Writing for Naij.com from Magodo, Lagos, Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye says the Yoruba youths are no longer making their valuable contributions to the political and cultural life in Nigeria. What can the Yoruba people do to restore lost influence?

Lateef Raji, a public policy analyst, in an article titled “Dwindling Oil Revenue: What Next for Nigeria?” posited that today, despite the pitiful state of unemployment in Nigeria, ironically, the nation is still rated as the third destination of investors and one of the fastest-growing economy in the world. Raji noted that Nigeria is a golden land of numerous opportunities for those who are resourceful, ingenious, creative, innovative, inventive, groundbreaking, enterprising, hardworking, focused, visionary and, most significantly, disciplined.

Consequently, as a concerned Nigerian, I want to question the role(s) of Yoruba youths in the current fight against unemployment, starvation and poverty in Nigeria. This question was necessitated by my discovery through indirect observations that Yoruba youths are the most lazy, perfidious and egoistic youths in Nigeria as at today.

I discovered that the pride of an average Yoruba youth has overshadowed his intellectual judiciousness, level-headedness and sagacity. Today, among ten Nigerians submitting their resumes to multinational corporations eight would be Yorubas. Folks from my generation in the Western Nigeria are too lazy to tap from the abundant opportunities that litter the streets of, say, Lagos, for primitive accumulation of wealth.

The Igbos, and, by extension, the Niger-Deltans and the Northerners have indirectly taken over the control of economy of Lagos, Nigeria’s indisputable number one centre of success, excellence and opportunities.

The Apapa wharf in Lagos has virtually been taken over by the Easterners. The data that I got from the Nigerian custom services divulges that 63% of those licensed to transact businesses in Apapa Wharf are Igbos.

More so, data collected from licensing office reveals that owners of 56% of commercial motorcycles in Lagos are Northerners and Easterners. The lucrative transport business has been hijacked from the Yorubas.

Today, the major work of average Yoruba youths on the streets of Lagos is to collect royalty, due and charges from the Hausas and Igbos, using their motorcycles to make cool cash from their land. Ninety-five percent of transport, travel and tour firms operating in Lagos are owned by the enterprising and hardworking Easterners.

The Yorubas stay at various intersections harassing hardworking people transacting their legal businesses in the name of collecting charges and dues for the local government. I also discovered that majority of the few Yorubas riding commercial motorcycles in Lagos are locally-trained automobile engineers that have abandoned their workshops.

Furthermore, the popular Ladipo and Owode motor spare parts markets in Lagos are now solidly in the hands of Igbos. As usual, the Yoruba youths are in the market collecting dues for their local government chairmen and the Iyaloja General of Lagos. Yaba, Oyigbo, Sabo, Oshodi, Agege, Alaba, Idumota, etc. markets have been taken over by the Easterners and Northerners who are predominantly youths.

Let me also assert unequivocally that the Igbo youths are now becoming more prosperous in the entertainment industry than the Yoruba youths. Today, the Yorubas hardly tune their DSTVs to the Yoruba movie channel of the satellite television; rather, they watch some other movie channel that show English movies with actors and actresses of Igbo extraction. Why? Because most Yoruba movies are short of creativity.

I can also articulate that 85% of the CEOs and executive directors of commercial banks operating in Nigeria today are Igbos and Hausas under the age of 50. They are very talented in boardroom politics, unlike their Yoruba counterparts, and they assist each other with an amazing ease.

Educationally, the Yorubas are no longer in the top-three. According to the National Universities Commission (NUC), Anambra, Imo and Enugu have the highest number of professors and doctorate degree holders in Nigeria. Ekiti and Ondo states that used to top the list have been demoted to number four and six respectively.

In 2014, the reports of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) revealed that the Yorubas have been upturned by the Easterners in terms of academic performance. Ekiti, a state known as fountain of knowledge, was number 34 in 2013.

The Yorubas are also missing in the sports sector. The Golden Eaglets, Flying Eagles, Super Eagles, Flamingoes, Falconets, Super Falcons, D’Tigers, other national teams are dominated by the Igbos and Hausas. The team that won the African Cup of Nations for Nigeria in 2013 was tagged Biafran national team by some columnists and social commentators, including myself.

