Senator Elisha Abbo: A Hard Lesson In Leadership By Mike Ozekhome, SAN

INTRODUCTION

I have always clamoured for the youths to take over power at the
centre. My belief is anchored on the inexorable fact that our
grandfathers, having already used their times, also made incursions
into our fathers’ own political times. Then, they went ahead to
gatecrash into our own very times. Now, they are even using our
children’s times, the next generation. So, where is the saying that
the future belongs to the youths? 

I cannot understand why Nigerians who are septugenerians,
octogenerians and nonegenerians are still ruling us today, thereby
sidelining our vibrant youths. In some other countries, presidents
and prime ministers had been elected in their 30s. So, I was quite
elated to see 41 year old Senator Elisha Abbo (Adamawa North), the
young Senator who dislodged very hard working and brilliant 51 year
old Senator Binta Masi Garba of APC in the last senatorial
election. Ironically, Abbo is a young Advocate of the masses, from
Gova in Muchaka Village, Mubi LGA of Adamawa State. He has been
educated and lived in Lagos, U.K and Sydney, Australia, Canada and
Abuja. He headed a multi-national consultancy firm that deals with
political matters; and has served as Senior Special Assistant to
Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state. Again ironically, the
youthful Senator is regarded as detribalized and identifies equally
with the Christian and Muslim Communities in his state. Added to
his having headed the Adamawa state Sports and Youth Council, he
was easily the right choice for the Senate.

My elation at the youth taking over power at the highest level
(never mind that Dr Mathew Mbu, king Diete-Spiff, Yakubu Gowon,
Murtala Muhammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, Samuel Ogbemudia, et al, all
became military Governors, Head of State and Ambassadors in their
20s and early 30s), is therefore understandable. But, my
exhilaration was almost completely marred by an ugly incident that
involved Abbo.

In a video that has since gone viral, the youthful Senator was
caught assaulting and attacking a hapless woman with several slaps.
The woman was not even the primary cause of the fight. She had
merely intervened to tell the angry Senator to “take things
easy” with the intended victim.

In the video published by Premium Times,
Senator Abbo is seen accusing the Shop Attendant of a sex toy shop
of insulting him. He asked a Policeman with him (obviously his
orderly), to arrest the female Attendant. Scared about the
unfolding happenings, the Attendant is seen making frantic calls to
inform the persons on the other side of what was happening at the
shop.

This self-preservative step appeared to anger the Senator the
more and he immediately ordered her to stop the call. One of his
Aides (a male) attempted to snatch the phone away from the
Attendant lady. A standing-by woman (who later became the punching
bag victim) intervened, obviously to make peace. Boom! The
infuriated Senator launched an unprovoked attack on her, slapping
and hitting the poor defenceless woman severally. It was so ugly,
so nauseating, so ungentlemanly and so disgracefully unsenatorial.
The Senator even ordered the Policeman to drag her away, despite
the pleas of the initial Shop Attendant target. Power, brute, raw
power, won!

This disgraceful incident happened on May 11,
2019, though Senator Abbo claimed it was on March
11. Whatever the date, the truth is that as at
February, 23, 2019, Abbo had already become a
Senator-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And he knew this.
By the way, what was a distinguished Senator of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria doing in a sex toy shop at about 6pm? Couldn’t
he have respected his new found lofty status, discarded his burning
teenage desires, and quietly sent one of his aides to pick up the
preferred sex toys? Did he need to boast openly that he is
“the youngest Senator in Nigeria”, an act that
actually gave him away to the unwary, but stunned onlookers? The
unfortunate incident has expectedly generated public rocus and
outcry.

