Tribute to Pa Adesanya

Senator Abraham Aderibigbe Adesanya is probably remembered now by most Nigerians as leader of Afenifere: that was the last part he played on Nigeria’s political stage. But that great man had already starred in other positions before this last appearance; and what distinguished him at every stage was his star performance.

Papa Adesanya had already served a term as a parliamentarian in Western Nigeria before the curtain was drawn on Nigeria’s First Republic. I was still a boy in the university then; but he later told me how he won his seat: he had been a rebel the party did not adopt, but who had come all the same and thrashed the party and its high-profile candidate before submitting himself and his newly won seat to the parliamentary party.

He was not one of those who needed the party or its funds to shine. Even before he travelled out for his law studies in Britain, he had already established a flourishing transport business and raised enough funds to train himself in England.He later returned home to set up a successful legal practice. So, later on in politics, he was a star who came to shine for the people, and if the party wished to use him in the service of the people, he was all the more delighted because he genuinely loved that party.

His boldness knew no limits, as did his wisdom. I knew that at first hand; for when he returned to parliamentary politics as a senator in October 1979, I worked hand-in-hand with him. As secretary of the UPN Parliamentary Council, I was asked by my parliamentary leader where I would like to have my seat on the opposition benches in the senate; and I chose to sit between Senator Adesanya and the Parliamentary Leader, Odebiyi.

Thus anchored, there was no way I could get lost. For both the party and the senate, Adesanya was a fountain of wisdom and a tower of strength. When we planned on how to react to issues coming before the senate, Adesanya always wanted us to take the position of the builder and not the opposition: his reason was that we were more talented to build Nigeria than was the party in power and we should use our talent to build Nigeria.

We always listened to him with great attention. Even the great Chief Obafemi Awolowo often deferred to the man and lawyer he often hailed as his “Triple A”. At 86, Papa Adesanya did not die young; so his death is not an occasion for regret. But, to some of us who knew how bravely he could fight, it would have been cheering if he had stayed longer.

David Ola Oke,
Leven, Scotland.
oladavidoke@yahoo.co.uk

How to curb corruption

Everybody in Nigeria knows full well that corruption exists almost in every facet of our national life. Every company, institution, government parastatal or office has some officers working in it who harbour some tendencies for corruption. Everybody seems to think corruption is al- right because it is present everywhere.

The causes of this prevailing incidence of corruption are many and varied. The spirit of materialism, which is currently plaguing the society, is one. People are predisposed to acquiring wealth at all costs, so they can ride the best cars, live in palaces like King Solomon, dress in expensive attires and be looked upon by others as very important persons.

Another cause of this social ill is the undue emphasis on wealth acquisition rather than on modesty and hard work. It doesn’t matter how you make your money, what matters is that you have the money and you are spending it lavishly.

People no longer respect intellectual achievement and dignity but money. To eradicate this problem, we should all begin to de-emphasise the role of money in our private and national life. Also, there should be a vigorous campaign against bribery and embezzlement .

Our sense of morality should be awakened, those who spend money lavishly should be probed and above all, we should enjoin our religious institutions not to relent in preaching against the ills in the society.

Adewole Ogunnoiki,
The Polytechnic,
Ijebu-Igbo.