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Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi - Politics - Nairaland

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Emir Lamido Sanusi At The Hajj Pilgrimage In Mecca (Photos) / Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (1999) / President Jonathan Visits Emir Of Kano, Lamido Sanusi (Photos) (2) (3) (4)

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Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by Shegman22(m): 10:29am On May 07, 2015
In sum, the Yoruba political
leadership, as mentioned by
Balarabe Musa, has shown itself
over the years to be incapable of
rising above narrow tribal
interests and reciprocating
goodwill from other sections of
the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically
every crisis in Nigeria since
independence has its roots in
this attitude.
The Yoruba elite and
area-boy politics;
Igbo marginalisation and
the responsible limits of
retribution; and
The Yoruba Factor and
"Area-boy" Politics.
My views on the Yoruba
political leadership have been
thoroughly articulated in some
of my writings, prime among
which was " Afenifere: Syllabus
of Errors" published by This Day
(The Sunday Newspaper) on
Sept 27, 1998. There was also an
earlier publication in the weekly
Trust entitled " The Igbo, the
Yoruba and History" (Aug. 21,
1998).
In sum, the Yoruba political
leadership, as mentioned by
Balarabe Musa, has shown itself
over the years to be incapable of
rising above narrow tribal
interests and reciprocating
goodwill from other sections of
the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically
every crisis in Nigeria since
independence has its roots in
this attitude.
The Yoruba elite were the first,
in 1962, to attempt a violent
overthrow of an elected
government in this country. In
1966, it was the violence in the
West which provided an avenue
for the putsch of 15th January.
After Chief Awolowo lost to
Shagari in 1983 elections, it was
the discontent and bad publicity
in the South-West which led to
the Buhari intervention.
When Buhari jailed UPN
governors like Ige and
Onabanjo, the South-Western
press castigated that good
government and provided the
right mood for IBB to take over
power. As soon as IBB cleared
UPN governors of charges
against them in a politically
motivated retrial, he became the
darling of the South-West.
When IBB annulled the
primaries in which Adamu
Ciroma and Shehu Yar Adua
emerged as presidential
candidates in the NRC and SDP,
he was hailed by the South-
West. When the same man
annulled the June 12, 1993
elections in which Abiola was
the front-runner, the South-
West now became defenders of
democracy.
When it seemed Sani Abacha
was sympathetic to Abiola, the
South-West supported his take-
over. He was in fact invited by a
prominent NADECO member to
take over in a published letter
shortly before the event. Even
though Abiola had won the
elections in the North, the North
was blamed for its annulment.
When Abdulsalam Abubakar
started his transition, the
Yoruba political leadership
through NADECO presented a
memorandum on a Government
of National Unity that showed
complete disrespect for the
intelligence and liberties of
other Nigerians.
Subsequently, they formed a
tribal party which failed to meet
minimum requirements for
registration, but was registered
all the same to avoid the
violence that was bound to
follow non-registration, given
the area-boy mentality of South-
West politicians. Having rejected
an Obasanjo candidacy and
challenged the election as a
fraud in court, we now find a
leading member of the AD in the
government, a daughter of an
Afenifere leader as Minister of
State, and Awolowo´s daughter
as Ambassador, all appointed by
a man who won the election
through fraud.
Meanwhile, nothing has been
negotiated for the children of
Abiola, the focus of Yoruba
political activity. In return for
these favours, the AD solidly
voted for Evan Enwerem as
Senate President. This is a man
who participated in the two-
million- man March for Abacha
´s self-succession. He also is
reputed to have hosted a
meeting of governors during
IBB´s transition, demanding
that June 12 elections should
never be de-annulled and
threatening that the East would
go to war if this was done.
When Ibrahim Salisu Buhari
was accused of swearing to a
false affidavit, the Yoruba
political elite correctly took up
the gauntlet for his resignation.
When an AD governor, Bola
Tinubu, swears to a false
affidavit that he attended an Ivy
League University which he did
not attend, we hear excuses.
For so many years, the Yoruba
have inundated this country
with stories of being
marginalised and of a civil
service dominated by
northerners through quota
system. The Federal Character
Commission has recently
released a report which shows
that the South-West accounts for
27.8% of civil servants in the
range GL08 to GL14 and a full
29.5% of GL 15 and above. One
zone out of six zones controls a
full 30% of the civil service
leaving the other five zones to
share the remaining 70%. We
find the same story in the
economy, in academia, in
parastatals.
Yet in spite of being so
dominant, the Yoruba
complained and complained of
marginalization. Of recent, in
recognition of the trauma which
hit the South-West after June 12,
the rest of the country forced
everyone out of the race to
ensure that a South-Westerner
emerged, often against the best
advice of political activists.
Instead of leading a path of
reconciliation and strong
appreciation, the Yoruba have
embarked on short-sighted
triumphalism, threatening other
"nationalities" that they ( who
after all lost the election) will
protect Obasanjo ( who was
forced on them). No less a
person than Bola Ige has made
such utterances.
To further show that they were
in charge, they led a cult into
