Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that no individual can be regarded as the leader of the Yoruba.
Obasanjo stated this in his book, titled, “My Watch: Political and Public Affairs,” where he addressed what he called his “Nigerianness and Yorubanness.”
In chapter 31, titled, “Campaigns and Elections,” Obasanjo said Nigeria did not need tribal barons as leaders.
He added that there was nothing like Yoruba leadership in Yoruba land.
The former President said, “Just as there was no single oba having sovereignty over the whole of Yorubaland, there was no individual as leader of the Yorubas in Yorubaland. As it was then, it remains till now.”
He noted that even among the Yoruba obas “there is equality, but mutual respect.”
Backing his claim with a saying, “no crown is subordinate to another,” the former President said cities and areas were normally of different sizes.
He recalled that in the past, obas never saw one another, but sent messages through emissaries.
According to him, it was the colonialists that made the obas to see one another face-to-face. The colonialists, he said, went further to rank Yoruba traditional rulers.
Obasanjo noted that in the North, the majority of emirs accepted the Sultan of Sokoto as the direct descendant of Usman Dan Fodio.
He said the Sultan was accepted as the leader among Hausa/Fulani traditional rulers.
“The Yorubas did not have such a clear-cut and accepted hierarchy. Every oba maintains sovereignty over his domain,” he added.
Obasanjo explained that ‘baales’ (chiefs) were appointed by obas within their domains.
The former president said the supporters of the first Premier of the Western Region, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, “fixed” the title of Yoruba leader on the late sage during the Civil War.
He recalled that during the war, different ethnic groups met separately to consider positions and issues for the future of Nigeria.
According to him, Awolowo presided over the meeting of the Yorubas in Ibadan.
“In the course (of the meeting), Chief Awolowo presided. His supporters then fixed the title of Yoruba leader upon him,” he stated.
Obasanjo said that some people, including Chief Adisa Akinloye, did not accept Awolowo as the leader of the Yoruba.
Obasanjo said that after he successfully ended the Civil War, some people began to extol his “Yorubanness.”
“I did not encourage this. ‘My Yorubaness’ and ‘my Nigerianness’ must go pari passu, and one must not stand in the way of the other,” he stated.
Explaining the relationship between the two, Obasanjo stated that his parents were from Owu in Abeokuta.
He stated, “I bear Owu tribal marks. And better or worse still, I speak English with my Owu dialect. I have always maintained and felt proud of my ‘Owunness’, ‘Yorubannes’ and ‘Nigerianness’ in that order.
“They are all parts of my cherished identity. But I have always refused and I will always refuse to be constrained, diminished or reduced to the level of Yoruba leadership.
“Without being immodest, I am a national leader, an African leader and a world leader in my own way.”
The former President said that Nigeria needed nationalists, not tribal leaders.
He stated, “I strongly believe that Nigeria needs nationalists to propel it forward. Myopic tribal barons and tendencies will not take us too far.”
Obasanjo said that Nigeria was inadvertently deprived of nationalists as leaders at independence.
“Other countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Cameroon, to mention a few, were not so deprived,” he noted.
He expressed the hope that Nigeria could still regain what it lost at independence.
Obasanjo further said, “If a person is born in the Yoruba, Igbo, Nupe tribes, it is important that he tries and grows up as a Nigerian with total commitment to Nigeria.”
This, he explained, was a sure way “to make Nigeria stable, secure, developed and great.”
He said that the misapplication of personal and tribal interests was the bane of political stability and rectitude in most African countries.
“I have always believed that the interest of any Nigerian tribe can best be met and served when the national interests are served and not outside it,” he added.
The Nigerian leader said that where the need arose, in the interest of justice and fairness, he had spoken and acted on behalf of the Yoruba.
He stated, “I have done so, but not against the overall Nigerian interests or against the interest of any other groups for that matter.”
punch
Nobody is for anybody lol
ReplyDeleteAbeg why dem use this pics of OBJ na.. see the dirty chair in the background. Hian.
DeleteI'm reading the book "My watch"... so no need to read excerpts.
OK bye
How an individual be a yoruba leader? When they are a tribe that change "colors" according to their environment.
ReplyDelete*How can
DeleteOK we have heard.
ReplyDeleteBubu take note . Nigeria first , family n tribe , second n third respectively .
