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By Oluseye Ojo
Agitators under the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM) on Wednesday stormed Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to renew their demand for an independent Yoruba nation, and declared their resolve to pursue the establishment of the Oduduwa Republic.
The group cited insecurity, kidnappings, killings and attacks on rural communities across the South West, alongside concerns over the Yoruba people’s political and economic future beyond 2031, when President Bola Tinubu’s tenure is expected to end, if he completes his constitutionally permitted two terms.
Speaking with journalists, the group’s National Leader, George Akinola, said the movement was seeking genuine self-determination. He alleged that violent crimes and Nigeria’s existing political structure had left the Yoruba nation increasingly concerned about its security and future.
He accused groups he identified as Fulani of alleged involvement in kidnapping, rape, killings and other violent crimes. He said the agitation was partly driven by the need to protect indigenous communities and address what he described as the arbitrary exercise of power.
Akinola acknowledged Tinubu as a Yoruba kinsman, but insisted that arrangements must be made to safeguard the region’s interests beyond the President’s administration.
He also maintained that non-Yoruba residents should enjoy freedom of movement and association in Yorubaland, but argued that they should not occupy sensitive political positions.
In a statement titled “Dissolution as the Solution to the Intractable Problems of Nigeria”, the movement rejected restructuring, resource control and a return to regionalism as adequate solutions to Nigeria’s longstanding political problems.
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Instead, it advocated a fundamental political separation, arguing that the Yoruba people should determine their own political future.
The statement expressed concern over insecurity in rural communities, particularly attacks on farmers and residents, and called for measures to protect indigenous communities and their interests.
However, it also contained controversial allegations and generalisations about Fulani and Igbo people, including claims about their origins, economic activities and political intentions.
The group proposed restrictions on non-indigenes’ access to land ownership, markets and political positions in Yorubaland. It predicated the argument on the allegation that Yoruba people, too, were not being allowed to be elected into political positions in other parts of the country.
According to YSDM, the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914 expired in 2014. It argued further that the time had come for a sovereign Yoruba Nation, which, Akinola said, should be achieved peacefully.
Akinola was joined in expressing support for the agitation by Iyaafin Erelu Temilade Awodele (Yemoja) and Alhaji Isiaka Olalekan, the leader of YSDM in Kwara State.
