Favour Ishember, Abuja
Marking 100 years of life, Pa. Dr. Olusola Ajolore, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI) Nigeria, has called for a national reset built on security, agriculture, education and values, saying “Nigeria is worth saving, worth serving and worth believing in.”
Speaking on Monday at a centenary media engagement in Abuja, the former university don and farmer who has lived through colonial Nigeria, independence, the Civil War, military rule and multiple democratic republics said the country’s greatest deficit is not resources but a shared sense of responsibility.
Dr. Ajolore warned that insecurity cannot be solved by guns alone.
“One of the most serious challenges confronting Nigeria today is insecurity. But we must understand that insecurity is more than a military or policing problem. It is also an economic, agricultural, food-security and youth-development problem,” he said.
He argued that a farmer who cannot safely reach his farm cannot produce, and a business operating in fear cannot create jobs. To defeat insecurity, he called for effective security institutions, reliable intelligence, justice, community cooperation and accountability, with those who finance or profit from violence held to account.
Crucially, he linked security directly to agriculture and food supply:
“Agricultural security is part of national security. If we secure our farmers and strengthen the agricultural value chain, we can improve food security, create employment and strengthen the Nigerian economy.”
Drawing from his own experience as a farmer, the centenarian urged Nigeria to stop treating farming as a traditional occupation.
“Agriculture should be treated as a modern economic sector and a serious business opportunity,” he said, listing what farmers need: security, finance, technology, infrastructure, storage, processing and access to markets.
He said young Nigerians must be encouraged to see agriculture as a career across the entire value chain, not just subsistence farming.
Education, he said, remains “very close to my heart.”
“Education must produce competence and character. We need young Nigerians who are educated, skilled, innovative and technologically capable, but who also understand integrity, discipline, responsibility and service.”
Dr. Ajolore, a former university don, called for stronger links between schools and the real economy through technology, entrepreneurship, technical and vocational education, agriculture and manufacturing. He also stressed that no child should be left out of school.
“Education is one of our strongest long-term national security strategies. When we educate and equip young people, we give them alternatives to crime, hopelessness and dependency,” he noted.
On leadership, he said laws alone cannot transform a nation without integrity. “Leadership is service. It requires responsibility, integrity, discipline and a willingness to put the common good above personal interest.”
His Christian faith, he added, taught him that “life is a gift, leadership is a responsibility, service is greater than self-interest, and integrity matters even when nobody is watching.” In Nigeria’s plural society, he said all citizens must respect each other’s right to live and worship freely.
Asked about reaching 100, Dr. Ajolore offered no magic formula, but advised purposeful living: take care of the body, remain productive, maintain relationships, keep learning and serve others.
“For me, longevity is not simply about the number of years one has lived. The greater question is what one has done with those years.”
To young Nigerians, his charge was direct: “Do not surrender your future to frustration. Acquire knowledge, develop useful skills, work hard, maintain your integrity, use technology positively and create value.”
To older Nigerians, he asked: “Have we created enough opportunities? Have we given them quality education? Have we provided a secure environment? Have we demonstrated the integrity we expect from them?”
He concluded with a blueprint: secure communities, strengthen agriculture and food security, invest in young people, encourage productive enterprise, uphold integrity and recover a sense of national purpose.
“Nigeria has enormous potential, but potential will not build a nation. People must,” Dr. Ajolore said. “Let us build a Nigeria where the farmer can farm without fear, where young people can receive quality education and productive opportunity, where businesses can operate securely, and where every citizen can live with dignity and hope.”
The FGBMFI Nigeria leader ended with prayers for the Fellowship, for Nigerian youth and for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
For a better society
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