“Any Attack On Yorubaland Would Be A Declaration Of War” - OPC Warns Boko Haram

The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) yesterday warned Boko Haram insurgents to steer clear of Yorubaland. 

Dr. Frederick Fasehun, Founder and President of the Congress (OPC), said, although Boko Haram’s current agitation justified OPC’s age-old demand for a Sovereign National Conference, his organisation would view the exporting of violence into the South-West as a declaration of war. 

He said while the OPC sympathises with those who have causes to embark on, “local struggles for social-justice should be contained within local boundaries.” 

He added: “Any extension beyond such boundaries clearly connotes the pursuing of a territorial ambition; and any people provoking other people through territorial ambition should ultimately expect a war. And in warfare, everything and anything is fair. 

“OPC’s message should be clear to sponsors of the ongoing violence in our country. They should not unnecessarily jeopardize their own lives, their businesses and their other interests in the places where they currently enjoy peace. Yoruba people are not unaware of their addresses and their business interests throughout the South-West. A word is enough for the wise. 

“Last year, the bodies of Yoruba graduates serving their fatherland in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were brought home to us. OPC takes this opportunity to alert governors of the South-West on the need to take immediate measures to preempt and prevent the killing of our youths participating in the NYSC. The same advice goes to Yoruba indigenes residing in the North; they must do the needful to avoid danger overtaking them in the land of their sojourning. 

Source: The Nation Newspaper