Oye Akintola Arikawe (1964-2024): A liberalist left with the mark of Kindness. A Tribute. By Jimoh Ibrahim CFR

He was a kind person, a liberalist and a gentleman who was focused on every issue of life. He will not be ready to satisfy everyone because He is not the Lord Jesus Christ. But he proved he knew what to do with many issues in the life dashboard. He was a liberalist and undotted in whatever he believed in, and for a long time, as if he knew he would soon depart the sinful world, He was to himself in righteousness such that we knew He would make heaven. A super achievement beyond the colossus He was on earth. Egbon mi, Oye Akintola Arikawe good night. The liberalists argued the exigence and the compelling collaboration and corporations in the ordering for international peace and security arising from the challenges of food and hunger; this is so because of the liberal belief that global politics is about more than the maximisation of power and wealth or security. The issues of food insecurity and hunger must be approached, and liberals are convinced that individuals and states are capable of cooperating even though the international system is anarchic.

Oye Arikawe, like Grotius and Kent, the acclaimed father of international law, explained the causes of war (jus ad bellum) and conduct in war (jus in bello). They explained that most states have a deeply rooted obligation to create and respect rules. The collective interest of the international society. This is so for man’s nature as a rational and social creature. It gives rise to a commitment to reciprocity in international dealings. They posited that states, despite the anarchic nature of the global system, could bring about a sense of perpetual peace. States can create percentual peace, and the need for the maximum corporation to avert the danger of food insecurity and hunger is imperative as Kent further listed three essential conditions for engagement: ‘a republican constitution’, ‘conditions of universal hospitality’, a ‘federation of free states. In Kent’s argument, the most critical aspect of food security is the ‘conditions of universal hospitality’, which is the basis for states to protect against food insecurity and hunger.

Oye Arikawe, who studied Government, Economics and Geography at an advanced level at the Ondo State College of Art and Science Ikare alongside Akintola Aliu Jimoh (of blessed memory) and Gbenga Oresanjo, advanced the arguments in support of Thomas Hobbes or the Hobbesian theory of man aggressiveness in the state of nature they agreed with Thomas Hobbes that a world without government, forces humanity into a constant state of war because there is no way to trust in the excellent peaceful intention of others. We must always be on the ground, lest we be attacked. This condition in which no ruler or judge can resolve disputes and establish security is anarchy. In a lawless world, Hobbes argued that our life must revolve around survival, leaving no time for agriculture, the art, or the sciences of anarchy. Hobbes concluded that “man’s life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Oye Akintola’s belief in the Hobbesian argument explains his behaviours of always supporting the government and institutions or constituted authorities, and he would rather obey all laws once they are from the Leviathan.

Egbon Oye was in my house in Dubai recently, and as usual, I saw him fully complying with the Leviathan rules. We discussed his incredible respect for government, power, and politics. He was of great interest to Bola Tinubu’s success at the poll (then). We engaged this discussion further as I disagreed with his belief in the power of the Leviathan. I told Egbon Oye then that with the incredible failure of Buhari, Boko Haram remains a critical challenge. I argued that Boko Haram underscored the Hobbesian thesis of man’s aggressiveness in the state of nature and the Nigerian government’s failure to provide public goods. In my opinion, this precipitated the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgency. As a result, the citizen contests their right to life (in danger), withdrawing their loyalty and support from the government and the armed forces. The current praxis explained the power shift from the Nigerian government to the identified local group (Boko Haram). The change, as I argued, is accompanied by continued violence between soldiers and the insurgent, resulting in mass civilian casualty, genocide, systemic rape, and unquantifiable property destruction, fostering insecurity. Egbon Oye asked me a question in the presence of his visitors, “Ibrahim, and I answered … yes sir, and he asked, “When will you stop reading.”

Egbon Oye was never a realist who posited that international politics revolves in essential ways around acquiring and exercising power. The aggressive accusation of power prevents the seed of conflicts or a state of statism. This plays out in the intellectual origins of the realist paradigm, which lay in the classical world. For example, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War is set in the context of Athens’ war with Sparta over hegemony in the Mediterranean world in 431−404 BC. The realist further argued that international institutions to which the liberalist relied on collaboration have no power. They can only act for the power that created them. Thomas Hobbes explained the imperativeness of the state as absolute since the international system is anarchic. He explained that the nature of man requires those laws enacted by the Leviathan to be respected otherwise, and according to him, the state of nature is bellum omnium contra omnes (‘war of all against all). This argument raises the bar of sovereignty and the imperative power of the hegemon.

If you want to understand Egbon Oye, read the life and times of the liberalists. He wanted cooperation and collaboration in all issues of life. He tried to support or provide support; he wanted democratic peace. He planned to return to Igbotako for the rest of his life, perhaps to teach occasionally at the University of Fortune. On the two plots of land he bought from another liberalist family, Otunba Oyin Famodun (of blessed memory). He built his house in one and gave the other one to the Mountain of Fire and Miracle, his church. On one occasion, when I was running for the senatorial election, He came looking for me, and we met at the University of Fortune site in Igbotako. He asked me how He could help. I told him, Sir, all was going well and that you had come looking for me, which was sufficient. Egbon Oye, give me one million Naira to support my election. He knows I am rich, but it matters not to him a liberalist; he did what he had to do in human kindness. I know he will be greatly missed by the Arikawe family home and abroad. Still, I took symmetry in that we exchanged notes in Dubai on the family’s progress. I must thank God he has a very supportive wife who will carry on the excellent work. Egbon Oye, my senior in secondary school (Igbotako Community Grammar School), was a gentleman of excellence, a leader, and a supporter of the Bible. adieu esun re o egbon mi!

Ibrahim is a Federal Republic of Nigeria Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Inter-parliamentary Worldwide. He holds PhD in Management Science from the University of Cambridge and another PhD in Modern War. The Federal Government of Nigeria has honoured him twice with OFR and CFR.