On the final day of his official visit to Saint Lucia, Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu underscored the transformative role of education in the fight against poverty, paying tribute to the legacy of Nobel laureate Sir Arthur Lewis at the college that bears the name of the esteemed economist.
“There is nothing like education to fight poverty,” Tinubu told an attentive audience at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) on Tuesday.
With 25 students in attendance and others joining virtually, the event brought together faculty, government officials, and specially invited guests. It provided an opportunity to reflect on the shared and evolving academic legacies of Nigeria and Saint Lucia.
Among the speakers were Saint Lucia’s Minister for Education Shawn Edward, Chairman of the Board of Governors at SALCC Cletus Springer, SALCC Vice Principal of Academic Affairs Dr Winston Phulgence and Naeem Philbert, President of the SALCC Students’ Council. The speakers drew parallels between the two countries’ contributions to global scholarship, highlighting Nigeria’s Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka, the first Black Nobel Laureate in Literature, and Saint Lucia’s distinction as having the highest number of Nobel laureates per capita of any independent nation, through economist Sir Arthur Lewis and poet Derek Walcott.
During his address to the Joint Sitting of the House of Assembly the day before, Tinubu proposed that the Saint Lucia-Nigeria relationship could develop into a platform for joint academic research and innovation.
Springer echoed this in his remarks at SALCC: “We believe there’s tremendous potential for partnership between our college and Nigerian universities… instituted in faculty exchange and joint research initiatives, digital innovation and the strengthening of technical and vocational contributions,” he said.
The event also featured cultural performances by SALCC students, including a spoken word piece by student poet Shyne Savory and a dramatic excerpt performed by a student ensemble.
Noting the presence of Nigeria’s Minister of Art and Culture, Hannatu Musawa, who accompanied Tinubu on his visit to Saint Lucia, the president expressed appreciation for the performances and extended a personal invitation: “On behalf of yourself, myself, and the country, I personally offer a trip, at their convenience, to come and mix with the talent that we have in Nigeria.”
Before leaving Saint Lucia, Tinubu is expected to meet with members of the local Nigerian community and conclude his visit with two days of private time.
How many people in St Lucia know that Sir Darnley Alexander played a pivotal role in shaping Nigeria’s legal system? He was good friends with president Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I have seen pictures of them together in Nigeria.
Sir Darnley left St Lucia in 1940 for England where he studied law – He was then asked to come to Nigeria in 1957 by Obafemi Awolowo a Nigerian politician who served as the first Premier of the Western region of Nigeria. He helped shape Nigeria’s legal system post independence and was a founding father of that country. He drafted most of Nigeria’s laws before and after independence.
He was chief justice from 1975 through to 1979 and served his adopted country very well. Sir Darnley loved Nigeria and spent most of his life over there serving Nigeria’s legal system with great aplomb and distinction. His family was from Soufriere though he was born in Castries in 1920. Did anyone care to take President Tinubu to visit where Sir Darnley Alexander was born? I think it would be imperative for them to do so to show the president where the great man originated.
I warmly applaud the president’s visit to our splendid island. There were also lots of soldiers that was sent to fight for Nigeria and Ghana during the late 1790s after the battle of Rablot.. That battle was fought by Flore Bois Gaillard on the hills of Soufriere. She decimated the French and the British and declared St Lucia a free state in 1795 thereby establishing the first republic in the Caribbean way before Haiti.
There was a ceremony last week to celebrate and commemorate her great achievements last week in Nottinghill London. I wasn’t able to attend but was able to see it on Facebook live. The gentleman who hosted the event gave a brilliant lecture about the revolution and the revolutionary Flore Bos Gaillard. Most of what that was revealed about her was made public for the first time. St Lucia have produced some great luminaries over the years and we need to honour them. I salute President Tinubu. Big Up Nigeria and St Lucia, we are one!