Before Vice President Osinbajo, The Workaholic, Breaks Down

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is no doubt hard working. He looks very energetic. Even his stature speaks volume of him. He carries that frame swiftly any time he is trekking from his end of the Villa to the President’s office and he does that very often. He shares that stature with the likes of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and probably Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State. Without sounding immodest, I also belong to their association. El-Rufai has whispered to me and some other colleagues belonging to that group that the Vice President is our patron. I won’t disclose the name of the association, but by our stature, you shall know us.

I am not a medical doctor but having watched activities in the Villa closely since he and President Muhammadu Buhari moved into the seat of power, I will advise that Osinbajo should slow down. His activities so far have not left anybody in doubt that he is a workaholic. He resumes very early in the morning and remains in his office till late in the night almost daily.

Osinbajo has been going round the states of the federation from the North to the South on behalf of his boss. There are times he makes two or three states in a day! He has also made many foreign trips on behalf of the President. His attitude to work has become a subject of discussions, though in hushed tones, among members of his staff, most of who believe that they are being overstretched.

For instance, a day to the opening of the presidential retreat organised for ministers last month, I was reliably informed that the Senior Advocate of Nigeria was in his office till about 2am preparing the paper he presented at the event. This notwithstanding, Osinbajo arrived the venue with the President at exactly 9am. I wonder whether he slept at all.

As if that is not enough, Osinbajo sat through the programme while Buhari left shortly after declaring the event open. The Vice President returned to his office after the event and started treating files that he could not treat while at the venue. By 9am the following day, he was already in the old Banquet Hall venue to preside over the activities of the second day.

Penultimate Wednesday, he was in Ikenne, Ogun State where he hosted the President and other well-meaning Nigerians at the burial of the matriarch of the Awolowo family, Chief HID Awolowo. He played a leading role in the burial because his wife, Dolapo, is a grand-daughter of the deceased.

Surprisingly however, Osinbajo was again on hand later in the day when Buhari hosted Senators to a presidential dinner at the new Banquet Hall. He had managed to freshen up and change his clothe before attending the event. Many of his close aides were looking very tired. “The work must be done” was the reply of one of them when I told him that I did not expect that Osinbajo would attend the event.

On Tuesday, he started his activities by taking part in the 2015 National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Summit held inside the Villa. Shortly after that, he played host to a delegation of Global Good Fund co-founded by Bill Gates in his conference room. While those guests were still finding their way out after the meeting, Osinbajo’s convoy was already leaving the Villa. He left for Yenagoa, Bayelsa State where he represented Buhari at the grand finale of the campaign of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Timipreye Sylvia. Another task that the Vice President has been carrying out dutifully is that he has always been on hand at the airport to receive his boss whenever he is returning from any foreign trip.

One other thing that has been glaring since he took over is that the Vice President, who is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, has also ensured that state duties do not affect his spiritual life. He still attends the monthly vigil that holds in the church’s camp located on the popular Lagos-Ibadan Expressway every first Friday of the month. His workers even told me that he still attends evening services such as Bible Study (Digging Deep as it is called in RCCG) and Prayer Meetings in one of the parishes in Abuja and still return to his office late in the night to continue work.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not in any way suggesting that Osinbajo should abandon state duties. Far from it. I am also not suggesting that he should jettison his God. I am only advising that the Vice President must avoid breaking down. I know that as a religious person, if he is reading this, he may be uttering words such as “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me” or “I shall not die but live, to declare the glory of God in the land of the living.” Let me make it clear that I am not wishing him any evil before he will scream “Back to sender!”

There are claims that many top government officials take some forms of performance-induced drugs or drinks to keep them going when work becomes tough. Because of his religious background however, I don’t see Osinbajo indulging in such. Rather, I see him relying on “the grace of God.” He should therefore not stretch the grace beyond limit. Nigeria cannot afford any sick leader for now, judging from our recent past. My candid advice please.

This Best Outside Opinion was written by Olalekan Adetayo

Source: Punch