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Chief Adekunle Ajasin Ajasin

Ajasin: Why is the best behind us? By Bolanle Bolawole

 

Chief Adekunle Ajasin Ajasin

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“The best is yet to come” is a statement of hope and promise that has become very rare in Nigeria of today. Each time we discuss this country, we are always nostalgic about the past. Our golden age, so to say, lies in our past. The giant strides we have ever made lies in our past. The hope and promise of a greater tomorrow we have ever had lies also in our past. The great men and women of vision who impassion us today are not those of present times but of ages past. Especially so in the South-west, yesterday’s leaders maintain an intimidating presence and like Colossus, they not only bestride the Lilliputians of today but make a mince meat of them, laughing the best of their efforts to scorn.

This was the case again on Tuesday, 3rd and Wednesday, 4th October, 2017 at the Olusegun Aganga Hall of the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, at a two-day conference in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the transition of Pa Michael Adekunle Ajasin, ex-governor of old Ondo state (now comprising Ondo and Ekiti states) and erstwhile National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) leader; the umbrella pro-democracy platform that vigorously contested the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late MKO Abiola, fighting military dictatorship to a standstill. The event was put together by the Ajasin Foundation, ably managed by Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose (nee Ajasin), in conjunction with the Department of Arts and Social Science Education, University of Ibadan; and the Department of Arts Education, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba – Akoko. The theme of the conference – Chief M.A. Ajasin: A teacher and statesman – was apt, capturing the three critical essences of the man. Ajasin was first and foremost a teacher, role model, and inculcator of ideas and ideals, especially in the youth. I should know because he was the founder and proprietor of my alma mater, Owo High School, Owo, and was, in that capacity, my Principal for four-and-half years – January 1970 to June 1974. Before then, he had helped the Owo community to found and run Imade College to maturity. For Ajasin, teaching and an impeccable Christian life meshed seamlessly, just as in his later life, exemplary statesmanship and dogged struggle for democratic rights dovetailed into one and same civic duty in the service of humanity.

The conference, ably chaired by the vice-chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, had three sub-themes; namely, Pa Ajasin’s political ideals, educational philosophy, and legacy of service. The lecturer on Day One, Prof. Banji Akintoye, described Ajasin as one of the “titans” that transformed the then Western Region into a pace-setter; he is also credited with being the brain behind the famous Obafemi Awolowo government’s education policy. It was a measure of the high esteem that Awolowo held Ajasin that the political vehicle of the time, the Action Group, was launched at Owo, Ajasin’s home-town. Akintoye narrated that Ajasin’s history as a dogged fighter did not start with NADECO but went far back into the era of the “Wild, Wild West” when he stood against the rampaging might of a belligerent Federal Government in cahoots with their “Demo” lackeys whom they imposed on the region through violence and rigged elections. The political crisis in the West and the maladministration at the Centre soon led to the military’s incursion into politics in January 1966. According to elder statesmen and an Ajasin contemporary who saw it all, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, this was where the rain started beating us. Decades of military interregnum, he said, disrupted, dislocated, and arrested the good works done by First Republic politicians, especially in the Western Region.

Speaker after speaker also added their voice to where and how we got it wrong. In those days, bright and young Nigerians travelled abroad in search of the proverbial “Golden Fleece” and when they have found it, returned home to deploy their education for the benefit of the homeland. Examples were Awolowo and Ajasin himself – but no more! These days, the best and brightest “brain-drain” abroad, denying the homeland their competencies while helping to further develop the developed economies. Leadership deficit stuck out like a sore thumb throughout the discussions, adversely affecting all facets of life and making a mockery of half-hearted efforts at development. Leaders like Ajasin were selfless, stoical, Spartan, incorruptible, committed, and focused. Again, no more! Politics in those days were an ideological pursuit for the goal of delivering service to the people and uplifting the community. No more! These days, politics is mercantilist business pursuit and the goal is personal and selfish aggrandisement. Political parties in those days were the nestling of like minds with set goals and objectives. Parties had manifestoes, maintained party discipline and loyalty, engaged in membership recruitment drive; members paid dues to fund the party; and are schooled in party policies and programmes. Again – no more! This is the age of money-bags and political parties are no more than private properties or estates. The moneyed class have in their pockets registered political parties like they do certificates of incorporation of business names!

