Voice of Emancipation: Focusing on the Task

By Kayode Emola

As we begin this new year 2023, it is very important to outline the task needed to push our Yoruba nation struggle forward and work towards it. There is no doubt that our end goal is Yoruba sovereign nation and we must not lose focus of that. Whilst it is very easy to be distracted with all the noise going on around, it is important that those in the heat of the struggle keep their cool and continue to press on.

The task ahead is enormous and we still have a long way to go by human standards but by divine standards, nothing is impossible. There is no doubt that the captain of this journey is God Almighty Himself and we must always consult Him at every step of the journey for guidance and direction.

The Yoruba struggle accelerated greatly in the year 2022, and even though we did not attain the sovereignty we desired, we are much closer to our destination than the previous years. Sooner rather than later we will all rejoice, as the joy of a new nation would eventually make the whole effort worthwhile as we see the light at the end of the tunnel shining bright before our very eyes.

As we begin to set realistic goals for 2023, we need to fight for the unity of purpose from the various groups/organisations fighting for self-determination. We also need to engage our folks in the social cultural groups who are not necessarily fighting for Yoruba self-determination but believe in the Yoruba struggle. We need to build on the achievements of the previous years and forge ahead in 2023 with the strength and momentum we have gathered.

There are still a lot of grounds needed to be covered, and we cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand. This is the time to show leadership and we must be at the vanguard of promoting unity among our folks, and around the rank and file of this struggle.

I know many people have a lot to say and a lot of grudges or axe to grind. In as much as we are still on the battlefield, I implore us to do it cautiously so as not to cause distractions. The destination is too important for us to jeopardise in the middle of the journey. We have mainly spoken to ourselves in the past few years and this is the time to start engaging with the international community and their media houses. We need to understand that there are over 200 countries in the world, and the sooner we start engaging them, the better it is for all of us.

Let us make every day count in this new year 2023. We were inches from having our nation last year, and there was nothing stopping us from getting our nation in the previous years before that. The only thing stopping us is fear, and we must move past that fear this year, to a place of faith. We must believe that achieving a Yoruba sovereign nation is possible and give our all to make it happen.

Many people are bewildered by everything going on at the moment within the struggle, however, all I can say is that the struggle is still on a strong footing. We have come from a place of total obscurity to becoming a big voice. We are now in the consciousness of our people and the struggle is now a discussion in many households across every corner of the nation and around the world. We have come from a place where media houses were asking for funds to publish our stories to a place where they want to know what is going on.

This has only happened as a result of the hard work put in by every one of us. Those involved in both positive and negative noises are also doing their part to promote the struggle. The only thing is we need to be mindful of our actions at all times, in order not to lay false accusations against innocent people just because we want our own pound of flesh.

I urge our leadership and the followership to be focused on the task ahead which is achieving Yoruba nation and not to derail from this goal. Our task is to build bridges and mend fences rather than build walls and barriers. This is a time for reconciliation, and engaging each other on issues that would move our struggle forward. We should refrain from constantly antagonising one another, and move into a place of constructive criticism where we all can learn one thing or another.