Tag: serving

The public presentation of my memoir has come and gone. I thank everyone that contributed to the success of the programme. I am especially grateful to all the leaders and members of the progressive group of activists and politicians who graced the occasion with their presence. They included Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Chairman), Chief Pius Akinyelure (Chief Presenter), Kunle Ajibade (Book Reviewer), Senator Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Chief Adebisi Akande, Aremo Segun Osoba, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, General Ipoola Akinrinade, Dr. Amos Akingba, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, Honourable Olawale Oshun and Afenifere Renewal Group members, Femi Falana (SAN) and others too numerous to mention.

My colleagues in Egbe Isokan Yoruba, Washington, DC and Egbe Omo Yoruba: Professor Ropo Sekoni, Dr. Olu McGuinnis Otubusin and Engineer Kunle Badmus were there just as my former colleagues from Obafemi Awolowo University surprised me with a large contingent.

The keepers of Yoruba tradition were generous with their time: Kabiyesi Oba Rilwan Osuolale Akiolu, the Oba of Lagos, Kabiyesi Oba Alani Oyede, the Olota of Ota and Kabiyesi Oba Rafiu Osuolale Mustapha, Onjo of Okeho. The Chief Imam of Okeho and the Pastor of First Baptist Church, Okeho were also there.

Debola Williams of Red Media and his team introduced a novel idea with a panel discussion that focused on the subject of the book. I applaud the brilliance of the panelists.

In this final excerpt from the book, I discuss the next phase.

“My good aburo, Sola Yussuf had a signature sign-off greeting as she concluded her reading of the news on Radio O.Y.O. in those days of yore: “A na gbara, a na gboro, a tona koko a si dona jijin.” Simply put, I have gone far and near, literally and figuratively, and now it is time to round off.

As I mentioned in the preface (to the book), this is not an ordinary autobiography in which I present a summary of my life so far. I have done that and more. I have presented some of the fundamental issues that predated my birth but which have somehow persisted and contributed in no small measure to who I am and has provided the motivation for my actions. I have interrogated old ideas and I have introduced some new ones. I have shown how a purposive leadership can change the conditions of existence of a people in both professional and social life. I am confident that I have accomplished what I set out to do in (the book) and I feel fulfilled.

Figuratively, I have opened a window into my life from childhood to adulthood for the world to have a glimpse. I am certain the reader has some idea now about what I have been through and how providence has helped me in many ways in the battle against all odds. From professional to social and political engagements, I have seen the glory of the Lord “all the way.” I am sure that I can do more, but there is always some other time or some other person. In this regard, then, I can say with confidence that I am satisfied as I retire from active professional life.

I have never been a politician, only a politically conscious animal engaged in the normal routine of contributing to the evolution and progress of my motherland in the tradition of my ancestors. This is not something that one retires from. But one can slow down and allow others, especially the young ones, to make their contributions. It is for good reason that the elders suggest that the baby elephant does not announce its presence at the same time that the mother does. What this means is that the mother elephant must know the appropriate time to retreat to allow the baby to take over.

Finally, then, I have travelled far and near in the journey of life. All the way, my saviour has led me. There is nothing I can ask beside. I cannot doubt his tender mercies. Through life, He has been my guide. Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith, in him I dwell. I know that whatever befalls me, He knows best. He is always right and can never be wrong. In fact, He has done everything right.

Yet there is more to do and there is a new phase that I must now explore. Professionally, I am fulfilled. But I cannot afford to rest because of the proverbial blood-stain on the finger-nails created by the occurrence of lice on our national, regional and local clothing. As long as these destructive lice endure, and the stained fingers remain the evidence of their endurance, neither I nor any human being with a conscience can rest.

I hope therefore to continue to intervene at various levels. First, since 2007, The Nation has been an effective avenue for me to add my voice to those of well-meaning individuals. I intend to continue to use it as a forum for intelligent discourse on matters of national and regional significance. In the relaxed climate of retirement from active professional life and from social and political activism, I hope to continue contributing to the interrogation of issues that confront us locally, regionally and nationally.

Nationally, we still do not have a true federal structure that is capable of unleashing the creative energy of the teeming masses of our people. The realisation that without such a structure we cannot expect an effective resolution of the issues that confront us is the beginning of political wisdom.

While writing and analysis are important for the clarification of issues and proposal of new ideas, there is more to do at the level of practice. For instance, at all levels, we are inadvertently managing to entrench a dangerous system of inequality with our educational system in which the public education of our children is fast becoming a relic of the past, while we enlist the services of private institutions and agencies and we seem to relish the idea. From pre-school to college, private institutions have become the vogue. The impact of this shift on citizens could be serious, with the poor and middle class being more adversely impacted than the wealthy. We cannot allow this to continue and I intend to do my part towards the cause of promoting public education.

