Like other States created in 1976 by the military fiat of then Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed, Ondo State clocked 50 on 3rd February, 2026. Perhaps in tune with the times, as it should be, the drums were only partially rolled out, with ‘modest’ celebrations across the states that one might have missed such a momentous occasion.

It was quite surreal to witness one of the events organised by the Ondo State Government in commemoration of the occasion.  A public lecture that brought together some members of the power elite and the intelligentsia to reminisce on the journey, interrogate today and dream of the future, it was as much a reminder and a prompter.

It was quite a surprising reminder that it’s already 50 years since that sudden switch from Western to Ondo State, which saw our parents in public service forced to relocate ‘home’ from other parts of Western State. To think that it’s already 50 years since they were made to swap their Western State number plates for the new ones (OD, OY, OG), challenging us, young çar-spotters to be able to which local government the last letter on the plate represented, as those were the days where our fathers made it a point of duty to remind everyone where their stories began by making a statement with their number plates. The message was simple – no matter how far from home we go, home will always be home.

Ondo is a story of many parts.  A story of the people(s) of Akure, Owo, Ondo, Akoko, Ikale, and Ilaje brought together by history and geography that, over time, became shared realities and aspirations under different dispensations, even those that were not of their own making.

It is the story of a people on whose back the first skyscraper in West Africa and the tallest building in Nigeria until 1979, was built, even if the ‘Cocoa House’ sits at Dugbe in ‘faraway’ Ibadan. It is the story of a people in whose territory (Araromi) oil was first discovered in Nigeria in 1908. Even though commercial oil exploration started in the state in 1968, it wasn’t until 1992 with the promulgation of Decree 23 that the aspirations of the people of Ondo state were finally realised, as it received recognition as an oil-producing state. With 60,000 barrels per day, Ondo state is the 5th largest producer of oil in the country.

Ondo is the story of a resource-rich state that has yet to take advantage of its immense potential, as it could. With the second largest bitumen deposit in the world, 75 kilometres of Atlantic coastline, which makes it the longest unbroken seashore in Nigeria, and a proposed deep-sea port with a natural draught of about 18 metres, which will make it efficiently handle large commercial vessels, eliminating the need for trans-shipment, there is no doubt of a bright future ahead for the state.

The future is bright for Ondo State. It is blessed in many respects, especially with a strategic geographical location.

But beyond natural and material resources, it is the people that constitutes the most important and strategic resource for Ondo state. Having fully embraced the opportunity created by the Awolowo free primary education policy, it is no surprise that the premium placed on education has paid off in the quality of its human capital. A reflection of that, perhaps, is that despite being in the bottom-ten in terms of budget size, Ondo state ranks as the state with the lowest percentage of its population living in multidimensional poverty in the country.

The Ondo story is that of its illustrious founding fathers who, decrying what they saw as marginalisation in Gowon’s 12-state structure, spearheaded the agitation for the creation of Ondo state. The Architects were Chief G.B.A. Akinyede, Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Dr. Banji Akintoye, Rev. R.A. Ogunlade, Ambassador Lawrence Fabunmi, Chief Seinde Arogbofa and Prince Deji Adegoroye, who played a pivotal role in the process, having served as Secretary (and later Secretary-General) of the Ondo State Creation Movement, when the Akinyede and Ajasin factions fused into one, with his law office in Akure serving as the Secretariat for the movement.

It is the story of Ademola Adegoroye, who, following in the footsteps of his father (Prince Deji Adegoroye), in only 10 months as Minister of State (Transportation), succeeded in securing for Ondo state the approval and “Declaration” of Ondo seaport for the government of Rotimi Akeredolu in 2023.  With the aid of Minister Babatunde Fashola, he facilitated the approval and flag-off of the construction/dualisation of the Akure-Ado Ekiti road, which is currently going on.

That road is a reminder that the Ondo story is not complete without that of its cousins on the other side (Ekiti), which was excised from it in 1996, twenty years after the creation of Ondo state. Indeed, many of the founding fathers and some of those who later played prominent roles in the leadership of the state are now on the other side.

The irony is best captured by the story of two Brothers of the same mother, Prince Deji Adegoroye from Akure, one of the founding fathers, and his brother, Ambassador Bamidele Olumilua from Ikere, who was the Ondo State Governor between 1992 and 1993, who, by virtue of the creation of Ekiti State, ended up in two different states. The Ondo story is equally that of our cousins in Ekiti, with whom we once criss-crossed the Old Ondo state, before the 1996 line of demarcation came between us, asking us to choose sides, which some of us, till this moment, have refused to do. It was most appropriate that Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, now of Ekiti State, who was the Attorney General of Ondo State in the Olumilua administration, was the Chairman at the 50th Anniversary Lecture.

But the Ondo story is equally that of its civil servants, Teachers, Nurses and Administrators who willingly came back to the state from different parts of the Western Region to help build the new state. Many made huge sacrifices, some never had their records of service harmonised, some died without seeing their dreams for the state fulfilled. It is the story of the leaders, from Michael Ajasin (in whose house in Owo the inaugural meeting of the Action Group was held in 1951) to Rotimi Akeredolu (Aketi), who exemplified courage and leadership in their own ways.

The story of the Sunshine state is the story of its diaspora – the many sons and daughters of the state flying the flag of the state high in other parts of Nigeria and outside the country. It is the story of Dr Oluyinka Olutoye, the Nigerian paediatric surgeon in the US, who performed surgery on a baby in the womb. Ondo has a long list of accomplished professionals, some of whom have passed on, including Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Dr Akinola Aguda, Mr Samuel Asabia, Dr Frederick Faseun. There is the musical legend, King Sunny Ade, and many others across all facets of endeavour. We have Journalism greats like Chief Dayo Duyile and Taiwo Obe, among others.

It was only fitting that the State tapped into its rich diaspora resource in choosing Taiwo Oyedele and Olu Verheijen as Speakers at the Anniversary lecture. Indeed, the Ondo story is that of Taiwo Oyedele, born a year before the creation of Ondo state, whose Ikaram-Akoko community, leaning on the spirit of Ifowosowopo that defines the people of Ondo in awarding him a N500 scholarship 35 years ago, which enabled him to register for his final school examination, without which he would not be where he is today.

Now, not only has he made a mark through a sterling career in Accounting and Consulting, as the Chair of the Presidential Task Force of Fiscal Reforms, he has distinguished himself in public service, he is giving back through different philanthropic gestures, including a new scholarship scheme for the best final year student in every public secondary school in Ondo state graduating this year.

It is the story of Olu Arowolo, born the year the state was created, who now serves the country as Special Adviser to the President on Energy, who affirmed that the story of Ondo is not finished, but just about entering its most consequential chapter. “Our responsibility is to give opportunity, dignity, and a future, our children do not need to leave home to find,” she says.

In 1976, the same year the state was born, a young Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, having just completed his primary education in a remote village where he had lived his first 11 years, took a journey over two nights, by boat, to Lagos. He never set his sights on a car for the 11 years, except in the books. He left with no luggage, no extra clothing or shoes, armed with a dream in search of education. Today, fifty years later, he is the Governor of the State. That is the story of the state.

The future is bright for Ondo State. It is blessed in many respects, especially with a strategic geographical location. Bounded by Kwara and Kogi on the North, Edo on the East. Delta on the South-East, Osun and Ogun on the West, and by the Atlantic Ocean on the South, hardly is there any State so positioned as a gateway to other regions. When the Ondo segment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is completed, it will open another flank for developmental activities and a more prosperous future for the state.

However, as Taiwo Oyedele cautions, “the state’s future will be defined by deliberate choices, visionary leadership, and the harnessing of its abundant human and natural resources.” Governor Aiyedatiwa agrees with that – “Fifty years is not just a number. It is a milestone that challenges us to rise to the responsibility of shaping the next era with wisdom, courage, and innovation,” he says. What is required is for the State to be more deliberate and strategic in tapping into its diaspora pool for experts to help it reimagine the future. That will require the Leaders stepping outside the familiar territory with courage, wisdom, bold thinking and innovation. It’s time for the sun over Ondo State to fully shine.

*Simbo Olorunfemi is a Specialist on Nigeria’s Foreign Policy, Communications Consultant, and Managing Editor of Africa Enterprise, Email: Editor@enterpriseafrica.ng

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As Nigerians are drenched in cries of agony, so is the air also thick with rumours of coup d’état or military take-over. Those not marching on the streets and shouting “ebi n pa wa” (We are hungry!), like the multitudes that have done so across the country, are, like my brother, Azu, in his latest column, complaining about the heat wave and the parlous state of power supply. I sleep in a room that is naturally well aerated; still, anytime the air ceases, sleep takes a flight. To divert sleep time to work time becomes impossible with no power supply. Running generators in the middle of the night is simply unconscionable and without electricity to charge the batteries, the inverter cannot work. The cost of the other alternative, solar powe, has shot through the roof!

We risk going back into the thick forest of jackboot dictatorship that we exited at great pains and sacrifice; we shall be making our situation worse should we resort to another military take-over at this point in time.

Like another of my PUNCH-day colleagues, Godwin Nzeakah, aka Ogbuefi, would say, it does not rain for hapless Nigerians, it pours! Yet, we saw it coming but neglected to act. Crying after the head is off, bolting the stable doors after the horse has bolted and crying after the milk has been spilled is all we are doing now. Worse are my fears that we may recourse to taking rash decisions in our habitual manner of cutting corners and adopting fire brigade approaches to matters that demand painstaking fidelity with due process.

