WHY I WANT TO BE GOVERNOR OF RIVERS STATE - BY CHIEF. BARR. DUMO LULU BRIGGS

nationalweekender Al Humphrey Onyanabo No comments :

WHY I WANT TO BE GOVERNOR OF RIVERS STATE

- BY CHIEF. BARR. DUMO LULU BRIGGS

He is ebony black, handsome and hunky; the kind of guy that would have
made a career playing pro basketball in the NBA. He is also calm,
humble, intelligent, introspective, soft spoken - a gentleman. Welcome
to the world of Chief Dumo Owukori Lulu Briggs; lawyer, businessman,
technocrat, politician and philanthropist.
Dumo makes no pretentions about being a rich man’s kid. His father
Chief O .B lulu Briggs is easily the richest man in the Niger Delta.
His company Moni Pulo Ltd drills and exports crude oil; He is an
elder statesman, politician and legendary philanthropist whose name
and goodwill opens doors all over the country. He was also national
vice chairman of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN. His dad,
Dumo says has been an inspiration for most of the things he has done
in life and he is appreciative and proud of this great and illustrious
pedigree.
At first meet, he is not your regular spoilt and pampered rich man’s
child. Dumo is confident and out going. He is well suited to discuss
any subject and he speaks with deep introspection, and reverence,
respecting the sensibilities of all. He is also street smart and
alert; he attended public schools and he can hold his own anywhere.
‘My dad has always been an inspiration. My foray into maritime
industry, and oil and gas was because he was also in that business. He
has a larger than life image. Considering the circumstances of his
birth, he has achieved outstanding success in business and politics
and he has a large heart when it comes to helping society. He is
truly one of the great men of his generation’.
But make no mistakes, Dumo has learnt well. Under his dads tutelage he
has carved a niche for himself as a prolific corporate player,
technocrat and grassroots mobilizer.
Dumo is a lawyer. He obtained his law degree from the Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria in 1985, which he describes as a great institute of
learning and a citadel of excellence. In 1987, he crowned it with a
master’s degree from the University of London. He has also fortified
himself with executive courses at Harvard University and Southern
Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA.
He talks about his motivations for studying law,
Growing up, my father was very strict… I am a lawyer today, even
though I didn’t originally want to become a lawyer. But of course, at
that time when we were growing up, we couldn’t break from our parents.
What you wanted as opposed to what your parents wanted would always be
secondary. So my father insisted that I must read law. And that
training has also helped me to take on other challenges outside of the
legal profession. Into oil and gas; am also into entertainment. And
whatever field I find myself in, I see my law background has been very
helpful. I am also into politics.’
Fifty on June 13, Dumo joined Moni Pulo ltd, an indigenous oil
exploration company founded by his father in June 1998 as company
secretary and legal adviser. From inception the company was under
expatriate management. In 2002m he was promoted to executive director
and the year after, he was appointed managing director purely on
merit. At this time the company’s fortunes had dwindled and Dumo saw
his elevation as a divine opportunity to prove his capacity and
capability as a manager of men and resources.
Under his watch, Dumo says he was able to turnaround the operations of
the company, re-focused its operations and permanently established
Muni Pulo Ltd as a dynamic corporate entity ,
‘ We streamlined units around a coherent commercial and operational
worldwide strategy, resulting in profitability, revenue gains, winning
market share in its strategic emergence as a major independent Oil and
Gas exploration and production company.’
Today , Moni Pulo is one of the most successful indigenous oil exploration companies in Nigeria and it continues to play a major role in shaping the industry and encourage local talents and growth.

It’s a classic turnaround story in Nigerian corporate history, the likes of which are used as case study in Business schools. In Dumo’s unassuming carefreeness he shrugs it off and says,’ we did what we had to do’. I stalled for a few moments for him to revel in self accomplishment…spew forth a few words of praise…I could ‘nt grudge him that, but none was forth coming. it did not seem his style to wallow in self praise and ego tripping. It was not my job to change a fifty year old man, I had to stick to the business at hand and move matters forward.

I am a lawyer today, even
though I didn’t originally want to become a lawyer. But of course, at
that time when we were growing up, we couldn’t break from our parents.
What you wanted as opposed to what your parents wanted would always be
secondary. So my father insisted that I must read law

In November 2013, he and some associates formed Platform Petroleum Ltd
of which he is Chairman and sits then there has been no looking back.
Apart from sitting on the board of several blue chip companies all
over the country, he is also chairman of several successful indigenous
companies which employ hundreds of Nigerians in their various spheres;
they include DLB Marine Ltd, De- Plaza Privilage, DLB Energy Services
Ltd, and Bluewaves Marine and Construction Co., Ltd amongst others.
Dumo says as an entrepreneur and visionary, he identifies the
potentials of the ventures, sets up the structures and brings in
competent hands to run the business so they can actualize themselves
by so doing. Daily his profile rises and his achievements in the
corporate world as a focused and astute investor, manager of resources
and motivator of men mark him out as a man of great promise for his
generation.
He says,
‘Every day I pray to God to show me more ways to impact my society; to
do a better job of managing the resources and opportunities that I
have to create jobs and opportunities for others hereby helping to
make the world a better place for all.’
Dumo is happily married to the lady of his dreams, Dawn, who he
describes as the bone of his bone and the flesh of his flesh, and they
are blessed with children.
He says of his beautiful wife of over fifteen years,
‘She is God sent; a very special woman blessed with grace, intellect,
understanding and wisdom. She is a worthy partner who stands by me in
all I do. She is an epitome of womanhood and motherhood.’

