Yoruba elders in the Diaspora, under the aegis of the Yoruba Council of Elders in Europe and America, have petitioned the United Nations (UN) against the prevailing security situation in Nigeria, calling on the international body to prevent every attempt to foist Fulani dominance in the country, a situation they say may lead to crisis.
In the letter to the UN Secretary General, Mr. António Guterres by the Coordinating Secretary of the Yoruba Council of Elders, Elder Michael Olawale Shadare, the group alerted the world to the dangerous build-up to a possible genocide, owing to such grim occurrences as mindless killings and attempts by suspected Fulani herdsmen to acquire land forcefully with the support of the government in the southern part of the country.
The YCEEA, which said available intelligence pointed at a genocide about to happen on a scale never known before, and to be executed by armed people positioned strategically around the country with logistics back up, urged the UN Secretariat to make urgent and decisive intervention.
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In a related development, disturbed by the rising spate of insecurity across the Southwest and simmering disagreements over perceived ideological differences among its leaders, Southwest Senators, under the auspices of Southwest Senators Caucus of the 9th Assembly, are making arrangement to convoke an all-Yoruba leaders and stakeholders meeting to discuss the various challenges besetting the region.
A National Assembly source told The Guardian that the meeting would address critical security issues, such as the ongoing tension between the Southwest and the North over armed alleged Fulani herdsmen activities, economic and political issues affecting Yorubaland, and the controversial demand for restructuring. It is hoped that after the high-powered gathering, a bill would be raised and presented before the National Assembly for deliberation.