Kehinde Fajobi
Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, has reiterated his stance that if Nigeria cannot remain united, its ethnic groups should be allowed to separate.
In a video shared on Thursday from a UK airport, Igboho blamed corruption and insecurity for Nigerians’ loss of pride in their citizenship.
He said, “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.”
Igboho expressed that these conditions contribute to the desire for separation, adding, “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.”
He further emphasised that the Yoruba people, particularly the youth who have been exposed to the world, are eager to transform their region into a prosperous, modern society.
“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 called for the Yoruba’s separation from Nigeria.
In April 2024, he, alongside Pro Banji Akintoye and Ola Ademola from the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement, wrote to President Bola Tinubu.
They urged the President to establish a negotiation team to discuss the Yoruba people’s exit from Nigeria.
The letter, signed by the Yoruba leaders, stated, “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:”
The letter further requested the Nigerian government to set up a negotiation team and to invite international observers from the United Nations, African Union, and ECOWAS for the talks.