AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY EJIRO JOYCE OTIVE-IGBUZOR AT A GRAND RECEPTION TO HONOUR DR EMMANUEL ONI IDIGBE ORGANISED BY THE WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CENTRE (WERHC) ON TUESDAY 12TH AUGUST 2008 AT VALENCIA HOTEL, WUSE II, ABUJA
The Chairperson, Dr Timi Koripamo-Agary, Guest Speaker, Mr Fabian Okoye, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. It is my pleasure and privilege to present this address to this gathering of distinguished women and men from all walks of life. It is not always that we have the honour of relaxing over a meal with people we cherish and respect deeply. I invite you to relax and enjoy the moment.
My speech focuses on The Man Idigbe. As the saying goes, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. When people close their eyes and touch an elephant, they have various unlinked descriptions depending on the part they touch. I do not claim to completely know the man Idigbe. No doubt, he is a man of many parts. All I can tell you about is the part of him that I know from my professional work under him. Even then, one evening will not be enough to tell the whole story.
I joined the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Maiduguri Out Station as Junior Research Fellow. I remember being interviewed by Mr E. Obi, the Director of Admin and Dr Harry among others. While working in Maiduguri, I heard lots of good tales about Dr Idigbe who was then my Head of Department. I heard about his leadership by example, how he would go into the Tuberculosis Laboratory by himself to demonstrate to his staff and give them hands-on training. My direct encounter with him began when I got transferred to NIMR Headquarters in Yaba Lagos. Then, Dr Idigbe was already the Director General. I understand that there was a long drawn battle over his confirmation as DG because all other DGs before him were Medical Doctors. I personally do not know why the DG of a Research Institute should compulsorily be a Medical Doctor. The summary of it all is that Dr E. Oni Idigbe became the first Academic-Doctor-Director General of NIMR having distinguished himself in his chosen career as a Medical Microbiologist.
Idigbe the Researcher and Fundraiser
I knew Dr Idigbe as a passionate researcher who could hardly be removed from the Laboratory. We are alike in that wise because till date, when I put on my Lab Coat and go into the Lab, I get lost in the job and could work from dawn to dusk because I find Laboratory work so interesting. If I had my way, I would have a Laboratory attached to my office or my kitchen.
Dr Idigbe loves research so much that even when the government was not forthcoming with funds for research he single-handedly linked NIMR with international organizations and donors like the Ford Foundation, WHO, APIN etc and attracted lots of resources to NIMR, transforming it into a Centre of Excellence.
When you google-search Emmanuel Oni Idigbe, one of the things that will immediately come up is his description in Wikipedia, the free internet Encyclopedia. It says
‘Oni Emmanuel Idigbe is the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Yaba, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. He became the substantive Director General in 2000 after acting in that capacity from 1999. His area of Research is in tuberculosis and HIV infection. He has published over 65 scientific papers in both Local and international peer review journal in this subject area’.
Indeed there is no hiding place for the goldfish! How many papers does one require to become a professor? Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Professor E. Oni Idigbe.
Idigbe the Leader
“There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. To manage means to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct. Leading is influencing, guiding in a direction, course, action, opinion. The distinction is crucial” – Warren Bennis
The manager administers; the leader innovates.
- The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
- The manager maintains; the leader develops.
- The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
- The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
- The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it.
- The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
- The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
- The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon.
- The manager imitates; the leader originates.
- The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
- The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person[1][1].
Managers think incrementally, whilst leaders think radically. “Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing.” . This means that managers do things by the book and follow company policy, while leaders follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of more benefit to the company. A leader is more emotional than a manager. “Men are governed by their emotions rather than their intelligence” . This quotation illustrates why teams choose to follow leaders. “Leaders stand out by being different. They question assumption and are suspicious of tradition. They seek out the truth and make decisions based on fact, not prejudice. They have a preference for innovation.” [2][2]
Ladies and gentlemen, Idigbe is indeed a leader. At NIMR, he was radical, challenging the statusquo, making decisions based on facts, bringing innovation into his work. Join me to celebrate Idigbe the leader.
Idigbe the hard worker
Dr Idigbe is hard work and diligence personified. As researcher, he was always in the Lab. As DG, he shuttled between the Labs and his office. People always lined up outside his door and he made effort to see everyone. On several occasions, he was in his office till late in the evening including some weekends. I do not know whether this was good for his health but he also had time to exercise. On some occasions when I called to discuss on weekends, he mentioned that he was on his way to play tennis and I marveled at how such a busy man could find the time to do so. That is something that many of us need to emulate. Idigbe also respects hard workers and you are only likely to be his friend or favourite worker if you are intelligent and hardworking.
Idigbe the Role Model, Motivator and Mentor
A role model is “a person whose behavior in a particular role is imitated by others.” A mentor is “a trusted counselor, guide, tutor or coach.” Mentoring is a way to take role modeling to the next level by teaching protégés the details of who you are, how you think, what you’ve done, and why you have something worth pursuing. In essence, mentoring is one-on-one leadership[3][3]. According to John Maxwell, Leadership is influence. Leaders who mentor potential leaders multiply their effectiveness. There is no success without a successor.”
Idigbe completely inspired confidence in me. He recognized my potential and brought out the best in me. Within one month of relocating to headquarters, I published and launched my first book Deadly Paradise in NIMR. He fully supported me. When my activist side could not be kept under control, he tolerated me. I hosted several meetings in NIMR without fear of rebuke. Each time he had a paper to present on issues relating to empowerment, he called me to represent him. Then one day, he was invited by Biotec Laboratories to come to Cape Town to train on a new technology for TB testing – the Phage-based Fastplaque Method at the South Africa Institute of Medical Research (SAIMR). He asked me to represent him. His reason for not going was that he was no longer on the bench and he needed someone who would actually use the training. I found this very impressive. Many of his mates would have attended that training even if it was just for the estacode. It turned out that only two of us represented Nigeria at the training. My partner was Dr Yemi Sofola, the then National Coordinator of the National TB and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP). On return from Cape Town, I requested that NIMR supports the organization of a National Training on Fastplaque-TB testing and Dr Idigbe promptly approved it. The Phage-based test subsequently became the subject of my PhD research.
Dr Idigbe indeed created space for me (and several others) to grow. I did grow and NIMR could no longer contain me. Though I loved research, my deepest passion was in development work and women’s rights activism. I had to take a painful decision to leave NIMR and make a career out of passion. Till date, Dr Idigbe remains one of my greatest role models and mentors.
Idigbe the disciplinarian
Idigbe inspires discipline and does not tolerate nonsense (as we say in Nigeria). When he summoned you to his office, you had to count your teeth with your tongue to be sure that you have not misbehaved. Idigbe did not hesitate to tongue-lash anyone when they deserved it. On a bad day, he would hit his fist on the table to drive home his point.
Idigbe the humble and jovial leader
On a great day, when you meet Idigbe in his element, e.g. when he has just successfully secured a new grant for NIMR, he is likely to tell you stories and stories of his ordeal, his loud laughter often shakes the office, warming up the lives of the people around him, no matter their position.
Conclusion
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr Idigbe has distinguished himself as an icon. It is amazing that people sometimes do not know how much positive influence they have on others. When I mentioned to him that I was organizing a reception in his honour, he replied that he didn’t know what he had done to deserve the honour. Such is the humility of Dr Idigbe. Ladies and gentlemen, join me to celebrate, a leader, a role model, a mentor, one of Nigeria’s best professionals. May God grant us grace to do as much as you have done Sir.