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PROF. BANJI AKINTOYE: THE NEW LEADER OF YORUBA NATION
PROF. BANJI AKINTOYE: THE NEW LEADER OF YORUBA NATION
When he set out on his journey for intellectual quest in 1943, the world was not in the position to fathom the magnificence of his brilliance. The world knew that education had great benefits. It knew that with education, one’s horizon could be honed. One’s depth could be deepened. One’s breadth could become boundless. With education, the World knew that anything could be possible.
But when education becomes immersed in unbridled intellect; or becomes pulsated by seminal luminosity; or inured with effulgent resplendence, it elevates to the seventh heaven of intellectual inebriation. An inebriation buoyed by a brilliance perching and sparkling on the pedestal of splendour, unequalled and unrivaled. This, the world came to discover later about him.
A deeper look at the journey from Emmanuel Primary School, Ado- Ekiti, through Christ’s High School, Ado-Ekiti to the then University of London, now University of Ibadan, Ibadan, showed that at every point, at every turn, an inspiring intellectual sagacity, a humbling radiance of brilliance, a marvellously awesome ingenuity, intimidating in its irresistible magnetism has been the hallmark, it has been the trademark, a sort of emblem, the signet of his quest. Becoming distinguished at every point, at every level, at every turn became just a matter of course.
To him, being brilliant could be fairish, a kind of humdrum, very middling, boring in fact, because it is a common place. Yet the awesomeness of his intellect, his brilliance, is just what it is, awesome. His is alarmingly breath taking; delightfully terrifying, fragrantly frightening. Intimidating yet comforting, bullish yet affectionate, bewildering in its buoyance and sublime in its ebullience.
When he discusses History as a subject or of a place, or of a people or of a particular era in the timeline of humanity, his listeners are guaranteed a soulful food that buoys their spirits and beings. His lectures on and in History, are like fountains of life, flooding the firmaments of our fantasies, creating a curative curiosity that coerces our consciousness into a “furnacious” desire to want to be free, to want to know thyself, familiarise with thy trajectory, thy History, and thy heritage bequeathed.
His lectures, in and outside the classroom, for those lucky to have gone through him, are like introduction to addiction. It makes you feel excited. It makes you feel high. You feel afloat, like a spacewalker. And you become hungry. Ravenously so, because you want more. You are transported from the environment of your consciousness to witness in your imaginations, centuries of heroism, villainy, building of kingdoms and empires and the destruction of others.
It could be about the Chinese. Or the Indians. Or the Europeans. It could be about the North America; or Canada. It could have been about South American countries of Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay and or any of the adjoining countries. It could be about the Caribbean countries, their travails and triumphs. It could be about the paths paved by the Pharaohs, the authentic Negroid ones or the vicissitudes of the peoples of the African continent.
It could be about revolutions and political systems. It could be about social changes and the factors that enabled them. It could be about developmental History of any people of any Nation around the planet. He seems to know it all. And when he speaks, especially off the cuff, and you watch him, as you listen to him, one feels the aroma of a beautiful and irresistible champagne that has been centuries old. One becomes calmly excited and helplessly drunk on the knowledge disemboweled. One becomes quietly crippled by curiosity and stupefied by details that would have eloped from the memories of others.
The suction of the diction, the phonetics and phonemics, the inflection and intonation, the eloquence and elocution marinates you in phonological and philological pensiveness. One is transmuted into blissful delirium, taken into the boundless boundaries of paradisiac haven. The substance, always arresting, was often delivered in a beautiful and thrumming language.
And when the subject is even Yoruba History, it becomes something special. It becomes ethereal. It becomes divine. It becomes celestial. It becomes a different thing entirely. Unwittingly, you glow with unconscious attestation to the valiance, gallantry and the courage of your forebears. You imagined their mistakes and you become a born – again patriot. You become a born again true born. Without you knowing it, you, as a matter of course, exude with marinating pride.
