FOREWORD
By Pastor Tunde Bakare
In a world increasingly shaped by a complex labyrinth of facts and alternative facts, the success of any society is hinged on two key factors – the quality of people around decision-makers, and the quality of information at their disposal. Beyond raw data, the inherent value of information is revealed when it is distilled into forms in which it can be consumed and acted upon, and transformed from the mere skeleton of numbers and words into living, breathing sentences.
Transcending journalism, it is in this regard that the work of the social commentator becomes critical to the survival and stability of society – wedged, as he is, between the main actors and the acted upon, translating them to each other, providing a roadmap out of the labyrinth. Herein lies the central value of this invaluable work, And that’s saying it the way it is!
When “Egbon” Tunde Fagbenle asked me to write the foreword to this timeless compendium of commentaries, I wondered why he chose me, considering the array of stars in his orbit, including internationally acclaimed erudite scholars featured or referenced in this seven-year collection from the author’s many years of dissecting hot button issues as a newspaper columnist.
Even more puzzling is the fact that, by conventional standards, I would be considered part and parcel of the ecclesiastical community; a constituency Tunde does not spare in his signature style of social commentary, which lambastes individuals and institutions that have, directly or inadvertently, constituted stumbling blocks to the quest for a stable, peaceful and prosperous society.
Nevertheless, I reason that, having been an avid reader of his column for many years, thereby becoming acquainted with his stunning turns of phrase, endearing sense of humour and vivid imagination, and our paths having crossed time and again in the course of nation-building, I may be somewhat positioned for the task.
This collection derives its title from the author’s characteristic manner of concluding his reflections and perhaps also an admission that his piercing examination of the issue at hand may have left ‘casualties’ in its wake. He also deploys this take it or leave it exiting mien when he defends a person, policy, theory or cause rendered worthy of endorsement by his assessment, regardless of popular opinion. In our Republic of Ranka dede, where pandering and the subversion of truth are fine arts, this is no small feat.
Tunde Fagbenle exhibits a striking editorial philosophy in these collections. Pivoted on the principles of factuality and fairness, his pendulum of preference oscillates across time and space in search of an equilibrium position. From this equilibrium position, which seeks the best in humanity, while highlighting principles over personality, the author passes an informed verdict on goings-on across a broad spectrum, from religion and ethnicity, to politics and anti-corruption, as well as the economy and infrastructural development.
For instance, basing his judgment on the need for peaceful co-existence, the author, on the one hand, defends the rights of the Hausa-Fulani population in Jos, but opposes, on the other hand, the aversion of the North to the call for restructuring. He celebrates the literary genius of Chinua Achebe, but is unsympathetic to the ethnic colourations of the icon’s final published work, There was a Country. He admits the sagacity in Obasanjo’s appointment of brilliant minds to run the economy in his time as president, but chastises the flaws in the governance approach of the retired general, including his calamitous political succession plan and its Pandora’s box of liabilities.
He highlights the charming personality of Ibrahim Babangida, but urges the nation to oppose his presidential return bid due to the trust deficit overshadowing his legacy by reason of his annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections.
On the 2011 elections, we see Tunde express his displeasure at what he perceives, at the time, as Muhammadu Buhari’s obstinacy, but we also see him quick to assent to the integrity and discipline of the retired general who would become president four years later. We see him endorse Goodluck Jonathan’s underdog status in that election, while refusing to tolerate the then incumbent president’s governance flops. He endorses Adams Oshiomhole’s knack for discipline, laments the then governor’s scathing encounter with a hapless widow, then appreciates the subsequent apologies of the “Comrade Governor”. His is not a one trick pony of constant adulation or constant rebuke, and it is this sense of fairness, balance and forthrightness that pervades his pieces.
As a patriot and optimist in Project Nigeria, Tunde Fagbenle celebrates our success stories and radiates personal pride whenever a Nigerian adorns the national brand with garlands of brilliance and integrity. Hence, his editorials pulsate with references and tributes to luminaries such as Prof. Wole Soyinka, (now HRH) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Prof. Pius Adesanmi, Prof. Okey Ndibe, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, Prof. Duro Oni and a host of high achieving Nigerians at home and abroad. He, however, mourns the cautionary tales in the trajectories of the likes of James Ibori, Olabode George and Abdulrasheed Maina.
Also featured in these dissections are the author’s views on the governance styles and political achievements of the likes of current and former governors Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode, Kayode Fayemi, Olusegun Mimiko, Ibikunle Amosun, and Rauf Aregbesola. He also finds room for a retrospective glance at Awo, whose inclusion is enduring proof and a timely reminder that great men have lived, and continue to live, amongst us.
In addition, he sometimes turns his perceptive eye inwards, reflecting on his own human experience, and then zooms out again to capture others at their most vulnerable. In these pieces, we witness his close relationship with his children – from the damning interrogation on the history and state of the nation by his then six-year old son, to the heartwarming tribute from son to father by his eldest child, Adekunle, upon the latter’s call to the Nigerian Bar. We also see and share his palpable joy and pride as his daughter graduates from Harvard.
The author’s interview with Nelson Mandela, which was abruptly terminated by the African icon when his heart could not bear the pain as the interview touched on his ex-wife, Winnie, is a poignant illustration that the best of men are still men, at the very best.
Also noteworthy are the author’s narration of his heartbreaking encounter with a Rwandan genocide survivor, his outbursts at the merciless murder of twenty-nine students and a teacher by Boko Haram terrorists, and his stirring piece on the search for his Igbo childhood best friend who, he is afraid, may not have survived the Biafran War.
He zooms further out from the personal to the political, highlighting Nigeria’s myriad challenges, from electricity failure to insecurity, tempering his lamentations with propositions. Even so, sometimes, he has more questions than answers – a vulnerability we all, in the end, have in common. His Conversations with God is a testament to this.
As the author knows better than anyone else, it is these questions, and the striving for answers, that define our human experience, limited as we all are. He does a fine job of capturing this existential tussle between prayer and purposeful action, and I suspect the answer is not choosing one or the other, but both. The best writers help you understand the questions well enough to choose, or not choose, and Tunde is among the very best.
If it’s quintessential Nigerian humour you’re after following mind-bending contemplations or as respite from the often manic hustle and bustle of everyday life in Nigeria, Tunde tackles religion once again in Public nuisance masquerading as religion, this time lampooning our culture of “night vigils”. From shouts of “halleluya, halleluya, halleluya” passing the baton to “Laaa-illa-illalahhhh”, this is the Nigeria we are equally fascinated and repulsed by, captured as a keepsake in beautiful, rib-cracking prose. Tunde masterfully succeeds in arousing the full range of human emotions – you’ll need tissues for both the tears and the laughter, and, sometimes, you’ll simply shake your head and say, “It is well”.
By “saying it the way it is”, Tunde Fagbenle brings the nation to a “moment of truth” so we have this, as well as our names, in common. Then there’s also the matter of our shared love for this conundrum of a country; a country that can be exhausting as it is exhilarating, and a country that can, in the space of minutes, make you both hopeless and hopeful. Beyond these similarities, however, I would like to make a small proposition – with his capacity to touch the heart with his gift of words, I’m convinced Tunde has earned himself a larger platform and could very well usher in his seventies as Pastor Tunde Fagbenle. We could use this level of incisive honesty on our pulpits, wouldn’t you agree? And that’s saying it the way it is!
‘Tunde Bakare
Lagos, Nigeria