Ekitis forgotten in Yoruba Commonwealth -Ajayi

Dr. Tunde Ajayi is the director of publicity for the over 20,000 strong Ekiti Advance Project (EKAP). In this interview with Correspondent, Gbenga Sodeinde, in Ekiti, he says the people of Ekiti have not benefited anything from the Yoruba nation, adding that they had been forgotten in the commonwealth of the Yoruba. Excerpts:







Who is Dr. Tunde Ajayi?

You already know my name, I am a senior lecturer at the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti, I am also an entrepreneur in Ekiti State and until a few weeks ago, I was a senior special assistant to the former Governor on inter-governmental relations. That meant that my assignments took me to Abuja.

Is it the College of Education in the university or which?

It is you, the journalist and politicians, who have made the college and the university the same, but the university is essentially different from the college of education. The College of Education had been there for quite sometime now and the university is just about to start. So, really, I am part of the old establishment and I also do some lectures in the University of Ado-Ekiti as part-time lecturer.

Could you tell us how you came about EKAP?

Ekiti Advancement Project (EKAP) has been in existence among Ekiti people for a very long time. In fact, if you go anywhere now the sentiment we exposed at ECAP are that of the people. We are talking about a situation where people feel that for too long Ekiti has been under the tutorship and leadership of outsiders. So, many people have come to Ekiti either from Ibadan, Lagos, Abeokuta, and so on and they had always influenced the development of Ekiti without even allowing the people of Ekiti, owners of Ekiti, the indigenes of Ekiti, the people that live in Ekiti to have a say in the affairs of their own land. The time has now come when we feel that if there is going to be any progress in Ekiti, either politically, socially or economically, we must allow Ekiti to be in charge of their own affairs. We must in fact allow them to take complete control of their own destiny, and this is the situation. For too long now, it is either we are pandering to Ijebu-Igbo or Ibadan and never allowed Ado Ekiti, Ijero or Ilawe to take charge of their own affairs. A large number of people felt the time almost came when the Ekiti in Diaspora would be suggesting who will be the next Ewi of Ado, the next Ajero of Ijero without even being in Ado, and that has to be checked. That is the sentiment that actually brought us into EKAP and we are actually talking about Oodua investments owned by the Yoruba.

When we started EKAP, we realised that so many people were of the same opinion as we were, in fact, when we started sharing experiences, it became clear that Ekitis have a lot more to be grateful to the Hausa and Fulani than there own brothers and sisters who are Yoruba. Ekiti for a long time did not derive any benefit from the Yoruba as a nation. The few things we have been able to do of importance came from outside, the creation of Ekiti State, for instance, but for the support of the Kanuris and the Kano, Ekiti would not have been created. Even when Ekiti was about to be created, our brother, Diya, tried all he could to prevent it, saying that it was Ijebu state that should be created and not Ekiti. And if you go down history, you will know that Ekiti has not really benefited from the Yoruba as a nation, and that certainly has to stop.

There came a time in this country when we asked collectively for a shift of power from the North to another side, the time has come in the Yoruba nation when there must be a shift of emphasis from the way we are running the affairs of the Yoruba and take a more holistic look at the interest of all the various constituents of the Yoruba nation. And when you look at it, the Egba man, the Ijebu man, the Ibadan man, and the Lagos man, have benefited from the Yoruba nation than the Ekiti and Ondo man, and we want to ask why? If we do not get a correct or positive answer, we had better be Ekiti first and foremost than a Yoruba.

How do you compare your group with the E-Eleven group?

