For The Records! Being the text of a Speech delivered by His Excellency The Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel, FNSE, FAEng, as part of activities marking the 99th Birthday Anniversary of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, organised by the UI ALUMNI in Akure on the 10th of May, 2025

Being the text of a Speech delivered by His Excellency The Senator Otunba Gbenga Daniel, FNSE, FAEng, as part of activities marking the 99th Birthday Anniversary of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, organised by the UI ALUMNI in Akure on the 10th of May, 2025

Protocols

It gives me great pleasure to have the honour of delivering this lecture at this august event. The purpose of our gathering is celebratory, for all the right reasons. Mindful of that, I do not intend to bore you with a very long speech. If I am able to awaken your minds to a few issues that I consider to be connected to the life and values of the celebrant, as well as our quest for progress as a society and a nation, I would have achieved my purpose.

Pa Fasoranti is a very blessed man. Doubly so, too. God alone deserves all the glory for giving him long life, because even if life’s choices do influence how long we live, in the final analysis, providence decides how long we live. The length of life is one area in which God can choose to bless as He pleases, as He has done in this case with Baba Fasoranti. To be blessed with a quality, impactful life as Baba has lived, however, is largely a function of personal choices. It is for this reason that we must both congratulate the celebrant not only for the blessing of long life, but also appreciate him for adding value to longevity by choosing to live a life of positive impact.

Baba Fasoranti was born on the 11th day of May, 1926, in Uso, Ondo State, where he had his primary education before proceeding to the Ondo Boys High School for his secondary education. He thereafter advanced to the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, then later to the University College, Ibadan in where he bagged a Higher degree in English/Geography. Upon graduation, he started as a Teacher at the Ondo Boys High School and from there became the Principal of several schools, including Oyemekun Grammar School and Iju Itaogbolu Grammar School, until his invitation to the government of Pa Michael Adekunle Ajasin to serve as Commissioner of Finance between 1979 and 1983. The second Republic, as we all know, was terminated by the coup of 1983, which railroaded many political officeholders into jail on account of the anti-corruption mantra and fervour upon which the coupists rode to power. It is a testament to the integrity of Pa Fasoranti that alongside Pa Ajasin, he was released by the military government with a clean bill of health after a stint in detention. While he subsequently stayed away from active politics in spite of pressures from far and near, Baba remained very active in the struggle for the betterment of his society and nation, preferring to work from the background to provide support to the progressive causes that he believed in.

He was dragged back into public light by the call of his people to come and lead Afenifere by the Yoruba people, at a momentous period in our life as a nation, following the passage of Pa Abraham Adesanya. Whether in office or out of it, Baba remains a formidable moral compass and leader for all Yoruba sons and daughters. The summation of Baba’s life if you ask me, can be encapsulated in that single Yoruba word of immense normative implications – omolúàbí.

….and this is where the Story began.

The title of this lecture is in search for “A Strong and United Yoruba Race as Panacea for Reviving Vanishing Yoruba Values and Culture”, but I will also add, that locating these forgotten ‘Values’ must be within the context of the Nigerian Nation in which it has pleased God and Providence to situate us along with other tribes and tongues or other ethnic nationalities. It is equally important to mirror these cherished “antiquated values” for revival in the life of the Man, as a moral compass, in whose honour this Public Service Lecture has been instituted, the Second Edition of which we are holding today.

What are these extinct or threatened Values and cultures that need revival? It is interesting that the Yoruba people place high premium on good conduct, behaviours or attitudes, and these are summarised in the:

Omoluabi Ethos

Talking about an omoluabi, the term is a compound of Omo ti Olu iwa bi, meaning “a child begotten by the master of good character.” In Yoruba thought, to be an Omoluabi is to embody the highest ideals of personhood. These include honesty (otito), respect (ìbá), responsibility (ojuse), courage (akinkanju), wisdom (ogbon), and a deep sense of duty to one’s community. The Omoluabi does not merely exist for self-gratification but is guided by the imperative to act justly, speak truthfully, and promote harmony.

The Yoruba worldview places character (iwa) at the core of human identity. Indeed, a common saying goes, iwa l’ewa—character is beauty. A person may have wealth, intelligence, or status, but without good character, they are considered incomplete or even dangerous. This emphasis on moral integrity is not merely individualistic but extends to one’s obligations to family, community, and the cosmos. The Omoluabi is, therefore, a moral agent whose existence contributes to the flourishing of the collective.

Nigeria’s current social and cultural situation reveals a deep ethical crisis.

