Awolowo’s Legacy and the Bleeding Nation: A Call to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

 Awolowo’s Legacy and the Bleeding Nation: A Call to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

By Dr. Akinlooye Sarafadeen Olatunde, PhD

Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo left an indelible mark on Nigeria’s political history with policies and principles that placed the people at the center of governance. His progressive ideology, famously known as Awoism, was built on free education, infrastructural development, and economic policies that genuinely uplifted the poor. Awolowo was not only a politician but a visionary leader whose style of governance remains a benchmark for true progressives in Nigeria.

However, decades after his passing, many politicians continue to claim allegiance to Awoism while practicing the direct opposite of his values. In today’s Nigeria, rather than lifting citizens through progressive governance, political power is increasingly being wielded as an instrument of coercion and oppression. In the past, leaders used their political offices to suppress opposition and force defections into ruling parties. Sadly, this same undemocratic trend is resurfacing under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who himself rose to prominence as a self-acclaimed disciple of Awolowo’s progressive school of thought.

Nigeria today is sinking under the weight of bad governance, misguided policies, and deliberate political coercion. The nation is bleeding: inflation is skyrocketing, insecurity is worsening, unemployment is deepening, and citizens are crying out in despair. Yet, the so-called progressives appear more interested in consolidating political dominance than addressing the urgent needs of the masses.

In Osun State, and in several other states across the federation, opposition voices are being silenced not with superior ideas or people-centered policies, but through intimidation and undue pressure. Political offices that should serve the people have instead become weapons to weaken democratic institutions and stifle the will of the electorate. This is an affront to democracy and a betrayal of the progressive legacy Awolowo left behind.

Mr. President, Nigerians did not vote for you to continue the politics of coercion and imposition. They did not elect you to sustain a system where citizens’ rights are trampled, where opposition parties are crippled, and where governance is reduced to political survival. Nigerians voted with the hope of renewal, of better policies, of true progressivism that would reflect the ideology you claim to stand for.

Let Osun breathe, let PDP states breathe, let the poor and the masses breathe—for they are the very reasons for your government. They deserve to be served with love, compassion, and affection, not with hardship and suppression. A government that fails to prioritize its people is a government that has lost its soul.

Mr. President, it is time to pause and reflect. The people are crying, the nation is bleeding, and history is watching. You must rise above politics of coercion and lead Nigeria out of this dark tunnel. True progressives win hearts with ideas, not with force. True leaders create prosperity, not pain. Awolowo did it, and that is why his name still echoes decades after his death.

If this administration continues to tread the path of oppression and misrule, history will not remember it kindly. The nation deserves better, and the people are demanding better. The time to act is now.

Dr. Akinlooye Sarafadeen Olatunde, PhD