Bisi Akande Shares Obafemi Awolowo’s View On Education — Yemi Osinbajo

Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo has come out to say that ex-national chairman, All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande shared identical views with the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo on the importance of education in building the mind and aiding nation-building.

Osinbajo said both men agreed that a developed human mind would end up meaning good governance.

Speaking at the public presentation of a book, The Challenges of Good Governance in Nigeria, in Abuja to honor Chief Akande, the Vice President added that this was why Awolowo earmarked 41 percent of the budget of the defunct Western Region to education.

His words, “A tradition of our political tendency is that of introspection or reflection. By our tendency, I refer to that established by Papa Obafemi Awolowo, which in spite of its various versions, we all agree to describe as progressive politics.

“Awolowo in his lifetime reflected extensively on the Nigerian political economy and all that surrounded it. He did so in several books and speeches. He reflected on federalism, on fiscal policy within a federal state; he took positions on ideology and its place in developmental politics; he wrote and spoke extensively on public finance. He concerned himself with the solutions to the poverty and misery of the majority of the Nigerian people in his days.

“Because he subjected himself to the rigour and discipline of writing down his thoughts, his views have endured through the decades and we can use his ideas in contemporary governance.

“Deep reflection is crucial in political leadership and is the difference between transformational leadership and the banal. So, we are able to understand why Awolowo thought it fit to spend 41 per cent of the budget of the Western Region on education. A tutored mind, Awolowo believed, would unleash the potential in the mind, body and spirit.

“Anyone who has paid attention to Chief Bisi Akande and his political life will notice that he also observes that tradition of documenting his thoughts on governance, on the responsibilities of those who govern.”

“So, you may have come across some of his books; A Fresh Start in Osun State, Moving Osun State to Prosperity, The Drama of Fate, where he reflects on the challenges of sub-national governance and his prescriptions based on his experiences.”