Elder Adeyeye Olurotimi
I do not agree with all these sentiments and blackmail ‘against Yoruba’. This had been the tales told by Sanusi Lamido all through his tenor as CBN Governor. This was how Yorubaland and her resources were sold out to post Yakubu Gowon’s Federal governments. The aftermath was deliberate launch of physical and monetary policies targeted at the destruction of Yoruba economy.
The North has always sang this song of “Yoruba South West is far developed and at a higher advantage than us. They control the economy of Nigeria, and we can not let them control the political arena of Nigeria.” These fairy tales of pure blackmail and victim mentality we have heard since 1966 January 15th to this day.
In order for the North to get even with Yoruba South West, Gen. Murtala Muhammed came. The first thing he did in 1975 was to take over the Yoruba Apapa and Tincan Island seaport. When he died, Obasanjo took over the Lagos Stock Exchange and other Yoruba assets. Obasanjo’s monetary policy was focused at destroying Yoruba economy. He ensured that all the 3 leading banks (in assets and liquidity) owned majorly by Yoruba were liquidated by force. National Bank of Nigeria, Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, (Wema Bank) folded up. These and the Major Insurance and Reinsurance companies owned by Yoruba are the drivers of Yoruba economy. They were all shut down by Obasanjo. Meanwhile, he left Bank of the North to thrive. In fact, he pumped in Federal Government money into it when it became obvious that the Northern elites had drained the BON blood dry. To date, that money was not refunded. He took over The Western House in London, now Nigeria House. He took over Liberty Statuim. He does not want to see even the poop of Chief Awolowo talk less of any of his legacies that made Yoruba economy thrive.
The remains of Oodua Investment that OBJ could not destroy in his first term, he came to finish in his second coming. He was all out to sell off the entirety of Ikeja Industrial estate to the cheapest bidders if they can not have it for free. Unfortunately, the structure of Wemaboard Estate didn’t allow him to wield such power. What did he do, he make sure all the viable industries in those Estates went bankrupt and shut down. These are the genesis of the unemployment rate in Yorubaland today.
Go check it out, all the Federal Agencies in Yorubaland are manned by 75% non-Yoruba citizens. Meanwhile the North and the East will not allow even 3% of Yoruba citizens in similar establishment in their own soil. Yet they say Yoruba South West is at an advantage over them.
The writer of this script claimed 10000 Yoruba citizens are earning 350bn. Where did he get his statistics from? He has not told us the value of the Zamfara Gold being mined solely by the Northern elites in the last 15years. He has not told us the value and volume of dollars stolen by the collective Northern elites. Sambo Dasuki, Abba Kyari 1 and 2; Sani Bello; IBB, Abdullsalam; and all the rest. How many Yoruba or Nigerian of southern extraction has ever done that from Federation Account? What has been the contribution of the North to the Federation Account annually since 1966 to date? Yet they say Yoruba South West is at advantage over them.
Please let no one fool us any longer, Yorubaland is the poorest Nation in the Nigeria political equation to this day.
We have over 35m Yoruba Youths joblessness and underemployed of our 65m population, not because we do not have what it takes to keep them gainfully employed, but because Nigeria stampede us to a total halt. But for BAT who set the pace for Lagos Development in 1999, Lagos would have been an eye saw today. All his effort to form a coercive front for Yorubaland 1999 met OBJ’s war from all angles. Of all the Yoruba Intelligentials that serve in OBJ government, how many of them are alive today? How many of them were any success today? He make sure they were all taken out somehow. Even “his trusted friend” Chief Onaolapo Soleye, is just existing, not living again.
We just need to break up Nigeria peacefully now. Before it breaks up forcefully.