Despite being endowed with abundant natural resources, rich cultures, and a vibrant population, the country, over several decades, has continued to grapple with progressive moral decay, corruption, and systemic dysfunction. These challenges have impeded genuine progress and eroded public trust in institutions. This crisis pervades every layer of public life, from the erosion of trust in leadership to the normalisation of impunity among regular citizens. Without excusing the political class from the less salutary role it has played in getting the nation to where it is today, the reality, too, is that the political class is a reflection of the broader society. Leaders are not aliens. Their values are shaped and forged within the existing cultural and moral milieu. What power does most times, therefore, is to amplify and put under the public lens, the inherent attribute of the ordinary man of yesterday, who today, has found himself in the corridors of power. To view the Nigerian ethical crisis as simply that of leadership alone is to commit the fallacy of composition, which in logic can be referred to as the mistake of taking the part for the whole. Truth be told, at different layers of our society today, success is now measured by material acquisition rather than integrity or service. This distortion of values has led to widespread disillusionment, youth restiveness, and a decline in national cohesion. With a booming youthful population, one of the fastest growing in the world, we have an urgent duty of moral and cultural reset, which I believe can transform not just our leadership qualities but also our politics as well, with positive implications for economic and material development.

As the nation seeks pathways to renewal, I believe in the imperative of turning to our indigenous philosophical resources for moral and civic guidance. Among the Yoruba people, the concept of Omoluabi represents a comprehensive ethical framework that emphasises integrity, responsibility, and communal harmony. The revival of the Omoluabi ethos offers a culturally grounded and philosophically robust avenue for fostering national rebirth in Nigeria. While the idea of omoluabi is rooted in Yoruba culture, etymologically and culturally, its constitutive values of integrity, responsibility, and communal harmony, as earlier mentioned above, are universal desirables whose different iterations, I believe, can be found in every culture within the Nigerian state. This Kantian character of universalizability, therefore, makes it possible to Nigerianize the concept through consensus-building and cross-cultural engagements and understanding.

One of the notable aspects of the Omoluabi ethos is its emphasis on civic responsibility. An Omoluabi understands that his or her actions have consequences for the wider society, and is therefore conscious of the obligation to contribute to communal wellbeing, resolve disputes amicably, and hold leaders accountable. Reviving this ethic today means re-instilling a sense of personal accountability for national progress.

In leadership and governance, the Omoluabi principle demands transparency, justice, and humility from public servants. It conceives of leadership not as a privilege for exploitation, but as a sacred trust and burden for selfless service. Elected officials and civil servants guided by omoluabi values would prioritise the common good over parochial or selfish interests. Such a shift could rebuild citizens’ trust in institutions and foster a culture of ethical leadership.

In everyday civic life, the revival of the omoluabi ethos could counteract social vices such as internet fraud, cultism, ritual killings, banditry and political thuggery, among others. These practices, which have become normalised among sections of the youth, are symptoms of a society that no longer upholds character as the measure of a person. By promoting omoluabi values,  Nigeria can cultivate a new generation of citizens committed to honesty, responsibility, and service.

Afenifere and the propagation of Omoluabi Ethos in Nigeria

Despite some internal issues, one of which I will return to soon, Afenifere remains the most prominent organisation in Yorubaland today.

Historically, Afenifere emerged from the political movement around Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the Action Group in the 1950s, articulating a vision of governance rooted in justice, accountability, and the welfare of the people. Its identity has since been tied not only to progressive politics but also to the cultural and philosophical grounding of the Yoruba people. This legacy positions Afenifere as a custodian of both modern political ideals and traditional Yoruba values, making it a natural platform for reviving and institutionalising the Omoluabi ethos in public and private life.

This status, I argue further, uniquely positions it to serve as a powerful vehicle for the propagation of the omoluabi ethos not only in the Southwest but across Nigeria. Founded on the ideals of progressivism, integrity and social justice, Afenifere’s history and place among the Yoruba people provide it with both the legitimacy and the capacity to promote a moral order rooted in indigenous values. By leveraging its political influence, intellectual heritage, and community-based networks, Afenifere is well situated to play a pivotal role in embedding the omoluabi ethos more firmly into the Nigerian cultural and sociopolitical landscape.

To be able to do this successfully, two things are very important in my view. The first is the readiness of Afenifere to draw to itself all omoluabis in the Southwest, irrespective of political persuasions. I am aware that this claim of mine strikes at the heart of ongoing debates about the ideology and identity of Afenifere, with some disagreements among its prominent members, which I do not consider irreconcilable. As I have noted above, Afenifere was a part of the political machinery of the Action Group under Chief Obafemi Awolowo. But it is also correct to say that it was the vehicle that leveraged on cultural mobilisation for the actualisation of the progressive politics that Awolowo embodied. The Afenifere group was the practical manifestation of the brilliant ideas encapsulated in the thoughts and reflections of a man who remains a central issue in Nigerian political discourse today. Therefore, those who claim that Afenifere needs to be a sociocultural organisation are not without a point. I agree that being born a Yoruba man or woman should not be an automatic ticket to be an Afenifere. To be seen as one, it requires in my thinking, demonstrable embodiment and commitment to the values of progress, justice, equity, personal responsibility and the advancement of social harmony. All these are omoluabi ethos. Anyone who lives by these ideals in my view, should be able to lay claim to the Afenifere heritage without discrimination. I am therefore advancing the thesis here that the ethos and morals  of omoluabi needs to be first and foremost a cultural project, which should then be transmittable to the political sphere. While the claim that Afenifere was, and remains, political, the truth is that the political, in many cases, and as it was in the first Republic, was wedded to the cultural. It couldn’t have been otherwise if we all agree that more often than not, the cultural is also political.

