USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fw: Soyinka and the AWO leadership Prize

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From: "Jenny" <talk2jane_4ryl@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:23:41
To: <ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: talk2jane_4ryl@yahoo.com
Subject: Soyinka and the AWO leadership Prize

Soyinka and the AWO leadership PriZe
AYO OLUKOTUN

Awards, titles, coronations, prizes for distinction in Nigeria are a penny a dozen; and therefore hardly draw serious attention. Our political culture is famous for its creativity in inventing awards usually on a cash and carry basis. A leadership award in the name of one of Nigeria's most visionary leaders, Obafemi Awolowo however, is a different kettle of fish all together. For as is widely observed, Awo is probably more popular 25 years after he passed on than he was in his lifetime with each generation rediscovering and reinterpreting the life and legacy of the crusader politician.

Unsurprisingly therefore, when the Obafemi Awolowo foundation as part of its mandate to perpetuate the intellectual and philosophic dimensions of Awo's life and career called for nominations for the maiden award of the Obafemi Awolowo prize for leadership, skepticism was evident in the public mood. Some of the queries were: would this not end up as just another ceremony full of sound and fury but signifying little beyond the usual underhanded barter? Would the foundation named after the late Sage ably piloted by the youngest daughter of the politician, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo Dosunmu bring the statesman's name into disrepute by crowning someone obviously undeserving? As if it was aware of these nagging questions, the Foundation took two preliminary steps to guarantee the sanctity of the exercise, namely; the setting up of a selection committee chaired by Chief Emeka Anyaoku former secretary general of the Commonwealth and which consists of reputable Nigerians such as Justice Muhammadu Uwais, Professor Akin Mabogunje, Bishop Matthew Kukah, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Professor Ladipo Adamolekun, Mr. Bola Akingbade, Olorogun Felix Ibru, Mr. Niyi Adegbonmire, Professor Funmi Soetan, among others. It also entered the caveat that should the committee fail to find a deserving recipient, the award would be rolled over to the succeeding year. In other words, it is not in a hurry nor pressed by financial handicaps to make an award at any cost.

The safeguards employed and the stature of the members of the selection committee granted to the project a credible halo. Inspiring too and widely acclaimed was the announcement last week that Nobel laureate Professor Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka had emerged as the first ever recipient of the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership. In the words of Anyaoku, "the selection committee came to the unanimous conclusion, that of all the nominees presented before it the individual adjudged to possess to the highest degree the attributes for the award is Professor Wole Soyinka". It is interesting to observe that the committee in its wisdom had ruled out the eligibility of serving politicians for the award in order not to be drawn into the political fray or be seen to be lending active support to one section of the political class as against another . Obviously in a mature democracy, that kind of distancing from the political ring may have been unnecessary but it is easy to imagine the award being attacked for partisanship in our volatile and savagely partisan circumstances.

That notwithstanding, very few will query the choice of Soyinka for the prize in view of the writer's contribution to the social and political evolution of the country. How many Nigerians of his age will volunteer to lead protests and marches against arbitrary and harsh government policies to take a random example? In other words, consistency in standing up for what he believes is a trademark attribute of Soyinka who if he so wished could have chosen the lucrative and cosy option of serving as a bard or an elite entertainer of the high and mighty. As is well known, Soyinka's fight for justice dates way back to the mid 1960s when at gun point he halted the broadcast of the results of the massively rigged Western Nigerian elections and substituted a cassette of a prepared speech by him denouncing the electoral heist. He was of course subsequently arrested but later freed on technicalities. As if in imitation of the path of the heroic sacrifice of Ogun, the Yoruba god of iron whose travails he documents in some of his creative works, Soyinka initiated at great cost a "third force" during the Nigerian civil war which sought to persuade the western powers not to sell arms to either Nigeria or Biafra. He was of course arrested and kept in solitary and brutal confinement by the Gowon government, the harrowing account of which has been preserved in one of the world's most celebrated prison notes entitled "The Man Died".

Undeterred by official torments and afflictions, Soyinka continued to excoriate dictators and power dementia in famous dramatic sketches, novels, renowned essays and public commentaries. In his career we see art and creative works deployed as counter narratives and powerful reprimands of official sadism. It is impossible to write the history of the country's tortuous journey to its current semi-democratic status without paying appropriate tribute to the exploits of the writer who after escaping on a motorcycle across the Nigerian border, went over to the United States from where he lent inspiration, stamina and international prestige to the democratic movement which relentlessly combated Abacha. Radio Kudirat originated by him and other soldiers of democracy constitutes a high watermark of rebellious discourse which internationalized the epic struggles of those years. It is obvious that there are parallels between Awolowo's own endurance of tribulation and near martyrdom in the course of service to the people and Soyinka's extended defiance of reprobate establishments. The analogies go further: outstanding intellect pressed to the service of crusading politics and a willingness to carry the cross in order to establish dearly held principles are common to both men.

Having said that, it will be superficial perhaps even perverse to argue that the writer exemplifies the late Sage in all respects. Obviously, Awolowo's mercurial discipline and towering forbearance are virtues which not many desire much less have the capacity to match. Indeed Anyaoku argues that what is important is that Soyinka has "demonstrated many of the core values that have been associated with Obafemi Awolowo and which this prize is meant to encourage and reward". Here expressed all over is the concept of moral capital which has nothing to do with the size of one's bank account or the capacity to appropriate state resources for one's personal enjoyment. One can only hope that as Soyinka receives the award in March 2013, the agenda setting aspirations of the Prize which include the reordering of our decadent moral values as well as the underlining of men and women who have made a difference in their careers and in our civilization will begin to come to fruition.

Olukotun is professor of Political science and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Entrepreneurial Studies at Lead City University, Ibadan.

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

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