The Yoruba people in the Southwest of Nigeria are deeply immersed in culture, history, ideology, and other guiding principles that define their existence. This is reflected in their music, literature, and proverbs, which nourish their moral codes. Although civilization and Western religion have combined to erode much of Africa’s culture, the Yoruba, as one of the largest ethnic groups in the world, has remained steadfast in upholding certain aspects of their culture and history. During a fiery exchange with his brother Aderopo, King Odewale, in Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame, asked him, “Aren’t you a Yoruba man? Must proverbs be explained to you after they are said”? The question underscores the importance of proverbs in the Yoruba cultural knowledge repertoire. It presupposes that every adult Yoruba person is expected to understand simple proverbs without explanations.
I was exposed to Yoruba history, spirituality, and cosmology while working on Femi Osofisan’s dramaturgy during my PhD days. It was a fascinating experience when I travelled to Ile-Ife, to interview four different people aged over 80 years on the life and times of the mythical Moremi. Recall that the mythical Moremi is a central character in Osofisan’s play Morountodun whose ideals inspired the ebullient and radical Titubi. While three of the aged people I interviewed agreed that Moremi was a heroine, one of them disagreed, insisting that she was an immoral, cheating housewife who abandoned her husband Oraminyan in search of fame. The last respondent was an 84-year-old woman who spoke with eloquence and conviction.
Speaking through an interpreter, she emphasized ‘Omoluabi’ so much. She insisted that Moremi was not an ‘Omoluabi’. My interpreter’s explanation of ‘Omoluabi’ was peripheral and inadequate. So when I returned to Lagos and related my experience to my supervisor, Professor Hope Eghagha, he advised that I must return to Ile-Ife to enquire more about the ‘Omoluabi’ principle in Yorubaland. I argued that it had nothing to do with my work, but he insisted. I must admit that my exposure to and understanding of the ‘Omoluabi’ principle positively affected my life and general view of human character.
The concept of ‘Omoluabi’ is more than just a cultural ideal. It is a profound philosophical framework that defines a person of exceptional character, integrity, and civic virtue. An ‘Omoluabi’ is someone who possesses iwa (good character), otito (truth), gboran (the capacity to listen), and a deep-seated respect for the collective well-being of the community. In a traditional African context, leadership was inseparable from this ethos. To lead was to embody the ultimate standards of honour and accountability. However, a stark and troubling contrast emerges when we overlay this ancient ethical blueprint onto the contemporary landscape of Nigeria’s leadership. Can we say, in all honesty, that Nigeria’s first citizen, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a Yoruba man, embodies the characteristics of the ‘Omoluabi’ principle? Can we say that many political office holders in Nigeria fit into the ‘Omoluabi’ narrative? If today we place all our politicians and leaders side-by-side, examining them with the ‘Omoluabi’ philosophical matrix, how many of them will pass the scrutiny?
The modern Nigerian political sphere is largely characterized by a transactional, self-serving culture that stands in direct opposition to everything the Omoluabi philosophy represents. Where the ethos demands humility and service, modern politics delivers arrogance and entitlement. Where it mandates absolute transparency and honesty, our political leadership often thrives on deceit, broken promises, and the weaponization of poverty. Will a real Omoluabi lie about their genealogy, educational background and work history? Will a real Omoluabi embezzle public funds brazenly and recklessly plunge millions of people into poverty? Omoluabi is not a religious principle, but it aggregates all the religious doctrines contained in every holy book – honesty, integrity, hard work, diligence, courage, empathy, character, and decency. How many leaders and public office holders fit into this model?
Let us examine how an Omoluabi views wealth and power. In Yoruba philosophy, wealth is only honourable if it is acquired through legitimate, transparent means – a concept known as ishe loogun ise (hard work is the antidote to poverty). Furthermore, an individual’s worth is measured not by the size of their personal estate, but by their utility to the public. Conversely, the prevailing culture among Nigerian politicians treats public office as a primary avenue for primitive capital accumulation. The staggering scale of corruption, the inflation of public contracts, and the blatant misappropriation of state resources demonstrate a complete absence of eje ire (good blood or conscience). When leaders enrich themselves at the expense of public healthcare, functional education, and basic infrastructure, they forfeit the right to be seen as persons of honour.
