Richard Akinnola, a journalist, activist, and creator, not too long ago marked his 67th birthday. The celebration, although with much less pomp and pageantry, was imbued with extra reflection on Nigeria’s unity. Akinnola, a detribalised Nigerian of Yoruba extraction, has many Igbo mates. His intervention in the course of the #EndSARS imbroglio not solely helped save lives and scale back property destruction, it underscored his optimistic disposition towards sustaining peace and a united Nigeria. The occasion, held on the Airport Lodge in Ikeja, featured much less dancing and extra mental discourse on unity between the Igbos and Yorubas, aptly themed “Handshake Throughout the Niger: The Yoruba–Igbo Detente.”
As he’s wont to, after the ugly occasions of October 2020, he marks his birthday with a nationwide discourse. This 12 months’s occasion, nonetheless, was designed to deal with the rising tribal tensions between the Igbos and Yorubas in Lagos, drawing inspiration from the post-2023 common election and the tensions forward of the 2027 election. On the sideline, Richard Akinnola spoke completely to Vanguard.
How do you are feeling at 67?
Sixty-seven is only a quantity—I really feel 45. I’m nonetheless as sturdy as I used to be some 30 years in the past. I thank God for good well being as a result of I’ve by no means spent an evening within the hospital, besides after I was born. It’s been 67 years now, and I’m grateful for His grace. It’s a particular grace, not of my very own making, and I don’t take it without any consideration.
What are the thorns alongside your path to this peak?
I’m a really simple particular person. I don’t dwell a duplicitous life or take double positions. I don’t sit on the fence, even when my stance is unpopular. I take positions based mostly on conviction and stand by them. You possibly can’t maintain trying over your shoulder. So, if I take an unpopular place, I don’t fear—so long as it’s rooted in conviction. I’m a free particular person. I relate with folks, younger or outdated, no matter age. I’ve a free and open-minded spirit.
As a journalist and activist, what’s the Nigeria of your dream?
Truthfully, I’m unsure if the Nigeria of my desires can nonetheless be achieved at this level. I’m approaching 70, and that’s why we’re having this dialog at the moment. The youthful technology—Gen Z—is extra targeted on social media, typically pushed by inaccurate narratives. They don’t perceive the place we’re coming from. A lot of them don’t know our historical past, and that’s why I think about myself a historian and a pupil of historical past. I do know our roots.
Within the Sixties, I witnessed Operation Wetie, the civil conflict, and the battles with the navy. I used to be a part of these struggles. Gen Z doesn’t know what we’ve been by way of. We will’t enable issues to deteriorate to that degree once more. Many individuals pushing divisive ethnic rhetoric didn’t witness what we skilled. That’s why I strive, particularly on my Fb platform, to coach as a lot as attainable. Schooling is essential. In case you don’t know the place you’re coming from, and also you don’t know the place you’re going, you gained’t understand how greatest to deal with points.
How do you see the current authorities? Do you assume it’s heading in the right direction?
Nicely, I wouldn’t know for positive. I believe it’s too early to inform. It’s simply two years in, and like a aircraft taking off, issues are turbulent till it reaches a cushty altitude. Let’s see what occurs between now and 2027. I’m an optimist. I foresee the financial system stabilizing over time, though there’s a variety of waste and profligacy. However I’m trying past all that and staying optimistic—we could but see gentle on the finish of the tunnel.
What’s your recommendation for the youth?
The youth should study from the previous. Take South Africa, for instance—some younger folks concerned in Operation Dudula, a motion geared toward expelling black Africans, didn’t perceive the historical past of their nation. It’s broadly seen as a xenophobic, fascist group, recognized for violently focusing on each authorized and unlawful migrants. However these main the motion didn’t notice that the folks they’re making an attempt to thrust back had been as soon as freedom fighters. Their ancestors fought for his or her liberation.
Equally, we have to educate Gen Z about our historical past. In the event that they perceive the place we’re coming from, they’ll be capable to reasonable a few of their views. Historical past is essential—it doesn’t need to be taught in faculties to be discovered. Historical past itself is a faculty, deeply tied to the current. We should maintain referencing the previous. That’s why historical past and training are important, particularly for Gen Z.
The put up Handshake Throughout the Niger: These pushing divisive ethnic rhetoric didn’t witness what we went by way of — Richard Akinnola appeared first on Vanguard Information.
