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Dokpesi and the Gazebo Mystique
By Prof Mike Ozekhome, SAN
Ezomo Anthony Aleogho Ayaoghena Dokpesi loved the gazebo in his beautiful Abuja residence. It is made of big rafters and roofed with thatch. A gazebo like the one in Dokpesi’s vast compound is a small building in a house that affords a wide view of the surrounding areas. He ate suya, groundnut and roasted fish. He drank and relaxed there. He loved choice wines and champagne. The workaholic found great pleasure in unwinding at the gazebo by hosting family members, friends, associates and loved ones there. No one was left out. He would sing and dance. Sunny Ade’s music was his favourite. He would laugh. Nay, guffaw. It was a place for us to taunt and tease each other – me jokingly calling him “my son and my boy whom I paid his school fees, trained and married for with my hard-earned money”. Him derisively, but jokingly, telling me “You baga; you bush boy who would shiver before me and could not even dare enter my lush office or room in the 80s”. All and everyone present would laugh. We usually cracked their ribs with such nostalgic jokes. So, coming to the gazebo on that June 16, 2023, for “A Night with Ezomo @ The Gazebo”, was particularly traumatic for me. I could not dance or sing. I was completely numb. I was transfixed like an insect rendered immobile by some powerful chemicals. So, was it really true the Oghierumhoa of Weppa Wanno Kingdom and Araba of Oshoroland would not get up from somewhere to dance with us. Just anywhere from the shadows? Where was he? I looked around. Imagine for a moment, the scene of a helpless and hapless child looking around for his mother. Dokpesi was nowhere. I broke down. I cried like a baby. Uncontrollably. Publicly. I was inconsolable. I had no shame. Shame? Ha, I conquered it there and then. Reason vacated its seat. Emotions took over. I was broken. Other attendees came to my aid. But not so fast. Some of them equally broke down and joined me in letting out pent-up emotions. Sen Kassim Oyofo, Lina Okakpu, Mina Horsfall, Barr Ter, Vera Ovhighie and others who were consoling me joined. They themselves wept like babies. Oh death, where is thy sting? You shameless death that wears a hideous monstrous visage, why are you so cruel, so unfeeling? I wiped my tears. I left for my nearby home in distress. Like a rain-beaten chicken. I left the Gazebo Mystique. Then, this write-up was finally triggered when a friend and kinsman based in Atlanta, USA, Alily Akhigbe, sent me the Ezomo’s outing and speech during the DAAR Communications 4th Award night in December, 2021. Just one and half years ago! I listened to it. Carefully. He was speaking as if he were still alive. Powerful. Boisterous. Effervescent. Brutally frank, as ever. Luminous. Bubbling with the “sap of life like a yam tendril in the rainy season”, as Chinua Achebe once called it in “Things Fall Apart”. He narrated how I rained blows on him physically at a meeting with a consortium of banks at Marina, Lagos, when he had broken down and cried. The government had engineered the banks to take over DAAR over its debts, many of which were not even due for payment. He had wept. He narrated how I descended on him publicly, there and then, raining blows on him, telling him he had committed no crime by borrowing money to run DAAR Communications. He looked at me like a child unto his mother, wiped his eyes and steadied himself for the remaining portion of the meeting. We won at the end of the day. Successive governments never relented in trying to kill his entrepreneurial and political spirit. They all failed. Woefully. I won virtually all his and DAAR’s cases up to the Supreme Court. Kanu Agabi, SAN, also led me to defeat the government in the criminal charges of alleged embezzlement of security funds against him. We won at the Federal High Court (Tsoho CJ) and the Court of Appeal. He was completely discharged and acquitted. So, Dokpesi died without any blemish. He was given a clean judicial and moral bill of health by all courts in Nigeria.
Dokpesi’s humility which he wore like a second skin was infectious, as he bowed for me, every and anyone at the award night, where I was given the “Legal Icon” award. So, watching this video, I again broke down. Even now, I am still crying. Ha, Ezomo, why? But, why? Adieu. Farewell, Iyokpamhe.
Compatriots, let us not mourn, but celebrate this African Octopoidal septuagenarian; this legend; this colossus. It was Calpurnia, wife of Julius Caesar, in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, who, while begging her husband not to venture out on the Ides of March (the day he was later assassinated), made the following memorable speech: “when beggars die, there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of Princes”. High Chief Anthony Aleogho Dokpesi, OFR, easily fits into this narrative.
Surely, in Dokpesi’s transition, comets were seen. Because he was a Prince of peace, even the heavens blazed forth his death.
He also fits into Julius Caesar’s own reply: “cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once”.
I will end this tribute by quoting Mark Anthony in the same Williams Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, when he said of Brutus:
“His life was gentle and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to the world, “this was a man”.
In the words of 1 Corinthians 15:55. “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” Haruk Murakami (a contemporary Japanese writer) was right when he said, “Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it”. He was probably right, for Aleogho merely transmitted from mortality to immortality.
Let me tell you how the host of heaven now see Dokpesi. They are in the words of Max Lucado (a Christian preacher and author): “We see a hearse; we think sorrow. We see a grave; we think despair. We hear of a death; we think of a loss. Not so in heaven when heaven sees a breathless body, it sees the vacated cocoon and the liberated butterfly”. Thus, Dokpesi vacated his worldly cocoon of mortality and got liberated like a butterfly into God’s bosom of immortality. Know ye today that what we owe Dokpesi is not to mourn him, but to keep his memory alive. For, as George Eliot, a famous English author most aptly put it, “our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them”.
Ezomo Dokpesi, we will never forget you. You will forever live in our hearts. Be happy with the Lord till we meet on resurrection day to part no more.
