Foremost Yoruba socio-cultural organization, the Yoruba Alliance Forum (YAF), at the weekend urged the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, the Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho and many others that have been bothered by the recent viral audio content credited to Iba Gani Adams, to sheath their swords and unite to fight the common enemies of Yoruba race.

The leaders of the pan-Yoruba organization made the appeal on Saturday, after reaching out to Iba Gani Adams on the telephone, as part of efforts to ensure peace in Yoruba land.

YAF, in a statement signed by the chairman, Chief Onitolo-Ariyo Adejare, and the secretary, Comrade Adedeji Oluwaseun, described the unity of the Yoruba as the best weapon to fight common enemies.

The YAF chieftains also added that Yoruba sons and daughters, both at home and in the diaspora are worried about the ongoing social media attacks between loyalists of Iba Gani Adams and that of Sunday Igboho.

The group also described those who are sending the viral audio content across the social media platforms as enemies of the Yoruba race, saying that such acts were very libellous because they had intruded into the privacy of Iba Adams and the other person involved in the private discussion. 

“This unlawful act can affect the much-needed unity and peace in Yoruba land and can also expose the race to further attacks by the enemies of the Yoruba.

“The issue that transpired between Iba and his former aides in 2015 as well as the audio content generated from a private discussion in 2021 should not be the clog in the wheel of the progress of the Yoruba race.”

[TheNation]

Several people have been reportedly killed in a clash between rival youths in the Mikang Local Government Area of Plateau State.

It was learnt that many people were also injured during the clash said to have started on Saturday night between Taroh and Motola youths in the locality and lasted till the early hours of Sunday .

The state Commissioner for Information , Musa Ashoms, confirmed the development to The PUNCH in Jos on Sunday .

“It started as a result of dispute over land.

“According to the LG chairman, the land in question cannot even produce six bags of rice, and you know when people are attached to their land, they could go extra mile.

“It is something they could have controlled their nerves, but somehow, it got to a point where others too joined them and houses were burnt down and people were maimed.”

He advised the people to always explore alternative dispute resolution mechanism in resolving their differences and refrain from taking the law into their hands .

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Alabo Alfred, said security operatives had been deployed to the troubled area while investigation over the incident continues

“The area is now calm. People are going about their normal businesses,” the PPRO added

[Punch]

A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, said those expecting the Naira to be N400 to the Dollar are living in a dream world.

Moghalu made this assertion in a statement via his X handle on Sunday. 

According to him, the exchange rate should reflect its market value in reality.

Moghalu claimed that the Central Bank had created artificiality that it sought to maintain to please economic illiterates in political power at the time.

The economist insisted that artificiality created room for massive arbitrage by speculators which bled the economy.

He suggested that the sooner the country focused on the creation of value-added manufacturing export economy that earned forex beyond oil in real and significant terms, the better.

Moghalu said, “Those who want the Naira to be N400 to the $ are living in a dream world. Even discounting for the negative impact of speculative attacks on the value of the Naira, the exchange rate will (and should) reflect its market value in reality, not the artificiality that the central bank sought to maintain to please economic illiterates in political power at the time.

“That artificiality created room for massive arbitrage by speculators which bled the economy. Nigeria does not (yet) have a productive export economy. That’s the heart of the matter.

“And we do not have $100 billion in foreign reserves. So on what basis would the Naira forex rate return to some fantasy land soon? It will also take time to regain or achieve full investor confidence such as we had when we were there (and the rate was N150-165 to the $.

“The sooner we focus on a painstaking creation of value-added manufacturing export economy that earns forex beyond oil in real and significant terms, the better.

“Key to this is the electricity conundrum in which we are at less than 4,000 megawatts of generation for a population of 200 million for decades now.

“Take power to even 20K megawatts (let’s not talk of 50K for South Africa’s 60 million population or Brazil’s 181K megawatts for a population only slightly larger than Nigeria) and you will see what the Nigerian entrepreneurial spirit is capable of,” he said.

[Vanguard]

President Bola Tinubu says his administration is deploying “detailed strategies” to ensure schools are secure for learning in the country.

In a statement on Sunday, Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, said Tinubu welcomed the news of the release of the abducted students of the Government Secondary School Kuriga, Kaduna, and Tsangaya in Sokoto.

