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It is sixty years already since we became an independent nation and a lot has happened in that period. Military takeover, civil war, restoration of civil rule, annulled elections etc. Despite all of these challenges we continue to move, we have remained a united nation in spite of the many attempts to destabilize the nation. The Nigerian spirit continues to triumph.
I read in the news recently a group that calls itself “Oduduwa Secessionist” calling on Yoruba to break away from Nigeria. I find the call naïve and in fact comical to put it mildly. Such call is most likely coming from largely uninformed minds.
Firstly , if the callers of the secession were good students of History they would have known that the Yoruba race despite appearing homogeneous comprises of several different tribes and dialects that have only been united by the composition of various ethnic nationalities in the Nigerian project.
Before the Nigerian project the Yorubas were in a war within ourselves that lasted close to a century. It is this knowledge that made elder statesman Chief Bisi Akande to say a few weeks ago in his reaction to the call for Yoruba secession , that if Yoruba breaks away from Nigeria that , we shall be in battle amongst ourselves for the next 100 years. He spoke those words from his deep knowledge of history.
Our People have a saying “ Ori bibe ko ni ogun efori” which means “chopping of the head cannot be the solution to a headache”. Yes, there are currently challenges in Nigeria no doubt, just like there are challenges in Britain, America, and France name it. However, they do not however advocate for a breaking of the country as a solution.
Our challenges are not difficult to figure out, they are that basic. What do most Nigerians want or desire? The answer is a better life where their basic needs are met. Basic needs such as security, food, shelter, good roads, health care etc.
What are the major reasons why many Nigerians don’t have these basics? Two things, and they are quite interwoven CORRUPTION and BAD LEADERSHIP. The two are like the egg and the chicken case, no one can clearly tell which one bore which. This one piece will not be enough to have that debate but one thing is sure, our nation had been plagued with corruption and bad leadership , which has led to all sort of other problems.
What our nation needs now is not a breaking into pieces that can only be considered a misplaced priority at this critical point in the life of our nation. Rather what we need now are honest leaders, truthful leadership at all levels and people who will clamor for the welfare of the masses
The interesting thing is that since our return to democratic rule in 1999, there has not been a government that has been as pro masses as this current APC government. We are currently blessed with a leadership of untainted men with high integrity. Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari is a noble man of great integrity. Despite several years in public office no one ever mention him near any corruption scandal.
President Buhari is no doubt a man of honor but beyond that his love for the masses is in no doubt. Throughout all his privileged positions in life he never took advantage of the positions to enrich himself like so many other leaders did and still do.
When the president was sworn in 2015, many states were already owing salary arrears of up to 10 months in some cases. President Buhari quickly set aside bailout funds to states worth several hundreds of billions of Naira , so State governments can pay their staff salary arrears . He immediately set up one of the largest social investment programs on the continent of Africa. Over 500 billion Naira was set aside for several intervention programs to alleviate the suffering of the masses.
One of the biggest challenges of our country is lack of basic infrastructure. President Buhari has invested in these infrastructure more than any government in the history of the country. The Abuja – Kaduna rail line was completed, the Lagos –Ibadan train services is almost completed with several modern stations attached. The Warri – Itakpe rail line has been completed with several stations attached. The eastern rail line project is about to commences. Mr. President’s bold vision is to connect the whole country with modern rail lines to improve transportation within the country and thereby boosting the economy is unprecedented in the history of our country since independence.
Over 300 billion Naira has been set aside for mass affordable housing projects. Power transmission and infrastructure across the country have been penciled down for upgrade and the contract for same awarded to the reputable German company Siemens. This is what we call a truly people oriented government. Had previous government done a fraction of what this government is doing perhaps we will not be where we are now.
The truth is that without quality and honest leadership development may not come our way either as a united nation or dismembered fragments. It is time to face our problems and solve them once and for all. All the call for break away, secession etc are just mere distractions. Most of our people who seek a better life abroad never do so because of the political structure of the place. They do so because of the availability of the basics of life. Healthcare, shelter, security, food, electricity etc.
President Buhari is working hard to provide all of these. My advice to all Yoruba sons and daughters is to be circumspect at this critical time in our history and not spoil the current goodwill we enjoy with our own hands. The current government has done well for the nation and in particular done well for us in the south west. Let us not be distracted with frivolous fantasy calls for break away.
In terms of appointments the south west has been well favored under this government. The Vice President, the head of the civil service of the federation , the speaker of the house of representatives, the chief of defense staff are all from the south west, plus several other “juicy” appointments too numerous to list here.
In the last five years of the APC government the south west has had its fair share of federal projects. The Lagos –Ibadan rail line, the completion of the Lagos –Ibadan express way, rehabilitation of several federal highways, agricultural intervention programs. The government through the Nigeria Army has helped in tackling key security challenges in the region especially during the operation crocodile smile, that helped greatly to clear off bandits in Ogun and outskirts of Lagos state.
As we approach 2023, several political jobbers will be coming up with different clandestine agendas. It is up to us as Yorubas to be weary of propagandist who may want to turn us against each other. Let us learn from the past and the facts. President Buhari is silently turning the country around for the better. What we need to do now is to give him our utmost support to succeed at this. Let us resist those who may want to use some of us to destabilize his government.
This is not the time to be casual in our decisions, we must approach all issues especially that which relates to the future of our country with strategic thinking.
ODUDUWA A GBE WA OO!
ODUDUWA A GBE AARE MUHAMMADU BUHARI OO!
