Honour To A Man Of Great Character, Muhammed Mustafa Lecky@ 70, by Gabriel Omonhinmin

On Friday 2nd of August, 2024, all roads lead to Abuja, the Nation capital, to celebrate one of Nigeria’s outstanding leaders, Dr. Muhammed Mustafa Lecky, as he marks 70th birthday.

I have decided to do this tribute with the conviction that Dr. Lecky has done enough for himself, his immediate family, Community and for the Country to deserve a tribute of this nature.
Such a statesman needs to be celebrated to encourage others coming after him, that whatever little contributions they are able to make, no matter how long it takes, it will one day be remembered and recognized by God and man.

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I am in a position to do this tribute, because right from our childhood, all through our adolescent days, up till now that we are both in our early 70s, I know Dr. Lecky and have followed his educational and career progression till date with keen interest. I am therefore unashamedly doing this tribute because I am in a position to do so.

Right from Monday, August 2nd 1954, when Dr. Lecky was born, it was obvious that he was a child of destiny, who is set to make an indelible mark in the history of his immediate family and the country at large.

His father, Alhaji Abubakar Yaro Lecky, being a deeply religious man, wasted no time in naming him after the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammed-Mustafa (PBUH) since he shares the same birth week with the Prophet of Islam.

In preparation for him to do greater exploits later in life, Alhaji as his father was fondly called, made sure, he completed the study of the Holy Qu’ran at the young age of 12, a feat children of his age and time could not boast of doing. I recalled with nostalgia in the year 1966, the Wulimat that took place in the Otaru of Auchi palace.

Otaru Abu Keremi who personal observed this epoch event was well seated on his throne on that day. And this was during his reign as the Otaru of Auchi Sacred Kingdom. I still imagine the rapped attention of all the Muslim clerics present at the occasion led by the then Chief Imam of Auchi Sacred Kingdom, as they listened, as Mustafa cleared his throat and began the recitation of the portion of the Holy Qu’ran he was made to recite of heart as his voice rang a bell as he began after Al-Fatia “Aleefi Lami…” he recited that portion gleefully to the applause and admiration of all the Ulamar. After which, he was presented with a certificate of completion of the study of Holy Qu’ran. Among the people present in the crowded palace on that day who were on Alhaji Yaro-Lecky side were Mama Sametu Dr
Lecky’s perternal ground mother, Mallam Yakubu Nise, Mama Al-hassan, Mama Okonob Awuta Akunegbe Elamah an aunty to Alhaji Yaro-Lecky, Mallam Baso and Otelifi Alhaji bosom friends alongside almost all the married women in the Elamah/Lecky compound.

The dance and procession that followed as Mustafa was carried shoulder high alongside our elder sister, Odion from the Otaru’s place after the event to the Elamah compound in Auchi was a sight to behold. Those days of little beginning no doubt helped to shape Mustafa’s life to be great man of Character that he has turned out to be 58 years after.

Unfortunately, when the issue of “character” is in the news in present day Nigeria, the focus is usually on character failure – lack of integrity, material unfaithfulness, greed and dishonesty. So, to be able to talk about a man of great character in positive terms, is a privilege.

When I was thinking about the title of this particular article, I was indecisive about whether it should be “To a Great Man of Character” or “Dr. Muhammed Mustafa Lecky: Honour To A Man of Great Character”. I obviously, chose the latter for two reasons. First, in the world’s eyes, I don’t know if Dr. Lecky would be characterized as a “great man” in the general terms of incredible success professionally or in terms of raw talent.

Although he has always been a very talented person while we were growing up in several areas in the late 60s and early 70s, he is also quite successful in his chosen areas of endeavor today as an adult. Most people, who know Dr. Lecky and have interacted very closely with him focused more on his quality as a person.

So, the second reason I chose this title is because almost everyone, who knows Dr. Lecky readily agrees that he is indeed a “Great Character.” It is his character that distinguishes him from other men especially his peers. His character traits have also impacted a lot of persons, who have dealt with him closely or from afar. Especially people like my humble self, who grew up with him and found him worthy of emulation. Mustafa was born and raised in the legendary family of Elamah of Utsogun Quarters of Auchi Sacred Kingdom.

For the benefit of the people, who are not too familiar with the qualities exhibited by Mustafa, I would want to highlight some of these qualities that stood Mustafa out among his peers.

For example, so many people might begin to wonder why is Mustafa looking so healthy at age 70, if you must know this little secret, he usually and deliberately avoid stress. If we must all know, stress makes every disease worse.

Mustafa exhibits a lot of forgiveness, the quicker we learn to forgive ourselves and forgive others, the quicker our relief from depression and stress.

Every health study I have seen in the past ten years has an element of letting go of our past hurts and torments if we must live healthy and look healthy.

