YOREM warning intensifies as the group rejects U.S. intervention and urges unified Yoruba action to address escalating security concerns

Now that the U.S. Congress has mandated President Donald Trump to intervene militarily in Nigeria, we reaffirm, as in our earlier response, that the Yoruba Revolutionary Movement (YOREM) and Mekunnu Koya remain firmly opposed to any form of U.S. invasion or foreign military occupation.

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While the incessant and senseless killings across Nigeria are deeply alarming, we reject imperialist intervention, especially from global powers whose historical actions and covert interests have fueled the crises we face, including the proliferation of sophisticated weapons among violent actors.

For years, we have consistently warned about terrorist Fulani herdsmen and other extremist jihadist networks, whose aim is not only to impose a hardline Islamic ideology but also to encroach upon, occupy and dominate our ancestral lands.

Regrettably, the international community has ignored these warnings. Equally troubling is the role of certain Yoruba collaborators who, for personal or political gain, have aligned themselves with forces bringing devastation to our land.

To those parading as defenders of faith or extreme Islamic ideology within Yorubaland, your posture is not new.

History has witnessed similar betrayals, most notably during the Fulani capture of Ilorin and subsequent 19th-century expansionist campaigns.

The jihadists and internal collaborators then, met their defeat at Osogbo in 1840. History is now presenting familiar patterns.

To self-proclaimed self-determination activists who compromise the security of our people for personal gain: you have failed.

Ambition should never outweigh collective safety, yet you allowed yourselves to be used, discarded, and replaced by those who prioritised personal influence over genuine liberation.

And to youths waiting for a “messiah” to rescue them from banditry and terror: liberation will not come from passivity or wishful thinking. Responsibility, unity, courage, and vigilance are required to safeguard incoming generation’s future.

We call on genuine Yoruba self-determination activists, at home and abroad, to arise, unite, and recommit to defending Yorubaland.

This has always been the vision of our liberation movements, and it must now be actualised.

Aare Ona Kakanfo, Oloye Gani Adams, should lead decisively without waiting for politicians who have repeatedly failed their duties.

The OPC must remain committed to its founding ideals and protect our communities lawfully and in coordinated frameworks. Yoruba people, while aware of past betrayals, stand solidly behind you to lead from the front.

To the Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Groups (COSEG) and others: shun opportunism.

Your mandate is to protect and defend Yorubaland, not to align with looters or pursue personal political ambitions at the expense of Yoruba interests. History now calls on you to act decisively, not betray it.

Professor Banji Akintoye, Sunday Adeyemo Igboho, the World Yoruba Congress/Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM), and the Yoruba Leadership Forum must awaken from compromised inertia to defend our land.

It is not enough to inspire hope for liberation from internal colonisers only to remain passive at decisive moments.

More importantly, we must convene a Pan-Yoruba Constituents Assembly (PYCA), as YOREM has advocated for 26 years.

The PYCA will articulate a blueprint for Yoruba autonomy within a genuinely restructured Federal Union, or, if necessary, declare a sovereign Oodua Republic.

Our Obas should rise to work together, forming local vigilante groups, while lawmakers in the National Assembly and the six Western state Houses of Assembly should support the establishment of state police.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should ensure the speedy passage of such bills, just as he does for elite interests.

The Lagos State government under Governor Sanwo-Olu should establish a well-equipped Amotekun corps immediately to complement the Nigerian Police.

Amotekun must remain a legitimate security institution, not a tool of ruling-party intimidation or political persecution in the Southwest.

We reiterate the call for an end to all killings in Yorubaland; communal, sectarian, fratricidal, or cult-related. Together, we must protect our land, culture, traditions, and heritage.

Nigeria is a secular state, yet successive governments have undermined this principle by promoting religious favouritism instead of fostering unity and equal citizenship.

All hands must be on deck. U.S. intervention may appear attractive to some as a temporary solution, but history shows that foreign powers intervention brings consequences far worse than our current challenges.