Honouring Ayo Olukotun, By Toyin Falola

I want to enter the new year by celebrating living legends who will continue to influence us for years to come. In a forthcoming long book, Nigeria and All Politics, I devote two long chapters to the writings of Professor Ayo Olukotun, covering weekly pieces. He is the voice of our nation. The progress of the nation, especially in the present era, requires a griot who not only tells the story of the past but also analyzes the current situation and remembers the future. Olukotun is our main griot.

This nation has strayed from the path outlined by the heroes of the past that we now love so much, and it needs a watchman to remind us and direct us again. My friend, Ayo Olukotun, has offered himself as Controller nation, blares a warning trumpet against gravity’s rapid apocalypse. If reason is broken, why not stay, means an infected or broken butt is the owner’s problem. This is the philosophy of many of us regarding the state of the nation, and Olukotun has proven himself to be the pioneer of this worldview for the concern given to the nation. It is unlikely that there will be a mass evacuation of all Nigerians to the new country. So, it will be detrimental when Nigeria is allowed to be destroyed.

I have known Ayo since 1973. He was a union member and leader in the University of Ife, before the emergence of brain figures like Funmi Olanishakin, Vice Principal, King’s College, London, and Aketi, now governor of Ondo State. A star figure, he was in the company of Tale Omole and Kayode Soremekun, who, in later years, became the Vice Chancellor. He was famous before his first degree and then became an intellectual wanderer and pathfinder, keeping faith in his calling.

More consistent than many others, Ayo always upholds the philosophy of the nation first in its actions and spirit. He did so despite facing political intolerance and military rule. He is not afraid to fight for the good nation that we can leave behind for those behind us. For people like Olukotun and me, the truth is that our days are numbered, and we have seen the zenith and the bottom of life and have to experience various transformations of the country. What is left to fight for? It is not fame and influence; we have collected at a quite satisfactory level. But the debate and every day about the state of the nation is aimed at the youth who have not yet found their voice. We are pointing our finger directly at the face of the nation’s enemies because we believe Nigeria should be fair enough to those who come after us. We are fighting for the future so that those who come behind us can no longer fight, and Olukotun is a well-decorated hero of that fight.

The old African society always made room for wise men and elders who would be the insight of the community and be a concentration of wisdom ready for anyone to draw from the well. At Olukotun’s 65th birthday celebration, I told him that he has become barrel, position himself in the soft position of public policy. Apart from the noisy alarm of age that brings us back from lofty desires to reality, barrel comes as a period of courage, that is why people like Olukotun will not think twice before speaking truth to power.

Honestly, from our experience in the 1970s as scholars, people will know that even if they don’t define the age that would describe them at such an age, they are mental. mature, is a way of approaching problems beyond average expectations. However, when I have established him as barrelhe has shown himself to be a harbinger of many things for the Nigerian society, giving warnings in various styles and creating the necessary awareness for development.

Olukotun’s activism as President of the Student Union during his undergraduate days shows his role as two barrel and harbinger of Nigerian society. One can easily see how he can be the voice of the voiceless in the real sense and face oppressions without fear or compromise. He shows the people where they want to go and is a pioneer of human rights and social development. After that, as a smart teacher and researcher, the scholarship is unimaginable to develop this awareness.

In particular, his work on freedom of the press and the way society interacts with the media is excellent and important. For example, in The Authoritarian State, the Crisis of Democratization and the Underground Media in Nigeria, Olukotun examines the relationship between the military government and the press. The message of this article is not only to explain the order and manner of interaction between the military government during the Abacha regime and the media. Still, as a precursor, it is to reiterate some of these facts for the young democracy of Nigeria already in 2002. It is to awaken the nation to the new reality of democracy and help the government and the media understand the new normal. Here, he talks about how the media has to hide from the unknown who is undermining the military system. He further produced a report on media and military government relations in “The Repressive State and the Resurgent Media Under the Nigerian Military Dictatorship, 1988-98.”

As an expert in the media and how it affects society, people will open the understanding of public access to information and the duty of the government to ensure there are no obstacles. He has established himself as the intellectual backbone of the media and created a new perspective that is visible in the development of the media today.

Olukotun’s eagle eyes are positioned high, watching everything that happens in Nigeria’s political and social space. They always need time for the nation to activate pensive mode to re-examine issues that cannot be considered important. On September 2, 2022, he held a reality check on the issue of corruption that is constantly undermining the progress of the nation. Olukotun asked if we could pause to understand what we have learned from the annual gift from Abacha, whom I used to describe as “our father in heaven”. So far, Abacha’s return loot has amounted to about $3.65 million, and my friend wonders how this will hardly have any effect on resolving the current situation. He used the media to question why the country did not learn anything from the lost funds and why looted funds were looted again. He points to the source of the problem, stating the further damage it can do if it continues, and that the government cannot do anything about it. This is the work of an barrel; it is a message from the harbinger.

Olukotun’s Friday series with Punch Nigeria is a way of creating a record of sanity and wisdom that must be consulted for the nation to move forward at this stage. He has repeatedly screamed warnings into the ears of Nigerian leaders and citizens through his pen to rouse the nation from its slumber. In “Insecurity: A Nation Sleepwalking in Utter Peril,” he reveals the results of a nation that doesn’t heed the danger. As a harbinger, he has directed the nation’s attention to the impending doom. They wonder why we still allow our insecurities to grow without enough preparedness to stop them.

My friend believes that politics and politicians are the center of national development and, as such, the only possible solution to the nation’s problems. However, examining the political development of the nation, even in the era of democracy that is considered a sane society, the government is still far from completely eliminating the so-called “jackboot politics”, as evidenced by the government’s reaction to criticism and civil reaction to policy. . Olukotun made reference to the alleged brutalization of EndSARS protesters and others in an Independence Day 2022 interview titled “Nigeria’s Independence Day is a Time to Reflect on Political Gains and Challenges – and Ways Forward.” As a harbinger, he once again speaks truth to power, declares what the nation will do if there is no change and offers a way forward to guide the nation as a leader. barrel. When asked if he knows whether there is a future for Nigeria or not, Olukotun said, “It depends on the actions of public officials.” He expressed his dismay at how Nigeria has not been as expected compared to the development that was projected to the Asian Tigers and resources in China in 1960. I believe Olukotun has warned again that if we do not pay attention, the end may come: the harbinger has spoken.

He may sit in the tower of wisdom, but he always has the same hopes as others for the development of the country. Therefore, he asked the country to make 2023 the year of change and restore sanity to the political system. He believes that the next election is an opportunity to improve the country. He has strongly suggested that if there is to be development, the next government must ensure that it “returns power to the sub-national government” and hopes that the elections will lead to “capturing our beliefs” so that citizens can have a reason. to stem the growing distrust of successive governments.

Olukotun, we can only tell the public what we owe. You have spoken with uncompromising strength and maintained an intellectual integrity that made your statement objective, showing your passion for this nation. You are a harbinger and have told us what is happening. You have become a griot who tells the stories of the past to make the nation understand how history can repeat itself for good or with regret. I know we will still reiterate our message like tool, but let us hope that when we can reach the point where we lose the ability to speak again, there will be thousands of voices that pick up where we left it. And if reality can illuminate our hope for the nation, may we live to see the change that we have been sick of.

Come on, I look forward to reading your weekly essay as we move into 2023.

Toyin Falola, professor of History, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, is Bobapitan Ibadanland.