“I don tire for this country o! In fact, I am really, really fed up! Was it not Emilokan that I sighted at the burial ceremony of Nasir el-Rufai’s mother or was I seeing double?”

“O-ti o! You were seeing triple! Mr. President was there life and direct! He landed there gidigba and full ground berekete, as they say! They even gave him a chair to sit on!”

“I am disappointed! What a shame!”

“I can’t understand your fury, anger, and anguish. What has the president done wrong?”

“Are you asking me? You must be one of those people who don’t understand what is called propriety – what is proper and what is not proper. Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey sang ‘Oun ti o daa o daa’. What is not good is not good!”

“Yes, I remember that song: ‘Oun ti o daa o daa/Ma gba’yawo ore e/Ma gb’oko l’owo ore e/ Oju lo fi n ti ni/Oun ba ni je l’awujo ore.’ The Yoruba also completes that saying with ‘Okun orun o ye adie.’ No sane person ties a rope around a chicken’s neck. But why was it improper for Mr. President to have witnessed the burial of el-Rufai’s mother?”

“Plenty reasons…”

“Number one…”

“Is this not the same man that has sworn to do all in his power to deny Emilokan a second term of office?”

“Yes, he is but Mr. President knows that his second term is beyond the man’s scope and capacity. He knows the short-man devil is only puffing and smarting for his failure to become a Minister…”

“Emilokan is playing with fire! He is using the head of a cobra to tickle his nostrils. As petit as he is, el-Rufai has an over-size dose of unforgiving spirit”

“Whether he forgives or not is his own funeral. An enraged he-goat that scratches the ground before its owner, my people ask what can it do to its owner? If care is not taken, the owner will command that the errant goat be slaughtered for dinner before nightfall!”

“You are under-rating this man…”

“You are the one over-rating him! A man who was temporarily released from detention to breathe fresh air – what if they hadn’t released him? Couldn’t you see how gentle he had become? ”

“I understand he has even been returned to prison…”

“Oh-ohoo!”

“But I am surprised you are not making a thing of the threats and noise this man was making all over the place! Someone who was bold enough to disclose that they bugged the phone lines of the National Security Adviser…”

“And see where it has landed him! Which of his new-found political associates are facing the same ordeal as him now?”

“Reports said he rejected the offer of a presidential jet to fly his dead mother from Egypt. That snub was enough excuse for the president to have boycotted the burial…”

“But that would have been childish! When you spank a child, you also must not deny him the right to cry. Only a wicked elder does both at the same time”

“But we have had presidents who did so in the past. Babangida did. Buhari, also”

“I don’t understand…”

“I heard the story that when Buhari was about to be bypassed for promotion and juicy posting as GOC during the presidency of Shehu Shagari, he cried to some influential persons who took his case to Shagari…”

“And Shagari turned them down?”

“No! Shagari listened and gave Buhari all his dues. Not long after, Shagari was toppled in a coup that produced the same Buhari as military Head of State…”

“They say one good turn deserves another! Why was it the same Buhari that toppled Shagari?”

“Some reports said Buhari was just the beneficiary of that coup; that he actually wasn’t its leader…”

“I see! But he became Head of State all the same…”

“Yes, and Shagari was put under house arrest. An elder brother of Shagari, who was receiving treatment at the State House clinic, was unceremoniously thrown out of his sick bed and hauled to Sokoto. The man reportedly died the next day…”

“And was Buhari aware?”

“Listen now! The men who had taken Buhari’s case to Shagari now approached Buhari to allow them see Shagari to break the sad news of his brother’s death to him and also for them to see how well the ousted president was faring in detention. Buhari reportedly refused!”

“Na lie! No man can be that wicked!”

“Na truth! Emissaries after emissaries approached Buhari with the same requests but he turned all of them down. That was what I heard! But Karma cannot be cheated…”

“En-hen! What happened?”

“Buhari himself was overthrown in August 1985 and was clamped into detention and Babangida took over. Buhari’s mother died in December 1988 and whether Babangida did not release Buhari or it was Buhari who refused the offer…”

“You mean Buhari did not attend his own mother’s burial?”

“Reportedly, he did not!”

“No wonder the unresolved animosity between him and Babangida! They will settle in heaven! Buhari is already there waiting for him!”

“They said Babangida was angry that after himself and his men had put their lives on the line to topple Shagari, Buhari took Tunde Idiagbon as his Number Two man and both of them began to sideline Babangida and his boys…”

“I see! The same spirit of ingratitude and vindictiveness…”

“Not only that, the story is also told that Buhari and Idiagbon began to investigate certain things against the fingers that fed them and those ones played them a joker…”

“Joker? What joker?”

“They got an influential Arab royalty to extend a special invitation to Idiagbon to visit Mecca and once Idiagbon left the shores of Nigeria, the coast was clear for Babangida to just pick Buhari like a lame duck”

“Oh my God! Was that the Mecca Idiagbon took his 14-year-old son, which violated their own laws?”

“Yes! History is a useful lesson. Can I also tell you something?”

“Please, do!”

“Buhari as civilian president also denied Sambo Dasuki, President Goodluck Jonathan’s ‘arms bazaar’ National Security Officer, the opportunity to bury his father, the Sultan of Sokoto, Ibrahim Dasuki…”

“Yes, yes, yes! Sambo was in detention over the arms bazaar matter when his father died. Northerners are not used to treating one another that way…”

“The issues involved must have caused it. The story is told that Sambo led the coup plotters that arrested Buhari…”

“I see! Buhari, too, must have had a knack for hard-heartedness. See the way he repaid Shagari’s favours, for instance.”

“He might have thought he had already done Shagari enough favours by putting him under house arrest while the vice-president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, was hauled into detention.”

“That’s favouritism, ethnicity, religious bigotry, name it…”

“Should Nigerians have elected such a man as president in 2015? I understand he came out of detention and sent his wife packing because she went to beg Babangida for his release. Can you also believe that when Shagari died in December 2018, Buhari as civilian president did not accord him full state burial. He merely declared a three-day flying of the national flag at half-mast and sent emissaries to the burial. He did not personally attend”

“Waooh! But Emilokan accorded the same Buhari full state burial and personally attended. We should never have touched such a man like Buhari with a ten-foot pole. Emilokan, then, had enough precedents to have denied el-Rufai the temporary reprieve of attending his mother’s burial…”

“But are you aware that such things are not new? When Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s first son, Olusegun Awolowo Snr., died in 1963 in a car accident on his way from Ibadan to Lagos to defend his father who was standing trial on charges of treason, Awo applied to be allowed to leave custody to attend the burial but the Federal Government of President Nnamdi Azikiwe and Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa refused to grant the request.”

“I am lost for words!”

“By the way, how are we sure Mr. President was the one who granted el-Rufai his temporary reprieve?”

“Who could have done that? The matter was too sensitive to have been handled outside the purview of the presidency”

“Don’t be too sure! Some people can decide to play the cards of ethnicity and religion and box the president into a corner”

“I don’t understand!”

“El-Rufai was in custody at the instance of the ICPC, which is headed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Are you telling me the man does not know the law?”

