THE MAN WHO KNOWS THE ROAD, by Dare Babarinsa

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We salute Professor Oladipo Adamolekun for his courage and persistence in providing solutions to our political and social problems even when we are unwilling to take his prescriptions. He has unveiled a new book, Reflections on Governance and Development in Nigeria. He is a tireless advocate of our possibilities. He is a man of ideas for he believes, like most thinkers throughout history, that ideas rule the world. One of his persistent prescriptions for our country is that we must devolve power from the centre or else, the Nigerian federation would die eventually. It would literarily choke on too much food at the centre!

It is noteworthy that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has in recent months, decided to set up regional development commissions along the lines of the six geopolitical zone. This is a novel thing, but whether it would eventually develop into a coherent system to serve the purpose of devolution of power, is what we cannot say at this moment. However, what he has done is an act of courage. It is not an easy task to tinker with the system that is costing so much but delivering so little in terms of development and welfare of the people.

Before the colonial era, the African states and societies were also governed according to philosophies and concepts. The philosophy of governance among the Yoruba people was centred around Oduduwa, a mythical figure, who was revered as the progenitor of the race. It was said that all land belongs to Oduduwa and each of his sons or descendants who have received crowns from him or his successors in Ile-Ife, have the divine right to rule in any kingdom they set up or appropriate. Each of such princes who originated directly from the House of Odududwa have the right to independence and a semblance of equality.

Three polities were to disrupt the old system in the 19th Century. One was Ibadan, a military state founded by soldiers who had no direct relationship with the House of Oduduwa. Its rulers had scant regard for the old system. They tried to create an empire made up of hitherto independent Yoruba states and thereby ignited a Civil War that lasted for several decades. The second was Ilorin, a provincial town in the old Oyo Empire where the commander of the Imperial Army went rogue and declared his independence of his lord only for him to be killed in an internal revolt. Thereafter, Ilorin was seized a foreign political philosophy which claimed that men are equal, but the Fulani man is more equal than the others. The third was Lagos, the most successful port for slave trade in from the 18th Century, seized by a foreign power which claimed a higher moral ground. The Yoruba political elite could not unite to create a coherent philosophy and body of thoughts to tackle these three disruptions. The effects are still with us till today.

The core of Adamolekun body of thoughts is that ideas must guide the development of Nigeria and Africa. If the right ideas and concepts are rooted among the elites, it would be difficult for our society to be disrupted again like it happened in the 19th Century. Such disruption is developing again with the Donald Trump presidency in the United States.

We have seen from the careers of leaders like Chief Obafemi Awolowo that the right concept and philosophy can change the trajectory of development. Awolowo was guided by his philosophy of making life more abundant for the people and he embarked on massive social engineering to achieve his objectives. Even today, almost 70 years after he left power, Awolowo remained the most potent political figure in this part of Africa. The late Chief Jobi Fele, in a moment of profound clarity, describing the philosophical indolence that has overtaken our land, said Awolowo made good soup, but there was no one to warm it!

During the struggle against colonial domination, many of our leaders, including our own Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe subscribed to the Pan-Africanism idea of confronting colonialism and neo-colonialism. This struggle eventually led to the formation of the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, and later the African Union, AU. Since then, we have formed other bodies like the Economic Commission for Africa, ECOWAS, the Southern Africa Development Community, SADC, and the East African Community, EAC. African leaders must have the courage to move these bodies forward to create new political entities in Africa that would strengthen our land against emerging disruptions in the international arena. These disruptions are coming, and it should not meet us unprepared and almost helpless as it happened to our ancestors in the 19th Century.

Today, Africa and Nigeria needs thinkers and philosophers like our erudite Professor Adamolekun, Nigeria National Merit Award laureate. His academic attainments as an author, university teacher and his exposure and exploits as an internationalist and top executive of the World Bank, makes him a valuable asset for our society and our continent. He knows the road to a worthwhile future for Africa when we would take our rightful place as equal citizens of the global village. It is time we employ what we have to get what we need. The future is bright if only we have the courage and sagacity to discover it. Only the correct ideas could show us the way. It is time Africans shed their old reputation as the poorest part of humanity, living in the richest portion of the earth.

Congratulations Professor Adamolekun! May your ideas find fertile ground to germinate and flourish.