the Hausa area of Sagamu,
murdered a Hausa woman and
nothing happened. In the
violence that followed, they
killed several Hausa residents,
with Yoruba leaders like Segun
Osoba, reminding Nigerians of
the need to respect the culture
of their host communities. This
would have continued were it
not for the people of Kano who
showed that they could also
create their own Oro who would
only be appeased through the
shedding of innocent Yoruba
blood.
I say all this, to support
Balarabe Musa´s statement, that
the greatest problem to nation-
building in Nigeria are the
Yoruba Bourgeoisie. I say this
also to underscore my point that
until they change this attitude,
no conference can solve the
problems of Nigeria. We cannot
move forward if the leadership
of one of the largest ethnic
groups continues to operate, not
like statesmen, but like common
area boys.
iii.The Igbo Factor and the
Reasonable Limits of
Retribution.
The Igbo people of Nigeria have
made a mark in the history of
this nation. They led the first
successful military coup which
eliminated the Military and
Political leaders of other regions
while letting off Igbo leaders.
Nwafor Orizu, then Senate
President, in consultation with
President Azikiwe, subverted the
constitution and handed over
power to Aguiyi-Ironsi.
Subsequent developments,
including attempts at
humiliating other peoples, led to
the counter-coup and later the
civil war. The Igbos themselves
must acknowledge that they
have a large part of the blame
for shattering the unity of this
country.
Having said that, this nation
must realise that Igbos have
more than paid for their
foolishness. They have been
defeated in war, rendered
paupers by monetary policy fiat,
their properties declared
abandoned and confiscated,
kept out of strategic public
sector appointments and
deprived of public services. The
rest of the country forced them
to remain in Nigeria and has
continued to deny them equity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and
the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have
conspired to keep the Igbo out
of the scheme of things. In the
recent transition when the Igbo
solidly supported the PDP in the
hope of an Ekwueme
presidency, the North and
South-West treated this as a
Biafra agenda. Every rule set for
the primaries, every gentleman
´s agreement was set aside to
ensure that Obasanjo, not
Ekwueme emerged as the
candidate. Things went as far as
getting the Federal Government
to hurriedly gazette a pardon.
Now, with this government, the
marginalistion of the Igbo is
more complete than ever before.
The Igbos have taken all these
quietly because, they reason,
they brought it upon
themselves. But the nation is
sitting on a time-bomb.
After the First World War, the
victors treated Germany with
the same contempt Nigeria is
treating Igbos. Two decades
later, there was a Second World
War, far costlier than the first.
Germany was again defeated,
but this time, they won a more
honourable peace. Our present
political leaders have no sense
of History. There is a new Igbo
man, who was not born in 1966
and neither knows nor cares
about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu.
There are Igbo men on the
street who were never Biafrans.
They were born Nigerians, are
Nigerians, but suffer because of
actions of earlier generations.
They will soon decide that it is
better to fight their own war,
and may be find an honourable
peace, than to remain in this
contemptible state in perpetuity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and
the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have
exacted their pound of flesh
from the Igbos. For one
Sardauna, one Tafawa Balewa,
one Akintola and one Okotie-
Eboh, hundreds of thousands
have died and suffered.
If this issue is not addressed
immediately, no conference will
solve Nigeria´s problems. By
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Being Excerpts from A Paper
Presented At The “National
Conference On The 1999
Constitution” Jointly Organised
By The Network For Justice And
The Vision Trust Foundation, At
The Arewa House, Kaduna From
11th –12th September, 1999.
Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by Shegman22(m): 10:30am On May 07, 2015
Shegman22:
In sum, the Yoruba political
leadership, as mentioned by
Balarabe Musa, has shown itself
over the years to be incapable of
rising above narrow tribal
interests and reciprocating
goodwill from other sections of
the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically
every crisis in Nigeria since
independence has its roots in
this attitude.
The Yoruba elite and
area-boy politics;
Igbo marginalisation and
the responsible limits of
retribution; and
The Yoruba Factor and
"Area-boy" Politics.
My views on the Yoruba
political leadership have been
thoroughly articulated in some
of my writings, prime among
which was " Afenifere: Syllabus
of Errors" published by This Day
(The Sunday Newspaper) on
Sept 27, 1998. There was also an
earlier publication in the weekly
Trust entitled " The Igbo, the
Yoruba and History" (Aug. 21,
1998).
In sum, the Yoruba political
leadership, as mentioned by
Balarabe Musa, has shown itself
over the years to be incapable of
rising above narrow tribal
interests and reciprocating
goodwill from other sections of
the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically
every crisis in Nigeria since
independence has its roots in
this attitude.
The Yoruba elite were the first,
in 1962, to attempt a violent
overthrow of an elected
government in this country. In
1966, it was the violence in the
West which provided an avenue
for the putsch of 15th January.
After Chief Awolowo lost to
Shagari in 1983 elections, it was
the discontent and bad publicity
in the South-West which led to
the Buhari intervention.
When Buhari jailed UPN
governors like Ige and