On this score, I am fortunate to have compatriots at all levels—local, regional and national with whom I can collaborate on meaningful projects. However, I intend to start this at my local base in Okeho where there are committed individuals who have ideas and are determined to make a difference. Okeho Strategic Development and Economic Foundation (OSTRADEF) was established by fellow compatriots whose sole objective was to give back to the community. When Moyo Ajekigbe contacted me about the initiative and invited me to be a part of the group, I was honoured and I did not hesitate to join. I see it as a continuation, in a new century, of the labours of our heroes past in Okeho, some of whom have featured in (the book). Many of them have passed on but the contributions they made to the development of human talents cannot be forgotten. I will support the cause for which they laboured and sacrificed.

I benefitted from the sacrifice of the generation before me, including my parents. I have also tried my best in giving back in various ways. Fortunately, my own children, as the next generation, have, without prompting, reflected on their own experience, and have collectively decided that my entire family should be involved in giving back some more. Though they are just starting their own families with the responsibility for the education of their children staring at them, they have come up with a Foundation to support the educational and health needs of our people, starting with Okeho and Eruwa. This initiative, The Segun and Adetoun Gbadegesin Family Foundation (SAGFF), will take up most of the time and energy of my wife and me in the foreseeable future. But I am thrilled at the prospect of doing something to make a difference.

And so, to Okeho I return!

Merry Christmas!

Today I bring some more fragments from my memoir which comes up for public presentation on December 21, 2015.  The formation of Egbe Omo Yoruba, North America in 1995 was, for the Yoruba Diaspora, the tipping point in the struggle against military dictatorship and for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria. The meaning of that struggle for those who participated in it, its impact on the events that eventually led up to the return of civil rule, and the modest contributions that others and I made to it, is a significant part of the book.

Egbe Omo Yoruba Presidency, 1997-1999

The 1997 Houston convention (of Egbe Omo Yoruba) ended with the election of new officers. I was elected President with an executive comprised of Tokunbo Marcarthy, Vice President; Banji Ayiloge, General Secretary; Olu McGuinnis Otubusin, JD., Legal Secretary; Haziz Adekunle Ajayi, Treasurer; James Oni, Financial Secretary; and Harrison Akingbade, Ph.D., Publicity Secretary.

At the end of the convention, Egbe Omo Yoruba had the following 15 local chapters as members: Yoruba Community Association, Toronto, Canada; Egbe Omo Yoruba Kansas City; Yoruba International Union, Dallas; Egbe Ilosiwaju Yoruba ni Kolorado; Yoruba League, Long Beach, CA; Egbe Isokan Yoruba, Washington, DC; Egbe Omo Oduduwa, New York City; Egbe Omo Oduduwa, Chicago; Kiriji Movement-San Francisco; Oduduwas, Houston; Yoruba Community of Massachusetts, Boston; Egbe Omo Yoruba, Philadelphia; Egbe Omo Yoruba, London, Ontario, Canada; Oduduwa Unity Club, Greensboro, NC; and Yoruba People’s Congress, Chicago, IL.

The new National Executive Committee, having carefully read the mood of the association and listened attentively to the messages conveyed by speakers at the convention, knew that they had a marching order and wasted no time in getting down to business in pursuit of the mission of the Egbe.

The convention ended on Sunday, April 27, 1997. First thing in the week of April 28, I sent a package to every chapter president. The package included the convention communiqué, my prepared address, contact information for the newly elected officers of the association, and a cover letter.

In the letter, I thanked all the members for their sacrifice of time and money to the convention and the confidence they placed in the executive committee. I reminded them that the association was only as strong as its membership especially at the local chapter level. In reference to the grievances of some members and a few chapters, I assured everyone that if they trusted us with the fate of the Egbe, they should also give us a chance to give our association a new lease of life and nurse old wounds.

On behalf of the executive, I promised that we would make extra effort to rejuvenate the interest of existing chapters and provide a big tent that can accommodate various interests. Finally, I charged member chapters to be cognisant of our goals and aspirations and what we will need to realise them, most important of which was funding. Therefore, it was important for us to put our money where our mouths were. I welcomed fundraising ideas and initiatives and assured chapters that the national executive will collaborate with them effectively on the matter of fundraising.

Following my message, I received a large number of heart-warming messages of congratulations and promises of cooperation from chapter presidents and individuals. One of these was from Mr. Remi Saseun, one of the strong advocates for a strong national organisation. Based in California, he was one of the pillars of the Yoruba League, which hosted the 2nd National Convention in January 1995. Mr. Saseun was also the Chairman of the Political Action Committee that had been set up at the convention of which I was also a member. On account of this, we had been close and had a mutual respect for each other.

