By Bolanle BOLAWOLE
turnpot@gmail.com 0705 263 1058
I once advocated that we create a Ministry or agency charged with the responsibility of harnessing ideas canvassed at public speakings such as book launches or presentations, inaugural and other lectures, among others; the reason being the robust ideas traded at such fora that will, undoubtedly, enrich public discourse and help accelerate national development. I doubt if anyone in the government gave serious thought to the proposal.
And for not doing so, we miss a lot and lose a lot. We grope in the dark and fall into the same errors again and again. It is trite that ideas rule the world. Every invention is an idea brought to fruition. Little wonder, then, that it is said that if you can think it, you can do it. But what happens where thinkers are ignored and thoughts that can elevate us perish without anyone in authority reaching out for them?
Recently, I graced three events where profound ideas that can positively impact our lives and country were discussed: One was a birthday celebration; the second, a book presentation and launch of a let-project; and the third, another book presentation-cum-launching of an endowment fund for indigent students. Do you think Nigerian leaders are men and women of ideas? Gone were the days when ideas and political manifestos defined our politics. No more!
Today, our politics – and governance itself – is governed by money politics and thuggery. People with ideas have been muscled out of reckoning and packed in a corner to amuse themselves with their ideas! As they say in popular, streetwise parlance, to hell with you if you say you have ideas but aren’t a money-bag!
Goodluck Jonathan’s 2014 confab
At Bishop David Esosa Ize-Iyamu, General Overseer, Jesus Evangelical Assembly’s 60th birthday lecture held on Thursday, June 4, 2026 at his church premises off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, the lecture delivered by Wole Oladiyun, founder/senior pastor of the Christ Livingspring Apostolic Ministry (CLAM) was a treasure. Variously described as “preacher, pastor, apostle, prophet, Christian author of over 50 books, civil engineer and entrepreneur”, Oladiyun did not disappoint. As I sat listening to him, I wondered if there was anyone in the audience that could translate his ideas into action!
Men of ideas are ignored in Nigeria – and it can be very frustrating if you are one of such men and women. I recall how the 2014 Movement used to meet at this same Bishop Ize-Iyamu’s church, burning with the zeal to have the recommendations of the 2014 confab of President Goodluck Jonathan actualized to give birth to a better Nigeria. But it was an uphill task.
Those who have hijacked Nigeria and its destiny will not cede an inch of the country’s territory to men and women of ideas who seek to liberate and take it to greater heights. I saw some of our 2014 Movement members in the audience at the 4th June event. Those days, the humility, magnanimity, and generosity of Bishop Ize-Iyamu knew no bounds. But what a great opportunity Jonathan. missed to etch his name in gold in the annals of history!
Honour to whom it is due
The second event was the book launch – his seventh – by my professional colleague and brother, Ademola (Demola) Akinbola and the inauguration of his pet-project, the Nigerian Brand Academy, which took place at the GRA, Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday, June 15, 2026. The title of the book is “Communicating to WIN in career and business.”
Am I surprised at the ingenuity, hard work and industry of Demoo, as I fondly call him? Not at all! Those were the same qualities that informed my head-hunting him to co-lead the Business Desk of The PUNCH when I became its editor in 1992 and the decision was taken to shift the newspaper’s focus from entertainment to a serious, business-friendly format. Demola and the others did not disappoint. So whatever PUNCH has achieved today in that respect, Demola was one of those who laid the foundation.
And it was not at PUNCH alone that Demola has demonstrated his stuff; he has done so everywhere he has worked – at Owena Bank (which later became Omegabank), at Prudent Bank and even at Oladiyun’s CLAM where he worships. So, at Demola’s event, his boss at Omegabank, Dr. Rotimi Adelola (who later became the Secretary to the Ondo State Government), was there. Akinsola Akinfenwa, his boss at Prudent Bank, was there. Oladiyun, who was unavoidably absent, sent a representative. And I, his boss at The PUNCH, was there.
Of course, the hall was jam-packed with media and public relations gurus, including the inimitable Bisi Olatilo of BISCOM Communications. Taking after a river that wouldn’t forget its source – and which shall never dry up – some of us were conferred with an “Award of Recognition … In appreciation of (our) outstanding contributions to the growth and development of Ademola Akinbola’s professional career.” And I ask him to soar higher!
Speak with your judgments
The third event took place in Abuja on Thursday, 2nd July, 2026; it was the public presentation of two books as well as the launch of the “Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye Educational Foundation For Indigent Students.” The titles of the books were “Electronic Evidence, Second Edition (With Evidence Act, 2011) and “A Compendium Of Cases On Electronic Evidence (Volume II, 2020 – 2025).
