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Voice of Emancipation: Transformation through Yoruba Nation (Pt. 7)

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By Kayode Emola

There is a time for everything, says the Bible, a time to be born and a time to die. For Queen Elizabeth II, this Thursday, 8th September 2022, was that time to finally say goodbye. However, her departure is only from this earth; it is the beginning of the journey in another world. And as she goes, she leaves behind her a legacy; whether good or bad, people will remember her for all she has done and what she left behind.

Elizabeth Regina II led a simple life, always stepping up to fulfil her duty, devoted to the nation she promised to serve till the end. She definitely did not disappoint her family, her subjects or the world at large. Time will not permit me to highlight her numerous achievements and failures during her reign as monarch. However, she demonstrated wisdom even until the end, such as clarifying publicly that Camilla, wife of the man who is now King Charles III, should be addressed as Queen consort. In so doing, she allowed the family and nation to focus on more important matters of state following her passing.

We who are advocating for Yoruba nation can learn many valuable lessons, applicable both to our lives as individuals and as a nation, from the death of Queen Elizabeth II. We all know that the selection of a new King is frequently a problem in many cultures, Yoruba included. This is an especially big challenge for us in Yorubaland as who will become the new king is not decided until after the death of the reigning monarch. This consequently leaves a vacuum, creating many issues during the interregnum period that can, on occasion, result in the right person not being the one chosen to lead the kingdom.

Looking for a simple solution for the royal arrangement in Yorubaland will be like the proverbial needle eye through which the camel must pass. There are over 900 thrones in Yoruba, the occupants of which are unlikely to agree to be subjugated by another. Therefore, choosing any one particular throne over another may lead to another civil war amongst our people.

This exact issue is the root cause of our problems, yet to date, no one seems to have a definitive answer to this dilemma. Instead of looking for practical solutions, we point the finger of accusation at Britain as the primary cause of our problem. But if we are truly honest with ourselves, we are forced to acknowledge that we must be the ones to solve this fundamental issue as we attempt to establish our independent Yoruba nation.

When the British first entered our lands in the early nineteenth century, we were a people spread over several kingdoms, from Ondo, Ekiti, Lokoja, Bauchi to Dahomey, even having some Yoruba kingdoms established beyond, in Togo, Ghana, and Cote D’Ivoire. We did not function as a single entity, but every kingdom did its own thing, with many of these kingdoms under the rule of the Oyo empire.

More recently, during Chief Awolowo’s reign as Premier of the Western region (Yorubaland), the Ooni of Ife governed Yorubaland as the Sovereign. Whilst many Yoruba people would want to see a continuation of this system, with the head of Yoruba nation being determined from the descendants of Oduduwa, we must acknowledge that there are also many who do not subscribe to this belief or support this method. However, at the very least, it gives us a framework upon which we can build and develop.

The next step would be to agree on succession prior to the death of the current ruler, in order to avoid a period of interregnum. Prior to the late Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi III, ascending the throne in 1970, there was over two years of interregnum during which he contested with 10 other princes before being officially pronounced as King. There is no reason that these exercises should not take place during the reign of a living monarch, allowing a crown prince to be established before the existing sovereign’s death, and enabling a smooth transition upon their demise. The same could then be extended to the holders of Ife stool and the other traditional stools across Yorubaland.

Queen Elizabeth II of Britain has already lived her life, now will be with us no more. However, her long reign will be remembered for many years to come, together with the legacy she left behind. She was a solid rock for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, a point of constancy amidst shifting tides. If Yorubaland is to be great again, we need to learn from the British monarchical system, establishing a ruling house to hold the fort on behalf of the traditional houses in Yorubaland and on behalf of the people as a whole.

In so doing, we create a solid tradition that will eventually enable a smooth transition. The monarchy will be the ones to approve the politicians’ ruling of the country, rather than the reverse, as is the current situation in Nigeria. The sovereign will be recognised as separated from the government, delegating the ruling of the country to the politicians, who then serve for a limited tenure.

Though the shift in mentality is challenging, I am certain that the Yoruba nation will be able to develop a pragmatic solution which will benefit the people, the politicians and the monarchy. In this manner we will be able to build a nation worthy of a seat on the world stage, one worth returning home to, so that our brightest and best will once again be content to contribute to the development of mankind from our own native soil.