With your arms extended and shaped like that of a crab, you begin to walk around with your head held high having discovered more of yourself, more of your being, more about your ancestors, your forefathers, the progenitors of your race. You become imbued with a more solidified self-esteem. You become educated, in the real sense of it.
His book, “A History of the Yoruba,” is sans pareil of its genre. It is the finest and most complete in its encapsulation of and on Yoruba as a people, as a Race and as a Nation before and since Samuel Johnson’s “A History of the Yorubas from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate.” Samuel Johnson was an Oyo Prince, a grandson of Alaafin Abiodun Adegorolu just like him, who is an Ado-Ekiti Prince.
The book by this teacher of teachers, is the manifestation of rigorous, meticulous, exacting, focused, ascetic and severely organised intellect. I had come across the transcript in his Hatfield, Pennsylvania home in the US, while rummaging through his Library. The materials that stared at me as I flipped through the pages gushed with rigour of hard work, richness of resources, depth of dedication, tantalizing intellect and brimming brilliance.
As one of the privileged few to read the transcript before it went to the press, one could easily fathom the amount of sweat that went into such humongous product. The prodigious intellect and the stupendous brilliance that went into that work was discernible and decipherable. A work of 35 years of research via reading, travelling, interviews, archeology, arts, musicology, linguistics, folklore et al. If you want to have credible knowledge about the Yoruba Nation and its peoples, go and buy a copy.
You will also be doing yourself a great favour, if you would seek out “Ife: Before Oduduwa,” another seminal work of research by this great mind. You would be greatly rewarded for doing so. You would be disabused of unfounded tall tales trolling around. You would be able to separate mythology from authentic History.
Looking at his curriculum vitae, one did not even have any idea of how to refer to him. Would it have been alright to call him a “Prince,” which he is; or a “Pastor” as which he has distinguished himself? Would it have been right to call him a “Professor,” as which he has been eminently edified? Or would it had been better if one calls him “Senator” which he was in the Second Republic and during which period he turned enemies and detractors to friends and admirers because of his transcendent brilliance on the floor of the Senate?
To be honest, to delve into his records would be a titanic task. But one could easily avail the readers the fact that he has taught 18 different subjects in History. He supervised Doctoral students for 16 years. He has held 27 different positions in different Universities in Nigeria and abroad. He has held 16 Public Offices. He has held 5 different position in different churches. He has published 10 different chapters in different Joint Works. He has published articles in 7 Academic Journals. He has published 7 books. He has delivered 23 research papers at seminars across the world.
In 1970, the Ministry of Education, Western State of Nigeria requested him, to prepare for the Ministry, scripts and teachers’ notes in African History for the use of Nigerian Secondary Schools and Teacher Training Colleges during the School year of 1971. The scripts and notes were to cover the later periods of the School Certificate syllabus in African History. “African in the 19th and 20th Centuries”. He prepared these materials under the general title of “Emergent States of Africa”.
Under this general title, he set out 28 topics, and prepared a main script and a “teachers notes” on each topic. The main scripts were broadcast as radio lessons by the Ministry of Education to Nigerian Secondary Schools and Teacher Training Colleges throughout Nigeria. Following demands by the teachers and their students to the Ministry and to him that the scripts be published, the Ministry began to serialize them in 1972, in its school’s journal, Pupil. In 1972-73, under a programme of International cooperation between Kenya and Nigeria, the Kenyan Broadcasting Service broadcast the scripts to Kenyan schools.
Consequent on the success of the 1971 program, the Ministry asked him again in 1972 to prepare a similar program in the second history syllabus of the West African School Certificate – “West Africa from 1500-1800” – for use in the 1973-74 school year. This, under the general title of “West African Kingdoms and empires in Pre-colonial times” was also made up of 28 thirty-minute lessons that were broadcast one per week throughout the 1973-74 school year.
