WE SHOULD BE KIND TO HISTORY, LADOKE AKINTOLA BETRAYED NOBODY.

History is written only by the survival, not by the dead, and until lions have their own historians, history of the hunting will always be in favour of the hunters.

In the case of Ladoke Akintola, It is either history is not fair to him or people are not fair to history. The early demise of Chief Akintola almost turned the history against him, a valour was portrayed as villain, but people with the spirit of decipherment will always stand with fairness.

Out of what I called perversion of history, or deliberate attempt to score a cheap Political point, some people tend to recognize Ladoke Akintola with villainy, this is far from reality. Akintola of old western region was a valorous man that deserved to be celebrated by every well-meaning Yorubas in Nigeria. His courage earned him the title of Are-Ona-Kakanfo "Generalissimo" of Yoruba land.

In a perverted history, Akintola betrayed Awolowo, just like the perverted history will say Awolowo betrayed Ojukwu, but in a straight history with reality, Awolowo did not betray Ojukwu neither did Akintola betray Awolowo.

It should be known, Akintola was never a pupil to Awolowo, they were both matured men with legal experience when they formed Action Group in 1950, Awolowo was chosen as the leader of AG while Akintola replaced Bode Thomas as the Deputy leader of AG after his death in 1953. In 1953, Ladoke Akintola with his intrepidity led the combined team of Igbos and Yorubas to Kano in what led to the Popular Kano Riot of 53.

In fact, the position that Awolowo occupied after independence, leader of the opposition in National Legislative Council, Akintola was once an occupier in 1950s while Awolowo was the Premier of Western Region in 1954.

Awolowo was the ideologist, a dexterous writer, but Akintola was that oratory multilingual politician that knew how better to progress politically, A sonorous singer and a skilled dancer. He knew the Politics almost perfectly.

In 1959, Awolowo as the Premier of the Western Region wanted to contest for the position of President, he needed to forfeit the position of Premiership, Action Group later favoured Akintola as his successor.

The cordial collaboration of Akintola and Awolowo made the people of Oyo/Ibadan/Ife/Osogbo/Ogbomoso Axis to welcomed Awolowo an Ijebu man wholeheartedly against the background of hostility.

In 1960, during Awolowo Presidential campaign process, Awolowo was reportedly overwhelmed with joy to the extent that he bursted into tears at Liberty Stadium in Ibadan because for the first time, the crowd that came out for his campaign symbolized the fact that he was accepted by the people that were once hostile to him. All because of Samuel Akintola that had the capacity to mobilize them, the duo are masters in different lanes.

Awolowo couldn't make it to the presidency, he became the the opposition leader in Nigeria Legislative Council while Akintola became the Premier of the Western Region.

I think by now, against all odds, we should be enlightened enough to know that Akintola was not a learner neither a pupil to late sage Awolowo. They were both sagacious politicians with the love of the Yorubas at heart.

The feud between Awolowo and Akintola started in 1962, all in the name of two Political leaders of Yoruba with the intention to place Yoruba people in their rightful position in Nigeria, but with variant path to achieve this advancement.

It was glaring at a point that none of the existing three regional political parties (NCNC, AG and NPC) had the requirements to control the central alone without alliance with others. Awolowo preferred having alliance with NCNC of Azikwe for the reason best known to him, but Akintola with his political calculation preferred the NPC of Ahmadu Bello.

Akintola advanced his reasons for preferring the Northern Alliance. At this time in question, Western region was dominated with the Easterners, Educationally, Socially and Economically.

Akintola saw the alliance of Azikwe with the Northerners as the reason for this domination, he argued that for Yoruba to gain back full possession of their region, they also needed to be friend of the party that controls the central. His postulation was jettisoned by Awolowo, this started their differences.

The heat to the feud culminated to the "wild West" or "Wetie" of 1964. Action Group was partitioned, Awolowo version and Akintola version.

As a sagacious Politician, Akintola was able to curtailed the excess of Awolowo by aligning with the party in the central to form NNA, Awolowo couldn't stop him because he aligned with a fraction of Igbos that formed UPGA. Akintola argument was now justified because aligning with the central gave him the impetus over Awolowo.

With this lucid analysis, one has debunked all the fallacious insinuations that Akintola betrayed Awolowo. The duo played Politics, none is superior and none is inferior, they all worked to see the advancements of the Yoruba race but with different means.

Nobody betrays anybody, rather, lack of consensus on the best way to follow to achieve the same course led their history into gory.

Ogunwoye Gbemiga Samson

Student of Political Science and International Relations, University of Abuja.

I think u are right on this. Same story is being extended to d former governor of ondo state, olusegun mimiko and asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.