Nigeria as a nation state is indeed in another trying time, an epoch in our national history when mutual distrust, hatred and suspicion among ethnic enclaves have taken over our social psyche. The killing, maiming, bombing and kidnapping that have become daily headlines for stories oozing from the Northern part of the country is now fuelling the drum of the beats of war. And since I was yet to come during the historical civil war of 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, I will not be a competent comparative analyst. But what Chinua Achebe relayed in his last memoir; ‘There Was a Country’ was blood as a metaphorical object –describing the civil war. Those who are conversant with international politics and its intrigues will agree with me that the present socio-political configuration and political class structure of Nigeria will never allow peaceful secession of any region what so ever. So, the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode and his co-travellers; his emotional intelligence-deficient audience should tell us when they will be dying, since they will not get the Oduduwa Republic.
At another thought of it, let us assume, for the purpose of argument that Oduduwa Republic is feasible now, and even to be declared soon. Therefore, let us widen this argument more and see what the masses practically stand to gain, that by our hypotheses, it is exclusively to be delivered by the proposed Oduduwa Republic.
First, we need to remind ourselves that leadership and the political class of our proposed Oduduwa Republic will not be outsourced to the Obamas, the Hollandes or the Camerons. We need to come to reality that those whose custody our leadership boat is presently domiciled will take the lead, while others form the minority –a country of All Progressive Congress (APC) at the centre, and People Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), Accord parties as minorities. Those of you wailing and shouting of Oduduwa Republic without any political structure and party will not get to the seat of power. We need to discard utopia.
If we are to be scientifically predictive, our Oduduwa republic will be in the hands of the Tinubus, so, our money will be well managed in procurement of Bombardiers Jets. Then, the Fasholas can be rolling out their elitists’ policies that will send all citizens away from access to university education, after their fathers who are Okada riders have been banished from their livelihood. Money laundering will then be rocking like the Ajumobis, and the states elections can be put on hold for years, as we are presently experiencing in the case of Oyo State Local Government elections. Florence Ajumobi –a replica of Dame Patience character in Oyo State– can be sending police commissioners on errand and take the responsibilities of state commissioners at will. The Amosuns will be cracking on opposition parties’ members of the Oduduwa Republic, and those who are not ready to align can be made straightened by the power of political thuggery and brigandage. The Mimikos will take nepotism to another level by ensuring their kith and kin take the sensitive position in the to-be-formed political landscape, with zero-tolerance for public scrutiny. The Fayemi –just like the Mimiko– will be all-in-all, the states’ projects funded by the Oduduwa citizens will be named by their matrimonial nomenclatures. They will also not give allowance for citizens’ criticism. And in cases where the opposition of Oduduwa Republic manages to win election, we will be sure that the Obanikoros can set the whole state on fire in annihilation of any prosecuting evidence. The Akalas of the bujebudanu can be spending like the biblical prodigal son. This is a glimpse of our proposed Oduduwa Republic!
Second, who says the proposed Oduduwa Republic will eradicate inherent tribal rivalry and absorb the pockets of its attending violence we have experienced? In the proposed Oduduwa Republic, the Ife and Modakeke can gag themselves up again, fighting for independent states, as seen in the 1996, 1998 and 2000 crises that claimed millions of property and thousands of lives because of which enclave gets a local government. Ibadan people will be accused of over-bearing and she will have to contend with the political intricacies of the Ogbomoshos and the Oke-Ogun. At any chance, when the Ogbomoshos manage to get the first seat in the power house, she will be accused of favouring only her sons and daughters as experienced during the Alao Akala’s administration. The minority (the Ilajes, Itsekiris and others) in the to-be-formed Oduduwa Republic shall soon be shouting marginalization, the Muslims in the Oduduwa Republic –who have been accused of taking ‘Arab’ religion, and who have been equally accusing the regional political structure of marginalization– shall intensify their hues and cries. And if you fail to manage these to-be-marginalized persons and enclaves, the Ilajes (your oil producing people) shall embark on self-determination struggle, the potential Boko Haramites in the Oduduwa Republic shall start suicide-bombing you, as the Uighurs is doing to China. This is a glimpse of our proposed Oduduwa Republic!
For those who care to know: Those fray but innocent nerves who are disturbed by the present height of insecurity in the country, not cowards who pose to be warriors –siting in their comfort zones abroad and inciting war, nor desperadoes who suddenly become ethnic advocates when they are not chanced to get into the coffers of public treasury, our problem is that of political class, not religious, nor regional!! The Oduduwa Republic political class is not immune against this ravaging anti-masses policy formulation and implementation, corruption and nepotism. Our social stratification is characterised by our proximity to public treasury, not the statistics of church/mosque goers, nor the dialects we speak. This war is between the ruler and the ruled, not between the North and South. It takes a material understanding of society to get the clue. Those who exploit religious emotion and ethnic sentiment to drive home their hoggish and sadistic plots should be the ones to be stretched at market square and flogged mercilessly.
Oduduwa Republic is not going to be governed by expatriates!!
Semiu A. Akanmu is a Doctoral Researcher in Universiti Utara Malaysia. He can be reached at ayobami.sm@gmail.com
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