Undoubtedly one of the shining stars in the Cabinet of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, Paulinus Nsirim comes across as a calm, collected and astute gentleman to the core with a touch of class. Of course, for a man that holds a Degree in Public Administration, University of Port Harcourt, Diploma in Journalism from the London School of Journalism, and then a Certificate in Branding from the Vega School in South Africa, nothing less of international conduct and professionalism is expected. Little wonder he served under two Military Administrators as Chief Press Secretary and led the Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as far back as 1994. The 57 year old current Commissioner for Information and Communications, State Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), and a Senior Pastor with the Charismatic Renewal Ministries, Port Harcourt, all in Rivers State.

Last week, the cerebral Nsirim, despite his busy schedule, obliged Kristina Reports’ Boma Waribor and Business Editor, Emmanuel Nwafor, an exclusive interview in his office at the State Secretariat Complex, Port Harcourt. He spoke with passion on a variety of issues ranging from his early life, relationship with Governor Wike, achievements, NIPR, future plans, and so forth. You will find the interview an interesting, revealing and enlightening read. Enjoy.

Kristina Reports: Straight on, can you tell us about your career and early life?

Paulinus Nsirim: My career started in Public Relations at the University of Port Harcourt before I moved over to the Tide (Newspaper) where I was deployed as a Senior Reporter in 1988. Then, I moved over to Sunray Newspaper as an Assistant Editor in 1992 and while at the Tide, I was the Secretary of the Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) when late Soye Jamabo was the Chairman. When I moved to the Sunray Newspaper, I contested to be Chairman of NUJ in 1994. So, I became Chairman in 1994. In 1997, I was appointed Chief Press Secretary by Col. Musa Shehu, the then Military Administrator of Rivers State and retained by Group Captain Sam Ewang. Afterwards, I resigned in January 1999; and then, upon resignation, I got an automatic employment with the Rivers State Civil Service as Information Officer Level 13. While in the Ministry, I grew through the ranks, from Chief Information Officer to Assistant Director, then Deputy Director, Director and then Permanent Secretary. I am married with four lovely kids, two of them are married and two will soon get married and I am 57 years old.

Recently, your son got married with all the who-is-who in Rivers State gathering to wish him well. Does this imply that your immediate family is doing well? Would you want to give us an idea of what is happening at your family end?

Well, I will say that we are a Christian family. In my family we have a formula – 3H+God. That is hardwork, humility, honesty plus God. It’s like an anthem. I believe that if a man is honest, hardworking, and humble and has God, that man will go places. It’s like a mantra in my family. And God has been helping us. God has been helping us to raise our children the right way. And I like people assessing us, even in church. Because I tell people it is easy to sermonize, it’s easy to pontificate and say so many things, but living the life is very difficult, that is why my best scripture is 2 Corinthians 3: 1-3 where the Bible talks about us as written epistles that men read. I believe that every one of us, whether you are a Christian or a pagan or a juju worshipper, you are a written epistle that men read. You can carry a fat Bible, you can quote the scriptures or sermonize, but one thing I have learnt early in life and tried to imbibe in my children is that I understand what the life I live shows. I don’t need to tell my children, don’t steal, they will watch me. In my house today the doors are not locked and there is money in the house, if they need more money, they know where to get it. The car keys are there on the table, nobody has reasons to do frivolous things. We have been able to make our children have values that they will cherish for long. My first daughter married three years ago and my son just got married and the report I get is rewarding, they tell me, ‘daddy, you are my role model, the things you taught me has really helped me’.

It appears you are the shining star of your family, and I believe you are from Ogbogoro?

(Cuts in) Ozuoba

Okay, Ozuoba, would you want to tell us how your father influenced or inspired you?

Well, everybody in my family is a shining star. I believe strongly that all of us are fearfully and wonderfully made. The truth of the matter is that what the next person has, I may not have and what I have he may not have. Everybody is created by God to play certain roles with their gifts. That is why this white man, Nick that doesn’t have hands and legs, I use him to teach young people a lot. Somebody doesn’t have hands and legs and yet he is a celebrity. I have an upbringing, my parents were teachers, my late father was a strict disciplinarian. You have no reason to misbehave because he wouldn’t spare the rod. So, when you have such a background, something happened to me in class three, I had a very poor result for the first time because I went gallivanting. When my father saw the result, in fact, I didn’t get home for three days because I knew what I will face. The punishment was such that I need to tell myself look, you need to sit up. You don’t have any reason to fail your parents. In fact, it was at that age, in 1977, I was about 14 years. It was from that point I began to tell myself that if I must succeed, I need to put my head down. I say this even in church, some of my friends became armed robbers in this town. They failed their WAEC and became nuisance. In 1980, when we left secondary school, if you check results 1980 was particularly a bad year. Anybody that passed in 1980 was God’s grace and I thank my father for being very firm, and I miss him. I wish he was alive to see the fruits of the kind of discipline he gave to me as a very young child. I owe my parents the credit of moulding me into what I am today.

