Shock: Suitor dies during flogging in Sharo, Fulani marriage rite

KATSINA— Katsina State Police Command has arrested a suitor, Ahmed Saidu of Durmin Biri village of Kafur Local Government Area over the death of another suitor, Yari Inusa over a bride.

The duo were said to have engaged in a Fulani traditional game known as Sharo, in which suitors flog each other with the strongest and bravest marrying the bride.

However, according to Vanguard investigation, when it was the turn of Saidu to flog Inusa, he decided to hit him (Inusa) on his head as against flogging him in the back, leading to his death.

Police

Spokesperson for the Command, DSP Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident, said father of the deceased, Inusa Muhammed, reported the matter to the Police, which led to the arrest of the suspect, Saidu.

Isah said the victim was hit in the presence of many, who came to witness the traditional game, noting that the victim fell on the floor after being hit and was rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead.

Isah said: “The corpse has been released to the family and buried according to Islamic rites. The suspect, upon arrest, confessed to the crime and as soon as we conclude investigation, we shall charge him to court.”

By Bashir Bello

Source: www.vanguardngr.com

FLASH BACK

We blamed Fulani Herdsmen during the mass shooting that claimed the lives of many in Ozubulu Catholic Church, Anambra State. After police investigation, the shooting turned out to come from two brothers from that Community who had fued over unfinished business transactions in South Africa.

When the Benue mass slaughter happened, we blamed Fulani Herdsmen and after the general election in 2019 governor Samuel Ortom turned around to tell us that the Jukuns and unknown bandits were behind the killings that took the lives of so many innocent people in Benue State.

When a Reverend Father was killed in Enugu, we blamed the Fulani Herdsmen, until the real killers were caught and arrested. The suspects turned out to be Igbos.

When Chief Odunukwe (the CEO of Sumec-Firman Generator was kidnapped and killed, we blamed Fulani Herdsmen, until after Police Investigation when we realised that Chief Odunukwe was killed by his own kinsmen.

When Dr Fatai Aborode was killed in Igangan in Oyo state, we blamed Fulani Herdsmen, until few days ago when we realised that a fellow Youruba man was behind the gruesome murder of Dr Fatai Aborode.

Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Taofeek Akewugbagold, on Monday approached Justice Moshood Abass of the Oyo state high court, seeking withdrawal of case against the abductors of his twins children last year who turned out not to be Fulani herdsmen after police investigation was concluded, suspects arrested and prosecuted in the court of law. Six people Ridwan Taiwo aged 30, Rafiu Mutiu 35, Olumide Ajala 36, Rafiu Modinat, Female, aged 29, Bashiru Mohammed 33, and Opeyemi Oyeleye 25 had been arrested for the kidnap of the twins children. 

The Yoruba popular herbs producer Oko Oloyun kidnapped and killed who was initially thought that the Fulani herdsmen were responsible for the killing until police investigation was launched, conducted and concluded, it was later found out that it's not the Fulani herdsmen who perpetrated the dastardly attack or act but the YORUBA people working with him. 

Three days ago, Samuel Ortom told us he was attacked by Fulani Herdsmen in his farm at Tyo Mu on the outskirts of Markudi the state capital, while we are waiting patiently to find out the category and type of "Fulani Herdsmen" involved in the "attack" against governor Samuel Ortom, alas before we say Jack Robinson the police arrested three Jukun fishermen as the major suspects in the dastardly attack. 

The special Adviser to the governor of Benue State Col Paul Ham confirmed the arrest when he conducted newsmen round the scene of the incident. 

It's the high time we removed hatred, sentiments, emotional feelings and prejudices against the Fulani herdsmen so that we can get to the root of our security challenges as a country and people and tackles it Headlong for the good of all of us.

May Nigeria Succeed.

Copyright: © 2021

Will the weapons or soft power come from Yoruba issese to win the Republic or Abrahamists?

Or did Oduduwa set up Republic that you are expecting him to help? Even if Oduduwa wants a republic would he be cutting it off according to European definitions of Yoruba/Southwest, or would it encompass all those who whose societies were built on Ifa-Afa-Iha-Eha-Fa which is South and Middlebelt?

The disregard of the Ifa civilization in the making of Oduduwa Republic shows that it is not about our culture, and infact based on Abrahamists past history, Ifa civilization will be deemed evil, immoral and banned. The Abrahamists will takeover our traditional institutions, destroy them then attack themselves. This has happened since they first stepped on African soil in ancient Egypt.

Our continued failure stems from our inability to see things from a civilizational perspective. We want to follow our slavemasters formats of nationstates, caliphates/emirates.

We will continue to see the Abrahamic imperialist game unfold as we see the Kwara/Northern Muslims jostled for rights with the Christian Yorubas, at the expense of Ifa civilization.

Stop deceiving yourselves, Odua Republic can not work and you people will not get support from IFA-AFA-IHA-EHA-FA.

Copyright: © 2021

What Church Means To Different Class Of Nigerians

To the very rich/upper middle-class Nigerians, Church is nothing but a social gathering where they can come into contact with the poor, show off and subconciously oppress them. It is very easy for a rich man to see the pastor than it is for a poor Church Usher to even enter the Pastors office, let alone see him. The rich don't pray as hard as the poor, they come late and leave early, they get choice seats in front of the church, they get special invites to every occasion and the pastor always answers their calls personally. This class only attend church on SUNDAYS!!

To the lower-middle class/independent enterprenuers, Church is nothing but another avenue to meet potential clients. These ones get access to the pastors, but not as easily as the rich folks. They can get a Pastor to pray for them, but can't get a pastor to come to their houses. This class would attend Church on Sundays and are always at house-fellowships (as this is where they get to interact with the rich).

The Poor, To them, Church represents hope. This class are the most dedicated members of the church. they sweep the church, they make up over 80% of the churches workers, they are very loyal to the pastors and his family members, they pray the hardest, loudest and longest. They are the first to arrive in church and the last to leave. To them, they really do believe that if they pray hard enough, give the little money they have, manna will fall from the skies. 

They are the most committed. This class can never see the pastor at will. In fact, they will be lucky if they can get the pastors number let alone speak to him one on one. They come to church every Sunday hoping for a miracle. They dress their best but always come short. They eat at the feet of the rich & upper middle class who use them as they like.

Copyright: © 2021

BOMBSHELL

NUHU RIBADU,  FORMER EFCC BOSS;

WROTE-;

Bandits”” were created by Gen Mohammadu Buhari Rtd to oust Jonathan

Bandits are not Boko Haram nor Herdsmen

 It all started in April 2014 when Mohammadu Buhari assembled his ardent supporters, promoters and strategists to determine how to remove President Jonathan Goodluck.  Prominent amongst them were El-Rufai, Gen Danbazo (Rtd)……..

 A decision was reached to consult Miyatti Allah cattle breeders association for assistance to boot Jonathan Goodluck out of office. Consequently, the National Chairman of Miyatti Allah was engaged to bring in foreign mercenaries. Within a month, 2,000 Fulani fighters were brought in from Mali, Senegal, Niger Republic, Chad, Libya to name but a few. Further 4,000 fighters were stationed in Niger and Chad on standby.

 On arrival, they were assembled in Kaduna under the sponsorship of El Rufai and were addressed by various Northern Leaders including the Sultan of Sokoto, Gen. Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar (Rtd) etc.

Specifically, Gen Buhari in his address told the fighters that “the British handed Nigeria over to us the Fulanis at independence. The land (Nigeria) belongs to us. We must reclaim what belongs to us. ”He added that at the event that Jonathan Goodluck worn the election, the Fulani machinery must fight until they regain control of the country. He assured them that the Nigerian Army was behind them.

The mercenaries received initial training from the Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy and were sent to 6 camps in Ekiti State, Benue State, Katsina State, Kaduna State, Zamfara State and Borno State.

In the camps, brand new pick-up trucks, generators etc were for provided them. Nigerian Airforce helicopters were used to provide them essential supplies like food, water, drinks and even arms and ammunitions.

Evidently, Jonathan Goodluck lost the election in 2015 through a well orchestrated election organised by INEC under a Fulani Chairman, Professor Jega. Gen Buhari (Rtd) was sworn in as the president. This saw the emergence of a Fulani president through a dodgy election hence the planned violent war was averted.

Contrary to expectation, the mercenaries in the various camps were abandoned, no more food and essential supplies. The relationship between Miyatti Allah, El Rufai (now a State Governor) and Dambazo broke down. El Rufai arrogantly declared that they were not needed anymore and they should go back. Consequently, the killings in Kaduna commenced as a warning to El Rufai but it did not bother him. He declared that he had paid the people carrying out the killings and they did not want to stop. The Nigerian police did not bother to call Gov El Rufai to give further clarification on this.

The Mercenary at the various camps decided to go about to find food for themselves by robbing people, going into farm lands and kidnapping.  Miyatti Allah made several efforts to contact El Rufai and Dambazzo to appeal to them to provide money to return these fighters to where they came from. All efforts proved abortive. The mercenaries at this point vacated their organised camps and took to crime. 

The criminal gangs which emanated from these mercenaries were at this point described as “Bandits” in order to differentiate them from other notorious terrorist groups like Fulani Herdsmen, Boko Haram etc.

