D’Club 10 was formed in 1976, 45 years ago, by some 10 prominent Ebira sons, joined hands together to form a club aimed at bringing awareness and enlightenment to Ebiraland, thus their aim to form club 10.
Ever since it swung into action for the past four decades ago, the club has continued to creat awareness of government programs in education, health, poverty alleviation, while students in Ebiraland are also benefitting from the club’s educational program, like the summer school they normally organize annually for students, mostly during their long break. Scholarship to the less-privilege, through academic merit, are given to support their academic pursuit. As a Director of Finance and Admin (DAF) at the education Secretariat of the FCT, Alhaji Leramoh Abdulrazak Onivehu, a senior civil servant, is the current President of the famous Club’10, still maintained the profound passion over the plight of Ebira people in Kogi State and his determination to contribute meaningfully to make a difference, hence he therefore accept the Club’10 leadership. It is obvious that humility is a virtue endowed with this gentleman, as he spared his leisure time to speak with our Abuja Bureau Chief, Malam Idris Isah, on national, state and other sundry issues. Excerpts.
Sir, can you tell us brief about you?
Ans: Good morning, thank you for giving me the privilege. My name is Leramoh Abdulrazaq Onivehu. Am the Director Admin & Finance (DAF) FCT Education Secretariat, Abuja and also the acting Secretary in the Secretariat. I joined the service of FCTA in 1994 as Admin Officer and I have worked in different offices, starting with FCTA Area Council Service Commission. I was there up till when I was promoted to Principal Admin officer and posted to Abuja Environmental protection Board where I worked as Head of Admin and Procurement in 2007 up till 2013 when I was posted to Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) as Head of Admin in 2013. In 2016, I was posted to Department of Human Resources Management as Desk Officer on Appointment. I was in that capacity up till August 2018 when I was posted to Education Secretariat as the Head of Admin. I was in that position up till 2019 when I was promoted there as Director and due to the untimely exit of the Director Admin & Finance, who died on 28th September, 2020. I was given letter to assume that office as Director of Admin & Finance and that is where I have been up till date.
Sir, as a Senior Civil Servant, what is your take about the Civil Service Reform and the effectiveness?
Ans: Let me explain that Civil Service Reform is not one off thing, it is a continuous process, just like any human institution, nothing is perfect. In our attempt to achieve perfection, we would continue to review our process and also continue to seek perfection by reforming it. When you compare the Civil service of the past with the civil service of today, definitely there would be much difference because the two systems worked in different era and the civil service of the pasts reflected society in which it operated then as much as we would also say that the civil service of today is also the part of society we are in and the past is a general belief that our fore-fathers were more committed, they had very little distractions, therefore, they were better focused. In our present environment, there are a lot of distractions, there are a lot of external influence, so there are several issues that have vividly make the present civil service different from the past. And, while we cannot revert to the past, we would continue to stick to processes and method to improve the current civil service to deliver the quality of service that we desire as a people.
In this case, what is your candid advice to the present civil service for quality delivery of service?
Ans: Well, my general advice to civil servants is the need for them to recognize their vital role as implementor of government policies. As a nation, when the civil service is effective and efficient, the society will benefit greatly. For any country to develop, the civil service must deliver quality service, because the civil service is the driver of the economy; the civil service is the driver of development, the civil service is the efficient security system in any nation. In any society the civil service has to be strong. As a civil servant and you do your work diligently, honestly, you would benefit because it is the fellow civil servant like you that would be in the school to teach your children, if they are diligent and they are honest with their work, your children will receive quality education. It is the civil servant like you that are in the hospitals, if they are diligent and are honest with their job, you will receive quality health care. Whichever aspect of the economy you turn to if the civil servant are not playing a leading role in reforming the economy and getting things right, we would not get things right as a country, so as a civil servant, we need to realize the fact that when we are honest and diligent in your duties, you are doing good for yourself, and society will be a great society.
Sir, there is no doubt that insecurity in this country is alarming. What is your advice to the government in order to improve in their effort so far?