Okay. A lot has been said about your family, lets delve into the Ministry, people call you Pastor, are you the General Overseer of a church?

(Laughs): No. a lot of persons think I own a church, no, I don’t. I am just one of the pastors in my church, Charismatic Renewal Ministries. I have been pastoring for twelve years now.

Are you heading a branch of the church now?

I was at our D/line branch for eight years, now, I am at Woji where I have stayed for four years and it has been quite challenging combining work as a Commissioner and being Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, and then as a Pastor.

Specifically in ministry, how have you been able to meet up with the duties of counselling, and other spiritual matters?

 The truth of the matter is that I have an Assistant Pastor who deputizes for me when I am not around. And for counselling now because of technology can be done virtually. God releases grace honestly. My State Overseer, Dr. Bon Achumba was preaching a few years ago on mandate, if you have a mandate because it I s only God that qualifies the called, except those who called themselves. But my ministry is not like that even though we are by vocational, for us you need to go through the School of Ministry. You need to be ordained, and have a license. Let me tell you, not all the people today that call themselves pastors are licensed to wed people, not all. I have a license anyway.

You wedded your son?

No, no, no, my General Overseer, Dr. Cosmas Ilechukwu came. So, God releases grace and there is grace for each day.  The way he does it, I don’t know. The truth of the matter is for every pastor, you know your gifts and calling, continue to husband those your gifts and calling and God is always there to give you the grace to function.

Will you accept the call if it comes for you to start up your own ministry and be the General Overseer?

That kind of question I may not answer because what am doing now, I didn’t call myself. Everyone needs to understand that whatever you own, both your talents, your resources and gifts, God owns them all. If God asks for your gifts, time or talents, as long as it is God, you won’t regret it.

What plans did you have for your life when you left higher institution? Did you see your today?

I have always had a vision to be great. In fact, it will shock you, where I stay now in GRA, I foresaw as a secondary school child that I will live in that type of building, a duplex. So, looking at the circumstances of life, I had a vision that I will be the head. My parents were limited to our local government, and maybe the current Emohua Local Government Area as teachers, but I had a vision to be known in the state. My name will be heard within this State and outside this State as a young person. So, where I am now is the least by God’s special grace. God is yet to start with me.

How does it feel now to be the number one Information Officer in the State and how have the state-owned media architecture been enhanced since you came on board?

Well, I can say that the position I occupy now is by God’s special grace and through His Excellency Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike, the Governor of the State. I can tell you that the state-owned media houses are operating within the limits of available resources today because they have their own resources. That all of them are afloat, is a milestone. A lot of businesses shut down because of COVID, but they are afloat, this means we are harnessing what we have and it gives me joy. As I came on board I charged the heads of the various media houses to think outside the box because this media houses have an abundance of talents. There is this weekly documentary that I do and it airs on AIT every Monday by 9am, the person who does the script is from Rivers State Television, the person who does the voicing is from Radio Rivers, the emphasis we have on local content has never happened before. That thing gives me joy because in the past it used to be people who come from outside the State. But I know we have the talents here. So, they are being utilized abundantly. Let me strongly add that Governor Wike has a robust plan to upgrade facilities in all the State media houses to make them meet global standards in Media practice.

Recently, sadly for that matter, we lost one of your lieutenants, the GM of RSTV, in the person of Dafini Gogo Abbey, what does this mean to you and the State? Are we to expect a state burial?

The State Government will surely support her burial. I can also say that her death is a huge loss to me as an individual, because Sister Daf was like an elder sister. The relationship we had was beyond the office. I feel the pain so much. We lost somebody whose contributions to the Media industry in this state nobody can wish away.

Who is your life mentor, and tell us how you relate with such a one, including what attracted you to that person?

