Of all the jobs that I had, I consider working with Prince Tony Ipriye Uranta to be the most memorable one because I did not just grow professionally under him, it is also an avenue where I met a lot of people who became really close to me, this is also where I met Dr. Kola Adeshina, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Prof. Pat Utomi, Madam Annkio Briggs, Dr. Shina Fagbenro, Amb. Nkoyo Toyo, etc.
I cannot find the right words to express how sad I really was the day the terrible news broke, even while writing this piece I still find it patently difficult to put my thoughts together. His unexpected passing really saddened me… He is one of the people that I highly respected, hence, I want to express what he meant to me to the best that I could.
Reminiscing at his past deeds has always been one of the ways I use in drawing solace to myself, indeed the good memories I shared with him are remarkably great and incomparable.
If there’s one thing that I did that made me fulfilled was when I went to see him in his house in 2020 and asked him to stop paying me my salaries. He was overwhelmed by this decision. And he held my hands and blessed me with prayers in tears rolling freely on his eyes. Prince Uranta was a prayer warrior. And I personally told him how grateful I am, working under the mentorship of a great icon like him since 2008.
When I first worked with him, I was just a fresh, undergraduate. Back then I never thought he would be my favorite boss, though I was grateful that he was convinced that a less experienced Segun could be his Personal Assistant, I didn’t know how good he was. Those years that I worked with him, he was not just a boss to me, he was also a great mentor, an institution, a father and a friend. He inspired me, mentored me and helped me grow as a person to make the right career decisions. He saw me through the important stages of my life.
It’s all too common in the workplace that we hear stories of the nightmare bosses, but I was fortunate that I did not experience such story when he was alive. His approach to me was always as a coach, he guided me and patiently taught me the things that I needed to learn.
Working with him was fun, even in those days that we had to work really hard, he didn’t make it so hard for me. He was a caring principal, compassionate, considerate and very understanding.
He gave me a big job! When he hired me, I don’t even have an idea what and how I was going to do my job. But he trusted me with responsibilities that gave me opportunities to show what I got, that’s how he allowed me to learn. And when I did something great, he was quick to tell me so. His encouraging words built my confidence and shaped me into competence, resilience, doggedness and to be result-oriented.
He allowed me to grow and develop under his wings, he inspired me, introduced me to top government functionaries, and I was appointed a protocol officer during the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue and my subsequent accreditation as an observer at the 2014 National Conference where I met a lot of successful and talented people. He patiently mentored me in the skills and values that I needed to be a good and thoroughbred Personal Assistant.
I also witnessed how he profoundly proved to be a true family man, I saw the importance and premium he placed oo his family, his love for them was undeniable.
I worked with other good bosses before him, but it turned out, he was one of a kind. I guess, it’s fair to say that the world lost a really good man – a loving father, a thoughtful uncle, an advocate of restructuring, a nationalist with unparalleled patriotic zeal, and a good example of who true Nigerian should be.
Although he is no more, his memories will remain in our hearts… Rest on, our indefatigable and irrepressible TIU.
OLUSEGUN AYOOLA,
The Personal Assistant
to Prince Tony I. Uranta.