E-Eleven is essentially an outside group, it's a group that was formed in Diaspora and they have come to benefit tremendously from Ekiti people. Today, they run the Fountain Hotel, the Ekiti-Kete Bus transport and handling the Miss Ekiti Day. These are things that have been zoned to them not to talk of the patent given to them. But we are talking about the indigenous people of Ekiti, the people living in Ekiti, who feel the only way Ekiti can make progress is for the authentic and original indigenous Ekitis to be in charge of their own land. In Ekiti they would say, "E je ki oni Lu se Lu". These are the people who live here and have always championed the interest of their people. All of a sudden, because of money and position, we are almost beginning to harbour a situation where Ekiti outsiders and non-Ekiti would be dictating the affairs of the state and the pace and development of Ekiti today, the average Ekiti man would want to make a mistake and learn from it.

Looking at what has been happening in the past, the Ekiti in Diaspora, who are not in tune, people who don't know what is happening in the state, who don't even know what the people lack, are the ones coming to rule us, made a lot of blunders and got away with it. The First civilian administration was that of Ajasin, Ayo Fayose came from Ibadan and made a lot of mistakes and went out. We want a situation where Ekitis, who are resident in Ekiti, will make their own mistake, learn from it and grow.

Are you not worried that Ekiti is not industrialised?

We are extremely worried and concerned about it. In fact, that is part of the historical neglect we are talking about, and it has become an albatross on the part of every government and we want to ask our Yoruba brothers where our own Cocoa house is? It was 34 per cent of the cocoa produced in Ekiti that we used to build the mega warehouse in Apapa, the mega warehouse in Ibadan, the WNBS and WNBT building, those beautiful roads, the Airport Hotels, the Premiere Hotel, the Lafia Hotels and so on. It was the labour of our fathers and mothers that was used as catalyst for industrialisation of the Yoruba nation, and when you look at all these, nothing has come to Ekiti. The only thing they gave us as atonement is the textile industry, and it has been in coma all these years. At a point, they were even talking of selling it to some Indian guys or Chinese people. What we are saying is that the time has come for us to look at the books and see why we are not getting anything commensurate with our contribution. The Ekitis have laboured so hard to build this commonwealth and yet they have been totally forgotten in the distribution of this commonwealth.

-To be continued tomorrow.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/apr/7/700.html

which commonwealth? abeg all these alarmists need go sleep.

iReport, we know the jagbajantis you're trying to strt here.

[i]you [/i]need to go and sleep

.

"

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tpia:

una don get iyawo be that.

Tpia, do you hate me that much?

Nah, Osun ppl have to keep her and her trouble for a while.

.

tpia:

If Iraq couldnt resist George Bush' troops, what makes you think you can keep Deepzone out of your lands when she's bent on getting a man establishing herself there?

I don talk say this na prayer matter.

Do you know how many times I've prayed for my beloved iReport?
Prayer no go help.

Ah ahn, don't want her.

Unless TOH is willing to take her as an inlaw

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tpia:



maybe TOH can work with her sha.

of course for now her perfect guy would be half Ekiti half Igbo but that failing I'm sure Deepzone would be just as happy with an original authentic Ekiti man.

wait a minute, didnt she already get a few of them here on NL? Whatever happened to yemmyse/xavier et al?

bawomolo is claiming Osun, right?

LMAO. . . .TOH will shred her into pieces

Yea, what happened to yemisi? The dude left from heartbreak

Bawomolo is too young for her Maybe Kobojunkie ppl can help iReport.

The woman can teach her own to behave

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tpia:

if must-a-phar can change his name (or even if not), he'd be in the running.

rotflmao

How many so far?

Coconut headed nigerians have just turned a serious matter into boy matta.

raluway don come

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nuzo:

Coconut headed nigerians have just turned a serious matter into boy matta.

Will you shut up, my friend.

What will be posted here but the same shit as usual.

Find a chair bfore I foind you koboko

One day Ekiti would rise again

Xavier.:

One day Ekiti would rise again

Who said we've fallen?

Maybe if you stop chasing Funmi, you'll have time to help it "rise"

.

Xavier.:

One day Ekiti would rise again

Dude,
Name your State and I will tell you how bad it has fallen. . .
My Ekiti has Never fallen and it will never Fall.
My point will be fully established after The 25th of April.