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Opinion

Fani-Kayode: The Man and His Belly

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By Danjuma Garba
We are disturbed by the recent inciting comments by a former Aviation Minister and Director of News Media, All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Femi Fani-Kayode.
Recently, the media has been awash with reports of Fani-Kayode’s inciting rhetoric targeted at causing ethnic disharmony and widespread violence across the nation. We can no longer continue to ignore his excesses as they pose a grave danger to our democracy, unity and security.
Recall that his ethnic profiling and inciting statements fuelled unprecedented violence against non-Yoruba voters in Lagos State at the just-concluded governorship poll. We find totally unacceptable, his recent threat to make the country ungovernable should Bola Ahmed Tinubu not be sworn in. This is a threat against national peace and security and should not be ignored by all relevant security agencies.
Already, his rancorous and misguided outbursts had attracted the attention of the international community. A British envoy addressed him and pointed out the dangers of his inciting statements. However, instead of retracting his statements, he went wild against the envoy with derogatory remarks and tirades unbefitting of a supposed statesman.
Femi Fani-Kayode is infamous in Nigeria for his opportunistic political misadventures. He is a rabble-rouser whose only political value is the noise he makes and the ripples of disaffection it causes.
He has never contested, won or lost an election. His is to parasitically attach himself to the winning side and look for any available financial opportunity to sustain his extravagant and drug-ridden lifestyle.
He is a craven man who rides behind the trails of valiant men to glean the spoils of war. And while waiting for the spoils, he can go to the extremes of verbal assaults, name-calling and denigration of opponents.
His method of political engagement is crude, savage, hostile and barbaric. He does not spare vices however indecorous in his quest to appear loyal to his paymasters.  He is a known groveler who does the “dirty jobs” for his paymasters in return for “food”. Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s description of him as a foodie who does the bidding of anyone who gives him “food” is very apt. He is a man with zero integrity and decorum.
As a result of his unprincipled approach to life in general, and to politics in particular, he has no allegiance to any political party or ideology. He has loyalty only to his stomach. And when he is done eating, he scatters the table and spites the host. His eloquence is fuelled by the sight of food rather than being inspired by a cause, reason or logic. He is a political pariah who, like a hawk, flies about looking for only what to eat.
Femi Fani-Kayode is such a despicable figure that is awful and abhorrent in private life and unfit for public offices.
No wonder, he has been married four times, and all four women left him. No one can cope with Femi’s childish, belligerent, narcissistic and immoral behaviour. His mouth is full of bile proceeding from the dark enclaves of his bankrupt and untutored soul.
One wonders what a man who has failed in virtually everything, is doing in the corridors of power. For being unable to lead his private life, he is totally unfit to lead others. He is a confirmed public and private failure.
The incompetent junkie once blamed

witches for the plane crashes that happened under his watch as the aviation minister.
But how did Femi Fani-Kayode come about? Available records show that he was born to Chief Remilekun Adekunbo Fani-Kayode. Femi trained as a lawyer, a supposed educated man.
In age, Femi is supposed to be a man in his sixties being born on 16 October, 1960, but in character and conduct, he is a delinquent adolescent always running in and out of trouble with his unbridled tongue.
With his unstable and volatile character, one doubts if his education goes beyond his ability to read and write. Education is beyond mere literacy; it refines character, shapes perceptions, enhances tolerance and imparts civility.
The sum total of these is what is called civilization. But Fani-Kayode lacks the basic ingredients of true education. His uncouth manners speak more of a pretentious barbarian at the gate of civilization than of a truly educated and civilized person. His ethnic bigotry smacks of a pre-historic man in a band of hunters and fruit gatherers. His level of clannishness and intolerance is totally antithetical to civilization.
What an educated head ruled by a bankrupt mind and moribund soul! He refused to allow his intellectual engagements to tamper with his ethnic crudity and absurdity.
He represents the fading generation of African elites who continue to hold on to sentiments that are intolerant of others and inimical to a free, fair and inclusive society. They are the worst hindrance to inter-ethnic harmony and national unity in Africa.
Femi pathetically carries underneath his flamboyant attire, a deeply troubled, stark naked, abysmally wretched and utterly miserable soul. Such a pity!
It is against all sensibility that such an unhinged and irresponsible fellow should be elevated to the point of having political visibility in a civilized and democratic society. In saner climes, moral imbeciles like him are quarantined as societal outcasts and persona non grata.
Though his ill-fated foray into politics began quite early, whatever patronage he has enjoyed came on the heels of his family’s name and influence rather than on the strength of his personal merit or capacity. He lacks in totality, the character and conduct of an adult, let alone the attributes of a statesman.
We, therefore, call on the ruling party to amend their initial mistake of appointing Femi Fani-Kayode into their campaign council by distancing themselves from his inciting and bigoted comments.
He is such a political liability and should not be considered for any political appointment in both the nearest and distant future. Already, he is trying to cause a diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United Kingdom with his recent tantrum against the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, who tried to address his excesses.
We would be forced to believe that Femi Fani-Kayode is doing the biddings of the ruling party to destroy Nigeria if drastic punitive actions are not taken against him.
Finally, we call on the Inspector General of Police, and the Directorate of State Security (DSS) to arrest within 48hours, Femi Fani-Kayode for posing a grave threat to national security with his ceaseless inciting statements and ethnic profiling. This is to serve as a deterrent to other tribal bigots, and overzealous politicians.

