Funmi Ogundare and Ugo Aliogo
The Founder and Chairman of FATE Foundation, Mr. Fola Adeola, yesterday tasked well-meaning Nigerians to strive to render public service to the society in order to make the country better.
Adeola was the guest lecturer at the 10th year memorial lecture of HRM Oba Oladele Olashore, titled, “Public Service as the Best Form of Service: The Example of Oba Oladele Olashore.”
According to him, “there certainly is no dearth of need in our society. To deny this, is to be so disturbingly detached that our humanity must be called into question.
“There can be no doubt either, there is capacity in our midst. “Between our human capabilities and the pockets of affluence, even amidst the staggering poverty in our society, surely, capacities exits. The question for all of us, therefore, is, is there the will and how strong is that will? Is it strong enough to follow an inner voice in the direction of an identified need? Is it strong enough to lead, where no clear solution currently exists?”
He said that public service is for all who have the means, the sincerity of purpose and grace to truly commit themselves to a path to immortality that death has no power to erode.
“True public service, the kind we ought to strive to cultivate and engender in this society, the kind I have no doubt, the late Kabiyesi exemplified, in choosing to serve his people, is not selfish, it is not vain, it elevates the cause over the servant and the public good over the interests of a few and by its very nature, lends itself to continuity,” the chairman stated.
Earlier in her remarks, the Chairperson of OISA Foundation, Ms. Olapeju Sofowora, explained that the memorial lecture was an avenue to “collaborate to serve our future and showcase what Oba Oladele Olashore stood for.”
A former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Joseph Sanusi, described the late Oba as a remarkable leader by all standards.
Sanusi said: “He was very courageous and remarkable and he was always thinking of the interest of others.”
In his remarks, Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo revealed that the country needs a new culture of leadership if it has to face the challenges of the coming years with equanimity, and success.
Osinbajo, who was represented by Mr. Dapo Akinosun (SAN), explained that no child anywhere in the world should have to go to bed hungry or experience uncertainty because they have no access to quality education, or opportunities for realising their potential.
“We are stewards of each other’s welfare. I must view the privileges accorded me by virtue of my position of proximity to resources as being held in trust for honesty, this is what it means to be human and what it means to be a leader.
“It is to be acutely uncomfortable with the suffering of others and to be compelled to act towards its agitation because the suffering of one is the suffering of all. By all indications we cannot afford to continue as before,” he stated.
