Fractions of History: Review of Sheer Providence by Engr Adeniji Raji

Year of Publication: 2021

Publisher: Expand Press Limited

Pages: 338

Review by Olamitayo Ebunola Irantiola

The book Sheer Providence is the Grace-filled life of Engr Adeniji Raji. Everything worked together for his good and it seems to me that his guardian angel is always at alert leading him always even from cradle to old age. He is indeed favor personified. He can be described as someone who enjoyed divine grace but also gave his best to have a remarkable life through the dint of hard work, integrity, passion, determination, courage. All of these made his life beautiful and outstanding.

The author examined the issue of technical education and it is a major concern to the Nigerian society, as it is one of the areas that the government needs to pay keen attention to because what we, in today’s tertiary institution, are mere theoretical rather than practicals. This has largely affected the ability of the nation to solve its problems internally and every little design and fabrication has to be imported into the country. Technical education contributed immensely to his professional life and this also later became an advantage for him as an entrepreneur.

According to George Santayana, “those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Truly, we cannot undermine the importance of history in our national development which I see as one of the major problems in Africa, Nigeria in particular.

The history cum episodes of the author about Nigerian External Communications (NET) is an eye-opener to the rot that has happened in our society and has systematically destroyed a very buoyant economy and nation. This part of the book catalogued the extent to which people can go in the search of wealth and power. One can’t imagine the collateral damage and loss that our nation has recorded. The same process continued in various parastatals of government till the early 2000s when privatization became the order of the day. The book lays bare before the readers the real source of the problems in Nigeria. At this point, I have concluded that many of our national heroes are not worthy of honour bestowed upon them because they have contributed negatively to the growth of the country than we can imagine.

The author exposed the wastage and leakage in the nation because of the blunt refusal of the leaders to engage capable hands all in the name of Federal Character and quota system thus leading to the degeneration of things. Policies obtained from Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategy Studies, Kuru, Plateau State which her main function is to bring knowledgeable people from all works of life in private, public, military together to develop policies that are supposed to benefit the nation are not implemented despite the huge investment in them for selfish reasons.

I see the repetition of events that had happened in the past even in the present-day governance model and we would probably not have taken some decisions if we have been educated enough with our national history.

The author enumerated some business models for young entrepreneurs that can help in partnership by spelling out responsibilities, profit-sharing formula irrespective of the relationship with the partner. The biography reveals a man that loves his profession and his passion for it. The author places so much emphasis on competency and integrity irrespective of the challenges and more importantly managing people and materials. There are so many lessons to learn in the book especially telecommunications engineering filled with some technical jargon.

Despite the beautiful career journey, the 22 years of waiting for the fruit of the womb reinforces the statement that there is no perfect life because we all have our challenges although they may be different. However, the approach and how we comport ourselves during the storms should be hopeful that all will be well. Although the love life of the writer is a bit complicated. I believe the other women involved in his life will also have their reasons for their behaviours because it is all about perspective. We may not be able to understand the individual views which led to their actions. There are so many lessons to learn for young waiting couples and most importantly minimizing the influence of the extended family in making decisions in marriage. The life of the dutiful wife that endured all did not go unnoticed.

A proverb in Yoruba says “Agbo ejo kan da,agba o si ka ni” literally meaning judging the narration of an individual is cruel as it takes two to tango. The book exhumed an emotional story about a young Medical Doctor who died in a road traffic accident in Saudi Arabia some years ago. I have read various accounts about the doctor online but I am glad to have seen some aspects of it being debunked because the image of the man’s family was painted negatively.

The importance of friendship in the book cannot be overlooked because it offered the author a great feat in business. Engr Adeniji Raji is a socialite per excellence and a pious man who combines the two effectively without interruptions and I must confess, I have never met a man well-traveled like Engr Adenij Raji. A philanthropist of great repute who believes in touching lives and he was able to demonstrate it well through his membership of the Rotary club.

In summary, I had a swell time reading a detailed book filled with chuckles. It is a book that one cannot drop till one finishes reading it.