Nigerian youths have been urged to use their youthful age to lead the advocacy towards bringing about a better Nigeria of their dream.
Former Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu who gave the charge, also counselled the young people to emulate the zeal and commitment of Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka in fighting for good governance as a younger citizen.
Senator Ojudu who once represented Ekiti Central at the National Assembly, said young people should not be waiting for leaders to lead them in the demand for social justice, but should stand up and demand good governance from their leaders as the literary icon did during his youthful days.
Ojudu spoke in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital at the weekend when he hosted an event to celebrate the 90th birthday anniversary of Soyinka alongside other literary scholars and enthusiasts.
The event tagged: “Ekiti Celebrates Turning Pages @ 90. A Tribute to WS’ Arts/Legacies” was organised in collaboration with Ekiti Book Club, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Ekiti chapter; Ekiti State Tourism Agency, and the Ekiti State Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria, featuring presentation of various literary and artistic presentations in honour of the celebrated nonagenarian.
The renowned journalist who commended President Bola Tinubu for honouring Soyinka by renaming the National Theater in Lagos after him, said, “Those are the people we should be honouring. The people who have given so much to this country; the people who are good examples and role model to our children, not people who are rich and their money will just be for a while.”
Ojudu described Soyinka as a hero who deserved to be celebrated daily for his contributions not only to the literary space, but for his efforts at entrenching democracy and its values in the country and beyond.
Noting that Soyinka might not have seen a country he wished for in terms of social, economic and political developments, that former presidential aide said he has done his best for Nigeria, “and let our young ones start advocating for a better Nigeria and not wait for a 90-year-old man to lead protest for them.”
He added, “He (Soyinka) never gave up even at the face of persecution and arrest, he continued to fight for a better Nigeria. He fought for the democracy we are enjoying today and I don’t think there is any other Nigerian like him in terms of the tasks he has given himself to birth a better country.
“He is 90 but Nigeria is not yet a country he wished but he has done his own. When I saw some young men condemning him of not fighting the present government and I asked them if you have a grandfather who is 90. Will you want him in the streets carrying placards?
“I tell them to go and fight for a better Nigeria; Soyinka started about the age of 20. You don’t need to call an old man to fight your battle for you. He has done his own for us as a country. Let our young ones take over towards achieving a greater country.
“Soyinka fight for the people, he fight against oppression, injustices. All of those things are still in our society. So Soyinka will become a symbol for fighting all of those ills in the society. It’s a journey, it’s not a destination, we must continue to refine our system, we must continue to aim and build a better society and that is what today stands for.”
Speaking on celebration of the nonagenarian in the state, Ojudu said, “First of all, let me say I passed through Soyinka as a student of University of Ife, I have also been involved with him in the struggle for a better Nigeria. Beyond that is the fact that he belongs to humanity, to the Africa, to the world and to Nigeria, and Ekiti is part of the world. Ekiti is a state that is known as fountain of knowledge and Soyinka symbolises knowledge. So, we believe that If he is being celebrated in all part of the world, he should be celebrated here as well.
“Apart from the fact that his conglobe is ‘Eni Ogun’ and ‘Ogun’ is from here, so we believe that there is a place which we adopt him as our own in continuation of the tradition of Ogun. And I hope you know what Ogun symbolises, it symbolises creativity, courage, revolution and those are the qualities we admired in him and that is why he is being celebrated.”
In their separate remarks, the president of Ekiti Book Club, Adesina Adetola; chairman tourism practitioners, Dr Abigail Olagbaye; chairman of ANA, Dr Olugbenga Daramola and the DG of state Bureau of tourism development, Wale Ojo-Lanre commended Senator Ojudu for hosting the event, noting that Soyinka remained Africa’s famous literary icon who deserved to be celebrated by the people.
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