I joined politics to serve humanity—Senator Bassey Otu
KEMI ASHEFON
There are moments you just refuse a gift from Mother Nature. Senator Bassey Edet Otu is an example. According to him, his patch of grey hair put him in trouble from when he was only nine. Though genetic, he never appreciated it till he became an adult.
”My father had the patch and mine sprouted when I was nine,” Otu recalls. ”Initially, at that age I didn‘t like it because it singled me out in the crowd. Moreover, some mischievous children in my class would play pranks and when they were caught, they would finger me as the culprit. Immediately, I was recognised because of the patch and I got into trouble. That continued till my secondary school days, but there was nothing I could do about the hair.”
But reprieve came his way as an undergraduate. ”I became used to it and realised that it added to my good looks and I maintained it,” he says. ”But as I grew older, it blended with my age and I became used to it.”
A graduate of sociology from the University of Calabar, he started his career in banking and then moved to the petroleum sector. He says, “I was there (in the banking sector) till my people asked that I represent them in 2001. Before then, I was not fascinated by politics because people we voted for would not deliver our message at the parliament. Though I was involved in community development and other issues affecting the welfare of the communities, I was not a politician.”
After the call from his people, there was the hurdle to cross on the home-front. He explains, “My wife never agreed with the call. She was afraid of happenings in politics and thought that something evil could happen. But I assured her of God‘s backing.
”To me, it was a call from God and a way of making me contribute to the society. I felt if we see it as service, those fears of hers would disappear. So, she gave her unflinching support and I contested election in 2003, won and returned in 2007.
”Over the years, I have added experience to whatever I had before politics and in a new democracy like ours, we have to make sure that the rules of the game are kept. I believe that we are making progress as the years roll by.”
The first born in a family of seven, his upbringing in a home, where educationists are parents, did make a difference in his relationship with people. ”I was born and grew up in Calabar and Jos,” says Otu, who is also a pastor in Calabar. ”My father was the principal of the school of the Church of Scotland and he was transferred to the mission in Jos.
”We moved during the war. Our parents were very strict and we saw the discipline as very harsh. They preached about fairness, they cautioned against selfishness and pride. My mother was a teacher and she is still a headmistress of a school in Calabar, which is owned by the Presbyterian Church. I remember that some children would come to our house on holidays and anytime we tried to behave as the real ‘house-owners,’ we were beaten.
”They created in us the mentality of fairness and the fear of God. Ironically, what we saw as a pain then has become a gain for us now because I believe in fairness and I make sure everyone is treated equally, even in my home. As a politician, I also preach same message and I think it has paid off for me.”
But there is a snag somewhere: “All those things that we learnt are no longer in our midst. When we were growing up, the society was not like this,” he laments. ”This is because the moral fabric, which weaves the society together, has broken under the weight of modernity and strange culture coming to the system.
”Our kids are no longer exposed to good life. The driving force has almost left some individuals but what pushes me on currently, are the reminiscences of what happened in the past – quality education, employment order and lots more. That propels me to see how I can contribute my part to make the society good.”
There is another aspect of his life that is amusing. Aside from his call as a politician and pastor, the father of four is also a farmer. He adds, “I have always loved farming and I have a big farm in my constituency in Calabar. But for politics, I would have been a farmer. Already, I have a rubber plantation; there is cassava; we keep goats and other livestock. I must have taken after my father because there was no place my father was posted during his teaching career without having farms.”
Talking about his wife and family life, Senator Out said: “When I was younger, I indulged in such things as partying and all that, but I am now older, more mature and focused. I have a beautiful wife and I must make sure that my kids are not embarrassed by my actions in anyway.”
Recalling how he met his wife, Otu, who is from a royal family says, “It was in Calabar and she was the youngest of all my friends. Then I was a young man, handsome and a bank manager. What made me settle for her was that she was the youngest of my friends and very bold.
”I felt I needed someone who was independent-minded. Though some men don‘t like such traits, I do because she would take over events whenever I am not around. In fact, I don‘t mind female independence as long as you don‘t exhibit such with me. God has made the man head and I don‘t negotiate that power. I respect my wife and coming from a very strong family, I knew she was the kind of person I needed that nobody would bomb her out of her rights.”
Then he stuns you about the riches of politics. He says, “Forget the flamboyant cars or lifestyles of some legislators; it is not all government money. Some are also into their private businesses. It is easy for banks to lend legislator money because they know he would not run away and they know his constituency. In fact, there are some legislators who could not make it back to the parliament after elections and ended up selling those cars and houses.”