“We are still saying the same thing! They must have twisted his hands to do what he did. And who could have done that if not the presidency?”

“You are making a big mistake. The presidency is not the only centre of power and authority in this country. For those who value their ethnic base more than Nigeria, they will ignore presidential directives and take orders elsewhere. The same goes for those who will do anything for their religious sentiments…”

“Are you by any means suggesting… ?”

Yes, I suggest! Why is it that it was the DSS that later surfaced to re-arrest the man? Even laymen know that once a person is detained on the orders of a court, such an order can only be varied by the same court or by a superior court”

“But they were pressed for time…”

“Then they could as well have met the judge in chambers! Maybe they did that. If they did, it will be okay, but if not, what they did is travesty of justice. Even though I am not opposed to el-Rufai’s temporary release on compassionate grounds, the route they took leaves much to be desired.”

“If Emilokan was not party to the decision, he would not have attended…”

“He would still have attended! “Cunny man die, cunny man bury am!” Besides, all these guys are not enemies; they are political associates, personal friends, and business partners. Their quarrels are usually ephemeral. I will not be surprised if this same el-Rufai emerges as a Minister in Tinubu’s second term…”

“God forbid!”

“Then you are a novice to our special brand of politics! The politicians appear to be fighting now because they are still struggling for the trophy. Once someone among them seizes the trophy, the next thing is settlement…”

“The defections into the ruling party confirms that…”

“Ah-aah! In all of these, what worries me most is that the day all our who’s who trooped to condole with Rufai, whose mother died at the old age of 96, was the same day 27 souls were wasted in a location in Jos, Plateau state and the state governor went there hiding in an armoured tank while addressing the people!”

“Tufiakwa! This is a country of anything goes! In some other places, no one will listen to him…”

“Is that all? He will be stoned and chased away!”

“Imagine if all those who milled around el-Rufai had gathered to put heads together to tackle the insecurity problems ravaging the country!”

“It is not their problem; so why should they? I read that in times past, whenever disaster befell a people, the ruler would tear his clothes, sit in ashes and refuse to eat or drink…”

“You make me laugh! Here, once they dust up and issue rehashed press statements, offer bland condolences and make empty promises, they move on – until another disaster strikes and they repeat the same rituals again”

“Again and again! I have lost count…”

“On Sunday – Palm Sunday for that matter – scores of Nigerians were gunned down in cold blood. I expected everyone who had earlier in the day trooped to help el-Rufai bury his mother to also troop to the Presidential Villa to put heads together with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to help him find a solution to the country’s hydra-headed insecurity challenges…”

“And you think Emilokan would have welcomed them?”

“Why not? I even expect they would meet him in sackcloth covered with ashes as in the days of old…”

“You live on the Moon! I don’t think we have here rulers who can do what you are proposing…”

“It means, then, that solutions are not in sight. If the leaders will not move, and the people themselves are not ready to move them…”

“Did you hear the locals in Jos accuse the military of complicity in the Jos mayhem?”

“I did! What a hopelessly hopeless situation!”

“Not really! Only that the hour is yet to come!

I wish my esteemed readers full compliments of this season!

*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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The post Nasir el-Rufai mother’s burial: Matters arising appeared first on Frontpageng.

Even I was more shocked at my threat. How exactly was I going to make him stop peeing? Really, Funke. I quickly wound up the window. My driver burst into laughter. But I was angry. Would he do that in America or Dubai? We just think Nigeria is about nonsense, all and every type of nonsense.

But let us start at the beginning.

Once upon a Lagos morning when the sun still rose gently and not like a landlord knocking for rent there was a decree: thou shalt clean thy surroundings… or else.

The story begins in the no nonsense days of Muhammadu Buhari and his equally stern deputy, Tunde Idiagbon. Nigeria in 1984 was not smiling. Indiscipline was everywhere on the roads, in offices, and very visibly, in the gutters that had long given up on flowing.

So the government did what strict African parents do when children misbehave: they introduced a national “reset button” called the War Against Indiscipline. WAI for short. And one of WAI’s most famous children was Saturday Environmental Sanitation.

Now, this was not your gentle “please sweep your compound” suggestion. Oh no. This was law, backed by soldiers, whistles, and the kind of stare that could make a grown man remember his childhood sins.

On the last Saturday of every month, between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., Nigeria would pause. Markets went quiet. Roads emptied. Even the ever busy Lagos danfo drivers respected themselves at least for those three hours. Movement was restricted. If you were found outside without a broom, cutlass, or at least the look of someone going to fetch water, you were in trouble.

And trouble had a uniform for years.

Soldiers and sanitation officers mounted roadblocks like exam invigilators. “Where are you going?” they would bark.

“To buy bread,” one unfortunate fellow might reply.

“At 8 a.m.? On sanitation day? Bread that cannot wait till 10?” Next thing, he was doing frog jumps beside a gutter, contemplating his life choices.

But here’s the beautiful chaos of it all: people actually cleaned.

Families came out in their oldest clothes, armed with brooms that had seen better days. Children were drafted like reluctant soldiers. Mothers supervised like generals. Fathers, who usually had “urgent meetings”, suddenly became experts in clearing drains.

Gutters were desilted. Bushes were cut. Refuse was gathered into obedient heaps, waiting for trucks that sometimes came… and sometimes had their own plans.

There was also community spirit real, raw, unfiltered.

Neighbours who had not spoken in months would suddenly bond over a stubborn pile of dirt. “Madam, push it small!”

“Oga, carry that side!” Before you knew it, sanitation had become a mini festival of forced unity.

Of course, Nigerians being Nigerians, creativity found its way in. Some people sprinkled water in front of their houses and disappeared indoors. Others swept the same spot for two hours, perfecting the art of “appearing busy.” And a few brave souls tried to sneak out only to be escorted back by uniformed reality or slammed with a fine or infuriating delays.

Over time, as democracy returned and soldiers retreated to the barracks, the fear factor reduced. The whistles became softer, enforcement grew weaker. And like many good Nigerian habits, Saturday sanitation began to fade, surviving today in fragments across states.

But for those who remember, it was a time when the nation paused not for football, not for elections but to face its dirt, literally.

And for three disciplined hours, Nigeria almost looked like a country that had its act together.

Then, it was cancelled or revoked or adjusted to function in all markets on Thursday. I guess someone thought only market women are dirty and so should be made to lock up their stalls and shops in the markets and shopping complexes till 10 am every Thursday. That fellow forgot that the fabric dealer came from an estate, the pepper trader and the butcher came from one community that remained unswept and unkempt. So, as that smell that made it impossible to enjoy street rice on ‘horo Dosunmu’ and Amala on point in Surulere and Ogba disappeared, they simply returned ‘home’. Yes, to the streets, even 3 star estates. They started lining the streets in black suspicious bags, streets that ought to be tree lined.

