By Folorunso Alagbede, Abuja
Archbishop Emeritus, John Cardinal Onaiyekan has harped on the pertinent need for peace in the country in particular and the world in general, pointing out that without peace, nothing is guaranteed under the sun.
Onaiyekan said this on Sunday night at reception organised for the immediate past National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, by friends and associates in Abuja.
This is even as the former Senate President, Senator David Mark described Ologbondiyan as a courageous and thoroughbred professional, who used his God-given talents to advance the course of democracy in the land.
Onaiyekan noted that Nigeria as well as the world have not recognized how important peace is.
His words, “We have not recognized how important peace is. All human beings all over this world, are all brothers and sisters.
“How much more in this little corner of the globe called Nigeria, not to talk of my Kogi State.
“All you need to do is look at the face of the person next to you. He could well be a blood brother or cousin.
“When you meet children talking together, they don’t just care where you come from. That is the basis of a peaceful society and I believe it is possible, if only, we take peace seriously,” he said.
At the ceremony, which was attended by serving and former members of the National Assembly, ex-governors, the incumbent National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Hon Debo Ologunagba, chieftains of the Kogi state chapter of the PDP, family members and journalists, some of whom shared newsroom experience with Ologbondiyan a few years ago, Senator Mark who was the Chairman of the occasion, eulogized Ologbondiyan, singling out his dedication to duty as the hallmark of competence and capacity.
The former Senate President and one time communication Minister said, “We are here to celebrate a worthy Nigerian. A man who has distinguished himself among his colleagues, a courageous gentleman. Kola (Ologbondiyan) is a perfect gentleman in every sense.
“There was a time in this country when we needed a detribalized Nigerian and that was when Kola came on the scene.
“You can see that people here cut across states, regions, religion and party lines and even people without party are even here with us. That is what Kola truly is- a man who is truly patriotic and a man whose comments at the time he was telling them made people afraid”, he said
Senator Mark noted that in the course of Kola’s assignment as opposition spokesman, he (Mark) had cause to be afraid for the ex- PDP image maker, saying, “I use to call him and say, I fear for some of these things you are saying oh. But we need a man to say what he was saying. Those of us who are close to him are very proud.
“At a point in time, he was not just the voice of PDP or the opposition; he became the face of opposition and that is what Kola is most known for,” he noted.
In what seemed a prayer for his protege, Mark reckoned that reward awaits Kola in the days ahead.
“He has left the National Working Committee, NWC of the PDP but we believe that the good works he has done will follow him all the days of his life”, he said, stressing that “Nigeria will remember you and they will praise you for saying what you were saying at the correct time.”
Ologbondiyan, the former Senate President noted, sure has a date with destiny, saying, “the voice of the people is the voice of God. If the people are calling for a higher responsibility for him in the future, it means he deserves it.”
On his part, former military administrator of the defunct Bendel state and later Akwa Ibom state, Brig. Gen. Tunde Ogbeha, rtd, said Kola as PDP mouthpiece “never disappointed Nigerians because he was responding to all situations and responding appropriately and very well.
“So, it is a good thing. He has served, completed his job as national publicity secretary on a very high note and we do congratulate, commend him and ask him to apply his energy and wisdom to his local chapter, Kogi state.”
Just like Mark, Ogbeha also predicted a a fresh calling for Kola in the future.
“I think the journey to his political eminence is just beginning. For the rest of us, I hope he has set a standard that we need to emulate,” he said.
Crediting Kola for not keeping sealed lips in moments of national crises, media mogul, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi said the ex-PDP spokesman spoke truth to power and damned the consequences.
Dokpesi said, “We are here to congratulate Kola for facing the very unfortunate challenges he had to go through, the challenges of offices, the collapse of the Nigerian economy, the lowering of Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world, with unemployment rate hovering over 33 per cent.
