By Musa Bakare
The Okun Yoruba Nation of Kogi State must begin to provide for itself the visionary leadership necessary for the unity, progress, and advancement of its people. History is rarely kind to people who fail to recognize and embrace their divine assignment.
Among the Okun-speaking Yoruba people of Kogi State, Kabba occupies a unique and privileged position. It is not merely a town. It is not merely a kingdom. It is not just the headquarters of Kogi West Senatorial District. Kabba is the spiritual heartbeat, the cultural compass, the historical rallying point, and the symbolic center of the Okun Yoruba Nation.
With privilege comes responsibility. With influence comes obligation. With prominence comes leadership.
The time has therefore come for Kabba to consciously embrace its God-ordained responsibility of fostering unity, brotherhood, and collective advancement among all Okun-speaking people all over the World.
The Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Oworo, Yagba, Mopamuro, and every other component of the Okun Nation are not competitors in destiny. They are branches of the same ancestral tree.
A river may divide into many streams, but its source remains one.
Unfortunately, decades of political rivalry, sectional sentiments, and unnecessary suspicion have weakened the collective strength of Okunland, both politically and socially.
What ought to have been a united force has become fragmented. What should have been a mighty voice has been reduced to competing whispers.
No people rise to greatness while divided against themselves.
Nature itself teaches this lesson. A broom bound together sweeps effectively; separated strands are easily broken. A forest stands because thousands of trees share the same soil. The moment the roots become disconnected, the forest begins to die.
This is why the Okun Nation must rise above narrow selfish interests and embrace a larger mission.
Indeed, it should concern every Okun son and daughter that, despite their remarkable contributions to education, public service, and national development, the Okun people are yet to produce an Executive Governor. They did not produce one during their years under the old Kwara State, and after more than three decades in Kogi State, that aspiration remains unrealized.
This reality should provoke deep reflection not only among Okun people themselves but also among their admirers across Nigeria and beyond.
For some years, Kabba, the acknowledged headquarters of Okunland, has regrettably distanced itself from the Okun Development Association (ODA), the foremost umbrella body established to promote the unity and development of the Okun people.
Whatever differences gave rise to that unfortunate situation should have been resolved through dialogue, statesmanship, and a sincere commitment to the collective good long ago.
As the acknowledged headquarters of the Okun Yoruba Nation, Kabba should serve as the meeting point of all Okun political, cultural, economic, and spiritual aspirations. It should champion platforms such as the ODA that bring together traditional rulers, political leaders, intellectuals, youth organizations, women groups, business leaders, professionals, and cultural stakeholders from every corner of the world.
The future belongs to a united Okun people. The future belongs to an Okun Nation that understands that collective progress is greater than individual glory.
The controversies surrounding the recent APC primary election in Kogi West Senatorial District should serve as a wake-up call to every genuinely concerned son and daughter of Okunland.
The divisions and disagreements that emerged from the process exposed vulnerabilities that should concern all who desire a stronger, more respected, and politically influential Okun Nation.
A friend of mine from Akwa Ibom State, who served his National Youth Service in Kabba several years ago, called me recently. He expressed disbelief that a people so widely respected for educational attainment and intellectual sophistication could allow themselves to become vulnerable to manipulations capable of portraying them in such an unflattering light.
His observation should provoke sober reflection among us all.
Spiritually, the responsibility placed upon Okun traditional institutions and leaders is deeper than many appreciate.
The Creator never blesses a people merely for them to celebrate their status. Divine elevation is bestowed for service. God raises a city so that it can become a light to surrounding communities.
He places a people upon a hill so they can become a beacon of hope to others.
Kabba’s position in Okunland is therefore not an accident of geography. It is an assignment of providence.
A city that occupies the center must also carry the burden of leadership.
A kingdom that enjoys prominence must become a bridge-builder.
A people blessed with influence must become ambassadors of unity.
The greatest leaders in history were not those who exploited divisions. They were those who united their people. They transformed differences into strengths and diversity into collective power.
Imagine an Okunland where Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Oworo, Mopamuro, Yagba East, and Yagba West speak with one voice on issues affecting their collective future, especially in matters of politics and development.
Imagine an Okunland where cultural festivals become instruments of unity rather than occasions for division.
Imagine an Okunland where no outsider, regardless of status or influence, can manipulate or divide the people for personal political gain.
Imagine an Okunland where no one can boast that the highly educated and enlightened Okun people do not understand their collective political interests.
Imagine an Okunland where political differences never destroy ancestral bonds.
Imagine an Okunland where every child, irrespective of local government, clan, or district, sees himself or herself first as an Okun son or daughter before every other identity.
How can an Okun man or woman willingly submit to being used against another Okun brother or sister for temporary political advantage?
Okunland must begin to see itself through a broader and nobler vision of its future.
Such a vision is possible. But it requires leadership. It requires sacrifice. It requires wisdom. It requires a deliberate commitment to building bridges where others build walls.
The destiny of Okunland cannot be fulfilled through division. It cannot be fulfilled through mutual suspicion. It cannot be fulfilled through endless competition among brothers and sisters who share the same heritage and destiny.
The ancestors who founded our communities did not envisage a future where their descendants would spend their energies struggling against one another.
They envisioned a people bound together by common heritage, common culture, common values, and common destiny.
The hour has therefore come for the Okun Nation to fully embrace its historic role, not as competing communities, but as one people. As unifiers. As bridge-builders.As conveners.
As servant-leaders committed to the common good.
For when Okun rises in unity, Okunland rises.
When Okunland rises, Kogi West rises.
When Kogi West rises, Kogi State rises.
And when a united Okun people walk together under the guidance of God, no force on earth can stop their collective advancement.
The future of Okunland is not in division. The future of Okunland is in unity.
And the time to begin is now.
– Musa Asiru Bakare, a Political Analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
