YORUBA ROONU DADA – RE: SALIHU LUKMAN’S OPEN LETTERS TO SEN. BOLA TINUBU, MUHAMMADU BUHARI; EL-RUFAI AND NDIGBOS’ 2015 PRESIDENTIAL AGENDA (PART 1).
“Fate leads the willing and drags along the unwilling.” Seneca
“The North and South are like oil and water, they will never mix.” Frederick Lugard.
“Suffice it to say that putting all considerations to the test, political, economic as well as social, the basis of unity is not there.” Yakubu Gowon.
“Ogun awitele, ki n pa abuke.” Yoruba proverb(Translation: To Be Forewarned Is To Be Forearmed.)
“The mistake of 1914 has come to light. The new estate called Nigeria should be an estate from our great grand father, Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We must use the minority in the North as willing tools, and the South as conquered territories and never allow them to have control of their future.” Alhaji Ahmadu Bello. Reacting to the 1914 amalgamation by the British.
“We hear rumours all over that Jonathan is planning to contest in 2015. Well, the North is going to be prepared if the country remains one. That is, if the country remains one, we are going to fight for it. If not, everybody can go his way.” Alhaji Lawal Keita. April 2012.
Reaction to an announcement by prominent Ijaw and South-South leader that they endorse Jonathan for 2015 elections.
“I will like to quote Prof. Ango-Abdullahi that said that there are three Boko Harams including the original one led by Muhammed Yusufu who was killed and his suspporters tried to take revenge by attacking the law enforcement agencies and politicians. There is another developed Boko Haram of criminals who steal and kill…While the biggest Boko Harram is the Federal Government. Muhammodu Buhari. May, 2012
“Aside the natural heat and bare earth nature has bequethed the North, the region holds the most vulnerable people living far below poverty level as shown by recent statistics …What the North needs is an agenda that will put an end to illiteracy, joblessness, poverty, calumny and vicious circle of man-made devastation on daily bases. Other regions, though with their own peculiar problems fare far better than the North. They have thriving commerce and climate for propagating and maintaining good business…” Ayegba Israel Ebije. May, 2012. Excerpt from article “The North needs an agenda.”
“The real conundrum for liberal opponents of President Vladmir Putin is not so much how to revive and prolong the now faltering wave of urban protests that broke out this winter. The demonstrations have made their point. The members of the angry middle class can be counted on to reoccupy the streets as new acts of official arrogance reignite their outrage. Putin’s inauguration on Monday should prompt some fireworks…The opposition needs to move on from simply berating Putin to developing a real program to develop and modernize the country. While attacking current state leaders, it is not enough just to propose cutting the state budget…In speeches, opposition leaders might talk less about freedom — important as it is — and more about fairness and solidarity…A leader who makes ordinary Russians feel hopeful, proud and united will win against the cynically divisive strategies of the incumbents. All this might appear premature, however. At this point, defeating Putin still seems more urgent than replacing him. But history shows that when regimes with weak institutions collapse, the end can come suddenly. Less than two years before street protests ousted Indonesian President Suharto, analysts saw him as more entrenched than ever. And when Putin falls, the winner in a presidential election will be the leader who can appeal to a broad coalition. The time to build that coalition is now.”
Daniel Treisman, professor of political science at UCLA and author of “The Return: Russia’s journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev.” Excerpt from article “Opposition needs to appeal to the ‘Real Russia.'” May, 2012.
WILL TINUBU, THE LEADERSHIP OF ACN AND YORUBA BE SHORT-SIGHTED AND NAIVE ENOUGH TO THE EXTENT OF REPEATING FREDERICK LUGARD AND OLUSEGUN OBASANJO’S TRAGEDIES OF 1914 AND 2003 RESPECTIVELY BY FORMING AN ALLIANCE WITH CPC.
