A former Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has again hailed the visionary leadership of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, saying people must continue to draw significant lessons from the late sage’s life and legacy by investing in education, innovation and ambitious development initiatives capable of transforming the country and its people.
Osinbajo said Ikenne, the birthplace of the former Premier of the defunct Western Region, must also build on Awolowo’s legacy of visionary leadership, educational advancement and purposeful public service to prepare for future opportunities and challenges.
He challenged the community to embrace artificial intelligence, robotics and technology-driven education, proposing a 10-year development blueprint, tagged the Ikenne 2036 Plan, to establish the town as a centre of technological innovation in Africa.
The former vice-president spoke on Friday at Ikenne Remo, while delivering a lecture titled, “Ikenne, a Small Town, a Great Inheritance and an Even Greater Future”, to commemorate the 50th Ereke Day anniversary organised by the Ikenne Development Association
Osinbajo, a professor of law, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, said Awolowo’s achievements showed that a community’s size should not limit its ambition or its capacity to influence national development.
He cited Awolowo’s free and compulsory education policy, which expanded access to schooling in the Western Region, as a major lesson in visionary leadership and the transformative power of education.
According to him, Awolowo’s conviction that education could change ordinary people’s circumstances helped lay the foundation for the region’s educational advancement and demonstrated the impact of prioritising human development.
He recalled that nearly one million children were reportedly in school in the Western Region by 1959, while about 41 per cent of the regional budget was devoted to education.
Osinbajo also highlighted the establishment of the Western Nigeria Television service in 1959, describing it as another example of how bold ideas and purposeful leadership could position a community and its people ahead of their time.
Osinbajo said, “Ikenne occupies a small place on the map, but a great place in our national story. Our geographical size has never defined the reach of our possibilities.
“It is from this town that Chief Obafemi Awolowo helped to shape the destiny of the people of the Western Region, the destiny of the nation, and indeed Africa.
“His conviction that education could transform the circumstances of ordinary people remains one of the most consequential ideas in our national life. By introducing free and compulsory education in one generation, he wiped out illiteracy.
“And he set an example for the rest of the nation and for the rest of Black Africa. By 1959, almost a million children were in school in the Western Region. 41% of the region’s budget was spent on education. One of the highest proportions anywhere in the free world at the time.
“Here was the man, born here in a Ikenne, raised here in a Ikenne, who gave Africa its first television station. The WNTV, first in Africa on the 31st of October, 1959, before many countries in Europe or Asia had television, the Western region of Nigeria had television.
“We had television before Norway, before New Zealand, before Ireland, before Greece, before Bulgaria. We had television in the Western region; in fact, Bulgaria got its own television 7 days after WNTV in November of 1959. Even in Asia, we had television before Singapore, before Indonesia, and before Malaysia because of one man, one Ikenne man, born and bred here.”
Osinbajo argued that Awolowo’s education policy offered a practical example of the importance of pursuing ambitious ideas despite initial doubts about their feasibility.
He recalled that the colonial financial authorities had questioned the possibility of implementing free education, but the initiative eventually became a defining feature of the Western Region’s development experience.
He said Awolowo, who was born and raised in Ikenne, should inspire present and future generations to pursue ideas capable of producing far-reaching social and economic changes.
The former vice-president said another important lesson from Ikenne’s history could be found in the educational philosophy of the late educationist and social activist, Tai Solarin, who established Mayflower School in the town in 1956.
He said Solarin’s emphasis on independent thinking, character development and the dignity of labour showed that education should go beyond academic qualifications to equip young people with practical skills and a sense of responsibility.
He, however, called for further investment in Artificial intelligence and robotics training, saying that these are the driving force of development in the next 50 years.
“The next 50 years will be shaped by artificial intelligence. We can be the village in Africa that trains the best minds and develops the most transformative AI tools,” he said.
He proposed that the Ikenne 2036 Plan spanning 10 years should establish clear priorities, assign responsibilities, set measurable annual targets and provide a framework for monitoring implementation.
He urged the community to take the lead in translating the proposed technology vision into practical programmes, insisting that the community should not restrict its development ambitions to physical structures.
“Brick and mortar is good. We can put a few more buildings here and there; we can prepare a few more things, but we must think big,” he said.
He maintained that the most enduring way to honour Awolowo was to apply the principles that informed his achievements to the challenges of the present and the opportunities of the future.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of IDA, Otunba Femi Allen hailed the residents of the town, particularly late Daddy Kolawole Oronti, the pioneer Chairman of the association for their invaluable contributions towards using their resources to develop the community.
Otunba Allen reiterated the commitment of the association to promoting unity, encouraging self-help development initiatives, preserving the cultural heritage, and building a prosperous future for generations yet unborn.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of selfless service and community transformation awards to some worthy individuals who have have contributed in no small way to enhancing the socio-economic development of the community, Ogun state and the nation at large.
The awardees include Mr Kunle Soname, Chairman of ValueJet Airlines and Betnaija; Alhaja Sikiratu Jakande, wife of the late first civilian governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Jakande; Hon Justice Olufemi Adeniyi, a High Court judge of Ogun State; Otunba Adedoyin Adesina; Otunba Sola Odumosu; as well as Chief Mrs Idowu Owolana.