By Dayo Johnson & Rotimi Ojomoyela, AKURE
The two-day South-West summit of governors, ministers, senior Federal Government officials and traditional rulers held in Akure, Ondo State, was more than another political gathering. It was an emotional reawakening of memory and mission among stakeholders in the region.
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For those two days, October 29 to 30, the South-West leaders rediscovered their voice, shared heritage and unfulfilled promises in order for Yoruba land to retake charge of its destiny.
Reclaiming Yoruba spirit of collective progress
The Chairman of the Summit Steering Committee, Dr. Akin Onigbinde, believed that the purpose of the two-day engagement was to rebuild the architecture of Yoruba cooperation and to design a system that places citizens at the centre of governance.
To him, the South-West, once a model of efficiency and foresight, has been slowed by politics and fragmentation, in contrast to a time when regional planning meant measurable results, and governments planned, executed and reported back to the people.
According to him, the problem was not the absence of ideas but the lack of coordination and continuity, which necessitated the move to institutionalize a system of regular dialogue where citizens no longer watch from the sidelines but participate in shaping policy.
Onigbinde framed the engagement as a reclaiming of Yoruba identity, which is a return to evidence-based leadership and partnership between the governors and the governed.
Reawakening regional blueprint
South-West’s biggest problem, according to the Chairman of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN, Commission, Dr. Seye Oyeleye, has never been a lack of potential but the failure to harmonize the potential because each state has its projects, but a few of them connect into a unified regional goal.
Oyeleye noted that the challenge of the region has become reactive rather than strategic, and urged states to plan together from transport systems to digital infrastructure to unlock economies of scale.
The two-day summit, he explained, was designed to find structural solutions to regional fragmentation, adding that the goal is to synchronize economic plans, build shared institutions and align policy directions through the DAWN Commission.
Self-determination
In the words of Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the South-West must stop waiting for the Federal Government to fix its problems, acknowledging the insecurity, infrastructural decay and unemployment that threaten the region’s stability.
His words were both pragmatic and visionary, praising President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms as courageous but insisted that federal reforms must be complemented by regional strategy.
Aiyedatiwa promised that Ondo State would lead by example, translating summit resolutions into measurable local programmes, an action that reflects his true understanding of what late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, once demonstrated that real governance begins with courage and coordination.
De-politicizing Federal projects
On his part, the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, accused the Federal Government of politicizing federal projects, thereby denying the South-West its fair share of national infrastructure.
Adeleke argued that development should not depend on party alignment or electoral favour, regardless of differences in political parties.
His position reflected a deep frustration shared across the region that projects are too often determined by loyalty rather than logic, which called for a decentralized model of partnership in which the South-West leverages its internal capacity rather than waiting for Abuja’s unpredictable mercy.
For him, the purpose of the summit was to end dependency and build internal strength, rather than politicising development to the detriment of the tradition of self-reliance, which was the same spirit that birthed the Cocoa House, the University of Ife and Africa’s first television station.
Fasoranti laments partisan rivalry
The National Leader of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, on his part, lamented that partisan rivalry had weakened Yoruba solidarity and hindered development across the South-West region.
Represented by former Afenifere Secretary-General, Senator Femi Okunrounmu, Fasoranti urged South-West political leaders to rise above party divisions and return to the region’s founding ideals of unity, welfarism, and progressive governance.
He emphasized that Yoruba political tradition was built on people-centred leadership and social welfare, saying the region must reconnect with these values to drive inclusive growth.
“Party politics must never again divide or weaken Yoruba solidarity,” Fasoranti said. “I have seen brothers refuse to greet each other because they belong to different parties. Development projects have been abandoned, not for lack of merit, but because they were initiated by a rival party. This must end. Development has no party.”
He reminded leaders that Yoruba politics is historically rooted in welfarism, not imported ideology, and that true governance must prioritize citizens’ welfare.
Yoruba monarchs preach peace, unity
Two of the monarchs, who spoke during the summit, the Alafin of Oyo, Oba Hakeem Owoade and the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, preached peace and unity in the region. They reaffirmed the commitment of Yoruba leaders to regional unity, progress and sustained dialogue for development.
The monarchs posited that the summit “ has enabled political representatives to highlight their contributions and align ongoing initiatives with the needs of the people across Yorubaland.
