Prominent Yoruba Nation advocate, Sunday Adeyemo, widely known as Sunday Igboho, has once again emphasized the need for Nigeria’s ethnic groups to consider parting ways if the country fails to function as a united and stable nation.
Speaking in a video shared online, Igboho made his remarks at a UK airport, where he criticized the persistent insecurity and corruption plaguing Nigeria.
Igboho highlighted how these issues have eroded the sense of pride among Nigerians, stating that even basic services such as airport security are unreliable.
His words: “Even inside the airport, there is no security. They can steal your belongings inside your bag (in Nigerian airports). All these are the things dissuading people from being proud of the country, Nigeria.
“Things like that make us sad to identify ourselves as Nigerians. This is why we advocate for separation. If Nigeria is not working as a country, it is better we go our separate ways.
“Our (Yoruba) youths will transform Yoruba nation. Most of them have travelled across the world and they have learned a lot. If they come back to Yoruba land, the knowledge will help them build it and transform the nation like those in Europe.”
This is not the first time Igboho has raised the call for separation. Earlier this year, he joined forces with other Yoruba leaders, including Pro Banji Akintoye and Ola Ademola, in writing to President Bola Tinubu.
The group called on the federal government to initiate negotiations for Yoruba self-determination, proposing the involvement of international organizations such as the United Nations and the African Union as observers.
The letter, representing over 60 million Yoruba people from various states, demanded a response by June 2024 to initiate discussions. The leaders insist that the negotiations would pave the way for a peaceful resolution and recognition of Yoruba autonomy.
The letter reads in part: “We are acting for and on behalf of our 60 million Yoruba people of the Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo States, respectively, plus the Yoruba Local Government Areas of Kogi and Kwara State, and plus the Itshekiri homeland of Delta State, all together constituting the Yorubaland in Nigeria, hereby most humbly place our crowning request before Your Excellency as follows:
“That the Nigerian Federal Government shall, within the next two months, but not later than June 15, 2024, inform us Yoruba Self-determination Movement that the Nigerian Federal Government has graciously agreed to our proposal for negotiation and that they have set up a negotiation team that will meet and have a dialogue with our Yoruba Nation’s negotiation team.
“That the Nigerian Federal Government shall invite the United Nations, African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, to send observers to the negotiation meetings.”
