Opinion
Akintola through the prism of the Yoruba value system
The imaginatively presented material below is basically about the Yoruba worldview. Within the invaluable Yoruba system the whole lifecycle is fractionalised into accomplishable bits. The system is hierarchical, therefore the order of achievement is natural and sensible.
The cart is not placed before the horse hence the inherent discipline in the lives of those that have passed through this system and the reverse in the lives of those who failed to imbibe these principles. It has nothing to do with age, it is a cultural element that those who failed to imbibe live to regret because they always stick out like sore thumbs everywhere they found themselves.
Not so for Chief Adeniyi Akintola. He is always flying the Yoruba flag in character and learning.
Please spare some time to review this write up on the Yorubas that the writer has kindly permitted us to share and the additional materials that we’ve chalked up on the erudite Yoruba man.
In Yorubaland, money has never been foremost in Yoruba value system. In our value system money is number six.
What are the first five you may ask?
1. The first is làákà’yè – The application of knowledge, wisdom & understanding… (Ogbón and ìmò òye)
2. The second is Ìwà Omolúàbí– (integrity) Someone with integrity is a man/woman of their words. If you have all the wealth in the world but lack integrity, you are not worth a thing. Integrity is combined with iwa, (character) which we regard as Omolúàbí.
3. The third is Akínkanjú or Akin – (Valour)
That is why Balóguns is second-in-command to the leaders in Yoruba land.
Balóguns are people that can lead them to war. To lead with great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle. Yoruba people have no respect for cowards.
4. The fourth is Anísélápá tí kìíse òle – (Having a visible means of livelihood) A person must be identified with a visible means of livelihood that guarantees a lawful income or sustenance. His or her profession or job must be open and legally approved by society, and not through cheating or forcefulness.
5. The fifth is iyi – (Honour) Yoruba people place a premium on the gait with which individuals carry themselves and public reputation.
That is why Yorùbá people usually say when you set out to look for money and you meet honour on the way then you don’t need the journey anymore, because if you get the money, you will still use it to buy honour.
6. The last in the Yorùbá value system is owó tàbí orò – (Money or wealth) If putting money ahead of the other five, then you are nobody in Yoruba land of the olden days. Unfortunately, this is being pushed to the back burner nowadays due to the erosion of our value system.
After all his struggle to acquire the golden fleece. He graduated with a law degree, appeared in Court for the first time in borrowed gown and head gear but forged ahead anyways. He got a job that offered a Santana car and 400 naira (huge sum at the time) where the regular lawyers earned between 180 and 220 but his adopted father asked whether he wanted to learn law practice or run after money.
He gave him the freedom to choose. Remembering his Yoruba upbringing, he went for the 220 naira job but learnt the best court presentations and law application available at that time. The rest is history as he’s one of the most sought after legal minds and administrator today.
Let’s read more about the Chief…
NIYI AKINTOLA: A man on a mission
Having a goal in life and achieving it will seem to be the norm for all human beings. But having a goal would seem to be, under close scrutiny, the dream of a person who’s got everything lined up for them.
Think about it, if survival for the day is your preoccupation as an indigent child, what time is there to dream talkless set a goal ?! But if you’re guided by unseen hands and every decision you take, to break the cycle of poverty, works like a cinch even when it obviously seem impossible given your position and background to achieve the heights you have attained in life you’ll definitely know you have a date with destiny.
Three primary schools, mechanic apprenticeship, plank seller motor-boyship and photostudio apprenticeship filling in for your high school education. And through hardwork you threw all that into the trash ( retaining the lessons) to clear all required WASCE papers at one sitting.
Within a blurring moment you also clinched A-B-A in WAEC A- Level and another A-B-A same year in Cambridge A-Level examinations. You attracted via the media sponsors from an elite Ibadan club who saw you through University of Ibadan studying law having rejected sociology offered through JAMB by Ife 2 years earlier. You became a Senior Advocate in your chosen profession and member of body of benchers relatively young.
Definitely you’re a special individual and most certainly providence has an interest in you and everything you touch.
CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL
The Bible says “Seest thou a man who is diligent in his work….he shall stand before kings and not before ordinary men”.
