‎Herbert Macaulay’ll question corruption in Nigeria if he were alive – Bode George

By Chinelo Obogo
‎
‎Former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),Bode George, has said that the late Herbert Macaulay would question the inequality and corruption in Nigeria if he were still alive today.

‎George had on Thursday in his Lagos office, reacting to the presidential pardon granted the late activist by President Bola Tinubu, described Macaulay as the father of Nigerian nationalism and that what made him remarkable was his choice to stand against injustice when it was far easier to conform.

He said Macaulay could have enjoyed comfort and prestige under colonial administration but that he chose to challenge exploitation, and to speak truth to power.

‎George said after completing his studies in England in 1893, Macaulay returned to Nigeria and began working as a surveyor for the colonial government but that that it was there that he saw firsthand the ‘hypocrisy’ of British colonial policy which he said preached civilization while practicing subjugation.

“Macaulay witnessed how the resources of Nigeria were siphoned off to enrich the metropole, how local voices were silenced, and how the dignity of Africans was routinely trampled upon. His conscience rebelled. By 1898, he resigned from government service, choosing instead to become a private surveyor and a relentless critic of colonial misrule. Through his writings, his speeches, and his activism, he began to awaken a sleeping people,” George said.

George said Macaulay believed that leadership must not be about privilege, but about purpose and that in his time, he took risks and was imprisoned twice by the colonial government, yet he never wavered.

“In a time when Africans were treated as subjects rather than citizens, when political participation was limited to a handful of elites, Macaulay dared to create an organized platform for collective political expression. Through the NNDP, Macaulay contested and won seats in the Lagos Legislative Council multiple times, giving Nigerians their first taste of political participation within a colonial framework. He transformed protest into politics and politics into a movement.

“As the nationalist movement matured, Macaulay’s vision found new life through his alliance with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Together, they co-founded the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944, a movement that would later become the dominant nationalist party leading Nigeria toward independence. Even at the age of eighty, Macaulay was on the front lines, traveling across the country to mobilize Nigerians for unity and self-determination. He saw in Azikiwe and others the continuation of the struggle he had begun. He embodied the principle that true leadership is not about personal glory, but about building institutions and nurturing successors. He died in 1946, in Kano, while on a political campaign for national unit, a patriot to his final breath.

“If we truly seek to honor Herbert Macaulay today, we must not do so with mere words or statues. We must embody his principles in our politics,in the integrity of our elections, in the transparency of our governance, and in our commitment to justice for all Nigerians.

“Let us reflect honestly: what would Herbert Macaulay say if he were to walk the streets of Lagos or Abuja today? Would he not ask why, after decades of independence, our politics still too often serve the powerful instead of the people? Would he not question why corruption and inequality still rob Nigerians of their potential? Would he not urge us to rekindle the spirit of service that once defined our struggle for freedom?

“In his time, Macaulay was vilified by the colonial press, labeled a troublemaker, even imprisoned. But history has vindicated him. Herbert Macaulay did not live to see independence, but he built the road toward it. He was not only a leader of men; he was a mentor of youth. He believed the youth were the true custodians of national destiny. It is to the Nigerian youth of today that I direct this challenge: take up the mantle. Reject apathy. Demand accountability. Organize for reform. Let your generation be remembered as the one that completed the work Herbert Macaulay began. Do not allow cynicism to rob you of purpose,” he said.

The members of Macaulay’s family who were present at the press conference were Erelu Adeola Macaulay, Lanre Oshodi, Mayokun Thomas, Kofoworola Macaulay, Adeyinka Macaulay, Ayo Ogunlana and Turi Akerele.