The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Philosopher

  • Ekwueme: Philosopher and king; visionary and practician….

    To honour him whom we have made is far from honouring him that hath made us.” It was Michel de Montaigne, the 16th French philosopher and writer who wrote those magnificent words. I think and know Dr. Alex Ekwueme as one of those who hath made us.

    Those were my first response and words of acceptance of the request to me that I serve as keynote speaker at the August 24, 2012 international event celebrating 80 years of a great, impactful and purposeful life.

    Ide Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, born October 21, 1932, is both philosopher and king; visionary and practician; philanthropist and resourceful role model for millions.

    It remains a great privilege for me to appreciate Dr. Ekwueme — respectfully, to his face and esteemed presence.

    It is a continuation of my trans-generational commitment to appreciate and honour outstanding leaders and persons who continue to make a difference and inspire our commitments.

    What do I say when the man who is older enough to be my father?

    What do I say to a gentle giant whose signature humble personality and mild speaking style stands in contradistinction to the towering strings of Olympian, concrete achievements.

    Yes; I do know that Dr. Ekwueme, recipient of Nigeria’s high national award of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), lived a quintessential embodiment of public service and living example of an individual — working in cooperation with his wife Mrs. Beatrice Ekwueme– engaged in strategic generosity for almost 45 years!!

    He established the first indigenous architectural firm in Nigeria, Ekwueme Associates, Architects and Town Planners, and improved the face of Nigeria.

    In the arena of politics, he will, forever, be remembered as the man who formally led, through his democratic election in 1979-1983 as Vice President of Nigeria, the most comprehensive reintegration of the Igbo into the geo-political and socio-economic pillars of power in the country.

    Set aside other fanciful claims of that period.

    I do know that VP Ekwueme used his appointment of Mark Okoye as Nigeria’s Minister for the Abuja Federal Capital (with the city then under construction) to empower thousands of the Igbo and other easterners who, today, have become key economic factors in Abuja. Remarkably, Ekwueme does not cite or brag about this critical role. He will not talk about it but I will.

    Again, he is one of those who hath made us.

    Dr. Alex Ekwueme’s philanthropy, relatively and in terms of community impact, compares to the Carnegies, the Mellons, the Gates, Mohameds, Bank-Anthonys, the Buffets, Annenbergs, Mosingers, Ilodibes and many other cheerful givers. More so, for me to capture the modest totality of Ide Alex Ekwueme’s meaningful life will require a special book.

    Dr. Ekwueme was, by no means, perfect; he also had issues where some disagreed strongly with him.

    Permit me to note that our Igbo and Yoruba nativist refuseniks and hardliners dismissed Ekwueme and others such as my mentor the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo who worked politically with the Sokoto caliphate, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, the Kaduna ‘mafia’ and the northern Nigeria conservative leadership as “sell-outs.” Such arguments still feed some quarters as it did in 1979 through the 1980s.

    As a matter of fact in the early 1980s, while I was a very young staff of the Electronic News Gathering (E.N.G) unit of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Channel 6, Aba, I joined in covering VP Ekwueme and President Shehu Shagari news events in our broadcast area which included the old Imo, Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa states.

    Let me note that Nigeria’s incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari toppled the democratically-elected presidency of Shehu Shagari and VP Ekwueme on December 31, 1983 when Buhari was an Army General; Buhari kept Ekwueme in jail and held Shagari in cordial house arrest.

    Ide Alex Ekwueme values education; got the best, and gave hundreds of scholarships. His own primary school started at St John’s Anglican Central School, at Ekwulobia, a few miles from his hometown of Oko; attended the prestigious King’s College, Lagos; showed such excellence he was given the U.S Fulbright Scholarship; 1955 admitted to the University of Washington where he bagged a Bachelor’s degree in architecture and city planning; a Masters degree in urban planning; from the University of London, he excelled with degrees in sociology, history, philosophy and law; from the University of Strathclyde his Ph.D. in architecture. A well-rounded intellectual, he continued to earn the Bachelor of Law degree from the Nigerian Law School in Lagos.

