Ilana Omo Oodua’s leader, Prof. Banji Akintoye, dispelled rumours that the organisation and others calling for Yoruba self-determination are in disarray and asserted that the agitation is still going strong.
The more than 200 Yoruba self-determination organisations are more than determined to making sure that the Yoruba people leave the Nigerian nation before the 2023 election, according to the former senator who served in the Second Republic between 1979 and 1983.
At a press conference held at the association’s secretariat at Ayelawaye in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, he spoke with a small group of reporters.
We are not in chaos, he declared. It is natural for what is occurring. Our people are ready for their nation now. We are moving forward.
Although the 2023 elections won’t take place in Yoruba territory, according to Prof. Akintoye, his death wouldn’t harm the aspirations of Yoruba sons and daughters like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC’s presidential contender.
“It’s encouraging to see Asiwaju Tinubu running. The quest for Yoruba nation, however, will not be jeopardised by this, according to the Yoruba chieftain.
According to him, it is clear which organisation is in charge of the agitation.
He claimed that out of the more than 200 bodies, Ilana Omo Oodua is the biggest and is the group giving orders to others.
According to him, the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement was established as a service organisation after it became clear that a unified voice would be required on matters of diplomacy, legal representation, security, and defence.
He explained that the organisation is working to establish a Yoruba National Fund to promote activism for the Yoruba country, similar to the Jewish National Fund.
He claimed that the North views itself as the conqueror of other ethnic groups with a divine mandate to rule over them.
No amount of reorganisation, according to the older statesman, would enable the North to view other ethnic groups as partners on an equal footing.
He claimed that in order to break away from Nigeria, his party would only fight wisely.
He continued by saying that he and others had advised Yoruba youths not to attack soldiers and police. They are not our adversaries, he declared.
In order to protect Yoruba communities and cities from bandits and other invaders, he asked Yoruba leaders to support young people in creating security architectures.
