Personality in Focus
Marwa: Birthday Tribute to an Enigma
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By Femi Babafemi
The danger of writing a tribute to any high profile personality in Nigeria today is obvious: the writer runs the risk of being misrepresented as a political praise singer, or at times, time and tide can cast him as a bootlicker, especially, if the subject of his adulation suffers a reversal of fortune, materially or reputation-wise. But with Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), OFR, you can safely write an eulogy because, you can be sure that ten years later, his stock will remain bullish. So, as he clocks 68 today, September 9, 2021, any piece of writing about him is no piece of sophistry because Marwa has been as constant as the Northern Star in the affairs of leadership, as he is presently exhibiting as the Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, where his exploits are making leadership such a fine art that gladdens the hearts of many Nigerians and international partners in this unending season of anomie.
Indeed, to those who know him up close and personal, Marwa is an enigma: humble, self-effacing, industrious, practical, efficient by nature, diligent, always thinking about things he needs to accomplish or how to get ahead on his next assignment, a complete Virgo, if you care to assess him by his Zodiac sign. But in plain terms, he is a case of a man who set out to always make a difference wherever he found himself. Not the kind of difference other men pursue to grandstand, but the type that impacts humanity and makes life easier for people. And of this, his track record is unassailable.
A look back at his trajectory gives a chronicle of exemplary service to the country and a profile of pure patriotism from an individual. He could have chosen to live his life as an ordinary soldier, or at best be content with his name in the history book as one of the ‘boys’ of military maximum rulers. But he chose a different road to travel. Borno State remembers him as the military governor who gave them peace and security at a perilous time when rebels from Chad were raiding Nigerian border communities, not unlike the ravage of Boko Haram and bandits across today’s Nigeria. A practical Marwa had shown the necessity of firm action in such grave matters by birthing Operation Yaki, a combined Joint Task Force of military formation, and in few months reined in the Bandidos from across the border, making his territory safe and secure. Lagos State also remembers him as a hero, for bringing sanity, order, peace, progress to an otherwise, chaotic near-dystopic state, groping and groaning under the siege of local and transnational robbers. Col. Marwa solved the Gordian knot with Operation Sweep. Now at the NDLEA, it is too early to talk about the Marwa Revolution, but he has orchestrated a turnaround that signals a rebirth of the anti-narcotic agency at a time when the country needs to escalate its fight against illicit drugs.
For Marwans, his exploit did not come as a surprise. Everywhere he has served, he has always left indelible marks and his first six months in the NDLEA has brought the agency from relegation and obscurity to the frontline position that has attracted both local and international partnerships. His leadership at the NDLEA is refreshing to the collective psyche of Nigerians and a loud rebuttal to the tribe of pessimists, locally and globally, who cling to the odious belief that Nigerians are incapable of effective leadership.
Thunder, it is said, doesn’t strike twice; well, in the case of Marwa, it strikes repeatedly. Nigerians used to think the height of his service was Lagos, with what is unreeling in the NDLEA, Marwa’s leadership magnum opus is perhaps yet to come. The cynical assumption that his achievements in Lagos were due to the military ecosystem of the time has fallen flat like a pack of cards with the ongoing transformation of the NDLEA. Out of Khaki, garbed in Babanriga, Marwa has been able to transmit military’s discipline, purpose-driven action and go-getting attitude to the workforce of a paramilitary organisation operating in a laissez-faire society. How he did it, is, again, the stuff of leadership.
Yet, if Borno and Lagos seem a distant memory, here before us, is what is fast becoming a locus classicus of leadership, this rejuvenation of NDLEA, which stands in sharp relief against the backdrop of the insecurity in the country. He has been one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s best appointments thus far.
Without any doubt, there is a swell in the number of students of the Marwa School of Leadership. The younger generation, who only heard of his exploits of yesteryears are now seeing evidence of management skill, and are paying attention to the lessons therein.
Right before their eyes, Marwa is teaching the anatomy of how to make an organisation relevant. Previously, NDLEA was down in the sinkhole of obscurity, but Marwa engineered a resurgence that has seen the Agency basking in the limelight for its record-breaking achievement. 8,634 arrests. 1,630 convictions. Over two million kilograms of drugs seized. Over N100 billion in cash and drugs seized. And the officers and men of the NDLEA are still rearing to go. What magic? No, magic, but a prudent application of management principles from the master of the game.