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Opinion

Open Letter to Bayo Onanuga by Richard Akinnola

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My dear Bayo,

I hope you are now happy and satisfied, that the National Broadcasting Commission(NBC) has sanctioned CHANNELS with a N5 million fine, following your petition over the Datti Ahmed’s interview on CHANNELS.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi and Dr Olu Onagoruwa ( both of blessed memories) were the best of friends for several years but that friendship was truncated when the latter decided to join the Abacha junta as the Attorney-General, churning out despicable Decrees. Their relationship ended and Gani publicly upbraided his erstwhile friend.

You and l have been friends for several years, fought many battles together against the military, particularly against their onslaught on the free press. I therefore feel terribly pained that l have to publicly upbraid you for your recent public statements, particularly your petition against CHANNELS tv, to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). Et tu, Bayo? I’m still trying to wrap my heads round your sudden 360 degrees against all you fought for under the military. You are yet to be in government and you have started exhibiting intolerance against the independent media, the same thing you fought for all your years, like Dr Onagoruwa did. I’m sure your principal, who has been a lover of free press, would be embarrassed by your position.

I watched the interview under reference and l must say, you are VERY UNFAIR to Seun Okinbaloye, the anchor man who repeatedly cautioned Datti Ahmed for making some seemingly inciting comments, to the anger and discomfiture of Datti Ahmed. So, in all conscience, what then is the basis of your petition to the NBC? Can you compare that to your recent incendiary post against an ethnic group? Why are you making enemies for your principal, instead of friends, in a country so polarized? While your principal is preaching unity and healing, you are busy trying to make more enemies for him. Yesterday, it was ARISE, today, it is CHANNELS. Is that a foretaste of what to experience in the incoming government? So, we should be fixated on NTA and TVC, isn’t that what you are trying to tell proverbially? To say that I’m totally embarrassed by your silly conduct, would be stating it mildly.

For eight years, despite all vitriolic attacks on the president, Femi Adesina, as Special Adviser, Media to the president, did not petition against any medium but you wey never enter, don dey censor the media. What a shame! I can expect the disaster that awaits us if you become the presidential spokesperson. Do l subscribe to unfettered press freedom? No. I believe every freedom comes with responsibility. However, when you create a perception that the incoming government would be intolerant of the free press, we need to sound the alarm bell.

My dear Bayo, it is often said that until a man tastes power or has access to money, you can’t judge his character. That may not be totally true because one of our mutual friends, Tunji Bello, has tasted both but has been his normal self that l have known for over three decades. His decent character has not changed, in and out of government. So, could it be that your real character is just unfolding? Just because you are now at the periphery of power, you are ready to obliterate all the values and principles you held all these years. What a shame!

TAKE NOTICE that we would fight this your planned “insurrection” against the independent media the way we, including you, fought Abacha’s dictatorship against the media.

RICHARD AKINNOLA

Postscriptum: Before l wrote this open letter, l had informed some of our mutual friends, so that they won’t feel embarrassed.

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Opinion

Voice of Emancipation: Who Will Pay Buhari’s Debt?

