AT THE YORUBA YOUTH CONFERENCE ON UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS CAMPUS. Oduduwa Republic – Our Immediate Tasks Speech Delivered at a Conference Organised by the Movement for Oduduwa Republic Held on Thursday 18th September, 2014 at the Creative Arts Theatre, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria 1. Our Self-Determination Struggle: by Way of Introduction. I have been asked to talk about Yoruba self-determination within the context of a quest for Oodua Republic. This I will do, but also within a certain context and without failing to make certain very important clarifications. This is important because on the one hand is the fact that this particular lecture is meant for Yoruba youth and students who subscribe to the idea of self-determination, and on the other hand is the truism that it is not everyone that subscribes to the idea of self-determination that has a clear understanding of its true meaning in broad and specific terms, and in principle and practice. Thus there will always the need for clarifications. Self-determination simply implies the right of peoples to choose how they want to be governed, under what sovereign and by extension within what territory. It is a sphere of political discourse that deals with the rights of people as collective and not just individual rights. Wherever a people are in a struggle to control their way of life, they are said to be involved in self-determination struggle. Who constitutes a people is also a matter that needs not be subjected to unending debate. In its barest context, a people would mean a community or groups of community that share common culture, language and historical development. The Yoruba are a people and self-evidently so. We are even more so because we are bound by common history of repression and domination in the artificial enclave called Nigeria in the last 100 years. Indeed, the Yoruba doubtlessly constitutes the largest homogenous ethnic group in Nigeria which occupies the same continuous territory without ecological barrier. But the fact that we have been in travails for more than a hundred years does not imply that we have always seen our struggle as that for self-determination. Indeed, a longer period was spent under the illusion of trying to make Nigeria better in a nation where “tribe and tongue may differ but people stand in brotherhood.” It was not until the mid 1990s that for the first time we were able to come out to say clearly that we deserve and desire self-determination. That was the time the Oodua Youth Movement (OYM) was created and the Yoruba Charter of Self-Determination published. The OYM did not mince words and had a very clear understanding of self-determination as far as the Yoruba Nation was concerned. The slogan then was Oodua Nation within or outside Nigeria. Simply put, it meant there was a minimum agenda encompassing the creation of Yoruba Region in a Nigeria based on true federal system where the federating units or regions would have high level of autonomy. Then there was a maximum agenda for separate existence as an independent Republic, if the various entities in Nigeria or those who benefit from the extant rot would not agree to restructuring and devolution of powers. It is also important to note that at that time the burgeoning self-determination movement aggregating around OYM subscribed to a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) in which the ethnic nationalities would play the central role as the way to achieve a workable federal arrangement amongst the various components of the country Nigeria. Today, 20 years later, these issues are as fresh as ever and often do appear to an emerging generation as new discoveries. Thus, I think where to begin really is to look at the stages our struggle for self-determination has gone through in the last two decades. 2. What are the Stages in Our Struggle? i. 1994 – 1999 This was a period of ideological clarifications and expansion of the movement. There was proliferation of organizations based on disagreements, confused as well as refreshing understanding and in some other cases, on the basis of sheer opportunism. Thus, after the Oodua Youth Movement, there was the Covenant Group, the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Oodua Nationalist Congress (ONC), and a plethora of others. But the OPC singled itself out as the most successful in mobilising the most oppressed strata of the Yoruba. Internal wrangling notwithstanding, the entire movement at this stage still managed to shuttle and wobble along. ii. 1999-2003 This marked the most trying period for the movement, with so many self-inflicted injuries recorded. It was also a period of death of great ideas. Indeed, it was a time when snide comments as to the lack of need for further theory pervaded a section of the movement. So many burgeoning cadres of the movement were also lost to ensuing internecine feud. At some other level, it marked the beginning of the compromising of a section of the movement to immediate partisan political objectives. The organisation at the forefront of the Yoruba nationalist movement (OPC) was at this time in the thick of internal and external siege. The presence of a Yoruba man at the centre of Nigerian politics did not help matters either. We would have been better of unrepresented. He poised to exterminate the OPC and annihilate the