Yusuf Oketola
A socio-political group, Yoruba Appraisal Forum (YAF) has urged residents of Osun and Ekiti states to shun the call of those agitating for Yoruba Nation by coming out en-mass during the June 18 and July 16 gubernatorial elections in the two states.
YAF, which embarked on sensitisation and enlightenment campaigns in Ado-Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State and Osogbo, the capital of Osun, on Monday and Tuesday respectively, urged the people on the need to maintain peace in the run-up to the governorship elections.
The group urged the people to reject anyone promoting violence during the forthcoming governorship elections in the states.
The National Coordinator of the group, Adeshina Animashaun, who led other members during the campaigns, appealed to the government, security agencies and other major stakeholders in the South-West to rise to the challenge of ensuring a peaceful, free and fair elections in Ekiti and Osun states.
Animashaun urged the electorate in Ekiti and Osun states to ignore agitators and all those threatening that there won’t be governorship elections as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the two states.
He described as “devilish” the alleged plans by some Yoruba secessionist groups to work for the break-up of Nigeria, warning that this could lead to a second civil war in the country.
The Coordinator also faulted calls by some Yoruba leaders for the dismemberment of Nigeria and secession of the South-West region from the rest of the country.
He called on the government, security agencies and other stakeholders to urgently move to thwart any plans by anyone or group of persons and their sponsors to cause chaos in the two states during the forthcoming governorship polls.
Animashaun restated that the aims and objectives of those kicking against the conduct of the governorship polls in the two states were mainly to cause violence, chaos and to destroy Yorubaland.
He said: “Those people by their nefarious and unpatriotic activities are bent on bringing hardship and disaster to the peace loving people of the South West.”
The YAF coordinator noted that the ultimate plan of those clamouring and campaigning against the governorship elections in the two state was to execute their selfish and devilish secession agendas well as the dismembering of Nigeria.
Animashaun, therefore, stressed that YAF would never support any person or groups promoting violence and clamouring for the secession of Yoruba land from Nigeria.
He reminded those threatening to stop the forthcoming governorship elections in both Ekiti and Osun states that such violent act is criminal, treasonable and punishable under the law of the country.
Animashaun enjoined Nigerians to eschew all divisive tendencies to preserve and continue to build the country under a peaceful and progressive atmosphere.
“Peace and righteousness do a great deal of good to any group of people and nations, and this we believe should continue to bind the conscience of every Nigerian.
“We should, therefore, not give any room to unpatriotic men to destroy the good legacies and country bequeathed to us by Nigeria’s founding fathers.
We must strive to be among those superior characters to hold the balance of power to keep our great nation up to a high standard of civilization. Second-rate men and women must be effectively checked and kept at bay to save our dear fatherland from collapse”, he added.
