Yoruba indigenes in Kwara state demand separate state

In preparation for the proposed National Conference in Nigeria, the Yoruba indigenes in Kwara State have held a one-day conference to harmonise and deliberate on issues affecting them to be presented to the conference.

At the end of the one-day conference held at Omu Aran town hall, the headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area of the state, the Yorubas in Kwara would prefer to be reunited with their kith and kin in south west as both the north and the south are not ready to accept and accommodate them presently.

The one-day conference was attended by Yoruba leaders from Kwara and Kogi States.

The seriousness on the faces of the speakers and participants was enough to tell anyone that the people are not happy with the present scheme of things for Yorubas in Kwara State.

They lamented that Yorubas, being the majority tribe in the state, had been relegated to minority in the scheme of things with the appellation of being addressed as northerners outside the state while they were not recognised in the north.

They could not really identify with either the Yorubas or the Hausas, and this they said showed the imbalance in the amalgamation of the country and called for the restructuring in order for every segment of the country not to feel marginalised.

After the nearly five hours’ deliberations, the Yorubas in Kwara resolved to present issues to the National Conference on the need for border readjustment to move them to the south-west where they believed they had same culture, language and tradition with the rest or an outright creation of another state for the Yorubas in Kogi and Kwara States among other demands.

It is only time that will tell if the dreams of the Yorubas in Kwara State to be independent will be realised or not.