    At his 80th birthday, I said during my keynote presentation that: “Dr. Alex Ekwueme, you have planted human seeds through large scale scholarships and empowerment of Oko persons and other communities; many will thank you; may be a few will scorn you with their violent ingratitude that the sun and moon you showed them were not bright enough…. No matter what, Ide, your name and legacies are greater.”

    As a chronicler of history, ancient and modern, of current affairs and the business of power for the past 35 years of the Igbo nation, of Nigeria, of Africans and Americans, I can state without any concerns of contradiction that Dr. Alex Ekwueme is among the top 50 greatest Africans of the 20th century!

    Finally, I offer you the gift of the wise words of my Aro elders: Ide, may your lineage endure!!

     

    • Dr. Nwangwu, is the Founder & Publisher of Houston-based USAfrica multimedia network.

  • In the heart of the philosopher

    It’s a Sunday afternoon and you are in a quiet neighbourhood restaurant. The food and the ambience were great, and as you take a look around something grips your attention. It is a quote by Socrates and advises whoever finds a good wife to marry her, because she would make him happy. Conversely, the great philosopher informs that the man who finds a bad wife would become a philosopher.

    Humh! Was he talking from experience? Yes, he was. Scroll down memory lane and you find that Socrates did not have a happy marriage.  Simply put, if you get something (heart) right from the outset, they you take it for granted, assume that it is a very simple or easy task. However, if you had to try, try and try again, you are definitely going to be better, wiser and more experienced from the lessons learnt.

     Those who find love at first sight are calm and think they were the best in the pack. They were lucky having been spared of worries, deep emotional thoughts that subsequently led to nightmares, soliloquies and getting to the philosophical states of propounding emotional theories and fallacies.

    Interestingly, Socrates is not alone. When it comes to the issue of relationships, some of our great philosophers are very sceptical. In their opinions, true love is unattainable and marriage is simply settling down with someone who might not be the best. Plato describes love as a serious mental disease and in another quote says, ‘At the touch of love every man becomes a poet’. On his part, Aristotle informs that happiness depends upon us and to love someone is to identify with them.

    As you probe further, you discover that for the philosopher, the question “what is love?”continues to generate a host of issues. Love is an abstract noun, which means, for some, it’s unattached to anything real or sensible. That, interestingly, is all. For others, it is a means by which our being – our self and its world are irrevocably affected once we are ‘touched by love’. While some have sought to analyse it, others have preferred to leave it in the realm of the ineffable.

    Love is often portrayed as a powerful force; something that can inspire greatness in the lover. Alternatively, it is something that can make the lover act like a fool. Love can be the greatest feeling in the world, but it can also be utterly devastating when it doesn’t work out.

    Given these observations, we might be inclined to think that there’s a significant element of irrationality to love. But we should be careful here, as perhaps love can have reasons too. For example, if you have a significant other, you could probably list off a bunch of reasons for your love: your partner is kind, intelligent, funny, and so on. If you loved someone who was mean, stupid, and boring, that would be irrational. But, presumably, many of us have great reasons for loving who we love, which shows that sometimes love is actually quite rational.

    It would be wise to pause, though, to consider whether or not we ever actually love for the reasons we give. Perhaps the truth is that we first find ourselves in love, and then come up with reasons to justify our feelings. Just because we can provide reasons for feeling the way we do about a particular person, it doesn’t follow that we see reasons for loving first, and then develop feelings based on those reasons.

    While the philosophers have learnt great emotional lessons and taken a stand, a lot of people get stuck on the surface. They are therefore caught in the emotional web and often overact when things go sour. This often results in violence in relationships and recently you have lovebirds killing themselves, setting the people the claim to love ablaze and much more. The truth of the matter is that not all love can survive the test of the emotional times.

    Every love script has two sides. The first side is the part that we all love to experience and talk about. Unfortunately, when we get to the flipside of love, it’s not always pleasant for many. Here the sweet aroma of love that they once savoured goes sour, and the bitter aftertaste just won’t go away.

