By Bernard Balogun.
It is called pre-destiny. Unknown to many it is embedded in each one of us.
I shall explain.
As a child his dream was to become a Catholic Priest – in the mould of Revd Fr Thomas Duffy, the Irish Priest of the SMA, who was the Parish Priest at RCM North in Okene @ the time of his birth and who had prophesied, to mama (his late mother) Mrs Mary Oniya Adaba thus “…Thomas, you are a child of prophesy. Your name preceded your conception. You broke the jinx of infant mortality in the family…” culled from Prof Tom Adaba’s autobiography titled BUT FOR GOD.
However, his parents gave him the native name AAZE. Aaze in Ebira dialect means…if they agree… or in yoruba dialect – Malomo….
That dream of becoming a Catholic priest, took him to St Peter Claver Seminary Okpalla in the present Imo State. That did not work out well for him.
So he tried the Nigerian Army. In fact, the Federal Permanent Secretary (Defence) then was his “townsman”. Yet he did not get into the Army.
Finally he resigned to fate. And returned to Advanced Teachers College, Kano. At ATC Kano, Prof told the story of a “life- changing” theatre production he masterminded as a student leader. That production culminated in his sponsorship by the USAid to study Mass Communications at Ohio University in the United States. His journey in the world of Communications began from there. When he had exhausted his own efforts, resigned to fate, then God stepped in.
I am just laying the necessary background to the dirge of a committed community leader, a committed family man, a highly principled, resourced – incorruptible man with profound integrity and unassuming boss for 23 consecutive years.
For me, Prof Aaze Tom (or Thomas, if you like) Adaba, OON, KSM, KSSG, can literally be compared to an Elephant. You can speak from the side you stand, that side that is known to you. Therefore, l am conversant with his official side. He was my Chairman @Trim Communications Ltd between Feb 2000 to Feb 2023.
Our relationship was mutual. He gave me the latitude to perform and he respected my decisions on many occasions. Inspite of the latitude, there were limits l must not exceed. That was very clear to me. He groomed me to have confidence in myself to write without bias and must be devoid of sentiment. “Marshall your points convincingly”, he would admonish me. On one occasion, in the evening, as oga was preparing to leave office for the evening Mass his bossom friend and a guru, a global phenomenon in the pen-profession foyered in from his UK base. After he patiently listened to the tutorial from oga, the late Peter Enahoro (the renowned PeterPan), author of the 730paged book titled – Then Spoke the Thunder – added his professional voice “…never you be ashamed to stand alone on any issue you are convinced. Many people may not have an understanding of the issue, yet will condemn you”.
Prof took his Catholic faith serious. It was a legacy he inherited from his own father, the late pa Joseph Abara Adaba. And he held proudly and tenaciously to the Catholic faith till the end of his life.
Permit me to say this and it is not in anyway to ridicule my oga. Certainly not, but to emphasize his incorruptibility and integrity. When he retired and in late 1999, oga had no house of his own in Abuja, yet he was a DG of a lucrative federal government agency for seven consecutive years. The former Minister of Federal Housing, Dr Mimiko, aided him to secure a house at the Gudwa Estate. He and mama moved to barely completed house with no electricity in the entire Estate. Every day, he would take the office generator to the house and returned when he came to the office next morning. That became a ritual for close to two years. On three occasions, night marauders visited, locked him and mama in separate rooms upstairs. I visited him and mama that weekend. l wept inwardly. He was quick to notice my sober mood and he asked
“…Ben what is the matter with you?” Here was a man, a director at the NTA National headquarters, who once lived in the highbrow Victoria Island, 1st Principal of the prestigious NTA-Tv College, Jos and 1st DG of a Federal Agency going through this. Strangely he and mama bore this harrowing experience with equanimity.
