Yoruba One Voice (YOV), the umbrella body of all Yoruba in the diaspora, has restated its call for the liberation of the Yoruba race, saying attempts to restructure Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari- led administration is just an exercise in futility.
The group gave this position during its much-publicized conference held at National Press Club, Washington DC, and also aired globally via zoom, just as it expressed worries at the spate of insecurity across the country.
Participants include; the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, who is also the Grand Patron of YOV; Publicity Secretary, Yoruba Summit Group (YSG), Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo; foremost social and political analyst, Akogun Gani Kayode Balogun (GKB); former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Obadiah Mailafia, among others.
According to the group, the call for the Yoruba nation became imperative as the race could no longer tolerate killer herdsmen in the South-West.
Chairman of the YOV Foreign Affairs Department, and organisers of the conference, Debo Adekoya, said the Yoruba people back home were being attacked and killed by Fulani herdsmen, supported by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He lamented that killer herdsmen run amok in Yoruba land daily, with cases of extra-judicial killings already reaching an alarming crescendo, saying videos of such sad incidents must have been seen shared on social networks, with the latest being the attack on Chief Sunday Igboho’s resident where eight people were killed with wanton destruction to his property.
“Our people back home are being attacked and killed by Fulani herdsmen, supported by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Killer herdsmen run amok in our land daily, with cases of extra-judicial killings already reaching an alarming crescendo.
“I am sure you must have seen videos shared on social networks of Yoruba men, women and children hacked by these heartless Fulani killers in our land. The palace of a traditional ruler was razed, and business premises vandalized.
“The latest was the attack on chief Sunday Igboho’s resident where eight people were killed with wanton destruction to his property,” he said.
Adekoya said Fulani leaders openly talk about their affinity to Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, and even were always boasting that any attempt to chase them away from Yorubaland would lead to more killings.
He posited that Nigeria had for a very long time lost the battle to ensure unity, insisting that the Yoruba were tired of this contraption called Nigeria, just as he noted that the group’s agitation was not new, as it had the backing of millions of Yoruba all over the world.
“In fact, this political, economic, social, and cultural perturbation has been on since 1960 when Nigeria got its independence from Britain.
“To subjugate the Yoruba people in the First Republic, the first modern Yoruba leader in the person of Chief Obafemi Awolowo was jailed by the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy, on trumped-up charges of treason.
“Till he died on May 9, 1987, Awolowo was never allowed to replicate what he did as premier of the defunct Western Region, at the national level,” he recalled.
“On June 12, 1993, history was made as a leading Yoruba light, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, won the presidential election across the country on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). He even defeated his challenger, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, who contested on the platform of the National Republican Convention (NRC), in his hometown of Kano in Northern Nigeria.
You all know what happened eventually. The election was annulled by the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy and Abiola was arrested,
He was eventually killed on July 7, 1998. The agitation for the actualization of the June 12 mandate led to the killing of thousands of Yoruba across the Western states,” he further recalled.
Adekoya maintained that what the group was simply seeking was for the Yoruba to be allowed “to direct our own affairs without interference because we have sufficient means for a comfortable livelihood and statehood.
“Also, what we are doing here today is not new to world power politics. In the late 1930s, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand were given independence within The Commonwealth.
“Since then, more than 60 countries have gained independence from the United Kingdom,” he said.
Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, who is also the Grand Patron of the group, said the call for the liberation of the Yoruba race was the legitimate rights of the people, declaring that events in the South-West showed that the time was up for the Yoruba to exit the country.
“From all indications, there is no denying the fact that Yoruba are tired of these senseless killings, thereby seeking self-determination in the most peaceful way,” the Yoruba generalissimo said.
Former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia, described the Yoruba as a blessed race with strong conviction and ethos of Omoluabi, adding that the Yoruba had the capacity to achieve whatever they want to achieve in the most peaceful manner.
Meanwhile, Niger Delta activist, Anniko Briggs, in his own remark, said she would be happy if there would be an organization like the YOV in the Niger Delta, that would be saddled with the responsibility of agitating for the liberation of the people of the Niger Deltans, expressing the hope that with YOV, the future of the Yoruba race was secured.
General Secretary of YOV, Dr Sina Okanlomo said “since Nigeria has taken the 1963 Constitution from the Yoruba, it is reasonable for us to exit from Nigeria.
Dr Akib Abiola, later showed a gory documentary of the massacre in the South-West saying “Britan and America could see all these genocide shown in the documentary and could not act, it means they are complicit to all the atrocities in the country.”
Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo, who also spoke, said there was no better option for the Yoruba nation other than the agitation for the Yoruba nation.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Attempts to restructure Nigeria under Buhari’s govt, exercise in futility
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state. Attempts to restructure Nigeria under Buhari’s govt, exercise in futility Attempts to restructure Nigeria under Buhari’s govt, exercise in futility
and then