Over 100 South-West groups under the Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movement (AYDM) have strongly condemned calls for a military takeover, deeming such actions unwarranted.
The groups criticized those advocating for a coup in Lagos, warning that such a move could lead to secession in Nigeria.
AYDM emphasized that the enduring solution to Nigeria’s social conflicts lies in ethnic self-determination, arguing that the potential of the Yoruba people has been suppressed for too long.
The group suggested that pursuing self-determination might be a viable alternative to violence and coups. Following its Pan-Yoruba-Itsekiri Global Summit, themed “Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria: The Role of Non-state Actors,” the groups issued a communiqué expressing their understanding of Nigeria’s historical challenges but expressing dismay at the calls for a military coup from some quarters.
The statement reads: “We are alarmed that some people in their desperation are calling for military rule. Let those who plan a return to dictatorship know that there will be no military rule in the entire Oduduwa territories. Our people will resist with all our strength even if it means armed resistance.
“Since 1914 forceful amalgamation of Nigeria, the potentials of the Yoruba people have been stunted and it was time for the Yoruba people to leave Nigeria as a viable alternative to ceaseless violence, killings and coups. We are alarmed that some people in their desperation are calling for military rule. Let those who plan a return to dictatorship know that there will be no military rule in the entire Oduduwa territories. Our people will resist with all our strength even if it means armed resistance.
“Those calling for military intervention are the same people solely responsible for the rot, the systemic decay, the persecution of ethnic groups and the laying of the very foundation responsible for the current challenges that confront Nigeria.
“The people calling for military intervention kept quiet for eight years when their candidate was the President of Nigeria with his parochial and self-serving policies which partly created the woes that currently face the country today; But in less than one year, they want the country to burn. There is a plot by some martial forces to stage a military coup and a comeback of the same forces that laid the foundation for the ruin of the country.
“Advocates of military rule are from a particular sector of the country doing so for parochial interests. These are ethnic far-right elements who want to control the country by all means. In their archaic tradition, they detest the fact that people have the right to vote and power has to shift from them. This is the only reason they are plotting to overthrow the minimum gains of democracy.”
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