He was a member of the panel of historians set up in 1969 by the Nigerian Federal Government to assemble, and advise on the preservation of, the documentation of the recent history of Nigeria, especially the history of the Nigerian Civil War 1967-70. From 1968 to 1972, the History Department, Obafemi Awolowo University charged him with the duty of building up the facilities for a new course entitled “History of the U.S.A.”. This course has been regularly taught in the Department since then. In 1981-90, he was appointed by UNESCO as member of the International Scientific Committee on a ‘General History of Latin America’.
As Director of the Institute of African studies at University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, he directed the designing, organization, promotion, funding and supervision of collaborative, inter-departmental, and individual research in a broad spectrum of African Studies: History, Art History, Archaeology, Musicology, Linguistics, Folklore, and Cultures of the African Diaspora.
He was member, Nigerian National Archives Commission, 1970-78. Member, Nigerian Museums & Antiquities Commission, 1975-79. Member, Nigerian National Council for Arts & Culture. Special Adviser, Nigerian Delegation to the Inter-governmental Conference on Cultural Policies in Africa, Accra, Ghana, 1975. Secretary, National Committee for Nigerian Cultural Policy, 1976-78. Assistant National Secretary, Unity Party of Nigeria, 1978-83.
As a Senator of the Federal republic of Nigeria, 1979-83, he was member, Foreign Relations Committee of Senate: member, Senate Committee on Petroleum & Energy; member, Internal Affairs Committee of Senate. He was also Chairman, Senate Delegation to the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Lebanon, 1981; member, Nigerian National Delegation to the 1981 General Assembly of the United Nations Organization. He was a Nigerian Delegate to World Conference on Actions Against Apartheid, London, 1981 and member, Nigerian Senate Delegation on Fraternal Visit to the Soviet Union, 1982. He was also the Commissioner for Health, Ondo State, Nigeria, 1983-4.
Immersed in activism from birth, he has been unable to extricate himself from the binding cords of activism dedicated to the improvement of Nigeria in general and the Yoruba Nation in particular. From his days at the University of Ibadan to now, he has been a constant fighter for the improvement of his people. He was President, All-Nigeria United Nations Students Association (ANUNSA), 1958-1960 and Nigerian Delegate at the General Conference of the International Students Movement for the United Nations (ISMUN), Lund Sweden, 1960. He was the First International Vice-President, International Students Movement for the United Nations (ISMUN), 1960-63 (elected at the General Conference in Lund, Sweden, 1960).
He was the Secretary-General, Nigerian Committee of the World University Service, 1958-1961. He was Nigerian Delegate, Second Pan-African Students Conference, Tunis, 1959. Nigerian delegate, World Assembly of the World University Service, Tutzing, Germany 1960 and Leader of Nigerian Delegation, East, West and Central African Students Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1960. At the International Seminar on the United Nations Organization, Ibadan, 1960, he was the Chief Host as President of the All-Nigeria United Nations Students Association. He was also the Special Guest, Council for Leaders and Specialists, U.S. State Department, Washington, D.C., March – August 1971.
He was the Leader of Visiting Team on Research Project, ‘African Diaspora’, Bahia, Brazil, 1975. He presented the major paper, at the Seminar on ‘The Military in African History’, Accra, Ghana, 1975. He was the presenter of the lecture at the Seminar in Honour of Leopold Sedar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal, 1975. He was a Nigerian Delegate, World University Service Seminar, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 1976 and Leader, Nigerian Delegation, World University Service World Congress, Manilla, Philippines, 1976.
He was a Nigerian Senate Delegate on Official Visits to Countries of West Africa, 1980. Special Guest, UNESCO Seminar on ‘African Contributions to the History of the Americas’, Barbados, 1980; to United Nations Annual Conference, New York, USA, 1980; to Morocco, 1981; to the Soviet Union, 1981; to Argentina, 1981; to Indonesia, 1982; to Taiwan, 1982 and to India, 1982. He was Guest Speaker, Institute of International Relations & National Security, Seoul, South Korea, 1982.
