Exiting Nigeria may consume us, Yoruba elders warn agitators

Olajide

• It’s Expensive, Disruptive To Call For Separation Of Nigeria, Aregbesola Warns

• It’s Ill-Wind That Will Blow No Good

Yoruba leaders and elders have disagreed over the self-determination agenda being championed by some critical stakeholders in the Southwest.

For the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), the moves by Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho) and his associates might consume the people of the Southwest if the agenda is not dropped.

Secretary General of YCE, Chief Kunle Olajide, speaking in Osogbo yesterday, on behalf of the group, criticised Igboho, elder statesman, Prof. Banji Akintoye, and others for declaring that the Yoruba are no more part of Nigeria.

Akintoye, who is the leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, was seen beside Igboho in a viral video, supporting secession and saying “if that is what the Yoruba people want, so be it.”

But Olajide stressed that any attempt by the Yoruba to secede from Nigeria without proper planning would spell doom and could lead the Yoruba populace to mass suicide.

He argued that though the Yoruba have been suffering the greatest loss in the Nigerian project and most people are frustrated, exiting the country would not be the solution.

In the same vein, Minister of Interior and former governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, yesterday, warned that calls for separation by some ethnic groups is “expensive and can be disruptive.”

Speaking at his investiture as grand patron by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Southwest Zone, and conferment of award of excellence in leadership, held at the Premier Hotel, Ibadan, Aregbesola, who stressed that he was not speaking as a minister or on behalf of the Federal Government, added that the call is an ill-wind that would not do anyone good and would take a great toll on development of the country.

Reacting to the call by some Southwest leaders for self-determination, he said the creative energy and scarce resources of the people calling for separation are dissipated in what may turn out to be a fruitless effort.

According to Olajide: “Our position in the YCE is that nobody is happy with Nigeria of today; we are not happy at all, especially the Yoruba nation. The Yoruba are suffering the greatest loss in the Nigeria project. We have invested greatly in this country, but the country has continued to drag us down.

“Yes, all these agitations with this rising crescendo is due to the frustration of our youths and they are justifiably angry because their future is at stake. Nevertheless, we must moderate their actions.

“That Nigeria ceases to exist from March 17 is illusory effusion. We can’t rush to take actions that are bound to consume us. We must use our talents to read the barometer of the state of the country correctly and then chart our ways to victory and success” .

“If you go to war where you are grossly disadvantaged, you are committing mass suicide, and as elders in the Yoruba nation, we will not lead our people to commit mass suicide.

“Everybody is free to say whatever he likes; you can say there is no Nigeria, but in reality, you can see that Nigeria exists. At the height of anger is insanity. What we are seeing in this Federal Government doesn’t give cause for cheers at all.

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