Ans: My advice would not be to government alone, it should also be to fellow citizens of this country, that in the past when it was possible for you to travel in the night, from Maiduguri to Lagos without fear of kidnap, without fear of bandits, it is the same Nigerians that existed then that is also existing now. If as a nation and the people all agree that we are not in the best of time, we need to resolve as a people to take our security paramount over every other thing. When we are conscious of our security, the country will be save and there will be little assignment for the government to do. If government employed 10 million policemen, 20 million military officers, they cannot alone protect the country except the people are ready and are determined to make the security of life and property a priority. So, it is a mutual relationship between the people and the government to take security issues a responsibility to secure the nation. Government on its own part will need to equip the security personnels, give them the requisite training and motivation, because anybody who step out to protect his country as a security personnel is putting his life on the line and is putting his life in danger’s way in order to protect the country from insurgents. So, such people must be motivated, they must be properly equipped and trained so that they keep society secured. The advice to government is to train and retrain the security personnel to equip them and also motivate them properly. My advice to fellow Nigerians is to take security as their personal responsibility. They should always be vigilant and provide useful information to the security personnel of any strange movements in their environment.
Sir, your kinsman is the current Executive Governor of Kogi state. How would you access his six years in office so far and in the area he has not performed and need to improve?
Ans: We give glory to God Almighty that our kinsman has been elected twice as the governor of the state. That is what we have been clamoring for fairness and equity to all in the state. When every segment of a society is represented and is given sense of belonging, there will be better understanding and integration, such that no group would now consider themselves as a superior race. I think this is part of our larger problem long ago, because this sentiment still exist, probably when we develop beyond this stage we begin to eliminate such sentiment as to this is where I belong, when somebody from Ebira ethnic group becomes a governor it does not consider himself as Ebira governor but the governor of all Kogi State. Somebody from Igala ethnic stock should not consider himself governor of Igala people but of Kogi State. Anybody emerges from Okene, Kogi West should also consider himself as the governor of Kogi State not Okene. Why this is important is that an average man, the grass root men has no business as who is the governor of his state, what concerns him is adequate welfare, what access has his children to education, what access has children to quality healthcare, what access has he to job opportunity in the state, and all socio-economic facilities that the state provide, how does it concern his life. This is what concerns average citizens in any state. So, if this right is guaranteed, it does not bothered, so what is important is that whoever is in power should have that sense of responsibility to all not just to his ethnic group. Let me say that the leadership of kogi state under governor Yahaya Bello, is trying his best, considering the scarce resources at his disposal considering the circumstances in which we find themselves, we would have to recall that this government came to power at the point when the major source of income in Nigeria, that is oil money was at its lowest ebb as was selling at 20 dollars per barrel, that means that available sources for the developmental programme was very low, and shortly after that, Covid-19 steps in. these are all the challenges that they came with. So, these are factors that may have attributed to their apparent low performance in the state, believing that if there are better environment, and reasonable resources, they would have been able to do much better. The new government also encountered a lot of debts backlogs which include salaries and allowances, Internal External debts, etc. all these added much to the bane of developmental infrastructure in the state. The governor is still a young man. I believe he still has a lot of years ahead of him, years of service to render to the people. And, also, believing this is his first of having contact in a public services of this magnitude, he is also learning, and that if he is given a similar or higher opportunity, the experience he has acquired as governor of a state will equip him to do better. In the area he has done well, he has made efforts first and foremost to unite the people of the state irrespective of ethnic divides. The governor has done well since assumption of office, especially in the area of health care delivery; he is building a high capacity ultra-modern general hospitals across three senatorial districts in the state that I believe is going to provide a lot of service to the entire Kogi state. He has also established the University of Science and Technology Osara in Ebiraland which I believe is going to provide a lot of opportunity to our children who find themselves very good in the field of science and I believe it’s a very beautiful decision. There is also ongoing renovation of both primary and post-primary schools across the three senatorial districts. He is actually paying attention to quality education in the state. In the last six years when Governor Yahaya Bello took over the mantle of the state, the state has also experienced unprecedented transformation in all facets of its existence. There has been a renaissance in infrastructure in the state. New mega projects like ultra-modern government house, known as Lugard house, has been given befitting modern designs; the remodeling and urban renewal of the capital city; the several road construction projects across the three senatorial district of the state; agricultural revolution in the state also speak