The president commended Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna; Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, and the security agencies for the safe release of the abducted Kuriga students.

The president said the dedication towards the safe release of the victims is “critical to optimal outcomes in cases of mass abductions”.

In the early hours of Sunday, Sani announced the release of the abducted Kuriga schoolchildren.

Sani Abdullahi, a teacher at Government Secondary School Kuriga, had said 287 students were missing after the attack on the schools.

On Friday, 15 students abducted from a Tsangaya school in Gidan Baya, Gada LGA of Sokoto regained their freedom.

The students were kidnapped on March 9 when bandits attacked their community.

[TheCable]

Human rights advocate, Femi Falana said official negligence led to death of Nasarawa State University students, who died in a stampede incident that occurred in the institution.

Falana stated this in a statement he made available to Vanguard on Sunday.

The statement reads, “Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nassarawa State was reported to have ordered the distribution of two 7.5 kg bags of rice and N5,000 to each student of the State University at Keffi.

“The distribution of the palliative was scheduled to hold at the state university’s convocation square last Friday morning. As the distribution exercise was not well organised, there was a stampede of thousands of students at the venue. The stampede led to tragedy as many students were injured.

“As the university health centre was ill-equipped to treat the injured students, they were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, Nassarawa State.

“As the injured students were not promptly attended to, two female students were pronounced dead while at least 17 others were left with varying degrees of injuries arising from sofocation at the venue of the distribution of rice. Our thoughts and condolences go to the families and friends of the deceased students.

“According to the state government, the tragic incident occurred “when suspected hoodlums and some misguided students forced their way into the school’s convocation ground to cart away the rice kept at the venue meant for distribution as palliatives to students.”

“But the Vice-chancellor of the University, Prof Suleiman Bala decided to blame the tragedy on the victims of the official negligence. He was reported to have said that “our students were not patient enough to follow the process of accessing these palliatives.”

React to the development, Falana described the death of the students as unfortunate, noting that the authorities of the University failed to draw any lesson from the recent stampede which claimed the lives of seven persons during the distribution of 25kg bags of rice in Lagos by the Nigeria Customs Service.

Falana, the Chair, Alliance on Surviving Covid 19 and Beyond (ASCAB), stated, “No doubt, the tragedy would have been averted if the University management had distributed the 7 kg bags of rice to the students through their departments. Indeed, there was no justification to have assembled thousands of students without a standby ambulance.

“As if that was not enough, the university health centre was not equipped to attend to the injured students. Hence, they were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi where two female students were certified dead.”

Falana, however, said, having regard to the facts and circumstances of the tragic incident, the Nassarawa State police command should be directed to investigate the allegations of criminal negligence which led to the unfortunate death of the two students.

He said, “The culprits should be prosecuted without delay. In view of the official statement that hoodlums hijacked the distribution exercise the state government and the university management are required by law to compensate the bereaved families of the two students.”

[OpinionNigeria]

People often ask me, ‘Will, where do you get your jokes?’ I just tell ’em, ‘Well, I watch the government and report the facts, that is all I do, and I don’t even find it necessary to exaggerate. ~ Will Rogers

On an average Nigeria is good, her people are a bunch of good Bananas, only a few rotten, gives the whole bunch a bad look and that particular rotten smell. Nigeria, ideally is one of the best places to live in, it is not a Police State like so-called Western Democracies…In Nigeria you can urinate anywhere and not get fined or arrested, you can get a ladder and climb the Power poles and effect a change of power phases, that is if the problem is not from the nearby power transformer which anybody can repair with dry wood.

In Nigeria, you can set traps inside your compound and catch birds and roast them to taste and not be afraid that you are at Piccadilly Square in the UK and some stern looking cops will harass you for animal rights violation. We still beat kids with cane despite parents that want to be more European than Europeans…

We as a nation need to restore national pride, a lot of us have lost hope in the system, the structure, the leadership, with each passing day, it is becoming obvious that Nigeria may be just an empty plastic cup, too light to hold a cup of coffee cold or hot.