On your way to work, you see urchins and beggars just rising from sleep, scratching and spitting, then you see the black dustbin bags, standing or sitting, glaring at you, as if in defiance, dozens of them. And my grandmother taught my sister and I that beholding dirt or stepping into dirt early in the morning is bad luck, indeed she said it can make the beholder poor. Maybe these dirt and dirt bags are the reasons behind the tough life in Lagos. Everybody is running into one another, working from dawn to dusk, with little or no profit to take ‘home’ during Sallah and Christmas.

Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu must have seen that Lagos was going back to Egypt. Maybe he and his cabinet members also had grandmothers like mine and have realised that where filth dwells, wealth cannot live.

So, as Lagos debates the return of Saturday environmental sanitation, let us approach it not as a punishment, but as a reset button.

The commissioners must have all perceived the stubborn smell that clings to certain streets in the state, that smell that is not the rich aroma of buka pepper soup or the seductive invitation of suya smoke curling into the evening air. What we have these days is the old, angry smell of neglect of overflowing plastic bags flowing into gutters that are clogged and dead.

Between 2016 and now, Lagos has become a city that forgot that cleanliness is not a luxury, it is survival.

Welcome to the shocking cost of a dirty Lagos.

We like to think dirt is just an eyesore, something you wrinkle your nose at, complain about, and then jump over on your way to hustle. But dirt is expensive, very expensive.

First, let’s talk money. Lagosians spend billions yearly treating diseases that thrive in filth malaria, cholera, typhoid.

That “small fever” that keeps you in bed for three days? It is not small. It is rent money quietly walking out of your pocket.

It is productivity slipping through your fingers. It is school fees ending up as hospital receipts.

Then there is flooding. Ah, Lagos floods are usually accompanied by dramatic lamentations of emotional blackmail that rain or sea mermaids have come to collect their due. We conveniently forget that gutters clogged with pure water sachets, plastic bottles, and yesterday’s indifference confuses rain when it arrives. It has to go somewhere. Your living room, bedroom, compound filled with expensive cars become options. Your stocked warehouse is another option. Since you cannot unclog or desilt your drainages, your new smart television must float. Your queen size mattresses will drink until it’s drunk. Shops will shut down. Goods worth billions of naira will spoil. You are free to call it “natural disaster”, government negligence or even ‘village people attack’, we all know nature does not punish us unprovoked.

But Lagos did not just wake up dirty. No city does. Dirt is a slow rebellion. It begins with one person dropping a sachet on the road. Then another. Then a whole street decides that the gutter is a trash can. Before long, the system collapses not because it was weak, but because we were careless.

And somewhere in all of this, we quietly retired one of the simplest, most effective civic habits we ever had: the three hour Saturday environmental sanitation.

Now that Lagos is ‘bringing back our environmental’ with effect from April 25, some people are protesting. Even me too has something to protest. I would have preferred the sanitation period to stretch till noon. Let our men breathe. Let them relax at home. They are too stressed. Let their wives tend and attend to them from all angles. Let children see their fathers. This new sanitation period is too short. There are too many cobwebs men, sorry, all of us, have to clear. Let us patiently clean it. Please let all other protests and protesters go and rest. I am seriously single minded about this. This is a domestic matter. It does not concern the lawyers. Or are these lawyers against women’s peace of mind?

Let’s go down memory lane.

The last Saturday of the month once arrived like a stern headmistress. From 7am to 10am, movement was restricted.

No okada racing past. No danfo honking impatiently. Lagos would pause. And in that pause, something magical happened, people cleaned.

Children swept compounds grudgingly. Mothers supervised like generals. Fathers suddenly remembered how to handle cutlasses and shovels. Gutters were cleared. Bushes were trimmed. Refuse was gathered. Streets breathed again.

It was not perfect. Some people hid indoors, pretending to be “not around.” Others bribed their way past enforcement officers. But overall, it worked. It reminded us that a city is not cleaned by government alone; it is maintained by its people.

Then we stopped.

Seriously though, freedom fighters and human rights activists and their high sounding sleek arguments brought us here. Not everything can be solved with big English.

Rake, brooms and cutlasses deployed well are more effective sometimes. Why do Lagosians always have somewhere to go sef? Where are they always going before day break? How will two or three hours in a whole month to clean your own environment for your own good be a problem? What kind of people are we if we always want to blame others for things we leave or left undone?

Take traffic, for instance.

A blocked drainage today is a flooded road tomorrow. A flooded road becomes gridlock. Gridlock becomes lost man hours. Lost man hours become economic loss. By the time you trace it back, you will find that the problem started with a plastic bottle or moin moin leaves someone casually tossed aside weeks ago.

But perhaps the most shocking cost is not financial.

It is psychological.

There is something that dirt does to the human mind.

It lowers standards.

It whispers,

“Nobody cares.”

And when nobody cares, anything goes. You see refuse on the road, and you add your own. You see a dirty environment, and you stop expecting better from yourself, from your neighbours, leaders, from your society.

Cleanliness, on the other hand, inspires order. It creates pride. It tells people,

“This place matters.” And when a place matters, people behave differently.

Now that conversations about the return of Saturday environmental sanitation has resurfaced, we must resist the urge to roll our eyes and mutter ‘oh no’.

This is not about nostalgia.

It is about necessity.

Imagine Lagos pausing again, just for three hours once a month. Imagine millions of people stepping out at the same time to clean their immediate environment. Imagine gutters flowing freely, streets looking decent, and refuse managed before it becomes a crisis.

Will it solve everything?

No.

But will it help? Absolutely.

Of course, there is a downside to the movement restriction. Lagos is bigger now. Busier. More complex.

Restricting movement may disrupt businesses, especially for those who survive on daily income. Enforcement could become another avenue for harassment if not properly managed.

These are valid worries.

But here is the thing: every meaningful system requires adjustment, not abandonment. If the old model had flaws, then fix it. Lagos state government must find a way to deploy technology, flexibility for effective enforcement. Education and reorientation of citizens and communities are key to the success of this project.

What we cannot afford is to do nothing because doing nothing is what got us here.

We must also be honest with ourselves. Government cannot sweep every street or clear every gutter. You cannot throw refuse from your car window and then blame the state for flooding. You cannot block drainage with construction waste and then complain when water enters your house.

The return of Saturday sanitation, therefore, is not just a policy discussion. It is a mirror. It forces us to confront our habits, our laziness, our entitlement.

Do we really want a clean Lagos or we just want to complain about a dirty one?

Because the two require very different levels of commitment.

So, as Lagos debates the return of Saturday environmental sanitation, let us approach it not as a punishment, but as a reset button.

Let us remember that Yoruba poem we used to recite in primary school.

Imototo b’ori arun mo’le.

Bi oye tii b’ori ooru

Cleanliness defeats diseases, just like the cold harmattan wind trumps heat.

Three hours of inconvenience versus months of avoidable illness.

Three hours of discipline versus billions lost to preventable damage.

Three hours of collective effort versus a lifetime of complaining.

The math is simple.

Lagos is too important to be dirty, too vibrant to be suffocated by refuse, too ambitious to be slowed down by preventable diseases.

In all, we should be shocked and embarrassed not just about how dirty Lagos has become but about how comfortable we have become living in that dirt.

And that, my dear Lagosian, is what should worry us all.

