself; he built monuments of service to the people.
While he was already letting down his guard to the admirability of our numero uno, I told him how, as the Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara State Government on Rural Development, Oga Olohungbebe did not only execute projects, but also he changed mindsets.
For once, communities stopped seeing government interventions as distant favours and embraced them as joint efforts.
He turned the narrative from “the government did it for us” to “we did it with the government.” And guess what? When people own a project, they protect it. They sustain it. They defend it. That is sustainable development. That is leadership. That’s Olohungbebe.
Now, only a few days into his appointment as Commissioner for Education in the Ministry of Education, he has swung fully into action, unlike the typical photo-op commissioners who relish ceremonies and endless inspection tours, or sit in big chairs issuing empty memos.
He is in the field, working. He is actually committed to sustaining the projects he met, while pouring his infectious energy into birthing new ones.
Isn’t that worthy of celebration?
Yes, it is. It absolutely is.
Oga isn’t a billionaire that people would think bribes his way around with wads of notes. He doesn’t need to. His currency is influence. His asset is impact. His treasure is genuine goodwill.
And that, dear doubters, is what true capacity looks like when it enters a room.
Someone like him deserves to be celebrated, even though he finds it unnecessary, but we owe him that much: to motivate him to do more, and to challenge mediocres in the helm of affairs to either sit up or step aside. While we also remind the populace that not all leaders are failures, as his case clearly shows.
Indeed, Dr. Olohungbebe is not an attention seeker. He lives action.
Ibraheem Olasunkanmi Qoseem is a medical laboratory scientist, writes from Malete, Kwara State.