We risk going back into the thick forest of jackboot dictatorship that we exited at great pains and sacrifice; we shall be making our situation worse should we resort to another military take-over at this point in time. The military top brass has spoken out forcefully against coup but can we take their word for it? Are they themselves not at risk should their juniors decide to upturn the apple cart?

It has been said that the antidote to military coup is good governance: Can anyone say, in good conscience, that this country has witnessed good governance since the present civilian rule began in 1999? Rather than improve, things have gone from bad to worse; the worst of all the civilian governments being that of Muhammadu Buhari. The incumbent, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is stuck in the miry clay that Buhari engineered deliberately or otherwise, leading to the immense suffering that Nigerians experience today.

Unfortunately, there is no easy and fast way out of the quagmire, even though the patience of Nigerians is already running thin. Agent provocateurs are cashing in on the situation mostly to serve selfish interests. A population that worships the belly and that only knows of temporary pleasure, like biblical Esau, wears their ignorance like a badge, harassing every voice of reason and ready to cudgel every contrary opinion into submission.

If democracy teaches us anything, it is that the majority is not always right. Interestingly but also ironically, the tyranny of the majority has been one of the most damning drawbacks of democracy. So, then, did the German playwright, Henrik Ibsen, posit that the strongest man is he who stands alone. Oftentimes, we need the services of a telescope to differentiate between democracy and mob action.

Strong leaders, ready to stand alone and chart the course, however unpopular, have made the most profound impact on our world. Galileo, for instance, was sent to the inquisition for affirming that the Earth was spherical and not as flat as a trencher that the authorities had claimed it to be.  Had Martin Luther not dared to be different, what would our world have been without the Reformation?

READ ALSO: Why Nigeria is not moving forward, By Bola Bolawole

My message to Tinubu is: Dare to be different! Listen to the people but all the same chart the course that will take Nigeria out of the dark tunnel engineered by Buhari and his cabals. Speak to us more often. Explain your actions more plainly. Be more forthright in exposing the shenanigans of the past. No cover up of Buhari or anyone for that matter! On your own part – and on the part of your family members – be more sensitive to public perception of your actions. While you need to take all the precautions that need to be taken to contain the rumour of coup, don’t let clip your wings.

Despite the rash of coups around us in the West African sub-region in recent times, military take-overs have generally become an aberration. In Nigeria especially, the military not only destroyed the fabrics of our society, it also overstayed its welcome.

From the first military coup that was Igbo-dominated and one-sided in the political leaders and military officers it executed; to the first military government led by another Igbo-man, Gen. JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi, that destroyed our federalism and instituted centralism and military-style command structure; to Yakubu Gowon whose rash decisions (together with Chukwuemeka Ojukwu’s) led to civil war and the subsequent frittering of our oil wealth; to Murtala Muhammed who destroyed the Civil Service with his rash “with immediate effect” dismissals and retirements; to Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration when Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) was allowed to collapse and, pronto, surfaced Obasanjo Farms Nigeria (OFN); to Muhammadu Buhari whose draconian rule led to retroactive  executions, the trampling of the people’s fundamental human rights and the disappearance of huge oil windfalls; to Ibrahim Babangida whose SAP began the destruction of the Naira, who introduced corruption and the settlement syndrome, and who destroyed seniority and esprit de corps in the military; to the vilest of them all, Sani Abacha, who stole this country blind and who wasted MKO Abiola away in detention and, finally, to Abdulsalami Abubakar whose administration has the blood of Abiola on its hands – we have had more than enough of military rule. No more! Perish the thought of military take-over if no one wants Nigeria to perish with it!

FEEDBACK

Nigeria is not beyond the stage of being salvaged. Dissolution of the country is not a remedy. What needs to be done is re-engineer the economy and security as is being done presently: Establishment and empowerment of farm guards to protect farmers on their farms before establishment/operation of state police; and each state governor should embrace farming by investing heavily in farming. Also, the country has adopted all-season farming, which would not only boost food production but also boost export of food and food products. Increased power supply and extraction of mineral resources will also aid economic growth. I disagree with Prof. Banji Akintoye on “Nigeria now needs the courage to Dissolve Peacefully”. Definitely, that is not the way to go. God bless Nigeria! -Kola Oloye.

Thank you immensely for this all-revealing attempt to cow other segment of the country to forced submission to Fulani “supremacy” Now is the time for the other segments of Nigeria, namely, South-East, South-South, South-West and North-Central to free themselves from the Fulani’s firm grip.  It is now or never! it is, indeed, sad that the Fulani ethnic minority have been allowed to harass, threaten, maim, rape, kidnap, kill and burn down homes and farmlands. There should be concerted efforts to free our people from their stranglehold as fast as possible. -Wale Ojo.

Sir, Prof. Akintoye’s narrative is obviously anti-Fulani, as if no other ethnic group participates in the wanton looting and destruction of Nigeria! I find it very hard to accept this skewed and scary narrative. It insults my being and my education. With due respect to the Prof., whom I hold in high esteem, I find it difficult to accept his suggestion of break-up as the final solution to Nigeria’s numerous challenges.  My belief is that Nigeria will rise again when we have good, selfless and honest leaders who will lead by example and not by precepts. Forgive me, Sir, this attempt at scare-mongering and demonizing all members of an ethnic group CANNOT work. Determined and forward-looking, we can bring Nigeria out this mess, which has an expiry date! -Dipo Onabanjo.

Pa Akintoye is right to some extent. Things were not wholesome, particularly in the Southwest, prior to the military coup of January1966: Witness the “Wild, wild West”!

The NNPP, which was led by the late Chief SL Akintola, was in tandem with the Northern NPC. The Agbekoyas were protesting the rulership of the then Western Region. Many houses were destroyed in cities and towns in the region. The military take-over that followed was, however, lop-sided. Political leaders in the North, West and Midwest were eliminated while no political leader in the East was touched. This led to a counter-coup which installed Gen. Gowon as the military head of State. A number of counter-coups followed, bringing many Northern soldiers to the pinnacle of rulership; the good, the bad and the outright ugly. The centralized political system which the military used and left for us to follow appears to have many flaws. Nigeria will do well with some regional self-rule. This helped to achieve some development in the First Republic. It will allow for fair competition amongst the regions. Each region will develop at its own pace.

The old Western Region competed favourably with some of the developed countries like France. This, without the petrodollars!  Nigeria was able to fight the civil war successfully without borrowing and without access to petroleum money. Nigeria can be great and she will be great! Pa E. K. Odeleye.

Despite the rash of coups around us in the West African sub-region in recent times, military take-overs have generally become an aberration.

I really appreciate your unbiased writings… Thanks a lot.  Why is Tinubu defending Buhari? You are very correct; there is no substantial policy to make life better for the masses. Tinubu regards the lawmakers’ welfare as more important than the welfare of the populace. May l even say that he is taking the masses for granted. IMF loans and forex deregulation are unprofitable. Cost of production is on the increase. Bandits, kidnappers are back. Many cannot go back to the farm. Dollar to Naira instability, corruption in the banks as traders hardly get Dollars from the Banks. A thought comes to my mind: Is Tinubu waiting for re-election before he begins to perform? Corruption is still as it was, if not on the increase. You once said those that should be behind the bars are the untouchables e. g. Betta Edu. My question is that despite all of these, why does the president look unperturbed? He used to employ marketing organizations to get statistics on followership for permutations during elections: why can’t he do similarly now to benefit the masses? -Babatunde l. Daodu.

One of the areas which I have, through personal observation and experience, faulted the President over, is that he acted hastily in the removal of petroleum subsidy. Right, the President was not part of former President Buhari’s government but he fell cheaply for the booby trap of the ex- President. If not, why did President Buhari, throughout his eight-year tenure, fail to remove the controversial subsidy? He was clever by half in shifting its removal to the in-coming President. Tinubu needed more time to observe, study and plan before announcing subsidy removal. Nigerians were cajole at the inception of the Buhari government that there was fraud in the subsidy regime by President Jonathan. But it later became obvious that the alleged corruption was a child play compared to what ex- President Buhari took Nigerians and Nigeria through for eight years. Buhari should be called upon to explain how his government ran the country. This is what obtains in saner climes. -Badru Afolabi-Shittu.

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of the Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the “ON THE LORD’S DAY” column in the Sunday Tribune and “TREASURES” column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

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Politics apart, the aggregate of opinion is that Nigeria is in a very bad shape; opinion is divided, though, on what needs to be done to return it to a better shape. Has this become a mission impossible? Can Nigeria be salvaged or is it beyond redemption? Is the task of our heroes, past and present, condemned to being like that of Sisyphus? Greek mythology records that Sisyphus, a king of Corinth, was punished in Hades (Hell) for his misdeeds by being condemned eternally to rolling a heavy stone up a hill: Each time he approached the top of the hill, the stone escaped his grasp, rolled to the bottom, ad nauseam, ad infinitum! Nigeria escaped what we thought was a gripping debt burden under President Olusegun Obasanjo only to run headlong into a more scandalously vicious debt trap under President Muhammadu Buhari!

The opinion you are about to read is that of Prof. Banji Akintoye, Yoruba Nation protagonist, who insists that this house has already fallen! How? Why? What can still be done? Titled “Nigeria Needs Now The Courage To Dissolve Peacefully”, his views are articulate, profound and arresting, which was why I chose to share excerpts of them with my readers here today. Enjoy it! Reactions are welcome!

