 It's a great honor indeed to have been invited to join you, the old boys of the Great Baptist Boys High School, the present students, and all our friends and colleagues of this college, at these centennial celebrations. The true test of an academic institution is the quality and achievements of its products, the quality and achievements of its products in life, in real life. And by this standard, BPHS is most certainly outstanding. A few minutes ago, we unveiled the commemorative centennial obelisk with the names of the distinguished centennials inscribed upon it. These 100 distinguished old boys selected from so many for special recognition, men who have attained national and international renown in academia, in the professions, in politics, and civil society. Because the list is only of 100, there are many and even more who are clearly deserving of the status, but were left out because of lack of space. What an incredible legacy. Truly newly seconded. I will be speaking for a few minutes on the subject values, the difference between success and failure. Values, the difference between success and failure. Let us adopt a very simple definition of what values means. Values are ethical principles by which individuals and communities live, work, and interact. So values include honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, perseverance, hard work, diligence, discipline, patience, respect, et cetera. As I mentioned earlier, the pantheon of old boys of BPHS is like a who is who in Nigeria. And His Excellency, the governor of Ogunstate, also made that point that when you read the list of old boys of BPHS, it's like who is who in politics, in the professions in civil society, in commerce and industry. But in order to establish the point that I would like to make today on this question of values, what makes the difference between success and failure as values, I'd like to refer to four old boys of BPHS, four old boys of BPHS, who have held high positions in the public service of Nigeria. And I'm only going to talk about four in the public service, not businessmen, not academia, just four in the public service. And I will explain why I want to talk about those four in particular. But let me repeat the point that it is values that determine the success or failure of individuals or societies. It is values, the values of hard work, discipline, integrity, trustworthiness, respect, patience, delay of gratification. These are the values that determine the success or significance that individuals or societies attain. I'll begin with the first of these four that I will mention. Chief of Bahfemiah Olo, GCFR, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, of the 1928 set of BPHS, the first premier of the then Western region. The first premier of the Western region was described as many of us know in death by Chief Emeka Odumegu Ojuku as the best president Nigeria never had. Pioneer of free education in Nigeria, investing over 41% of the Western region's budget on education alone. Built the first television in Africa, but not just in Africa. When Obafemiah Olo builds the first television station in the Western region, Canada did not have, Netherlands did not have, Belgium did not have, they did not have televisions at the time. So it was not just the first in Africa, it was the first in many parts of Europe and Asia. The tallest building at some point in time in Nigeria, it built the tallest building in Bahdur at the time, the Cocoa House, that was at some point, the tallest building, 26 stories. Farm settlements, road infrastructure, et cetera. He fought for true democracy and he clashed with the then national government and he rejected any moves to compromise his position on behalf of the Western region of Nigeria. He was unfairly jailed, but he remained resolute and did not concede his position until he was freed by the government then of General Yakubo Gowon. We'll leave Chief Obafemiah Olo over there. The next is Chief Oluseg Moabassonjo, GCFR, of the 1957 set of BBHS, a military president who set a standard of honor when he handed over power according to the promise made by his administration to an elected civilian government. And then he went on to become an elected president for two consecutive terms. Of course, many of us know that Obassonjo also ended up in prison unfairly and unjustly ended up in prison. But while in prison, he refused to compromise his position. He remained resolute until he was freed by the subsequent government. The third is Chief M.K. Wabiola, GCFR, of the 1956 set. His GCFR, as you know, was awarded posthumously. He won the presidential elections in 1993. And some say that was one of the freest, fairest elections, the history of our country. The then military government annulled the election and they expected him to surrender his mandate. He refused and in an act of tremendous courage because he had to face the military regime at the time, he not only declared himself president, he willingly went to jail. And while in jail, he refused to renounce his mandate until he died. I mentioned only these three men for now and I'm going to mention one more because they stood resolutely for principles. Even the face of great temptation to compromise, they made personal sacrifices. They suffered for their beliefs. They possessed something that set them apart from others. They seem to have imbibed something that made them so resolute, even in the face of fearful and daunting challenges. They remained adamant in the face of the temptation to compromise. They were extraordinary in that sense. Standing by one's belief and principles, even if it means pain or punishment, is a very special trait indeed. I'll spend a bit more time on the fourth example