There Was A Country, There Was Also A Great Man And His Name Was Tai Solarin
From the 60’s to the early 90’s in Nigeria, there was a colossus who loathed corruption and injustice. He was the foremost champion of spartanism, humanism and welfarism. He was also a man of unbelievable candour, ensample of noble ideals, friend of the indigent, a epitome of selflessness and an campaigner for social justice
This man was among the first sets of social activists in Nigeria. He loathed all kinds of discrimination, inequalities and bigotry, thus he was ever ready to suffer for the sake of others , share in their misery, identify with the vulnerable, stand with the poor, defend the rights of the oppressed and pitch his tent with the weak and helpless without expecting rewards. He was always unequivocal on the side of diligence, justice and truth. He constantly advocated for a just and equitable Nigeria where people can thrive according to their contributions. A strong proponent of merit and fairplay, he was often petrified that primordial criteria were used in public office recruitment, appointments, placement, promotion and even admission to public schools. He found it absurd that Nigeria could not reward the deserving appropriately. To him none but the fair or brave deserved the best, hence all his life he championed just rewards for decent and hardworking people. He loved education with a passion, because he believed who ever gives education gives life and that education was the vital foundation for development. No wonder till his last breath, he persistently campaigned for free education for all Nigerians irrespective of religion, ethnicity or social status. That the only University of Education in the south west was named after him is a testimony to his passion for education. An embodiment of principles and a paragon of honesty, he set lofty and towering antecedents for students at May Flower, Western Nigeria and Nigeria for about four decades.
This man‘s name was Augustus Taiwo Solarin popularly known worldwide as Uncle Tai. Tai derived immense pleasure in selflessly and fearlessly advocating for a better Nigeria ,an action borne out of genuine , earnest and heartfelt concern about the state and future of the nation and the future generation. he was He fanatically propagated the essence of common good, civility and good governance and was shocked at the seeming silence, docility and complicity of the leaders and the people at Nigeria’s mindboggling human, social and public deterioration. Tai Solarin abhorred mediocrity, indolence and minimalism. Never subservient to clannish loyalties, ulterior motivations and compromising standards, he once rejected his son’s admission at May Flower because he didn’t score up to the qualifying marks. A tenacious and tireless individual with the unparalled belief that with the desired efforts, perseverance and focus, any goal is attainable. His masterpiece, May your roads be rough which he penned on 1st January 1964 is still a reference point today for the values of courage, perseverance and hard work against all odds and challenges.
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Tai Solarin disliked and was the most relentless and strident critic of military rule and its attendant squandering of the country’s resources, erosion of values, degeneration of society, truncation of its potentials and termination of the aspirations of its people Little wonder he always clashed with and was detained by all military regimes. From his query to Gowon in 1974 over his refusal to hand over, a move that earned him 32 days in the military gulag, his criticism of Buhari’s lack of a transition to civil rule agenda, which saw him cooling off in jail for seventeen months to, his skirmishes with Babangida’s deceptive and Abacha’s bestial regimes. A man of peace who disliked violence in all forms, he was the Nigerian civil war’s most ardent critic, and was among the first set of people to visit the east after the war and returning with several Ibos, to study at May Flower without cost.
He believed leaders must live above board, and despised mismanagement. He could not comprehend how leaders live in luxury while the people wallow in abject squalor. He enthused that leadership is sacrifice and that quote was emblematic of his enduring ideal. He frequently waged dogged battles against corrupt and insensitive public officials. He was the boldest critic of Gowon’s unwarranted wedding at the height of the civil war, an action that earned him six months detention. He constantly alerted the nation about the missing N2.8billion oil money in 1978 and was the most persistent and unremitting critic of the profligate Shagari, draconian Buhari and squandermania Babangida regimes. Tai Solarin can be described as the first real social critic and activist in Nigeria. He introduced a pragmatic dimension to social advocacy in Nigeria with his weekly tirades at Evans square in Lagos, anti corruption, responsive citizenry and good governance sermons on molues, buses, roadside etc, one man placard carrying protest strategy and the nation’s longest running column “state of the nation” in the Tribune newspapers.
Tai Solarin set inimitable precedents for public officers by holding the record for being the only Nigerian (dead or alive) to voluntarily resign from two public positions in 1977 as commissioner for public complaints (Ogun, Oyo and Ondo States) because he was caught driving without a license and in 1992 as Chairman, Peoples Bank because of the reluctance of then President Ibrahim Babangida to prosecute someone stealing the bank ‘s funds, a move deliberately engineered to embarrass and discredit him. Tai Solarin was nobody’s stooge, even as Peoples Bank Chairman he was always highlighting and condemning the grandiose corruption of the IBB regime. He never received a kobo at home and abroad in his about four decades of human rights activism. How many people can recollect the description of Tai Solarin as the conscience of the nation in the 70’s and 80’s?? How many Nigerians can remember the one man struggle that Tai Solarin waged against the indiscriminate abandoning of corpses on the streets of Lagos and South western Nigeria in the 70’s and early 80’s , an act that earned him the moniker GBOKUGBOKU? .That was the vintage, irrepressible and unputdownable Tai Solarin for you.
Uncle Tai was never known to capitulate to ephemeral inducements, paradise l accountrements and corporeal appurtenances. He was also never given to voluptuous habit, lascivious tastes and ephemeral pursuits, He lived a spartan, simple and modest live devoid of self-aggrandizement and ostentation. Not a person to accumulate wealth, he was more concerned with leaving a good legacy for future generations, what history will say about him and how he will be judged long after his demise. Uncle Tai, being human definitely had his weaknesses and faults, most especially the momentary lapse of wearing agbada during one better life for rural women programme, but regardless of that, not only did he stand out from the crowd, but he was also hundreds of miles apart from his all his legion of haters and traducers,
Tai Solarin was a rare breed, a pacesetter, whose style, character and vigour was simply out of our world. He was a quintessential, unconventional, incorrigible, indefatigable, illustrious and enigmatic personality with substantially indelibly invaluable and invaluably indelibly substantial contributions to humanity. A great area that Tai Solarin showed immense passion was for youths. . He was full of faith, hope, and belief in the great roles Nigerian youths can play as catalysts for social change, rejuvenation and development of Nigeria. His life was an open book. He was a man of honor, he was a man of his words, who practiced exactly what he preached and lived more by example and less by precept. Never in the history of this country has one man stood for and symbolized fervor for truthfulness, virtue, uprightness, honor, and integrity like Tai Solarin.. Although, he was an atheist ,but he was far more humane, selfless, tolerant and considerate than the array of businessmen, extortionists, palace courtiers and impostors masquerading as religious leaders
Today, 27th July, 2021 makes it 27years since his death and Nigeria and Nigerians seem to have virtually lost their souls. It is very important in these very dark times when there seems to be no sign of light at the end our tunnel, to recollect and tell the youths of today that Nigeria was once a virile and vibrant country dominated by humane, altruistic and selfless people and leaders. These people neither lost their conscience nor their heart. They were not steeped in the cauldron of insensitivity and callousness and inebriated in the altar of stomach infrastructure. These were men like Uncle Tai and today we need to remember, ponder over and celebrate the legacies, life, ideals and times of this great, unforgettable and exceptional Nigerian Hero, Social Reformer and Role Model Augustus Taiwo ‘Tai” Solarin for posterity sakes..
Augustus Taiwo "Tai" Solarin (20 August 1922 – 27 July 1994) was a Nigerian humanist, educator and activist. He established the famous Mayflower School, Ikenne, ...