Onabanjo, the South-Western
press castigated that good
government and provided the
right mood for IBB to take over
power. As soon as IBB cleared
UPN governors of charges
against them in a politically
motivated retrial, he became the
darling of the South-West.
When IBB annulled the
primaries in which Adamu
Ciroma and Shehu Yar Adua
emerged as presidential
candidates in the NRC and SDP,
he was hailed by the South-
West. When the same man
annulled the June 12, 1993
elections in which Abiola was
the front-runner, the South-
West now became defenders of
democracy.
When it seemed Sani Abacha
was sympathetic to Abiola, the
South-West supported his take-
over. He was in fact invited by a
prominent NADECO member to
take over in a published letter
shortly before the event. Even
though Abiola had won the
elections in the North, the North
was blamed for its annulment.
When Abdulsalam Abubakar
started his transition, the
Yoruba political leadership
through NADECO presented a
memorandum on a Government
of National Unity that showed
complete disrespect for the
intelligence and liberties of
other Nigerians.
Subsequently, they formed a
tribal party which failed to meet
minimum requirements for
registration, but was registered
all the same to avoid the
violence that was bound to
follow non-registration, given
the area-boy mentality of South-
West politicians. Having rejected
an Obasanjo candidacy and
challenged the election as a
fraud in court, we now find a
leading member of the AD in the
government, a daughter of an
Afenifere leader as Minister of
State, and Awolowo´s daughter
as Ambassador, all appointed by
a man who won the election
through fraud.
Meanwhile, nothing has been
negotiated for the children of
Abiola, the focus of Yoruba
political activity. In return for
these favours, the AD solidly
voted for Evan Enwerem as
Senate President. This is a man
who participated in the two-
million- man March for Abacha
´s self-succession. He also is
reputed to have hosted a
meeting of governors during
IBB´s transition, demanding
that June 12 elections should
never be de-annulled and
threatening that the East would
go to war if this was done.
When Ibrahim Salisu Buhari
was accused of swearing to a
false affidavit, the Yoruba
political elite correctly took up
the gauntlet for his resignation.
When an AD governor, Bola
Tinubu, swears to a false
affidavit that he attended an Ivy
League University which he did
not attend, we hear excuses.
For so many years, the Yoruba
have inundated this country
with stories of being
marginalised and of a civil
service dominated by
northerners through quota
system. The Federal Character
Commission has recently
released a report which shows
that the South-West accounts for
27.8% of civil servants in the
range GL08 to GL14 and a full
29.5% of GL 15 and above. One
zone out of six zones controls a
full 30% of the civil service
leaving the other five zones to
share the remaining 70%. We
find the same story in the
economy, in academia, in
parastatals.
Yet in spite of being so
dominant, the Yoruba
complained and complained of
marginalization. Of recent, in
recognition of the trauma which
hit the South-West after June 12,
the rest of the country forced
everyone out of the race to
ensure that a South-Westerner
emerged, often against the best
advice of political activists.
Instead of leading a path of
reconciliation and strong
appreciation, the Yoruba have
embarked on short-sighted
triumphalism, threatening other
"nationalities" that they ( who
after all lost the election) will
protect Obasanjo ( who was
forced on them). No less a
person than Bola Ige has made
such utterances.
To further show that they were
in charge, they led a cult into
the Hausa area of Sagamu,
murdered a Hausa woman and
nothing happened. In the
violence that followed, they
killed several Hausa residents,
with Yoruba leaders like Segun
Osoba, reminding Nigerians of
the need to respect the culture
of their host communities. This
would have continued were it
not for the people of Kano who
showed that they could also
create their own Oro who would
only be appeased through the
shedding of innocent Yoruba
blood.
I say all this, to support
Balarabe Musa´s statement, that
the greatest problem to nation-
building in Nigeria are the
Yoruba Bourgeoisie. I say this
also to underscore my point that
until they change this attitude,
no conference can solve the
problems of Nigeria. We cannot
move forward if the leadership
of one of the largest ethnic
groups continues to operate, not
like statesmen, but like common
area boys.
iii.The Igbo Factor and the
Reasonable Limits of
Retribution.
The Igbo people of Nigeria have
made a mark in the history of
this nation. They led the first
successful military coup which
eliminated the Military and
Political leaders of other regions
while letting off Igbo leaders.
Nwafor Orizu, then Senate
President, in consultation with
President Azikiwe, subverted the
constitution and handed over
power to Aguiyi-Ironsi.
Subsequent developments,
including attempts at
humiliating other peoples, led to
the counter-coup and later the
civil war. The Igbos themselves
must acknowledge that they
have a large part of the blame
for shattering the unity of this
country.
Having said that, this nation
must realise that Igbos have
more than paid for their
foolishness. They have been
defeated in war, rendered
paupers by monetary policy fiat,
their properties declared
abandoned and confiscated,
kept out of strategic public
sector appointments and
deprived of public services. The
rest of the country forced them
to remain in Nigeria and has
continued to deny them equity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and
the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have
conspired to keep the Igbo out
of the scheme of things. In the
recent transition when the Igbo
