A memorable day at NASS

ON 14th February, 2022, which turned out to be St Valentine’s Day, Ojo Olatunde Amos clocked 59 years old on planet Earth. Though the Clerk to the National Assembly used to mark his birthday every year, since that was the super day that providence brought him to fulfill his earthly destiny, marking his birthday this time around was more tantalizing. This is so because Ojo Olatunde Amos is almost clocking two years of outstanding leadership as the Clerk to the National Assembly in Nigeria, since he was appointed on July 17, 2020. Before l dedicate some paragraphs to the positive developments that have been recorded so far, by Ojo Olatunde Amos in two years in the saddle, as the number one bureaucrat in the nation’s apex parliamentary body, it is imperative to make some points about his Valentinian connection and relations. Firstly, the individuals that share February 14th as birthdays should be considered as naturally lucky because somehow their super days are more or less an international issue being observed with thunderous emotions.Now who was Saint Valentine? He was a Roman Catholic priest who lived extraordinarily in the 3rd century, at a time Romans were converting to Christianity in droves.The then Emperor of Rome, Claudius II, a non- Christian who wanted the Roman soldiers to remain dedicated to Rome, established strict rules that stood against Roman soldiers who desired to marry each other .Priest Valentine, who was stanchly opposed to Claudius ll, organised secret wedding ceremonies for the Roman soldiers, which eventually landed him in jail.

Imprisoned and shackled by a Noble Roman, Valentine fell in love with his jailer’s blind daughter. At the end of the day, Valentine, who restored the sight of his lover succeeded in converting the whole family into Christianity, a development which sealed his fate with an execution order from Emperor Claudius ll.Shortly before he was executed Valentine wrote a love message to his lover, and signed it thus:” From your Valentine”, on February 14th. In death the legendary Valentine, became a ‘savior of love’ and a wonderful humanist. 200 years later, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church proclaimed Saint Valentine’s Day, to honor the indelible memory of Priest Valentine. It was an English poet, Geoffrey Chancer in his 1315 work that popularized the romantic celebration of Valentine’s Day. Now, talking about Valentine’s Day, it is a day of sending messages of love and affection to partners, family and friends, even as couples or lovers create special time together, to honor their love for each other. On Saint Valentine’s Day, lovers are expected to express emotions or affections with gifts and greetings. Talking about Ojo Olatunde Amos, in two years, it is very conspicuous that like Saint Valentine, he has not only demonstrated the greatest love or passion for the welfare and wellbeing of the staff and legislative aides of the National Assembly, he has fantastically brought unprecedented sense of purpose and direction to the office of the Clerk to the National Assembly.If the above fact is not the true position of things in the National Assembly now, why couldn’t staff and Legislative Aides access some of their allowances before the coming of Ojo Olatunde as Clerk to the National Assembly?When there was heavy cloud of workers unrest within the National Assembly, which almost turned into a full scale strike action by staff in 2021, what did the Clerk to the National Assembly do to salvage the situation?

Like Saint Valentine, Ojo Olatunde Amos refused to fight or hate, instead he applied undiluted love of leadership; pragmatic scientific leadership. He demonstrated concern and compassion by generating an historic Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between management and staff of the National Assembly, which has brought sanity to earlier endless workers agitations. What did the CNA do when it became very obvious that the perennial paucity of funds bedeviling the National Assembly could no longer guarantee administrative peace and tranquility? He put on his thinking cap by drastically cutting overhead cost of running the day-to-day activities of the system, and funds became available to address some other teething challenges.  He digitalized the plenary sessions, of the Senate and the House of Representatives, in line with international parliamentary standards, the current Clerk to the National Assembly has put in place live streaming of activities accordingly. One can go on and on about the achievements of this present Clerk to the National Assembly. Born in llobu in today’s Osun State, on February 14, 1963, the young Ojo Olatunde Amos did not waste too much time before he distinguished himself as a child of destiny. In the primary school at llobu, he was a marvel at school; his secondary education further commented the fact that he was endowed with the rare spirit of educational excellence.

His tertiary education at the University of Ife now ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State of Nigeria, was loaded with display of excellence, as he succeeded to grab a degree in Architecture. To prove that he was prepared to stupendously make a career in architecture, Amos went on to grab a master’s degree in Architecture at the same prestigious ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife. After his exit from tertiary Institution, Architect Ojo Olatunde Amos stormed the world of architecture with uncommon determination, and succeeded in making giant strides, before providence brought him to the National Assembly in 2004. Today at 59, he is providing architectural leadership that is transforming the National Assembly with creative communication skills and teamwork.  As a bureaucratic leader, Ojo Olatunde Amos, is encouraging initiatives and harnessing all employees, not just to be part of the team of excellence, he is fulfilling the goals of democratic representation in the National Assembly, as a practical and accessible Clerk to the National Assembly. A child of greatness and destiny, who carefully followed the path of purpose from infancy, Architect Ojo Olatunde Amos is magnificently possessed with the Valentinian spirit of care, concern and compassion for the workforce of the National Assembly.When the Clerk to the National Assembly, Architect Ojo Olatunde Amos, clocked 59, on Valentine’s Day, it was a celebration of courage, boldness, intellectuality, vision, mission and excellence.

• Adesoro is Special Adviser on Media and Labour to the Clerk to the National Assembly.

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