A TRIP TO IKENNE – THE HOME OF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO

It’s sure a journey to really look forward to, even if it came unplanned for. I had seen the announcement the previous day but it was not until I was again going over the paper earlier in the day that it struck my mind, I could actually make the meeting. The meeting was that of the Yoruba Unity Forum convened by Chief (Mrs) H.I.D. Awolowo (HID), the wife of Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo (Awo), one time Premier of Western Nigeria and one time Vice Chairman of the Federal Executive Council of Nigeria.

The nostalgic feeling I had when I concluded on going and eventually embarking on the journey was not so much of the meeting but that of visiting the former abode of the late sage. It filled me with so much excitement that I could not just wait to be there. It took less than an hour from Lagos but I had to stop by and asked people for the exact junction that leads to the town off the Sagamu-Ore expressway. From that junction, the rest you will agree with me became as easy as spelling my own name as expectedly, everyone in town needs no further explanation to direct me as required once I mentioned that I was on my way to the house of Baba Awolowo.

An expansive compound sitting, in my estimation, on one acre of land. There are about six different buildings including the main house with an attachment of Sopolu Library, the first house called Segun’s corner, a museum, Awo’s mausoleum and Efunyela Hall, the venue of the meeting. Efunyela Hall was built in 1979 and named after Awo’s mother. The hall, which conveniently sits upward of 200 people, is really a center of historical pictures. It really reinforces the essence of pictorially capturing moments, you would love it.

I had the privilege of seeing real pictures of the likes of Mobolaji DeBank Anthony, Olabisi Onabanjo and Ambrose Alli, away from the statues to which we have become familiar. The picture of Mobolaji DeBank Anthony was taken with Awo and two other friends in 1946 in London when Awo passed his bar exams. Those of Olabisi Onabanjo and Ambrose Alli were in the photograph Awo had with the five Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) governors of 1979 to 1983 democratic dispensation. Then, there are several family pictures and a whole lot of thought-provoking writings including Awo’s allocutus at the hearing of his case in 1963 before he was sent to gaol.

Apart from the entire content of the allocutus, which inspiringly projected Awo as a man totally unshaken in his belief about his destiny, two other writings made a lasting impression on me and these are: One, Awo’s assertion that his success in life can be attributed to God’s grace, a life of Spartan discipline and a good wife; Two, Awo’s conviction that in years to come, generations after theirs would come to reckon with his contributions as imperishable. No wonder after over 20 years of his death, he remains a celebrated phenomenon. What a life worthy of emulation!

I would have loved to explore the compound more, particularly the museum but I learnt that would require a letter of permission to HID. But then, one item in the outer part of the museum that could be seen from outside is the 6-sitter Mercedes Benz on which was written that the vehicle transversed the length and breadth of Nigeria during the 1979 and 1983 Presidential campaigns. I look forward to still having time to re-visit the compound for a more detailed programme of work on the imperishable footprints of the late sage.

And to the meeting, it actually went well and it was actually a routine monthly meeting of the forum, which seeks to position the Yoruba nation in the scheme of things in the federation. Interestingly, we had the new anthem of the forum on the day. But much more than the proceedings of the meeting, I could not but covet the grace of God that is upon HID and Rev. Bolanle Gbonigi. They looked so graceful in old age. You won’t believe HID is 95 years of age. She sat through the entire meeting of over two hours, spoke eloquently and at lunch time, ate by herself while receiving Pa Lateef Jakande.

It was a waoh experience for me and a testament to the need to dedicate one’s life to good causes.

HOW PRESIDENT OBASANJO LOST OVER N750 MILLION TO 3RD TERM BID

But for his failed attempt in 2007 to have the National Assembly alter the 1999 Constitution and thereby secure him a chance for a 3rd term in office, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria would have been the 3rd recipient of the Mo Ibrahim Prize after Festus Mogae of Botswana (2007) and Joachim Chissano of Mozambique (2008). President Obasanjo was considered for it in 2009.

The Mo Ibrahim Prize, which was founded by a UK-based Sudanese business mogul, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, who is the founder of Celtel, is awarded to a democratically elected former African head of government who has served his/her term in the office within the limits set by the country’s Constitution and has left office in the last three years. The prize consists of a cash award of five million US dollars (N750 million) for ten years (N75 million annually) and two hundred thousand US dollars (N30 million) annually for life after those first ten years.

President Obasanjo, along with some other credible candidates, was screened by the Mo Ibrahim Prize Committee for the award in 2009 but did not scale through, like every other candidate. His disqualification stemmed from his unsuccessful bid at extending his tenure in 2007 after having completed the constitutionally allowable period of two terms of four years each. Now, President Obasanjo is effectively out of the race for this prestigious and most outstanding prize having been out of office for over three years (May 29, 2007 – May 29, 2010). The conditions for the prize clearly states that an eligible candidate must have left office in the last three years. What an eternal loss for Mr. Obasanjo!

