By Aare Amerijoye DOT.B.
A ruse—is it not?
How tragic that in a nation bleeding from every pore, many who proudly proclaim themselves “Awoists” have reduced the legacy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to nothing more than a cap, a pair of spectacles, and convenient political symbolism. They wear his attire, invoke his name, celebrate his anniversaries, and quote his speeches, yet they have abandoned the very principles that gave meaning to his life.
They cherish Awo’s cap.
They admire the rims of his spectacles.
They preserve his portraits.
Yet they have buried his philosophy.
How subtly crafty they are!
From modest beginnings, they have ascended into unimaginable affluence. Their fortunes multiply beyond measure. Their mansions rise higher while the hopes of the ordinary Nigerian sink deeper. Their motorcades grow longer as the queues at hospitals grow longer still. Their bank vaults overflow while millions cannot afford a day’s meal.
Their wealth is celebrated.
Their consciences are silent.
Their politics has become an enterprise of accumulation rather than an instrument of liberation.
Look around our country.
Corruption has become institutionalised. Public funds intended for roads, schools, hospitals, water projects, agriculture, housing, and electricity disappear into private pockets. Budget padding, inflated contracts, abandoned projects, procurement fraud, diversion of public resources, patronage networks, vote-buying, abuse of office, state capture, and the reckless misuse of public institutions have steadily weakened the foundations of our democracy.
The commonwealth has become private wealth.
The treasury has become the preserve of a privileged few.
Meanwhile, the ordinary citizen bears the burden.
The suffering of the masses scarcely provokes the conscience of those entrusted with leadership. Families struggle daily with hunger and unemployment. Young graduates roam the streets without opportunities. Pensioners wait endlessly for benefits they earned. Small businesses collapse under unbearable economic conditions. Farmers abandon their fields because of insecurity. Parents can no longer guarantee decent meals for their children.
Yet those in authority celebrate statistics while the people endure hardship.
Where is the spirit of Awolowo in all this?
Our hospitals tell another painful story.
Many public health facilities lack essential medicines, functional equipment, adequate funding, and sufficient medical personnel. Citizens who cannot afford private healthcare are left to suffer, while those entrusted with public office often seek treatment abroad at public expense.
Our education system, once envisioned as the pathway to national development, now struggles under inadequate investment, overcrowded classrooms, deteriorating infrastructure, underpaid teachers, frequent disruptions, and millions of children who remain outside the school system. The dream of education as the great equaliser continues to fade.
Awolowo believed that education was the greatest investment a society could make.
Today, education too often becomes a privilege instead of a right.
The gulf between the rich and the poor widens every passing year.
The few accumulate extraordinary wealth while the many sink deeper into poverty. Luxury estates rise beside neglected communities. Convoys speed past citizens who lack clean water, stable electricity, and reliable healthcare. A nation cannot claim progress when prosperity belongs only to a select few while deprivation defines the lives of millions.
Then there is the unrelenting insecurity.
Communities live under the shadow of fear. Banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, violent crime, and communal conflicts have claimed countless lives and displaced families from their homes. Farmers abandon fertile lands. Businesses relocate or shut down. Children grow up knowing fear instead of hope.
Human life, which ought to be sacred, has become frighteningly vulnerable.
Yet amid these realities, some continue to parade themselves as custodians of Awolowo’s legacy simply because they wear his cap.
Can a cap cure corruption?
Can spectacles restore integrity?
Can political costumes substitute for compassionate governance?
Can symbols alone transform a nation abandoned by those entrusted with power?
There is an even deeper tragedy.
Many who loudly proclaim themselves as Awoists have become obstacles to the aspirations of the very people they claim to represent. Ask some of them about the enduring ideals of Chief Obafemi Awolowo—his philosophy of free education, social welfare, fiscal discipline, integrity in public service, regional economic development, and governance centred on the dignity of the ordinary citizen and many struggle to articulate them. They understand the symbolism but not the substance. They recognise the cap and the spectacles, yet remain strangers to the principles they represent.
To them, Awoism has become a costume rather than a conviction.
The cap has become an accessory.
The spectacles have become a fashion statement.
The white attire has become a political uniform.
But none of these can confer character, integrity, compassion, or visionary leadership.
The greatest insult to Awolowo’s memory is not to refuse to wear his cap; it is to wear it while betraying everything he stood for.
What honour is there in adorning oneself with Awo’s symbols while presiding over corruption, tolerating the misuse of public resources, oppressing the weak, denying justice to the vulnerable, and remaining indifferent to the cries of the hungry, the unemployed, the sick, and the forgotten?
Those who claim the moral authority of Awoism must also accept the burden of public accountability. Leaders whose conduct has attracted serious public controversy or legal scrutiny cannot expect the mere symbolism of a cap or spectacles to substitute for transparency, integrity, and ethical leadership. The true test of leadership is not image but character; not political branding but public trust.
Equally troubling is the growing intolerance of criticism among some who parade themselves as custodians of Awo’s legacy. Rather than answer criticism with reason and evidence, they often resort to insults, intimidation, and the demonisation of dissenting voices. Political opponents are vilified. Civil society is dismissed. Journalists are attacked. Even respected men and women of God are not spared when they speak uncomfortable truths or call leaders to account.
Yet Awolowo never taught that criticism should be feared. He understood that accountability is the lifeblood of democracy and that leaders must always remain answerable to the people they serve.
No cap can conceal the abuse of public trust.
No spectacles can hide the absence of integrity.
No political attire can disguise the betrayal of the common good.
The true inheritance of Chief Obafemi Awolowo was never his wardrobe.
It was his unwavering commitment to disciplined leadership, prudent management of public resources, quality education, accessible healthcare, social justice, economic opportunity, and the upliftment of the ordinary citizen.
He believed that government existed for the welfare of the people,not for the enrichment of the few.
I, too, once wore Awo’s cap.
But I wore it with reverence for the ideals it represented,not as an ornament of political convenience, but as a solemn reminder that leadership is measured by sacrifice, accountability, competence, and unwavering commitment to the common good.
The greatest tribute to Awolowo is not found in imitation of his appearance.
It is found in the courage to confront corruption.
It is found in compassion for the suffering.
It is found in policies that educate children, heal the sick, create opportunities for young people, protect communities, uphold justice, and restore hope to the forgotten.
The true Awoist is recognised not by the cap upon his head but by the principles within his heart; not by the spectacles upon his face but by the clarity of his vision for justice, equality, and human development; not by the clothes upon his body but by the honesty of his stewardship and the sacrifices he willingly makes for the welfare of the people.
The time has come to distinguish between those who merely wear Awolowo’s image and those who genuinely uphold his ideals.
Nigeria deserves more than ceremonial Awoists.
Nigeria deserves leaders who embody the discipline, vision, integrity, courage, and people-centred philosophy that defined Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s public life.
Until that day comes, the cap will remain only cloth.
The spectacles will remain only glass.
The attire will remain only fabric.
And the repeated invocation of Awolowo’s name will amount to little more than political theatre unless it is accompanied by integrity, sacrifice, justice, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to the welfare of the people.
Let us remove the mask.
Let us reclaim the ideals.
Let us restore the philosophy.
Let us build a nation where the poor are not forgotten, where justice is not selective, where leadership is accountable, where corruption finds no sanctuary, and where every Nigerian can breathe the air of freedom, dignity, opportunity, and hope.
Only then shall the true spirit of Chief Obafemi Awolowo rise again—not in caps, spectacles, or ceremonial attire, but in principled leadership, courageous governance, and selfless service to the people.
Aare Amerijoye DOT.B.
Director General
The Narrative Force.
