1. 1993 - SACRIFICE: WHEN HE LAID DOWN A THRONE FOR A GREATER CAUSE
In an era where full-grown men throw tantrums over delayed political appointments, Akanbi voluntarily stepped aside from a guaranteed Senate Presidency to champion a greater cause--- ensuring a Yoruba Presidency. While others clung desperately to ambition, he let go, proving that true leadership demands selflessness. Indeed, only men of gold can afford to set fire to their own crowns for the greater good.
2. 2003 - DISCERNMENT: WHEN HE SAW THROUGH THE FOX IN A GENERAL’S CLOAK
The youngest in the room, yet the most discerning of them all. While seasoned politicians danced to the flute of deception played by OBJ, Asiwaju saw the trick for what it was---a poisoned chalice dressed in fine gold. One by one, they fell like dominos, swept away by the tide of treachery. But not Akanbi; he stood firm, the last man standing, a lighthouse amidst a storm.
3. 2007 - TENACITY: WHEN HE REJECTED THE EASY ROAD AND BUILT AN OPPOSITION FROM SCRATCH
Joining the ruling party would have been as easy as a knife through ripe plantain, and PDP would have welcomed him with open arms. But true leaders do not walk paved roads; they carve new paths through the wilderness. While others wobbled and wavered, he laid the foundation for an opposition that would one day shake the very pillars of power.
4. 2015 - VISION: WHEN HE SHATTERED THE MYTH OF AN INVINCIBLE RULING PARTY
Where others saw an immovable mountain, he saw a challenge waiting to be conquered. Unlike political chameleons switching parties as frequently as toddlers change diapers, Akanbi remained steadfast, building a coalition that did the unthinkable--- toppling a party that boasted it would rule for 60 unbroken years. When history books are written, his name will be there in bold.
5. 2019 – ENDURANCE: WHEN HE SWALLOWED PRIDE AND STRATEGIZED IN SILENCE
Power, they say, isn’t served à la carte, and no one knew this better than Asiwaju. He was the National Leader, yet sidelined, humiliated, and denied his rightful place at the table. Others would have thrown their toys out of the pram, cried foul, or burned the house down in vengeance. Not him. He simply returned to the drawing board, proving that patience is not just a virtue---it is a weapon.
6. 2023 – STRATEGY: WHEN HE OUTFOXED FOES WITH A MASTERSTROKE OF BRILLIANCE
Fuel scarcity, vanishing Naira, betrayals from allies-turned-foes, ethnic smears, and propaganda campaigns---a lesser man would have buckled under the weight of it all. But like a grandmaster on the chessboard of power, he played the long game. While thousands on the right and ten thousand on the left fell, Akanbi stood unmoved, smiling through the storm.
7. BEYOND 2023 – COURAGE: WHEN HE DID WHAT OTHERS DARED NOT
Subsidy removal. Naira float. Policies feared even by military strongmen, avoided like a plague by past leaders terrified of backlash. But then again, he is no ordinary man. He is Akanbi, the enigma, the force, the hurricane that does not wait for permission to blow. Love him or hate him, he has etched his name in the annals of African political history.
Love, adore, loathe, despise, or hate him... He is the greatest politician Africa ever produced...
Disagree? Then, bring forth your argument---but be warned, history is already on his side.