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By Kayode Emola

In less than two months, President Mohammadu Buhari will relinquish the exalted position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He will however, not take with him the huge debt he bestowed on the country, and that would be left for both the incoming and future governments or their successor when Nigeria eventually breaks up to pay. The question remains as to who will pay this huge debt as there are over 130 million Nigerians living below the poverty line today.

Just this week, the Chinese government rejected Buhari’s further request for an additional loan of ₦10.1trn ($22bn), from the China-Exim Bank which was earlier approved by the morally bankrupt Nigeria National Assembly. The said loan was intended to fund the modernisation of the Kano – Kaduna segment of the Nigerian Railway. The obvious question to ask is, how much has that Railway line generated in the past 3 years to justify that humongous loan facilities for an outgoing government.

This is not minding the fact that Buhari is leaving the Nigerian people with ₦46.25trn ($101.87bn) external debt and a financially depressed nation. With the cost of living biting hard and many strong financial institutions around the world feeling the pinch, I believe it is time to take stock. We recall that Buhari came to power on a mandate of hope, however, if there is anything to go by in the last 8-years, it is anything but hope, in fact, I believe Nigerians should be very afraid of the direction the country is going.

A lot of the self-determination activists who are not well grounded in freedom struggle believe our quest for freedom stemmed from the extrajudicial killing by the armed Fulani militia. That is not the basis of our decision to leave an unproductive country like Nigeria. Many of our people are facing far more untimely death on a daily basis because of bad governance in Nigeria and this cannot continue without a permanent solution which is a total withdrawal from the Nigeria framework. The people in power are creating more havoc on ordinary Nigerians than all the armed terrorist groups put together.

This is a compelling reason why we must be more vocal and succinct in our message delivery to the ordinary man on the street, who is not well-versed or have reliable information. With our teeming population and abundant natural resources, Nigeria should be among the 5 biggest economies in the world. The recent developmental strides in Dubai and Qatar are supposed to be child’s play compared to Nigeria’s achievement in the last 62 years of independence. Our economy is however led by reckless government officials, who have riddled with loans that cannot be repaid if we continue on this trajectory.

To my fellow Yoruba countrymen who are happy that a Yoruba man is going to be President of Nigeria, a country with a fraudulent constitution, and hoping for a miracle. I will say, think again; as I pity our stupidity for lack of wisdom. We will come to bite our fingers in the nearest future if we don’t double our efforts right now to get out of Nigeria. If we remain trapped in this contraption called Nigeria for whatever reason, either by our own making or otherwise, then our children and future generations may never forgive our docility.

We cannot continue to live in a country where we the Yoruba contribute the largest share of its revenue, yet has nothing to show for it, order than parade political jobbers as an achievement. If that is not stupidity, then I will like to know what happened to free basic education and healthcare started over 70 years in Yorubaland by Chief Awolowo. Yet, many of our children are now out of school because their parents can’t afford exorbitant school fees in private facilities. Why are we allowing many innocent lives to die because of poor health facilities and a lack of adequate social amenities?

The lists of vices go on and on, which I wouldn’t want to dwell on. I will only want to drive home one fact, the only solution is the complete exit from the Nigerian structure. If anyone is thinking we can remain in Nigeria and develop our region, it is like eating your cake and hoping to have it again at the end of the day.

The time for ‘uhuru’ (freedom) is now and we must do everything within our power to get it. I see many power tussles going on in the self-determination struggle itself, and this is not a healthy environment to thrive. We need to consolidate our efforts, not by forcing people into submission but by dialogue, without which we cannot get a consensus. Without that, we will continue to toil endlessly with nothing to show for it.

I implore all the acclaimed self-determination groups to as a matter of urgency come together and chart a way forward for the Yoruba struggle. Without that, many people will be doing excellent work in their closest but may not be enough to reach the end goal which is a free independent Yoruba nation.

I hope talented people will be given the opportunity to thrive so that the necessary tools needed to accelerate our struggle are put to good use. The Yoruba nation is within reach, but it risks being jeopardised by many charlatans who know nothing about the struggle for an independent nation. We can continue to dance around, but if we don’t hit the nail on the head, we may remain on this mountain for a long time to come. My prayer is that we get it right on time so that we can save the millions of our trapped population in poverty with no hope of salvation.

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