True heroism demands taking a stance for a cause,embracing courage and determination until an impact is made. “The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain” the fifth line of the national anthem struck my mind while having a reminiscence about national heroes who struggled passionately in their prime and lifetime towards rescuing Nigeria from the brink of obscurity unto the heights of greatness. It is disheartening, yet true that many Nigerians who contributed immensely to the growth and development of Nigeria have long been forgotten. In contemporary Nigeria, instead of celebrating those who in their own quota added solid blocks to the building of a substantial nation, what we choose to celebrate are corrupt deeds of “money bags” who have offered little or nothing to the Nation except sweet tales of promises that are never put into action. It is pertinent we start to hold in high esteem the remarkable deeds of our unsung and forgotten heroes and learn about Patriotism, national sacrifice and strife for national prosperity. The individual efforts and contributions of these great Nigerians should not be allowed to pass away from the grasps of memory and appreciation.
Christopher Okigbo (1932-1967)
He was born August 16, 1930. He is widely acknowledged as an outstanding Post Colonial English Language Poet, a major modernist writer of the 20th century and one of Africa’s most prominent poets. According to Chinua Achebe, ‘’while other poets write good poems, Okigbo conjured for us an amazing, haunting poetic firmament of a wild and violent beauty’’. In his poems, Okigbo combined traditional elements of African culture with non-African influences such as Christianity and western poetics and was in his time, a master poet, one of the best Nigeria ever had. His practice of influencing poetry with rhythm and song has been imitated by subsequent African writers. Within the ten-year period of his earliest published poem, ‘’Song of the Forest’’, and his death in August 1967 while fighting as a field-commissioned major on the Biafran side of the Nigeria-Biafra war, he established himself as a commanding force, not only in modern African poetry but in world literature at large.
James Bright Davis (1848-1920)
He was born in 1848 of Igbo parents in Waterloo, Sierra-leone. After his education, he got a rewarding job as a secretary to the government under the governorship of Samuel Rowe in Sierra-leone. This, he later abandoned for journalism after which he moved to Nigeria to practice journalism. He was convicted twice in a year and became the first journalist to serve a prison term in Nigeria. He was a fearless critic of government policies and was determined to express his political opinion. His courage was as staunch as it was inflexible. These traits were manifested when he established ‘’The Nigerian Times’’. Indeed, his concern was to create in Nigeria, a strong, healthy and vigorous climate for expressing public opinion. This was an important role of a Patriot who used the press to achieve nationalistic goals.
Anthony Enahoro (1923-2010)
He was born in 1923 and attended the famous Kings’ college, Lagos for his secondary school education. His keen interest in journalism was aroused by his connection with the editorial production of his college magazine in 1944. He made history at 21 as the youngest editor in Nigeria as an employee of Nnamdi Azikiwe who had floated ‘’the Southern Nigeria Defender’’ in Warri. History has it that, Enahoro as a journalist was one of the most chequered among his contemporaries. The bravery, fearlessness and prowess in him as a journalist was expressed when the government requested for his newspaper for censorship. His refusal was described by Edward Bulwer Lytton thus, ’beneath the rule of man entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword”. Not unexpected, the government slammed a ban on his newspapers. He was also a well respected politician who labored vigorously for Nigeria independence. It was he who moved the motion for Nigerian independence in 1953. Anthony Enahoro was a point of reference for both journalists and politicians in Nigeria during his lifetime until he joined his ancestors in 2010.
Teslimi Balogun (1927-1972)
He was a Nigerian football player who played at both professional and international level. He was nicknamed ‘’thunder’’ because of his powerful shot on the football pitch. During his football career, he was a dogged and disciplined footballer. He was also the first African to qualify as a football coach.