The Nigerian culture of impunity and public corruption has grown so mightily since then that it has earned Nigeria, year after year, the assessment as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

“At independence in 1960, Nigeria was truly the economic giant and hope of Africa. Nigeria was 25% of the population of Black Africa. One of the Regions of the Nigerian Federation, the Western Region, had the most intensely educated population in Africa, and Nigeria, therefore, had the largest and most solid class of educated professionals in Africa. By the time of independence, Nigeria ranked as one of the world’s largest exporters of cocoa (from the Western Region), palm products (from the Eastern Region) and groundnuts (from the Northern Region).

Of minerals, Nigeria was an exporter of tin (mined on the Jos Plateau) and coal (mined on Udi Hill near Enugu), and every region of Nigeria had rich deposits of minerals. The Western Region had the second largest deposit of bitumen in the world, and the Northern Region had deposits of uranium. Nigeria was known to have rich deposits of petroleum; by the 1970s, Nigeria became one of the leading producers and exporters of petroleum in the world, earning phenomenal revenues that made the country one of the world’s richest countries. Altogether, Nigeria seemed to be heading to success, wealth, prosperity and power. Unhappily, however, Nigeria lacked the inner unity and strength needed for such greatness.

The hundreds of peoples of Nigeria, pushed together in 1914 by the British, were radically different in culture, political traditions, religion, attitudes to religious diversity, and attitudes to modern change. Until after the Second World War, the British did nothing to give Nigeria a unified existence. When at last they granted a unifying constitution in 1949-51 and created under it a Federation of three Regions (Eastern, Northern and Western Regions), they boldly wrote conflict and instability into the life of the Federation –by disrespecting obvious ethnic boundaries in the delineation of the Regions’ boundaries, by making the Northern Region much larger than the Eastern and Western Regions put together, by giving the Northern Region a decisive majority in the Federal Parliament, and by generally creating the impression that the Northern Region was destined to lead the Federation.

READ ALSO: Why Nigeria is not moving forward, By Bola Bolawole

The Regions did well for their peoples (with the Western Region as the development leader and pace setter), but rancour, hatred and unhealthy rivalry marked their relationships. Then, to ensure Britain’s continued control of the Nigerian economy after independence, the British maneuvered in great detail (falsified the national census, installed stumbling blocks in the constitution, rigged the pre-independence election, heavily influenced the post-election inter-party negotiations) to give dominance to the Fulani leadership of the Northern Region over Nigeria’s Federal Government at independence. By doing these things, the British essentially placed a death sentence on Nigeria.

The Fulani were one of Nigeria’s smallest peoples (only about six million in the Northern Region), were a non-indigenous people, had no homeland in Nigeria or anywhere, were part of a Fulani people scattered all over West Africa, consisted mostly of nomadic cattle herders, were the least educated people in Nigeria and the least desirous of modern education, and were the least capable of leading a modern country along modernity lines. Lacking an understanding of the nature of a modern country, the Fulani decided immediately at independence that they were meant to be the new colonial overlords of Nigeria.

Nigeria’s sad journey thus began – through endless falsifications and manipulations of political processes, falsifications of censuses, destruction of the federation through centralization of all power and resource control, destruction of Regional and local initiatives in the economy, rancour and acrimony, inter-people conflicts, pogroms, civil war, religious violence, Fulani use of military force for an attempt to conquer all of Nigeria’s indigenous peoples, economic decline, Fulani invitation to other West African Fulani to help conquer Nigeria’s indigenous peoples, Fulani attraction of international terrorist groups to help the Fulani conquest, a destructive push to turn Nigeria to a Muslim country by violence, vicious insecurity, rivers of blood, economic collapse, to the now inevitable break-up.

The early Fulani adventure to expand their control over all of Nigeria featured a major agenda, embarked upon in 1962 and covertly assisted by the British, to subdue the Western Region (Nigeria’s leader and pace-setter in development). The adventure destroyed the Western Region’s and Nigeria’s development progress, dragged down Nigeria’s security, and provoked the first military coup in 1966. From then on, there followed a long succession of military coups and military dictators until 1999 – with only a brief civilian interlude in 1979-83. The military dictators relentlessly destroyed the federal principle in favour of centralization. The military dictators from July 1966 on, being all Northerners, pushed for further and further centralization and Northern Fulani dominance. This provoked resistance and bloody conflicts, and an attempt by the Igbo-led Eastern Region to secede from Nigeria in 1967. The attempt started a 30-month civil war, 1967-70, which took about two million lives among the Igbo people.

As if to wipe off these self-imposed disasters, mineral oil began in the early 1970s to boost Nigeria’s economic strength, by making phenomenal amounts of money available to Nigeria’s development. Nigeria’s prospects were so rosy by the late 1970s that some patriotic Nigerians embarked on putting together a dazzling program of development for Nigeria. Some of the youthful intellectuals in this group even believed that they could make Nigeria the ‘Blackman’s World Power of Modern Times’. But Nigeria lacked the unity, the cohesiveness and the orderly political and economic life necessary for such great accomplishments.

A manipulated, blatantly rigged and violently protested election in 1979 shot down those who were proudly talking of building the ‘Blackman’s World Power’. From then on, rather than grow in prosperity and power, Nigeria entered into a process of truculent Fulani grabbing of control, of unrelenting centralization of political power, resource control and development management, and the most rabid culture of public corruption in the world. The Northern Fulani control became so total that one of the military dictators felt free in 1993 to annul a completed and peaceful presidential election without giving any reason for his action, and another felt free to arrest and imprison the winner of the election and then to institute a murderous reign of terror to stop popular reaction, and yet another unilaterally imposed a constitution on Nigeria by decree in 1999.

The Nigerian culture of impunity and public corruption has grown so mightily since then that it has earned Nigeria, year after year, the assessment as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Since 2018, Nigeria has been classified as the Number One home of ‘extreme poverty’ in the world. The succession of the Northern military dictators from 1985 to 1999, serving the purposes of centralization and of Fulani control of power and resources, rammed down their system irremediably. In spite of Nigeria’s hundreds of nationalities, Nigeria lost federalist direction and became simply a country under complete control of a central government firmly controlled by mostly Fulani nationality. Nigeria’s central government became an instrument for managing, not Nigeria’s development, but for managing Nigeria’s titanic and complex culture of public corruption.

In the end, the Nigerian Fulani political elite, intoxicated by all this great success of theirs in the politics of Nigeria and by continued covert British support, embarked upon a pre-modern and primitive ambition to employ violence to conquer all the other nations of Nigeria and turn their homelands into a large Fulani homeland. The outside world, lacking an understanding of this bizarre political turn in Nigeria, wrongly saw it as a development arising simply from climate change – from the coming of prolonged droughts in the West African Sahel and Sudan from the 1990s, and the consequent veering of Fulani cattle herdsmen southwards into the forest territories in search of grass for their cattle and, therefore, intensified conflicts between farmers and cattle herders in Nigeria. But that is not the true explanation for what has been happening in Nigeria…

As soon as a Fulani leader, Muhammadu Buhari, was elected President of Nigeria in 2015, the Fulani seriously commenced their planned conquest of Nigeria. For the next eight years under Buhari, Fulani cattle herders and militias, indoctrinated with the message that Allah had given the whole of Nigeria to the Fulani for a Fulani homeland, and heavily armed with sophisticated modern weapons (mostly AK 47 rifles), spread out all over the South and Middle Belt of Nigeria, destroying or burning farms, farmsteads and villages, killing farmers and farmers’ wives and children, wiping out the inhabitants of whole villages, raping and killing women, killing children on the way to or from school, kidnapping countless people, extorting enormous amounts of money as ransom for the kidnapped…

In summary, Nigeria’s economy has collapsed, Nigeria’s security has collapsed, Nigerians are living a life of wrenching poverty and hunger, a life of frightful insecurity and chaos…

As President Tinubu was being sworn in on May 29, 2023 to succeed Buhari, greatly confident armies of Fulani destroyers and killers were waiting for him. They were sitting on the enormous amounts of Nigeria’s money that had been stolen in recent years for the Fulani war of conquest, and they owned enormous arsenals of various weapons, and countless thousands of Fulani killers and international terrorists. They immediately heightened the tempo and viciousness of their killing and kidnapping. In January 2024, they publicly announced that they had declared war against Tinubu himself and threatened to invade the president’s offices and seize the seat of power!

In summary, Nigeria’s economy has collapsed, Nigeria’s security has collapsed, Nigerians are living a life of wrenching poverty and hunger, a life of frightful insecurity and chaos…Terrible hunger grips the life of most Nigerians… On the floor of the Nigerian National Assembly, legislators are breaking into tears as they recount the economic suffering and the drastic insecurity of the people of their constituencies, and many legislators are denouncing Nigeria’s presidential system and calling for its abolition. Many influential Nigerians are publicly advising ordinary Nigerians to buy guns for self-defence. In all regions of Nigeria, huge numbers of hungry people are protesting in the streets, crying of hunger. (TO BE CONTINUED).

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of the Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the “ON THE LORD’S DAY” column in the Sunday Tribune and “TREASURES” column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

The post Reinventing, restructuring, renovating, panel-beating Nigeria or what? (I) appeared first on Frontpageng.

