₦airaland Forum

There are no ethnic nationalities, no matter how small, that do not deserve to control their own destiny by means of having their own police to prevent crimes in their own neighborhoods with their own leaders controlling their own markets and economy. With their own people calling the shots on their own land and in their own sphere. There is no ethnic nationality or community too small to be afforded this freedom.

Naturally as has been normal over the years of human existence, everything including farmlands, people, markets and etc on a land belong without any reservations to the government and people of that land. Take Yoruba land for example, there have always been people including other ethnic nationalities living together inside precolonial Yoruba states. Hausas, Fulanis, Baribas, Nupes, Arabs and different communities of Europeans and etc and they all lived together harmoniously under the rules of the host nation or community. There are many Yoruba families who claim descent from such settlers but now identify as Yoruba It would not be possible to have a break out of inter ethnic clash, the sort of which is now common in Nigeria. Such happens in modern Nigeria because no group really is in charge or in control of the space. In the past, Egba people that want to settle among the Ijesha who are Yoruba as them will have to bow down to and live according to the rules of the Ijesa.

The Yoruba have people and lands in eleven states of Nigeria including Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi Edo, Delta, Niger, Kwara, then Togo and Benin republic and Ghana. These Lands were not tributary to any non Yoruba entity in the decades before British colonisation. This applies to groups like the Olukwumi in Delta state as well as the Itsekiri in the same Delta state of Nigeria. It also applies to non Yoruba speaking groups across West Africa who traditionally allign and identify with the Yoruba in the past. For example, the Bariba will most likely feel at home to share market and economy with the Yoruba. The same is most likely true for the Nupe who are considered somewhat as a Yoruba subgroup by the Yoruba even far more than the Igala who speak a Yoruba dialect. The Nupe took control of the Oyo capital for over eighty years in the past with the Oyo royalty forced to live in exile for so long in the Bariba country, before, they, with the help of the Bariba retook their capital from the Nupe. The Ebira are also more integrated with the Yoruba than the Yoruboid Igala. The Fon in Benin republic are also well integrated with the Yoruba being an integral part of the defunct Oyo empire for almost a century before they became independent in the nineteenth century. We also have the Ewe and some Edoid groups like the Afemmai who traditionally speak Yoruba and bear Yoruba names in the North of Edo state. They see themselves as part of their own nation followed by the Yoruba nation and then the whole world. They speak their own language, Yoruba and English in that order. The main group in Edo state that will want to be separate from the Yoruba are the people of Benin city. Most of the others are likely to choose to be part of the market and economy of a Yoruba commonwealth. If a people did not settle on a land as refugees that were granted space by some others, then they primordially own the land they are on and should be able to allign the piece of land with any group as they deem fit and if they arrived as refugees, traders, asylum seekers and etc, they should still be able to bond with one other, send money back home to help their home nations and people progress and etc while abiding under the rules and regulations of their host.

All groups especially the Edo-Benin in Nigeria who are very fundamentalist in their nationalism must control their own affairs. Even smaller groups with less land must be given full control of their space even if they choose to be part of a bigger bloc. They should not be given these rights only for themselves and their nations but also for the world's academia, as a living store of some of humanity's intangible heritage by way of language, culture, arts and etc.

What applies to the Yoruba also apply to other nations of the Earth. It can be possible for the Yoruba and some others including Fon, Nupe, Bariba, Itsekiri, Afemmai, Ebira, Western Ijaw, Olukwumi, Ewe and possibly Igala to together form in West Africa a new nation of around 100 million people. The Igala are the closest to Yoruba linguistically and they are one of the largest groups in Nigeria as well but they are not as integrated with the Yoruba as the Nupe, Bariba and Western Ijaw. They are big enough to be a sovereign nation and they have been that for centuries before colonisation. They are around the same population as some of the largest Yoruba subgroups. The aim for every nation should be to have as large an economy and market as possible comprising of willing constituents while not inhibiting any group, no matter how small from going it alone. A large market is important as a bargaining tool to attract foreign investments and to have money to fund pet projects and etc.You can not compare one person to two or two to a million as a resource to draw upon.

