An elder statesman is a respected and experienced person who is often a retired leader or member of a group or organization and whose advice is still valued. Nigeria is blessed with scores of irrepressible elder statesmen whose advice or counsel when sought will go a long way in putting the country on a right and solid footing.
Whenever matters come to a head and Nigeria teeters at the brink of precipice, these statesmen weigh in with their thoughts that if applied would to a large extent remedy the situation brought to their table. They intervene by way of statements or well calibrated pronouncements. Sometimes they do so by authoring scathing epistles based on the gravity of the situation at the moment. Some of these statesmen, such
as Chiefs Gani Fawehinmi and Anthony Enahoro, Pa Edwin Clark and Dr. Tai Solarin have all departed to the world beyond.
But there are still the living elder statesmen who bear the mantle, share in the pains and challenges buffeting Nigerians. They give expression to these pains by calling the attention of the authorities that have missed on the track of delivering good governance or what democracy stands for. In the rank of this incandescent relic are
former Heads of State, Olusegun Obasanjo and Abdulsalami Abubakar. Others are Pa Ayo Adebanjo, General T.Y. Danjuma(rtd), Cardinal John Onayeikan and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah.
Their occasional interventions are often well thought out and inimitable. They resonate with the Nigerian people. This is because they come when the people are hurting or despairing and the country appears rudderless. Consequently, their interventions re-assure the people. They assuage their anger. The interventions also restrain Nigerians from spewing their anger and frustrations in the streets due to the hardship in the country. By the same token, they moderate the excesses of our leaders, who carry on, sometimes, cavalierly or as if they live on some other planet
populated by extra-terrestrials.
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At different, and recent occasions, General Abubakar and Cardinal Onayeikan have spoken to the hardship rampaging the country, leaving in its wake misery, starvation and untimely deaths.
Everybody is crying because of this hardship and it seems to be getting out of control. People cannot afford three square meals, the issue of transportation, the hike in fuel price, the hike in school fees for the children and lack of funds in everybody’s pocket is making life difficult for everybody.”
Speaking at the sidelines of a concert to mark the 2024 Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Abuja, Cardinal Onayeikan observed poignantly that: ”There is a limit to what people can handle calling for the need to review some of the policies that are giving rise to the kind of pain and poverty that are not familiar with the
people.
Notably, these elder statesmen have captured, concisely and accurately, the predicament in which Nigerians find themselves today and made frantic efforts by lending their voices on ways the nation can overcome its challenges.
An African proverb says, “those who respect the elderly pave their own road toward success.” Truly, there’s no classroom in the world better than the feet of an elderly person. Everybody is crying because of the hardship and it seems no hope for survival in a cruel leadership . Nigerians now perceived that all advice by elder statesmen seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as the political leaders remain insensitive to the yearnings of the people.
At all levels of government, elder statesmen should be accorded high levels of respect and carried along in the scheme of things as showing respect for elders fosters a sense of community and strengthens social bonds. It encourages mutual respect among different age groups and promotes harmony within society. It is expected that president Bola Tinubu at his age should employ the wisdom and advise of his follow elders in bringing succour to Nation.
