Once upon a 23 year old Nigerian minister.

During an interview session the featured guest mentioned how Nigeria thirty plus years ago had a twenty three year old minister. I was taken aback. With all the compulsory primary social studies education and museum excursions I had never heard anything of the sort. So I did a little research. Oh, the things we find when we bother to look.

Matthew  Tawo Mbu, born on the 20^th of November 1929 in Okundi Crossriver state was a Nigerian lawyer, Politician, diplomat and a figure in Nigerian political affairs for more than fifty years. He was driven into a career in politics by these words from his childhood mentor ‘Fr Patrick Meeham’- “you are for your people; you go and speak for them”.

His legislative and ministerial posts include:

·         Member representing Ogoja in the Eastern house of assembly and House of Representatives (1952- 1953) at the age of twenty three.

·         Member for Ogoja in the House of Representatives (1954-1955).

·         Member of Parliament for Ogoja (1960-1966).

·         Federal minister of labour (1953- 1954).

·         Ag. Minister of transport (1954) e.t.c

The list is lengthy with over twenty official positions, and since this is not a political history thesis I have mentioned only the relevant few. Let me mention briefly, Obasanjo (vice president at 37), Buhari (governor of north eastern Nigeria at 33), and Gowon in 1966 at the age of 32 became the youngest Nigerian  president ever. When did we fall asleep?  We must rise from this passive coma and dump the ‘someone else must do it’ complex. If we are waiting for the system to change first, we will keep waiting. We must learn to serve and serve diligently. Not serving for what we will get but for what we can give. Once upon a time a 23 year old Nigerian minister, that time must come again.