Elder statesman and leader of the pan-Yoruba organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, featured on Arise TV interview programme, where he addressed critical issues surrounding the ethnic nationality agitator, Sunday Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho), following his travails after his arrest and detention in Benin Republic, as well as moves by the Nigerian government to extradite him. Some excerpts of the interview:
YOU have been quoted as saying that the arrest of Chief Sunday Adeyemo is a declaration of war against the Yoruba people. You were also quoted as saying all Yoruba people all over the world should take to the streets in protest. But the Nigerian government, through the Department of the State Services (DSS), is saying that Sunday Igboho, as he is popularly known, has a case to answer and that rather than becoming a fugitive from the law, he should put himself up for state security services. And we have this situation, where he has been arrested in Benin Republic and in the last few days, there has been this issue whether to extradite him or not. How is his arrest a declaration of war against the Yoruba people?
Thank you very much. The Department of State Security Services is just behaving like a department under a dictatorship. What is his offence? You put it bluntly: he is calling for secession; no more, no less. He has been holding meetings in Akure, in Osogbo and other places without any damage done to anybody.
What is he saying that is different from the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), a party that wants separation from Britain? They have been together since 1707, in fact since 1603 when the James of Scotland became the first in England. And their union came about in 1707 and then, there arises a party that says they want to separate. Boris Johnson has not arrested the leaders of the party. He has not accused them of a treasonable felony or anything of the sort. As a matter of fact, in 1998, under the Scottish Act, they had an agreement that they wanted to separate and a lot of separation of powers was given to the Scottish Parliament democratically in the society, where there is a democracy.
Now, the worst that they did was that they should go for a referendum, which they lost narrowly: 55 per cent to 45 percent. And they are now thinking like they want to have another referendum, but Boris Johnson is hesitating. It’s all an argument; they are in the same parliament.
What is criminal in what he has done, except we are in Nigeria under Buhari’s dictatorship? It is unfortunate. In the First Republic, (Tafawa) Balewa accused myself and Chief Obafemi Awolowo of treasonable felony. We were in Ghana; we stayed there and there was the meeting of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) that was held in Ghana. Balewa insisted that he wouldn’t come there because I, S.G. Ikoku and others were in Ghana. Nkruma did not repatriate us because of that. What did he do? He sent us abroad to Russia and other places, while that conference was taking place. He didn’t break the diplomatic relation. He didn’t return us because he wanted the conference to be held there.
That is what is done in a democracy. And when we accuse this man of being a dictator, people say we are just labelling him. Everything he does, his parliament, his party is anti-democracy. Look at the bills they are now passing in parliament inhibiting free elections and they are taking pride in that. It is unfortunate for a person like me who fought for independence; who struggled under British colonialism.
We will resist Fulani domination under any pretence. Why should you be harassing the man? You went to his house at midnight. What for? Because he is calling for secession? My dear, it is an unusual trend and they are only disgracing this country by this action because all the democratic world knows that all these things are not done in a democracy. It is a sad thing for me. The passion others may have may be different from my own. Those, who are talking about when the military imposed the current constitution on us under which Buhari is doing anything under the sun…. He is the most powerful president in the whole world because of an imposed constitution that people didn’t have a hand in.
I have been saying it is a fraudulent constitution. And I gave my reasons and they have not refuted that; all the things that are causing secession, disharmony in the country are because of the constitution imposed by the military in 1966. It is not the agreement we had at independence. And what are the issues? There is discrimination; there is oppression; there was lack of progress due to the fact you concentrated power in the centre under this constitution and we now said, ok, if you are now saying you are going back to the barracks, let’s have the constitution we had at independence. They have not said this constitution is legitimate. We disputed every line of action in their case. They have not refuted it; they are only using power. The man is chasing Igboho all around; he is chasing Nnamdi Kanu, but he is negotiating with robbers, with bandits, who are making security unstable. Even people could not celebrate Sallah because of insecurity. The prices of everything are going up because of insecurity. He is not capable to tackle the issues. DSS are not showing competence to trace where these bandits are. But when it comes to opposition, who are asking for legitimate rights, they are very active. What a shame!