The denial, or underappreciation of the connection or the cultural to the political is a product of neoliberal, enlightenment thinking which seeks to create a dichotomy between the private (often coded as cultural) and the public (understood as political).

Critical thinkers invite us however, to challenge the presumed neutrality or separateness of culture from political life, on the basis that that cultural expressions, languages, symbols, traditions, norms, and identities, far from being apolitical, are deeply entangled with structures of power, authority, resource allocations notions of social and economic progress. In the works of Foucault and Gramsci, we see how cultural norms shape and get shaped in return by political institutions, suggesting that power operates not only through laws and governments but also through discourses and practices that define what is normal, desirable, or deviant. From our own experience as Africans, we know that the project of colonisation, which was both political and economic, could not have succeeded on the scale it did without cultural domination and hegemonic practices, which largely endure till today, decades after colonialism officially ended. The point I seek to stress is that whereas our process of ethical reformation must ultimately translate to political action in a progressive manner, it cannot afford not to be cultural. Shutting out those who can contribute meaningfully to national rebirth on the basis of current political affiliations, especially through parties as presently organized, will be a narrow and defeatist approach. Our evolution politically is not yet at a stage where political parties embody discernible normative ideas around which people can build fixed loyalties, desirable as that is. The barometer for measuring who an omoluabi is, therefore, has to be limited to the ethical worldview of the individual, not the current political platform, which is very fluid. I am therefore strongly appealing to the cultural and political tendencies in Afenifere to harmonise their views and find common purpose for the greater good of our people. There is so much work to be done, and very little time to waste.

The second important issue is an emphasis on a point I made earlier, to the effect that my ideas here today are not a call to some form of ethnic agenda or sectarian rally cry. The ultimate focus is to build a Nigeria that works for all, and I believe that we can begin to heal a sick body by healing its parts. Afenifere cannot, and should not be, a vehicle for cultural and moral rebirth in the Southwest alone. While it must put its house in order, assert and revalidate its moral legitimacy, it needs to leverage its historical credibility to reach out to other parts of the country in search of the practical ways in which we can reform our society and set it on the path of progress. While the organization is primarily Yoruba-based, its participation in national discourse and history of coalition-building means it has a platform from which it can mobilize traditional rulers, community leaders, and religious figures to articulate, frame and reinforce the relevance of Omoluabi values not only as a cultural inheritance but also a practical guide for civic responsibility and social harmony.

Permit me to end this presentation by noting that cultural and ethical rebirth and economic progress need not be pursued in isolation. As I have tried to show, they are interconnected. To that extent they can be mutually reinforcing, with very great results when properly synchronised. Since assuming office about two years ago, President Bola Tinubu has embarked on some very bold reforms targeted at resetting systemic errors of the past that continue to shackle our country. Some of these reforms, while painful in the short term, are designed to bring enduring benefits in the medium and long term. As we navigate the inevitable pains of these reforms, however, we must not lose sight of the gains we have made, even in the short term. Today, our local governments are much stronger on account of greater financial autonomy, brought about by the judicial intervention sought by the President. Today, we are also seeing the empowerment of regional commissions to serve as vehicles for driving region-specific goals that cohere with the overall developmental aspirations of our country. I was privileged to work with colleagues in the National Assembly to pass the law that created the Southwest Development Commission (SWDC), a regional development initiative, and I am very grateful to the President for expressly granting assent. What I have seen in the two years of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is that there is an ongoing effort to restructure Nigeria in a way that inspires confidence in every section. Hitherto, our conversations on restructuring have elicited pushbacks in certain quarters, based on what I consider to be a misunderstanding of the idea. Perhaps a great idea has up till now been communicated in ways that made some become fearful,  even if without a basis. The lesson here for me is that whereas the goals can remain the same, strategies and approaches may vary. Restructuring Nigeria in a way that inspires the buy-in of all may not be as quick as some of us may want, but the significant benefit it brings is that we will arrive at the intended destination, perhaps a bit later, but in unity and cohesion. I am therefore imploring Afenifere to reach out to like-minded groups across the country, help in the process of consensus-building, and see how the fruits of such engagements can be translated into tangible political realities. President Tinubu has demonstrated the capacity to take very bold actions where needed. With cross-cultural support in critical areas, he can be empowered and encouraged to do more, especially in critical areas that could strengthen our democracy like electoral reforms (to ensure transparency, independence and credible electoral system; Judicial independence (to give the citizens absolute confidence about getting justice whenever their rights are trampled upon); devolution of powers; civic education and participation (and the promotion of political literacy among the youth and women); accountability in governance (to promote and engage public trust in government); and security and the rule of law. This does not in any way obviate objective, constructive criticism where needed, nor does it make the group an appendage of any political interest. It simply recognises the potential fruitfulness of working together where we can.

Once again, I want to congratulate our father and leader, Baba Reuben Fasoranti, on this momentous occasion, and I pray that the good Lord will grant him good health, so that we can continue to benefit from his wealth of wisdom, grace and experience.

Thank you.

Otunba Gbenga Daniel,

Akure

10 May, 2025