A Nigerian group in the Diaspora, Yoruba One Voice, has said that its proposed rally for the creation of Oodua Republic slated for October 1 will take place in six continents across the world.
The YOV, which has presence in 176 countries and is the umbrella body of over 300 groups of Yoruba descendants in the world, said the self-determination rally was designed to draw the attention of the world to the current situation and happenings in Nigeria.
In a statement by YOV’s Director of Communications, Comrade Zacheaus Somorin, the group said it was time for the Yoruba to exit the entity called Nigeria.
The statement reads, “The rally is to sensitise the world on the need to liberate the Yoruba race from the shackles of bondage.
“We have made our position known to our people in Nigeria. The reason for seeking self-determination as the best means and alternative is to save the nation from impending implosion.
“Nigeria has failed. The country is failing by the day. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said it recently, Prof Wole Soyinka also said it, even the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams raised the alarm several times that the country was failing.
“Similarly, the revered former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, John Onaiyekan now Archbishop Emeritus, didn’t mince words recently in an interview where he said Nigeria can break up even before 2023 if we continue to be irresponsible and reckless.
“In Nigeria today, life is of no value. There is raging insecurity, electoral rigging, corruption, nepotism and cruel misgovernance. Nigerians at home are mostly affected. There is a need for us to rise against political enslavement by a section of the country. This ‘forced marriage’ has not been working.
“Nigeria will be 60 by October 1 and the truth is that there is nothing to show for it. Nothing except senseless killings, kidnapping, corruption, election rigging occasioned by bad leadership.
“So, we need to change the narrative. We need to fight against these lawlessness and huge misappropriation of national fortune.”
Somorin urged Yoruba indigenes to brace up to the reality of the situation on the ground, stressing that the coming event will surely change the narrative of the country.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
