By Kayode Emola

Many of us knew that if a Yoruba man were to become the President of Nigeria, the number of our people crying for their own Yoruba country will begin to dwindle as people begin to sing another song. It wasn’t long after President Bola Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s president that all sorts of idea about how Nigeria can be great again began to fly in different directions.

Even now, with the collapse of the Nigerian economy, many of our people still believe that Nigeria can work. It is either they are deluded or they never believed in what an independent Yoruba nation has to offer.

My fear is not what will happen if we were to get our Yoruba nation; but rather what we will do with our Yoruba nation when we eventually get it with such people who never stood for anything. As things stand, many of us professing Yoruba nation have no vision for the Yoruba nation other than the position or status it will bring to them.

This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed before we even begin to talk about Yoruba nation and what type of nation it will be. We’ve allowed our blind love for Yoruba nation to lead us to the point where anything goes. This attitude that destroyed the Nigeria we are trying to escape is yet very prevalent among our rank and file; making it difficult to see how we can build a successful nation on these faulty foundations.

I don’t know if it is the Nigerian mentality that has eroded our morals or it is now an inbuilt culture which we must embrace for lack of escape. If we continue on this trajectory, Nigeria will seem like child’s play compared to the tribulations we would face in our Yoruba nation.

The plight of the matter is that many of us who live outside the shores of Nigeria and who have experienced life in civilised culture are no better than those in Yorubaland. Our exposure to better system of government has not inspired us as to what we hope to bring to the development of our land and people. We tend to think that getting Yoruba nation is an opportunity to become famous through the position that it affords.

My advice to those of us serious about the liberation of our people is to make clear what the vision we have for the new country are. Like our late SAGE, Obafemi Awolowo, who had a vision for Yorubaland and when the opportunity came, didn’t waste time on frivolities. He went straight into accomplishing the tasks he set for himself thereby bringing enormous development to the lives and livelihood of our people.

The time has now come for us to get rid of these professional profiteers among us, who are inglorious praise singers of politicians when it pleases them. They neither see nor hear evil and are insensitive to the sufferings of our people. Their mission is simple, be at the centre of attraction all the time because at one point or another they will benefit from whatever Yoruba nation has to offer.

We can see that Nigeria is headed nowhere and we who have vision for a glorious Yoruba nation must stand firm in our belief. We must never succumb to those who have nothing to offer other than seeking to fulfil their own self-interests.

Our struggle today is in comatose, because some of these self-serving parties have now risen to the position of the decision makers. Many of those who previously aligned with us are now singing the praises of the Yoruba/Nigerian politicians who have nothing to offer Yoruba nation.

Therefore, the time has come for a reset, for us to take stock of where we are and where we are going. The journey to nationhood is not one that can be attained by taking shortcuts to victory. It is a journey that must be meticulously planned and perfectly executed to achieve the maximum benefit that our people deserve.

There is now a lot of heavy lifting to do, as we need to define what the vision for Yoruba nation will be. This will ensure that when the independence finally comes, those people who have no idea of what nationhood is are not given the opportunity to derail the progress of the new country for their own personal gain.

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.