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Mar. 27, 2007 In my young adult life spanning some decades I've seen and met some famous powerful people both locally and internationally. Although one has attained the limit age of Jesus' glorious exit from this manifestly wicked and sinful planet we know better one cannot afford to compete with the ancient Biblical Metuselah who spent hundreds of years on earth when nobility and holiness were attributes of divine honour and favour. Today the average life span of both good and evil men and women is put approximately at 75. Here in Africa with our attendant socio-economic political problems some mortals out of turpitude and state terrorism quench against their wish at less than 50! Ours remains a continent of gloom and doom! Fame sometimes goes with power and sometimes power does not go with fame. While power guarantees fame sometimes taming both power and fame is difficult especially in Africa where virtues are turned upside down in an obscene worship of money or personality cult. Fame can be guaranteed by money, political power, education and other circumstances like hereditary or inheritance. And with fame one can be made powerful. Risk can sometimes conform fame on adventurous persons ditto sports or other natural talents or gifts like the ministration of the gospel. Fame may bring shame if not tamed! Ditto power!! When I was in the college in Benin City I was thrilled watching on the local TV on Sundays a christian programme tagged "IWO And You" hosted by the late charismatic pentecostal pioneer Archbishop Benson Idahosa of Church Of God Mission International. 'IWO' stands for Idahosa World Outreach. The way and manner Idahosa featured on that programme with clips of his foreign tours where the faithfuls surged forward to touch him or his clothes as his retinue of bodyguards and aids escorted him on to the stage to proclaim the good news was something etched in one's memories. I had met Idahosa in his CGM imposing premises in Reservation Road in the GRA of Benin City. I had gone there with my student friend Chidi (now doing well in Germany) to seek for his prayers as our terminal exams drew nearer. Idahosa welcomed us and prayed for us advicing us to be 'good boys' so that the money being spent by our parents training us would not be in vain. This same enigmatic man of God it was who told his congregation about how a certain man visited him and inquired how he could be like him. Idahosa said he laid his hands on his head and prayed to God asking the Supreme Being to allow the devil try the fellow more than he had faced, for the fellow's road to be tougher and rougher than his, for trials and tribulations to befall him more than he had experienced! The ambitious young man in search of spiritual fame and power was flabbergasted as the CGM founder prayed thus and left immediately the prayer finished complaining to friends thereafter that Idahosa never wished him well. This was the same Idahosa who fought the Ogboni fraternity hands down in Benin engaging them in an open combat and daring them to do their worst if they could! This was the same Idahosa who escaped many attempts on his life in his residence. In one of such plots to snuff life out of him the killers gained entrance into his residence and saw and met Idahosa but the holy spirit blinded the assassins who were asking the same Idahosa they met in the staircase the way to Idahosa's bedroom or sitting room; Idahosa pointed upstairs to them and waited for them downstairs as they went up in search of Idahosa! As the killers came down he ordered them to drop their weapons, go on their knees and start confessing their sins. According to him the assassins confessed how many people they had killed in their paid job and how they were sent to add the Archbishop to their infamous list of victims. I was one of late MKO Abiola's supporters who thronged the Oba's Palace in Benin City to welcome him in the heat of the June 12 debacle that nearly dismembered Nigeria during the twilight of Babangida's years of pestilence. As the famous philantropist disembarked from his motorcade fame and power were oozing out but he managed both with rare gusto promising good times to Nigerians if he claimed his stolen mandate. Bashorun Abiola's rag-to-riches life story taught him to be brave and courteous especially in his relation to his fellow Nigerians whose lives were being obfuscated by an evil dictatorship that plundered the commonwealth at will. Alas the evil system he was set to change for good by the strenght of a popular mandate freely given consumed him killing the dream it bore! May his generous soul continue reposing in peace! When General Ibrahim Babangida was in power he visited Benin City and I was one of those lining up New Lagos Road renamed then "Ibrahim Babangida Boulevard" to catch a glimpse of the evil genius who was paying an official state visit to Edo State. As he and Gov. Odigie-Oyegun rode in the motorcade sandwished by SSS four-wheeled jeeps and a horde of other cars and buses Babangida's dimunitive nature dwarfed him vis-a-vis lanky Odigie-Oyegun; IBB's Mike Tyson-like stoutness however failed to remove the shine off his polished skin that shone like a mirror. Many of us that were there as his motorcade passed through were wondering how petro-dollars could have changed the destiny of a poor military recruit from Niger State and how the 'national