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Voice of Emancipation

Voice of Emancipation: Yoruba National Unity Day 2024 (Pt. 1)

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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.

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Voice of Emancipation

Voice of Emancipation: The Rise and Fall of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei

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By Kayode Emola

This week, I was going to respond to the supposed threat sent out by the Fulani foot soldiers for the supposed beginning of their Jihad against the indigenous people of Nigeria. However, with yesterday’s early morning strikes in Iran by the firepower of the USA and Israeli government, I believe we need to evaluate events far away from our Yoruba shores.

Ayatollah Khamenei took the reins of power as the supreme leader of Iran in 1989 when his mentor Ruhollah Khomeini died of heart attack. Following his emergence as the supreme leader, his number one goal was the destruction of the state of Israel and the United States. One which he did not hide both in the Arab world and in the Western circles with the constant threat of uranium enrichment.

This made him enemy number one for the Jewish State that was constantly under the fear of an Iranian nuclear annihilation. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it his lifelong ambition to ensure the decapitation of the Iranian regime by any means necessary. The Hamas attack on Oct 7, 2023, gave the Israeli government perfect opportunity to not only go for the Hamas leadership, but to also confront all the Iranian proxies in the region.

If there’s anything to learn from the Israeli’s approach, it is the fact that since the October 2023 attack, they have not shied away from going after all their enemies. One after the other, the Israeli’s took out all the commanders of Hamas, Hezbollah and now the very top hierarchy of the Iranian regime.

The death of the Iran supreme leader will not only be a morale boost for the Israeli government. It will consolidate Israel’s dominance in the region for the foreseeable future. Thus, Israeli will hope to live in peace with its Arab neighbours for many years to come.

The death of Ayatollah Khamenei will not mean that the job is finished both for the Israeli government and its US ally. It can either be the journey to peace or the beginning of a long walk to an everlasting conflict with Iran if the regime is not finally taken out.

With the decapitation of the Iranian regime, I believe anyone stepping forward to replace the late Ayatollah will have a lot to do to keep Iran as one without further military strike from the US. Anything short of regime change will lead to more destruction and destabilisation of the region if not half of the entire world population.

The Yoruba nation struggle must now get our act together in taking a decisive decision about our exit from Nigeria. For some time now, we have been ruminating on how to proceed with our Yoruba nation struggle in the face of constant threat by the Fulani militia on innocent civilians and villagers in our towns and villages.

The time has come for us to be decisive in calling the bluff of the Nigerian government and show the world that we are ready for the emergence of our new nation. The Israeli saw a window of opportunity, and they did not waste time to take it. The result was a resounding victory against the oppressive regime that has ruled Iran for nearly five decades.

If we continue to dilly dally and think for once that the international powers will grant us our Yoruba nation on a platter of gold, then we are very mistaken. This period is not the 1950s nor is it the 1960s when African nations were ruthless in the pursuit of their independence from their colonial masters.

This era is a different kettle of fish as our colonial masters are now our own brothers and sisters who seek public office not for the benefit of the people but for their own enrichment. The time has come for every Yoruba person to be ready to defend their towns and villages in the event of a Fulani onslaught. We must seize the opportunity to affirm our right to self-determination and call on the nations of the world to recognise our sovereignty.

I beseech all my brethren to be watchful and vigilant for when the time comes for us to go all out for our victory march. We must not be cowed by fear, but rather, have the courage of our forbears who were never defeated by the Fulani military to take our country out of this crooked Nigeria.

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Voice of Emancipation

Voice of Emancipation: Yoruba Nation: The Long Road to Freedom

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By Kayode Emola

In 2018, the journey for Yoruba emancipation from Nigeria began in earnest, following several years of dilly-dallying. Afenifere, the foremost Yoruba group created by Bàbá Awolowo in conjunction with the self-determination advocates, decided that if the federal government of Buhari failed to enact the decision of the 2014 Jonathan Confab by March 2020, then the whole of Yoruba would declare for self-determination.

The Federal Government of Nigeria under Buhari didn’t flinch, instead it doubled down on its persecution of the Yoruba people through its various terrorist networks of jihadists hiding in our forests. March 2020 came and went, Afenifere did nothing, only buying time for the government of Nigeria and watching what those of us on the self-determination struggle will do.