solidly supported the PDP in the
hope of an Ekwueme
presidency, the North and
South-West treated this as a
Biafra agenda. Every rule set for
the primaries, every gentleman
´s agreement was set aside to
ensure that Obasanjo, not
Ekwueme emerged as the
candidate. Things went as far as
getting the Federal Government
to hurriedly gazette a pardon.
Now, with this government, the
marginalistion of the Igbo is
more complete than ever before.
The Igbos have taken all these
quietly because, they reason,
they brought it upon
themselves. But the nation is
sitting on a time-bomb.
After the First World War, the
victors treated Germany with
the same contempt Nigeria is
treating Igbos. Two decades
later, there was a Second World
War, far costlier than the first.
Germany was again defeated,
but this time, they won a more
honourable peace. Our present
political leaders have no sense
of History. There is a new Igbo
man, who was not born in 1966
and neither knows nor cares
about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu.
There are Igbo men on the
street who were never Biafrans.
They were born Nigerians, are
Nigerians, but suffer because of
actions of earlier generations.
They will soon decide that it is
better to fight their own war,
and may be find an honourable
peace, than to remain in this
contemptible state in perpetuity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and
the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have
exacted their pound of flesh
from the Igbos. For one
Sardauna, one Tafawa Balewa,
one Akintola and one Okotie-
Eboh, hundreds of thousands
have died and suffered.
If this issue is not addressed
immediately, no conference will
solve Nigeria´s problems. By
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Being Excerpts from A Paper
Presented At The “National
Conference On The 1999
Constitution” Jointly Organised
By The Network For Justice And
The Vision Trust Foundation, At
The Arewa House, Kaduna From
11th –12th September, 1999.
http://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/yorubas-are-the-problem-with-nigeria-by-sanusi-lamido-sanusi-elombah-com.111348/
Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by olu77(m): 10:34am On May 07, 2015
Shegman22:
In sum, the Yoruba political
leadership, as mentioned by
Balarabe Musa, has shown itself
over the years to be incapable of
rising above narrow tribal
interests and reciprocating
goodwill from other sections of
the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically
every crisis in Nigeria since
independence has its roots in
this attitude.
The Yoruba elite and
area-boy politics;
Igbo marginalisation and
the responsible limits of
retribution; and
The Yoruba Factor and
"Area-boy" Politics.
My views on the Yoruba
political leadership have been
thoroughly articulated in some
of my writings, prime among
which was " Afenifere: Syllabus
of Errors" published by This Day
(The Sunday Newspaper) on
Sept 27, 1998. There was also an
earlier publication in the weekly
Trust entitled " The Igbo, the
Yoruba and History" (Aug. 21,
1998).
In sum, the Yoruba political
leadership, as mentioned by
Balarabe Musa, has shown itself
over the years to be incapable of
rising above narrow tribal
interests and reciprocating
goodwill from other sections of
the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically
every crisis in Nigeria since
independence has its roots in
this attitude.
The Yoruba elite were the first,
in 1962, to attempt a violent
overthrow of an elected
government in this country. In
1966, it was the violence in the
West which provided an avenue
for the putsch of 15th January.
After Chief Awolowo lost to
Shagari in 1983 elections, it was
the discontent and bad publicity
in the South-West which led to
the Buhari intervention.
When Buhari jailed UPN
governors like Ige and
Onabanjo, the South-Western
press castigated that good
government and provided the
right mood for IBB to take over
power. As soon as IBB cleared
UPN governors of charges
against them in a politically
motivated retrial, he became the
darling of the South-West.
When IBB annulled the
primaries in which Adamu
Ciroma and Shehu Yar Adua
emerged as presidential
candidates in the NRC and SDP,
he was hailed by the South-
West. When the same man
annulled the June 12, 1993
elections in which Abiola was
the front-runner, the South-
West now became defenders of
democracy.
When it seemed Sani Abacha
was sympathetic to Abiola, the
South-West supported his take-
over. He was in fact invited by a
prominent NADECO member to
take over in a published letter
shortly before the event. Even
though Abiola had won the
elections in the North, the North
was blamed for its annulment.
When Abdulsalam Abubakar
started his transition, the
Yoruba political leadership
through NADECO presented a
memorandum on a Government
of National Unity that showed
complete disrespect for the
intelligence and liberties of
other Nigerians.
Subsequently, they formed a
tribal party which failed to meet
minimum requirements for
registration, but was registered
all the same to avoid the
violence that was bound to
follow non-registration, given
the area-boy mentality of South-
West politicians. Having rejected
an Obasanjo candidacy and
challenged the election as a
fraud in court, we now find a
leading member of the AD in the
government, a daughter of an
Afenifere leader as Minister of
State, and Awolowo´s daughter
as Ambassador, all appointed by
a man who won the election
through fraud.
Meanwhile, nothing has been
negotiated for the children of
Abiola, the focus of Yoruba
political activity. In return for
these favours, the AD solidly
voted for Evan Enwerem as
Senate President. This is a man
who participated in the two-
million- man March for Abacha
´s self-succession. He also is
reputed to have hosted a
meeting of governors during
