YORUBA RONU

YORUBA RONU

The Yoruba race is a product of great historical situation and has been associated with spectacular cultural, political, social and economic development. The Yoruba race can in a way be regarded as the heralds of modern Nigeria. They were the purveyors of new political, religions, economic, cultural and intellectual ideals and concepts. Several centuries of contact with Europeans along the coast and the Yorubas’ historical experience played a crucial role in this regard.

It is now a historical fact that the Yorubas are blessed with geniuses and distinguished people on religious, educational, political and economical concerns. People like Herbert Macauley, Awolowo, Akintola, Bode Thomas, etc. contributed immensely to the development of Yoruba race and Nigeria as a whole.

The Yorubas continue to produced efficient civil servants, surgeons, patriotic journalist, religious ministers and powerful barristers like, Alexander Sapara Williams, first Nigerian to be fully qualified as a legal practitioner, since 1879, his brother Dr. Ogunsola Sapara from Oshun, distinguish himself in medicine. Lady Agnes Yewande Savage qualified as a Medical Doctor in 1928, Lady Stella Jane Thomas was called to the bar in 1933, Samuel Ajayi Crowder an indigene of Osogun in the present Oyo State was the first African Bishop of the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S), in 1862 he completed the translation of the Holy Bible into Yoruba. The first universal races congress held in London 1911, presentation of paper was successfully presented by a Yoruba man Dr. Mojola-Agbebi.

Economically, the Yorubas are in the forefront in commerce and industries as well as in agriculture. Before the advent of oil doom (sorry oil boom). Our cocoa, coffee and palm-oil stood as the main sources of revenue for the nation by then. Today, the Yorubas are nowhere as far as economics viability is concerned, if oil’s money is removed. Despite all government revenue allocation in the past on agriculture, farmers in Yoruba-land least benefited year-in year-out from those allocations. Though the illegal military involvement in our political life, carefully planned by colonial master to favour certain section, contributed to our predicament. As of today the level of poverty in the rural area is alarming most especially in Yorubaland.

The Yorubas are first among equals, but they have been reduced to slaves on their own soil, that is why Yoruba must be prepared, preparations begin from the sub-conscious mind, where the pro and cons would have been scrupulously examined, Pa Adesanya should call on Pa Alayande, Pa Solanke should call on Jakande, while Adebanjo should embrace uncle Bola Ige. Dr. Olunloyo should act as true son of the soil. Let Falae, Akinjade, the Awolowos Akintolas, the Ooni, the Alaafin etc., sit down in a round table, to iron-things-out, "without eyes of life" (oju-aye). Let all religions leaders like Gbonigi, Alaba-Job, Adegbite, Arisekola, Folawiyo etc team together to find solution to Yoruba problems.

The Yorubas believe in hard work, merit and are best in distributing responsibilities at local and national level of the economy. An average Yoruba does not want to know whoever is the head of government provided the occupier is efficient by nature, cheating is abomination to them while the spirit of tolerance remains a virtue of daily life. They are proud of their achievements to the level of displacement of personal egoism, that is why some nonentities will think that people like Wole Soyinka, Bola Ige, the Kutis, Gani Fawehinmi etc. are arrogant. The Yoruba are lovers of justice and fairness with progressive ambition.

We should all know that the best way out of this mess is to maintain our determination to resist enslavement at all cost. Yoruba should re-establish themselves; reunite themselves at both home and Diaspora as a powerful force ready to determine their own destiny. Yorubas should tolerate themselves and jointly wage war against poverty and backwardness of the present time, we should all support the present government and see Obasanjo as our blood and leader who God has entrusted with power at least for now.

December 2001