Sunday Igboho, leader of the South Western Yoruba Nation separatist group, has renewed calls for Nigeria’s dissolution. In a video circulating online, Igboho was seen at a UK airport, advocating for the Yoruba ethnic group to leave Nigeria.
Igboho cited corruption, insecurity, and a bad economy as reasons many Nigerians lack patriotism in their country. He expressed frustration with the Nigeria’s state of affairs, comparing the UK airport with Nigeria’s, saying, “Even inside the airport, there is no security. They can steal your belongings inside your bag.“
He says such issues have eroded trust in the government and discouraged people from identifying as Nigerians.
“Things like that make us sad to identify ourselves as Nigerians. This is why we advocate for separation. If Nigeria is not working as a country, it is better we go our separate ways,” Igboho said.
Igboho believes that the Yoruba people have the potential to build a prosperous nation comparable to advanced countries. He said Yoruba youths had gained valuable knowledge and experience from travelling worldwide and could transform the Yoruba nation into a modern society similar to those in Europe.
“Our youths have traveled worldwide, gained knowledge, and can build a better Yoruba nation. They will transform Yoruba land, and the knowledge they acquired will help them build it and transform the nation like those in Europe,” Igboho stated.
In October 2024, Igboho was at 10 Downing Street, the office of the UK Prime Minister, with a document reportedly requesting the separation of South West from Nigeria.
Igboho’s separatist agenda aligns with those of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group advocating for the separation of the South Eastern part from Nigeria. However, unlike Igboho, the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has been in jail since 2021, facing sedition and terrorism charges.
Nigeria’s current President, Bola Tinubu, is from the Yoruba ethnic group.
The issue of Nigeria’s dissolution has been a recurring and contentious topic. Several regions have attempted forceful separation at different eras in the country’s history. Even Kemi Badenoch, the Nigerian-born leader of the UK Conservative Party, has distanced herself from her Nigerian identity even as she embraces her Yoruba roots.
She has argued that while multiethnic and multiracial societies can be successful, a multicultural country could have problems of cohesion, making peaceful development and achieving the promise of the nation difficult
Nevertheless, the ruling elites of the resource-rich and culturally diverse Nigeria insist the country is indissoluble and her unity unassailable.
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