On taxation

Taxes should be largely even across the globe with a good percentage of the GDP taken by the government for the purpose of being used for the nation as it is presently done by the industrialized nations of the world.

On education, health, security and infrastructure

These are the social departments on which most of government money is spent so as to increase the quality of life of a nation's citizens. As important as education, health and security are, there is no need to monopolize the sector by the government since the private sector will continue to provide the services for those who can pay but government should endeavor to provide high quality education and healthcare for the generality of the masses. The money spent on the defense industry can be greatly reduced, especially the amount spent on the salaries of the personnel. It may be better for many citizens to be given military training after which they are placed on reserve while working in other sectors of the economy after completing a short term of service say one year. The development of technology for defense can continue since they are additions to know how but the money spent on personnel can be greatly reduced since peace can be guaranteed by the United Nations under a mutually agreed upon terms.

On national identity and history.

All entities from individuals up need space to exercise their freedom. They need to be able to propagate their own version of truth to their children, associates, friends and other sympathisers. The dangers of a single story is real as posited by the popular, novelist Ms Chimamanda Adichie My own account of any event will be a little different from that of my own father. The official position of the Ijesa nation on any issue will differ a bit from that of the Ibadan but as is done in academic circles, dissent should never lead to brawls. It is normal for a Yoruba account of any event to differ from that of the Benin even as Yoruba sub nations differ amongst themselves on almost all accounts of all issues. Since the invention of writing and the further invention of publications in journals, more problems have been solved via pen and ink for the advancement of humanity than could have been solved by thousands of years of savage war mongering. People should come up with more view points, summaries and etc on general knowledge on Yoruba/Oyo/Benin/Ife history and etc. I am going to be posting many insights I found online here because it is a topic I am interested in. I found new articles that I will post together with old ones. I am an Ijesa man and we have our national accounts that we are obliged to abide by as Ijesas but I also want life to remain in other accounts from different quarters for the sake of records. The list I am posting first brings a kind of closure I agree with to a large extent to some of the issues in contention. I do not know the US authour but it is a US journal or the equivalent of a US journal. Any published work nevertheless is merely a rejoinder to an ongoing debate.

On the banking sector.

We all know that there is not much specialisation in any industry. Anyone can learn the basics of trade in any industry within two years, moreso in a straightforward sector like banking. The expertise required is not very complex like what can be encountered in other fields like medicine, nuclear energy, cloud computing, car parts manufacturing, oil exploration and production or even commodity trading. What banks do is pretty much straightforward but the sector is very sensitive and voluminous as a part of the economy. Therefore since we want a free market, it is good to allow any properly incorporated company operate in that sector if they choose to, but national governments should as a matter of urgency set up commercial banks of their own and use whatever means they have to compete for customers. Such can only make the sector more efficient as well as more productive. If private companies can drive out the government, they should be encouraged to do that. The basic duty of banks is to facilitate the trade in financial assets as brokers and the job description is straightforward and simple, albeit, it goes on in tens of different ways and because of the intricacies that can be involved, it will be better to let the sector be run as a free market. Government owned banks do not need to be one hundred percent owned by government but it is better controlled by the government with the leader chosen by the government with the government responsible for the failure or success of such a bank.

On natural resources

The oceans and all the resources therein is best declared property of all the people of the world and not only the property of littoral states.

All essential natural resources in Yoruba land and other places should be taken over by the United Nations the same way the Norwegian government is in control of Norway's oil and gas assets. The UN can then sell and share to different nations according to need. This will allow fossil fuel rich nations especially to focus on organizing their nations to increase tax revenue for the proper running of those nations as was the case in all nations before the industrial revolution.

On relationship between employers, employees and governments.

Any business venture where more than one person are working should have all the workers including working business owner placed on salaries and it is only after all salaries have been paid that a business owner should be able to spend money on other non expedient expenses. All salary earners should have salary accounts declared to government for the purpose of monitoring income tax. All companies should have liaison officers between them and the government for the purpose of calculating other taxes apart from income tax taken from the workers.

On Migration.

