"CELEBRATING THE 115TH POSTHUMOUS BIRTHDAY OF CHIEF OBAFEMI OYENIYI IYANDA AWOLOWO, GCFR"
"Taking few excerpts from some of his literary works (Books) as below. No one should be left in doubt that the current challenges confronting Nigeria:- Insecurity; Banditry; Hunger; High profile political corruption; Profligacy and Maladministration, are rooted in the Feudal system and lackadaisical attitude by the first generation of our political leaders to mass education.
Listen to Awo:
1. “As for me, I don’t think we should always blame a President’s lapses on his advisers. It is the duty of a President, as an educated and intelligent man, to know what advice is good or bad for his people. If he considers the advice just and of public good, he will take it as he himself would have calculated the consequences of such an action."
"What is more, he should be able to use his own discretion as Mr. President. If he is in doubt, he calls experts from the universities where scholars must have done research about similar cases with particular consequences.”
2. “As the Premier of the Western Region I chose my ministers on merit and because of their education, standard and discipline. Every minister or adviser and top civil servant had to do his homework properly before bringing anything to a cabinet meeting or any other important meeting where it will be subjected to rigorous debate."
"Where there are grey areas, expert opinion would be sought for the purpose of objectivity. As the Premier, I had to follow all procedures vigorously, and meticulously, always relating our decisions and actions to the public good…
It is because of this service to the public that I often maintained that the office of the President or Prime Minister is not for pleasure, Unfortunately, in Nigeria, it looks as if the office of the President, Minister, Adviser is for pleasure, like dining and wining and carousing with women of easy virtue both at home and at abroad.”
3. “I would like to be remembered for helping to build a strong and united multi-ethnic state. I want to be remembered for creating the basis for an irreversible revolution in education, in the provision of social justice in Nigeria. I have not yet succeeded in all these. But I have set a pattern which no other Nigerian can ignore.”
4. ”In 1959, during the election that was to usher in independence in 1960, I embarked on an elaborate campaign in the North. I was using helicopter to campaign in every nook and corner of the North. The most important aspect of the campaign of the Action Group was free education, life more abundant for the generality of the people etc, etc. Our manifesto was centred on the development of man."
"We worked so hard that the Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, was forced to campaign, a thing he was never used to. My hope at that time was to liberate the North from illiteracy, ignorance and the ranka dede mentality. If I had won the election, I would have put a lot of money educating the North in order to bridge the educational gap between that region and the Western and Eastern Regions. This was because I saw the lack of education as a stumbling block against political enlightenment of the whole region."
“Because they were not educated the voters could not make up their own choices. Rather, the innocent people of the North had to be dictated to by Emirs and the elites who feed them on a regular basis whereas in the Western Region, people could argue with their Obas, could read manifestos and make an independent choice which party and which politicians to vote for."
"Unfortunately, all my efforts to liberate the North from the cruel jaws of the oligarchy were frustrated by those who prefer the status quo to a new dawn of educational advancement. You can see that even now, the educational gap between the North and South is increasing by leaps and bounds. All the talk about catching up is non-sense…how can you catch up with somebody who is running while you are crawling?”
5. “But I think that the sooner than later the leaders of the North will see the repercussion of their selfishness and carelessness in their attitude towards Western education. But the time will not be too late, and if they don’t regret it or blame themselves for lack of foresight, the Northern youth may ask their leaders some questions when they see the rate of development that goes with education in many parts of Southern Nigeria."
"They may then wonder whether it was in their stars or in the selfishness, carelessness and lack of foresight of their leaders. If I had been given the chance in 1959 or 1979. I would have changed the fortunes of the North as a place that can be compared favourably with the South in terms of educational, social and economic developments.”
6. “It is generally agreed, and in any case the fact stares us in the face that in spite of her enormous economic potentialities, Nigeria is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries of the world. She had been in this shameful position for very many years. We must not allow her to remain this way for much longer."
"All those who share the view that rapid development of Nigeria by Nigerians for Nigerians is a matter of necessity must agree to do first thing first, no matter to which political party they may belong. That First Thing is the Full Development and Full Employment of Every Nigerian Citizen.”
7. "Do not enjoy while in office what you cannot afford while out of office”.
8. “It will be seen, therefore, that the power to think clearly, correctly, and scientifically, is the greatest of all the powers that a man can possess.”
Chief Obafemi Awolowo was described as, "The Best President Nigeria Never Had" (Odumegwu Ojukwu, 1987)
Live on Papa..."-Anonymous author.
215.
"When you are looking for your enemies, look more among those praising you._
Not everyone criticizing you is your enemy, not all those praising you are your friends.
Know this and know peace.✌️"-Anonymous author.
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