In
what can be described as an endorsement of former President Olusegun
Obasanjo’s unmatched contributions to Nigeria’s history, Acting
President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, yesterday said the former
President, through the establishment of a Presidential Library, is
assisting Nigerians to chart a pathway for development and progress.
The
Acting President, who was among the plethora of dignitaries who graced
the grand commissioning of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library,
OOPL, Abeokuta, Ogun State, said one of the ways to approach the future
with sure-footedness is by preserving the lessons, the failures and the
successes of the past.
According to him, that is what President
Olusegun Obasanjo has been able to do with the establishment of the
Presidential Library.
Some of the World leaders who attended
the event included but were not limited to: Liberian President, Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf; Presidents Faure Gnassingbe (Togo); Ernest Koroma
(Sierra Leone); Boni Yayi (Benin Republic); Laila Ndinga (Kenya); Joyce
Banda (Malawi); William Mkapa (Tanzania); and Nicephore Soglo.
Others
included former US Ambassador to UN, Andrew Young; Michael of
Kent; former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Anan; Prof. Akinwunmi Adesina;
and John Kuffor, former President of Ghana.
Also on the roll
call, were former President Goodluck Jonathan, Ernest Sonekan, Abdul
Salam Abubakar, Emeka Anyaoku, Namadi Sambo, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
Chief Olusegun Osoba and Rabiu Kwakwaso.
Also in attendance
were Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote; Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun
and his counterpart in the Mines and Steel ministry, Kayode Fayemi;
Minister for Information, Lai Mohammed; Femi Otedola; factional National
Chairman of PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff.
Former governors
Goodswill Akpabio, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Donald Duke, Liyel Imoke and
Alao Akala were also present, as well as former Chairman of Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu.
OSINBAJO ON OBASANJO’S ACHIEVEMENT
The
Acting President in his remarks, extolled the virtues of Chief
Obasanjo, describing him as a world statesman, detribalised Nigerian
as well as a gift to Nigeria in various ways.
Osinbajo, who spoke
shortly after the guests were taken round the various sections of the
library including the museum and bookshops, described Obasanjo as a
rare gem.
He said “very few human beings have a chance of making
history and fewer still have a good fortune of making history and
writing it as you go along and living longer to even establish a library
and write history in your own words. Baba Olusegun Obasanjo is
certainly one of those rare human beings.
“But the most serious
advantage is that it is one of the sure ways of preserving the lessons,
the failures and the successes of the past and also that we can approach
the future with more sure-footedness and less pains. History is the
most compassionate teacher.” This, he said, is what Obasanjo has done.
Continuing,
he said: “At some point in time we were told in an adage that
experience is the best teacher, but, now we know it is only half of a
wise saying. The full statement of that adage is that experience is the
best teacher for a fool, a wise man doesn’t need the pain of experience,
history is a kind and a more compassionate teacher.
“President
Olusegun Obasanjo is therefore a gift in various ways, being so
intricately tied to the history of Nigeria, few years away from
independence, to the civil war and then Head of State with the Nigerian
people, and then the transition to civil rule and then from retirement
and farming, and being twice elected as President of Nigeria and then
handed over to another President.
“At every turn, he recorded his
views and perspectives and his perspectives, especially of the times in
various books, articles, seminars and now in this amazing monument, to
add credible life of service to our continent and to our world.
“We
are fortunate that it is not only a life-participant and sometimes
victim of the twist and turns of history of our nation and continent,
but, he is an enthusiast.
“Aside from all else, his enduring
legacy will be his belief in one strong, detribalised Nigeria, and
this is so evidence in the gatherings of Nigerians here and also his
belief in words and in practice in an Africa united in vision and
thoughts again; that Pan-Africanist vision is evident in the large
gathering of African serving and former heads of governments here
present.
“But we diminish his vision if we do not recognize his
place as a world-stateman; even that is evident from the representatives
of the world that are present here today. “I’m sure that as visitors
to this Library, especially young Nigerians who, through this
magnificently created place, will learn from both what they see and hear
but perhaps what is unsaid, that our place in the history of our
society is not what we take from it but what we manage to give it. The
more selfless the giving, the more historic. I’m previleged to be
here to celebrate in this Library, a man who has given and is
continuously giving, an authentic African icon, Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo”, Osinbajo said.
In her remarks, the Liberian
President, who also doubles as Chairperson of Economic Community of
West Africa States, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, quoted the 22nd President
of the USA, President Franklin Roosevelt, and commended Obasanjo for the
gesture.
She said “History will bear truth to this President,
setting the pace in Africa that will spell a long legacy of successful
retiring Presidents to record and preserve the history of nation
building for posterity and for the benefit of today and future
generations.
“You (Obasanjo) are inspired by the examples of
President Jimmy Carter with whom you share the vision of preserving the
record of the past for future purposes. In your early efforts you
faced difficulties and decided that as you go on, you remain firm in
your commitment to preserve the institutional memory of the nation in
your journey. Today, it is a great delight to witness and rededicate
Africa’s first. This was achieved through your innovative efforts.
“Through
these facilities we witness the extension of Roosevelt’s vision as a
living testimony of Africa’s belief in itself, in a capacity to learn
from the past and create a better future. We take pride that through
it, our own history, your own history, your nation’s history is
recorded, presented and graphically displayed by ourselves, by yourself
through these structures for posterity sake.
“The lessons herein
are more than academic or events from the past, when history and
technology meet as eloquently displayed in Olusegun Obasanjo
Presidential Library, history becomes alive as a dynamic reality and
development of human kind for our people, our children who will read
events of history, who will live, interact, feel and challenge the
interpretation of past events.
“I advise African children,
adults, scholars everywhere and friends of Africa worldwide to visit
this Presidential Library as we have experienced today, feel the
exhibits from the life and times of a great son of Nigeria and Africa;
more importantly read, see, hear, feel and interact with history and
culture”.
Earlier, Obasanjo, in his remarks, said the Library
was the fulfilment of his vision and mission which he had in 1988, to
collect vital materials of the civil war.
Obasanjo, who described the Library as a centre of knowledge, said the Library would also sustain culture and encourage tourism.
The
former President commended the Board of Trustees and the management of
the Library, saying without them, the Library wouldn’t have been
possible.
AWUJALE, FAYOSE ABSENT
Whereas it was a
capacity crowd attendance, the conspicuous absence of the Awujale of
Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, was noticeable. The Ijebu monarch had
disagreed sharply with former President Obasanjo a few months back.
Awujale
in an Autobiography titled “Awujale: The Autobiography of
Alaiyeluwa Oba S. K. Adetona, Ogbagba II”, published by Mosuro
Publishers in 2010, had accused Obasanjo of behaviour unbecoming of a
president when he was the nation’s leader. Obasanjo then reacted
sharply to the monarch’s comment calling him a liar among other names.
It had been expected that the occasion of the commissioning would have
served to a fence-mending purpose.
Apart from the monarch,
other notable personalities that shunned the much-publicised programme
from the South-West were governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose,
and his Oyo State counterpart, Abiola Ajimobi.
Fayose, who
leads governors of Obasanjo’s former party, the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, is a known critic of the former president.
BANTER BETWEEN SHERIFF AND OBASANJO
Obasanjo, not one known to shy away from joke, spotted Modu Sheriff of PDP and asked, “Sheriff, what are you doing here?
“Sheriff, who invited you here”
Sheriff, in his response, said “Im here in my capacity as the national chairman of the largest political party in Africa”.
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