Response to Dele Farotimi’s Post Concerning Changing of Charly boy Bus Stop

By Olusegun Ogundipe

Whoever cares can drag the entire Yorùbá and summon our ancestors to join in the dragging. We remain indifferent. They have called us cowards, tribalists, and lazy, and we have kept silent. Now, they claim to have developed our states and territories. They boast that they have bought every piece of land because we are loafers. My brother, your kind of liberalism has expired in Nigeria’s march toward nationhood. The Yorùbá have distanced themselves and reevaluated our roles in the Nigerian project. The time has come when we must establish clear principles and relationships within the federation.

“Answer the fool according to his folly,” as the Bible advises. We are Yoruba, and the weapons of our warfare are not limited to guns and cutlasses. There are two types of Yoruba: Omo Alade and Omo Ekun. We are either from royal families or descendants of warriors. No one should feed us; we know how to feed ourselves. If Yoruba has tolerated all the nonsense and arrogance of the Igbo, in particular, it is not out of fear of war or violence. It is because we understand that the cost of peace is cheaper than the cost of war.

This is one of the reasons we open our doors for friendship, love, and freedom. We believe the Nigeria project is possible, and we have demonstrated our willingness to cooperate and achieve those goals. However, the irritant race thought our simplicity equated to stupidity. Now, we intend to show them otherwise.

Changing street names is just the beginning. Next, all non-Yoruba employees in the civil and teaching services in the Southwest must return to their states of origin. All Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) held by non-Yoruba in all Southwest states must be converted to certificates of leasing. We want to prove some points, and we are serious about it.

Other ethnic nationalities are at liberty to reciprocate and send non indigenes away from their civil or teaching services. That is ok and should be the beginning of a comprehensive restructuring we all anticipated. There is no statute book that mandates only the Yoruba to be reasonable and tolerant. Let all of us adopt the attitude of if-it-will-scatter-let-it-be.

Tolerance is not a substitute for the destruction of our collective identity. Those who want Project Nigeria to succeed must submit to the rules of the game. We cannot sacrifice our identity for Nigeria and other ethnic groups turn around to make mockery of our children tomorrow.