S/WEST: Fulani groups desperate to lead Nigeria to war – Yoruba coalition, AOKOYA

*Accuses the Presidency of complicity

A COALITION of several Yoruba self-determination groups known as Apapo O’odua Koya (AOKOYA) has alleged that Fulani men in Yorubaland are bent on instigating ethnic crisis in South West.

The group said the crisis is meant to be a prelude to their well organised land grab plot.

This was contained in a statement issued by by Col. Abimbola Sowumi (retd) on the behalf of the group on Thursday, titled, ‘Armed Fulani groups desperate to lead Nigeria to war.’

According to the statement the group accused President Buhari of backing and encouraging the Fulani in their agenda to invade and subjugate the South West by subtly urging them to disregard the vacation order issued to those in the Ondo Forest reserves by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.

The group added that, with this development, it is now clear why the Presidency was opposed to Amotekun even though many Fulani states operate their own version of the security outfit.

“Presidency has chosen to be the spokesperson of armed Fulani invaders in the entire Yorubaland,” AOKOYA said
The group said President Buhari represents the Presidency but he does not own it adding that the Presidency is the workplace of a President elected by the people to protect them.

“All Nigerians are stakeholders in the Presidency, a public institution which President Buhari has now converted to his property to pursue his narrow ethnic interest.”

AOKOYA said the occupation of Yoruba forests appears to enjoy the full support of the President.

“President Buhari said the invaders are foreigners but now he has come to defend them. This same Presidency made no reference to the killings and kidnapping in Yorubaland. He also has never sent condolence messages to the families of several people killed. When the daughter of Pa Fasoranti was killed by Fulani herdsmen, President Buhari did not send any condolence delegation. His recent statement that rejects the order of Ondo State Governor was suspiciously silent on the savage killings and kidnapping across the South West.”

AOKOYA said the Presidency’s defence of the herdsmen is a major evidence that the Fulani have a hidden agenda to reenact the 1804 Jihad

“When we speak, we do so with credible information and with the highest sense of responsibility. AOKOYA was the first to release intelligence report on armed cells across Yoruba forests.

“Today, heavily armed Fulani men are now attacking Yoruba people, young and old, women and children not only on the highways but right in Yoruba cities and workplaces. This is a plot to drag Yorubaland into a premature war knowing the South West is least prepared and their banking on State operational support” AOKOYA said.

The group said the armed Fulani are not only living comfortably in Yoruba forests but also in the cities waiting for the instruction to attack Yoruba towns, cities and villages.

AOKOYA said the ceaseless kidnapping and killing of Yoruba people by the Fulani armed men have raised the prospect of spontaneous reaction from Yoruba people who are frustrated by the lack of effective response by the political class.

The group said the mob murder of a Yoruba engineer by Fulani people in Lagos on false accusation of Okada theft and the information about 47 armed Fulani arrested in Oyo State while on a deadly mission to attack Yoruba communities are signals of the peril that lay ahead.

AOKOYA urged the South West Governors to do more. The group said while Okada have been banned in all state capitals in the North, many of them have moved in large numbers to Lagos creating a time bomb waiting to explode.

All Okada riders of Northern origin are armed with at least a knife, claimed AOKOYA, saying: “They are young people with neither wife nor children. To kill and destroy is the easiest thing to do. At present Yoruba States are at their mercy. That is the bitter trut.”

The coalition said apart from the desire to fulfil Uthman Dan Fodio’s dream of conquering the Yoruba nation, the Fulani leadership is working at perpetrating chaos ahead of the 2023 elections so that a state of emergency will create a doctrine of necessity that will make elections and handover less attractive.

“We are dealing with a stiff-neck and recalcitrant people who do not believe in power sharing and whose primary motive for centuries is to conquer, subdue and dominate. All economic and political programmes of the current Federal Government are tailored in this direction,” AOKOYA said.