Politically, the Igbos and Hausas are more united than the Yorubas. The result of the 2015 presidential election is a point of reference. The Hausas voted massively for General Buhari of the APC, while the Igbos extraordinarily voted for Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP.

Sadly, the Yorubas had no bearing during the election. Jonathan’s inner circle members are currently blaming the Yorubas for their son’s expected defeat. Victorious Buhari’s teammates are reportedly saying that the Yorubas contributed little or nothing to the success of their kinsman.

In conclusion, I want to impel my generation in the Western part of Nigeria to wake up and begin to act. The nation of Nigeria that I am seeing today is hemorrhaging. I suggest we put ourselves in strategic positions. The bitter truth is that our leaders only think for themselves and their children.

Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye for Naij.com

https://www.naij.com/441183-yoruba-youths-have-lost-influence-respect-of-nigerians.html

If only I'm daft enough to take you serious trash.

PLEASE DON'T TAKE THE WRITER SERIOUS, IGBO FOR LIVE.

My Anger with the Yorubas is when they decided conclusively to massively vote that Daura Animal

kernel501:
PLEASE DON'T TAKE THE WRITER SERIOUS, IGBO FOR LIVE.

7lives:
If only I'm daft enough to take you serious trash.

You guys are just dump.....do you guys mean to say no yoruba man can write an honest article about his people?

But this person is stating the fact

manchy7531:





You guys are just dump.....do you guys mean to say no yoruba man can write an honest article about his people?

Are you a yoruba? Is the writter right?

IPOB

Am a yoruba man and i have no problem whatsoever with the submissions of this man,he pointed out some things which every yoruba youth should think deeply about.and not jst yorubas but every young person around Nigeria. It's high time we the youths start taking responsibility for how we want this nation to be and in what direction we want it to move.lets all contribute to our communities and it starts by working hard and trying to improve ourselves and families,shun the corrupt foundation laid by our elders and try to find solutions to the challenges we face.we shouldn't rely on our elders to find the solution we would all face but also make active and positve contributions especially in politics

They are now looking for an opportunity to have another war in the east so that they can steal ppl's sweat and give them 2 pounds. They have now used the opportunity of igbos total rejection of the confirmed Dullar.d to sneak their local chapions to offices greater than them. I only blame the yeye ppl called niger delta, if yorubas divide and rule propangandist had not so brainwashed them I see no reason ppl should not be rushing to yenagoa instead of Lagos, the whole coastline of the east must not be igbo friendly for the survival of lagos, they say igbos want to take niger delta lands and the mumus jump foolishly but the same igbos have taken all their lands in lagos and they welcome them warmly for their economic survival.

Another Igbo man claims Yoruba name

Desperate IPOB Youths

But eh, the man is saying the truth ooo

IPOD miscreants

manchy7531:





You guys are just dump.....do you guys mean to say no yoruba man can write an honest article about his people?

NOT KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SARCASM AND LITERAL WORDS, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAME OF YOURSELF.
AVOID HALF EDUCATION, IT KILLS.

God bless you Op.

manchy7531:





You guys are just dump.....do you guys mean to say no yoruba man can write an honest article about his people?

La war o

turnup05:
God bless you Op. The Yoruba youth need to wake up and help each other to become giants in their various fields. You see many Yoruba youths not giving or training each other secrets of their success, but rather they can only take their friends clubbing or to drink beer. You will hardly see a successful Yoruba man tell their hard working Yoruba friends the secret of business so they can succeed rather they can help other...Am not talking of Jobs or yahoo plus but legit business because that's where other tribes cooperate only with their tribes men to win over other foreign lands.
It is not only by speaking the language that we should know we are Yoruba.

You mean like someone conducting a research into a money spinning business and handing the result over to some lay backs in the name of Yoruba unity.
Why not pay some token for training or must everything be free? there is no more free lunch even in America, so quit the chicanery.

Hmmmm... this is some eye opening facts!

Hiking