I have tried to model my life after the pattern of Jesus Christ because there is no mentor that you can have better than Jesus Christ. But professionally, as a young cub reporter those days I used to like the writing style of Dan Agbese. In those days I try to copy his writing in those days when he was in Newswatch Magazine. I try to read him every time and copy his style of writing. Outside that, I copy good things from people. If I see you now and there is something good about you, I copy; like you now, I just knew you closely, not up to a year now, but what I know about you is that you are a young man who is hard working and you would want to put in your best in all that you do. Once I interact with you one, two, three months, I can tell. That’s why I hate eye service. I don’t do it, and I hate it. And when you talk about sexism, it is just because you don’t have anything to offer. This young lady here is a woman (pointing at his Special Assistant on Social Media), if she doesn’t have anything to offer, she won’t be here. So, it has nothing to do with gender. Yes, those things are there, people talk about them, tribe, religion and then gender, but I can tell you that anybody who distinguishes his or herself anywhere in the world, it will be difficult for people to dim your star. But some lazy people hide under that cover that because I am a woman, because I am from here, I don’t believe in it. I use to admire Aisha Folade when she was working with AIT as a Sports Reporter. Women distinguishing themselves doing sports analysis. And because they earned their shirt, you can’t just push them around. Aisha Folade has graduated from being a Reporter to the Board of NFF. The Bible says a man’s gifts will make a way for him. You will not stand before mean men, it applies to men and women. In my office I have many staff working under me, and there is only one Ikwerre person. All the other persons are Kalabari people. And everyone is here on merit. I am not a tribalist. The other day I hired a chef, a young man from Buguma. If you see him you won’t know he can cook….

What’s your best meal?

I like afang if my wife prepares it. I eat outside but if my wife prepares it, she adds periwinkle and other obstacles. Right now because of age I eat more of plantain flour or oatmeal. But I can eat fufu and eba too.

So, it is safe to say that you are a swallow person?

I am an Ikwerre man, and Ikwerre people love swallow. But I try to reduce it, like throughout last week, I swallowed only once. I’m really on a diet plan now. If you look at me you will see that I am really coming down. Some of the challenges people have are lifestyle issues. Like at this age now, you smoke, drink, womanize and party, it is like a candle you are burning gradually. So, there are things you don’t need to do because of age.

So, you don’t take a little wine for the stomach sake?

I don’t believe in it. I have not taken alcohol in the last five years, even if it’s red wine. Alcohol is not good for the body. It gives your liver and kidney excess assignment. Most of the sicknesses people have are lifestyle issues. If people check their lifestyle they will be better off.

You’ve equally been the State Chairman of NIPR for two years now or so, and elections are around the corner, tell us the significant impact that will make your administration stand out when it hits full swing.

I can tell you that my tenure has witnessed the active participation of so many people who were dormant. It has also increased our membership profile. I have been able to raise the bar through Master Class trainings. I have also instituted a NIPRESA (Nigeria Institute of Public Relations Students Association) mentorship committee where we are doing mentorship for those studying Communications in the various tertiary institutions in the state. We have annual awards for NIPRESA students who do well and annual essay competitions for them as a way of developing their capacity. We are visible at the national and your relationship with the national also tells a lot about how the chapter is rated.

Will you be seeking for a second tenor?

I am not commenting on that. There are discussions that are ongoing.

Okay, you are a father, pastor, NIPR state chairman and state commissioner. You have always held high profile offices alongside your family and church responsibilities, and you are still standing tall in all of these various positions, how are you able to multi-task? What is your secret?

My secret is God oo, and secondly I am a very organised person. I keep to my schedule, to time and I know how to delegate. There are leaders who think they should be the only cock that will crow. If you are such a leader, you will have problems.

In a nutshell what would you say has brought you this far?

The grace of God. I am a trophy of grace.

You occupy a very key position in the state executive council and you must be very close to Governor Wike, how did you penetrate him?

What people don’t know is that if out of millions of people a man chooses 23 people, that choice wasn’t done half haphazardly. So, when people say commissioners don’t have a say, I laugh. Every member of the (State Executive) Council is an adviser on his or her merit. He is a man that believes posterity will judge and his a man that believes in collective responsibility. He has a listening ear. Everybody that he has called as commissioner or special adviser is close to him.

People say that’s difficult to work with Governor Wike in terms of productivity, multitasking and frugality. What would you say?

Governor Wike is not somebody that it’s difficult to work with. Governor Wike believes in hardwork and excellence. If you are working with Governor Wike, you just have to think outside the box. You need to be on your toes. Deliver all your assignments and think out of the box. As far as I am concerned he is the sweetest person to work with and as far as I am concerned I will love to work with him again and again because I like those who will make you put in your best. Governor Wike brings out the best in those who work with him and that’s why I am so excited to be working with him.

How do you think 2023 will turn out?

No comments…

What will be your message to youths trying to make meaning out of their lives?

Well, every youth needs to understand that there are no short cuts to success. The challenge the average youth has now is the fast food mentality. I am sitting here at 57 and some of the youths would think that you can just fly and get here. If all the positions, if after all the positions I earlier held in life I smeared my reputation, I won’t be here today. Our youths need to understand that they need to work hard and build a reputation, a reputation that will stand them out. That will involve you working very hard to ensure that you are not swayed by monetary things. A lot of people place a so much value on money.