Sir, this article is a response to Salihu Lukman’s 3 articles titled “Your Aspiration for 2015 is Ill-Advised: Open Letter to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari”; “Open Letter to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 2015 Agenda” and “2015 Manifesto Of Nigerian Opposition Politics: Why party administration must be reformed” published from the middle of April to May and the immediate visit of Gen. (rtd) Muhammodu Buhari in Lagos where you discussed in details about forming an alliance between your party, the ACN, and CPC, his party. Initially, when the first article ‘”Your Aspiration for 2015 is Ill-Advised: Open Letter to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari” was published, I was very impressed and praised him for his courage for writing the article and coming out openly to state his position. Then, I naively thought that it was a bold and sincere move from a Northerner who not only wanted the best not only for his party, ACN, but for Nigeria and Nigerians too. Only if I had known better. However, after the publication of Salihu Lukman’s second article ‘An open letter to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu” a couple of days later, I became very suspicious of his motive. As you are already aware, in that treatise, Lukman gave reasons upon reasons why you should not contest for the 2015 presidential elections too – just like he advised Buhari in his first open letter to him. This time around, compared to the first letter, the situation and impression have drastically changed. Now, here we have a Northerner publishing two open letters in a row and publicly calling upon the leaders of 2 opposition parties not to contest for the 2015 elections – for the sake of the country and the citizens. Naturally, the first question that I asked myself was if Buhari and Tinubu follow the ‘harmless’ advise of Lukman and refuse to contest the 2015 elections, then who stands to gain or benefit (most) from such a scenario or development? I asked further: Does Salihu Lukman have anybody in particular in mind for 2015? Since he believes that the participation of Buhari and Tinubu will not auger well for the country, definitely, Lukeman must have somebody in mind whom he feels is more worthy than the duo (at least by his own criteria). Without doing much brain cracking, the first and only name that quickly fell on my lips was Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai!
While I was still trying to come into terms with the answer to my question, Lukman fired the third treatise titled ‘2015 Manifestation of Nigerian Politics’ where he manipulated data and argued in favour of CPC not only as the major opposition party (based on the result of the 2011 presidential elections), tactfully positioned the party as the only opposition party in the North that ACN is not only worth doing business with, but as well needs badly in order to eventually get rid of Jonathan and PDP’s domination of Nigeria’s political landscape since 1999. Undoubtedly, my suspiction became not only stronger, but I was as well more than convinced that something was really fishy and that Lukeman had other exterior motives for taking the pain and time to write 3-4 treatises within 2 weeks and that his actions have nothing to do with his unfletched love for Nigerians and the desire to save the country from further misleadership of the PDP. In otherwords, I had no iota of doubt in my mind that Lukman was acting or writing those treatises under the direct instruction or request of somebody who is nursing a presidential ambition and is presently a member of CPC, and was far from being the good samaritan that he wants us to believe.
In order to back up my hypothesis or initial answer with a water-proof evidence, the next question I asked myself was “Is there any correlation whatsoever between Salihu Lukman, a purported member of the AC
N who contested for a senatorial post under the flag of the party, and Nasir El-rufai, the only and most visible, vocal, active and influential leader of CPC after Buhari?” “If yes, how strong is it? I was not surprised to discover after further enquiry that it’s an open secret that Salihu Lukeman who contested for a Senatorial seat under the flagship of ACN is regarded or known in many circles as a ‘strong’ El-Rufai’s loyalist , Lukeman’s wife, Binta served as El-rufai’s cabinet as Special Personal Assistant to Rufai when he was the minister of FCT, Abuja. At last, the puzzzle surrounding Lukeman’s treatises has been resolved. Furthermore, based on the pattern or style of the treatises, I can as well testify that El-Rufai did not just limit his participation to giving instructions but took active part in writing them. It can not be completely ruled out too that El-rufai was the ‘sole’ author of those treatises, but decided to use Salihu Lukeman’s(a trusted ally) name in order to avoid any suspiction.
Hardly had the ink that was used to write those aricles dried and before one could even say ‘Jack Daniels’ , Buhari, came all the way from his base in the North to Lagos and held talks that lasted for hours with you, Sen. Tinubu, on alliance just after a couple of days the third treatise was published and you could have enough time to digest the contents. To the delight of Buhari,At the end of the discussins, an agreement was reached to form a joint committees that will work together and facilitate the emergence of the alliance. It’s now more than clear that the descendants of Usman Dan Fodio really mean business and don’t want to leave any stone unturned in their determination to get rid of Joathan and return power back to the North where they believe it belongs but was illegally taken away first by Olusegun Obasanjo, and now by Goodluck Jonathan.
