By Kemi Yesufu
Yoruba rights activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, a.k.a Sunday Igboho has said he is more concerned of stopping the killing, rape and murder of Yoruba by Fulani herdsmen, than he is afraid of being killed during his crusade to have herdsmen leve forests in the South West
He also insisted in an interview with PUNCH that his crusade will not lead a tribal, as not in support of his recent actions have warned.
“Actually, there is no more fear of civil war regarding the cause that I am fighting. Those who thought that such could happen had the fear because they have hidden agenda. We are not waging any war against Fulani people. Our own fear is that our leaders are friends of the Fulani, who know the herdsmen, who are criminals in our midst. Our appeal to the Fulani is to bring the killer herders in our midst to book”, he told the paper.
Speaking on the reactions of the Oyo State governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde and Ogun State counterpart, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, Igboho revealed: ‘It (trip to Ogun State was not on the invitation of the governor. We are Yoruba people in our own right, we can fight for freedom. Our fathers and brothers were killed by herders while our people die in silence. Our mothers and sisters are raped, farmlands are vandalised and crops are eaten up by their cattle. They kidnap and take big ransom. Just as the case in Igangan, our people in Ogun could not bear it any longer, so they called for help. This was what happened”.
“We can work in harmony with the governor inasmuch as he recognises the fact that we have the fundamental right to secure our people and to protect their interest. The problem is that those in between us and the government are the ones creating undue tension. We are sure that the governor is able to feel the pulse of the people who are feeling the heat from the killer herdsmen and we believe that he would rise up to the occasion and do the needful”, he said of Makinde.
On the issue of the reaction Yoruba traditional rulers, the now famous activist said: “Our Obas are the custodians of our culture and heritage in Yorubaland. Today, our Kabiyesis across Yorubaland up to Kwara and Kogi states, as well as Edo and Delta states, should speak with one voice. As things stand, I thank our royal fathers for their efforts. I thank all the Yoruba Obas starting from the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona; I thank our father, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, and also thanks to our father, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi. I must pay obeisance to the Awujale for his fearless and dogged spirit and courage. He wants peace, he wants justice, he stands for the truth and I pray that the Lord keep him stronger than yesterday. The Aare Ona Kakanfo, Iba Gani Adams, has also thrown his weight behind this cause”.
He however denied receiving about N11m raised Yoruba in Diaspora to support your mission. This as he rejected comparisons to IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, “I don’t need such (donations) and there is nothing like that”, he said of the donations said to have been sent to him.
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