By Kayode Emola

In 2 days-time, Yoruba all over the world will celebrate 138 years since the signing of the peace treaty signalling the end to the Kiriji war that devasted Yoruba land for over a decade. Last week, I wrote about the tragedies of that war and how it has shaped the current political landscape of Yorubaland.

The consequence of that war was the fatigue of war, which made us vulnerable to colonialism. This saw the Yoruba country divided into two with one part added to other ethnic nationalities forming what we know today as Benin Republic. The other Yoruba country was amalgamated with strange bedfellows to form Nigeria. Now, everything we’ve laboured for over the years have been stolen including our culture, and traditions. If care is not taken, our very existence cannot be guaranteed.

As we celebrate the labours of our Yoruba heroes who fought gallantly in that war for the freedom of their people, we must realise that the war is still not over. We cannot say there is peace when many of our people are still living as slaves in Nigeria. We need to fight for total liberation where our people anywhere in the world will be able to decide their own future and happiness.

As we mark the end to all wars among us in Yorubaland, it is time to stand united as one family to be able to resist any onslaught against our existence. We must begin to build back capacity among our people to ensure everyone of us in individually and collectively independent.

To this end, we must take bold steps in highlighting to our people that the only way we can truly build anything enviable is if we have our own independent country. Our ancestors who lived in the times of the Mali, Songhai, Ghana empire never dragged themselves down to become slaves to those mighty empires. They built their own enviable domain and ruled for thousands of years.

Therefore, those of us who believe in the self-determination of Yorubaland must begin a massive campaign of awareness to our people. We must drive our message to the hearts and minds of our people. We must encourage them to be bold to demand their emancipation from the politicians who are holding us captive in Nigeria.

If we begin to put direct and enormous pressure on the elected political office holders from our Yoruba ethnic nationalities. Then, there will be an increased level of awareness of the urgency for which we should leave Nigeria.

For those still hoping that Nigeria will be better one day, they need to understand that the British who built Nigeria did not build it to succeed. This is why they don’t even trade with us anymore. Nigeria’s trade with Britain is mere 0.4% and it is not even going to get better.

Without trade and commerce, there is no way we can build a viable economy. So, we need to get our Yoruba country out of Nigeria so we can establish trade with countries that really matter in the world.

We know what to do to be a great Yoruba country again and we must not fail to do it. I call on our comrades pushing hard for Yoruba nation to continue to strive for excellence in all that we do.

Our struggle is gradually moving to a phase where we need to begin to think of governance and moving away from merely protest. We ought now to begin to establish governance structure for the new nation so that we can deliver to our people their hopes and aspiration for now and into the future.

By Kayode Emola

For decades the Oyo Empire ruled many Yoruba lands, and exercising authority far beyond their territorial reach. Subjecting these Yoruba lands into their fiefdom caused many bad blood and animosities among the oppressed peoples whose lands and livelihood were been pillaged.

The Oyo chiefs unperturbed with their highhandedness of the people they exert dominion over continued to believe that nothing can bring their rule to an end. Alas, the story of Fabunni whose fiancée was raped by one of the Oyo chief’s Ajele’s (agents) changed the course of direction, not just for the Oyo empire but for the entire Yoruba land.

For over a decade in the late 19th century, Yoruba land was engulfed in long wars among several tribes on the east and west of Yoruba land who either believed in Oyo rule or against Oyo rule. The end result was the colonialisation of the entire Yoruba land by the British government.

Today, over 100 years of the signing of the peace treaty, Yoruba land still languishes under the burden of colonialism. The struggle for freedom and human rights of their people by the Ekiti parapo warriors seems today like their fighting was in vain. Our people who have lived under subjugation of one imperial power or the other still suffer under the heavy burden of Nigeria today. We have no power to free ourselves by dialogue except by picking up arms and marching down to the battlefield.

Our enemy looks formidable in our weakness and we allow them ride over us by our inability to present a formidable strategy that is able to free us once and for all from this tyrannical rule. We have become a hopeless and helpless people whose solution is to run away from our God giving land seeking refuge abroad. Many of us are now so used to living abroad that we forget about our place of origin and the troubles that drove us away from home.

When we talk about the struggle for our liberation, many laugh at us as if the freedom we talk about is an alien word. At best, they sympathise with our dilemma but the truth is that just like the Ekiti parapo warriors, all Yoruba must now come together as one to demand for their freedom. The British who came in as mediator eventually became the bigger problem, we must now deal with their colonial subjects they’ve imposed on us as our rulers.

Yoruba land has no business in Nigeria, and we cannot afford to leave this struggle for the coming generation. Those who seek to take the easy route by demanding for regionalism must understand that it will end up becoming the longest route. We would go far if we as Yoruba from all divide on the spectrum of the freedom struggle come to a round table to discuss the best approach to liberate ourselves from the shackles Nigeria has placed on our neck.

