That Ambassador Adeniji May Live On!
Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, CON, was a career diplomatist, who served as Nigeria’s Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Austria, France and Switzerland. His services to the Nigerian state and people were not simply extraordinary in performance but also with full powers in terms of accreditation and international representation. He was fully acknowledged at home and abroad for his integrity and sincerity of purpose when he was alive. This meant that he enjoyed the full trust of both the sending and receiving states to which he was accredited.
For instance, at the Nigerian level, he was appointed the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991 and given the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger in 2001. In 2003, he was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs and in 2006, the Minister of Interior. At the international level, he reflected truly that charity begins at home. In this regard, he carried abroad his character of dint of hard work, generally characteristic of the Ijebu people, his unreserved patriotism largely predicated on the fear of God, and his negotiating skills that are also largely defined by objectivity of purpose.
His general attitudinal disposition as a diplomat, diplomatist, and international functionary, is acknowledged internationally and remains a source of sweet inspiration. He was the President of the United Nations Conference on Certain Conventional Weapons from 1979 to 1980 and Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee at the United Nations Second Special Session Devoted to Disarmament in 1982. More important, he was appointed in 2008, the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement. He was also the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) in 1999.
Without scintilla of doubt, Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, though born locally in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, in 1934, was truly a citizen of the world. The blood that ran in his capillaries was multilateralist. His thinking was globalist and peace-seeking. His attitudinal disposition was always defined by the five main principles of peaceful co-existence. His negotiating strategy was clothed with perseverance and relentlessness. And perhaps most interestingly, his operational word for any action was always identification of which and in whose interest was a diplomatic action. This same national and international civil servant passed on to glory on November 27, 2017 in London. It is in acknowledgement of his life well spent that people who are peace keepers are mourning his passing away in a manner truly compatible with best diplomatic practices.
Put differently, several activities were organised as part of his obsequies. The first was the launch of The Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji Foundation for Strategic Studies and Conflict Resolution (TAOAF-SSCR) on Tuesday, 23rd January, 2018 at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. It was established to reflect the values for which Ambassador Adeniji stood when he was alive: ‘integrity, fairness, and compassion.
The Foundation has an interesting operational methodology: a dynamic think-tank approach, which will be made results-oriented by providing ‘a platform for global leaders in diverse fields to fashion out pragmatic solutions to the world’s most pressing and/or seemingly intractable issues.’ And perhaps, most interestingly, ‘this will be done using inter-generational experience, expertise and passion at periodic symposia, workshops, master classes, etc, to be hosted by the Foundation. At the end of each event, the central ideas advanced therein will be crystallised into a position paper. This will be shared with the Federal Government of Nigeria and relevant international bodies.’
The application of this methodology took effect immediately with a symposium organised to mark the inauguration of the TAOAFSSCR. The symposium had as theme: ‘Bridge-building in Response to Violent Extremism.’ It was chaired by a veteran and seasoned journalist, Mr. John Momoh, the Chairman of the twelve-time best television awards winner. Mr. Segun Adeniji, one of the children of Ambassador Adeniji, served as the moderator of the discussions.
There were two lead speakers. The first was Dr. Chris Stout, a clinical psychologist, Founding Director of the Centre for Global Initiatives, and former Visiting Professor at Rush University. Sheikh Muhammad Dawah Institute of Nigeria, as well as Trustee and Member of the Senior Management Board of the Islamic Education Trust, was the second lead speaker.
Mr. John Momoh appreciated the importance and relevance of the theme of the symposium, particularly its consistency with the philosophy of Ambassador Adeniji regarding conflict resolution and peace building. He posited that Ambassador Adeniji preferred consensus building to conflict. He stood for pluralism and diversity. More important, he reminded everyone of the greater virtue in peacemaking and the challenge of the deepening tensions in the world of today, and therefore, the essence for an urgent response and timeliness of both the founding of the Foundation and the theme of the symposium.
Sheikh Nurudeen Lemu noted that neither violent extremism nor religious extremism was new. What should be noted was that extremists see themselves as reformers and not as extremists. Consequently, any analytical effort at understanding the problem will need to first look at the context of each act of extremism. This means that no single solution fits all. More important, he gave the stories of the potholes and the example of leadership in Nigeria: when there is a problem, leaders look out through the window to blame others. But when there is credit to take, they look at the mirror to see themselves.
Dr. Stout underscored the psychology of terrorism and therefore the need to approach the quest for solutions to violent extremism from a multidimensional approach. In this regard, he suggested the use of civil society organisations as a medium for discussions on the matter, particularly for purposes of advocacy, training, promotion of community resilience. He noted that government had failed and had left the faith leaders to take over the responsibility of peace-making. In his eyes, government should provide the required good environment for the culture of peace to evolve. Ambasador Olusegun Akinsanya shared this view and suggested the inculcation of education as an instrument of peacemaking in the curriculum of schools, as well as the need to fletch out the contents of the areas of strategic studies and conflict resolution to be focused on by the TAOAF-SSCR.