Oodua movement. We are glad he failed. But we must also admit that it was a period that saw the most ingenious effort to unite the splinter groups. We cannot afford here to forget the special role of the Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM) and the Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM) amongst others. The coalition of Oodua Self-determination Groups (COSEG) was a product of such trouble shooting effort. iii. 2004-2013 Only a few words will characterise this period appropriately – blossoming of counter-revolution in theory and practice; scattering of the flocks before helpless shepherds. The self-determination movement was nowhere near its goal. It was a period of several botched attempts at recovery in a neck to neck rat race with reactionary proselytisation. However, culture, which in the early days of the struggle was wrongly applied and was becoming a shackle rather than a weapon of liberation, was called to service, just as attention was again redirected to the young people. But so many things had been lost already, without hopes of recovery. The OPC of both factions, COSEG, ONAC, ATAYESE and several others continued to trudge on with the burdensome standards, but it was as though our best was not just enough. iv. 2014 Year of the National Confab The movement continues to struggle for relevance in the open political arena. It is noteworthy that the Yoruba delegation to the Conference was made up largely of moderates who would not openly discuss self-determination as self-determination, but would rather mask it, or coat it in “acceptable phrases” bearing in mind the agreement by conferees that the breakup of Nigeria would not be on the table for discussion! It is also instructive that out of the 15 delegates representing South West on the ethnic nationalities and socio-cultural organizations category, only 2 were from the mainstream self-determination movement, none was less than 40 years of age and the average age was over 60 years. And but for that poor representation the Confab report would not even have mention anything self-determination or agree that right to self-determination be given expression internally within Nigeria and in respect of state creation. 3. What Is To Be Done? i. Avoid putting the cart before the horse. We must admonish our people to stop toying with secession; secession is serious business. It is not a theme for the boys. It is a men’s theme in the theatre of politics. We cannot afford to put the cart before the horse. It is not always so that if we follow the rules in social matters as this we would definitely get the desired result. But it is worse if we fail because we have failed to follow the rules or we have failed to see the tree for the wood. We need to expand and refocus the movement. We need to build structures. We need to permeate the ranks of the ordinary masses. Such work can only be accomplished by a movement that consciously generates agitators and organisers. New tools of technology by themselves are not enough without the conscious cadres to put these to use. ii. Build cadres of the movement The most important task before the movement today is to build cadres. The movement needs cadres who can fit into the new phase of the struggle. The task of agitation, propaganda and organisation cannot be carried out without members who not only understand the principles, perspectives, policies and programmes of an organisation, but who are have also internalized these enough to be able to strategically deploy the material and human resources of the organisation to attain set objectives. We need to strive towards multiplying within our ranks those members who are able to interpret realities as they unfold and formulate correct tactical response to problems. Such cadres are not going to emerge overnight. They can only be produced through theoretical study and in the course of practical political activities. It will involve a process of fractional distillation, during which the men will be separated from the boys. But the bottom line is sacrifice all the way. It is an elite group whose only privilege is the freedom to sacrifice over and over without expecting material reward. So what I am saying is that the cadre is a revolutionary, a missionary, a leader who is willing to transform the life of the masses by working and living amongst them. He is not a chosen messiah. He strives to bring as many as possible amongst the people to his own level of intellectual development, but without sentiment. He therefore must be objective and thoroughly ideological. iii. Shun chauvinism, ethnic narrow-mindedness and ethnic cleansing. While we must not hesitate to be ideologically, politically and militarily ruthless against those who oppose our right to self-determination, we must eschew postures and actions that portend to worsen the condition of humanity as a whole. We must reject and oppose the dehumanisation of people of other ethnic groups in Nigeria and beyond. Dehumanisation of other peoples can only be an expression of degeneration of our own spirit. He who wants to fight for the self-determination of the Yoruba must first and foremost be convinced that the Yoruba as an ethnic group is not superior to other ethnic groups under the sun. Neither are we inferior to any ethnic group. All men are created equal. The expression of our freedom cannot at the same time be