Book Preview
Oseloka Obaze*
Saturday
7, January 2012
AWO: The Last Conversation
(ISBN-978-978-020-860-8;
Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers) Ltd., Ibadan,
Nigeria, 2010, Pp. 270, Price, $35.00)
Available at:
http://www.evanspublishers.com
Oral history has an exalted and treasured place
in African tradition. Hence, when oral history transforms to written history,
the end product is inevitably invaluable.
If a testimonial to that effect was ever needed, Moses Akin Makinde’s
book,
AWO: The Last Conversation
provides one with its niche, form and philosophical utility.
By some fluke or fate, a feat rarely accomplished by
contrivance and therefore, frequently attributed to Divine intervention; it was
most propitious that Professor Makinde would become both the beneficiary and
indeed, the trusted custodian of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s intrusive,
introspective and overarching last conversations before his death.
But who was Awo? According
to Makinde, he was: “a politician, political scientist, statesman, economist,
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), a strategist of the highest order, a great
intellectual, a man of wisdom, courage, vision and above all,
great philosopher of the twentieth century. Surely, Awo lived a life with
scope and intelligent pauses” (p.33) Generally, Awo has been posthumously
conferred with the honor of “the best president Nigeria never had.”
Unbeknown Awo and Makinde, the three and a half hour
conversation between them in on Saturday 4 April 1987,
which is the basis of this book and Makinde’s rich exposé, would become
Awo’s great finale and his literary and political legacy to posterity.
As Makinde observed, several other
literary works intended by Awo remained unfulfilled.
What makes this work great is not that it is very well
written (recorded), but that in life and death, Awolowo remains a much revered
but equally misunderstood Nigerian nationalist, whose penchant for discipline in
all its facets was the very antithesis of the indiscipline that continues to
bedevil his country.
AWO: The Last
Conversation is the result of a last ditch
attempt, albeit unintended, to probe and pick at Awo’s brain with a view to
uncovering the foundation of his philosophical acumen. What Makinde encounters
and consequently unveils to the reader, is a multidimensional Awolowo; “various
aspects of himself as well as the thoughts behind his publicly acclaimed
phenomenal acts.” True to its genre,
which accounts for its richness and proffered insight, this work is truly a
product of a conversation, a give and take dialogue and debate, in which every
option and question is intently exercised and the responses most thoughtful and
revelatory.
AWO: The Last
Conversation is therefore the stuff history
buff and scholars die for. Part of the book’s strength and attraction, is every
readers hope for a glimpse at the real persona of Awolowo the legend; and the
hope to uncover the fault line in the Awo mystic, that would explain the
inexplicable paradox, and why even though Awolowo was considered a master
politician, administrator and philosopher, he failed woefully to muster the
knowhow of how to sufficiently gain the confidence of his compatriots for them
to elect him their leader. Yet, having failed to give Awo the mantle, Nigerians
still wallow in nostalgia of what an Awolowo leadership would have meant for
Nigeria given his leadership qualities and penchant for discipline.
Being the academic and philosopher he is, but perhaps
recognizing that he was in possession of a gem, Moses Makinde structured the
book in a manner that offers utmost utility.
The four main chapters are devoted to the Introduction; Awo the Man; My
Encounters with Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Thirty Five Days Before His Death: The
Last Conversation. The book is made
whole with very detailed notes and references, but it is in the appendices that
Makinde provides the reader with extremely rich and invaluable repertoire of
Awo’s philosophy, his thinking, political mindset.
Of the appendices, perhaps the most engrossing is titled,
“The Prophesy About War and Befalling
Darkness” (p.231-35). This was an address by Awo on 11 September 1963,
(earliest 9/11) before honorable Justice Sodeinde Sowemimo, at the close of his
treasonable felony trial. Therein, Awo made the following prophesy, which has
unambiguously manifested in Nigeria: “[For] some time to come the present
twilight of democracy, individual freedom and the rule of law, will change and
might change into utter darkness.”
In another appendix, the reader is offered an insight into Awo’s 1939 analysis,
in which he proposed that there should be rigorous and empirical inquiry into
the use of juju, in order to ascertain the “scientific facts”, if any.
He concluded that piece thus: “the aim of those engaged in the research
work throughout should be to get the best and nothing but the best out of the
juju practice’” (p.230).
In his extended conversation with Makinde, Awo shed light on
an array of issues, in some instances recounting and recalling his known views
and in others, espousing new visions and observations.
The prefacing discussion dwelt on his philosophical thinking and how they
were in tandem or at variance with those of philosophers like Plato, Aristotle
Cicero, Nietzsche, Locke, Hegel, Marx, Engel, Mill, Russell and others, all of
whom Awo had read. As always, Awo was candidly unrelenting in his candor and
very precise in his diction and language. Every reader must determine what they
find most capacitating in Awo’s views but it would suffice for this reviewer
dwell on a few of his intuitions.
Leadership Traits: Awo developed the idea the
“every man is a potential genius” however, their reach is determine by their “ego”
which he considered “perhaps the most important element which he sees as playing
constructive or destructive (or both) roles in a person, be he/she an ordinary
person or a leader in society. Drawing
on this thinking, Makinde asserts, “In this country, it is the ego that can be
used to explain the arrogant and pompous habits of our leaders, their open
display of wealth, abuse and misuse of power, etc.” (p. 45).
Nigeria’s Wealth: “Nigeria makes money every
day. What we need to know is that
if our leaders are honest with themselves, and plug some if not all the avenues
of wastage and stealing, we all will suddenly realize how much money Nigeria has
to pursue these noble objectives” (p. 47).
