Lamido Adamawa Secession Threat: Yorubas Want To Remain In Nigeria But We’ll Not Be Threatened – Gani Adams

The National
Coordinator of the Yoruba militia group,
Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Chief
Gani Adams, who is also a representative
of the South-West at the ongoing
national conference, on Thursday,
expressed disappointment over the
threat by the Lamido of Adamawa,
Alhaji Aliyu Barkindo Lamido, that he
will lead his people to secede to
Cameroon if the controversy surrounding
the modality for voting at the
conference is not resolved.
The delegates are yet to agree on the
voting pattern as they are divided
between adopting two-thirds or three-
quarter majority votes. However, most
delegates agree that the Federal
Government’s proposal of 75 percent
votes in arriving at decisions during the
conference may be a herculean task.
The development came even as Mr.
Adams appealed to the entire Yoruba
race to put their representatives at the
conference on the watch list, advising
that any Yoruba representative, who
betrays his race should be politically
incapacitated.
Speaking on arrival from Abuja at the
Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, Gani
Adams, who was reacting to the
secession threat by the Lamido of
Adamawa, cautioned that a royal father
of his standing should not speak
carelessly.
According to him, nobody has the right
to threaten the unity of Nigeria since
there are a lot of interests among the
six geo-political zones in the country.
“I was highly disappointed by his
statement; an eminent royal father like
the Lamido of Adamawa ought not to
make such a statement. He is one of the
most respected emirs we have in Nigeria
today. He should be the number five
most recognised emir in the country. I
seize this opportunity to appeal to the
royal fathers, including the emir to
watch their statements. Nobody should
threaten the unity of Nigeria. We want
Nigeria, but we should not be
threatened. We, the Yoruba people want
to remain in Nigeria, but we shouldn’t be
threatened.
“We didn’t have oil in 1954 to 1959, but
we all know what Chief Obafemi Awolowo
did for this nation through the western
region government. And when you study
the Yoruba very carefully, 80 per cent
of our development came from
individuals and not government. We
don’t rely on any development from
government. It is the North that
depends on the government. But they
don’t need Nigeria more than us, we all
need Nigeria because we have inter-
married, done businesses together and
Abuja solidifies us. There are a lot of
interests among the six geo-political
zones and Abuja and Lagos. It will be
better for us to have one Nigeria so that
our population can speak for us
wherever we are.
“It is unfortunate that such a statement
is coming from the emir and he is not
the only one with such mindset”.
Shedding more light on the Yoruba
agenda at the conference, the OPC
Chieftain, who said he was ready to die
for his race, alleged that there were
some people from the South-West zone,
who are at the conference to sabotage
the Yoruba race, comparing them to a
river that forgets its source.
“I’m ready to die than to betray the
Yoruba cause. Some people, I believe,
were brought there to sabotage the
interest of the Yoruba. It is someone
who is not a deep thinker that forgets
his roots. For me to be a Nigerian, I
must be a very good Yoruba person”, he
said.