ORG-Odua Research Group is a back-office outfit which should be treated as a black-box. We are not in the business of promoting any individual. One of the biggest viruses in the Nigerian society, and particularly with Yoruba people is the quest for self-glorification, self-gratification and self-promoting. Juju musicians made fortunes singing praises of, and popularising people, many of who are criminals, and most of who amass wealth at the expense of the masses. Yoruba people sadly, have the unhealthy culture of creating heroes of dubious characters and worshipping them. Even when such “heroes” loot the funds that should have been spent developing the communities.  That was how the corrupt politicians were created. And sadly, the intelligence level of too many of the people is terribly low, which has made it difficult for them to see the cancer eating up their society.
ORG is not in the business of promoting individuals who would be targets of those wanting to “bribe and buy” their favours, or of the regime’s security services doing their dirty jobs.

Those who are looking for personalities and heroes to worship or want to make new ones out of ORG would need to look somewhere else. At ORG, we shall stay focused on our mission of carrying out surveys, conducting studies, collecting and collating information that would help provide the information needed to build the new nation on a solid ground. A ground based on the expertise and intelligence of people who are prepared to work behind the scenes.
We are unapologetic about this. Those who have issues with that are advised to look elsewhere.

It is a fact that there are several groups that are contributing in one form or the other to the efforts to liberate the Yoruba people from oppression and the humiliating situation they find themselves in the present-day Nigeria. The task is made difficult because the oppressors have a clear agenda which they have been pursuing systematically for decades. They are in control of the national machinery and infrastructure. To make matters worse, too many of the Yoruba leaders have been bought and paid for. Too many of them are only interested in their political ambitions. They are standing in the way of their people.

Because of the complexity of the situation, and the uphill nature of the task, it is a great thing to have so many hands-on deck working on the struggle. Yet, we can not all be carrying placards and protesting or facing off with the police on the streets. We need to have at least, a few intelligent people who are engaged in doing some brainwork, some planning and strategizing. The best armies are not just those with the military might. They are those who can combine the military might with their back-office of very intelligent planners and plotters.

ORG – Odua Research Group is the back-office of this struggle. This is a cell of people who are not carrying placards on the street, who are not making noise, nor promoting themselves like some in the struggle appear to be doing.

It is one thing to achieve the goal of getting a new nation. It is another thing to actually make that new nation work. A newly independent nation that is run by clueless selfish leaders who are running around like headless chickens is destined to fail. The truth is, there will be sharks and enemies both outside and inside, who will do anything in their power to make the future Yoruba Nation fail.
Learn a lesson from South Sudan. The reason why South Sudan is not working is that everyone was focused on achieving independence. Everyone was a freedom fighter. Nobody was planning for the post-independent nation.

A newly independent nation is like a piece of very powerful modern sophisticated equipment. Yet, without a carefully documented use-guide, such equipment will at best, perform very poorly. At worst, it will fall apart. South Sudan did.

In the case of Yoruba Nation, someone needs to engage in preparing the user-guide. That is exactly what ORG is doing. That is what differentiates it from the others working to free Yorubas from bondage. Someone needs to foresee, plan and organise the right experts to prepare a draft constitution. Someone needs to research and understand what the resources of the nation are. Someone needs to do the advance planning for various aspects of the social, political and economic fabrics of the new nation. Someone needs to prepare the White Paper on the future education system. Someone needs to work on obtaining credible and reliable statistical data for the new nation. Without these, planning is impossible. There are hundreds of things to do in order to ensure the success of the new nation. Those with placards on the streets are working hard. But they are not doing this. Neither are those who are in it for their financial gains and to promote themselves.

Learn a lesson from the UK leaving the European Union. The most powerful group in the struggle was the ERG – European Research Group. This was the group of the brains behind the planning and the successful achievement of the exit.
The task of ORG is even more daunting that that of ERG because of the catastrophic nature of the current available information.

To support ORG is to empower not just those who are working towards liberating Yoruba Nation. It is supporting the success of the new nation.

