By Jide Ajani

Papa wondered why people couldn’t see ahead – Dr. Awolowo-Dosunmu
He predicted what is happening today – Ayo Adebanjo

What does late Papa  Obafemi Awolowo have in common today with members of the Jamaatu Ahlil Sunna Lidawati wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram, Northern Governors Forum, NGF, members of the South South Governors, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, President Goodluck Jonathan, Pastor Tunde Bakare – the list could go on?

At a time when the Nigerian nation is becoming shambolic, when insurgency and all manner of agitation have taken over the land, the profound words of Pa Awolowo while he was alive, that the best way for the Nigerian nation to develop and develop well is for the constituent units that constitute the federation to develop at their own pace without hindering the progress of one or more, while not foisting a regime of imbalance on the others by over centralizing responsibilities and privileges.

Today, those very profound thoughts capture the present agitation by those listed above. If members of Jamaatu Ahlil Sunna Lidawati wal Jihad had agitated for their own brand of Islam (as they set out to do ab initio through their late leader, Mohammed Yusuf), in a Northern Nigeria under a truly fiscally federal system, the dimension to the insurgency would have been different.  It  would have evolved within the operating environment that would have easily taken care of their demands, agitations or even excesses.

For the NGF, had Nigeria operated as a truly federal republic, with federating units developing at a pace commensurate to prevailing resources and opportunities, their demand for an increase in revenue or a change of the revenue sharing formular, with particular reference to derivation, would never have come up.  But that is what the northern governors are saying now.

For the South South governors and their dreams of independent power plants and the intricate policy of not being able to transmit and distribute, true federalism would have solved their problem.

Even General Ibrahim Babangida who woke up some two years ago to express concern about the lack of a structure that would take care of the varying needs of the regions did not want to admit it but would have been more forthright had he owned up to the fact that true federalism would address most of the challenges confronting Nigeria.

For President Jonathan who appears to be unsurefooted  after almost two years as president and a full year into the mandate that Nigerians gave him, his constant lamentation about the wanton destruction of lives and property by Boko Haram can be partially addressed if the basis of engagement of the federating units in Nigeria is re-negotiated.

All these had been captured by Obafemi Awolowo before and immediately after Nigeria’s independence, that true federalism would ensure a more prosperous and peaceful Nigerian nation. Perhaps, Awolowo lived ahead of his time.

On Wednesday, May 9, 2012, children, grand children, great grand children, great great grand children, in-laws, wife, friends, political associates, protégés, politicians, students, market women (and men) would throng Ikenne, Ogun State, for the 25th remembrance celebration of his death.

Chief Awolowo

In Nigeria, leaders are quickly forgotten once they die. Nigerians should not be blamed.  The simple reason is that legacies, wonderful legacies, are very hard to attribute to leaders once they die.  Even those living and still in positions of authority to do good find it very difficult to espouse the virtues of responsible leadership!

According to Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu, daughter of the late sage, Papa lived a fulfilled life. She told Sunday Vanguard that “Papa lived a very fulfilled life on a personal note.  He achieved all he set out to achieve.   But there were times at breakfast that Papa would take a look at the situation in the country and begin to lament about what was going on and what was likely to happen.

“It created some sort of frustration for him because he wondered why people could not just see what he saw.
“He wondered why Nigerians would allow things to keep sliding down the precipice. “He wondered what was difficult in, for instance, not seeing that true federalism would address most of the concerns of Nigerians in more ways than one”. For the family, she said, Papa’s life provided immense inspiration.

This view is also shared by Pa Ayo Adebanjo, one of the very staunch followers of Awolowo, even in death.With immeasurable passion, Adebanjo told Sunday Vanguard that “Papa was a man who thought far ahead of his time.  He saw things far ahead of many of his contemporaries.  Papa was not your ordinary Yoruba man or your ordinary Nigerian”.

Asked about the significance of remembering him 25 years after his death, Adebanjo pointed out that “that is because of the things he stood for while he was alive; he thought ahead of his time.  No Nigerian is remembered the way Awolowo is remembered.  He foretold everything happening now.  He believed that the Nigerian nation can’t be settled except the constituent units all grow at their own pace.

“Although we’ve tried to amend the constitution but we cant get it right except we go back to what he used to say in those days and that was the fact that true federalism would address most of the problems we have in this country – politically, economically, socially and even on the religious front, true federalism would cater for all”.

Continuing, Adebanjo revealed how Awolowo used to talk about the country with passion, the need for unity and all that but people who “could not see beyond their noses called him all sorts of names.  Even those who said he was rigid, I would rather have a rigid man who means well and does well for all to see than people who are good for nothing.  Those who were not rigid, what good have they done for Nigeria.  Even those among them who are alive and had more opportunities to do good, did they do it”, Adebanjo querried.

”He fought for the minorities and when in those days he started championing their cause, because they did not understand what he was saying, people labeled him a tribalist.  They called him names.  They were blind but he was practical.  He emphasized honest leadership.  He had always said corruption and corrupt leadership can not get us anywhere at all and that is what we are seeing today.  Look at the subsidy probe.  It is all about those in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the party of the President”, he said.

On a personal note, according to Adebanjo, “sometime in the late 1970s, I lost a brother and when I eventually met with Papa, I challenged him in my own way that he did not even commiserate with me but papa shocked me with his response and that singular event humbled me.

“He didn’t know that I’d lost a brother and you needed to see the way he apologized so profusely such that I became embarrassed.  The following day he drove all the way from Ikene to Ijebu to condole with my father. He was that nice. As a young man I felt bad. But he said Ayoos, I didn’t know. He pleaded as if he offended me.

“When I remember that and look at our people today I wonder and I compare his humility to what some of our so called politicians do today, I just wonder”. Speaking with Sunday Vanguard, Mr. Edward Dickson, Editor, Nigerian Tribune, Awolowo’s paper, explained that “most of what Papa said in those days remain pungent now and that is why he would forever be remembered”.

On Wednesday’s programme, Dickson said there would be a service of songs at Our Saviours Anglican Church, Ikene, orgnaised by the Obafemi Awolowo Memorial Anglican Church, OAMAC, adding that reception for guests would be both at the Awolowo residence in Ikene as well as Our Saviours Church. He said 25years after his death, the family is still grateful to God that he remains relevant: “Hardly a day passes that people would not make reference to him for good”.