By Dapo Akinrefon
A Diaspora coalition, Yoruba One Voice, YOV, on Wednesday, said its proposed sensitisation rally slated for October 1 remains sacrosanct, assuring participants of a peaceful rally.
The YOV presently in 176 countries across all the six continents, is the umbrella group of over 300 groups of Yoruba descendants in the world.
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The group explained that the self-determination rally tagged:”Oodua Republic” sensitization campaign was designed to draw the attention of the global world to situation and happenings in Nigeria,stressing that the rally would be conducted in line with the global template for the fulfilment of its desire as well the liberation of the Yoruba people in Nigeria.
In a statement by YOV’s Director of Communications, Mr Zacheaus Somorin stated that all arrangements have been concluded to ensure a peaceful rally.
Somorin said: “The rally is to sensitize the world on the need to liberate 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 falling by the day.Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said it recently, Prof.Wole Soyinka also said it, even the Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has raised the alarm severally that the country is drifting.
“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.”
The YOV spokesman also stated that “It is all about our image, it is all about our identity as a member of a nation. This ‘forced marriage’ has not been working.’
“Nigeria will be 60 by October 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 narratives. We need to fight against this lawlessness and huge misappropriation of national fortune.”
Somorin, however, urged Yoruba sons and daughters in Nigeria to brace up to the reality of the situation on ground,stressing that the coming event will surely change the narratives of the country.
“The feedback we are getting from the Diaspora indicates that Yoruba in Nigeria is ready for the rally and the campaign for the actualisation of Oodua Republic. The spirit of Yoruba race is high and we are monitoring unfolding events and I am sure we shall achieve the best for our race”, he affirmed.
