It’s a known fact among friends and associates of charismatic billionaire businessman Captain Hosa Okunbo that for a long time, he had been minding his business and doing his things without any noise or unnecessary attention. He prefers to keep his personal affairs out of the media and public glare. His family knows he detests negative publicity. His friends even say he is genteel and gentlemanly so also his business associates who love him for being business-minded. He is a man who loves peace, little wonder he was bestowed with the Global Peace Award last year September in Geneva, Switzerland, in recognition of his efforts in global peace and business innovations. But in recent time, the respected mogul has not been at peace as he has been a subject of a series of vicious attacks and innuendoes from known and unknown traducers.
For this illustrious son of Edo State, he has been expressing deep anger and frustration over the coordinated negative publicity —both in the social and traditional media— about his person and businesses. The billionaire is a retired commercial pilot and chairs the Ocean Marine Solutions Limited (OMSL), which operates the Secure Anchorage Area (SAA). OMSL is in dispute with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) over the SAA, with the Senate intervening and maritime operators backing the company. The business magnate believes a serving minister and his state governor is behind his company’s problems with the NPA. It got to a point, he had to write an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and the people of Edo, where Captain Hosa narrated how he had for some time experienced an unprecedented dose of orchestrated bashings and campaign of calumny calculated to malign his person and cast aspersions on his hard-earned reputation. But his real problems actually started after this gentleman got himself involved in the murky water of Nigeria’s politics. The problem heightened after openly throwing his weight behind the candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu before and during the last month governorship election in Edo State. Since then he has had to endure the flurry of attacks and tantrums targeted at smearing his hard-earned reputation, simply for exercising his constitutionally guaranteed right to support any candidate of his choice. Even after the election has been won by the incumbent governor, Obaseki, his new found ‘enemies’ are not yet done with him, they are yet to forgive him and they never wished him well. Last week, the business magnate fell ill and travelled abroad to seek medical care. Yet, his enemies went to town mocking him and attributing the illness to the loss of Ize-Iyamu, his candidate at the gubernatorial election. But the businessman fired back at his traducers not to gloat and play God over his illness. He said he was over 60 years and thanked God who gave him the gift of life, an opportunity to live a good life, the grace to build a legacy of achievements and, most importantly, a good name, which is better than silver and gold. “I hold dearly to heart the words of the scriptures that there is a time to be born; and a time to die. But what is most important in life is what I have done with my life. And, this applies to every mortal being,” he said.
Spotlight gathered that Captain Hosa understands the spirit and letter of love. In spite of the recent doleful experience, the international businessman and philanthropist has not stopped extending his hands of fellowship to the people around him. More importantly, he is known to be generous to a fault. With an uncommon gift to turn anything he touches into gold, Captain Hosa is a man whose business trajectory has transverse beyond the shore of this continent. His brand speaks for itself —he is also the owner of the posh Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments— and thus ought to be seen as a source of pride to the Bini Kingdom, Edo state and the larger Nigeria, instead of his enemies threatening the foundation of his business empire and baying for his life.