For his very large Ezomo Dokpesi clan that he left behind; his teeming friends, admirers, associates and loved ones across the world, may the good Lord give you the heart and fortitude to bear this irreparable demise of our dear father, brother, friend and compatriot.
Adieu Iyokpamhe. Farewell Ikuekhiamhe. Goodbye humanist. Okiakhue, Agene 1.
News
NiMet DG Anosike urges service providers to move beyond institutional compliance to measurable impacts on citizens
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Professor Charles Anosike, has called on public institutions to move beyond regulatory compliance and certifications to delivering measurable results that create lasting value for citizens.
The DG/CEO of NiMet, who was represented by the Director, Engineering and Technical Services, Engr. Hamid Olayinka Abdulkareem, made the call during his keynote address at the 3rd National Quality Improvement Summit and Awards, organised by the Quality Improvement Institute of Nigeria (QIIN) in Abuja on Thursday 12 November 2026. Speaking on the theme, “Quality: Powering Performance – Moving Beyond Compliance to Measurable Results,” Professor Anosike emphasised that institutional credibility must be earned through consistent service delivery, accountability, innovation and continuous improvement.
Highlighting NiMet’s commitment to international quality standards, the DG/CEO disclosed that the Agency secured ISO 9001:2015 certification for aeronautical meteorological services at Yola, Osubi and Owerri airports in July 2026, alongside the successful recertification of five other airports, bringing its total number of QMS-certified airport stations to eight. He stressed that quality assurance in meteorological services is critical to aviation safety, agricultural productivity, disaster preparedness and national economic development.
Professor Anosike further highlighted the integration of the Balanced Scorecard Performance Management System into NiMet’s 2026–2030 Strategic Plan as a significant step towards strengthening institutional accountability. He explained that the framework connects strategic objectives with measurable performance indicators, ensuring that organisational success is assessed not merely by activities undertaken but by results achieved and value delivered.
He urged institutions to invest in people, technology and stakeholder partnerships while embedding quality management into their organisational culture. According to him, sustainable institutional excellence requires leadership commitment, continuous evaluation and a deliberate shift from procedural compliance to measurable public impact.
News
Joint Aviation Unions Appoint Keyamo Grand Patron of Renewed Hope Support Group, Present ITF Position Paper Ahead of ICAO Conference
The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, today received a high-powered delegation of aviation labour unions under the Joint Aviation Trade Union Forum (JATUF), led by its Chairman, Comrade Ben Nnabue, in Abuja.
The delegation comprised top executives of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and other aviation unions, including the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), and Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP). The unions are affiliates of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).
Other members of the delegation included Comrade John Ogbe, Vice Chairman; Comrade Alale Adedayo, Vice Chairman; Group Captain Bunmi Gandeh, Vice Chairman; and Comrade Hector Nnadi, Secretary of the Forum.
The visit was primarily to formally present the position paper of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) to the Minister, seeking Nigeria’s support for a motion advocating the integration of social sustainability, decent work and meaningful workers’ engagement into the global civil aviation framework at the forthcoming Seventh Worldwide Air Transport Conference (ATConf7) of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), scheduled to hold in Montreal, Canada, from November 16 to 20, 2026.
According to Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser to the Hon. Minister on Media and Communications, the proposed motion, which has received Nigeria’s nod, underscores the need for the international aviation community to recognise that the sustainability and long-term success of civil aviation go beyond infrastructure development, technological advancement and economic growth to include the welfare, rights and professional development of the workforce that sustains the industry.
The unions stressed that the future of international civil aviation must be built on a framework that balances economic competitiveness with social responsibility, recognising aviation workers as indispensable stakeholders in the growth, safety and efficiency of the industry.
The Minister’s reception of the position paper further demonstrates Nigeria’s commitment to constructive engagement with organised labour and the promotion of policies that strengthen the aviation sector while protecting the interests of its workforce.
In a related development, the delegation also formally presented the Minister with an invitation to serve as Grand Patron of the Renewed Hope Aviation Support Group (RHASG), under the umbrella of the Strategic Collaboration for the Re-Election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
The nomination, made on behalf of the Board of Trustees, National Executive Council and entire membership of the organisation, recognises the Minister’s leadership, professional competence and capacity for strategic coordination.
The group congratulated Keyamo on his recent appointment as Director of the Directorate of Air Transport Mobilisation for the All Progressives Congress (APC) re-election campaign, describing the appointment as a testament to the confidence reposed in his leadership abilities, organisational experience and commitment to effective mobilisation.
According to the group, the Minister’s wealth of experience in managing complex responsibilities, coupled with his strategic understanding of the aviation industry, makes him well-positioned to provide political leadership, guidance and direction to the organisation.
The appointment as Grand Patron is intended to strengthen the group’s strategic direction and consolidate support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and his anticipated re-election bid.
The development marks another demonstration of the growing intersection between organised aviation labour, industry stakeholders and broader national development objectives, with the Minister continuing to engage stakeholders on issues that affect the growth, sustainability and future of Nigeria’s aviation industry.
The Kano State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, has appointed a former Kano State Chief of Staff, Gwani Alhaji Shehu Wada Sagagi, as Director-General of his 2027 governorship campaign.
The appointment was announced in a statement issued on Wednesday by Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu, spokesperson to the NDC governorship candidate.
According to the statement, Gwarzo also named Alhaji Adamu Ali Ibrahim Kibiya as Secretary of the Campaign Directorate and Engr. Sunusi Usman Dambatta as Deputy Director-General.
Sagagi, a former Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry and ex-chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kano State, is expected to lead the campaign’s activities ahead of the 2027 election.
The appointments take immediate effect, while the full membership of the campaign council will be announced later.
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