I am rewriting this essay about my beloved nation that I originally wrote 15 years ago because lately I have discovered that I have tried hard to write nice stuffs about my nation but each time I try the truth hits me and I never end up, I criticize a lot and hardly give solutions…my reason, simple…there are enough solutions to Nigeria’s multi-dimensional and hydra-headed problems, enough to fill an American Congressional Library, well prepared by committees, panels, commissions and bodies of experts. Name the field or area and I will refer you to a paper, a report that should ordinarily have solved that problem a long time ago. For example, how many times have we removed subsidies without removing subsidies or is it the Orasanya Report on merging and reducing government bureaucracy by shutting down some ministries and parastatals?

For avoidance of doubt, what happened to the Vision 2010, I was writing this in 2008, by then we were working on a vision 2056 for constant power electricity and it is 2024 now, how time flies and alas we still lack vision of who we are and what we want to be in terms of electricity.

I remember one committee like that with a long name that was supposed to provide palliative measures due to the rise in petroleum prices, till date it died a

natural death. It is another 15 years and we are not only discussing palliatives but looting it with reckless abandon that our students die in stampedes for them.

There have been reports upon reports that if properly handled would have made Nigeria number one in most things if not everything, because if despite all the ills of our society we are still thus there as the most happiest and religious in the world…Then there is a problem.

In recent times, I have watched us be reminded of the successes of Malaysia, a success that was championed and achieved simply because of purposeful leadership, leadership that had the confidence of the governed. That leadership brought about economic prosperity, industrial strength, intellectual pride and dynamism. We have discussed Singapore and for us the only thing that has poured is how our best brains and not so best have become caregivers in the UK and pouring into Canada and other places that were nowhere in the map of economic discussion only two/three decades earlier.

It was only expected that when a nation barely commits one percent of its GDP on education, we would have a collapsed Unity school set up, a crazy university system. We all weep at the situation but no one really thinks how we can have national competitiveness when the level of investment in human capital is abysmally low.

A new Nigeria cannot unfold, with fast paced infrastructural development, rapid push in human resource development, healthcare delivery, when of the approximately Universities and polytechnics enrol almost 2 million students yearly and graduate around 600,000 people, of which barely 5% had a chance of a job, the remaining 95% slowly became an unemployable bunch with redundant qualifications and there is no plan to put a halt to this because truth be told they are formally educated but informally employed, too many graduates fighting for few jobs.

Today’s Nigeria lacks education, health and development with all the wealth, we are breeding terrorists, frustrated young men, sad mothers, senior citizens that daily curse the nation because we have refused to give them their dues.

Isn’t it intriguing and excitingly Nigerian, that this is Nigeria, the rich, poor, and everybody cries and laughs almost at the same time; the difference is the swing of the pendulum.

Being a Nigerian requires a tricky trait, despite the Woles, Achebes, Anyaokwus, Maitamas, Balewas, Ziks, Awos, Sardaunas, and many too numerous to call, there is a distinction to being a Nigerian and wanting to be a Nigerian. The Nigerian big man makes a law, those wanting to be Nigerian or already big men proceed immediately to look for a way to break the law, he explores loopholes and escape clauses, like the Immunity clause used for stealing.

Ordinary Citizens would do it their own way, they would jump queues with no excuse, they would do u-turns on an expressway, stop in the middle of the road to say hello to a long-lost friend without parking…correct them, and they will abuse your dog.

Who wants to be a Nigerian, it takes a lot, you have to be noisy, music is not danceable if it is not loud, big is sweet and good.

How can one understand the Nigerian and want to be one, when in power he loves affluence and will do anything to stay-put. In religious matters, he will fake it; in business, his cheques will bounce. In the civil service forget the noise of ‘servicom’, your files will miss and only reappear at the right price. A Nigerian will ban the importation of lace fabrics, yet his wives, concubines and mistresses will die the day they cannot wear one.

In Nigeria, you need to understand how a complainant can suddenly become a suspect and in the end a witness, yet still land in jail for a crime that was committed against him.

The pain of this essay when it was originally written is that despite all the exhaustive bad traits that we battle every day, Nigerians abound in their millions that want to be Nigerians for the right reasons. And it still has not changed…Those Nigerians are not easily understood because they will not give bribes, all their actions are in line with tradition, society’s good norms and rationality.

