Have a glimpse of the Oduduwa Republic, By Semiu A. Akanmu

Photo Credit: vodoo-beninbrazil.org

 Nigeria as a nation state is indeed in another trying time, an epoch in our national history when mutual distrust, hatred and suspicion among ethnic enclaves have taken over our social psyche. The killing, maiming, bombing and kidnapping that have become daily headlines for stories oozing from the Northern part of the country is now fuelling the drum of the beats of war. And since I was yet to come during the historical civil war of 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, I will not be a competent comparative analyst. But what Chinua Achebe relayed in his last memoir; ‘There Was a Country’ was blood as a metaphorical object –describing the civil war. Those who are conversant with international politics and its intrigues will agree with me that the present socio-political configuration and political class structure of Nigeria will never allow peaceful secession of any region what so ever. So, the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode and his co-travellers; his emotional intelligence-deficient audience should tell us when they will be dying, since they will not get the Oduduwa Republic.

At another thought of it, let us assume, for the purpose of argument that Oduduwa Republic is feasible now, and even to be declared soon. Therefore, let us widen this argument more and see what the masses practically stand to gain, that by our hypotheses, it is exclusively to be delivered by the proposed Oduduwa Republic. 

First, we need to remind ourselves that leadership and the political class of our proposed Oduduwa Republic will not be outsourced to the Obamas, the Hollandes or the Camerons. We need to come to reality that those whose custody our leadership boat is presently domiciled will take the lead, while others form the minority –a country of All Progressive Congress (APC) at the centre, and People Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), Accord parties as minorities. Those of you wailing and shouting of Oduduwa Republic without any political structure and party will not get to the seat of power. We need to discard utopia. 

If we are to be scientifically predictive, our Oduduwa republic will be in the hands of the Tinubus, so, our money will be well managed in procurement of Bombardiers Jets. Then, the Fasholas can be rolling out their elitists’ policies that will send all citizens away from access to university education, after their fathers who are Okada riders have been banished from their livelihood. Money laundering will then be rocking like the Ajumobis, and the states elections can be put on hold for years, as we are presently experiencing in the case of Oyo State Local Government elections. Florence Ajumobi –a replica of Dame Patience character in Oyo State– can be sending police commissioners on errand and take the responsibilities of state commissioners at will. The Amosuns will be cracking on opposition parties’ members of the Oduduwa Republic, and those who are not ready to align can be made straightened by the power of political thuggery and brigandage. The Mimikos will take nepotism to another level by ensuring their kith and kin take the sensitive position in the to-be-formed political landscape, with zero-tolerance for public scrutiny.  The Fayemi –just like the Mimiko– will be all-in-all, the states’ projects funded by the Oduduwa citizens will be named by their matrimonial nomenclatures. They will also not give allowance for citizens’ criticism. And in cases where the opposition of Oduduwa Republic manages to win election, we will be sure that the Obanikoros can set the whole state on fire in annihilation of any prosecuting evidence. The Akalas of the bujebudanu can be spending like the biblical prodigal son. This is a glimpse of our proposed Oduduwa Republic!

Second, who says the proposed Oduduwa Republic will eradicate inherent tribal rivalry and absorb the pockets of its attending violence we have experienced? In the proposed Oduduwa Republic, the Ife and Modakeke can gag themselves up again, fighting for independent states, as seen in the 1996, 1998 and 2000 crises that claimed millions of property and thousands of lives because of which enclave gets a local government. Ibadan people will be accused of over-bearing and she will have to contend with the political intricacies of the Ogbomoshos and the Oke-Ogun. At any chance, when the Ogbomoshos manage to get the first seat in the power house, she will be accused of favouring only her sons and daughters as experienced during the Alao Akala’s administration. The minority (the Ilajes, Itsekiris and others) in the to-be-formed Oduduwa Republic shall soon be shouting marginalization, the Muslims in the Oduduwa Republic –who have been accused of taking ‘Arab’ religion, and who have been equally accusing the regional political structure of marginalization– shall intensify their hues and cries. And if you fail to manage these to-be-marginalized persons and enclaves, the Ilajes (your oil producing people) shall embark on self-determination struggle, the potential Boko Haramites in the Oduduwa Republic shall start suicide-bombing you, as the Uighurs is doing to China. This is a glimpse of our proposed Oduduwa Republic!

For those who care to know: Those fray but innocent nerves who are disturbed by the present height of insecurity in the country, not cowards who pose to be warriors –siting in their comfort zones abroad and inciting war, nor desperadoes who suddenly become ethnic advocates when they are not chanced to get into the coffers of public treasury, our problem is that of political class, not religious, nor regional!! The Oduduwa Republic political class is not immune against this ravaging anti-masses policy formulation and implementation, corruption and nepotism. Our social stratification is characterised by our proximity to public treasury, not the statistics of church/mosque goers, nor the dialects we speak. This war is between the ruler and the ruled, not between the North and South. It takes a material understanding of society to get the clue. Those who exploit religious emotion and ethnic sentiment to drive home their hoggish and sadistic plots should be the ones to be stretched at market square and flogged mercilessly. 

Oduduwa Republic is not going to be governed by expatriates!!

Femi Fani-Kayode and His Flawed Theory of secessionism, By Semiu Akanmu

 

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

In his usual manner, Femi Fani-Kayode on 18^th of May, 2014 (as published by Premium Times) made a passionate call for Oduduwa Republic; a secessionist advocacy from the Nigeria state; an entity he dubbed “cruel failed state that has no soul and that lacks humanity and compassion".