A new twist was introduced into the Ibadan explosion of 16 January, 2024 by the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM) when it alleged that the explosion was not caused by any errant legal or illegal miner, be it Malian or Nigerian, but that it was a failed assassination attempt on the life of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Led by Prof. Banji Akintoye, YSDM is a pro-Yoruba or Oodua Nation nationalist group.

In an open letter to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, YSDM commiserated with the governor and people of Oyo State over the gruesome incident but also commented on what many have described as Makinde’s hasty conclusion that mining explosives, stored in a private home in a thickly populated residential area, was the cause of the explosion that was directly responsible for the death of seven people, with close to a hundred others wounded, and causing extensive damage to properties worth billions of Naira.

The die is cast! Before the vultures begin to swirl, we must act fast!

Said YSDM: “One group of our Yoruba patriots has suggested that the explosion was caused by a big military-grade bomb; that the bomb seems to have been brought to Ibadan for use to wipe out a large number of leading Yoruba citizens gathered at a large celebration in the International Hall, University of Ibadan, at which President Tinubu was scheduled to be present; and that when President Tinubu did not attend, the owners of the bomb took it back to an inappropriate storage in a living house in nearby Bodija Estate, where some sort of mishandling caused it to detonate…”

This allegation is weighty and could not have been lightly made by an organization of YSDM’s stature or pedigree, which is the foremost assemblage of Yoruba self-determination protagonists. Akintoye himself is a scholar of international repute and a leading figure in the Yoruba socio-cultural-cum political organization, AFENIFERE. It is instructive that neither Makinde nor the Federal Government has responded openly to YSDM’s allegation. The relevant agencies must still be investigating the matter. Could the allegation be true or is it a mere crying wolf?

Hopefully, when the investigation is done with, the authorities will let us know. For sure, this incident is not one that should be swept under the carpet, not in view of other circumstances surrounding it, apart from the alleged attempt on the president’s life. Remember, it was in this same city of Ibadan that the masterminds of the July 1966 counter-coup cornered and killed Nigeria’s first military Head of State, Gen. JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi, and his host, the Western Region governor, Col. Francis Adekunle Fajuyi. The events that followed led to a 30-month civil war. Can Nigeria afford another civil war?

Before arriving at its conclusion that the Ibadan explosion was an assassination attempt on Tinubu’s life, the YSDM laid the foundation as follows: “Those among us who are knowledgeable about explosives say that this explosion is not consistent with an explosion caused by a miner’s store of dynamites. They say that a miner’s dynamite can only be stored as packages in boxes and bags, and that a mishap with the contents of the storage can only set up a series of explosions lasting for some minutes, and cannot set up one mighty explosion that does all the terror and destruction (that took place at Ibadan)”.

Continuing, the YSDM told Makinde: “It does not sound plausible, Your Excellency, that any master miner would store a large quantity of dynamites of his profession in his home or bedroom. Furthermore, and very importantly, what do our Oyo State Government and people know about this miner who is said to be from Mali Republic, who does considerable mining on our land with a Federal Government licence, who pays business taxes to the Federal Government only, and who, according to some of our people who have had contacts with him before, desires no contact with the Oyo State Government or the local government of his place of residence?”

Not done yet, the YSDM argued: “And still further, Your Excellency, it is very well known that Dejo Oyelese Street, off Adeyi avenue, where the explosion happened, is one of the choicest parts of Bodija Estate, containing the homes of many prominent Yoruba persons – professors (retired and serving), highly-placed professionals, retired governors, retired senior civil servants, etc. – whose houses have now been destroyed. Does the importance of Dejo Oyelese Street have anything to do with this explosion? In other words, was the explosion meant to eliminate many important Yoruba citizens at one blast, with the purpose of seriously hurting the Yoruba nation? Is this (explosion) some sort of threat to us Yoruba people in Nigeria?”

Questions, questions, and questions but will the appropriate answers ever come other than those meant to sweep this matter under the carpets, like the others before it? The reason being that the authorities themselves are complicit in the criminal activities taking place all over the place. Where they are not criminally negligent, they are hands-in-gloves with the perpetrators of all sorts of criminal activities that hurt the people they are elected into office to serve and whose interests they swore on oath to protect and advance.

Can our political leaders and top traditional rulers claim ignorance of both legal and illegal mining activities taking place in their domain? Where they and/or their cronies are not directly involved in these activities that destroy our environment and benefit the people, the communities and the government itself nothing, are they not in cahoots with those that do? Why is it that our governments cannot take these licences and partner with professional miners openly and transparently to mine our God-endowed mineral resources to our benefit? Why are aliens the ones carting away our resources before our very eyes? They feign it but can any of our governors in all honesty claim not to be aware of the rip-off going on? Are our leaders not part of the racket?

In the final analysis, nothing is hidden. There are no selfish and/or corrupt activities that anyone engages in that is hidden. Afterall, they have accomplices-in-crime. They have foot soldiers running their dirty errands for them. I will give a few examples. Why are they not allowing DAWN – Development Agenda for Western Nigeria – to function properly? Why the lack of synergy among our leaders for the rapid development of the South-west? Why is everyone more concerned with the “development” of their individual pockets?  Why are we not properly funding Amotekun? With all the criminality being unleashed on Yoruba land today, why is securing the life and property of the people not a priority? Why do our leaders maintain criminal silence or speak tongue-in-cheek when they should have spoken out forcefully in defence of their people?

I started my journalism profession at the Ibadan-based Sketch newspapers, owned by the southwest states, in 1985 but where is Sketch today? Why did our governors of the time allow it to die? From what we heard, when those who wanted to buy and convert it into their personal property failed in their bid, they let the newspaper die! The Yoruba used to be the doyen of the media; no more! If you give ideas that can benefit the people to our leaders to execute, they always look for avenues to appropriate and corner it for themselves. Examples are legion.

READ ALSO: Between Obasanjo and Afe Babalola, By Bola Bolawole

Ask our young men and women churning out proposals after proposals, they have stories of woes to tell. I, too, suffered such in the past. Ask our professionals in the Diaspora bubbling with ideas and who, being patriotic enough, came home to sell their ideas to our leaders; they will regal you with stories of betrayal and selfishness. Ask our leaders what happened to Odua Net (O’Net). If you fling open the closets of our leaders, serving or retired, dead or alive, you will cry for Yoruba land. It is said that the enemy within throws the door open for the enemy without. I don’t know if I can make any exceptions, but if you can, please do!

It is time we began to hold the feet of our leaders to the fire. What are they doing with the humongous amount they collect monthly from Abuja? What are they doing with their security votes that secure nothing? Why are the Yoruba regressing on all the fronts where they used to occupy the commanding heights – the professions, education, industries, name it! We have seen Dangote refinery; we have seen the BUA and Dangote cement factories; we have seen Ibom Air, among many others; let our leaders tell us the industries they, too, have established.

Having said all of the above, it does not in any way exonerate Miyetti and kidnappers from censure for their renewed criminality. I said somewhere else that I have removed “Allah” from Miyetti’s name because there is nothing godly in them and their activities. Now, why is Miyetti demanding that no Fulani should be arrested over the Ibadan explosion? What does Miyetti know about the explosion? If there was no Fulani involvement, why threaten the government not to arrest any Fulani over it? And if involved, why should any criminal be shielded by anyone, except like-minded criminals?

Miyetti’s latest antics include the brazen setting up of an armed-to-the-teeth Fulani militia, whereas Amotekun and other para-military groups elsewhere were denied sophisticated arms. Not only that, they have begun hurling attacks at the Tinubu administration, threatening to make the country ungovernable for him and inhospitable for the generality of Nigerians. In a statement issued on January 24, 2024, Miyetti virtually declared war on the country; that is treason. Not only its leaders but also all its militia members must be brought to book.

It is time we began to hold the feet of our leaders to the fire. What are they doing with the humongous amount they collect monthly from Abuja?

Miyetti’s declaration of what it called “inevitable jihad” against Nigeria is a criminal act and the days of treating these criminals with kid gloves, which has emboldened them, must now come to an end. Fortunately, their grand patron is no longer in office. The new sheriff in town must act swiftly, firmly, and decisively if this country is to continue to hold together. Now, the danger in Miyetti’s declaration of war on all Nigerians who do not subscribe to their hideous ideology is that they gave only two options: Either we succumb and become slaves to Miyetti or we pick up the gauntlet and fight to defend ourselves, our territories, our liberties and freedom.

Unfortunately, I have not heard much condemnation of Miyetti from the North’s leaders and establishment. Does it mean that Miyetti has their back? Is Miyetti merely running errands? If the feudal North will not call its bad boys to order, then, bad boys from other parts of the land will rise and confront them. And their own leaders, too, will back them up. That appears to be the tone of a statement by the YSDM denouncing what it described as “the Fulani declared war on Yoruba Nation”. Reeling off case after case of embarrassing killing of traditional rulers and other citizens, and the kidnapping of school children in Yoruba land, the YSDM vowed that the Yoruba would defend themselves.

The die is cast! Before the vultures begin to swirl, we must act fast!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com / 0705 263 1058)

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When I drew attention to the need for the Yoruba self-determination movement to devote some thought to the national question, as Marxists call it, many Yoruba Nation devotees angrily responded to me. Interestingly, today, the arrow-head of the Yoruba self-determination struggle himself, Prof. Banji Akintoye, has chosen to discuss the other volatile issue that the Yoruba Nation must begin to address – religion. There is no running away from the hydra-headed problems of religion and the national question, no matter how monolithic or heterogenous a nation or people may seem. It is wise to proactively address them, as Akintoye attempts to do here. Hear him!