They largely are old now and most times reside in rural areas, although a few still stay in urban areas. They are generally good and untribalized, they believe in the principles of live and let live. These Nigerians are neither the bottom power women nor the moneybag men. They strive daily to remain patriotic and committed to the Nigerian dream despite the reality, they are disciplined and are hardworking, and they battle the stark reality that as patient dogs they may never have any bone left.

These sets of Nigerians suffer from the Nigerian experiment because of the larger majority’s inability to curb greed, inability for us to be fair and rational towards other people’s perspectives, opinions, positions and interests. The continuous inability to make sacrifices for the common good, an unwillingness to respect our institutions…like, the abuse of our health and educational institutions in the name of na government property and so it’s nobody’s own.

Our monetized society too has been of more harm than good to us. Do you now understand Nigeria, are you a Nigerian, do you want to be a Nigerian… Almighty Allah You are a God of purpose…why did You create this nation—May Nigeria Win

—

READERS of my columns would by now be familiar with my advocacy for State Police. I have said ad nauseam ad infinitum that it is an idea whose time has come. State Police, no doubt, will come with its challenges – is there any idea without its own specific challenges? But the imperatives of the moment necessitate that we give it a try. The security challenges that the country faces have become like the proverbial coconut leaf, the more you cook it, the harder it becomes. Such that, whatever reservations we may carry from our past as a country against State Police, the worsening security situation commands that we give State Policing a trial. This is another instance where the doctrine of necessity should be brought to bear, as was the case when a constitutional crisis steered us in the face as a result of the failure of ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua to transfer power to his deputy, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Hopes that the exit of Muhammad Buhari, seen as benevolent to the malevolent forces of Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen and bandits, would bring relief to Nigerians on the security front have been dashed; and expectations that the new broom of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would sweep better than Buhari’s having gone unrealised so far, then, taking a gamble with State Police – even if that is what it is – becomes a viable option.

I was old enough to learn of stories of the excesses of State Police in the First Republic firsthand from eyewitnesses, some of them victims of the political victimisation that the Native Authority policemen of those days were used to perpetrate and perpetuate. Corruption was rife in the rank and file of those policemen. They were tools of oppression in the hands of the powers-that-be against political opponents. A political opponent could wake up a few days before an election to find a corpse in his backyard, planted there, of course, by his opponents. Pronto, the Native Authority policemen of those days would arrest and charge him to court for murder. He would be denied the opportunity to campaign or stand in that election. He would be denied bail and would be in custody when the election is held and, of course, his opponent would coast home to victory unopposed! After the election, the case would deliberately suffer diligent prosecution and he would be discharged by the court – but the intended deed had been done!

In those days, payment of taxes was a must. You carried your tax card everywhere you went, even to the beer parlour or your rendezvous with your concubine. Failure, you could end up in custody, especially if you were a difficult political opponent that refused to defect or cross-carpet to the party of the day. I heard from my father that there was “Government of the Day” and there was the “Opposition Party ‘’ To be in the opposition was like a death sentence in those days and the Local Police were the instrument of oppression readily at the command of the party in power. I heard countless stories of prominent personalities in the opposition who were framed up on the flimsiest of excuses. We read stories of traditional rulers whose salaries were reduced to One penny because they refused to abandon the opposition party and team up with the party in power or Government of the Day. There were cases of political assassinations in those days, too. These and many other stories of blatant repression of political and other opponents were the reasons while many are opposed to the resurrection of State Police, desirable as the arguments for it may seem.

But are the Federal Police insulated from any of the shenanigans of State Police? The answer is a resounding “No!” There is no crime that the Native Authority policemen were guilty of that has not been traced to the door mouth of Federal Police. In fact, more than the Native Authority policemen of your, today’s policemen, and not just the policemen but also the other security agencies under the armpit of the Federal Government, have been at the FG’s beck and call, doing their dirty job – be it election manipulation or repressing and suppressing the citizenry at the command of Federal authorities. Experience, they say, is the best teacher; had Native Authority policing been allowed to learn the ropes, make its mistakes and learn from them, the likelihood is that it may have, by now, outgrown some of its excesses. That is one argument in its favour.