Thus, my mission and response to Lukman-El-Rufai’s articles is to show Senator Tinubu, the leadership of the ACN and Yoruba respectively that the intention of Buhari and El-Rufai to form an alliance with ACN against the 2015 elections has nothing to do with their love for Nigerians, desire to save Nigeria from total collapse nor good leadership but is part and parcel of the hidden plan and strategy of the Hausa-Fulani cabal that ruled Nigeria for over 38 years and provided corrupt incompetent, corrupt, visionless and morally bankrupt leadership which resulted in Nigeria becoming a failed state, the biggest banana republic in the world, a very sick and doomed country with little or no hope(to succeed) – whose citizens, according to UNDP, live on less than 2 dollars a day despite the enourmous amount of resources the country is bestowed – to snatch back power and maintain their ‘born to rule philosophy’ over the South and Nigeria FOREVER.
The descendants of Usman Don Fodio are very desperate and are ready to do anything to get back to Aso-rock. The one trillion dollar question now on everybody’s lips is “Will Tinubu, ACN and Yoruba leaders bend down and allow the Hausa-Fulani to climb on their backs in order for them to get back to Aso-rock? And have we, Yoruba, really learnt our any lessons from the June 12, 1992 debacle/tragedy which eventually led to the incaceration and cold blooded murder of Chief Moshood Abiola, an illustrious Yoruba son, by the North for refusing to give up the mandate given to him by all Nigerians in a presidential election which was acclaimed to be the freest and fairest in the history of Nigeria.
Sir, before I further, permit me to borrow a leaf(where are talking about a good one here) from Salihu Lukman by introducing myself and do a couple of other important things. I am Bode Eluyera and hail from Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba land where, as you know, the opa oranmiyan is located and reminds us all of our extremely rich culture and history which says that we are descendants of Oduduwa. My mother is from Lagos state. If you ask me what am I proud of most in my life? I will tell you that it’s the fact that I am 100% a Yoruba man. Ironically, I discovered the extreme richness of Yoruba language, culture, tradition, religion and customs after leaving the shores of Nigeria. I believe that it is our ‘collective responsibility’ as true sons and daughters of Oodua not only to cherish the legacy that our ancestors have bequeathed to us, but there is also the need to guide them for generations to come. Obviously, the choice of our political life, agenda, aspirations, leaders are guided by our values, culture, tradition and religion which has existed for centuries long before the Europeans discovered Africa, emergence of Nigeria and the forceful merger in 1914.
Secondly, I also want to use this rare and golden opportunity to congratulate you on your 60th birthday which was celebrated with big fun fare not quiet long ago. Asiwaju, indeed, you have really come a long way! May the God Almighty give you abundance of health, vigour and energy so that we can continue to benefit from your wisdom and exceptional leadership skills.
Third but not the least, on behalf of all Yoruba and Nigerians in diaspora, I want to thank you for your unprecedented and invaluable contribution to building democracy in Yoruba land and Nigeria in general. We will be indebted to you forever for not only resisting and withstanding the political tsunami that Olusegun Obasanjo, the PDP and Abuja unleashed on us through their agents: Omisore Iyiola, Femi Fani-Kayode, Segun Oni, Oyinola Olagunsoye, Gbenga Daniels and other omoales, but you were as well able to re-mobilise all resources to free the Yoruba nation from political, economic bondage, oppression and suppression imposed on us from Abuja. Yoruba bo, won ni “Eni ti o ba mo inu ro, a mo ope da.’ Believe me Sir, without any exaggeration, we, the true and enlightened sons and daughters of Oodua that know the value of what you have done(investing your energy, time, financial and other resources and risking your life witout looking back) will be grateful to you forever and you will remain our hero till eternity.
