When news broke about Prof Akintoye’s Yoruba leadership declaration, I implored people not to go along the normal reactionary personality politics, but to examine and query the ideological foundations. Unfortunately, the message was taken on a personal and subjective level. I was attacked for equating myself to the erudite professor.
Presonally, I love Prof Akintoye. A powerful and intelligent orator. Open and kind to all. This my personal opinion of someone who has been of great help to me. But it has nothing to do with our ideological perspectives nor should it stop intellectual discourse, many of which I have enjoyed with him. .
The question is what leadership role or ideological position is Prof Akintoye filling, and is it a moral leadership?
Prof Akintoye had been at the forefront of Afenifere’s restructuring and South and Middlbelt (Southbelt) alliance. There are only two possible culture based political platforms in Nigeria – the Northern Islamic Afroasiatic Caliphat alliance and the Southern/Middlebelt Original African (Niger Congo ethnolinguistic family) alliance that has faltered since the 1935 dubious British colonial division of the Southern Protectorate. Both cultural platforms have separatists as fringe groups that are essentially categorized as extremists.
Tinubu has floated an unequal alliance with the North, while Afenifere, Ohaneaze, Pronaco and Middlebelt Forum are building a South and Middlebelt alliance to achieve their collective aspirations of restructuring.
Prof Akintoye supported the 2018 Conference on African Origins that highlighted the common origins, cultural foundations and linkages of the peoples of the South and Middlebelt, who naturally have the same political aspirations of restructuring as expressed in the 2014 Confab Report. He covered thousands of miles crisscrossing Southbelt to cement the alliance. So the question is what leadership gap is Prof Akintoye filling?
Has he moved to the Northern alliance of which Tinubu is the national leader? Or does he want to unify separatists since both political platforms have separatists groups that can not be filled by the mainstream groups. Separatist groups have neither the numbers or arms to achieve their political aspirations. If either of the two options, Prof Akintoye will be sabotaging his former position and those he labored with to bring it to fruition.
Specifically, who will Prof Akintoye support for presidency in 2023? Based on the principle of fairness and rotational presidency, it is the turn of the Southeast region. Would Prof Akintoye’s declared leadership be to galvanize Yoruba to take a moral step to support a deserved Igbo presidency? An immoral decision would hamper the Southbelt alliance and deprive not only Yoruba, but the whole Southbelt, a strong political platform to challenge Northern hegemony.
As expected from Yoruba, strong words and characterizations like the Afonja-Aole, Akintola, Abiola Yoruba syndrome have been used to describe Prof Akintoye actions. While I dismiss them as emotional responses, I can’t but draw deep structural comparisons. The problems between the Alaafin of Oyo and the Aare Onakankanfo Military establishment from Bashorun Gaa to Afonja went beyond personalities, but a moral decision on slave trade and alliances with imperialists. Afonja took a wrong moral decision that led to the destruction of Oyo Empire and death of millions of Yoruba. Chief Akintola in his leadership quest took a wrong moral decision to align with the North, to jail Awolowo and have Ooni Aderemi removed as governor, which culminated in the 1966 coup, and neocolonialism that has arrested our economic and political development ever since then. Chief Abiola, though had rose on Western and Afroasiatic platforms, made a good moral decision to lay down his life for the democracy that we now enjoy.
So, we must ask Prof Akintoye is his a moral leadership based on truth and fairness to all? Is it ideologically sound by pushing towards a Southbelt alliance and restructuring. Or is it one of separatism based on Pan-tribalism that believes one or two regions can overwhelm five regions like we only see in Chinese films. Wasting millions of lives or distracting us from the real politicking of a Southbelt alliance with dreams of a messiah taking us to Odua Utopia.
I believe Yoruba are politically and morally intelligent enough to know a leader with long term feasible plans or firm moral compass. All that is required is to ask Prof Akintoye which new direction does he intend to take Yoruba. If there is nothing different from the Southbelt alliance prescribed by Afenifere leaders like Baba Fasonranti and Adebanjo , then as Yoruba say eni aba laba ni Baba, according to ideological and physical age. and there is no ideological vacancy to be filled by Prof Akintoye.
Prince Justice Faloye
