Reno Omokri, Nigerian author, international brand influencer, has urged Nigerians to put an end to competition with the Yorubas culture for the sake of progress.
According to his lengthy post, the Yorubas in other fields, are the pacesetters, whether you talk of politics or intellectualism.
Post below:
I watched Asake’s sold-out concert at the O2 Arena and was so impressed by how down to Earth he is in his raw talent. Down to Earth in the sense that this is a Yoruba boy from the trenches, and he does not attempt to hide that fact. He is so in your face with his Yoruba-ness, and people all over the world are loving it.
The crowd at the O2 Arena this past Sunday, September 22, 2024, was multiracial, but the music was unabashedly Yoruba. And they ate it up! Much as I was entertained, Asake got me thinking.
Wizkid did it. Multiple times. Davido did it. Many times. And now Asake. Why? How? What is the secret?
One of the things we can learn from the recent global stardom of multiple Nigerian artistes, especially music of Yoruba origin, is that though these individuals often have humble backgrounds, they never let their background put their back to the ground. Look at Asake, Wizkid, Kizz Daniel, Yemi Alade, and a host of others.
They sometimes come from places that would have been termed nowhere, but their impact is now everywhere. Be inspired by them beyond just music. If they can do it in music, you can do it in business, science, sports, politics, and I would have added movies, but Nigerians are already doing it in film.
You just have to learn their secret.
We can learn a lot from the Yorubas culture if we want to be successful as sub-Saharan Africans. Without abandoning their culture and language, they have succeeded globally with skills they acquired locally. And at the core of Yoruba culture is respect and humility.
The top Nigerian and African singers are Yoruba. The top Nigerian and indigenous African filmmakers are Yoruba. The only Nigerian Grammy winners are Yoruba, who have also won more of that laurel than any other ethnicity in Africa.
In other fields, they are the pacesetters, whether you talk of politics with Olusegun Obasanjo, intellectualism with Professor Wole Soyinka (Black Africa’s first academic Nobel Laureate, journalism with Dele Olojede (Black Africa’s first Pulitzer Award recipient), medicine with Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, global finance with Bayo Ogunlesi, and IT, with Tope Awotona.
And perhaps more tellingly, their region in Nigeria is the most peaceful, progressive and prosperous. Lagos alone accounts for less than 10% of Nigeria’s population but generates over 30% of the nation’s GDP. How do they do it?
There is no need to compete with them. For the sake of the progress of Nigeria and Black Africa, let us all cooperate with them and get their secrets of success so we can apply them.