the source of repression of other peoples. Societies pass through stages, usually from low level based on communal mode of production to more complex based on class division and stratification. The differences are forms of existence of classes and states. In the modern world cultures overlap, but that does not obliterate the fact that there are different ways of life based on different experiences and history. Nor does it excuse any attempt to obfuscate the unique identities of various peoples. Thus, different peoples will give expression to democracy and freedom in their own unique ways, which must be allowed so long as it does not contradict the inalienability of individual and peoples’ rights. iv. Uplift humanity: give prime of place to the youth, respect the rights women and children In the new stage of the struggle, more than ever, we cannot afford to ignore the role of the youth. The dynamism, the energy and the adventurous spirits of the youth and youthful at heart must be harnessed for the attainment of our objectives and ultimate goal. The current struggle is the struggle of the IT and backpack generation. In this struggle, we need not recognise leaders of tomorrow. Those who cannot be leaders today or who are consciously denied leadership roles today cannot be trusted with leadership roles tomorrow. Our greatest pool of disciples is the youth. They must be given a prime of place. Also, our struggle for a Yoruba nation based on modern democratic principles and rights of the individual cannot the thoroughgoing and meaningful without a conscious programme to make our womenfolk play a major role in the process. We cannot afford to wage a struggle in which our womenfolk will be confined to the “kitchen cabinet” to mind our pans and plates alone. Liberating our women from all forms of gender discrimination cannot just be part of our tactical maneuvers but, rather, part of our strategic goal, made manifest in our practical political programmes. Gender equality, for us, cannot be limited to certain affirmative action in the future Oodua Republic but rather, that which flows from the practical involvement of our sisters, mothers and spouses at various stages of the struggle. And as a matter of principle, we must be bold enough to openly and consciously adopt immediately all international conventions on gender equality and the rights of women and children. v. The Yoruba in Kogi and Kwara Finally, we must realise that whatever we do, we must bear in mind the plight of the Yoruba people in Kwara and Kogi State who have been Balkanized into the Northern region as minorities, particularly in Kogi. These two subgroups are actually in the frontier. They are people who have been forcefully carved out into region and states by both the colonialists and the military without their consent and against all legal and conventional considerations. Relevant international conventions and charters are very clear on this, viz., a. the second clause of the United Nations Atlantic Charter, according to which territorial changes must be in accord with the wish of the people and b. the third clause according to which all peoples shall have the right to determine the form of government under which they will live. The Africa Charter on Human and Peoples Rights also gives expression to this: a. Article 19 of the Charter states that: All people shall be equal; they shall enjoy the same respect and shall have the same rights. Nothing shall justify the domination of a people by another; and b. Article 20 (1) of the Charter states that: all peoples shall have the right to existence. They shall have the unquestionable and inalienable right to self-determination. They shall freely determine their political status and shall pursue their economic and social development according to the policy they have freely chosen. As for those who have always argued that these conventions and charters speak to the relationship between colonial nations and the colonizers, it is not just enough to declare that they are living in the past; we must draw their attention to the transformation going on the world over before our very eyes. The principles are the same: the rights of people to self-determination, whether internal or external. Let them look towards East Timor, Southern Sudan, Crimea, Catalonia, the Kurds, Basque, Scotland and sundry places for lessons in the currency of political theories on self-determination. 4. Conclusion Let me conclude this short speech by stating unequivocally that the kick-starting of the collection of signature Oodua Republic by the Movement for Oduduwa Republic (MORE) is a step in the right direction. But at the end of the day work done will have been zero without (i.) forwarding same to the relevant international bodies, viz., the United Nations and the Africa Union with appropriate petitions and notices, and (ii.) Calling for a referendum of the Yoruba people in Nigeria to answer Yes or No to the simple question: Do you support the quest of the Yoruba for separate existence as a Sovereign Nation? This is a lot of work. Oodua a gbewa ooo. Dr. Femi Obayori femiobayori@yahoo 18th September, 2014 Please sign the Yoruba national petition for a sovereign Oduduwa Nation via a Yoruba National Refrendum at oduduwanation.org
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 09:57:18 +0000
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