A group, the Yoruba Self-Determined Movement (YSDM), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to react to a letter written by the group, stating that Yoruba people were set to secede from Nigeria peacefully.
A leader of the group, Banji Ayiloge disclosed this while referring to the letter jointly signed by him, Professor Banji Akintoye, Chief Sunday Igboho and Prof. Adeniran to the President.
According to Ayiloge, the “five million Yoruba who signed the petition to have Yoruba nation is a testimony to their desire to be free from internal colonialism”.
He then called on the government to act on the letter without further delay, The Independent reports.
Ayiloge, who is the vice chairman of the YSDM urged Buhari to read and respond to their demands.
The group had in the letter said that an overwhelming number of Yoruba people want out of the country because of their worsening and painful plight.
“The letter was written to serve notice to Nigeria that the Yoruba Nation is prepared to peacefully exit Nigeria,” Ayiloge said.
He explained that the letter was justified and appropriate under the law as a reaction to questions being asked by the group’s diplomatic team about the reaction of the Nigerian Government to Yoruba demands for a separate nation.
“YSDM was temperate in our letter to the President of Nigeria because we must demonstrate that Yoruba are peace-loving people.
“The Yoruba people can now wait for one more month to await the reaction of the President of Nigeria.
“While in some instances, silence could mean consent, we are prepared to consult our people for the next line of action and the momentum for a separate nation has built up to a crescendo among Yoruba people and there is no going back.
“The Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM) is an amalgamation of many Yoruba organizations around the world that fully subscribe to the notion of the Yoruba self-determination project.
“Thus, the decision of the next line of action rests with the Yoruba Council which is the highest policy-making organ of the organization. The council will determine the next line of action.
However, the group urged Yoruba people to be law-abiding in the face of constant provocations.
