•Moses Akinola Makinde dies at 80
How many people in the hall took it seriously when Prof. Moses Akinola Makinde recommended what he called “Abraham Lincoln’s option”? The retired professor of Philosophy had taken the matter of Nigeria’s redemption to another realm in his lecture to mark the 17th Convocation and Investiture of New Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) at the main auditorium, University of Lagos, on August 13, 2015. Makinde, a NAL Fellow, had tagged himself “the Academy’s philosopher.”
Makinde’s death on September 30, at the age of 80, marked the end of a life remarkably devoted to the promotion of philosophical thinking. His recommendation at the convocation lecture was a philosophical leap. He had said: “We must first acknowledge our sins, confess, repent and then ask God for forgiveness. This is the noble path America had taken in 1861 by the proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Nigeria must follow suit.” Makinde had continued: “In a document contained in a book titled Shaping History through Prayers and Fasting, a former president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, during his presidency, had “proclaimed three days of national humiliation, prayer, and fasting. His first proclamation (out of three) was requested by a joint committee of both houses and congress, and the day set apart was the last Thursday in September, 1861.”
Makinde had recommended Lincoln’s proclamation. According to him: “The new government of President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) must see its era as a time for atonement, deliverance, restitution and change – a real and sincere change, from the evil and ungodly regimes of past governments to a visionary, purposeful, humane and godly one.”
In his lecture titled “Reflections on the pains of growth”, Makinde had offered a useful “conceptual clarification”: “The word ‘change’ does not entail forward motion alone. It could be backward motion like turning the hands of the clock forward or backward – backward like Nigeria’s case of oil boom to oil doom. Therefore, while growth involves moving forward, change necessarily does not. It could be forward or backward change.”
Makinde’s role as DG/CEO of the Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance based in Osogbo, Osun State, had highlighted the interconnection of the three key concepts. It was testimony to his capacity that he was chosen to head the centre after he had retired from university teaching.
Makinde was an internationally recognised scholar. He had a doctorate in the Philosophy of Science from the University of Toronto. He earned a Bachelor in Philosophy with 1st class honours, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1969; Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy, from the same university, 1974; and Master of Arts in Philosophy, University of Western Ontario, London, 1970. He was a recipient of Fulbright scholarship, American Council on Education, 1983-1984.
He was known for his popularisation of African Philosophy. He taught for many years at the University of Ife and, following a name change, at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, in Osun State.
Also, he was Fellow, Institute of Administrative Management, Nigeria; Member, Institute for Study of Human Ideas on Ultimate Reality and Meaning (African regional advisor), International Federation.
He wrote books that focused on African Philosophy, Culture and Traditional Medicine. His book ‘Awo as a Philosopher’ reflected his interest in the redemptive potency of the concept of the philosopher king. The author’s celebration of the late Nigerian political giant and his emphasis on “mental magnitude” as a critical requirement for advanced thinking on human progress underlined his search for solutions to the country’s political problems.
Makinde was politically conscious. His membership of the Yoruba socio-cultural group Afenifere showed that he was not just a theorist; he was also an active and practical participant in the pursuit of good governance. Makinde believed that Man is the instrument of change and growth in the soc1930-2018)iety; he played up the role of scientific and technological revolution in advancing human societies. This is the kind of action-focused thinking that Nigeria needs for development.