IBB´s transition, demanding
that June 12 elections should
never be de-annulled and
threatening that the East would
go to war if this was done.
When Ibrahim Salisu Buhari
was accused of swearing to a
false affidavit, the Yoruba
political elite correctly took up
the gauntlet for his resignation.
When an AD governor, Bola
Tinubu, swears to a false
affidavit that he attended an Ivy
League University which he did
not attend, we hear excuses.
For so many years, the Yoruba
have inundated this country
with stories of being
marginalised and of a civil
service dominated by
northerners through quota
system. The Federal Character
Commission has recently
released a report which shows
that the South-West accounts for
27.8% of civil servants in the
range GL08 to GL14 and a full
29.5% of GL 15 and above. One
zone out of six zones controls a
full 30% of the civil service
leaving the other five zones to
share the remaining 70%. We
find the same story in the
economy, in academia, in
parastatals.
Yet in spite of being so
dominant, the Yoruba
complained and complained of
marginalization. Of recent, in
recognition of the trauma which
hit the South-West after June 12,
the rest of the country forced
everyone out of the race to
ensure that a South-Westerner
emerged, often against the best
advice of political activists.
Instead of leading a path of
reconciliation and strong
appreciation, the Yoruba have
embarked on short-sighted
triumphalism, threatening other
"nationalities" that they ( who
after all lost the election) will
protect Obasanjo ( who was
forced on them). No less a
person than Bola Ige has made
such utterances.
To further show that they were
in charge, they led a cult into
the Hausa area of Sagamu,
murdered a Hausa woman and
nothing happened. In the
violence that followed, they
killed several Hausa residents,
with Yoruba leaders like Segun
Osoba, reminding Nigerians of
the need to respect the culture
of their host communities. This
would have continued were it
not for the people of Kano who
showed that they could also
create their own Oro who would
only be appeased through the
shedding of innocent Yoruba
blood.
I say all this, to support
Balarabe Musa´s statement, that
the greatest problem to nation-
building in Nigeria are the
Yoruba Bourgeoisie. I say this
also to underscore my point that
until they change this attitude,
no conference can solve the
problems of Nigeria. We cannot
move forward if the leadership
of one of the largest ethnic
groups continues to operate, not
like statesmen, but like common
area boys.
iii.The Igbo Factor and the
Reasonable Limits of
Retribution.
The Igbo people of Nigeria have
made a mark in the history of
this nation. They led the first
successful military coup which
eliminated the Military and
Political leaders of other regions
while letting off Igbo leaders.
Nwafor Orizu, then Senate
President, in consultation with
President Azikiwe, subverted the
constitution and handed over
power to Aguiyi-Ironsi.
Subsequent developments,
including attempts at
humiliating other peoples, led to
the counter-coup and later the
civil war. The Igbos themselves
must acknowledge that they
have a large part of the blame
for shattering the unity of this
country.
Having said that, this nation
must realise that Igbos have
more than paid for their
foolishness. They have been
defeated in war, rendered
paupers by monetary policy fiat,
their properties declared
abandoned and confiscated,
kept out of strategic public
sector appointments and
deprived of public services. The
rest of the country forced them
to remain in Nigeria and has
continued to deny them equity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and
the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have
conspired to keep the Igbo out
of the scheme of things. In the
recent transition when the Igbo
solidly supported the PDP in the
hope of an Ekwueme
presidency, the North and
South-West treated this as a
Biafra agenda. Every rule set for
the primaries, every gentleman
´s agreement was set aside to
ensure that Obasanjo, not
Ekwueme emerged as the
candidate. Things went as far as
getting the Federal Government
to hurriedly gazette a pardon.
Now, with this government, the
marginalistion of the Igbo is
more complete than ever before.
The Igbos have taken all these
quietly because, they reason,
they brought it upon
themselves. But the nation is
sitting on a time-bomb.
After the First World War, the
victors treated Germany with
the same contempt Nigeria is
treating Igbos. Two decades
later, there was a Second World
War, far costlier than the first.
Germany was again defeated,
but this time, they won a more
honourable peace. Our present
political leaders have no sense
of History. There is a new Igbo
man, who was not born in 1966
and neither knows nor cares
about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu.
There are Igbo men on the
street who were never Biafrans.
They were born Nigerians, are
Nigerians, but suffer because of
actions of earlier generations.
They will soon decide that it is
better to fight their own war,
and may be find an honourable
peace, than to remain in this
contemptible state in perpetuity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and
the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have
exacted their pound of flesh
from the Igbos. For one
Sardauna, one Tafawa Balewa,
one Akintola and one Okotie-
Eboh, hundreds of thousands
have died and suffered.
If this issue is not addressed
immediately, no conference will
solve Nigeria´s problems. By
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Being Excerpts from A Paper
Presented At The “National
Conference On The 1999
Constitution” Jointly Organised
By The Network For Justice And
The Vision Trust Foundation, At
The Arewa House, Kaduna From
11th –12th September, 1999.


