By writing repeatedly of crooks, we tend unfortunately to give to our readers the erroneous impression that our society is composed exclusively of crooks. By unceasingly showing rectitude in deficit, and the honourable being always defeated or disgraced, we inadvertently suggest to our readers that such virtues do not pay, that they only lead to inevitable defeat and despair, and that our people are doomed to anomy.

The kind of stories that will inspire those who read us, especially the children, and make them aspire too to lofty dreams will be those in this second category of creativity.

It is these stories of hope that will motivate our readers to believe in themselves; these stories that reflect their struggle, their probity, their stubborn refusal to surrender to anguish.

Let us show that, while there are many people trapped in the mire of our national life, there are also others, perhaps just a few, but who in spite of adversity, or even perhaps because of it, have challenged themselves to soar to remarkable heights through daring, and compassion.

I can think of numerous figures and incidents that can form the subject of such stories, and they come from all sectors of our national life.

We know of astounding acts that have been reported about farmers, soldiers, scientists, doctors, house wives, market women, students, and even down to poorly paid carpenters and taxi drivers.

So for instance, instead of a play about Abacha, why not Fela or his mother, Funlayo?

Along with the focus on kidnappers, what of the long parade of martyrs that we have in Tai Solarin, Ayodele Awojobi, Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Dr Adadevoh, and so on?

What of the young female athlete, Courtney Duke, who only recently voluntarily gave up the substantial monetary offer from the government, saying that serving her nation was sufficient glory for her?

When, oh when, shall we have stories celebrating the fifty intrepid girls who dared to break out of the shackles of Boko Haram?

In fact the examples are already there—and paradoxically even in Soyinka’s works too. When he turns away from fiction to faction, remember, as he does in his wonderful memoirs, the tone is always upbeat, always celebratory of victories. These heroes who are his alter ego are captivating because of their humour, their fearlessness their candour and their eloquence.

Another memorable instance is in Ola Rotimi’s play, Hopes of the Living Dead. Dealing here with actual history rather than myth or folklore, and based on the life of Harcourt White, Rotimi presents this moving drama of lepers in revolt against the authorities who have ordered their evacuation from the shelter they had been enjoying, without any alternative place by the authorities.

Let us have more of such accounts in our libraries.

Neither the present nor the future, in my opinion, can lift out of despair unless we as writers find and discover the tropes that will serve as encouraging beacons, as elixirs of inspiration, for those we claim to be writing for. “Find the good,” said Alex Hailey sometime before his death, “and praise it!”. It is the best way I believe that we as writers can help in the battle for our nation’s future, that is, by looking for the good and praising it.

So I am going to stop now by bringing you my last story. It will illustrate for you the kind of elevating virtues that some of our compatriots possess –the qualities of vision, intrepidity, tenacity, and faith.

I have made it the last story, because it concerns you directly, as you will see. I have doctored it deliberately for my own reasons, but I will make no further comments on it. Here we go:

From the 1980s, public universities in Nigeria were confronted with the malaise of frequent strikes and disruption of academic calendars. As a concerned citizen and committed parent, the Chief observed that these distractions could lead to the compromise of academic standards and the vulnerability of Nigeria’s academic environment with (sic) worthless certificates. During this period, the British Universities were no longer accepting Nigerian degrees either for postgraduate programmes or employment. The British wondered how Nigerian Universities would embark on strikes for six or more months and still award degrees to the students. At the same time, Nigerians had challenges with foreign exchange and so many parents could not get school fees across to their children in England….

[The Chief] deliberated with his wife, … and resolved that a private University must be established….But the journey to the establishment of the University was not an easy ride. Apart from the financial requirement, the process of getting the nod for its establishment by the Federal government took several years of patience and consistent pressure… But the chief worked assiduously and tenaciously, and finally, Certificate No. 001 was presented to him by the Minister of Education, Mr Olaiya Oni, at a colourful ceremony at Abuja on Monday, 10th May, 1999. This was how Igbinedion University became a reality, the first private university in the country…
This alone, you will agree, could form the subject of an epic. As his biographers say, “Chief Igbinedion has often said that he has no money but the capacity to borrow! He succeeds in reversing the theoretical sequence of commercial venturing and works incessantly to see it through. Once he decides to pursue an idea, he moves with lightening (sic) speed….When Chief Igbinedion pursues an idea, he does it with his might. He puts his whole soul into it (and)stamps it with his own personality… he eventually succeeds…He is not a University graduate, but today he has graduates, professors and [has] produced people in what he himself lacked…”

I rest my case. I am glad to have this opportunity to offer my own special congratulations to the man whose vision and generosity brought us here today. I salute the numerous others like him throughout the breadth of this country who are struggling and winning, unseen. Some day soon, I have no doubt, you will see a novel or a play celebrating your exemplary contributions to the progress of our country, some work by one of our gifted writers that will fire others to take after your footsteps…..

I thank you all for listening to me.

Being congregation Lecture delivered at Igbinedion University, Okada, on November 27 2014