By Musa Bakare
History is never kind to a people who abandon their own at the very moment he is carrying the heaviest burden on behalf of the nation and doing them proud.
Today, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, clearly the most cerebral President Nigeria has had stands at the centre of the most far-reaching economic and political reforms undertaken by any Nigerian leader since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
He inherited a nation battered by decades of policy failures, mounting debt, a fraudulent subsidy regime, declining revenues, widespread insecurity, collapsing infrastructure, and a dangerously weakened economy. Nigeria was standing at the edge of a precipice.
Yet, rather than postpone the pain and leave the burden for future generations, Tinubu chose the difficult path. He confronted problems previous leaders merely managed. He took decisions many before him lacked the courage to take.
That is why it is both shocking and disappointing to witness some Yoruba voices joining the chorus of those who attack, abuse, and vilify him daily.
One is compelled to ask: What exactly is the objective?
What is the mission of those who come onto Yoruba platforms only to amplify and echo the “pull him down” campaign against a Yoruba President? What explains the willingness of some to become enthusiastic distributors of every negative narrative, accusation, rumour, and propaganda directed at him?
More troubling is the silence of some administrators of Yoruba platforms who permit relentless attacks on a Yoruba leader while turning a blind eye to the obvious hostility being promoted in their midst. Is this indifference or complicity?
What reasonable justification exists for any Yoruba organisation or individual to spend every waking hour attacking a Yoruba President while refusing to acknowledge a single achievement of his administration?
Nobody is asking for blind loyalty. Nobody is demanding silence in the face of genuine disagreement. Criticism is an essential part of democracy.
But there is a clear difference between constructive criticism and relentless hostility. There is a difference between patriotism and vindictiveness. There is a difference between principled opposition and political sabotage.
Some individuals claim to love the Yoruba Nation, yet they reserve their deepest anger for the one Yoruba man carrying the enormous responsibility of leading Nigeria through one of its most difficult periods.
They amplify every accusation.
They repeat every falsehood.
They circulate every rumour.
They promote every hostile narrative.
Yet when roads are being constructed, they are silent.
When government revenues improve, they are silent.
When foreign investments return, they are silent.
When major infrastructure projects advance, they are silent.
When states receive significantly improved allocations, they are silent.
When difficult reforms begin to show results, they are silent.
One begins to wonder whether their problem is truly governance or simply Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself.
The Yoruba have a timeless proverb:
“Ọmọ ẹni kì í ṣe’dí bẹ̀bẹ̀rẹ̀ ká fi ìlẹ̀kẹ̀ sí ìdí ọmọ ẹlòmíràn.”
No people prosper by despising their own while glorifying others.
A people who abandon their own while celebrating outsiders invite ridicule upon themselves and future generations.
The same individuals who now demand perfection from Tinubu maintained remarkable silence during administrations that left Nigeria economically wounded and institutionally weakened. Many who have suddenly discovered the language of outrage today had little to say when mediocrity flourished and national decline accelerated.
The truth is simple.
No President in recent Nigerian history has confronted Nigeria’s structural challenges with the boldness demonstrated by President Tinubu.
Others avoided the landmines.
Tinubu stepped on them deliberately because he understood that postponing difficult decisions would ultimately destroy the nation.
The Yoruba people must also recognise a deeper reality. The success or failure of Tinubu’s presidency will inevitably shape how future generations assess Yoruba political leadership at the national level.
This is not an argument for tribalism.
It is an argument for fairness, responsibility, and historical consciousness.
The Yoruba Nation should be proud of the courage demonstrated by President Tinubu in confronting problems others created and abandoned.
Every major ethnic group in Nigeria vigorously protects its own interests and strategic political assets. Yet some Yoruba elites appear determined to become the loudest opponents of their own son, often repeating narratives manufactured by those who have never hidden their hostility towards both the Yoruba people and President Tinubu.
This is not new.
When Chief Obafemi Awolowo was alive, many of these same tendencies were evident. Some shamelessly joined those who attacked and vilified him because of his commitment to Yoruba advancement and national development.
The late Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola also suffered betrayal from within. Even Major Hamza Al-Mustapha at the Oputa panel repeatedly lamented the role played by certain unpatriotic elements who maintained a shameful silence during one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s democratic history.
This destructive tendency must stop.
The Omoluabi ethos does not preach blind loyalty, but neither does it celebrate self-destruction.
An Omoluabi corrects his brother without handing him over to those seeking his downfall.
An Omoluabi offers honest counsel without becoming a weapon in the hands of adversaries.
An Omoluabi stands for truth, fairness, dignity, and justice.
The Yoruba Nation must rise above petty divisions, bitterness, and destructive politics.
We must support policies that promote national development.
We must encourage reforms that strengthen the economy.
We must defend fairness whenever a Yoruba leader or the Yoruba people are unfairly targeted.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not perfect.
No leader is.
But fairness demands that he be judged by facts, courage, vision, and measurable results, not by propaganda, prejudice, political hatred, or vindictiveness.
The road to national recovery is never smooth.
It is often painful.
It requires sacrifice.
It demands patience.
Above all, it requires leadership willing to make difficult decisions. President Tinubu has demonstrated that willingness.
The Yoruba Nation should not stand among those throwing stones at a man attempting to rebuild a troubled country.
Rather, we should stand firmly for truth, fairness, progress, and the success of reforms that can secure a stronger future for Nigeria and generations yet unborn.
History is watching.
History will remember who stood for progress and who stood against it.
Yoruba Ronu O!
– Musa Asiru Bakare, a Political Analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
