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Yoruba N’ronu Stomach Infrastructure By Farouk Martins Aresa
Where are the Yoruba leaders? Using Stomach Infrastructure weapons against low information voters to win elections and beat democracy to dust. The emergence of Tinubu should have been a lesson that Yoruba are playing with fire when they claimed that firebrand leaders are needed to counteract “outside” fires. This is not being naïve, fire fighters amongst the Yoruba has never occupied pinnacle of leadership. They are sent to war. Learn from old Ilorin disaster.
The carbon copy of Tinubu has emerged in Ekiti State and if Osun is not careful, another noted thug whose hands are still bloody from the death of Bola Ige will rule. Well, it is a difficult time in the history of the Country, they say. Everybody is spitting fire and if you do not want fire to burn you, call on Tinubu, Fayose or Omisore. All we have to do if we want to be reminded by history is to compare Afonja to the bearer of those dignified names and their usurpers today.
In Yoruba, actually African culture, anyone that brings disrepute to our names is disowned. The Country has changed, the end justifies the means. No matter how you make your money, there are people waiting to sing your praises. It is so glaring, almost everyone seeking political office has to go through the ritual of accumulation in order to loot more when they get into office.
There used to be a time when a rogue cannot get married in town because no reasonable or decent family would offer the daughter. Today, they get the best lady in town. The same value they bring to marriage buys them influence in political arena, National Award, Looters’ Club and access to money by foreign contract, local contracts for “minors”. The cronies that have made it are the exemplary children look up to. When they grow up, some want to be like them.
The Cement infrastructure is for show with foreign contracts while the Stomach Infrastructure is an instant gratification before elections. Bags of rice may last low information voters about a month. Either way politicians make it to foreign banks like bandits awash with hard currencies to launder. When we say we are not stupid, it doesn’t mean we are not hungry. A hungry man is an angry man but during election: boli, guguru with groundnuts as political photo-op do well.
They starve communities of expensive stable food in our markets but invite foreigners to bring in technologies available in their own universities, so that most of it can be exported for foreign and hard currencies. Then wait until elections to flood market with imported rice, discouraging domestic brand. If you have been starving for ages and food is available for a week or a month in the middle of election with promises of more to come, you’re happily likely to vote for them.
Tinubu is well known for throwing money at Area Boys. They scramble and fight for it as they sing his praises. No well-born or bred would fall for such quick gimmick but they are the closest bouncers that cause mayhem and intimidate voters just as MOPOL would scare hell out of you. Area Boys are the stuffers and snatchers of ballot boxes. Harass the low information voters and silent majority to make obsequious stomach infrastructure choice based on instant gratification.
What has baffled most is how so many Yoruba with all their pride about the first in this and that; laid low and let these vagabonds rise amongst them. If these were National elections, Yoruba could have made a case against other ethnic dictators. Ndi-Yoruba Ronu, how did Tinubu win in Lagos, Fayose in Ekiti and Omisore on his way in Osun? Tinubu won twice before Jonathan O!
But why in Ekiti that claimed to be the most educated and most informed Yoruba. There has to be more. Cattles did not vote. If people were not motivated to come out to protect, exercise their civic and democratic rights, do not blame your opponents. Most seek and enjoy instant gratification and may even regret it after the fact. Fayose bragged that twice, he had defeated incumbent governors. No matter what a character, he appealed to our instant gratifying need.
Yoruba leaders are not different from other Nigerian leaders but you would think that Yoruba that claim some complex without low information voters would reject Tinubu and Fayose. Well, Nigerian leaders know how to starve and feed their voters before election. Those in power have also mastered conspicuous display of Cement and Stomach Infrastructure. They only build to make sure it involves foreign contracts so they can inflate outrageously to get lion share cuts.
YORUBA RONU has been translated into stomach infrastructure. Well, it takes more than that. These leaders do not see themselves as Yoruba, Nigerian or African. The only ambition of those making their 1st jackpot is how to launder even more to pursue dream houses, foreign gadgets, cars and imported Susie. Americans or Europeans can distinguish Nigerians coming from home to those in Diaspora. One is called a miser, unless he fell on money; the other is a big spender.
It will be disrespectful to say that majority of the people across the Country are not decent, law abiding and industrious. The way hard work and decent reputation are being thrown out and displaced by dubious characters; we are in for a bleak future. Others disagree, claiming the Country will be saved the way the children of Israel did. We love to fool ourselves so that we can buy time for another day, another year, in the future. As usual: Only God Can Save Nigeria!
Instead of creating enabling environment even in local areas for roads so that people can build their own houses under government basic infrastructure and regulations, they inflate cost on conspicuous main roads and build houses only their colleagues and cronies can buy, within whom their loot is circulated. By building home for those that can afford to build for themselves, they crowd out business and private contractors. Excuse: no low cost cement for working class.
Others are left to build their own houses, roads, buy generators and dig boreholes for water. Yoruba leaders compete and crowd out businesses that should be paying taxes; instead create tax free zones for themselves and sell themselves government and poor people’s land.
Yoruba leaders need to form a new party or build up Labor Party to express their community values and create enviable environment for other Nigerians like Awo did.
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