Download - Prof. adekanye celebrating a mentor at 70
1
Prof. Adekanye: Celebrating a Mentor at 70
By
‘Kayode Fayemi
Last Friday was civil-military relations scholar, Professor J. ‘Bayo Adekanye’s seventieth
birthday. Unlike my Egbons who had written birthday tributes before me – Eghosa
Osaghae (The Guardian, 19 August) and Segun Ayobolu (The Nation, 20 August), I
didn’t have the privilege of being his student at the University of Ibadan. I met ‘Oga’ as I
fondly call him - first in academic journals as a post-graduate student in International
Relations at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). Having picked an
early interest in a rare aspect of International Relations – Strategic/Military Studies, a
recurring name in many of the materials I encountered in relation to Africa in one of the
leading journal in the field, Armed Forces & Society, was J. ‘Bayo Adekson/Adekanye of
the University of Ibadan.
Upon completion of my Masters’ programme in International Relations, I went to the
University of Ibadan in search of Dr Adekanye, hoping to convince him to supervise my
doctoral thesis. I met him in the Department and he was so warm and receptive to an
impressionable young man he was meeting for the first time. He however explained his
inability to supervise my proposed thesis on Defence Spending/Military Expenditure in
Nigeria, due to an already planned sabbatical at the Dalhousie University in Canada. He
2
gave me a few ideas on how to proceed with my plans. When I
mentioned in passing that I might try the United Kingdom for doctoral studies, he quickly
suggested the name of Robin Luckham of the Institute of Development Studies,
University of Sussex, a renowned authority on the Nigerian military as a possible
supervisor. As it turned out, I ended up in the War Studies Department at King’s College,
University of London, again because Robin Luckham was on sabbatical at the Australian
National University in Canberra. But ‘Oga’ kept in touch throughout his time in
Dalhousie and upon return to Nigeria, monitoring my progress and acting as my
‘unofficial’ PhD supervisor. He could claim credit for my making as a scholar in the
same manner he could claim credit for the moulding of the Osaghaes, Ayobolus and the
Ofeimuns who were his students in Political Science at the University of Ibadan.
Unknown to many, ‘Oga’ could also claim other credits. Although my brother, Professor
Eghosa Osaghae counts Professor Adekanye’s a-‐political nature as a significant part of his
persona, “in the sense of keeping political science apart from participation in the political
process,” I am not sure I agree with this. Indeed, I can confirm without any fear of contradiction
that his deep sense of right and wrong occasioned by his religious fervour enabled him to also
play critical “behind the scene” roles only known to some of us in the struggle for freedom and
democracy in Nigeria. I shall illustrate my point. In the heat of Nigeria’s military dictatorship in
the 1990s, Professor Adekanye was a Research Professor and Resident Scholar at the Peace
Research Institute in Oslo, Norway (PRIO). While it is no longer news that I was involved in the
founding and running of the opposition radio during our time in exile, I can now reveal that
Professor Bayo Adekanye was one of my collaborators-‐in-‐chief. In my shuttle diplomacy
between United Kingdom and Norway, where the opposition Radio Kudirat operated from, he
was a key link between the democratic movement and elements within the Norwegian State
sympathetic to our cause. His links with the Norwegian African Institute in those heady days
provided us with a very critical platform of engagement in all our activities in Norway.
3
Hence, while ‘Oga’ may not shout at the rooftops about his
resistance to dictatorship and oppression, one cannot doubt his belief that committed
scholarship must provide the road map that will enable our people take control over their own
destinies and lives. Second, in everything he does, he believes that scholarship must contribute
to the transformation of the body politic so that it becomes a useful overarching framework
that promotes holistic development and democracy -‐ cultural, ecological, economic, political
and social. In short, for Professor Adekanye -‐ the scholar must link scholarship to political
activism, no matter how understated. Indeed, in my view – Professor Adekanye’s specialisation
in itself represents a political statement about his subliminal commitment to the liberation of
citizens from the clutches of oppression using scholarly tools. His intellectual demolition of the
‘military as modernisers’ thesis, which was the dominant thesis in civil-‐military relations in the
1970s served the cause of demystifying the military in the eyes of ordinary citizens and budding
scholars like me and provided ammunition for those opposed to the military in politics. By
always insisting on clarifying the sociological and institutional underpinnings of the military,
Professor Adekanye taught us early about a more nuanced assessment of the military which
does not treat the institution as a monolith or defines the military simply by the excesses of its
aberrant officer corps. But he never spared those excesses and his magisterial work on “The
Retired Military Phenomenon” represents one of his strongest assaults on the irresponsibility
and selfishness of the military caste in Africa whilst also underscoring how deeply entrenched
they have become in the polity.