Flora Nwapa (1931-1993)
She is a forerunner to a generation of African women writers. Flora is best known for recreating life and tradition from a woman’s viewpoint. In 1966, her book ‘’Efurun’’ became Africa’s first internationally published novel by a female. Later, she went on to become the first African woman to publish a book. She is also known for her governmental work in reconstruction after the Biafran war. In particular, she worked with orphans and refugees. She further worked as a publisher of African society.
Gani Fawehinmi (1938-2009)
He was a Nigeria author, publisher, philanthropist, social critic, human and civil rights lawyer, politician and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
With his boundless energy, he tenaciously and uncompromisingly pursued and crusadehis beliefs, principle and ideals, protection of fundamental human rights and respect for the hopes and aspirations of the masses. As a result of his activities, he had been arrested, detained and charged to court several times. He was deported from one part of the country to another to prevent him from being able to effectively reach out to the masses among whom he was popular. He is being described by many Nigerians as the “scourge of irresponsible governments, the veritable conscience of the nation and the champion of the interests and causes of the masses. He died on September 5, 2009 after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995)
He was a Nigerian author, television producer and environmental activist. He was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic majority in Nigeria whose homeland ’’Ogoni land’’ in the Niger Delta had been targeted for crude oil extraction and suffered extreme and unremediated environmental damage from decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping. Saro-Wiwa led a non-violent campaign against environmental degradation of the land. He was an outspoken critic of the Nigerian government which he viewed as reluctant to enforce environmental regulations on the foreign petroleum companies operating in the area initially as spokesperson and then as president of the ‘’Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People’’ (MOSOP). In January 1993, MOSOP organized peaceful marches of around 300,000 Ogoni people-more than half of the population-through four Ogoni centres, drawing international attention to his people’s plight. At the peak of his non-violent campaign, he was arrested, hastily tried by a special military tribunal and hanged in 1995 by the military government of General Sani Abacha, all on charges widely viewed as entirely politically motivated and completely unfounded. His death provoked international outrage and the immediate suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth of Nations. He died a martyr fighting for a just cause.
Funmilayo Ransome Kuti
She was a teacher, political campaigner, women’s rights activist and traditional aristocrat who served with distinction as one of the most prominent leaders of her generation. Her political activism led to her being described as the doyen of female rights in Nigeria. She was also described in 1947 by the West African Pilot newspaper as the ‘’lioness of Lisabi’’ for her leadership of the women of the Egba clan on a campaign against their arbitrary taxation. She received the National honour of membership of the order of Nigeria. She also held a seat in the western house of chiefs of Nigeria as an Oloye of the Yoruba people. She founded an organization for women in Abeokuta with a membership tally of over 20,000 individuals spanning both literate and illiterate market women and also, oversaw the successful abolishment of separate tax rates for women. She is also a winner of the Lenin peace prize (the Soviet Union’s equivalence to the Nobel peace prize). In 1978, she was thrown from a second-floor window when her son, Fela Kuti’s compound was stormed by one thousand armed military personnel and died on April 13, 1978 as a result of her injuries.
Sonny Okosun (1947-2008)
He was one of the lead Nigerian musicians from the late 70’s to mid 80’s. His musical styles ranged include reggae, highlife, afro-funk and gospel. He also made music in Edo, Igbo, Yoruba and English languages. He used his lyrics as a tool in fighting against social ills in Nigeria and contributed greatly to the Nigerian music in Nigeria.
Hubert Ogunde (1916-1990)
He was a Nigerian actor, playwright, theatre manager and musician. He founded the Ogunde concert party in 1945, the first professional theatrical company in Nigeria. The act began the rise of modern professional theatre in Nigeria, a movement in which he remains the supreme artist and father figure. He is regarded as the first doyen in traditional Nigerian drama. Theatre arts plays and films have made him one of the early pioneers in Nigeria’s theatre and film industry which is also known for its African culturally inspired contents.
These Nigerian heroes offered great promises and services to the nation and ought to be reincarnated from the grave of forgotten memory unto a life of emulation and appraisal. This is not to state
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