If natural resources is taken from sovereign nations by the United Nations, then no nation will stop migrant workers and potential consumers from entering their land since taxation of workers and control of markets will be the main source of government revenue. There will be no need to force any nation at all to take migrants. All big earth nations of fifteen million people and above are represented in all countries of the world and the fact that they dare not close their borders to immigrants is apparent. However, with natural resources removed as a source of government revenue, what will follow naturally is a struggle for human resources from wherever.

On Spirituality and theology.

Spirituality comes inside the package of each human culture and there is no human being that is not from at least one culture. No organisation or individual should be allowed to project God as something less than a Gentle man and father of all human beings. Any theology portraying God as brutish and lacking common sense is better banned. There was no such theology on Earth during the first century when everybody believed in God according to their own language and culture and fully expected others to be the same way. That is the only way to avoid billions of people becoming brainwashed zombies permanently with their essence being drained out of them, turning them to mere nodes or robots that can be programmed to do anything no matter how wrong or even harmful to themselves and/or others.

References

Interesting articulation by an unknown authour. I however do not agree that the original inhabitants of Lagos were a mixture of Benin and Yoruba. The Benin people who came to Lagos were Yorubas who spoke the Yoruba language as L1 speakers. The Portuguese that frequently visited Benin have written records of Yoruba being spoken in the palace which traditionally contained over half of the city population. The Benin language was spoken outside the walls of the palace. Those were the Benin people that came to Lagos and they can not be rightly regarded as non Yorubas since they spoke Yoruba among themselves while also understanding the Benin language.
It therefore can not be said that Lagos started off as a mixture of Benin and Yoruba. Benin is only in Benin city and nowhere else and the language can not be understood by the Edoid groups located only a few miles from Benin city. How then can we go over all those Edoid people to say some Benin are indigenes of Lagos?. Benin only became prominent a few centuries back, while there have always been people in Lagos claiming descent from Ile Ife for thousands of years. The Benin who saw themselves as Yoruba ruled a small part of Lagos island. The Oyo and Ijebu also had territories in the present Lagos state. Since Britain ruled Yoruba land for over sixty years, can we then say Yoruba land was originally occupied by British and Yoruba people? That would be wrong but there are many British people buried across Yoruba land and they still have interest in Yoruba land till now. Therefore, all Benin that settled in Yoruba land including the family of my maternal grandmother named Alawiye in Ipetu Ijesa were Yoruba speakers who saw themselves as Yoruba and ran their empire using Yoruba as the lingua franca. They probably would have been able to speak the Benin language as well like the people that lived outside the Benin palace. The Olukwumi for instance came from the defunct Benin empire which I believe is probably Benin city itself rather than Owo and Akure that is believed by many and are now settled in Delta state speaking Yoruba and on a land not contiguous with the lands of other Yoruba speakers.

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/africa/yorubaBut.htm

A viewpoint published in the vanguard Newspaper in response to Chief Femi Fani Kayode
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/06/benin-kingdom-of-the-sky-kings/

Article by Chief Femi Fani Kayode
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/137358-who-are-the-yoruba-people-part-3-by-femi-fani-kayode.html

An account published by an Edo promoted website
https://www.edoworld.net/Ekaladerhan.html

West African states in history
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/west-african-empires/

Opinion shared online by an Ewe national from Ghana
https://www.nairaland.com/950471/ewe-people-ghana-same-yoruba

An opinion published in the vanguard
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/03/yoruba-in-badagry-are-from-ile-ife-not-ghana-high -chief-wawu/

The only proof I found online that the Oyo empire stretched over the Ashanti empire at some point which may mean the Oyo empire alone without Ijesa, Ife, Ijebu and etc was comparable in territory or extent toppp modern Nigeria at some point in the past if you consider that Oyo bordered the Kanem Bornu and massed hundreds of thousands of calvary at the border on one occassion. A history not taught anywhere presently and which I presently can not find online anymore.

https://punchng.com/in-togo-atakpame-keeps-yoruba-language-alive/

Ashanti empire 100,000 square miles
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_Empire

10.Extent of the Oyo empire 270,000 square kilometers
https://thinkafrica.net/oyo-empire/amp/

11. The Ooni on the Ga people of Ghana
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/514570-ga-people-of-ghana-originated-from-ile-ife-ooni-of-ife.html

12. Nigeria 928,000 square kilometers
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria

13. The Fon people Around 4 million
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fon_people

14. The Igala. Around 2.5 million
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igala_people

15. The Ebira people 2 million

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebira_people

16. The Afemmai around 2 million
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afemai_people

17.The Ewe. Over ten million

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewe_people#:~:text=%22Ewe%20nation%22%2C%22E%CA%8Benyigba,the%20Gbe%20family%20of%20languages.

