•The participants
Yoruba Summit has been held and submissions have been made, but what are the people’s expectations?
Would the people’s expectations be met within a reasonable space of time by their leaders?
No doubt, Yoruba people of the Southwest region of Nigeria are not unaware of how their leaders have been making efforts to develop the region for the betterment of all residents, reports Saturday Independent.
The implementation of some of the resolutions and submissions of these summits, irrespective of the theme, has been what agitates their minds.
The recent one held at International Culture and Events Centre (The DOME) in Akure, Ondo State capital, on October 29 and Thursday, October 30, 2025 appeared unique as the focal point is unity among the political leaders and traditional rulers.
Judging by the speeches of the leaders, particularly the politicians among them, they all identified and admitted lack of unity as the albatross of development in the region.
In his message to the participants, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the Yoruba leader, declared that disunity is what had been the cog in the wheel of development of the region.
In the address read on his behalf by Senator Femi Okunrounmu, the nonagenarian said: “But I must speak plainly, as an elder who has earned the right to speak the truth: Party politics must never again divide or weaken Yoruba solidarity.
“I have watched, with deep concern, as the cancer of partisan politics has eaten into the fabric of our unity. I have seen brothers refuse to greet each other because one wears the badge of one party and another serves under a different banner.
“I have witnessed development projects stalled, not because they lacked merit, but because they were initiated by the “rival” political party.
“I have observed leaders who should be collaborating for the good of our people locked in needless combat over party supremacy. This must end. Today. Here and Now.
“Development has no party. Progress knows no partisan affiliation. The welfare of our people is not a matter for political point-scoring. The welfare of our people must be and remains the fulcrum and central theme of our political calculations.”
It is noteworthy to say that Dr. Kayode Fayemi must have observed this while still in the political trenches.
He, therefore, laid a good foundation in Ekiti State as he sustained all mega projects being flagged off by his predecessor, Engr. Segun Oni despite the fact that they belonged to two opposing political parties as at the time.
Fayemi had every reason to jettison the projects if the judicial agony and stress he went through before the Appeal Court sitting in Ilorin on October 15, 2010 declared him winner of the governorship rerun election are anything to go by.
On the day of his inauguration as the governor of the state, October 16, 2010, he declared without mincing words that he would sustain all viable projects and programmes of Segun Oni, but would only drop those that were neither impactful nor people-oriented.
He simply said he decided to take such an unprecedented step because the money or fund used for the projects belonged to the people of Ekiti State.
Moreover, it’s observed that the participants were determined to be blunt with one another as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu noted at the summit that “democracy thrives when dialogue is sincere, when dialogue is inclusive, and when dialogue is visionary.
“Togetherness begets strength and it is that togetherness that is one of the beacons and the strength of the Southwest.
“And so we are gathered here not merely to reflect on our journey but to reimagine our destiny.”
At the summit, they all saw the need to revert to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s style of governance which placed the region on the pedestal of meteoric development in the 1960s.
Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu (retd), in his address entitled: “Reawakening The Giant To The Reality Of The Transition From Adversity To Prosperity,” reeled out past summits of the region and the resultant effects of submissions arrived at during those summits.
The people of the region indeed expressed appreciation to the leaders and elders for organising the summit tagged: “Southwest Stakeholders Dialogue, A Regional Citizen-Government Interactive Town Hall Session With Ministers, and Senior federal government officials.”
Some of them who spoke at the summit didn’t ask for too much from the leaders, particularly governors from the region.
Their expectations tally with what the late Obafemi Awolowo and his political associates, Adekunle Ajasin, Bola Ige, Lateef Jakande, Bisi Onabanjo, among others, provided for the people while sitting at the wheel of power and leadership till 1983 when the Buhari-Idiagbon military coup d’etat subverted the people’s will and ejected them from power.
These expectations are encapsulated in the appeal of Pa Fasoranti at the summit.
