Yorubas are as objective as objectivity can be. However, we can be criminally disloyal. Perhaps this part of us is well captured in the lyrics of the song Yoruba Ronu by our late father Hubert Ogunde. Part of the song says, *"Yoruba nse r'awon nitori owo, Yoruba jin r'awon l'ese nitori ipo;*
*Won gbebi f'alare, won gba're f'elebi;*
*Won pe ole ko wa ja, won tun pe oloko wa mu,*
*Ogbon ti won gbon lo gbe won de Ile Ola, ogbon na lo tun pada wa si tun de won mole;"*
Translated loosely it means Yorubas are against one another because of money and position. They pronounce the guilty innocent and the innocent guilty. They invite the thief to the farm and call upon the owner of the farm to catch him. Their wisdom takes them to greatness and the same wisdom chains them.
The foregoing is definitely apt in describing the disloyalty of the Yorubas to one another. A part of that disloyalty stems from our non-tribalistic nature. We can be selfishly or selflessly non-tribal, depending on what drives us: money, love, hate, ideology, humanity, position, ambition etc.
It is instructive, and insightful too, that right from preindependence the Yorubas have been politically divided and did not make much ado about it. We had people like TOS Benson, Ibiyinka Olorunnimbe and Adeniran Ogunsanya preferring to be in the South-east dominated NCNC (National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, which later became National Council of Nigerian Citizens). Of course they became opposition to the Obafemi Awolowo led Action Group, AG, which was very regional in outlook, unlike the pan-national ideology of the NCNC.
However, TOS Benson got a dose of ethnic politics championed against him by his party leader, Nnamdi Azikiwe, who wanted his Igbo brother to replace him as the Lagos North representative in the Federal Parliament in 1964. Benson eventually won the election as an independent candidate, after being denied the NCNC ticket. He had to depend on his Lagos roots and Yoruba loyalty because he had been "pushed against the wall."
I must say here, although distastefully, that at times the Yoruba person's failure or refusal to close ranks with his kinsmen often lead to some form of shame or reproach. _We nor dey get sense until dem beat us from outside._
During the inglorious Civil War Col Victor Banjo fought on the side of the Biafran Army- he actually led the Biafran onslaught that marched all the way to Ore, Southwest Nigeria, conquering the old Bendel and parts of Ondo. What happened to him eventually? He was killed by Ojukwu on the phantom charge of plotting against Ojukwu's government.
Our dear illustrious son and Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, out of ideology, supported the secession of the Biafra nation and was put in prison by the Gowon government. Very noble of him but when he decided to support one of his own against someone from the same tribe on which account he was incarcerated, the old man was cursed, abused and labelled a tribal bigot.
The second republic came in 1979 and the Akinloyes, MKO Abiolas and Akinjides pitched their tents with the National Party of Nigeria because of the non-compromising nature of Awolowo (which, admittedly, was
politically not expedient) and also because of their individual ambition laced with very doubtful virtues. MKO made sure (deliberately) he disrespected, among other follies of his, a man that ensured he went to school without paying fees through his free education policy, just to please his Northern friends in the hope of getting the 1983 presidential ticket. However, in 1982, about the time for the contest of the party's ticket for the 1983 election Alhaji Umaru Dikko (who was President Shehu Shagari's powerful Minister of Transport and "chief political enforcer") told MKO that the "presidency was not for sale." _O j'egba wa sile gbehin ni._
Recently, Babachir Lawal, who was President Muhammadu Buhari's Secretary to the Government of the Federation, revealed that Buhari's nature would not have been favourably disposed to his VP Prof Osibajo's presidential ambition in 2023. He said knowing Buhari very well he would have found it "distasteful and immoral" for Osibajo to contest against Tinubu. That's a Northerner. No Fulani man would dare contest against his benefactor. But hey we are talking about a Yoruba man here: ambitious, selfish, disloyal and very blind to sentiments. _Ohun naa j'egba ni._
I must not fail to mention the sacrifice of a great Yoruba son, Lt Col Adekunle Fajuyi, who would rather die than surrender his guest and boss Major Gen JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi (the then Head of state) to be killed by Northern mutiny soldiers in the counter coup of July 1966. Such a noble act by an uncommon individual. I doubt if any person from the other parts of Nigeria can do that. What a selfless loyalty. Unfortunately, despite that and BANJO/SOYINKA's show of support, the Igbo nation still refers to us as cowards and traitors.
I know that the Yoruba nation is incapable of not acting true to type but our brains will always be reset by the cane that always awaits us on the other side.
We remain Yoruba, the most objective tribe in the world.
We remain the most populous tribe in the world.
We remain the most accommodating tribe in Nigeria.
Nonetheless, we need to go back to RONU. Our greatness lies in our collective oneness .
It lies in a togetherness spirit laced with selflessness.
Indeed, we must let our OMOLUABI-ness lead the way. Omoluabi is loyalty
Omoluabi is selfless service
Omoluabi is humanity
Omoluabi is integrity
Omoluabi is honour
Omoluabi is objectivity
Omoluabi is a free spirit anchored on wisdom.
Omoluabi is godly.
One love,
Rotimi Oladipo
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