It is the same argument that has been employed to justify the need to give democracy a chance to take root here, rather than to throw it overboard and bring the military back at the flimsiest of excuses. Besides, Fourth Republic Nigeria is not the same as First Republic Nigeria; as people will say, the people’s eyes of understanding have opened more, their senses of what is right and what is wrong, and their ability and resolve to fight for their rights are far better than what they used to be in those days of yore. Nigerians today are better educated, more urbane, and better organised to fight for their rights. Just imagine the sheer number of civil society and human rights organisations that we have today; not to talk of the avalanche of new media organisations and the intimidating array and influence of social media. This is the age of the Citizen Journalist, as they say!

Unlike its predecessor, the Tinubu administration is well disposed to the idea of State Police. According to reports, 16 State Governments have also already given a nod for it. Twenty other States are being expected to send in their own take on the idea and the Presidency has said it expects all of them to support the idea. I dare to say that there is no alternative! If there is any State that kicks against the idea, it should not be allowed to hold the others to ransom. Those who want to try the idea should be allowed to do so and those not willing to should be allowed to remain within the ambits of the existing Federal policing structure. The security situation of the country is so dire that something drastic has to be done to contain criminality running riot all over the country. If nothing urgent is done, then, it will not be long before we arrive at the bus stop of a failed State. Which State will say, of today, that it is satisfied with the security architecture of the country? And which governor will say it is not worried by the plight of the citizenry: of farmers driven off the land; of students/pupils driven away from school; of citizens who cannot move from one point to the other; and, worse still, of the young, elderly, pregnant women, name it, who cannot sleep with their two eyes closed? A desperate situation, they say, demands a desperate solution. If State Policing is that desperate solution, so be it!

The existing Federal security structure is overwhelmed; State Policing will help relieve it of some of the pressure mounted on it all over the country. The Federal system that Nigeria purports to operate necessitates the decentralisation of the policing system. Over-centralisation that the military foisted on the country since they interfered in its governance is not only an aberration, it also arrested its development in the real sense of the word. Nigeria’s top to bottom development model imposed by the military since 1966 has failed woefully; the bottom-up approach or the pre-1966 era has fared better. Have we ever waited to ask why it has always been very easy for militants all over the country to confidently and easily ambush and worst our military men, as was the recent case in Okuama, Delta State? It is because the military men so sent to those terrains were not familiar with them. We have witnessed similar problems in other flashpoints all over the country. Those familiar with a terrain or community are better able to defend it.

Another good thing I expect from State Policing is that state governors now have a good place to spend the humongous amount of money they cream away every month as security votes. They must now account for this money which, to all intents and purposes, has operated as slush funds. Let the State governors now bear part of the responsibility for the security of their own people and community. Besides, the contradiction of State governors who are the touted chief security officers of their states but have virtually no powers to act will be addressed once State Policing becomes a reality. We shall then be able to separate the men from the boys. The alibi of  “it is the FG”will no longer exist! I have said it before and it bears repeating here that the time has come for us to begin to hold the feet of our governors and local government chairmen to the fire. Too much attention is devoted to the FG while the States and LGs are allowed to escape with blue murder in broad daylight. Stae Policing should put an end to that.

We must, however, begin to think about how we are going to contain the excesses of State governors when the “eku ida” (the sword) of State Police gets into their hands. I need not tell you that many of our governors operate as tin-gods who do not brook any opposition from any source. How do we contain such elements? If we do not, then, State Police may fail to achieve its objectives. Before long, we may begin to yearn for a return to the status quo of Federal Police all over the country! What must we do? First, we must understand that some governors will like to abuse State Policing and we must be ready to combat them. Two: Opposition parties must become more vibrant than they are at the moment. As we speak, there is no difference between the leading political parties as they are different fingers of the same leprous hand. No ideology or principles separate them. Real political parties, properly so-called, are needed to checkmate governors that may want to abuse State Policing. We also need strong institutions, especially the judiciary, to keep such governors in check. The citizenry themselves must become active and alive to their responsibilities. Only they can defend their fundamental human rights. If you give politicians an inch, be sure they will take a mile! The price of liberty is said to be eternal vigilance. The currency has not changed!