and this example, this fourth person is one, and the reason why I'm going to spend a bit of time on him is because he's one that I worked directly with. I worked with him for five years. He is His Excellency Prince Bola Ajibola, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Knight of the British Empire of the 1955 set, of the 1955 set of the Baptist Boys High School. He was one-time President of the MBA, was one-time Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federation. He served as a Judge of the International Court of Justice of the World Court and was also Nigeria's Ambassador to the United Kingdom. I was 30 years old, 30 years old, when I was appointed Special Advisor to Prince Bola Ajibola, then Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. This was my first experience in public service and in hindsight, it was my best introduction to public service. Georgia Ajibola was a man who had been tremendously successful as a lawyer and arbitrator and of course, as I said, ended up being the MBA President. But let me mention three defining events that I experienced and witnessed while working with him as his advisor. The first was a situation where a foreign contractor who had won a very lucrative contract from the federal government went to give his son, Prince Ajibola's son, who was in university in England at the time. This contractor went to give him a car, a golf car, brand new car. Prince Ajibola's son contacted his father that this person had sent a car to him and I can never forget how angry he was. He was so angry that I had to calm him down physically. I had to make him sit down physically because he was so angry. Not only was the gift returned, the contractor, the man was reported to his government, to the government of his country and I remember that his government had to make a special apology to our own government, and to Prince Ajibola. I remember that the man himself came to the ministry to apologize to the attorney general for offering a bribe to him. The second incident, the second incident was a commercial aircraft that was arrested in Nigeria for carrying drugs. The office of the attorney general, of course, was responsible for ensuring the arrest. A very successful lawyer whose name I must not mention claimed that he was acting as an intermediary for some interests who were somewhat connected to the aircraft and they came to the attorney general, Prince Ajibola, to offer him a large sum of money in foreign exchange. When I recall how Prince Ajibola shouted at that similar lawyer and ordered him out of his office, I still remember the shame and fear on the face of the man in later years. Now, the truth of the matter is that those two incidents were just two incidents that I mentioned, which showed that here was a man who believed that public service was public service and that bribes of any kind, whether it was bribe or thank you, was completely unacceptable and he set that very high standard even then. In later years, Bola Ajibola decided that his life work will be the establishment of a university. He sold every property that he had in Lagos at the time and moved his home to Abercuta here. He established the Crescent University with all the resources he had and I know because he's somebody who confides in me a great deal. And today, he owns, he runs that university, subsidizes most of the students because as you know, a university is not necessarily a lucrative business. And he said, himself said, when I asked him, why are you selling everything you have to establish a university? He said, at the end of the day, wealth means nothing if it doesn't positively impact the life of others. Wealth means nothing if it does not positively impact the life of others. Today, Bola Ajibola is in his home here in Abercuta, very old and frail. What is a satisfied man? The important thing that runs through all of the four persons I've mentioned is that they became significant and distinguished themselves because they were extraordinary human beings and they remain extraordinary. There are people who stand out because of what they imbibed here in this BPHS. They imbibed high standards, high standards of integrity, high standards of stubbornness even in the face of compromise. They were stubborn, refusing to compromise. And they also had high standards of trustworthiness trusted by people for what they believed in. But what is it that a school imbues in the students that makes them so outstanding in life? I submit that what makes individuals and societies great are values, values, integrity, hard work, trustworthiness. The difference between men and women who attain significance and those who do not is values. And I'm not talking about people making money. Any clown can make money. Money is not a measure. Anybody can make money. And there are so many people who have made money but attaining significance, attaining recognition, attaining the kind of position I'm placed that years and years afterwards, men and women will remember you and still say, surely this was a great person. That involves a bit more than just having money. And this is what we have seen that schools such as BPHS imbue in their students is the difference between successful countries. This is the difference between successful countries or failed or failing countries. It is the difference between success and failure. It is evident as we all know that huge deposits of natural resources and human talent alone do not make for prosperous nations. Otherwise the countries with the largest deposits of mineral wealth will be the most prosperous. Venezuela has one of the largest all deposits in the world. But the UN estimates that 94% of its citizens are poor. The Great Lakes