    The sad part of the emotional bargain is that many often allow the feelings of devastation, anger and betrayal to fester and they find themselves spiralling into hate.

    Experts interestingly inform that this hate is not the opposite of the love that you once felt for each other. Hate is an intense emotion that illustrates a very alive and well connection to another person. You are still bonded to this person, care what happens to him, good or bad, and you are preoccupied with things that are beyond your control.

    The opposite of love at this stage here can be compared with indifference. Interestingly, you also have a group who are still physically together, patching things up, even though their hearts have fallen apart. Here, you find cases of emotional abuse. Though emotional abuse doesn’t leave physical scars, it can have a huge impact on your confidence and self-esteem.

  • In the heart of the philosopher

    IT’S a Sunday afternoon and you are in a quiet neighbourhood restaurant. The food and the ambience are great and as you take a look around something grips your attention. It is a quote by Socrates and advises whoever finds a good wife to marry her, because she would make him happy. Conversely, the great philosopher informs that the man who finds a bad wife would become a philosopher.

    Humh! Was he talking from experience? Yes, he was. Scroll down memory lane and you find that Socrates did not have a happy marriage.  Simply put, if you get something (heart) right from the outset, they you take it for granted, assume that it is a very simple or easy task. However, if you had to try, try and try again, you are definitely going to be better, wiser and more experienced from the lessons learnt.

    Those who find love at first sight are calm and think they are the best in the pack. They are lucky having been spared of worries, deep emotional thoughts that subsequently lead to nightmares, soliloquies and getting to the philosophical states of propounding emotional theories and fallacies.

    Interestingly, Socrates is not alone. When it comes to the issue of relationships, some of our great philosophers are very sceptical. In their opinions, true love is unattainable and marriage is simply settling down with someone who might not be the best. Plato describes love as a serious mental disease and in another quote says, ‘At the touch of love every man becomes a poet’. On his part, Aristotle informs that happiness depends upon us and to love someone is to identify with them.

    As you probe further, you discover that for the philosopher, the question “what is love?” continues to generate a host of issues. Love is an abstract noun which means someone is unattached to anything real or sensible. That interestingly is all; for others, it is a means by which our being—our self and its world are irrevocably affected once we are ‘touched by love’. While some have sought to analyse it, others have preferred to leave it in the realm of the ineffable.

    Love is often portrayed as a powerful force, something that can inspire greatness in the lover. Alternatively, it is something that can make the lover act like a fool. Love can be the greatest feeling in the world, but it can also be utterly devastating when it doesn’t work out.

    Given these observations, we might be inclined to think that there’s a significant element of irrationality to love. But we should be careful here, as perhaps love can have reasons too. For example, if you have a significant other, you could probably list off a bunch of reasons for your love: your partner is kind, intelligent, funny, and so on. If you loved someone who was mean, stupid, and boring, that would be irrational. But, presumably, many of us have great reasons for loving who we love, which shows that sometimes love is actually quite rational.

    It would be wise to pause, though, to consider whether or not we ever actually love for the reasons we give. Perhaps the truth is that we first find ourselves in love, and then come up with reasons to justify our feelings. Just because we can provide reasons for feeling the way we do about a particular person, it doesn’t follow that we see reasons for loving first, and then develop feelings based on those reasons.

    While the philosophers have learnt great emotional lessons and taken a stand, a lot of people get stuck on the surface; they are therefore caught in the emotional web and often overact when things go sour. This often results in violence in relationships and recently you have lovebirds killing one another, setting the people they claim to love ablaze and much more. The truth of the matter is that not all love can survive the test of the emotional times.

    Every love script has two sides. The first side is the part that we all love to experience and talk about. Unfortunately, when we get to the flipside of love, it’s not always pleasant for many. Here the sweet aroma of love that they once savour goes sour, and the bitter aftertaste just won’t go away.

    The sad part of the emotional bargain is that many often allow the feelings of devastation, anger and betrayal to fester and they find themselves spiralling into hate.

