Some time in 2000 I noticed him, this young and thin bar boy whose table-tennis skills could stop anyone mid-conversation. His reflexes were sharp, his focus even sharper. I have always loved the game, so getting close to him was quick and natural. It did not take long to see that he had more than athletic talent .
He obliged me each time I felt like a game. He could multitask, read the room, and adapt fast. He always knew what the Secretary and his men wanted. Chief Dayo Lawal, then the Vice Chairman of Council wanted. He never failed.
That boy was Isaac Ogbaji. A PhD holder today, but back then he served beer at the F22 Bar inside the NUJ Press Centre in Zone 5, Abuja. I was Secretary of the NUJ at the time, and Isaac, being as perceptive as he was ambitious, understood my soft spot for him. He used it smartly.
Whenever he got into small clashes with colleagues, he would simply say, “Secretary send me” And just like that the matter ended. Before long, the nickname PA to the Secretary stuck, and I even saved his number under that title.
But years after my tenure as Secretary and his as Bar Boy, we kept in touch. He has attended all major family function I organized and always willing to attend to me even when he was the one dispensing favor to me.
But behind this scenario was a young man fighting through a harsh life. He faced setback after setback. Each time frustration almost swallowed him, he called me. And each time, I dropped my own worries to encourage him, to remind him he was built for more than the bar counter.
I guess he never knew that on some days I spend hours encouraging him, I needed encouragement myself. I thank God that it is a success story
He kept pushing, kept studying, kept believing even when nothing seemed to move. Today that same bar boy is a PhD holder, a husband, a father of two and a man whose life is defined by resilience, focus, stubborn hope and the mercy of God.
By ordinary calculations he might have ended up owning a small bar somewhere on the outskirts like Jikwoi, Mutum Biu, Gishiri, or Chika, Aleita or Karmajiji.
But destiny had bigger plans.
I proudly drop the title PA. Congratulations, Dr. Isaac Ogbaji