volumes about the vision of governor Yahaya Bello for Kogi state. Beyond the mega projects the administration has touched in the rural areas, like no past administration has ever done; from road projects to rural electrification projects in a concerted efforts to banish darkness in the state. Before his divine emergence, there was existence of mutual suspicion, tribal sentiments and indifference among the diverse ethnic groups in the state entrenched by the past leaders in the state for the political gain. Most importantly, Governor Yahaya Bello, detribalized gentleman, has jettisoned the use of tribal differences as a state weapon disaffection among the people of the state. He ensure fairness and equity in the distribution of state resources to the three senatorial districts in the area of appointment, infrastructural development and social programmes. This had never happened in the history of the state. Well one of the areas that one can advise him to improve on is in education, we are aware that the number of secondary schools in the state has not changed even though the population has increased, that means the existing schools are overcrowded or some children may be denied access to education because of the fact that they have no access to school, so we would encourage the governor to look inward in this area because education is key to development in any society. If society is not, educated, it will be going backward. We would expect that the governor will look in this area closely. Another area that also need the attention of the governor is provision of portable water. Water has continue to be a major challenge in most part of the state. This I believe the governor would also pay attention to. Then in the area of skill acquisition, I want to see certain number of skill acquisition centers in the three senatorial districts of the state, not everybody can go to school, our children who would go to secondary school and not be able to go to tertiary institution, therefore should be given viable alternative by encouraging them to go and acquire life skill such that they can also have a meaningful life. I believe that if the governor look into some of these areas that I highlighted, he would be adjudged to be the best governor Kogi have ever had. So far, happily enough, Governor Yahaya Bello, met most of my expectations, mostly in the area of security, youth empowerment, and the fair distribution of infrastructural development across the senatorial districts of the state. Obviously, he remains the icon of good governance in Kogi State.
Sir, The issue of non-payment of salaries?
Ans: Yes, this is another aspect of his administration that requires greater attention. But, unfortunately, the issue of non-payment of salary or payment of percentage salary to civil servants has become a serious albatross on the state government. The facts must be laid bare on the table for proper appreciation by the public. The truth is that most public offices are over bloated and the states do not have the resources to pay such salaries. Employments in public service were on based political consideration and patronage and not productivity. Therefore it becomes very difficult for the state government that has need to deliver on other services to continue to pick huge salary bills that is coming from the public services continuously. One, lets quickly situate how much Kogi state is receiving in a month from Federal allocation and internally generated revenue and relate it to how much Kogi state has to pay as salary monthly, you will discover that by the time government pays this salary there will be nothing left for any meaningful development. It is really a serious problem for those that find themselves in the corridor of power to decide between taking popular decision and doing what is right. If any government in Nigeria is to do what is right they will reduce the size of the public service by more than half, because in an average government office where you have twenty people working, believe me honestly you don’t need more than five people to work there. So, the governor has the choice to remove the unrequired fifteen hands and push them into the labour market and retain the five people and pay them the appropriate salary. But then there is a social responsibility when you remove the fifteen people from the service, where would they go, so whatever is available, share it among them no matter how little across the board. This is the unfortunate situation most state government found themselves. If you take the decision that is right by removing the 15 people, you will become unpopular and you will also create social problem in the society, so it is like you are caught between the red sea and the Pharaoh soldiers. So this is the challenge most of the states are facing. The problem of successions in Kogi state come 2023/24 when the incumbent governor Yahaya Bello is expected to round up his second term, where the Okuns are agitating to take over the mantle of leadership in the state, while the Igalas are also clamoring for the reclaiming of their lost governorship in Kogi state come 2023.
Sir, what is your view in this regard?
Ans: Thank you very much for this question. You know, there is no phenomenon in life that is elusive as power. You may go to bed with power, before dawn, power may have deserted you. Though, political power may be the most important instrument of getting whatever you want in the whole world, it is the most unreliable. If our leaders know this, that power is a transient, they will exercise power with caution and fairness. The greatest dilemma and perhaps tragedy of these long years in political office is that of succession and life after tenor. It is therefore advisable to our elected and appointed politicians to tread with caution when in office. About our brothers from Kogi West (Okuns) and East (Igalas) who are also agitating to take the mantle of power from the sitting governor, obviouslyThey are exercising their fundamental right.
Sir, how do you come about the Club’10 that you are a member and subsequently now the current President of the famous club. Also, what do you think you would do different other than your predecessors?
