The leader of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettima, has said the agitation for a sovereign nation by the Yoruba people is a mere threat.
Shettima told SaharaReporters in an interview on Thursday, while reacting to the statement made by a renowned historian, Prof. Banji Akintoye, that Yoruba people would soon be independent.
Akintoye, the Alana of Ilana Omo Oduduwa, on Tuesday through the media and communications secretary of the group, said, “The Yoruba journey to redemption has started, and soonest, we are going to reach our Canaan land without any bloodshed.”
In his reaction to the assertion, Shettima said, “It is just a mere threat as far as I am concerned, and I don’t wish it to be true.”
“That kind of statement does not mean well for the country. It is not a comment that should come from positive-minded people. I have a lot of respect for him, and people like him have the mental capacity to be advising the nation.
“If we think it is because Buhari is there today, it could be you or me tomorrow. It could be anybody from other regions rather than the North. That’s why I am one of those calling for restructuring. The central government is weak. It can’t hold the country together. But we can be better together.”
Shettima also responded to a message circulating on social media that he would assemble terrorists against South-East and South-West of Nigeria if the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, did not disband the Eastern Security Network within seven days.
“I am an advocate of peace between the North and the South,” Shettima said. “My political associates know me in the struggle for peace and unity. Some people are just using that to destabilise the country.
“A time will come when the truth will be revealed. Nigerians must know that I cannot be used because I have never been part of violence and will never be in the future.
“I have always been part of peace in the country. It is true that things are not good, and nobody is happy but that doesn’t mean we should destroy the country. I am not part of the problem.”