curse of a resource' had turned his body into gold! I was one of those students who demonstrated against this wily dictator in the famous 'Babangida-must-go' riots. In the Ring Road area we were engaging the mobile policemen and Hausa soldiers (sent from the northern hinterlands to quell violently the riot) throwing stones at them and singing anti-Babangida songs when suddenly a student friend standing beside me was shot in the leg and he died later in the hospital. Babangida sent many people to their early graves while mismanaging power and perpetuating his giddy years in power. Today he remains as remorseless as ever hiding under the silly argument of collective responsibility for his actions. I had seen and met Reverend Reinhard Bonnke from Germany who visited the city of Ilorin on a crusade. Then and there the famous powerful man of God displayed uncommon love for the children of God as he cuddled and healed people of their ailments. Bonnke loves Nigerians and Nigeria and he has said so coming and visiting often as the holy ghost directs him. Here in Abidjan I was one of our church committee members who went to the FHB international airport to receive the American evangelist Lopez and his wife as they came to deliver gospel dividends to the faithfuls earlier this year. Evangelist Lopez and his wife were embodiments of simplicity and humility even when they belong to the millionaires club in America. Alpha Blondy is a rich famous powerful musician here in Cote D'Ivoire. Apart from attending his reggae concerts my friends and I sometimes on weekends go to his big aesthetic restaurant downtown to meet and chat with him over some bottles of French cognac and roasted snails. He speaks perfect english and loves Nigerians; his management of fame and power is far from being arrogant or pompous. Other famous musicians one has had contacts with includes the American gospel music legend Ron Kenoly, South African reggae king Lucky Dube, Ivorian triple Kora music award winner Meiway, compatriot Femi Kuti, Senegalese Youssou N'dour, congolese Koffi Olomide and Papa Wemba, late Douk Saga (whose time saw the sharing of money to spectators on stage here in Abidjan). The young Saga based in France who created waves here with his style and opulence did not tame fame and mismanaged power of money that came his way through music and credit card scam in France. He was accused of using the wife of a Beninoise in France and the vindictive man from Benin swore to take him six feet below! The strange sickness that hit him thereafter was initially mistaken for AIDS as Saga became thiner and thiner visiting different hospitals at home and abroad without improvement in his health condition. He died in Burkina Faso where he was receiving treatment at the invitation of Burkinabe first lady, Ivorian Chantal Compaore. The Ivorian young rebel leader Soro Kigbafori Guillaume who was a student leader when he was in the university of Cocody carries himself with maturity despite his age (32) and challenges of a rebellion that had defied all logic and solution until now. Though he's still single belonging to our generation the rebel leader continues to mesmerize his opponents mostly older breed politicians here with his intelligence and survival instincts. He has been able to tame fame and manage power which came with his headship of the rebellion. His 'chief of army staff' for example General Bakayoko is old enough to be his father! When late Lawrence Anini, the law and Monday Osunbor were terrorising Bendel State re-enacting the philosophy of 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' distributing stolen money to market women and on-lookers on the streets I was still doing my higher education in Benin City. And when he was caught in his girlfriend's house hideout Anini betrayed the hardman he was claiming to be; the mystique sorrounding him was shattered when a gunshot alone killed him as he and his gang including policeman-informant George Iyamu were lined up and executed. I witnessed that execution! And before that a bullet had perforated his right leg when he tried to play a fast one on the crack police team that smoked him out. Late Victor Okafor (so-called Ezego Ndigbo) from my Ihiala town was a famous man who could be said to be more powerful than the chairman of Ihiala local govt. at the time. His birthday bash every December 25th night was attended by the high and mighty and fellow high-riding 419 kingpins in Igboland. Famous musicians like Oliver De Coque, Christy Essien Igbokwe, Shina Peters, King Sunny Ade and a host of others had variously visited Ihiala and sang his praise. Although Victor was generous with his questionable wealth doing many community goods in his life time the way he died left many tongues wagging. According to a wise saying: power corrupts but absolute power corrupts absolutely. Fame may lead to unsavoury consequencies if not tamed. People in power should emulate Jesus who was both famous and powerful during His time but exercised every restraint in using same negatively to foster His personal ambitions or massage His ego. Gentle in His ways, simple in His gait, sure and firm in His utterances, He simply came, saw and conquered in the face of absurdities of man. ------------ About the author: Sunny Chris Okenwa is a U-K contributor based in Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire. 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