By Akinwale Kasali
A United Kingdom based Yoruba socio-cultural Organisation, Egbe Isokan Yoruba, has condemned and distanced itself from the purported rally slated for October 1st 2020, by a newly formed group named ‘Yoruba One Voice’.
The Group described the intention behind the rally as fraudulent, and enjoined Yoruba not to stick out their necks to be brainwashed by a kangaroo arrangement aimed at feathering a selfish nest.
A press statement issued and jointly signed by the President and General Secretary of the group, Chief Akinola Rufus and Ilelaboye Akinnagbe, respectively, said the Group, in Its entirety, sees the proposed rally as ill-timed, and would be of no meaningful benefit to the course of the Yoruba and its people.
The Organisation said what the Yoruba need at the moment is gradual and painstaking awareness, and not a rally whatsoever.
“Yoruba is a very respected, decent and knowledgeable race. We don’t embark on a project and fail. To achieve Oodua Republic is not a day’s journey. We should first reconcile our Obas, leaders and all the stakeholders and be united before we launch out.
“Then, awareness should start by reaching out to the traditional institutions, professional bodies, academics, technocrats, the market men and women, grassroots, as well as the international community;” the group said.
The Yoruba group alleged that the purported group, Yoruba One Voice, is the brainchild of Yoruba Generalissimo, Aare Onakakanfo, Chief Gani Adams and his Oodua Progressive Union, OPU, nothing that the Yoruba One Voice is a hish-hush group, mainly designed for a selfish purpose and of no collective backing of Yoruba leaders and groups, hence, It’s a fraudulent organization.
“We urge the Yorubas both at home and in Diaspora not to fall into the deceit of Chief Gani Adams and his cohorts. We challenge Chief Adams to name the organisations that make up the Yoruba One Voice. His Oodua Progressive Union is almost at the brink of collapse and this is the reason he came up with a rebranded name as a way of cajoling and deceiving people. It is still Oodua Progressive Union.
“We know what it takes to get a Nation. The lives of our people should not be wasted while someone will be making money and popularity from it. We say no to bloodshed.
“The staged political rally he organized in 2015 in Lagos to support the reelection of former President Goodluck Jonathan is still very fresh in the minds of the people, where properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed. How can a partisan person with no means of livelihood, who has no respect for the traditional institutions and leaders of Yoruba, put Yoruba nation into a war? We know he’s up to something with the rally and his call for the Oodua Republic. We know his game. We will never be part of such Rally.
“We therefore advise Yoruba sons and daughters in the Diaspora to respect the law of the countries they reside and not to tag themselves as secessionists and troublemakers through the October 1st planned rally as this may lead to a very serious problem if the said rally turns bloody. They should be peaceful in their dealings,” the group warns.
The new Yoruba Group among other groups, scheduled a protest on October 1, Nigeria’s 60th Independence anniversary.
The Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB, has ordered a sit-at-home order in all the areas it calls Biafra land, in support of the Yoruba rally.
