Akinyemi Eulogises Jimmy Carter, Wants Leaders to Emulate Ex-US Leader
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Founder and President, Academy of International Affairs (AIA), Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, yesterday paid tribute to the late President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, who recently died at the age of 100 years.
Describing him as a very principled man in a statement he personally signed, Akinyemi said that Carter’s life should continue to give hope and direction to those who currently occupy public office worldwide.
“The news of President Jimmy Carter’s passing provides an opportunity for me to pay tribute to this remarkable man. In 1978, as the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), I had the honour of hosting him during his historic visit to sub-Saharan Africa, the first by a sitting US President.
“President Carter’s speech at the National Arts Theatre echoed a vision of mutual respect and partnership between the United States and Nigeria and called for a shared commitment to fostering bilateral ties and addressing common challenges.
“President Jimmy Carter was a highly principled and moral man who regarded power as an opportunity to enhance the lives of several people in the public domain. He was not enamoured of power in itself; he saw it as a means to improve the lives of others,” Akinyemi pointed out.
He explained that it was remarkable that Carter did not win the Nobel Peace Prize as President of the United States, but won it after he left office because of his commitment to enhancing and uplifting the lives of poor people all over the world.
“His life should continue to give hope and direction to those who occupy public office. Public office is meant to serve, not to empower and enrich the office holders,” Akinyemi added.
Akinyemi prayed that Carter’s public life continue to give hope to those in power and those they are ruling over, especially officeholders who play the role of peacemakers.
“The lasting lesson that all of us will learn from the life of Jimmy Carter is that we can get recognition even after office by going around doing good rather than going around running down one’s country or running down one’s successors. That is the lasting image. That’s the lasting lesson that we should all embrace,” he added.
