At the Justice Akanbi Foundation…

Justice Muhammad Mustapha Akanbi was the second president of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria after Justice Mamman Nasir. He retired from active service voluntarily even before exhausting his years in service. People said because he desired that his friend in the person of Justice Umaru Abdullahi who would have retired about the same time […]

Justice Muhammad Mustapha Akanbi was the second president of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria after Justice Mamman Nasir. He retired from active service voluntarily even before exhausting his years in service. People said because he desired that his friend in the person of Justice Umaru Abdullahi who would have retired about the same time with him to also have a stint as the presiding officer of the appellate court.
I am captivated by the simplicity and humility of Justice Akanabi and this piece is not about the paper delivered but the relevance that the Akanbi Foundation is serving in educating and mobilizing people especially in Kwara State and Nigeria as a whole. I don’t know how many foundations are there in Northern part of this country. If they exist, certainly they do not exert so much energy and attention in building amongst the citizenry the culture of patriotism and selflessness in service to humanity. I do understand that at regular intervals the foundation invites Nigerians from various backgrounds to speak to several issues especially those that are topical and of relevance to the generality of the people.
Again, the exciting thing about the lecture and its timing is closely related to the role that privileged citizens ought to be playing in aiding relevant governmental institutions and political groups in accomplishing the very difficult tasks of human management in our society. No doubt, civic education is lacking in Nigeria’s political space. The National Orientation Agency which was established since the Babangida administration to mobilize Nigerians has unfortunately been reduced to an arm of the Federal Ministry of Information where only propaganda is attended to and disseminated.
With due respect of course to my brother Mike Omeri, who I am aware met the situation the way it is partly due to eclectic funding and the inability of the national leadership to appreciate the critical role that the agency would play. Again, the political parties due to their origin and history have fallen short in the performance of what are known as statutory functions of political parties. They are serving only as vehicles on whose pedestals representation is made. The very important function of political education, interest articulation and aggregation are left in the background.
This failure has portended tremendous consequences on the polity and the citizens. This failure created the space, which inordinate politicians have since capitalized on and are using minor fault lines as campaign items and the victims are Nigerians.
In politics, what matters is service and not the space of the individual. Nigeria and Nigerians would be the better if capable and competent leaders and representatives were elected regardless of their religious beliefs or the language that they speak. This government under Goodluck Jonathan has negatively transformed Nigeria into a religious enclave even in those areas where religion was never an issue.
The South-Western part of this country is ordinarily miles ahead of other regions not just at the level of education and commerce but the dissolution into oneness regardless of religion. The transformation of Goodluck administration, which Reverend Father Mbaka referred to as ‘bad luck’, has shamefully attempted to polarize citizens along religious lines. This is clear from the elections in Ekiti and Osun states.
The elites in the region must brace up and face the fact with the view to correcting this deliberate insertion by a government that is incapable and living by whipping of weak sentiments along religious, ethnic and regional lines. I am very happy that Nigerians are seeing the negativities of these tendencies and are fast retracing their steps as those prophets of religious and ethnic as well as regional divisions are being rejected publicly by Nigerians regardless of religious inclination.
What we need is a leadership and representation that would better the lots of the society for the sake of our children and those yet unborn.  This is the reality that the Justice Mustapha Akanbi Foundation is standing for. I call on other distinguished Nigerians who are lucky to have lived long and served the nation and its people in various capacities to think of evolving such programs and importantly put pen on paper so that those good virtues and values which used to characterize Nigeria are not lost by this generation and those yet to come.
As a schoolteacher, I say without any fear of contradiction that in Nigeria today, our youth are confused. The dividing line between honesty and dishonesty is increasingly becoming thin and the political leadership seems to be reaping from that obvious historical and structural backwardness and weaknesses. When I was growing up, I wished I could be like the Sardauna of Sokoto or Mallam Aminu Kano. You ask any young man today what he will want to become in life, 9 out of 10 of them will tell you they either want to be like Aliko Dangote or Mike Adenuga. There is no crime in wanting to be successful in business. What is sickening is that the contours of service to humanity and sacrifice have apparently disappeared from the conscience of the society.
All hands must be on deck to correct the rot in our system and re-establish the lost links of human integrity, dignity and service. Links of patriotism and being your brother’s keeper, which is a central tenet in both Islam and Christianity. I pray for good health, long life and continued service to humanity for Justice Muhammad Mustapha Akanbi and his foundation.