About the Author
Dr. Kayode J. Fakinlede was educated in and resides in the United States with his wife and four children. He has taught in various institutions in Nigeria.
He also has more than twenty years experience in the manufacturing industry.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter One - excerpts
...I believe that the time has now arrived for the emergence of a new African. One who is not contented with watching world developments pass him by, but who will pull all his resources to liberate himself from the yoke of centuries of self and external enslavement....
...I believe in the spirit of one Nigeria. I believe that the brotherhood created from the mutual unification of ethnic-nations and tongues, comprising of a diverse and gorgeous mosaic that stem from the African grander tradition, has the potential to become the envy of the world. I believe that within this diversity lies a tremendous opportunity for growth and unrivaled economic well being. However, for this to happen, the brotherhood will cultivate a process which, through freedom, each unit will strive for the utmost. It will also abandon those pernicious, self deprecating ways of old, that pitted brother against brother and one ethnic-nation against another. This brotherhood will actually decide that, contrary to conventional wisdom, there is indeed more than enough capacity and capability to make Nigeria a truly great country. It will recognize our differences and most importantly, it will celebrate our uniqueness as a land of many tongues but of a single destiny. It wil! l recognize that it is the capability of each ethnic unit, in equality and freedom, that acts in synergy to highlight the glory of the whole. I believe that as long as freedom is vigorously pursued and abundantly enjoyed, the task of development will be an easy one.
I believe that those elements who, in times of uncertainty and national tragedies, make preachments to the dissolution of the country, are backing the wrong horse and expending much energy for a lost course. Problems and disagreements will always continue to exist, for these are the stuff of which nations are built. However the fact and the reality of a united Nigeria is not one of them....
...I believe in the Yoruba man. I believe that not by coincidence, but by virtue of the consequences of history and his position in the scheme of events, he is well posited and adequately equipped to be a leader in the development of the new African. From this vantage position, he not only has to seek to modify the circumstances to his benefit, but also crave the welfare of others. It is in this relationship of mutual benefit that will make manifest the magnitude of resources within him. I believe that in acting as a catalyst for national and continental development, the exercise of this position may sometimes require that he forgo those things that he may currently regard as important and seek new mountains to conquer. The Yoruba man, in fixating on the obvious, is missing a truly global picture for which he has had a half century of preparation. Where the obvious has the tendency to becloud ones judgment, it is only proper to pull back, reexamine the situation and map out! a better strategy that will make success achievable...
...I believe that for the Yoruba man, wealth creation is an economic equivalent of war which he can neither afford to lose nor win at some convenient time. But that he must immediately employ all strategies and tactics, involve all communities and institutions in its execution.