A first class patriot of the highest order, I have watched him cry, yes, shedding silent bitter tears in the glare of all present, on the geometric degeneration of the Yoruba Nation into an unmitigated miasma, at an occasion in Wilmington, in the State of Delaware, United States in 2013. Pierced to the marrows by the poisonous effluvia permeating and pervading the Yoruba polity, the pains of unfulfilled dreams of what the Yoruba Nation could have been was always patently inscribed on his demeanour.
He does not fear to say that the Yoruba nation is too industrious to be poor, and that the massive poverty now existing among Yoruba people is a product of the fact that Nigeria has been dragging the Yoruba nation down. He also does not fear to say that he himself would be ready, if and when the time is right, to give his support and energy, in this his old age, to serious efforts at the liberation of the Yoruba nation from its present imprisonment in Nigeria.
In spite of his age, at 83, he remains a voice of hope to a dejected and dithering Yoruba Nation. He is one voice of clairvoyance and courage that keeps soldiering on. He has intractably, kept close to his roots in academia, spoken to student classes in some universities, and served as convocation lecturer at some university and polytechnic graduation convocations. “I cannot cease researching and writing”, he often says; and those close to him are aware that he is always working on some important writings and books.
He is Stephen Adebanji Akintoye, also known as Banji Akintoye, the teacher of teachers. A walking encyclopaedia of History. A dandy of diction. A well of wisdom. A proboscis of brilliance. A totem of intellect. A tendon of integrity. An exemplar of excellence. An edification of dignity. Primus inter pares. And a PATRIOT.
©️REMI OYEYEMI
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Royal Rivalry Reloaded? Alaafin~Ooni “WAR” Tests History, LAW and Yoruba UNITY
Royal Rivalry Reloaded? Alaafin~Ooni “WAR” Tests History, LAW and Yoruba UNITY.
By George Omagbemi Sylvester | SaharaWeeklyNG.com
There is a rumble in Yorubaland again. Headlines scream of a “ROYAL WAR” between two of the most storied thrones in West Africa (the Alaafin of Oyo and the Ooni of Ife) after the Ooni of Ife reportedly conferred the Yoruba-wide chieftaincy title Okanlomo of Yorubaland on an Ibadan industrialist, Chief Dotun Sanusi. In response, the newly crowned Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the title be revoked, arguing that only the Alaafin can grant distinctions that purport to cover all Yorubaland.
Before we turn emotion into enmity, let’s interrogate facts, history and law.
What actually happened?
Between 18–21 August 2025, multiple reputable outlets reported a sharp exchange. The Alaafin, through his media office, asserted that the Ooni had overstepped his authority and cited a Supreme Court position (which he vowed to publish) as backing for the claim that Yoruba-wide titles fall under the Alaafin’s exclusive remit. The Ooni’s camp has publicly downplayed talk of a supremacy battle, while civic and cultural voices urged calm.
This is not happening in a vacuum. The Alaafin’s stool has only recently stabilized: Oba Owoade received his staff of office in January 2025 and was crowned on April 5, 2025, after a rancorous succession interregnum. The Ooni, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has been on the throne since 2015 and is globally visible as a cultural symbol.
The long shadow of history.
The Ooni of Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo embody two different but intertwined strands of Yoruba civilization:
Ile-Ife is the spiritual cradle; the site of origin in Yoruba cosmogony and the fountain of sacral authority. Historians from Samuel Johnson to modern scholars consistently frame Ife as the primordial center of Yoruba identity. (Johnson’s classic History of the Yorubas remains foundational.)
Oyo, particularly from the 16th to 19th centuries, was the political-military juggernaut of the western Sudan, a cavalry empire studied by historians such as Robin Law. The Alaafin became synonymous with statecraft, external relations and the adjudication of inter-polity protocols.
Those parallel lineages bred periodic rivalry over status and scope, compounded by colonial-era re-engineering of “TRADITIONAL COUNCILS” and post-1991 state creation (when Osun State was carved from Oyo, relocating Ife to a different administrative orbit). The effect: jurisdictional fog where customary breadth meets modern legal borders—exactly the fault line today’s dispute treads.
