From left, Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi111, and Oyo State Deputy Governor, Engr. Rauf Aderemi Olaniyan
Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan
The Yoruba have condemned President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria for his ethnocentric leadership style in running the affairs of Nigeria, stressing that he is behind the criminal activities of the Fulani in the country.
They further stated that the agenda of the Fulani is to enslave the entire Nigeria and make the country their colony.
The Yoruba also kicked against the Federal Government’s proposed Rural Grazing Area, RUGA, settlement for the use of cattle breeders in the South West part of Nigeria.
These were parts of the resolution at The Gathering of Yoruba Leaders and Presentation of the translation of ‘Awo’, the autobiography of Chief Obafemi Awolowo held on Thursday June 27, 2019, at the International Conference Centre, ICC, of the University of Ibadan, UI.
A Yoruba leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo said, “At 90 years of age, one should not fear death again. I will say what I want to say, if they like let them come and arrest me tomorrow. Buhari is behind what Fulani is doing across the country. If we can’t speak the truth, God will not forgive us. Buhari is the President of Myetti Allah. Buhari’s body language is that Myetti Allah should continue what they are doing in Nigeria. Buhari doesn’t want restructuring. The best that happened to the Yoruba of a recent is the emergence of Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State. Oyo people have done the best by voting for Makinde. No governor in the South West can confront Buhari the same way Bola Ahmed Tinubu can’t confront Buhari. Tinubu will not confront Buhari because he is thinking that Buhari will make him to succeed him. It is a deceit. The Governors in the South West are working for themselves, except Makinde. Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Babatunde Fashola, former governor of Lagos State and the rest are working for themselves”.
He continued, “As at today, the only hope Yoruba has is Governor Makinde. Please all the royal fathers and eminent Yoruba people should support Makinde. Buhari is deceiving Tinubu for 2023. The security of this country is in Abuja. No Nigerian governor has power over the commissioner of police because the commissioner of police gets instruction from Abuja. No governor can help us because their hands are soiled except Makinde. The Governor of Kaduna State is busy killing the Christians in his state and nothing is done about it. When 800 Christians were killed in Kaduna, nothing was done and no arrest was effected. Look at what they did to Chief Olu Falae in Ondo State. They burnt his house and destroyed his farm”.
In the same direction, Otunba Ayodeji Osibogun, General Manager, Space FM, said that this is the time for Yoruba people to liberate themselves from those that have colonized them the second time, stressing that Yoruba should free themselves from enslavement in Nigeria.
He said, “Enough is enough. This suffering is enough. Yoruba should rise and set themselves free”.
A prominent Yoruba Leader, the Founder of Bola Immaculate Group of Schools, Ibadan, Chief Bola Doherty, pointed out that the right people to go and talk to Buhari is the Yoruba monarchs saying that governors cannot confront Buhari so that he will not deny them of their allocations.
She said, “The Yoruba leaders and the Obas should go and tell Buhari that his name has been destroyed by the members of Myetti Allah. Buhari is the president of Myetti Allah and his people has taken over Nigeria, wreaking havoc and terrorizing. If you get there and they give you money, or brown envelope, reject it”.
Another woman said, “Don’t collect our land. Don’t enslave us. If our governors will not do what we want, then the masses should mobilise themselves and go out. Leave the Obas and governors. Masses go out there and fight for your right”.
The Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oba Francis Olusola Alao urged Alaafin to lead the Yoruba out of enslavement saying that he should not fear death in the mission ahead.
He said, “Politicians and political office holders particularly, the governors have failed us. The governors are no longer for us. We are under siege. I spent 15 years in the North. The North will betray the Yoruba in 2023. Three things are now very important in the South West: the security, the unity and future of the Yoruba Region. There is no room for Fulani in the South West. There is no room for kidnapping. There is no room for rape anymore in the South West. There is no room for terrorism in the South West. Our governors and politicians will not fight for us because they are aspiring to be presidents in 2023. The governors have mortgaged the lives of the generations unborn”.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams berated the governors in the South West for not cooperating with him in solving the security challenges in the region. He proposed that all the groups in Yorubaland should come together to find a lasting solution to the insecurity in Yorubaland.
Reacting, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111 appealed to the Yoruba race to give peace a chance assuring them that he is ready to talk to Buhari on the way forward.
He said that for Nigeria to continue to exist, true federalism has become necessary to be adopted for the running of the affairs of Nigeria.
Alaafin further appealed to the Yoruba not to lose hope on the Yoruba governors saying that anybody can always change for the better. For Yoruba to move forward, Alaafin vowed, “From now on, Alaafin and Ooni will no longer fight”.
Alaafin was disappointed that the current political office holders do not follow the footsteps of their forefathers, saying that he might have problem with Chief Awolowo when he was alive, but that would not stop him from acknowledging the good things that Awolowo did for the Yoruba.
According to him, Awolowo fought for the Yoruba and brought development to the region.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the Publisher of Alaroye Newspaper, Mr. Alao Adedayo set the agenda saying, “You are invited to talk about Yoruba”.
Adedayo, who lamented the state of the South West said, “When Nigeria started, Yoruba was at the forefront in everything: education, commerce, infrastructure and others. In 1952 when politics started, Yoruba was making robust laws. Yoruba was the first to establish a bank, Agbonmagbe, which later became National Bank. In 1952, the foundation laid by Yoruba was being followed. In 1966, things started deteriorating and it is so surprising that things can be this bad. We the first have become the last because we are now divided. If we are organized and united, we can’t be enslaved in our land. Now Fulani has started destroying us. How can we rebuild? This is the reason for this gathering”.
He stated further, “Politicians are behind the problems Yoruba is facing. Why do we turn politics to business? Why is it not possible for the Yoruba to come together to move South West forward? Why can’t we work together irrespective of the political party affiliation? We look at who can bring us together and we believe that it is only Awolowo that can bring us together and that is why we have used Awolowo to bring us together”.
In her brief remark, former Nigerian Ambassador to The Netherlands, Dr. Olatokunbo Ayoka Awolowo-Dosunmu was unhappy that the South West governors are claiming that they are the children of Awolowo and none of them except Governor Makinde was present at the occasion.
She emphasized the reasons why Yoruba has to come together to build the region and ensure that the legacy that the forefathers, especially Awolowo, left behind is not destroyed.