Banwo Accuses Yoruba Elite of Double Standards on Fairness
Public commentator and Mayor of Fadeyi, Dr. Ope Banwo, has accused sections of the Yoruba elite of abandoning their long-held reputation for principled leadership, alleging a growing culture of double standards in national discourse.
Banwo made the remarks in response to a viral article titled “Fairness Is a Curse in Nigeria,” which has generated debate across social platforms.
Rejecting the article’s central claim, he argued that fairness remains a universal value and should not be dismissed as a weakness in politics.
“Fairness is not a curse anywhere. What is a curse is intellectual hypocrisy,” he said.
According to Banwo, many influential voices who once spoke strongly against corruption, injustice, and ethnic favoritism now appear to be shifting their positions depending on who holds power.
He noted that the Yoruba, historically regarded as a moral voice in Nigeria’s political space, are now at risk of losing that standing due to what he described as selective reasoning.
“The same people who once condemned certain actions are now defending them with sophisticated arguments simply because the political context has changed,” he said.
Banwo stressed that while ethnic bias exists across all groups, the Yoruba had distinguished themselves by claiming a higher commitment to fairness and accountability.
He warned that abandoning those principles could erode both credibility and national trust.
Supporting leaders from one’s ethnic group, he added, should not come at the expense of truth.
“If we excuse what we once condemned, then we have lost the very values we claimed to stand for,” he said
