By Lanre Alfred
· How Deux Project boss got his groove back
· His lucrative link with ‘Super Minister,’ Babatunde Fashola
They looked at the doors closing on him and taunted him; they failed to see the ones opening ahead. But by the time the dust settled on the derision incited by Dr. Tunji Olowolafe’s detractors against him, they came to the irrefutable realisation that life is short, judgment is difficult and power is transient yet reclaimable amid the humbling intrigues of unforgiving time.
It would be recalled that critics and foes of the Chairman of Deux Projects, mocked him and rejoiced at what they considered his misfortune when his bosom friend and former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, fell out of favour with his estranged political godfather and benefactor, BolaTinubu; detractors of Olowolafe speculated that he was also estranged from Tinubu and thus persona non grata in political and socioeconomic circuits but to their consternation, Olowolafe emerged as part of the entourage of Tinubu as he arrived the venue of Pastor Tunde Bakare’s glamourous wedding of his daughter recently.
And while foes of Olowolafe gloried in the likelihood of his diminishing influence and relevance in political and business circuits, providence handed a shocker to them as Olowolafe’s bosom friend, Fashola recently got appointed as Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Works and Housing. This to the chagrin of Olowolafe’s detractors, translates to instant wealth and status elevation for the Deux Projects head honcho.
While Fashola served as two-time governor of Lagos, Olowolafe allegedly profited from lucrative contracts handed to him on a platter of gold by his bosom friend, Fashola; several members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), civil servants and their cronies to mention a few, continually lamented the intimidating influence and relationship Olowolafe enjoyed with the governor; this, in their estimation, enabled Olowolafe “corner” all the juicy construction contracts that were executed by Fashola’s administration.
Olowolafe was subsequently fingered in the impasse and political intrigues between Fashola and Tinubu; and his company, Deux Projects, was named in certain controversial transactions that allegedly tarnished the government and hard-earned reputation of Fashola as a maverick governor and positive change agent.
While certain insiders blamed Olowolafe as a sort of chink in Fashola’s armour, mischief makers alleged that he (Olowolafe) contributed in no small measure to his friend and former Lagos governor, Fashola’s very sad political pickle in recent past. They even went further to allege that Tinubu and Fashola’s relationship deteriorated irredeemably because the likes of Olowolafe were against the reconciliation of the duo for certain selfish reasons. They said Olowolafe despised Tinubu and encouraged Fashola to do likewise.
Reality however, vindicated Olowolafe by establishing that the Chairman of Deux projects was not the evil intruder disrupting the peace between Fashola and Tinubu. He never hated Tinubu’s guts and his recent appearance in public, at the Bakares’ wedding, with Tinubu dispelled such insinuations as unfounded rumours.
More importantly, with Fashola’s appointment as Minister of Works, Power and Housing, three key ministries in the incumbent administration, speculations abound that Olowolafe will pack up his belongings and move his head office to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in order to “corner” all the juicy federal road and construction contracts as he did in Lagos with the assistance of his bosom friend who was then the governor of Lagos.
This however, seems farfetched as those in the know argue that if Olowolafe got any contract awarded to him by Fashola, he did so on merit. Whatever the truth, Olowolafe is definitely a man favoured by fate and unforgiving time. Perhaps his critics and foes would choose to emulate his steps rather than pillory him for making a success of himself via hard work and perseverance, according to friends of Olowolafe.