0:1 Appreciation/Introduction 

It is imperative for me to start by expressing my profound appreciation and admiration for the author, Baba Basorun Seinde Arogbofa, OFR, PEN, who, at 85, found the time and strength to craft this diamond of a book as a worthy legacy to people across generations. Not a fiction but a factual compendium fertilized by personal experiences that shine through its 166 pages like diamond, the author, in every chapter, proves that old age and, indeed, ageing is not about rickety bones, disappearing muscles and sunken eyes, but also the summation of how an individual spent his adolescence, youth and adulthood. 

This fact is attested to by another living legend of our time, Chief Reuben Famuyide Fasoranti (leader of Afenifere).

In his beautiful piece on pages vi-viii, entitled: “A Centenarian on the Marble,” Fasoranti concurs that:  “I see the book as a vade mecum (always be with me) for all grades of life-young and old. It is not tied to only old age; it argues however that what we become in old age is largely a reflection or a continuation of what we started as young people. The seeds of old age, according to him, are sown during our younger days.”

0:2 The Review:  

Aptly titled: The Philosophy of Growing Old-A Personal Experience for both Young and Old,the book, published by John Archers (Publishers) Limited, Ibadan, richly recommends itself as a necessary companion for all ages, beautifully taking off in Chapters 1 and 2 with the definition of old age and its onset.

The author, in subsequent chapters, devotes copious pages to comprehensive examination of the process of growing old, as well as the fears and myths that drive most people, including young people, to scary limits in their dread of ageing.

As the author explicitly discusses in Chapters 7 and 8, the fears include sliding from vibrancy to redundancy, demure disposition to most issues of life, fear of failing health (pages 90-103), cognitive decline, dwindling finance and associated problems (pages 81-89), shrinking population of friends and acquaintances, goals, responsibilities, and societal impacts often associated with ageing. 

But Baba, in this great book, does not leave the reader without hope.  He discusses extensively how people can find and sustain happiness at old age (Chapter 6). In 13 pages in Chapter 9, the author also proffers ways people can develop the courage to accept and deal with old age.

He also explores the legacies people can bequeath to family and humanity, and the fulfillment old people must seek before theirinevitable encounter with death. But he submits that old age and ageing need not be all gloom and doom, emphasizing, however, that all depends on how the individual laid his bed in his/her youthful and adult years. 

As in everything, the author underscores the significance of positive attitude, discipline, adaptation, meaningful lifestyle, effective time management, socializing, worship, showing love, and more love,  among others, as sine qua non(necessary condition) for enjoying the twilight of age.

On page 120, the author highlights the importance of working to bequeath worthy legacies noting that, “…as an elder in the family you must strive to leave something worthwhile…..It could be a good name, which, people say, is better than silver or gold, a good name that can open doors for your relations, and not close doors against them…” 

On page 123, Baba Basorun Arogbofa succinctly delves into various sectors of the society and lists the necessary virtues or legacies that could be left behind.

The author reflects on his own journey through life and shares the principles and steps he embraced to navigate the challenges of aging. The book encourages readers to embrace these principles and incorporate them into their own lives, as they shape personal growth and determine how well the individual copes with every stage of aging.

The author drives the point home on Page 102, citing one touching event that occurred when he author was 77, and he had to be operated on.“Just before the operation started,” he reminisces, “I took time off from them, looked up to God, my Creator for a communion, and went into a reverie. My action was infectious and everybody appeared silent for a short time I was in communication.”

The import of the above event, a core principle in navigating through life is: God is the author and the finisher of our faith. This Biblical principle, which the author’s father imbibed and stoutly believed in, pops up in the second paragraph of the book’s prologue of the book (page xv) wherein the author reveals how he envisaged the values passed on to him and his siblings, and soon naturally lived by them as he once hoped. The principle, he notes, is essential and will serve every ma/woman well throughout life-as toddler, adolescent, young adult, adult, middle age, old age and growing old.

One notable aspect of the book is its well-structured chapters, although I personally feel that the question of “when” should have been addressed before discussing “what is in old age.” Nevertheless, the author’s thought process is excellently presented in each chapter, with a particular focus on five cardinal values associated with old age.

