‘Yoruba Ronu’, the title Hubert Ogunde’s famous 1964 play, has recently become the anchor on which Yoruba politicians have championed calls for fanatic support. The original core message of the phrase, however, is unity rather than ethnic disrespect and Yoruba supremacy.
In a now-deleted tweet on 27 February 2023, Dayo Israel, the national youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) posted two words: ‘Yoruba Ronu’, which translates simply to ‘Yoruba, Think’ It was two days after the highly contested 2023 presidential election. Although the presidential election final result would not be declared until five days after, it was clear former Anambra governor, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), had defeated former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu of APC in his home state. Although Tinubu would go on to be declared president in the highly controversial election, his loss in Lagos sent shockwaves through the political space especially within APC. Not only was the victory an unpredicted surprise, it also raised concerns about APC’s chances of victory in the governorship election scheduled to take place two weeks after. Apart from Tinubu, all three major presidential candidates won in the home states with Obi winning in Anamabra, Atiku Abubakar winning in Adamawa and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso sweeping Kano State...
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