By Kayode Emola

Over 2 months into the US/Iran war, the effect is beginning to unravel before our very eyes. Anyone observant of the world’s affairs and the effect of globalisation knows that it’s going to take a while before the world’s economy goes back to where it was before the war.

Unfortunately for mankind, whatever goes up in our world economy finds it very difficult to come down, irrespective of where we find ourselves on this planet. It is as though the forces of nature are constantly waging war against our pockets.

Take, for instance, the market of “just in time” we have become accustomed to. This has made the world’s economy into a global village where goods and services are readily available with the click of a button. That economy has been tested very hard by the US/Iran war, and it is about to crack. What happens from here will very much depend on the direction the negotiations between the US and Iran take.

The prices of commodities are beginning to skyrocket even though there hasn’t been an active military campaign since April 7. The damage from the month-long continuous bombardment is leaving countries around the world reeling from the effects of the war.

Many airlines across the globe are now cutting flights drastically, like in the case of Lufthansa, which cut down over 20,000 flights in April. Or Spirit airline that practical shut its door for good yesterday in the US. These are just a few direct consequences of the war between the US and Iran. The indirect consequences down the line may not fully unravel until many months later.

Once travel is disrupted, the movement of goods and people from one location to another becomes problematic. This, in effect, affects the prices of everyday supplies that we need to function. Eventually hurting every one of us in one way or another.

The funniest part of this whole situation is that many people in Africa are unaware of what is going on. Some more than others are feeling the pain because their essential commodities have gone up in price.

The most important thing is for countries in Africa that are blessed with good vegetation, arable land, and natural resources to begin to utilise them for their own benefit. This will mean going the extra mile in ensuring that external factors like the war in Iran don’t affect the prices of everyday goods.

As for us, our Yoruba people, the time is now to consolidate on what has been built by the Awolowo government in the 1950’s. We need to dust all the good works of that government and see how we can build something that would withstand unforeseen circumstances now and into the future. This is the only way we can shield ourselves from any external factors that we cannot influence.

At least, the Dangote refinery in Lagos is a blessing in disguise for the Yoruba people and the entire Nigeria at large. Were it not for that refinery, Nigeria would have been in total shambles right now, not least with an epileptic power supply. This is why the Yoruba nation must prioritise the production of its own goods and services that it consumes rather than the reliance on offshore markets or other countries.

By Kayode Emola

Recently in the news, we saw how the rise of Xenophobia in South Africa is tearing the African community in South Africa apart. Not what you would expect exactly 32 years after the end of apartheid South Africa.

One would ask, what really happened to South Africa since the return to black rule in 1994? Afterall, with a GDP of nearly $500 billion and just about 60 million population, they are still the largest economy in Africa. Would they have achieved that feat on their own if the white folks hadn’t built that economy.

That really isn’t the issue here. The main issue is that majority of the black South Africans are reeking in abject poverty with no way of escape. So, the easiest thing to do is to blame it on immigrants as though they are the cause of the problem.

The truth is Africans are being left behind in an ever-changing world. As an immigrant myself to the United Kingdom, I have achieved far more than many core British people whose ancestors were originally from Britain. I do not believe that my migration to Britain threatened the existence or survival of the locals. On the contrary, I believe I have added more value to the British society and to its progress and enriched its culture.

Which leaves me to conclude that the problem with the black/brown South Africans is not that migrants are overwhelming their society. Rather, it is a failure of the African leadership to build a good framework for sustainable development.

Many Africans always blame slavery, colonisation and neo-colonialism for the underdevelopment of Africa. As true as these things, they aren’t the major obstacles to our real development. Our real underdevelopment stems from the greed of a few individuals among our black folks who are so determined to steal from our collective commonwealth for their own personal gain.

With an economy the size of South Africa, the average person is supposed to be earning a decent $8,000 to $10,000 annually. Enough to make a good life for themselves, and their immediate family. However, the reality is that GDP doesn’t mean anything to anyone who is just scrapping by.

Estimate from the South Africa statistics department in 2023 shows that nearly 40 percent of their population live below the poverty line earning less than R1,300 ($80) per person per month. With that kind of poverty brings resentment to any successful group or groups of person(s) supposedly perceived to be taking away the wealth of the local population.

This is part of the real reason behind the Xenophobic attitude of our South African brothers whom many African countries defied all odds to stand with in their dark days. Despite, the growing South African economy, it shows that globalisation is not actually improving the lives of the ordinary man on the street. This is the same across several African countries on the continent.