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The post I’ll make sure you never pee again, By Funke Egbemode appeared first on Frontpageng.

By LANRE OGUNDIPE

Few figures in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic evoke as much fascination, admiration, suspicion and debate as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. To his supporters, he is a political strategist of rare endurance who built a formidable network of influence and eventually captured the highest office in the land. To his critics, he represents the entrenched culture of power brokerage and political godfatherism that has long complicated Nigeria’s democratic evolution.

Both views exist simultaneously. Understanding how that paradox emerged is essential to understanding contemporary Nigerian politics.

For more than three decades, Tinubu has navigated Nigeria’s shifting political terrain with unusual resilience. His journey has taken him through several identities: pro-democracy activist, state governor, regional power broker, national kingmaker and ultimately President of the Federal Republic. In a political environment where alliances collapse quickly and influence often evaporates once public office is lost, Tinubu’s ability to endure and expand his reach has made him one of the most consequential actors of the democratic era that began in 1999.

How he managed to do so is the puzzle that begins this series.

Nigeria’s political history is often narrated through towering personalities whose influence defined particular epochs. Nnamdi Azikiwe embodied the nationalist mobilisation that drove the struggle for independence. Obafemi Awolowo represented ideological clarity and programmatic governance in the First Republic. Ahmadu Bello symbolised northern political consolidation during the same period. Later came leaders shaped by the military era, including Ibrahim Babangida and Olusegun Obasanjo, whose authority derived from the command structures of uniformed rule.

Tinubu belongs to a different political generation altogether. His rise is inseparable from the democratic environment that followed the end of military rule. In that environment, political authority could no longer be seized through decree or inherited through colonial-era political hierarchies. It had to be negotiated through elections, sustained through alliances and defended within an unpredictable democratic arena.

That environment rewarded a different kind of political skill.

Tinubu’s early political formation emerged during one of Nigeria’s most turbulent moments. The annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election triggered a profound national crisis that mobilised a broad coalition of activists, intellectuals and politicians committed to restoring democratic rule. Tinubu became associated with that resistance through the National Democratic Coalition, widely known as NADECO.

Winning power is an achievement. What a leader does with that power determines his place in history.

Many members of that movement faced persecution, detention or exile during the final years of military rule. The struggle created networks of political solidarity that would later shape alignments in the Fourth Republic. Yet resistance politics alone does not explain Tinubu’s later prominence. Nigeria produced many pro-democracy activists who returned from that period with moral authority but never translated it into enduring political power.

Tinubu did something different. He moved from protest politics into the less glamorous but more consequential task of building political structures.

The opportunity emerged with Nigeria’s transition to civilian rule in 1999. Tinubu became governor of Lagos State at the dawn of the Fourth Republic. At the time, Lagos was already Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, but it was also administratively overstretched and politically complex. Governing Lagos required navigating intense economic pressures, federal-state tensions and the expectations of a rapidly expanding urban population.

Tinubu’s years in office produced changes that would later shape the foundation of his political influence. One of the most visible developments was the expansion of the state’s internally generated revenue, which significantly strengthened Lagos’ fiscal capacity. Another was the deliberate recruitment of technocrats into governance. Over time, Lagos developed a reputation for administrative experimentation and institutional restructuring.

These initiatives had consequences beyond governance. Fiscal autonomy strengthened the state’s negotiating power with the federal government. Institutional reforms created a generation of technocrats who later assumed influential roles in government and public administration. Lagos gradually evolved into more than a state government. It became a political ecosystem.

That ecosystem proved durable.

Perhaps the most striking feature of Tinubu’s political career emerged after he left office as governor in 2007. In Nigeria’s political culture, former governors often fade quickly once their tenure ends. Their successors distance themselves, alliances dissolve and their influence declines.

Tinubu defied that pattern.

Instead of retreating from the political arena, he expanded his influence by cultivating alliances across the Southwest and beyond. Several political figures who emerged through the Lagos political structure maintained varying degrees of loyalty to the network he had assembled. Over time, this pattern generated a reputation that would define his political identity for years: that of the kingmaker.

The term carried different meanings depending on who used it. Supporters interpreted it as evidence of strategic brilliance and leadership cultivation. Critics saw it as confirmation of a political godfather system that exerted excessive control over electoral outcomes.

Yet both perspectives acknowledged the same reality. Tinubu had succeeded in building one of the most durable political networks in Nigeria’s democratic history.

Political machines are not unique to Nigeria. In many political systems, influential figures have built networks capable of mobilising resources, coordinating electoral strategies and sustaining loyalty across multiple cycles of political competition. Such structures survive not through ideology alone but through organisation, patronage and strategic management of alliances.

In the Fourth Republic, Tinubu demonstrated a consistent ability to operate within this model.

Over time his influence expanded beyond regional politics. His role in coalition building during the opposition realignment that preceded the 2015 general election marked a decisive moment. The merger that produced the All Progressives Congress created the first opposition platform capable of defeating an incumbent ruling party at the federal level.

That development altered Nigeria’s political landscape.

The victory of Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election resulted from a combination of factors, including voter dissatisfaction with the incumbent administration and the effectiveness of the opposition coalition. Within that coalition, Tinubu was widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the alliance that made the outcome possible.

His reputation as Nigeria’s most influential political kingmaker grew accordingly.

Yet the kingmaker narrative would eventually give way to a different chapter. After years of shaping political outcomes from behind the scenes, Tinubu himself sought the presidency. In 2023 he achieved what few political strategists in Nigeria’s history had managed to accomplish: converting long-standing influence into direct control of the nation’s highest office.

The kingmaker had become the king.

That transformation raises the central question that frames this series. How did a politician who began as an opposition activist during the military era evolve into the dominant strategist of the Fourth Republic and ultimately into Nigeria’s president?

Answering that question requires moving beyond simplistic narratives that either glorify or condemn. Nigerian political discourse often oscillates between these extremes, reducing complex figures to caricatures. Serious analysis requires a more balanced approach.

Tinubu’s career embodies many of the contradictions that define Nigeria’s democratic experience. He is credited with helping to transform Lagos into a more administratively functional state while also attracting criticism for the concentration of political influence within his network. He is regarded as a master strategist by supporters and as a symbol of entrenched political patronage by opponents.

Both interpretations contain elements of truth.

Such contradictions are not unusual in political history. Many influential leaders have combined institution building with aggressive power consolidation. What matters is not whether contradictions exist but how they shape governance and political development.

That is the broader inquiry this series intends to pursue.

Future installments will examine Lagos as the foundation of Tinubu’s political architecture, the mechanics of his kingmaker reputation, the years of political battles that tested his resilience and the strategic intelligence that allowed him to navigate Nigeria’s volatile political terrain.

Ultimately, the most important question lies ahead.

Winning power is an achievement. What a leader does with that power determines his place in history.

Tinubu has already secured a place in Nigeria’s political narrative through his endurance, organisational skill and strategic reach. Whether that place becomes one of enduring historical significance will depend on the choices made during his presidency and the legacy that follows.

For now, one observation remains difficult to dispute.

