By Wale Ojo-Lanre, Esq.
God will punish them! Yes — every single one of them! Senseless Governors! Irresponsible souls of no grace! Rubbish fellows masquerading as leaders! Imagine these empty-headed people, these Professors of Cluelessness, these ambassadors of “fashion before thinking”! We are talking about security — tension, fear, banditry, kidnapping — and what entered their minds first? Aso Ebi! Matching clothes! Identical attire! Coordinated fabric! Ah! The pinnacle of national embarrassment!
Instead of crafting strategy, they were choosing colours. Instead of discussing intelligence gathering, they were comparing patterns. Instead of focusing on public safety, they were inspecting fabrics. Imagine the disgrace — high-ranking leaders first settled the “important” matter of matching outfits before touching the issue of kidnapping. Senselessness crowned with power. Nonsense enthroned by the ballot.
Yes, I know this may be my last day as the Director-General of Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development, since my amiable Governor, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, is one of those Southern Governors who wore Aso Ebi to discuss security matters. But should I remain silent because of what I want to eat today? Should my stomach bury my conscience? Should my position swallow my mind? Never. I must say it as it is. For the Yoruba say: “A kì wí níbẹ̀ kí a kú níbẹ̀” — we do not keep silent in the place where truth must be spoken.
But before Nigerians suffocate themselves with unnecessary shouting, let us pause and apply the brain God gave us. Because this “crime” that these Governors committed — this terrible, unforgivable offence of wearing identical attire — is, in fact, one of the most intelligent and culturally grounded decisions they could have made.
There is no single law anywhere that dictates what a Governor must wear when discussing serious issues. The Constitution does not insist on suit, agbada, kaftan, or babanriga. Solutions do not emerge from collars and cuffs; they emerge from unity of purpose. And unity, whether you like it or not, sometimes wears cloth.
What exactly is Aso Ebi? To the Yoruba, Aso Ebi is not mere material. It is a message coded in fabric. A declaration of oneness, solidarity, shared purpose, aligned destiny. When Yoruba families wear Aso Ebi at events, it is not stupidity; it is unity. When communities choose one cloth, it is not fashion; it is identity. Aso Ebi is the textile expression of harmony, the fabric equivalent of “we stand together.”
So if families wear Aso Ebi for weddings and burials, what stops Southern Governors from wearing it for security — a matter far more serious than any party? If mothers wear it to show unity in joy, why can’t leaders wear it to show unity in danger? Their attire was not frivolity; it was symbolism. A visual declaration that “we are tackling this matter as a united front.”
Across history, uniforms have always been the symbol of discipline and collective mission — from Roman soldiers to modern police officers. Even global leaders coordinate dressing during crises. Americans do it. Chinese leaders do it. South Africans do it. But when Southern Governors do the same thing, suddenly it becomes a national calamity deserving of online riots.
What the Governors did was wise. It was strategic. It was culturally correct. It was symbolically powerful. Unity strengthens focus, and focus strengthens results. The people shouting against them are simply loud, not learned. They see cloth and miss the culture. They see fabric and miss the philosophy. They see colour and miss the cohesion.
So don’t mind me — and don’t mind those of us who have been stupidly, foolishly shouting over a just cause. God will punish these Southern Governors with more wisdom, punish them with deeper knowledge, punish them with elevated understanding. He will answer their individual prayers in ways that shame their critics. And He will make my own Governor, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, return gloriously for a second term, stronger, wiser, and even more united with his colleagues. May all the Governors who wore Aso Ebi live longer than their imaginations, thrive beyond their expectations, and prosper beyond the noise of those who never understand the meaning of unity — even when it is worn on the body.
Amen to sense. Amen to unity. Amen to Aso Ebi.