The DSS is accusing Sunday Igboho of stockpiling arms to cause chaos in the South-West region. We also know that Mr Adeyemo had led several protests, calling for a breakaway nation and he has issued an eviction threat to a particular tribe, the Fulani tribe, to leave the South-West, which he calls the Yoruba nation. We have seen reactions and clashes as a result of that. Will you say this is the best way the Yoruba nation, the South-West, can pass across their demands? Is it the best way to get their points over?
My dear, I hope you are not a stranger in this country?
No, I’m not.
On the issue that Fulani should go, don’t you know the background? It is because of the failure of Buhari to protect lives and property in his area. His uncle was murdered. All the Fulani people there are raping, kidnapping, depriving the farmers of their land and they killed his uncle who came all the way from America to establish a farmland.
They destroyed the farms and killed him. They kidnapped the Oba there; they kidnapped the children and raped the women and the man rose in retaliation because all those who did this havoc, the Federal Government or the state government came neither to stop nor to arrest those who are the culprits. That is the action that caused the reaction of Igboho.
Nobody knew Igboho in this country. I didn’t know him until this incident came about. And what is the plan of the government? Now you want them to go! That is talking rubbish. He didn’t ask Fulani to go. He didn’t ask Dangote to go. Has he asked Rabiu to go? Has he asked those doing legitimate business in Yorubaland to go? When these people try to pull the wool over the eyes, journalists too should be able to sift everything. Why is it confusing?
He said let the Fulani who are inflicting suffering on my people leave my place. And what was the response of the attorney general, even when the governor of a state said the Fulani people who were disturbing him, raping and kidnapping should leave the forest? He compared them to those who are doing legitimate business in the North; who are selling spare parts.
And I said well, if the people who are selling spare parts kidnap your people, murder them, deprive them of their farms, then send them back. He has not answered that. We are all living witnesses in the country. That’s the background; it didn’t just wake up and said go away! When you talk of reaction, you must always talk of the action. It is the inability of the Buhari government to protect lives and property in Igboho’s territory that causes Igboho to come to self-help., which is constitutionally right; it is legitimate. Despite that, the people are still causing havoc in Yorubaland and you want us to keep quiet.
You are slapping me and you don’t want me to cry! What an unfortunate thing!
Let’s move to the extra-judicial battle going on now. From the government of Republic of Benin, there are feelers coming out that ok, we will uphold the law; we will not give him up. But there has also been a push by the Nigerian government to get Benin to extradite him and this has been going back and forth. In fact, there are reports coming out from Benin that the extradition hearing will happen very soon and this conversation is going back and forth. Can you make sense out of it for us? I know you are also a lawyer.
I have given you the instance. The man is a political refugee. He didn’t commit any crime here; he didn’t waylay anybody; he didn’t kill anybody.
He didn’t run away from anybody after committing a crime. He ran for his life because he felt that they want to kill; they want to deprive him of his agitation because he is leading a popular revolt. When they see the crowd that Igboho is pulling at every meeting, that is what is terrifying them.
Can Buhari summon the kind of crowd that Igboho is summoning each time he holds a meeting, even with the fact that he gives money to those who are going to attend the meeting, with his rented crowd? Go and look at all the videos of the meeting held by Igboho; I don’t know him. And all the political parties who are governing this country cannot pull his crowd because he is clamouring for what the people want. I have said it several times even those of us who are talking, I don’t support secession; I have told you that. That is not my goal. I have fought for the unity of this country for the last 70 years, when Buhari was still in primary school.
I have invested in one Nigeria and my party has been leading the quest of a Nigeria that is united until Buhari came with this fraudulent constitution and he wants us to keep quiet. We will not keep quiet. He is talking to civilized people who know what extradition is.
You don’t extradite political refugees, who they know their lives are not safe in their country. If they had met Igboho when they invaded his house in the midnight what would have happened? Invading someone’s house in the middle of the night in a democracy, invading somebody’s territory in the midnight, trampling on his fundamental human rights, without any warrant; without any cause? You went there, you killed, you maimed and you destroyed his property, all because he wanted freedom for his people. It is not right in a democracy.
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