This is necessary because the heart of all the diseases most people suffer from is further complicated with the level of stress we endure daily.

Stress as a matter of fact, makes every disease worse. If we therefore want to get rid of all the diseases we are presently suffering from, we must first learn to be at ease with ourselves, and do a thing or two to help others, as Mustafa always does. Because any little help we render to people in needs of our help is also a great relief to our health and souls as human beings.

For the benefit of the people, who do not know the true meaning of disease – It simply means “This is it”. If we therefore want to get rid of the diseases that afflict us, we must first learn to be at ease with ourselves, learn to forgive and let go, and look forward and stop looking back. But if we must look back to those dark episodes of our lives, when we were hurt, let it always be that we are looking back with forgiveness, let it never be with hurt, bitterness and anger.

Let it be that we are looking back with forgiveness, this is what Mustafa does with ease. It is this attitude of Mustafa that has uplifted the Alhaji Abubakar Yaro-Lecky immediate family and made it the envy of other families in Auchi Scared Kingdom.

When we look forward in life, let us always look forward with hope, it doesn’t matter where we find ourselves currently, it could be in the darkest part of a prison, it could be physical or emotional prison, we should always look forward with hope. When we look down, what I mean by looking down, is that, there are lots of people in our immediate surroundings or communities that always need our help, people that don’t have quite as much as we do, it may not be money such people need from us.

What they might require from us, might be as little as our time. It could be just a smile or words of encouragement that those people need from us. It could be much more in some rare cases. When we are looking down, we should always look down with great compassion because compassion doesn’t just help the person we assume we are helping, it also helps us the doer too.

From what I have come to know of Muhammed Mustafa these past 70 years of our existence, he has long learnt to look up to Allah, the maker of all that exist with gratitude. He is of the strong belief, that wherever we find ourselves today, it is God that has taken us there, and God will equally take us to wherever pleases him at the right time. During one of my discussions with him, he said, “Gabriel, I don’t own anything in life, anything that has pleased Allah to bestow on me, is for me to help others, who are actually in need of my help. What I cherished most above any other thing is my life, that I don’t even have control over as a person, as Allah may choose to take it as we are discussing now.

Why bother about the unnecessary things of life?” As he, Allah has a great future for all of us. We should therefore, be full of hope and gratitude because we serve a mighty God. God will never leave us, he will never ever abandon us. You just imagine if everyone abandons us at some point as a human being, God in his infinite mercy will never abandon us. We therefore need to be grateful for this.

As human beings, we are bound to be hurt at one stage or another during our journey through life, but what Mustafa does, is that when he is looking back to his past, he does so, with a heart of forgiveness, he never looked back with hurt and bitterness as most people do these days. In everything he does, he usually look forward with hope. He does this as a devout Muslim, who daily look forward to Allah for help. Allah alone who is also the owner of all that exist. Another steering quality of Dr.Muhammed Mustafa Lecky, is that every day of his life, he usually looks down with a lot of compassion for the poor and needy in our society.

Another unknown quality of Dr. Lecky, is that he tries very hard never to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders no matter the situation he finds himself.
In certain classes of people, there are usually internal wars; the war that doesn’t take place on the battlefield, but in their bedroom, their work pleases and homes.

It is a war that results in uclers or an increase in blood pressure. Everything frustrates them. They become angry at inflation, furious because the rains came much earlier than they expect, and exasperated when the value of the Naira falls. These people are forever perturbed and vexed, no matter whatever their reason(s); It is said in Qu’ran 63: 4 (“They think that every cry is against them”) Mustafa does free himself from this unnecessary burden, because Allah said that “people who are principled are upon the true path are not shaken by hardship; instead, their faith increases. But the reverse is the case for the weak-hearted; when they face adversity or trouble, it is only their level of fear that increases.”

Other qualities people might want to know, is that Mustafa is a very compassionate person and leader, he recognizes that every team member is not only a significant individual but also an essential thread in the fabric of an entire organization. He strives always to enhance the happiness and well-being of the people he works and interact with daily by supporting them and giving them what they need to excel.

Responsible-Responsibility is at the core of Dr. Lecky’s life. Shouldering the responsibility of leading the Elamah/Lecky larger family is a thing he enjoys doing.
Guiding his children through infancy to adolescent and into their adult lives; taking responsibility to provide leadership in most organisations he has worked, he is committed to his religion and practice it with lots of zeal.

Mustafa like a true leader that he is, possesses a great degree of wisdom, compassion, integrity, courage, vision, charisma, patience, and adaptability. These qualities have obviously separated him from so many other persons. Hence, he is generally regarded as a great man of character. As he marks his day today, please join me in wishing him well and long life. Happy Birthday Doc.