One afternoon recently I was formally introduced to Donald Duke’s sister at an event in Lagos celebrating the birthday and wedding anniversary of one of my many cousins. I have never met Donald Duke personally myself but I remember quite vividly how impressed my late father was by his performance as first-term governor of Cross River State that he insisted on taking me on a ride around Calabar to inspect the great work of urban renewal that Donald Duke’s government had initiated in Calabar on one of my rare visits there.
Some year later after Donald had left office, I had the rare privilege of meeting my former principal Mr. Ignatius C. J. Adigwe in an event in Ijebu Ode. When I introduced myself as an alumnus of FGC Enugu during his tenure we ended up spending time talking about his experiences as a principal in Nigeria.
Looking back now, I am struck by an anecdote he told me about Donald Duke. He (Adigwe) was the first non-European principal ever appointed to head Federal Government College Sokoto. He was actually recruited from England where he served in a similar position as a principal.
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He recounted how one day, Donald Duke’s father came to him seeking advice and help on behalf of his son because in the school he was attending, there were consistent complaints by the teachers about his (Donald’s) unruly behaviour in class.
Mr. Adigwe decided to interview the young unruly chap. To his surprise he found Donald to be normal but bright child who, due to the outdated teaching practices and lack of intellectual challenge he got from his class and homework found an outlet for his boredom through his unruly behaviour.
He immediately admitted him to Federal Government College Sokoto with the clear understanding that this was a young boy in need of intellectual challenges. His assessment proved to be correct because from then on Donald’s academic performance blossomed and the reports of unruly behaviour stopped.
What I am relating is an independent eye-witness testimony of the life of Donald Duke, a man I have never met, who is now complaining that a picture he took as a student of Federal Government College Sokoto has been used for a documentary on the life of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Donald Duke’s life is an open book with verifiable milestones, very clear career trajectory and character traits.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu!
Nyambi writes from Lagos
