Renowned Nigerian poet and intellectual Odia Ofeimun has issued a stark warning to President Bola Tinubu: deliver on your promises or face the consequences.
Speaking at a recent event, Ofeimun pointed out that there are numerous external forces, particularly from the West, that are hindering the president’s efforts to act in the best interests of his people. He stressed that if President Tinubu succumbs to the pressure of these foreign forces and fails to make necessary internal reforms, it would be the responsibility of Nigerians to oppose him.
“If today, Tinubu tries to do it right, they will fight him,” Ofeimun declared during the January Reading and Writers Dialogue organised by the Abuja Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).
“But if because they will fight him, he refuses to do it right; it is our turn to fight him.”
Ofeimun noted the crucial role of education in national development, advocating for free access for all Nigerian children.
The poet cited the developmental benefits observed in other societies that offer free education.
He compared Nigeria’s current approach to education with that of China and suggested that by providing universal access to education, Nigeria could significantly advance its development.
“In my study of human development, whether in economy or political science classes, I had come to agree that the societies who give free education are more likely to be developed society than others,” he said.
“The Chinese today are outstripping the Americans because America is making it difficult; you need to be dripping blood from your body in order to get something good, even in education.
“But you see what Chinese have done is that by keeping the ground level, every child is in a position to contribute to what can wipe out whatever difficulties in the society. They do not have to be supported by state in order to think. As long as they can think, they can outstrip whatever any state affair might put in their way.
“If you are giving a society of 400 farmers and you turn all of them into educated people and you have a sense of technology that can enable every member of that society to contribute to it, they dominate any society. What our leaders are doing by not giving education the kind of outstanding responsibilities that we should do in our society is that they are impoverishing every one of us.
“If you produce two bars of clothes every day and you train one person to do what 200 can do, you do not need to go to the society and worry because you already know the society is already in front and it will remain in front; which is why the Chinese are building roads over water everywhere.
“Think of the population of 250 million people, each of them is producing as they should, Nigeria will take care of the whole of Africa.”
Ofeimun also spoke on the role of poets as society’s conscience, stressing that activism is an inherent part of a poet’s calling.
He praised the young poets engaged in activist-poetry, particularly those in spoken word, but also advised them on the importance of having a script to enhance the sustainability of their messages.
“The only problem I have with them is that they seem to think that they don’t need a script, every poet needs a script and human memory unless prolonged and defended never really sustains itself,” he said.
Addressing the topic of Artificial Intelligence, Ofeimun dismissed the fear that AI might overpower human imagination, arguing that such innovations are extensions of human memory and will become instruments of human imagination.
Finally, Ofeimun called on Nigerians to unite and support each other in the face of negative foreign influences and internal divisions. He stressed the importance of collaboration and solidarity to withstand external pressures and maintain the country’s sovereignty.