We RefuseTo Be Slaves On Our Own Land! Yoruba Groups Seeks Caution Over Ife/Hausa Crises

The Oodu Peoples Congress (OPC) has warned that it would not sit still and watch the Yoruba nation being conquered.

This came in reaction to alleged indiscriminate arrest of Ife indigene by security operatives following clashes between the people and their Hausa counterparts.

It was reported that a bloody clash erupted between the two groups leading to the death of some people.

It was rumoured that the security operatives deployed to the area after the tragic incident were picking up the Yroubas especially influential ones for arrest.

Otunba Gani Adam who is the national coordinator of the OPC called on the government to exercise caution especially in the arrest of people.

He said: “We will not want this hospitality to be mistaken for cowardice. The Yoruba race is not and will never submit to being a conquered nation. We say no, to any treatment that will restrict us to being slaves on our own land. We say no to any measure skewed to favour only a side in a crisis of this nature. We call for the release of all the arrested Ife indigenes while a better amicable way be proffered to settle frayed nerves and settle the crisis permanently.’

Mr Yinka Odumakin who is the national publicity secretary of the Afenifere, a Yoruba group, also responded to the issue.

He claimed the security operatives engaged in a one-sided for of arrest targeting at the Yorubas.

Afenifere said: “We are miffed that security operatives sectionally mobilized have moved to Ife after the incident to carry out one-sided mass arrests of Yoruba people who are mostly notables and could never have participated in any riot. As at the time of making this statement, all of those so indiscriminately arrested have either been taken to either the state police command in Osogbo or Force Headquarters in Abuja.’’

Meanwhile, following the tragic incident, it was reported that the Hausas had started fleeing the area.

Hundreds of Hausas were reportedly leaving in batches, through commercial buses and cars.

While some of them took Ilesa route, others followed Akure route where they could get direct vehicles to the North.

The Sun newspaper reports that the Hausa people claimed that it was only their people that lost their lives, following attacks by hoodlums whom they said, used dangerous weapons, including guns, cutlasses and cudgels among others.