By Kayode Emola

It is a fact that the largest living land animal is the African bush elephant. It is no wonder the African adage says that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. Meaning that when two heavyweights in any field fight, it is those who are underneath or around them who will bear the brunt.

Last week, we witnessed the fallout between President Trump and his buddy Elon Musk. The pair traded war of words on the internet as though they were secondary school kids throwing tantrums at each other.

Trump vowed to use his power as the President of the United States to hurt Elon Musk’s business empire, and Elon also vowed to use his wealth to torpedo Trump’s political power. In all of this, I believe it is not just those who are underneath or around them that will suffer, but both will come out heavily wounded.

In Elon’s defence, no country can spend its way into prosperity, especially with the growing US debt, especially since the US economy is not as resilient as their government wants the world to believe. It is only a matter of time before everything collapses right before our very eyes. Maybe by then, it will be too late, or perhaps we will appreciate what the argument is all about between these two heavyweights.

The US is already in a huge financial deficit of over US$$32 trillion and counting. The last thing they need is more borrowing to fund the richest in society. Trump has proposed numerous tax cuts on top of his inflated global tariffs that can spark a global meltdown.

After the financial crisis in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic, the last thing anyone needs now is a global financial meltdown. If the US economy were to crumble today, many in the US might be forced to take their own lives, which can also spiral into many European countries and the rest of the world. This is the genesis of the feud between Trump and Elon Musk, and this cannot be easily wished away like a pinch of salt.

Talking about two heavyweights slugging it out in America, Nigeria seems to be on a different trajectory. It is more like a one-way traffic system where you either conform to the decadence, or you get out as if every other person’s opinion doesn’t matter.

Nearly all the opposition parties are now aligning themselves with the ruling APC (All Progressive Congress) party in readiness for the 2027 election. In the same light, the dissatisfied members of the ruling APC who worked hard to bring President Tinubu into power in 2023 are now becoming the opposition.

This goes to show that the Nigerian politicians and elite do not fight on ethics but for their own benefit. Nigerian politicians always want to be aligned with the winning team and will do whatever is possible to remain relevant. Not minding that they are elected on the trust of the people who gave them the mandate.

Therefore, we Yoruba cannot continue to wallow in the poverty-ridden country called Nigeria when we know we can do better for ourselves as a nation outside Nigeria. We have done it before, and we sure know we can do it again.

The Yoruba economy has sustained Nigeria since its amalgamation in 1914 and continues to do so to date. It’s high time we put a stop to that. We cannot carry the burden of other people in perpetuity, and not especially those who do not wish us any good.

Yoruba money was used to build the railway network in the north and the east of Nigeria in the amalgamated Nigeria. Yoruba money was used to educate the north and the east when we had our autonomous rule in the 1950s, and today, Yoruba money, which is very scarce, is still used to subsidise the north and the east.

It is time to say goodbye to this unwholesome arrangement and walk away from this unworkable union. It is time to join the Yoruba movement in a street protest rally to demand our sovereign Yoruba nation. We must be ready to confront our oppressors in the face to demand our freedom, otherwise our children will remain beggars to the children of those who hold the political powers in Nigeria.

Yoruba nation holds a lot of potential, and we must not let it suffer under the Nigerian tyrannical rule. We need to come out en masse whenever the time comes to pour out into the streets to demand our freedom. If not, we may as well forget about our freedom and conform to the decadence that exists in Nigeria.

By Kayode Emola

Any incumbent government in Nigeria always tries to impress on us to believe that they are working hard for the citizens. However, the truth is that Nigerian politicians are only working for themselves, their families and their cronies. They do not have the welfare of the citizens at heart, and this is evident in the decay of many infrastructures up and down the country.

A few days ago, we saw the devastating destruction of the Mokwa road due to severe flooding, causing the road to become unusable. We see how the nearby Niger river burst through the Jebba Hydroelectric dam causing catastrophic damage to the road leaving many commuters stranded.

One could argue that disasters like this are sometimes unavoidable. However, when things like this happen in a sane clime, you see the leaders of the country giving up-to-date reports on how to rehabilitate those communities affected. In Nigeria, the opposite is what you get with leaders feeling unconcerned as though it doesn’t fall within their remit, leaving victims and their families to bear the brunt.

Whilst the destruction of Mokwa road may be a blessing in disguise for our upcoming Yoruba nation rally, it still doesn’t take away the fact that Nigeria as a country is long gone beyond redemption.

Anyone still hoping that the government of Nigeria is there to cater for their needs and those of their loved ones is just wasting their time. Only those who have powerful people in high places know too well to expect anything good from the decaying country.

