Awo, greatest Nigerian leader of all time —Ranti Ajeleti

THE sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, has been described as the greatest Nigerian leader of all time, whose contribution to national development remains unsurpassed, 30 years after his demise.

National President of Awo Free Education Beneficiaries (AWOFEB), Mr Ranti Ajeleti, made this known in a statement made available to Saturday Tribune.

The Ibadan-based legal practitioner also said the elder statesman traversed all the sectors in the defunct Western Region, expressing regrets that no politician in contemporary Nigeria had been able to replicate the ideals and philosophy of the late politician.

He said the late former Premier of the defunct Western Region still remained the reference point in the polity, adding that “his big shoe remains too difficult to be filled, 30 years after his passage to eternity.”

“I am a beneficiary of the educational programme of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. But for the man, many of us who attained some level of success in our various fields of endeavour may have not had such an opportunity.

“That the late politician was a man of many parts is incontestable. An attestation to this fact is the evergreen comment by the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu that ‘Awo is the best president Nigeria never had.

“Nigeria is at the moment, groping in the dark as we lack leaders in the mould of the sage. We are suffering in the midst of plenty because we don’t have quality leaders who can take us out of the national crisis.

“In the first instance, we found ourselves in this great mess because we refused to allow the likes of the sage to take charge of the affairs of this country at its formative years.

“We got it wrong from the foundation. Our efforts at fostering a sustainable national development remain futile because of the collective failure of our leaders, past and present, to recognise and utilise the depth of knowledge embedded in the late Awo.

“We may, however, still launch ourselves on the path of greatness, if only we can look back, reflect on the ideals and philosophy the great man believed in, lived and died for and adapt them to our present situation,” he said.