By David Adeneka.
As a prelude to this article, kindly digest the brilliant understanding of the so called indigenous bill as explicitly expressed by a philosopher, "Indigenous rights has been a Northern (Fulani) agenda long before the Igbos, but now the two groups align in their evil desires. The central focus of land grabbing is to take over another person’s land on a permanent basis. Banditry and Boko Haram affect the short-term takeover of indigenous lands, and the permanency of such depends on the strategy that legally makes the land their own. That is what the original indigenous bill push was about under the Buhari administration. That effort was defeated not abandoned. The current indigenous bill by the south east is targeted at Lagos state and the south west of Nigeria; and it is beneficial to the Fulani agenda too. The declared intention of your friend or enemy to takeover your land and rights is genuine reason to be suspicious of him. I am not interested in the political bigotry of the Lagos APC and co, but the reality on the ground is that, there is a deliberate attempt and sustained push by certain elements of the south east geo political zone and some fulani elements of the North, to take over other people's lands and natural rights across the country.
Residency and property ownership differ from indigenous ownership of the natural endowments of other people. I am sure that true federalism gives the people in each region, the right to protect their indigenous land and cultures. The indigenous bill should not have been on the table, at least, not as a bill backed by the nuances of a region. It has come, it must not pass. It should also point out the intended victims, in the direction of sustained alertness and prevention. That bill must not come again under any pretense." - Engr. Adebayo Adenekan, A Chieftain Of Afenifere.
Our unparalleled level of hospitality in the south-west of Nigeria must not be taken for granted. We must defend and protect our indigenous lands with "whatever it takes." Our indigenous land is the embodiment of everything we are, including our culture, religion, tradition, custom, artifacts and value that identify us as people of the Yoruba race.
Yoruba is a nation, and any ulterior motive to 'bastardize and balkanize' our social system must be nipped in the bud.
The so-called indigenous bill will be defeated before it arrives. I am beginning to doubt my initial support for an Igbo Presidency in Nigeria. Politics is dynamic and based on the exigencies of time.
Time will tell.
At this juncture, the question that we need to ask the so-called Igbo elements in the National Assembly is, is the formation of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, truly for self-determination and the preservation of the rights of the indigenous people of Igbo land, or is it a means to an end; to extend its tentacles to other people's indigenous land?
Also, are these political brouhaha by majority of the Igbos agitating for a sovereign Biafra land, just a means to an end; by negotiating for the Number One Citizen at Aso Rock Villa and by extension, use the federal might to capture other indigenous people of Nigeria, particularly the southwest of Nigeria because of the great advantage of the Atlantic Ocean? If not, what would have premeditated such a dangerous thought that indigenous rights should be abrogated in Nigeria?
In addition, why would some Igbo elements that have been advocating for self-determination since the late sixties suddenly want to push a bill to abrogate the indigenous rights in Nigeria?
Methinks, this is a contradiction of historical facts; and with this kind of mindset, is it not becoming more worrisome to trust an Igbo President with a federal might under the current fraudulent political structures in Nigeria?
Emphatically, are we safe and secure in Yoruba land if an Igbo man is the President of Nigeria under the current fraudulent 1999 constitution that has ceded an overridden power to the federal government over the federating units?
However, I concur with the quote of Engr. Adebayo Adenekan, a Chieftain of Afenifere at the beginning of this piece that the right to defend and protect our indigenous lands against the Fulanis (Marauders) and some Igbos' with an overbearing attempt to strategically take over our indigenous land from us, must not be misconstrued as an APC's bigotry politics. Yes, it is far from it. The race card that APC is playing in the west, particularly in Lagos state, is to 'divide and rule' to perpetuate her politics of self-aggrandizement, greed, corruption, opportunism, sycophancy, nepotism, favoritism, kleptocracy, and selfish interest against, and at the detriment of the collective interest of Yoruba as a people.
Lastly, the writer of this piece is never a tribal jingoist. I have written articles in the past to support the Igbos when it was glaring that the APC government in Lagos state was playing a race card to disenfranchise them from voting in Lagos state.
However, I will not sit back to subscribe to a dangerous threat of extinction against my unique identity as a Yoruba man.
Patriotism is not a passport to foolishness. There is the need to read between the lines that there is a existential threat to my culturally unique identity as a Yoruba man.
Hmmm, Yoruba people 'shine' your eyes.
"A word is enough for the wise."Again, time will tell.
David Adenekan is The Editor of Shekina International Magazine and A Media Consultant. He is also the Secretary of Afenifere Diaspora USA. He Writes From Chicago,Illinois.
davidadenekan5@gmail.com.