Anyone who burns down his or her father’s house inherits the ashes.
An African Proverb
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
You have to dream before your dreams can come true.
—Abdul Kalam
The soul encapsulates humanity’s essence and raison d’être. The rhetorical rumination of Jesus Christ still rings true: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”(Matthew 16:26). The Psalmist solemnly enjoined God to preserve and lift up the soul. The soul is indeed the human component that transcends mundane frivolities and pettiness. It conveys inner and divine vitality. This perspective is well established in several theological and philosophical constructs. Scholars from Aristotle to Augustine have identified the soul as the sine qua non of humanity. For instance, in his On the Soul, Aristotle identified the soul as the essence of any living thing. For him, the soul constitutes a life force. This understanding provides a solid segue into a critical engagement with the future of Osun vis-à-vis the gubernatorial election. In his message to the people of the State on January 1, Governor Rauf Aregbesola described them as “a people whose conscience and souls cannot be bought.”
One does not have to be a guru in the art and act of clairvoyance to know that the election is a decisive one for the Land of Virtue. Rev. Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. once quipped: Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community? This is an observation that has a telling relevance to the state of affairs in Osun. I see MLK’s musing as analogous to the melody and message of the Agidigbo drum that comes like a parody: only the wise can dance to its rhythm, and it takes the learned to decipher its contents. I will use Aregbesola’s legacy and passion for educational transformation as a sound heuristic device for separating the wheat from the chaff and for making an informed decision about 2018. It is my candid belief that my odyssey in the educational world for the last 30 years gives me the authority to write from this vantage point. My thesis is that a government that seriously valorizes educational development cannot be labeled as “anti people.” Hence, I seriously admonish the electorates to embrace a succession plan that would build on this educational legacy. This is part of the leitmotif of the Agidigbo drum whose melodious beats will reverberate all over Osun.
One of the best ways to secure the future of any nation is to provide structures and resources that can meaningfully transform its young people. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once remarked that “The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.” I can say without any equivocation that education provides the most credible resource for preparing young people for the future. The 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt affirmed that: “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” It is not rocket science to proffer that a solid educational background prepares young people for a future replete with more possibilities and positions. My humble counsel to the formidable people of Osun is to look beyond puerile political antics and work for the common good of the state. This is not a time to willfully destroy the foundations upon which the destiny of our children and our collective future would be built. The task of contemplating and re-evaluating the parameters of human wholeness should be a non-negotiable goal for all the stakeholders in the Nigerian project. Beyond the toxic narratives of political shenanigans; an educational initiative provides an empirical data that is non-negotiable, concrete, and enduring. It provides a tangible litmus test for accessing political will and vision. In the midst of meager resources, the present political administration in Osun has embarked on lofty educational projects that have baffled skeptics, nihilists, and naysayers. The mega schools from Ilesa to Ipetumodu bestride Osun’s sleepy terrain like a colossus. They should not be seen as elephant projects. Rather, they constitute telling testimonies to an administration that is intentional about its legacy and its concomitant implications to the future of the populace. The official commissioning of these massive schools speaks loudly to the audacity of hope in the midst of rampant pessimism, cynicism, and grotesque fabrications. We ignore or dismiss the transformative potential of education at our peril. In a nation filled with apathy and cynicism; it is gratifying to encounter such audacious emphasis in the transformative power of education in Ipinle Omoluabi. This determination underscores the resounding potential to transcend limitations and myopia. Tatalo Alamu of The Nation would describe this positive development as the “resurrection of the living.”
I follow the discussions and postings on Nigeria on Nairaland and Facebook. The two sites are indeed the veritable domain of the good, the bad, and the unpredictable. It is interesting to note that while a lot of people are very disappointed about one thing or the other in Osun; majority of the people on both social media applaud the educational initiatives in the state. They provide critical comments and appreciation for this vision in a state battling with paucity of funds. It is my sincere hope that this educational vision would play into the political equation in Osun. A society devalues education at its own peril. Nelson Mandela has rightly affirmed that: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This wise injunction is on a big billboard at Arugba circle at Okefia in Osogbo. It is very hard to miss!
Let me quickly add an important caveat: the effort on education is certainly the beginning of a long journey in the overall transformation of Osun. Even on the educational level, the government must be very intentional in providing the best training opportunities for its teachers and staff. The government cannot allow these educational structures to become white elephants. They must undergo periodic renovations, the teaching staff must be properly equipped for their job, the schools must meet international standards in terms of technology and teaching aids, the schools must undergo periodic curricular assessment, and off course, its employees must be able to boast of an interrupted payment of their salaries. In a season of dire recession, there are many daunting challenges. The state government must take these challenges very seriously. As someone who has taught in educational institutions in Nigeria, the United States, and Qatar, I know that these are formidable challenges. However, in spite of various fissiparous forces, one can unequivocally state that Osun has made a bold step in re-positioning and re-affirming the legacy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo by pulling resources together to construct several magnificent educational institutions all over the state. A journey of one thousand miles begins with one step. After all, an African proverb says that “by crawling, a child learns to stand.” A step in the educational path is the right one. The building of human capital remains a non-negotiable imperative for any society.
The good Lord shall sustain the resilient spirit and soul of Osun!
- Akinadeis a Professor of Theology at Georgetown University’s Edmund E. Walsh School of Foreign Service in Qatar.