Urgent need to tame Yoruba nation agitation

 

For some time now, a group of dissidents have been gathering under the platform of Yoruba Nation Agitators. On Sunday, May 28, 2023, people suspected of being members of the Yoruba Nation agitators reportedly hijacked Amuludun 99.1 FM in Ibadan around 6am that day. Amuludun FM is a community station owned by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria. Seven of the agitators were arrested and charged to court by the Oyo State Government.

Emboldened by that previous successful attack, members of the group last Saturday, April 13, 2024, invaded Oyo State Government House and the state House of Assembly in Ibadan and attempted to hoist their flag and take over the premises. However, the combined efforts of the Nigeria Police, Nigerian Army and Amotekun Corps foiled their sinister attempt with 21 of them arrested. According to this newspaper in its yesterday, April 16 edition, The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Hazmat Adebola, on Monday, April 15 paraded 21 suspected Yoruba Nation agitators who invaded the State Governor’s Office and the House of Assembly, on Saturday morning. Adebola, who paraded them at the state Police Headquarters, Eleyele in Ibadan, described the act as criminal, unpatriotic and a clear case of treasonable felony and terrorism which would be meted with adequate sanctions.”

Those paraded on Monday by the police were Alabi Ogundeji (55); Adeyemo Oluwaseun (29); Adeyemo Peter (75); Amos Ogundeji (45); Ayanwale Rofiayat, female (25); Olaleye Mathew (54); Fatoki Anthony (34); Muritala Abere (40); Adepoju Ismaila (45); Fatunmbi Wasiu; (30); Isaac Friday (27); Ayanwale Saburi (28); Elegbede Adebola (27); Adedamola Deniyi (29); Ojo Olufemi (52); Ajani Ezekiel (42); Adejumo Lateef (60); Ayoola David (40); Adesokan Hammed (38); Salawudeen Wahab (56) and Ademola Adeniyi (29).

Exhibits recovered, according to “the CP, include one English pump-action gun, two locally-made guns, two security jackets, 30 pieces of torch lights, five African horse tails, 49 bells, seven pieces of walkie-talkies and accessories, four generators, four megaphones, two 12.5kg gas cylinders, six executive chairs, one green coloured Ford vehicle with registration number AGL 04 YG and one Man ‘O’War ID Card belonging to one Muritala Abere.”

Others were two ATM cards, two photographs of one Modupe Abiola-Onitiri, four standing fans and one incomplete Ox standing fan, nine pieces of electric gadgets, two pieces of hand gloves, 261 pieces of belts, 12 Yoruba Nation flags, nine pieces of big photo frames, two big flags of Oodua Nation, 405 live cartridges, 72 pairs of camouflage uniforms, 199 pairs of plain green uniform among others.

Speaking with newsmen shortly after their parade, one of the suspects who is a lecturer at the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, Alabi Ogundeji, insisted that their actions were lawful under both Nigerian and international laws. Ogundeji said, “We have so many nations in Nigeria and Yoruba is one of them. Oodua Nation leaders have taken every step and action that needs to be taken. So, we have embarked on the referendum, which was 500 petitions signed by all Yoruba, and this has served as a referendum. Our leadership went to all Yoruba-speaking states to serve official letters written by our leaders and we were given our copy. After that is the proclamation, followed by the declaration, occupation, and notification to the world that Yoruba is an indigenous nation.”

Obviously, these secessionists are operating under the grand illusion that it is very simple to break away from a country. I have seen two videos where Modupe Onitiri-Abiola who claimed to be the widow of late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, claimed to be one of the arrowheads of this group of agitators. I have also seen another where a man named Mobolaji Omokore claimed to be another leader. These two individuals need to be fished out and charged to court for treasonable felony like Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra.

Separatist agitation is not new in Nigeria. We used to have the Oodua Peoples Congress established in the 1990s by Chief Fredrick Fasheun. A breakaway faction of this group was led by Chief Gani Adams who is now the Aare-Ona-Kakanfo (Generalissimo) of Yorubaland. Though still in existence, they have become largely peaceful and provide vigilante services across many communities in South-West Nigeria. In the South-South, there have been separatist groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, and the Niger Delta Avengers, not forgetting the Egbesu Boys. In the South-East, before IPOB there was the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra led by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike. From the ashes of MASSOB rose the IPOB led by Nnamdi Kanu.

The OPC agitation came on the heels of the annulment of the presidential victory of Chief MKO Abiola in the June 12, 1993 presidential election. The agitation was tacitly supported by many Yoruba elite including the Afenifere socio-cultural group. The annulment of the election was perceived as political marginalisation of the Yoruba. However, the agitation paid off in 1998 / ‘99 when there was an elite consensus to compensate the Yoruba nation by ceding the presidential slot to them. That was why though there were three political parties in 1999, there were only two presidential candidates, both of whom are of the Yoruba extraction. The Peoples Democratic Party fielded Chief Olusegun Obasanjo while the Alliance for Democracy, and the All People’s Party which later metamorphosed into the All Nigerians Peoples Party went into a political alliance and fielded Chief Oluyemisi Falae. Obasanjo from Ogun State eventually won and spent eight years as president.

After Obasanjo’s presidency, the Yoruba produced a vice president for eight years of the Buhari presidency in the person of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. Right now, a Yoruba man, Bola Tinubu, is occupying the number 1 position in the country. The economy of Nigeria is practically in the hands of the Yoruba given notable men and women the president has appointed into sensitive positions such as the Minister of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service, Comptroller General of Nigerian Customs Service and even Controller General of Nigeria Immigration Service, not forgetting the Accountant General of the Federation and the Head of Service of the Federation. In the military and security circle, Yoruba men are the current Chief of Army Staff and Inspector General of Police. So, my question is what do the Yoruba Nation Agitators want? Do they want the Yoruba to preside over 200 million people or a fraction of that?

I have said that secessionists have failed to learn from history. South Sudan spent decades fighting for independence from Sudan. In 2011, they were granted their wish but from 2013 to date, South Sudan hasn’t known peace. Yoruba nation agitators should know that though we speak Yoruba language and have many dialects, secession is not the panacea to the current economic or security challenges facing Nigeria. The cry of marginalisation and discrimination will be heightened in the unlikely granting of this wishful thinking. Yoruba is better off in the current federation. We are not only the president; we also have many of our own holding very important positions. My charge to the six South-West governors of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti is to see that this agitation does not gain traction. Security operatives should have anyone professing this agitation arrested and prosecuted. We should learn from how the IPOB agitation in the last few years has destabilised the economy of South-East Nigeria, particularly with the sit-at-home and the enforcement by the Eastern Security Network. A stitch in time saves nine!