We are very aware of the fact that forming and building a new political party is a very difficult and risky venture. It’s like setting out on a new journey that you are not sure of its outcome; unlike a business venture where some elements of predictability is present. As my father used to tell me when I was a little boy “The greatest and most invaluable asset parents could bequeathe to their children is a good education.” Giving a child a good education is like teaching him how to fish and giving him a rod too to catch any fish (of his taste) of any size and in any quantity instead of turning him into a perpetual ‘fish beggar’, dependant, parasite, liability and burden (as the Northern Nigeria is to the South) by giving him some small fishes some of the time. Likewise, the most valuable and intangible asset a leader could bequathe to his people is true democracy. This is in no way an overstatement for it is through true democracy that a society is not only able to get rid of dictators, fight human rights abuses, but as well build a strong, peaceful and prosperous nation which the citizens can be proud of. True democracy allows for freedom of expression. True democracy allows for fair competition of ideas among political aspirants and parties. True democracy allows the citizens to get access to unbiased information about candidates who are aspiring to rule them. True democracy allows for free and fair elections to be conducted which will in turn ensure that the best candidate or the choice of the electorates represent them. True democracy empowers the electorates to vote out leaders that perform below expectation or fail to defend their interests. True democracy allows for transparency and empowers the populace to hold their representatives and/or leaders into account. And as Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, recently said in an of interview given in June, 2012 “Democracy is good, it gives you the opportunity to challenge government’s decision
.” In a nutshell, true democracy empowers the people to choose the best of the best among them to represent them at all levels and provide quality leadership. It’s just horrible to imagine what fate and tragedy could have befallen the Yoruba nation if the PDP were still in power. Our enemies and their agents want to force the Yoruba nation into main stream politics (at any cost) that has given Nigerians nothing but poverty, high rate of unemployment, moral decadence, terrorism, kidnapping, absence of basic infrastructure, one of the highest mortality rates in the world, high rate of illiteracy for the past 52 years. In a nutshell, they have succeeded in turning Nigeria into a failed state.
By winning back Ekiti, Oyo and Osun states respectively for thr ACN, You have rekindled our hope and given us a real alternative. If not for people like you, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, Chief Bisi Akande and others, the situation in Yorubaland could have been much worse today and the damage would have been almost irreversible. By kicking out the PDP in Yorubaland (with Ondo, Delta, Kogi and Kwara to go), you have restored the pride, dignity and hope of the Yoruba Nation. And our gods from Obatala to Ogunlakaye will definitely be proud of you – just as we are too. Definitely, the history of democracy, civil-human rights and political struggles in Nigeria and Africa as a whole will not be complete without mentioning your name, most especially the invaluable, fearless and strategic roles that you played. Through your actions which have led to concrete results, you have proved beyond any reasonable doubts that you are a worthy Yoruba leader and indeed THE ASIWAJU. Even your antagonists and the doubting Thomases are compelled to admit this fact . Irrespective of how they relate to you (with love or hatred), what is certain is that they just can not ignore you and are compelled to reckon with you(seek for your opinion and approval) in whatever they do. Our enemies are unhappy and jealous that a real Yoruba leader has emeged at last in Yoruba land, that we are gradually putting our house in order and finding our bearings. They would have loved to still see us complaining, begging for hand-outs, crying and depending on them for our livehood and survival. But God is the greatest! Without any exaggeration, politically, you have done so much for the Yoruba to the extent that you can be placed on the same row with our icon, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.,Sadly we are very much aware of the fact that some people(both known and unknown) have lost their lives in the struggle. May their souls rest in peace. By sacrificing their lives, they paid a very high price so that we could live in a free and just society. They will always be remembered and celebrated too!
Sir, having written the above, nevertheless, I must quickly remind you that there is still a long way to go for the Yoruba in order to achieve our ultimate goal. This is just the beginning of the beginning. We practically have to start from scratch again because the enemies have inflicted serious damage to the Yoruba nation – politically, psychologically, economically, culturally, security-wise, socially and religious wise. In order for us to have a democratic, prosperous, strong, peaceful, egalitarian Yoruba nation and revive our language, culture, tradition, religion, values e.t.c. we need to understand that there is still a hell lot of work to be done. We need to roll up our sleeves and really get our hands dirty. And in the course of pursuing our goals, we must be vigilant simply because the enemies – internal and external, are still after us. They have not capitulated. We must also not rest on our oars and be satisfied with winning back only Ekiti, Osun, Ogun and Oyo states. More states, especially Ondo, Delta, Kogi and Kwara states, must be added to the fold so that we could be bigger, stronger and more Yoruba will benefit from your leadership and that of te ACN.
Sir, like I wrote in one of my articles titled “Oodua Republic: To Be Or Not To Be?” , published a couple of years ago, if we are to succeed in our mission of building a prosperous, peaceful, egalitarian and democratic Yoruba nation, then ‘we must take full responsibility for our future, destiny and must not allow anybody especially the North to toy with them again as they have done in the past.’ In addition, we must concentrate our resources – both human and mineral(which, fortunately, we have in abundance) first and foremost exclusively on our own development and not allow anybody to take them over nor squander them all in the name of building a fake and non-existing ONE NIGERIA which never existed, does not exist and will hardly exist – unless, of course we are just deceiving ourselves. We have suffered more than enough political humiliation and economic deprivation in Nigeria – most especially from the North.