Talking about professional conduct, you do not need rocket science to conclude that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria got that far because they’ve given a good account of themselves inside and outside of the court rooms elevating the course of their calling everywhere they go. Niyi AKINTOLA SAN took a lot from his profession and he has by all means given so much back in terms of record setting and becoming something of a reference point in the resolution of complicated litigations.
If you care to look , check the outcome of some landmark cases some of which he did without receiving any remuneration.
AKINTOLA was lead counsel in the celebrated Inakoju vs Adeleke case which was a notable case in the history of Nigerian legal jurisprudence. AKINTOLA in that case believed that the law should be used as an instrument of social engineering and change to better the lot of society.
Even when some of his colleagues and senior members of the bar believed he was walking along the wrong path challenging the impeachment of Chief Ladoja in the courts of law. He proved that he knew the horse he was betting on by cleverly changing the mode of challenge. He made the legislators sue themselves and made the speaker of the house of assembly the arrow head of the challenge.
The approach of AKINTOLA SAN on impeachment proceedings has now become the reference point as was evident in subsequent impeachment proceedings in Plateau , Ekiti, and Bayelsa states to mention a few.
The traiblaising traits can be found on the Ilero chieftaincy stool case where the Alaafin and the kingmakers were against government’s imposition of a candidate against the traditionally chosen one. He won the case for the people in spite of all the stumbling blocks including the sudden death of a major witness.
AKINTOLA did his work with the fear of God and deep considerations for humanity. He had been at the two extremes of life. He had nothing, starting out and he’s now within the top echelon of his career. He’s very sensitive when it comes to people’s welfare probably because of his personal experiences and also passionate about uplifting the indigents most especially those experiencing issues with education but not limited to that.
He’s easily on the card at most intellectual gatherings within and outside the law profession. His law qualification and understanding of arbitration has taken him to other lands to work with resounding success just like he’s doing at home.
HIS ACTIVISM AND PHILANTHROPY
Niyi Akintola SAN’s OYO and Ibadan Origins are never in question. And like the adage says “a leaf does not fall far away from the tree” The gene of fighting for a just cause that the Ibadan people are known for runs in his veins. He’s a great great great grandson of Ibikunle the fiery army general that protected OYO empire from the Kunrunmi rebellion within, In Orile Ijaye and external aggression against Yorubas generally.
Akintola has been in the trenches with human rights activists from his school days but very actively since the June 12 debacle. His mantra has been ” injustice done to one is injustice done to all.
He was herded into detention by the powerfuls together with some human rights lawyers, trade unionists, progressive politicians and journalists like Gani Fawehinmi, NLC man Bolomope, Femi Falana, Lam Adesina to mention a few. They were either asking for improved education, health and freedom for the people. It was never about personal aggrandizement.
He was the deputy speaker in 1992. Because he dared to oppose the ” this is how we’ve been doing it people ” the kingpin of Amala-Politics himself, Lamidi Adedibu ordered his arrest using his foot soldiers to throw the second most powerful lawmaker in the state for that time in the booth of a car and driven to Molete. And as if the absurdity of this lawless behaviour was not grevious enough, the politics by other means mafioso sternly warned him to desist from his activism or he will be dealt with.
He carried on his activism in the courts of law by choosing to use the law as an instrument to get justice for the common man and even for the well to do like governor Ladoja who was crudely removed from power.
Charity begins at home they say, Chief Akintola is at home in the courts of law and so his charitable activities takes root even from there by taking cases of indigent clients free of charge.
Niyi Akintola, SAN was lifted up by kind hearted people, consequently he has assisted many and still assisting many others in their educational pursuits
because he believes knowledge is power.
Only recently he promised the burnt down Ibadan motor Spare parts market traders 10 lockup shops and he delivered to the amazement of the owners shops painted, with better doors and toilets.
His philanthropic work also crosses over into his politics. All political cases he had taken on for the progressives and they are many from the Local government to governorship to the lower and upper houses to presidential were done free of charge. Show me any other party man doing the same standing today.
When we discuss his politics next you will get much more.
HIS PHILANTHROPY AND POLITICS.