Marwa is also teaching the mechanics of how to win support for a cause as he continues to crisscross the length and breadth of Nigeria talking to communities and their leaders, about the imperative of joining forces to defeat the twin evils of illicit drug abuse and trafficking. And he’s doing a good job at it.
Another lesson from him is that thorny problems should be approached with offensive campaigns (like he has done with the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA initiative and Operation Offensive Action), motivated workforces and strategic alliance with critical partners.
Today, he stands tall as a colossus, one of Nigeria’s emblems of capable leadership, an amalgam of the best of Harvard education, Nigeria’s military capabilities, and the virtues of a Nigerian. Far removed from the tribal sentiment that is fast gaining root in the country, his cosmopolitan outlook has won him friends from North, West, South and East of Nigeria, and a firm recognition as a one-of-a-kind pan-Nigerian leader.
As he clocks 68 today, Nigerians including myself have only prayers, plenty of prayers for him, wishing him many happy returns, and wishing to continue to see him in leadership positions where he can better improve the lot of the citizenry of this country.
Femi Babafemi is NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy
Personality in Focus
Veteran Actor Olu Jacobs Dies at 84
Veteran Nigerian actor and elder statesman, Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs, has died at the age of 84.
The actor’s death was announced by his son, Olusoji Jacobs, on Instagram on Wednesday.
Olu Jacobs was one of Nigeria’s most respected actors and a towering figure in the country’s theatre, television and film industries.
For more than five decades, Jacobs built a career that took him from the stage in Britain to international films and, ultimately, to becoming one of the most recognisable faces of Nollywood.
Born on July 11, 1942, in Kano, Jacobs had his roots in the Egba Alake community of Abeokuta, Ogun State. He grew up in Kano, where he developed an early interest in acting through school drama, debating activities, and church programmes.
His passion for the performing arts was strengthened after he watched a performance by legendary Nigerian theatre practitioner Hubert Ogunde. The experience inspired him to pursue acting professionally.
Personality in Focus
Michael Dell Overtakes Jeff Bezos As World’s Third Wealthiest Billionaire
Michael Dell, on Tuesday, overtook Jeff Bezos in Forbes’ billionaire rankings, edging past the Amazon co-founder as shares of Dell Technologies reached an all-time high, extending a six-month rally.Dell’s estimated net worth rose $4.6 billion to reach $267.7 billion at market close Tuesday afternoon, making him the third-wealthiest person in the world for the first time ever.
Dell trails Alphabet co-founder Larry Page ($277.9 billion) and Tesla chief Elon Musk ($942 billion).
Shares of Dell Technologies rose 1.9% to close at an all-time high of $533.88 on Tuesday, and traded as high as $538.47 earlier in the day.
Bezos’ estimated net worth dropped $1.4 billion to $265.2 billion as Amazon shares fell 0.6%.
Dell’s net worth has more than doubled since last year as his company has benefited from booming demand for artificial intelligence hardware.
327%. That is how much Dell’s stock has rocketed since the start of the year, when shares were priced around the $128 mark. Michael Dell holds a roughly 40% stake in his company and has much of his fortune wrapped up in his private investment firm DFO Management, which invests in hotels and liquid corporate credit. Dell’s net worth has soared alongside his company’s earnings, allowing him to surpass Meta co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison in recent months.
Dell Technologies is a week removed from its second-quarter earnings report in which it logged $47 billion in revenue, a 58% jump year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share of $7.04, a threefold increase from the same period last year. The company’s AI server business logged a record $60.9 billion in orders and accounted for $16.4 billion in revenue. The growth, and what chief financial officer David Kennedy called “AI momentum,” resulted in Dell Technologies raising its full-year revenue guidance $25 billion to an anticipated $192 billion.
Personality in Focus
NAOSNP President, Oki Samson Bags Police-Youth Advocate Award
The Lagos State Police Command under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Tijani, on Thursday, honoured the President of the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), Mayor Oki Olatunji Samson, as a Police-Youth Advocate for his contribution to youth engagement and advocacy, responsible security journalism and community safety.
The recognition came during the Command’s commemoration of International Youth Day 2026, themed “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations,” held at the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA) Secretariat, Oduduwa Street, Lagos.
