I have been asked by Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George , my big Egbon , to represent him at this very important lecture.
The Atona Odua is unavoidably absent. But what I am about to say , though briefly, given the time allocated to him as the Special Guest of Honor, are the illuminations of his philosophical thoughts .
The organizers of this lecture have chosen a very relevant resolve: Nigeria’s Political indices: Bright or Bleak future ?
Let me assure you : this poser is not a puzzle nor a conundrum. It is as relevant as relevant could be . It gives a pathway to the Nigerian future. It invariably defines who we are and what we are likely to become.
But first we must acknowledge what is a nation ? A nation is about shared values . It is about common beginnings and common destiny. These are the ultimate indices that define a true nation state .
Nigeria is of course not there yet. But there is a beginning, though wobbly.
Nigeria is not yet a nation in the classical sense. It is a country still grappling with survival.
Surely Nigeria has severe challenges and searing crucibles just like all inchoate states grasping with nationhood, struggling with the firmness of national existence.
Truly , there are clear illustrations of despair . There are desperate moments that query the sustainability and the endurance of the Nigerian Union. Things are not the way they should be . We live in a state of anomie where truth is scarce, where logic is unknown.
The throbbing indications of rudderless straying as observable in banditry, in urban terrorism, in primitive ritualistic values and other ills are enough for many patriots to give up on our survival as a nation.
Despite all these provocations , alas, this is not my recourse. I will never be halted in hopeless capitulation. I will never resign to the hurried claim of forfeiture and ruin.
However, I do really believe that we can get it right . I do believe Nigeria is salvageable. I do believe our nation’s ultimate redeeming progression inheres in our ability to give every section of our society a sense of belonging in the larger Nigerian space.
But we must be seen to be defined by the ingredients of equity, fairness and Justice.
We must be seen to be selfless and accommodating in our values, giving hope to all our citizens that the rule of law is an abiding principle of the state regardless of ethnic provenance or sectarian fixity.
I am resolved that all Enlightened Nations are never some certifiable, definite arrival. No. It is always a journey, a progression towards a perfection.
There will always be flaws. There will always be moments of uncertainties. From the cradle of Mesopotamia to the giantism of the Roman Republic, from the grandeur of ancient Hellene to the magnificent might of Persia- we witnessed the vagaries of national beginnings, the early turbulence and the conflicting epochs inherent in the formative stages of nation building.
It was there in Alexander’s Macedonia. And It was there in Britannia and in the murderous crudity of the American Wild West where the notorious Judge Roy Bean once boasted: “We will give this horse thief a fair hearing before we hang him. “
That was the dysfunctional state of the American West.
But today there are new certitudes.
Yes, our country has its ills. But it has not failed . And it will not fail as long as good men and women are willing to rise up to defend the Truth, to speak against observable wrongs and dare the odds and defy the tools of power to ensure that Justice is the pivotal guidance upon our shore.
I will not give up on Nigeria. I will only insist that the wielders of power should be just , should be fair and should be ultimately humbled by the finitude of their own positions and the ephemeral certitude of our presence on this Mother Earth. This nation will not , should not and must not fail. Like all other nations before us, we will thrive , we will endure and we will triumph beyond the current stormy tides. God bless this nation. And God bless you all.
Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George, Atona Odua of Yorubaland
