By Cajetan Mmuta
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has tasked the leadership of the country with the role and responsibility to rejig her domestic policy frameworks aimed at strengthening her weak government and governance systems to earn respect and utmost recognition in her international and foreign policy objectives as well as relationships with the global world.
Obasanjo stated this at the maiden symposium of the Chief Emeka Anayaoku International Institute with the theme: Nigeria In Comity of Nation’s held at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka the Anambra state capital.
He said Nigeria has a responsibility not only for ourselves alone but also for the entire black race in the African continent, pointing out that Nigeria has been somewhere consistent in maintaining the principles and policies that were set out by Tafawa Balewa.”
Obasanjo who was the chairman of the occasion said “At times we have had high and at the time we have been a bit low.”
“But we have a role to play and what Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa made us understand and made the world to understand from 7th of October 1960 is that we, by what God has given to us, the largest population of back people in the world in one country, we have the responsibility not only for ourselves alone but for the black race all over the world. That’s part of Nigeria in the comity of nations.”
He said, “But to be careful to play the role that we have to play, we have to be good at home before going to show ourselves to people outside. In my village, you have to dress at home, and you say to people; your friends, they look at me; am I looking fine?
“We have to look at ourselves at home; are we looking fine? Because I’d we are not looking fine at home, we won’t look fine outside. We have to look fine at home. Three days ago o talked about three things on my birthday. I talked about our tactical narrative. Let us tell our story, the story of events that have happened to us. Let us tell them by ourselves.”
Continuing, Obasanjo stated, “In 1999, when I was campaigning and I came here, may his Nyerere could rest in peace, Alex Ekwueme, I went to his place, I said Alex why don’t you leave these things and let me do all these things you want to do for you, I would do them for you? He said the lesson of my life. Since early in my life, whatever o want to do I don’t leave it for anybody to do for me because anybody I leave it to do for me may not do it the way I want to do it. Maybe he was right but I tried to do a bit for him.”
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“And for Nigeria to play the rightful role in the Comity of nations, we all have a role to play. We became by virtue b of our policy, a member of the frontline states; geographically we are not a member of the frontline states, no, we are far from the frontline. We even had what we call the South African Relief Fund. Public officers contributed 5.00 percent of their salaries for one month; we use it for decolonization and removal of apartheid. The idea was South Africa Relief Fund came from a woman in this state who sent us a small amount of money and said I am contributing this to what you are doing in South Africa so from there you make it a national history.”
The ex-President noted that “our effort in South Africa is not only a government effort but a national effort and that’s what it became. Because of a lady from this place, we got an idea and that was what it became. O said our ideas, policies, implementations have run from high to low or not too high at times.”
Quoting late Tafawa Balewa, he added that it will follow as natural consequences, so I said it would be a threat to peace if any country sets out to undermine the authority of properly chosen leaders of other states to superimpose political union. Political unions we must have, economic integration we must have but it must never be imposed. That’s not part of roles of Nigeria and the Comity of nations.”
He highlighted some of the highpoints of Nigeria in the Comity of nations which I closed the periods of Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Kalarn, Julius Yerere, Kenneth Kaun
Nyerereda and all was here in Nigeria and we worked together, where we couldn’t work together we moved the rest of us to Africa to work together.”
“Are we powerless today? Of course, we are not powerless, we are probably not as strong as we should have been because we are comparable weak at home but we can make ourselves strong at home. There’s no reason what we shouldn’t make ourselves strong at home. I7f you get one thing right, Nation-building, if we do not get nation-building right we will not wake up. We must have the strength to lead the rest of Africa and make Africa matter in the Comity of nations and by extension making Nigeria matter in the Comity of nations,” he added.
Obasanjo lauded Chief Emeka Anyaoku for his resilience and patriotism in the service of the country even as he lauded Governor Willie Obiano for his outstanding achievements I’m the state.
He also appreciated the quality of work done by Professor Charles Soludo while he presided over the office as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which according to him led to huge economic viability during his tenure as President of the country.
In his speech, Chief Anyaoku said, Nigeria has the primary responsibility of leading other African countries in the campaign to win respect and acceptance in the notion of human equality among the nonblack world.
He noted that the abiding legacy of the slave trade which thrives on the notion that the victims were sub humans was the only way the white slave traders could justify that their population was different and that the black people were not like themselves but subhuman leading to the foundation of racism and racial discriminations with the black people.
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The former Secretary of the Common Wealth Nations drowned that the black man or woman is usually denied the before of doubt given to his or her white counterpart and when a black person distinguishes himself in the environment of white people that person is regarded as exceptional people; he is an exceptional African. A phrase that I heard much to my embarrassment.”
He expressed confidence that with Nigeria’s national and natural resources and more importantly with the proven capacity of Nigerian people and those in developed countries in various spheres of academia, the corporate world, education is the get way to development.
He said it was embarrassing that a little chunk of budgetary allocation is given to education annually, stressing that government should devote more resources and great attention to the education of youths and for adequate funding of universities, colleges, and other schools.
He extolled the courage and visionary leadership of Olusegun Obasanjo at various times in the nation’s history as well as others who have made the country proud and for honoring his invitation for the ceremony even as he thanked the management of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University for the institution established in his name.
Other speakers at the colorful event include Professor (Amb) Jide Osuntokun who was the keynote speaker on the theme: Nigeria’s Foreign Policy, A Retrospective View; Prof Joe Keshi, Professor Humphrey Orjiakor, Governor Willie Obiano, Governor-elect of the state Prof. Charles Soludo, former Governor of the state Mr. Peter Obi, Senator Uche Ekwunife, Senator Ben Obi, His Royal Majesty Obi of Onitsha, Chief Simon Okeke, Vice-Chancellor of Unizik Prof Simone and other eminent personalities.
