VANGUARD
Predictably, there is disquiet in the South-West after the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement, led by Prof Banji Akintoye and Chief Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho, sent an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, seeking a peaceful breakaway of Yoruba people from Nigeria.
The letter came on the heels of the failed attempt by some armed agitators to seize Oyo State Government House and the state House of Assembly in Ibadan.
29 of the agitators have been taken before a magistrate’s court in Ibadan which ordered that they should be remanded in prison custody.
Akintoye and Igboho dissociated themselves from the violent action.
The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and socio-political organization, Afenifere, immediately responded to the call, last week, describing it as undesirable, self-serving and unnecessary “at the moment at least”.
The National President of Soludero Hunters’ Association, Oba Ajijola Akintola Anabi, toed the path of the Afenifere when he took exception to the call for the exit of Yoruba from Nigeria.
A former governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Mr Tunji Light-Ariyomo, on his part, said it was doubtful that Akintoye and Sunday Igboho would take that route at this time.
But an octogenarian, Pa Dele Aladekomo, Mr Adeola Fehintola, an Oyo State-based legal practitioner, and the Convener, Yoruba Commitment Forum, Otunba Tayo Onayemi, lauded the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement letter to the president.
[…] Doubtful call
Tunji Light-Ariyomo, a former APC governorship aspirant, told Sunday Vanguard at the weekend, “l was under the impression that it was a woman, Mrs. Onitiri-Abiola, that made the call in a widely circulated video.
“Many reliable news channels also featured stories about some Yoruba Nation agitators, purportedly acting under her instructions, storming Agodi Secretariat in Ibadan with dane guns, pump action rifles and charms to declare the Republic of Oduduwa.
“It is doubtful that Prof. Banji Akintoye and Chief Sunday Igboho would take that route at this time. If indeed they have, it would be most unfortunate.
“This is because the issues at stake are all-encompassing and every Yoruba person, from Ijumu in Kogi State and parts of Niger State to the creeks of Ilaje and even Itshekiri, to Idiroko in Ogun State and the lands of the Egun people in Badagry, is a bonafide equal stakeholder.
“If they intend to opt out of Nigeria, the majority of those people will express their concurrence. But I am very sure that most Yoruba only came across this news just like that.
“More importantly, the majority of the Yoruba believe in the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is the current President of Nigeria.
“They believe in the leadership of the elder statesman, Pa. Reuben Fasoranti, the current de facto head of the Yoruba race as leader of Afenifere.
“I don’t think any of these two leaders are in support of the quest to exit Nigeria. This is also applicable to our traditional rulers. Is the Oonirisa in support? The Ewi of Ado Ekiti, is he in support? The Alake of Egbaland or the Deji of Akure Kingdom, are they in support?
“I concur that this is not the Nigeria of our dreams.
“I concede that our country has foundational structural flaws that continue to hamper growth and development.
“Amos 3:3, a prominent verse in the holy book, says ‘Can two walk together except they agree?’
“Hence, I agree that Nigeria needs to fix its fundamental problems, agree to a template for equitable and egalitarian coexistence among its ethnic nationalities and tribes, and embrace a model of governance that does not condone wastages and profligacy or impose the will of one ethnic group upon others. We can look at models of governance in other countries – nations with more than one primary ethnicity like the United Kingdom etc.
“The UK is officially four countries with each having its relative autonomy. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland even attend international sporting events in their names!
“The consensus forged in support of appalling evil today in Nigeria derives its strength from identity politics.
“If an Ijaw woman steals billions of Naira, you could suddenly see many Izons rallying in her support.
“If an Igbo man steals billions, you could easily see many Igbo youths rallying in his support. Ditto the Yoruba, the Hausa etc. “Ethnicity is a powerful sentiment, just like religion. If we however evolve a model of governance that ring-fences ethnicity, it would no longer be an issue. It would then stop being a weapon that could be conjured at will by looters of our common patrimony.
“So, my counsel is that we work with other regions across Nigeria to evolve a model for the country of our dreams”.
‘Drop the issue for now’
Also speaking on the letter, the National President of the Soludero Hunters’ Association, Anabi, said he took exception to the call for the exit of Yoruba from Nigeria.
He said, “I will implore Prof Akintoye to please drop the issue for now because the current president is a Yoruba man and the best thing for us is to support him to make the country surmount its numerous challenges.
“But I will call on all our leaders to look into the complaints of Professor Akintoye and Sunday Adeyemo and tackle them because no one is blind to the evil that Fulani herders continue to perpetrate.
“President Tinubu should please help us to empower local security men like hunters so that we comb all forests and flush out all criminal elements that make it difficult for our people to farm.
“We should drop this call for our good so that it doesn’t lead to another bloodshed because it’s not all that easy to exit a nation without violence”.
Meanwhile, Fehintola, an Oyo State-based legal practitioner, on his part, noted that
Akintoye deserves attention.
“First, we have to consider his antecedents as an academic and a veteran politician with rich ideological clout”, he said.
