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Speeches

Ambassador John Campbell

(Former US Ambassador)

The Harvard Law School Nigerian Alumni Reunion Dinner
Friday, June 25, 2005
Muson Center, Onikan, Lagos

PROTOCOL
· The President and Executive of the Harvard Law School Association of Nigeria,
· Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good evening and thank you for that warm reception.
I must say, I was thoroughly delighted to receive your invitation.
I am always fascinated and pleasantly surprised by the ways in which our two countries intersect.
This is my second tour of duty in Nigeria.
Indeed, I fancy myself somewhat of a Lagosian.
I know the markets, love the art and listen to highlife, jazz and juju music.
So when Mrs. Adekoya contacted my office asking me to address the Nigerian Chapter of the Harvard Law School Alumni Association, I had to contain both my curiosity and enthusiasm.

Harvard University occupies an august and some might even say rarified position in the pantheon of American higher education.
Harvard prides itself as the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere.ⁱ
Established in 1636, just 16 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Harvard University is America's first institution of higher learning.
Harvard's size and influence has grown exponentially from its original nine students and one master to an enrollment of 18,000 degree candidates.
In addition to the 10 principal academic units, approximately 13,000 students undertake coursework in the Harvard Extension School.
The University employs over 14,000 people including more than 2,000 faculty members.
To date, Harvard's faculty has produced 40 Nobel laureates.
Seven presidents of the United States - John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Rutherford B. Hayes, John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush - were graduates of Harvard.
As members of the Harvard Law School Alumni you represent an important and growing constituency among the Law School's 37,000 alumni worldwide.
Your international network of legal practitioners is dedicated to advancing respect for the rule of law.
The pursuit of justice and the respect for the rule of law under gird Nigeria's quest for national development.
Rule of law is an essential ingredient in the democratic mix.
Nigerians, like freedom-loving people the world over, hunger and thirst for leaders who will develop her tremendous human capital and manage her vast material wealth transparently.
I served here in the 'bad old days' of military dictatorship - tyranny, I am pleased to say, Nigerians will no longer tolerate.
Indulge me as I tell you the story of ray deer, an ancient West African tale.
All of the animals were invited to a feast.
As usual, ray deer was hungry and decided to take a short cut through the forest.
En route to the party, he encountered leopard.
In uncharacteristic fashion leopard said to ray deer, if you tell me three truths I'll set you free.
Ray deer responded, I'll tell you four.
Truth number one, if I had known you were going to be here, I would have taken a different path.
Truth number two, if you let me go, I will never pass this way again.
Truth number three, if I tell the others that you let me go - they will never believe me.
Leopard marveled at ray deer's reasoning; I suspect he graduated from Harvard Law.
Finally, ray deer said truth number four, you must not be hungry, because if you were, we would not be having this conversation.
There are two morals to this story.
Don't take short cuts and the truth shall set you free.
Clearly this story has application for Nigeria in the 21st century.
The road to democracy and development is fraught with dangers and setbacks but with perseverance, transparency and accountability the journey is well worth it.
But remember the two prescriptions from our story -- do not take short cuts and remember that the truth shall set you free.
If Nigerians seize the opportunities afforded by its emerging democracy, she will soar like an eagle, a national symbol our two countries share.
With your indulgence then I would like to take just a moment to share a few insights from President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address.
Delivered over 44 years ago, shortly after Nigeria's birth as an independent nation, the wisdom and relevance of his words resonate at a profound level today.
He observed that 'man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.'
This paradox continues to confound and perplex us at the beginning of this new century.
Members of my generation recall President Kennedy's stirring appeal to service with the words 'ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.'
But Kennedy did not stop there. As a leader educated at America's oldest university, he went a step farther and addressed the international community saying '(m)y fellow citizens of the world; ask not what America will do for you, but together what we can do for the freedom of man.'
Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to assure you that the United States of America remains fully committed to deepening the very partnership that President Kennedy championed.
As international stakeholders, Americans work in tandem with Nigerian governmental and non-governmental agencies and institutions on several key policy priorities, such as, arresting the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other emerging infectious diseases and supporting Nigeria's leadership role in resolving regional conflicts.
Tonight, however, I have focused my thoughts squarely on what I deem our most important bilateral policy priority - strengthening democratic practices and institutions.
To rephrase another wise American president, Abraham Lincoln, democratic governance, with its commitment to accountability and transparency, represents the 'last best hope' for Nigeria's future.ⁱⁱ
The benefits of liberty, however, come at a price.
President Kennedy said '(l)et every nation know… that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.'
I have been fortunate to live and work among you.

Nigerians are among the most resourceful, talented, engaging, dynamic people on this planet.
Thus, I am persuaded that Nigeria, led by people such as you, will secure the dividends of democracy.
An independent judiciary that applies the law 'without fear or favor' must form the foundation of the edifice we call the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
An electoral system that conducts 'free and fair' elections where the results reflect the will of the people must be the bedrock of 21st century Nigeria.
That is why with rights come responsibilities; these are core democratic values.
Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, they are non-negotiable because a society that has no respect for the rule of law cannot move forward.
Let me end by telling you the story of the two area boys and the wise man.
Two area boys decided to play a trick on the wise old man who lived next door.
They collected a small bird and went to the old man asking "Baba, is the bird dead or alive"?
You see, they had already decided to shame the old man.
If he said the bird was alive, they would crush it and show him the lifeless body.
If the old man said that the bird was dead they would release it to fly away.
The old man thought for a while and then answered, "my sons, whether the bird is dead or alive I do not know but, there is one thing I can tell you - it (the bird) is in your hands".
Will Nigeria take her true place of leadership as a full member of the community of democracies?
I think yes.
By employing the creative energy of the crucible we call Nigeria, you can forge the requisite tools to ensure that peace and prosperity flourish.
But as the wise old man told the area boys so I tell you - the choice is in your hands.
Let's not forget ray deer's lessons either - the truth shall set you free. As you continue your journey along the path of national development - don't take short cuts.
Thank you.