Following the untold destruction and killings which the Bandits carried out especially in Katsina and Zamfara, the Northern leaders in conjunction with officials of Nigerian Government requested Miyatti Allah to intervene and remove the Bandits from Nigeria. Miyatti Allah returned demanding 150 Billion Naira to settle the Bandits and evacuate them. The Government turned the offer down and restricted itself to the payment of 100 Billion Naira. 

Shamefully Godwin Emefiele raised 100 Billion Naira for the settlement as a condition for his re-appointment as the Central bank Governor.

Miyatti Allah collected the money and purportedly distributed it but nothing changed.

In a bid to control the damage, President Buhari directed that RUGA initiative be setup to create colonies for these fighters in every state in Nigeria. 

My questions are:

1. Should Nigerian communities accommodate these criminal elements?

2. Why has El Rufai not been called to clean up the mess he created?

3. Does this explain the President Buhari’s silence?

4. Is this conspiracy of the North gone wrong?

Nigerians think for yourselves!

World Theatre Day 2021 Celebration Speech by NANTAP President

Like the blink of an eye, another twelve months have roled by. A year like none in living memory. A year that brought the world to its knees with so much death, misery and pain. A year that highlighted the courage of the human race to unite against a common enemy, in this case, the covid-19 pandemic.

That we are here today to mark World Theatre Day, 2021 calls for celebration.

As we celebrate we must remember all those who have lost the battle of life and celebrate the many front line workers who have given their all for our safety and a return of our world to its “real” normal.

The last year has shown there is no better time than now for us to turn our practice into the theatre of social and economic relevance.

Our stories must therefore continue to reflect and highlight the values that bind us together as a unique nation. We must continue to challenge and address issues of bad governance, insecurity, kidnapping and bloodletting confronting us.

Our theatre and it’s practitioners must as a matter of urgency commit to the building of sustainable communities across the nation using our craft.

As creatives, we can only attain the capacity of our collective potentials when government not merely acknowledges the sector’s social and economical relevance to our development, but goes on to invest in its development.

Even as we acknowledge and appreciate the many intervention and developmental committees set up my government at Federal and State levels, the time has come for less talk and more action.

We therefore call upon government to release without delay the pandemic intervention fund meant for the creative industry as it has done to other sectors of the economy.

Government must be seen to apply the same standards to all sectors of the economy impacted by the pandemic.

Such government intervention will further grow and advance the business of the theatre. Theatre remains a global business with capacity to create employment, attract infrastructural

development, help grow tourism as well as take many Nigerians off the streets.

As an association, we shall continue to explore partnerships both at government and institutional levels through engagements that grow the sector via policies, and investment.

As story tellers and custodians of our culture, we shall continue to tell the stories of our great past and greater present with a view to creating a better tomorrow.

Finally, as we celebrate, we cannot but acknowledge the practitioners, patrons and friends who have kept faith with us.

Your trust and support has encouraged us to carry on and keep the creative process fire burning.

Welcome to another World Theatre Day, welcome to our celebration.

Let the show continue.

Israel Eboh fta

President,

NANTAP

Source: www.africanheritagetimes.com

Nigerian Mothers Abandoning Their Elderly Husbands In The Name Of OMUGWOR (aka. Childcare)

Go back to Nigeria. The baby is 6 years old. She can be in Daycare and when husband and wife close, they will go and pick their baby up. 

Yes.

Women are ABANDONING THEIR HUSBANDS in Nigeria and going abroad to stay with their children. The men are much older and sicker and needing the wife to come and help them now.

They made the man not marry a younger wife to care for him. They were jealous and ensured he stayed monogamous!

Now the kids are grown and doing well abroad and they take the old man’s wife, and leave strangers to cater for their father.

“What God has put together, let no man put asunder”.  It includes children. Do not put asunder. If the man is not dead, children return your mother, his wife, to him. She was his wife BEFORE she became your mother.

Women are abandoning marriages, aided by their children.

If it was men that leave sick old frail women, the world will not know peace!

RETURN ALL MOTHERS HOME TO THEIR HUSBANDS from all nooks and crannies of “THE ABROAD”

“Men are scum, men are scum”. But who is abandoning who at old age? 

Forget OMUGWOR nonsense. What if she was dead? There are DAYCARE CENTERS and there are cameras. You can watch your children from your phone while they are at daycare. 

Return old men’s wives to them.

Stop coded divorce and abandonment!

By Ena Ofugara

Vaccine Certificate Will Soon Be A Passport: Chiwenga

VICE-PRESIDENT and Health minister Constantino Chiwenga warned yesterday that government could soon be forced to make the COVID-19 vaccination certificate a prerequisite for public services if citizens continue shunning the inoculation exercise.

Speaking during an interview with broadcaster Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa at his offices in Harare, Chiwenga said the move would be made to encourage inoculation and achieve the targeted 60% herd immunity.

“Remember the COVID-19 certificates, eventually they are going to become our passports,” he said.

“If you watch the news globally, you will see that there are deliberations in all capitals on vaccination passports.”

Last month in Nyamandlovu, President Emmerson Mnangagwa insinuated that there would come a time when vaccination would become mandatory.

“You won’t be forced to be vaccinated. But there will come a time where if you are not vaccinated, you will not be able to get a job, if you are not vaccinated you will not able to board a Zupco bus. Eventually, you will have to decide for yourself,” he said then.

Yesterday, Chiwenga also said he missed his military allies who succumbed to COVID-19.

He recounted how he received the news of the death of his “great friends”, who include the late Cabinet ministers Perrance Shiri (Lands and Agriculture), Sibusiso Moyo (Foreign Affairs) and Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services boss Paradzai Zimondi, who all succumbed to COVID-19.

“They give me courage. The fortunate or unfortunate part is that I had spoken to all of them prior to their deaths. With (Retired) Air Marshal Shiri, we had talked for almost an hour and we ended up talking about our days at school, late into the night. In the early hours of the morning, I received the shattering news that he was no more. He was the last person I had spoken to that day,” Chiwenga said.

“It gives us the courage that everybody has his or her own time. But I had not expected to lose such great friends to this pandemic. We grieve, but we understand that this has happened, and ask strength from God to accept reality. This is the reality and I can’t change it.” 

BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA

March 25, 2021

Source: https://www.newsday.co.zw

Ilorin And The Crisis of Identity

Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, is a Yoruba city. It is now in the throes of a self-inflicted crisis caused by the hijab, the head covering favoured by Muslim laity for their women folks. It is also loved by some Christians, especially the Catholics. It originated from the Middle-East where women are subjected to strict code of fashion. But in Yorubaland, fashion has never been a matter of contention. Now this. The case, I am told, is in the court. Some of the Muslims in Ilorin, apparently with the sympathy of the Governor, do not want to wait for the court. They would rather put the matter in their own hands.

What is surprising is that a Muslim parent, knowingly sending his daughter to a Christian school, still wants his daughter to wear the hijab. The corollary is a Christian parent sending his daughter to a Muslim school and yet does not want his daughter to wear the hijab. Luckily, there is no Orunmila High School in Ilorin. If there is one, I can assure you that no Muslim parent would insist that his daughter wears the hijab in Orunmila High School if it is not part of the prescribed uniform. But Christianity and Islam are both imported religions and we Africans we tend to be more catholic than the Pope.

What we are witnessing in Ilorin is the attempt by the government to take all powers from school authorities. Uniforms are parts of the tradition of each school. It seldom changes and when any principal tries to change it, he or she usually faces hostilities from the Alumni Association. In Kwara, the government claims to derive its power to prescribe uniform and enforce the hijab in all public schools because it is funding those schools.

When Alhaji Ahmadu Bello became the Leader of Government Business in Northern Nigeria in 1952, the government decided to support all mission schools; both Christians and Muslims. Those schools were referred to as grant-aided schools. However, there were also private schools established by individual proprietors who were excluded from this generosity. In the 1970s, all private secondary schools, including the mission schools, were taking over by the government. The government did not pay compensations for these schools. There was the understanding that though the schools had been taken over by the government, the original owners would still have proprietary interest in those schools. That understanding subsists until Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq decided to have interest in the hijab.

Governor Abdulrazaq represents a new kind of change in Kwara State. Before his ascension to power, the dominant force in Kwara politics was the enduring patriarchy of Dr Olusola Saraki and his son, Bukola. The Sarakis were supposed to represent the continuing dominance of the descendants of the Fulani in Ilorin over the Yoruba majority. The coming of Abdulrazaq was a seen as a credible challenge to the old Saraki hegemony. He came in with the Otoge (Enough!) battle cry and was swept to power on the ticket of All Progressives Congress, APC, the party of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In September 2018, a seminar was held at the Ikeja Airport Hotel, Lagos, in honour of the late Chief Bola Ige. Some Abdulrazaq partisans were present in large number at that seminar. I had tackled one of his partisans that this man who claims to represent the Yoruba of Kwara State does not have a single Yoruba name. Why should a fully-grown Yoruba person bears only foreign names? He said it was because of Abdulrazaq Islamic background. I pointed out to him that bearing your native names does not make you less religious. I gave the examples of Ayatollah Rhohollar Khomeini of Iran, Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt, Iyanda Folawiyo of Lagos, Arisekola Alao of Ibadan, Ibrahim Dasuki of Sokoto and many others.

