Why should the Yoruba leave Nigeria? - Baasegun IlanaUK Townhall meeting 18.03.22
The answer is simple. We Yoruba can do better on our own.
This fact is not given enough thought and attention when discussing the potential of the Yoruba Nation.
Our precolonial history tells us that we can do better on our own. We had an empire built on a grassroot democratic constitution and confederation. We had our own system of laws that has been incorporated within the laws of Nigeria since 1914. We had our own practice of medicine that was modern enough to introduce smallpox vaccination to America in the 1700s. The sovereignty of the Yoruba Nation was recognized in a treaty that Queen Victoria signed in 1888 with the Alaafin of Oyo as the Head of Yorubaland. The Yoruba, unlike the Hausa and Fulani, have never surrendered their sovereignty. We have our own customs and traditions that have defied every attempt to erase it since 1914.
Our modern history tells us that we can do better on our own. Between 1952 and 1959, Premier Awolowo’s self-government embarked on a development program that was unparalleled for an emerging nation. Financed with money from cocoa, we had free primary education, free health care for children, a television station, a skyscraper, an Olympic stadium, the beginning of industrialization, a minimum wage for workers and a thriving middle class. Today, we Yoruba provide Nigeria with 75% of its income. Imagine if all that money – N10 trillion per year at least – was retained in Yorubaland.
The success of the Yoruba Diaspora tells us that we can do better on our own. The Yoruba diaspora in Europe and America is recognized as contributors to the economy, development and political life of their host nations. Centre Point, the biggest charity for the homeless in London was founded by a Yoruba man and a Yoruba man is currently the CEO. The CEO of Bromley Council is a Yoruba man.
We Yoruba have human capital in abundance. We have with it more than enough economic capital to make a successful modern nation. Yoruba land is arable and fertile land, suitable for growing almost any crop. Mineral resources yet untapped include bitumen, m.arble, gold and oil. The landscape has the potential for obtaining renewable energy from sun, water and wind.
We Yoruba have occupied our land, this same land, since time began. In the beginning there was just the sky (Orun) and water (Okun). It was Obatala who Olorun sent down from Orun with some soil and a chicken. He placed the sand on the water and commanded the chicken to spread it, which it did, and that was how the earth was created. There is archeological support for this myth. The Yoruba were the first humans to transition from hunter gatherers to farming. It was from here that the practice of farming spread around the world.
The transition to farming required man to develop the means of transforming the chemistry of metal to make tools. The Yoruba did that. We made the first ceramics. The transition to farming also meant that man had to cooperate and live with others. The Yoruba did that. We established urban settlements. Urbanisation brought trade, laws, conventions, medicine etc.
The good lord (Eleda) sanctioned our occupation of Yorubaland with a natural barrier. To the north and to the east of us, Eleda placed the River Niger to keep our enemies away from us. The creation of Nigeria in 1914 allowed our enemies to breach the barrier. Eleda has been very displeased. The defiance of the Eleda since 1914 has brought us Yoruba nothing but disaster. Since then, our enemies have embarked on stealing our land, stealing our resources.
The Fulani since 1966 have systematically foisted on Nigeria constitutions that they designed to turn the Yoruba into slaves. The 1999 Constitution is the embodiment of Fulani tactics that began with Ahmadu Bello’s declaration in 1960. It is absolutely imperative that we get rid of the 1999 Constitution. If we don’t get rid of it, it means we agree with the Fulani that we are their slaves.