Femi Pedro at 70: Between fate and diligence

ACCORDING to Edward Morgan Forster, English novelist, and short story writer, “failure and success seem to have been allotted to men by their stars. But they retain the power of wriggling, of fighting with their star or against it, and in the whole universe the only really interesting movement is this wriggle”. The concept of destiny or fate in Africa is a rather controversial one. In Africa, destiny, often used interchangeably with fate, connotes what happens or will happen to man in life that cannot be changed, irrespective of any human effort. An integral part of this conviction is the belief that not all men have the privilege of a great destiny. Some are destined for ordinary lives, while others are blessed with the fortune of a glorious life. Hence, fate is regarded as the inexorable force that drives every creature toward its eventual end. Each individual has a predetermined fate. It is laid out for them at the time of their creation. Fate is, for the most part,…