Following alleged
incessant and unprovoked attacks and invasion of their farmlands by some Fulani
herdsmen, notable Yoruba leaders held an emergency summit in Ibadan, Oyo State,
yesterday threatening to review its status in the Nigerian federation.
The
summit was entitled, National Insecurity and the Menace of Fulani Herdsmen in
Yorubaland.
The
meeting, presided over by former Governor of the Western Region, General
Adeyinka Adebayo, warned that the Yoruba will no longer tolerate the present
structure of the country, which they claim undermine self-actualization of the
people of the South West.
Vanguard report continues:
Reports
from the summit said failure to restructure Nigeria using the 2014 confab
report might force the Yoruba people to review her place in a political
arrangement that cannot guarantee the protection of her citizens. Factional
leaders of the Oodua Peoples Congress, (OPC), Dr Fredrick Faseun and Otunba
Gani Adams were unanimous in saying that the time to “leave Nigeria” and assert
the sovereignty of the Yoruba people is now.
The
summit strongly condemned what it described as the “invasion and killing of
people in Yoruba territories” by the Fulani herdsmen. The summit held in the
House of Chiefs Section of the Parliament Building of the Oyo State Secretariat
with the theme “National Insecurity and the Menace of Fulani Herdsmen in
Yorubaland.” The participants also decried the continued oppression of the
Yoruba in their homeland by some Fulani herdsmen.
The
summit cite incessant cases of rape, destruction of economic plants that form
the bedrock of the livelihood of locals, the armed violence unleashed by the
nomads coupled with the consequent cultural disequilibrium the displacement of
people from crisis-ridden Northern Nigeria have brought to communities in
Yorubaland.
He
added that subsequent governments in Nigeria have come into power waving
slogans that end up leaving the country worse than they met it.
They
demanded an immediate end to lawless nomadic activities in the South West
warning that any community who cannot establish ranches for their flock should
retreat from Yoruba territories.
At
the event were prominent Yoruba sons and daughters from the academia, politics
and the Diaspora. The sponsors of the summit were Yoruba Council of Elders,
(YCE), Oodua Foundation, Afenifere and the Yoruba Unity Forum, (YUF). Some of
the participants included the Oyo State Deputy Governor, Otunba Moses Alake
Adeyemo, who represented the State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; Sola
Ebiseni, who represented the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, Pa Olanihun
Ajayi, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Pa Supo Sonibare, Prof Banji Akintoye, Prof Toun
Ogunseye, the first woman Professor in Nigeria.
Others
were Dr Fredrick Faseun, Otunba Gani Adams, Dr Kunle Olajide, Chief Shuaib
Oyedokun and the former Military governor of Lagos State, Brig-Gen Raji Rasaki
among many others.
The
Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG and many other Pan-Yoruba groups were however
absent at the summit.
Fani Kayode hails summit
Meantime,
against the backdrop of cases of kidnap and destruction of farms by Fulani
herdsmen, former Spokesperson of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Campaign
Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode hailed the Yoruba peoples meeting held in
Ibadan, warning that the zone cannot be sacrificial lamb to any other zone of
the country.
He
also warned that the South West may resort to self-help if the government fails
to protect them.
In
a statement yesterday, the former Minister of Aviation said if and when
the people of the South West were pushed to the wall, they would then know
exactly what to do, adding that the killings, cases of rape and kidnap must
stop.
‘Yoruba’s Patience Should Not Be
Mistaken For Weakness’
Against the backdrop of
cases of kidnap, harassment and destruction of farms by Fulani herdsmen, former
Spokesperson of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Campaign Organization,
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has warned that the South West may resort to self-help
if the government fails to protect the yoruba race. In a statement yesterday,
Fani- Kayode who hailed the Yoruba peoples meeting held in Ibadan, however warned
that the zone cannot be sacrificial lamb to any other zone of the country.
According
to the former Minister of Aviation, if and when the people of the South West
were pushed to the wall, they would then know exactly what to do, adding that
the killings, cases of rape and kidnap must stop.
Fani-
Kayode’s statement read in full:
“I am delighted that the Yoruba leaders
met in Ibadan today and that they had a historic and successful meeting. I was
scheduled to attend the meeting myself and I was slated to address the
gathering. We left Abuja for Ibadan in a long convoy at 5.00 a.m in the morning
but between Lokoja and Okene the road was completely blocked. We were stuck in
the logjam for over four hours and by the time we got to Ibadan the meeting had
ended.
“Even though we didn’t make it in time I
was fully briefed about the meeting and I am very happy about its’ success and
outcome. I fully support all the resolutions that were made and I am very proud
of all those leaders that participated in it and of the conveners.
“What they have done is long overdue and
it is important that we keep it up. The Yoruba must come together and stand
united against those that seek to divide, shame and humiliate us and who wish
to turn us into second class citizens.
“We must also be ready to defend our
territory and our people when and where the government fails in its sacred duty
to do it for us. Self-help and self-defense is not a crime but a necessity. We
cannot be anyone’s sacrificial lamb.
“This meeting is a step in the right
direction and I hope that those who kill, maim, rape and humiliate our people
and desecrate our homes and land in the name of cattle-rearing get the message.
Things can never be the same again and as long as they continue to kill and
attack our people there can never be peace between us.
“Let
this meeting be a warning to those that underestimate our resolve in this
matter and that mistake our kindness and patience for weakness. The message is
loud and clear: if and when we are pushed to the wall we know exactly what to
do. The killings, the rapings, the abductions and the desecration and pillaging
of our land and farms by these Fulani herdsmen must stop or else there will be
consequences.”
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