A review of Kayode Fayemi’s book, Unfinished Greatness: Envisioning a New Nigeria by Lindsay Barrett.
This anthology of highly opinionated essays put together by Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the Governor of Ekiti State should certainly inspire serious discourse in the arena of political observation and analysis throughout Africa, especially in Nigeria. The quality of the writing and the delivery of the content reveal Fayemi as a brilliant literary stylist as well as a truly dedicated analyst and scholar.
At the same time the work exposes the fact that he is in the vanguard of the intellectual enquiry of national affairs in the post-colonial generation of Nigerian citizen/politicians, and is certainly an important participant in the processes of leadership in post-colonial politics in Africa.
These 10 highly topical and subjective essays, plus a postscript that serves to summarise his objective aspirations for the nation’s progress and development, can be read collectively as a patriotic manifesto which articulates an argument for the survival of Nigeria’s national identity based on a rational formula of governance and historic political realism.
The first three essays in the primary section of the book articulate a set of moral and historical standards that are particularly well researched and defined and placed in a universal context that establishes Nigeria’s global relevance and regional authority as an existential reality.
The very first essay which carries the same title as the book is presented as an enquiry into, and analysis of, the credibility of the nation’s contemporary concerns.
Fayemi presents these concerns as having arisen from the experience of national responsibility inherited by the citizens as a consequence of independence. He suggests that the responsibility for encouraging national progress is a legacy that every citizen should consider an imperative when contemplating their relationship to the issues of national concern and political relevance.
He asserts that Nigeria, having been formulated and nurtured as a national entity as a result of the colonial experience, has emerged as a modern nation out of the forces of history and, as such, it should remain in existence as a viable nation. He strengthens this argument by also examining the relationship between governance and the building of a nation and argues convincingly that nation-building should be motivated by the desire of the leadership to provide genuine elements of a harmonious life experience for humanity.
In placing the actual events of day-to-day governance in Nigeria in the context of confronting the challenges of nation-building, which he defines as being a task that demands patience and tolerance to be successful, Fayemi builds a convincing argument for the survival of the Nigerian reality. He emphasises this with an essay very graphically titled “Fixing Nigeria For A Better World: Nation-Building And Foreign Policy” in which he articulates a supportive although somewhat informal study of the international obligations and commitments that Nigeria has always advocated as the core of its diplomatic presence in the global arena.
In this essay, he recalls high points of Nigeria’s international presence since independence. By discussing this sensitive aspect of the national profile with ease and expertise, Fayemi sets the stage for his next essay which examines the credibility of intellectual leadership in the political arena such as he has exhibited by his actions in government and which he promotes as the basis for new values of leadership in contemporary times and circumstances.
The mid-section of this anthology includes exemplary profiles, personal assessments, and character portraits of Dr. Nnamdi{‘Zik’) Azikiwe, and comrade Aminu Kano two of Nigeria’s iconic nationalist father figures that serve to give readers an insight into the historic credibility of Nigerian nationalism. In the first of these, Fayemi examines the role of Zik as the pioneering advocate and activist of the Nigerian anti-colonial movement. With careful analytical expertise, he explains that the central objective of Zik as a media operative was the enlightenment of the populace and that this objective remains an unfulfilled imperative of Nigeria’s post-colonial political class. He resuscitates the memory of the great man as a purposeful exercise in restoring the vision that gave rise to the founding of the nation. The titles that these essays appear with are in themselves highly explicit.
For example, the Azikiwe essay is entitled “Between Restructuring and Autonomy: Lessons From The Life Of Nnamdi Azikiwe,” and the essay that covers the memory and example of Comrade Aminu Kano’s sojourn on earth is entitled “Democracy, Good Governance, And The Question Of National Integration: Remembering Aminu Kano”. In discussing Aminu Kano’s example, Fayemi focuses on the exemplary humility and populist guidance that the leader was famed for living by and his comments tend to suggest that he believes that leadership by example is an ideal that all good leaders should strive to emulate.
This is followed by an essay that analyses the role of the media in facilitating transformation in society as well as in supporting good governance and the principle of fair and equitable conduct between leaders and those who are led. The very next essay reinforces this perception as it deals with the subject of faith which is a controversial issue but also the most personal and profoundly influential topic in the entire book. Entitled “The Church, Politics And Future Elections,” Fayemi embarks on a discourse about the boundaries and limits of religious belief especially of the Christian community throughout Nigeria and how this impacts on the political life of the nation.
He reveals that he is a devout adherent of the Catholic denomination and that the conventions of his upbringing in that faith are to a substantial extent responsible for the ideals he tries to apply to his work as a politician. The basic stand embraced by him in this essay is that truly committed religious leaders cannot afford to ignore or reject involvement with and views about political issues. Although they must attempt to be both objective and neutral in giving advice and suggesting what decisions their members should make.
In the final section of the book, Fayemi turns his attention to specific conditions and circumstances arising out of the existing political situation in the country. A report expounding on the experience of his government in confronting the coronavirus pandemic entitled “Covid 19: Turning Adversity To Opportunity” reads like a government memorandum in the first few pages but as it progresses it turns into a narrative of the effort to overcome official adversity and find solutions to an unprecedented challenge. He then turns his attention to the wider challenge of national insecurity and the need for a collective effort to be made to overcome new threats to the peace and stability that the nation needs in order to achieve meaningful development.
The last two essays elaborate on this theme by examining the causes and nature of the instability that modern Nigeria is experiencing and proffering recommendations for unearthing solutions from the actual situation that the nation is experiencing.
The final essay which is entitled “Twenty Years Of Democratisation In Nigeria” is a very personal interpretation of what the country experienced in preparing to evict the military from the seat of power and in installing representative government as the systematic legacy of that struggle. Kayode Fayemi’s entry into the political arena originated from that struggle and the postscript to this anthology of valuable ideas promotes a strong ideological message to the people of Nigeria and beyond, which suggests that leadership is based on service and that members of the public must make it clear that that will be the core value for which they will look as they make leadership choices in the future.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
- Bandits Storm Kaduna Airport, Stop Aircraft From Taking Off
- Lagos Socialite Who Distributed Petrol As Souvenir Sentenced To Two Years Imprisonment, Gets Fine Option
“Absolutely, When we came with the Buhari government in 2015 I became the minister. We were committed to a roadmap to establish a National Carrier, to concession the airports, to set up a leasing company, to establish cargo facilities and we have been doing that.”
On why the Buhari government wanted a national carrier, the minister responded: “Nigeria is situated at the centre of Africa, equidistant from all locations in Africa. 30.4 million square kilometres miles, 1.5 billion people, very green land. If Central and Eastern Africa is the belt of the continent, then Nigeria is the buckle. 200 million people and rising middle class, propensity to fly is high. Nigeria is a candidate for National Carrier.”
Sirika who insisted that the coming national carrier will be private sector driven added; “Private. Yes. 5 per cent government and no government stepping right in that company, no government control, no membership of government on board. Totally private and committed.
“Whatever we say we will do as a government since 2015, it has happened. that is why Tim Clark of Emirates, Qatar Airways and all of them are looking to go into Nigeria in multiple frequencies and multiple landing points because Nigeria is the right place for the airline business.
How Workplace Sexual Harassment Forces Many Out Of Their Dream Jobs
FG expresses commitment towards private driven aviation sector
and then