Fidelis David, in this report, examines the just-concluded two-day Southwest Leaders’ Summit with the theme ‘Strengthening Democracy Through Dialogue: Assessing Progress, Charting the Future,’ asking if the gathering will finally birth real change or merely end as another ritual of rhetoric and photo ops.
For over three decades, the Southwest has gathered in summits, conferences, colloquia, and consultations to chart the path to self-reliance, federal balance, and economic renewal. From the 1990 Ibadan Declaration to the 2001 Oodua Economic Summit in Ile-Ife, to the 2017 Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission’s Summit in Abeokuta, one question has stubbornly lingered: what became of those resolutions that once promised a new dawn for the Yoruba nation?
Each of those meetings ended with beautifully worded communiqués, often declaring the Southwest’s readiness to lead Nigeria’s federal restructuring and reclaim its historic identity as a pace-setter in governance, education, and industry. Yet, decades later, the region remains shackled by the same questions: poor federal roads, uneven development, weak inter-state collaboration, and the unending wait for “true federalism.”