Day Kole Shettima stole show on AFF’s Impact Series

When, a year ago, Osmund Agbo, publisher of Ikenga Online, wrote a tribute in honour of Kole Shettima, and titled it: “Kole Ahmed Shettima: Not All Heroes Wear Capes,” he was only letting out what many people had held close to their hearts about a man who has redefined the social sector space in Nigeria.

Mr Shettima, Country Director of McArthur Foundation in Nigeria, who started out as a student unionist at the University of Maiduguri, is said to have remained true to his celebrated values of justice, fairness, and equity towards “building a world where everyone can thrive.”

It was therefore a great opportunity for many prominent personalities and institutions cutting across the media, academic and civil society spaces when Akin Fadeyi Foundation (AFF), a nonprofit organisation focusing on communication for change, provided a platform for them to unbottle their feelings and perceptions of a man they cherish.

And sincerely, no one would be on that space last week, which was moderated by Mr Shettima’s colleague, Amina Salihu, and which marked the third edition of AFF’s Impact Series, and would not be moved as individuals who are themselves symbols of integrity, diligence and hard work, praised Mr Shettima as their mentor, comrade, brother, friend, and respected colleague.

Impact Series

Earlier, at the launch of Impact Series some weeks ago, the Founder of AFF, Akin Fadeyi, said the motive behind the initiative was to “elucidate excellence, celebrate benevolence, foster the culture of appreciation over those who have emerged well amongst us – our living legends.”

Mr Fadeyi said the platform would be deployed as a role-modelling programme for Nigerian youth to “embrace the culture of diligence, hard work, forbearance, altruistic pursuit of generosity and mutual respect within our ecosystem.” This exactly took the centre stage when Mr Shettima became the cynosure on the platform.

Therefore, from the former First lady of Ekiti State, Bisi Fayemi, to the Publisher of PREMIUM TIMES, Dapo Olorunyomi; UNODC’s Oliver Stolpe; DAI’s Country Director in Nigeria, Joe Abah; Aisha Osori of Open Society Foundation; Sadiq Raddah, a professor at Bayero University Kano (BUK); Simon Kolawole of TheCable Newspapers; Kadaria Ahmed of Radio Now; Waziri Adio of Agora Policy and formerly of NEITI; Chido Onumah of AFRICMIL, to the Chairwoman of the Board of Girl Child Concerns, Mairo Mandara, among numerous others, Mr Shettima meant only one thing to them- a hero in its true sense.

Stories that touch

The former NEITI boss, Mr Adio, in his testimony, narrated how Mr Shettima once refunded part of the rent paid by one of his tenants “because he said his investigations revealed that for certain reasons rent was cheaper in the area in the new year than the previous year.”

He said Mr Shettima said his calculations then showed that he needed to pay back part of the money to the tenant which he did.

He said: “Dr Shettima, with all the funds he has the privilege to control in the organisation he leads, lives in Karu. Even me, I am not sure I want to live in Karu. His house, I am aware, is like a refugee camp, everyone goes there. He carries the work that he does with so much humility and honesty and with so much integrity.”

Similarly, Mrs Mandara, a obstetrician and gynaecologist, and public health expert, said a girl her organisation picked up from an IDP camp in Yobe is now being sponsored personally by Mr Shettima.

The unnamed girl, Mrs Mandara said, the first to go to school from her village, is now in her third year as a medical student at the University of Maiduguri, noting that whatever the impact Mr Shetima has had on McArthur Foundation “is just a small fraction of his wholesome life which is what he does everyday in his struggle for freedom, human rights, justice, equity, and in a very calm and calculative way that only focuses on impact.”

“So to me, Kole of McArthur Foundation is just a small pie, the bigger pie is in Kole as a freedom fighter, a father and soccer champion for children who want to enjoy soccer, and someone who gives scholarships from personal money,” said Mrs Mandara.

Others speak

According to Mrs Fayemi, Mr Shettima’s vision, values and practice are in full alignment, noting that his values of honesty, integrity, fairness, equality, and the practice makes him “to exemplify true spirit of transformative leadership.”

She said she is proud to call Mr Shettima her friend, brother, and mentor, “as somebody who I have had the privilege of knowing for, at least, 30 years, and that is as far back as I could count.”