I did say that Chief Adeniyi Akintola SAN did not have the opportunity of a secondary school education instead he learnt lessons of life from one apprenticeship to another (3 of them)and at the end of the day by divine providence and hard work made the loss seem unnecessary.
Continuing with his philanthropic efforts from where we left off. Chief Akintola is a strong advocate of the philosophy that privileged citizens should give back to the communities that produced them but not by giving ridiculous half Kongos of rice and gari but by real empowerment that makes them fishermen themselves instead of getting pieces of fish in trickles, a feudalistic shenanigan that makes them perpetual slaves.
* He built an edifice tagged Tunji Bello Hall at the school of nursing Eleyele Ibadan for the Muslim Society Oyo State though himself a Baptist. He practices what he preaches.
* I had witnessed a prayer session at the Oja Oba, Ibadan central mosque where he honoured an invitation to a prayer session by the Imams and Alfas of Yoruba land.
* He built the Magistrate court, and joined in the effort to build a
* Police station in his native Omi Adio, his ancestors farmstead.
* He also built a well equipped hospital in that community, being managed by the Baptist Church and as we speak there’s no other elaborate health structure of it’s type in the area. In fact, the hospital was commissioned in 2006 by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
* Chief Akintola had donated to the Federal Government also a parcel of land(3 plots) for a health facility in the area.
* The Baptist convention had also been allocated huge (27 hectares) of land for the Bowen University Teaching Hospital Annexe.
So when eventually all these other facilities come on stream through the effort of Adeniyi Akintola SAN, the Omi Adio environment would be a bastion of health facilities.
* At 50, he awarded 50 indigent higher institution students scholarship.
* He instituted a scholarship scheme for Ibadan indigenes( apart from others) at Lautech University , Ogbomosho – under the chairmanship of Oluyole club of Ogbomosho. The scholarship programme still runs today.
*Myriads of unpublicized, solid, market women empowerments, hence the strong women support base in all local governments.
Now to his politics. He is one of the few progressives still standing in Oyo State since Bola Ige era.
He is a principled progressive whose ideology thrives on positive programmes for the people and not on fithy lucre as has become of the dye in wool political hermaphrodites who run with the hares and hunt with the hounds.
He makes friends across party lines and hierarchy but draws the line on principles. He’s a fantastic negotiator because of his background in arbitration. There’s no losing with Niyi because he listens to all very carefully and appropriately thrash out all issues ( everyone is happy).
Unlike most people of his status he answers virtually all telephone calls. That is a culture of civility lacking among Nigeria’s high and mighty.
He was member Oyo State House of Assembly in the 3rd republic in 1992. As a matter of fact he was deputy Speaker.
He was harrased by the Adedibu political machinery. Undaunted he resigned from deputy Speakership and went back to law. He’s about the only politician in Nigeria’s history who has resigned from office on principles.
He was, during the tenure in the 3rd republic chairman Committee on Public Petitions and Judiciary.
He was a member presidential Committee on The Review of The 1999 constitution.
He’s currently a legal adviser/ counsel to his party – The APC and had been representing the progressives legally since 1998.
He was the dissenting voice that single handedly wrote the minority report on resource control for the 1999 presidential Committee on the review of the constitution.
He’s on the national committee planning the 2023 elections campaign for his party. One of the 3 from Oyo State.
HIS POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCES.
The Yorubas believe that you need to ” show me the apparel you’re donning if you must gift me a dress”.
Those aspiring to high offices must have a history of excellent administrative capacities to show how society has benefitted from their wealth of experiences in the past. Charity begins at home. Chief Akintola runs 4 fully functional chambers in Nigeria ( Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja and Portharcourt) and collaborates with others elsewhere in the world.Because of his professional prowess public and private organizations have entrusted him with the management of sensitive and delicate issues not just in the courts and he has delivered beyond expectations.
He consults for wholly owned Nigerian companies and multinationals, government parastatals, financial institutions, oil and gas companies including construction and manufacturing concerns. You’ll agree with me that a dodderer can’t smell these environments talkless function effectively there.
