OMOLUABI ETHOS BETRAYED: YORUBA GROUP SLAMS ODUDUWA INTEGRITY ASSOCIATION'S ATTACK ON SOWORE
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| Omoyele Sowore |
The children of Oduduwa, popularly known as the Yoruba, are renowned for their moral character, credibility, values, and unwavering commitment to equity, fairness, and justice. These noble traits are what earned them the name Omoluabi. Sadly, these very attributes have been cast aside in the self-serving press statement issued by the so-called Oduduwa Integrity Association, a group whose actions betray a lack of integrity. By cursing Sowore instead of addressing truth, and by threatening to stage a shameful rent-a-crowd protest in the Southwest, they expose themselves as compromised, while Sowore exemplifies the true Omoluabi ethos by speaking truth to power.
President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu already has sufficient media and communication machinery to defend his policies, image, and government whenever necessary. He also has the option of seeking legal redress if aggrieved, without the unsolicited intervention of a patronage-seeking “Integrity” group that itself lacks integrity.
Meanwhile, the Oduduwa nation, the Yoruba people, are grappling with multidimensional challenges under Tinubu’s government. The ongoing herdsmen-led attacks amounting to genocide in parts of Northeast Yorubaland, especially against the Ẹgbẹ, the Okun Yoruba in Kogi State, the Igbomina in Kwara, and even some parts of Oyo State, appear to be of little concern to this self-serving association parading under the false banner of “integrity.”
If the immediate past APC presidency of Muhammadu Buhari endangered our land through its tacit tolerance for herdsmen violations and banditry, what has Tinubu—deceitfully voted for by many Yoruba under the mantra of “Èmi ló kan, Yorùbá ló kan”, done to stop the genocidal cleansing of our people by Fulani herdsmen? “Ọmọ ẹni kì í ṣé ìdí bẹ̀bẹ̀rẹ̀ ká fi ìlèkè sí ti ọmọ ẹlòmíì”, one must not adorn another’s child with beads while neglecting one’s own. What is benefits today? Hardship!
Do we need to remind this integrity-lacking group that local government chairmen in Ondo State, where they issued their fatwah against Sowore, are publicly crying out that Governor Aiyedatiwa diverted local government allocations for personal use? Out of a whopping ₦600 million, only a paltry ₦4 million is given to them—yet this is of less concern to these self-serving defenders of Yoruba “interests.”
Now that their attack on Sowore has become a guaranteed meal ticket from the Presidency, can they also tell their paymasters that the majority of Yoruba people are living in abject poverty brought about by anti-poor government policies? Hunger, suffering, despair, and multiple taxation have crippled their sources of livelihood.
We also hope this Omoluabi-traits-lacking group will appeal to Governor Sanwo-Olu and, by extension, the Tinubu presidency, to stop the vicious, cruel, and inhumane displacement and demolition of the homes and means of livelihood of the poor in Okobaba, Otumara, Makoko, Owode Onirin, Oworonshoki, and other parts of Lagos.
The fraudulent citation of alien doctrines with manipulated Bible verses will not work against a people’s hero like Sowore. Genuine children of Oduduwa, not opportunistic akọ́tìlẹ́tà, should know that Ifa philosophy has guidance for every matter under the sun. Odu Ifa Ìkàgbemi teaches:
* "Èégún ìkà ni gbé ìkà,
* Òrìṣà ìkà ni gbé ìkà,
* Bí ìkọ̀kọ̀ òmírìn bá lóyún nù,
* Tíbi tìrẹ ni bí.
* Àdìfá fún Onínúure tí wọ́n máa gba ìmọ̀ràn ìkà lọ.
* Ifa rí inú o,
* ilẹ rí ìkà,
* Ẹni ń ṣe rere, Ọlọ́run mọ̀.”
Translation:
* The wicked masquerade supports wickedness,
* The wicked deity supports wickedness,
* When the hyena is pregnant,
* she gives birth to both good and bad,
* Ifa divined for the righteous man being vilified and plotted against.
* Ifa knows our hearts,
* the earth knows the wicked,
* Olódùmarè knows who truly stands for justice.
Thus, no matter the campaign of calumny against Sowore for speaking truth to power, the impoverished majority know he stands for a better life for them, he is their hero. They also know that the self-appointed defenders of Tinubu are opportunists thriving on the pain and hardship of the people. Groups like the Oduduwa Integrity Association are the true villains.
