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General Oladipo Diya at 64: A prophet with honour By Oluranti Afowowe Thursday, April 3, 2008 THE defining character of an outstanding and excellent leadership is vision. Such leadership is able to see far above and beyond what ordinary citizen sees. It is this particular attribute of leadership that enables leaders to clearly spell out course of actions and agenda that a society must resolutely pursue to engender accelerated socio-economic development and make life more abundantly comfortable. Gen. Oladipo Diya advertisement Often, this attribute (vision) tends to portray such leaders as living in Utopia because the level of discipline and sacrifice required for the fulfilment of the vision is usually extraordinary. Such leaders are thus seeing as super-human beings. Let me be specific. Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s revolutionary vision for transformation of Western Region in the 1950s was not without opposition then given the enormous sacrifice that the cocoa farmers of Western Region had to make. Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programme that propelled USA to accelerated economic growth in 1950s was also not without opposition. Indeed Roosevelt was adjudged to be autocratic such that USA constitution had to be amended to prevent any future president form being elected into a third term as Roosevelt was. In a nutshell, outstanding leaders are prophets. They have perceived insights that ordinary mortals do not have. One of such leaders in our contemporary world is General Oladipo Diya (rtd). General Diya is one leader who can be said of figuratively that he is ahead of his time. General Diya came into political limelight in 1984 when he was appointed Military Governor of Ogun State. The then Colonel Diya knew the ‘signs of the time.’ As a military governor under the then Buhari/Idiagbon regime, he knew that there can not be meaningful progress in our national life if the hydra headed issue of corruption is not tackled headlong. The patriotic zeal with which General Diya implemented the anti-corruption war tagged War Against Indiscipline (WAI) was second to none. It was an era when Nigerian knew the true meaning of servant leadership. Public servants were alive to their responsibility. We as a people, (Nigerians) are too familiar with double life of our leaders, especially when the deeds of such leaders are exposed after they left office. Here again, General Oladipo Diya’s public life is impeccable. It is over a decade now that General Oladipo Diya left office as Chief General Staff of Nigeria (Vice President). Numerous probe panels have been set up by successive regimes. It is quite noteworthy that not one of the probe panels had even remotely mentioned General Diya’s name as being involved in any shady deal. This is one testimony that not many past leaders can justifiably lay claim to. It is apposite at this juncture to make a revelation of a cardinal principle that governed General Diya’s conduct in public office. General Diya never awarded contracts or scrupulous patronages to members of his immediate family and/or intimate friends while serving in any public office either as Military Governor or Chief of General Staff. General Diya preferred to use his personal income to assist people rather than abuse his privileged office to satisfy inordinate personal family and/or ethno-religious interests. This is perhaps the major grouse that shortsighted people close to General Diya have with him. He did not give money, contracts or unmerited privileges. General Oladipo Diya resolute pursuits of justice, fairness and equity in all his dealing are exemplary. General Diya can go to any length to defend anybody who is justly treated. In his entire military career in the Nigerian Army (three decades), his officers and men knew that he was always on the side of the truth, fairness and principle. He would never sacrifice his cherished principles for any career advancement. He was fully committed to his profession-soldiery. Let me give an example here of the vantage General Diya. When the National War College was to be established in Nigeria, the then Babangida administration solicited for British Military technical assistance. Under this technical assistance, Britain was to produce the Deputy Commandant of the College while Nigeria is to produce the Commandant of the College who must not only be senior to the Deputy Commandant in military rank but must possess intellectual prowess to give the college proper footing. General Oladipo Diya was adjudged by British and Nigerian Governments as being eminently qualified to hold the exalted post of pioneer Commandant of National War College. General Diya who was then studying for a Law Degree in a Nigerian University was offered the post. He only accepted the post on the condition that he would be allowed to first complete the law programme before assuming the command. That is vintage. General Diya for you. He is never desperate for any post. It is said ‘a prophet is without honour in his town.’ True, but there is an exception to every rule. General Oladipo Diya is an exception. General Oladipo Diya is one prophet that is respected all over Nigeria and beyond. In Yorubaland today, the General is highly regarded. What is more, General Oladipo Diya is the Asiwaju of Odogbolu land. General Oladipo Diya private and public conducts have earned him honours and respects. As General Oladipo Diya marks his 64th birthday on today, I joined millions of other Nigerians to wish him more fruitful, fulfilling and eventful years in the service of mankind. Oluranti Afowowe sent in this piece from Ibadan.