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One of the respected leaders of the Yoruba self-determination group, Prof. Banji Akintoye, has said The Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, a Yoruba self-determination group has done normal with the Ojota protest.,where he said two people lost their lives.
Akintoye, while speaking in an interview on YouTube, said the protesters gathered to carry out a peaceful rally in support of their agitation for the Yoruba nation.
He said, “Their purposes are clear; self-determination for the Yoruba nation. Their methods have always been clear. A peaceful rally, no weapons, no violence of any kind, no regarding the police as enemies, no regarding any officials of the Nigerian state as enemies, those were the conditions upon which the young men gathered this morning to carry out a rally.
“Even before they settled down as they were arriving at the centre where they wanted to carry out the rally, the Nigeria police approached them and started shooting them.
Already, we learnt that two young men have been killed as a result of the police fire.”
The leader of a Yoruba self-determination agitation group, Banji Akintoye, has resigned from his position.
Mr Akintoye, a professor of History and senator in the Second Republic, handed over the position to his deputy, Wale Adeniran.
The group, Ilana Omo Oodua, is agitating for an independent Yoruba Nation.
Recently, an internal crisis led to its spokesperson, Maxwell Adeleye, and Mr Adeniran announcing their resignation from the group.
Their letters of resignation were however rejected by the group’s leadership.
But in a letter dated 5 December, Mr Akinleye said he was stepping down because of his old age and weakened body.
It will be recalled that when Sunday Adeyemo, Yoruba Nation activist, more commonly known as Sunday Igboho, was released from detention, he was handed over to Prof Banji Akintoye, the leader of the Yoruba Nation groups.
Igboho was, then detained in a prison facility in the Republic of Benin, after he was arrested with Ropo, his wife, at Cardinal Bernardin International Airport, Cotonou, while on his way to Germany in July 2021.
The 49-year-old agitator fled Nigeria for Benin Republic after the Nigerian government declared him wanted.
Igboho was released to Akintoye and a French Language Expert/ Deputy Alana of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, Professor Wale Adeniran.
Adeleye described the release of the activist as a triumph of truth over darkness in Yoruba Land.
Sources are already pointing fingers at Sunday Ighoho as one of the planners of the Ojota protest.
Sunday Adeyemo, the Yoruba Nation agitator better known as Sunday Igboho, has reiterated his commitment to the actualisation of Yoruba Nation, sometimes last year.
He even disclosed that he will soon return to his base in Nigeria.
He made the declaration via phone call at the 2022 Oodua Merit Award and the Annual Posthumous Birthday Commemoration of Bishop Ajayi Crowder and Presentation of Yoruba Merits Award organized by Oodua Consortium in partnership with Coalition of Yoruba Self-Determination Strategic Partners (CYSDSP) at Jogor Event Centre, Ibadan.
Adeyemo lauded sons and daughters of Yoruba for their courage and relentless support for the actualisation of Yoruba Nation, adding that the Fulani herdsmen activities against the economy and security of Yoruba people will be resolved as soon as possible.
He urged Yoruba people, who believe in the actualisation of Yoruba Nation, to keep hope alive, stating that Yoruba Nation is an idea whose time has come.
“I thank you all for your support since the inception of this just course, and by God’s the Fulani’s herdsmen activities against our people will end in our land. Yoruba Nation will soon be achieved and it will be better than all the nations in the world.
“My message to Yoruba people worldwide who are passionate for the country of their own is not to lose hope. I am more than convinced that we are on our way to freedom. Our agitation is an idea whose time has come”.
In his own remarks, Yoruba Leader and Head of Yoruba Nation Self-Determination Struggle, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, then, Prof. Banji Akintoye also declared that the Yoruba Nation will be achieved in no time.
The Professor of history noted that with the level of consultation and diplomatic moves by the group, he is optimistic and confident that Yoruba Nation is certain and the people are very close to the destination.
He added that despite the fact that the key players are going through very tough time, that would not in anyway affect the actualisation of Yoruba Nation.
Prof. Akintoye maintained that Nigeria is a country that produces insensitive leaders that do not care about the masses.
He stressed that the wellbeing of the common man should be paramount noting that it is the way to progress.
According to him, “I am confident that Yoruba Nation will be achieved soonest. Nothing will stop us from pursuing it to a logical conclusion.
“We are moving forward, there is no obstruction or destruction. It is the nature of the struggle. We are not scared at all.
“Yoruba Nation used to be prosperous and we need to go back to the good days. Yoruba people are law abiding, industrious, progressive and joyful. We deserve better than what we are experiencing now.
“But we are confident that with level of our diplomatic moves and consultation across the globe, Yoruba Nation will be achievable”.
Meanwhile, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Gani Adams, has debunked media reports that members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) were involved in the crisis that erupted in Ojota.
Gani in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, said the Ojota rally came as a surprise, adding that none of his members were part of the crisis.
He described media report that members of the OPC were among the agitators was wicked, mischievous, and uncalled for.
According to Adams, the unconfirmed report could trigger crisis and cause unnecessary disaffection between the OPC and sons and daughters of Yoruba race.
“Let me clear the air on the crisis that had engulfed Ojota this morning. There were unconfirmed reports linking members of the OPC to the mayhem. I want to state it clearly that none of our member were at the scene of the incident,” he said.
“OPC is not against the liberation of Yoruba race, however, it is a fact that the struggle for the liberation of Yoruba race is an inalienable right of all Yoruba to champion self-determination. We are not part of the peaceful rally held in Ojota.
“Our position on regionalism is very clear. It is sacrosanct because that is what we are seeking at the moment.
“Nigeria should be restructured to full regional autonomy, where each region will be at liberty to operate at their own pace.”
