ARE IGBOS MORE MARGINALIZED THAN YORUBAS?…BY AYEKOOTO (2)

CONTINUED FROM LAST POST

Unfortunately,our Igbo brothers and sisters often mistakenly interpret this as the attitude of mumus or what they call “cowards”. Many times they get to be brash and aggressive thereby getting themselves into unnecessary controversies or even fights especially when our people decide enough is enough and its time to throw back the gauntlet.But above all the unfortunate result is also the demarcation and classification of people with attached labels.We call our Igbo brothers and sisters OMO YANMIRIN or OKORO while they in return call us NGBATI,NGBATI.As minor as some of these issues may look they do lead to almost impossible co-habitation or good neighborliness in many cases.Igbos in Yoruba land hold to their communities understandably with little integration with their hosting indigenous people.And this has been more noticeable since after the Nigerian Civil War which ended in 1970.Generally speaking the attitude from them and towards them is that WE ARE NOT PART OF THEM and THEY ARE NOT PART OF US.
However,the Nigerian music scene,Nollywood and football have  ameliorated and improved social interactions especially among the youth to some extent.The general use of PIDGIN English has been positive socially to a great extent.But despite all the positive experiences from entertainment,what you read on social media where people express opinions like masquerades reveal what is actually going on in our minds.And it is also on social media or through groups like OPC, MASSOB or IPOB that these feelings get interpreted or misinterpreted into ethnic hatred.

NIGERIANS BY DAY,BIAFRANS AT NIGHT!

24.And what about politics in all these? Of course politicians have fertile grounds to operate from.They play on these ethnic differences to insinuate that going separate ways is the solution.Many of these politicians pretend to be Nigerians in the afternoon and become Biafrans in the night. They do this not because they are really interested in solving the daily problems of ethnic masses but for applying pressure on PMB as a way to protect the loot they have stolen over the years.They of course use middlemen who think they are genuine.On the other hand they sometimes run into middlemen bent on milking them.
25.There are other issues ,however.Standards of living are different.Our interpretations of cleanliness,preparation and types of food,types of cultural dresses etc are different and many times difficult to assimilate from each other.Above all the political elite make things even worse by emphasizing these differences instead of looking for ways to make things work out.
26.Lastly the system of being your brother’s keeper especially based on blood ties and not commerce is very deep and extensive in Yorubaland.It is one area that even religion has found impenetrable.Moslems in Yorubaland wont agree with you to shed the blood of his ethnic Christian brothers and sisters.On the other hand a Yoruba christian finds it difficult to test or judge his Moslem ethnic brother or sister through his or her religion.They prefer to look at individuals and judge them especially through the OMOLUWABI system earlier mentioned.Unfortunately we seem to be at odds with the Igbo social system on related issues.The Yorubas for instance do not have a caste system.Also a system that makes female children less important than males or which subject widows to what looks like extreme ill-treatment is unacceptable to Yorubas.

SO THE POINT AGAIN?

a.All countries will always have groups with grouses.Unfortunately many of these groups today believe in putting these grouses forward violently or through terror.But no serious govt will or must yield to terrorism.In fact they must be made to understand that dialogue based on what is legal is preferable.We therefore align our opinion with that of Prof Wole Soyinka that once an idea comes on and is pursued it will not die a natural death but needs to be discussed.But in Nigeria such discussions must not be only with IPOB.It must cover Boko Haram,Niger-Delta militants,Plateau villagers and Benue and Ondo state farmers daily terrorised by Fulani cattle rearers etc.
b,If BIAFRA or even ODUA Republics are formed today what will likely happen will be shifting of focus to other existing differences within those Republics.Eg Ijebus may no longer see themselves as Yorubas and may start emphasizing how their tribal marks are different from those of the Egbas or the Ijeshas.And when that happens will the creation of Ijebu Republic be the solution? So will the Remos later decide to be separated and form their own Republic?
c.We cannot see the logic in asking PMB to implement a conference report that GEJ the initiator/convener and his political party refused to approve,legalize or even sign in to law.
d.Whether MASSOB or IPOB they are the products of politicians who are Nigerians by day and Biafrans by night.Their intentions are not genuine and will eventually lead to deaths and failure.

Let us ALL be more careful!

ARE IGBOS MORE MARGINALIZED THAN YORUBAS?…ASKS AYEKOOTO (1)

This write-up is neither for denying that Igbos are marginalized nor for questioning the right of any ethnic group to self-determination.The purpose is to show that if there is any group to secede  from Nigeria today, it should be the Yorubas.

BLASTS FROM THE PAST

1.What was the highest political post held by a Yoruba man when AZIKIWE was president? Was AWOLOWO not jailed under him?

2.When Ifeajuna and other Igbos killed Chief S.L. AKINTOLA why was OKPARA spared?

3,Was Adekunle Fajuyi not killed because of an Igbo Head of State?

4.Did Yorubas kill Igbos who remained behind during the civil war? Did Yorubas take over properties left by Igbos during the war? Were the properties of the father of Ojukwu the rebel leader which had been taken over by law not returned to the family?

5.After Muritala was killed and OBJ became head of state did he help or frustrate the leader of the Yorubas to win or lose the election?

