CHIEF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO

Chief Obafemi Awolowo Ọ̀dọ́lé Ilé-ifé had a very strong weakness for the Ibo people and it was his costliest error. Every step of the way he demonstrated that weakness. He practically handed over Ajegunle, Alaba and Ladipo to them just to make them happy and welcome. It was the point of departure for him and Chief Ladoke Akintola, Aare OnaKakanfo who read these people accurately. Two otherwise gifted Yoruba men who should have cemented the glory of Yoruba land parted ways over a People who were most undeserving of their attention. Akintola had greater street sense than Awolowo and Awolowo was a much better visionary and manager of resources. Two qualities that should have been synchronised and synergised for the continued greatness of what they started in the Western Region. If Chief Bode Thomas had had enough street wisdom he probably may still have lived much longer. He definitely wouldn't have stood up to Aláàfin Adeyemi II and allowed his own head to be used to break the proverbial coconut. Chief Awolowo and Chief Bode Thomas ought to have been the TECHNOCRATS stationed in Ibadan shaping Yoruba land while Chief Akintola should have been the POLITICIAN stationed in Lagos to play the Bandit Politics with Nnamdi Azikiwe. 1. Right from Day 1, Awolowo was very contemptuous of the Hausa-Fulanis and rather danced towards Azikiwe whereas the Hausa-Fulanis were a much lesser evil than the IBOS he warned up to. The Hausa-Fulanis had a culture of keeping to their words, were more honourable when the don't have issues with you, quite contented and easily manageable. While Awolowo was dancing towards the deceitful Azikiwe, the later already saw the opportunity of overshadowing the Hausa-Fulanis in any arrangement of coalition and he used it. Awolowo lost out. 2. Even as the reality was glaring after independence that Azikiwe was taking up everywhere and everything Awolowo was still optimistic. He warned up to these people till he was thrown into prison. 3. Azikiwe and his people PLANNED, PLOTTED AND EXECUTED THE 15TH JAN 1966 COUP FOR THEIR BENEFITS. It is stupid to argue it otherwise Aguiyi-Ironsi became the leader even though he was more or less a placeholder for Emeka Ojukwu who would have UNDOUBTEDLY KILLED him if only the Fulanis had slowed down a bit. If they had had a little of emotional intelligence and common sense the Ibos should have released Awolowo immediately especially at the time when he was writing passionately to Aguiyi-Ironsi. But the FOOLS didn't release him and made sure he was forgotten in that Calabar Prisons for Seven (7) solid months of Aguiyi-Ironsi while Ojukwu and Aguiyi-Ironsi's 5-member ALL IBO Advisory Committee of Ben Nwabueze & Co were with him. Ojukwu was there until Aguiyi-Ironsi was murdered and Gowon ordered the release of Awolowo. Looking back with benefits of hindsight we must be thankful to Olódùmarè that they were foolish and Aguiyi-Ironsi didn't release Awolowo If they had released him during the time of Aguiyi-Ironsi, knowing the weakness of Awolowo for the IBOS and being a man of honour, Awolowo would have felt indebted to Aguiyi-Ironsi and the IBOS. Definitely, he would have rallied the Yoruba Nation around Aguiyi-Ironsi Government, give him a solid landing and legitimacy and credibility which would have made it quite difficult for the Hausa-Fulanis to strike a counter coup at the time they did. Ironsi only had to delay the Decree 34 to get himself consolidated, he would have fooled everybody like Babangida did for 8years. If that man Aguiyi-Ironsi had started JUST TWO YEARS as HoS, Ibos probably would still be ruling the country with iron fist since that time till today and we won't have been able to do anything about it. 4. But ofcourse it is never in their character to be circumspect on issues and to be tactful on anything requiring strategic planning. They will always do stupid things to betray their plans. They are always overzealous and easily excitable. It is what happened on 15th January 1966. It is what pushed them into Biafra and the war. Even when they already got the Biafra and only needed to defend that country they pushed and overstretched themselves from Onitsha to Ọ̀rẹ̀ enroute Ijebu-Ode and Lagos to capture Yoruba land at a time when even their Niger Delta areas were leaking from Portharcourt It is what happened in the aftermath of June 12 when they stabbed Abiola's Mandate and started running from Lagos and all over Yoruba land back to East and thus revealed to the Yoruba people their evil wish and mindset for the land. It is what happened from 20th October 2020 while #EndSARS was going but they had to show their faces and hands of destruction on Lagos infrastructure as they took orders from Nnamdi Kanu. It happened again in 2023 when under cover of OBIDIENT Movement they couldn't even hide their hatred for Yoruba land and people. It is what has happened in Ghana recently when they had to foolishly reveal themselves as Zionists to the Ghanians because one man couldn't contain himself and ego he had to build a Kingdom on the ancestral lands of other people in a foreign country. TACT is not a known trait with Ndigbo as a people. Now the cat is out of the bag and the train has left the station. We, descendants of Empire Builders will teach you how to be sensible. You ought to have learnt simple lessons on organizational abilities from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu but you rather spent the last 25years hating him instead of studying the man. 5. Lagos is far more stable than Nigeria. Do you know why? Asiwaju ensures that ONLY TECHNOCRATS become Governors of Lagos while there is the GAC OF POLITICIANS to play the politics. That is how we have had Fashola, Ambode and Sanwoolu, all seasoned professionals who concentrated on the business of MANAGING ADMINISTRATION while Prince Tajudeen Olusi, a proper Ọmọ Èkó of the root soil supervises those who MANAGE POLITICS of all the noise around the grassroots. You don't see Sanwoolu trying to be popular with politicians like Ambode did. You see how seamless he has worked with Obafemi Hamzart his Deputy? No noise heard. It couldn't mean that they haven't been having their issues, what it means that they are being expertly managed together. Even the Presidency the man didn't just stumble on it. He took the whole of THIRTY-THREE (33) YEARS to plan for it. He waited quietly as he inched his way towards the goal, never allowing distractions. NOT ONCE until January 2022 did he ever publicly mention that he had a Presidential Ambition and before he did, he went first to confer with the sitting President Buhari to inform him. He then informed Nigerians at the conference room of Aso Villa. I can imagine that he has other plans which he hasn't told even his closest aids. If he was telling them everything, men like Rauf Aregbesola and Yemi Osinbajo would have easily nailed him to the Cross in 2022/23. You guys need to receive sense!!!! 01 August 2025