CBN Dep. Gov., Mr. Tunde Lemo at the event
The Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Tunde Lemo, has called for a general re-orientation and a renewed mindset on retirement from active service.
The CBN Deputy Governor therefore admonished serving Civil Servants and Retirees not to see retirement as a period of redundancy, but rather, a moment to “re-fire and re-invigorate with energized vision and drive for other rewarding endeavours’’.
Mr. Lemo gave the admonition even as he extolled the sterling qualities of the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Oluwafemi Olaiya Balogun and commended him for taking UNAAB to enviable heights.
The CBN Deputy Governor was one of the eminent personalities, who graced the Send-Off Dinner, organized by UNAAB in honour of its three former Principal Officers at the Sweet Sensation Hall, Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, last Friday.
In his Goodwill Message, Mr. Lemo, who came in company of some of his top aides, wondered why serving civil servants, in this part of the world, especially those close to retirement usually look forward to retirement with trepidation.
Quoting from the Book of Psalms, Chapter 92 Verse 12, Mr. Lemo said, retirement should be a pleasant period, for retirees to flourish and enjoy old age, noting that ‘’rest is sweet after labour’’.
Making reference to the popular saying of the late former Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Chief Bola Ige, aka the Cicero of Esa-Oke, Mr. Lemo said retirees should learn to “re-fire” and not just retire from productive activities, in retirement.
According to him, “It was the Cicero of Esa Oke, Chief Bola Ige of blessed memory that used to say that retirement should not be in the lexicon of anybody. Therefore, as a retiree, you are not retiring but re-firing”.
He stated that even as an institution UNAAB has been “re-firing” in the areas of academic and infrastructural growth, especially under the Vice-Chancellorship of Professor Balogun.
Mr. Lemo said he did not initially value the rapid growth of UNAAB until he was acquainted with the level of decay and backwardness in one of the First Generation Universities in the North when his team was on tour of ivory towers in the country, recently.
His words, “You don’t know the value of the Vice-Chancellor that you have. I am talking of Professor Balogun’s passion for excellence and making sure the best comes out of you. How amazing is the greatness of his achievements”.
Mr. Lemo, who described Professor Balogun as a man whose pedigree transcends the academia and cutting across all facets of life, recalled how a friend, who witnessed a Lecture delivered by the Vice-Chancellor, attested to his (Balogun) eloquent presentation and mastery of the subject matter.
He also extolled the virtues of the honorees and former Principal Officers, describing them as exceptional and exemplary.
Impressed by the presence of Mr. Lemo, who came on the invitation of one of the celebrants, the Vice-Chancellor tactically interrupted the Master of Ceremony, to reciprocate by pouring encomiums on the accomplished banker, lauding his humility, and describing him as a man of his word.
The Vice-Chancellor, who disclosed at the occasion that he got wind of the fact that Mr. Lemo was a First Class graduate for the first time, sought the permission of the gathering, comprising mostly staffers and students to invite him as the Guest Lecturer at the University’s next edition of Night of Excellence.
