The Oodua People’s Congress has firmly refuted allegations made by a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Buba Galadima, that President Bola Tinubu and former President Olusegun Obasanjo supported the Yoruba against the Hausa and other ethnic groups.
Addressing a press conference in Ibadan on Thursday, the group’s National Public Relations Officer, Akin Adesina, described the claims as wrong and divisive.
Galadima had allegedly made the statements during a recent live television programme, asserting that northern groups recruited the late President Muhammadu Buhari into politics because the OPC invaded Ilorin in Kwara State around 1999-2000 with the aim of uprooting Fulani structures, and that Obasanjo and Tinubu did nothing to stop them.
Adesina stated, “Galadima was a friend to Fasehun, likewise to the incumbent President of OPC, Osibote. It did not occur to us that we are dealing with a foe in disguise.”
He challenged the narrative by pointing out the demographic reality of Kwara State, noting, “In Kwara State, 70 per cent of the indigenes are of Yoruba descent.
They do not need to mobilise people outside their state to fight for their cause, especially in Ilorin, where the Emir is ruling over Yoruba descendants.” The OPC spokesman then recounted a specific incident from October 2000 during the tenure of the late former governor of Oyo State, Lam Adesina, to illustrate the complexity of the historical context.
“The Fulani herdsmen invaded farms in Saki spanning a 100-kilometre radius, and destroyed the farms with their cattle, killing the farmers. The late Buhari, in company of former military governor of Lagos State, Gen. Buba Marwa, Aliko Muhammed, Hassan and a host of northern Arewa elites, came to meet late former Governor Adesina.
“They emitted fire based on the information of ‘hearsay’. They came with people of northern extraction, numbering about 1,000 men and women, young and old. This created some tension in and around the government secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan. General Buhari now relayed his message, accusing the people of Saki in Oke-Ogun that they killed more than 68 Fulani herdsmen, and also accused the state government of perversion of justice.
Adesina maintained his coolness and asked the constituted authorities on security, namely the Commissioner of Police, the state Director of SSS, and the Executive Chairman of the Local Government involved, to speak. These stakeholders read their reports, which indicted Fulani herdsmen as the real killers of farmers in Saki. The reports are there for fact-checking. Please, Galadima, what is the business of former President Obasanjo and President Tinubu in this matter?”
Addressing the attempt to link the events to the current president, Adesina said, “At that time, there were two uprisings that happened in Mile 12 and Idi-Araba in Lagos State. The one of Mile 12 market was between Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani, and that of Idi-Araba, as well. If today, Galadima and his cohorts want to bring in the name of Tinubu into this matter, your action will not see the light of day because nothing concerns Tinubu with the Ilorin matter.”
He also countered the implication regarding Obasanjo’s stance towards the group, stating, “Also, it is a general belief that Obasanjo is an ardent nationalist to the core. It was Obasanjo who ordered the shoot-on-sight directives for OPC members when he became President in 1999. This was seen as a measure to curb the group’s activities, which were perceived as a threat to national security. Galadima, what is Obasanjo’s role in protecting the OPC? The records are there for fact-checking. Is Galadima a friend of Yoruba, or what do we call him?”
In conclusion, the OPC expressed its disappointment, labelling Galadima’s remarks as an attempt to cause trouble, noting “Buhari is dead. Lam Adesina has gone to rest. The then Kwara State governor is no longer alive. It is now that Galadima is trying to wreak havoc. In our view, we perceived Galadima as a statesman. We did expect a progressive statement from him, not one that will divide our noble country.”
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