Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, CFR. We know him; they know him. He is the People’s Obarisi. A tall good man with tall legacies in his prime. A leader owed a permanent debt of gratitude by multitudes. He is a profoundly good man. He openly acknowledges his humble and rustic rural beginnings. He derives the greatest joy from lifting ordinary people up.
Ovie Omo-Agege is a human like us all and therefore not perfect. By grace, he is always intentionally miles ahead in knowledge-based modern transformational leadership philosophy. His leadership thoughts and strengths are admired, envied and feared at the same time. Such is often the lot of great men, and so nothing new.
Omo-Agege’s deep love for people, especially the weak, shows his character. His broad knowledge and experience extend his horizon. He has effective public governance convictions and a fearless spirit. His rich grassroots political engineering capabilities define his exemplary capacity. He always raises the bar in the politics of development. For this, he is loved by multitudes.
Ironically, for some, his greatest sins also stem from his rich leadership strengths. His amazingly kind spirit and his people’s overwhelming appreciation follow. These qualities positively impact their lives and transform society. Somehow, his fiercest traducers are the ones he has lifted highest with so much love.
One is reminded here about a leader who, in 2019, literally swore and cursed. He claimed that the Obarisi does not deserve to become the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate. He insisted it would “never ever” happen. It was an “over my dead body” moment. Yet, a few days later, the Obarisi was seamlessly elected to that exalted office. He ate the humble pie of his bitter curses and irritating hate. However, he still refused to fully drop his crown of envy. This envy was against a man whose love for him is genuine, pure and plain. That’s life. God lifts people up. He also allows people who are not part of His agenda to do whatever they can. They try to challenge His almighty authority. He allows such prove Himself faithful and all-powerful, as it was with Pharaoh in Egypt.
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is undeniably good to virtually all – his friends, supporters, loyalists and traducers alike. His resources are naturally limited but his capacity to do good is unlimited. He will never willfully abandon his own suffer if he has the means for succor.
Obarisi is a leader who is sometimes even kinder to his enemies than his friends and allies. Herein lies a great myth about his excessively gracious personality and generous spirit. Concrete evidence shows his benevolent embrace. He has shown kindness to many who have caused him personal pains. Except those blinded by insidious hate of an evil dimension, there is no enemy whom Obarisi cannot respectfully reconcile with. He embraces them with a godly heart. This speaks to how he builds and maintains willing coalitions and engineers the grassroots in politics.
Ovie Omo-Agege’s exemplary leadership personality appears rooted in his sacramental life as a young Catholic altar boy. This path was leading him to priesthood. However, his family’s shining law legacy came calling with an irresistible force. But then, he remained committed to his Catholic faith. He chose to serve his God as a Christian quietly. He wanted to please Him alone, not men. Today he is a Catholic Knight in the Order of Saint John International. He had to yield to this call after humbly declining it for decades. He preferred serving God quietly. But then ‘noise’ is not altogether bad in faithful service of God. The miracle of the fall of the Walls of Jericho teaches us an important lesson. It shows that the ‘Shouting Side is the Winning Side’. They demonstrate that a bold proclamation can lead to victory.
Truly, not many of his true friends and ardent supporters appreciate the myth of a leader. He is often genuinely loving and supports his fiercest enemies and critics to fly and excel. This is the way Omo-Agege does. This is why it is often easy to discredit premeditated hate towards him. Undue malice leads some to lay false accusations against him. Accusations never succeed where there is fair hearing. If Omo-Agege were to open his mouth about every single allegation, many would be shocked. People would be surprised by what he has had to endure with amazing graciousness. Not many would bear a tiny fraction of the burdens he carries so calmly.
Omo-Agege’s calm spirit even in times of conflict and extreme provocations is a myth. This myth seems to match the sad reality in our politics. There are indeed no written rules that guarantee honour, loyalty, good conscience, and godliness. In life generally, and in politics in particular, being good or bad is a matter of personal choice. Some enemies of yesterday sometimes become the most dependable allies of today and vice versa. Shakespeare wrote in ‘Macbeth’ that Duncan misjudged the old Thane of Cawdor. He stated, “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.” Some angelic faces execute missions. These missions are reserved for only satanic minds. They do so with glee and joy. But even such does not impact Omo-Agege’s political philosophy. His philosophy is a product of diverse experiences. Some experiences are good, and some are bad. A mix that has imbued him with infinite shock absorbers.
We cannot blame a leader who rises above the ease of living a life of hate. Such a leader chooses to promote healthy, genuine brotherliness and tolerance. These qualities are meant to make society better for all. Omo-Agege is not naive. He is aware of Machiavellian politics, where acts of princely graciousness to the undeserving are sometimes repaid with extreme dishonour. Politics includes a mix we must handle. We have to manage it with more forgiveness and grace. This is true irrespective of whether we win or lose. Hate is never an option. It never helps leaders. Indeed, hate harms positive leadership.
Every great leader truly understands the relevance of Thomas Hobbe’s postulation in politics and human relations. His idea of life being “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” holds a significant place. Some people deploy Hobbesian tactics as their best tools in politics. To reach new alluring but often illusory promised lands, they first taint good men. They undermine and destroy those who have used their immense goodwill and undoubted strengths to lift them up. They lie idly and believe their own lies. They overrate their capacity. They pretend that some magic will drop down from heaven somewhere along the line. This magic supposedly gives life to their overblown sense of political worth. All that too should be overlooked in the spirit of great leadership. Many easily forget that the weapons of war are hardly exhaustible. These weapons can sometimes come from unexpected quarters. Never go to war over matters that wisdom demands you to resolve with love and forgiveness. To the wise, life is not a game of avoidable wars of ego. Constructive engagements are better.
Naturally, bad faith attacks on every good leadership usually brew resentment from those who trust such leadership. Resentment that often strongly invokes reprisals and pushbacks. But this is where wisdom should lead. Filtration is impossible in the context of politics. Politics is a field populated by the good, the bad and the ugly. We need all.
As Ovie Omo-Agege himself recently put it, “it is a catch-22 paradoxical situation.” We cannot truly win by going hard on even those who hate us for being good to them. We are limited by contradictory rules and should imbue ourselves with the spirit of maximum restraint. Omo-Agege’s supporters must stand tall in every conflict between his ideals and forces of division and hate. Focus on the myth of his gracious spirit. It is a positive force. In it lies the greatest good of true political leadership.
May 2025 be good to all through the power of God Almighty – the source of every good power.
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