By Kayode Emola
For the umpteenth time, it is worth asking ourselves if our traditional rulers can be trusted to serve the interests of the Yoruba people. We recall how Afonja betrayed the Alaafin and sold Oyo-Ile to the Fulani prince Alimi. One would have thought our Yoruba people would have learnt a lot of lessons from that incident, but it feels like we’ve learnt nothing.
Recently, we have seen reports of villagers fleeing their communities in Babanle and other towns of Kwara State circulating on social media. One would have expected the whole world to be outraged, like in the case of the Charlie Hebdo shooting in France in 2015. Where the whole world rallied round the victims of that shooting, but alas, no one seems to be bothered enough to act. By now, we should have witnessed government forces moving into the communities in Kwara State to restore law and order. Giving the villagers succour in the comfort of their own homes.
However, everyone in Nigeria is silent as is it doesn’t affect them directly, emboldening the terrorists to continue their assaults on Yorubaland unchallenged. For other Yoruba people who do not live in the area, they couldn’t be bothered to cry out because danger seems far away in Kwara state and not in the suburban Yorubaland like Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and other places like that.
Truth be told, if we can’t even cry out and be outraged about the numerous deaths that go unaccounted for, who do we expect to cry out on our behalf? The world will stay silent to our plight since we see the decimation of Yorubaland as the norm rather than something to act about.
The worst of it is the recent revelation that two monarchs in Kwara State are directly involved in the kidnapping and killings going on in the communities. The King of Alabe and Babanla is currently in police custody for their roles in terrorist activities going on in their domain. How can we be sure that several other monarchs are not causing similar havoc in their domains?
If two traditional leaders in Kwara are complicit in the atrocities going around them, how many more of our kings and chiefs are involved in criminal activities elsewhere? We have been crying that the Miyeti Allah cattle herders are killing innocent farmers on their own land and destroying their crops.
Instead of the Yoruba traditional leaders banding together, and looking for a lasting solution for their people, they sat on their hands doing nothing. As though if all the people are killed, they will have no subject to rule over.
Obviously, many of our kings and traditional rulers are in bed with these cattle herders, which is why this problem continues to fester. Many of our kings and their kinsmen are themselves the ones inviting the Fulani cattle herders to raise livestock for them, knowing that it is a profitable business.
Every single day, over eight thousand cows are being slaughtered in Lagos State, let alone other Yoruba states, making the trade one of the most profitable businesses outside of crude oil in Nigeria. Had the cattle herders conducted their business like any other businessperson in Nigeria, there wouldn’t have been any reason for clashes and the killings that go with it.
However, the fact that many Yoruba traditional leaders are the ones collecting bribes from these herders to roam the forest and bushes makes the matter a complicated one. How can a king who is entrusted with the safety of lives and properties in his domain be the same one who is endangering them?
Since we now know that many of our kings are themselves the ones putting the lives and properties of our people in peril. I believe it is time to put the spotlight on the custodian of our traditions and culture in check. We need to know those among them who are putting the lives and properties of their communities in danger and call them out.
As such, maybe we can bring some normalcy into our communities and protect the lives and properties of innocent people. If only we could do a statewide evangelism to see which of the kings and traditional rulers are involved with the cattle herders and the terrorists invading Yorubaland. Then we may be able to rid ourselves of the menace that is currently ripping the social fabric of Yorubaland into pieces bit by bit.
