Few days after the Southern Governors Forum meeting in Lagos, the Oodua Peoples Congress-Reformed (OPC-Reformed), while acknowledging that the meeting was a step in the right direction, stated that it is time for Yoruba leaders to stand up and speak against oppression, adding that Yoruba leaders are not doing well about the challenges facing the region at present.
“We, the members of OPC(R) are really impressed with the outcome of your meeting and hereby commend your bravery. The enormous courage you just began to display will be a new source of encouragement to us if you can back it up with action. What you just did is long overdue but it is better late than never,” the group stated.
OPC (R) through its president, Ambassador Dare Adesope, said the major problem every state in the Southwest is facing at present is insecurity and all eyes are centred on a particular tribe. He added that with the situation of things, those that matter cannot afford to keep quiet.
“People of the Southwest used to move freely from town to town without fear but it is a different ball game now. Our people can’t perform cultural rites with each other again because of fear of been waylaid by herdsmen. Our farmers have been rendered useless, they fear to go to their farm and in Yoruba land, we all know that ‘Oko ni emi agbe’ meaning the farm is the soul of a farmer. One will begin to imagine why Fulani that claimed to cherish religion so much will rape another man’s wife, kidnap, maim and kill people even after collecting ransom.
“Yoruba leaders should stand up and speak against this oppression and intimidation. One adage says ‘Iku to n pa ojugba eni, owe lo n pa fun ni’, that is, one should be mindful of someone else misfortune as it is a warning to others, Fulani herdsmen are still going about their businesses in all Oodua land without fear while the original landowners are afraid of sleeping with their eyes closed out of fear of being attacked.
The OPC (R) president stated that the countless agitations arose because the right thing is not being done and no one seems to care about the populace, adding that “I personally have been hammering on restructuring but the Nigerian government or should I say this present leadership doesn’t want to hear about it. Since they have refused to restructure and we are not satisfied with the way the country is being run, we have to start agitating to have our nation that will be free from the bondage of Nigeria. The present system of governance is not the best for Nigeria; it is not working and can never work.”
He reiterated the mission of his group towards defending the Yoruba nation, explaining that the OPC(R) had never relented in defending our people of the South West in spite of the various challenges and intimidation from various quarters.
“We, members of the OPC-Reformed are ready for the new task ahead; we have established organisational structure starting from zonal level, that is why we speedily unravel things when called upon. We all know that Nigeria is not working. A president that thinks only about his tribe should rather bid for the position of a traditional ruler because a good president’s priority is unity.
“The Federal Government should do the needful now by consulting technocrats in order to normalise things, failure to do this as soon as possible means they want to dare all Oodua descendants because this is not about Sunday Igboho, and if they should invoke our wrath, Oodua people can do worse compared to all you have seen in other parts of the country,” the group said.
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