By Ayo Olumide
Yoruba people will not allow its people to be used against the Igbo and the Niger-Delta in case of any major crisis arising from the agitation for Biafra, a coalition of several Pan-Yoruba groups stated
today in Lagos after series of consultations and meetings. The release was made available to Irohinoodua today. “We shall mobilize against a repeat of what happened in 1966 when the Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani north aligned to confront the Igbo,” the coalition affirmed
According to the coalition made up of 21 groups, Nigeria will not see any meaningful development unless the country is restructured according to its cultural and ethnic compositions.
The group said it fully supports the agitation for self determination by the Igbo. It also calls on the Federal Government to address the grievances of the Igbo and listen to their agitation for the sovereign state of Biafra. The group said the current Yoruba leadership will be making a grave mistake to assume that having the position of the Vice President and some juicy ministerial positions will heal long standing scars and future perils occasioned by the lopsided structure of the Nigerian federation adding that the Yoruba after all once had the position of the President of the country for eight years. The group stated that the fight against corruption is meaningless when the country’s successive leadership have failed to deal with a fundamental source of corruption which is the defective and fraudulent economic and political structure of the country.”
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The coalition stated that the protests for Biafra have been largely peaceful and in accordance with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, irrespective of the faults associated with the same constitution and that the protests are also recognized by the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights of December 1948 and the African Charter on People’s Rights.
The group argued that the Nigerian governments or her agent’s declaration of the protests as rebellious or secessionist is absolutely wrong and fails to appreciate the propelling international conventions which guarantee such protests.
The position of the coalition was signed by some leaders of the participating group including but not limited to Evangelist Kunle Adesokan, Barrister Gbenga Awosode, Kola Are, Dr Kayode Afolabi, Mr Popoola Ajayi, Numbi Bode, Rasaq Oladosu and others.
According to the coalition, since Nigeria’s independence from Britain in 1960, the country has not witnessed uninterrupted peace which undermines sustainable livelihood. Since 1960, agitations by ethnic groups for self determination have been found among all the Nigerian major and minor ethnic groups without exception. This agitation was responsible for the civil war (1967-1970) during which many lives were lost. Among the coalition are the O’odua Democratic Coalition, (ODC), O’odua Covenant Group, Oodua Liberation .Movement, (OLM), Congress for Oodua Independence, (COI), O’odua Nationalist Coalition, (ONAC) , Oodua Peoples Congress, (OPC), Coalition for Yoruba Alliance, (COYA), Coalition of Yoruba Alliance, (COYA), United Self Determination Peoples Organisation, (USEPO) ,Yoruba Sovereign Defence Academy, (YSDA), Movement for Oodua Republic, (MORE), Egbe Irapada Oodua, (EIRO), Oodua National Congress, (ONC), South West Workers Alliance, (SWOA), Apapo Oodua Koya, (AOKOYA) amongst many others.
The group stated further that “irrespective of the outcome of the last electoral processes, the National Question remains unresolved and that without the resolution of this nagging problem, Nigeria cannot make any meaningful progress. That the Federal Government should consider a restructured Nigeria since the current Unitary Structure undermines self actualization and therefore stifles age-long values and civilization of traditional societies in Nigeria.
The coalition said what Nigeria needs at the moment are transparent, honest and people – driven institutions more than a strong and honest individual. Strong institutions endure far more than the euphoric credentials of an individual. It said the Federal Government is compounding the situation by keeping Mr Nnamdi Kanu in perpetual detention.
“We in the Pan YORUBA groups urge the FG to exercise caution, restraint and refrain from high – handedness in dealing with the unarmed, protesting civilians. The Federal Government should enter into a meaningful dialogue with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and other ethnic nationalities on the national question towards a peaceful resolution.”
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