Referendum: Yoruba Nation agitators writing reminder to Tinubu, says Igboho

Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has said the group would write another letter to President Bola Tinubu, demanding a referendum to enable Yoruba people to break away from Nigeria.

Adeyemo, in a statement sent to The PUNCH on Tuesday, said the reminder became necessary following the President’s refusal to accede to the request of the group for a referendum by the end of June.

Igboho, who said Tinubu’s response to the reminder would determine the next line of action by the group, noted that his organisation would not join the proposed national hunger protest, since the aim of the demonstration was not in line with the aspirations of the Yoruba Nation agitators.

Asked if agitations for Yoruba Nation had stopped with the perceived lull in the activities by members of the group, Igboho said, “The struggle for Yoruba Nation has not stopped. We are very much on and our activities on its realisation are still ongoing. You may think there is a lull, but a lot of efforts are being intensified through a peaceful approach to achieve our aims and aspirations.”

On the demand of the group for the referendum, he further said, “On the letter, we in the Yoruba Nation movement, under the umbrella of Ilana Oodua headed by Professor Banji Akintoye, wrote to President Bola Tinubu regarding a referendum giving June 2024 as deadline. We are going to forward a reminder to Mr President and his response will determine our line of action.

“There is no doubting the fact that there is hardship in the country. But we are not joining any nationwide protest. What we are passionate about is the realisation of the Yoruba Nation. We have been in this struggle since the regime of former President Muhammadu Buhari and we will not give up on our struggle for the Yoruba Nation.”

If I should come out to protest, it can only be on our struggle for Yoruba Nation and nothing more.”

Commenting on the current trial of some Yoruba Nation agitators arrested after the invasion of the Oyo State Government Secretariat in Ibadan on April 13, Igboho said those before the court over the invasion must “face the consequence of their action.”

“It is important to recall that we condemned their violent invasion of the Oyo State Government secretariat immediately it occurred because we are never in support of violence and unconstitutional means in any disguise.

“The so-called Yoruba Nation agitators arrested over the invasion of Oyo State Government secretariat are not members of our organisation and we in the Yoruba Nation movement did not support their action.”

Igboho and Akintoye had in April written President Tinubu, asking him to set up a team to negotiate the exit of Yoruba people from Nigeria.

They said, “We are acting for and on behalf of our 60 million Yoruba people of the Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo State 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.”

It, therefore, promised to forward the list of its negotiation team to the government as soon as it received a message in response to its request for the negotiation.

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