18. Western Ijaw Apoi

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Apoi_tribe

19. Western Ijaw Arogbo
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arogbo_tribe

20. The Oodua Investment company.
The sole purpose of establishing this company by the Action Group is to invest the money of the masses into profitable companies or business ventures starting with those companies operating in the national economy and market of the then Western Nigeria state. They initially started by founding companies and controlling them which largely failed. Most of the successes came from partnering with successful companies but now the current managers of this company which is the present Yoruba state governments may have depreciated the legacy of the company. The company has no shares in profitable and well established public companies like MTN Nigeria and Dangote group which are operating massively in the national economy despite that these companies are listed on the Nigerian stock exchange

21. Published paper on the performance of the Western Nigeria Development Corporation WNDC that preceeded the Oodua investment company by Akinsanya 1981.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pad.4230010105

22. The CEO of Norway's sovereign wealth fund on level of returns to expect from the funds.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-27/norway-wealth-fund-returns-14-5-in-2021-as-stocks-surged

23. List of sovereign wealth funds.
Note that one of the firsts if not the first is the Western Nigerian Development corporation which is not on the list since it is now defunct and the successor is not owned by a sovereign entity. The largest of the funds which is owned by the Norwegians operates with the same objective of the WNDC but was created to save income from Norway's oil and gas sector while the WNDC was created to invest a portion of government revenue in general into viable and profitable business ventures. Not only funds from one or more economic sectors are used but government revenue in general. I think this is the main difference between the two funds. The source of invested funds is the main difference but how the funds are meant to be invested is largely the same.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/276617/sovereign-wealth-funds-worldwide-based-on-assets-under-management/

24. Banking in a communist nation

https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-
-transcripts-and-maps/banking-system-soviet

25. A Covenant university paper on the Oodua investment company
https://www.academia.edu/40149432/Bleeding_the_Commonwealth_An_Assessment_of_Odua_Investment_Company_Limited_1985_2008

26. Brief history of the Oyo empire

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Oyo_Empire

27. A nairaland thread on the Oyo
And Hausa states.

https://www.nairaland.com/2792472/lies-oyo-empire

28. Creating an Oyo successor
https://www.nairaland.com/5858411/oyo-successor-stateppppppp

29. Benin was a Yoruba speaking empire
https://www.nairaland.com/5846948/benin-yoruba-speaking-empire

30 Aare ona Kakanfo Afonja was a Yoruba nationalist.
https://www.nairaland.com/3230287/late-aare-ona-kakanfo-afonja

31. Communism in a free market
https://www.nairaland.com/4024653/free-market-communism

32. Why I want Nigeria to break up
https://www.nairaland.com/3059277/why-want-nigeria-break-up

33. If enough citizens are members of an association or associations that are sworn to always be on the side of truth and fairness to the point of death, then there will be no need for political parties of any sort so far the people in government report to the hierarchy of these organisations. Among such organisations are the Rotary club, The Freemasons and the ROF. I have not seen the manifesto of the communist party of China to know their rules of engagement with others and their guiding principles but it is evidently based on Confucianism and etc. Also, any gathering where people have to meet to make crucial decisions while not being allowed to fight or curse themselves qualify as ab Ogboni gathering especially if such a gathering is not operating with a rigid ideology but is interested mainly in what works. It is however better to have a basic and simple rule that is easy to remember and follow. Party manifestoes can be too complex.l

