The apex Yoruba diaspora organisation, Yoruba One Voice, YOV, yesterday, urged the United Nations, UN, Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, to save Yorubaland from imminent collapse.
YOV, in a letter titled; “To Avert Human Tragedy, Yoruba People Seek the Conscience of World Leaders’, restated its belief in the ability of the United Nation’s scribe to avoid the possible danger capable of hitting the foundation of Nigeria.
The letter was signed by the group’s Secretary General, Mr. Adedokun Ademiluyi.
The group noted that Yorubaland had, in the past years, remained the target of the Fulani terrorists, insisting that the Yoruba diaspora group will not fold its arms and watch terrorists wreaking havoc on the South-West.
It, however, urged the UN scribe to use his office to address the situation in the country, adding that the reason for the formation of YOV, as a diaspora organisation, is to raise its voice against the injustices in Nigeria.
The statement reads: “Since 1914, the Yoruba have been subjected to the worst kind of material and spiritual afflictions by a system that stifles the voice of Yoruba people, tramples on their heritage and dwarfs the echoes of their hues and cries from the valley of social and cultural repression.
“Nigeria’s independence from Britain, in 1960, did not offer the kind of freedom our people sought. The Yoruba people were not fully engaged in the type of government the people wanted.
“Since 1914, the forceful merger of the various ethnic groups and the garrison structure of the Nigerian state continues to drag backwards the choice and liberty of Yoruba people, who bore the agony of a harrowing 30-month civil war (1967-1970), violent military putsches, political and economic schisms, and complete annihilation of the Yoruba civilization.
“This has been at a great, colossal cost to the Yoruba people whose collective aspiration is to determine their political, cultural, social and economic destiny.
“In the past 15 years, the Yoruba situation has gone from grace to grass. Our indigenous territories have become a theatre of blood-letting, terrorism and all vile associated with misery.
“In this past one and half decade, Yoruba territories have been ravaged by Fulani terrorists and Boko Haram, already categorized as some of the deadliest terror groups around the world.
“The Yoruba have survived wars, thick and thorn, passing through various phases of human development according to the dictates of events and their subjective material conditions.
“These past 15 years, Yoruba farmlands, homes, and sacred groves have been invaded and devastated by the terrorists. Kidnapping, rape of women and the female child, and invasion of worship homes are some of their trademarks.
“Recent experiences in one of the most devastating attacks on Yoruba territory; Owo, an ancient community in Ondo State, was attacked by Fulani terrorists leading to the death of at least 44 people, including women and children.
“Since its inception in 2020, YOV has enjoyed global appeal spreading across 174 countries across the six continents of the world. Our demand for good government is based on the call for regionalism.
“There is a whirlwind that may shake the world. We do not know the form it will take. We do not know the time. We are uncertain of how, but our suspicion is very strong that it might bring human misery and agony. We are certain that if you treat this letter with dispatch, with your usual passionate feeling and appreciation, the world might prevent another catastrophe, to God’s witness and glory and your credit.”