Furthermore, the Omoluabi ethos places a premium on atata – the quality of being authentic and reliable. A promise made by a person of character is a bond. Yet, Nigerian political campaigns have mutated into highly engineered seasons of illusion. Politicians make grand promises of economic revitalization, security, and institutional reform, only to pivot to blame-shifting and apathy once power is secured. This normalized culture of political deception creates a profound crisis of trust. It breeds a cynical citizenry that views government not as a partner in progress, but as an extractive entity to be endured. Today, electricity is still a scarce commodity after Mr. President swore on his honour to provide constant electricity for all Nigerians “by all means possible”. To advise the people not to vote for you if you fail to provide electricity and to turn around and ask them to vote for you after failing spectacularly to provide electricity is a classic case of deception. That is not the kind of attitude we should associate with the Omoluabi ethos.
Lying is antithetical to the Omoluabi ideology. It creates a vacuum in character which nullifies every aspiration to a leadership position. When politicians lack the self-restraint and moral guardrails inherent in the Omoluabi framework, governance degenerates into a game of survival of the fittest. Power becomes insulated from the harsh realities faced by ordinary citizens. The lavish lifestyles of public officials – maintained by a struggling taxpayer base – reflect a deeply rooted lack of empathy, which directly violates the principle of irorun (collective peace and comfort). Reclaiming the Omoluabi ethos within Nigerian politics is not a naive, nostalgic yearning for the past. It is a structural necessity for our national survival. No amount of constitutional amendments, institutional restructuring, or economic models can salvage a nation if the moral fabric of its leadership is rotten.
The ongoing controversies surrounding Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, present a profound case study in the erosion of traditional leadership values. When a leader’s background becomes a labyrinth of US law enforcement investigations, contested Chicago State University (CSU) academic profiles, and shrouded ancestral genealogy, they do not espouse the Omoluabi ethos. Instead, they stand as its antithesis. An Omoluabi is defined by an unblemished character that can withstand public scrutiny. However, President Tinubu’s legal manoeuvres in a United States federal court to block the release of hundreds of pages of law enforcement files held by the FBI and DEA clash directly with this ideal. The FBI’s recent court declarations confirming that these historical records stem from a criminal investigation into drug-trafficking offences have cast a long shadow over the presidency. In the Omoluabi framework, a leader with a “clear conscience fears no accusation”. Utilizing foreign legal shields to hide a controversial past signals a severe deficit of gboran (the capacity to listen to the citizens’ demand for clarity) and atata (authenticity).
Similarly, the protracted battles over his academic credentials shatter the principle of otito (truth). Court-ordered depositions from Chicago State University revealed deep, troubling discrepancies in the historical records submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). These records included claims of graduating from a secondary school many years before it was even established. In traditional society, a person who obscures their foundational history or relies on questionable document trails cannot be trusted with collective custody of the state. Leadership under the Omoluabi ethos is a moral contract. When a nation’s apex leader is perpetually entangled in debates over identity, academic fraud, and narcotics investigations, the prestige of the office is compromised. By prioritizing secrecy over transparency, Nigeria’s political leadership distances itself from the noble virtues of ‘Omoluabi’ proving that true power cannot be sustained when divorced from character.
The Omoluabi framework offers a ready-made template for responsible citizenship and visionary leadership. It reminds us that true power lies in service, that true wealth is found in integrity, and that the ultimate measure of a leader is the prosperity of the people they serve. Nigeria’s politicians must undergo an urgent ethical renaissance – they must choose to become ‘Omoluabis’, or watch the nation continue to fracture under the weight of their moral compromise. We must begin to treat character as a non-negotiable metric for leadership selection. The electorate must look past political parties, ethnic sentiments, and stomach infrastructure, and instead rigorously interrogate the moral track record of those who seek their votes.
