Address of Chief Reuben Famuyide Fasoranti CFR, Leader of Afenifere Worldwide And The Asiwaju of Yoruba
Title: ‘The Time to Renew Commitment to Pan-Yoruba Solidarity’
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Governors of our beloved Southwest states,
All the Royal Fathers present,
Honourable Ministers and Leaders of our great nation,
Sons and Daughters of Oduduwa,
I greet you in the spirit of our progenitor Oduduwa, in the wisdom of our Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and in the hope of generations yet unborn.
Today, at 99 years of age, I stand before you not in body, but in spirit – carried by the voice of my beloved brother, Senator Dr Femi Okurounmu. My physical frame may be weakened by the weight of nearly a century, but my commitment to our people burns as fiercely as it did when I was a young man dreaming of a united, prosperous, and progressive Yoruba nation and our dear country Nigeria.
I have lived through the colonial era, witnessed Nigeria’s Independence, survived a civil war, endured military dictatorships, and celebrated democracy’s return. Through it all, one truth has remained constant: The Yoruba nation is only as strong as its unity. The same speaks for Nigeria.
For over seven decades, I have dedicated my life to the cause of progressive and welfarist political ideologies – not as a politician seeking office, not as a merchant seeking profit, but as a servant committed to the welfare and advancement of our people. I have seen our greatest triumphs and our deepest disappointments. I have celebrated our unity and regretted our divisions.
The Unity We Must Reclaim:
Our ancestors understood something profound, captured in the wisdom they passed down to us: “Agbajo owo la fi n soya, ajeji Ọwọ́ kan kò gbéru dé orí”. This is not merely an adage; it is a blueprint for our survival and prosperity.
Look around this hall today. We have assembled governors from six states, traditional rulers whose crowns carry the weight of history, ministers wielding federal power, legislators crafting our laws, entrepreneurs building our economy, farmers feeding our people, and youth carrying our future. This gathering itself is proof that when we come together, we are formidable.
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.
Reclaiming Our Political DNA: The Yoruba Welfarist Tradition
Let me remind you of something we seem to have forgotten in recent times: Our political DNA is welfarist. Progressivism is not a borrowed ideology. It is our inheritance.
Long before these modern political parties were formed, long before the labels of APC, PDP, LP, or any other acronym, there was a Yoruba political philosophy built on a simple but profound principle: Government exists to serve the welfare of the people.
This is not foreign ideology. This is not imported politics. This is who we are.
Our laudable programmes during the period of Western Nigeria was not “Action Group politics.” It was Yoruba welfarist politics – the belief that the government’s primary obligation is to lift the people, to create opportunities, to remove barriers, and to ensure that every citizen, regardless of their circumstances of birth, has a fair chance at a good life.
This is our true ideology. This is what must guide every leader who governs any part of Yoruba land.
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 favors, 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?
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.
Our Responsibility to History and Future
I speak to you today carrying the weight of Afenifere’s history and the burden of its sacred mission. We were formed – and have endured – as the conscience of the progressive politics that seeks “freedom for all and life more abundant”. We are advocates for justice, defenders of our people’s interests, and guardians of the vision bequeathed to us by Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
We have not yet achieved this vision. But gatherings like this Summit give me hope that we are finally learning the lessons that decades of division have taught us.
A Charge to Our Leaders
To all our Governors: Your people elected you to improve their lives. 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.
To our Ministers from the Southwest: You sit at the table where national decisions are made. Never forget that you are there not just as party members or cabinet officials, but as representatives of a people with a proud history and high expectations. Advocate fiercely for Southwest interests. Ensure that federal projects and resources reach our region equitably. Work collaboratively with state governments, regardless of their party affiliation.
To our youth: For long, you have been told that you are tomorrow’s leaders. No. You are not tomorrow’s leaders; you are today’s stakeholders. But to become a worthy stakeholder, you must do this respectfully and as an Omoluabi. I urge you to reject the politics of bitterness and division that my generation allowed to fester. Build bridges where we built walls. Create alliances where we created antagonism. Your generation has the tools – technology, education, global connections – to achieve what we could only dream about. Use them wisely, and use them in service of the welfarist tradition that is your inheritance.
The Promise of This Summit
What excites me about this Summit is its structure. For the first time, we are creating a systematic platform where citizens can directly engage with the government, where evidence must be presented, where commitments must be made, and where follow-through will be expected.
This is democracy at its finest – the democracy of continuous engagement, mutual accountability, and collaborative problem-solving. I ask that we sustain it in the interest of our region within the larger Nigerian context. I urge all citizens to shun bitter politics, rumour mongering and deliberate misinformations. Instead, we must embrace constructive dialogue with the government through a platform like this.
My Final Charge
As I approach my centenary, I am acutely aware that my time on this earth grows short. But I am not afraid, because I see in this gathering the seeds of the unity and progress I have fought for all my life. I therefore use this opportunity to invite you to my centenary anniversary next year, where we will celebrate the growing list of the impressive dividends of democracy of the present federal administration, ably led by our son, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
My final charge to all Yoruba sons and daughters is simple: Place our people’s interest above party interest. Place development above partisan politics. Place the welfarist mandate above political competition. Place unity above division.
Remember that the Oyo Empire did not thrive because everyone thought alike but because everyone worked together toward shared prosperity.
Let this Summit mark the beginning of a new era – an era where the Yoruba nation speaks with one voice on matters of development, where our leaders collaborate across party lines for the good of our people, and where partisan politics stops at the doorstep of regional progress.
Go forth from here united in purpose. Return to your states, your offices, your communities, and your constituencies with a renewed commitment to Pan-Yoruba solidarity and to the welfarist tradition that defines us.
May Olodumare guide our steps. May the spirits of our ancestors inspire our actions. And may future generations judge us kindly for what we do here today.
Thank you, and may your journey be prosperous.
**Chief Reuben Famuyide Fasoranti CFR
Leader of Afenifere Worldwide, and The Asiwaju of Yoruba
