By Julius Alabi, Akure
As Yorubas worldwide join others to commemorate the June 12, the Oodua Action Movement has asked all Yoruba people to use the occasion for sober reflection on Yoruba’s sad state in the entity called Nigeria.
In a statement signed by its Global Coordinator, Otunba Demola Edward in Akure, the Ondo state capital yesterday, said it is time for the entire Yorubas to work in unity so as to actualize an autonomous nation for Yorubaland which would bring back progress and development.
According to him, for the Yorubas not to remain perpetual slaves in their fatherland, it is imperative that all Yoruba people globally come together to actualize Oodua autonomous nation, in order to have the desired and deserved relief from the savage backward quagmire called governance in Nigeria.
The Oodua Action Movement, he said, is a group of committed and resilient Yorubas worldwide (with over 2,000 members in more than 20 countries) with the nonnegotiable mission to actualize an autonomous Yoruba nation and condemned the infamous 1914 amalgamation on which stands the 1960 independence aimed at empowering a section of Nigeria over the others.
He went on: “As citizens in diaspora, having observed the steadily continuous degeneration of the country, have unequivocally concluded that the country with its present structure is in a state of irredeemable rot. Nigeria is now in the league of failed nations.
“As it is obvious that the present unitary structure of Nigeria has significantly inhibited the country’s growth and prospects, we therefore demand, on behalf of Yorubas worldwide, our rights to self -determination, and claim our God given rights to determine our destiny, through self- government, and we are ready to work with the federal government of Nigeria to achieve this mission with peace and due respect to other ethnic units within the Nigeria entity”, the said.
He further stressed that as they want progress of all the nations under Nigeria, the group called on all progress-minded people in the other ethnic groups in Nigeria, especially those in the Northern region, to challenge the status quo and demand their rights from their corrupt leaders who have bamboozled them that the North cannot progress without the south.
His worlds: “It is now obvious, more than ever, that an autonomous Northern region, if well governed, will be more prosperous as evident by their numerous natural resources,” he said.
“We call for unity among all Yoruba people, and urge all organizations, trade unions, student groups, traditional leaders and elders to join hands with the Oodua Action Movement to form a formidable united front so we can achieve this sacrosanct mission to actualize an autonomous self-governing Yoruba nation, without much delay.
“The Oodua Action Movement, on behalf of Yorubas worldwide, is relentlessly committed to this cause. We are prepared to use all LEGAL and PEACEFUL means within the confines of international laws and norms to actualize an autonomous nation for Yoruba people within Nigeria.
“We demand President Mohammadu Buhari to IMMEDIATELY begin the process for an autonomous Yoruba nation as a federating unit in Nigeria as granted the Southwest region before and after independence in 1960. Should the Nigerian government fail to grant our request, we reserve the right to actualize an autonomous, self-determining and self-governing nation for the Yoruba region.
“We also call on the United Nations, the government of the United States of America, the British government, the African Union, the European Union, the Group of Seven (G7) and other international government and institutions to intervene and rescue the Yoruba people – a nation of over 60 million people from modern slavery, biased subjugation, perpetual poverty, and eventual ethnic cleansing.
“We are peace loving and very resourceful people; it is our utmost desire to continue to live in peace within or without Nigeria, and among the peoples of Africa and the world in general,” he added.