Ibadan – For President Tinubu, a return home and a resonent of history, on Sunday Osa. – Thage

On Friday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu turns his gaze to the south-west towards the temptular city of Ibadan. More than two years since its charging hiring, this is the first place of the president in Ibadan, the political and spiritual capital of the Yoruba nation.

Just as Kaduna spoke with its national reach just a week ago, Ibadan speaks to its base of the South -ovest. It is a return not only to a city, but to a crucible of identity, politics and destiny Yoruba.

Ibadan is not an ordinary city. It is the heartbeat of Yoruba’s politics and identity, a vast urban extension imbued with tradition, intellect and culture. Here, the story drips from every corner – from Mapo Hall, where the nationalist brands once aroused the masses, to Cocoa House, the imposing emblem of the prosperity and vision of the western region.

Ibadan was the capital of the old western region, the epicenter of the progressive leadership from which the leader Obafhemi Awolowo and his contemporaries chaired the affairs of the region with revolutionary zeal and free education, agricultural revolutions and industrial transformation. For Yoruba, Ibadan is both Fortezza and Fontana, a city where politics was born, nourished and projected on the national stage.

It is in this arena of heavy symbolism that the president has come to witness the crowning of Senator Rashidi Adwolu Ladoja as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland. The Olubadan stool is different from any other in Yorubaland – a only structured line of succession that embodies love Yoruba for order, merit and patience. The fact that Tinubu will remain in solidarity with the people in such a sacred moment is itself a reaffirmation of their link with tradition and with the Yoruba nation.

In Ibadan. Tradition met power. At the service of the governors of the South -ovest they presented themselves from Oyo, Ekiti, Osun and Ondo. Former governors and heavy political weights also presented themselves. The sultan of Sokoto and First -class monarchs Yoruba very important from the Alafin to Soun and obviously Oba Aurgushi of Lagos.

Politics without bitterness: Tinubu and Ladoja

Rasheed Ladoja’s crowning while Olubadan brings a personal resonance for President Tinubu. Two decades ago, when then the president Olusgegun Obasanjo orchestrated the illegal impeachment of Ladoja in 2006, using only a handful of legislators, was Tinubbu – then governor of Lagos – who was against that chirped assault on democracy.

Ladoja, persecuted by his office by the then President OlusEgun Obasanjo and denied justice, found Sanctuary in Lagos. President Tinubu not only gave him refuge, but he also lent him the courage and political coverage to resist. Against the chances, with the support of President Tinubu, Ladoja fought back through the courts and the judiciary eventually restored it to power.

This link, forged in the fire of political persecution and resilience, now finds a symbolic closure in Ibadan. Tinubu did not come simply as president; He arrived like an old ally, standing with Senator Olubadan Ladoja on the day of his maximum elevation to the Olubano throne.

At the Friday event in the historic Mapo Hall, President Tinubu made a remarkable revelation reminiscent of Abeokuta’s declaration “Emilokan”. He described the ascension of Oba Ladoja to the throne of his ancestors as another moment of “Emilokan”. The message was not lost. Just as the comparison was obvious. His trip to Olubadan took him 33 years to get on the long scale of the succession just like the president’s journey to the presidency: the struggle for democracy, the sacrifices, the people who built, the many twists and turns and finally now, the presidency.

Ibadan was also significant on the day of coronation. From the hills of Mapo, President Bola Tinubu has delivered a powerful political message of renewed hope. “Today I am honored to bring the encouraging news that our economy has turned and now there is light at the end of the tunnel …” coming from the commander in chief, the man he knows and calls the blows, it was an important message. It was a validation of the mantra of the reforms of this administration and the positive impacts of the reforms.

The political capital of the Yoruba nation

Ibadan represents more than simple policy; It is spirit and identity. He produced poets, warriors, intellectuals and statesmen whose scope extended far beyond the land of Yoruba. In every era, Ibadan was the Yoruba voice in the Nigerian political orchestra. Since the time of ardent populism “Penkelemesis” by Adegoke Adelabu to the Lam Adhesina statesman and the reformist zeal of governors such as Ladoja himself, Ibadan has set the rhythm of Yoruba’s political expression.

The presence of President Tinubu during Olubadan’s coronation therefore brings the weight of the cultural affirmation. He tells a people that their inheritance counts at the highest levels of power and that the leader of the nation is not found above tradition, but inside.

Politics of the bridges, not walls

Like Kaduna in the North, Ibadan was the crogiolo of alignments and re-alignments in the south-west. It was here that the old rivalries found the resolution and fresh alliances are born, modeling the fate of the Yoruba within the Federation. The return of the president to this theater of history recalls that politics does not concern the conquest but the connection; Not to draw lines, but construction of bridges.

For the political elite of Yoruba, the presence of Tinubu is validation: the proof that Lagos’s son remains in tune with the heartbeat of his cultural relatives, even if he rules the entire federation. For the normal people of Ibadan, it is a reassurance that their president, despite the charges of the national office, has not forgotten the city that remains the Yoruba axis of history and destiny.

The city of Ibadan was in bulk. The streets flanked by enthusiastic citizens of Oyo and Nigerians who welcomed and cheer for the president Tinubu. To the president, the state of Oyo resoned strong and clear: “Ekaabo or”.

Ibadan as a metaphor for the Yoruba political rise

Ibadan’s genius has always been his ability to marry tradition with progress, culture with politics, history with modernity. His monarchy is as venerated as his intellectual traditions. His policy, although strongly competitive, has often found balance in Yoruba’s solidarity. The visit of President Tinubu, therefore, is not only ceremonial. It is a thin but profound hug of this inheritance – a signal that its politics remains based on the values ​​of loyalty, patience and cultural continuity that Yoruba is dear.

The meaning of the moment

In Kaduna, Tinubu broke the myths and dissolved doubts, receiving a sensational political validation. In Ibadan, he is destined to affirm cultural solidarity, pay homage to tradition and consolidate his role as president of Nigeria and a proud son of the Yoruba nation. The crowning of Rasheed Ladoja as Olubadan provides the perfect canvas for this: a celebration of continuity, loyalty and unity.

And just as Kaduna reminded Nigeria of northern political refinement, Ibadan now offers the world a lesson in Yoruba’s resilience, legacy and leadership. In Ibadan, loyalty will meet tradition, politics will embrace culture and history will be at the starting point. And in that convergence, the leadership of Tinubu will be reaffirmed again, not with the strength of power, but by the lasting power of friendship, loyalty, sacrifice and heritage.

-(with) is a special consultant of the president for media and public communication

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