THE KEYNOTE SPEECH BY DR. BEN E. IDOWU, SR., D.O

SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Nigerian independence, self-sufficiency, family importance, raising kids, population growth, education importance, family breakdown, responsible parenting, contract for parents, national independence, celebrating achievements, future generations, child education, family unit, national development.

Mr. President, distinguished ladies, and gentlemen, all you well wish of Nigeria, fellow Nigerians, my dear sisters, and brothers, Happy 64th Nigerian independence!!!

The independence of a nation is indeed something to celebrate.

Independence means a lot of things, including.

• The ability to be self-sufficient,
• The ability to call your own shots,
• Freedom to make your own decisions,
• Freedom to decide your own fate or to choose your destiny.

For these and more similar reasons, a nation’s acquisition of independence is worth celebrating, and today we are not going to do any different for our Beloved Nigeria.

Today, we are celebrating Nigeria’s 64th birthday.

At any birthday celebrations, we rejoice with the celebrant. We do not criticize the celebrant. Instead, we reflect on the achievements of the celebrant. So today, we shall do the same for our celebrant, Nigeria and nonetheless, we shall save some time to talk about how our celebrant, Nigeria can be even more independent, because the more independent Our celebrant is, the better it is for us, for the country, for our off springs and even for the world.

When I was asked to give this keynote speech, I graciously and humbly accepted and I took the liberty of using an AI program over the internet to research Nigeria’s admirable achievements over the past 64 years, and I was pleasantly surprised to see what I found, and I’ll be sharing some of these with you in just a moment.

Once again, independence is really a big deal for the reasons I mentioned a moment ago.

To be independent means, to make your own decisions, to be independent means, to oversee your destiny, and to be independent means to do whatever you want to do or need to do, because you have the capacity and the ability to do that.

Today, when we look back on the achievements of Nigeria from October 1, 1960, to the present time, October 2024, it is truly, truly remarkable what Nigeria has achieved in the fields of

• medicine,
• technology,
• engineering,
• architecture,
• education,
• entertainment,
• business,
• banking,
• trade and commerce,
• the judicial system,
• even in the business of religion. Nigeria has truly excelled.

Today, in Nigeria, we have at least one religious building in every single neighborhood, in every, village, town and cities throughout the country. We have even mega churches now. So, the business of religion is booming in Nigeria.

Let me take a moment to talk about independence. The independence of a country really starts with the family. And as far as I am concerned, the definition of a family is where a male and a female come together to raise a family, to raise kids. Notice that I did not say to make kids but to raise, because there is a difference, an enormous difference between raising kids and making kids.

My dear fellow Nigerians, our distinguished guest, ladies, and gentlemen, may I submit to you that the raising of kids is the most important aspect of the independence of any nation.

Look at Nigeria’s population back in 1960 compared to today, 2024 back in 1960 Nigeria’s population was about 45.2 million. Today, there is a whopping 255 million. So, the question that we want to ask ourselves is, how are we providing sustenance for these 255 million people, more than half of which are dependent, not independent, dependent. So, let us look at the family, because that is where it all starts. Before we look at that, please allow me to paint a picture for you ladies and gentlemen, for everyone here to see.

Imagine a street in Nigeria full of teenagers, young kids running up and down. How did that happen? Ladies and gentlemen, this is a serious question. How did that happen? Most of those kids have no education. They have no way to sustain themselves. How did that happen? It happened from the breakdown of family. Yes, from the breakdown of family from both the male and female side of the union that started the family. Think about a man and a woman coming together to raise kids, and they raised a child that they made sure was well raised and well educated. That child is going to grow up to be a productive member of society, because they had made sure that that child was well educated. Take another family, or take another man or woman, who all they do is produce kids. They produce so much that they do not even know where most of them are. What do you think is going to happen to those kids? Ladies and gentlemen, these are the kids you find on the streets, and this is where the problem starts. So, the independence of a nation starts even before a child is born. Yes, we need to look at the unit family. We really need to do that, because if we do not do that, it is going to be a vicious cycle. We will be pursuing independence in vain.

Ladies and gentlemen, this evening we are celebrating Nigeria and now we know what it takes to be truly independent. It starts with INDEPENDENCE OF THE FAMILY.

I am going to stop here and let us celebrate what we have achieved so far. Now that we all know what it takes for a nation to be independent, it needs to start with the family, and before I end my note, I am going to give those of you, those of you who are here in my audience tonight, a contract.

All you young ladies who are preparing to have kids in the future, meaning all of you who are preparing to be mothers in the future, or wives in the future, I have a contract for you.

The young men also who are going to be fathers in the future or husbands in the future, I have a contract for you too.

So, if you are a woman in my audience today and you have plans to raise a family.

just signify by raising your hand. All right, you can put your easily. Now, young men, for you men who have plans to have offsprings by marriage or by whatever arrangement you choose, please raise your hands, excellent.

Well, here is my contract for the women, you who are going to have babies, who are going to have children, I am giving you a contract that is nine months in duration. So, this contract is renewable every nine months, as you wish, and every nine months, here is the contract:

• You are not to do anything.
• You are going to allow your husband to spoil you rotten.
• You are going to not drink alcohol
• You are going to not smoke or vape cigarettes
• You are going to eat well, and
• You are going to avoid all kinds of stress and stressful situations.

After the nine months, I want you to continue the contract with the same terms, but you are now free to introduce some flexibility.

For you men, here is my contract for you:

• For as long as you are going to be a father, you must remain so and be the provider relentlessly.
• You are to take responsibility for the raising of your kids
• You are to make sure that they have the right and the best education you can afford to provide for them.
• If you bring them into this world, you are to make sure that you have what it takes to support them.
• If you bring them into this world, you are to make sure you have the means to educate them and give them the best education that you can give them.
• Your contract ends when they are old enough to sign their own contracts.

Ladies and gentlemen, if these people keep these contracts, we are going to have a totally new Nigeria. We are going to have responsible Nigerians, as opposed to a whole bunch of children running up and down the streets, and that’s where independence starts.

Happy 64th Nigerian Independence, Ladies, and gentlemen.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to talk to you. It has been a real pleasure.