Yoruba leader, Prof. Banji Akintoye, has called for oneness among Southwest governors and monarchs in order to overcome challenges and build a brighter future for generations to come.
Akintoye stressed the need for unity and collective action to address issues concerning the Yoruba people.
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Speaking in Ibadan at a programme tagged “Yoruba Unity Day,” Akintoye urged Southwest governors and obas to prioritise the unity and well-being of their people, seeking the support of traditional rulers, who, according to him, play a vital role in promoting cultural heritage and fostering community cohesion.
The History professor urged stakeholders to embrace Yoruba Unity Day, saying that by doing so, the Yoruba can reclaim their rightful place in Nigeria and address various challenges.
He said: “Since we have come this far today, this 23rd day of September 2024, I boldly and humbly urge all Yoruba to adopt this day, the 23rd of September each year, as Yoruba Unity Day.
“I urge that our Obas, the Fathers of our nation, should adopt this Yoruba Unity Day in their Councils of Obas in all our Yoruba States. I urge that our state governors, when they assemble in their Southwest governors’ meetings, should adopt this Yoruba Unity Day for all our states.
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“I urge that we Yoruba should adopt this Yoruba Unity Day as a public holiday exclusively for our Yoruba people in the context of Nigeria.
“Many of our non-Yoruba neighbours think of us Yoruba as a people lacking unity. Even some of our own people are used to lamenting that we Yoruba cannot have one voice. But those who say these things about us lack an understanding of the true meaning of national unity.
“On the basis of the essential indices of national unity, I boldly say that we Yoruba are one of the most truly united nations in the world. The essential roots of our Yoruba national unity are firm and solid. All of us Yoruba people are proud of our culture.
“We are proud of our nation’s outstanding achievements in history. We are proud of our nation’s distinctive superiority in crucial matters, including love of community harmony, serious acceptance of religious tolerance and harmony, acceptance of hospitality towards strangers and foreigners, avoidance of cheap conduct in the quest for anything, and love of enterprise and achievement.
“A fundamental belief that power in society belongs to the people and that government exists only to serve the well-being of the people, and a sincere belief that everybody, young and old, has the right to be respected and the right and duty to contribute his or her wisdom to the affairs of society.”