THE dateline was Wednesday, 9 May, 2012, the place was the Ikenne, Ogun State country home of the former Premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the event was the celebration of the 25th year of his passage to eternity. But beyond the celebrations of the passage of the political icon and philosopher, his home, once again, lived up to its ratings as a Mecca of sort for politicians across the polity. The venue of the event, Our Saviour Anglican Church, was filled to the brim with elder statesmen, eminent traditional rulers and prominent politicians from across different political parties who cast aside their different political sentiments to honour the memory of the dead.As it has been acknowledged, even across the Niger and beyond the shores of the country, Awo, as the sage was fondly called, was indeed a great leader. When he was on this part of the divide, he proved himself not only as a Yoruba leader, but was fully committed to building a nation among many nations of Nigeria. While alive, he worked tireless and succeeded in giving the Yoruba people an identity and brought the race into a position of pride and recognition such that the South-West became the reference point in evolving and formulating policies for national development. In other words, through the sacrifices made by Awolowo, the South-West became the primus inter pares among other regions of the country. The man was the rallying point for Yoruba politicians. Irrespective of their political differences, many of his contemporary politicians saw Awolowo as the centre of unity. Although he was the leader of the then Action Group (AG), he was the acknowledged Asiwaju (leader) of the Yoruba race. Regardless of their differences and disagreement with some of his principles, many Nigerians regarded him as the father and leader of the people. This was more accentuated by the fact that he possessed the intellectual/philosophical acumen, the capacity and charisma of an able leader.But 25 years after his passage, it has been a variety of cacophonous tunes within the House of Oduduwa, with all the major political actors in the South-West fanning the embers of disunity among themselves and their followers as against the symbol of unity, represented by the sage. The fact of the ugly development was not lost on the officiating minister at the 25th year remembrance of Awolowo, Dr Peter Adebiyi, Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion. The man of God did not spare the major dramatis personae in the troubled political waters in the South-West while lamenting the rot the Yoruba race has turned out to be ' a case of from grace to grass.Demonstrating clearly that he was not partisan, Dr Adebiyi took the major political actors, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Senator Bola Tinubu to the cleaners, holding them responsible for the pervading disunity among the Yoruba people and the subsequent stunted socio-economic growth in the race. 'Now, who shall we call upon to unite this family known as the Yoruba Nation' I am of the opinion that the past 25 years have proved more than sufficient for us to play the hide and seek game amongst ourselves. 25 years is enough for the wastages, for the quarrels, acrimony, backbiting and the self-destruction that has taken place amongst us. To make matter worse, even our traditional rulers have taken sides. We don't know who to turn to for help. Who do we call upon to unite the Yoruba family that is currently in disarray'' he questioned.Alluding to the existing acrimonious relationship between several Yoruba leaders because of political differences, the cleric did not fail to ask the pertinent question, 'Is there anything wrong for people to belong to different political parties''Indeed, the task of forging unity among the Yoruba people seems daunting, as most of these political actors appear to be firmly entrenched in their separate thoughts and beliefs that, because of the pervading political discord, they would not touch one another, not even with a very long pole. This is buoyed by the fact that it would be an exemption, rather than being the norm, to see the likes of Obasanjo and Tinubu sharing same table at any public function (if at all they can be there together). This also applies to many of their followers and supporters. In fact, it is an aberration to see chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) converge together for a common purpose.However, not quite a few Nigerians are of the view that it is high time the various political leaders of the Yoruba extraction came together and forged unity among the people and fostered a rapid political and socio-economic development of the race, as it was witnessed in the glorious days of the sage. It is in line with this school of thought that analysts opined that the occasion of the remembrance of the modern progenitor of the race provided a veritable ground to thaw the ice and for the various political leaders to sheathe their swords and jettison their narrow self-interest for the greater good of the South-West and its people. Present at the event were many politicians who ordinarily would not see eye to eye, even on common issues, including prominent members of the divided Afenifere group, the likes of Senator Tinubu (who is not well known as being a regular visitor to the Awolowo home), former Governors Gbenga Daniel, Segun Oni and the incumbent governors of Oyo, Osun, Ogun and Ekiti states, Abiola Ajimobi, Rauf Aregbesola, Ibikunle Amosun and Kayode Fayemi, respectively. While most of these political 'enemies' embraced each other and exchanged pleasantries while the event lasted, it is clear to discernible minds that the task of facilitating and engendering Yoruba unity transcends mere toothy smiles.More importantly, in order to ensure that the legacy of the sage was not allowed to go into further decadence, there can be no other time than now for the warring Yoruba leaders to bury their hatchets and initiate fresh and true reconciliation efforts, thereby charting a new course for the growth and development of the race. Dr Adebiyi, once again, picked up the gauntlet, as he challenged the political gladiators to obey the clarion call. In the quest to ensure that the race virile nation within the Nigerian State, the cleric said, 'Why can't these illustrious children of Yorubaland, beginning with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, purge themselves of all forms of hatred, malice and suspicions, forgive one another and be prepared to bring up together again a strong, united Yoruba nation''Indeed, the message of the cleric at the 25th remembrance programme for the sage was more than apt; the call for unity among the people of South-West cannot be timelier than now and it is a sincere heed of the call that can foster the much -needed integration of the zone, as symbolised by Awolwo. But the question is, who will bell the cat
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