Unity is not a myth; there was a reset.
It would be historically dishonest to paint the relationship as perpetual warfare. In January 2016, just weeks after his coronation, Ooni Ogunwusi paid a historic visit to the late Alaafin Lamidi Adeyemi III in Oyo (the first by an Ooni since 1937) in what was widely celebrated as the breaking of a “79-year jinx.” The Ooni declared then: “My mission here is to preach peace among nations of Yoruba both home and abroad.” The Alaafin publicly reciprocated, calling for unity. The symbolism was not cheap theatre; it energized a season of rapprochement.
That 2016 reset is a vital baseline: Yoruba unity is possible when egos bow to heritage.
The law: who can bestow “Yorubaland” titles?
The Alaafin’s media office now cites a Supreme Court pronouncement allegedly limiting Yoruba-wide titles to the Oyo monarchy and confining the Ooni’s writ to his local jurisdictions in Osun State. As of press time, independent legal texts and the specific judgment have not been exhibited publicly, though the Alaafin has hinted at publishing the ruling. Conversely, some commentary questions any absolute reading that one throne “EXCLUSIVELY” controls pan-Yoruba dignities. In short: claims exist on both sides; the documentary proof is awaited. Facts (not folklore) must decide.
Two things can be true at once:
Customary memory often accords the Alaafin a coordinating role in Yoruba-wide protocols; and
The Ooni’s primacy as Arole Oduduwa (heir and standard-bearer of the progenitor) carries trans-local spiritual cachet that many communities recognize.
Only a clear, cited court judgment or a negotiated inter-throne compact can settle the overlap where sacred preeminence meets political hegemony.
Why this “royal war” framing is dangerous.
The language of “WAR” is gasoline on dry grass. Yorubaland faces REAL-WORLD CHALLENGES, SECURITY DEFICITS, YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT, CULTURAL EROSION. Turning a title dispute into a civilizational crack-up is elite negligence. As Aare Gani Adams (Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland) cautioned amid this flare-up, the region “can’t afford to be divided.” Leadership requires de-escalation, not victory laps.
From a governance perspective, supremacy theatre distracts from institution-building: codifying jurisdiction, harmonizing chieftaincy protocols and safeguarding cultural diplomacy that brings investment, tourism and respect. From a historical perspective, it trivializes centuries of statecraft and spirituality by reducing them to soundbites.
The path out: six concrete steps.
Publish the Judgment: If there is a determinative Supreme Court ruling, release it; full text, citation, ratio decidendi. Let lawyers and historians test it in daylight. Ambiguity breeds rumor.
Set Up a Royal Protocols Commission: A joint Alaafin–Ooni panel with eminent historians (e.g., Yoruba studies scholars), jurists and culture custodians; should draft a Memorandum on Pan-Yoruba Titles: definitions, limits, consultative triggers and recognition guidelines.
Adopt Mutual Notification: Any proposed. Yorubaland-wide title by either palace should trigger a formal prior-notice and no-objection window for the other.
Historicize, Don’t Weaponize: Commission a scholarly white paper (drawing on Johnson’s History of the Yorubas and modern research on Oyo/Ifẹ̀) to map ancient precedence to contemporary practice, so that tradition informs law, not vice versa.
Speak Once, Calmly: Designate one spokesperson per palace. Mixed messaging feeds social-media gladiators and lowers the stature of both stools.
Stage a Public Re-Embrace: Replicate 2016; a joint public appearance, a short communique using the Ooni’s own 2016 register of “PEACE” and the late Alaafin’s “UNITY” language. Symbols matter.
Intellectual weight: what the scholars teach.
On Ife’s sacral primacy: Nineteenth-century chronicler Samuel Johnson framed Ile-Ife as the cradle of Yoruba civilization, a point echoed across modern Yoruba studies. This does not mechanically translate into administrative supremacy but explains why Ife’s voice carries across sub-ethnic lines.
