The world In London For Queen Elizabeth

TEMITOPE AJAYI

The event was the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Lecture in 2010. The Guest Speaker was Mahathir Mohammed, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, who said that the British are the best in the world in public administration and planning.

 

As a state policy, Dr. Mahathir disclosed that during his tenure, he sent thousands of young Malaysians and senior government officials to British universities and public institutions to learn from the best. These people then returned to Malaysia and used their acquired knowledge to add value to the country.

 

Watching parts of the funeral activities of Queen Elizabeth in the last 10 days, confirms what the former Prime Minister said about the Brits.

 

The planning and thoughtfulness that have gone into the execution of this Operation ‘London Bridge has fallen’ can only be made in Britain. It is nothing but sheer excellence at its best. Hosting over 500 Presidents and Heads of Governments from across the globe, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets to pay their last respects to the departed Queen, is no mean feat. The almost flawless planning on display, coupled with the security arrangements on ground could only have been pulled off by a country steeped in the old tradition of excellence.

 

I watched a documentary on BBC few days ago where one of the Royal Historians said the plans for the funeral of the Queen started immediately after she ascended the throne with a Standing Committee that met three times every year to review and update plans.

 

Isn’t this incredible?

 

What more, the funeral plans for King Charles III has started in earnest. It’s now I can understand why it was possible for Britain, a small country to colonise more than half of the world.

 

While other monarchies have withered away in Europe and around the world, the Brits have commendably preserved theirs by keeping the value of their traditional life and culture despite the vagaries of a changing world and post-modernists interplays.

 

Without a doubt, the British monarchy remains the most preeminent in the world, drawing admiration at home and enjoying deserved respect across the world.

 

As the Queen is interred today in London, this is one state funeral that the world will not see anytime soon.