It is therefore not surprising that a versatile individual like Adeniyi AKINTOLA SAN has served his fatherland, the world and the legal profession in so many capacities among which are being:
*Appointed counsel to the Federal Government on the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that probed Nigerdock N81 Billion fraud.
*Appointed Member Presidential visitation panel to FUTA I999-2000
*Member Body of Benchers- The highest governing body of the legal profession. And he is a life bencher, the youngest to become so at 50.
*Director Nigerian Reinsurance PLC
*Member Disciplinary Committee of the NBA( since 1998).
* Past Chairman NBA Ibadan Branch.
*Fellow London Court of International Arbitration
*Appointed partner with the Alternative Dispute Resolution of London, Marriott West India Quay, London (2008) Also a manager at the ADR Seminar of 2008 in the United Kingdom.
*Fellow Chattered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigeria.
*Member 1999 Presidential Committee on the review of the Constitution.
*Member Nigeria Bar Association
*Member African Bar Association
*Member International Bar Association
An incorruptible fellow, he exposed the 50 million naira fraud at FUTA and rejected an allotment of land in 1992 by the FG in Abuja because it was tainted with corruption.
The staunch progressive that he is he believes in
* Quality education for the mass of our people
In Technical areas, Sciences, ICT, Liberal arts, Agric chain, Commerce and Trade.
* Robust health system with focus on the professionals,the masses, the infrastructure and medication.
*Infrastructural radicalization to answer multisectorial deficiencies in lifting the system out of the current doldrum and creating jobs.
*Provision of facilities for SMEs to encourage entrepreneurship.
And more… to be unveiled subsequently.
But even as it is, you will agree with me that he has fulfilled what is required of him to be called a seasoned Yoruba person but there’s more to be shown the world about this exemplar. Just stay tuned!
Mobolaji Oladepo, the media aide to Chief Adeniyi Akintola, sent this piece from Ibadan, Oyo state
The most foolish person in a burning house is not the one who cannot find the exit. It is the one who knew the house would burn, watched it happen, and only ran when the ceiling collapsed. That is Nigeria’s governance posture toward insecurity—a pattern so consistent that it has become normalized.
“Ikú tó pa ojúgbà ẹni, òwe ló fi pa. (The death that kills your neighbour is a proverb directed at you).
The bandits did not simply arrive. They sent warnings ahead of them through a trail of violence that crossed state lines and appeared in every massacre headline we filed away as someone else’s problem.
When Insecurity Was Still “Someone Else’s Problem”
When the North was burning and the Middle Belt bleeding, the South West treated it as distant noise. Kwara became the first warning sign—the bridge between North and South—slowly slipping under the shadow of insurgency. The question every serious observer should have asked was simple: what happens when it crosses the border?
South West governors issued statements—careful, brief, and reactive. None moved with the urgency the threat demanded. Before long, violence arrived at our doorstep: herder brutality in Oke-Ogun, attacks in Oyo and Ekiti, kidnappings along the Ibadan–Ijebu-Ode expressway, and forest camps emerging in Ondo.
The warning signs had matured into reality, yet we were still searching for an exit strategy that should have been built years earlier.
The Problem: We Only Count the Dead
In safety performance management, there is a critical distinction between lagging indicators—outcomes after failure (deaths, destruction, losses)—and leading indicators, which measure prevention before failure occurs.
Aviation, oil and gas, and other high-risk industries understand this clearly: a system that obsesses over lagging indicators will always arrive after the accident.
Nigeria’s security governance is built almost entirely on lagging indicators. We count attacks after they happen. We rebuild after a collapse. We mourn after preventable deaths.
We rarely ask:
How many attacks were prevented this quarter?
How many threats were neutralized before execution?
How many cells were dismantled at the planning stage?
We do not know the answers—because we are not measuring them. The system was never designed to prevent. It was designed to respond: loudly, visibly, expensively, and always too late.
Another Base. The Same Question Nobody Asks
The presidency is reportedly considering a military base in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo state. It is a familiar pattern: a major security incident, public outrage, and an institutional response designed to signal seriousness.
But the critical question remains unanswered: what has been the leading-indicator performance of existing bases?
