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Voice of Emancipation

Voice of Emancipation: Will Ukraine Ever Know Peace?

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By Kayode Emola

I remember vividly when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, many commentators at the time said, this was going to be a quick and decisive war. Even Russia thought it was going to end within 10 days, as they had hoped the Russian-speaking Ukrainians would roll out the red carpet.

However, this wasn’t the case, as it turned out that the Russians were not welcome. Ukrainians have tasted what they did not enjoy in the former Soviet Union before it collapsed in 1991, and they’re not going back. Russia felt humiliated, many of its tanks were destroyed, and its hastily put-together military had to retreat.

In the end, what was supposed to be a special military operation turned out to be a full-blown war, and not even Putin could deny the pain and frustration Russia is going through. Above all, it is the ordinary man in the streets of Ukraine who is bearing the brunt of the ongoing fighting as they continue to suffer from Russia’s drone attacks daily.

What will bring peace to Ukraine? Is it a united coalition against Russia and its economy by the rest of the world? Or is it for Ukraine to make peace at all costs for the sake of its population? So far, the Ukrainians seem to be defiant and holding their ground, insisting that Russia is the aggressor and must be pushed back by any means necessary.

Russia, on the other hand, doesn’t agree with that stance and believes the Russian-speaking Ukrainians need to be protected from the Ukrainian regime. The truth of the matter is, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians have never forgiven the Ukrainians, as they saw Ukraine as the cause of the collapse.

If Russia saw Ukraine as the cause of the collapse, why would it want Ukraine back? Is it not afraid that Ukraine may further cause the Russian Federation more damage if it is brought back as a territory of Russia? All these are better left for Putin and his people to decide.

This week, everyone had hoped that the meeting between Putin and Trump would bring about an immediate ceasefire. The international press and foreign governments so hyped the word ceasefire that Putin came from behind with another plan.

Putin very well knows that a ceasefire will not favour Russia, especially as they are making significant gains on the ground. In another vein, he didn’t want more crippling sanctions to hurt his war machine, especially if India and China were to stop buying Russian oil because of the Trump-imposed tariffs.

He quickly invited himself to the US to help Donald Trump save face, knowing that he had an alternative plan to peace. Putin doesn’t want peace; he wants to punish the West for the breakup of the Soviet Union, and what better way than to sow the seed of discord among them.

He had his master game plan: promise Donald Trump a peace plan that may or may not happen and let him have something to worry about for now. Continue with the Russian military progress on the ground, after all, he already controls two-thirds of the Donbass, who knows, by the time the peace plan is in force, he may have gotten the whole of Donbass, and that will be job done.

Then he can present to the Russian people that his special military operation is over, portraying himself as the saviour of the Russian people anywhere in the world. Whatever the case may be, it is not good news for Ukraine. Without the support of its European partners and the US, Ukraine on its own cannot withstand the firepower of Russia.

Therefore, Ukraine has no other option than to make peace with Russia for now, although what Ukraine wants is a long-lasting peace. Not a peace for the sake of pausing the fighting and then resuming hostilities, some few years down the line, when a new man enters the white house.

For Ukraine, it does not have many options; it can only hope that Russia will genuinely pursue peace. How can you get peace from an angry husband who never wanted a divorce in the first place? Will he ever allow you to remarry? Ukraine wants a clean break from Russia; it wants to be aligned with the rest of Western Europe and the US. For Russia, that is not an option; you will only be mine or no one else.

That is the real crux of the matter when Putin says the root cause of the underlying problem must be addressed first before we even talk of peace. Putin does know that peace is not just what you achieve in just one meeting, thereby playing Trump in a highly masterful game of diplomacy.

Trump must have been very naïve when he thought Putin was going to agree to an immediate ceasefire on his first visit to the US. Putin only wanted to save Trump from an international embarrassment while kicking down the ceasefire can.

In the end, Ukraine will need to decide what it wants to get and how it wants to get there. There are a few options that Ukraine can take: launch a counter-offensive against the Russian forces on its occupied territory, thereby pushing the Russians back. Or agree to an armistice that freezes the conflict and waits for a time in the future when it can reclaim its territory.

Pursue closer cooperation with Europe without ever publicly declaring that it wants membership of the European Union or NATO. After all, countries like Norway, Switzerland, etc, are not members of the EU but benefit immensely from free trade with the EU.

Ukraine can position itself to benefit both from Russia and the EU without causing a stir. In that way, it will be a big win for Ukraine without needing to go to war. If in the future Ukraine is strong enough to challenge the Russian Federation on its own without needing the European and American partners, then it can fight its war on its own terms.

However, as Ukraine needs the support of external governments to fight its war, it is better to make peace and save the lives of its military and civilian population. It doesn’t mean that the Ukrainians are stupid; it just gives them a better chance to fight another day.

Overall, we should be grateful that the first and second world wars taught the world a valuable lesson that wars don’t end conflict; negotiation does. As all parties involved pursue lasting peace, we hope and pray that this kind of thing does not revisit mankind.

Meanwhile, it would have been good if the White House were dedicating so many efforts to other conflicts around the world as it is doing in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Gaza Strip is nothing to write home about, Congo is in constant battle, and Sudan is in a world of its own.

Hopefully, we Yoruba will learn one or two things from the Russian-Ukraine war and be able to navigate our own challenges in Nigeria. The time has come for us to take a stand for our own liberation, and we cannot depend on external powers to come to our rescue when it matters most. We must be ready to go it alone if that is what it requires.

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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: 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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