It was not all nostalgia and regrets, though, as concrete solutions to the rot in the system were proffered. Going back to the basics was one of them. According to Adebanjo, if today’s leaders were to listen to the voice of the people, we will not be arguing about the need to restructure the country. The tools used by the Ajasins –the 1960 and 1963 Republican constitutions and systems of government, as opposed to the military contraptions and rogue-constitutions that have impoverished the nation – are what we should recourse to. We must also backpedal from the backward educational policies that have expunged History from our curriculum. We must expose our children to our heroes as well as teach them the virtues that made those heroes tick; such as their legacy of selflessness, honesty, transparency and accountability. The examples of Ajasin and his generation teach us ascetic and Spartan lifestyle as opposed to the obscene materialism, crass opportunism, and sordid corruption of today. It is a choice we have to make with our eyes wide open. The choice made by the Ajasins of this world led to the many achievements witnessed in the days of the Western Region while the counter-choice made by succeeding generations of leaders has ruined those successes, imperilling our present and compromising the future.

LAST WORD: Have you “seen the life of the Nigerian Army outside”, as my provincial pastor would say? This once-upon-a-time national institution has become what Nigerians now run away from! They are accused or seen, right or wrong, as being manipulated by or serving the interests of a certain religion and or section of the country. This is sad, very sad! There are two faces to the sad spectacle of parents and children running away from Army (killer?) vaccines. Have you heard the stories from the plateau about the latest massacre there by Fulani herdsmen and how some military men were fingered as accomplices? We have heard such “eye witness” accounts again and again, leading to loss of confidence in what used to be a respectable and trustworthy national institution as the military. The security architecture of the Muhammadu Buhari administration bears the blame for this. It does not exude national confidence.  Then, of course, we cannot rule out politics, especially in areas where “Operation Crocodile Smile” has reportedly wreaked havoc. The hate rumour against the army is spreading like wild fire in the harmattan and has engulfed my native Ondo state; nay, my home town of Owo, already. Must we wait for matters to get worse? When is the much-talked about and long-awaited shake-up of the Buhari administration coming? It bears repeating that the Buhari presidency as presently constituted is unrepresentative and a sure recipe for disaster.

Feedback

Your piece on the presidential ambition of the Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, was, as usual, down-to-earth and spoke the mind of genuine democrats in Nigeria. Fayose is not a product of any “arrangee” arrangement. He is purely a self-made man and his ambition, divine. He is the proverbial man in Yoruba folklore who fought the masquerade, defeated it; fought divinity and also floored the deity. We should remember that Fayose came from nowhere in 2001/2002 to wrest the PDP structure from Ekiti leaders. He had no godfather or family name to sell; yet, by dint of hard work, perseverance, unmatched generosity, a good and supportive wife, and, most importantly, the grace of God, he defeated the incumbent, Chief Niyi Adebayo, who had the power of incumbency and a good family name that opened strong doors. Fayose’s travails in 2006 were as a result of his decision to be his own man, refusing to be spoon-fed by the powers-that-be. Fayose, as you correctly described him, is an “enfant terrible”; beyond that, he is a one-man riot squad. He is honest while most of our political leaders love liars, bootlickers, and those who will call black white to curry favour. Fayose, from his antecedents, is on a mission; his miraculous come-back in 2006 when he defeated another incumbent is enough evidence. His declaration for presidency is, therefore, not a joke but is for real. There is the hand of God in it. Fayose’s achievements as a two-term governor qualify him for the job. What he needs are experts in various fields as advisers to help him succeed as president. Fayose is a “welfarist” and his policies are people-oriented. He is not a hypocrite who would admonish Nigerians to use Made-in-Nigeria goods while his wife and children go on weekend shopping spree in Europe, the Americas, and Dubai. Fayose is the type of president Nigeria needs. The examples of President Muhammadu Buhari and other underdogs who rose to power should teach all of us that Fayose is for real. With dogged determination on his part, those you mentioned as opposing him will be no match for him. They are paid agents or fame-seekers. PDP stalwarts and leaders should learn from their mistakes and allow internal democracy in the party. Zoning arrangements can only thrive through dialogue and not through threat or use of force. Fayose is the face of PDP and the way his ambition is handled can make or mar the party. Mark my words! -Adewuyi Adegbite.

 

 

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