But hear this. Sometime in 2003, there was an assignment he wanted me to undertake. To guide me, he brought two diskettes from the house, that was the era of diskette. Diskette is no longer fashionable. The first diskette revealed something pleasantly astonishing and spoke volume about Chairman’s integrity as a person. That diskette contained his hand over notes with millions of naira in various banks’ accounts. He did not help himself with part of it, yet at the inception of Trim Communications Ltd, in 2000 he could not get N600,000 to pay for office space around NICON Luxury in Area ll which he commissioned me to scout. One evening l went to see him at home. It was a rented apartment on Mississippi Crescent in Maitama. He then exclaimed…Ben, good you are here. Let us go and inspect a new office space on Aminu Kano Crescent, opposite Amal Court. Then he told me….the
landlord said l should have it and pay at my convenience…
Please do not ask me if l liked the place. It was strategically located and accessible.
That was Prof Aaze Tom Adaba, OON, the Ohi Etoheuyi of Ebiraland, which was conferred on him in 1994 by our reverred Ohinoyi of blessed memory – Alhaji Muhammed Sani Omolori. The meaning of his Chieftancy title…Beacon of Light…meant light dispels darkness. An enlightened society is politically conscious and sophisticated. And Ebiraland is noted for this.
He was a generous man but he could be tough too. In the office, in the midst of my subordinates, l would jokingly asked – is Ikosogi around? I am pretty sure some of us would remember the popular Ikogosi Warm Spring in Ekiti State where two brands of water meet, one warm and the other cold stemming from same source. Oga has the capacity to blow hot and same time blow cold.
Here is an example. Around November 2004, he came to the office and found something that provoked his anger. Incidentally l had not gone into his office that morning. He arrived office unusually early that morning. Wow oga blurted, invited everyone into his office tongue-lashed everyone with me having a heavy dose of the lashing. Before he came, l had announced to my colleagues that l just got a “tokunbo 505 saloon car” and would gleefully show it to oga. After the “tongue-lashing” parade, one of my colleagues approached me and vehemently advised me to perish that thought, going by the experience of what we just witnessed. Initially, l agreed. But when he left, l stood up, went and gently knocked at his office door, slightly opened the door, peeped-in. “Sir, l want to see you” l announced. And he replied…yes, what it is Bernard?…
I entered and said…sir l want to inform you, l got a car yesterday…
“What?” He just flew from his seat, gave me serious hug and said…where is the limousine? We went out to the balcony, other members of staff trailed. Sharply oga went into his office and brought out with Holy Water. He blessed the car and gave me Mother Mary mini-statue with a key holder.
In a nutshell, these are just snippets of my relationship with the ICONIC broadcaster and veteran in the field of Mass Communications.
I thank God immensely for the privilege of knowing him and working with him at close quarters for 23 solid years.
As oga goes home on Friday, March 7, 2025 my heart goes out to mama, Lady Aaze Theresa Adaba who had stood by oga in the last 59 solid years of their marriage. Mama was a very strong and trusted pillar of support for oga. Knowing the ADABA family for close to 25yesrs now, not once have l found mama angry. I dare lie not.
Mama, you are indeed a virtuous wife, mother and grandmother in the true meaning. Each time oga was on admission you were there with him. In sickness and out of sickness, you were there with papa. Afisuru
To the children, you all showed papa love and respect him. You all made him proud and your presence around him gave tremendous joy. I witnessed on many occasions the grandchildren eating with him from same plate.
Obviously, oga died a fulfilled man with his integrity in place. There were occasions he would say to me…sorry Bernard l shall not append my signature to this proposal. Go and adjust the prices… Please do not ask me how l felt at such times. Of course l would be so frustrated and disappointed. With the benefit off hindsight l have now realised minimum profit and contentment make the difference. Oga taught me that.
I commiserate with mama, the children, grandchildren, the great aniEgbira Descendants, especially the Ohi of Okene, our brother, Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo and all sons and daughters of Ebiraland.
Boss, adieu. We shall meet again at the feet of Christ.
BernardBalogun (BenPino) writes from Abuja.