The event also featured the launch of the National Campaign Against Political and Digital Thuggery and a Police-Youth Dialogue designed to build stronger partnerships between law enforcement and young Nigerians. The initiative, in line with the vision of Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, placed youth participation, responsible citizenship and peacebuilding at the centre of contemporary security discourse.
In his address at the event, the NAOSNP President, a respected security journalist, stressed that youth advocacy must move beyond rhetoric to deliberate investment in the values, opportunities and relationships that enable young people to become agents of stability. He argued that the youth should not be viewed simply as potential victims or perpetrators of insecurity, but as indispensable stakeholders in preventing it. According to him, the digital space has become an extension of society and therefore requires the same standards of responsibility expected in the physical world.
The NAOSNP President urged young Nigerians to recognise the power of their voices, particularly on social media, and deploy that influence constructively. “Your phone is powerful. Your social media account is powerful. Your voice is powerful. Please use that power to build, not destroy.” He further challenged young people to resist political manipulation, stressing that no temporary political reward could justify sacrificing one’s future.
“Do not allow anyone to use your future to settle their present disagreement.”
He advocated a culture in which political differences could be expressed without becoming personal hostility, urging youths to verify information before sharing it and to understand that digital actions can have real-world consequences.
The intervention resonated strongly with the message of the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Tijani Fatai, who warned young people against allowing politicians to exploit them for electoral violence as the country approaches another election cycle. Fatai said youths must look beyond immediate gratification and recognise the importance of preserving their future.
“Tomorrow is there for us. We should not think of today. We should always think of tomorrow. That tomorrow is more important than what we are today.”
The CP also delivered a particularly strong message against the recruitment of young Nigerians into political thuggery, noting that political actors rarely expose their own children to the dangers of electoral violence. “None of these politicians will use any of their children for electioneering, thuggery, violence or what have you.”
He urged youths to reject attempts to use them for ballot-box snatching, intimidation, destruction of property and other forms of electoral violence, while stressing that political participation remained a legitimate right when exercised responsibly.
The Commissioner equally identified the digital environment as an emerging frontier of security, urging young Nigerians to think carefully before posting, sharing or reacting to provocative content. His message was clear: political participation must never become political violence, whether offline or online.
In his goodwill message, Commander, 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Ayokunle Owolabi, described the campaign as timely and commended the Police for strengthening engagement with young Nigerians. Owolabi noted that the energy, creativity and resilience of young people remained indispensable to Nigeria’s peace, security and development. He emphasised that national security could no longer be regarded as the exclusive responsibility of security agencies, but required a whole-of-society approach in which young Nigerians become active partners. He particularly warned against the misuse of digital platforms and physical spaces for violence, intimidation, misinformation and destructive engagement, while calling for stronger trust and communication between young people and security institutions.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), SP Olivia Amarachi Ugochukwu, urged young people to become the change they desire in their communities.
“Policing is everybody’s business. If you see something, say something.”
She also charged the media to ensure that only verified information was disseminated, noting that responsible information management was essential to preventing fear, confusion and conflict.
The well attended event attracted representatives of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, NDLEA, FRSC and NSCDC, alongside NYSC, POCACOV, PCRC, NYCN, NANS, NURTW, RTEAN, CRAN, NAOSNP, POWA and youths from Police Barracks across Lagos. The programme featured an extensive Police-Youth Dialogue on security, political participation, social media, cultism, thuggery and emerging threats.
The recognition of Mayor Oki Samson as Police-Youth Advocate therefore represented more than an individual honour. It underscored the growing importance of credible voices capable of connecting young people, the media and security institutions around a shared commitment to peace.
In a society where insecurity can be amplified by a rumour, a provocative post or a manipulated young mind, youth advocacy has become a frontline security intervention. The future of Nigeria cannot be secured merely by policing the streets; it must also be secured by winning the minds, trust and participation of its young people.
The challenge before advocates such as Mayor Oki Samson and institutions such as the Police is to ensure that the message does not end with an award or a commemorative event. It must travel into schools, communities, newsrooms, transport parks and digital spaces—until peace becomes not merely a campaign slogan, but a conscious choice made by a generation whose future is ultimately at stake.






