posted
The Yoruba go about bragging about how much potentials, talents and resources they have more than any other nation, and how they can easily survive as a separate nation when they are ready(?). But a quick look at the failed experiment called Nigeria from 1999 until date would immediately raise a question mark of the master ingenuity of the Yoruba. Not that anyone is expecting an overnight miracle of this cursed place. Alas! If Yoruba has what it takes, a Biafran like me does not see it.
There have been many other opportunities the Yoruba missed as a separate nation to make the African Continent proud:
1. The first time that comes quickly to mind would be when Awolowo and his group had the opportunity to pull the Yoruba nation out of the present Nigeria prior to independence. Awolowo acknowledged this fact at that time when he assiduously described Nigeria as “mere geographical expression” that he reasoned would run out of luck sooner than later.
2. When Brigadier Ogundipe cowardly escaped to Britain during the 1966 coup,instead of assuming command and channeling his Yoruba nation to a new cause; aftermath the slaughter of the then Head-of-State, General J.T.U. Ironsi. This chicken of a soldier ended up becoming Nigeria High Commissioner for Britain.
3. When Awolowo and his gang again, vowed to declare a separate nation of Yoruba if the East pulled out of the failed experiment. Awolowo’s slogan was; ones there is a Biafra Republic there shall arise at ones the Republic of Oduduwa. Some Yoruba are now arguing that their late sage was not in a position to represent the entire opinion of the people. We all know what happened from the time he engineered the 1966 coup until his shameless death.
4. When the reluctant soldier of the Yoruba clan called OBU-SO-NJO (the evil one) took over from the Asaba murderer himself. As a participator of the 1966 coup who went into hiding when real men were forced to shade blood, and pardoned by the Northern soldiers after pledging his loyalty, this man had an opportunity in his power to liberate his people to a separate nation with their enormous resources and talents. He delayed this blessing until his second time around.
5. When at the JUNE 12 controversy and the subsequent death of their chameleon son in prison, they ranted and panted to the whole world that the time was finally ripe for them to go build their much-anticipated super nation with their blessed resources and God given talents. But they mellowed when the Awusa/Fulani threatened hail against them, and when they realized the Igbo have caught up with their hide and seek coward games. Its on record they did everything to drag Igbo this time around to no avail. The super chameleon Abiola thought he could be a Christian as well as a Muslim at the same time. Rumors had it that while in prison he was constantly reading both the Koran and the Bible. How can you serve God and the Devil at the same time? In his narrow mind, becoming a Muslim was a quick way to becoming a Nigeria President. Did Awusa/Fulani buy that?
Almost in every situation, the Yoruba boasted how they belong as a separate people and how much potentials they have to make a great nation. They boast of having already designed the master plan of their new nation. The question still lingers to the fact that; if they possess all these qualities, including the earthly resources to sustain them, why have they not opted out as an independent nation? Why are many of them today in self-exile like the Igbo who they claim to have conquered?
Today, they have another opportunity staring in their face about showing the world of what stuff they are made of. If Obusonjo is displaying his insanity (you should expect that from a man that got out of prison without going through a psychological counseling) all over the place, does he not have his sane people to advice him? Why do they need four more years since they have been ready for so long? To steal more Biafran resources? Are they going to sit around until their clansman looses power to resonate their quest for a separate nation? I can see it coming! I see them chanting separation, separation as soon as they loose power in the center. What a people! Some have reasoned that the Yoruba are smart; that they play smart politics. I gracefully disagree. How can you be playing smart politics with tribes you hate and despise from the word “go?” How can it be smart politics when you have all the resources and intellects to make yourself a powerful nation in Africa? How can you be playing politics by continously delaying your proper place in world history?
They are blowing the last chance they have now to separate peacefully to build their mighty nation. On the other hand, are they, as widely speculated, naturally people born without atom of courage in their soul? Are they? Time is running out on the Yoruba!
Posts: 46 | Registered: Nov 2001
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posted
Fellows, The below PROPAGANDA from surely a Yoruba FACELESS "columnist" tells a discerning mind nothing other than a desperate race clinching to ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to keep their FAILED clansman in power. Except the writer of the TRASH below is living in mars, he/she wouldn't have had the gut to write what he/she wrote below.
To show that he/she knows what will become of this "article" and his fate, the unarguably Yoruba COWARD decided to hide his/her REAL identity. Who except a mischief maker or an IDIOT would take this TRASH and the faceless "author" serious?
But try as they are and will in future, Obasanjo and his ATTACK DOGS should be told in no uncertain terms that despite his "achievments" (clearly only by Yoruba standard) that his time is up and that NO AMOUNT of PROPAGANDA filled with EMPTY threats will change that; atleast not for MAJORITY of Igbos.
Nevertheless, as we approach 2003 and as the noose is tightened around Obasanjo's neck, expect to read/hear more INACURATE and DOCTORED pro-Obasanjo PROPAGANDA filled with OPC-like EMPTY threats like the one below:
The "article" is from Vanguard newspaper:
-------------------------------------------------- Has Obasanjo failed?
Friday, November 08, 2002
The joint statement issued on Monday by representatives of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Ohanaeze Ndigbo again reveals the level of desperation that has come to characterize the “Stop Obasanjo!” campaign. Interestingly, this statement, which calls on President Olusegun Obasanjo to forgo his re-election bid, was being hawked around newspaper houses by agents of the ACF at about the same time that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was announcing the date of the Presidential election. It is not clear if this was a mere coincidence.
It would seem though that the collapse of the impeachment threat has sent the anti-Obasanjo camp back to the drawing board. The new trick is to get “eminent” megaphones to shout Obasanjo down by pronouncing him a failure and labeling his re-election bid as a threat to democracy. We less eminent folks had always thought it was the responsibility of the electorate to judge the performance of a government and to rate an incumbent’s eligibility for re-election on the basis of that performance. There must be a reason why self-appointed regional leaders cannot trust the electorate with this rather straightforward task. And the reason is not far-fetched.