Thus, in order to put the Yoruba nation solidly back on its feet and subsequently build a great Yoruba nation that will be theenvy, pride and model for all Africans and blacks, it is paramount that we mobilise all our resources and channel them into our political and economic agenda. Furthermore, we should be ASIWAJU or pacesetters and pioneers for other African and black nations and help free them from dictatorial regimes and neo-colonialism. In my opinion, these should be the 2 major tasks and challenges before us as a nation today. And we just can not afford to fail neither ourselves nor others in this noble mission.
Undoubtedly, your emergence as the leader of Yoruba nation who will lead us in realizing the above difficut tasks could not have been more timely. Sir, indeed, you are at the right place at the right time! I am more than convinced that under your leadership and your compatriots like the governor of Osun state, my state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, an intellectual giant(almost a reincarnation of Chief Bola Ige), Chief Bisi Akande, Alhaji Lai Muhhamed etc, and our full co-operation, these tasks that may seem very difficult and unattainable at a first glance, are definitely more than accomplishable. Sir, just like I wrote in “Oodua Republic: To be or Not To Be?”(which is highly recommended for reading in case you have not been opportuned to do so), Yoruba nation is bestowed with more than enough resources – which even many so called Western European countries are lacking – in order to build a great Yoruba nation. Honestly, we just could not have asked the Almighty God for more resources. Many countries with a fraction of our resources have not only managed to build strong economies but their citizens command respect all over the world. Suffice to say that these countries were able to achieve these feats because they have competent, honest and dedicated leaders who think first and foremost about the interests, welfare of their citizens and countries, and not about their selfish economic interests at their expense(citizens) as our leaders mainly from the North have been doing since independence. Most importantly, the leaders of these countries did not allow other people, strangers, countries to take over their resources under any pretext. They concentrated all their resources exclusively on their own development. Thus, if we are to succeed in our mission, it’s high time the Yoruba borrowed a leaf from these successful countries. But, suffice to say here that in the course of pursuing our mission, neither do we need to take over the resources of others illegally or legally. That will not only be unfair, but against our moral values Two wrongs just don’t make a right.
Thus, if we are serious about the development of Yoruba nation, five conditions must be fulfilled and they include the following:
1. Define our political, economic, social and strategic interests as a nation.
2. Impliment effective political system and structure (which leads to a strong and reliable political platform/base).
3. Good leadership and consolidation of power.
4. Take full control of our resources and not allow others t
o use some hook and crook method to take them over for some useless, unfeasible ONE NIGERIA project .
5. Concentrate and use our resources exclusively on our development and use them rationally.
First, suffice to say that the above 5 conditions are interrelated and supplement one another. Any serious attempt in developing Yoruba nation must start by first defining what our interests are and the resources available to achieve them. This will serve as the road map in our political, economic, social and other aspirations as a Yoruba nation. A wrongly defined interests will land us in the wrong place. So, what are our interests as a nation? Simply expressed, our interests should be building a strong, prosperous, peaceful and democratic Yoruba nation. But an effective political system and good leadership provide the platform through which the interests of a nation is served by the leaders. The two are like a coin with 2 sides. An effective and reliable political system provide the platform through which a country or the citizens choose competent and dedicated leaders that will work tirelessly in the interests of the country and citizens. Without a strong, reliable and effective political structure and platform, we will not be able to produce or elect the right lesders and this wil make us very vulnerable. Our goals and aspirations will always remain a dream because they will be threatened by others (this was exactly what happened in Yoruba land in 2003-2011which resulted in AD loosing all the states under its control to PDP with the exception of Lagos state and Yoruba land being ruled by bandits. Thus, they are the two first major components that Yoruba must attain in order to achieve whether whatever political, economic and social objectives we might have set before ourselves. Therefore, one of the major challenges before the Yoruba nation is to put in place an effective political structure, system and platform which will provide a strong foundation for us to produce competent leaders that will lead the people and country successfully for a long period.
