Lisida

YORUBAS - THE PECULIAR RACE George Orwell once wrote that “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Creation itself testifies to this paradox. In the wild, some are fashioned as prey, others as predators; and even among predators, only a rare few sit at the summit as apex hunters - for the hunter of one terrain is the hunted of another. As it is with beasts, so it is with men. The Omniscient did not cast creation from one mould. Equality of existence is not sameness of design. Among humanity, some peoples are marked out - peculiar by purpose. And within the Black race, in this geographical space called Nigeria, the Yoruba stand apart. How else does one explain a single people laying the cornerstones of nearly every major pillar of the nation’s framework, becoming the measuring rod - and, yes, the envy - of the wider clime? ENTERTAINMENT Father of Theatre - Hubert Ogunde Creator of Fuji Music - Sikiru Ayinde Barrister Afrobeats - Fela Anikulapo-Kuti Jùjú Music - Tunde King Highlife - Bobby Benson Àpàlà - Haruna Ishola Pioneer of Home Video Production - Alade Aromire POLITICS Nigeria’s first Indigenous political party - Herbert Macaulay First formal Leader of the Opposition - Chief Obafemi Awolowo Most industrialized and advanced society of the First Republic - Western Region Most enduring political ideology - Awoism Greatest politician of the Fourth Republic - Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu INDUSTRY / FINANCE Most advanced state in Nigeria - Lagos State - Salute the ancient foresight of our forebears - they chose the sea's embrace over the evil forest's snare. Vision sharper than their era, revelation deeper than their time, a blueprint etched for eternity. Nigeria’s first major indigenous industrialist - Chief Michael Adeniyi Odutola A pioneer who built factories, plantations, retail chains, ranches, and export businesses - turning industry into inheritance. First Indigenous Telecommunication Giant - Globacom (Mike Adenuga) Foremost pioneer of Nigerian banking - Chief Matthew Adekoya Okupe, Founder of Agbonmagbe Bank (1945), West Africa’s first fully indigenous commercial bank - built without colonial crutches. First Chartered Accountant in Nigeria - Akintola Williams, FCA LEGAL / ACTIVISM First Senior Advocate of Nigeria - Chief F. R. A. Williams First Chief Justice of Nigeria - Sir Adetokunbo Ademola Most renowned Human Rights lawyer - Chief Gani Fawehinmi Most prominent female activist - Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti HEALTH / MEDICINE First Nigerian Medical Doctor - Dr. William Broughton Davies (of Yoruba parentage) First Nigerian Surgeon - Sir Samuel Layinka Ayodeji Manuwa EVEN IN SCHOLARSHIP AND INTELLECT We had Prof. Wole Soyinka Africa's first and Nigeria's only Nobel Prize Winner in Literature. And the scroll unfurls endlessly - add your own in comments and quotes. Now, let no tribe hoard the crown of excellence, for greatness scatters like seeds across every soil, tribe or race. But history does not negotiate with sentiment, nor do facts bow to bias. Some of us will state the record as it stands, whose ox soever is gored - we offer no apology for our radiant greatness. No tragedy cuts deeper than to be Yoruba yet hunger to become another. Being Yoruba is overflowing abundance - others dream in shadows to wear your skin. Do not be so unfortunate as to trade destiny's gold for borrowed dust. Yet a solemn caution echoes: No empire stands too mighty to crumble; no race reigns too supreme to fall; no people blessed beyond measure escape ruin if complacency blinds them to lurking threats, if they ignore the warning signs, if they foolishly embrace foes as kin. The Greeks once ruled the world. Rome's legions shook the earth. Egypt once dictated the rhythm of civilization. One by one, they fell - because no height of greatness is immune to erosion. Guard the spring, lest the flow cease. The election of grace is a gift, not a guarantee - nurture it, or watch the peculiar flame flicker out.