The Council of Yoruba Elders (CYE) has appealed to prominent and affluent Yoruba individuals to support what it described as an urgent effort to safeguard the South-West and other Yoruba-speaking areas from worsening insecurity.
In a lengthy statement titled “Just Before the Final Conquest of the Yoruba by the Fulani: A Clarion Call to Our Patriotic Well-to-Dos,” the group expressed deep concern over kidnappings, killings and attacks in parts of Yorubaland, warning that the region faces a grave security challenge if urgent action is not taken.
While speaking with journalists at their Ibadan office on Friday, the Secretary-General of the group, Dr. Victor Taiwo, argued that Yorubaland extends beyond the six South-West states to include Yoruba-speaking communities in Kwara, Kogi, Edo and Delta states, insisting that any security response should cover all areas inhabited by Yoruba people within Nigeria.
According to him, persistent attacks by armed groups operating in forests across parts of the region have heightened fears among residents and exposed the failure of political leaders to protect lives and property adequately.
The organisation linked the current insecurity to what it alleged was a long-standing agenda by Fulani expansionists to dominate Yorubaland.
It referenced historical conflicts, including the 19th-century Fulani conquest of Ilorin and the 1840 Battle of Osogbo, where Ibadan forces halted the advance of Fulani warriors.
The CYE said that recent activities of terrorists and bandits in parts of the South-West and adjoining states reflect a systematic attempt to expand into Yoruba territory.
The group also criticised elected officials and traditional rulers, accusing them of failing to provide coordinated leadership in addressing the region’s security challenges.
It argued that the absence of a unified command structure since the era of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and former Ondo State Governor Chief Adekunle Ajasin has weakened the Yoruba nation.
Presenting itself as a credible platform for Yoruba mobilisation, the council said it possesses strategies capable of addressing the security situation but lacks the financial and material resources needed to implement them.
It therefore called on wealthy Yoruba individuals at home and abroad to contribute funds towards what it described as a rescue mission for the region.
The CYE said the appeal had become necessary because, in its view, the political class remains preoccupied with electoral activities while communities continue to grapple with insecurity.
The council concluded by urging Yoruba sons and daughters with the financial capacity to support its proposed initiatives, describing the appeal as a patriotic duty aimed at preserving lives, communities and the future of the Yoruba people.