On Oyo’s political centrality: Histories of the Oyo Empire emphasize its institutional sophistication (checks on royal power, provincial administration and diplomatic precedence) factors that created expectations of arbiter-like roles for the Alaafin.
Takeaway: Spiritual primacy and political centrality are not mutually exclusive; they are complementary pillars. Mature civilizations build mechanisms to let both breathe.
Fact-check corner (so no stone is left unturned)
Did the Ooni confer a Yoruba-wide title on Chief Dotun Sanusi in August 2025?
Yes—credible outlets reported the Ooni conferred Okanlomo of Yorubaland on Sanusi, prompting the Alaafin’s ultimatum.
Is there a published Supreme Court judgment giving the Alaafin exclusive rights over Yoruba-wide titles?
Not yet publicly exhibited. The Alaafin has referenced such a ruling and indicated an intention to publish it; until it is produced and scrutinized, this remains an assertion rather than a verified legal constraint.
Are the thrones historically locked in permanent enmity?
No. The 2016 reconciliation was a watershed (first Ooni visit since 1937) with explicit peace rhetoric from both sides.
Who occupies the thrones today?
Ooni: Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (since 2015). Alaafin: Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I (staff of office January 2025; crowned April 5, 2025).
Yorubaland’s greatness was never built on “WINNER-TAKES-ALL” posturing. It was built on the hard weave of sacred legitimacy and statecraft capacity; Ife and Oyo in dynamic tension, not destructive rivalry. The 2016 embrace proved that dignity does not diminish by sharing space. It expands.
Today, the adult thing (the royal thing) is simple: produce the judgment, codify shared protocols and re-enact that embrace. There is more honor in co-guarding a heritage than in “OWNING” it. Royalty is not a megaphone; it is a mirror. Let it reflect the best of the Yoruba nation.
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Why Babangida’s Hilltop Home Became Nigeria’s Political “Mecca”.
By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com
Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s birthday visit to Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) in Minna (where he hailed the octogenarian as a patriotic leader committed to national unity) was more than a courtesy call. It was a reminder of a peculiar constant in Nigerian politics: the steady pilgrimage of power-seekers, bridge-builders and crisis-managers to the Hilltop mansion. Jonathan’s own words captured it bluntly: IBB’s residence “is like a Mecca of sorts” because of the former military president’s enduring relevance and perceived nation-first posture.
Babangida turned 84 on 17 August 2025. That alone invites reflection on a career that has shaped Nigeria’s political architecture for four decades; admired by some for audacious statecraft, condemned by others for controversies that still shadow the republic. Born on 17 August 1941 in Minna, he ruled as military president from 1985 to 1993, presiding over transformative and turbulent chapters: the relocation of the national capital to Abuja in 1991; the creation of political institutions for a long, complex transition; economic liberalisation that cut both ways; and the fateful annulment of the 12 June 1993 election. Each of these choices helps explain why the Hilltop remains a magnet for Nigerians who need counsel, cover or calibration.
A house built on influence; why the visits never stop.
Let’s start with the obvious: access. Nigeria’s political class prizes proximity to the men and women who can open doors, soften opposition, broker peace and read the hidden currents. In that calculus, IBB’s network is unmatched. He cultivated a reputation for “political engineering,” the reason the press christened him “Maradona” (for deft dribbling through complexity) and “Evil Genius” (for the strategic cunning his critics decried). Whether one embraces or rejects those labels, they reflect a reality: Babangida is still the place where many politicians go to test ideas, seek endorsements or secure introductions. Even the mainstream press has described him as a consultant of sorts to desperate or ambitious politicians, an uncomfortable description that nevertheless underlines his gravitational pull.
Though it isn’t only political tact that draws visitors; it’s statecraft with lasting fingerprints. Moving the seat of government from Lagos to Abuja in December 1991 was not a cosmetic relocation, it re-centred the federation and signaled a symbolic neutrality in a country fractured by regional suspicion. Abuja’s founding logic (GEOGRAPHIC CENTRALITY and ETHNIC NEUTRALITY) continues to stabilise the national imagination. This is part of the reason many leaders, across party lines, still defer to IBB: he didn’t just rule; he rearranged the map of power.
