6th Annual SAAF-IPSS Roundtable holds in UI

 PATIENCE OGBO, Ibandan

The 6th Annual Senator Abiola Ajimobi Foundation SAAF   Roundtable  / Posthumous birthday event was held  at  the University of Ibadan on Saturday  ,

The event which took place at the SAAF lecture hall was with the collaboration of the Institute For Peace and Strategic Studies IPSS University of Ibadan and had the theme ‘’Re- engineering Nigeria for sustainable development: Options, cost and prospects’’.

In  her welcome address, Her Excellency Dr. (Mrs.) Florence Ajimobi the President of SAAF said this  year’s theme is apt and ‘’ Further signposts the Foundation’s unflinching belief in the vision  in the pursuits of good governance and accelerated development in Nigeria .

She said ‘’ Having had five previous fruitful and impactful events, it is gratifying to observe that our previous efforts must have garnered the attention of various stakeholders, statutory and non- statutory bodies, associations and others as many realistic steps seem to have been taken in responding and reacting to the conclusions of those thematic events’’.

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan  Prof. Kayode Adebowale  while speaking at the event said  the University of Ibadan is well positioned to provide the enabling environment that fosters  impactful partnership and collaborations with the private sector.   He said . We are here to honour an illustrious son . The late former governor Senator Abiola Ajimobi was a  man of great intellectual strides and his love and passion for academics manifested when he after achieving and attaining great heights, in business, politics and administratively, sought admission to pursue a PhD programme  in Sustainable Development in the University of Ibadan; he was admitted but unfortunately couldn’t start.  His legacies will  continue to remain with us . On the 3rd of May 2011 , the Society for Peace Studies  and Practice (SPSP)  gave the late governor  Ajimobi an award and this award was meritoriously deserved. The leadership of the Society used three indices as criteria  for the award. These are peace, security and development. Senator Ajimobi was a man of peace, he wanted the development of the state and he invested in security of the state. Everyone who has been in the state especially in Ibadan will attest to the level of insecurity before he came on board as the governor.  He established and equipped the Operation Burst security outfit and tackled the NURTW menace which brought about the peace in Oyo State. In the area of development, the late senator Ajimobi had a blue print for development in Oyo state. His relationship to the university climaxed` with the donation of this edifice of the SAAF Foundation by his family  sited at the IPSS and the annual Roundtable discussion held in the IPSS’’.

The Director of the Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies IPSS University of Ibadan , Associate  Prof. Ruth Adio-Moses in her welcome address said SAAF  Round Table is a private initiative  that has turned into a prestigious platform of national dialogue in Nigeria .

She said ‘’ This annual SAAF Roundtable is an idea initiated by an illustrious son of the soil, the first ever two term governor of the pacesetter state. Annually, the SAAF- IPSS Roundtable provides a platform which x-rays burning national issues in order to propel formidable collaborations for sustainable interventions. The theme for this year ‘’ Re- engineering Nigeria for sustainable development :Options, Costs and Prospects’’ captures the current mood of the nation as we crave for national cohesion and sustainable development . Our diversity, experience, exposure and expertise represented by our formidable lead speaker aims to stimulate and interrogate contemporary thinking for sustainable pathways to a better peaceful Nigeria .  A peaceful Nigeria where you are my brother and I am your sister; a Nigeria where public healthcare is  qualitative, accessible, affordable and humanitarian issues are taken more seriously. A Nigeria where the Naira soars high side-by side with esteemed global currencies ; A Nigeria with great opportunities for our ever –increasing youth population to prevent the current japa-syndrome and a Nigeria where security of everyone remains a priority . As envisioned by our amiable hero, the late former governor of Oyo state Senator Abiola Ajimobu, the annual Roundtable should be in permanence , catalyze innovative solutions, collective actions and commitment to national progress and development . The collective resolve of our Institute to sustain the collaboration by undertaking this annual enlightment programme is in honour of the late Patriarch and for humanity. I therefore appeal to our distinguished guests to support this pursuits which is informed by the principles  our dear late Senator Ajimobi stood for and also aligns with the theme of the University of Ibadan 75th anniversary celebration’’