It’s easy to blame the leaders of many of these African countries, but we must equally blame the followers who do not know how to hold their leaders accountable. African leaders get an easy pass despite their mismanagement of the economy in their countries propped up by international organisations and foreign government. Partly because of a docile and an uninformed population.

If our Yoruba nation must succeed, we must make conscious effort to ensure that no one is left behind. There must be specific programs by the government to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry, let alone go to school with an empty stomach.

The level of poverty in the continent is so high that it should revulsed our leaders. However, seeing that our leaders are far removed from the common man, they feel disconnected to their plight. We who are custodians of leadership must ensure that the right policies are in place to genuinely lift millions of our people out of poverty and not just cosmetic dressing.

That is the only time we too as Africans can benefit from globalisation. If not, our people will continue to wallow in poverty, blaming everything on our ancestors and the government without they themselves taking responsibility for their own personal development.

I urge our African people to wake up whilst there is still the opportunity so that we too can benefit from the globalisation the world is experiencing. This will stop the blame game, because the last time I checked, migration is a net contributor to any economy and not the other way round as some myopic people will have us believe.

By Kayode Emola

There is no doubt that politicians of various political colouration and ethnicity are beginning to prepare for the general election of 2027. Many governors who have served one term are no doubt seeking the opportunity to return for a second mandate, whether their first tenure was a shambles or not.

The President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is also no doubt seeking a second term in office, whether the people want him or not. With various sections of the country already queueing up behind him or against him. The opposition is also trying all they can to oust the President, citing broken promises like the uninterrupted power supply that has failed to materialise.

Whether Nigeria will remain one country in 2027 remains to be seen, with several ethnic nationalities, regions and stakeholders pushing to be the dominant power holder in 2027. The President, who is enjoying the power of incumbency, will do everything within his reach to retain power at all costs.

Likewise, the opposition, which is trying to oust the President from that lofty seat, will use every trick in the book to push him out of office. Whether their trick will be enough to unseat the Jagaban remains to be seen. The opposition has vowed to undertake their own live transmission of election results for the whole world to see. How this will be achieved in the face of multiple challenges in Nigeria beats my imagination.

For someone like me who had previously worked as an INEC presiding officer in the 2011 general election, I know that most results that come from polling stations are not what is eventually released to the public. How the manipulation of those results happens in high places is beyond me and a story for another day.

We all witnessed the many irregularities in the 2023 general election that brought this present administration into power. Gross manipulations of election results across several polling stations were the order of the day. Yet, that did not stop President Tinubu from winning the presidency even though he was an outsider. How anyone thinks they can unseat him as an incumbent remains to be seen.

Only time will tell whether the election will make or break Nigeria this time around, as I do not see President Tinubu bowing out after 4 years without a fight. Equally, I do not see the Fulani North enduring another 4 years of Tinubu’s presidency. The Fulani are so power drunk that they may decide to go to war to break up Nigeria if they do not get hold of the presidency in 2027. Their coalition party is not holding up presently, and doesn’t look like a formidable force that can stop President Tinubu from doing another 4 years.

This then brings us to our Yoruba nation struggle in the run-up to the 2027 general elections. Many Yoruba people who were staunch critics of Buhari and the Fulani militias’ merciless killings of Yoruba people between 2015 and 2023 are now suddenly mute because a Yoruba man is the president of Nigeria today.

Should Tinubu finish his presidency in 2031 if he wins a second term, what will be the fate of the Yoruba people, assuming another Fulani man becomes the president of Nigeria in 2031? Every right-thinking Yoruba person must know that with the current chaos in Nigeria, the country may not even exist beyond 2027. The binding glue holding the country together is now so worn out that every facet of the country is bleeding.

The terrorists troubling the peace and tranquillity of the country are now so emboldened that it will take a miracle to get rid of them. The President is not even shying away from the fact that he is not capable of solving the insecurity challenges bedevilling the country. Rightly so, if his predecessor, who was once an Army General, cannot tackle insecurity, how much more President Tinubu, who has not experienced any military training, talk less of combat.

My fellow Yoruba citizens, we must realise that the time to get out of Nigeria is now, and this is not a time to pander to the political machinations going on. We have no business in Nigeria, as there is neither hope nor future in the country that will uplift the millions of our people now trapped in abject poverty. With the abundant human and mineral resources God has blessed us with, I see no reason why we should continue to humiliate ourselves with Nigerian politics that has nothing to offer us or our future generations.