https://www.nairaland.com/3319460/ogboni-state

34. Why Oduduwa did not come from Benin

https://www.nairaland.com/5907870/why-oduduwa-not-benin

35. What is the use of a multi party democracy?

https://www.nairaland.com/3272815/what-use-multi-party-democracy

36. My Over view of the struggle to unite the Yoruba since the 19th century

https://www.nairaland.com/3228426/ibadan-19th-century-hq-yoruba

37. Another view on a one party system of government.

https://www.nairaland.com/3202152/ogboni-government-only-government-acceptable

38. Casualties of the Third world.

https://www.nairaland.com/2979223/casualties-third-world-economy-option

39 Nigeria must be broken into pieces
https://www.nairaland.com/3030903/nigeria-must-broken-into-pieces

40. Dissociating from Nigeria is the right thing to do for Kano

https://www.nairaland.com/2745981/why-kanawa-should-consider-breaking

41. The origin of human civilization according to Yoruba thought.
https://www.nairaland.com/2724351/inferences-yoruba-thought-origin-man

42. A short summary of my recommendations arising from my online work of article writing in conjunction with many other people starting from around 2007 till the present moment on Facebook, Naira land and partly on Twitter.

https://www.nairaland.com/6985560/globe-sovereignty-nations

43. Why Yorubas will leave Nigeria by Bayo Oluwasanmi


https://www.nairaland.com/5644688/why-yoruba-leave-nigeria-bayo

44.Aare Gani Adams write the Attorney General
https://www.nairaland.com/5635735/amotekun-iba-gani-adams-writes

45. Article on Sun Tzu

https://www.nairaland.com/3252501/yoruba-stratagem......sun-tzu

46. A 1994 Memorandum
https://www.nairaland.com/3300946/nigerian-structure-yoruba-memorandum-may



Conclusion.
.
I think West Africa and indeed the whole globe should be restructured to allow for ethnic nations to enjoy autonomy and independence with those who have affinity for each other joining together to form larger economies and larger markets for their mutual benefit. This article is using the Yoruba as a case study. Fifty thousand population is not too small for any group that wants to go it alone but no nation should be made up of unwilling co travellers or strange bed fellows like the three regions of Nigeria created by the British to form Nigeria. It was the British that created those unions which did not work over time even as the larger Nigeria has not worked or prospered till date. It may work, given a lot of time, patience and effort but it is better to disband the union and work with something that worked before the British came on the scene, to save time. It does not seem right to divide into four different countries people that have seen themselves as one for thousands of years.

All nations should thereafter be enjoined to form investment companies and avoid going into debt as much as possible. Debts should mainly be to fund ventures that will yield profit.

All nations should propagate their own history in the perspective with which they are most comfortable with.

All nations should prioritize the incorporation of national banks for the purpose of providing commercial banking services for their citizens. It can be done by taking over
the board of an existing bank.

The UN should take over the oil and gas resources across the globe including the ones in the oceans as well as other resources in the oceans for the whole of humanity and share revenue according to need. This is very necessary so that all nations can face squarely the development of the economic activities their workers are more directly involved in as it should be.

A government agency should be given the task of imposing Management remuneration on all registered companies which will be determined largely by the shareholders' funds under management along with other approved parameters. This is to ensure that the management pay income tax in the same way that the rank and file of workers pay, since the expenses of the average member of managemement in most big companies is sometimes over 200 times that of the average worker.

Expenditure in defense, especially on personnel salaries should be greatly reduced. The majority of the citizens can be given military training with constituent parts or regions of nation states mandated to constantly send personnel to the armed forces for short service after which the vast majority of such personnel will return to their duty posts in other sectors of the economy while remaining on reserve for the military. They can also continue in the military on a part time basis by working remotely.

This article, though partially directed to the Yoruba, it is also valid for all the earth nations not sovereign over their own lands, especially the Kurds followed by the Hausa, Igbo and others. It also applies to the ethnic nations that have sovereignty and are the majority in more than one sovereign states. Most especially the Germans, Turks, Berbers, Arabs and others including the British people. There is nothing stopping these nations from joining themselves together to form a common market and economy after the fashion of the European union.

There should be a United Nations effort to control theology by means of the peer review of theological literatures which billions of people hold on to as absolute truth. Nothing written by any human being should be taken as absolute truth. WE ALL HAVE SEEN WHERE SUCH HAS LED HUMANITY