By Kayode Emola

For the many Yoruba who can’t discern right from wrong or left from right, it’s time to clearly separate facts from fiction. Before the 1999 introduction of democracy to Nigeria, it was hailed as the panacea for development, the ingredient that would take Nigeria to the next level. 25 years of democracy later, over half the population of Nigeria lives in abject poverty. It is therefore high time we talked about our continuing as Nigerians.

It is plainly evident that Nigeria as a nation is heading nowhere meaningful. Still, my greatest frustration lies with the millions of Yoruba who cannot or will not open their eyes and see that it is over for the country. Many of them believe that one day Nigeria will solve all its problems and become a great nation; yet at the same time, believing that it is better for them personally to travel abroad for pastures green.

This is nothing short of hypocrisy at the highest level in fact, I would go so far as to call it cowardice in the face of the oppression present. For those who believe that Nigeria will one day become great, yet still harbour the idea of travelling abroad; or are currently living outside of Nigeria and not returning to build the country, you of all people are the most miserable.

Today, the people living in Ondo State will go out to validate the failed system the military government handed over in 1999. What they will not see is that the exercise of voting is a mirage that makes no difference either to their personal wellbeing or the good of the nation. And yet still they will believe in the slogans that have been spun by politicians for the sole purpose of deceiving the unsuspecting.

As Yoruba, we ought to look inward, and ask ourselves if we are truly enjoying being part of Nigeria. If not, then we must face the question of why are we silent about the hardship our people face. To paraphrase a popular vlogger, the politicians know that the people must go to bed with hope. It seems that successive governments previously have sowed the seed of hope to keep the people going, even as they knew that Nigeria will not get better.

However, the government under President Tinubu has not only perpetuated the citizens’ poverty but has also stolen their hope. Perhaps Tinubu’s decision to liberalise the country is the push needed to energise the Yoruba people towards the actualisation of Orile-ede Yoruba. If not, if even this can’t jolt them out of their reverie, then I can’t see anything that could shake these poverty-stricken Yoruba people from their die-hard belief that Nigeria will one day be a great nation.

It is now very obvious that when our sovereignty is actualised, we Yoruba will need to guard it jealously from the political hawks who ruined Nigeria. We need to make sure they do not transfer their corrupt way of governing Nigeria into the Yoruba country.

Therefore, it is time to begin planning in earnest what that new country will look like. We need to engage stakeholders throughout various levels of society to discuss how our new nation will function. These includes, though is not limited to, our traditional leaders, civil societies, artisans, various professionals and the general public.

We must now put immense pressure on President Tinubu and the current government to convene a sovereign national conference, so that the question of Nigeria can be answered once and for all. This should not be a conference that gags its participants into agreeing that Nigeria is indivisible, but one that allows each participating ethnic nationality the opportunity to decide their own future.

With that said, we must be aware of the nonchalant attitude displayed by the Nigerian government regarding nations’ quest for sovereignty. The Igbo people have decided to exit Nigeria by declaring their Biafra nation on 2nd December 2024, and will damn the consequences. If this happens, the instability caused will make Nigeria’s remaining as a country entirely untenable, under which circumstances we Yoruba people must be ready and uncompromising for our own exit.

The most sensible path that the Nigerian government could take would be that of peaceful dissolution; but the way things are currently heading, I don’t see that happening. Therefore, if and when the inevitable happens to Nigeria, every Yoruba person, both at home and in the diaspora, must be ready to obey the clarion call.

In so doing, we will show the international community that the Yoruba have affirmatively decided that we no longer wish to be perpetual slaves to those holding us to ransom. This moment is pivotal, the point at which we decide our future once and for all. Let us choose the road to freedom, so that we may truly look forward to building a viable nation that champions the rights and needs of the many, not just the political few.

By Kayode Emola

In 2020, at the peak of the Yoruba struggle for self-government, Donald Trump was rounding up his time in office as President of the United States. It was widely believed that Donald Trump would help us achieve our sovereign nation. Four years later, we are still nowhere near the end of our struggle. The only difference is that this time, we are better equipped with the tools needed to liberate our people.

The truth is that it doesn’t matter who sits at the white house, the will of the Yoruba people to get out of Nigeria must be stronger than the forces that are holding us down. That I believe is the ingredient we haven’t added to our struggle. To get that part right, we must actively engage our people back home on the need to sever ties with Nigeria.

This is no fault of the people back home but as leaders of the self-determination struggle, we must acknowledge that it is not a self-determination vs Nigeria struggle. It is a Yoruba vs Nigeria struggle and it doesn’t matter where people stand we should be ready to emphasise that our objective is independence for the Yoruba nation.

Personally, I don’t think Trump’s presidency will either work in our favour or against our collective goal of Yoruba independence. The determination to leave Nigeria needs to be vigorously ignited among our people worldwide such that it reverberates in several capitals around the world. This will send a strong signal to the world that the Yoruba people and indeed Africans are ready to liberate themselves.