region in Africa are some of the world's richest mineral deposits. Yet the countries in the region are some of the poorest in the world. On the other hand, the wealthiest countries in the world and those that have the most companies, the most enterprises, some listed on the world's stock exchanges, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Singapore have no natural resources at all. It is obvious that while geography might even play an important part in the success of people and communities, these are not the defining features. What distinguishes people, setting them apart one from another? What distinguishes nations is not just talent or material resources, it is values. Every one of the great and successful economies of the world share the same characteristics. They emphasize hard work and integrity. There's a public intellectual called Slecha who said that knowledge and skills have become the global currency of 21st century economics. Knowledge and skill have the global currency of 21st century economies. And there is no central bank that prints this currency. No central bank can print the currency of knowledge and skill. Everyone has to decide on their own how much they will print. The thing that keeps you moving according to Slecha is always what do you bring to the table yourself? Knowledge and skills, the man with knowledge and skills will rule over the man with undeveloped talents and material resources. This is why those who have knowledge and skills are the ones who come to our various countries to exploit mineral resources. Those who have knowledge and skills are the ones who come to our various countries to mine the resources. Knowledge and skills depend on education. How do you acquire this knowledge and skills only by hard work, only by education? How do you trade successfully? You must produce high quality manufactured goods that are trusted for performance and quality. Trustworthiness comes in. If you are manufacturing a plane or even an automated vehicle, it requires precision. You can't afford to be sloppy. And this is diligence. Now we have driverless cars that have been manufactured here and there. You need hard work, you need education, you need diligence. Even if you have all the raw materials to make the best vehicles, you cannot make them without skills, without knowledge. How do you become a preferred lawyer or counter diligence hardware? We've seen from the four examples of the BBHS old boys who are in public service and who are tamed significance and greatness that their success was not based on talent or opportunity alone. They all worked hard, but they showed courage and integrity. They fought for what they believed in. And in three of the four cases, they even went to jail for their beliefs or for reasons of their views or positions being considered threats to the authorities of the day. I believe that BBHS has showed that Nigeria can produce the highest quality individuals and run and that we can and that we can run the most efficient governments and private institutions. If we teach the right values in our schools, there's a need for a national consensus or at least an elite consensus. The political elite, the religious elite and the business elite must agree that our country will fail completely if we do not accept and implement an ethical revolution. One where we establish a national work ethic of honesty, of hard work, of thrift and the deferment of gratification. It is what is taught and learned that shapes the character of individuals and nations. But it's not just teaching. Governments must also lead this ethical revolution by rewarding ethical behavior and ensuring speedy punishment for misconduct. The religious elite, our religious elite must reinforce the ethical direction agreed by showing that wealth and influence are built by hard work and diligence and the deferment of gratification and not just by miracles. We must be able to demonstrate that it is not that wealth, good order, building institutions, don't come by just miraculous occurrence. But they come by building hard work step by step, line by line, precept by precept. That's what our religious leaders must teach. The religious elite must also reject and ostracize public officials and persons whose wealth cannot be explained or is clearly from shady or suspicious sources. It is a terrible thing indeed if the religious elite accept that public officers can give them money or can give them resources, which of course belong to the government. And they look the other way. The religious elite must ensure that they're able to say no. And this is all part of the national ethical consensus. As government does its own, as schools do their own, the religious elite also must do their own. Every modern society, everyone modern society has had to deal with corruption. Corruption is not a Nigerian thing. It's not. Sometimes we deceive ourselves, telling ourselves, oh, it is Nigerian. No, in fact, most countries of the world had more corruption than us, but their elite sat down and decided, we have to deal with this thing. If we don't deal with it, it will deal with us. There is no modern society today. And I challenge anyone to demonstrate to me any modern society that has not had to deal with corruption and to deal with it by the elite sitting down and saying, we have to agree. This is the way forward. We cannot continue to repeat the same things. We must enthrone minimum ethical standards to succeed. So let me end by congratulating again the old and current students of this outstanding institution for providing men of outstanding ethical standards through the years. And I wish you several more centuries of positive impact on Nigeria and the world. Thank you very much.