A conglomerate of different Yoruba socio- political groups demanding self-governance in the Southwest has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to react to the letter written by it that the Yoruba was set to peacefully secede from Nigeria.
Referring to the letter jointly signed by Professor Banji Akintoye, Banji Ayiloge, Chief Sunday Igboho and Professor Adeniran, who is the vice chairman of the group, they urged President Buhari to read and respond to their demands.
He said: “The letter was written to serve notice to Nigeria that the Yoruba Nation is prepared to peacefully exit Nigeria.”
Ayiloge explained that the letter was justified and appropriate under the law as a reaction to questions being asked the group’s diplomatic team about the reaction of the Federal Government to Yoruba demands for a separate nation.
Ayiloge said: “YSDM was temperate in our letter to the President of Nigeria because we must demonstrate that Yoruba are peace-loving people.”
He, therefore, said: “The Yoruba people can now wait for one more month to await the reaction of the President of Nigeria.
“While in some instances silence could mean consent, we are prepared to consult our people for the next line of action and the momentum for a separate nation has built up to a crescendo among Yoruba people and there is no going back.
“The Yoruba Self-Determination Movement is an amalgamation of many Yoruba organizations around the world that fully subscribe to the notion of the Yoruba self-determination project.
“Thus, the decision of the next line of action rests with the Yoruba Council which is the highest policy-making organ of the organization. The council will determine the next line of action.
“Mr. Ayiloge said the five million Yoruba who signed the petition to have Yoruba nation is a testimony to their desire to be free from internal colonialism.
He then called on the government to act on the letter without further delay.”
However, the group urged Yoruba people to be law-abiding in the face of constant provocations.