“There Are Calculated Attempt By FG To Invade Yorubaland”

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, Nigeria 2015 Election Saturday, March 21st, 2015

Ayo Balogun, Ibadan – Arising from an emergency meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, elders and leaders in Yorubaland have raised the alarm over calculated attempt to invade and subjugate Yorubaland through convert and disguised official policies of the Federal Government.

They also agreed that next week’s election must hold and called on Yoruba people to vote leaders that would have their interest at heart. The meeting was held under the aegis of Yoruba Assembly.

A communiqué issued at the Pan-Yoruba Summit of leaders of Yoruba nation and read by Gen. Alani Ipoola Akinrinade (Rtd), Convener, Yoruba Assembly said the Yoruba people were concerned about calculated attempts to invade and subjugate Yoruba land through covert, disguised and even official policies of the Central Government.

“This was seen in gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and the State of Osun where fake and hooded combat ready militants were deployed under the cover of official security operatives including the DSS, police, and the Nigerian Army. Also, in the name of job creation, Nigerian youths are being trained and used for partisan political purposes in Yoruba land.

“We frown at misguided elements in Yoruba land who have resorted to brazen violence, forgetting that the acceptable methodology of socio-political interactions in Yoruba land is that of robust discourse, rather than violent tactics and brigandage,” the communiqué said.

The Assembly decried the erosion of Yoruba values, virtues, and mores and affirmed that the marginalisation of Yoruba people had attained the status of deliberate policy of the Central Government of Nigeria as this had been intensified under the current administration by extending it to Yoruba kith and kin in Itsekiri land.

The communiqué further lamented the decimation of entrepreneurial ambitions of Yoruba people through Federal institutions and agencies that were supposed to be enablers and facilitators of economic development as seen in unnecessary official bottlenecks and impediments.

It said the Yoruba people were alarmed at the near virtual absence of reliable and critical infrastructure of electricity, energy, and transportation which had led to the collapse of economic activities in Yoruba land, saying that, a people who pride themselves as proficient traders, skilful artisans, and competent professionals had become despondent, with their youths wasting away, leading to increase in youth dependency and predisposing the future to idle hands, political thugs, internet scammers, among others.

“We are worried that in the absence of proactive, concerted, and visionary leadership in Nigeria, insecurity has festered to the level of national emergency. We affirm that the resolutions of the National Conference failed to resolve fundamental issues that are prerequisite to a sustainable federalism and without which the few useful recommendations would become meaningless.

“We insist that the 2015 General Elections must hold as scheduled and must be free, fair, credible, and transparent. Given the fact that for the past 16 years, Yoruba people have suffered marginalisation within the Nigerian state, the Yoruba Assembly calls on Yoruba people to vote for leaders who have the interests of the Yoruba at heart, in order to bring an end to this unacceptable state of affairs,” it added.

In the light of the above, the Yoruba elders resolved that their land would not be an occupied territory and that the Yoruba must pursue their destiny in line with the development priorities and ambitions of her people, demanding that there should be the creation of a structural environment for effective devolution of powers to the country’s constituent units as a strategic development imperative.

“We demand a repeal of laws and policies that stifle the creativity of her people.

We demand the dismantling of all pseudo-security agencies that impede peace, harass and terrorise her citizens in order to enforce pre-determined agenda that are not consistent with the wishes of Yoruba people.

“We demand that regional competitiveness should be the basis and indeed the key driver of growth and development of Nigeria, recognising that the creative spirit and latent capabilities of the country reside within the geo-political zones.

“That the effectiveness of the Federal Government of Nigeria lies on focusing on the critical issues of governance that are common to all components, like defence, national security, foreign affairs, currency and exchange rate, etc, while all other socio-economic responsibilities, especially that of resource control, devolve to the federating units,” the communiqué said.

“Yoruba people hereby state categorically that the General Elections scheduled to commence on Saturday, 28 March, 2015 must not be postponed or jeopardised. Yoruba people will not countenance any form of unelected government, be it government of National Unity, Interim National Government or howsoever described. Yoruba people will not hesitate to take our destiny in our own hands in the event of any attempt to compromise our democratic existence,” they said.