AWOLOWO WAS GREATER THAN MANDELA- OFEIMUN

Popular poet, Odia Ofeimun has rated the late
Yoruba sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo above late
former South African President, Nelson ‘Madiba’
Mandela.
Ofeimun in an interview with Sahara TV noted that
although, “Mandela was good for the liberation” of
his people, Awolowo made far-reaching impacts on
the lives of many Nigerians.
The writer, while comparing the two leaders, said
the processes leading to independence in South
Africa and Nigeria “followed exactly the same
pattern” noting that the liberation struggle
championed by Mandela did “not create the end of
apartheid.”
According to him, Awolowo negotiated Nigeria’s
independence just as Mandela did, stressing that it
would amount to a “hype” to think that there were
differences in what the two leaders essentially
fought for in their respective countries towards
ending colonialism.
Ofeimun said, “I am too much of an Awolowo man
because the process of moving into independence
in South Africa and in Nigeria followed exactly the
same pattern. It was based on a negotiated
settlement. The liberation struggle did not create
the end of apartheid. It was a negotiation and
Nigerians negotiated exactly the way Mandela
negotiated.
“You can hype it if you like, but the pattern was
exactly the same. You move from one meeting to
the other, discussing politics and economy, and
they successfully convinced Mandela to buy the
pig in a poke of an economy and they also
successfully succeeded in convincing Nigerians to
buy the pig in a poke of an economy.
“The only man in Nigeria, who stood up against it,
was (Obafemi) Awolowo. He was quickly jailed and
all his men scattered across the prisons in Nigeria.
Some driven abroad and the educational system
that he had put in place was smashed.”
He maintained that Mandela could not match the
stature of Awolowo. The Edo State-born poet said
Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah was the
only African leader that could be seen to rival
Awolowo.
But according to him, Nkrumah’s ideology of pan-
Africanism lacked the capacity to “save Africa’’
when compared to Awolowo’s brand of socialism.
He said, “People talk about Mandela’s capacity to
put various classes (of people) together as theory,
but Awolowo ironed it out very clearly, why you
don’t need a class struggle, in order to create a
society in which all children can go to school; in
which everybody can get a job, and in which old
age pensions will be paid to people.
“It is not just love and I want to emphasise that.
Those who criticise Awolowo’s socialism for
wanting in love are obviously basing their
argument on his claim that a government should
be like a sun that shines on all equally. If it is
about a theory of how to bring the people together
on the African continent, none is as good as the
Awolowo’s and I’m not trying to pretend.
“Bring all their writings, fine phrases, alright, but
reduce them to economic terms, and I can tell you
that there is only one man who rivals Awolowo in
this respect and that is Nkrumah.
” Unfortunately, unlike Awolowo, Nkrumah did not
believe in either a democratic or a federal theory.
If you want to save Africa, you need those two.”
On why he chose Awolowo over Mandela, Ofeimun
said “Yes and I will tell you why, the simple reason
is that what needed to be done in South Africa,
after apartheid was precisely what Awolowo
wanted for Western Region and Nigeria after
independence. Which is to say, put every child at
school, ensure that productivity takes the creativity
of the individual citizen into proper focus and build
the relationship between people and not on
whether they did not love each other? But whether
there is justice and equality.”