These cardinal values include honour and respect, outstanding wisdom, discipline, high values ystem, accord, as well as proper care and kindness. The book emphasises the importance of these values in old age and how they are passed on from generation to generation.

03: Conclusion:

As already established, Baba Arogbofa’s book,The Psychology of Growing Old: A Personal Experience for Both Young and Old, is a valuable read that provides real-life experiences and serves as a guide to sustainable living and financial security. The book highlights the bright sides of old age and underscore the avoidable challenges of growing old. Though the advice comes so early in the book, Chapter 3 to be precise, it gives a sterling conclusion and golden advice on the subject matter, when he quotes the saying that “as one grows older the sky gets darker slowly’,  and counsels that, “every wise person must prepare for this critical stage of life, so as to meet its challenges. As in the philosophy of the scouts, the wise must always be prepared, and the preparation must begin by the age of 40, so as not to belong to the fabled fool at forty who becomes a fool for life.”

And to truly enjoy old age, the author recommends the timeless ideal of devoting time to inspiring things in the environment, things that promote happiness and increase prosocial emotions (like generosity and kindness), accepting death as inevitable and developing the right attitude towards that stark reality (Chapter 11), worship God and love all that is good and noble. 

Overall, the book: “The Psychology of Growing Old: A Personal Experience for both Young and Old,” is a great intellectual work brimming with wisdom. It is well researched, spiced with true life anecdotes, and written in elegant prose. The writing is as compelling as the message. The book recommends itself as a necessary companion for all men and women that desire a happy old age regardless of the challenges; it is a precious resource for researchers on quality and purposeful living, geriatrics and gerontology.

The book is also an excellent gift to those of us in leadership positions as the issues espoused by the author comes with the cryptic message that the state must pay more to the welfare of the elderly. Though some states are doing excellently well in making ageing easy for the senior citizens, more states need to execute policies that improve the living conditions of the elderly in the areas of geriatric care, medications for the aged, transportation system that make commuting for the seniors enjoyable, as well as monthly allowances necessary to meet their most basic needs.

In my years of service in the temple of justice, I have been an advocate of better life for the vulnerable. And senior citizens, people who have given the best parts of their lives in dedicated service to Fatherland, have become not only vulnerable but are fast becoming endangered species of homo sapiens; suffering crippling deprivations, ill-health and poverty. 

Therefore, time is NOW for us to show love to the seniors by executing policies and programmes that make old age not to look like a curse or plague. And on this note, let me use this opportunity to acknowledge the Government of Ondo State for their consideration and inclusion of the elderly and physically challenged persons, as at today, the state has taken care of 12337 elderly from the Social Registry across the 18 Local Governments in Ondo State, I will however and nevertheless further ask that much more should be done by our governments, corporate entities and spirited individuals. 

I humbly and most respectfully urge all Your Excellencies here present to please, give a deep thought to this humble hint. Gbogbo wa ni a maa dagba, ti a si maa darugbo ni agbara Edumare. (We shall all grow old by the power of the Almighty).

In closing, and like I have said unequivocally, The Psychology of Growing Old: A Personal Experience for both Young and Old, by Baba, Basorun Seinde Arogbofa, is a great literary work by all standards. (I think Baba deserves a loud ovation). However, since there is nothing perfect under the sun, even the best of men, I would encourage the editors to be a little bit more thorough in their editing to avoid the minor typographical and punctuation errors observed in a few instances. I offer this advice because I am convinced this gem of a book will be a best-seller and it would compel reprinting over and again. 

The author’s use of deep Yoruba proverbs is excellent, especially with the accompanying transliterations. This should make readers from other cultural backgrounds comfortable and very much at home in absorbing and interpreting the message. A little improvement could be useful. For instance, it would have been more beneficial to include references to other regions and cultures to enhance understanding and inclusivity. Even without this, the book is still worth a timeless offering to all those who seek knowledge.

Nobody must leave this hall without grabbing copies for self, family and friends.