In his writings and in my own personal encounter with him over the years, “Oga”
articulates the need for democracy to be relevant to the masses of African peoples as a means
of liberation from the scourges of capitalist exploitation, orchestrated by neo-‐liberal paradigms
and neo-‐colonial institutions. To date, he is perhaps one of the most influential voices in civil-‐
military relations and conflict/ethnic studies in Africa. He has also played some significant role
in peace and conflict studies particularly in divided and multi-‐ethnic societies as an adviser to
the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS. As a teacher, he has been a major source of
4
inspiration to a retinue of younger scholars across Africa like me. He has
brought to bear on the world of civil-‐military relations and conflict studies the weight of the
concerns expressed by African scholars on a consistent basis. Recalcitrant and impervious as
Western scholarship can sometimes be to things external to it, many of those concerns now
receive acknowledgement in civil-‐military relations, security sector governance and conflict
management in a routine manner.
Ultimately, what Professor Adekanye’s remarkable life has proved is that moral values
and intellectual ideas remain the key tools in the struggle for democracy and development, and
until the battle between democracy and authoritarianism is won at the ideological level, a clear
and decisive victory will still elude forces aspiring towards democracy at the barricades. This is a
sobering lesson for the present circumstance in which we find ourselves, and a reason why we
need the contribution of our thinkers to enable us fashion correct strategies in the struggle to
deepen this fragile democracy. It is clear now that the forces that were responsible for the crisis
in which Nigeria was plunged in the 1990s are still very much around. They are perfecting their
strategies for chaos and re-‐organising their foot soldiers for yet another assault on the forces of
freedom and democracy in our land under the guise of religiosity and terrorism. While we must
never let the perfect become the enemy of the good, we must also not delude ourselves that
we have arrived at the promise land.
One critical element in Professor Adekanye’s life is his infectious humility and
understated elegance. I should like to elaborate on this if only because it is a quality that is in
dire need in our current quest to rebuild and reposition the Nigerian state today, particularly
amid current uncertainties. Although far more knowledgeable than many of us about most
things, ‘Oga’ is never tired of seeking clarification on issues or asking for insights. He will knock
on all doors in his quest for knowledge. For Professor Adekanye, the search for good ideas
should not be hindered by age, gender, race, religion, ideology, ego and all the other issues that
have unnecessarily prolonged our underdevelopment. This is the hallmark of a great mind, and
5
we are encouraged by his example to be humble in our occupations,
professions and in our relationship with one another as we seek solutions to the manifold
problems that confront us.
Yet all of what I have written relates to the “Oga” Adekanye I know. It is not a
suggestion that he is blemish-‐less as only the Almighty retains such an attribute. But this is also
a tribute to his amiable wife, Professor Tomi Adekanye – my own political leader in the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN), who must claim part credit for my Oga’s success story. Even with
what some might consider as his foibles and faults, I have no doubt that in him the researcher,
the teacher and the silent activist come together with all of the ideals that can help us change
the way we think and act about scholarship, activism and democracy, social justice, human
rights and development.
It is a distinct pleasure to join in honouring and celebrating the life and works of – an
accomplished scholar, notable mentor, exceptional teacher, and pan-‐africanist ideologue.
Happy birthday to a beautiful mind.
Dr. J. ‘Kayode Fayemi, a civil-‐military relations scholar, is Governor of Ekiti State.