Insecurity, poor economy, misgovernance recipe for agitations -Yoruba group

By Lukman Olabiyi

Prominent Yoruba Diaspora group, Yoruba One Voice (YOV), has said agitations for self-determination would continue if Federal Government failed to address issues threatening the foundation of Nigeria and also pit ethnic nationalities against one another.

He made this known at the fifth edition of its global conference held via zoom, where participants gathered from all the six continents of the world.

The Yoruba diaspora group, while proffering solutions to the myriads of challenges bedeviling Nigeria, also warned the Federal Government against clamping down on self-determination agitators, insisting that it was the right of every ethnic nationality to seek justice, fairplay and good governanc as well as self-determination, especially, when it becomes necessary.

It also identified prolonged insecurity, bad economy, and loss of hope as recipe for seeking self autonomy by the various ethnic nationalities, stating further that the present situation in the country is setting Nigeria up for an imminent break-up within two years.

Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, who is also grand patron of the diaspora group, said the Yoruba quest for self autonomy or an independent nation should not be a crime, insisting that there were countries all over the world that sought their freedom peacefully.

He added that majority of Yoruba sons and daughters in the diaspora were seeking self-determination because the experience back home is nothing but harrowing.

“Without sounding immodest, it is obvious that majority of Yoruba, especially, those in the Diaspora are tired of this forced marriage. Perhaps, those against our calls for self-determination are either not seeing what we see or they are not feeling the pain we feel because they are beneficiaries of the bad system that is ravaged by huge debt, increasing spate of insecurity, killings, kidnapping, raping and undemocratic culture of our leaders.”

Mr. Alex Oluwole Ajala, elder statesman, historian from United Kingdom and one of the guest lecturers said the greatest mistake of the colonialist against Nigeria and Nigerians was the 1914 forced amalgamation, saying the composition of the various ethic nationalities in today’s Nigeria is the bane of the country.

“With the present situation in the country, people of Nigeria should not be called tribes but ethnic nationalities because that is the correct appellation for a multi ethnic country like Nigeria.”