Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has said 90 per cent of Yoruba people in the diaspora don’t want anything to do with Nigeria again, rather they are seeking to have a nation of their own.
Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, Adams who said the issue of the Yoruba Nation has not died down said most of the youths are not happy with people like him who are advocating for a restructured Nigeria or a return to regionalism.
He said “I don’t think the issue of Yoruba nation has died down. Yorubas in the diaspora are done with Nigeria. They don’t want a country called Nigeria anymore. About of 90 per cent of Yoruba people in the diaspora don’t want to be associated with anything called Nigeria anymore. Even when people like us talk about the return of the country to regionalism or True Federalism, they don’t like it”.
“They will call me and say ‘Aare, why are you still talking about Nigeria when all we want is the Yoruba nation?’ I have to explain to them that you have an option. If you want to pull out of Nigeria, it is either through war or you go through a referendum in the United Nations. When we are talking of war, are we ready for war? Are Yoruba people prepared for collateral damages?”.
‘What our forefathers like Awolowo, Jakande, Ajasin, Bola Ige, Onabanjo, Ambrose Alli have built for us, are we ready to destroy it? I am saying this because northerners don’t care about the war. They are warriors.
“If an average Fulani man has N10, he will use N3 to buy weapons. That is Fulani for you. When they die, they accept it as the will of Allah, bury the person immediately and move on. The same with the Hausa people.
“You can’t compare Yoruba people to them. When someone dies in Yorubaland, they will celebrate it on that day. Later, they will do an eight-day celebration, 40 days and later, one-year remembrance. Some will even do 10 years of remembrance.
“The Fulanis don’t have time for that. They are prone to war and they are very united. That is why we need to apply the strategy on this issue”.
“I will be the last person to go against our youths on the issue of Yoruba nation. It is the total liberation of our people. But when you know your people are not ready, you do it gradually. Most of the countries in the world first get their autonomy.
“If the other regions reason enough, we can continue on the basis of regionalism. But if in future, they don’t want to reason, everybody can go his own way”.