Then there’s the regional dimension. Under his watch, Nigeria led the creation and deployment of ECOMOG in 1990 to staunch Liberia’s bloody civil war, a bold move that announced Abuja as a regional security anchor. The intervention was imperfect, contested and costly, but it helped define West Africa’s collective security posture and Nigeria’s leadership brand. When neighboring states now face crises, the memory of that precedent still echoes in diplomatic corridors and Babangida’s counsel retains currency among those who remember how decisions were made.
Jonathan’s praise and the unity argument.
Jonathan’s tribute (stressing Babangida’s non-sectional outlook and commitment to unity) goes to the heart of the Hilltop mystique. For a multi-ethnic federation straining under distrust, figures who can speak across divides are prized. Jonathan’s point wasn’t nostalgia; it was a live assessment of a man many still call when Nigeria’s seams fray. That’s why the parade to Minna continues: the anxious, the ambitious and the statesmanlike alike seek an elder who can convene rivals and cool temperatures.
The unresolved shadow: June 12 and the ethics of influence.
No honest appraisal can skip the hardest chapter: the annulment of the 12 June 1993 election (judged widely as free and fair) was a rupture that delegitimised the transition and scarred Nigeria’s democratic journey. Political scientist Larry Diamond has repeatedly identified June 12 as a prime example of how authoritarian reversals corrode democratic legitimacy and public trust. His larger warning (“few developments are more destructive to the legitimacy of new democracies than blatant and pervasive political corruption”) captures the moral crater that followed the annulment and the years of drift that ensued. Those wounds are part of the Babangida legacy too and they complicate the reverence that a steady stream of visitors displays.
Max Siollun, a leading historian of Nigeria’s military era, has observed (provocatively) that the military’s “greatest contribution” to democracy may have been to rule “long and badly enough” that Nigerians lost appetite for soldiers in power. It’s a stinging line, yet it helps explain the paradox of IBB’s status: the same system he personified taught Nigeria costly lessons that hardened its democratic reflexes. Today’s generation visits the Hilltop not to revive militarism but to harvest hard-won insights about managing a fragile federation.
What sustains the pilgrimage.
1) Institutional memory: Nigeria’s politics often suffers amnesia. Babangida offers a living archive of security crises navigated, regional diplomacy attempted, volatile markets tempered and power-sharing experiments designed. Whether one applauds or condemns specific choices, the muscle memory of governing a complex federation is rare and urgently sought.
2) Convening power: In a season of polarisation, the ability to sit warring factions in the same room is not small capital. Babangida’s imprimatur remains a safe invitation card few refuse it, fewer ignore it. That convening power explains why movements, parties and would-be presidents keep filing up the long driveway. Recent delegations have explicitly cast their courtesy calls in the language of unity, loyalty and patriotism ahead of pivotal elections.
3) Signals to the base: Visiting Minna telegraphs seriousness to party structures and funders. It says: “I have sought counsel where history meets experience.” In Nigeria’s coded political theatre, that signal still matters. Outlets have reported for years that many aspirants treat the Hilltop as an obligatory stop an unflattering reality, perhaps, but a revealing one.
4) The man and the myth: The mansion itself, with its opulence and aura, has become a set piece in Nigeria’s story of power, admired by some, resented by others, but always discussed. The myth feeds the pilgrimage; the pilgrimage feeds the myth.
The balance sheet at 84.
To treat Babangida solely as a sage is to forget the costs of his era; to treat him only as a villain is to ignore the architecture that still holds parts of Nigeria together. Abuja’s relocation stands as a stabilising bet that paid off. ECOMOG, for all its flaws, seeded a habit of regional responsibility. Conversely, June 12 remains a national cautionary tale about elite manipulation, civilian marginalisation and the brittleness of transitions managed from above. These are not contradictory truths; they are the double helix of Babangida’s place in Nigerian memory.
