Awo: A man of character, self-discipline

I am quite happy that I am able to be here today as Chairman of this occasion that, ordinarily, should have been the third in the series of the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership. It is my pleasure to warmly and sincerely welcome everyone to this commemorative birthday lecture in honour of the late elder statesman, Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo, who would have been 108 years old today.

I understand that no Prize would be given out this year for the simple reason that the Selection Committee felt that nominees fell short of meeting the criterion of ‘demonstrable evidence of substantial achievements, across the board: Now, that is Chief Awolowo, speaking by proxy. He never did anything in half measure. For him, you either did something very well or not at all because his guiding philosophy was all-round excellence.

It is instructive that today’s lecture, entitled ‘The Awolowo Legacy and its Message for Nigerian Youth,’ is to be delivered by one of Chief Awolowo’s many disciples, Professor Banji Akintoye, an eminent historian. I say this because the lecturer has been fortunate to have had very close personal and political tics with the late sage. He, therefore, would be sharing first-hand experience.

It is also instructive that this lecture is directed at Nigerian youth, particularly at a difficult period when they need to benefit from the wisdom of age. It could reasonably be said that the late Chief Awolowo was purpose-created by God to intervene and succeed at difficult periods. In his personal life, he overcame adversity. He worked with me at a very difficult period in the life of our country. He had, shared and demonstrated a vision of how to successfully turn difficult situations around. It, therefore, is no coincidence that this lecture aims to examine the legacy of the great man with a view to embedding his message of hope in young people who would eventually have to make vital contributions to shaping the destiny of our nation.

My colleagues and I in the Supreme Military Council, 1966 – 1975, were relatively young when we assumed the mantle of leadership of Nigeria. Chief Awolowo teamed up with us and several dedicated civil servants to weather great turbulence. Together, we succeeded in keeping Nigeria one, without borrowing a Kobo. So many things stood out about the late sage: loyalty, perseverance, focus, hard work and service to the people. For me, he used his life to preach a message of hope, for which two key traits were most needed: character and self-discipline. Without these, the loftiest of visions will dissolve like salt in water because, often, adversity will test the stuff that an individual is made of. I believe Professor Akintoye will dwell more on these and more in his lecture.

Since my role is basically to set the tone of this lecture, I believe my job is already done. But before I call up our distinguished lecturer, Prof. Akintoye, permit me to ‘remix’ several quotes of the late Chief Awolowo in the hope that the final cut will speak to our young people as well as people in positions of authority so they all better understand the mood of the time we are in and the direction in which we should be headed:

Life is, from the cradle to the grave, a series of unbroken risks. Those who desire to reach, and keep their places at the top in any calling must be prepared to do so the hard way. I have come to learn, from personal experience, that failure and defeat always serve as springboards for greater achievements. Those of us placed in a position of leadership must be prepared to grasp the nettle if we unite in doing so. It is safer and wiser to cure unhealthy rivalry than to suppress it; violence never settles anything right: apart from injuring your own soul, it injures the best cause. (Let’s keep) busy at (our) desks thinking about the problems of Nigeria and proffering solutions to them. After rain comes sunshine; after darkness comes the glorious dawn. Only the deep can call to the deep.

I thank you all for listening.

• Remarks by General (Dr) Gowon, GCFR, at the Obafemi Awolowo Memorial Lecture in Lagos, on March 6 2017.