A nation in need of greatness

Many of us who were born in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and some younger folks who are very conversant with the history of music will surely know the legendary reggae musician called Bob Marley. Bob Marley’s style of music is deeply rooted in wisdom, and in philosophical and proverbial words. Some of Bob Marley’s greatest hits are: Thank You Lord, Stir It Up, One Love, and Redemption Song. Bob Marley’s songs are soul-lifting. For so many music lovers, Bob Marley is the greatest musician ever. Some persons even hold the opinion that, because of Bob Marley’s style of music which talks about Black history, freedom, social justice, and good governance makes him the greatest musician ever. However, the materialistic school of thought is of the opinion that Bob Marley is the greatest musician of all time because he lived a life of affluence. Does affluence connote greatness?

It is worth noting that the legendary Bob Marley does not see affluence as a yard stick to measure greatness. In fact, on his deathbed, Bob Marley’s last words to his son Ziggy were: “Money can’t buy life”. In other words, money is not everything; money does not connote greatness. It will interest you to know that Bob Marley even understood what greatness truly means. He once said: “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and the ability to affect those around him positively.” In our world today, we have so many persons who consider themselves great because of wealth, power, or position – they do not define greatness when they are not used with integrity and to affect the lives of others positively. Great people in history made those around them happy. These persons pay attention to the welfare of humanity by living a life of sacrifice. Have you ever wondered why we refer to individuals like: Pope Saint John Paul II and Nelson Mandela (just to mention a few) as great men? They impacted positively on the lives of people. They used their positions for the development, growth, and common good of the society. They displayed childlike qualities of innocence, integrity, and humility.

Femi Otedola, a Nigerian billionaire business mogul, philanthropist and an importer of fuel products once opened up on some of his thoughts. He said that he had gone through four stages of happiness in life before finding true happiness. The first stage was centered on Money – the accumulation of wealth. Femi Otedola discovered that money was never giving him true happiness. The second stage was centered on accumulation of properties and valuables. He discovered that they were temporary. He was never finding true happiness in them. The third stage of life was centered on position, prestige and power. At this stage, he was getting projects – then, he was holding 95% of diesel supply in Nigeria and Africa. He was also the largest vessel owner in Africa and Asia. Even at this stage with the accomplishments, he was not finding true happiness. However at the fourth stage, Femi Otedola said that he found true happiness when he started giving to the needy.

He said that on a particular day after giving wheelchairs to a number of needy, disabled children – about 200 in all whom he had visited, he found so much joy and fulfilment in his heart. He had gone to the children and handed over the wheelchairs to them by himself. He said he was very happy because the children were very joyful and had received the gifts with joy. However, he said one of the beneficiaries grabbed his legs tightly as he was about to leave and started staring at him. He thought that the child was in need of something else, and he asked the child: “Do you need something else?” He said the child answered him saying: “I want to remember your face so that when I meet you in heaven, I will be able to recognise you and thank you once again.” In the eyes of the child, Femi Otedola in his own little way is a great man. In fact, in the eyes of the children, and indeed to them Femi Otedola has saved them. He is great in their sight and reckoning. Femi Otedola impacted positively on the lives of the children. He used his position for the common good of the disabled, needy children.

If we are to mention the names of great politicians from Nigeria, one would easily mention the following: Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Tafawa Balewa. Why are they often referred to as great politicians? Put simply, they were after the common good of the nation. Many of our contemporary politicians have easily forgotten the political ideology of Nnamdi Azikiwe popularly known as Zikism. Azikiwe expanded on this philosophy through his published works such as Renascent Africa (1973) and his autobiography, My Odyssey. Where are the Awoists of our time? Do we even still remember the political ideology of the great Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo called Liberal Democratic Socialism?

Maybe we should read the book of Olayiwola Abegunrin titled The Political Philosophy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to refresh our memories. Do we still read books in Nigeria? The Golden Voice of Africa (Sir Tafawa Balewa) also had his own political ideology. Balewa was so fascinated with the way federalism was practiced in America that he was a staunch advocate while he was alive. Do we still have individuals, politicians and political parties with ideologies?