Bolaji akinyemi biography of albert

After the moral and material support which Nigeria gave to the Angolan liberation struggle, the Federal Military Government cannot support any movement that seeks to hand the fruit of Angolan, indeed African labour, to the enemies of Angola and Africa. There is hardly any of our countries which, having emerged from colonialism to independence has not been subjected to subversion and other covert activities to promote instability.

Such a situation of political chaos helps to keep our countries weak and underdeveloped to the delight of the neo-colonialist who can always point to the inability of the Africans to rule themselves much less rule the white minorities in Southern Africa.

Bolaji akinyemi biography of albert: He taught as Senior Lecturer in

Yet, we know that peace is the most vital prerequisite for orderly development. As long as the neo-colonialists who pretend to be our friends succeed to set one section against another, they ensure thereby our continued dependence on them. We spend our meagre resources in maintaining and order, often to the advantage of the military-industrial complexes in the so-called developed world.

The gap between them and us then grows even wider, we become even weaker and create greater conditions for the interference of the developed countries in our domestic affairs. Another recent development has further heightened the danger of conscious sabotage of our independence by foreign powers. The monetary crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of the economies of the developed countries and the extent to which their prosperity has been built on our poverty.

The lower the prices we were paid for our natural resources the higher the prices we have had to pay for the manufactures made out of the same natural resources purchased from us: The result of the world economic crisis has forced the developed countries to face the realities of the interdependence of the world economy rather than the erstwhile presumption by them that they sustained the world economy by themselves.

The collapse of many supposedly buoyant economies has led to reactions which even found expression in threats to physically attack some developing countries to force down the price of their raw materials. Neither Europe nor America can endure a drop in its standards of living. The new weapon is no longer the Bible and the flag, but destabilisation and armaments.

Bolaji akinyemi biography of albert: Akinyemi joined the University of Ibadan

Africa, Mr. Chairman, should show its awareness of this new danger and see the Angolan situation not as an isolated affair but as part of the greater danger. In this circumstance, Mr. Agostinho Neto to take his place of honour among us. This step is not without precedent. Nigeria recalls with tremendous pride and satisfaction the noble role which this Organisation plays during our crisis.

The effectiveness of the role of the OAU rested on three key factors: First the insistence on non-interference by foreign powers. Secondly, the firm recognition of the Nigerian Federal Government as the only Government in the country.

Bolaji akinyemi biography of albert: Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, scholar, prolific

The easy and unprecedented reconciliation which has marked developments in Nigeria since is as much a tribute to the enlightened policy of the Nigerian Federal Military Government as it is a justification of the sensible approach to the OAU to the crisis. They were proved wrong in Nigeria, they will be proved equally wrong on Angola.

Chairman, Africa has Come of age. It is no longer under the orbit of any extra continental power. It should no longer take orders from any country, however powerful. The fortunes of Africa are in our hands to make or mar. For too long have we been kicked around: for too long have we been treated like adolescents who cannot discern their interests and act accordingly.

The time has come when we should make it clear that we can decide for ourselves; that we know our own interests and how to protect those interests; that we are capable of resolving African problems without presumptuous lessons in ideological dangers which, more often than not, have no relevance for us, nor for the problem at hand. Nigeria has come to this Assembly determined to co-operate with you, Mr.

Chairman, and with all member, States to put a stop to foreign interference in our Continental matters. As an African nationalist of distinction, I trust that your wise guidance will direct our deliberations to fruitful conclusions of which our peoples will be proud. At that time, Nigerian doctors, engineers, teachers and others were sent to help many African countries in terms of their manpower needs.

Beyond his deep-seated interest in scholarship, Professor Akinyemi who was the Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs for a decade signposted his tenure with several laudable and transformational initiatives. His role in bringing to an end the Chad-Libyan and the Mali-Burkina Faso wars will not be forgotten in a hurry.

At the home front, in addition to the numerous undertakings he championed, he also introduced the Technical Aid Corps Scheme which radically restructure the Nigerian foreign assistance programme, and internationally; he conceived and moved the concept of the Concert of Medium of Powers, which brought together middle powers to use their collective bargaining power to mediate disputes within the international system.

In this article. S, topping it with a Ph. In terms of persona, Prof. I will cite two instances. When I met Prof. Ibrahim Gambari in Washington D. Akinyemi, even as his predecessor in office. The Nigerian Ambassador to the U. Akinyemi, during his visit to U. My appointment later in life as a professor on the faculty of The Fletcher School in after my tenure at the Central Bank of Nigeria was something that gave Akinyemi a lot of pride.

More than many, he understood its particular significance. Akinyemi went on to study at the University of Oxford from tobagging a Doctor of Philosophy D. Phil at the age of He met and later married his wife Rowena Akinyemi, a British citizen. On returning to Nigeria and becoming a Lecturer and later Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Ibadan, his television interviews and newspaper articles caught the attention of military officers such as Murtala Mohammed and Ibrahim Babangida.