The Yoruba may have found themselves at a historic crossroads. This is despite the fact that they have been foremost and consistent in calling for the restructuring of Nigeria as a true federation. Their desire, for long, had been to see Nigeria emerge as a country in which the federating units develop according to their capacity and live in mutual self-respect and interdependence. But that’s not the case anymore. Now, there is a major division in the house of Oduduwa as the voices of dissent are rising every day.
This is more so as the Yoruba nation know that the unduly parochial and nepotistic President Muhammadu Buhari, whose connivance herdsmen seemed to have second-guessed and acted upon to cause havoc everywhere, has just about two years more in the presidency. They know that after him, there will likely be no one quite as insular as he, just as there perhaps was none before him. They know that President Buhari’s nepotism is probably innate and has harmed many in the north as it has unnerved many in the south.
They hope that in the years to come, Nigeria will be led by sensible politicians who will not allow their presidency to be hijacked, and who will drive sensible bargains in their political parties as well as build bridges across ethnic divides, especially given how terribly harmful the Buhari administration’s methods have been.
But the general state of insecurity in the country which has assumed a frightening dimension, even as poverty and unemployment are hitting an all-time high is dashing this hope. The call for self-determination, however, is gaining more grounds and winning adherents at home and abroad.
The main blow to the once unified aspiration for restructuring is the perceived helplessness of the federal government in dealing a deadly blow to insecurity and its agents; Boko Haram insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and killer-herdsmen. That helplessness has aided self-help entities at the personal and state level, such as Amotekun, Civilian JTF, Ebube AGU and Sunday Adeyemo, alias Igboho, which have further created the impression of independence.
“It is the fault of security chiefs who have failed in their responsibilities to protect citizens, that is why people are agitating for the creation of Oduduwa Republic. If the security forces join hands together with the citizens, we will be assured of strong security.
“There are many activists around the world who say they want the Oduduwa Republic. Never will I be the enemy of the Yoruba. We do our virtual meetings and it is obvious that our people want an independent Oduduwa nation,” said the Aare-Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, a former unapologetic advocate of restructuring, in a recent BBC interview.
Adams further explained in a viral video that when the virtual meeting of the Yoruba at home and in the Diaspora was held, 800 out of the 1,000 participants voted for self-determination. Among them were renowned scholars, entrepreneurs and politicians.
Chief among these people is Ighoho who is a 48-yeare-old charismatic Oyo State indigene. The Igboho phenomenon deserves some close attention. Sunday Igboho showed up in the fight against criminal herdsmen in Oyo State because of the shocking absence of leadership. The state governor was either slow or intentional in defending the people’s interests and stood up too late for the truth unlike Governor Akeredolu of Ondo state. He provided a vacuum which a Sunday Igboho decided to fill. The failure of leadership from the right quarters has its consequences and this is what we are seeing in Oyo State. Ighoho’s determination to free the Yoruba from herdsmen attacks quickly metamorphosed to outright campaign for secession.
Igboho has however been pilloried in the media for his brashness and presumptuousness, but it is doubtful whether he is as malevolent as his traducers paint him. He has a passionate heart, and his intentions are nothing but noble, especially set against the intolerable audaciousness of rampaging herdsmen who have exposed the pathetic helplessness of many southwest communities engaged in hand-wringing as their farms are turned into death traps and no-go areas. Even the governors of the region have dithered badly as they hemmed and hawed over the herdsmen raids. It was such spinelessness, not to talk of the cobbling together of a considerably attenuated Amotekun community policing organ, that produced Igboho and his fiery associates. They were merely filling a vacuum left dangerously open by indecisive southwest leaders and governors, especially in the face of more cohesive, outspoken and provocative core north leaders and governors.
The insults leveled against Igboho are excessive and uncharitable. He represents a noble cause, to wit the defence of the region’s farms, people and lands, and he shows true grit in risking his life to walk his talk, which is more than can be said for many of his accusers. There is also no doubting the passion and commitment of Igboho.
The secession bids in the south are doubtless waning, but the Buhari administration, famous for its lack of judgement and inclusive governance, seem prepared to stoke them all over again, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The police have extended a needless invitation to Mr Igboho, a ploy the aspiring separatist leader has interpreted as a move to incarcerate and neutralize him. He has ardent followers, many of them angry and dispirited. At the moment, however, they are confused by the unwillingness of the Yoruba to rally behind what they think is a noble undertaking. By turning Mr Igboho into a cause célèbre, which is what the heedless police invitation is doing, it will give his edgy supporters a cause to fight, and a grudge to mind and possibly avenge should harm come to him.
Ighoho’s clamour for a separatist Yoruba Nation should pave the way for the much-needed unity required for the Yoruba nation to come together and put their weight behind a consensus candidate that will carry the flag of the presidency come 2023. Rather than vilify Ighoho, the Yoruba nation should consider 2023 one last effort it requires to launch into Aso Rock again, this time around, united and in support of whoever the flagbearer will be. Needless to say, Ighoho is a catalyst that is bringing this thought to place.
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