By Kayode Emola

Anyone observant of recent events in Nigeria needs no prophet to tell them that all is not well with the country. Since the announcement by President Donald Trump that he was designating Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, the level of insecurity has risen astronomically.

We have seen an Army General kidnapped in an ambush and subsequently killed. We have seen churches attacked, villages ransacked, and communities being devastated by the level of rising insecurity. For those who are still in denial, I pray it doesn’t reach their doorstep before they realise we are in a state of emergency.

What we must now realise as Yoruba is that the Fulani jihad against Nigeria is now in full swing. Just this week, they attacked communities in Ogun, Kogi, Kwara and some parts of Osun State. If the alarm bells are not ringing in our ears already, then we are, of all people in Nigeria, the most foolish.

Even people who are staunch supporters of President Tinubu, like Adetoun, are now making videos and asking the government to call for the help of Chief Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho) in dislodging the Fulani terrorists. It shows that the country is now witnessing a high degree of insecurity, and the government has no control over what is happening.

Although the government would like to make some gullible people believe that it is making progress in the security of lives and properties. The truth is that their progress is more of a façade than the reality on the ground.

For instance, the government claimed that the President was active throughout the rescue mission of the kidnapped victims from the CAC Church in Eruku, Kwara State. They also claimed that he left no stone unturned in rescuing some of the school girls who were kidnapped from the boarding house in Niger State. However, they failed to tell us how the victims were rescued and if any ransom was paid.

The truth is that, when it comes to insecurity in the country, the President is only acting when the cameras are turned on, and the international communities are involved. This President is not genuinely interested in fighting insecurity. The reason is that he has been quoted as saying he cannot fight insecurity, and if he dares, they will kill him. He is only interested in the titular privileges the position of a President brings, rather than the security of the lives and property of the innocent citizens.

Therefore, we Yoruba must now be on high alert as to the heightened insecurity in the land. We must recognise that our Yoruba territory is the crown jewel of Nigeria, and that is all these sponsors of terrorism and their foreign collaborators are looking for.

We must not let down our guard at any time and must begin to make serious efforts for the emancipation of our Yorubaland from Nigeria. The Caliphate have activated its long-awaited jihad, and we must be ready to respond in kind at a moment’s notice.

This is not the time to be fearful, but rather, it is the time to be courageous and be ready to declare our Yoruba nation if push comes to shove. Every Yoruba must realise that we are all in this together, and the only way to win is if we all put our differences aside and fight for the defence of our Oodua heritage. I know for a fact that in the end, Yoruba will win this battle, and our glory will be restored.

By Kayode Emola

The numerous talks about corruption in Nigeria are largely due to one factor: righteousness left our shores a long while ago. Many people are of the opinion that taking an oath before our local traditional deities like Sango, Ogun, Aiyelala etc, will bring back sanity to us as a nation.

However, the solution is not about oath-taking to compel us to say the truth for the sake of fulfilling our oath obligations; we need to always be radically conscious to do the right thing.

This week, we witnessed the altercation between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (Nyesom Wike) and the young naval officer Yerima. Many people have written several articles regarding who is right and who is wrong. Other commentators have sided with one party or the other, depending on whose side they stand on.

In analysing the situation, there are more questions than answers, and trying to be right rather than rational may be misleading. Firstly, on ethical grounds, the FCT Minister Wike, as the person in charge of land allocation in Abuja, has every right to inspect land allocation past and present to make sure they conform to regulations.

Secondly, the naval officer attempting to prevent Minister Wike should be questioned as to whether he was on official duty, mounting guard there on that day. Were his superiors aware of his deployment to the parcel of land, and was it properly documented that he should be there, considering that this was a civil matter rather than a military affair.

That said, if we look at it from moral and ethical grounds, one will begin to falter on the fundamental problem. There is an adage in Yoruba that says, were la fin wo were, meaning we use madness to cure madness. Following from the antecedents of the FCT Minister Wike in revoking and demolishing people’s property in Abuja and subsequently re-allocating those lands to his cronies, I believe the uniform men may be justified to stand their ground.

We all know that Minister Wike is not a person who follows the rule of law and is not necessarily one person that obeys court orders. Therefore, the military personnel would be justified in standing their ground and be ready to use force if necessary.

The fact that Minister Wike also backed down very quickly shows that he knew he had not done things correctly. I do not know the full details of the case, but Wike’s action showed a man desperate to be seen as doing something rather than someone who is prepared to do the right thing.