A litany of condemnatory critiques have since taken place.
Amnesty International called on the Nigeria Police Force to
investigate the disgraceful act. Many others have done same. To
douse the tension, the Senator appeared to have realized his
terrible faux pas. At a Press Conference in Abuja, the young
Senator, close to tears (he actually wept silently), prayed for
forgiveness from the victim, the Senate, his political party (PDP)
and all Nigerians. He said it was not in his character to assault
women. His words were measured with touching solemnity. He
apologized to the victim, Bibra, her family, women generally, all
men of good will and conscience, and all Nigerians, for insulting
their sensibilities. He even sought for forgiveness from God,
saying his life cannot be defined by the anger of “five
minutes”. To the church of God, everywhere in the world, I am
sorry”, he pleaded. As an Ambassador of the body of
Christ, a Senator, he profusely apologized. He said he had fought
on the side of the weak, for good causes, and for humanity, before
now. He pleaded for forgiveness, because “to err is human
and to forgive is divine”.  He even sought for
forgiveness from God Almighty and people from all over the world.
He believes he is expected to live like Christ. The incident, he
says, has taught him a good lesson, promising “good conduct
and behavior henceforth”. I was deeply touched by his
self-recrimination.

I watched the video over and over again. Senator Abbo appeared
genuinely full of compunction. He appeared sincerely repentant,
remorseful, regretful, heart-broken, guilt-ridden, dejected and
sorrowful. This is one of those incidents you wished you could turn
back the hand of the clock and repeat your life all over again. I
can state categorically that if he had another chance, Abbo would
have kept 10 kilometers away from that Sex toy Shop, given the same
circumstances.

Fellow countrymen, let us forgive Senator Elisha Abbo. I
personally do. He made mistakes. Terrible mistakes. He has realized
them and has tried to make amends, atonement and recompense. He did
not swagger, grandstand, exculpate, exonerate or sought
self-righteousness or justification, over his infamous conduct. He
prayed for forgiveness from the victim, her parents, womanhood,
Senate, PDP Adamawa North, the youth, and all men and women of
goodwill across the world. Please let us forgive him, he having
realized his mistakes. True, to err is human and to forgive is
divine.

The Policeman who stood by and even aided the assault scenario
should equally be made to apologize to the victim and all
Nigerians, or be disciplined pronto. Says Romans 3:
23, “for all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God”. In the time of our Lord Jesus Christ, he
would, on such an occasion, simply have shrugged his shoulders and
said (Luke 23: 34): “Father, forgive them
for they do not know what they are doing”. And he would
insist in Mathew 18:22, that, we “should
forgive each other seventy times seven times”.

In preaching that all Nigerians, especially Bibra, the victim,
should forgive Senator Abbo, Romans 12:17-19 makes
it clear: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to
do what is right in the eyes of everyone… Do not take revenge, my
dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, it
is mine to avenge. I will repay”.

NOW THIS

One quick assignment for Senator Abbo: go, pacify and treat the
brutalized lady. Make full and adequate restitution. Write her a
letter of apology. Senator Abbo, you now have a golden opportunity,
a lifelong one at that, to mend your youthful ways. You are now a
leader. Our Elders tell us that when a child washes his hands
clean, he dines with Elders and Kings. Providence and Nigerians,
especially Adamawa North people, have dressed you with the
glittering garb of an Elder. So, you must act and live it. Old
things have passed away, as you are now a new creature in the
political equation of Nigeria (2 Cor. 5:17). You
must now respect the dignity of your high office, and its onerous
demands.

AND THIS

Begin to respect womanhood more. They are our mothers, sisters
and daughters. They serve as the channel through whom we are born.
Women are the weaker vessels (1 Peter 3: 7).
Says Luke 1: 45, “In the same way, the
women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but
temperate and trust worthy in everything”.

Let me end this piece as a take-home for the youthful Senator
Abbo, and the way I humbly plead that angry Nigerians see him
henceforth: “forgiveness is the economy of the heart…
Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the
waste of spirits”.

So Abbo, go ye and sin no more (John 8:11) God
bless Nigeria.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“Live a life full of humility, gratitude, intellectual
curiosity, and never stop learning.” (Gza).

LAST LINE

I thank Nigerians for always keeping faith with the Sunday
Sermon on the Mount of the Nigerian Project, by Chief Mike
Ozekhome, SAN, OFR, FCIArb, Ph.D, LL.D. I enjoin you to look
forward to next week’s treatise.

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