By Kayode Emola
I was going to write about the global energy crises and how energy companies are profiting excessively at the expense of struggling families around the world. Just yesterday EDF, a French company declared a profit of £1.2 billion for last year, whereas, for the same period in the previous 12 months, they recorded a loss of over £20 million. What a stark difference in fortune as ordinary people are crying, the corporations and government are smiling to the bank.
However, the ongoing crises in Nigeria owing to the shortage of cash is deeply concerning, especially as we see our elderly struggle to get their hands on cash to buy prescriptions and medication. Looking critically at the unfolding crises as a result of this ill-thought-out policy, it may just be the catalyst needed for the eventual break-up of Nigeria.
As this week draws to a close and hope of any reprieve seems a distant future, the question for Nigerians is, do you still want a one-divided Nigeria or a dissolved amalgam? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel or everything is just a mirage. Many people are of the opinion that the CBN Governor is the instigator of the naira redesign policy, however, if we walk down memory lane, I am inclined to say this is Buhari’s gameplan since becoming President from day one.
It is not the first time Buhari has embarked on a change of currency, he did it a few months after taking over Nigeria in 1983 from Shagari, and the storyline has not changed since then. In fact, he introduced this current double currency system (main currency market and parallel market) Nigerians are suffering from today. A situation where few northerners can buy US dollars at a far-discounted rate from the CBN and sell at double the face value. This created artificially rich people in the north without any tangible increase in productivity.
In an interview a few weeks ago, I stated that what seems to still be keeping Nigeria is the naira. Take that away, then there is no way the country can survive. Nigeria will eventually break up and it does not matter what anyone thinks of that, it is how it will break up that really matters. It does matter because over 100 years of co-existence means that there are intermarriages among us and this may affect so many innocent families. A violent breakup may mean that many homes may face a brutal disintegration which may not be good for the children involved.
That said, I do not see an easy way out and the sooner Nigeria break up, the better it will be for everyone. Many people are preparing for elections in a week’s time, hoping that a messiah will come to salvage the sunken ship of Nigeria from the abyss. If only they learn from history that a polarised country like Nigeria with ethnic sentiments does not survive nepotism and gross injustice, then they will know that Nigeria, as it stands today, is a foregone conclusion.
Many people still looking forward to the general election that is about to begin in a week’s time. My advice for you is this, look critically in the mirror and ask yourselves this question; on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are elections going to hold? I say this because the Biafra land and the northwest have been a hotbed of violent clashes in recent months with INEC canceling over 240 polling units already in Katsina and Biafrans staging a sit-at-home. This is even before the elections commences, let alone many of such polling units that are about to be canceled as a result of mass riot should the naira crisis deepens.
So for those still hoping they have a country, please know that this election is not about who governs Nigeria, it is about the conquering of a people’s will to fight for their rights. The president cares less if Nigeria burns, he is as good as gone and would not mind if there is anarchy. He believes the army and the security agents will take control in the event of chaos. My advice to him is to look at what happened to the former president of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa recently, who could not even get a plane to escape when the whole country turned on him.
My fellow Yoruba citizens, this is not a time for party politics, it is a time to fight for our very existence. A time to unite and fight together to safely take Yorubaland out of Nigeria to avoid the woes that Nigeria has heaped on us. I plead with you as Yoruba at this critical time in our history to let go of any bitterness and let us join hands together in brotherhood and fight this oncoming onslaught.
It may seem as though this government is redesigning the currency to fight corruption. The actual fact is that their true motive is to cause chaos and anarchy that would help hasten the destruction of the country whilst it disintegrates. Let us not be the ones that helped them fulfill their evil desire. Let us rise up in unity as Yoruba to fight for what belongs to us. Let us stand to defend our Yoruba territory and show the world that we are a proud people of a great civilisation.
