SUNDAY IGBOHO AND FALL OF THE YORUBA ELITE

I begin this article with one of the most profound statements I have ever heard or read. The content of it, though usually ignored, is real and unputdownable.

The statement is credited to American combat veteran of the Marine Corps and writer, G. Michael Hopf, who, in Those Who Remain said that “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

Michael Hopf himself is a militant individual who once served as a bodyguard to the Saudi royal family. He has seen it all and he understands the dynamics of society and how humans respond to inevitable changes. Of course, he knew how difficult situations can throw up valiant heroes and how comfort and opulence can lead to immorality and decadence in a society.

It is in the face of these extreme circumstances in our world in Nigeria, and in Yorubaland in particular, that men of different sorts have emerged. Time there was in this land when people shouted “On June 12 we stand” and “Abacha Must Go”. Time there was when valiant men were arrested, detained, tortured, prosecuted, and executed or even assassinated until victory and freedom were attained when the nation became democratic again.

With democracy, our nation has become relatively better than it was under the military but sadly, rather than consolidate on these gains, the present crop of leaders have become the enemies of the people. They have, over time, become selfish, comfortable and too fat to speak for their people.

When contesting for positions as governors, senators or representatives, most of the Yoruba politicians are usually unknown at the beginning, having been too far away from home. But suddenly they remember they originated from somewhere and then come back to the village to campaign. Riding on tribal or ethnic support, they attain very high offices but once in power, they become agents of the so-called national ideals that run counter to the yearnings of their people back home.

These are the reasons the Yoruba elite, the governors, senators, traditional rulers and religious leaders have become weak and too unconcerned about the plight of their people who continue to suffer in the hands of Fulani marauders. Our leaders who have greatly benefitted from our democracy have become cowardly and weak and as Michael Hopf rightly said, “…weak men create hard times”.

It is in the middle of that hard time caused by the weakness of cowardly leaders that the Yoruba Nation is today. But Hopf’s statement is strategic. It is cyclic and prophetic. “Hard times create strong men.” This is why a new generation of brave leaders have in emerged across the country and one of them is Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho, a Yoruba self-determination activist.

Sunday Igboho, going by the various accounts of him that have circulated recently, is a big thug. He is the type of person our society, especially the elite, would blacklist as a social misfit. One of the elites, a politician has described him as an “uneducated riffraff” but Igboho is far more than that.

At Kisi, Shaki, Igboho, Sunday’s home town and Igangan, the theatre of the Ibarapa encounter, and in several other towns and villages in the Ibarapa area of Oyo State, the Fulani reigns supreme. They oppress their Yoruba hosts by grazing their animals on their farms; raping their women, kidnapping them for ransom and killing them unhindered!

The response to these cruel crimes was the lackadaisical attitude on the part of the police and the military that seem to aid the criminals. Also unconcerned are the political, religious and traditional leaders who simply look the other way. Yet, here was an unrepentant and arrogant kingpin who had been the leader of the criminal elements in the area, thriving in the ransoming trade.

When Yoruba people say “Erin kìí fọn k’ọ́mọ rẹ̀ ó fọn”, they simply mean that when an elephant trumpets, its calf is not expected to trumpet as such would be considered disrespectful. The trumpeting of the father elephant is sufficient. But when the time comes for the elephant to trumpet and everyone is eager to hear the trumpeting of the elephant who, despite all entreaties, still refuses, then it is just fair and proper for the calf to trumpet. And that was what Sunday Igboho did when he ordered the notorious kingpin to vacate the area within seven days. On the D-day, the stubborn man fled. Valiant Igboho carried the day, shaming the elite and the security agencies. This will be the beginning of their fall and irrelevance to society.

Perhaps, writing this would have been unnecessary if not for the noise of disapproval from the cowardly political elite who felt intimidated that a nonentity had stolen the show. They suddenly remembered the laws that disapprove of Igboho’s conduct but forgot that it was their disturbing silence at the face endless apparent injustices that brought the warrior to limelight.

Igboho’s exploit will not be the last. Many of his ilks will still emerge and the people will follow them. Leadership is more than acquiring university degrees and occupying high offices. It is not for cowards and the weak. Any leadership that cannot respond to the needs of its subjects soon becomes irrelevant as the people begin a search for responsive leadership. To the people of Ibarapa, Sunday Igboho is a hero.

A politician would have paid millions of naira to gather the thousands that willingly followed Igboho. For a desperate disease, a desperate cure. We are in hard times created by weak men and only strong men can salvage it, and since the big elephants have lost the zeal to trumpet, let the young calves do so.

Abayomi Ogunye
30th January, 2021