Thread by @raufaregbesola

MY EULOGY TO AN AMAZON

It gives me great joy to be here this morning and I must thank you all most sincerely for honouring our Amazon with your esteemed presence. #OnMeritByEhuriah #OnMeritTheBook

That you have all come from far and near to be part of this occasion, considering the risk of traveling, mixing and public gathering in this era, shows the high regard you have for her. #OnMeritByEhuriah

Dame Georgina Ehuriah has served our country meritoriously for 35 years, the best and the most productive period of her life.

She then decided very rightly to chronicle her experience in the printed pages, the public presentation of which we are gathered here to witness.

Oscar Auliq-Ice after all tells us:

“Anyone who has lived a full life has something fascinating to share with the world.”

#OnMeritByEhuriah

I met her in an interesting manner on August 21 last year. That was the day I was sworn in as a minister. A lady walked up to me and said ‘You are my minister’. I said ‘What?’ she said ‘You are the Minister of Interior and I am the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Interior’

We then drove to the ministry.

I have had the privileged of 16 years of public service before my appointment as minister. In the course of my service as commissioner in Lagos and governor in Osun, it was compulsory that I interacted with civil servants. #OnMeritByEhuriah

The Civil Service is the heart or operating engine of government. The success or otherwise of any political leader depends largely on how he or she operates this machine. I have been fascinated with their methodical and organized way of doing things and sticking to rules.

Dame Ehuriah, however, is in a class of her own. She is the quintessential civil servant – loyal, diligent, firm, efficient, effective, knowledgeable and hark working.
She has proven to be an excellent civil servant. Her capacity for work and diligence are extra-ordinary.

Having worked across several federal establishments, she capped her career with the appointment as Permanent Secretary. Because she distinguished herself, she was at the Presidency, the pinnacle of government, where nothing but the best is good enough.

I therefore consider it a privilege to have worked with her – one of the best the service ever produced.

She is also a good person. A human-being to the core. She is courteous, reserved, graceful and dignified. #OnMeritByEhuriah #OnMeritTheBook

The civil service is basically the same, each system I have interacted with has peculiarities that distinguish it from the others. So, I can say that the challenges in Lagos are different from Osun while the challenges at the federal level are different from the states.

But with her support, I have been able to slide seamlessly from the state service to the federal service with little or no hitch.
She has commendably blessed us with her autobiography.

One of the benefits of reading is that the reader acquires the wisdom it takes the author, in our case, 35 years, to garner, in the length of time it takes to read the book. Her book therefore is 35 years compressed into a few pages. #OnMeritByEhuriah #OnMeritTheBook

No wonder Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that ‘There is properly no history, only biography’. If you avail yourself of reading the biographies of the great people of history, you already have history in your hands.

Her book is therefore a treasure trove of the experience and wisdom of her meritorious service. It should be a compulsory read for students and teachers of public administration and civil servants.

Beyond that, as I have always advocated, someone with her experience should have a place as a faculty in any top university & civil service training academy, teaching public administration & shaping the intellect of those who will mind public service at all levels in the country.

Once again, I thank you all for coming. As we all look forward to the 60th anniversary of our nation, let me remind us all that the challenges we are facing as a nation are not insurmountable. We should therefore develop a positive outlook.

With our collective efforts, we shall overcome and build the nation of our dream. A Nigeria that will certainly lead the Blacks to their destiny of honour and dignity.
I thank you all for your kind attention.

#OnMeritByEhuriah #OnMeritTheBook