As a mark of respect for the just-departed Segun Awolowo, every Nigerian should make a solemn pledge today that they will never accept stomach infrastructure again so his grandfather’s legacy can be revived

Ayo Akinfe

[1] One of my favourite quotes ever is Henry Mattise’s “Every people get the government they deserve.” Ironically, Obafemi Awolowo, Nigeria’s most visionary sage used that quote after the 1983 elections when the NPN rigged itself back into office and the people tolerated it

[2] Despite his flaws, the more I read about Obafemi Awolowo, the more I just marvel at his unique ability to envisage the future. No other Nigerian has had his vision. It is like he was 50 years ahead of his time

[3] First of all, do you know that Awolowo was only premier of the Western Region between 1954 and 1960? He was in office for just six years, which is about the same amount of time President Goodluck Jonathan had in office but alas, look at how much he achieved within such a short space of time

[4] At a time when literacy rates were no higher than 5%, Awolowo had the foresight to built futuristic projects. He could easily have settled for the immediate needs of his constituents but no, he made the construction of income-generating projects one of the central principles of his government. The only person who appears to have thought like this in the current dispensation was Donald Duke, who made the construction of income-generating Tinapa and the refurbishing of the Obudu Cattle Ranch major priorities

[5] Cocoa House for instance was a 26-storey skyscraper built from the proceeds of agricultural produce grown and exported from the old Western Region. Obviously cocoa was the main cash cow but other income generators included timber, rubber and palm oil. Awolowo’s plan was to move away from the over-dependence on agriculture and diversify the economy so it had multiple revenue sources

[6] Awolowo’s futuristic plans included building the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan, which was hired out to generate income. Up until 1973 when we opened the National Stadium Surulere, our national team then known as the Red Devils, played all their international matches at Liberty Stadium. Without Awolowo, can you just imagine the embarrassment Nigeria would have gone through not having a decent stadium in which to play international matches. It might have meant us playing our 1974 World Cup qualifiers in Accra, Ghana

[7] Apart from Cocoa House and the Liberty Stadium, Awolowo gave us the Western Nigeria Television Station at a time when many European nations did not have any such facility. He also introduced free primary education and proceeded with building the then University of Ife despite the fact that the region already had UI in place.

[8] None of these projects were going to yield dividends during Awolowo’s tenure but it was as if he had a crystal ball in front of him and could envisage the future. For instance, Cocoa House did not open until 1965 and the University of Ife did not open until 1962. By this time, Awolowo had long left office as premier but the benefits of his legacy remain with us until this very day. As the saying goes: “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

[9] Personally, I do not like the fact that most of Awolowo’s projects were all concentrated in Lagos and Ibadan. I do not think he did enough to spread development across the Western Region, which is why the state structure we have today is 100 times better than the old regional structure. Cities like Abeokuta, Akure, Ado-Ekiti and Oshogbo would not be as developed as they are today had they not been made state capitals

[10] Our challenge now I guess is finding people with Awolowo’s foresight. Easier said than done because leadership comes from followership and until we alter our outlook as a people, a man like Awolowo will never win an election in Nigeria. Can he even get up to 10% of the vote? Awolowo would not give our “stomach infrastructure” so nobody would vote for him in today’s Nigeria

ayoakinfe@gmail.com