By Kayode Emola

They say that behind every successful man is a strong wife; and our daddy, Professor Banji Akintoye, is no exception. It is therefore, with a great sense of loss that I announce the passing of Mrs Julia Akintoye; our mummy in the Yoruba nation struggle.

Not many people knew her personally, nor had the opportunity to meet or interact with her. Yet for those of us, who did have encounters with her, however brief, she greatly inspired our Yoruba nation’s struggle. She committed the later part of her life to the cause and dedicated her resources, wherever she could, to furthering the struggle for Yoruba sovereign country.

I had the opportunity to first meet Mummy Julia Akintoye in 2022, at their house in the Republic of Benin. Her dedication to our struggle was extraordinary as she attended every virtual meeting her husband was having, sitting side by side with our daddy and contributing her own wisdom to the conversations. When it became necessary to ask to raise funds, she would be the first to say that she would pay her own contribution, even when we told her not to worry about money.

She loved the Yoruba people dearly and dedicated her time wholeheartedly to see that the Yoruba nation is freed from the shackles of Nigeria. On speaking with Prof. Akintoye this morning, he told me that Mama’s very last words to her husband were that he must not allow our Yoruba people to continue suffering in Nigeria. Now that she is no longer with us, those of us left behind must ensure that we do all we can to see that her desired Yoruba nation becomes a reality.

Mama Akintoye was a true warrior, who did not constrict her focus to herself and her immediate family in the Republic of Benin. She constantly dreamt of a free and independent Yoruba nation where every citizen is rewarded according to their handwork and service to the nation.

Though she will not physically enter the nation with us, her spirit will continue to strive alongside us until the coming of the Day of the Lord. We pray that Mama will have peaceful rest wherever she may be, and for God to grant both her immediate family and the entire Yoruba family the fortitude to bear the enormity of this loss.

Her departure leaves behind a husband, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other family members, who are currently feeling the profound emptiness of her absence. It takes great courage to bear the loss of a loved one, and we hope and pray that God will bring succour to the hearts of those who succeed her.

As we prepare for the final burial and funeral rites, I would like to use this opportunity to thank those who have risen to the occasion, offering support to the immediate family during this grief-laden season. I pray that God Almighty, in His infinite mercies, will come to our aid during this time of need. Amen.

By Kayode Emola

As we countdown to this year’s Christmas, taking stock of what has happened in our lives individually as a community is a good idea. While it would be difficult to write about everyone’s individual experience in one article, it is however, important to note that, we have all witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly this year.

For many, 2024 might be their worst year ever while for others, it may be the best year that has happened to them. One thing is certain, once we still have life, and we do not give up or lose hope, then the best is yet to come.

It is the reason we should not give up in sharing the little that we have with our family and friends. In life, there will always be people around us in one need or another, Christmas is a good place to share whatever we can with them even our experience and resources.

The Holy Bible teaches through the gospel of John, that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son”. If God who is the Almighty can give that one person that he treasures so much, how much more we, who have been blessed with material blessings. By sharing, we truly grow as it shows our maturity in letting go of what we hold fast to.

Growing up, we always looked forward to Christmas because it is one day of the year on which you are guaranteed a decent meal. People often reconcile differences and come together around Christmas time to bury any existing feud. It is one beautiful thing Christmas can do.

There will be people in many of our communities across Yorubaland who are unable to celebrate Christmas as they would have hoped for. Let us do whatever we can to reach out and support them with whatever we are able to. In so doing, we are buying for ourselves goodwill that would be repaid sometime in the future, either in this life or in the afterlife.

In celebrating Christmas, we shouldn’t downplay the extreme poverty currently afflicting millions of our people who are in despair. Many of them not certain of where the next meal will come from, despite their best efforts in putting food on the table.

We need to do everything in our power to help them come out of a place of lack to a place of plenty. Then, they too will be able to provide for their families and then help others. For those of us who have been fortunate to escape the heavy burden of the Nigerian economy, Christmas is a time to show some love to those who are still bearing the brunt of the misrule of Nigeria.

We therefore, need to educate our people, that in the coming year 2025, a dissolved Nigeria, with several new countries emerging may be the best thing that could happen to our people. Our Yoruba people need to understand that Nigeria doesn’t care about them, and it is time to begin to work towards our own liberation, rather than merely wishing it.

My hope is that our Yoruba people will see the need for us to get out of Nigeria as urgently as possible. This is because millions of people for no fault of their own are being dragged into the poverty net yearly. We can avoid this and begin to improve the fortunes of our people if we begin to put resources together for the total emancipation of our people.

By Kayode Emola

There is an Ilaje adage which says, “Mè a fi ówò ohi jù wè ilé bàámi:” “I won’t use a left hand to point at my father’s house”. Traditionally, Yoruba are proud of their heritage, which is why the Yoruba culture has endured thousands of generations, and is waxing stronger still.

When Kemi Badenoch won the contest to become leader of the Conservative & Unionist Party in the UK, many of her Yoruba kinsmen did not congratulate her wholeheartedly, because of the way she had denigrated the country of her parents. Many people thought Kemi’s rejection of Nigeria was a denial of her heritage.

There were very few Yoruba who, like myself, came to her defence. The truth is, she fully embraces her roots, identifying truly with who she really is. In Yoruba parlance, she would be referred to as “Òmó okó,” meaning a true child of her father.

Kemi’s recent spat with the Vice President of Nigeria puts the record straight as to where her allegiance lie. She showed that Nigeria and its corrupt leaders are not worth standing up for, and that her loyalty belongs to her Yoruba heritage. In so doing, she has done a great service to, not only herself and her family, but the entire Yoruba people, and we must appreciate this.

Most of us who hold Nigerian citizenship view it as a symbol of the oppression that prevents us from identifying who we truly are. It entangles us in an identity crisis that we would prefer to not have to face.

For the best part of two years, I have tried to educate people that I am not Nigerian but rather a Yoruba man from West Africa. It is so frustrating when many people ask you where that is on the map, and you must try to explain what should be naturally identifiable.

Yorubaland is geographically bigger than England and Wales put together, with a population that surpasses the combined populations of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Yet even though Wales and Scotland are within the country of the United Kingdom, they are recognised as individual nations with their own lands and language.

How much more then should the 60 million Yoruba trapped in Nigeria be able to freely identify as Yoruba, instead of being lumped with peoples of other nationalities? This is the very crux of why Yoruba must become an independent sovereign nation, allowing us to choose our own national identity and destiny as we see fit.

Kemi Badenoch’s recent interview with the Spectator, where she claims she is a Yoruba and not necessarily a Nigerian, clearly shows a woman of virtue who understands the true meaning of identity. I believe that our kinsmen who are holding fast to a country that offers them nothing good are doing a great disservice to their Yoruba heritage.

They should realise the lesson taught by millennia of history, that civilisations can and do go into extinction. The attempts to impose a Nigerian consciousness onto our Yoruba psyche is designed to make us forget who we truly are. Even though the Yoruba civilisation has endured thousands of years, it still risks becoming extinct if we don’t hold dear to what we have.

It is therefore pertinent to note that our goal of disengaging from the country called Nigeria is to protect our Yoruba identity from loss by voluntary commission. I encourage my fellow kinsmen, both at home in Yorubaland and in diaspora, to promote our Yoruba identity and have less to do with the Nigerian nomenclature.

I ask every Yoruba citizen to begin to work hard towards the achieving of a sovereign Yoruba nation. The more we promote our Yoruba identity, the further we distance ourselves from Nigeria and its corruption. In so doing, we can foster a healthy environment for our people in a country that is truly our own.

Oodua a gbe gbogbo wa.