Comrade Wale Balogun
National Coordinator, Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM)
Convener, Mekunnu Koya
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| Omoyele Sowore |
The children of Oduduwa, popularly known as the Yoruba, are renowned for their moral character, credibility, values, and unwavering commitment to equity, fairness, and justice. These noble traits are what earned them the name Omoluabi. Sadly, these very attributes have been cast aside in the self-serving press statement issued by the so-called Oduduwa Integrity Association, a group whose actions betray a lack of integrity. By cursing Sowore instead of addressing truth, and by threatening to stage a shameful rent-a-crowd protest in the Southwest, they expose themselves as compromised, while Sowore exemplifies the true Omoluabi ethos by speaking truth to power.
President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu already has sufficient media and communication machinery to defend his policies, image, and government whenever necessary. He also has the option of seeking legal redress if aggrieved, without the unsolicited intervention of a patronage-seeking “Integrity” group that itself lacks integrity.
Meanwhile, the Oduduwa nation, the Yoruba people, are grappling with multidimensional challenges under Tinubu’s government. The ongoing herdsmen-led attacks amounting to genocide in parts of Northeast Yorubaland, especially against the Ẹgbẹ, the Okun Yoruba in Kogi State, the Igbomina in Kwara, and even some parts of Oyo State, appear to be of little concern to this self-serving association parading under the false banner of “integrity.”
If the immediate past APC presidency of Muhammadu Buhari endangered our land through its tacit tolerance for herdsmen violations and banditry, what has Tinubu—deceitfully voted for by many Yoruba under the mantra of “Èmi ló kan, Yorùbá ló kan”, done to stop the genocidal cleansing of our people by Fulani herdsmen? “Ọmọ ẹni kì í ṣé ìdí bẹ̀bẹ̀rẹ̀ ká fi ìlèkè sí ti ọmọ ẹlòmíì”, one must not adorn another’s child with beads while neglecting one’s own. What is benefits today? Hardship!
Do we need to remind this integrity-lacking group that local government chairmen in Ondo State, where they issued their fatwah against Sowore, are publicly crying out that Governor Aiyedatiwa diverted local government allocations for personal use? Out of a whopping ₦600 million, only a paltry ₦4 million is given to them—yet this is of less concern to these self-serving defenders of Yoruba “interests.”
Now that their attack on Sowore has become a guaranteed meal ticket from the Presidency, can they also tell their paymasters that the majority of Yoruba people are living in abject poverty brought about by anti-poor government policies? Hunger, suffering, despair, and multiple taxation have crippled their sources of livelihood.
We also hope this Omoluabi-traits-lacking group will appeal to Governor Sanwo-Olu and, by extension, the Tinubu presidency, to stop the vicious, cruel, and inhumane displacement and demolition of the homes and means of livelihood of the poor in Okobaba, Otumara, Makoko, Owode Onirin, Oworonshoki, and other parts of Lagos.
The fraudulent citation of alien doctrines with manipulated Bible verses will not work against a people’s hero like Sowore. Genuine children of Oduduwa, not opportunistic akọ́tìlẹ́tà, should know that Ifa philosophy has guidance for every matter under the sun. Odu Ifa Ìkàgbemi teaches:
* "Èégún ìkà ni gbé ìkà,
* Òrìṣà ìkà ni gbé ìkà,
* Bí ìkọ̀kọ̀ òmírìn bá lóyún nù,
* Tíbi tìrẹ ni bí.
* Àdìfá fún Onínúure tí wọ́n máa gba ìmọ̀ràn ìkà lọ.
* Ifa rí inú o,
* ilẹ rí ìkà,
* Ẹni ń ṣe rere, Ọlọ́run mọ̀.”
Translation:
* The wicked masquerade supports wickedness,
* The wicked deity supports wickedness,
* When the hyena is pregnant,
* she gives birth to both good and bad,
* Ifa divined for the righteous man being vilified and plotted against.
* Ifa knows our hearts,
* the earth knows the wicked,
* Olódùmarè knows who truly stands for justice.
Thus, no matter the campaign of calumny against Sowore for speaking truth to power, the impoverished majority know he stands for a better life for them, he is their hero. They also know that the self-appointed defenders of Tinubu are opportunists thriving on the pain and hardship of the people. Groups like the Oduduwa Integrity Association are the true villains.
Comrade Wale Balogun
National Coordinator, Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM)
Convener, Mekunnu Koya
