By joshua 
YAGBA AT THE CROSSROAD: A CALL FOR REFLECTION, UNITY AND WISDOM
I have never encountered a people as deeply divided as the Yagba people. Time and again, we have allowed ourselves to become pawns in the hands of others, easily used, conveniently discarded, and perpetually weakened by our own internal fractures.
What is truly wrong with Yagba? Why do we consistently refuse to learn from the painful lessons of our past?
Why do we continue to squander great opportunities on the altar of disunity and mistrust? One is forced to ask: Is Yagba a people with a shared destiny, or merely a geographical expression? Do we genuinely reflect before acting, or failing to act? Is this the legacy we intend to bequeath to the coming generation?
For how long will the elites of Yagba continue to trade or truncate the collective interest of our people for nothing? When will Yagba become its brother’s keeper?
When will a Yagba man cease to be a threat to another Yagba man?
When shall we begin to think strategically, rather than emotionally?
When shall we stop being tools in proxy wars that do not serve our interest?
When shall we stop inheriting enemies that are not originally ours?
These are questions I have asked myself repeatedly, often without satisfactory answers.
My Immediate Concern is what I have started seeing on social media. In recent times, I have come across images and narratives suggesting that my beloved brother, Hon. Sam Aro (SBA), is being positioned as a contender for the next Senate election on the platform of the APC. This is the same platform as Senator Sunday Bolaji Karimi (DSSK). I waited patiently for a rebuttal or clarification from SBA, but none has emerged. I am therefore compelled to assume that this development may indeed be real.
If so, my immediate concern and candid opinion is that the timing of SBA’s emergence is not in the overall interest of Yagba land.
It appears to me as a well-orchestrated plan capable of costing Yagba its second-term opportunity in the Senate. Once Yagba votes are divided, the path becomes clear for a more organised and united constituency elsewhere to take the ticket with ease.
My question again is,are we not seeing the danger ahead clearly? More troubling is the question, Why must any Yagba man be an instrument used to undermine Yagba’s second-term chance in the Senate at this time?
The SBA I know and well acquainted with is too refined, too principled, too widely respected, and too genuinely loved in Yagba land to be so cheaply deployed in a political chess game that serves interests beyond Yagba. So, what has gone wrong? And more importantly, where do we go from here?
The bigger political reality is that it might even be possible for DSSK who is considered strong enough to win through individual effort, and this may be on another political platform. But the reality of Nigerian politics remains unchanged; winning on the platform of the ruling party is what truly guarantees access to the dividends of democracy. Therefore, any scenario that weakens Yagba’s position within the ruling party is a strategic error—one with long-term consequences.
On a personal note, I can vouch that I know SBA very well. He is a self-made man who has built a solid reputation and an admirable political identity in Yagba land. He has always been my man, any day, any time.
However, his coming out to contest directly against DSSK at this critical moment is, in my considered opinion, a no, no, no and indeed a low, low, low.
Let me say this now that the prevailing perception among many Yagba people is that SBA’s ambition at this time is not organic, but rather sponsored and designed to serve as a spoiler. He is now been seen as a commander-in-chief of a carefully orchestrated proxy war between the state structure and DSSK. We must not forget that perception, whether fair or not, is powerful and as well dangerous.
It is my therefore humble appeal
to SBA not to allow his hard-earned reputation to be damaged by a proxy war that is fundamentally detrimental to the interest of Yagba land. At the end of the day, should Yagba lose the Senate seat, or fail to secure it on the platform of the ruling party, we will know exactly where to look for answers.
What then is the way forward? I wish therefore to urge the two Yagba political giants and Senate contenders to rise above personal ambitions and reach an honourable compromise in the supreme interest of Yagba land. As the saying goes, a word is enough for the wise. Let me also add that this is also not the time for Yagba elders to remain silent. Silence, at this moment in our history, is not golden. It is dangerous. Our elders must rise to speak truth, provide guidance, and safeguard the future of our people.
History beckons.
This is a defining moment for Yagba people. It is my ernest prayer that it shall be well with Yagba land.
Commodore Folusho Daniel (Rtd.)