One of the major components of an effective political structure and platform is a well organised party where people that share similar values, aspirations gather, elect, select(under some circumstances) competent candidates that who will stand for, win elections(free and fair) and later go on to provide quality leadership for the people and the country respectively. Another major components of an effective political system-structure is well defined electoral rules and the ability of the electoral body to conduct ‘undisputed free and fair elections which empower the electorates to choose the best candidate that will represent them and subsequently defend their interests at all levels – instead of imposed bandits as has been the case in Nigeria since independence. And an effective political system-structure automatically provides a strong political platform which in turn empowers the leaders to effectively serve the interests of the citizens: mobilizing them to achieve different goals, fight against any form of social, economic and political injustice and other threats to their economic interests. A strong political platform gives a leader unchallenged power to speak and act authoratively on behalf of his people in defense of their interests and take full control of events in times of crises.
Sir, you, Ogbeni Aregbesola and your compatriates, need to be commended for what you have already done and are still doing in building a strong political platform for the Yoruba nation – perhaps unknown to you – despite the flawed political system and structure Nigeria operates which does not allow it to choose the best of the best among its citizens to represent them at all levels for the past 52 years. You have invested enourmous resources in building ACN as a strong, viable party that can produce competent candidates, win elections and provide good leadership to the people. In addition, we are very much aware and equally appreciate all the efforts that you(your colleagues and party) are putting into winning back Ondo state, re-election of Comrade Adams Oshiomole in Edo state and Kwara, Kogi and Delta states respectively in future elections which will eventually bring all Yoruba speaking states under one political umbrella. Undoubtedly, the more states under the control of ACN, the stronger your political platform(base), the easier it is for you to achieve other political goals and eventually build a prosperous Yoruba nation – the more the number of people that will benefit from your leadership. Obviously, all of these are interrelated.
The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) presently being discussed; the call of ACN and prominent Yoruba leaders for a Sovereign National Conference and return to true Federalism are right steps in the right direction that will simplify our tasks in building a strong and prosperous Yoruba nation simply because we will at least be able to channel most of our resources into our development and take control over our territory leaving only defense and international relations to the Federal government. And if we have to give anything out at all, then we must receive something equivalent or even more in return. We just can not afford to continue to be ‘Father Christmas’ to lazy bones, parasites, who have practically become a big burden and clogs in the wheel of progress to the whole of Southern Nigeria since 1914. Although, in my opinion, even the so called regionalism that we are demanding for is not a ‘perfect arrangement’ – based on my recommendation for a Sovereign Yoruba nation as the ultimate option for us in my article ‘Oodua republic: To be Or not to be?’, but for a start, it’s not a very bad option. What we Yoruba need to understand is that as of today, Nigeria is not just a failed state, but is also the biggest banana republic in the world, a very sick and doomed country thanks to the incompetent, corrupt, visionless and morally bankrupt misleadership provided by the North and military since 1960. Nigeria is fast drowninh ship. It’s going to take enourmous efforts and resources to save this ship called Nigeria. As far as I am concerned and based on my objective analysis, we the Yoruba will be much better off in the long run if we board a new ship and sail on our own journey. Nigeria, the North in particular will continue to be cloggs in the wheel of progress and will never allow us to put all our resources to optimal use. Unfortunately, this is the bitter truth.
Coincidentally, ever before discussions about DAWN started, I’ve been working on a completely new political and economic agenda and system for the Yoruba nation which I am planning to present to you for your remarks and implimentation. A country (like Nigeria) without an economic agenda, development plan and strategy can never develop, and we only depend on selling its mineral resources to other countries for peanuts in order ‘to survive.’ In the name of attracting the so called Direct Foreign Investments(FDI), Nigeria, a failed and doomed country, has handed over virtually all sectors of its economy to foreigners, foreign companies and countres on a platter of gold practically for free! I almost had an heart attack when I read in the news that about 30% of Nigeria’s economy is now being controlled by the Indians! The Yoruba nation can not afford to repeat this costly mistake if we are ever serious about development. The authors of DAWN that have invested their intellectual resources into this noble and invaluable project undoubtedly deserve our commendation. It’s the duty and responsibility of every Yoruba man and woman to give you our full support in any form so that you can succeed in your project, plans and dreams for the Yoruba nation. But, before the DAWN project takes off fully and in order to derive the maximum benefits from it, there is a need for inputs, contributions, comments, analyses and even criticism from Yoruba in diaspora. All hands must be on deck to make DAWN a big s
uccess. Certainly, it’s a Win-Win relationship for us all. Your success is also our success. We want you to succeed so that we can also succeeed in our endeavours.