    Experts interestingly inform that this hate is not the opposite of the love that

  • Philosopher reflects on ‘pains of growth’

    Philosopher reflects on ‘pains of growth’

    It was an expressive shift from discourse to disturbance when electricity failed in the middle of the Convocation 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. For significant minutes, darkness reigned and many people in the hall must have wondered about the country’s unstable power supply.

    The lecturer was Prof. Moses Akin Makinde, a retired professor of Philosophy and NAL Fellow, who referred to himself as “the Academy’s philosopher”.

    His subject was apt and timely in the context of the country’s historic electorally- endorsed regime change at the centre. The title of Makinde’s paper was: “Reflections on the pains of growth.” He said: “We shall try to analyse the phenomenon of change in the process of growth. The kind of change envisaged in this lecture is positive change such as associated with progress and growth.”

    In his seventies, Makinde is the DG/CEO of the Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance based in Osogbo, Osun State. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of The Nation. An internationally recognised name in the field 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.

    Makinde offered a “conceptual clarification”  that should be useful in the country’s new political order under President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was popularly elected on a platform of change.

    “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,” he said.

    By implication, Makinde’s intervention was intended as a guide to “positive change”, “forward change”, “progress and growth”. He was clear about the democratic premise of his perspective and quoted from Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address: “…that the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from earth.”

    “I shall begin the events of our pains of growth from 1959 through independence in 1960 and the various changes that led to nowhere, but to a lack of positive growth in the polity, “ Makinde said, at the beginning of  an excursion that covered the “First Republic 1959/60”, “Second Republic (October 1, 1979 – December 30, 1983 and Military Rule, December 30, 1983 – June 12, 1993)”, “Third Republic (June 12 – November 17, 1993)”, “Fourth Republic (1999 to date)”.

    In tracing Nigeria’s trajectory, Makinde highlighted two particular military administrations, which he blamed for aggravating the country’s pains. He said: “From Abacha’s era, it appeared that the pains of Nigeria’s growth were getting worse after two possible eras that would probably have alleviated its pains: Buhari’s and MKO’s eras. One was cut short, the other never allowed to be. In all circumstances, Babangida’s and Abacha’s military rules were a setback to Nigeria’s democratic experiment, development and economic growth.”

    However, Makinde objectively painted a picture of pains inflicted not only by military rulers, but also by civilians in power. “We sometimes blame the military interventions for our woes and lack of systematic growth in social, moral, political and economic activities and behaviours,” he said, adding: “Unfortunately, the restorations of civilian rule in 1979 to 1983 and later 1999 till date have constituted severe pains of growth to the nation at large.”

    Against the gloomy background, Makinde argued that Man is the instrument of change and growth in the society. He supported his position with references to Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, and played up the role of scientific and technological revolution in advancing human societies.

    Referring to the ascendancy of the APC and Buhari on the promise of change, Makinde said in conclusion: “Now that change has come, the expectations of Nigerians are that this change must be for the better and no longer motion without movement.” He added: “It must also lead to growth in a genuine democracy with strong institutions, employment opportunities, fight against corruption and impunity of various descriptions, enshrine transparency and accountability in governments, parastatals and agencies, social responsibility and social justice, fiscal discipline, morality and rule of law.”

    Three achievers were decorated at the event: Professor Amechi Akwanya as Regular Fellow, Professor Jacob Kehinde Olupona as Overseas Fellow, and Mr. Sam Omatseye, Chairman of the Editorial Board, The Nation, as Honorary Fellow.  In his remarks on behalf of the new Fellows, Olupona, who is based in the United States (US) made reference to the power cut. He sympathised with home-based Nigerians, who experienced blackouts with frustrating regularity. It was a fitting end to the event because it helped to shed light on the burning need for change.  Inaugurated in 1991, the Nigerian Academy of Letters is positioned as “an apex organisation of Nigerian academics and scholars in the Humanities to promote, maintain and encourage excellence in all branches of humanistic studies”. The organisation “is intended to cater for a very important body of disciplines of vital importance to the development and refinement of Nigerian Society.”