Self-determination is in the interest of both the Yoruba and the world
Over 2000 people have now signed http://chng.it/QJp8yJ6hPs our UN petition for self-determination for the Yoruba people. This update is to thank them for their support. We need more signatures. At 2,500 signatures, this petition is more likely to get picked up by local news!
Legend has it that the world began in Yorubaland. In the beginning, there was only the sky above (ruled by the god Olorun) and water below (ruled by the god Olokun). Obatala, another god, brought soil down from the sky and placed it down to form a patch of solid earth. Thereafter, other gods (Orisa), directed by the Ifa oracle, spread the soil to all corners of the earth to form the six continents - Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America. The Yoruba then sent their early emigrees on their way to their patch of the earth with a participatory system of governance that is still visible in the Yoruba polity of the 21st century.
The British carved out part of the Yoruba Empire to form the Western Region of Nigeria. Obafemi Awolowo was the leader of the Yoruba, and premier of the Western Region, from 1954 to 1959. In that short period of time, financed with money from cocoa sales, Awolowo introduced into Yorubaland free universal primary education and free healthcare for all children. First in Africa, a television station was established and Cocoa House, a skyscraper, was built in Ibadan, the capital city. The Liberty Stadium, the first stadium in Nigeria, was built to Olympic standards. A minimum wage was introduced for workers, and then raised. Private sector industries were enabled with government funding to shore up their working capital. A thriving middle class was created on a sound economic footing. The Yoruba were at that time competing head-to-head with peoples of the emerging nations of south east Asia that have today become very successful nations indeed.
This very rapid advancement of the Yoruba nation was brought to an abrupt halt by two events. First, in 1962, the Federal government took over the administration of the Western Region as prelude to rigging parliamentary elections. Second, in 1966, the army sacked the Akintola government in a bloody coup. Thereafter, Yoruba advancement was put into reverse by a deliberate policy of the Nigerian Federal government. In the guise of the ‘Federal Character’, the Federal government took resources from Yorubaland (and the south) to give to the north, put unqualified northerners in charge of everything and limited opportunities for the Yoruba (and other southerners) in all aspects of Nigerian life. As a consequence of Nigeria’s policy, several industries that had been established in Yorubaland through the Western Nigeria Development Corporation were killed off, made redundant or abandoned. The following were amongst the industries that were disappeared one-by-one from Yorubaland from 1966: textile production, glass manufacturing, canning industries, tyre manufacturing, battery manufacturing, cocoa and palm kernel processing, farm settlements, hydroelectric power stations and dams for water supply and fish farming.
Nigeria has badly damaged the Yoruba. There is need for urgent rescue, but this cannot be done if the Yoruba remain trapped in the Nigeria construct. Self-determination is the only viable solution. It is in the long-term interest, and health, of the Yoruba to have a country of their own. There is much for the Yoruba to gain from independence from Nigeria. There is no doubt that Yorubaland can become a successful nation in the mould of Israel and Singapore. The Yoruba like the peoples of these countries have a culture of entrepreneurship. In the 1950s, the Yoruba played to their natural advantage of being educated Africans providing justices and medical and other professionals to other African countries. Yorubaland in those heady days of Awolowo leadership offered itself as ‘test grounds’ where giants of industry could experiment and participate unfettered by politics.
Yorubaland has human capital in abundance; many native-born Yoruba practice their professions in different parts of the world. The success of the Yoruba outside of Nigeria attests also to their possession of a culture of adaptability. The Yoruba are undaunted by advances and complexities in artificial intelligence, robotics, science and technology. Yorubaland has arable and fertile land in abundance, suitable for growing almost any crop. Mineral resources yet untapped include bitumen, marble, gold and oil. There are limitless opportunities in the Yoruba landscape to harness renewable energy from sun, water and wind. Modernisation of the ancient Yoruba osomalo system of commerce could enable significant economic activity to take place amongst the poorest of society. Their universally taught Omoluabi upbringing has made the Yoruba a cultured people, civil, congenial, generous and hospitable.
Self-determination will enable the Yoruba to play a more visible, and constructive, role on the global stage. The Yoruba have some 30 million of their people living in the Diaspora. Indeed, many peoples of the South American continent have remained loyal to the Yoruba culture. The Diaspora would enable the Yoruba to have global economic and political influence as well as tourism opportunities. There are many historical sites and sites of natural beauty to visit in Yorubaland. A modernised Egungun festival would provide the world with insight into the origins of carnivals staged yearly particularly in Brazil and the Caribbean. Other cultural imprints would be led by the arts, literature (Wole Soyinka is a Nobel laurate) and music (Fela Kuti was an international music icon).
Social and physical sciences perfected by the ancient Yoruba would establish their global influence too. The Ifa oracle is a probability system available to be scientifically exploited. Gbere intradermal techniques used for delivery of therapeutic agents, analgesia, boost to the body immune defences, contraception and vaccination (introduced to America in 1776 by Onesimus, a Yoruba slave) would take their place in modern medicine. Principles underpinning the ancient Yoruba medicine, which is more observational science than the conceptual medicine of India (Ayurveda) and China, would finally attract western scrutiny. The Yoruba system of participatory democracy would give other African nations and their political leaders food for thought.
To become the society that we aspire to be, we the Yoruba people of Nigeria seek the approval of members of the United Nations to join their ranks of independent nations.