BENEFITS OF THE EMERGENCE OF OODUA REPUBLIC
The benefits of an Oodua Republic – free at last from the political, economic, military and cultural bondage of the north abounds.
In any case, what is undisputable is the fact that the present political and economic systems put in place by the north, with the help of the British, have not only done a great damage to us, but as well fallen far short of ensuring ‘accelerated’ economic, political and cultural development of the Yorubas as a nation and ethnic group respectively. “Oju mewa ko jo oju eni,” says a popular Yoruba proverb. Translated literary, it means “Ten eyes belonging to other people or strangers are not equal, or can not be as good as one’s own eyes.” This proverb, in essence, means that nobody, no matter their number, can protect one’s personal interests like you yourself would have wanted or done. In other words, if we are to avoid past political humiliations, oppressions, suppressions and economic deprivation; and intend to bring our standard of living at par with the developed nations, there is the need for us to take a ‘full’ control of our political, economic, cultural and military affairs, without any compromise, is urgent and of strategic importance. A nation that aspires to be relevant and great can not afford to leave its economic, political, military and cultural interests in the hands of strangers to determine or toy with! We must not even leave 10% of our interests in the hands of others! Based on my analysis, the only feasible way to achieve this is through the emergence of Oodua republic!
With the emergence of Oodua republic, like other great nations, we can enact and implement, without any prejudice or favouritism, a NEW Constitution that completely meets our political, economic, military and cultural interests, without any compromise. We don’t need to go to Abuja and negotiate with strangers, who have nothing in common with us. It’s high time we understood that the present political and economic systems that operate in Nigeria are only not in our favour, but are equally to the detriment of our ethnic group. Therefore, neither a Constitutional Amendment nor even a Sovereign National Conference will suffice.
Whenever we travel down to Abuja, a place that has no historical connection with our people, culture and history, to negotiate with others, especially with the north, we are bound to compromise and jeopardise our interests in order to reach an agreement. We don’t have the majority needed to influence decisions that completely meet our interests. On the contrary, the north has both the power, political and military, and population not only to achieve its interests but defend them as well. This is a ‘strategic advantage’ which, unfortunately, we don’t posses.
Most importantly, we will have to dash out our resources to the north, without getting anything in return, all in the name of keeping Nigeria one. Subsequently, as I have already pointed out, neither a Constitutional amendment nor a Sovereign National Conference is far from being the ‘optimal’ option for an ethnic group that not only wants to remain relevant in the 21st century and beyond, but is equally serious about accelerated development, protecting its culture and heritage, and leaving a legacy that generations after generations will be proud of. Fellow brothers and sisters, it’s high time we understood that remaining part of Nigeria will make these goals and aspirations unattainable, and remain just a dream.
If we have our own republic, we can elect highly competent, honest and hardworking leaders that will provide quality leadership, which will inevitably lead to a strong and prosperous Yoruba nation. We will never have to choose again among mediocre northern presidential candidates like Yaradua, Atiku and Buhari, e.t.c., as we just did in the last presidential election. We will choose our leaders from the best of the best among illustrious Yoruba sons and daughters to represent us at all levels. We will be able to form a strong cabinet of ministers based solely on merits, and not quota system – as is the case presently in Nigeria.
Most importantly, we will be able establish strong democratic institutions which are prerequisites to having a just, egalitarian, peaceful, democratic, strong and prosperous Yoruba nation – all of which have so far eluded Nigeria as a country. Building a democratic and egalitarian Yoruba nation will not be a difficult task for the Yorubas simply because we have always stood for justice, and led fierce battles against military dictatorship in Nigeria.
Yorubas have always been pioneers in human rights movements and played leading roles in the democratization processes in Nigeria. The Yorubas have always stood against tyranny irrespective of the origin or tribe of the perpetuator. It’s worth mentioning that a number of prominent Yorubas have always voiced out their criticism of Obasanjo’s political, economic, military and social policies despite the fact that he is Yoruba. In addition, without any exaggeration, the Yorubas played a significant role in nipping to the bud Obasanjo’s Third Term Agenda and hidden desire to hang on to power for life.
