Agitators demanding an independent Yoruba nation have cited worsening insecurity in the South-West and uncertainty over the region’s political future after President Bola Tinubu’s administration as reasons for their renewed push for secession from Nigeria.
The Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM) said the creation of the proposed Oduduwa Republic remained its preferred solution to the country’s persistent political and security challenges, rejecting calls for restructuring and other reforms within the existing federation.
The group restated its position during a rally in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Wednesday, where its leaders called for the establishment of a sovereign Yoruba nation.
Speaking with journalists, the movement’s National Leader, George Akinola, said kidnappings, killings and attacks on rural communities across the South-West had heightened concerns about the safety of residents and the future of the region.
He alleged that violent crimes had exposed weaknesses in the country’s security and political arrangements, arguing that the Yoruba people needed greater control over their affairs.
Akinola also raised concerns about developments beyond 2031, when Tinubu’s tenure is expected to end if he completes the constitutionally permitted two terms.
Although he acknowledged the President as a Yoruba son, the agitator insisted that the region should not depend on the presence of a Yoruba person in the presidency to secure its long-term interests.
He maintained that the agitation was rooted in the need for a political arrangement that would allow the Yoruba people to determine their future independently.
In a statement titled “Dissolution as the Solution to the Intractable Problems of Nigeria,” the movement argued that restructuring, resource control and a return to regionalism would not adequately address Nigeria’s fundamental problems.
It instead advocated the dissolution of the existing political arrangement and the emergence of an independent Yoruba state.
The group’s position also reflected concerns about the protection of indigenous communities, particularly farmers and residents of rural areas who, it alleged, had been exposed to persistent attacks.
However, the statement contained controversial allegations and broad generalisations about Fulani and Igbo people, including claims about their origins, economic activities and political intentions. The movement did not independently substantiate those allegations.
The YSDM also proposed restrictions on non-indigenes’ access to land ownership, markets and sensitive political positions in Yorubaland.
Akinola argued that people from outside the Yoruba ethnic group should be allowed to live and associate freely in the region but should not occupy certain political offices.
He linked the proposal to what he described as unequal opportunities for Yoruba people seeking political positions in other parts of Nigeria.
The proposed restrictions raise questions about how the movement intends to protect the rights of residents from other ethnic groups under its proposed independent state.
On the historical justification for its demand, the group argued that the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914 had expired in 2014.
The claim forms part of its argument for a sovereign Yoruba nation, although the alleged automatic expiration of the amalgamation after 100 years is not an established constitutional or legal basis for the dissolution of Nigeria.
Despite its demand for separation, Akinola said the movement intended to pursue its objective peacefully.
He was joined in expressing support for the agitation by Iyaafin Erelu Temilade Awodele (Yemoja) and Alhaji Isiaka Olalekan, the movement’s leader in Kwara State.
The renewed campaign highlights continuing disagreements over Nigeria’s political structure, the management of insecurity and demands for greater regional autonomy. While the YSDM insists that independence is the answer to its concerns, its proposal would require fundamental political and constitutional changes, with significant implications for governance, citizenship and the rights of minority communities.
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