The truth is that many Ilorin people, especially those who are Muslims, are struggling with their Yoruba heritage. They believe wrongly that the less Yoruba they become, the more acceptable they are to what they perceived to be the power-centres of Nigeria. Yet bearing their normal Yoruba names have not deprived the Ilorin people of the ability to rise. We have the illustrious examples of the Sarakis, Major-General Abdul Kareem Adisa, Major General Babatunde Idiagbon and many others.

Ilorin is an old city with an historical burden. It was founded in the 15th Century and by 18th Century it has become a thriving commercial centre. It was one of the provincial towns of the old Oyo Empire and it belonged to the Ekun Osi District where the Onikoyi of Ikoyi was the supervising sovereign under the Alaafin. Other towns in that district include; Irawo, Ogbomoso and Iwere. As Oyo Empire waxed stronger, it annexed some of the Igbomina settlements like Oro into its fold. The Igbomina sovereign was (and still is), the Orangun of Ila. The Orangun and the Alaafin are both sons of Oduduwa in Ile-Ife and therefore co-eval under the old Yoruba traditional constitutional arrangement.

Ilorin was to change all that. Early in the 19th Century, the Alaafin appointed Afonja, a well-respected general, as the new Aare Ona-Kakanfo (the generalissimo of Oyo Imperial Army). The constitution forbade the Aare to live in the capital and share the same domicile with his overlord, the Alaafin. Therefore, Afonja stayed in Ilorin and with his new appointment, he had become senior to other generals like the Onikoyi, the Olugbon and the Aresa. Instead of keeping to his oath of office, Afonja decided to rebel against his overlord. In other to strengthen his hands, he invited a peripatetic Islamic preacher, Malam Alimi, to join him with his band of young converts called ogo were.

The ogo were, claiming to operate under the authority of the Aare, became a law to themselves. With unpalatable news coming from everywhere on the activities of this unruly band, the Aare decided to move against them. When Alimi got wind of this, he staged a pre-emptive coup and the Alimi forces were able to stage a surprise attack against Afonja in his house. The battle lasted for almost two weeks as Afonja, surrounded by his sons and other commanders gave a good account of himself. Note that none of the Yoruba top generals; Onikoyi, Olugbon, Aresa and others came to the aid of Afonja. Even Solagberu, Afonja’s old friend and the leader of Ilorin Muslims at Okesuna, refused to offer help.

The coup against Afonja had grave consequences in Yorubaland. It was that coup that led inexorably to the collapse of old Oyo Empire and the evacuation of its capital city, Oyo. Many important towns like Ikoyi and Iresa were destroyed. Owu was destroyed. When Ilorin forces finally captured Offa in 1887, they destroyed most of the town and decreed that male citizens must grow beards and convert to Islam under the pain of death. The taken over of Ilorin by a foreign power was bitter pill for the Yoruba ruling class to swallow. When the British signed the treaty of peace with Ibadan in 1888, that insisted that war must end. One of the Ibadan generals, dissatisfied, asked the interpreter: “Tell the white man to let us finish the Ilorin campaign first. Then peace!”

In 1897, the Royal Niger Company pacified Ilorin and by 1900, it became part of Northern Nigeria. All attempts by the leadership of the Western Region especially under Chief Obafemi Awolowo, to get Ilorin and Kabba Provinces transferred to the West failed at the different constitutional conferences leading to Nigeria’s independence. The agitation gave birth to the party, Egbe Talaka Parapo, which won all the seats in the Ilorin District Council elections prior to independence. Ahmadu Bello dissolved the council and clamped down on the Egbe. Respite came in 1967 when General Yakubu Gowon created the West Central State (later to be known as Kwara State) as part of the new 12 states federal structure.

It is significant that Dr Olusola Saraki’s dream was for Kwara State to be in the same political camp with the South West in 1998. He and Chief Ige had been friends since their student days in the United Kingdom. Therefore, the two of them were involved in the formation of the All Peoples Party, APP, during the final days of military rule in 1998. When Afenifere pulled out of APP, Saraki blamed Ige for it. I am not sure whether they ever reconcile on this matter. It is interesting now that it is the same party, the APC, that is ruling in most of the Yoruba States and also in Kwara and Kogi State.

This places a special burden on Governor Abdulrasaq. He has to remember his state is said to be the State of Harmony. He should allow the court to decide this case of hijab instead of him allowing an unnecessary crisis to derail his government. After all, as a child, his father sent him to Bishop Smith Memorial School, Ilorin, a Christian School, and his uniform did not affect his school certificate results. This is one storm in a teacup that should never be allowed to become a real storm. After all, Ilorin is a Yoruba city and in Yorubaland we learn to tolerate each other no matter the differences. It is time Ilorin comes to term with its identity.

By Dare Babarinsa

25 March 2021  

THE GUARDIAN 

GRANDSTANDING FOR RELEVANCE: A HISTORIAN’S BURDEN

We read a press statement issued by a hurriedly assembled platform for hustling, Ilana Omo Oodua, against the speech delivered by the Governor of Ondo State and the Chairman of the South West Governor’s Forum, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, during the swearing-in ceremony of some members of the State Executive Council this week. The tone of the riposte suggests that the writer(s) must be laboring with deliberate amnesia with regard to presentation of facts and twisting of same.

Responding to a statement such as this one should have been unnecessary but for the mention of the name of the self-styled Yoruba Leader, Prof Banji Akintoye. The contents credited to the Professor are typical. His scholarship of the discipline tilts heavily towards rabid irredentism. He seems to have great difficulty in viewing everything beyond ethnicity. While it is not our place to begrudge anyone for aspiring to lead the Yoruba people, arguably one of the most sophisticated on the surface of the planet Earth, it is curious to imagine that a group led by such a person will seek to lead an “agitation (which) shall be bloodless, Intellectually Rooted, Legally Grounded”(sic).

It becomes incumbent on these self-appointed “freedom fighters” to explain the meanings of these terms freely thrown at the gullible and ignorant. They claim that an agitation, which hopes to subvert the existing political order, is not “secession”. A group of stragglers, an admixture of the highly educated, not-so educated, outright louts and upgraded street urchins, declared “Sovereignty” of Yoruba Nation from Nigeria on behalf of themselves and members of the rapacious and indecorous band. They aspire to have a new country from the current one. They have been unable to let us know how they arrived at such a decision with the potential of assured grave socio-economic cum political implications to the rest of us, without our input.

It smacks of ignorance, of the crudest hue, to tell the world that a Professor of History concluded that an elected Governor of a State could not speak on behalf of those who have chosen him, overwhelmingly, to lead in the last two major elections in his State. if the Governor cannot speak for his people, is it a pack of unelected jokers who will declare “Sovereignty” on their behalf? At what point did we decide as Yoruba people to declare a new Republic? Where was the referendum held? Who conducted it? Who chose the date for the declaration of “Autonomy for the Yoruba Nation”? If an elected Governor represents himself, on whose behalf are these people agitating? Who appointed Prof Akintoye as the leader of the Yoruba? How many people participated in the sham?

It is very saddening to note that some of those who pretend to be the custodians of the pristine philosophy of value propounded by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, SAN, fail to see the connection between the Livestock Transformation Programme and the attempts by the current Administration in Ondo State to resuscitate the Akunnu and Auga Ranches. Those who lack the capacity to look beyond the parochial prism of ethnicity and prebendalism cannot appreciate the genuine efforts of the Akeredolu’s Administration to make the people of the State the centre of all activities. The Governor’s speech was clear; no part of Ondo State will be ceded to any foreigner under whatever guise. Only a mischievous person will twist the fact.

Ondo State has been a major participant in the economy of the country. The people of the State will avail themselves of any benefits accruable therefrom. Pastoralism is not the exclusive preserve of an ethnic group. Anyone interested in the business will be encouraged by the Government. Any non indigene who wishes to bring in cattle will be directed to the ranches. The cattle will feed in these facilities for a fee. The Ondo State Government will NOT permit any new settlement in any of these ranches and/or forests. No part of the land will be ceded to any group of private businessmen for habitation. This position is clear enough. Only the mischievous will attempt twisting the fact.

Prof Banji Akintoye was a Second Republic Senator before he travelled to the US for greener pasture. The 1979 Constitution was promulgated by the General Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime via Decree 102. The departing military inserted many provisions into the document without recourse to the members of the Constitution drafting Committee. He should inform those who believe in his “bloodless” fight for “autonomy” of his contributions. Anyone who strives, strenuously, to be ambidextrous at an advanced age should be suspected.

Prof Akintoye sure knows so much about ancient history. He should tell us of any transitional society whose constitution has been drafted, solely, by the people since the emergence of democracy as a political system. He was in the US throughout the military era when patriots fought for the disengagement of the military. It is opportunistic and wicked, now at twilight, to attempt to drag the country into a state of anarchy to assuage vaunting narcissism.

Those who were in the country when Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu Aketi , SAN, served as the President of the NBA could attest to the fact that this is not a person who plays to the gallery to please anyone. Any unbiased observer of events since he joined partisan politics will also agree that his involvement has been beneficial to the people of Ondo State. The reference to non payment of workers’ salaries in Ondo State confirms petty-mindedness as the fulcrum of all grandstanding. Aketi has emerged victorious in two referenda conducted in Ondo State. Members of the opposition party still smarting from the crushing defeats at both periods must learn to live with the fact.