Ans: I was certainly still in primary school when the Club was formed so am not a founding of the Club. However, due to my close association with members of the Club, I became fascinated by the activities of the Club and was thereafter invited to the Club. The founding members have been very patriotic and creative in their efforts to make life more meaningful for the people of their constituent. They have demonstrated this by several programs and projects that impacted on the lives of the people. My job has been made very easy for me. While I will ensure continuity of all the good programs, efforts will be made to modernize some of them to make them more effective. I will also embark on vigorous membership drive as a good succession strategy.
What would be your mission and vision as the current Club’10 president?
Ans: Let’s continue to pray to God that God should bestow us with good and sound health, because good health is above every other thing and also pray that God grant us the resources to give good services to some of the goals that we have set before. Club’10 was involved in a lot of programmes that are very vital to the development of the society. One of it was the one that I earlier mentioned which is the annual summer school. It is the intention of my leadership that the annual summer school which has become intervention program being the education service provision to our people continue to be and are going to expand on it. Let me tell you that prior to now, that the program has been running, unfortunately in 2020 there was hiccup on the program because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But in 2021, on assumption of my office, and with the cooperation of members of the Club’10, we are able to host another edition of the school and the data of participants was more than ever before. We have recorded the highest enrolment we have never had anything close to 700 participants before but as I speak with you we had enrolment over 800 across the board in Kogi central, and this include Ogori-mangongo, Ajaokuta, Okene, Adavi and Okehi Local Government. We have centers in this areas and we have recorded over 800 enrolments in all the centers. So, in time to come, we also intend to identify those who have performed well academically to grant them scholarship up to university level. We would also assist them get admission into their various chosen tertiary institutions. Also, Club’10 used to run a radio program in TAO FM and as at 2019 and 2020, that program could not continue due to financial constraints and some other challenges be glory be to God that program has come online. We had actually run the program three to four times before TAO FM encountered technical issues which they will overcome soon then the program will kick start. The theme of the program is called “Etehueyi” in Ebiraland but means “Enlightenment” in English. The program is designed to enlighten the people, disseminate information, give them guidance and also educate them in some very vital areas in the area of health care, political. There are so many issues abound around us that we used to educate our people about. There are so many programmes that government is rolling out that used the attention of our people. Election is coming up, so there are so many areas that people used to be enlightened so that they will know much in such program. Aside this, from time to time, when there are issues that emanate in the society, we always take very active role in talking to the stakeholders within the Kogi Central and a times also reaching out to the state government and Federal government where the needs arise. The Club’10 is also a pressure group that pride itself as a fighter for the interest of the people of kogi central. Wherever the club suspects oppression of interest of the people of the Kogi central we would come out in all our strength to fight it, so Club’10 is a pressure group also. We fight to Correct!
General Elections are fast approaching, what is your candid advice to Nigerians?
Ans: Well, my advice to the electorates and political stakeholders; first and most to the political stakeholders is to realize that this society is for all of us, if we decide to develop it, it will be for the benefit of all of us. There is no amount of wealth of money that an individuals can enmass that grant him real development, that will grant him real happiness, that will secure his people, that will secure his business. National security consideration should be uppermost and the welfare of the people. If the people are not alleviated, if people are carried along, in every decisions of the government and form the center of governance there will peace, there will be progress in the society,
and the political gladiators would have rest of mind but where they put their self-interest ahead of the country’s interest, we are going nowhere. We will all sink. All their stolen money will all sink. So, we pray and we urge them and advice to have sincere love to their people and to come out to serve for the development and progress of the people and for the welfare of the people. For the electorates, I advise them to shine their eyes in electing their leaders because when you elect your leaders for whatever motivation other than progress, peace of society, you have mortgage your future.
Educational Background
Ans: My parents were based in Ibadan. I was born in Ibadan also. I had my primary education in Ibadan with all my siblings. I completed my primary school in Ibadan in 1978. On completion of the primary school, my father insisted that being first son in the family, that I must go back to the root and dispatched me to Okene and enrolled me into primary five at Sefudeen Primary school Okengwe, where I did primary five before I got admission into Abdulazeez Atta Memorial College, AAMCO, where I completed my secondary school education in 1985. I did not get admission into the university at the first instance, I attended Kwara State Polytechnic, school of Basic Studies in 1987. Fortunately, in 1988 I got admitted to University of Ilorin where I studied English/Education. I completed my Degree Programme in 1992. I served in Abuja in 1993/94. I obtained Post-graduate Diploma from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1999/2000. I obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Abu, Zaria in 2004.Am happily married and blessed with children. E ND