Voice of Emancipation: Christmas: A Time to Reflect

By Kayode Emola

Christmas reminds us that the year is ending. Most people even take the time to draw up a long list of New Year resolutions. Whether they follow through with the resolutions or not remains to be seen. This year’s Christmas will not be an exception; many people will look back to the resolutions they made in 2024 and have a deep reflection as to whether it has come to past or not.

As 2025 draws to a close and 2026 stares at us in the face, it is worth looking back to what we have endured as a nation. It is no secret that the Yoruba people are still reeling from the terror years of Mohammed Buhari’s regime. Many had hoped that with a Yoruba person as President, the terror will be a thing of the past.

Alas, it seems as if the terror has breathed a new sigh of relief with Tinubu as President. When Tinubu said in 2023 that he would continue in the legacy of his predecessor Buhari; people didn’t fully understand what he meant. Now it is very clear that he was going to sit bye and watch while the terrorists overrun the country just like Buhari did when he was President.

If not, how can the former Governor of Zamfara Bello Matawalle, who is a known sponsor of terrorists be appointed by President Tinubu as the Minister of Defence. This and many other questionable appointments make the Tinubu regime and Nigeria a laughingstock in the international community.

Many people are quick to give Tinubu the benefit of the doubt about his inactions as a President when it comes to tackling terrorism in Nigeria. They forget that the innocent people who lose their lives daily through terrorism cannot regain it ever again.

It only took the threat of an invasion from President Trump for the Nigerian government to begin to act to defend its own citizens. Some were even bold to say that the terrorists were not only killing Christians as if the killing of innocent civilians and security officers are a new norm to be allowed to fester.

For all intents and purpose, the killing of any person due to no fault of their own is one too many. It is something that needs to be condemned by everyone in the society. We need to become a society of deep thinkers and to be the moral conscience of our people.

The government of Nigeria is not interested in the security and welfare of our people. Therefore, we at the Yoruba Self-Determination struggle need to be at their heels to make sure they do what they’ve been elected to do. Barring any external circumstances, President Tinubu is laying the foundation of his re-election for a second tenure by luring the opposition into his political party. What they do not know is that God in heaven is not sleeping and He alone has the final say.

As we move closer into 2026, we need to make it the year for our declaration of Yoruba sovereignty. If there is any resolution worth taking for our Yoruba people, it would be the freedom from this perpetual bondage we have come to find ourselves in.

I will take this Christmas period to appeal to our people to recognise that Christ agreed to be born into this earth because he wanted us to be freed from Sin. He did not spare His own life for our freedom. If the freedom of mankind was important to our saviour Jesus Christ, it must be our number one priority for our Yoruba nation come 2026. I wish us all a merry Christmas and a prosperous 2026 in advance.