“This day, the Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4: 21


Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, anointed by the Spirit of the Lord, gave us His Peace.

By which we are able to continue His mission “to preach the gospel to the poor; to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD”. LUKE 4: 18-19

By which we know that vulnerability (that is, poverty, oppression, economic insecurity) is not inherent in humanity but products of systems put in place by humans for its own sustenance.

COVID-19, the divine call on the Peoples of Africa to reexamine their existential paradigms.

The “origin of the species”; “the Preservation of favored Races in the Struggle for Life” and its conclusions, mere justification for the then social order.

Reinforcing the Nation-State paradigm, anchored on continuous exploitation and exploration of the world for human subjugation as a matter of course; itself arising from being subjected to oppression and exploitation by the empires of old.

Taking on the characteristics of the empire, the Nation-State became its alter ego, exalting the “invisible hand of the market” as its economic savior.
Appropriating for itself, God’s admonition, to wit: “to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised” Ecclesiastes 1:13

COVID-19, whatever its cause or origin, has upended the Nation-State self-assuredness in addressing previous pandemics, anchored on the economic philosophy of this “invisible hand of the market” for self-correction.

Current Massive State Intervention showed possibilities of man’s humanity, a proposition long advocated by various social and political movements since the dawn of the Nation-State paradigm.

The European Nation-State and its ruling classes dominated the narrative and suppressed the demands.

Now, for its self-preservation, it had to suspend its long-held philosophical platform and put some of the demands in place; wasting no time in retreating from its fundamentals when confronted with self-destruction.

COVID-19 shows social welfare and social /cultural democracy as fundamental to humanity.

Easily achievable for the European Nation-State, a collection of Mono-Cultural, Mono-Lingual Nation-States; the opposite of the African Post-Colonial State devilishly established for the Peoples of Africa.

The Structural Adjustment Program, the death-knell of our humanity, imposed by this European paradigm.

The Nigerian Post-Colonial State, having possibly escaped an epidemiological catastrophe, cannot embark on similar economic response of the West, whose economic philosophy and survival is now sustained by massive State Intervention.

Being on the periphery of global economic imperatives, the Nigerian Post-Colonial State can only respond minimally, her political economy lacking both the economic philosophy as well as the productive capacity for regeneration.

The Western Region.

Her economic philosophy anchored on a philosophical orientation aimed at negating colonial economy; “freedom for all, life more abundant” manifested through the combined and even development of the Region; the pursuit of Political Autonomy for other Peoples of Nigeria through advocacy for more Regions and a vision of foreign policy anchored on less dependence on colonial military imperatives, as in the rejection of the Anglo-Nigeria Defense Pact.

All neutralized by the transformation of the political economy of the Nigerian Post-Colonial State into the dumping ground of Western Praxis, foreclosing any possible aspiration to economic self-satisfaction.

General Olufemi Olutoye, trying to persuade Chief Obafemi Awolowo to accept General Gowon’s offer to be the Vice Chairman of the then Federal Executive Council, situated it within the context of “bringing back our captivity”; to which Chief Obafemi Awolowo responded by reciting Psalm 124:

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,” Let Israel now say—“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, When men rose up against us, Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us; Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul; Then the swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.” Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth”.

And indeed, if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose against the Yoruba Nation:

We would not have been able to navigate our ways out of impending military invasion from the East and armed occupation of the land by the North; salvage some of our political economy and philosophy, even in its incapacitated state; overcome the political years of the locusts; withstand terrorism of all types; establish “Amotekun”. The list goes on.

The Lord is once again on our side; otherwise the National Assembly would not have embarked on another round of Constitutional Review.

It is written:

“Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” 2 Kings 22: 11-13

The “Book of the Law” became the foundation of his rule.

Our “Book of the Law” is the various propositions on True Federalism/Autonomy, the focus of Yoruba political praxis.

The Yoruba Nation have kings who have ruled during different political regimes; we have had and still have political parties administering our societies; some professing to advance the cause of Federalism/Autonomy; others, as unenforceable electoral promises.

The political and traditional leaders therefore collectively constitute the “king” whose authority is necessary for the enthronement of our Constitutional Imperatives as our foundation.

Moses was unsure of being accepted by the People.

But God asked him “What is that in your hand?”

He said, “A rod.”

Through which he was able to demonstrate that God was with him to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt.

What is that in our hands now?

I say: The Bill for A Referendum Law of Ekiti State, Ondo State, Osun State, Oyo State, Ogun State and Lagos State.

Articles 7-10: “In the event of a YES vote on the Referendum, the Governors of each State shall appoint members into a Constitutional Council of Western/Oduduwa Region.

The Constitutional Council of Western/Oduduwa Region shall include not more than twelve (12) other members chosen at random throughout the Region and four (4) members from Kwara and Kogi States.

The Constitutional Council of Western/Oduduwa Region shall be vested with powers to present and represent the views of Western/Oduduwa Region and negotiate on behalf of the Western/Oduduwa Region with all the agencies of the Nigerian Government and non-Governmental organizations involved in the process”.

The Annexure, condensed from the Draft Yoruba Constitution:

“A Federal Nigeria, through a Federal Constitution, to be known as The Union of Nigerian Constituent Nationalities, with a Federal Presidential Council, whose members will be selected or elected from each of the Nationalities as Federating Units and from whom a Head of State will be selected or elected as the primus-inter-pares with an agreed term.

Western/Oduduwa Region shall be a Constituent Unit of the Nigerian Union.

Western/Oduduwa Region shall adopt a[i] Parliamentary System[/i] of government.

The Central Government of the Union shall have no power to interfere nor intervene in the affairs of the ODUDUWA REGION, save as shall be agreed to by three quarters of the members of the Region’s Parliament.

There shall be a Division of the Federal Armed Forces in the Region, 90% of which personnel shall be indigenes of the Region. The Divisional commander shall be an indigene of Oduduwa Region.

The Judicial power of the Region shall be vested in the Supreme Court of the Region, Court of Appeal, High Court, Customary Court and Other lower courts as the Regional Parliament may establish. There shall be a Court of Appeal in each of the provinces.

There shall be, in each province, a High Court from which appeals shall lie to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of the Region.

Western/Oduduwa Region shall have its own internal security system. Each Constituent Unit of the Nigerian Federation shall control primary interest in its own resources with an agreed Tax Model for the Federation”.

The Yoruba Referendum renders null any “public hearing” in Yorubaland by the National Assembly and Legitimizes Yoruba Aspirations expressed by the Yoruba Constitution.

That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you.

Wale Odeku