By Reno Omokri
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu met with Alhaji Aminu Dantata on Friday, November 19, 2021, as a regular human being and bowed to him. Alhaji Dantata was 90 at the time.
And then again, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, he met Alhaji Dantata, this time as the President of Nigeria. The meeting took place at the Presidential Villa. And even as President of Nigeria, in the seat of power, the father of the nation, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, still bowed to Alhaji Dantata, who was then 93 years old. He has passed away now. May God rest his soul and grant him al Jannah Firdaus.
I tell this story to show that President Tinubu can bow. But he does not bow before tyranny. After all, we are talking about a man who fought General Sani Abacha and troubled him with NADECO, which he funded, until Abacha died!
The man is used to threats. He is no stranger to men with big guns, compensating for small body parts, and attempting to bully him.
Did you watch him at yesterday’s Federal Executive Council meeting? The man looked unperturbed and calm as he displayed a command presence. Notice I said a command presence, not a commanding presence. There is a difference.
People in Nigeria and some abroad are about to see the power of stooping to conquer. That is the Omoluabi ethos!
One thing I find interesting, and even admirable, about Lukumi Yoruba Muslims is that if their parents are an Alhaji or Alhaja, they will hardly call them Daddy or Mummy, or Baami, Maami or Iya mi. Instead, they will refer to their parents as Alhaji or Alhaja.
Respect is key in the Southwest. I grew up with cousins who would not even dare look their parents in the face, especially their father, when talking to them. And I have witnessed where a lanky, small-framed father would slap his much bigger son, and the offspring would remark, e pele sir.
President Obasanjo once testified that he did not know that his father had Owu tribal marks until his father died, and he was staring at his dad’s corpse.
Such is the level of respect.
But that respect does not denote weakness. It is a gentlemanly quality that has helped the Lukumi preserve the order and equilibrium of their society.
The reason the Yoruba are probably the most successful Black African people on the planet globally is because of their culture, which inculcates humility and respect for elders in them. Because humility allows you to learn, and when you learn a great deal, you earn a great deal and also rise to great heights.
Any culture that deemphasises respect and humility limits its growth potential, because without humility, you reduce your ability to acquire mental acuity. You are also unable to stoop to conquer, which is the most effective non-lethal means of defeating the forces arrayed against you. And that inability forces you to be more aggressive, which is one of the least effective means of vanquishing your opponents.
When you respect someone, you can expect it in return because you trigger the other person’s ego, which makes you appear brighter in their eyes. For example, if you are introduced to someone called John Edwards, and you say, ‘Good afternoon, Mr Edwards, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir, ‘ you are more likely to go far with that person than if you say, ‘Hello John. ‘
That culture of respect, which stands out the Lukumi, and marks them out as a polite people, is what makes doors open to and for them worldwide.
No matter where you go on Earth, you can defeat those hell bent on harming you if you have a charming disposition.
And because President Tinubu understands and displays these attributes, I am more than certain that Nigeria is in good hands, and what some people think will bend and end Nigeria will only lend itself to our greatness.
