As Yoruba separatist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Igboho, reportedly submitted a petition to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, to consider the creation of a Yoruba nation, leader of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) in Katsina, Professor Sani Abubakar Lugga has advised the North to prepare for the possibility of separation from Nigeria.
Igboho, who was said to have submitted the petition on behalf of Professor Adebanji Akintoye, the leader of the Yoruba Nation movement, sought the immediate intervention of the UK Prime Minister and his government in their agitation to set up a country that will be predominantly owned by indigenous Yoruba people.
Igboho’s spokesman, Koiki, via his X page, wrote: “At exactly 14:00 hrs Dr. Chief Sunday Igboho delivered a petition to the UK Prime Minister on behalf of Prof. Adebanji Akintoye, leader of the YORUBA NATION movement, and Olayomi Koiki, his spokesman @10DowningStreet.”
Igboho has been at the forefront of the actualization of a Yoruba nation.
Recall that Akintoye had earlier accused the Nigerian government of trying to cajole Igboho into withdrawing from the agitations.
The octogenarian said, during the agitator’s travails in Benin Republic, a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai (retd.), had used his influence as an envoy to sneak a paper to Igboho in prison, promising him billions of naira if only he would renounce his agitations for a Yoruba nation.
He, however, said that Igboho refused to sign the paper, which was later taken away by Buratai.
He said: “Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, came to him in the prison, promising him billions of naira if he would just sign a paper that Buratai brought.
“That he (Igboho) should say he had renounced the Yoruba Nation struggle, that he didn’t want the Yoruba Nation struggle anymore, that he had opted out of it.”
And at a recent community engagement, Professor Lugga, who is also the 5th Wazirin Katsina, called for unity among northern Nigerians in light of potential self-determination movements.
According to him, the increasing secessionist sentiments from the South, should ginger the North to prepare for the possibility of separation from Nigeria.
He spoke about the proactive measures taken by southern states to address security challenges, like the formation of regional security outfits, saying that the North has not adopted similar strategies despite facing significant insecurity.
Professor Lugga warned that if the South were to succeed in breaking away, the North could face dire consequences without adequate preparation.
This was even as the CNG’s National Coordinator, Jamilu Charanchi, echoed Lugga’s sentiments, emphasizing the urgency for community-led initiatives to tackle Nigeria’s socioeconomic and security issues.
He criticized the current leadership for focusing more on elections than on the nation’s future, calling on the communities to take control of their destinies through collective action.