How have long-standing military formations in places like Jos, Benue, and Zamfara—some active for over two decades—actually shifted the security outcome?
A military base without actionable intelligence is a stationary slaughter ground for soldiers. It does not prevent attacks; it often becomes a reactive outpost in a repeating cycle: attack, deployment, statement, investigation, and then silence—while underlying threat networks remain intact.
The Incentive Structure Behind the Chaos
The deeper issue is not the capability of security forces. It is the incentive structure of the system.
When leadership is judged only by incidents that have already occurred, governance shifts from prevention to performance management of failure. The objective becomes managing optics, not reducing probability.
Nigeria’s security budget has grown significantly over the past decade, yet insecurity has worsened. Kidnappings have become more brazen. Why? Because funding is justified by the persistence of the crisis, not its resolution.
If the problem is solved, what justifies the next budget cycle?
For years, decentralization has been proposed as the structural reform that could change the system—but it remains trapped in political rhetoric. Why? Because decentralization disperses power, and power in Nigeria’s political economy is not dispersed. It is concentrated.
Sixteen Days. Full Stop.
Forty-six children and teachers were kidnapped in Oriire. It reportedly took sixteen days for the presidency to authorize a specialized rescue framework.
Sixteen days before the Commander-in-Chief treated the abduction of forty-six human beings as a crisis requiring formal executive activation.
But responsibility in moments like this is not singular.
The Oyo State Governor, by constitutional convention regarded as the Chief Security Officer of the state and a recipient of security votes, also occupies a central coordinating role in the security architecture of the state. Within a crisis of this scale, expectations of rapid intergovernmental coordination, visible command urgency, and sustained pressure on federal response mechanisms are not optional, hey are inherent to the office.
Yet, the response cycle, from abduction to high-level coordinated action and physical engagement with affected communities, unfolded at a pace that raised legitimate public concern about the speed and intensity of institutional reaction.
By the time visible field visits and coordinated engagements occurred, the delay had already become part of the public record of the crisis itself—shaping perception as much as the incident shaped fear on the ground.
In a functional security system, crisis response is measured in hours, not days. Not for symbolism, but because time directly affects outcomes: every passing hour in an active kidnapping reduces the probability of safe recovery and increases the leverage of perpetrators.
Sixteen days, therefore, is not merely a lapse in timing. It reflects a deeper structural problem—where urgency is often declared after pressure builds, rather than operationalized when intelligence first breaks.
And in that gap between incident and action, citizens are left to absorb the consequences of delayed coordination across all tiers of authority.
The Verdict
Nigeria does not primarily need more military bases. It needs a new security measurement architecture—one that prioritizes intelligence conversion rates, early-warning response times, and pre-emptive disruption metrics over post-incident operations.
Every threat must be treated as time-sensitive, where minutes and hours determine outcomes—not weeks and statements.
Most importantly, citizens must shift the accountability question:
Not only “why did the attack happen?”
But “why was it not prevented?”
Nigeria’s security challenge is ultimately a leadership and systems failure—an institutional preference for reaction over prevention, because prevention is politically invisible.
You cannot hold a press conference about the attack that never happened.
Until this reality is named and confronted with precision, the cycle will continue.
Growing support has continued to trail a youthful politician and technology advocate, Hon. Khalil Mustapha Adegboyega, popularly known as Repete, as many youths in Ibadan North Federal Constituency expressed confidence in his leadership style and vision for development.
Across several communities within the constituency, residents, particularly students, artisans and young professionals, described Repete as one of the emerging political figures with strong grassroots appeal and a passion for youth empowerment.
Supporters said his growing popularity stems from his consistent advocacy for innovation, entrepreneurship and skills development aimed at addressing unemployment and creating opportunities for young people.
As an engineer and technology enthusiast, Repete is also said to possess a deep understanding of the evolving digital economy and the need to position youths for global competitiveness.
Many of his supporters noted that his approach to leadership focuses on practical solutions, mentorship and capacity-building initiatives capable of helping young people become self-reliant and economically productive.
Some community stakeholders who spoke on his rising profile said his humility, accessibility and relationship with the grassroots have continued to endear him to many residents within the constituency.