The Yoruba course began to be derailed not by the Fulani but by the custodians of our Yoruba people through their indecisions. So, it became a fight of Self-determination vs Restructuring, when in fact, restructuring is a softer version of self-determination. Only that Nigeria in its current form can never be restructured due to the facts that I have explained in several articles and videos.

As Afenifere failed in standing up for the Yoruba people, several splinter groups have emerged with no clear focus on the Yoruba question of whether to remain in Nigeria or not. Some want a restructured Nigeria despite the jihadists’ conquest mission that gives no room for negotiation. Some wanted a Yoruba President, hoping and praying that at least he would fight on the Yoruba side. We can see how well a Yoruba President is securing the lives and properties of the Yoruba people.

However, those of us who have followed African history very carefully know that if we don’t get out of Nigeria quickly enough to build for ourselves a strong Yoruba nation, we run the risk of being recolonised again. We may say God forbid! But if the conference in Munich last week is anything to go by, and the utterances of the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is read carefully, we know that this is Berlin 1884 rebranded. We can see that the US is positioning itself for the recolonisation of Africa; it is our duty to prevent our land from being taken from us again.

I would not want this to alarm us, but to warn us that more still needs to be done in terms of our struggle for an autonomous Yoruba Nation free from any encumbrances. The journey may take however long that we decide to take on the establishment, what is certain is that if we don’t give up, we shall surely overcome.

It took the people of Israel 40 years to finally decide to take on the Canaanites, and when they did, Heaven was with them and they eventually overcame. I strongly believe that we have a narrow window of opportunity to take the Yoruba land out of Nigeria this year, and if we put ourselves together, we shall surely win.

Therefore, my fellow Yoruba comrades, the time is now to take on the jugular of Nigeria without any fear or intimidation. The decadence of Nigeria cannot withstand the united front of the Yoruba people if we put ourselves together to get the job done. I hope and pray that the Yoruba people dare to do what is necessary to be free. God be with us.

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Voice of Emancipation

Voice of Emancipation: Is President Tinubu Capable of Protecting Nigerians

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By Kayode Emola

Yet again, gunmen went into Woro Local Government of Kwara State to unalive over 170 innocent villagers on Tuesday 3rd February 2026 and the news is not trending in the global stage. These are not animals, these are not aliens but citizens of a “supposed country”, yet the government of the day has no answer to this heinous crime.

This is not the first time and won’t be the last time innocent people would be killed in Kwara State, but my pain is that no lessons would be learnt to prevent such recurrence. The hype about the arrival of the US intervention forces in Nigeria has not done anything to reduce these attacks. Rather the continuous sporadic killings look like Armageddon is beginning right before our very eyes.

Not long after the killings in Kwara State this week, similar killings were ongoing in Katsina State, Northwestern Nigeria. It then begs the question what the Federal Government of Nigeria is doing to protect the lives and properties of the innocent people in Nigeria.

It appears the crimes these innocent people have committed is being Nigerian citizens. This is because if over 100 animals were slaughtered in the US or any European countries, the law enforcement agency will be all over the place searching for the perpetrators of the crime. It would be a global headline that will seize the headlines for days until the perpetrators are brought to justice. If animals have rights in this world, why then can’t humans in Nigeria have right and dignity of life?

I fear for those who are pandering to the narrative that the government is trying its best when it comes to tackling insecurity in the country. The truth is that the tragedy has not befallen them yet, so it is still a distant imagination for them. My only prayer is that calamity do not befall them before they come to their senses.

For my Yoruba brothers and sisters, the time is past due to take a stand. We appear to be nonchalant despite the tragedy that is unravelling before our very eyes. We seem to be looking the other way while our houses are burning thinking the wind will blow the flames away.

My only prayer is that we don’t get consumed in the tragedies going on in Nigeria before we recognise what is going on. Nigeria has now become a crime scene, and no one is interested in solving the murder mysteries. We go on about our business as if nothing has happened only for the next tragedy to happen right in front of us. We need to either stand up and speak out now or we can buckle under the weight of the Fulani terrorists determined to overrun us, the choice is ours.

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