We have a very rich democratic history and values, which we can easily tap from when Oodua republic eventually emerges. With the emergence of Oodua republic, we will NEVER have to worry about the Babangidas, the Danjumas, the Buharis, the Atikus, the Kingibes, the David Marks, e.t.c who have become clogs in the wheels of progress and constitute serious threats to our development as an ethnic group. Imagine an Oodua republic without the above mentioned people. That alone is worth living and dying for!
With the emergence of Yoruba nation, our language, culture, tradition and values, which have suffered a tremendous set back, will flourish without bounds. we will have the opportunity to rediscover again our identity, and be proud of our extremely rich language, culture, tradition, religion and values. Most importantly, as has already been mentioned, with the emergence of Oodua republic, we can concentrate our rich human and mineral resources ‘exclusively’ on our own development; and not squander them on the north as we have been doing since 1914, when the south was forcefully amalgamated with the north by the British.
Talking about human and mineral resources, suffice to say, without any exaggeration and apology, that we have them in abundance. The oil in Ondo is more than enough to power our economy and for local consumption. In addition, we have the largest, or second largest reserve of bitumen in the world! We are blessed with some of the most fertile soils in the world. Before the discovery of oil, our economy was built solely on agriculture. The defunct western region, under the administration of Pa Obafemi Awolowo, was able to finance many capital intensive projects from the revenues generated from cocoa.
Undoubtedly, our most invaluable assets are our human resources. With an estimated population of 40 million, only few African countries like South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Zaire and 2 more countries could boast of a larger population. In fact, not even a lot of European countries could boast of this number. We are endowed with not just some of the best brains in the world, but as well have the most educated population in Africa. We have more than enough land to farm and build houses for our citizens. We could not have asked God for more.
My advocating for the emergence of an Oodua republic should not in any way be regarded as tribalism or hatred of the north. My position is solely based on self interests of the Yorubas as a nation and ethnic group respectively. What I am advocating for is that we, Yorubas, should use our ‘own’ resources to defend our own political, economic, military and cultural interests. In my view, this is a honest and sincere position. I am not calling on Yorubas to exploit other people or their resources to defend their interests, as is presently the case in Nigeria, where the north exploits the resources of others to defend its interest.
Fellow brothers and sisters, it’s very important for us to understand that Nigeria is a ‘trap’ that was set up by the British in order to make us independent and hold back our economic and cultural development. Nigeria is a brain child of the British meant to serve its own selfish economic and political interests. My dear brothers and sisters, it’s high time we freed ourselves of these shackles called ‘Nigeria.’ We are not bound by any law to live under an arrangement that we never gave our consent to, moreover, an arrangement that is detriment to our development and threatens our economic, political and cultural survival as a nation and ethnic group. Nigeria is nothing but a political, economic, military and cultural bondage, which the Yorubas must get rid of as quickly as possible. We are bound to do it that for the sake of coming generations, so that they can be born into freedom. We must never hesitate, postpone or procrastinate. If we fail to do it now and leave this problem for future generations to solve, they will never forgive us. We hold them a duty and responsibility. As a matter of fact, we should have solved this problem yesterday. It is already getting late today. Tomorrow, definitely will be too late. Better late than never!
TO BE CONTINUED …
P.S.
This article is dedicated to my fellow brothers and sisters, who fallen victims of the oppressive, suppressive and murderous Nigerian government that has been led right from independence by the military and/or north. A renaissance awaits us. THE PROMISED LAND IS AT HAND. We all need to come on board in order to achieve our goals. The first step in this process is having an objective and detailed information about our predicaments.
Please send this article to 10 people, and ask them to do the same in return. Thank you.
God bless adua republic