Dumo’s day is always loaded with meetings, consultations and travels
all over the world for one board meeting, inspection or to seal a
deal. His hobbies are writing, reading, sports and surprisingly
philanthropy for which he has received numerous awards over the years.
Hear him,
‘I am passionate about helping the less privileged around me. Always I
seek out ways to reach out to the needy in meaningful ways. I have
given out scholarships’; I continuously undertake women and youth
empowerment programmes, helping of the widows, the sick and the
orphaned. Each time I do such, it gives me inner peace and joy knowing
I am putting smiles on the faces of people and helping to give them
hope for tomorrow. The rich amongst us must understand that we are
only custodian of wealth and should therefore use it to uplift and
better the lives and situations of those around them.’
As a mark of brotherhood and social affinity, in his home town
Abonnema, Dumo belongs to two socio- cultural associations; Nyemoni
Awo aogo and Kengema Mina Ogbo.
Dumo’s humanness is also found in the people around him, despite his
huge success as an international businessman, he still keeps his
childhood friends and hangs out with them constantly,
‘We are all children of a benevolent God, what is the joy of having
when my friends do not have. I have found happiness in being myself
and in doing the things that give me pleasure’
Dumo says in his little way he believes in making life meaningful to
his people and those that have been privileged to come in contact with
him.
He adds,
“The true worth of a man is in the way he treats people who are
absolutely in need. If you care about people in need, you are actually
making a contribution to the development of the nation.
We need to give life back to the people; democracy is important in the
way of governance. We need to try and see how we can use the available
resources for everybody; create opportunities for all and care
especially for those who are truly in need. The gap between the rich
and the poor should be bridged. Those of us blessed with material
resources need to share with others. We must strike to create a
balance with our resources..

