Why I Stayed In Govt For So Long...NOT many have seen Dr. Rilwanu Lukman of late. Since he finally left public office in March last year at age nearing 73, he has not been in public glare. Yet, here is a man who had been in good measure of limelight during a public service career that spanned over four decades. The Guardian, however, 'found' him out lately in Vienna, Austria, a country he visits regularly, perhaps, in an effort to lead a more quiet life. Surprisingly, Dr Lukman looked very fit and exhibited a sort mental alertness that belies his age. But why is an elder statesman like Rilwanu now living in Austria, a country where he earned a higher degree in mining engineering from the University of Mining and Metallurgy in Leoben way back in 1968' Much as he was warm during the encounter, he stated quite clearly that he did not want to be interviewed. It was only after much persuasion that he consented to speaking on what quality leadership can achieve for Nigeria among others. Speaking with OGHOGHO OBAYUWANA, at a fortuitous meeting in a hotel lounge in Vienna, the former Secretary-General and president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) shared glimpses of what may turn out to be the firing coal of any memoir the nation might have of him at a later date. Reacting to rumours that he now lives practically half a year in Vienna; he said 'Well, at least I can be granted the right to exercise my freedom of movement. I am a Nigerian citizen. I have my strong roots in Nigeria but we now live in a global village. I am in Nigeria but you can find me here quite often' Coming on the Nigeria public scene in 1964 after being with a Swedish firm AB Statsgruvor, Lukman's long public service career spanned three epochs and is spread over four decades, seeing him through exertions in various capacities in the ministries of Mines, power, Steel, Petroleum resources, foreign affairs; and during the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, he served as special adviser, petroleum and energy matters. And after a stint with Shell, he returned to national stage as Honourary Advisor on Energy and Strategic Matters to the late President Yar'Adua in August 2007 from where he became Minister of Petroleum Resources the following year. Many people will quite naturally be interested in what his thought on governance then and now' Again, he picked his words, not too different from his taciturn self when he was in office. Governance, he says 'will always be governance in the days past and now, only the forms change and what we the people bring into it. Now you ask: How can people work together' There is no other way but by focussing on getting things done properly. Action! You set a task for people and say 'this is what I want; this is the timeline, I want results'. You go by results which is measurable. Make sure your team is achieving set targets. But be flexible Like you say you want 'we want 20,000 megawatts of electricity'; then go for it. You know you have to do more. You give specific goals. I am an engineer and I know the amount of time needed per specific tasks. Beyond the talk, leaders should just do it. Doing it is the secret' IN 1999, Lukman's office in what was considered a courageous move, announced that 47 offshore Exploration and Production licences awarded by the government to local companies had been cancelled, including eleven highly attractive deep-water blocks given in March 1999 to companies with links to the military. He had said then that the blocks would be open to commercial tender from both local and foreign companies. Lukman had also favoured restructuring the NNPC to make it a fully commercial enterprise, but did not agree that it should divest its controlling stake in the oil producing joint ventures, and at that time was not in favour of rapid deregulation of the domestic fuels market. He resigned in 2003 when the tension over the oil sector reform was raging. What is it like to be at the centre of such storm and to absorb criticisms. Looking back now, If he has his way, are there things he would have done differently' Replied Lukman, 'You know, things have changed... conditions have changed over a period of time. We have more resources to develop. You cannot generalise but fundamentals remain the same. Infrastructure challenges are there and the fundamentals remain the same. You have people around with sufficient integrity. I think we are getting there. It may be difficult, but we must be able to do it,. Just like now people are beginning to sing the right kind of song. It is going to be difficult but it is possible' On his long stay in office through several administrations, he said; 'It is a matter of having something to contribute. I think then successive governments wanted to have continuity. And stability was seen as an ingredient of good, responsible governance. It think also that it is a matter of performance. Your work recommends you and one brought in one's wealth of experience. I suspect this was why I kept getting offers to serve. And I am too humble and love our country too much to refuse when I honestly know that I have something to offer. I give an example. I worked with Buhari (Gen Muhammadu); we selected a team, very carefully for him; we selected people who were professionals, from the outside. Buhari had integrity, someone who is incorruptible. So we brought in people who had no political agenda. Largely that was how you had sanity in the power sector then. We sacked the lazy and removed all the parasites and there was light' But what is his recipe for harmony in Nigeria; how he thinks Nigeria can come out of the ethnic problem and recurring social conflict' Dr Lukman says, 'Look, people are finding it difficult to live with each other. I have friends from across the country. It is possible. People who mean well for the country, virile nation why not' We need to work with people who mean well for the country, like minded people just have to get together. There is a lot to learn from my generation. We saw Nigeria as our common country. The dangerous politics playing is partially to blame. In the wake of ethnic tension and north-south sentiments, the Muslim-Christian thing... In the days that I want us to emulate today, we lived together without difficulties. But more recently politicians have worsened things. With the evolution of time, people getting together more and more. The differences are very often exaggerated. We lived together a long time without these acrimonies but recently politicians have not upheld this'Lukman belongs to another generation, but he had words for Nigeria's teaming youth population on how to build a virile nation by learning from the mistakes of past leaders and building on their best contributions. 'Yes, help me tell our youth ' the ones who have Nigerian blood flowing in their veins ' not to waste further time ruing the mistakes of the past but to build on the best leadership legacies that abound. 'For me really, leadership is about honesty of purpose. Having the genuine integrity to strive to make things better. It is the ability to work well with other people. You have to be cooperative not fanatical. In this regard and, especially, in the Nigerian context, accommodation is key. Not having the feeling of knowing it more than the others. We need to develop a cooperative approach and not being too pedantic in proffering solutions to the problems of Nigeria. We need to listen to one another. But to build on what progress we have made as a nation and to make greater progress, our youth have to be given the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and experience of other people. It is for the same reason that I talked about the ability to accommodate other people's views and then benefit from their knowledge and experience. Invariably, this means to learn in humility from the positives of leaders and build on them. But today, we need leaders who are able to help our youth realise their potentials in the 21st century' He continued, 'We have brilliant professionals scattered around the world who can help our country. We cannot continue to have the problems of yesteryears unsolved when we have the capacity to put them behind us. It is a matter of political will. I give an example. Today, the Nigerian government is losing $20 billion because we have not restructured the oil industry and NNPC. The PIB (Petroleum Industry Bill) is very important. We must invest in the oil industry to make money. Investment has led China and India to be exporting to Europe and the US. The US is in trouble. Europe is stagnant. But you have to invest on other sources now because very soon too much oil will be in the market and we too will also now be in trouble' On what he would love to be remembered for, his legacy in public life, Dr Lukman shook his head (not the first time he would be doing that during the interaction) and then offered: 'Please, let other people make pronouncements on this. Given our circumstances, what we were still able to do and the courage behind it, the way we were misunderstood sometimes, let others say these. Let history be the judge. It is not for me to say it. But I like to think of it as a legacy of service and I say this in all honesty' Prodded to give even one sentence on what he thinks of the capacity of the present Nigerian president to deliver, Lukman simply said, 'Ah, president Jonathan' He has a difficult job and I wish him the best of luck. He has a very difficult job' Dr Rilwan Lukman, is a Knight of the British Empire (KBE) and says he cares so much about family, so he was asked, 'who is an ideal family man'. Smiling, he offered, 'The man who cares; who is responsible to his household; who shares his love and who cares for the community, his country and our world at large. If you like, you can call me an ideal family man. I am a family man. I am married with three children; I have four grand children; lots of brothers and sisters and then the extended family. I am happy and contented...What keeps me going' We give it to God, give it to God himself, Ahamdulahi
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