Unfortunately, Nigeria has become a police state with the regime gathering information on its citizens at every possible point and with very trivial (and sometimes ridiculous excuses). The objective is to make it possible to control the citizens. It is not by accident that the head of the agency collecting all these information on every citizen, controlling the national identification numbering system, the BVN etc is from the ethnic same group that seeks to enslave the rest of the country. Isa Pantami, did not become Nigeria’s Communications minister out of merit. There are thousands of better qualified people in Nigeria. He is there for the purpose of advancing the very obvious agenda of the nepotist that put him in power.

Linking your NIN with your phone makes it possible to monitor and micromanage you and your activities. It makes it possible for them to spy on you, to trace and track you, not in the interest of the nation, but in the interest of the ethnic group that is systematically taking over the nation.
Using a local number that would place our activities under such control would not be an intelligent thing to do from our end.
Those who have seen how the Nigerian regime has treated Twitter would understand the reasoning behind keeping our WhatsApp base number away from Nigeria.
(If you have not already joined the WhatsApp group, the number is +352 621 648 893.)

We do not use the flags or emblems of Oodua Republic or Oodua Nation, or Yoruba Nation because we are not aware that one set of these already exists that has been mutually agreed and endorsed by everyone. As researchers, we can not be seen to be taking sides. We choose to stay neutral. The flag and other emblems of a nation, especially a new one, are of great importance. There must be consensus about them so as to give them credibility and the recognition that they deserve. Once agreed upon, they must be adopted by everyone.
If called upon to do so, ORG is ready and willing to help in organising the necessary consultation process to decide on one set of emblems and flags for the new nation.
Until one set is formally adopted by everyone, ORG will stick to using our crest as the sole insignia of the Yoruba Nation.

Perhaps the biggest manifestation of the lack of coordination between the actors engaged in the drive for an independent Yoruba homeland is the multiplicity of names, flags, emblems and other symbols of the unborn nation. As at today, to the great joy of those who are working against it, the apparent lack of standardisation and consensus has reduced the capacity and ability of the movement to make progress. Those who are working against it are encouraging, funding and fanning the flame of disunity.

At ORG, we use the term “Yoruba Nation” not to refer to the name of the nation to which we aspire, but in a rather generic manner. We prefer to stay neutral and play a constructive role in helping to reach consensus, and subsequently, to standardise the designation and the identity of the new nation.

The issue of who can claim to belong and who does not belong to the new nation is not as clear-cut as it might appear. It is a rather contentious one. It is true that Yoruba Nation nationality is not open to every Nigerian. Yet, the argument is that it should be opened to indigenes of Yorubaland wherever they might have been born and wherever they may be living presently. There are questions to answer. The first is, does a Yoruba person who, for example, was born in Kano and has lived all his life in that state qualify for national identity of Yoruba nation or not?

How does one define “state of origin”, especially when the birth certificate indicates a state other than one of those in the southwest? Another question is, how do you, for example, exclude a second or third generation of an Ibo man who was born in Ogun State and has always lived his life in Yorubaland from a Yoruba Nation passport? How do you without falling foul of discriminatory practice, exclude someone whose birth certificate indicates he was born in Ogun state, and has contributed as a citizen to that state, on the basis that their ancestors are from other parts of the country?

This is one of the issues that the SAGE-Nationality (Special Advisory Group of Experts on Nationality) of ORG is currently discussing. For as long as we do not have a policy statement on this, we must keep the list open.

If you have strong feelings about this, we would love to hear from you.

First and foremost, it should be made clear that we as researcher take offence to the use of the word “agitation” to describe our efforts to gain independence for the Yoruba Nation from decades of abuse and oppression. Because “agitation” has a negative connotation, it tends to be used by the oppressors in a derogatory and pejorative manner to evoke the feeling of riot and disturbance.

Neither one of these two fits the concept of what we are doing.
We are not agitating. Rather, we are demanding our rights to self-determination, and the right to live in dignity for the Yoruba people.

Achieving these rights – which are among the fundamental human rights under the United Nations Charter – for the Yoruba people across the globe, and in particular, those in their homeland in southwestern Nigeria form the basis of our vision for the Yoruba Nation.