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Professor Bart Nnaji’s book
Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
The capacious Enugu International Conference Center was filled to the brim on Friday, July 17, when Prof Bart Nnaji’s birthday symposium, ‘Powering Tomorrow: 70 Years of Engineering the Common Good’, took pride of place.
It was impressive to see the crème de la crème of Nigeria assembled and taking charge with remarkable ease.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidential chat, moderated by the Editorial Board Chairman of ThisDay newspaper, Olusegun Adeniyi, was a success.
The opening speech by His Royal Highness Khalifa Dr Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano, was delivered with unusual grace and cadence.
The Chief Guest, Governor Peter Mbah, introduced Enugu State as the most accommodating dreamland of all Nigerians.
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, in whose domain Professor Nnaji’s geometric power group is located, has been resourceful as ever.
The man who is the problem in Nigeria today, Peter Obi, has stood out amidst all the attention.
The celebrant, Prof Bart Nnaji, was beaming with his lovely wife, Mrs Agatha Nnaji, alias OsoDi.
The event also marked the presentation of the book, Bart Nnaji – The challenge of facing the futurethat I wrote.
To borrow the words of the legendary poet Christopher Okigbo, I was “the shrub among the poplars/Needing more roots/More sap to grow up to the sunlight/Thirsty for sunlight/A low growth in the forest.”
When the reviewer of the book, Professor Okey Ndibe, who flew in from the United States with his lovely wife Sheri, asked me to stand up to be recognized, I disappeared!
His Eminence Eze (Dr) Eng. Eberechukwu Kanu Oji, Eze Aro IX, the 9th monarch of the ancient kingdom of Arochukwu took upon himself the task of presenting the book of Bart Nnaji – The challenge of facing the future.
After the event, my mischievous friends teased me about making a lot of money, but I can’t get tired of telling them that the book is not a money-making exercise at all.
I believe in the philosophy of the great music producer of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, the American Quincy Jones who said: “God leaves the room when you think about money”.
The joy for me is having the chance to work with a man of integrity, Prof Bart Nnaji, a character everyone would like to be associated with.
Initially the challenge was to understand the size of the book to be written: whether to write a large tome claiming to contain all of Prof Nnaji’s global findings or reduce the book into a concise volume to inspire general readers.
A long-time associate of Prof Nnaji, Dr. C. Don Adinuba, former Information Commissioner of Anambra State, advised me to follow the course of conciseness advocated by Dr Stanley Macebuh, CEO and founder of The Guardianwho had stated that any writer who cannot address his subject in 800 words knows nothing about it!
It is much easier to transcribe the entire interview and publish it as a thick book than to search for the true meaning to publish a thin book.
I made the hardest choice, hence the blurb: “Bart Nnaji: The challenge of facing the future it is more than a biography: it is a testament to determined leadership and a call to action for all who believe in a greater Nigeria.”
The books that change history are short and sharp texts like De Motu Cordis by William Harvey, a 70-page classic from 1628 AD that developed life-saving insights into blood circulation, the pumping heart, and one-way blood flow.
Professor Nnaji’s work in helping humanity meet the challenge of the future can shake up history like that of Thomas Paine Common senseA A 40-page up-setter that pushed American colonists to cry for independence, thus killing the decadence of British colonialism and shattering the then prevailing supports of the monarchy.
There is yet another thin book inside Civil disobedience by Henry David Thoreau who promoted individualism by condemning slave ownership by proclaiming, “The best government is that which governs not at all.” Call it an article and not a book, but it changed history!
Karl Marx wrote the big book Capitaland wondered aloud if that was the case he could earn the cigar money spent to write the tome, but he won half the world when he collaborated with his aide Friedrick Engels to write the slim book, THE Communist poster, That he exhorted humanity to revolutionary frenzy with the immortal words: “Workers of the world unite, there is nothing to lose but your chains!”
Bart Nnaji: The challenge of facing the future was released at a critical time when the future hangs on artificial intelligence (AI).
It is good for Nigeria that the country has Prof Bart a Nnaji at its centre, a guru who mastered the subject many years ago.
Prof Bart Nnaji’s wife, Agatha, told the insightful story of the couple visiting South Africa only for an arrogant scientist to deign to explain e-Design to Bart until he had to tell the aspirant that he was actually speaking to an e-Design innovator, a clear case of a catechumen teaching the Pope’s catechism!
The point is that Nigeria must tell its story now, before it is commandeered by others like lions without historians against hunters.
State governors with their eagle eyes on the future, such as Lawyer Peter Mbah of Enugu State and Dr Alex Otti of Abia State, are already building smart schools.
The publishers of Bart Nnaji: The challenge of facing the future, Narrative Landscape Press Limited, Lagos, cannot fail to see that work is done by ensuring that the book on visionary leader Prof Bart Nnaji is provided in the curriculum to win the future.
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