It has been a long-standing order. A gang-up sort of. To keep the Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi states under bondage. And it must be perpetual. It spanned many, many decades past.
The story has been the same over time. Its pattern, mould unchanged. Deny them their affinities with their kith and kin in the West; the latter-day South West. Whatever sense that label registers in their warped sub-conscience.
The North swore long ago with their blood. Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi must remain forever in their North. As cannon fodder. They are to be used as shield and ignored. Nothing else matters to them. They love seeing them enslaved.
Unfortunately, they got willing collaborators from outside the North. You have them in their large numbers: South, East, West. And even within! That also is a stark reality.
The North had always wanted a firm grip on the Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi states. To shore up their dubious population superiority claims. And they engaged in all kinds of horrible methods. Just to defend, uphold and justify their frivolous acclamation.
Their acclaimed progenitor, Uthman Dan Fodio, had one treacherous aim: To have Nigeria and Nigerians. Under the dirty armpits of the minute Fulani invaders. They cared less how of the ways and means.
They first approached us with the Quran. That couldn’t go far. It couldn’t achieve much. Dissatisfied. They added subtle threat with underlying intimidation. Yet, they were frustrated. The uncommon resilience in them kept them going. Never to give up. Not under any circumstance.
They went back to their blood-oozing drawing board. And consulted their murderous crystal ball of evil. They fell for its homicidal option: Full scale jihad it was! Since then. They declared war on the rest of us. Still leveraging heavily on religion, the one-finger cover.
Fodio’s great, great, (great?) grandson even went many miles further. That was Sir Ahmadu Bello. First and only Premier, Northern Region, 1952 to January 15, 2966. He also held a Fulani title of Sarduna of Sokoto. He cherished that epithet more than anything else. He was powerful and feared by friends and foes. You dared not dare him.
He vowed he would remain restless. Unless he physically dipped the Quran inside the Atlantic Ocean in Lagos. After the conquest, of course. He never did. Not even remotely. He died in a nightmare. And buried with his illusions forever.
But his subjects after him nearly did! They were resolute about it. Their determination was uncanny. You couldn’t get it anywhere else. They wanted to overrun the Yoruba land after capturing Ilorin in 1836.
The Ibadan warriors led by Balogun Oderinlo would not allow the Fulani jihadist have their way. They were brutally cut down like trees in 1840. That put a huge halt to their expansionist tendency down South.
Our fate in Kwara and Kogi didn’t just jump on us. It was deliberately inflicted. Two plebiscites and one referendum in the past graphically defined this substance. Dateline: Pre-independence Nigeria. A plebiscite was hatched for the Yoruba of the defunct Ilorin and Kabba provinces. They were enthusiastic. Eager to be with their Yoruba brothers and sisters of the West.
Northern Region was forced on them by the Fulani oligarchy. That rarest chance to determine their collective fate by choice came in 1956. They grabbed it wholeheartedly. They were determined to make the best use of it. To the maximum. It was one seldom opportunity never to be carelessly let go.That was what they were agitating for many years before.
They never for a moment belonged to the North. Not even in body, soul and spirit. Without mincing, mixing or missing words. They were convinced of what they wanted. Only to be with their kith and kin in the Western Region.
The results of referendum expressly confirmed that. But the powers that be thwarted that wonderful expression. This account captured the essence:
“The plebiscite resulted in a majority vote for Ilorin and Kabba provinces to join the Western Region. However, the results were not implemented before Nigeria gained independence in 1960, and the areas remained part of the Northern Region.”
But the tragedy is this. The British actually leaked the result to Bello. His allies opened his eyes to the deep implications of the plebiscite. That the North would be depleted under his watch. Some prey would be released from his bondage. And his “enormous influence” drastically curtailed.
In fact. That would instead, empower Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group (AG), in the Western Region. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was said to be in full alignment with Bello. He was Premier, Eastern Region. They were indications that he was privy to the British parley with Bello.