ReplyDeleteGood for the yorubas.
ReplyDeleteThey should first work on their values b4 thinking about a leader.
Values like honesty, tribalism and rape.
Se n gbo OMO ALE?
DeleteHahahah,poverty maker u wil end up dying a biter death fr ur hatred towards yoruba,if u lik cry from today till tomorow,yorubas dnt care,u pple wil continue to b our slaves and der is notin u cn do,u and ur brothers should continue selling chips and rat gum on 3rd mainland while we are busy building empires.kikikikiki.jealousy dat ur forefadas built in ur minds will continue to make u losers.awon irankiran,alatenuje,olojukokoro gbogbo.u wil never reap whr u did not sow lailai.
DeletePlenty talk. After u don take ur yorubaness to capture power back to the centre and spent eight years. Acquired so much wealth. U are now talking about nationalism. THIEF! Go and chop d money wey you don acquired.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.
DeleteObasanjo, a general in the nigerian army and a former president should address the hefty allegation one of his sons made against him concerning his wife before discussing an topic.
ReplyDeleteIf it were to be in a developed world, this will lose all his respect until he proves his innocence in the allegation. But being a yoruba man, he don't see it necessary to even address it.
okay
ReplyDelete#GODWIN™
Ok!
ReplyDeleteSeen
What's our business with how the Yorubas regard each other.
ReplyDeleteWe have more pressing matters in the country abeg.
#WhiteDiamondOut
@white diamond. Lol.
Delete@white diamond, just imagine. As if other Nigerians care about whether they exist or not.
Delete"My Watch", hun, am still trying to get a copy of that book.
ReplyDeleteTheir tribal headache.
ReplyDeleteThis baba always trying to stay in the news... Baba you are old! Take a chill pill and enjoy your stolen funds
ReplyDeleteOk. Good 4 him
ReplyDeletemoney maker has just received his 3 Olympic Gold medals for stupidity, foolishness, bigotry, illiteracy, dumbness and I can go on and on but I have work to do. More Gold medals coming his way before the end of the day and his idiot cohorts will also receive the Silver and Bronze medals before the day runs out. Well done boy, you never fail to show your stupidity.
ReplyDeleteI don't care.
ReplyDelete@money maker always wanking under anything Yoruba, bigot of the highest order. Are you sure you don't secretly wish you are Yoruba because this your love is getting too much. If it's not Yoruba people, it is Jaymoore are you sure you're also not gay and fancy the guy? You must be a gay bigot, great combination.
ReplyDeleteSisi eko itk will come and run her mouth as usual.
ReplyDeleteIfy tabansi/sisieko welcome.
DeleteGet out
DeleteNoted
ReplyDeleteOBJ wrote and published a book, if bloggers decide to take excepts or chapters of his book and post them on their blogs, blame the bloggers. He is not talking too much, he hasn't said anything, contents of his book is being posted here so you bloody illiterates better know the difference. monkey maker and his bigot crew go get an education before you keep making senseless comments. igbo claimu
ReplyDelete@white diamond if it's not your business then why did you click on the post. Why did you not you move on to other posts, but you're so interested in anything Yoruba and can't resist poking your dirty drug infested nose in Yoruba peoples business that you could not help yourself but comment senselessly. Clap for yourself and also receive your Olympic medal. You idiots sure are piling up the medals today, it's obvious you'all aiming for a world record. Don't worry you will break the world record for foolishness, illiteracy, daftness, poverty, bigotry, pedophilia and prostitution today and it aint even 12 noon yet.
ReplyDeleteIfy Tabansi you too want to join the monkey maker crew yeah?, dem don give you banana chop abi or monkey maker don stick him disease infested dick inside your mouth and that is why you're foaming from your mouth. Let me tell you, sis eko is one of the intelligent commenters on this blog, she says the truth as it is and does not sugar coat anything. She is also not biased, partial or a tribalistic bigot like you. So you better padlock that your uncouth mouth if you don't have any sensible thing to say here you dirty slapper.
ReplyDeleteSisi eko welcome. You want to trend for the wrong reasons?
DeleteBen don't mind them oh, they say they are bitter because Obasanjo and Yoruba people did not give them food during the biafran war. They caused a war and they want their enemies to also feed them during the war they caused, hahahaha jokers.
ReplyDelete