They pledged their continued support for President Tinubu’s administration, citing its positive direction and commitment to the region’s developmental agenda and national growth
SWDC promises to regional connectivity, integrated devt
The South-West Development Commission, SWDC, vowed to intensify effort towards achieving greater regional connectivity and integrated development across the six states of the South-West zone of the country.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Dr Charles Akinola, submitted that the move, which is part of the commission’s broader agenda to promote inclusive growth and shared prosperity across the region, also aims to strengthen infrastructure linkages, boost trade, and enhance economic cooperation within the region to accelerate sustainable growth.
Bisi Akande thumbs up Tinubu’s reforms
In his contribution, former Interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and ex-Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, described PresidentTinubu’s ongoing reforms as deliberate and necessary steps to rebuild Nigeria’s national foundation.
To him, the fiscal, economic, and institutional reforms being implemented by the Tinubu administration, though tough initially, are essential for Nigeria’s long-term stability and prosperity.
“The reforms unfolding — in taxation, revenue harmonisation, and expenditure rationalisation — are deliberate steps to rebuild Nigeria’s foundation. The economy is being re-engineered to reward productivity rather than dependency.
“We are entering an era of responsibility, where every naira must count, every policy must produce results, and every reform must serve the people.”
Awolowo’s legacy, Action Group spirit
The Voice of a renowned cleric and former Archbishop of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Most Rev. retd., Ayo Ladigbolu, carried the nostalgia of a generation that saw the Action Group (1951-1962) not as a party, but as a movement of purpose.
He reminded everyone that Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s leadership was not about rhetoric but vision executed through discipline, emphasizing on a time when the Western Region built Africa’s first television station, the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa and introduced free education.
Ladigbolu’s message was timeless, as he said the reforms being championed by President Tinubu are long overdue, saying the South-West Region must be grounded in Awolowo’s model of regional partnership, self-help and social welfare for it to succeed.
According to him, the South-West must revive the moral fiber that powered the Action Group era, saying this is the only antidote that can save the region from being paralysed.
Why wait for Abuja?
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, spoke extensively on economic dependence, arguing that the region has the intellect, capital and capacity to design and execute its own projects, rather than depending on the Federal Government for railway lines, and other infrastructural facilities.
He proposed the creation of a South-West Development Fund that would pool resources from all six states for joint infrastructure such as railways, industrial zones and farm settlements, saying integration is not a dream but a financial and moral necessity.
Alake urged the governors to move from resolutions to results, from conversation to construction, stressing that there’s no excuses for the region, if Awolowo could build television stations and skyscrapers in the 1950s.
A roadmap for Renewal
At the end of the two-day engagement, the summit adopted a detailed communiqué that reflected the tone of every session which are practical, visionary and deeply rooted in regional self-determination.
It called for Yoruba unity beyond partisan lines, which is a renewed commitment to good governance and unflinching support for President Tinubu’s economic reforms.
Delegates urged the Federal Government to fix critical highways and support regional infrastructure that would integrate the states economically.
They called on the Federal Government to fix federal roads which include the Ibadan-Ife-Ilesha federal highway, the Lagos–Abeokuta expressway, the Ita-Owure–Ado-Ekiti highway, and the Ifaki–Lokoja highway.
Stakeholders at the summit lend their support to the bold economic reforms being implemented by President Tinubu and equally want government to intensify public enlightenment and information dissemination on the government’s policies, programs, and expected impacts.
The communiqué also announced that the South-West Summit would become an annual event, institutionalizing the culture of dialogue between leaders and citizens while the DAWN Commission would serve as the permanent technical secretariat to monitor and evaluate progress.
No doubt the inaugural South-West Citizens–Government Engagement Summit has marked a watershed in the history of democratic engagement in Nigeria.
It has demonstrated that structured dialogue between government and citizens is not only possible but essential to effective governance and sustainable development.
There’s the need for the Federal Government, state government officials, and all stakeholders in the region to take immediate and sustained action on the summits resolutions.
While in all sense the Summit was a reunion of the past and the future, it is a reminder that the Yoruba story is not over, only waiting to be rewritten but one question lingers, if Awolowo could do it then, why can’t the South-West Region repeat history?
Dignitaries at the event included Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa; Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Chairman, Southwest Governors’ Forum); Ogun Deputy Governor Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele; Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola; former Ondo Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko; Afenifere Leader Pa Reuben Fasoranti; Bisi Akande; and Olusola Oke, SAN.
Others include, Chairman , Ondo state Council of Traditional Rulers, Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye; the Deji of Akure, Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi; Afenifere leader, Pa Rueben Fasoranti, represented by Senator Femi Okunrohunmu; Apagun Kole Omololu; and Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, who was represented by his SSG, Prof Abibat Adubiaro, among others.
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