By Kayode Emola
You may be familiar with the Biblical account of Nehemiah, who is credited with being the man who initiated the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah came from humble beginnings – as an enslaved Israelite in the court of the Persian King, Artaxerxes – but earned his place in the Biblical Hall of fame through his wise actions and faithful leadership. Just as the nation of Israel was in a nation that was not their own, having seen their land desecrated and destroyed, so the Yoruba people find themselves bound into a conglomeration that is not of their devising, facing the threat of destruction of their lands and properties on a daily basis. And so, as Nehemiah and his contemporaries, including Ezra, restored the city of Jerusalem and brought back the Israelites to a land of their own, we can learn lessons from their success as we, too, seek to bring our people into their own sovereign Yoruba nation.
What lessons can we learn from Nehemiah’s conduct, and how can we translate them into our own conduct, so that we may see the same success that he had? Through this article and its subsequent sequel(s), I will endeavour to extract pertinent features of Nehemiah’s leadership that I believe we should seek to see emulated in our own struggle for Yoruba freedom today.
Nehemiah was concerned about his people
This is a lesson for both the diaspora and Yoruba indigenes. Nehemiah cared about the well-being of the Israelites, and made effort to get news of their condition. For those Yoruba in diaspora, are you taking time to keep updated of what is going on back home? For those on the ground in Yorubaland, are you ensuring that you are well educated on developments? Take care to follow the news on reputable sources, so that you don’t fall foul of fake news and propaganda reports. Do not turn your face away from the disturbing accounts or bury your head in the sand, thinking that your position is currently one of safety, so the external events don’t concern you. Instead, be actively seeking out daily reports of what is going on across the different areas of Yorubaland: what oppression are our people experiencing, but also what increase is being seen in the awareness and movement for Yoruba independence? By keeping yourself educated about the hardships inflicted on the people, you will perpetuate your zeal for an end to it. By keeping yourself updated of the independence movement, you will remain encouraged that you are not alone in this fight, and that there is forward traction being gained every day.
Nehemiah was humble and prudent
When Nehemiah heard of the hardships afflicting his people, his first action was not to rush in full throttle to try and change things. Neither did he allow the situation to so overwhelm him that he became despondent and consequently inert. He was not proud to think that his strength alone would be enough to solve the issue, but neither did he abdicate his responsibility to advocate for his people.
So when Nehemiah heard this disturbing news, he prayed. He humbled himself before God, mourning and fasting and asking for help. Acknowledging that he alone could not solve the situation single-handedly, he sought help from a higher authority. Recognising that he could not, and should not, turn a blind eye to his people’s suffering, he took it upon himself to act, and to intercede on their behalf.
When we, as Yoruba, hear of injustice meted out to our fellow brethren, it is not proper for us to just keep our head down for fear that we might make ourselves the next target. Martin Niemöller, a German pastor in the twentieth century, penned this powerful poem:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
If we allow the oppression of our kinsfolk purely because “It is not directly happening to me,” then one day we will be met with the same treatment, and there will be no one left (or willing) to speak out for us. We must recognise that no one person will be the Messiah and the single-handed saviour of the Yoruba race, but also that no person is exempt from playing their part in contributing to the struggle for freedom.
Nehemiah was diplomatic
When the opportunity arose for Nehemiah to make his petition to King Artaxerxes, he approached the matter with wisdom and care. He was transparent in what he said and made no attempt to deceive the king or spin the truth to make it more palatable. But he was also measured in what he said and the way he said it. He did not answer rashly, speaking before thinking; but instead took time to pray before broaching the matter.
When we have the opportunities to speak of the Yoruba’s subjugation, we must do so. For Yoruba residing overseas, this may take the form of lobbying your host country’s government, members of parliament, ministers, senators and government officials, to raise the profile of the Yoruba people’s situation and to press them to take action against the leaders of Nigeria who are oppressing them. It may involve spreading the word amongst your friends of other nationalities. It may involve taking more public action: protests in the streets, speaking out in the media, even writing an article.
But when we speak out, though we must speak the truth and not sugar-coat or dilute it, we must also be diplomatic in our choice of words. We must accord due respect to those authority figures before whom we bring our plight. We must be mindful that giving out acrimony and adversarialism will only reap acrimony and adversarialism. A war is not won on the battlefield, but in the negotiating chamber. There is no question about it, we must fight; but we must fight with wisdom, discretion and prudence as our tools, and our voices as our most powerful weapon.
There is a wealth of further lessons we can elucidate from Nehemiah’s example, which I will cover in subsequent articles. For this week, let me leave you with this: we are our brother’s keepers. Therefore, let us advocate for any and every Yoruba person as if we were advocating for our very own life. Let us not be shy or reticent to speak truth to power. Every person has a part to play in this struggle. So stand up, speak out and make the world hear us! And together we will bring into being our precious Yoruba nation.