Let it be reiterated again. There will be no agitation for secession in any part of Ondo State. Prof Akintoye should submit himself to the people if he is so desirous of representing them. it is presumptuous, denigrating and condescendingly spiteful for a group of hustlers, living largely in anonymity but struggling for relevance, to keep proclaiming and legislating on issues which affect the destiny of a whole people, without the faintest suggestion of paying even scant regard to their feelings or extending due courtesy to the real representatives of the people whose opinions they discount as unimportant.

The people are discerning. They know the impostors. They have not forgotten the activities of the suborned agitators, the presumed penitent activists. The Ondo people, and indeed Yoruba are the easiest to lead but the most difficult to deceive. With them sophistry and demagoguery have their limits.

DR Oladoyin Odebowale 

SSA, SPECIAL DUTIES & STRATEGY

You Want War? Read This!

Post of The Month!

I joined The Guardian newspapers in 1985 and was made to report for The Guardian Express, the staple’s afternoon paper. My daily chore took me to every nook and corner of Lagos and its environ.

One of the most troubling assignment I was saddled with at this early period of my career as a journalist was to report on the refugee camp in Oru Ijebu, Ogun State.

There camped, were those who escaped the war in Liberia.

I mingled with the refugees, listened to their stories and observed their lives from morning to night. After spending two days in that camp I returned to Lagos humbled, and my perspective on war changed for ever. 

The Liberians fled their homes and arrived Nigeria on rickety boats from Monrovia. Some made the tortuous journey by road. 

The authorities could not find any decent  accommodation for this hordes of people displaced by war.

They were taken to the premises of a primary school in Oru. There in the Oru Camp was no water, no electricity, no toilet, no medicare. The camp was devoid of any facility. Almost all of the rooms, which were hitherto classrooms, in the school where the people found accommodation had no windows. There were no bed but mattresses as flat and as thin as a carton.

Refugees are refugees because they are displaced and are provided minimal survival kits. This I could relate with. In the context of Nigeria, they were burdens on a state whose resources were stretched thin from the austerity of that era.

What was shocking was the moment I began to interact with, and interrogate them. You would have thought they were ordinary citizens, jetsam and flotsam of society. That was not so. I found that the people I encountered were not ordinary beings. They were the elites.

Many of them were elites in the Liberia of yester years. Some were serving judges, academics, business men and women, top civil servants before the war broke out.

These were big men and women who now woke up in windowless classrooms in Oru, go to the bush to defecate, search for nearby brooks to fetch water for drinking and cooking. What do they have as there kitchens? The traditional three stones on which   pans and pots are delicately placed to cook whatever is available.

I saw people who had lived in affluence dashed to the bush in search of wild cocoyam to cook and eat for survival.

I saw husbands who could not account for their wives. I saw mothers  who abandoned their children and fled when they saw death starring them in the face. I saw young Liberians girls who were barely teenagers and once born of privilege take to prostitution in the neighboring Ijebu villages for survival.

I saw human misery and I said to myself how I wish  this people had not romanticized war but speak for peace before things degenerated.

We went through the Civil War in Nigeria and we are still regaled with stories of how three million people were killed. Two weeks ago at the Civil War memorial in Umuahia I saw the photographs of numerous children wasted by kwashiorkor. All for what?

History books and numerous  memoirs of the the dramatis personae of the Nigeria Civil war are replete with stories of human misery. Yet urchins across the country and selfish elders daily beat the drum of war.  To what end?

Yes it is true that our federation may not be perfect, yes it is true that there is still much to be done to offer hope of a better life to our people , yes it is true that some people are feeling short changed, yes it is true that our affairs could be better managed but is war the solution?

Some feel breaking up Nigeria is the solution but have they given thought to the fall out of this, the consequences?

How many countries that fought wars emerged as a better country as Rwanda did in less than 25 years after monumental loses? In Kigali the stench of death still hang high over this tiny oasis in the Sub-Sahara wasteland of civil wars that stretched from Congo to Uganda to Angola. One dare say Africa is still suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorders of those conflicts. We paid a terrible price for not striving for peace instead of war.

How many years ago now has Somalia been battling to get its act together again, and achieve respectability in the comity of nations? It is now an infestation of warlords, just recently an international super star who escaped the misery and was on the mend back to give back to her homeland was bombed while visiting in Mogadishu! On 29th December, 79 persons just wiped out in an instant by terrorists. What a waste!

A friend told me a couple of days ago that Rwanda wouldn’t have become what it is today if it had not gone to war. I asked if Rwanda is as populous as we are and as complex as our nation is. Who told him there will still be a country after a war in Nigeria. Who told him the injustices in Nigeria will not be replicated in the small enclave he is canvassing for ? Here was a fellow who a couple of months ago complained bitterly to me that the best of what comes to Yorubaland in the Nigeria nation goes to people from Ogun State. After we have quit Nigeria will Ekiti, Ijesa, Ilaje etc also want to quit Oduduwa country in protest of a perceived Egba and Ijebu domination? In any case, didn’t we fight this war in 1967? Is it El Dorado since?

I never knew we were so divided until a friend told me he is from Anambra and I told him I had thought he was from Enugu State and he harshly rebuked me. “Do I look like Wawa people?”, he said in anger. So there is this kind of schism too among the Igbo who one could have thought are one. The North is her own potpourri. A land of minorities, we will have a massive jostle for dominance starting in the Middle Belt and society crumble in quick succession without this bandage called Nigeria.

If the Libyans will reflect on their fate today, they would have  preferred life under the dictator Muamar Ghadaffi to the chaos in that country today. Similarly Iraq would have been better under an aging and fading Sadam Hussein than the fractious bandits of today.

We should ask ourselves if the bloody war in Syria ever resolved the differences between the factions in that country  after many years of blood letting and destruction?

Let those who want war realize and know that the only people who benefit from this process are the manufacturers of weapons of destruction. When they unleash them on us from Ukraine, Russia, South Africa and America, we would have become victims, onlookers and canon fodders.

The hyenas are gathering and they are seeing Nigeria as the next theatre. They are feeding us with poison in form of FAKE NEWS and their local accomplices, the disgruntled politicians are egging on the narratives of division across the land. We must stand up to them.

When they succeed at stampeding us into war we shall see that bombs and bullets do not differentiate betwen Muslims and Christians, Igbos and Yoruba , Bachamas and Junkuns. It does not spare pastors and Imams, not academics and farmers and neither is it a respecter of GOs and prophets. Being a CAN or MURIC activists will not be your insurance for safety then. War is brutish, and non-discriminatory.

If you survive the blitzkrieg then you will make your way to Benin, Togo and Ghana . There the plastic bowl will replace your chinaware when  you queue for your daily ration of a meal.

Come to think of it how many of us Nigerians will those countries be able to take. It will be an unimaginable humanitarian disaster never seen before in the history of man.

Two hundred million Nigerians spilling across Africa will cause a serious destabilization in the region. New wars will start because of it, and the “Anago” as we are derisively called by our neighbours will be the mincemeat served for supper.

Everyone, all of us, will be the loser. Then it will be too late to reason. Let that reasoning start today. Before you get trigger happy, do you have any other home but home? Think.

Senator Babafemi Ojudu, writes from Abuja

By Babafemi Ojudu

Copyright: © 2021

Nigeria Is A Strange Item

(1) Of the 16 republics in the world, only Nigeria uses empty landmass as federating units, instead of ethnic nationalities.

(2) Nigeria is the only oil-producing country where oil blocks are allocated to individuals, instead of government.

(3) Nigeria is the only country in the world whose Constitution maintains a conflicting dual ideology - democracy and sharia. 

As both cannot co-habit, one must give way. That is the war going on now under Buhari's watch. Recall the the Sultan of Sokoto - who doubles as head of fulani oligarchy and nigerian monarchy - recently declared in USA that he does not recognise the Nigerian Constitution, but sharia only.

"It is to be ignorant and blind in the science of commanding armies, to think that a general has anything more important to do than to apply himself to learning the inclinations and the character of his adversary"......John Laffin (Links of Leadership).

While the Igbo and Yoruba were busy roaming the world and ravaging all schools and libraries - studying the ancestral cultures of the Greeks, Romans, Turks, Cappadocia, Mongols, Spartans, etc, their common mole in-house (Fulani), concentrated at home perfecting psychological jihad to lock their horns in perpetual duel of vain supremacy and foolish pride. No doubt, the Fulani have succeeded in exploiting the mutual sense of insanity between the Igbo and Yoruba.

Fulani is a culture of war and domination - ruthless military and political strategists. As parasites, they penetrate their host through guise and guile - deception. Recall these two encounters:

(1) Uthman dan Fodio vs. King Yunfa of Gobir Kingdom (then Hausa) now Sokoto by Fulani.

(2) Janta Alimi vs. Oba Afonja of Ilorin (then Yoruba) now Fulani.

When your brother is in trouble, you are in trouble, unless you are insane.

At the height of the *Jos* ownership crisis: "Look at Kano, Bida, and Ilorin - the Fulanis who are ruling there are non indigenes and I can't see why the same treatment will not be accorded to Jos ... otherwise, there will be no peace in Nigeria". *Tanko Yakassai*, former Political Adviser to President Shehu Shagari (Vanguard Newspaper, 26 Jan 2009).

From grazing route - grazing reserve - cattle colony - ranching - grass from Brazil - inland waterways - N100 billion to Miyeti Allah - Fulani ethnic radio - RUGA - e-registration of illegal aliens - military ranching - back to inland waterways again!

