Professor Peter Fatomilọla, the veteran seasoned Nollywood actor, bears his thoughts on the state of the nation.

Yorùbá nation is the way forward. Ojú á k’ára!  We’ll be able to meet our leaders directly and talk with them.

The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.

 

– Wole Soyinka

Slavery

Remember when the white man carted away our brothers and sisters during slavery?

Upon getting to the plantation in the West Indies and the Americas where they were forced to labour, the white man drilled holes in both the upper and the lower lips of every slave and padlocked them, so they would not be able to eat the sugarcane and quench their thirst as they laboured in the scorching sun. This is exactly what is happening in Nigeria today.

Tí nwọ́n bá ní ẹnìkan ní Ijẹbu tàbí ará Ekiti kan l’ó n ṣ’olórí; tí aà bá fẹ́ nkan t’ó ń ṣe, àá lọ báa ní Ààfin Ààrẹ ni láti lọ fi ẹ̀dùn ọkàn-an wa hàn – nítorí èdè kan nã l’a jọ ń sọ! Ṣùgbọ́n ẹni t’óò gb’édèe ẹ̀, t’óò mọ̀n’wàa ẹ̀, t’óò mọ̀n’ran ẹ̀, t’óò mọ̀n’rìn-in ẹ̀, t’ó bá ń  da’rí ẹ, t’ó ń f’ìyà jẹ ẹ́, t’óò dẹ̀ r’ẹ́ni gbà ẹ́ s’ílẹ̀; ẹrú aiyéraiyé ni ẹ ẹ̀! O dẹ̀ mã ṣ’ẹrú kú ni!

Àwọn kan ń sọ pé ṣé Ilẹ̀ ẹ Yoòbá ò níí kó sí wàhálàa ọ̀rọ̀ ẹni t’ó ma ṣ’olórí fún wa n’ígbàt’ã bá gba Òmìnira ọ̀hún nã tán? – Ẹ̀yin ẹ jẹ́ k’a lé Akátá lọ ná, k’a t’ó f’àbọ̀ bá’dìẹ̀!

Quick appraisal of Europe

Whoever thinks Yorùbá region is too small to stand on their own, think again. Some of the countries below with their individual population stats have been quoted to make the average Yorùbá appreciate that the total population of Odùduwà land also falls among those countries. Yorùbá land is actually larger than many of these nations in our list.

In Europe, Austria (pop: 9 million) is governed by Austrian Germans; Belgium (pop: 11 million) is governed by Belgians; Croatia (pop: 4 million) is governed by Croats; Czech Republic (pop: 10 million) is governed by Czechs; England is governed by the English; France is governed by the French; Germany is governed by Germans; Italy is governed by Italians; the Netherlands (17 million) is governed by the Dutch; Greece (pop: 10 million) is governed by Greeks; Hungary (pop: 9 million) is governed by Hungarians; Poland (pop: 38 million) is governed by Poles; even Romania (pop: 19 million) is governed by the Romanians; Russia is governed by Russians; Spain (pop: 47 million) is governed by Spaniards; Switzerland (pop: 8 million) is governed by the Swiss.

In Africa, these tiny countries and municipalities readily come to mind: Benin Republic, Togo, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon; even Ghana, to name just a few. The proposed Yorùbá republic is larger than anyone of these countries.