When Chairman Mao sought liberation for his people in China, he made it a doctrine that everyone must believe in the dream. As a matter of fact, you are made to profess it openly and carry the little red book even if you don’t wholeheartedly agree with it. Today, China is the better for it as successive governments in China over time have been able to lift over 700 million of their population out of poverty, catapulting China into one of the greatest nations if not the greatest nation in the world.

If we truly desire a prosperous Yoruba nation, we must imitate success stories like that of China and similar countries who have liberated themselves fully from colonial shackles. China is being demonised by America and many Western European countries today because they didn’t see the rise of China coming.

For them, every other country must be beneath them, and for China to dictate the terms of the global trade is a blow too big to handle. This is why we as leaders of the self-determination struggle must not for one second think that our liberation is coming when America says it will happen. We must realise that the onus is on us to mobilise our people to be ready for total liberation both from Nigeria and the neo-colonial powers that are tying us down.

Our Yoruba people must realise that for any one day we spend in Nigeria, it is another day wasted in achieving our God given potentials. We must completely dissolve the idea that Nigeria is going to one day be a great nation and begin to embrace our Yoruba identity to the fullest.

Yoruba is unique in so many ways that our culture and traditions are well known and respected throughout the world. This gives us the advantage of developing ideas that will attract the world to what we do

The time has come for us to be emphatic about our desire to leave Nigeria. We need to impress it on our people, our traditional leaders, and even the politicians such that they will become the advocates of our message. This will enable us quickly to achieve our desired goal of total liberation from the bondage we find ourselves.

By Kayode Emola

Many people living in Nigeria are unaware of the deep-rooted trouble Nigeria is in and therefore often deceive themselves that Nigeria will one day live up to its expectations. The problems bedevilling the country is so great that it will take a life time or two to even scratch the surface if everyone is ready to work for it.

Recently, former President Olusegun Obasanjo lamented the country’s dire state and stated that President Tinubu had no plans before taking office. The truth is that since the so-called independence of Nigeria in 1960, no head of state that has ruled Nigeria ever had a plan for Nigeria before it took office. They have all taken office for the benefit of themselves, their families, and their cronies.

Nigerians are the eventual losers as they wait for a government that is coming to save them when the reality is that there is no hope in sight. We recall that Tinubu stated at the start of his presidency that Buhari had wrecked the country and that is why subsidy must be removed. Today, that revenue generated from subsidy is been squandered by the politicians while poverty goes through the roof.

The Nigerian government wants everyone to believe that inflation in the country is around 30% where in actual fact inflation is well over 500%. In 2021 when I last visited Nigeria, a loaf of bread was selling for ₦350 but today in just 3 years, that same bread is selling for over ₦4,000 in some high-end supermarket. This is just a tip of the ice-berg as the country is starring at a big trouble down the line.

It has now gotten to the stage where working people can no longer afford the basics of life. In a recent video, we saw a journalist who broke down live on camera and walked out of the studio because she could no longer afford to buy petrol to transport herself to work. We may not know the extent to which people are suffering but if Tinubu’s claim of inheriting a bad government is true, his current leadership approach is not a sign of a country that will recover anytime soon.

Even the Tinubu loyalists are now crying foul as though we did not warn them of what is to come. Asari Dokubo in a recent video was lamenting over the shame and humiliation he has had to endure in supporting Tinubu for the presidency. In his words, trust is now a very expensive commodity and it will be difficult for him to trust any Yoruba person.

It should teach us all a lesson especially we the Yoruba people that when one of our own fails the nation, we will all be held accountable even when we are not direct beneficiary of their misrule. Therefore, it is best we fail forward in our own independent Yoruba nation rather than struggle to make Nigeria a great country.

Nigeria was doomed to fail before it was even created, therefore no amount of patching can make it stand tall without wobbling. Every major nationality in Nigeria sees us Yoruba as their stumbling block to greatness. Truth be told, I share in their sentiments because if our traditional rulers and our Yoruba citizens stand up today, the whole Nigeria will shiver. Yet we stand aside when we truly see that the house has crumbled.

Instead of standing up, many of our people who themselves are riddled in poverty are the greatest defenders of the politicians who are stealing their commonwealth. It is a shame that our Yoruba people who pride themselves as the most educated people in Nigeria cannot read between the lines to see that Nigeria can never be great, therefore it is time to exit.

I call on the true patriots of Yorubaland to rise up now in unity and fight to defend their lands from the marauders who have turned our farmlands and homes into a killing field. I call on our Yoruba youths to stand up for their rights and to demand their own freedom as our political leaders are hell bent in selling us into perpetual slavery.

Our generation must be ready to pay a huge sacrifice to save the coming generation. We must be ready to stand up to the bullies who are stealing the little we have to cater for they and their family needs.

We must start now to ask the important questions of where we are going as a people and how we can get there. We know Nigeria as a country is heading nowhere and Yoruba nation is our only key if we want to build a lasting legacy for the children yet unborn; if not our Yoruba nation may perish in Nigeria.

Let us be determined to build a strong future for the coming generation without being apologetic. It is our duty to save our Yorubaland from the scavengers who are determined to ruin and to tell them enough is enough.