The crux of the discussions at the symposium focused on God and gods, on the one hand, and leadership in Nigeria, on the other hand. Few people had the opportunity to speak from the floor: Mr. Ayo Adeniji, Ambassador Wole Coker, Ambassador Segun Akinsanya, and Ambassador Ayo Olukanni. Momoh raised the issue of all of us having a common devil but many gods. Sheikh Lemu argued that there is only one God but different conceptions of the same God. While Dr. Stout posited that the trust and the education of today is not and cannot be a solution to prejudice, simply because we all like learning but do not want to be taught.
Momoh shared this view differently by suggesting that leadership is a major problem in Nigeria and that there is a need for a new crop of leadership in the country. He noted that the recruitment of youth for purposes of violent extremism is easy, because of their neglect for a long period in development policy calculations. In this regard, Ayo Adeniji considered that the provision of education on the implications of violent extremism at the early stage of primary education can go a very long way in shaping the viewpoints of pupils and preventing violent extremism. In other words, there is the need to catch them young before they grow up into becoming agents of societal ills.
For the adults that already have their own worldview, Ambassador Coker suggested that the Adeniji Foundation should be sustained on a permanent basis as an instrument for the propagation of peaceful values. He explained that the basics of good neighbourliness had been completely destroyed and therefore, the teaching of values common to both Christians and Muslims should be underscored and taught. Ambassador Ayo Olukanni looked at the issue from the perspective of the extent to which there had been progress at the level of the interfaith dialogue in Nigeria, Christians’ commitment to the prosperity theory, and the Muslims saying Allak hubaru in Bethlehem.
Answers to various questions and observations made at the symposium were difficult. Dr. stout even admitted that the issue was very complex and therefore opted to leave Nigeria with the hope that the brilliant people in Nigeria would offer to take the foundation to higher levels in addressing the problems of the future.
Responding to this challenge, Sheikh Lemu advised on the use of language by media professionals. For instance, he explained that the word ‘crusade’ is being used to refer to fighting Muslims in the Holy Land, but it is being reviewed today. ‘Jihad’ is also being used in the context of revival. Consequently, media houses were advised to be more cautious of the language they use and should seek to underscore and repeat condemnations of violent extremism. Sheikh Lemu also drew attention to the fact that 70% of Boko Haramists are not married and that 47% of the members have no parents or have single parents. As such, ease in recruitment of young people is self-explanatory.
TheForeignPolicyDimensions
Apart from the symposium, two foreign policy issues were raised at the Commendation Service, held on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at Our Saviour’s Church, Tafawa Balewa Square, in the Anglican Communion of the Diocese of Lagos, and at the Funeral Service conducted for Ambassador Adeniji on Thursday, January 25, 2018 at the Ijebu Anglican Diocese Cathedral Church of Our Saviour, Ita-Olowajoda, Ijasi, Ijebu-Ode.
At the commendation service in Lagos, the sermoner asked all those present in the church whether they were preparing for eternity. The sermoner asked this question in light of his strong belief that, no matter how long one lives, one must die. And because one cannot escape death, the need for everyone to set his or her priorities right cannot but be a desideratum.
More interestingly, the sermoner submitted that many people go to church, but without knowing why, without having Jesus Christ in them, and without thinking about eternity. This, the sermoner considered, was most unfortunate, because the second coming of Jesus is nearer than ever imagined. He said the world was already gradually coming to an end. He explicated this within the framework of IsraeloAmerican foreign policies. As explained by the sermoner, Donald Trump of the United States had made clear his intention to defend the Jews and their interests. This implies that any Jewish policy stand has the potential support of the United States.
Additionally, the sermoner reminded that Israel was reported to have taken over the Mosque in Jerusalem. He appeared to be referring to the ‘al-Aqsa silver-domed Mosque inside the 35-acre compound referred to as al-Haram, al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, by Muslims, and as the Temple Mount by Jews. The compound, in an attempt to find a lasting peace in the Middle East, and particularly enduring resolution of the Israelo-Arab conflict, has been designated a World Heritage site by the UNESCO. The compound lies in the Old City of Jerusalem.
However, Israel has reportedly been making life very difficult for the Palestinians, numbering about 400,000, who were born and living in Jerusalem, but who were only given permanent residency status rather than citizenship, and by not only effectively controlling, but also Judaising the Old City and the whole of East Jerusalem. Israel is on record to have built not less than 12 well-fortified Jewishonly illegal settlements in East Jerusalem in which more than 200,000 Israelis live.
Besides, the Israeli takeover of the Mosque can also be explained and understood within the context of the significance of the Mosque: the Muslims see it as Islam’s third holiest site and the Dome of the Rock, as a seventh-century structure, where Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. For the Jews, the compound is where the Biblical Jewish temples once stood ‘but Jewish law and the Israeli Rabbinate forbid Jews from entering the compound and praying there, as it is considered too holy to tread upon’ (vide http://www.aljazeera, 6 December, 2017).
Being an Ambassador of Nigeria is good but cannot be good enough without also becoming an Ambassador for Christ because of life after death, because of eternity, because the world is coming to an end and because it will not profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul.This was the epicentral message generally underscored in all the activities organised to celebrate the Passing Away to Glory of Ambassador Adeniji, a diplomatic functionary per excellence. It is well with his soul. Adieu!