Together, they jointly killed our sweet dreams, high hopes and great aspirations. We were devasted. Right to our marrows. Even unto this day. But they couldn’t break our resolve. Our inspirations remain solid.
Honestly, we still find it hard to forget. To forgive? Don’t go there. That’s the honest state of our collective mind set. We’re not giving to pretence. It’s never in our DNA.
And the aftermath: “The decision to keep Ilorin and Kabba in the Northern Region contributed to the complex regional dynamics in Nigeria.” That’s the awkward situation that the cruel decision dropped violently on our fragile laps in Kwara and Kogi states today presently. It is the battle of our collective life.
One notable plebiscite followed suit in 1961. It was tagged, 1961 British Cameroons Plebiscite, on February 11. Purpose: To determine whether the Southern Cameroons would join the Federation of Nigeria or the Republic of Cameroon.
Northern British Cameroons voted to join Nigeria. That’s part of today’s Boko Haram-invested North East. Southern British Cameroons opted to join the Republic of Cameroon.
Ironically. The power that be looked the other way this time around. The result of the plebiscite was implemented to the letters. Why? Because Yoruba were not involved! Particularly, those from Kwara and Kogi states.
Another instigated exemplar played out in 1963. That year, the Mid-West Region was manipulated out of the Western Region. Just because Awo’s AG was in firm control of the West. And they dreaded his ever-increasing influence. They detested like a pandemic.
They dressed it as the Mid-West Region referendum. Again. They gladly obliged its result to run its full course. Mid-West Region was officially birthed on August 9, 1963. Its six provinces: Benin, Delta, Isoko, Koko, Urhobo and Warri.
I fervently insist. A Kwara State was never contemplated nor created on May 27, 1967. That was factual for a fact.
What was conceptualised and made manifest was West Central State. It was such a delight to us all. We heartily welcomed it and embraced it. But that was acutely short-lived.
The northern Fulani simply refused to let it be. They denied it its rightful existence, outright. They wouldn’t afford it to breathe. They didn’t pretend their fierce resistance to the name. They were visibly disgusted. And they annoyingly displayed every bit of it.
The name, West Central, exposed them to ridicule. So, they thought in their utter confusion. They were stripped of their northern cover. So? They raised a fight.
They averred under high heavens: name change or nothing! They gathered together. Harnessed all resources. Put them in one basket. And launched a most hideous struggle of their lives. It was an eerie onslaught. They were ferocious in their approach. And deadly in execution.
They took the war to the military junta at Dodan Barracks, Ikoyi, Lagos. General Yakubu Gowon headed that junta, christened, Head of State. They lay bare their case, standing on two grounds. With bitterness, they opened up to Gowon.
One. They saw the name as an affront. Their self-perceived argument was laced with neo-colonisation. That the Ilorin and Kabba provinces that made the state were an integral part of their old Northern Region. But that name ceded it to the Yoruba in the West. They couldn’t swallow that. Or comprehend it. For that, a change of name was the ultimate. The end-game.
Two. To rub salt into their festering injury, Lt. Col David Lasisi Bamigboye, was the governor. They voiced their strong resentment: “The state was taken to the West. And you still made their son (Bamigboye being Igbomina) the Military Governor.”
On this too, they demanded a reversal. Gowon was intimidated, overwhelmed and eventually catapulted. He was physically conquered. Even in his domain. The military in him couldn’t save him. He fell flat.
He managed to fight back half-heartedly. He would not go down completely. He pulled himself back. He told them: “The governor was strictly on a military posting.” Nothing could be done. It was a done deal!
Apparently, to placate the Fulani agitators. He succumbed to the name change. He tasked them to scout for an alternative. That was how oligarchs birthed Kwara instead of West Central.
Ask them for the meaning of Kwara. They become blank, confounded. Lost in thoughts. Some say it’s actually a Nupe word for Big River. Referencing River Niger. Others vehemently disagree.
