PRESS RELEASE

Oodua Action Movement

www.ooduamovement.org

Amotekun – just a tip of the iceberg

Observing the brouhaha that has trailed the launch of the Southwest security outfit, “Amotekun”, the Oodua Action Movement lends its support and stand behind the decision of the governors of the Yoruba states to rise to the challenge of defending the lives and property of people in their domains, irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliations.

The Amotekun security initiative is a long overdue and paltry measure to cover the gallant failure by the federal government of Nigeria to secure the lives and property of the people, an unnegotiable contract which President Mohammadu Buhari signed with the people of Nigeria when he took the oath of office. It is therefore shameful and insulting, the effrontery by the Attorney General of the failed state to declare the initiative illegal. We have no doubt that the AGF has spoken on behalf of the chronically biased president Buhari and his Fulani people, who have resolved to continuously enslave the rest of the country.

The Oodua Action Movement, a group of committed and resilient Yorubas worldwide with the unnegotiable mission to actualize an autonomous Yoruba nation within or outside Nigeria, hereby states our position as follows:

1. Tracing Nigeria’s woes to the roots, we condemn the now-expired complicated 1914 amalgamation on which stands the 1960 independence, which was infused with mitigated hypocrisy aimed at empowering a section of Nigeria over the others. A system meticulously structured in a manner that stealthily keeps the colonial spirit alive even years after the exit of the colonial masters - A section of the country is deliberately positioned to Lord over the others for reasons best known to the British Colonialists.

2. Having come to the conclusion that Nigeria in its present state as a nation has failed woefully in its primary duty of securing lives and property of its citizens, we hereby demand unequivocally that the Southwest Yoruba people be allowed to properly protect our citizens within the ambit of the same law that afforded other states in the northern part of the country so as to put a stop to further colossal loss of our dear lives and property. Amotekun, as it’s presently constituted cannot effectively carry out community police work. While we commend the governors of the six Yoruba states for the security initiative, we ask that they commence without delay all necessary means to fully back-up Amotekun with the appropriate laws, and also enhance the outfit with the ability to carry arms and ammunition, and the capacity to embark on intelligence work to complement the Nigeria Police, and other security agencies.

3. As citizens in diaspora, having watched the trend of events in Nigeria from the sidelines over the years and especially the current spate of insecurity of lives and property and the continued degeneration of the country, have unequivocally concluded that the country with its present structure is in a state of irredeemable rot. Nigeria is now in the infamous league of failed nations.

4. From the foregoing, it is obvious that the present unitary structure of Nigeria has significantly inhibited the country’s growth and prospects. We demand the federal government of Nigeria to IMMEDIATELY restore the nation to true federalism, an autonomous system which the founding fathers established under the 1963 constitution. It is under such autonomy that each region thrived within the capacity of it’s natural and human resources, and sadly the only point of reference to Nigeria’s collective greatness to date.

5. Lastly, as clearly stated above, we demand an autonomous state for Yoruba land. The Yoruba people claim and demand our rights to self-determination; our rights to autonomously govern our region and manage our resources and own our destiny. The Oodua Action Movement, on behalf of Yorubas worldwide, is relentlessly committed to this cause. We are prepared to use all LEGAL and PEACEFUL means within the confines of international laws and norms to actualize an autonomous nation for Yoruba people within Nigeria. We demand President Mohammadu Buhari to IMMEDIATELY begin the process for an autonomous Yoruba nation as a federating unit in Nigeria, as granted the Southwest region upon Nigeria’s independence in 1960. Should the Nigerian government fail to grant our request, we reserve the right to actualize an autonomous, self-determining and self-governing nation for the Yoruba region.

6. We call on the United Nations, the government of the United States of America, the British government, the African Union, the European Union, the Group of Seven (G7) and other international government and institutions to intervene and rescue the Yoruba people – an ethnic group of over 40 million people from modern slavery, biased subjugation, perpetual poverty, and eventual ethnic cleansing. We are peace loving and very resourceful people, it is our utmost desire to continue to live in peace within or without Nigeria, and among the peoples of Africa and the world in general.

Signed.

Otunba Demola Edward

Coordinator – Oodua Action Movement