THE Are Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Aare Gani Adams, has appealed to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; and The Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, to assist Yoruba rights activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho in the faceoff between the agitator and Department of State Services.
Adams made the appeal in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday.
After raiding Igboho’s house in Soka, Ibadan, the Department of State Services also asked him to report to its office.
DSS Spokesperson Peter Afunaya, had said that seven AK-47 rifles were recovered, alongside pump action guns and 5,000 rounds of ammunition, including other weapons, were recovered when DSS raided Igboho’s house, in Soka, Ibadan, Oyo State around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday.
The secret Police also said it killed two persons and arrested 13.
Igboho, who is a promoter of the Yoruba Nation, has gone underground following the invasion, denied the ownership of the arms, and demanded an apology and N500 million damages from DSS.
However, many Yoruba monarchs have been silent on the development, a situation that the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Adewale Akanbi, attributed to Igboho’s disrespect for some traditional rulers.
Igboho had in the past tackled Ooni and Alake for expressing opposing views to his approach in agitating for Yoruba Nation and fight against herdsmen’s invasion.
But Adams appealed to the influential monarchs and South-West governors to intervene in Igboho’s travail, adding that “from my experience, it is difficult to fight the government and win.”
He said, “I appeal to our traditional rulers starting from Ooni, to Alake and other leaders, including our Governors who Sunday had abused and insulted – you know he insulted me too but we need to forgive and help him. We must not allow this to consume him.
“We are appealing to them generally not to allow Sunday Igboho to be consumed. The issue on the ground now is about the interest of the Yoruba Nation. Either you support self-determination or not, anything that happens to Sunday Igboho will be a slap to the entire Yoruba race. They should not forget that the issue on the ground is not only the issue of self-determination. It is also about insecurity – that some tribes are determined to overrun our own region.
“If you allow this to consume Sunday Igboho, it will create an advantage for the criminals, who have already invaded our farms and communities to cause a security threat.
“At the same time, I appeal to all agitators that they should not abuse anybody that defer or disagree on self-determination – that believes in the devolution of power. We shouldn’t abuse those who said publicly that they believe in the devolution of power. We should not be enemies.”
