A Yoruba group in the Diaspora, Yoruba One Voice, on Thursday, restated call for the liberation of the Yoruba race, saying the people of South-West Nigeria will no longer tolerate extrajudicial killings or attacks under any guise.
The group, at a virtual event, also condemned Thursday midnight attack on the Ibadan residence of Yoruba rights activist, Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, by security forces which led to the killing of two persons.
At the event on Thursday, the group expressed worry at the spate of insecurity across Nigeria, saying the call for Yoruba nation became imperative as the race could no longer tolerate murderers in the South-West.
Chairman of the group and organisers of the conference, Debo Adekoya, said, “Our people back home are being attacked and killed by killer herdsmen. Killer herdsmen run amok in our land daily, with cases of extrajudicial killings already reaching an alarming crescendo.
“I am sure you must have seen videos shared on social networks of Yoruba men, women and children hacked by these heartless killers in our land. The palace of a traditional ruler was razed, and business premises vandalised.
“The latest was the attack on Chief Sunday Igboho’s residence where some people were killed with wanton destruction to his property.
“Our agitation today is not new, and it is supported by millions of Yoruba all over the world.
“What we are seeking is simple: we want to direct our own affairs without interference because we have sufficient means for comfortable livelihood and statehood.”
Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, in his own submission, said the call for the liberation of Yoruba race is the legitimate rights of the people.
Adams stated that events in the South-West showed that the time is up for the Yoruba to exit the country.
“From all indications, there is no denying the fact that Yoruba are tired of these senseless killings, thereby seeking self-determination in the most peaceful way,” he said,
Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia, who also spoke at the event, said the Yoruba are a blessed race with strong conviction and ethos of ‘Omoluabi’.
Mailafia added that the Yoruba people have the capacity to achieve whatever they want to achieve in the most peaceful manner.