Just like September 23 1886 marked the beginning of a renewed hope of unity in Yoruba land, we must make September 23 2024 a day where all Yoruba would reflect on the struggles of our hero’s past. Whilst Idande, and the Yoruba Regional Alliance are planning a grand event to celebrate this year’s event in Ile-Ife, we must give them every support we can in their quest for Yoruba unity. Those in London can also support groups like Think Yoruba First who are putting up similar events to bring all Yoruba at home and the diaspora together.

Above all, we must remember that the struggle for freedom, human rights and the rule of law is not about politics, religion or sexual affinity. It is the very basis of our existence and the realisation that all humans are born free and should have the right to make choices for themselves without external interference.

I implore my Yoruba people to take this year’s celebration to reflect on the sacrifices of those that lost their lives for the cause of freedom in the Kirii war. Let their death mean something for those of us alive to witness their struggle for our liberty. We must not relent in demanding justice for the millions of our people trapped in abject poverty and unable to find a way out.

We must understand that the time for total liberation is now and we cannot afford to relent in our quest for justice. Just like the Oyo empire fell to the British rule, we must strive to bring our Yoruba country outside the Nigerian rule and establish a government that will cater for the needs of all rather than the needs of the few who find themselves in political position.

This is the time for real change and we must be prepared to do everything we can to liberate ourselves from the Nigerian mess. I hope those that are still sitting on the fence will join forces with progressives like us in demanding the reestablishment of our Yoruba country so that our children and their children can live a better life.

By Kayode Emola

Every keen observer of Nigeria knows there is no way out of the country’s national mess. From the brazen brandishing of sophisticated weapons by terrorists in broad daylight to the clarion call for self-determination by every nationality in the southern and Middlebelt of Nigeria. I believe it is safe to say it’s only a matter of time before things fall apart in Nigeria and everyone can go their way.

One of the major glues binding Nigeria apart from football is fuel subsidy. This was the only thing the ordinary man benefitted from the government of Nigeria and that has been taken away from the masses. The removal of fuel subsidy has brought enormous hardship on the poor masses who are feeling the weight of the bad economy.

Recent events around the refining of petroleum products with the newly constructed Dangote refinery and the dishonesty of the federal government have laid bare for the world to see that Nigeria is on a tightrope. It is safe to say now that Nigeria as a country is on borrowed times and only a small trigger can set the whole house on fire.

Whilst many are reeling in the hardship that buying fuel for over ₦1,000 has brought, the forecast is that the pump price is heading to around ₦2,500 shortly. I do not see how this can be sustained in the long run considering that fuel was sold for around ₦135/litre a little over a year ago.

This brings me to the conclusion that the Nigerian government has set in motion the stage for the disintegration of Nigeria without realising it and that is a blessing for advocates of Yoruba nation. There is no way Nigeria can survive the current harsh economic climatic conditions it finds itself.

Therefore, it is time for us Yoruba nation advocates to begin to prepare the grounds for our new independent Yoruba nation. We need not delay our preparation for Yoruba nation as the situation may overtake us if we do not prepare for the eventual fall of Nigeria.

When Yugoslavia was in the same position as Nigeria today, the peoples of Slovenia and Croatia did not wait for Yugoslavia to ask them to get ready for dissolution before they started preparing for their exit. As a matter of fact, Slovenia was so prepared that they knew what currency they would spend in their new country.

We the advocates of Yoruba nation must begin to rally the support of our people both at home and in the diaspora. We must encourage those at home to save their monies in currencies that are more stable than the naira before our Yoruba nation is established so that they don’t lose their hard-earned money to a declining naira.

The decimation of the naira which has happened as a result of bad policies by the government of Nigeria will be the last straw that breaks Nigeria’s back. Even international observers and foreign countries know that there is no way out for Nigeria. That is why China which has a lot of stakes in Nigeria is trying to secure its huge loan to Nigeria through assets. Just like we’ve witnessed in the Zhongshan Fucheng row with the Nigerian government recently.

The Yoruba nation self-determination leadership has an opportunity now to fast-track its preparation for an independent Yoruba nation. We need to highlight the benefits of an independent Yoruba nation to our theming population. This will ensure that they are better prepared when the new nation arrives.

Our people should begin to prepare for a glorious future outside Nigeria. We can only achieve that when we are self-governing. We have seen how Nigeria has dealt with us as Yoruba people over the last century. We therefore need now to begin in earnest the preparation of steps toward achieving our new nation and I hope the dissolution of Nigeria doesn’t catch us unawares.