Part of his note to me read as follows: “I think that we finally got things right this time! I am particularly heartened that you agreed to serve, knowing that what our organisation needs most now is CREDIBILITY (emphasis supplied in original), which I have no doubt you will bring to the organisation.” He went on to give excellent suggestions on dealing with and consolidating chapters, setting up action committees, open door policy on finance and effective communication lines.

I took seriously Mr. Saseun’s advice and ensured that I communicated regularly with local chapters. Unfortunately, the ugly side of human relationship took a toll on the Yoruba League and not being able to resolve the organisational issues, the chapter withdrew from the Egbe not long after the Houston convention. In fairness to him, my friendship with Mr. Saseun did not suffer on account of his chapter’s withdrawal and we met every now and then when the association’s convention or other events were close to his base.

The hard work had just started. The association had just made its debut. Its official communiqué had been widely disseminated and received with a mixture of approval and denunciation. Yet, the association existed mostly on paper. There was no physical office location as of April 1997, two years after its constitution was ratified and its first officers elected. So we had to run, not walk. Perception is always dangerously ahead of reality by miles.

We determined that we had to have an office in Washington, DC, the headquarters of the association. Since the executive officers were not in one location, we had to rely on the assistance of local chapter members who were always ready and more than happy to help. Chief among these were my colleagues in Egbe Isokan Yoruba: Ropo Sekoni, Sola Ogunbode, Hakeem P. Fahm, Mumini Adekunle Badmus, Adeleke Adekoya, Samuel Ayodele, Kayode Adenaiya, Mobolaji Aluko, Dauda Jolaoso, Abiodun Adepoju, Adeniran Adeboye, and a host of others too numerous to mention here.

We scouted the city for good locations for a befitting office space. By this time, two exiled NADECO members, General Ipoola Akinrinade (rtd) and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had relocated to the Washington metro area. They were fully involved in our efforts. Incidentally, their generous donation to the Egbe at the Houston convention was the seed money that we relied on to commence our search for an office space.

On the day that we found an office space, both Senator Tinubu and General Akinrinade were on our search team. I recall that as soon as we pulled up at 7600 Georgia Avenue, NW, Senator Tinubu gave an approving shout: “Yes, this is it!” he exclaimed in approval. We all agreed. We applied for Suite 405 and signed the lease with Capital Building on June 27, 1997 with a down-payment of $2400.

For the next seven years, the office served as the headquarters of a most celebrated or reviled organisation depending on which side of the appraisal you stood. For our compatriots who understood the cause for which we struggled, Egbe Omo Yoruba made them extremely proud. For our detractors whether they were military apologists or partisan ideologues, our members were simply a bunch of rascals seeking attention.

Once we secured an office space, the enthusiasm of our members was unparalleled. Banji Ayiloge, the General Secretary, lived in New York City. He secured his own key to the office, and before I woke up every Saturday morning, Banji was already in the office on Georgia Avenue, working for the Egbe. He drove four hours each way. Sometimes, when he chose to let me know he was coming, I insisted that he stop by the house for breakfast, which my wife generously prepared. We would then head together to the office.

Members of Egbe Isokan Yoruba, the Washington local chapter of Egbe Omo Yoruba, also made 7600 Georgia Avenue, NW their after-office retreat venue. There was always something going on, and our folks were eager to offer help whether by stuffing envelopes for mailing, or searching the Internet for news from home and disseminating same to members. Chief Enahoro had also then relocated to Alexandria VA and was offered an office space in the suite that Egbe Omo Yoruba occupied. Therefore the suite served NADECO and World Congress of Free Nigerians (WCFN) as well.

In grateful commemoration of the 70th anniversary of my arrival on mother earth, a public presentation of my new memoir, All the Way: Serving with Conscience, is scheduled to take place at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs on December 21, 2015. Based on my considered judgment that my discussions in the book may be of interest to my readers, in the next few columns, I plan to release excerpts from the book. Today, I start with the preface titled “The Bondage of Conscience”.

“On Monday, June 27, 2005, I departed Washington Dulles Airport for Lagos to spend about three weeks with my children and grandchildren and attend to some business. The Air France flight from Washington had a late departure because the incoming aircraft was delayed due to bad weather. So, instead of leaving Washington at 6:45 pm, the plane did not take off until 9 pm. We landed in Paris about 10:00 am on Tuesday, but because we had to be transported by bus from the aircraft parking lot at De Gaulle airport to the terminal, we missed the Lagos-bound flight. The plane took off as we were being bused to the terminal. Naturally disappointed, there was nothing we could do. We had to wait until the following day.

“As I lay on the bed that night at Campanile Hotel, pondering the whole situation, some thoughts kept running through my mind. Why did I and other Nigerians have to go through Europe to get to Nigeria? Why could we not fly directly to Lagos from either Washington or New York? Why do we not have a national carrier? Why are we at the mercy of foreign airlines? Why? Why?

