N.A.S. 13th Ralph Opara Memorial Lecture Goodwill Message on behalf of Ralph Oparaʼs Family by Ms. R. Chizoma Opara, February 4th 2022.
Good Afternoon Everyone, Awum Chizomam, ulu Ralph Opara, noyere unu taa na onye nga ya bu kwan Francesca Ralph-Opara [translated: I am Chizoma, youngest daughter of Ralph Opara, with my Mom, his wife Francesca Ralph-Opara] here with you today on behalf our family. It gives us delight to thank the National Association of Seadogs (N.A.S) for celebrating the legacy of my mother’s husband and our Dad, and for staying the course in seeking the upliftment of the truth, the redress of societal ills and reinstitution of tenets such as transparency, accountability and fair access which are tenets of a truly democratic society- and one built on democratic principles of freedom, equity, justice and law.
We reel at the critical touch points of this Annual Series and the most laudable initiative of the N.A.S in celebrating Dadʼs legacy. As a family, we both tearfully and lovingly remember in the humble acknowledgment of the 2 decades since his passing. And like all of you who have lost a loved one: Friend, sibling, parent, child, or spouse, and has picked up the pieces to strength fully advance into one tomorrow after the other, we lean heavily on tenets of our Faith, and the daily commitment to emulating his life’s values of: Love, creativity, character, discipline and above all, integrity.
Much like today’s luminous gathering astutely bemoans our beloved country Nigeria- the losses of structural integrity and transparency, condemns the malaise of impunity and advocates for a higher vigilance for enshrining the integral standards of a truly egalitarian society, we need not only the tools of faith, advocacy and commitment, but also of peaceable, active, direct action- in other words ‒ the tool of Nonviolence as a force for good and an indispensable tool of Social Action and Change .
Instrumental to this is the Clarity and re-grounding of the tenets that NAS holds true: Brotherhood (& sisterhood), human rights & social justice and the outright condemnation of VIOLENCE in all forms: Emotionally or spiritually, internally or in its external physical forms- which my father would out rightly condemn in all of its forms. WHY? BECAUSE: As Gandhi would say, an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. [Mahatma Gandhi.] (And those who live by the sword die by the sword) For violence begets violence, and even while the response to nonviolence might temporarily be more violence, we see that the end- even in the functioning but imperfect yet admired democracies around the world- the walk to that hill of democratic freedoms and rights was and is fraught with struggle, and a historical account of great violence and deeper suffering. Nonviolence begets violence because the reaction of fear, anger and loss of control is an out lash. And the turn up of the vice (and voices) to stymie and to control, and those vices can only grip for so long. Ask the people of Burma, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Rwanda. It takes a whole commitment of self to the exercise and practice of nonviolence.
Nonviolence necessarily begets violence in its unfolding as a FORCE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE. Ask the men, women and children who walked with Gandhi on the Salt March; the Voters’ March and Children of Birmingham Alabama in the 1950s; ask the South African voters who elected Nelson Mandela in the Nineties, and ask brothers and sisters felled in October 2020 at the Lekki Bridge, Lagos. Violence is fuelled by hate, anger, fear, greed, and control. Yet persistence on the path of nonviolence must be fuelled by immovable discipline and an unwavering commitment.
The Pen is Mightier than the sword; and my father believed and lived it.
- Informing his people and educating the masses. In his selfless commitment to giving voice to news, information, and education, he lived each day the 3 critical steps of Kingian Nonviolence: Information Gathering, Education and Commitment.
So is this gathering, and so too is the National Association of Seadogs in extolling the voices that can inform, educate, advocate, question, and simultaneously provoke and challenge not only the out thereʼ larger society but each of us as individual parts of this whole integrous Nigeria we seek to build. As the scholarly speakers Misters Itodo and Osaze-Uzzi will articulate, the tenet of power imposition and disdain for the VOICE in the VOTE of the people can be tackled by the dispel of disinformation and the direct challenge of the intransigent. With the tools that we have and we can learn in the empowerment of the people in knowledge of their rights and the redemptive power of the VOTE, we MUST believe that it counts for something.
Direct and vocal action such as public protests and demonstrations is but ONE in the over one hundred and ninety (190) means of nonviolent social action, and we must applaud NAS for digging deep into that well of (possible) channels- through education, advocacy, awareness raising and social engagement.
The path of nonviolence is the path of most resistance: Ask Gandhi G of India, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, our very own Ken Saro-Wiwa, and most notable, Dr. King of the United States.
- In the journey to independence- and the dispel of forces of discrimination, voter suppression- the pursuit of voter information and registration, liberty of the voter and freedom to the ballot, the experiences of fledging and nascent democracies around the world reflect the commitment to nonviolence around that path and windy road to an egalitarian society and true democracy.
Let us not grow weary in the good fight. But let us also remember that the “fight” is NOT one of physical weapons and war, but in the committed pursuit of truth, courage, and justice in the educational, social, and economic emancipation of its people.
- That’s a commitment my father made in his lifetime, and one we are called to make in ours- as part of the legacy for all generations to come.
Thank you, Misters Itodo and Osaze-Uzzi. Thank you everyone that made the time to be here. Essay -for all you steadfastly do; Capoon Abiola, leaders, and members of N.A.S- for re-aligning to the true North of the organization- to call out and curb elements of separation manifest in colonialism, tribalism, and elitism.
Renowned as he was in the language of the educated and literate, he was very much rooted in the grounds of his ancestral heritage ‒ where he rests now- and the reminder in the language he also taught us, I say to each of you, “ehhehh, unu emela” (greeting in Owerri dialect, translated to mean) “you have done a good thing. Thank you!”
