Yoruba Self-Determination Activists Gather In Ibadan

Members of the Ilana Omo Oodua on Saturday staged a rally to sensitise the people of Ibadan on the need for Yoruba self-determination.

The rally was schedule to take-off from the ancient Mapo Hall but the heavy presence of armed policemen and their vehicles at the entrance and around the hall forced the organisers to shift the venue to opposite the hall.

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The police however said they were there to prevent hoodlums from causing violence.

Some Yoruba from Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Edo, Delta, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Ogun and Oyo States attended the rally.

Although the 86-year-old Emeritus Professor of History, Banji Akintoye, who is the leader of the Ilana Omo Oodua, was not present at the rally, his lieutenants addressed the gathering and insisted that Yoruba people would become an independent nation.

The agitators, who were heard shouting No to Nigeria, were armed with banners and flags proclaiming Yoruba nation.

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One of the leaders of the group, Basorun Kunle Adesokan, said Yoruba people were determined to be independent.

He said the killing of Yoruba people in their own land by criminals had become unbearable, saying the problem would be over with Yoruba nation.

He said Yoruba would be a nation, saying other ethnic groups should also go their ways.

He said, ” What we are saying is , we want Yoruba nation. We are tired of staying with Nigeria. Enough of killings, maiming and destruction of properties by Fulani people.

” No retreat no surrender. We have started the rally in Ibadan, there is no going back. We are starting here because Ibadan is the capital of Yorubaland but we will not use violence.”

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Some Itsekiri youths who attended the rally also said they would stand by the mainstream Yoruba in their quest for a new nation.

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