In the complex theatre of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, few figures have shown a greater capacity to adapt, survive and shape the architecture of power.

That is why the Tinubu phenomenon deserves careful study.

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The post The Tinubu enigma: Power, strategy and the Nigerian state appeared first on Frontpageng.

 There is a moment in every generation when a country gets the chance to make a decision that reshapes the trajectory of millions of lives. Nigeria is at that moment now, and the decision is simpler than most people think.

Zero-rate educational websites. Make learning data-free. Let’s do it now.

When ALTON paid me a courtesy visit recently at the NCC’s Ikoyi office, I used the occasion to issue a clear charge: telecom operators must prioritise the zero-rating of credible educational platforms as a near-term, high-impact intervention. The response was encouraging. But encouragement is a starting point. What Nigeria needs is coordinated action across government, regulators, operators, and state houses across the federation.

The NCC is ready to lead. I am honoured to drive this work, but the vision we are executing belongs to President Bola Tinubu. He set the direction. Our role is to ensure every Nigerian child feels its impact.

The cost of data is the cost of a future

For a student in Katsina, Ebonyi, or Ekiti, the barrier to online learning is rarely motivation or intelligence. It is arithmetic: data costs money, and many families do not have that money. Asking a child to buy data before accessing a textbook is the digital equivalent of charging school fees at the gate of a public school. We decided long ago that was wrong. We must now make the same decision about data.

Zero-rating means this precisely: telecom operators allow users to access designated educational websites and digital libraries without those visits counting against their data balance. No subscription. No bundle. Just access.

This is not a radical idea. It is already working elsewhere.

In 2016, South Africa worked with mobile operators to zero-rate critical educational websites, including platforms used by university students. The initiative emerged partly in response to the #FeesMustFall movement and measurably increased access to course materials among students in rural and peri-urban areas. India’s experience is instructive on both sides. When Jio arrived in 2016 with aggressively low data pricing, it triggered one of the most dramatic expansions of digital learning the world has seen. Hundreds of millions of Indians who had been priced out of the internet gained access overnight; EdTech platforms like BYJU’s, Unacademy, and Vedantu built entire businesses on the back of that newly connected population. When you lower the cost of access, you ignite an economy. India’s telecoms regulator TRAI did, however, ban Facebook’s Free Basics in 2016 precisely because it created differential access favouring particular commercial interests. Nigeria’s approach differs: our proposal is publicly governed, government-led, and built on transparent criteria. That distinction matters.

Rwanda offers the most instructive African model. Its Smart Classroom Programme worked with operators to zero-rate the Rwanda Education Board’s digital content in government schools, combined with teacher training and device provision. Rwanda today consistently ranks among Africa’s most competitive digital economies. Connectivity and education were the foundation.

The Awolowo generation built the future on free schools. The Tinubu generation will build it on free data. We have made our choice.

Awolowo’s lesson, and a President who already understands it

A friend, responding to my public charge to ALTON, described this initiative as “Awo’s free education policy in the digital age.” The framing is exactly right.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s decision to introduce free primary education in the Western Region in 1955 was opposed, debated, and dismissed as unaffordable. He pressed on. The results were generational. The West produced a workforce that drove Nigeria’s early post-independence economy and contributed disproportionately to its professional class for decades. The dividends of that single decision are still being collected today.

Zero-rating educational websites is the digital equivalent of that bet. Operators will absorb a portion of foregone revenue in the short term; comparable analyses from South Africa and Rwanda suggest this cost, when structured properly with government support, is manageable relative to the long-term subscriber base it creates. Those same young Nigerians, educated and empowered, return to those networks as paying subscribers.

This conversation did not start here, either. I remember a session we held during President Bola Tinubu’s journey to Aso Villa, where he spoke with obvious pride about the free WAEC and NECO policy he had implemented in Lagos, then shared his vision for student loans: access to tertiary education should not depend on family finances. What was then a proposal is now operational. Close to 2 million students are already benefiting from NELFUND. We also spoke that day about data costs as a barrier to learning. That conversation is now policy in motion. President Tinubu’s commitment to inclusive education is evidenced in the free WAEC policy, in NELFUND, and in this initiative. Free data for learning is one of the most direct ways to give the Renewed Hope Agenda practical, daily meaning.

What we are asking, and what we will do

To Nigeria’s governors: in the coming weeks, I will be visiting Your Excellencies alongside Dr. Aminu Maida and other NCC board members to seek your partnership in something that can genuinely transform your states.

We will ask for your support in lowering entry barriers for operators deploying infrastructure in unserved communities. Right-of-Way costs are among the most significant obstacles to network expansion in Nigeria today. Where these fees are reduced or waived for deployments in low-connectivity areas, the effect is immediate. Connectivity does not only serve education; it opens commerce, attracts investment, and improves quality of life across every sector of a state’s economy. With it, a boy or girl in a remote village stands beside their contemporaries in any city in the world, accessing the same lectures and opportunities. We will also count on your support to protect existing and new infrastructure. Vandalism of telecoms assets is a real and costly problem, and strong state-level enforcement is a statement about what kind of future your state is committed to building.

To Engineer Gbenga Adebayo and the ALTON membership: the alignment we have reached is a foundation to build on. We see the pressures you are managing: elevated energy costs, forex pressure on equipment imports. The task we are making must be accompanied by reciprocal commitment from government, and we are prepared to deliver that. The NCC will work with operators to monitor traffic impacts and ensure capacity planning in underserved areas runs parallel to zero-rating rollout. We will work with the Federal Ministry of Education, state education boards, and civil society to identify credible platforms, publish the list, and zero-rate it under a transparent governance framework with clear eligibility criteria, a published review cycle, and an open entry pathway for Nigerian EdTech companies that meet the standard. We are also aware that zero-rated domains create VPN routing incentives; the NCC will work with ALTON on a shared enforcement approach so operators do not carry that burden alone.

To civil society and the private sector: this initiative needs champions beyond government and telecoms. Nigerian EdTech companies, development finance institutions, and corporate social responsibility programmes all have a role. Adopt a platform. Fund devices for a school. Sponsor a teacher training programme. Beyond infrastructure, every state has the opportunity to build something lasting: devices in schools, Wi-Fi in public libraries, and curated local content reflecting state languages, histories, and curricula. Zero-rated access to an empty platform helps no one. Access and content must grow together.

UNICEF and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimate that Nigeria has approximately 20 million out-of-school children. Millions more are in school but learning below their potential because resources that could help them sit behind a paywall called data. That is a crisis with a known, affordable solution. The question is no longer whether we can do this. The question is whether we will choose to.

As Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, I will continue to push for this with every platform available. We will engage operators formally on timelines and implementation frameworks, work with education counterparts to identify the right content, track progress, and report it publicly. Accountability is not optional here.

The Awolowo generation built the future on free schools. The Tinubu generation will build it on free data. We have made our choice.

*Olorunnimbe is the chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission.

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The post Free data for learning: Nigeria’s most urgent digital bet appeared first on Frontpageng.

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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The post Ondo State at 50: Dreams, stories and sunshine appeared first on Frontpageng.

