By Kayode Emola
Last week I laid down the gauntlet for *all* who truly believe in the freedom of the Yoruba people to stand up and be counted. We must elevate our struggle so that it permeates the hearts and minds of our people. We must make them believe that we _are_ the government in waiting that they can rely on. We need to begin building structures and infrastructure to show our readiness and commitment, thereby attracting more people to our cause.
It is naïve to think that such projects can be achieved by passion alone, without the foundation of solid financial backing. However, this does not need to be an onerous burden to our people. If we can find 100,000 people out of the 50,000,000 Yoruba currently resident within Yorubaland – just 0.2% of the population – to support financially and materially, then we are on course for success. This support doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but it must be consistent; and those responsible for distributing these resources must be people of integrity.
100,000 people consistently supporting with a monthly token could provide free education to the children of those supporting the movement. This in turn will attract more people to join our movement, thereby advancing our cause for freedom. It would also be equivalent in size to the US Virgin Islands, a recognised independent nation. A community that size is larger than the 36 smallest independent islands and states.
If we were to gather support of over one million people, we would then be the size of Djibouti, Cyprus, Mauritius or Estonia, larger than 73 other countries or islands. Yet these nation states, despite their diminutive populations, still do well for themselves.
This is where action becomes pertinent. We need to strive for meaningful progress, rather than wasting precious time arguing amongst ourselves in online meetings about the best way to achieve self-determination. Self-determination in and of itself is not the destination, and we must be wary of becoming fixated on achieving Yoruba sovereignty without planning for what we will do with it when it arrives.
Self-determination is a process of bringing quality life to our people back home; therefore every penny raised should go towards that purpose. We must be mindful of the fact that the people contributing have worked hard for their money and are investing it in a place to call home. We must do everything possible to justify our use of their money or resources.
To answer those who may feel opposed to financial requests, I must say that no country survives without taxes or revenues. As we do not have the means to generate revenue at present, we must tax ourselves to finance the creation of other means of revenue generation, so that we can sustain the movement and provide essential services to our people.
This is not a situation of casual contribution, if we must get anywhere, it will be compulsory for everyone to contribute financially whether old or young, rich or poor. There must be a minimum token anyone who truly believe in the cause and who must benefit should have to contribute to push the movement forward. Once this is done, it will give us the opportunity to bring about the vital services our people are lacking in Nigeria.
Within this model will be the means to elect for ourselves people who will represent their constituents’ assembly in the emerging Yoruba country. Initially acting as a shadow government, they can become the true voice of our people, being ready to negotiate our exit from Nigeria both with the Nigerian government as well as local and international stakeholders.
While this plan may sound simple, it is a highly complex process requiring skills, diligence and determination on the part of those at the forefront of the struggle. It is a risky endeavour that may even endanger lives, as those benefiting from the rot within Nigeria are likely to seek to oppose our movement when they see the progress we are making.
All of these challenges need to be considered during the planning phase, with measures put in place to mitigate them. The bottom line is that we need to plan and be determined to execute our plans. Failure to do so may well see us attending Zoom meetings for the next five years yet remaining devoid of any concrete plans to get us to our destination. If this happens, we will be responsible for subjecting our people to whatever harsh government succeeds Tinubu, and only God can know whether our people will be able to stand up for themselves under that oppression.
If our Yoruba people cannot fight for themselves, then it is our fundamental duty as frontline activists to stand up on their behalf. We need to be determined now more than ever to liberate ourselves from this calamitous Nigeria.
The success or failure we make of this quest will signal our direction of travel: whether we will be drawing ever more people to join our cause, or whether our movement will end up conforming to the same rot pervading the rest of Nigeria. We cannot let that happen. Therefore, I implore you, until I come your way again, continue to stay strong and keep winning the day.