Anyway. Anyhow. The rest is consigned to the stinking dustbin of our appalling history. Reason for our ongoing unpleasant experiences. All in the blood-soaked hands of the Bororo Fulani terrorists.
These wolves in human skin are unrelenting. My heart bleeds. My mind is troubled. My people are in chains in their fathers’ land. Their ancestral homes are under constant threat.
Terrorists are on rampage. Who will safe my people from annihilation? Help seems farthest fetched. Why? Army’s reading of the situation is laughable, yet disheartening. It’s sad, comedic and ridiculous. All at same speed of time.
Deputy Director, Public Relations, 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Lt Col Policao Okoye, scared us: “Contrary to the sensational claims, the troops mounted a strong blocking position along the Kwara–Ekiti border axis, where they neutralised two armed bandits and recovered two brand new AK-47 rifles.”
Army didn’t encounter what confronted the people of Oke-Ode, Ifelodun LG, Kwara State. They refused to see the stark realities: Huge casualties in humans, materials, resources, et al. What the military could make out of it: Only two “neutralised armed bandits.” And they retired to their comfort zone in the barracks. Leaving the people to lick their wounds, all alone.
They certainly didn’t feel the people’s pains. Neither did they see the tragedies that befell Oke-Ode. That terrorists’ attack gulped 21 innocent lives. Many others severely injured. And many more carted away like cargo into the forest.
More than 50 communities were affected. Residents practically fled their ancestral lands and homes. They cut across Edu, Patigi, Isin, Irepodun, Ifelodun and Oke Ero local government areas.
The emerging Mahmuda terrorist group are on prowl in two senatorial districts of the state: Rampaging and ravaging all the way. They go preying in the dead of the night. Maiming, raping and slaughtering unrestrained. Then they return with a haul of human beings as their booty and loot.
But, the military insisted it never happened: “A fabrication designed to mislead the public and undermine the morale of gallant troops.” Now we can understand their “gallantry.” And it means so much to them.
The manner President Bola Tinubu is handling insecurity is quite baffling. He’s not handling it anyway spectacularly different from ex-president Muhammadu Buhari’s. He only fulfilled his electioneering promise. To dig deeper from where Buhari sank us.
He’s missing it big time. There’s serious urgency for pro-active action. Not post-humous condolences and visitations. That has the usual old, odd way. It’s mere scratching the surface. That’s cosmetic. It’s far more than that. That’s no longer expedient.
We’re sad. He’s not as passionate about our security as we thought he should. Not the way he is obsessed with taxation, levies, tariffs, charges, duties, loans, borrowings, et al.
If he can expend the same amount of energy to combat insecurity. He will see good results and successes falling into pleasant places for him. He must jettison Buhari’s ways of doing things. Not even on insecurity.
Buhari’s vision and mission were the same: Revenge and avenge. And he did accomplish just that.Tinubu is strongly advised not tread that dangerous path.
What we need is the Ibadan warriors’ solution of 1840. It has to be reactivated to suit our present needs. The President should initiate and lead a concerted collaboration. All the relevant and critical stakeholders in the South West, Kwara and Kogi inclusive, must be actively involved.
Let’s explore and exploit the rich “native intelligence” demonstrated by the Ibadan warriors. Together, we can decimate these terrorists. The blueprint is there for our easy pick. The precious time is ticking fast. Never must we be caught unaware again. Never.
Now we ask: Is it a crime to choose a choice? Our choice is crystal clear. And we’re determinedly unwavering. No regrets before, now and even in the farthest future.
We shout it loud: We want to be yoked together with our brothers and sisters in the West! What offence have we committed in that?
Tell them! Terrorists or bandits. Kidnappers or murderers. That’s where we stand for life. Nothing missing. Nothing broken. We remain unperturbed! Even though, our hearts are severely grieved. And our bloods are crying into high heavens.
Kwara, Kogi bleed. Avenge us now, oh Lord!
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