Having come to the inescapable conclusion that Obasanjo cannot be defeated in a free and fair election by any of the people now parading themselves as presidential aspirants, the opposition has resorted to the questionable expedient of trying to crowd him out of the game, hiding behind a smokescreen provided by some leading figures in society. The obvious objective, of course, is to win the match via a walkover by scaring Obasanjo away from the pitch. The comforting thing here is that this President, as the Americans would say, does not scare easy. It is also reassuring that because he knows of the often questionable circumstances in which many so-called eminent Nigerians achieved their “eminence” Obasanjo is not exactly intimidated by their stature.
The joint Arewa-Ohanaeze statement cites approvingly last month’s “gospel” from The Patriots. No less is to be expected, considering that both statements belong in the same genre and were probably procured from the same wallet. It is now clear that The Patriots’ call on the President to drop his re-election bid was merely an advance party in a convoy of elderly mischief making. The Patriots bore a message that was to be re-echoed in due course. The echoing has started. But like the impeachment threat it is likely to die as a whisper.
The Arewa-Ohanaeze statement anchors its argument on three major planks. Firstly, that the government of President Obasanjo has failed to live up to the expectations of Nigerians. Secondly, that the government has exhibited certain tendencies that show that it cannot be trusted to conduct a free and fair election, or to hand over power if defeated in the coming elections. And thirdly, that the personality of the President has become a problem for the office he holds and by extension for the country. The first charge is clearly not true and would nonetheless require the concurrence of voters to establish its veracity. The second seeks to set the stage for chaos, to the extent that the statement has not identified the angel that should replace Obasanjo to conduct the 2003 elections. The third allegation bears all the imprint of an argumentum ad hominen – having lost the argument at the level of issues and ideas, you target the person of the opponent. It is a favourite strategy of people who have no case to make.
The President’s disdain for the press has sometimes had the effect of denying his administration the benefit of a good communication strategy. His enemies often capitalize on this factor to diminish his stature and deny his achievements in the public eye. Mercifully, the President himself now seems to have identified this as a problem, going by the tone of his October 1 address. Truth is Obasanjo has achieved a lot, very much beyond what was thought possible.
When people speak of Obasanjo as having failed, it is pertinent to ask: What was the man drafted into office to do? Five things basically: To keep Nigeria one and bring the country back from the brink; to restore Nigeria to international respectability; to restore values to governance; to rebuild vital national institutions and infrastructure; and last but not the least to make a mockery of power shift. In all these departments except the last one Obasanjo has done splendidly well.
For the first time since the Shagari days, Nigeria now has a President whom no one can truthfully call a thief. This is no mean achievement. Obasanjo has wiped out the fuel queues. He has stabilized power supply, making it possible for many more people – artisans, service providers and factory owners alike – to power their equipment and earn a living. Of course, it is easy for people who have never had to work for a living to downplay this achievement. Obasanjo has put the GSM phone in every palm. Under Obsanjo, the middle class is gradually staging a comeback and civility is being restored to governance. Civil society has regained its voice.
At both the substantive and symbolic levels, Obasanjo has done well. His gestures in office are those of a confident southerner. Some people may not like this but it has a way of reassuring many more others who have been excluded from power for too long. Obasanjo has restored the spiritual health of the country’s citadel of power, the Presidential Villa. Aso Rock is no longer a mecca for sundry spiritualists and Rasputin-like perverts. Again, this may not make some people happy, especially as English has now been restored as the lingua franca of the Presidential Villa.
Perhaps the question to ask when people try to deny Obasanjo’s achievements is this: What has Obasanjo not done? Simple: He has not allowed the same people who brought the country to its knees to do as they please. He has insisted on due process in governance and especially in contracting. Due process is often seen as anathema by feudal lords. He has all but destroyed the patron-client system that had been at the core of federal governance for decades. He has empowered the Middle Belt to the annoyance of born-to-rule northerners. He has refocused the National Question in a way that makes the search for answers easier than before. Obasanjo has exposed the real enemies of Nigeria. That is enough crime to drive some people to want to get him out at all cost and by all means. And that is what is at the root of all the tension in the land.
The Obasanjo presidency is a watershed in the evolution of Nigeria as a viable nation state. Depending on how things go, the sky could be the limit for us, or we could come unstuck. In this regard, we need to sound a note of caution to the Igbo. Once again, it does seem that the Igbo are setting themselves up as cannon fodder in the often violent resolution of Nigeria’s crisis of nationhood. People need to draw the correct lessons from the unraveling of the First and Second republics and recall that every Igbo-Arewa gang-up to isolate the Yoruba has ended in fiasco for the country and particularly in grief for the Igbo. The best insurance the Igbo have in their quest for power is for someone to prove that power can be won and held not at the sufferance of some turbaned heads but by the will of the Nigerian people. Obasanjo is about to prove just that. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are perfectly entitled to your opinion with regards to Obasanjo's accomplishments and your perceived malignities of his person by 'others'.
However, I couldn't restrain myself from detesting the audacity and arrogance in your feeble attempt to threaten or cajole Igbos, simply because they're not subscribing to the utter nonsense that is being disseminated by your pathetic ilk.
You have failed woefully to persuade Igbos as to why you should be trusted again and again, given the apparent lack of candor, and to put it plainly, shameless and cowardly disdain, with which such matters of import have been shirked, due to a lack intestinal fortitude.
I wish for once, that you folks will take a stand in your own shoes, and make a lasting imprint of a badge of honor. Until that is done, your defining moment as a people would always remain a lingering illusion.Posts: 119 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2001
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