Naturally, the former Minister, going by his antecedent entertaining but uninformative treatises and penchant for idealistic (ethnic and religious) bigotry, does not worth one’s response. One needs to wonder: what value and difference will it make in responding to a character that once described Obama as an Anti-Christ –in disagreement with US policies? Won’t it be pertinent to examine the ethical standard (as expected of an Omoluabi) of a one-time attack dog of the Presidency, who took our elders like the respected Kongi to cleaners at every stance of the literary icon’s posture against the then administration?  Won’t it be necessary to test the intellectual healthiness of a person who had once published his ‘penisume’ (a fusion of penis and resume) so as to defend his alleged ethnic chauvinism? But, before the apostles of ‘the-message-is-different-from-the-messenger’ bounce on me, before I am taken on another psychotic tutorial of dealing with the message and leaving the messenger alone, let me pretentiously consent, and put his message under scrutiny. At least, from Socrates’ words “the unexamined life is not worth living”, hence, an unscrutinised opinion is not worth taking.

From the Femi Fani-Kayode’s treatise referred above, he wondered what had happened to Nigeria that hypnotized our Army and reversed her historic might, validated by her role in stopping civil war in Liberia and quelling military coup in Sao Tome and Principe. He is surprised that middle class Nigerians cannot own finest cars and properties in London, Paris and New York, and could not afford summer to ‘walk’ in the streets of Belgravia, Chelsea, Hampstead and Knightsbridge -as the case was before. The former Presidency attack dog is in bewilderment on the state of insecurity in the country, the incessant killing and maiming in the North, the bombing of Churches, killing Pastors and Imams, slitting of throats of young and old, kidnapping of our girls, and all sorts of barbarism that the terrorist cultists of Boko Haram appellation has plagued our nation with, in their murderous campaign of political Islamism. These characterize the problematization phase of our former aviation Minister’s problem-solving framework, and in theorizing his solution, he propounded a theory of secessionism. He says “I will never accept the idea of living in a nation side by side with religious extremists who slit the throats of children… Let those of us from the west establish Oduduwa and let us celebrate and enjoy our freedom from the bondage … Give us Oduduwa or let us die”.

For a solution to be rendered valid and plausible, it must treat the problem it sets to solve. There, we need to probe Fani-Kayode’s theory and examine its viability in solving the afore-highlighted problems plaguing our nation, our collective unpleasant experience powered by few theocratic fascists. In doing this, we need him to answer some questions: (1) How many are these terrorists whom Femi cannot sit side-by-side with, and which of the states do they govern that the Oduduwa republic will carve away from? (2) Does Femi think terrorism is a problem of the North exclusively? (3) Is he ignorant of Nigerians of Yoruba origin that have been arrested and/or convicted of charges related to terrorism, and even linked with al-Qaeda? (4) Is Femi ignorant of a similar camp to Boko Haram (some misguided Muslims) situated in Kishi/Ogbomosho, Oyo State in Oduduwa Republic, which was dismantled by the present government? (5) Does he not have a grasp of the contending international wave of terrorism which defies ethnic or racial peculiarity? (6) Is the proposed Oduduwa republic a nation of the media-construed Christian south? (7) Of what economic model and leadership structure is the proposed Oduduwa republic which will be a sharp contrast to the present experience in the region? (8) What do the mekunnus in the South-West Nigeria stand to gain from the Oduduwa republic that the talakawas of the North will be envy of?

Again, if Fani-Kayode’s concern about our Northern Christians informs his newly-found ethnic activism and secessionist advocacy, does Femi plan to migrate the Christians of the Fulani, Kanuri, Nupe, Gwari -and host others- enclaves to the proposed Oduduwa republic, so that they can live in his imaginary Eldorado, and sent on packing after some years? If he truly loves his faith brethren in the North and wants to salvage them from the hands of the terrorists, how does secession stop the killing and maiming? How practically does Femi Fani-Kayode’s theory of secessionism attend to the problems he outlined? To see this kind of disjointed and incongruent analysis from a one-time establishment personnel; a person capable of suggesting policies that affect lives of millions of Nigerians shows how devastating meritocracy has suffered in Nigeria public service. In sane climes, people like Femi should still be undergoing leadership tutelage as supervisory councillors in their respective local government areas. But, this is Nigeria, where nepotism and favouritism has made us victims and beneficiaries of leadership deficiency.

In as much as any region of the present Nigeria should be respectfully allowed to secede without insulting the sensibilities of others, even as the debate for/against its potential advantages continues, in as much as right to self-determination should be allowed without making mockery of the theocratic inferno consuming this particular region, what we have at our hand now is to continuously mount pressure on the Presidency to grow witty and steel balls and deal with the situation decisively.  And we must never allow personalities like Goodluck Jonathan or Femi Fani-Kayode –characters suffering from chronic ethnic and religious bigotry– to mount the podium of our leadership again. 

My strongly believed theory is that Goodluck Jonathan is deliberately not fighting Boko Haram (as he should) so as to maintain instability in places where he feels he will not be voted for. And if I am to paraphrase and conclude with what my good egbon; Kayode Ogundamisi posited: “The nonchalant attitude is simply as a result of some vengeance against a perceived region we tag 'born to rule' so if they kill themselves to the last man, it served the purpose of the primitive man who just see himself as President and Commander in Chief of a segment of Nigeria. The seeming indifference and 'god catch them' attitude of the Jonathan administration against countless victims, women, children and elderly continuously massacred by Boko Haram is disgraceful”. We pray for Nigeria!!