Sir, at the same time, I need to draw your attention to the fact that the present political structure and system in Nigeria will be a major impediment in implimenting the DAWN programme, talkless of deriving the maximum benefits from it. There are many cases of profitable economic projects that have been killed before they could even take off for political reasons. Therefore, if we are serious about DAWN and other projects and want them to see the light of the day, there is the need for an ‘internal political restructuring’ within Yoruba land. The advantages of internal political restruturing could not be overemphasized. They include the following:
1. Provides a very strong political platform through consolidation of power ;
2. Produces one officially recognized and strong Yoruba leader who will speak on behalf of the people and take full responsibility for political, economic events;
3. Provide a very strong base to withstand any political tsunami from Abuja in the future;
4. Gives room for taking political and economic initiatives without waiting for the center;
5. Be strong enough to expand our political influence inside and beyond Nigeria;
6. Allow for a more efficient use of our resources, better and cheaper administration of the region;
7. Position ourselves strategically for any future talks on SNC and regionalism;
8. Allow us to impliment our economic plans and compel all the governors and states to co-operate even if any of them is not a member of ACN ;
9. Protect our resources from being taken over or wasted on unviable projects;
10. Be in a better position to protect and lobby our political and economic interests;
11. Put the leader in a better and stronger position to call to order and even punish any governor who is not effective enough or wants to be used by outsider or our enemies to sabotage our development and destabilise the region;
12. Allow the Yoruba people to see themselves first and foremost as Yoruba – and not Nigerians;
13. Increase the loyalty of the Yoruba people first and foremost to their leader and region – and not Abuja.
14. Provide a very strong political platform for the ACN to win more states, senatorial and house of reps. seats in other regions and eventually win a presidential election;
15. Allow us to unite against policies that are not in our interests;
16. Allow the leader to have a better control over political processes in the region;
17.Use and develop Yoruba language, culture, tradition and religion without any barrier;
18. Provide a very strong platform for accelerated economic growth;
19. Make the building of a strong, democratic, peaceful and prosperous Yoruba nation a much easier task.
20. Position us well to manage or control any political, social, religios, mikitary and/or economic crises that may befall Nigeria.
Although, all the above points mentioned are very important , nevertheless, I want to single out strong political platform and consolidation of power as the most important advantage of internal restructuring. Suffice to say that this aspect (including how to achieve it) and others are well covered in my new political and economic agenda for the Yoruba nation which I look forward to presenting to you whenever I am opportuned to be in Nigeria.
The importance of building a strong political and consolidating power as a major prerequisite and foundation for achieving political stability and economic growth for the Yoruba nation can not be over emphasized. No country with a weak and uneffective political system and structure can develop. All developed nations boast of strong and effective political structures and systems which provide the platform for electing responsible and competent leaders – the best of the best among them at all levels – who in turn put in the all their capabilities to serve their citizens and accomplish other strategic tasks.
Though, as earlier written, the winning back of Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Oyo states is strategic in building a strong platform, however it should not be confused with internal political restructuring. Although, they are related, but they are not the same. Taking into consideration the importance of this topic, I look forward to exploring it further (another day) under a different topic that will focus exclusively on the economic development of the Yoruba nation.
ALLIANCE BETWEEN ACN AND CPC: TO BE OR NOT TO BE?
Sir, like I wrote in one of my series titled ‘Leadership, Decision Making, The North, The Military And Development In Nigeria: A System Analysis (Part 1)’ one of the major responsibilities of a leader is to make decisions at every stage of his leadership. Some decisions are more important than the others. At the end of the day, he is judged by the quality: results and impact of his decisions. on the people. A good leader is expected to take the right decisions at least most of the time. Since nobody is perfect, sometimes, a well intentioned leader could take wrong decisions. But, with adequate resources and time, they could be quickly corrected and the damage reversed. However, some decisions are so crucial and strategic that they will not only have a long term effect, but they are almost irreversible and if the outcome is negative it could be so devastating to the extent that an irrepairable damage must have been done and the decision maker will regret forever taking such a lousy decision. By that time, it will be too late for comfort.