“This message is for millions of Yoruba people at home and in the Diaspora who are involved in the struggle for a sovereign and separate Yoruba nation, to all Yoruba people at home and in all countries of the world. We came to the decision to write this letter because of some disturbing information reaching us about growing fears about religion among some of our Yoruba people. It is very surprising that fear about religion is showing up among some of our Yoruba people in these final stages of our Yoruba nation’s struggle for self-determination. It is immeasurably surprising because the whole world knows the Yoruba people as the most religiously tolerant and accommodating people in the world.

Religious harmony is not merely Yoruba culture. Religious harmony in Yoruba land, and the peace and stability that it will help to uphold, are great tools for achieving rapid and all-round progress and prosperity of our country.

Every known scholar studying African society in the world today says that about the Yoruba. Here are a few of such scholars. Two highly-respected scholars who recently did research on Nigeria for the Government of the United States of America, Gerald McLoughlin and Clarence Bouchat, wrote in their report that the Yoruba are a model of religious coexistence in the world, and that “Muslim, Christian and animist Yoruba dwell peacefully, not only in the same cities, but in the same households”.

Another scholar, Prof. J. D. Y. Peel, of London University, who spent most of his academic life studying the Yoruba nation, wrote a lot about the Yoruba nation. In 2015, just before he died, he published a special research article in which he wrote that the Yoruba are the most religiously tolerant people in the world, and that they are very proud – and deservedly proud – of it. Then he gave the world the following memorable statement, “The tree which has yielded the poisonous fruit that we see in Boko Haram can never grow in Yoruba soil” – meaning that the religious extremism, intolerance and endemic religious violence in Northern Nigeria can never spread to Yoruba land.

But Prof. Peel went further than that. He gave the Yoruba people a serious advice: The Yoruba, he said, must see their culture of religious tolerance and harmony for what it is – namely, a high-quality cultural achievement, an achievement in which the Yoruba surpass all other nations, an achievement with deep roots in the Yoruba’s most ancient culture, a great gift to humanity, a wonderful possession that the Yoruba must never let anybody or anything take away from them. These are the things that the world knows about the Yoruba. That is what we are. Even former Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, grand patron of the Fulani agenda of conquest of all non-Fulani peoples of Nigeria, could not resist acknowledging in a public speech in 2019 that, among all the peoples of Nigeria, the Yoruba are the best at separating religion from politics.

And there are non-Yoruba Nigerians who sincerely admire the Yoruba culture of religious tolerance and harmony. One of these, a prominent Igbo leader, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former governor of Anambra State, stated in a newspaper interview in 2013 that the Yoruba are the “epitome of proper management of religion in society”, and added that all persons of good will should help to ensure that religious extremism never spreads to Yorubaland. In short then, when, by the grace of God, a sovereign Yoruba nation comes into existence soon, no person or group of persons (will be allowed to) generate in Yorubaland or in any part of the Yoruba nation any kind of religious extremism, insults or threats of violence against any other citizens because of their religion.

READ ALSO: Why the agitation for Yoruba nation…, By Bolanle Bolawole

In the whole world, nations make laws to uphold and protect their culture. That is why laws differ from country to country; it is also why an act that is lawful under the laws of one country may be a serious crime under the laws of another country. For the Yoruba, the culture of religious tolerance, accommodation and harmony is a major part of our national culture. Therefore, the laws of our sovereign country will protect the right of every person to hold, practice and promote the religious faith of their choice; and the laws will provide serious penalties for religious discrimination, insults, threats or violence.

Religious harmony is not merely Yoruba culture. Religious harmony in Yoruba land, and the peace and stability that it will help to uphold, are great tools for achieving rapid and all-round progress and prosperity of our country. This rapid and all-round progress and prosperity for all Yoruba people is the cardinal reason why millions of Yoruba people have been fighting doggedly and tenaciously for a sovereign country of their own. It is the reason why we are determined to separate our Yoruba nation from the ever-deepening poverty and insecurity of Nigeria.

We are fighting for all our Yoruba people. If there are any of our beloved Yoruba people who do not yet clearly know or understand why we have been fighting, here is a brief statement of our reasons: Throughout our history, we Yoruba have never lived in the kind of horrific and ever-increasing poverty in which we are being compelled to live in Nigeria. Today, most of our Yoruba people are in danger of perishing. Most of our families cannot feed themselves and their children. Food prices are sky-rocketing daily, so much so that most of our people can no longer afford adequate food for themselves and their children…

There is an excessive high price of gasoline; the quality of education in public schools has deteriorated seriously… Private schools are responding to the current situation by greatly raising their fees, thereby making education too expensive for most Yoruba parents. And therefore, now, for the first time since Yoruba people started Free Primary Education in the Western Region in 1954, out-of-school children are growing in numbers in Yoruba society.

Our Yoruba youths, most of them educated and many of them university graduates, roam the streets because there are no jobs. There are no jobs because the economy of Nigeria has essentially been crushed by decades of incompetent governments, by unspeakable and destructive public corruption, leading to the gradual crumbling of Nigeria’s infrastructure, the failure of countless businesses, and the flight of major foreign businesses from Nigeria to other countries.

For over two decades, countless thousands of educated Yoruba youths have been fleeing annually to other countries for jobs… Many of our bright and strong men and women who remain at home are forced to commit various strange crimes. Very many women are going into prostitution or street begging. Many men and women are going into internet worldwide crimes, even with the encouragement of their parents. Large numbers of youths are forming criminal and murderous cults. For rituals that are supposed to yield money, many are killing their friends, girl-friends, wives, and parents.

Even highly-placed citizens are engaging in crimes – some Obas are fraudulently selling community land to foreigners, high public officials are stealing the public money that is under their control, lower public officials are forcing citizens to pay bribes for the smallest official services, police officials are engaging in acts that amount essentially to robbery or street begging, etc.

Yoruba persons serving in the Nigerian public service are compelled to throw away their Yoruba ethos and to adopt Nigeria’s sordid immorality. Honesty, reliability and trust are vanishing in our land and our whole nation is going through the process of moral collapse. In many parts of our homeland, many persons who cannot see any possible path ahead are committing suicide. To add to these terrible conditions of our people, armed Fulani herdsmen and militias have been relentlessly attacking all parts of our Yoruba homeland since 2015.

Our farmers have been forced to abandon farming altogether, with the result that food security has seriously imperiled our land. Other people, the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria especially, are coming in unrestrained numbers upon us with their own brand of unrestrained conduct and threats. The reason they are able to do all these is that we and they still belong in one Nigeria.

And, absolutely, no religion will be able to interfere with the task of giving the Yoruba people the high quality of government that our nation deserves – and the high quality of development, progress and prosperity.

What all these devastating conditions sum up to is that the Yoruba nation is breaking up – yes, breaking up very fast.  And we must stop the breaking up. We must revive and rebuild our economy. We must restore security and orderliness to our homeland. We must control immigration to our land. And the only way we will be able to accomplish these is to have our own country separate from Nigeria. In its own sovereign and separate country, the Yoruba can quickly achieve change and prosperity. To begin to do this seriously, we must have control of our country. We must have our separate sovereign Yoruba nation.

The task of liberating and rebuilding the Yoruba nation is a task for all Yoruba people. Our religions cannot obstruct it. Those who are now fighting for our nation’s liberation at home and in the Diaspora are a mixed bag from all religions – Muslim, Christian, Isese, and many others. The same will be true of the men and women whom we will have to push forward to give us the services of the government after we have secured our sovereign country.

And, absolutely, no religion will be able to interfere with the task of giving the Yoruba people the high quality of government that our nation deserves – and the high quality of development, progress and prosperity. We the Yoruba are fighting for the final destiny of our Yoruba nation now – and nothing can stop us!”

It could not have been better put!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com / 0705 263 1058), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

The post Will religion unhinge the Yoruba self-determination struggle? appeared first on Frontpageng.

An authority on African History and leader of the Yoruba Nation Self-Determination Group, Prof. Banji Akintoye, mounts the rostrum here today to reply (in an abridged form because of space constraint) to the Oba of Benin; read on: “On November 26, 2023, the Oba of Benin ignited a huge controversy about the early history of Lagos. He did so by making the claim that the Edo people of the Benin Kingdom were the founders of Lagos. Because the crown worn by the Oba of Benin originated from Ife, we must be respectful in our answer to him… Most respectfully, what we will do is to lay out for the Oba of Benin the most ascertained history of Lagos from the best of knowledge from the studies of African history, the contributions of archaeology, historical linguistics and written records… and from the best and most sustained traditions of the Yoruba and Edo peoples.

“The peopling of the coastal forests and islands of the Lagos area occurred in the very ancient era when the Yoruba people, consisting of their many subgroups, occupied the large forest and coastal territory that is the Yoruba homeland. The Yoruba subgroup known as the Awori settled in the Lagos area in those very ancient times. The Awori are one of the Yoruba sub-groups. One best known fact about the Yoruba nation is that it comprises many subgroups differentiated by dialects of their common Yoruba language… The main Yoruba subgroups are, from the Yoruba territories near the Niger-Benue confluence generally southwards, the Oworo, Bunu, Owe, Iyagba, Jumu, and Ikiri (who, together, are now commonly called the Okun-Yoruba), the Igbomina, Oyo, Ibolo, Ijesa, Ekiti, Akoko, Owo, Ife, Owu, Egba, Ibarapa, Yewa, Ketu, Ondo, Ijebu, Ikale, Awori, Ilaje and Ishekiri (all today in Nigeria), the Sabe, Anago, Ohori, Popo and others (today in Benin Republic).