Wike did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was sufficient evidence for the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to demolish that property on the day. He clearly did not provide evidence that there was any document to show the lands were acquired illegally and that the current occupiers needed to get the required document to regularise their ownership.

The Minister also did not demonstrate that sufficient time was given to the people to look for alternative accommodation before embarking on the journey to demolition. What transpired that day is a case of a government minister trying to bully people into submission by virtue of his position.

The bottom line is that Nigeria is not a country that particularly follows the rule of law. Righteousness left that country a long time ago, and it seems that everyone is doing what seems right in their own eyes, rather than what is actually the right thing to do.

Neither Wike nor the naval officer did the right thing on that fateful day, as neither both were supposed to be there if Nigeria had a functioning system. The Nigerian system is so riddled with corruption, and everyone works with the rule of man, rather than the rule of law.

It shows why we must make sure our Yoruba nation sets off on a righteous footing so that we don’t end up with the same mistakes as Nigeria. No nation riddled with corruption can ever develop and fulfill its potential.

There is no way workers will be paid a pittance and expected to live on miracles. For justice and equity to prevail, workers must be paid a decent living wage, and politicians alike must be paid based on the minimum wage. After all, everyone is working for the development of the country. If not, the Yoruba nation of our dream may be even worse than the Nigeria we are all running away from. If the politicians were to be paid astronomically, while the rest of the populace are left with nothing to write home about.

By Kayode Emola

We all know that there is not one event that ruined the fortunes of Nigeria today. In fact, Nigeria suffered from a series of historical, political, and socio-economic woes that is shaping its many struggles today.

In the words of the US President Donald Trump, Nigeria is a disgraced country in the comity of nations. For that reason, he has stated that the US is coming guns-a-blazing to rescue Nigeria from its myriad of security problems that the government has refused to tackle.

Many people agree that Nigeria has failed, and the return to civilian rule in 1999 has not brought the expected hopes that the people thought democracy would bring. The systemic corruption, ethno-religious divisions, and weak institutions that are bedevilling the country have done little to better the lot of the population.

Therefore, when we eventually get our Yoruba nation, one would expect that the problems that bedevilled Nigeria will confront the new nation. The Yoruba people, through our self-determination route, have always emphasised the need to pursue a non-violent approach to our autonomy.

We have documented several atrocities committed against our Yoruba people, from kidnapping to ethnic cleansing, and the nonchalant attitudes of our state governors toward our plight. Some Yoruba people have even clamoured for restructuring as a pit stop to self-determination, knowing full well that this is not palatable to the Fulani oligarchy controlling Nigeria.

We have therefore insisted that if Nigeria fails to convene an assembly where all the ethnic nationalities can have a meaningful dialogue, the end of Nigeria may be brutal and violent. In the end, the breakup of Nigeria will be inevitable, and everyone will lose substantially from a chaotic breakup.

International law favours negotiated, peaceful settlement as unilateral declaration without broad domestic and international support is politically difficult. However, if the US were to intervene in Nigeria with the level of insecurity going on, it creates a clear pathway for the unilateral declaration of independence of the southern peoples of Nigeria.

Our mass campaign for Yoruba independence has gained prominence and support in international circles. We must begin to show what the Yoruba nation means in concrete terms and the benefits of an autonomous Yoruba nation for our people.

Our detailed blueprint covering constitution, minority rights, revenue sharing, pensions, public services, security, and judiciary should now be watertight and ready for consumption by the Yoruba public. Our economic plan must show fiscal viability, tax base, trade, and transition programs, as international actors and investors will judge us by the quality of our state-building plan.

Where possible, our constitution must be made up of transparent consultative referenda to measure support for the transition into full statehood. Our elections must be devoid of the cash and carry politics practiced in Nigeria, where only the moneybags and their stooges occupy political positions.

In all of this, we should not forget to engage the international diplomatic community and our diaspora population. Strengthening friendship with foreign parliaments with careful briefings on our pathway to international recognition.

We must recognise that international recognition is political and not automatic. According to the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States to be recognised as an independent nation, our permanent population, defined territory, capacity to enter trade relations with other states, and our government structure will stand us in good stead.

Above all, we must recognise that the life and livelihood of the ordinary Yoruba citizen matter. They should be the focal point of any actions in the emergence of the Yoruba nation. We must ensure that the Yoruba people are better for it and that the efforts to pursue an independent Yoruba nation are worth it for them.

I therefore enjoin our comrades to be battle-ready when the US comes to Nigeria guns-a-blazing to the rescue of the Christian population. This is our moment in history when fate has met our preparation, and we must be ready to seize the moment when the inevitable happens.