Descendants of late Herbert Heelas Macaulay, today appealed to President Bola Tinubu to immortalize the’ Father of Nigerian Nationalism’ with a befitting monument in addition to the state pardon accorded him recently.
Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Olabode George while briefing the press on behalf of the family, said Macaulay’s contribution to national unity cannot be overlooked .
George, flanked by Macaulay’s descendants, including Erelu Adeola Macaulay, Mr. Lanre Oshodi, Ms. Mayokun Thomas, Miss Kofoworola Macaulay, Miss Adeyinka Macaulay, Mr. Ayo Ogunlana and Miss Turi Akerele, pointed out that the late nationalist should have been singled out for recognition and honour instead of being ‘lumped together’ with drug barons, murderers and sundry shady characters for the state pardon .
“If Papa is to be honoured, he must be honoured independently. Herbert Macaulay was not a criminal; he was a patriot, a visionary, and the first son of the first African Bishop. He deserves isolation for national honour, not inclusion in a list of convicts.”
He suggested that a befitting honour for late Herbert Macaulay was the rebuilding of the nationalist’s house, which was turned to a General Post Office by the Colonial Government, and make the new structure a national monument.
“Herbert Macaulay understood something fundamental — that political freedom is meaningless without social justice. He spoke up for the working class, the market women, the artisans, and the dispossessed.
“He was the bridge between the educated elite and the ordinary Nigerian. He believed that leadership must not be about privilege, but about purpose. In his time, he took risks — he was imprisoned twice by the colonial government, yet he never wavered.
“He transformed politics from the parlor rooms of colonial officials into the streets and markets of Lagos Island. He made politics a people’s affair. And for that, he earned the title that endures to this day — the Father of Nigerian Nationalism,” the party Chieftain noted.
George highlighted Macaulay’s early years as a civil engineer in the colonial service, to his resignation in protest against exploitation and hypocrisy in the colonial administration. He stated emphatically that his act of defiance marked the birth of Macaulay’s activism and the awakening of Nigeria’s political conscience.
Macaulay was reported to have founded Nigeria’s first political party, the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), a platform for representation and self-expression in 1923. The party harped on education, municipal autonomy and native authority at a time when Africans were treated merely as subjects.
George also noted that Late Macaulay’s alliance with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, gave birth to the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944.
He advised Nigerians, especially the youth, to draw inspiration from Macaulay’s courage and use education and technology as tools for reform .