They added that Repete’s engagement with youths and community groups reflects his commitment to inclusive governance and people-oriented representation.
Observers within the constituency also maintained that the increasing support for the politician reflects a growing desire among residents for a new generation of leaders driven by innovation, competence and accountability.
According to them, many young people see Repete as a symbol of hope and progressive leadership capable of contributing meaningfully to the development of Ibadan North Federal Constituency.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State stands on the edge of a consequential decision—one that may define not only its fortunes in Ibadan North Federal Constituency but also its broader political relevance in the state.
As the countdown to the party primaries intensifies, the question before APC leaders is no longer routine. It is strategic. It is urgent. And it is decisive: will the party align with the clear preference of the people or risk repeating costly political miscalculations?
At the centre of this debate is Hon. Khalil Mustapha Adegboyega, widely known as Repete—a name that has, over time, evolved from a political identity into a grassroots phenomenon.
A Candidate Rooted in the People
In contemporary Nigerian politics, where voter awareness is rising and expectations are shifting, candidates are increasingly judged not by promises but by presence. On this scale, Adegboyega stands tall.
His political journey is marked by consistent engagement with constituents—far beyond the optics of election seasons. From youth empowerment initiatives that provide practical skills and startup support, to sustained interventions in healthcare access for the elderly and indigent, his footprint across Ibadan North reflects a model of leadership anchored on service.
Unlike the transactional approach that often defines political relationships, Adegboyega’s connection with the people appears organic—built on trust, accessibility, and continuity. These are not mere campaign attributes; they are political assets.
The Danger of Political Disconnect
History offers the APC a clear lesson: parties that ignore grassroots sentiment often pay a heavy electoral price. The imposition of candidates perceived as distant or untested has, in several instances, resulted in voter apathy, internal dissent, and eventual defeat at the polls.
Ibadan North presents no exception.
With opposition parties closely monitoring the APC’s internal dynamics, any misstep in candidate selection could provide a ready opening. A divided house, coupled with a candidate lacking widespread acceptance, is a formula the opposition is well-positioned to exploit.
The implication is straightforward: this is not merely about party loyalty; it is about electoral viability.
Echoes from the Grassroots
Across the length and breadth of Ibadan North—markets, motor parks, religious centres, and community gatherings—a consistent pattern emerges in political conversations. The name “Repete” resonates with familiarity and acceptance.
Such organic support is not easily manufactured. It is cultivated over time through visible impact and sustained presence. For a party seeking electoral certainty in a competitive environment, this level of grassroots validation is not just desirable—it is critical.
A Test of Leadership and Judgment
For the APC leadership in Oyo State, the moment calls for clarity of purpose. Decisions driven by narrow interests, personal alignments, or short-term calculations may carry long-term consequences.
The task, therefore, is to balance internal considerations with external realities. Elections are ultimately decided by voters, not by party caucuses. A candidate who commands public confidence offers the strongest pathway to victory.
The Stakes Are Clear
Ibadan North is too strategic a constituency for experimentation. The cost of error is not limited to a single seat; it extends to party cohesion, credibility, and future positioning within the state’s political landscape.
In this context, the argument for Adegboyega is less about sentiment and more about strategy. His visibility, acceptability, and record of engagement place him in a strong position to consolidate support and mobilise voters effectively.
Conclusion: A Choice with Consequences
As the APC moves closer to its primaries, the decision before it is both simple and significant: align with a candidate who reflects the mood of the electorate or risk conceding advantage to a watchful opposition.
In politics, moments such as this often separate foresight from hindsight.
For APC in Ibadan North, this may well be one of those defining moments.
Aderibigbe Akanbi, a political analyst, writes from Ibadan.
-
Education1 week agoOyo teachers begin indefinite strike over abducted colleagues, pupils
-
Metro1 week ago
FUTO Student Killed Over Alleged N13,500 Theft, Three Undergraduates Arrested
-
Politics1 week ago
Insecurity: Makinde Lacks Capacity to Govern, Should Resign – APC
-
National Issues1 week ago
Tinubu vows intelligence-led rescue of abducted Oyo pupils, teachers
