South West Governors Lauded by Prof Akintoye for Implementing Yoruba Anthem
By Professor Banji Akintoye, leader of the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement, has praised the governors of the South Western States for adopting and singing the Yoruba Anthem during their meeting in Lagos on Monday.
In a statement released on Tuesday by his Homeland Assistant, Dr. Amusat Olatunde, Prof. Akintoye expressed his appreciation: “On behalf of the millions of Yoruba people involved in our self-determination struggle, both in Yorubaland and the Yoruba Diaspora, I congratulate and thank the State Governors of the six Yoruba States of the Nigerian Southwest for their brave, patriotic, and courageous step taken in Lagos by adopting and proudly singing the Yoruba National Anthem, ‘ISE WA FUN ILE WA.’
“By this act, our State Governors have won the hearts of all Yoruba people everywhere. You have validated our decision to refrain from criticizing our State Governors and instead focus our energies on the noble task of liberating our Yoruba people from the dire conditions in Nigeria and establishing our own separate Yoruba country, where progress, prosperity, security, pride, and happiness shall reign for all.
“In our self-determination struggle, we have always asserted that our men and women involved in Nigerian governance have much more to offer and will excel as dedicated and incorruptible public officials in our own Yoruba country.
“When our Governors jointly adopted and sang our Yoruba National Anthem, they were affirming their Yoruba identity and heritage, and demonstrating that they are true products of the Yoruba civilization. In our own Yoruba country, they will easily shed the undesirable aspects of Nigerian governance and become true Yoruba citizens, public servants, and leaders.
“Once more, I congratulate our State Governors. We understand why you may currently denounce the Yoruba self-determination struggle. You need not feel guilty for that. Our separate sovereign Yoruba Nation is coming. It will soon liberate the love for our people in all of us, unleash our creative and enterprising energies, and make our country one of the leading nations in the world. It will soon reunite us as the loving, joyous, and illuminated family that the Almighty God intended us to be.”