UNLIKE many neglected and forgotten Nigerian heroes, Pa (Engr.) Olateju Oyeleye, a former President of the Nigerian Institute of Managment (NIM) still lives a modest life. At his residence in Festac, traces of affluence radiates through the well-carved and decorated 'mansion.'There is also a sense of safety there. With two big and scary-looking dogs always on the prowl, barking uncontrollably at unfamiliar faces, it is indeed a befitting abode for a retired and aging elder statesman who has contributed tremendously to the political and socio-economic development of the country.But besides that, even in retirement, Pa Oyeleye still amazingly keeps certain attributes he was synonymous with in his active days. He is time conscious, meticulous, hospitable and unrelenting in activism. He still advocates for entrenchment of good governance in the country. This much was revealed during a recent visit to the octogenarian's residence recently under the auspices of NIM's 'We Care Programme.'The NIM had deemed it obligatory to pay homage to their past and aging leaders and extend a hand of love to them. The delegates were led by the initiator of the programme, the Institute's President and Chairman of Council, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole, the Registrar, Mr. Maurice Lakanu and Director of Membership, Engr. Mohammed Sulaimon. And interestingly, long before the scheduled arrival of the visiting delegates, Oyeleye, the chief host, was already waiting.Clad in guinea-brocade, the elder statesman, who is battling with paralysis of both hands and legs, still cut the picture of a fine, meticulous and intelligent man!In old age, he is still articulate, though he struggles slightly with his speeches. Indeed, he is still as passionate as ever and committed to the struggle of transforming Nigeria into an el dorado, given the enormous resources at her disposal.Pa Oyeleye turned 88 on April 7 and used the occasion to register his dissatisfaction over the depth of immorality at both private and public lives of Nigerians, especially the political leaders.The elder statesman blamed the nation's woes on bad citizenship, saying 'people get the type of government or leader they deserve.' He stressed that the situation of bad governance in Nigeria is a reflection of the type of people that make up the country.'Painfully, there are no genuine people anymore in this country. This is the reason why everything seem abnormal. It is because of lack of fear of God and patriotism that the country is witnessing abnomalities like corruption, killings, wickedness, and lack of patriotism.'For him, it is high time we jettisoned politics and join hands to revamp the country. 'And this is a clarion call on all Nigerians, from the President of the country to the little child strapped to her mother's back. We must begin to re-enact and adopt the nation's core values of decency, honesty, fairness, justice, patriotism, diligence and brotherhood in our daily lives. We must liberate Nigeria and make it great again,' he says.And admittedly, since the task of transforming the country could not be accomplished during his reign between 1988 and 1991 at NIM, he urged the present leadership of institute to carry on with the struggle, especially on how to explore management efficiency to promote quality leadership and good governance in the country.'I hope you use your good office to address the issue that has been bordering me for so long, which is that of fuel subsidy controversy,' he said.For instance, the former General Manager of Total Nigeria Limited, said the issue of fuel subsidy controversy was the manifestation of the extent of greediness, dishonest and disloyalty of Nigerians at both government and private sectors, to the Nigerian project.According to him, 'fuel subsidy, to me, is the cost of logistics for the refinement of our crude oil product abroad. And this is a wasteful adventure, which is inimical to the growth of our economy. There is no reason why government can not initiate partnership between itself and the (oil) marketers, who will provide the technical know-how on how to bridge the recurring loopholes in the sector. If we have committed people in government and among stakeholders in the sector, a PPP arrangement between them will help in building effective refineries and eventually domesticating the refinement of the product even in commercial quantity. And by that, over $5 would have been generated as extra profit on crude per barrel. But this feat will not be achieved unless corruption is fought and won, and unless service-minded people are entrenched in position of leadership,' he added.Born on April 7, 1924 at Ilesa in Osun State, Oyeleye attended Ilesa Grammar School between 1935 and 1942 and thereafter proceeded to University of London for studies between 1952 and 1957. He worked as postal clerk with P&T (Post and Telecoms), Lagos between 1943 and 1951 and was an Engineer at Ferguson Radio Corp., England, between1957-59. He also served as General Manager, WNTV-WNBS, 1966-73; General Manager, Total Nigeria PLC, 1977-84; Group Executive Director, Total Nigeria Plc, 1984 and has been the ManagingDirector, Yakooyo Agrik Limite since 1992 and Chairman, Sigma Petroleum, 1992 to date. A fellow and one-time chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, he was also chairman of the NSE board of trustees for 10 years.Oyeleye can be described as a self-developed person. Having done no science at the secondary school level, he attended university evening classes to enable him undertake an engineering degree in London in 1957. He is a fellow of the NSE (registered engineer), Nigerian Institute of Management, Institute of Petroleum, London, and the Institute of Electrical Engineers, London (Chartered Engineer).A man of many parts, as first professional chief executive of the WNBS, he led a team of Nigerians to make WNTV-WNBS a successful commercial broadcasting service, and co-founded the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria. He left the services of the broadcasting outfit in 1973 to join Total Nigeria Plc where he rose to the position Group Executive Director before retiring in December 1991. Other feathers to his cap include having been president, NSE (1976-77), president, NIM (1989-1991), and chairman, COREN committee on registration of technicians leading to the COREN Decree 27 of 1992.There is no doubt, Engr. Olateju Oyeleye has seen it all and his wisdom is worth sharing. He retired into mechanized farming and is managing director of Yakooyo Agrik Limited, (formerly Total Agrik).
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