Voice of Emancipation: Yoruba, There’s Light at the end of the Tunnel

By Kayode Emola

We have said many times that Nigeria, as it is constituted, is untenable. This is so patently evident that even the blind can see it and the deaf can hear it. The only people unable to perceive this state of affairs are those in positions of authority; Nigeria for them is working perfectly to their benefit. As writer John Heywood observed, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”

With all the other global catastrophes currently occurring, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Yoruba cry for freedom is on the backburner. However, I would like to reassure our people that the flames of passion still burn as brightly as ever, and our emancipation from Nigeria and imperial neo-colonisation will assuredly come to pass. This is not just a wish, it is a promise held by multitudes who are committed to seeing it fulfilled, not just for our generation but for those coming after us, as well.

Michael Lee Aday, in his song _Alive_, sang, “The darkest night ain’t black enough to keep the morning light from shining; the highest wall ain’t tall enough to keep the smallest man from climbing.” No matter the amount of darkness in the world, it cannot quench the fire of hope. No matter how much provocation and frustration Nigeria dispenses upon the Yoruba people, the ultimate desire of our people to have our own independent country *will* be manifested for us.

There are some who are of the opinion that restructuring Nigeria or creating a hybrid of a state-controlled resources may suffice to improve our lot. However, this is a poor substitute for total freedom and independence, and we must not lose sight of the fact that nothing is comparable with true liberation from bondage.

No matter how one may try to sugarcoat it, slavery is slavery, and the impacts on its victims last for generations. Therefore, being in a country where you are subjugated and your rights are not protected is incompatible with freedom.

Nigeria in the manner in which it is constituted cannot deliver a society that is universally fair for all. Therefore, this is not an environment in which we want to be raising our children. To do so would be to teach them from their childhood that it is permissible to step on others in order to make gains for oneself. The Nigerian government acts despotically in seeking to impose its own ideals of how the people ought to be ruled, instead of allowing the people to decide how they want to be governed.

As long as Nigeria’s existence continues, the political space will continue to be dominated by a single ethnic nationality, to the detriment of all other people groups within the country. This inequitable form of democracy, which brings major development only to a single region at the expense of all the others, is neither ethical nor sustainable.

We must advocate for a fairer society, where it is only the best of the best who are granted positions of authority; where appointment to power is given only to those willing to serve their nation, rather than exploit it for selfish gain. Nigeria, sad to say, is not that type of country, and nor can it ever be, as the corruption is too deeply entrenched.

Therefore, the onus is on us, the Yoruba citizens, to hold fast to our hope and our striving for an independent Yoruba nation. Though times are hard, and the global economy is in a serious state, there is still light visible at the end of the tunnel.

No amount of frustration from the leaders of Nigeria can cause us to abandon our quest for Yoruba liberation. Even though it is a Yoruba man occupying the presidential seat of the country, it is nonetheless clear to all that the fundamental structure of Nigeria can never permit the individual region to progress.

With Tinubu, a Yoruba man, at the helm of both Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the recent aggressive approach taken by ECOWAS against the primarily Hausa-speaking Nigeriens is being promulgated as inter-ethnic violence from Yoruba against Hausa. Yet even this divisive rhetoric, disseminated as it is for the purposes of breeding racial animosity, gives us hope as it demonstrates that Nigeria’s foundations are crumbling. It is only a matter of time before the country breaks entirely and disintegrates into its constituent parts.

On our own part, we must continue to nurture the little flame of hope that we hold in our hands, protecting it from burning out, until we get to the end of this dark tunnel. It will illuminate our path as we traverse toward the brighter light at the end of the tunnel, the light of the promise of a fair and equitable independent Yoruba nation. We must continue to energise our people so that we are unified in striving forwards to reach the promised land, the sovereign land of our hearts’ desire where all will live as equals.