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The one million man march planned across Yoruba-speaking states has been postponed until further notice, Ilana Omo Oduduwa, the umbrella body of Yoruba self-determination groups within and beyond Nigeria has said.
The march was billed to hold in the cities of Ikeja, Ibadan, Akure, Ado-Ekiti, Osogbo, Abeokuta, Kabba and Offa in Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, Akure, Ado-Ekiti, Osun, Ogun, Kogi and Kwara States respectively, on Wednesday, March 24, to drum-up support for the actualisation of the sovereignty of Yoruba nation.
According to a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday, in Ibadan, through the media office of the leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye, the decision to postpone the rally was taken after deliberations on Monday, to give room for more consultations with other Yoruba socio-cultural and self-determination groups within and beyond the shores of Nigeria.
The statement read in part: “We have a meeting with all Yoruba Socio-Cultural and Self-Determination Groups slated for Saturday, March 27th, after the meeting, we shall announce a new date for the One Million Man March, but it is possible next week. Thus, we put all the seats of power in Yoruba land on notice.
“We have declared our freedom from the failed Lugardian almagamation of 1914. We have also declared our freedom from the fraudulent 1999 constitution of Nigeria. The international community, including the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom have been put on notice.
“The Government of Nigeria is being challenged legally. We are not going to engage in any illegal or violent act. We shall achieve our liberation without shedding blood. We shall deploy our material and intellectual weapons to fight this battle.”