COME, LUNCH WITH MISTER ONOSODE

The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them! (Psalm 16:3 NLT)

The other day, I was quoting the late founder of Christian Men’s Network, Edwin Louis Cole as stating his convictions about the place of godly heroes in his life. He had vowed that only the godly would be his heroes; that only such people would he associate with, invite to his home; allow to influence members of his family and so on. I had in that piece aligned myself with this position and urged it on us as a people. In doing that, although I had been familiar with the word of King David, the psalmist in chapter 16 of the book of psalms in the King James Version of the bible as follows: “But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight” (verse 3); I was blissfully unaware of the New Living Translation of the same verse as quoted above - which obviously gave life to Ed Cole’s convictions.

You can therefore imagine my joy as I prepare to join my colleagues on the coordinating team of Christian Men’s Network Nigeria to receive yet another of Nigeria’s undisputed godly heroes on Saturday (April 26). We will, if the Lord tarries, be gathering once again at Sparkles Hall, along Joel Ogunnaike Street in the Ikeja GRA area of the Lagos state capital for yet another Real Men Luncheon. It promises to be a wonderful experience and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am.

Now, let’s try to background this a little. I was in the audience one Sunday evening in the year 2000 at a programme, Possession 2000 hosted by Rev Jake Epelle and his Salvation Broadcast Network. There were four speakers including the subject of today’s piece. Four years later the impression the speakers left on me was still so strong that I found myself reporting that event in the “Opener” section of KINGDOMPeople magazine.

In that piece titled WHODUNNIT, I had recalled how each of the speakers had repudiated all claims to personal achievements and ascribed their various enormous credentials to God. The three featured in that piece were Bishop David Oyedepo, Rev (Dr) Segun Agbetuyi and Mr Gamaliel Onosode. I had described CMNN’s next guest speaker as a man who “speaks with the eloquence and elocution of the classicist that he is and made his name both as an industrialist and as public policy expert.”

In a segment of that report which was sub-headed “Who Owns the Accolades?”, I wrote as follows: “ Gamaliel Onosode is a respected economist (he’s never claimed to be one!), industrialist and an ordained minister of God. But it is his passion for integrity and his simple lifestyle that ring loudest. In a title crazy society, Onosode has remained a “mister” and has had the distinction of being able to walk away from big positions when issues that could threaten his integrity rear their heads. Yet he’ll rather distance himself from the accolades.

“Reflecting upon his life at a public forum a while ago, he wondered why he always got introduced in high sounding words. What people don’t seem to understand, he said, was that he was an ordinary person depending wholly on God. He said: ‘I am depending on God. The more I relate with my God, the more inadequate I see myself in the light of Him.’ Putting whatever his achievements were in context, he said: ‘all of us should see ourselves as ambassadors of Jesus Christ wherever we find ourselves. Every one of us should allow God to use us wherever we may find ourselves. Every calling is a vocation, a divine call to serve.’”

That piece ended on this note: “…Onosode says all those accolades belong to God. That is the kind of humility that God honours, because, of a truth, without Him we can do nothing. These three is good company!”

That was eight years ago, although recalled some four years later. But time changes everything, doesn’t it? So perhaps this man has changed too? Well, you’ll find out for yourself if you make it to the luncheon on Saturday; and I think if you are a man reading this, and would be in and around Lagos that day, and are desirous of drinking from a deep well of godly wisdom, you should.

As for change, perhaps this little story about how he accepted our invitation will give you an idea of what to expect. We wrote a letter of invitation. One of the coordinators, donning one of his best suits, took the letter to his office in Surulere. He was received by a lady, Toyin Yussuf, who took the letter and promised to get back to us. She did soon after. Her boss wanted us to choose the Saturday before or that after the date we had requested. We complied and the date was eventually fixed. That’s how we come to be hosting this man of many parts on Saturday. To date, he has not met any of us, and as you can see, it didn’t matter to him.

But, let me tell you a little more about this man. Described in a Nigerian Times profile as “a marvel of God’s grace”, Gamaliel Oforitsenere Onosode was born in Sapele, Delta State on May 22, 1933. He began his formal education at Baptist School, Oginibo, Delta State in 1940. He finished primary (or standard, as it used to be known), school in 1946, and was at Government College Ughelli between 1947 and 1952. He read Classics at the University College, Ibadan (now University of Ibadan) graduating B.A (Hons) in 1957. His introduction into management began immediately. He was employed as a Management Trainee at the Commonwealth Development Corporation in 1957 and was there till 1960, the year of national independence

Any wonder then that he became renowned for his expertise in management, which saw him even in those early days holding various management positions in reputable organizations like Northern Nigeria Investment Ltd, Nigerian Housing Development Society Ltd, Nigeria Industrial Development Bank and Financial Holdings (Nigeria) Ltd.

After 10 years as a director, Onosode became Chairman/Managing Director of NAL Merchant Bank Plc. He also chaired many private and public sector businesses, including Dunlop Nigeria Plc, (1984), Cadbury Nigeria Plc, (1977-1993), Presidential Commission on Parastatals (1981), Nigeria LNG Working Committee on NLNG Ltd, (1985-1990), Niger Delta Environmental Survey (since 1995), Econet Nigeria (later Vmobile and now Celtel).

He was Presidential Adviser on Budget Affairs and Director of Budget (1983), and a former Pro-chancellor of University of Uyo. He is an honorary fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters and holds honorary doctorate degrees of Obafemi Awolowo University (1990), University of Benin (1995), and the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (2003).

Onosode, most important of all, is what you’ll call a devout Christian. A Baptist, he founded that arm of the church known as Good News Baptist Church in his sitting room on February 1, 1984. It has grown considerably, becoming highly rated within the Nigerian Baptist Convention for its activities in the areas of missions and evangelism. He has served and continues to serve the church in diverse capacities.
He was the inaugural Chairman of the Global Missions Board of the Nigerian Baptist Convention. In addition, Onosode is Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso, Nigeria's oldest degree awarding theological institution, which would, in this year be marking 110 years of its existence while the University of Ibadan would be 60 years old. A Deacon of the Baptist Church, Onosode also holds an honorary Doctor of Divinity (2002) of the Seminary (2002).

In closing, let’s give the last word to Deacon Onosode himself. Asked by Pini Jason, the journalist, in a rather cerebral interview, to relate his status to the part of Lagos he has chosen to reside, he answered:

“But what is my status? I don’t think in those terms. I am just a human being, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. God has placed me, at different times, in different situations in which He expects me to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Every single individual, particularly in adulthood, has the opportunity to exercise leadership; as a matter of fact, so do children. So it is not the cassock that makes the priest, as they say…it is not where I live that is material. It is how I live my life that is the issue. Therefore I have lived along this Ogunlana-Adelabu axis since 1959, apart from a short break of four years when I lived in Victoria Island. I moved from this house to the house in Victoria Island, and back after four years to this same house! You will now realize that I am more of a grass roots person contrary to whatever impression has been created by the media.”