Taqiyya in action. The story keeps changing, but the subject matter remains the same - land takeover!

Remember Terwase Agwarza (aka GANA)  - a Benue militia leader who repented, laid down his arms, and surrendered to Nigeria's security for amnesty. And the military killed him in surrender. But in Katsina, governor Maisari and some military officers held a Peace Meeting with terrorist bandits. The bandits attended carrying assault rifles in the presence of the governor and the military, yet nobody killed anybody. They know themselves!

Few weeks ago, UAE announced that it had convicted 6 Nigerians for funding Boko Haram terrorists. Nigerian government would not collaborate with UAE to track down BH sponsors. It's still busy hunting #ENDSARS# sponsors! Rather, FG had advised the convicts to appeal to the Supreme Court in UAE, promising to also use diplomatic avenues to help them out! They know themselves.

Recall it was "Igbo Coup 1966" - to unite other Nigerians against Igbo. Then came "No Victor No Vanquished 1970" - to deny responsibility after the genocide.  Recently it became "IPOB is a terrorist organisation" - to divert attention from the real terrorists, and to justify further pogrom on the Igbo. And now, it's "Igbo sponsored #ENDSARS# to overthrow Buhari's government". Also, "Igbo destroyed Yoruba economic assets in Lagos". 

Meanwhile, Buhari and his fulani tribesmen (local and imported) have been executing "their mandate" happily and successfully. The rest of Nigerians - the highly educated and civilized, the sleeping majority, the self-defeating saints, etc, are the only ones thinking that Buhari is worried, that FG is failing Nigerians, that Buhari is fighting BH, poverty, etc, and that Nigeria is practising democracy.

"The world will never respect Africa until Nigeria earns that respect"....Nelson Mandela.

Madiba, Father of Africa! I tearfully regret to inform you that the Igbo and Yoruba of Nigeria, locked in a most foolish contest of wild goose chase, while the stranger plunders their common inheritance, have insanely sworn to "fall your hand".

If your brother is in trouble, you are in trouble, unless you are insane.

By Biodun Omole

Copyright: © 2021

KING MAKERS DON'T LOOK LIKE KINGS

A friend told me this personal story of his. I'm sure he will remember if he comes across this post because he is on my friend's list.

His words..... Many years ago I was working as a clerk at a faculty in one popular university in Nigeria, then I saw an advert for NDA (Nigeria Defence Academy), I have always loved to go to NDA so I applied, submitted my form and was called for admission examination.

I had to travel to Kaduna all the way from Osun State, I have a distant uncle that was resident there then, I wrote a letter(no telephone) to my uncle that I was coming to sit for an exam in Kaduna and will love to stay in their house.

 I didn't get a reply to my letter even as my departure date was approaching. I became so worried because I needed to go anyway, as I was talking to a colleague in the office concerning my fear of where to stay, our office cleaner who was a Hausa man overheard us and in his broken English interjected that he knows someone right inside NDA.

Who could he know there, is it not a cleaner like himself, I unintentionally said it out to his hearing. 

"oga no o,the commandant op za NDA na ma classmate and ma priend". 

In his bad handwriting, he scribbled the comandants name on a piece of paper.

"Just mention my name por am, him go helf you".

I reluctantly collected the paper from him, not because I intended to make use of it but because I didn't want him to feel bad.

The next day I set out on this long journey by train from Osogbo, I got to Kaduna the next day towards evening, upon getting there,I went straight to my uncle's house only to find out that they have relocated from that place and no one knows their new address. I became stranded and it was getting late.

Around after 7pm, I made up my mind to give my cleaner's contact a shot, I got to the gate of NDA and mentioned the name I was given, to my utmost surprise, everyone in that bit, recognized the name and one person was promptly detailed to take me to his office.

I gave the paper where kabiru wrote his name and that of his friend to the secretary who took it inside, on sighting the paper, the commandant shouted from the office and followed the secretary outside to usher me in. "where do you know kabiru? He's my colleague in the office sir," I answered. 

Where is he, how is he, hope he's doing well? This man was asking me many questions in an obvious excitement.

The look on his face confirmed to me that kabiru was his beloved friend. He asked me what I came to do in Kaduna and I said it was for the NDA exams. Wow, do you have where to sleep? No, sir. He immediately called someone to take me to his house. On getting to the house I was lavishly entertained.

This man came late in the night and he woke me up and took me up on tutorials for the next day exams. After the exams he personally drove me to the park the next day.

When I got back to the campus, I began to look at kabiru with a different eyes, how on earth will this man know such a powerful person?

Needless to say that my name was number four on the list when the results came out.

Friends, I put it to you today that relationship is a currency. Every man needs another man to move up and that man may be the neighbor you look down on, may be the taxi driver you so despise or even the house help you think is a nobody today.

Relationship is a stream of income, everything in life actually reproduces on the basis of relationship. Those we know in life matters. Most of us are talented but we need a cup bearer that will tell pharaoh that there's a Joseph that can interpret dreams.

There are some heights you may never get to in life until someone tells someone about you. So shut the door of relationships gently, you may need to use it tomorrow.

As we enter a new year with a new beginning and promises, let us endeavour to take our relationships seriously, even if you meet online, don't look down on anyone. You never can tell which of the relationships is your own key to success.

Sometimes those who crown kings don't usually look like kings.

Copyright: © 2021

Fathers Should Be A Positive Influence To His Children

A father’s influence goes to the fourth generation after him. Whitney Houston’s parents Emily (Cissy) and John Houston divorced when she was at kindergarten. Together with lover, Bobby Brown, Whitney smoked crack in the presence of their 5 year old daughter, Bobbi Kristina. At 22, Bobbi died of drugCopied    and her mother Whitney died at 48 on similar grounds. Great careers and more importantly, great lives lost due to weak fatherhood.

While there is little you can do about your ancestors, there is something that you can do about your descendants. One thing that prevents a man from being a good father is that he hasn’t completed being a boy. To be in your children’s’ memory tomorrow, you have to be in their lives’ today. Having children doesn’t make you a father. Raising them does.

There are many of us who were raised up in unstable families but we don’t have to pass it on to our children. We don’t have to fight in the presence of our children. We can choose to shield their emotions from our disputes as adults. To a large extent, you are a product of your early relationships 

Unstable parents create insecure children. Stable parents raise stable children. Children need affection (hugs, kisses), attention (listening) and affirmation (positive words), every day. When a man loves his wife, it creates security and stability. The best gift a father can give his children is to love their mother. Children learn how to handle feelings, loses, failure and conflicts at home. 

Regrettably, parenting can neither be delegated nor suspended for a while as we work for the ring of fame and fortune. The growth of children is irreversible. Like a young tree, it takes the bends directed by the gardener, so is the life of a child. You can’t shape it in adulthood; you can’t pick it from where you left after you reach at the top in your career pursuits. It’s always easier to model young boys than to rehabilitate grown up men.

If you invest in your child, you don’t have to invest for your child. Children require presence not presents. No amount of gifts and meeting financial obligations can replace your personal presence. Any written will can be torn in a few years after the demise of the writer of the will. The only sure inheritance that you can leave behind is the investment you make in your child not for your child.

All Rights Reserved 2021

LETTER TO NIGERIAN PARENTS

(A MUST READ)

Dear All- Let's be real.

I wish to start by adding the benefit of my time as a student and then resident in the UK. Living in Abuja now. The first thing that I discovered about UK-born, white, English undergraduates was that all of them did holiday or weekend job to support themselves – including the children of millionaires amongst them. It is the norm over there  regardless of how wealthy their parents are.

And I soon discovered that virtually all other foreign students did the same – except status – conscious Nigerians.

I also watched RICHARD BRANSON (owner of Virgin Airline) speaking on the Biography Channel. To my amazement, he said that his young children travel in the economy class – even when the parents (he and his wife) are in upper class. Richard Branson is a billionaire in Pound sterling. A quick survey would show you that only children from Nigeria fly business or upper class to commence their studies in the UK. No other foreign students do this. There is no aircraft attached to the office of the Prime Minister in the UK. He travels on BA. And the same goes for the Royals. The Queen does not have an aircraft for her exclusive use.

These practices simply become the culture which the next generation carries forward. Have you seen the car that KATE MIDDLETON (the wife of PRINCE WILLIAM ) drives? VW Golf or something close to it. But there’s one core difference between them and us (generally speaking), they (even the billionaires among them) work for their money, most of us steal ours.

If we want our children to bring about the desired change we have been praying for on behalf of our dear country, then please, please let’s begin now and teach them to work hard so they can stand alone and most importantly be content and not having to “steal” which seems to be the norm these days.

We have Nigerian Children who have never worked for 5 minutes in their lives insisting on flying “only” first or business class and using the latest cars fully paid for by their “loving“ parents.

I often get calls from anxious parents” my son graduated 2 years ago and is still looking for a job, can you please assist!”

“Oh really! So where exactly is “THIS CHILD?” is my usual question. “Why are you the one making this call dad/mum?"

I am yet to get a satisfactory answer, but between you and I, chances are that the big boy is cruising around Abuja with a babe dressed to the nines, in his dad’s sparkling new SUV with enough “pocket money” to put your salary to shame. It is not at all strange to hear a 28-year-old who has NEVER worked for a day in his or her life in Nigeria but “earns” a six-figure “salary” from parents for doing absolutely nothing.