“Although I had some idea of the answers to my questions, this was not what came to my mind as I lay on my bed. Instead, I found myself wanting to engage more purposefully in philosophical reflections on many of the issues that I have contemplated over the years: the mystery of birth, the excitement of childhood, the responsibility of adulthood and some landmarks in the checkered history of a nation.

“This is not a typical memoir of recounting personal actions and involvement in matters of local, national or professional importance. There is some of that; but this is meant as much more than a diary of events.

“My personal story of involvement up till now in issues that require action has a backdrop in events that predated my birth. The trauma of the Middle Passage and the indignity of colonisation are both significant landmarks that impacted fatherland and the trajectory of its fortunes. The condition that my grandparents and their peers faced was not of their making. Neither were my peers and I responsible for those conditions that we had to engage and confront.

“In the life of a nation as in that of individuals, there are such unplanned, undeserved and undesirable intrusions. The mark of our humanity is the inbuilt devices that enable us to confront these intrusions and supersede them. For the nation, however, unless we subscribe to the idea of a national soul, which in my view is a chimera, it is the individuals that make up the nation who have the responsibility, through their inbuilt devices, which they may (or may not) choose to unleash at the appropriate times, to save the nation from unwanted intrusions and cultivate it to the highest level attainable. Needless to add, in so doing, the individuals also cultivate themselves to the highest level of their potentials. And when they fail, they short-change themselves irredeemably.

“I had a childhood that oriented me in the direction of positive action. I had an education that prepared me for activism in support of just causes. I was morally wired and politically activated.  Therefore, it was not difficult for me to commit my professional life to the struggle for the uplift of motherland. Surely I was free to live my life in peace without getting involved in any form of activism. I could focus on my professional life and shun the urge to confront evil and social injustice. And I could justify such a course by reference to the futility of any such engagement or confrontation. I did not choose that course because I felt palpably the pang of conscience with its incessant taunting and challenge to action.

“Bishop Joseph Butler was the pre-eminent authority on the supremacy of the principle of reflection and conscience. Of the 15 sermons that the Anglican Bishop preached in the 18th century, two were on conscience and more had discussions of the principle sprinkled all through them. He argued that the highest principle in human beings and that which is designed to guide morals and actions is the principle of conscience. Since conscience belongs to our nature, it is absurd for us to act without the reflection of conscience. If we do not allow the intrusion of “interest and passion”, then it is certain that “reflection and conscience” will always prevail and in prevailing will lead us to always approve “an action of humanity rather than cruelty.”

“Animals are governed by instincts and passion. Humans also have instincts and passions. However, in addition, we also have reflection and conscience and this is the distinguishing mark of our human nature. It is what separates us from brutes. Therefore to the extent that reflection and conscience guide our actions and overrule our instincts and passions, we behave true to type. The human being, whether Christian, Muslim, Atheist, or Orisa devotee, has written in his or her heart a natural disposition to “kindness and compassion”, provided other “interests and passions” do not interfere and “lead him (or her) astray.” But there are always those competing interests and passions and they could be as strong as the natural disposition to “kindness and compassion.” The problem is that we have no way of knowing and determining which of them is placed in us by nature!

“The predisposition to inflict harm on an innocent person, or the instinct to annul a free and fair election on the basis of personal interest or animosity is as strong and as natural as the disposition to honesty and patriotic magnanimity. The disposition to corruptly enrich oneself from the common treasury is as strong as the conscientious determination to act honestly.

“What principle then is there in us to offer a judgment on which of the “natural dispositions” is right? It is the principle of reflection and conscience. It is there in everyone of us. It enables us to distinguish between good and evil. It taunts us as it passes judgment on our actions, prospectively and retrospectively: “What you did was wrong! You should be ashamed of yourself!” We feel it in our heart as the rebuke of conscience sinks into the veins and vessels of our being. It also urges us to certain conduct and does not withdraw until we act. If we do not, it places the blame on us and we feel a sense of shame.

“I have always been in bondage of conscience. It is no wonder that I chose the study of philosophy. I was most assuredly attracted to the field because of its synchronisation with my pre-career convictions.

“In Philosophical Consciencism, Kwame Nkrumah, the hero of Ghana’s independence and for much his life, the unrelenting crusader for the freedom of Africa on the continent and in the diaspora, aptly observed that for an African student of philosophy, the subject could not have the same meaning that it has for an average Western student. In the West, while the struggle for freedom and genuine democracy may still be said to be an ongoing process, in Africa at the turn of the 21st century, it has hardly begun. Therefore for its African student, philosophy must live up to its Socratic meaning as the gadfly, the conscience of humanity. If philosophy truly responds to experience, my career orientation has not been an exception.”