The Quiet Restructuring: How Akande’s Akure Speech Signals A New Power Shift Away From Arewa

By MUHAMMAD SUWIDI YUSHA’U

WHEN Chief Bisi Akande, the elder statesman and founding chairman of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), took the podium at the International Conference Centre in Akure on 29 October 2025, most listeners expected another familiar lecture on national reform. But what they got instead was a blueprint for Nigeria’s silent transformation — one that could redefine the country’s regional balance of power and leave the North (Arewa) struggling to catch up.

Beneath the theme “Restructuring for Maximum Opportunities” lay a political revelation: Nigeria is being quietly restructured, not through constitutional amendments or fiery debates, but through administrative decentralization and economic reform. The speech was less a policy statement and more a coded message — that the Southwest is already organizing itself for a post-centralized Nigeria.

1. The Return of Regionalism — Without the Drama

Akande’s argument was deceptively simple. He reminded Nigerians that the military’s incursion into governance after 1966 dismantled the original federal equilibrium and centralized power in Abuja. That centralization, he said, turned regions into dependents — waiting for oil revenue and federal allocations to survive.

But now, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the pendulum is swinging back — quietly. Through the creation of Regional Development Commissions across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, Akande said the Tinubu administration is restoring regional responsibility without rewriting the Constitution.

These commissions — from the Niger Delta to the North East — are being framed as “grassroots development engines.” Yet in reality, they represent the return of regional autonomy by economic design. For Akande and his Southwest audience, this is the long-awaited “quiet restructuring” — a shift that allows regions to define their priorities, attract funding directly, and compete on merit.

2. The Yoruba Vision: Building Without Waiting for Abuja

Akande’s speech was deeply rooted in Yoruba political philosophy — self-reliance, structured development, and community-driven progress. He evoked the legacy of Awo’s Action Group and the old Western Region’s achievements: free education, Liberty Stadium, Africa’s first television station, and the University of Ibadan.

His message was clear: “We built before, we can build again — and this time, we won’t wait for Abuja.”

This was both a declaration and a challenge. The Southwest, he implied, is prepared to take responsibility for its destiny, leveraging its organizational discipline, educational strength, and unity to lead a new federal competition based on competence, not connections.

3. Tinubu’s “Silent Federalism”: Economic Reform as Political Revolution

Chief Akande cast President Tinubu as the architect of this transformation — the man using fiscal policy to achieve what decades of political agitation could not. Tinubu’s tax reforms, revenue restructuring, and diversification agenda are quietly redistributing power.

Instead of sharing oil rents, the government is encouraging productivity and entrepreneurship. Instead of waiting for a new constitution, Tinubu is building regional autonomy through budget channels, commissions, and reformist institutions.

For the Yoruba political class, this is a vindication — the return of their long-advocated model of decentralization and merit-based governance. Tinubu’s presidency is therefore not just a national project; it’s a Yoruba project dressed in national colours.

4. What This Means for the North (Arewa)

For Arewa, Akande’s speech carries a quiet warning. Nigeria’s future competition will not be about political numbers or historical dominance, but about innovation, organization, and productivity.

a. Regional Competition Has Begun.
The creation of regional commissions signals the start of a new economic race. Each region must now define its model of growth. Those relying on federal handouts will fall behind; those that build systems will rise.

b. Power Is Shifting Silently.
By decentralizing development administration, Tinubu has begun to bypass the constitutional bottlenecks of the federal system. Funds, donor programs, and partnerships will increasingly flow directly to regional institutions. The Southwest — united, strategic, and coherent — is ready for this shift. The North, divided across three sub-regions and often bogged down by political rivalries, is not.

c. The Illusion of Equal Opportunity.
Akande spoke of equality among regions, but structural readiness is unequal. The Yoruba share a common language, an educated population, and a strong institutional base. Arewa remains fragmented, with disparities in education, security, and governance. Without internal coherence, Northern development commissions may end up as bureaucratic shells while the South uses theirs as platforms of genuine transformation.

5. Strategic Risks for Arewa

If Northern leaders ignore the implications of Akande’s speech, they risk walking blindly into a future where the North is politically relevant but economically irrelevant. The dangers are clear:

1. Economic Disadvantage: Southern regions may attract more federal and international investment due to stronger governance structures.

2. Political Marginalization: As productivity becomes the new measure of power, political dominance will no longer guarantee influence.

3. Youth Disempowerment: With the South advancing in innovation, digital economy, and agro-industrial growth, the North’s youth may face widening unemployment and educational deficits.

4. Ideological Defeat: The North’s historic resistance to restructuring may prove self-defeating if restructuring proceeds by stealth — favouring others while Arewa watches.

6. What the North Must Do

Akande’s speech is not a declaration of war; it is an invitation to rethink. For Arewa, the challenge now is not to resist restructuring, but to participate in it strategically.

• Unify Northern Development Commissions: Merge or coordinate the Northwest, Northeast, and North Central Development Commissions under an Arewa Development Council (ADC) to drive collective planning and investment.

• Prioritize Agro-Industrialization: Leverage the North’s vast arable land and youthful population to transform agriculture into large-scale agro-industries and export hubs.

• Invest in Education and Innovation: The future belongs to regions that invest in human capital. Establish regional technical universities, innovation centers, and digital skill programs.

• Strengthen Political Coordination: Revive the spirit of the old Northern Governors’ Forum under Sir Ahmadu Bello, not for rhetoric, but for concrete economic collaboration.

7. From Reaction to Reawakening

Chief Akande’s Akure address marks the dawn of a new Nigeria — one where development, not politics, defines power. The Southwest has quietly declared its readiness to lead in this era of “administrative restructuring.”

For Arewa, the question is simple: will it adapt or be left behind?

The North must now move from political nostalgia to economic strategy. The South is not waiting for permission to rise; the North should not wait for sympathy to survive.

If the region unites around vision, reforms, and productivity, this “quiet restructuring” could become a new dawn for national balance. But if it remains divided and complacent, history will record this period as the moment Arewa slept while others built the future.

ALLAH YASA MUYI ABINDA YAKAMATA.