The late philanthropist, businessman and politician, MKO Abiola, is by all standards an unforgettable person and personality in the post-independence modern history of Africa. In his native Nigeria, he ultimately became unforgettable as a billionaire that won what is regarded as the fairest and freest election of a complex and chaotic State struggling and, perhaps ultimately, incapable of becoming a nation. Abiola is now linked to June 12, a date that refuses to go away, in spite of all past attempts to demystify and devalue its importance. About thirty years after the dramatic and eventual tragedy of the June 12 saga, his country, Nigeria, has been compelled to yearly exhume the spirit and ghost of that event that has become a personal tragedy for families that lost their dear ones, a collective sacrifice that stood up to tyranny and a national symbol for those that stand for democracy. June 12 is a Nigerian story that Africa and the rest of the world can learn from.

MKO Abiola is a story about humanity. In remembering him, we cannot but notice that in one man and in one life lies a full life with all the complexities and contradictions of humanity. Just like in a book on humanity, the life of Abiola is made up of chapters about most of the fragments of humanity. From cradle to grave, the man’s life had outstanding episodes about humanity and each episode is presented in contradictory terms.
As if to teach all a lesson about how nothing is absolutely certain and how everything is possible in life, MKO Abiola left the world as President that did not preside, a known winner that was not declared thus, after convincingly winning right in front of the whole world. To become such a winner, he ticked all the proverbial boxes, dined and wined with all the right people and made friends in high and low places and his web of connection covered every corner of his country, but alas his friendship and connection were not enough to give him his ultimate desire, rather he got death.

In life, Abiola was also popular for his wit. Associates, adversaries and the general public remember MKO for his witty now memorable quotes such as, “You cannot shave the head in the absence of the owner” or his, “If you want something from a dwarf, stoop low to his level. It does not reduce your own height. Whenever you rise up, you will be taller than him.” A philosopher you would think, maybe, but certainly not by training. The man was trained to count, he studied accountancy. That is not even the icing on the cake: the man was a stutterer! Think about it, even God had to give the great Moses an Aaron for speaking; and by so making Aaron perhaps the forefather of spokespersons.

In his life, MKO was a man of the establishment, a dealer and an inside man. He was one of the favorite targets of the legendary singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, Fela Kuti, who openly helped to popularize the idea that MKO was a CIA agent and collaborator of imperialist power. Yet, the man is known to most American activists and Africanists as a leader and major financier of the Reparation Movement. He was the billionaire that stood on a Social Democratic Platform where he showed deep understanding of the yearning of the poor and cogent solutions to their problem. What a mix.

The London based editor of Inside Nigeria sent me a clip of MKO singing at a party he hosted in Ikeja, Lagos. Yes, MKO was a party man and a healthy hedonist that was the soul of any party he attended and yet, when it came to professional affairs MKO’s contributions were deep, detailed, innovative and his arguments convincing. Those that worked with him describe him as a workaholic with no sense of what should be done at night or day, let alone recognize the 9 to 5 mindset.

He was a lady’s man who got away with getting more and more of the most of gentle sex. The inclusive fertile generous lover spread his care and conquest to everyone’s religion across the globe and he was known as such. Yet, till date, there are no known stories of women that totally rejected him. His many children were offered the best education money could buy or at least went to the best schools. Let us face it, few men can manage such a feat. I will not stop here to probe if you are envious or curious.

It is difficult to talk about MKO without talking about money, he had a lot of it and he spent in a way few can do. He effortlessly gave to churches and mosques and he was at home with traditional leaders and priests. To date, it is difficult to think of anyone that has amassed so many chieftaincy titles like Abiola did; it does not get more royal than that and yet, MKO Abiola was not born into royalty or wealth. In fact, he was not only born poor, but typical of MKO, he was exceptionally poor. Like in a fable he truly came from rags to riches. The was the wood seller that became bank owner and telecoms mogul, publisher, shipping magnet and so on and so forth.

The lofty heights he attained in life before he died in July 1998, in circumstance many still consider suspect at just the age of 61, look even higher when we remember that he was not given much chance when he came to the world on Tuesday 24th August 1937: Seven days after he was born, one of the names they gave him was Kashimawo, translatable as, “let’s wait and see”.

As a fellow Abiku, let me say for MKO that we have seen and we continue to see.

Join me if you can @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

Anthony Kila is Centre Director at CIAPS Lagos. www.ciaps.org.