6.When SHAGARI became president was EKWUEME not his Vice-President? Did Yorubas complain of marginalization as Igbos are doing now?

7.When BUHARI took over was IDIAGBON supposedly from the south-west. But did he ever link up with the south-west as a Yoruba man?

8.When IBB took over who was the highest Yoruba man in his administration? Did his attempt to call himself BADAMOSI make any difference to the Yorubas?

9.When Abiola and many Yorubas were being killed by Abacha and his henchmen on the streets of Lagos did many Igbos not say reclaiming the mandate was a Yoruba headache?

10.After Abacha died did Yorubas vote for OBJ as president? Were their wishes not over-ridden by IBB to install OBJ?

11.When OBJ was president how many Yorubas were part of his kitchen cabinet and close aides? Was it not during OBJ’s tenure that Lagos,the center of commerce for Yorubas was deliberately starved of funds and denied of Federal government presence?

12.Was this same attitude not repeated and made worse during YARDUA/GEJ era? Who was in charge of the country’s finances during GEJ’s era?What about the Armed Forces?

QUESTIONS FROM THE PRESENT

13. Are unemployed youths and demonstrating “miscreants” as defined by OBJ more in Igbo states than Yoruba states?

14,Are Federal government roads in Yorubaland better than those in Igbo states?Are there gigantic projects going on in Yorubaland initiated by PMB which are missing in Igboland?

15.Has PMB appointed more Yorubas than Igbos to his cabinet?

16.Is Rivers State not under Igbo control? Is Delta state not partly controlled by them?So why are they talking about not giving them another state as evidence of marginalization?

17.So why are Yorubas not asking to seceed from Nigeria?Why have the Yorubas not set up their own ODUA RADIO during GEJ’s regime to call Nigeria a zoo?

18.Why do Igbos keep abusing Yorubas despite general acceptance of their economic and commercial ventures which are real in Yorubaland? Why do Igbos really think Yorubas want them to stay in Nigeria? What is the advantage to Yorubaland if oil from the two Igbo states which is not up to half of what Ondo state alone produces continues to contribute to national revenues? How many Igbo agitators actually know that oil produced in Yorubaland is more than double what is produced in their states put together?

19.If YORUBAS did not really choose a President from within when it was its “turn to rule” why are they not agitating now? Or is the post occupied by Osinbajo now of a higher status than that of Ekwueme? So in what ways have the Igbos been more marginalized than the Yorubas?

20.Many Yoruba families were ruined through stock market crashes when the Igbos and Sanusi were in charge of Finance.Many died but have you seen Yorubas blaming Igbos or Hausa/Fulani or federal govt for their misfortune?

REASONS WHY YORUBAS MAY NOT ASK TO SECEED

21.Awolowo proved to Yorubas their fate is not to be tied to federal appointments or what comes from the centre as revenue.And many of his disciples like Bola Ige,Tinubu,Amosun,etc have proved him right.

22.Yoruba political reps are chosen based on good governance credentials of the party in power in their states.Politicians in Yoruba states are no angels and perhaps do steal like others but there are minimum good governance standards and elements of care they must show to their constituents to stay in favour. So if you are going to call Yorubas out on marginalization based on non-provision of roads,unemployment etc, it may be an unnecessary tall order.

23.Yorubas have a system generally understood and called the OMOLUWABI which is based on old age customs and traditions.This is passed from generation to generation not through classrooms but through the ways we are brought up.There are generally understood standards for public behavior,ostentatious show of wealth,diplomacy in dealing with opposite or opposing forces, general preference for dialogue over war, considerations about community interests over those of individuals and above all respect and celebration of education over wealth or money.That is why the opinion of Wole Soyinka is as weighty and if not more than that of our wealthiest personalities. Generally you do not need to point this to an 18-yr old Yoruba boy or girl.

TO BE CONTINUED

 

HAS OPC LOST ITS FOCUS? WHICH YORUBAS APPOINTED GANI ADAMS TO HELP THEM CELEBRATE ELEDUMARE?

 

 

 

 

‘Eledumare Festival is to celebrate God’
As the Odua People’s Congress commences the 2015 edition of the Eledumare Festival, its President and Chief Promoter of the Olokun Festival, Otunba Gani Adams, has said the event is meant to celebrate God in His totality.

The festival that began at the weekend, he said, would run for 21 days, with activities aimed at projecting the cultural and tourist heritage of the Yoruba race and Africans in general.

At a pre-event programme held in Lagos on Sunday, where stakeholders that included the Chairman of Infogem Limited, Chief Ayo Olomoko, attended, the promoter explained that the festival would underscore the universal supremacy of God.

He said, “We started the celebration of God a few years ago and the event has continued to attract more and more attention, not just from us but also from people outside of our organisation. Eledumare Festival is for every living soul to celebrate God. We have received criticism in the past for celebrating our deities but our critics now owe us a duty to join hands with us and give honour to the Almighty God.

“There is no limit to the level that we can take this festival to. Eledumare Festival is already a world class event but we need to take it into the consciousness of the tourists all over the world. This year’s celebration is not going to be devoid of the usual glamour and atmosphere of praise and worship for the God – The Alpha and Omega of our faith . We also want to use this festival to appraise the society and contribute to the growth of our nation both on the spiritual, political and economic consideration.”