By Lukman Olabiyi
Coalition of Yoruba groups in diaspora under the auspices of , Yoruba One Voice (YOV) has declared that there is no going back on agitation for session due to approaching of President Muhammadu Buhari on his alleged agenda to suppress other regions in order to favour the Northern region.
The coalition stated that the Buhari-led administration has succeeded in spreading pain, misery, heightened insecurity, and continued asset-stripping of the economies of Southern states, in favour of the moribund economies of the Northern States.
YOV made this known in a speech delivered by its Secretary General, Dr. Sina Okanlomo, in commemoration of the one year anniversary of the group’s global rally to seek the actualisation of the Yoruba nation.
Okanlomo dismissed the October 1 national broadcast by Buhari,saying the two major highlights of the administration successes were the inhumane kidnapping and torture of Nnamdi Kanu and his illegal and forceful removal from Kenya to Nigeria, as well as the brutal and uncivil invasion of the premises of Chief Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a Sunday Igboho, where several lives and property were lost, thus culminating in the exit of the Yoruba Nation activist to the Republic of Benin where he has remained incarcerated ever since.
“Between October of last year and now, nothing positive has come out of the Buhari-led administration. Up
until now, national wealth is still being diverted in obscene ways to cater for the needs of the Fulani in foreign countries, where petroleum refineries, railroads and other developmental infrastructure built with Nigerian money have become the norm. All these were done without recourse to national security, other than the evil plan to relocate national wealth for selfish use.
“The Fulani-led administration has become emboldened in its utter and disgraceful disregard for human rights and international law. As major sponsors of illegal kidnappings, banditry and Boko Haram, they continue to employ state resources in the maiming, kidnapping and killing of opposition elements
“We must rise against any form of coercion regarding economic or social enslavement. We must collectively and roundly denounce the e-Naira project. It is nothing more than stealth to capture diaspora money, as well as act as a conduit for illegal data mining designed to aggregate personal data for selfish use. We must, be particularly reminded of the trade-offs between International Data Protection Regulations and free for all systems where guarantees to privacy laws are practically non -existent. In other words, adoption of the e-Naira will provide a much easier route for Fulani colonialists to dip their dirty hands into your money, divest you of your financial assets at will and siphon same for the development of Fulani communities in neighbouring African countries”, Okanlomo said.
The YOV scribe,however, applauded the patriotic spirit of the Yoruba nation agitators, saying such efforts would not go unnoticed.
He said: “You have shown through peaceful means – rallies, debates, diplomacy and cross-cultural networking, that you are unprepared to continue to accept the second class citizenry toga that was unduly bestowed upon each ethnic group other than the Fulani since independence. With one undiluted voice, you matched to the United Nations to demand a referendum to give effect to our joint aspiration of a Yoruba Nation. Brothers and sisters, your efforts have not gone unnoticed and your actions have not gone in vain.
“As we gather today proudly, I wish to remind our brothers and sisters that we still have steeper hills to climb on our journey towards the promised land. We must move forward unapologetically, with the belief and conviction that victory is near. We must realise, that the fight in which we find ourselves is a fight for the souls of generations unborn
“We are the only ones who will decide whether the future generation generation is born into servitude and slavery or born into freedom and prosperity. Let us, through our voices,say no to injustice, and “grab” culture. Let us continue to demand at every turn, nothing less than A Yoruba Nation”.