By Kayode Emola
Ever wondered what life will be if you were born somewhere other than your country of birth?
We all know that life opportunities vary depending on where a person is born, which is the irony of life. The reasons behind this should worry any right-thinking person: the world is currently endowed with sufficient resources which, if utilised properly, would mean that no one would have to go to bed hungry, irrespective of where they were born.
Today, despite the abundance of opportunities available in some countries of the world, many more countries still see their people battling with famine, starvation and no hope for survival. If we look at money as a commodity and how much there is in the world, it is estimated that the total global wealth is between $630 trillion – $1.2 quadrillion (according to a report by the UK Edition of The Sun Newspaper, published 17 Dec 2020). If this were divided equally, every person in the world could pocket up to $154,000. This, therefore, begs the question of our policymakers: if there is this level of wealth in the world, why then is there so much poverty around us?
It is politically expedient for those with the wealth to say that the reason that some people and nations are rich and others are poor is due to the choices they have made. They perpetuate the ideology that if one makes good life choices, prosperity follows; if one makes poor choices, one reaps the consequences of that in the form of financial destitution. The implied subtext to this is, if you are poor, it is your fault, because it has been caused by the choices that you have made. As humans, it is true that we have the distinct ability to choose what we do, which in turn will impact our lives either positively or negatively. However, whilst it is true that we all are born with the capability to make choices for ourselves, whether good or bad, for too many people in the world, their circumstances limit the choices available to them.
If you are lucky enough to be born in a country like the USA, UK, Canada, etc, there is a higher chance that life would bequeath to you many choices that could help you fulfil your potential. However, the same cannot be said of many people who are born in very poor countries in Africa, especially Nigeria.
Every child born in the UK today is guaranteed a free, standardised-quality education up to college level – a basic necessity for human and national development. This is not the case for a child who is born in Nigeria to a poor or middle-income family. This begs the question as to how this odious trend has been allowed to develop within the country – a country whose citizens are one of the most successful immigrant communities in America, with a median household income of around $62,000. This is significantly higher than the national average of around $57,000 (according to 2015 data).
The simple reason underlying how the Nigerian government has been allowed to fail its citizens so profoundly in so many ways is this: those who ought to speak truth to power are now afraid for their lives. They would rather continue in their cowardice than risk dying fighting for what truly belongs to them. In a large number of cases, they go so far as to join the oppressors in impoverishing their own people, purely in order to safeguard their own portion of the “national cake” from the government.
Whilst everyone in Nigeria today can agree that there is a huge problem with the country, the proffered solutions are many and varied, according to what best suits the political leanings of the proponent. However, the question that _should_ be on the lips of every true member of the Yoruba tribe or other indigenous people group is: are their opportunities, options, choices and future guaranteed in the country of Nigeria? If the answer is no – likely to be so for so many who face this question honestly – then the people need to take the bold step of reclaiming their destiny from those who seek to destroy it.
Many Yorubas believe in “kadara” – destiny – and thus attribute all their fortunes and misfortunes to a fate dictated from heaven prior to their birth. Perhaps if we looked deeper into the governing system of Nigeria today, we might see that the truth of the matter is that the life of the ordinary Nigerian has been mortgaged even before they were born – however not by some heavenly system, but rather by the whim and greed of the ruling classes. It is no wonder that many people find themselves trapped in a system that provides no hope for their future.
A country that does not provide worthwhile opportunities for its citizens is not fit for purpose. When Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, many people’s hopes were rekindled, thinking in their hearts that this would increase the availability and breadth of choice open to them. However, this has proved to be an illusion, as, year in and year out, the government has continued to fail its citizens in every area of development.
For many Yoruba children born into Nigeria today, their life in the next twenty years is likely to be significantly worse than it could be if the Yorubas were to have their own independent country. Nigeria as it is currently structured harbours no plans to increase the life choices for its people. Rather, it continues to diminish whatever little opportunities or shreds of hope the people have left.
Those of us alive today have the power to shape the opportunities for our children of tomorrow. The question I put to you is, are you happy for your children’s futures to follow the same path and face the same limitations and difficulties that have constricted you, in Nigeria? Or will you join us in our fight for our independent Yoruba or Igbo nation, to create a better, more equitable, and more advantageous future for this our most precious gift: our children?