He said: “Today, I call for a return to our roots. I call on every leader in this hall – governor, minister, legislator, traditional ruler – to recommit to the welfarist ideology that defines Yoruba political heritage:
“Every child must have access to quality education. Not some children. Not children of the privileged. Every child.
“Every citizen must have access to healthcare. Not as charity. Not as a privilege. But as a right.
“Every young person must have a pathway to dignified employment or entrepreneurship. Not through political connections. But through skills, opportunity, and merit.
“Every community must have basic infrastructure – roads, water, electricity – not as political favours, but as fundamental entitlements of citizenship.
“Every farmer, trader, artisan, and entrepreneur must have access to the support needed to thrive and contribute to our collective prosperity.
This must not be left to the manifesto of any political party. It must be the covenant of the Yoruba political tradition that recognizes that a society that does not care for the welfare of its people has failed, regardless of its GDP, regardless of its infrastructure, regardless of its global standing.
“I say to our ministers: At the federal level, you must be fierce advocates for policies and programs that advance the welfare of our people. Whether it is fiscal policy, agricultural policy, educational policy, or healthcare policy, the question must always be: How does this improve the lives of the masses?”
The 99-year-old man told the political leaders how they could successfully transform the region without much Ado.
He said: “I say to all political leaders: Stop competing over party labels. Start competing over who can better deliver the welfarist mandate. Let your contest be: Who has built more schools? Who has created more jobs? Who has provided better healthcare? Who has lifted more people out of poverty?
This is the competition that honors our tradition and the politics that serves our people.
“Collaborate for regional development, even if you have to do that across party lines. When Osun innovates successfully, let Oyo adopt and adapt. When Lagos leads, let others follow. When Ondo discovers a solution, let it become Southwest’s solution.”
It is expected that the summit would proffer solution to the ongoing political crisis in Osun State where local government funds are being withheld.
Kola Adewusi, Deputy Governor Osun State, who represented the governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, urged political leaders and all stakeholders to see the action as a serious setback to the development of the state and a direct deprivation of Yoruba sons and daughters resident in the state of different socio-economic benefits.
He urged them that the spirit of the summit should be allowed to begin to move from the point of release of local government funds by not allowing political interest to divide the players to the detriment of the people and the Yoruba land.
Meanwhile, the advent of Development Agenda For Western Nigeria (DAWN) 13 years ago was a platform created for actualisation of some projects designed for the development of the region.
This has not really achieved the targeted visions due to activities of political leaders who undermined the implementation of these projects due to political differences.
But most people from the region are optimistic that the chance is high with the creation of the Southwest Development Commission by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government.
It is believed the federal government would earmark funds to all the regional development bodies annually, hence an opportunity to get the projects implemented with the support of governors and other stakeholders including captains of industry.
The people of the region are watching with intent and hopeful that something drastic and transformative would begin to happen across the region soon.
Their hope was boosted by the step taken by the Pan Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, as it formed a group to review the submissions of the summit with a view to ensuring implementation of these goals.
Abagun Kole Omololu, National Organising Secretary of Afenifere disclosed that “The Afenifere Intelligentsia Group, comprising the most accomplished professionals and intellectuals in the region, having reviewed the submissions from the Southwest Summit, is committed to working on the Southwest Development Plan 2050.”
It’s encouraging to the people when they learnt that the group is breaking down the development plan into short-term goals (2026-2030), medium-term goals (2031-2040), and long-term goals (2041–2050).
Omololu disclosed that “This elite group will work through and utilize established platforms to actualise its goals, including the South West Governors’ Forum, the Southwest Development Commission (SWDC), the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) and the Odua Group, and other relevant organisations in Yoruba land.”
The people are expecting to see more of public-private partnership projects in terms of infrastructure facilities including rail lines connecting major towns and cities in the region.
Araromi seaport which has been approved for construction in Ondo State is expected to be among mega projects the region would embark on without delay.
As in the words of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, “The question before us here today now is very simple. Can we once again light the path for the rebirth of this great nation? And my answer is yes we can. The Southwest can and yes we will.”