The Edo are not a Yoruba subgroup; they are an entirely different ethnic group – just as the Nupe, Igala, Hausa, and Ijaw. The Edo homeland and the homeland of the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba are not contiguous. Between the Edo territory and the Lagos territory of the Awori, there are the territories of the Yoruba subgroups: Itsekiri, Owo, Ondo, Ilaje, Ikale, and Ijebu. According to the best knowledge of history from archaeology and historical linguistics, the different peoples of today’s Nigerian Middle Belt and South (Yoruba, Igbo, Nupe, Igala, Gbagyi, Edo and others), evolved on the Middle Niger into distinct linguistic or ethnic groups (or nations) about 40,000 years ago. From there, these ethnic groups or nations spread out over millennia and occupied the territories that are now their homelands. Available evidence shows that each of these nations had settled into its present homeland by about 6000 BC or about 8000 years ago.

It is from those earliest times that the Awori, one of these Yoruba subgroups, settled in the coastlands and islands that are now known as Lagos – with the Ijebu subgroup to their immediate east and northeast, the Ilaje and Ikale further to the east, and the Itsekiri still further to the east on the coast. The Awori settled in a coastal forest area consisting of coastal forests.

In about the 9th century AD, a very important revolution started at Ife in central Yorubaland and, over the next six centuries (until about 1600 AD), swept over the whole of Yorubaland, resulting in the creation of unified kingdoms and towns all over Yorubaland. It transformed the ancient clumps of small and separate settlements into unified kingdoms and towns everywhere in Yorubaland. Starting from Ife in the 9th Century AD, this revolution continued until about the 16th Century AD, and turned Yorubaland into a country of many proud kingdoms and rich towns…

In the Awori forests, this kingdom-creating revolution resulted in an Awori kingdom at Otta, Isheri and on Lagos Island. According to Lagos and general Yoruba traditions, the founder of the island kingdom was an Ife prince from Ife who, on arrival in the Awori forests, first settled briefly at Iseri and finally moved south to the main island of the area where he established his compound in a generally farmed area known as Oko or Eko, and the name Oko or Eko grew to become the island’s name. Historians believe that these Awori kingdoms were created in the course of the 11th Century AD.

In about the 12th Century, according to the traditions of the Yoruba and Edo people, the Edo people sent to the Oba of Ife for help. Their problem was that their Edo country was being disrupted by conflicts. And the help they wanted was that the Oba of Ife should help them to bring the Yoruba kind of political order to the Edo country. The Oba of Ife responded by sending one of his grandsons, a young warrior prince named Oranmiyan, to Edo. Oranmiyan went, fought and subdued several warring Edo groups and created the Benin kingdom, a kingdom like the Ife kingdom. After ruling the Benin kingdom for some years, Oranmiyan decided that the kingdom should not be ruled by him, a non-Edo foreigner, but by an Edo man. Oranmiyan and the Edo elders therefore installed as the king of the kingdom a young son born to Oranmiyan by one of his Edo wives, a boy born and raised in the Edo culture. That young king, named Ewuare, is the progenitor of all the kings of the Benin kingdom till today. That is why Edo kings are today counted among the Yoruba kings or among the “sons of Oduduwa”.

READ ALSO: Have Yoruba Obas lost their mojo? (1), By Bola Bolawole

The earliest non-Awori people to come trading with the Awori on the Awori coastal islands of Lagos, even long before the Awori had created any kingdom, were the Ilaje who, according to the traditions of all the coastal Yoruba subgroups, were the earliest pioneers of trade along the Yoruba coast. Later, Ijebu traders, and later still the Ikale traders, and then the Egun and Anago traders from the west, came to trade with and among the Awori. This coastal trade existed long before the coming of the earliest European explorers and traders to the coast of West Africa in about the 1470s AD.

Following the coming of European trade in about the 1470s and its expansion along the coast of West Africa, the European traders were attracted particularly to ports like Lagos, the Benin port of Gwato and the Itsekiri port town of Warri. The vibrant trade in European imported goods enhanced the trade and wealth of these port towns… The Itsekiri kingdom became a rich trading kingdom… But the location of the Itsekiri kingdom was much less accessible to European traders than the port of the Benin kingdom. Therefore, most of the European trade went to the Benin port which, until about the 1550s, controlled most of the coastal trade and became the source of most imported goods going into the eastern parts of the Yoruba interior. As a result, the Benin kingdom became, for about a century, the richest and most powerful kingdom on the West African coast…

(However, Lagos) blossomed into a massive commercial centre from about the 1550s… This growing commercial importance of Lagos attracted to Lagos more and more indigenous traders from all over the West African coast… By about the 1580s, Lagos had become the greatest commercial centre on the coast of West Africa, and its trade with the European traders had totally surpassed that of the Benin kingdom… The rulers of the Benin kingdom responded to this by embarking on an attempt to seize, control and possess the booming trade of Lagos… The Oba of Benin sent a considerable military force to Lagos. In 1603, a German trader trading in Lagos wrote in his notes that Lagos had become like a Benin military camp.

The background to this was a succession dispute that ensued between two princes of the Awori kingdom of Lagos, and the Benin decided to support one of the princes to win the throne and thereby turn the Awori kingdom of Lagos into its vassal. The Benin forces were successful for some time and the prince supported by them became considerably stronger than his rival. But the fighting was not yet over. In the further fighting, the commander of the Benin forces was killed. The near-victorious prince, named Asipa in most traditions, then decided to further seal his relationship with the Benin by offering to lead the group that was taking the body of the dead Benin commander to Benin.

In Benin, this Awori prince met the Oba of Benin (who) declared him his adopted son. Some traditions have it that Asipa also married a Benin wife in Benin. Asipa returned home into continued opposition and, in the midst of serious contention, was crowned Oba of Lagos. As the opposition to him never relented, he was forced to lean and harp continually on his Benin support. Some traditions have it that, to show support for this embattled Oba of Lagos, the Oba of Benin paid a brief visit to Lagos. This Oba of Lagos and his leading Awori supporters started the tradition that he was a prince from Benin, a descendant of the Oba of Benin. This is the origin of the tradition that claims a Benin origin for the Obas of Lagos…

But the Benin kingdom never succeeded in capturing and controlling Lagos or its bouncing trade… until Benin itself was conquered by the British in 1897”

Does this settle the controversy? And what was Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos state’s response to the Benin oba’s assertion that the Binis founded Lagos? Does the Lagos governor know the history of the state he governs to start with?

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of the Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the “ON THE LORD’S DAY” column in the Sunday Tribune and “TREASURES” column in the New Telegraph newspapers. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

The post Lagos origin: Akintoye replies Oba of Benin appeared first on Frontpageng.

After a hectic day last Sunday, I was already hauling myself into bed early when my phone rang. I missed the first call but the second came quickly thereafter and Baba (Prof. Banji Akintoye) broke the news to me that the Yoruba Nation fighter, Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho, has been released from what many have described as “protective custody” in the Republic of Benin. Igboho was kept first at Porto Novo and later at Cotonou. Baba mandated me to craft a news story to that effect. Igboho, he said, would be boarding a flight from Benin Republic to Germany – and not Nigeria – to reunite with his family at 11.00 pm. I said very well but counselled him to wait till 11.00 pm before releasing the press statement on Igboho’s release, which came after two years of a forced sojourn in a foreign land after he was chased out of his own country by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

A failed attempt at the assassination of Igboho when his Ibadan, Oyo State home was bombarded by security goons forced him to quickly relocate from the country. Some of his family, friends and associates, even pets, that the security goons met at Igboho’s home located in the Soka area of Ibadan were not as lucky as the Yoruba Nation freedom fighter himself. Igboho managed to reach Cotonou but his attempt to travel from there to Germany with his wife was thwarted, according to reports, by a combination of Nigerian and Beninoise security operatives. But for the vigilance and active opposition of the Yoruba population at the airport, Igboho would have been crated back to Nigeria as was the case with the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.  Like his military junta failed to “crate” Umaru Dikko from London to Nigeria, Buhari’s civilian administration also failed to have Igboho bundled from Cotonou to Abuja.

Thereafter, legal and diplomatic actions began on many fronts for and against the repatriation of Igboho from Benin Republic to Nigeria. The Nigerian government used its weight as the giant of Africa and the powerhouse of the West African (ECOWAS) sub-region to lean on its Republic of Benin counterpart to send Igboho back to Nigeria under the guise that he was a subversive element and terrorist undermining the security and territorial integrity of Nigeria. On the other hand, pro-Igboho elements led by the Yoruba Nation leader, Prof. Banji Akintoye, exerted pressure on the Beninoise government not to jeopardize Igboho’s safety by repatriating him to Nigeria. Igboho, they insisted, was a freedom fighter and nationalist activist and the peaceful agitation for a Yoruba Nation to be carved out of Nigeria is a legitimate nationalist aspiration recognized by the Charter of the United Nations Organization.