Since I was oblivious of his ailment, I immediately reached for several numbers for confirmation after reading the Facebook post of acclaimed Newswatch and Tell Editor, Dare Babarinsa. It was as if I was in a trance. “This is shocking! Siyan gone???” Even when I knew Babarinsa would be the last person to peddle fake news, I still sought details.

Unfortunately, no one picked up raising my antenna until I called up Siyan’s son, Jide who gave me a load down of his father’s prolonged battles for survival. “He’s been ill for sometime now and died in Ibadan this morning and we are making plans to move his body to Ede for burial”, Jide retorted.

Sources at Ife Varsity (now Obafemi Awolowo University) where he was Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, revealed that he had surgery for brain tumor and underwent chemotherapy and was already showing signs of recovery when he kicked the bucket. He had earlier slumped at an event and was treated for stroke before it was discovered he had brain tumor, the sources offered.

An amiable friend and pioneer Jambite at Ife where he read History, Oyeweso was full of life. He was a highly resourceful academics evinced in his contributions to books, journals and newspaper articles. Siyan and I regularly shared thoughts on several issues.

We popped wine when he was appointed Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, the first alumnus to get that mantle. He had taught at the Lagos State University (LASU) where he was head hunted as pioneer staff of Osun State University when History Scholar, Prof Sola Akinrinade was appointed Vice Chancellor.

Shortly after his appointment, we discussed the need to speed up the power project at the university which was conceived not only to provide electricity for the main campus and the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital but also to some neighboring communities.

Our last engagement was occasioned by the controversial dress code by authorities at Ife Varsity for its students which broke in the last week of July. Like other alumni members who were critical of the move, I equally gave Siyan a piece of my mind,

“My sincere thought is that

1. The university management should avoid anything that will put it in direct confrontation with the students. The university has had almost two years of stability. I do not think it should embark on policies that will put that asunder. We need to sustain the very predictable academic calendar.
2. There are more pressing issues that should attract the focus of the university management than dress code.

*Boosting infrastructure to meet the demands of the students population – *improving/expanding the lecture halls and hostel facilities.

*provision of instructional/digital tools for learning,

*dealing squarely with admission quota and the issue of staff and huge students ratio.

*general welfare/wellbeing of staff and students.

*reaching out and striking a chord with the alumni particularly in Diaspora and other goodwill individuals to undertake specific projects. The university should outline a clear needs assessment where such persons can pick from rather than allow the university to be saddled with similar projects or those that are not immediately necessary.

*democratising conference opportunities (both within and outside the country). Or making the process more accessible.

3. It is in the best interest of the university to embark on campaign/counseling on the issue of dress code via different fora rather than engage in punitive measures which will be sorely counter productive.
4. We are also dealing with a Gen Z generation and need to be guided more by realism rather than a rigid attachment to moral platitudes. Please let’s be circumspect in pushing punitive policies that in the end will only inflame the campus.
5. It’s not impossible that some agent provocateurs within the university system and who were particularly opposed to your appointment as Council Chairman/Pro-Chancellor are angling to put a wedge between you and the students population. Please do not fall for the banana peel as a major confrontation with the students will not augur well for your tenure.”

Siyan was immensely grateful for my thoughts.

“Well received. Well thought out position. Immensely grateful my very dear brother.

Many thanks for the useful advise and guidance.

“May God continue to bless you and your household. Great Ife is a very difficult terrain. The best approach now is for the university to suspend the whole idea of a New dress Code” was his response.

And the matter of dress code was put in the cooler.

I was a bit agitated when my subsequent chats elicited no replies. I had thought Siyan was avoiding me after our verbal exchanges over the dress code. Unknown to me he was in an hospital in Lagos for several weeks battling in pains for his life.

The post Dirge as Siyan Oyeweso kicks the bucket, By Tony Iyare appeared first on Frontpageng.

The national dialogue will now hold on the same day, in a hybrid format, accommodating both in-person and virtual participation.

A statement signed by the Foundation on Saturday said the adjustment had become necessary following the tragic passing of Olusegun Awolowo, grandson of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief (Mrs) HID Awolọwọ.

The foundation noted that the loss had cast a pall of grief over the Awolọwọ family and the larger community that holds the legacy of the patriarch and matriarch in deep reverence.

According to the Foundation, participants who are able to attend physically are invited to the Ẹfunyẹla Hall in Ikenne, Ogun State, while others are encouraged to join the proceedings online, ensuring broad and inclusive engagement despite recent developments.

The Board of the Foundation, in acknowledging this moment of mourning, also resolved that a special segment of the dialogue will be devoted to honouring the memory of the departed, celebrating his contributions and affirming the enduring values of service, integrity, and public-spirited leadership that define the Awolọwọ heritage.

Despite the sorrow that frames this adjustment, the Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining national conversations on women’s political empowerment—an area of advocacy to which Chief (Mrs) HID Awolọwọ dedicated much of her life.

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The president, in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, describes Segun Awolowo’s death at 62 as unfortunate and a tragic loss “not only to the Awolowo family, but also to the entire country.”

The president noted that the late Segun distinguished himself as a scion of the Awolowo family.

“Segun exemplified the Awolowo pedigree in appearance, character and demeanour. Like his grandfather, he was a lawyer committed to defending truth and justice.

“He made significant contributions to Nigeria. He served diligently as the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council from 2013 to 2021, standing as the longest serving executive director of the agency in history,” the president says.

“My sympathy and condolences to his wife and children, the Awolowo family, and his mum, our own Sisi Abah Folawiyo.

“I also commiserate with the governments and people of Ogun State, the entire South-west geopolitical zone, and Nigeria, over this painful loss. May his soul rest in peace.”

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I express sincere appreciation to the organisers for giving me the honour and privilege of presenting the Special Address at this significant Southwest Stakeholders Summit.

I congratulate the Convener and Father Superior of AFENIFERE, Pa Reuben Fasoranti (CFR). Papa is not only my Leader, he is also my Teacher. He was principal of Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo from 1973–1975. I happen to be one of the very few Honorary Members of the Olivet Baptist High School Alumni Association.

Our memory bank is full of recollections of various Yoruba/Southwest summits, particularly those at which milestone Resolutions were made:

• The Yoruba Agenda Summit 2005
• The Cowherders Invasion Summit in Ibadan 2015 (Yoruba Koya and Sunday Ighoho phenomenon)
• The State of the Nation Summit at Ikenne 2018 ( Impactful protests against Marginalisation )
• The Nigeria In Search of a Nation Summit at Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan 2017 ( Restructuring )
• The Interactive Summit of Yoruba and Southwest Leaders of Thought at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, 2023.

You will recall that it was at that Summit we sang the TIWA NTIWA song to the high heavens:

Yoruba ko so pe k’onisu ma je’yan, Tiwa n ti wa

Omo Alade ko so pe k’elepo ma se’be o, Tiwa nTiwa

IRE to wo’le to wa, Awa o si rire gba. Tiwa ntiwa,

Tinubu l’awa teleo, Yoo si RIRE gba. Tiwa ntiwa.