Sir, I consider the unexpected visit of Alhaji Muhammodu Buhari, a Fulani man from Northern Nigeria and proposal to form an alliance or merge his party, CPC, together with your party, ACN, as one of the major and perhaps the most crucial decision that you will ever be taking in your political career in the last 20 years both as the leader of ACN and Yoruba and one of foremost Nigerian politicians. Definitely, this decision that you are about to take or not take(by the way, not taking a decision is also a decision) will affect all you have stood and fought for for the past 20 years, but also the aspirations of your party, ACN, the Yoruba and southern people in general, most especially true federalism, Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, building a strong democratic platform, internal restructuring, accelerated economic growth, entrenchment of democracy and democratic institutions. Therefore, I need to remind you that the price of a wrong decision on your path will be very fatal and costly, not only for you(Senator Bola Tinubu) personally, but for your party, ACN(which you have invested a lot into building), the Yoruba, our brothers and sisters from the South East and South South, the entire Nigeria and Africa. Certainly, if Nigeria eventually manages to put its own house in order, it will be able a stimuli for others too and she will be in a very good position to help them.
Subsequently, what is expected of you and the entire leadership of ACN is to make an ‘informed decision.’ By an informed decision, I mean a decision which is based solely on comprehensive, rational and balanced – devoid of any emotion or populism. A comprehensive decision is a decision which takes into consideration the short and long term implication both for the party and the Yoruba nation. Taking into consideration the fact that 5 out of the 6 states under the control of the ACN are in the South-West which is a Yoruba territory, I want to emphasize that it’s crucial for the leadership of ACN to always have it at the back of their mind that whatever political agreement reached with Buhari and/or CPC will definitely have a major effect on the political landscape in Yoruba land in the long run – directly or indirectly. Today, ACN and Yoruba nation are like a coin with 2 sides – th
ey are practically inseperable. By going into a political alliance with Buhari-El-Rufai’s CPC, the leadership of ACN must be aware of the fact that it’s not and will not be an alliance just between two parties, but an alliance of Yoruba, the descendants of Oodua, with the Hausa-Fulani caliphate, the descendants of Othman Dan Fodio famous for waging a jihad all over West Africa, to remove a Southerner, Goodluck Jonathan( a Southerner from the Niger Delta South South) from power – irrespective of how we perceive the alliance, it will be seen in this light by our fellow Southern brothers and sisters.
Sir, before presenting detailed facts and analyses that will help you and your colleagues in ACN in making an informed decision, please permit me to fast-forward my thought. It seems to me that the implication of your decision to merge ACN with CPC would most likely return both the ACN and Yoruba to a repeatation of June 12, 1992 tragedy when Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, alias ‘the evil genius’ , the representative of the Fulani caliphate, refused to handover power to Moshood Abiola(the winner of the elections) and eventually led to Abacha taking ober power and his cold blooded murder (with the collaboration and approval of American, British and French governments) or 2003 tragic/unpleasant event when AD lost all SW states excluding Lagos state where you were the governor then(thanks to your vigilance and political prowess) to the PDP, the ruling party, after Obasanjo’s visits and discussions with the governors seeking their support in order to win the 2003 elections or even a worse scenario. Taking into consideration the fact that ACN is relatively a new party which is yet to stand on its footing strongly, an alliance with CPC, a badly managed party with just one state under its shaky control is undoubtedly a very dangerous but absolutely unnecessary political gamble – where you stand nothing to gain. Deep in my mind, I am convinced that you are about to loose everything that you’ve laboured for for the past 12 years and subsequently put the Yoruba nation in disarray. This time around,I am afraid to say that there will just not be enough time, resources and energy to turn back the clock.
It is certain that the decision to form or not to form an alliance will be a histrical decision for Tinubu and the leadership of ACN that and will eventually determine pace of economic growth, political path, final emancipation and destiny of the Yoruba as a nation. In a nutshell, a lot is at stake for the Yoruba as a nation and our fate and future depend on how smart Tinubu and the leadership of ACN handle this delicate issue. A wrong decision will not only be irreversible, but will be fatal both for the ACN and the Yoruba nation and we will all live to regret it. Our children and generations to come will never forgive us. The purpose of this series is to simplify the task of Sen. Tinubu and the leaders of ACN to take the right decisin – devoid of any political demagogue.
TO BE CONTINUED …
LET US SAVE NIGERIANS AND NOT NIGERIA FROM COMPLETE DESTRUCTION BY INCOMPETENT, CORRUPT, VISIONLESS AND MORALLY BANKRUPT OPPORTUNISTS LIKE JONATHAN BADLUCK AND HIS COLLEAGUES BY BREAKING UP NIGERIA!!!
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