Opinion
By Tai Emeka Obasi reporting from New Jersey.
YES, September 29 is the D-Day. HE Peter Obi will be appearing at Princeton University as the keynote address speaker in reference to Prof Chinua Achebe’s book of 40 years ago, The Trouble With Nigeria. The major event among others in honour of the iroko of the literary world, who departed for the great beyond 10 years ago.
Princeton belongs in the top four Ivy League universities in the United States. The others being Yale University, Harvard University, Columbia University…then others. Only the best is good enough to host this remarkable event in memory of one of the greatest Africans to have come by.
And here is another of the greatest Africans with us to do justice to a book Achebe could have written with the former Anambra State governor in mind.
“The problem of Nigeria is simply a failure of leadership. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.” The words of Achebe in the very first page of the prophetic book!
Does it remind you of the popular song of the Labour Party presidential candidate during campaigns? “We are where we are today because of the cumulative effect of leadership failure over the years.”
When the author of one of the world’s most popular arts of literature, Things Fall Apart, rejected the National award in 2006, his reason for rejecting was straight forward…and when the madness of that era was corrected by the Judiciary, PO became the benefactor as he reclaimed his mandate.
Achebe carefully observed PO’s tenure and heaved a sigh of relief that someone that sanitised the hitherto rascality in governance had eventually mounted the saddle. He wrote Governor Obi, encouraging him in his commendable steps he was taking, particularly in Education.
When the governor received the shocking news of his death, PO travelled from Anambra to Boston within shortest possible time to see his family and later came home to organise a state burial for a truly great son of Anambra, Nigeria and Africa.
But besides these respect from the younger for the elder, Achebe and PO had a lot in common – genuine patriots who wanted the best for their dear country.
Let me not pre-empt PO’s speech coming up on Friday, September 29, but you will miss plenty if you miss this one.
Details of live streaming will follow subsequent write-up.
Obasi writes for PO Express Media, POEM.
A.
-September. 29, 2023 @ 12:14 GMT |
Tags: HE Peter Obi Tai Emeka Obasi