To whom it may concern: pls move this post to joke section. Sanusi must have smoked weed back then when he delivered this paper
Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by bogolobango(m): 10:43am On May 07, 2015
Yoruba today yoruba tommorow na wetin we do una self

PROUDLY YORUBA

2 Likes

Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by lyntiffany(f): 10:56am On May 07, 2015
I was here cheesy

1 Like

Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by kazmanbanjoko(m): 11:10am On May 07, 2015
Na lie. Handworks of progressives haterz

1 Like 1 Share

Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by dustmalik: 11:36am On May 07, 2015
This must be another lie on the person of Sanusi, just like the one of Wole Soyinka.
Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by QuotaSystem: 11:37am On May 07, 2015
dustmalik:
This must be another lie on the person of Sanusi, just like the one of Wole Soyinka.
Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by chopido(m): 8:37pm On May 07, 2015
olu77:


To whom it may concern: pls move this post to joke section. Sanusi must have smoked weed back then when he delivered this paper
that's ur opinion and is well noted but frankly speaking he said what I call absolute truth the problem with nija is not just with the Yoruba's or Igbo's or Hausa or any other tribe but with you and.me . let's set aside our personal and tribal gain and see if our nation wnt move forward . God bless Nigeria
Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by olu77(m): 9:33pm On May 07, 2015
chopido:
that's ur opinion and is well noted but frankly speaking he said what I call absolute truth the problem with nija is not just with the Yoruba's or Igbo's or Hausa or any other tribe but with you and.me . let's set aside our personal and tribal gain and see if our nation wnt move forward . God bless Nigeria

Accepting the problem is collective and not just with one tribe shows you are not tribalistic. There are few individuals from every tribe causing havoc and the sooner we deal with them as individuals and not tribal leaders the better for us.