While delivering the lead paper on the theme , Prof. Olawale Albert  , the  Pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Multidisciplinary Studies University of Ibadan said re-engineering a society for sustainable development requires that individuals and groups drop their selfish goals for the higher goals of national survival and what is urgently needed now is a national dialogue to have a better understanding of the problems and what  should  be done about it .  His lecture read in part ‘’ The country’s crisis and the way  forward out of our problems is best illustrated using Mark Twain’s analogy of ‘’who is shaking the Jar’’ who is shaking the jar is where the agenda setting should start from . How do we stop the shaking of the Jar , restoring peaceful co-existence . What is urgently needed now is a national dialogue to have a better understanding of the problems and what should  be done about it . The people should be given the opportunity to meet to discuss their conflict issues and work out conditions for mutual respectability. They must face the reality of what South Africans call ‘’Ubuntu’’: My survival is dependent on your own survival . This is called ‘’collective security ‘’ in peace and conflict studies literature. The present situation where a few have the best of the society and the most of the people are left with nothing can only lead to anarchy . This is the lesson of history; that is what Nigeria is experiencing today . Majority of Nigerians have nothing left , they fear no fall as things stand . What are the prospects of re-engineering? The inauguration speech of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is reassuring that Nigeria can successfully get over its ongoing development challenges. The president is barely up to one year in office , Nigerians need to believe him and pray for his success. In confronting the developmental challenges , Nigeria needs to learn some critical lessons from Rwanda where the Tutsi and the Hutu killed one another from 7 April to July 15th, 1994. But this country ranks amongst the fastest growing in  the world today due to proactive political leadership ‘’.

Among the dignitaries present at the event include  Chief Adebayo Adelabu the Federal Minister of Power who was the Keynote speaker, the governor of Ogun state, Prince Dapo Abiodun,  former minister of Finance Mrs Kemi Adeosun among others, Representatives of the Vice President  of Nigeria , senator Kashim Shettima  , the Oyo state governor ‘Eng. Seyi Makinde’s representative , traditional rulers , politicians ,scholars and management staff of the university of Ibadan, students of the IPSS among other guests .

The panel discussants at the event include Prof. Duro Oni , the former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos , Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, from the department of Economics. University of Ibadan, Dr. Shola Olorunyomi from the Institute of Africa Studies University of Ibadan who represented  his elder brother Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi the Publisher of Premium Times  and Prof. Tunji Olaopa , the Chairman , Federal Civil Service Commission . The discussion session was moderated by Prof. Tajudeen Akanji , the former Director ,IPSS.

The SAAF- IPSS Concept note on the theme read in part  “As a nation of massive  potentials in human and mineral endorsement, the general expectation of “Rich country , Rich people” about Nigeria by non  Nigerians is quite understandable. It is apparently uncheering to note that 63 percent of the Nigeria population, the most populated African nation and the giant of Africa is held in the receding tide of multidimensional poverty (NBS, MPI Report 2022). Several reasons have been adduced by scholars and public analysts as possible factors for the unpleasant situation, yet solutions appear elusive. While a school of thoughts holds a view that  past political leaders have not actually harnessed the country endowed resources well enough to salvage majority of the citizens out of poverty, another claims that the said leaders were in actual sense ,bereft of the needed leadership requisites to combine the delicate task of nation building with the sensitive responsibility of national resource appropriation . Again to some others while enough resources have been exploited the endemic corrupt practices have been the unassailable barrier . Consequently, sustainable development in Nigeria has become elusive .

For a better society

—————————————————————–

Kindly follow us across all our social media platforms to stay up-to-date with the latest news and happenings in Nigeria and across the globe.

Facebook – https://facebook.com/championnewsonline

Instagram – https://instagram.com/championnewsonline

Twitter– @championnewsng