Jonathan’s homage tried to distill the better angel of IBB’s record: MENTORSHIP, BRIDGE-BUILDING and a POSTURE that (at least in his telling) RESISTS SECTIONAL ISM. “That is why today, his house is like a Mecca of sorts,” he said, praying that the GENERAL continues to “mentor the younger ones.” Whether one agrees with the full sentiment, it accurately describes the lived politics of Nigeria today: Minna remains a checkpoint on the road to relevance.
The scholar’s verdict and a citizen’s challenge.
If Diamond warns about legitimacy and Siollun warns about the perils of soldier-politics, what should Nigerians demand from the Hilltop effect? Three things.
First, use influence to open space, not close it. Counsel should tilt toward rules, institutions and credible elections not kingmaking for its own sake. The lesson of 1993 is that subverting a valid vote haunts a nation for decades.
Second, mentor for unity, but insist on accountability. Unity cannot be a euphemism for silence. A truly patriotic elder statesman sets a high bar for conduct and condemns the shortcuts that tempt new actors in old ways. Diamond’s admonition on corruption is not an abstraction; it’s a roadmap for rebuilding trust.
Third, convert nostalgia into institutional memory. If Babangida’s house is a classroom, then Nigeria should capture, publish and debate its lessons in the open: on peace operations (what worked, what failed), on capital relocation (how to plan at scale), and on transitions (how not to repeat 1993). Only then does the pilgrimage serve the republic rather than personalities.
At 84, Ibrahim Babangida remains a paradox that Nigeria cannot ignore: a man whose legacy straddles NATION-BUILDING and NATION-BRUISING, whose doors remain open to those seeking power and those seeking peace. Jonathan’s visit (and his striking “Mecca” metaphor) reveals a simple, stubborn fact: in a country still searching for steady hands, the Hilltop’s shadow is long. The task before Nigeria is to ensure that the shadow points toward a brighter constitutional daybreak, where influence is finally subordinated to institutions and where mentorship hardens into norms that no single mansion can monopolise. That is the only pilgrimage worth making.
Ajadi Celebrates Juju Legend Femolancaster’s 50th Birthday in the UK
Nigerian Juju music legend, Otunba Femi Fadipe, popularly known as FemoLancaster, is being celebrated today in London as he clocks 50 years of age.
Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, a frontline politician and businessman, led tributes to the Ilesa-born maestro, describing him as a timeless cultural icon whose artistry has enriched both Nigeria and the world.
“FemoLancaster is not just a musician, he is a legend,” Ambassador Ajadi said in his birthday message. “For decades, his classical Juju sound has remained a reminder of the beauty of Yoruba heritage. Today, as he turns 50, I celebrate a cultural ambassador whose music bridges generations and continents.”
While FemoLancaster is highly dominant in Oyo State and across the South-West, his craft has also taken him beyond Nigeria’s borders.
FemoLancaster’s illustrious career has seen him thrill audiences across Nigeria and beyond, with performances in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States of America, and other parts of the world. His dedication to Juju music has projected Yoruba traditional sounds to international stages, keeping alive the legacy of icons like King Sunny Ade and Chief Ebenezer Obey while infusing fresh energy for younger audiences
He further stressed the significance of honoring artistes who have remained faithful to indigenous music while taking it global. “In an era where modern sounds often overshadow tradition, FemoLancaster stands as a beacon of continuity and resilience. He has carried Yoruba Juju music into the global space with dignity, passion, and excellence,” he added.
The golden jubilee celebration in London has drawn fans, friends, and colleagues, who all describe FemoLancaster as a gifted artist whose contributions over decades have earned him a revered place in the pantheon of Nigerian music legends.
“As FemoLancaster marks this milestone,” Ajadi concluded, “I wish him many more years of good health, wisdom, and global recognition. May his music continue to echo across generations and continents.”
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