The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, claims that the government’s inability to address issues with insecurity and the economy is what sparked the calls for secession.
Adams made this statement on Saturday at the sixth virtual “Yoruba One Voice” global conference.
In light of Nigeria’s worst recession in thirty years and increased insecurity, organizations in the south-east and south-west have recently called for secession.
Adams contends that every ethnic group has the right to seek out justice, effective government, and self-determination when it is called for.
“If Nigeria were good, none of us would have sought the exit door from this country. We would have buried the cause of the struggle,” he said,
“But the struggle for a Yoruba nation became more prominent when it was obvious that Nigeria could not [address] the ravaging unrest and economic downturn.
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“When it was obvious that things had gone awry, and the nation we always call ours had lost the battle to terrorists and bandits, and the country has eventually lost its soul, I think those are the reasons we started having agitations from the geo-political zones.
“In seeking self determination, we are not ready to destroy the hard-earned glory and heritage of our forefathers.
“There are many options that are better than the present political arrangements. Without sounding immodest, it is obvious that majority of the Yoruba, especially, those in the diaspora, are tired of this forced marriage.
“Perhaps, those that are against our calls for self-determination are either not seeing what we see or they are not feeling the pain we feel because they are beneficiaries of the bad system that is ravaged by huge debt, increasing spate of insecurity, killings, kidnapping, raping, and undemocratic culture of our leaders.”
Gani Adams: Secessionist agitations result of government’s failure to tackle insecurity, recession
