BARKINDO’S FINAL WORDS TO ME – FEMI ADESHINA MOURNS
Read Time:4 Minute, 56 Second
The proverb “here today, gone tomorrow” is prevalent. On the other hand, Alhaji Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, the OPEC Secretary-General who was leaving office at the time, was only there in the morning and absent at night.
On Tuesday, July 5, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari had a meeting scheduled with Barkindo, the OPEC scribe who was wrapping up his six-year term of service by 10 a.m.
We began assembling in the council room, where the meeting would take place. Barkindo traveled with some OPEC Secretariat personnel as well as two of his sons. Bigwigs from the oil sector, including Mele Kyari, GMD NNPC Company Limited, Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and other senior figures, were all present to pay tribute to a real Nigerian son who had made his country proud both at home and abroad.
Barkindo saw me from a distance, behind the podium, as the Master of Ceremonies before the event began. He sprang up from his chair and walked quickly up to me. We had been acquainted when he was the NNPC’s group managing director from 2009 to 2010. Since then, every encounter we’ve had has been enjoyable and friendly. He had sent me a holiday gift only last December, all the way from Vienna, OPEC’s headquarters.
In order to welcome Alhaji Barkindo, I emerged from behind the podium. He prayed that God would reward me as we shook hands and he praised me for what he said were the wonderful activities I had been doing “for President Buhari and for the country.” I nodded my assent, wished him luck for the future, and congratulated him on a job well done at OPEC.
But after that day, there would be no more, at least not on this side of the barrier. I, Alhaji Barkindo, and perhaps everyone else in that chamber at the time, were unaware of it, though.
President Buhari entered the room at precisely ten (he almost never misses it). Then the event began. After singing the National Anthem, I asked Minister Sylva to make some opening remarks. He congratulated the President for helping Barkindo succeed throughout his tenure of office and recalled the assistance he had given the man in his quest to become the OPEC scribe.
The exciting scribe was the next to speak. He had always been overweight, but did he appear a little leaner now? I didn’t think about it too much. You usually lose some weight as you age. The only thing that mattered was how well-kept he looked.
Barkindo expressed his gratitude to the President with fervor and sincerity. Whoever knew at the time that it was an au revoir
“Mr. President, Excellence, renowned oil industry colleagues.” This audience you are providing me today, along with my OPEC Secretariat colleagues and my fellow citizens in the oil industry in our beloved nation, sincerely humbles me. Please allow me to remark that you have given me the opportunity to serve as the 28th Secretary-General of OPEC, which is a once-in-a-lifetime honor. I’ll always be appreciative.
“I recall vividly that when I assumed office in the summer of 2016 in Vienna, oil prices had dropped to below ten dollars per barrel. It was very obvious to me that it was beyond OPEC alone to handle. I recall that I consulted with you on telephone, and I benefited, indeed, drank from your deep knowledge of OPEC affairs. And we were able to steady the oil market.
“Throughout the period I served, I benefited from your tremendous goodwill. Everywhere I went in this world, both within OPEC and outside, the first person that Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings ask for is you. They say, how is my brother, President Buhari? I, therefore, benefited from this charisma of yours, the international gravitas you have, and it made my job much easier.
“I try to follow your large footsteps. And the future looks very promising.
“On behalf of OPEC, I thank you very much. I wish you good health, long life, and continued service to humanity.”
It’s honor of a lifetime, he said. Did he know that the life was ebbing out, indeed, to terminate that very day?
I’ll forever remain grateful, he also said. Did he know that forever was just at the door, and about to knock? Oh, this world is fleeting, ephemeral, will-o’-the-wisp. What is man that thou art mindful of him? Man, whose breath is in his nostrils, the Good Book says.
We are as good as that breath in our nostrils. When it ceases, we are done, gone, across the bridge, to eternal life. If only we are conscious of this daily. But as human beings, we often forget, and live as if it would last forever. But the masquerade festival always ends, no matter how long it lasts. Therefore, whether it’s long or short, let’s make our life matter. Barkindo did, and it ended at 63. He now rests, after what Shakespeare calls“life’s fitful fever,” where we are like actors on a stage, and we have our entrances and exits.
President Buhari applauded Barkindo’s service to Nigeria and OPEC. He then directed stakeholders in the oil industry to organize a befitting reception to welcome him home. The directive was followed by massive applause. But it won’t happen. He won’t need it now.
We dispersed from the event, full of joy. The honored guest spoke at another oil and gas event in Abuja later that day. And by 11 pm, he bade the world goodbye. Out in a blaze of glory.
Rest, they say, is sweet after labor. Barkindo had a lifetime of work. He was poised to have his due rest. But the rest became eternal. He has been laid to rest in his native Yola, Adamawa State. May God grant him Aljannah Firdaus. Amin.
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