Yoruba Nation: In Pursuit of Political Happiness and Development

Yoruba Nation: In Pursuit of Political Happiness and Development explores the controversy the adoption of the colonial politics .

The Yoruba nation has been in relentless pursuit of political happiness and societal development.

Their political approach, philosophy, ideologies and strategies have been largely informed by the pursuit of these two objectives – Political Happiness and Societal Development.

Let’s put it bluntly, political happiness has always eluded the Yoruba nation, and even in today’s political terrain, there is no sign of that abating.

This is purely due to the acceptance of a toxic form of political manoeuvring, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

The same could be said for societal development but a brief period of meaningful socio-cultural development. I am specifically referring to 1952-1959.

Whether the development experienced by the Yoruba nation within this period, was principally due to the then Parliamentary System of government remains a thought-provoking question worth probing.

Aside this period, societal development has eluded the Yoruba nation, even till this day.

This article would focus on some of the reasons why we have not been able to achieve political happiness and meaningful societal development as a nation.

Two of the core problems that we have as a nation within the country of Nigeria are the implied ‘Cancel Culture of Plausible Alternatives’ and the ‘Lazy Deliberate Disdain for Antecedence’. We don’t learn from history or better put, we are too lazy to learn from history.

For some strange reasons, we tend to adopt this ‘herd mentality and the adoption of a non-dual take on issues of national interest.

The case of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Ladoke Akintola should have served us with sufficient ‘daily bread’ to ruminate on and use the outcome of such a thought process to guide our future undertakings.

During the Awo era, he did a lot of good stuff and established a sound legacy for his political stances. However, he was fraught with frailties. He made mistakes.

He was good, maybe a step above many but other people could have done an equally good job if they had enjoyed the same tribal public goodwill as Chief Awolowo enjoyed.

One of such people that could have equally done a good job was Chief Ladoke Akintola.

Perhaps, the Yoruba nation could have gotten ahead or at least, fared better, if we had listened to, and looked in the direction of Chief Ladoke Akintola rather than allowed ourselves, as a tribe, to be solely defined by the persona and the ambition of one man- Chief Awolowo.

Every other eligible tribal leader, be it Chief Ladoke Akintola, Chief Adelabu, Chief Ayo Rosiji and others was summarily discounted, and to have any political relevance in the then South West, you would have to queue behind Chief Awolowo.

Yoruba Nation: In Pursuit of Political Happiness and 

https://www.morganable.com/seven-effective-keys-to-achieving-pragmatic-happiness/

This approach did not work then, and this approach will not work now.

Definitely, not at the national level.

Let’s eschew this search for a ‘tribal saviour’. Chief Awolowo was a good leader but not a saviour of the Yoruba nation.

I believe that given the same level of support and public goodwill enjoyed by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, some of the then alternative leaders could have performed equally, if not better, than Chief Awolowo.

We chose not to engage in the scrutiny of Chief Awolowo. We chose not to evaluate the reality of his continuing national political relevance.

We never asked ourselves: Do we have another credible leader worthy of our support for the prized presidency?

Why do we think that only one Yoruba man and no other deserves to have presidential ambition?

Why do we have this skewed impression, that at any given time, there should be one man that the whole of the tribe should bow to politically?

The danger of the approach of ‘One Man and No Other’ is that we easily could be defined and discounted.

Having lost a national election twice, why couldn’t we look elsewhere beyond the candidature of Chief Awolowo, within the tribe for other credible political candidates?

I get the fact that the ‘1955 Free Education Scheme’ was a masterstroke, and a lot of the tribal electorates romanticised him for that. Good on him, but he achieved that because he was given the chance.

Yoruba Nation: In Pursuit of Political Happiness and Development

Others could have performed as well if they had not been pillaged, politically.

Leading to the commencement of the First Republic, the leadership of the South-West Region wasted several opportunities to work with the leadership of the Northern Region, which could have landed us the then Premiership, simply because the suggestion came from Chief Ladoke Akintola, the man who dared to come up with an alternative suggestion to the line of thought of our ‘TRIBAL SUPREME LEADER’, in the person of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

People like Chief Ladoke Akintola, Chief Adelabu, Chief Ayo Rosiji, and lately Chief Richard Akinjide were all labelled “traitors” and deserved to die politically, and even in some quarters, physically.

Varying political ideologies were stifled and frowned at. Once you were not a member of the UPN Party, you should be politically irrelevant in the then South Western Region.

I’m still studying the genius of Dr Olunloyo in holding his ground politically, in the old Oyo State while maintaining a social friendship with Chief Awolowo.

Even though, some die-hard Awoist would have shared a bottle of cold beer or two, over any unfortunate incidence that could have befallen their political opponents, in the person of Dr Olunloyo.

This is the bane of our political undoing, as a tribe, and as a nation, within the country of Nigeria.

We are too predictable. We are too gullible, our educational prowess notwithstanding.

Fast forward to our contemporary time, we are replaying and re-enacting past political mistakes.

It is no longer Chief Obafemi Awolowo, it is now Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The perceived “contemporary Yoruba Nation Saviour”. Uphold a different political ideology to his, and his followers, and you should be sentenced to death politically.

You are expected to file in behind him and or stay out of it.

People like John Kayode Fayemi and others are being labelled a traitor for having a semblance of presidential ambition. How dare he, when Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu is also nursing the same ambition?

This approach is wrong, and it will cost us again.

We should embrace the dichotomy of political ideas within our tribal polity.

Let’s encourage all those who are nursing the presidential ambition to come out and make their cases rather than attempting to suppress them, in the hope of getting everyone to file behind Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

I believe that other potential candidates should be encouraged to stand against Asiwaju Tinubu rather than labelling them negatively, and sneering at them.

More importantly, Asiwaju Tinubu’s political antecedence should be scrutinized rather than served our tribal political supports, a la carte.

This is not to hate on Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu but to facilitate a debate about our tribal political approach, as the Yoruba Nation.

Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu is not the only credible presidential candidate that the Southwest can produce at the moment. We need alternatives.

He is carrying massive items of political baggage that could undo him politically, in the eventual. So, what becomes of us, as a tribal nation?

Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu could once again prove to be a political albatross on the neck of the entire Southwest, just like Chief Obafemi Awolowo was.

By the way, why are we not looking at other individuals with fewer items of political baggage?

Let’s allow others to enjoy our support and not drown them before they have the opportunity to swim, as well.

Let us embrace the dichotomy of political ideas within the Yoruba nation.

Don’t let us all sleep and face the same political direction again as we once did, during the Awo era.

Yoruba Nation: In Pursuit of Political Happiness and Development