I see them in my office once in a while, 26 years old with absolutely no skill to sell apart from a shiny CV, written by his dad’s secretary in the office. Of course, he has a driver at his beck and call and he is driven to the job interview. We have a fairly decent conversation and we get to the inevitable question- so, what salary are you looking to earn? The answer comes straight out – N250,000.00. I ask if that is per month or per annum.

“Of course, it is per month”

“Oh, why do you think you should be earning that much on your first job?”

“Well, because my current pocket money is N200,000.00 and I feel any employer should be able to pay me more than my parents.”

No wonder corruption continues to thrive. We have a society of young people who have been brought up to expect something for nothing as if it were a birthright. Even though the examples I have given above are from parents of considerable affluence, similar patterns can be observed from Abeokuta to Adamawa.

Wake up, MUM! Wake up, DAD! This syndrome – “MY CHILDREN WILL NOT SUFFER WHAT I SUFFERED" is destroying your tomorrow. You are practically loving your child to death.

I learned the children of a former Nigeria Head of State with all the stolen (billions) monies in their custody, still, go about with security escort as wrecks. They are on drugs, several time because of the drug, they collapse in places. The escort will quickly pack them and off they go. What a life! No one wants to marry them.

HENRY FORD said, “HARD WORK DOES NOT KILL.” We are getting everything wrong in Nigeria now, including family setting. It is time to prepare your CHILDREN for tomorrow, the way the world is going, only those that are rugged, hard-working and smart working that will survive. How will your ward fare?

Please parents, we must begin to save our young from unintended consequences of "too much love" and weak parenting. It is the only way out. Let's not leave everything to spirituality and say God will help us.

Written by A good Nigerian!

Ibadan Indigene, Engr. Muritala Alimi Otisese Installed As Oba Yoruba of Kano

Amid funfare and jamboree, the ancient palace of the Emir of Kano was agog as eminent personalities from far and near gathered at the palace on Thursday, 12th November, 2020 to witness the turbaning/installation ceremony of an Ibadan born entrepreneur and philanthropist, *Engr. Muritala Alimi Otisese as Seriki (Oba) Yoruba of Kano* performed by the Emir of Kano, His Highness, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero.

At the colourful ceremony, Engr Muritala Alimi Otisese was turbaned and installed as "Seriki (Oba) Yoruba of Kano" to succeed the first Seriki, Oba Abdulahi Saliu Olowo who relinquished his position because of old age.

In his goodwill message at the ceremony, the Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde who was represented by his Special Adviser on Tourism and Culture, Hon. Akeem Ademola Ige, congratulated Seriki (Oba) Muritala Alimi Otisese on his turbaning/ installation.

Hon. Ige, who is also the Baameto Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, stressed that Engr Seyi Makinde led government in Oyo State was committed to ensuring harmonious relationship between and among every ethnic groups living in the State, adding that this is the reason why he appointed Kano born indigene, Alhaji Murtala Ahmed who hails from Nasarawa Local Government area of Kano State as his Special Assistant on Community Relations 1, (Arewa community), to serve as link between the Hausa/Fulani community in Oyo State and government especially in the face of farmer-herdsmen crisis.

While congratulating Oba Muritala Alimi Otisese on his turbaning/installation as the Seriki Yoruba of Kano, the Governor disclosed that his appointment as the Oba Yoruba is a well deserving one, owing to the fact that during his position as the second in command to the formal Seriki Yoruba, the Yorubas experience unprecedented development in their chosen endeavours couple with the fact that peaceful co-existence is reigning supreme among the Yorubas and other communities.

In his remarks shortly after his installation, *Oba Muritala Alimi Otisese* expressed his appreciation to the Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde for his support and encouragement, stressing that the effect of good governance currently going on in Oyo State under Governor Makinde is being noticed all over the country.

He equally extended his appreciation to the Kano State government, the Emir of Kano Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, all the Yoruba traditional rulers including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, Yoruba indigenes living in Kano and other communities for their support towards his turbaning/installation ceremony.

Oba Muritala Alimi Otisese who promised to reign over all Yoruba indigenes living in Kano State with the fear of God irrespective of the State they came from, however, solicited the support of the government from all the South West States including Kwara, Kogi and Delta States for all their indigenes living in Kano State to benefit from good programmes in their respective states.

The new Seriki Yoruba of Kano, Oba Muritala Alimi Otisese was born on 7th July, 1963 in Kano. *He hails from Koromodi compound, Idi-Arere, Ibadan, Oyo State.* He attended Ansarudeen Special Primary School, Kano between 1975-1980. He thereafter went to New Delhi University, Bombay, India and graduated with Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1985.

Oba Muritala Alimi Otisese is the Chief Executive Officer of MAO Electrical/Technical Engineering company located in Kano, Niger, Abuja and Oyo State and he is the current Chairman of Licensed Electrical Contractor Association of Nigeria (LECAN) in Kano State.

He was appointed as the second in command to *former  Seriki (Oba) Yoruba of Kano, Oba Abdulahi Saliu Olowo who hails from Ilesha in Osun State* on 13th October, 2018.

The three days programme that started on Wednesday 11th November, 2020 was rounded off with a special Jumat service at Nawairuden Society mosque, Niger road, Sabongeri, Kano where special prayers led by the Chief Imam of the mosque, Sheik Sakirudeen Olaide were offered for the peaceful reign of the new Seriki, Kano and Oyo State government, Kano emirate and Nigeria as a whole.

Highlight of the event was a cultural display by the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo communities, traditional homage paid to the new Seriki by the community, religious, market leaders, security personnel and other dignitaries.

By Remi Oladoye, National-Insight.

November 17, 2020

Source: http://nationalinsightnews.com

Re: ODUDUWA REPUBLIC

30 Questions That Need Answers:

We need answers to some serious questions before some disgruntled and perhaps misguided people, who have done no serious research, stampede and railroad us headlong in to a Republic of irreconcilable contradictions! We must develop a deep sense of history and relativity.

1) Will the Yoruba subcultural and unhealthy rivalries, i.e , ijebu vs egba, ekiti vs Ibadan etc come to an end with Oduduwa creation?

2) Will the principal bunch of the Yorubas who actively contributed to ” cripple” Nigeria check out of Africa altogether, undergo a DNA patch or go through a deliverance service?

3) What method will Oduduwa use to extricate self from Nigeria?

4) Can Federal assets and LIABILITIES ever be shared, peacefully, equitably and without rancour?

5) Where is the master plan or the economic blueprint or the mass industrialization agenda of the new Republic? How shall we do it better and do it much faster than Nigeria?

6) Will the Yoruba subcultures, ekiti, egba, ijebu etc not evolve in to new competing, antagonistic pseudo nationalities, at each other’s throats, when traditional yoruba – hausa – ibo rivalries recede?

7)Where will Oduduwa take off grant come from?

8)In what instances had Nigeria or her constitution been the stumbling block to Yoruba interest and progress and if so, in what ways?

9) Have yorubas and Nigerians not collectively rejected good leadership having forced an aspiring leader to sell his property and borrow heavily before we would approve that he leads us? Will this change in the new Republic?

10) On hindsight have you by now realized we, perhaps, need Nigeria much more than she needs us?

11) Have we imagined what negative effects our opting out will have on our immediate neighbours north and east respectively and are there plans designed to deal with them?

12) Have you not visualized that approximately half of our national budget will be spent on arms procurement? Oduduwa would create a theater of War? 

We shall be fighting on several fronts for fifty (50) years, perhaps?

13) Will the North West allow Ilorin to go without a fight?

14) Who will lend us money year in year out to finance our deficit budget?

15) How will the ibos be kept at arm’s length since Southeast can not accomodate the returning ibos?

The ibos will naturally expand at others’ expense and shall we remain neutral?

16) How will Oduduwa Republic handle Kwara, Kogi, Edo and Delta(Itshekiri).

17) Have you imagined we might have been playing to the digital script of a multitude of international conspirators who had never wished us well, those that want Nigeria disintegrated at all costs? 

A fox that hearkens to the distress call of a rabbit has not rushed in to help? It has come to take a strategic advantage!

18)Is any nation ideal in terms of man getting nearer to understanding man? Plato that nursed a notion and actually started an “ideal” Republic but ended up as a slave! America recently survived her most unbelievable and trying turmoil in 200 years!

19) Have you projected that in the proposed Republic Bibles and Koran will be published in Oyo, ekiti, ijebu, ijesha etc versions of Yoruba and treated as distinct languages?

20) The probability of ekiti or ijebu etc , after the honeymoon is over, to try and opt out of the Union is real , citing marginalization and desire for self determination?

21)Is every affront, disagreement, misunderstanding worth a war? Is severing the the head the only solution to curing headache? We must remember there are imperfections anywhere you turn?

22) Are we prepared to sacrifice Saturday, work longer hours for less pay? Do we have the revolutionary favour to sustain the struggle?

23) Will the administrative structure be unitary or federal, parliamentary or presidential? What stopgap solution is proposed when the monthly allocations suddenly stop? We have been lazy, dormant and gone into hibernation for 60 years!

24) Have we realized that ordinary people on the Street, after one week of hunger, will turn on the leaders and one another?