A retired judge of the Kogi state judiciary and Professor of Law at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Abuja, Justice Omolaye-Ajileye is Nigeria’s leading authority in the new field of electronic evidence. Little wonder, then, that the hall was packed full with lawyers and judges, including an assemblage of justices of the Supreme Court that no one has seen before at such an event. Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) were sending other SANs on errand, as it were! Judges of high courts, appellate courts, and leaders of the bar, including former presidents of the Nigerian Bar Association, and leaders of the Body of Benchers, graced the occasion.
The Director-General of DSS was there; he performed the unveiling of one of the books; so also was the chairman of the EFCC, who also performed the unveiling of the second book. That alone speaks of the quality of attendance at the event. The keynote address was delivered by Kanu Agabi, one of the NBA’s living legends. Agabi caused a stir with his address, and so did the DSS and EFCC bosses. Saying that the “charges against our judges demand answers” and “the indignities the judiciary as an institution is now tolerating are not personal (but) are aimed at the institution of the judiciary”, Agabi charged the judges to “answer the charges. These charges demand answers. Speak through your judgments.”
Turning in the direction of the DG, DSS and Chairman, EFCC, Agabi said: “I wish to say as I see the DG of the DSS and the Chairman of the EFCC sitting side by side: We have billions, hundreds of billions, abroad, and this generation will have failed if we don’t bring back those moneys. That is what we must do now. Please, however we do it, we must do it.”
The EFCC chairman picked up the gauntlet and asked whether he could start the process of recovering the country’s looted funds right there in the hall! Roaring laughter! He thanked Justice Omolaye-Ajileye for having used his scholarship to expand EFCC’s capacity to fight crimes, describing financial crimes as “one of the major problems we have in this country today.”
The DG DSS agreed, saying that the author’s pioneering work in the field of electronic evidence has been of immense benefit to those of them involved in prosecuting cases in our law courts. There was pin-drop silence in the hall when he made a veiled reference to politician-cum-activist, Omoyele Sowore, insisting that calling the president unprintable names should not be tolerated by lawyers and journalists alike.
Like Awolowo, like Omolaye-Ajileye
As told by him, Justice Omolaye-Ajileye’s decision to launch an educational endowment for indigent students has history behind it: “In I983 while I was preparing to attend the Nigerian Law School, my father lost his modest employment as a Road Overseer. At that time, he had eight other children who also required educational support at different levels. The situation was extremely difficult and my dream of becoming a lawyer was seriously threatened. I needed money to pay my Law School fees, including the cost of my wig and gown, but there was no money. Determined not to abandon my dream, I sought and obtained my father’s permission to look for a loan. By the grace of God, I found a benefactor who agreed to assist me. He gave me the money on the understanding that I would repay it after my graduation without interest. That singular act of kindness changed the course of my life. Without that timely intervention, only God knows what would have become of my educational and professional journey.”
He was lucky! The story is told of how the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, also at a stage in life sought a loan from a wealthy Yoruba industrialist to enable him proceed abroad for further studies, but he was denied! Notwithstanding, Chief Awolowo managed to achieve his ambition – and see what a blessing he later became not only to his Yoruba race (including the man who had denied him the loan he begged for) but to Nigeria as a whole and the generality of humanity! Imagine also the loss if Justice Omolaye-Ajileye had not been fortunate enough to access the much-needed loan and his educational and professional career had thereby been truncated!
I know of a destiny so truncated: Yusuf Adagbeje was the brightest lad in my primary school days. He was exceptionally good in Mathematics/Arithmetics. We finished school and everyone went their separate ways. Many years after, I was returning home from the NYSC camp, resplendent in my NYSC kits, and I hailed a taxi to take me home from the motor park. I settled down in the back of the car and adjusted myself. Along the way, the driver looked back to confirm where we were heading. Lo and behold, it was Yusuf Adagbeje! I screamed, “Yusuf!” He, too, screamed, “Ojo!” I asked him what he was doing; he explained that after primary school, there were no funds to send him to secondary school! So he learnt driving and was already a father of three. When I got to my destination, I offered him his fares but he declined.
Free education to the university level ought to be the right of every child. Its provision ought to be the duty of every responsible and responsive government. Once denied, individuals suffer, talents perish, destinies are destroyed and society’s progress or development as a whole gets stymied. So sad!
NEXT WEEK: Justice Omolaye-Ajileye’s recommendations for a credible 2027 elections.
Former editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director/Editor-in-chief of The Westerner news magazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.