Elder statesman and Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, has called on Yoruba political leaders to rise above party differences and place the people’s welfare at the heart of governance.
Speaking at the Southwest Stakeholders’ Dialogue convened by Afenifere, the DAWN Commission, and regional governors, Fasoranti, represented by Dr Femi Okunrounmu, said Yoruba politics must return to its founding values of unity, service, and shared progress.
He lamented that bitter partisanship had eroded the sense of brotherhood that once defined Yoruba leadership, warning that “the Yoruba nation is only as strong as its unity.”
“Development has no party. Progress knows no partisan affiliation,” he said. “The welfare of our people must be the central theme of political calculations, not a tool for point-scoring.”
Fasoranti urged leaders to measure success by their social impact, not party dominance. “Let the competition be who built more schools, provided better healthcare, or created more jobs,” he added.
Also speaking, Chief Bisi Akande, former Osun State Governor and first APC National Chairman, argued that Nigeria’s fragmentation into 36 states had weakened the federal structure and inflated governance costs.
He described President Bola Tinubu’s creation of regional development commissions as a “quiet but profound restructuring,” aimed at restoring economic autonomy and development focus to the regions.
“For us in the Southwest,” Akande said, “this is both an opportunity and a responsibility — to once again lead by example through collaboration, innovation, and strategic implementation.”
He said regional empowerment under the Renewed Hope Agenda was already driving new investments in agriculture, industry, and value-chain development, especially in cocoa, cassava, rice, palm oil, poultry, and aquaculture.