READ ALSO: If Atiku were a Yoruba elder…, By Bolanle Bolawole

In the end, the Beninoise government bent over backward to satisfy both ends: Igboho would not be allowed to continue on his journey from Cotonou to Germany, where it was feared he could begin to torment the Buhari administration just like Simon Ekpa of IPOB has used his base in Finland, another European nation, to promote IPOB interests and activities, but he would also not be returned to Nigeria as demanded by the Buhari administration.

The Yoruba indigenous group, mostly found in the south-east and south-south, accounts for 12% of the population of Benin Republic (nearly two million people), coming after the Fon 39% and the Adja and Mina (over 12%). There are 34 Yoruba Obas in Benin Republic. When we add the population of Yoruba migrants, then, the Yoruba constitute about one-quarter of the total population of the Benin Republic. While French is the country’s official language, Fon, Yom and Yoruba have the status of national languages. A visitor to Benin Republic, and even to its neighbour, the Republic of Togo, who is unable to speak French, will have no problem if he can speak Anago, which is what they call Yoruba.

Prof. Akintoye and other Yoruba Nation leaders who have also relocated from Nigeria to the Republic of Benin leveraged on this huge population (which no political leader can ignore) to mount pressure on the Beninoise government on Igboho. After courts in the Benin Republic freed Igboho, the Benin Government kept him in a “safe house” first in Porto Novo and later in Cotonou while a flurry of diplomatic and political activities continued to determine his fate. Now that Buhari is out of the way, Igboho has finally received the green light from the Benin Government for him to proceed on his journey to Germany, two years after!

Once Prof. Akintoye broke the news to me, I returned to bed. Two hours later at 10.00pm, Baba’s call woke me up again. Is the news ready? I had not even scribbled it! So, I quickly drafted a terse three-paragraph newsbreak and sent it to Baba for clearance: “Yoruba Nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho, has been released from protective custody in the neighbouring Republic of Benin. According to the Yoruba Nation leader, Prof. Banji Akintoye, Sunday Igboho’s release came a few hours ago and he is right now on his way to Germany to be reunited with his family. Further details later” I forwarded it to Baba and Baba okayed it: “Bola, lots of thanks. It is very apt” after which I rolled it out.

The “further details” that were promised came with Sunday Igboho himself speaking on his release and the next line of action. He said: “Good day everyone. I remain myself, Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho. First of all, my sincere appreciation goes to God Almighty, the master of the universe, for making this day possible. I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to all Yoruba sons and daughters all over the world for their love and support before and after the loss of my dear mother, though she’s still being kept in the morgue, waiting for me to return and give her the befitting burial that she deserves.

“I give special thanks to President (Patrice) Talon of Benin Republic and to all the members of his cabinet. My gratitude goes to my heroic father, Professor Banji Akintoye, and to Professor Wole Soyinka for their support in the course of the struggle. May God reward you, Baba, for standing courageously for our Yoruba nation and for me! You promised to stand by me through my ordeal in the Benin Republic and you have fulfilled your promise. I will not forget to appreciate former President Olusegun Obasanjo (and) Baba Ayo Adebanjo for their role, even though only God gives freedom.

“Let me use this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to all religious leaders, pastors, alfas and traditional worshippers for their prayer day and night. Our royal fathers, Obas and Chiefs in Yoruba land, your love and support are so well appreciated. But we need more of your support to deliver our land from the slavery of the Fulani because Yoruba land is ours. Although I have many Obas on my list, Olugbon of Orile Igbon and deputy chairman, Oyo State Council of Obas, Oba Francis Olushola Alao; Kabiyesi Oba Topson Oni Bariga of Bariga, Oba Tejuoso; Oni Kenta of Orile Kenta; Olugbo of Ugbo kingdom, Oba Frederick Akinruntan Obateru; your love is well appreciated”

Igboho said he had a long list of people and organizations to appreciate but that the list is too long for him to exhaust in this particular statement. It nevertheless includes Mega Rally, USA under Prophet Ologunloluwa and the Directorate under the leadership of Barrister Ogedengbe; Ilana Omo Oodua, Canada; Igbega Omo Oodua, USA and Canada; Chief Dele Momodu, all media outlets (internet, print and electronic); “all my brothers from the East” and many others who wanted to remain incognito. He ended with a plea to all Yoruba sons and daughters to join hands “to make Yoruba land great”

One chapter has just been closed in the Yoruba struggle for self-actualization. In the coming days and weeks, we will hear all manner of stories about the undercurrents that led to Igboho’s freedom. Who played what role and what were the conditions attached, if any? Will Igboho be free to return to Nigeria any time soon and under what conditions, if any? What role, if any, did the presidency of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu play in Igboho’s release? Has the Nigerian government reviewed its uncompromising stance on Igboho and is he no longer a terrorist and security threat? Has Tinubu himself softened his stance on Yoruba Nation and its agitation for self-determination?

Another question is whether the release of Igboho will give a new lease of life to the Yoruba struggle for self-determination. Will the street rallies, which Igboho led successfully before he was run out of town by the Buhari administration, return? Will Igboho’s release add fillip to the sagging morale of other Yoruba Nation activists and give the tottering Yoruba self-determination struggle a shot in the arm? Will activists stop the bickering over post and position; receive the impetus to resolve doctrinaire disputes and stop trading incessant accusations of financial malfeasance?  Will the leadership re-dedicate itself anew to the task of rekindling the hope of millions of Yoruba Nation devotees at home and in the Diaspora? Time, as they say, will tell!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com / 0705 263 1058) former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director Editor-in-chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

The post Now that Sunday Igboho is free… appeared first on Frontpageng.

A reliable source quoted the Yoruba Nation leader, Prof. Banji Akintoye, on Sunday as saying that Igboho’s release was carried out a “few hours ago.”

The source told FrontPage correspondent that Igboho was already on his way to Germany, his destination before he was arrested.

Recall that Igboho fled Nigeria in 2021 when operatives of the Department of State Service, DSS, stormed his residence in Ibadan, in a bid to arrest him.

Addressing a press conference on the matter, the spokesman of the DSS, Peter Afunanya, on Thursday, July 1, 2021, said 13 suspects, including a female and 12 males, were arrested during the raid.

He was heading towards Germany through Benin Republic when he was arrested and put in protective custody.

He plans to reunite with his family in Germany.

The post BREAKING: Sunday Igboho out of detention, leaves for Germany appeared first on Frontpageng.

What prompted the protests at Ojota recently where someone was reportedly killed at a time many had thought you had toned down your campaign just like Biafra agitators?

To the best of my knowledge, the agitation for Biafra has not died down. You may experience a lull in the activities of people or organisations; there could be low points in agitations but that does not mean that the agitation has been abandoned. I am not aware that the Biafrans have abandoned their struggle and I am also not aware that those who are struggling for Yoruba nation like Sunday Igboho, Prof Banji Akintoye and their followers have abandoned their own struggle as well.  Maybe they are approaching it in some other forms but I think they are still agitating for their own separate entities out of Nigeria.

Our minimum demand is restructuring but I must tell you that there are many Yoruba agitators who have moved away from restructuring because they believe it cannot address our situation 100 per cent.

But Sunday Igboho distanced himself from the protest at Ojota…

I have not seen anyone that said he organised the protest at Ojota but, of course, I am aware that it is not possible to have an agitation without some people being behind it. What we should do, instead of asking Gani Adams or Igboho, is to go to the protesters. They should be able to tell us those behind their protest. Since the people who gathered (at Ojota) are humans, they should be able to tell who brought them there and the purpose of their gathering.

Do you think the call for Yoruba nation is necessary at this time, given that elections are just around the corner?

It is very necessary because the situation that prompted the agitation for Yoruba nation is still very much with us. I am sure you know that five, ten years ago, we didn’t hear anything about agitation for Yoruba nation. But, somehow, we began to hear about the agitation, especially with the unbridled nepotism of the government of retired General Muhammadu Buhari; how he positioned the Fulani in the commanding height of the economy of the country (and) the security architecture of the country, and how he turned this country from a federation of nationalities to the estate of the Fulani. That was what made other ethnic nationalities to begin to think that if they did not do something, they would soon become slaves to the Fulani. They reasoned that they must agitate to liberate themselves from the Fulani. That situation is still there. Look at the structure in NNPC, it is still Fulani! Look at the structure in the security sector, it is still Fulani! Every appointment they are making now, the majority is still going to the Fulani or the North. So, those agitating against the imbalance are justified to continue their agitation until the imbalance is redressed.

READ ALSO: University education as mere meal ticket…, By Bola Bolawole

Since the Fulani president is leaving, don’t you think the Yoruba nation should calm down till a new government comes on board, which might even favour them given the fact that a Yoruba person is also in the race?

A Fulani president is expected to leave in May; let us hope that he leaves because we are already being told that elections may not hold or may be postponed because of so-called insecurity! So, if elections do not hold or they are postponed, what happens? Will the Fulani president remain in office or will there be an interim national government? What are we going to have? So, it is too early to say that the Fulani president is leaving. It is too early to say that there will be elections. Remember that among the four leading presidential candidates, we have two Northerners and the election can go anywhere. So, don’t be too sure where the pendulum will swing. I want Nigerians to dedicate themselves to the cause of fairness, equity and justice. It is only when you have fairness, equity and justice that there can be peace, progress and development. If there is any ethnic group that thinks it can continue to lord it over the others and continue to have its way, it is foolhardy to think that way. Like one philosopher said; If you hold power today, don’t think you will hold power forever; if you control the forces today, don’t think you will control the forces forever. If you oppress people today, don’t think that you will oppress them forever. One of these days, they will fight to liberate themselves and that is what we see happening in Nigeria now. A word is enough for the wise!

