Immortalising our heroes
Hannah Arendt, German-born US philosopher and historian, once said that the connection between history and nature is by no means an opposition. History receives into its remembrance those mortals who through deeds and words have proved themselves worthy of nature, and their everlasting fame means that they may remain in the company of the things that last forever.
To Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist, if you were to destroy in mankind the belief in immortality, not only love but every living force maintaining the life of the world would at once be dried up. Moreover, nothing then would be immoral, everything would be permissible, even cannibalism.
And the energetic and cerebral Nigerian columnist, Segun Ayobolu, made a similar point when he posited that “a society without a collective memory would be as disoriented, dysfunctional, incoherent and programmed for destruction as an individual without that critical faculty. The present anchored on the past is able to navigate the unpredictable waters of the future with a reasonable degree of certitude and confidence”.
In Lagos State at present, part of the institutional ways through which the government is documenting our heroes for immortalisation include dedication of gardens, naming of streets and roads and housing estates after them. This is being done to spur the youth and adults to commit to Nigerian enterprise and to aspire to greater heights.
One of such heroes that have been recognised is late Ayodele Awojobi. In October 2009, Governor Fashola posthumously dedicated a garden in honour of the late professor at Onike Roundabout, Yaba, Lagos, with a statue of the famous academic erected at the centre. A painstaking effort was put into the construction of the beautiful and befitting garden. Awojobi was an engineering genius and social reformer who had set a record of becoming, at the age of 37, the youngest professor in the University of Lagos. Before the erudite professor died 29 years ago at the age of 47, he had carved a niche for himself as his name had found global space as a mechanical engineer of repute and fighter against social dislocations and political recklessness.
It is on record that in his final year in the secondary school in 1955, he played the role of Macbeth in one of Williams Shakespeare’s famous plays. He memorised the whole textbook and was familiar with all the lines that during rehearsals he assisted other actors with their lines. It could be asked what the essence of the posthumous immortalisation is. The essence is to connect the present generation to our history of a pre-eminent past; to draw inspiration of possibilities and reiterate an ethic and value for hard work as necessary ingredients for a brighter rewarding future. So when our youths pass through Onikan, they should not just look at the statue and the garden but should draw inspiration from the immortal Awojobi.
We see the same principle of fighting for the poor in the man who received the honour of senior advocate of the masses (SAM) before his professional entitlement of SAN. In 2010, to mark the first anniversary of the death of Gani Fawehinmi, Governor Fashola unveiled the statue of the legal luminary and also dedicated a memorial garden, stressing that government took the step as a token of appreciation for Gani’s life of leadership through Spartan service to humanity. The idea of the honour was to demonstrate to others that the government will not forget its heroes in the belief that some new leaders will hopefully be inspired to rise up and continue from where they left off. The late Fawehinmi committed his lifetime to arduous human rights activism. He used law, civil rights movements, the media and politics as his tools to liberate the people he cared so passionately about from ignorance, repression and poverty; until he succumbed to his own mortality.
The spirit of the fighter came to life when the largest protest against fuel price increase took place at the strategic location in January 2012. His wife and son partook actively in the struggle the Federal Government used members of the armed forces to frustrate. The special jumat service at the rally co-spearheaded by a pastor was historic just as police irreverence to Tunji Braithwaite and others at the event was typical of what they did to the late chief till he became immortal.
Our youths living in the diaspora also have much to learn from the memory of Nurudeen Olowopopo. A 1.5 km road which stretches from the Otunba Jobi Fele Junction to the Ministry of Physical Planning, Alausa, Ikeja was named after Olowopopo, who was chairman, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital until his death. This was in recognition of Olowopopo’s contribution to the development and growth of Lagos State, especially in the health sector. Before returning to Nigeria to serve his fatherland, Olowopopo spearheaded several Medical Missions of Mercy which were involved in bringing Nigerian medical experts in the diaspora to Lagos to conduct surgical operations and offer other medical care services to thousands of Lagos residents free of charge. It is, therefore, befitting that Olowopopo was immortalised for his commitment and high-level service to the state.
I still remember that horrific day of August 12, 1989 watching a World Cup qualifier against Angola live on TV when a patriot, Sam Okwaraji, died at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. To send the right signals to Nigerian youths that their efforts to bring honour to their fatherland will not be in vain, the Fashola administration built a memorial garden for the patriot. Known as a Rededicated Memorial Garden, this special space in memory of the late footballer of Eastern Nigeria origin is said to represent the commitment of the Fashola administration to respecting the selfless deeds of Nigerians, especially Lagosians. Late Sam Okwaraji was a patriot. He loved Nigeria as much as he loved football. A foreign-based soccer star, Sam travelled home to help Nigeria defeat Angola in a World Cup qualifying match in Lagos. He made the opening of the game but could not see its end!
Similarly, the Kudirat Abiola memorial cenotaph, the MKO Abiola Garden, Tai Solarin statue at Yaba Lagos, among others, represent renewed effort by the state government to immortalise our heroes. To demonstrate that one doesn’t need to die before being immortalised, Governor Fashola early this year immortalised Emeka Anyaoku, former secretary general of The Commonwealth, as he named a newly completed housing estate within the Ikeja GRA after him. The governor said the honour was in recognition of Anyaoku’s contributions to the development of the Nigerian society.
In Nigeria, the subsequent drop in the quality of leaders, social crusaders, political and human rights activists inevitably is the result of decline and seeming loss of hope by many in the nation. One of the most important ways of instilling patriotism and inculcating commitment to our dear country in our youths is through immortalising our heroes, past and living. It is important we regularly cull from the life of our greats lessons of living effective life at this time when cross-over syndrome has turned many that were hitherto regarded as conscience of the masses into lackeys of clueless and autocratic leaders. Undoubtedly, these efforts would go a long way to help stimulate our compatriots, young and old, to continue their meritorious service to our fatherland. This is the only way for the labour of our heroes past not to be in vain.
Musbau is of Features Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.
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