Dumo’s enduring success in the maritime and oil and gas sector as a
Niger delta indigene has propelled him into role model status for all
those dreaming of a career in that line of business. Youths are
beginning to realize the sky is the limit to their ambitions and
dreams as long as they can work on it.
Dumo says,
‘I am humbled people see me as a role model. I have always said there
is no short cut to success it takes a lot of hard work and
perseverance to make it and stay up there. I will continue to give in
my best in all my endeavors to make me worthy of this trust.’
Dumo’s first opportunity to showcase his skills as a technocrat and
team player on the national level, presented itself in 2009 when he
was appointed chairman of the National Maritime Academy, Oron, an
institute set up by the federal Government of Nigeria to train
seafarers
He reveals,
‘ we knew when we came on board that we had a serious job to do. We
knew we had to make a mark before we leave this Academy. What we have
looked at is to see how we can move the Academy from where it is today
to a world-class Academy. First of all, we thought we could have the
Academy as the best maritime academy in Africa within the first two
years and then make it one of the leading academies internationally
within the next five years. Accordingly we asked the Rector to work on
a programme of activities for the Academy between now and the next
five years, structured in two phases: what we would have done in the
first two years and then we assess if we are able to meet our targets.
And then, the next five years. And then at the end of the five-year
period, we can see what we would have been able to achieve. Am also
not deluded to think that this current board will be on board until
the next five years. But whatever it is, let us have the framework and
then work accordingly. We are sure that whosoever takes over from us
will be willing to take on that framework because it is a framework
that anybody will be willing to take on. Then, we have moved along
those lines and you can see today that there are a lot of projects.
Those who were at the Academy nine months ago won’t even believe the
level of what we have done. We already also have little cooperation
now from NIMASA. For the first time, the statutory allocation from
NIMASA to the Academy has been paid, even though not in full but more
than 60% of it has been released to us. And the Minister too has been
very helpful because he gave the instruction down to the DG of NIMASA
to ensure that the Academy is well-funded. So far, 60% of what is owed
us has been paid us; hopefully we shall get the balance 40%.
Dumo talks about some of the challenges they faced at the National
Maritime Academy
‘when the Academy was set up, many years ago, we had the Nigerian
National Shipping Line (NNSL), we had trading training vessels that
were being used from the fleet of the shipping line. Unfortunately, we
don’t have an indigenous shipping line, so we don’t have a training
vessel. We are using simulators but, of course, we also need to have
the practical experience of using a training ship. But the plan we
have now is to see how we can partner with the Niger Delta Ministry
and the NDDC (Niger Delta Development Commission) if they can fund a
training vessel for us. If we can also get NIMASA to get a training
vessel using the Cabotage Fund… these are various options that we have
and we have tabled those before the Minister. You know we also have
the mandatory one-year training programme that seafarers must have
onboard vessels. When we had a shipping line that was easy, we had
them attached to the shipping line which set out two vessels to embark
on that programme for us. Unfortunately t, we did not have that. What
we did was to reach out; is to see if we can get the Minister to have
a ministerial meeting between the Minister of Transport and that of
Petroleum, to see if they can get some of these our crude oil
marketers who market Nigeria’s crude oil (because they all have big
vessels), as part of the criteria for marketing Nigeria’s crude oil,
that you take on a certain number of cadets from the Academy on board
your vessel for one year or six months on training. We hope that we
would be able to achieve that. The Minister liked the idea. Our vision
was to ensure that the students that we had there are one of the best
you can find anywhere in the world, well equipped and well trained and
can be gainfully employed by international maritime companies. That’s
the minimum of what we planned to achieve and we did’
Dumo has just finished another shot at public service as chairman of
the board of the Federal Medical Centre , Owerri, for him it was
another opportunity to add his quota to national development, but
this time in the health section.
‘ The experience was wonderful, very challenging ,it was an eye
opener. I had a great team- we had very experienced technocrats and
professionals on the board, people like M. Ibrahim Shettima, Usman
Ibba, Engr. Don Chibundu Njoku, and Senator (Engr) Onyema Amadi
Okoroafor. With all modesty we left the place better than we met it
and I believe posterity will judge us positively someday.
Dumo is not swollen headed about his achievements in public service
so far. He believes he has been offered opportunity to serve because
people know his potentials,
’They think that it’s a job that I would be able to deliver. Also it
must have been borne out of my well known enthusiasm and interest in
anything that relates to education and human capital development …they
must have thought that well, this is somebody who has over time
spoken so much about this…it would be nice to see if it is not just
talk; now that we have the opportunity, let’s see if he will be able
to deliver. So, it’s not lost on me that the expectation is high . I
take all of these assignments with all amount of seriousness and
dedication. Sometimes they conflict in terms of timing with my
businesses which are growing daily, but because this is national
service I create the time and balance to ensure I give my best always.
Nigeria , I have always believed can only truly be great when we all
add our own quota to its development when called upon to do so. So, I
cannot fall short of their expectations of me, God has always been
helping and guiding me.’
Dumo was a Member of the -Rivers State Economic Advisory Council for
4 years, he is also a Member of the Nigerian Association of
Petroleum Explorers (NAPE), Member-International Bar Association
(IBA), Fellow-Institute of Corporate Managers & Public Administrators
of Nigeria (FCMPA), Recipient- Distinguished Nation Builders Merit
Award (DINBMA).
All these has been seasoning. He is taking it a notch higher; he has
his sights on contesting for Governorship of Rivers state in 2015.
He says upfront,
‘ The 2015 gubernatorial elections in Rivers State, I believe ,
should be about who will take the state to a greater height and not
about which of the ethnic nationalities in the state will produce the
next governor.’
Dumo’s candidacy is creating excitement amongst the political class
and has received endorsement from various political associations and
groups across the state but he knows he its going to be long drawn
and tough battle.
‘the terrain has changed from when I first contested in 2003. Now the
consultation is so much, our democracy is much more robust, there is
no more imposition of candidates. Now everybody is enjoined to work,
to go the grassroots and show yourself as acceptable by your people.
The groupings have also changed. You have to consult massively and
it’s a never ending affair. But I like it, it puts me and my team on
our toes to react to the dynamics of the system and forge ahead.’
Dumo’s foray into politics commenced in 1992 when he joined the Social
Democratic Party , SDP, that same year he was a candidate for the
House Of Representatives In Akuku Toru Federal Constituency, in River
State.
Between 1986 and 1998 he was national assistant legal adviser to the
Grass Roots Democratic Party and in 2003, he contested for the
Governorship of rivers state against Dr. Peter Odili.
As the politicking gathers momentum, Dumo believes there is need for
all Rivers people to unite under one umbrella.
“I tell you, there is need for us to unite Rivers people. We must end
the divisiveness and polarisation and bring everybody together under
one umbrella. At the appropriate time, the PDP will pick their best
material,”
Dumo says the responsibility of political leadership and government is
to create opportunities for everybody so that the corresponding
expectation for responsibility from all is also deserved. Like you
know, if you don’t provide the opportunities, then it becomes
difficult for you to insist that they must lead very responsible
lives. Rivers state needs liberation and I believe I am the man that
can make it happen with the support of the people’.

By; Al Humphrey Onyanabo