As for those of us who are not only hoping for the Yoruba nation but actively working towards its actualisation, the time has come for us to be a little bit more strategic. We need to be more assertive in highlighting the flaws of the Nigerian government.

We need to emphasise to our people that we do not take pleasure in showcasing the woes of Nigeria. We are only making our people aware that there is a better way to govern a country, and the Nigerian government is not doing any of that.

Mokwa highlights the decadence of Nigeria we are moving away from as Yoruba, and the earlier we move away from Nigeria, the better it will be for everyone of us. Let’s not deceive ourselves that because a Yoruba man is the president of Nigeria, we should hold our noses and bear the pain that Nigeria is inflicting on its citizens, including our Yoruba people.

No greater responsibility have we received as Yoruba patriots than to guide our Yoruba nation out of Nigeria to a path where its future is secured. Yorubaland has been great before Nigeria was even created by the British. Yorubaland was great even when the British administered Nigeria, and I have every belief that Yorubaland will be great again after we have disengaged from Nigeria.

As for Nigeria, I do not know of any time when Nigeria has done anything meaningful without the involvement of the Yoruba people. This goes to show that if Yoruba is the glory that Nigeria has been fleecing upon, then it is high time we left the Nigerian union to build for ourselves a viable nation.

Therefore, let us band ourselves together in love and in unity for a final push towards achieving our Yoruba nation. There is no better time than now to pursue our vision of an independent sovereign Yoruba nation. Let us go ahead and build for ourselves a future rather than being hypnotised by the failures of Nigeria, hoping that one day, the ills of Nigeria will rectify itself.

By Kayode Emola

With Nigeria descending into a totalitarian one-party state under President Bola Tinubu, it is time to begin earnestly seeking our exit from the Nigerian malunion. As things stand presently, the Tinubu’s presidency is building a bad legacy for Nigeria, one that is sure to come back and bite us as Yoruba if we do not let go of Nigeria immediately.

We know how, until recently, the Afenifere have been vocal about restructuring. However, it is also abundantly clear to them now that this is not possible. The cry for restructuring panders to the Fulani’s northern oligarch agenda, and the northern leaders know they already have Nigeria where they want it to be; that the only thing that would break their control would be a total break-up of the country.

Nigeria is beyond redemption, so it is foolishness for me to try to convince any ignorant person who still believes they can change Nigeria for the better. Any Yoruba person thinking that their future is secure because they are currently benefiting from the shambles called Nigeria is living in a fool’s paradise.

Nigeria, as a land, has abundant human and natural resources, and ought to be awash with opportunities, yet instead it is reduced to a state of paralysis. Soldiers standing gallantly to fight for their nation are being butchered in their thousands, yet no state of emergency is declared by the government. Despite this, some people will want to tell you that Nigeria will one day turn the corner and be a great nation.

My mother always said, ‘Ọmọ tí ó ba má ṣe ṣám, àtí kékeré lọ ti má ṣe ẹnu ṣám ṣám,’ meaning that a child who will be smart when they are older must have had the traits imbued in them from childhood. Nigeria surely did not have a good foundation in its infancy, so how do we now expect it to become good now that is nearly 65 years old? With the way Nigeria is, anyone who thinks that this proverbial child will save not only itself but the whole of the African continent has been sold a monumental lie.

Therefore, the time is now or never: we can either stand up for our rights and fight for our freedom and liberty, or else forever remain slaves to those who have vowed to keep us as such in perpetuity.

We can either bury our ego and come together as one people, one language under one ancestry, to demand justice, or else we can continue to be divided by our enemies. The Fulani, those who seek to take our land and that of other ethnicities, are not relenting. They work hard night and day to terrorise our villages and seek opportunities to break us down.

This is not the time to cower in fear; it is the time to be resilient. Victory will come to those who thirst for it. We cannot sit in our house and hope that the government of Nigeria will hand us the Yoruba nation on a platter of gold.

The time is now to take the battle to the enemy camp and show them that we are valiant men guided by the powers of the ancients. We must all begin preparations for the final showdown with the Nigerian government in our towns and villages. We should be ready, if called upon, to assemble en masse to show our solidarity for our new Yoruba nation.

We must pour out to the streets with determination to rescue our nation from the clutches of Nigeria. We should be resolute this time around that we will allow no hiding place for the government unless we get victory for our cause. We must call them out on each and every one of their misdeeds. We must show the international community that what we desire is independence, a Yoruba nation where we can govern ourselves, and nothing more.

I hope and pray that at the end of this exercise we would have something tangible to hold onto. We hope that by God’s grace we shall be free from this corrupt web of Nigeria; free to build a glorious future for our Yoruba nation, for our children and for the generations that will inherit it long after we have left.