1 Like

Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by Diovinci: 8:20pm On May 08, 2015
Shegman22:
In sum, the Yoruba political
leadership, as mentioned by
Balarabe Musa, has shown itself
over the years to be incapable of
rising above narrow tribal
interests and reciprocating
goodwill from other sections of
the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically
every crisis in Nigeria since
independence has its roots in


this attitude.
The Yoruba elite and
area-boy politics;
Igbo marginalisation and
the responsible limits of
retribution; and
The Yoruba Factor and
"Area-boy" Politics.
My views on the Yoruba
political leadership have been
thoroughly articulated in some
of my writings, prime among
which was " Afenifere: Syllabus
of Errors" published by This Day
(The Sunday Newspaper) on
Sept 27, 1998. There was also an
earlier publication in the weekly
Trust entitled " The Igbo, the
Yoruba and History" (Aug. 21,
1998).
In sum, the Yoruba political
leadership, as mentioned by
Balarabe Musa, has shown itself
over the years to be incapable of
rising above narrow tribal
interests and reciprocating
goodwill from other sections of
the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically
every crisis in Nigeria since
independence has its roots in
this attitude.
The Yoruba elite were the first,
in 1962, to attempt a violent
overthrow of an elected
government in this country. In
1966, it was the violence in the
West which provided an avenue
for the putsch of 15th January.
After Chief Awolowo lost to
Shagari in 1983 elections, it was
the discontent and bad publicity
in the South-West which led to
the Buhari intervention.
When Buhari jailed UPN
governors like Ige and
Onabanjo, the South-Western
press castigated that good
government and provided the
right mood for IBB to take over
power. As soon as IBB cleared
UPN governors of charges
against them in a politically
motivated retrial, he became the
darling of the South-West.
When IBB annulled the
primaries in which Adamu
Ciroma and Shehu Yar Adua
emerged as presidential
candidates in the NRC and SDP,
he was hailed by the South-
West. When the same man
annulled the June 12, 1993
elections in which Abiola was




