The leader of the Yoruba Nation self-determination struggle, Professor Banji Akintoye, has said he did not authorise a congress of the apex body of the Yoruba self-determination struggle, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, being rumoured to take place in Ibadan on Tuesday, November 1 (today).
Akintoye accused
the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola
Tinubu, of using some members of the self-determination struggle to destroy the
movement because of his presidential ambition.
The IOO leader, who
said this in a statement on Monday, said he had to do this to debunk the claim
by Funmi Soyemi, the outgoing Chairman of the Ilana Interim Management
Committee of the organisation, that a world congress of Ilana Omo Oodua will be
held tomorrow in Ibadan.
Akintoye said, “The
people planning the congress are few agents of Nigerian politicians within the
struggle. Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All
Progressives Congress, is currently recruiting some power-seeking individuals
within the self-determination struggle to either discredit me or destroy the
movement completely.
I am sending out this short message to all Yoruba
people worldwide that I did not authorise any meeting of Ilana Omo Oodua to be
held tomorrow in Ibadan, Oyo State. Those behind the gathering are a few people
working for Nigerian politicians who are determined to discredit our noble
struggle.
“I hereby
dissociate myself from such a gathering and I want the whole world to know the
meeting is illegal, unauthorised, and unknown to Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide.
Thus, whatever resolutions are reached at the meeting are null and void.”
The statement
further went on to note that, “Also, Bola Tinubu has threatened to destroy
Ilana Omo Oodua and other serious self-determination organisations in
Yorubaland because we told him that he is merely after his personal interest
and not the interest of the Yoruba people.
“As a result, I
implore you to disregard all of his agents within our system and become more
focused on our struggle for freedom and liberation.”
When contacted for
reaction, the Chief Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress Presidential
Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, could not immediately confirm if the presidential
candidate is scheduled to be at the congress of Ilana Omo Oodua in Ibadan on
Tuesday (today).
He said, “The
itinerary of Asiwaju that I have for tomorrow is the Lagos Chamber of Commerce
and Industry. I cannot confirm if he is attending the World Congress of Ilana
Omo Oodua tomorrow at Ibadan.”
When asked to react
to Akintoye’s accusation that Tinubu is seeking to destroy the Yoruba
self-determination struggle by using some members of the movement, Keyamo
declared that there was no iota of truth in the allegation.
He also queried who
elected Prof. Akintoye as the mouthpiece of the Yoruba race.
“Are the
Yoruba a group of people who arrogate to themselves the leadership status? When
did the Yoruba gather to elect some of these characters?
