A Yoruba socio-cultural group, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, has called on President Bola Tinubu to remove Kwara State and Kogi West from the classification of “northern states,” insisting that the areas are historically and linguistically Yoruba.
In a statement signed by its Convener, Olusola Badero, and Home Director, Princess Balogun, the group stressed that Kwara South, Kwara Central, and Kogi West are predominantly Yoruba-speaking with deep cultural and ancestral ties to the Yoruba nation.
The union argued that labeling the regions as “northern” undermines Yoruba identity and subjects the people to political and cultural marginalisation.
Raising alarm over escalating insecurity, the group alleged that Fulani herders, disguised as cattle rearers, have been responsible for killings, kidnappings, and land grabs. According to the statement, more than 10 Yoruba vigilantes and forest guards were killed in Kwara South on Sunday in attacks allegedly carried out by herders.
The group accused the federal government of arming these individuals.
“It is disheartening that Miyetti Allah members, implicated in attacks on our people, are the same individuals given AK-47 rifles to ‘protect’ us. How can murderers be assigned as protectors? It is nothing short of betrayal,” the statement read.
The Yoruba Union warned that President Tinubu risked being judged harshly by history if he failed to act, urging him to immediately correct what they described as a “historic anomaly” by reclassifying Kwara and Kogi West.
They also demanded the withdrawal of the so-called “Bororos” deployed to Kwara South, while calling for stronger protection of Yoruba lives and property.
Beyond government action, the group appealed to Yoruba communities at home and abroad to provide support for local vigilantes and extended condolences to the families of those killed in recent attacks, describing them as heroes of the Yoruba cause.
“This is not just a call for reclassification but a demand for survival,” the group declared, insisting that Yoruba-speaking regions should not be subsumed under a “fraudulent northern identity.”
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