the front-runner, the South-
West now became defenders of
democracy.
When it seemed Sani Abacha
was sympathetic to Abiola, the
South-West supported his take-
over. He was in fact invited by a
prominent NADECO member to
take over in a published letter
shortly before the event. Even
though Abiola had won the
elections in the North, the North
was blamed for its annulment.
When Abdulsalam Abubakar
started his transition, the
Yoruba political leadership
through NADECO presented a
memorandum on a Government
of National Unity that showed
complete disrespect for the
intelligence and liberties of
other Nigerians.
Subsequently, they formed a
tribal party which failed to meet
minimum requirements for
registration, but was registered
all the same to avoid the
violence that was bound to
follow non-registration, given
the area-boy mentality of South-
West politicians. Having rejected
an Obasanjo candidacy and
challenged the election as a
fraud in court, we now find a
leading member of the AD in the
government, a daughter of an
Afenifere leader as Minister of
State, and Awolowo´s daughter
as Ambassador, all appointed by
a man who won the election
through fraud.
Meanwhile, nothing has been
negotiated for the children of
Abiola, the focus of Yoruba
political activity. In return for
these favours, the AD solidly
voted for Evan Enwerem as
Senate President. This is a man
who participated in the two-
million- man March for Abacha
´s self-succession. He also is
reputed to have hosted a
meeting of governors during
IBB´s transition, demanding
that June 12 elections should
never be de-annulled and
threatening that the East would
go to war if this was done.
When Ibrahim Salisu Buhari
was accused of swearing to a
false affidavit, the Yoruba
political elite correctly took up
the gauntlet for his resignation.
When an AD governor, Bola
Tinubu, swears to a false
affidavit that he attended an Ivy
League University which he did
not attend, we hear excuses.
For so many years, the Yoruba
have inundated this country
with stories of being
marginalised and of a civil
service dominated by
northerners through quota
system. The Federal Character
Commission has recently
released a report which shows
that the South-West accounts for
27.8% of civil servants in the
range GL08 to GL14 and a full
29.5% of GL 15 and above. One
zone out of six zones controls a
full 30% of the civil service
leaving the other five zones to
share the remaining 70%. We
find the same story in the
economy, in academia, in
parastatals.
Yet in spite of being so
dominant, the Yoruba
complained and complained of
marginalization. Of recent, in
recognition of the trauma which
hit the South-West after June 12,
the rest of the country forced
everyone out of the race to
ensure that a South-Westerner
emerged, often against the best
advice of political activists.
Instead of leading a path of
reconciliation and strong
appreciation, the Yoruba have
embarked on short-sighted
triumphalism, threatening other
"nationalities" that they ( who
after all lost the election) will
protect Obasanjo ( who was
forced on them). No less a
person than Bola Ige has made
such utterances.
To further show that they were
in charge, they led a cult into
the Hausa area of Sagamu,
murdered a Hausa woman and
nothing happened. In the
violence that followed, they
killed several Hausa residents,
with Yoruba leaders like Segun
Osoba, reminding Nigerians of
the need to respect the culture
of their host communities. This
would have continued were it
not for the people of Kano who
showed that they could also
create their own Oro who would
only be appeased through the
shedding of innocent Yoruba
blood.
I say all this, to support
Balarabe Musa´s statement, that
the greatest problem to nation-
building in Nigeria are the
Yoruba Bourgeoisie. I say this
also to underscore my point that
until they change this attitude,
no conference can solve the
problems of Nigeria. We cannot
move forward if the leadership
of one of the largest ethnic
groups continues to operate, not
like statesmen, but like common
area boys.
iii.The Igbo Factor and the
Reasonable Limits of
Retribution.
The Igbo people of Nigeria have
made a mark in the history of
this nation. They led the first
successful military coup which
eliminated the Military and
Political leaders of other regions
while letting off Igbo leaders.
Nwafor Orizu, then Senate
President, in consultation with
President Azikiwe, subverted the
constitution and handed over
power to Aguiyi-Ironsi.
Subsequent developments,
including attempts at
humiliating other peoples, led to
the counter-coup and later the
civil war. The Igbos themselves
must acknowledge that they
have a large part of the blame
for shattering the unity of this
country.
Having said that, this nation
must realise that Igbos ha
more than paid for their
foolishness. They have been
defeated in war, rendered
paupers by monetary policy fiat,
their properties declared
abandoned and confiscated,
kept out of strategic public
sector appointments and
deprived of public services. The
rest of the country forced them
to remain in Nigeria and has
continued to deny them equity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and
the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have
conspired to keep the Igbo out
of the scheme of things. In the
recent transition when the Igbo
solidly supported the PDP in the
hope of an Ekwueme
presidency, the North and
South-West treated this as a
Biafra agenda. Every rule set for
the primaries, every gentleman
´s agreement was set aside to
ensure that Obasanjo, not
Ekwueme emerged as the
candidate. Things went as far as
getting the Federal Government
to hurriedly gazette a pardon.
Now, with this government, the
marginalistion of the Igbo is
more complete than ever before.
The Igbos have taken all these
quietly because, they reason,
they brought it upon
themselves. But the nation is
sitting on a time-bomb.
After the First World War, the
victors treated Germany with
the same contempt Nigeria is
treating Igbos. Two decades
later, there was a Second World
War, far costlier than the first.
Germany was again defeated,
but this time, they won a more
honourable peace. Our present
political leaders have no sense
of History. There is a new Igbo
man, who was not born in 1966
and neither knows nor cares
about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu.
There are Igbo men on the
street who were never Biafrans.
They were born Nigerians, are
Nigerians, but suffer because of
actions of earlier generations.
They will soon decide that it is
better to fight their own war,
and may be find an honourable
peace, than to remain in this
contemptible state in perpetuity.
The Northern Bourgeoisie and
the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have
exacted their pound of flesh
from the Igbos. For one
Sardauna, one Tafawa Balewa,
one Akintola and one Okotie-
Eboh, hundreds of thousands
have died and suffered.
If this issue is not addressed
immediately, no conference will
solve Nigeria´s problems. By
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Being Excerpts from A Paper
Presented At The “National
Conference On The 1999
Constitution” Jointly Organised
By The Network For Justice And
The Vision Trust Foundation, At
The Arewa House, Kaduna From
11th –12th September, 1999.

Good one, but don't forget to add the fact that the Hausa leaders past are the number reason why our country NIGERIA is In the condition we found our selves today
The Bakwomi ideology and the highest level of illiteracy in this region has kept. This country very backward and hopelessness
Re: Yorubas Are The Problem With Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by saintfizzo(m): 9:08pm On May 08, 2015
Traits of backwardness... always looking for a tribe to blame... are we eva gon rise off dis nonsense hate we hav for neighbouring folks, people are hungry and dying everyday, police harassing and killing citizens, upcoming generations growing in unsafe atmosphere etc..... yet the best our leaders can do is blame tribes.... SHAME ON U!!!!!!

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