The new Yoruba leader, Professor Banji Akintoye has declared that the Yoruba people will continue to honour their tradition of hospitality to foreigners in the land.
Prof. Akintoye stated this in Ibadan while speaking at a meeting of about 36 self determination groups from within the South-west states, held Thursday, to harmonise their thoughts on the way forward for the region, particularly on the security and economic challenges facing the region.
According to the Yoruba leader, the Yorubarace with the tradition of hospitality will not hesitate to force out from its land any foreigner with the intent to “kill, to maim and to destroy.”
At the meeting, tagged ” Yoruba World Congress (introductory conference)” facilitated by Prof. Akinkoye, he said his intention was to introduce his forum to all the groups in attendance.
“While we will continue to honour our tradition of hospitality to foreigners in our land, we will not hold back any effort to force out from our land any foreigners who come with the intent to hurt, to kill, to maim and to destroy,” he said.
Akintoye added, “we are gathered to send a clear message to the Yoruba people and to the other peoples of Nigeria that we Yoruba people are a great ancient civilization, the most educated people in Africa, and a people with widespread and enormous influence in the world.
“We are sending notice to those who harbor dangerous and destructive ideas of conquering and subduing other peoples of Nigeria that our Yoruba nation is far beyond their capabilities to subdue. We do not harbour any ambition to subdue any people or to seize any part of their land, and we will make it absolutely clear to the world that nobody can seize any inch of our land.”
Speaking further, Prof Akintoye said: “We also serve notice that we have arisen now to resist and reverse the trend toward retrogression in the life of our nation in Nigeria.
“We will mount a multifaceted operation to stop our language from continuing to decline. We will mount powerful operations and campaigns to revive our agriculture, and to revive our industrial development that has been deliberately stopped in Nigeria.”
On the meeting, the Yoruba leader said it was to introduce his organisation to the various self determination and social cultural groups in Yorubaland and to harmonise thoughts on how to defend and promote the interest of the Yoruba nation in the context of Nigeria, adding, “in today’s conference, we the founders and members of the Yoruba World Congress have assembled first to introduce and to highlight our Yoruba World Congress.
“In today’s conference, we the founders and members of the Yoruba World Congress have assembled first to introduce and to highlight our Yoruba World Congress.
The groups at the meeting included the factional leaders and members of the Oodua Peoples Congress, the Agbekoya’s, Yoruba Liberation Movement, The Yoruba Afenifere Youth Council, among others.
