The founder of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), and Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Mr. Gani Adams has described the conduct of Nigeria’s 2023 general elections as the worst in the history of the country.
A statement by the Yoruba One Voice (YOV) issued on Monday, quoted Adams when he addressed a virtual international conference themed “Decolonizing Yoruba land: Speak up, speak out”, and attended by participants from six continents.
While flaying Nigerian politicians for whipping up ethnic sentiment, and failing to abide by the rules of the electoral process, Adams urged all Yorubas, elders, monarchs, socio-cultural groups, etc., to look beyond politics and strengthen the bond of unity.
According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Prof. Mahmood Yakubu are facing global condemnation for failing to ensure smooth conduct, noting that the failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to transmit election results electronically betrayed the hope and trust of Nigerians.
“The electoral umpire organized the worst election in the history of Nigeria. The entire system is mired in distrust; we continue to witness untoward happenings across the country,” Adams added.
At the conference, Adams stressed that the struggle for the decolonization of ancestral land must be a collective effort, and urged the indigenes to “wake up from their slumber and take their pride of place among other races in the world”.
He maintained that the Yorubas are where they are currently “because they lost touch with the core values that are key to the progress of our race”, adding that although the people have a unique culture, tradition, language, dressing, food, among others, civilization came and slowed down “the glory”.
“Our language, culture, and tradition have gone into extinction. The religious institution has also failed to re-invent the true gospel of God.
“The political class has done everything to divide us along political lines and politicians have failed to play by the rules,” he fumed.