25) Have we evaluated our individual lapses contributing to lack of confidence in Nigeria? Will our attitude get better in the new Republic?

26) Can you imagine the rest of the world is talking of the 4th industrial revolution and we are thinking of separation and wars?

27) Are the small countries of Africa competitive and success stories. For example,

Benin, Togo, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia etc are right offs

28) Had there ever once been a Yoruba nation, all i remember are wars and slave trade?

Yoruba sold more slaves than all the slaves from Angola to Senegal.

Did 200,000 strong Yoruba Army come to the rescue of Ijebu at Magbon on May 12, 1892 where a mere 400 strong British expeditionary force wiped out 8,000 strong Ijebu army in 5 hours, the war had ended before noon!

29) Did other Nigerians other than Yoruba kill the Odua Investments?

30) Seriously, is something genetically wrong with the African brain?

Are we the missing link between the homosapiens and the Apes?

If we are related in thought and ideas, we shall always meet (Frederick Engels)

We must learn the difference between a smart person and a wise one?

There is no road around pain but suffering is optional and Voltaire had been right: those that believe absurdities can make you commit attrocities.

Education is not a name of any degree or certificate that can be shown as proof. Education is the name of our attitude, actions, languages, and behaviours with others and our environment in real life.

If we can not compete and excel in Nigeria, retreating into an Oduduwa of acrimonies will be an unmitigated disaster. We must stay within and fight for a better Nigeria.

I have said my own!!!!

By Comrade Aloba, Joseph Olusegun

Copyright: © March 22, 2021

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World Omoluabi Day 2021: Ooni's Adire Hub To Customize Clothing (Event Uniform)

The leadership of the apex Yoruba umbrella group: Igbimo Apapo Yoruba Lagbaye (Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide and Yoruba Council of Women Worldwide) led by the Global President,  Aare Oladotun Hassan, Executive Secretary, YCYW Akowe Odo Oodua Omoluabi Abdulhakeem Adeleke, Aare Akinkanju Oodua, Prince Adeleke Olukoya, Ogun State Chairman and Secretary, Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide (YCYW) Asoju Oodua Omoluabi Sunday Adebowale and Akọwe Odo Ogun Omoluabi Ajibode Abdulkabir Olawale, Chief of Staff, Hon. Shola Olumola, Osun State Chairman, YCYW Prince Ademola Toromade, Global Coordinator, Deputy Global Coordinator and Publicity Secretary of Yoruba Council of Women Worldwide (YCWW), Aarebirin Princess Folashade Olabanji-Oba, Princess Oluwakemi Shoyebi (Shokesta), Yeye Hilda Oduwole-Busari respectively are proud to meet His Imperial Majesty, Ooni Adeyeye Babatunde Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, Ooni of Ife, Princess Adekemi Fadojutimi, Managing Director, Ile-Ife Grand Resorts and Managing Director of Adire Oodua Textile Hub, Princess Aderonke Ademiluyi today 21st of March, 2021 at the Palace of the Ooni of Ife, Enu-owa Osun State.

We are indeed proud to associate with the foremost highest royal stool in Yoruba Land, while eqaully patronising the local content industry of our agelong fabrics: Adire textile manufactured by Oodua Adire Textile Hub. 

This year's grand finale edition is slated for 1st of May, 2021 at the Palace of the Ooni of Ife, Osun State by 2pm, with the theme "Isokan Yoruba".

We are using this medium to invite all sons and daughters of Oduduwa to this epoch making event and best unique celebration of all yoruba decendants globally.

As part of the visit, Aare Oladotun Hassan delivered report of activities so far, particularly on Governor Yayah Bello's meeting with his leadership on Yoruba demands for onward submission through the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari on Southwest compensation for the monumental losses as a result of aggravated insecurity, Fulani herdsmen terrorists attacks,  farmland invasions, gross abandonment of the youths, and Endsars destructions, in response to the aftermath of the Northern Food Stuff and Cattle Breeders Union strikes and compensation demands through Governor Yayah Bello to the Federal Government.

He reported on the submitted aggregated multiple demands bordering on: Southwest Development Commission, Southwest Agricultural Economic Development Zone Agency, National Youth Development Commission, National Joint Regional Security Network Agency, National Education Right Laws and Youth Right Act to mention a few. 

He informed that Governor Yayah Bello will be visiting Ile-Ife as part of further discussion and response on our demands, while he is expected to grace the epoch making event alongside other Distinguished guests to the 3rd World Omoluabi Day Festival come 1st of May, 2021.

Nigeria's peace and unity is pivotal to the Yorubas, hence we need to protect it from extinction.

Press Release 22nd of March, 2021.

COW HERDING SHOULD BE OUTLAWED IN NIGERIA FOR IT POSES A SERIOUS SECURITY THREAT

END TO FULANI RULE OVER NIGERIA 

People who send their youths and children to be these are the ones we are giving the mantle of leadership to. 

Shouldn't they first take care of their home before coming to want to help to lead us in Nigeria?

Or do they blame the Igbos and Yorubas for their youths and children raring cattles? 

That's never a low that a Yoruba or an Igbo will fall to in this 21st Century.

But for the Fulani, cow herding is not just a business, it is a religion. And the herders are soldiers. They are brave people who can brazen any forest and settle in it and expand there after. The lands are conquered for a Caliphate - the Spiritual Head of the Islamic religion. We are the ones who see them as poor, they are living willing soldiers on a mission for Allah that the Caliph speaks for.  

This is an obvious security threat given the history of radical islamism that has been the foundation of terrorist organizations.

COW HERDING SHOULD BE OUTLAWED WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT IN NIGERIA. 

Islamic fundamentalists (radical islamists) currently hide under the Fulani herders free migration policy to spread their radical islamism into hearts of Yorubaland which is a home for natural religious pluralism given the myriads of deities acknowledged in the land. IT IS A NATURAL HOME FOR RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE. ALL RELIGIONS ARE WELCOME, BUT PEACE MUST REIGN. 

We, the Youths of the association Ondo State Chapter states that we stand by the Policy of Mr. Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, to BAN open grazing in Ondo State. And we think this is a law that must be passed throughout the federation if we will have to remain as ONE nation. We are not saying this because we have hatred of the Fulani tribe, we are saying this because of two things. 

1. we cannot bear to see our fellow Nigerian youth and child go through this stress in the 21st century. Modern ways of raring cattle that will enable these children and young adults make the best of themselves in their short lifespan should be implemented for them as citizens of Nigeria. 

2. We cannot risk the upsurge of violence propelled by religious fundamentalism. We beg you our leaders to effect the ban of cow herding immediately because of this EXISTENTIAL Threat. We your children are going to be the ones here in 25 years. Do you want us and your grandchildren to have to deal with a war from religious fundamentalists who think they can kill for their God while we are of a people that value freedom of religious belief? 

BACKGROUND STUDY:

Islamic radicals as they picked from their elder brother religion, the Christian radicals (crusaders), claim to be open to freedom of belief but they are of the ultimate belief that theirs is the superior belief that everyone must come to accent to. 

All schemes in their hands is aimed at achieving this goal. 

These religions have two sides: the side that thinks the takeover can be achieved by converting through lobbying (evangelism) and the hand that is tilted to the direction of the violent taking it by force. 

Both of these arms of these religions are under the authority of the head religious figure, he determines which one to use per time. 

When the Christian religion thinks it is a war that is needed to take over a place, they create the occasion that will make the war breakout through the media and other means available to them. Even sometimes, using their sister Islamic religion as the cover. 

By Ayobami Ogedengbe

Secretary General

Osugbo & Ayepe Ìjèbú Saga

The family of late monarch in Aiyepe-Ijebu is said to have sued The Oshugbo (Aboriginal Ogboni Fraternity) Traditionalists for hijacking the corpse of their late father the king while the royal family was in the process of burying him according to the Moslem rites.

The king was said to have given his life to "ALLAH" according to the Islamic Faith. But he failed to abdicate the throne he ascended through the traditional rites of which he didn't swear an oath of office with the Quran. And neither was he given the Quran as an instrument of office. 

When the late monarch was taken through all the traditional rites before his enthronement, the family saw no evil in it. He and his family enjoyed all the pecks that were attached to the obaship while it lasted. All the while he was enjoying being called the "Alayeluwa, Igbakeji Oriṣa", were they all not aware of the end results then?

All the sued traditionalists now appeared in the court of law in droves, fully adorned in their regalia. And it was reported that only the presiding judge (whom I suspect to be a part of them) that was left behind with them in the court room.

Black people have been caged in the perpetual prison of their own minds that has no high walls by those slave masters who took their originalities away from them and subjugate them with theirs. 

Iṣẹṣe L'Agba!

#CustodianofYorybaTraditionandCulture

The Yoruba, Being the Origin of the Human Race Makes it A Repository of Secrets of Creation

Forget all those things Oyinbo is calling h2so4 or thermounclear reactors. All things are made by ọfọ̀ - codes. That's why you don't see anything with your eyes as h2so4. You are probably only seeing some liquid. You were just told the liquid is h2so4, isn't it? Or did you see where they brought h together, and put two of it in a place and they also brought s in your presence and added to it and then they brought 4 Os also in your presence and that liquid in front of you appeared and became it right in your presence. Okay. 

So, they have only given code to what they have created. Do you understand? They label thier natural elements to document how they interact with each other to create other things.