And beyond Obasanjo, the prestigious Mo Ibrahim prize has turned out to be a sad documentary of governance in Africa, where there has been a prevalence of sit-tight rulers over the decades with accompanying misrule, leadership mediocrity and everything antithetical to good governance. For two years running (2009 – 2010), no African has qualified for the prize and there’s a great doubt if any would qualify for it in the nearest future. While I weep for Obasanjo for the eternal loss, I weep more for Africa. More than weeping though, our own generation of Africans must rise above the level of leadership mediocrity we are today plagued with and marshal our continent on the path towards the enviable height it belongs. I believe that a new Africa is possible!

Integrity, the soul of living

I'm careful in making reference to this but the story of John Prescott, former Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, is one that accentuates the need of keeping one’s integrity intact, against all odds. The man was reported to have lost his department in a cabinet reshuffle following the exposure of his untoward affair with his private secretary; an affair, according to another report, that would eventually cost Mr. Prescott the chance of becoming the Prime Minister when Tony Blair had to leave.
A man may lose everything but must jealously safeguard his integrity. When you lose your integrity, you’ll soon lose everything else; whereas if you lose everything but still have your integrity in place, it will make you regain all you have lost and still have more. When anyone descends so low as to drag his or her integrity in the mud (and in this regard, I will elevate two areas: as regards the opposite sex and money), such a man or woman will be rubbishing all he or she may have laboured for all his or her life (his/her past up to his/her present) and at the same time be doing an irreparable damage to his or her future. No wonder the Psalmist in Ps. 25: 21 earnestly prayed, ‘Let integrity and uprightness preserve me’.
Integrity is adherence to moral and ethical principles. And it is demanded in every facet of human endeavour. It shows up when you keep your promise, honouring your word. In trade, it is referred to as the soul of business. It is simply keeping your honour, having your ‘white garment’ unblemished. It is demanded in relationships as well as in positions of trust. In fact, integrity or the lack of it defines you.
To keep your integrity requires a conscious effort on your part. It requires you to ‘watch & pray’ because one can indeed be weighed down by the ‘flesh’ to such an extent that one would do what one would not believe of himself.

Watch: be vigilant, be transparent in all your dealings, run from every appearance of evil, confide in trusted friends, and be sincere, let reason prevail upon emotion.

Pray: “As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”Romans 7: 17-19. “. . . For without me ye can do nothing.”John 15: 5. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”Phil.4: 13.
To hold the flesh responsible when you fall short of integrity, with respect to Romans 7 quoted above is quite untenable. Hence, the provisions of John 15 and Philippians 4 as quoted above.
And finally, when those moments of temptation come, always remind yourself of this: the temporary pleasure you will derive will be insignificant when compared with the irreparable damage that would follow (let reason overcome emotion).
You may lose everything but always ensure you safeguard, defend, maintain & uphold your integrity.

Six life-changing books everyone needs to read

As a man thinks in his heart, so he is. It is therefore very important to guard our hearts with all diligence regarding the things that gain entrance therein and form our thought pattern.

The accesses to our hearts are the routes through which information gains entry. These include our eyes – what we see and read; our ears – what we hear; and our skin – what we feel. All of these things we see, read, hear and feel altogether form what we know, which then create opinions in our hearts and as such guide our thinking. It was Sam Adeyemi who once said something to the effect that whatever a man attains in life is partly due to the things he knows and partly due to things he does not know; for if he has known better, he would have attained higher.

In all of these, one of the greatest sources of what we know that eventually guide our thinking and in effect who we are is the book. It is commonly said that if you are to hide something from a Nigerian, put it inside a book. And that can easily give you a clue as to why, as a people, we have remained where we are in development. Books are indeed things!

Out of several books that would qualify as life-changing in the last decade, there are six that I read which positively altered the course of my life and I recommend that everyone that truly desires to fully live out his purpose of coming into the world should read them. These books are as given below:

1.) 7 habits of highly effective people (Author: Stephen Covey)
2.) Purpose-drive Life (Author: Rick Warren)
3.) Think and Grow Rich (Author: Napoleon Hill)
4.) Rich dad’s cash flow quadrant (Author: Robert Kiyosaki)
5.) The richest man in Babylon (Author: George Clason)
6.) Multiple Streams of Income (Author: Robert Allen)

If you would want to know more about these great books, you can search for them by their titles using the google custom search at the top of this page.

If you have also read any of these books, you would like to share your impression of them; kindly leave a comment below.

And if you would love to receive special reports on each of the books, please leave your name, phone number and email address in the comment box below.

See you at the top! It’s a world of boundless opportunities!!