10 genuine Nigerian heroes I would like to erect statues in honour of

Ayo Akinfe

As statues of slave traders and colonisers are being pulled down globally, people are erecting those of genuine heroes like this one of Crazy Horse, the Lakota chief, who fought European annihilation of his people with passion. When leading his men into battle, Crazy Horse used to say: “Hóka-héy! Today is a good day to die!”

I ask myself how many of our Nigerian icons and heroes have statues and monuments erected in their honour? Surely, Nigeria should be taking advantage of the current mood to sell herself as a tourist destination for those genuinely interested in African history.

I like the idea Rochas Okorocha accidentally stumbled upon when he decided to build statue parks in Imo State. I want to see one state governor take up the gauntlet and build a dedicated tourist haven, fully secure, with statues of the following 10 national heroes:

(1) Jaja of Opobo – For me, he was the first genuine nationalist in Nigeria. The only monarch to oppose British “Protection.”

(2) Oba Nogbaisi Overanmi of Benin – He is the most poignant symbol of African military resistance to British conquest. Our own Dedan Kimathi or Sitting Bull

(3) Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti – First Nigerian to represent us at an international women’s conference, the first Nigerian woman to drive, the first female politician, etc. If you want a symbol of girl power and women’s rights, here it is

(4) Alhassan Dantata – I do not think he gets enough credit for his Kano groundnut pyramids. He was the first commercial farmer in Nigeria and showed that we can process our agricultural produce if we want to

(5) Obafemi Awolowo – He needs no introduction. First African TV station, our first skyscraper, our first stadium, free education, free healthcare, etc are all his legacies. A man who thought about 50 years ahead of his time

(6) Louis Ojukwu – Another business guru not given enough credit. Do you know he was the founder and first chairman of the Nigerian Stock Exchange? When then Princess Elizabeth visited Nigeria in 1956, it was his car that was used to ferry her around as he had Nigeria’s only Rolls Royce at the time

(7) Jaja Nwachukwu – He was Nigeria’s first ever permanent representative at the United Nations, our first ever speaker of the House of Representatives, the first foreign minister and our first ever aviation minister. For me, his greatest legacy was founding Nigerian Airways. Sadly, we have sullied his memory by destroying it

(8) Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa – Despite his political sins by presiding over the collapse of the First Republic by allowing corruption and election rigging to take over his government, Balewa should be credited as the man who turned Lagos into what it is today. Unilag and Victoria Island for instance were both Balewa’s personnel initiatives. His problem was his hands were tied by the fact that he was not the president of the NPC, so he could not control the criminals in his party

(9) Muhammadu Ribadu – Another unsung hero. He was our first defence minister who sadly died in 1964. When the British left, the did not leave any air force. It was Ribadu who built the Nigerian Air Force from scratch with no whiff of corruption when it came to aircraft purchases

(10) Emmanuel Ifeajuna – Despite his sins given his role in the January 1966 coup, Ifeajuna cannot be erased from Nigeria’s history as he won our first ever international gold medal when he emerged the winner of the high jump competition at the 1954 Commonwealth Games. He gave us a sense of belief that we could compete and win anywhere on earth. We should regard him as a patriot that later went astray