By Olayinka Ajayi
A Yoruba socio-political organisation, Think Yoruba First Group, has declared that the Yoruba people will not allow outsiders to dictate what happens in their land.
In a statement, the group’s Public Relations Officer, Ogbeni Oluwole Lewis, made this declaration in response to Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s reaction to the renaming of streets in Lagos.
He said “We won’t outsource, lease or rent out our sovereignty and birthright to any settler colony, no matter how many statements or noise they make; this decision is non-negotiable!”
He stressed that Yoruba share no ancestral or historical links with Lagos and that the decision to rename streets is a matter for Yoruba to decide.
“The convention worldwide is for settlers to respect the host communities and their right to make decisions; whoever feels wronged by decisions taken by Yoruba in Yorubaland is constitutionally empowered and advised to relocate.”
The group warned that Yoruba reserve the right to give streets in their land any names they wish, and that migrants or settlers have no right to dictate such decisions.
He advised settlers to prepare for more changes in the weeks ahead, stating that the names of places must reflect the cultural ties of the locals.
“We are not obliged to even engage or debate such changes with settlers, the moment we start allowing outsiders to dictate such, it stops being Yorubaland.”
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