Concluding this three-part essay endeavours to explain the substance of politics that has been unfolding in Yorubas land ince June 12, 1993. Yoruba politics has been dominated by a brand of politics that took root at the triumph of Obafemi Awolowo as the Leader of Government and Premier of Western Region between 1952 and 1960.

That political tendency Awolowo created was formalized in Action Group manifesto called ‘Democratic Socialism’. After Nigeria’s troubles of 1960s and the birth of Second Republic (1978-1983) Awolowo built a cult followership around himself and his acolytes called this political group ‘Awoists’, and their ideology ‘Awoism’ meaning principles upon which Awolowo and his disciples founded their political beliefs and praxis.

This Awoist ideology is difficult to explain because Awolowo never won national political power over Nigeria to put that ideology into practice and the five states (Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, and Bendel) between 1979 and 1983 and later Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Kwara States, the National Party of Nigeria having snatched Oyo and Bendel States after 1983 general elections while losing Kwara to Awolowo’s Unity Party of Nigeria.

Awolowo never fully unfurled these Awoist principles and praxis apart from the four cardinal point programmes with Free Education as chief program Of the five and later six political parties, UPN pretended to some kind of ideological leaning the pedestal upon which Awoists hoist their politics.

Many Awoists would be hard put to define ‘Awoism’ except to nibble at the hazy concept of ‘progressivism’ which neo-Awoists that hijacked Awoism since 2007 and christened themselves as ‘progressives’ with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as leader. Tinubu was never part of Awoist political tradition but having stumbled upon the June 12 ‘wahala’ and tagging along MKO Abiola the victim and symbol of June 12 has made good fortunes out of the entire mess.

Tinubu markets himself as the new face of ‘progressivism’ politics in Yoruba land and holds out as its putative leader and adherents as ‘progressives’.

This is the new substance of politics that has quietly replaced Awoism in Yoruba land. Many Awoists aware of this velvet revolution since 2007 when Tinubu successfully detached himself from Awoist’ Alliance for Democracy and created his own Action Congress and later Action Congress of Nigeria in 2011 resisted him but having no economic and political structures of Yoruba land it was difficult for them to do anything to checkmate it.

So, the titans Bola Ige who was killed in 2007, Abraham Adesanya, Lam Adesina, Ayo Adebayo, Olaniwun Ajayi and others who held the forte after Awolowo’s demise in 1987 could not match the political blitzkrieg unleashed on Nigeria by President Obasanjo’s People’s Democratic Party and Tinubu’s Action Congress of Nigeria. As governor of Lagos State, Tinubu tagged along Awoist federalist proposition.

Nigerian politics in the second republic when Awolowo had been a major participant had graduated from benign adherence to Awoist principle of ‘iselu’, that’s politics as altruistic vocation of service to its opposite variant of ‘ijelu’ that’s politics as a business or occupation for selfish gains for it was partly the insistence of Awolowo and his party apparatchik on not making politics object of corrupt enrichment and personal aggrandizement that irked Premier Akintola and his men who believed in ‘ijelu’ practice.

As the governor of Lagos State which was the richest Yoruba State, Tinubu materially galvanized himself and his lieutenants so as not to be outspent by opposing political party or overawed violently to facilitate a rigging scheme simply because of lack of requisite funding.

After his eight years as governor, Tinubu became the supreme commander of the ACN partisans and he has remained the undisputed ‘Area Father’ of Lagos State. Tinubu would have become history if President Jonathan had played his politics adroitly and sensibly.

Having been thrown up by unforeseen circumstances (Governor Alamieyesigha’s troubles, President Yar’Adua’s illness and death) that catapulted him to Nigerian presidency but he did not know what to do with it hence Tinubu tagged him as “clueless.”

In the run up to the presidential election of 2011 every factor was working in Jonathan’s favour and he won the presidency on his own personal merit. But no sooner he was ensconced in the presidential panoply that he left politics to mischief makers and trouble-makers.

Helping Buhari to win presidency is quid pro quo for Tinubu

Of all the tasks to be accomplished, it was the arraignment of Tinubu for corruption that was paramount. So Tinubu was charged in court for certain corrupt practices. But remember that Tinubu like every Nigerian had submitted and embraced Jonathan’s emergence as the “breath of fresh air” as his ACN even denied its presidential candidate, Nuhu Ribadu of support.

Jonathan in the absence of any political patronage or appreciation of Tinubu should have allowed the sleeping dog to lie. By attacking Tinubu, Jonathan woke up the political tiger in Tinubu and feeling endangered he became restless and started exploring better political openings.

So when the late Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu proposed the merger of opposition political parties to challenge President Jonathan’s PDP, Tinubu jumped at it and facilitated the political scheme with humongous resources.

Tinubu had observed General Buhari’s consistent political leverage in core Muslim north where he won humongous votes. So Tinubu reasoned that alliance with Buhari would produce magrificient votes to torpedo Jonathan political ascendancy.

Being a wily politician, Tinubu met Buhari in the inner political room to propose a personal alliance with him which would translate to making Buhari realise his personal ambition of winning the presidency.

Helping Buhari to win presidency is quid pro quo for Tinubu because the Igbo says that “aka nri kwo aka ekpe, aka ekpe akwo aka nri (right hand washes lefthand just as left-hand washes right-hand).

This is the origin of Tinubu’s Emilokan Declaration in Abeokuta which is perhaps, the greatest political speech in the history of Nigeria. And against all odds, Tinubu ran away with the greatest political gambling jackpot in Nigeria to the consternation of the Atikus, Sarakis, Rotimi Amaechis, Ogbonnaya Onus, Rochas Okorochas and others. How then did the 1960/1980s’ Awolowo’s struggles with Akintola his protégé resurfaced as a synthesis in 2007-2020s?

Recall that Awoist ideology was “democratic socialism” based on federalism while ‘iselu’ as opposed to ‘ijelu’ as the social praxis. This Awoist ideology was not palatable to Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola who thought, especially after becoming Premier of Western Region that “democratic socialism” was unnecessary imitation from Ghana’s Nkrumah.