In addition to the important document titled THE YORUBA AGENDA, all the Summits produced various kinds of beneficial results for our Region and the Nation at large.

Only the 2014 National Summit (which was expected to end the PLAGUE of the 1914 Amalgamation) failed to deliver on our expectations. No wonder we are still amending the Military Constitution in 2025.

I thank our Governors for their steadfastness, encouragement and support for DAWN Commission, whose mandate is our regional integrated development. The Commission has gone a long way in its 12 years of existence to transform our Region and to dream big for our holistic growth and comprehensive development. Tetepopo ti l’omi nikun k’ojo o too de.

I salute our Governors for their progressive and cooperative endorsement of this Dialogue as a welcome opportunity for our People to exercise their rights and responsibilities in this engagement. This is a veritable means of re-energising our Region. No doubt, this Dialogue will enable our citizens to participate constructively in governance. They will be able to utilize their OLAJU (sophistication) in pursuit of national growth and development.

Yoruba The Giant

Yoruba are much talked and written about. Truly, poems have been composed to extol our virtues, and anthems adopted which challenge our patriotism and resilience.

Yoruba rororo bi Ina ale

Yoruba rerere bi Omi Okun

Yoruba Baba ni aba se

We are the trailblazers, pacesetters and pathfinders.

Ajanaku tii mi igbo kijikiji.

Yoruba are long distance runners.

A Yoruba man is said to build a car with no reverse gear and no side mirror because his motto is: Forward ever. Backward never.

Yoruba has given a lot to the world. Our hands have been on top for a long time, even here in Nigeria. We are found everywhere in the world and we impact positively on every aspect of the lives of our host communities.

Yoruba studies have acquired legitimacy around the world, making Yoruba one of the best-studied groups in Africa (Falola, p. 7). Yoruba studies is not an appendage to African Studies but a critical component of its centre.

Yoruba healing systems have been expanded as part of alternative medicine that complements orthodox medicine. The preservation of our stories and memories has been used to empower identities and to question the narratives and ideologies of those who conquered and exploited us. (Kiriji War and Ogun Pepe, which is The Bombardment of Oyo by Captain Bower on Nov. 12, 1895).

Prof. Ropo Sekoni’s book “Federalism and the Yoruba Character” includes a chapter titled “What Do the Yoruba Want?” (pp. 71–83). He highlighted a few grand delusions worth mentioning:

1. That Restoration of true Federalism is a Mirage.
2. That It is only God who can change Nigeria because He created it.
3. That only violence can lead to ethnic liberation.
4. Can a brave President bring about true Federalism unilaterally?

He pessimistically concluded that “the future of the Yoruba in a Nigeria that is largely unitary is not a promising one.” He therefore urged all pro-democracy groups, Diaspora bodies, and all lovers of Nigeria not to give up, but to utilize all available means to SPEAK UP and CRY ALOUD as we intend to do at this Dialogue.

The Oyo State Anthem succinctly captures the eminent position of the Southwest. Permit me to adapt it to make my point.

Asiwaju ni wa, Asiwaju ni wa

Ipo Asiwaju lOlodumare fun wa Ni’le Yoruba.

Omo Yoruba E je ka se giri, Omo Yoruba ka tepa wa mo’se:

Ka ba ‘ra wa soro, Ka s’ododo

Ka se un to to to dara nigba gbogbo, nibi gbogbo fun’le Yoruba

Ko ni rehin o, l’oju mi ko ni rehin o

KO NI REHIN O, NIPA T’EMI, KO NI REHIN O

mi a se un to to to dara nigba gbogbo, ni bi gbogbo fun le Yoruba

ASIWAJU NI WA, ASIWAJU NI WA, ASIWAJU NI WA! ASIWAJU……NI WA!

That is what DAWN COMMISSION has been all about. That is what we expect this Dialogue to emphasize and promote; the sum total of which is HIGH STANDARD OF LIVING AND IMPROVED WELLBEING FOR OUR PEOPLE.

This Dialogue therefore is a moral exercise in democratic participation that can greatly help in boosting Southwest development. It affords us the unique opportunity to engage directly with the Federal Government rather than listen to hearsay, hate speeches, rumours or fake news.

Yoruba are good individually and can be better if we work together. Instead of agonizing over our present conditions, we must organize to change them for the better.

It has been said that in the Southwest, many groups who claim to be speaking for the People are NOT TALKING TO EACH OTHER. I am sure this Dialogue will solve part of that problem by enabling us to harmonize our positions and present united Resolutions and Recommendations.

I remember today Late Dr. Tunji Otegbeye while addressing a group of Yoruba leaders at the Institute of Church and Society, Samonda Ibadan on July 6, 2007, who said:

“I have ceased to deify man since I was disappointed by Zik. But same is not true of Awo, who lived and died for Yoruba unity and one Nigeria. He lived and led by example.”

We all know we cannot re-create Obafemi Awolowo or Adekunle Ajasin, but we can use the auspices of the Fasorantis, Falaes and Akandes to create a collective leadership which is credible and able to enunciate the Yoruba Priorities, which to me are:

• The Principles of Omoluabi and Olaju which present the Southwest as a People concerned not only about today but also about the future.
• We are citizens proud of what we earn from our labours rather than what can be stolen from public funds.
• We are committed to enabling our component parts develop their resources, eradicating poverty, and making our populations proud to be Yoruba-Nigerians.

THE TRANSITION FROM ADVERSITY TO PROSPERITY

Late Hubert Ogunde sang “Lehin okunkun biribiri Imole a tan.” After the famine comes a bountiful harvest. Nigeria and the Southwest can transit from adversity to prosperity if we pay attention to certain salient issues at this Dialogue. The first is that we cannot eat our cake and still have it.

Almost all areas of our lives in recent past have been subsidized, with Government spending trillions of Naira on petrol, electricity, education, transport and all. And we the People expect the same Government to provide good roads (the Petrol Tanker accident in Niger State on October 22 was attributed to the bad condition of the road. More than 40 lives were lost in the accident). We expect potable water, good jobs, stable electricity, top-notch security and other dividends of democracy.

We were living witnesses to the strong protests of 2012 and our resistance to the economic reforms proposed at that time. We cried and shouted to the rooftops. Today, we are face to face with the ENDURANCE we refused to undergo. Delay, for us, has become dangerous. The reality is that unless we squarely face the current tough times, there may be no future for us and our children.

This Dialogue has provided the opportunity for us in the Southwest to ask all relevant questions and obtain all the necessary answers. We must obtain all the available data:

• How much is being earned?
• How much is being saved?
• What are the infrastructure plans on ground?
• What effects will they have on the People?
• Is Nigeria rich or poor?
• Should we continue to consume what we do not produce?
• How do the global wars impact our economy? (Ukraine, Israel, etc.)
• How much of our needs can we produce locally?
• Can we go back to the 1960s when we produced our food, cloth and vehicles, and exported cocoa, cotton, palm oil and groundnuts? The good old days when Awo established the first TV Station in Africa and built the Cocoa House?