Isn't that what Ifá is?

The name that water has, the origin it has, Yoruba knows. 

Talk of anything in existence.

Ifá is the composition of everything that exists in this world and in the spirit world and how everything in the spirit world make (its) their journey from the spirit world into the material. 

I said EVERYTHING.

So in Ifá is the Chemistry of Yoruba. 

In Ifá is the Biology and Human anatomy of Yoruba. 

In Ifá is the environmentology of Yoruba. 

In Ifá is the history of towns in Yorubaland. 

In Ifá is Yoruba science and technology.

Ifá is the University of the Yoruba. 

The departments are the Òrìṣàs.

- With Ògún as HOD, Metallurgy, Engineering and Metal design. 

- Osanyin as HOD, Plant Science 

- Ọ̀ṣun as HOD, Marine Ecology 

- Ọ̀ṣun/Ògún : Marine Engineering 

- Ọ̀ṣun/Obatala : Marine Biology 

- Ọ̀ṣun/Osanyin : Marine phermacology 

- Ọ̀ṣun/Sango : Power

- Obatala : HOD, Political Science and Mental health.

- Ọ̀rúnmìlà : HOD, Mathematics 

- Iyaami Osoranga : HOD, Astral Physics and space exploration.

- Èṣù : HOD, Philosophy and religion. 

- Sango : HOD, Law.

Ifá is in Yoruba Language. 

We didn't learn Ifá, We didn't learn Yoruba Language. 

The two things that we have been given by Olódùmarè for our productivity and uniqueness. 

Things are coming back to normal. Àṣẹ.

By Ayobami Ogedengbe 

Copyright: © 2021

Yoruba Referendum Committee's Response To Asiwaju Tinubu (Part 1)

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

As received 22nd March 2021.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s Statement on March 13, 2021 on the crises bedeviling the Nigerian Post-Colonial State is a welcome development, not only because he is one of the leading lights of the ruling party but also a major political figure in Yorubaland, going by his attempts to reposition the Yoruba within the Nigerian Political firmament. While it is recognized that there are, of necessity, differing perspectives and analytical attempts regarding the circumstances in which we as Yoruba have found ourselves, his conclusion calls for an interrogation of his entire Statement.

The necessity for this has become even more urgent in the light of the critical situation of the Yoruba Nation within the context of the Nigerian Nation-State paradigm.

He concluded as follows:

 “If left to itself, this situation may spread and threaten the progress of the nation.

It could call into proximate question the utility of the social compact that holds government and governed in positive bond, one to the other. We have a decision to make.

Do we attempt the hard things that decency requires of us to right the situation?

Or do we allow ourselves to be slave to short-term motives that appeal to base instinct that run afoul of the democratic principles upon which this republic is founded and for which so many have already sacrificed so much?

In the question itself, lies the answer”.

YORUBA REFERENDUM COMMITTEE’s RESPONSE:

 (i)The “hard things” required must be predicated on the recognition of the real cause(s) of the problem and this is to be found in the negation of the FEDERALIST principles “upon which this republic is founded”. That FEDERALISM, despite its limitations, RECOGNIZED the NATIONALITIES as the PEOPLES of Nigeria, hence their administrations as REGIONS and the advocacy for creating MORE REGIONS to reflect the cultural and lingual diversity of the country, especially by the Political leadership of the Western Region, largely Yoruba and which became the bastion of this FEDERALIST advocacy but did not balk as to creating the Mid-West Region out of the Western Region while advocating for a simultaneous creation of the Middle Belt and Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers Regions, as a first step in decolonizing the amalgamated Protectorates.

 (ii)However, the emergent Post-Colonial State, led by the Northern and Eastern Regions, truncated these attempts by destroying the political leadership of the Western Region.

(iii) THIS IS THE KERNEL OF THE PROBLEM which the Nigerian Post-Colonial state has been battling with and which has now led to the DENIAL of the NATIONALITY as the CONSTITUENT of the Nigerian State.

The REVERSAL of the DENIAL must therefore be  the “hard thing” required in addressing the Nigerian Crises.

 (iv)This REVERSAL must be anchored on reversing the loss of Sovereignty of the Peoples to successive military regimes and consolidated by civilian rule since 1999 through the instrumentality of the 1999 Constitution, which, in essence DENIED the existence of the Peoples by DENYING INDIGENITY and trying to SUBSTITUTE it with “Citizenship” and which has become the source for “farmer/herder disputes” and relegating the NATIONALITY to an “ethnic” thereby DENYING their existence as a PEOPLE.

The above informed Asiwaju’s lead-up to his conclusion, to which : “The herder-farmer dispute has taken on acute and violent dimensions.

It has cost too many innocent lives while destroying the property and livelihoods of many others. It has also aggravated ethnic sentiment and political tension.

Despite the efforts of some of those in positions of high responsibility and public trust, the crisis has not significantly abated.”

YORUBA REFERENDUM COMMITTEE’s RESPONSE: The current situation is the  culmination of a series of violent dimensions of the “herder-farmer dispute” initially confined to the Middle Belt as witnessed in Southern Kaduna, Plateau and Benue States such that if the crises are yet to abate despite the efforts of those in “positions of high responsibility”, we must interrogate those efforts such that we will be able to know whether they were and are directed towards a particular direction and in whose favor as every effort since 1960 had  aggravated the tensions which had become the regular feature in Nigeria towards the establishment of the Unitarist State by various mechanisms, principal of which is the now almost absolute control of the Security architecture of the Nigerian Post-Colonial State—the abatement of which must mean the recognition of this foundation, from which necessary conclusions must be drawn.

Asiwaju says: “Sadly, others who should know better have incited matters by tossing about hate-tainted statements that fall dangerously short of the leadership these people claim to provide.

We all must get hold of our better selves to treat this matter with the sobriety it requires.”

YORUBA REFERENDUM COMMITTEE’s RESPONSE: Without expatiating on “hate-tainted statements”, it will be difficult for Asiwaju Tinubu to conclude as he did, more so when he assumed that some people claimed “leadership”; for leadership is not a function of a claim but the representation of a specific phenomenon such that the attributes of any claim would be manifested in its efficacy. Getting hold of “our better selves to treat this matter with the sobriety it requires” therefore implies that we start from the recognition and treatment of what is being presented by those who make a claim to leadership, without which no affirmative conclusion can be reached.

Asiwaju says: “Because of the violence that has ensued and the fretful consequences of such violence, if left unabated, we must move in unison but decisively to end the spiral of death and destruction.

Only when the violence and the illogic of it are halted can logic and reason prevail. Until the violence is rolled back, we cannot resolve the deep problems that underlie this conflict”.

YORUBA REFERENDUM COMMITTEE’s RESPONSE:

 (i) We cannot “move in unison” unless and until there is a “unity of purpose”; in other words, the existence and maintenance of the Nigerian Post-Colonial State is driven by a fundamental conflict between “INDIGENEITY” and “CITIZENSHIP” whereby the fundamental objectives of the State are in contention, hence we cannot “move in unison” unless and until that end-goal is resolved in favor of one side or the other or a mutually beneficial relationship is made intrinsic to the architecture of State.

(ii) To appeal to “unity” in this fundamental existential conflict is to paper over the cracks and hope for the best. The mere existence and reinforcement of this fundamental contradiction creates its own logic of violence which can only be “rolled back” when it is not only recognized but also addressed within its own realities. 

Asiwaju says:

 “We will neither be able to uplift the farmer from his impoverished toil nor move the herder toward the historic transformation which he must make”.

YORUBA REFERENDUM COMMITTEE’s RESPONSE: 

(i) From global and historical experience, either or both above can and have been achieved.

 (ii) In the Western countries, farmers and farming have been transformed from subsistence to commercial, even as they are still acknowledged as “farmers”.

(iii) Herding has also been tamed as witnessed by various methodologies in animal husbandry.

These were achieved by the violent overthrow of existing systems, replacing one form of production with another, usually with the instrumentality of either a State already established or in the process of becoming, as witnessed in Europe, where the violent overthrow of the feudal monarchies led to the Industrial revolution and consequently the revamping of farming in the economic transformation of their societies.

(iv)  Even in cases where forced collectivization or cooperation took place, like the former Soviet Union and China, farmers were “uplifted from impoverished toil” although placed under another form of toiling which also eventually led to another revolution, some violent, others not, to change their conditions.

 (v)  Herding is an economic and cultural necessity among some African Nationalities, and in Nigeria, among the Fulani. 

(vi) It is also said that the herders do not own the cattle, they are essentially “workers”; therefore their “labor” will also evolve towards “historic transformation” when the nature of the State changes to meet the challenges of a Multi-Cultural and Multi-Lingual society.

(vii) “Uplifting the farmers and herders” is therefore a reflection of the economic philosophy of the State, which, in Nigeria, can only come about, preferably without violence, only when the economic prerogatives of the CONSTITUENTS of the State become a fixed part of its architecture.

 (viii) This is borne out of the history of our “Golden Era” where farming and animal husbandry were integrated into an overall economic philosophy of development, including the educational system thereby ensuring the role of labor not only in agriculture but also in other productive sectors of the economy.

 This was what led to the introduction of the minimum wage economic regime in the Western Region without any input from the center.(TO BE CONTINUED)

By The Editorial Board,

Yoruba Referendum Committee

E-mail: yorubaref@gmail.com