What are your thoughts on the internal crisis in the Ilana Yoruba group among Prof. Banji Akintoye, Prof. Wale Adeniran, and Maxwell Adeleye?

It is very unfortunate that they are fighting among themselves! I am familiar with the people you mentioned. It is unfortunate that they are disagreeing over money, over positions, and washing their dirty linen in public. But I want to say that from my own understanding of what is happening in Yoruba nation, Prof. Akintoye has not resigned from the Yoruba struggle; he only gave his mantle of leadership of Ilana Omo Yoruba to his deputy, Prof. Adeniran, so that he (Akintoye) can focus on his assignment as the overall leader of all the Yoruba self-determination groups. Adeniran just stepped up from being deputy leader to being the leader of Ilana, which is just one of the many organisations making up the Yoruba self-determination groups. Then, they had a disagreement and Maxwell said he was no longer the spokesperson of Prof. Akintoye; there is no problem with that. When he (Maxwell) called me, I told him there was no problem if he wanted to step down but why was he now running down the person whose spokesperson he was yesterday? It doesn’t show maturity and commitment to the Yoruba cause. To now say they have stepped down and go in public to denigrate Prof. Akintoye, who they were defending yesterday, is wrong. They claim they are resigning from the Yoruba cause. You can’t resign from a cause you believe in; it means they never believed in that cause ab initio; it means they must have been in that cause for a particular purpose other than the interest of the Yoruba nation. It is very unfortunate. You can disagree. I have studied lots of revolutionary struggles and I am familiar with them; there are always disagreements but you don’t go to the public with your dirty linen and begin to work against the cause you claimed to believe in. We call such people counter-revolutionaries and they are not good for the struggle. I am not happy with the way they are behaving like children. We call what they are exhibiting infantile radicalism; whether they are professors or not. The way they have gone about it is not the way to go. If you have problems, sort them out internally and don’t do anything that will jeopardise the cause you said you believed in. If you believe in a cause, don’t do anything that will hurt the cause.

There are lots of Yoruba people who don’t believe in the struggle; do you think it is alright that way?

Those who do not believe in the struggle may end up not enjoying its full benefits! We can excommunicate them from the Yoruba nation when we achieve it (laughter)! Besides, revolutionary struggles are not carried out by the majority; it’s always championed by the minority. It’s only a few individuals that champion it; which is why they are called the “vanguard” of the proletariat. A few people will organise, lead the interested, and upturn the existing, decadent structure or system and erect another (pro-people) structure in its place.

Many IPOB members and their sympathisers are no longer identifying with the struggle because Peter Obi is in the race. In fact, many of them have changed their profile pictures from the Biafran flag and Nnamdi Kanu to Obi’s picture. Don’t you think those struggling for Yoruba nation should toe this line of action?

Yoruba have never been like other ethnic groups in Nigeria. Yoruba have always held on to their own ideology of equity, justice, fairness and fair play regardless whose ox is gored. Yoruba don’t support somebody because he is their own. Yoruba will support you if you fit into their concept of what is right, just and equitable. That is why Yoruba are always in the opposition; they don’t care provided they (Yoruba) know they are fighting the right cause, which was how we fought June 12 and won despite the fact that it was tagged a Yoruba struggle. Was MKO not pronounced the winner of the election posthumously? Was he not given the highest honour in the land? Is June 12 not Democracy Day today, despite the fact that it was only the Yoruba that fought it to the bitter end? The Yoruba people won’t behave like other ethnic groups; we will not say because the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, can become president, therefore, we abandon our agitation for Yoruba nation. Our agitation is not because we want a Yoruba president. We are agitating because we want a restructured Nigeria; we want a Nigeria where Yoruba will be free to develop at their own pace. We believe we are being held down; we believe we are not able to demonstrate our talents. We believe if we are allowed to progress at the pace set by Awolowo, by now we would have been better off than Brazil, Singapore, and China. China was behind us in those days. Malaysia came here to get its palm kernel; today, we import palm oil from Malaysia. Yoruba people are not agitating for Yoruba president, we have had one. We are agitating for the restructuring of Nigeria. A Yoruba president will come and go; if the structures are not made okay, there will be no development for any ethnic group. We want a restructured Nigeria like we had in 1960 so that each region can develop at its own pace. That was the time we had the development we still refer to, today. We are agitating to go back to that arrangement whereby the Yoruba will be able to travel at a faster pace than now. We are being held back now, and we don’t want that anymore. We want a situation whereby within the next five to eight years, we will catch up with Brazil, Singapore, and China. We will be a world power and our economy and education will be one of the best in the world, like it used to be. That is what we are fighting for. If it’s a Yoruba, Fulani, Igbo or Hausa president that can do that, it’s okay. If Goodluck Jonathan or Olusegun Obasanjo had done that, it would have been okay. Many voted for Buhari in 2015 because they thought he would restructure the country.

Yoruba have never been like other ethnic groups in Nigeria. Yoruba have always held on to their own ideology of equity, justice, fairness and fair play regardless whose ox is gored.

So, you need an assurance that restructuring will take place before the agitation for Yoruba nation ceases?

Our minimum demand is restructuring but I must tell you that there are many Yoruba agitators who have moved away from restructuring because they believe it cannot address our situation 100 per cent. What they want now is for the Yoruba to have their own nation. Restructuring has been delayed for so long that people now say restructuring cannot anymore solve the problem. But let us have restructuring now; if it does not solve the problem, then, we consider the next line of action”.

Need I say more?

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com / 0705 263 1058), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

The post Why the agitation for Yoruba nation…, By Bolanle Bolawole appeared first on Frontpageng.

Our attention has been drawn to an unfortunate, misdirected, misplaced and divisive statement credited to Professor Banji Akintoye, in which his group threatened to pull the South West out of Nigeria.

To be candid, there are several agitation groups in the South West and in other parts of Nigeria who wrongly think the best way to demand for justice and fairness is through break-up of our country.

And since there has been no referendum held in Yorubaland about whether to stay in Nigeria or not and no such referendum has been held in any part of Nigeria, it is then appropriate to assume that this separatist idea is basically Akintoye and his group’s sole idea.

We join other bona-fide and critical stakeholders in Yorubaland to advise Professor Akintoye not to plunge our people into a needless and precipitate crisis or create another Rwanda.

We join other bona-fide and critical stakeholders in Yorubaland to advise Professor Akintoye not to plunge our people into a needless and precipitate crisis or create another Rwanda.

We find it quite preposterous the professor’s sweeping outlandish accusation that Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu is only pursuing his personal interest in running for the presidency of Nigeria. Such statement is malicious and unwarranted. It is pertinent to state that Asiwaju Tinubu is contesting for Nigeria’s presidency because of his readiness to render unflinching service to Nigerians and because of his abiding faith in a strong, united and prosperous Nigeria where every man and woman, regardless of their ethnicity and religious beliefs, can be proud and prosperous.

Most of the issues around the structure of our federalism raised in Professor Akintoye’s poorly thought-out statement have been sufficiently addressed in Asiwaju’s Action Plan with his promise to address some of the problems plaguing our federalism and the will to make the states to be more viable as federating units by devolving more powers to them.

We quote from Asiwaju Tinubu’s Action Plan for Professor Akintoye and his group’s enlightenment: “Since our nation’s inception, too much power and resources have been lodged at the federal level. This has come at the expense of state and local governance. This is problematic because state governments are closer to the people and must be more responsive to local needs and aspirations. A Tinubu administration will rebalance the responsibilities and authorities of the different tiers of government. We will collaborate with the National Assembly and State Governments to amend our national governance architecture such that States are afforded the autonomy and resources needed to better serve.”

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From the foregoing, it is inexplicable that a Professor Akintoye who once served as Senator of the Federal Republic under the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) from 1979-83, will in the twilight of his life on earth at 87 years old, wants to leave a legacy of hatred, bitterness, intolerance and acrimony in our country when he should be a voice of reason, wisdom and stability.

The Yoruba aphorism states that “the head of a newly born baby cannot be lopsided in the presence of market elders”. These immortal words of our forebears appear to be lost on Professor Akintoye who should be a centripetal force rather than a centrifugal figure or a totem of anarchy.

Professor Akintoye claimed that Asiwaju Tinubu is using his old video to campaign. This is most untrue. Asiwaju Tinubu and his campaign organisation have neither used such video nor need to use it in any form. Asiwaju Tinubu’s towering figure, intimidating credentials, unparalleled track record of achievements, his remarkable political sagacity, demonstrable managerial capacity, and nationally acclaimed transformative vision, knowledge and courage all eloquently bear testimony to his qualification for the presidency of Nigeria.

The Yoruba aphorism states that “the head of a newly born baby cannot be lopsided in the presence of market elders”.

It is worth reiterating that Asiwaju Tinubu is contesting to be President of Nigeria because he is a nationalist, a bridge builder and a man with a well-thought-out Action Plan to make Nigeria work for all.

Tinubu is not a hopeless tribalist and definitely not delusional ethnic irredentist. Tinubu believes in Nigeria and its manifest great destiny and he is prepared to provide the required leadership to make our country one of the best nations on earth.

*Onanuga is Director, Media and Publicity, Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council

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