National Equity: “Use a Nation’s resources for
the greatest good of the greatest number and not just for a selfish few who have
unlimited opportunities to steal and corner resources meant for all of us to
themselves.” (p. 81).
Role of Research in Nation building: “It is a
mistake to think that all researches must lead to positive results... whether
positive or negative, it tells us something which propels us to further
research...since we spend little or nothing on research efforts (which is not
one of our priorities), we always depend on the products of the research efforts
of others in order to survive”(p.88).
Ethics and Religion: “The greatest good of
all…is found in the Holy Bible:
‘Love thy neighbor as thyself’ or ‘Do unto others as you would wish them do unto
you’” (p.114).
Democracy in Nigeria:
“I have said that we will not see democracy
in this country for the next fifty years.
By democracy I mean real democracy, not cash and carry democracy or chop
and chop democracy. I mean civilized democracy. Nigeria is ripe for it, but it
cannot achieve it now or in the nearest future. That is the irony, I am sorry to
say (p.128).
External Borrowing: “If you borrow too much
money, you lose your economic independence and self-esteem, and I think losing
our economic independence and self-esteem is good for the western countries, and
it may very well be their strategy for economic and political domination which
we African have refused to understand” (p.131).
Leveraging Human Resources: “Unlike Nigeria,
Japan has no oil. But they are a very serious and hardworking nation. And I
believe their leaders have focus, tremendous foresight and clear-cut objective.
They made good use of their available natural resources but more
especially human resources”(p. 136).
Needed Leadership Qualities: “We need educated
and sophisticated leaders before we can ever think of finding the path leading
to technological development in Nigeria.
For instance, how many of
our leaders since independence had seen the four walls of a university, i.e. had
a university education for them to understand
and appreciate the proper meaning, value and
importance of intellectual and technological development and growth”
(p.140).
Nigeria’s Brain Drain: “This is a shame. It is
even strange because none of these industrialized countries will ever allow
their best brains to leave the shores of their countries.
Britain will not allow it; America will not allow it. But Nigeria seems
to enjoy seeing their best brains desert the country one by one, and yet we are
doing nothing about it. People say
America will buy the best brains from any part of the world, including Nigeria,
to develop the country. Now see how America has developed to the benefit of all
Americans’ (p.142).
Free Education and Free Healthcare:
“Nigeria has money to pursue free education
and free health to a reasonable level. Yes, the government has sufficient money
to make education and health free.
And this is for the greatest good of the greatest number” (p. 156).
Presidential Decisions:
“I don’t think we should always blame a
President’s lapses on his advisers.
It is the duty of a President, as an educated and intelligent man, to know what
advice is good or bad for his people. If he considers the advice just, and of
public good, he will take it as he himself would have calculated the
consequences of such action. What is more, he should be able to use his own
discretion as Mr. President” (p.193)
Value of Intellectualism: “My respect for
intellectuals lies in their ability to see things critically, differently and
objectively, and comprehend salient details of issues, apart from their research
capability (p.203).
Basis of Good Governance: “I have never
regarded myself as having the monopoly of wisdom. The trouble is that most
people in public life and in the position of leadership are spending whole days
and nights in the clubs or in company of men of shady character and women of
easy virtue, I like a few others, am always at my post working hard at the
country’s problems and trying to find solutions to them; only the deep can call
to the deep” (p.208)
AWO: The Last
Conversation
is a book that begs to be read by every practicing and aspiring Nigerian
politician, and scholars and students. Reading it is a political imperative for
those who truly need to understand Nigerian politics and seek to serve the
Nigerian nation and not their own personal ends. As Awo said of himself, “I have
rendered service to this country which historians and the coming generation will
certainly regard as imperishable” (p.233).
One wonders how many cotemporary Nigerian politicians can lay claim to
such accomplishments and standing.
In writing
this book, Moses Makinde acquits himself creditably and truly so, as the scholar
and philosopher that he is, by ensuring that Awo’s views on a wide array of
issues did not die with him, but were shared and saved for posterity.
The conversation exercise for Awo must have been serendipitous.
Faithful to its title and genre, this work is truly an intimate and
unfettered conversation – a dialogue of give and take and of hard-headed
questions that elicited the most thoughtful, unvarnished and sometimes totally
shocking and surprising responses. This
reviewer concurs with the view that “while it is one thing to directly witness
or hear about the actions of a great man, it is a higher and more valuable
privilege to gain knowledge of the reasons and thought processes guiding those
remarkable acts.”
This brilliant compendium of Awo’s life, facts, theories,
history, philosophy, and political and personal recall offers elegant insight
into one of the greatest and strategic minds to come out of Nigeria, if not the
entire Africa. For Makinde, this is
mission accomplished with great verve, erudition, clarity and intellectual
sagacity. This is an indispensable tour de force and a must read for those who
really care or seek to know the man AWO!
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Mr.
Oseloka Obaze
is a co-founder of the
Kwenu.com Book Review Forum,
which is dedicated to the promotion of books with Igbo
and Afrocentric themes. He is also a supporting Member of the African Writers
Endowment (AWE). From 1999 to 2005, he served on the editorial board of
INYEAKA, the journal of Songhai Charities, Inc., a New Jersey
community-based charity founded and run by Nigerians based in New York Tri-state
area in the United States, first as its founding Publisher and later as the
Editor-At-Large. He is also on the editorial board of
The Amaka Gazette,
journal of the Christ the King College,
Onitsha Alumni Association in America. His collection of
poems, “Regarscent Past:
A Collection of Poems”
was second among the top three finalists in the poetry
category in the African Writers Endowment Publishing Grant Program for 2004.
He is working on a novel titled “Happy
Eulogy”.
He reviews books and arts strictly as a hobby. ©
Copyright 7 January 2012.