How is Asiwajunomics Going to Turn Adversity to Prosperity?

I am strongly convinced that if we do not repeat the experiences of 2012 wherein we resisted the full and complete implementation of the current economic policies of the Federal Government, our endurance and patience this time around can yield among others, the following dividends:

(1) It will make more money available to the Government for infrastructure development and eventually reduce expenses.

(2) Electricity generation (for example) will improve, and we will need less Petrol and Diesel for powering our generators. More vehicles will also be powered by gas, thus reducing our reliance on PMS. The availability of cooking gas will reduce dependence on firewood and charcoal thereby protecting our environment from degradation.

(3) Massive transportation facilities will be available like trains and buses thereby reducing the number of Heavy-duty trucks and tankers on our roads. This in turn will reduce our expenses on road repairs and maintenance nationwide.

(4) Affordable healthcare services will be at our beck and call, while global standard education will also thrive.

(5) The policies will drive massive local manufacturing and production (like we once had at Lafia Canning Industry, Apata, Ibadan).

(6) We shall return to agricultural investments and the use of local products. Our Engineers and Technologists will embrace innovation and creativity, producing appropriate tools and machines for our small, medium and large-scale industries without needing to use the Dollar to import them from America or China or Korea.

(7) Our flashy, showoffish, and extravagant lifestyles will be curtailed, and more and more will live within their means. Wasteful, careless spending will be under control. Our number of personal vehicles and luxury automobiles will be curtailed and unnecessary travels avoided.

(8) As we grow wiser (but not miserly) more Nigerians will ask questions from our Governments and make them accountable for the disbursement and management of public funds.

(9) Public office holders nationwide will be more careful and watchful. Corruption will be drastically reduced.

(10) The price of PMS, gas, pipe-borne water and other utilities will reduce as we all determine to sacrifice for our Great Nation Nigeria.

(11) The fear of God and brotherly love will permeate every aspect of our reformed lives affecting both the leaders and their followers; for “when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.” — Proverbs 29:2.

THE NEW TAX LAW AND THE MIRACLE OF THE BYTE BUSTERS

Before closing, permit me to call on the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Ministry of Information and the National Orientation Agency to organize special meetings nationwide for the enlightenment of our People on the implications of the new Tax Law.

It is on record that one Alake of Egbaland was forced out of the Palace by women protesting against taxation. One Alaafin of Oyo was also removed from office on the basis of tax-related allegations.

Taxation is a most essential but sensitive aspect of any economy. Let us prepare our People for this important civic responsibility ahead of its implementation.

Next is the Digital Education for Innovation and Economic Development, being promoted by ODUA INVESTMENT FOUNDATION, chaired by Her Excellency Ambassador Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosunmu. I was part of the audience at the project presentation in Ibadan on 24th October, 2025. This novel project is nurturing our future by giving young people in secondary schools wings to fly in spite of geography or money.

It is demonstrating the transformative power of digital education through the different kinds of Apps designed and executed by Pupils from Rural and Urban Schools in the Southwest. The amazing Apps include those for Security, Health Technology, Educational Technology and Entertainment, including the Yoruba version of the popular TV Game Show: WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE.

I therefore urge all Ministries of Education, Science and Technology in the Southwest to support this project in order to make our Region the Silicon Valley of Nigeria, Because our forefathers were the ancient AI experts who invented the SIGIDI

END NOTES

Like the divination for Orunmila by Opa ponpo Ori Ewure and Agbedegbede Ake when his economic situation was in turmoil, we too can rest assured that Lehin Okunkun biribiri Imole a Tan.

And like Orunmila Agbonmiregun and his well-wishers, we can optimistically sing:

Ola Ikin ko le run o, Ola Ikin ko le run

Ola Ifa kii tan, Ola ku lehin

Ola Ikin ko le run

Ewi

Oju le pon koko

Ko sope k’oju o fo

Oro fi ni lakalaka, A si yin ni nu

Bi oni ba kan gogo

Ko nii so pe ki ola o ma dun joyin lo

Eniyan ti ko to iya wo

Kii mo riri adun

Orin:

Oluwa a seun ara l’aye wa, Laye wa

Oluwa a seun ara laye wa o (2ce)

B’omo Yoruba ba finukonu

B’Oke at’isale ba sise papo

Oluwa a seun ara l’aye wa o.

Amin.

*Retired Methodist Archbishop Ladigbolu, member of Afenifere Elders Council delivered this speech at the South-West Stakeholders’ Dialogue in Akure organised by Afenifere and DAWN Commission.

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The event will take place on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at the Eko Convention Centre.

Building on the momentum of previous successful editions, this year’s expo reaffirms the bank’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s agricultural and non-oil export sectors as key drivers of economic development.

The FirstBank Agric and Export Conference aims to keep Nigerians abreast of emerging trends in the agricultural and non- oil export sector, whilst providing them insights into how innovative solutions can contribute to the overall development of the economy, and the nation at large.

The conference will adopt a hybrid format, allowing most participants to join virtually while principal stakeholders attend in person.

Attendees will have the opportunity to explore exhibition booths featuring major organizations and associations from industry.

The event will feature a keynote speech, Goodwill messages, plenary discussions, where select speakers will expound on the theme and technical sessions to be handled by subject matter specialists in the agriculture and export value chain.

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Expected guest speakers include the Honourable Minister of Agriculture & Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, as the keynote speaker while the plenary and technical sessions will be enriched by insights from industry leaders like the MD Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Mr. Jafar Abubakar Umar;  MD/CEO Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr. Abba Bello; National Action Committee on AfCFTA, Mr. Segun Awolowo;  President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Architect Kabir Ibrahim, CEO Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mrs. Nonye Ayeni and a host of others.

The renowned speakers will contribute their expertise and perspectives throughout the various sessions, ensuring participants gain valuable knowledge to enhance their roles within the agricultural and export value chain.

Speaking on the Conference, Olusegun Alebiosu, Managing Director, FirstBank Group stated, “The FirstBank Agric and Export Conference is a strategic platform for stakeholders to converge, share knowledge, and drive strategies that can unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s agricultural sector and non-oil export industry. Through this platform, FirstBank is empowering customers and stakeholders by providing them with actionable insights, innovative solutions, and valuable connections that can help them navigate the complexities of the agricultural and nonoil export sectors. In addition, we aim to deliver tangible benefits to our customers, enhance their business prospects, and create lasting value for our stakeholders, while contributing to the growth and development of Nigeria’s economy.”

To participate in the FirstBank Agric and Export Conference, interested participants can click on https://firstbanknigeria.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Lit8tD6KSm6kzLMcyHwo8Q to register.

The FirstBank Agric and Export Conference is one of the bank’s key initiatives to promote collaboration and innovation within the agricultural and non- oil export sectors.

By providing a strategic platform for stakeholders, the conference aims to enhance the competitiveness of customers and partners in the global market.

With agriculture identified as the most viable alternative to oil for generating foreign exchange earnings, this initiative supports economic diversification and is poised to accelerate national growth and development.

The post FirstBank agric and export conference: Charting a new course for non-oil exports appeared first on Frontpageng.