THE OMO OLOORE STORIES
STORY 5: IS THAT MY PHONE RINGING AGAIN
On the 25th of July 2015 – barely two months after the erstwhile President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, handed over power, his spokesman – Reuben Abati – wrote a touching piece titled “The Phones No Longer Ring”. I read the piece and even though I was still in office at the time, I could relate with every bit of the piece. My sojourn in politics so far has been marked with moments when the phones stopped ringing.
I got my current number way back in 2002 when my father was still the Governor of Oyo State. All through the time he was in office, my phone was always buzzing with calls and texts. My father left office in 2003 and my number which was once a hotline grew so cold. Though few people continued to be in touch, the phone stopped ringing.
When I decided to contest for the House of Reps about 11 years ago my phone started ringing again. People who hadn’t reached out since my father left office began to call. I lost the election and boom! the phone stopped ringing. Shortly after losing the election, I was nominated to be Commissioner for Youth and Sport and suddenly, the number that had grown cold when I lost the election became a hotline once again. This was in 2011.
In 2013, the cabinet was dissolved by the Governor and at that point, once again, the phone stopped ringing. I remember that on the day that the cabinet was dissolved, I did not receive a single call. Few people checked on me at home and at the office; some friends even took me out that day but my phone which was always buzzing had grown dead silent.
Few weeks after, my name was announced as commissioner-nominee and, the people who had stopped calling began to call again. “Congrats o, baba” “we know say dem go call you back – you were one of the top performing commissioners in that cabinet,” they said when they called.
In 2014, I resigned to contest for the House of Reps and the phone stopped ringing again. Once I scaled primaries and became the candidate of the party, the phone started to ring again.
Once you indicate an interest to run for office, the phone will begin to ring; when you win the election and are sworn-in, then the frequency of the calls will be massive! Once I won the election and was sworn in as a member of the House of Reps, my phone began to ring like never before.
Apparently, a lot of people had my number but they never reached out until I had won the elections. For the next four years, my phone was continuously ringing.
The day I lost my re-election bid in 2019, the phone, yet again, stopped ringing. However, things were fairly different when I lost the elections in 2019 – a good number of people still called to check on me unlike when I first lost elections in 2011 but then, the number of calls reduced very drastically. For four years the phone had rung non-stop and suddenly, upon losing elections, the calls had reduced to trickles.
Recently, the Speaker of the House of Representatives announced my appointment as a Special Assistant and – as you may have suspected; on that day my phone was on fire. Every day since then, my phone has been on fire – calls coming from everywhere.
The lesson here is – power is transient, no one holds on to power forever. Definitely, there are still people who would stay true to you no matter what – I have people who have been with me from the very beginning and all through the phases of my life till now, they have remained steadfast. Many people will throng you when you have the power; once you lose it, they retreat.
It is a good thing that I witnessed the “abandonment” early in my political life. It made me to understand that everything in life is by opportunity and so whenever you have the opportunity to be up there, make the most of it.
Truth is, you cannot help everyone that come to you but make sure to help the few that you can help – especially the ones that are real and sincere. And when you help, don’t expect anything in return – do it as unto God. When you do this, you will never be disappointed when the phone stops ringing.
It doesn’t move me anymore when the phone stops ringing. Whenever it happens, I just toss my phone somewhere and focus on life. When there’s a success and the phone begins to ring again, I carry on from where we left things off.
The phone will stop ringing, not because your network is down but because people have tuned off from your network.
What many do not know is that politicians/public office holders are not fools too – they monitor who relates with them and how they relate with them. Whomever gets the listening ear of a politician is most likely one who has stayed with him/her through thick and thin.
To the young people in office today, do good while in office, it is the good that will continue to speak for you when the phone stops ringing. It is interesting that these days when I go out, I have never been booed or rough-handled.
Even when I go out privately, people would walk up to me and tell me how a project or a scheme has been beneficial to them, their families or their communities.
If you must associate with people, learn to stay true to them, no matter the season of their lives.
Be consistent and steadfast.
The ultimate question is – what fuels your decision to associate with someone: is it what you will get or what you will give?
(join me every Wednesday at 6pm, as I share with you personal stories from my journey so far and the lessons I have learned from them)
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