OPC ‘New Era’ Supports Call For Yoruba Nation’s Self-Determination

Comrade Arogundade Rasak, OPC New Era President

OPC ‘New Era’ Supports Call For Yoruba Nation’s Self-Determination

The New Era faction of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) said it is in total support for the calls for actualization of a self-determination of Yoruba Nation.

The group said calls Yorubaland’s self-determination, which it described as an ‘inalienable right’ over 55 million Yoruba citizen, should be freely exercise without any restraint.

The group also said its supporting the October 1, 2020 ‘planned peaceful rally’ earmarked by the Yoruba, while invited all and sundry to support its successful  implementation.  

These and many more contained in a release issued by the Group’s President, Arogundade Rasak, to facilitate with the Ooni of Ile-Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Enitan Ogunnwusi and the people of Ile-Ife, Osun State on the celebration of this year’s Olojo festival. And Yoruba leader, Professor Banji Akintoye, 134th anniversary of the Kiriji armistice. 

The group’s statement reads in part: “we felicitate with the Arole Olofin Adimula, the Oonirisa, His Imperial Majesty Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the people of Ile-Ife and the entire Yoruba nation -both at home and in the Diaspora on the occasion of the successful completion of this year’s Olojo festival. 

“It is our hope and prayer that the appeasements and other rituals at this auspicious occasion will help rid Yorubaland of all the pests (human inclusive) and pestilences that have become stumbling blocks in our march towards achieving a more mutually beneficial society for our people.  

“We also felicitate with the Yoruba leader, Prof. ‘Banji Akintoye, the Yoruba World Congress (YWC) and the Yoruba  people as a whole  on the 134th anniversary of the Kiriji armistice. This occasion should be as moment of introspection and self-reappraisal for the  Yoruba people and nation. 

“For sixteen years, the Yoruba fought an internecine civil war that is widely regarded as one of the most brutal and indeed the longest fought tribal civil war in world history.

“We hope that the peace that followed the historic sheathing of the sword will be sustained, enabling an atmosphere that would engender prosperity and monumental development in Yoruba land. Our group also strongly supports the position of our leader and the Yoruba World Congress (YWC) on the self determination agenda of the Yoruba as highlighted by Prof. Akintoye earlier in the week.

“We support the position that self-determination is an inalienable right that the over fifty five million Yoruba are free to exercise without let or restraint.We also support the planned peaceful rally earmarked by the Yoruba for 1st October 2020 and invite all and sundry to support its successful  implementation.  

“We unequivocally advice and warn all traitors, saboteurs and fifth-columnists, who have opposed this commendable librative cause either under the guise of religion or otherwise, to desist or face the consequences of their divisive.

“As stated by Professor Banji Akintoye,  the planned rally is meant to be peaceful and, we therefore urge all those with plans to foment trouble to stay away from the vicinity of the protest.

“Similarly, we implore the security agents to respect our rights to protest by either staying away from the planned procession or strictly keeping watch to avert the breakdown of law and order. It is the general believe among the populace that security agents contribute to the change of protests and rallies from peaceful one to chaotic and violent occasions. The security agencies thus need to brief their personnel against beginning what everyone in Nigeria -as it is today- May live to regret till eternity.

“It should noted that the Nigerian president, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who was the 8th speaker to address the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA, went out of his way to make the plight of the Rohingya people known to the world by formally bringing up the issue at the floor of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organisation (UNO).
 “While Mr. President is championing the cause of foreign Muslims, including Palestinians, the same has largely not been extended to the Christians in the middle-belt of the country as well as christian minorities in the north.

“The Rohingya situation situation is akin to what we presently have in Nigeria where Muslim-Fulani herdsmen (armed with sophisticated arms) are on what clearly looks like a genocidal mission to eliminate other tribes out of extinction. And like it was in Myanmar and in Sudan when former President Omar Bashir empowered the ‘Janjaweed’ to annihilate the South Sudanese, the Nigerian government is being accused of giving the murderous  Fulani marauders state backing.

“On a final note, we once again implore the federal government to respect the wishes of our people”.