Oluchi Chibuzor
It was the gathering of the big personalities in both the private and public sector as notable Nigerian leaders recognized the intellectual prowess of Akin Osuntokun, a leading columnist in the country.
Described as an epitome of knowledge, at a public lecture titled, ‘Consistency In Public Intellectual Advocacy: Nigeria as a case Study’, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, said Osuntokun contributed tremendously to nationhood even though he could have become an Ifa priest.
“One of the things I learnt from Akin is that he does not pretend. If you do what he does not like, his countenance, face and his attitude will not change. I am trying to pretend that I like what I don’t like.
“But knowingly or unknowingly, Akin has made tremendous contributions to the way we live in this country. When he made up his mind to do something, he would do it. When he said he wanted to go to Oxford, he did. Akin is so versed in Ifa, probably he could be an Ifa priest,” Obasanjo said.
Giving the opening speech as the Chairman of the day, the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said it was not a crime to be a public intellectual advocate even as they are often misunderstood.
Fayemi said he was not surprised that Osuntokun has chosen to reflect on the place of public intellectuals in the making of democracy and development.
“Those of us who have known Akin, know that he started this barely as a toddler, he has been writing for as long as many of us can remember. Not just because he is from a political family, he was born in the crucifix in the early 60s and his father, many of us may be fully aware, was in the peak of that.
“An educationist, who brought up a generation of Ekiti scholars from the school, Christ School, Ado Ekiti. At least two generations of the Osuntokun actively attended the school. Akin also attended the school. Akin has demonstrated this in his career right from his days in journalism and then when he moved on to the public space in politics.
“It is a consistent intellectual display of strong wills on Nigerian politics. When you talk of public intellectuals, there are those who see public intellectuals as just critics of anything that the government is doing and they try to make a distinction between third leaders and public intellectuals.
“To such people, third leaders are the creators, the optimists, the ones who reflect based on their experience while public intellectuals are seen to be the pessimists. If you’re familiar with Akin’s writing, the first thing that strikes you is the scrutiny of his writing. You need to put your dictionary to one side when you want to read Akin’s column.”
In his presentation as the guest lecturer, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the dilemma of public intellectualism invariably defines its scopes and relevance.
According to him, more liberal societies tend to be more appreciative of ideas and those who produce them.
“Closed societies, under the grips of conquerors, dictators, constituted authorities and tyrants naturally suppress the people’s free will and those who claim to be intellectual,” he said.
For the celebrant, Akin Osuntokun, it is a matter of choice to be plying his trade as an intellectual advocate.
He said: “We are all challenged by the same situation, it’s an individual choice, not something you can sacrifice. These are things that will make demands on their personal lives, it is up to each member of the community to decide what to do but if history is any judge, Nigerian journalists are always up to the task and challenge of doing the right thing. There is no logical correlation between how the government of Nigeria emerges and the vision of the intellectual communities, otherwise, we will not be where we are today.
“There is nothing any intellectual does that is worthy of being commended and not being criticized where this government is concerned. What we always pray for is to have that positive correlation between the vision of the intellectuals and those who emerge in the political scene. So far, Nigeria seems to have been getting it wrong.”
On his side, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, said more intellectual advocates should consider joining the political space.
“It is when intellectuals join us in what we are doing that all will be good.”
Giving his congratulatory message, Wale Babalakin, believed that more attention should be given to the creative industry.
“Our greatest challenge today is the shortage of human capital. Nigeria today, has a serious shortage of human capital.
“How do we get to the position where the best are not in the position of power in the country? The nation must allow a system that helps the best intellectuals to flourish,” he noted.
For Professor Anya O. Anya, Nigeria is a product of two historical events, “first was the slave trade and the second was the part of colonialism. Those two things change the environment and whatever it is that our people are going to do or be.
“But we have never asked, even with the brilliant historians that Nigerians have ever produced, we have not really enquired what exactly are the permanent damages that these two historical proxies give us.
“When the British decided for their own reasons to pack up and go, our leaders, whether it was Azikiwe, Awolowo, Sardana: who in their circumstance were very bright people, but they went on to inherit what the British left.
“We never ask a question, now they have gone and we are left to ourselves, what are the things we need to do, what are the shared vision and the shared values.”
According to him, because that question was never asked, never answered, “the result is that we inherited the prejudices and all the other things that came with colonialism.
“And the result is that we are grappling with the problems as we see it. The result at this point in time in 2021 in Nigeria is the gap between the governors and the governed. I am talking about those who are in the status of saying what will happen to us without often consulting us to know what it is really that we want.
“The second is that there is a very wide gap between the youths and the elders and the result is all kinds of horrible deaths happening in the country,” he said.
For Prince Julius Adelusi Adeniyi, Obasanjo must be admonished to continue writing to document his experiences and ideas for the future generation.
He , however, noted that Nigeria’s situation was not more problematic than any other country in the world.
“Nigeria is unfinished business, more work must be done and is not more problematic than any other country in the world.”