“It is a great opportunity to tell him how we feel about him to his face. I can’t tell you how happy I am that we are having this kind of event. This is great because we are not here to pay him our last respect as we have done for many of our comrades in the civil society over the past couple of years,” she added.

On her part, Ms Osori of Open Society Foundation said the formation of a group of funders, first known as G3, comprising Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundation and McArthur Foundation, and now G4 with the addition of Luminate, “is a testament to Dr Shetimma’s foresight and late Innocent Chukwuma.”

Consistency as virtue

To Mr Olorunyomi, what Mr Shettima has become is rooted in his foundation, saying as an undergraduate his commitment to a better Nigeria led him to be very active in the student movement.

“When we left school, he started working with organisations like Women in Nigeria, and he went on in adult life to do the kind of work that he does now. I think what he represents is a thoughtful person, culture-blind, extreme fairness, even-minded, and his humility is just unravelling. In spite of the power, so to say, he now has, he continues to be very unassuming and keeps his sense of friendship very unique and distinct,” Mr Olorunyomi said.

Mr Onumah of AFRICMIL corroborated Mr Olorunyomi. He said a man he has known since his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme experience has remained committed to every virtue and principle he carried about 35 years ago when he first met him.

Impact

From Azu Ishiekwene of Leadership Newspaper to Toun Okewale-Sonaiya of Women Radio, Sadiq Radda of BUK and Oliver Stolpe of UNODC, Mr Shettima’s impact in the country’s development sector cannot be overemphasised.

According to Mrs Okewale-Sonaiya, under Mr Shettima’s leadership, “McArthur Foundation gave a lifeline to Women Radio and we are very proud to say this at every opportunity.”

“With support from the Foundation we established the first female academy at the Women Radio Centre where we have trained 62 female journalists across the six geopolitical zones on using investigative tools to demand accountability,” she added.

Similarly, Ms Ahmed also revealed how much Mr Shettima’s support to Radio Now and other initiatives of hers has impacted the society positively.

She said: “What do you say of a man who has enabled you to hold power accountable especially in a country that is so polarised, and where the sort of work that we do can lead to personal cost because everything is politicised with real consequences. It takes a lot of courage to do the kind of work that a lot of people on this platform do. But I must say that the foundation of that courage is Dr Kole Shettima. He has been the person that has made it possible for us to speak truth to power without having to think too much about the impact on our business because he has provided a way for us to do that without going cap in hands to the people who control things in this country.”

Mr Radda, a professor said the history of BUK’ cannot complete without making “a reference to the contributions of Mr Shettima in establishing the Faculty of Communications Faculty of Communications,” and Mr Onumah credited the establishment of a socialist library in Calabar, Cross River State, to the support of Mr Shettima.

“I visited Calabar and proposed a library project to Mr Shettima. He welcomed it and gave some ideas. Today, I am happy to report that the socialist library and archive in Calabar has the largest collection of left literature in Africa- thanks to the ideas of Dr Kole Shettima and his financial support,” Mr Onumah said.

Mr Shettima reacts

Bewildered by the array of dignitaries on the platform and their no-holds-barred remarks, Mr Shettima described the event as a bloodless coup.

“This is a big surprise to me. I never anticipated this kind of celebration that you people have done for me. And I want to thank everyone who has spoken on this platform for all the very kind words- empathetic and sympathetic words, and for everything you have said,” Mr Shettima said.

He said he had shed tears while the comments were being made, even as he attributed the successes recorded by McArthur Foundation to the support by the men and women in his team, and the collaborations shared with various individuals and organisations.

He said: “I have always said that organisations are run by human beings, and I always want us to pay attention to the human beings that work with us, because at the end of the day, it is these human beings that will make all the praise that we get. I have been lucky to have these very wonderful colleagues here in Nigeria and as well as in Chicago who have made the work much easier and much more beautiful for us to be able to do what we are doing.

“I definitely care about people and what we should do. I am sensitive to people’s feelings, and I think the Foundation has given me the platform to appreciate and realise some of my own values. All of us at the Foundation are very fortunate and very lucky to have the resources to pursue what the Foundation believes in and which we all believe in, which is having a world that is better for everyone.”

He thanked AFF for finding him worthy of the celebration, noting that he shares the organisation’s sentiment in appreciating the good in the society. “I have also come to this conclusion that whatever we do these days, let’s all the people that we are working with know, and not until we are having a memorial gathering.”