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No fewer than 100 South-West groups, under the coalition of the Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movement (AYDM), have threatened to pull the region out of Nigeria if the calls for a military takeover of government become a reality.
Since President Bola Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election, there have been calls from certain quarters for military intervention to prevent his ascension into the coveted office.
Some groups even staged a protest in front of the Nigerian Defence Headquarters in Abuja, appealing to the military to disrupt the current democratic dispensation and install a new government.
However, the chants have grown since Tinubu assumed office in May last year, not helped by the hardship and hunger Nigerians have been forced to endure due to the effects of his reforms.
The coup advocates grew more emboldened during the recent nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests, where some demonstrators were spotted displaying a Russian flag in a subtle call for a military takeover.
South-West groups condemn calls for coup
Reacting to the development, AYDM condemned promoters of the idea, saying it is unwarranted.
The groups also warned that a military coup at this point could result in the secession of the South-West from the country.
This is contained in a communiqué issued after its Pan-Yoruba-Itsekiri Global Summit themed: ‘Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria: The Role of Non-state Actors.’
The groups also posited that the lasting solution to Nigeria's social conflict was ethnic self-determination, arguing that the potential of the Yoruba had been stunted and it was time they left as an alternative to violence or coup.
The coalition also said it was aware of the historic challenges faced by the country, but appalled by calls for a military coup coming from a section of the country.
“We are alarmed that some people in their desperation are calling for military rule. Let those who plan a return to dictatorship know that there will be no military rule in the entire Oduduwa territories. Our people will resist with all our strength even if it means armed resistance.
“Since 1914 forceful amalgamation of Nigeria, the potentials of the Yoruba people have been stunted and it was time for the Yoruba people to leave Nigeria as a viable alternative to ceaseless violence, killings and coups. We are alarmed that some people in their desperation are calling for military rule. Let those who plan a return to dictatorship know that there will be no military rule in the entire Oduduwa territories. Our people will resist with all our strength even if it means armed resistance.
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“Those calling for military intervention are the same people solely responsible for the rot, the systemic decay, the persecution of ethnic groups and the laying of the very foundation responsible for the current challenges that confront Nigeria.
“The people calling for military intervention kept quiet for eight years when their candidate was the President of Nigeria with his parochial and self-serving policies which partly created the woes that currently face the country today; But in less than one year, they want the country to burn. There is a plot by some martial forces to stage a military coup and a comeback of the same forces that laid the foundation for the ruin of the country.
“Advocates of military rule are from a particular sector of the country doing so for parochial interests. These are ethnic far-right elements who want to control the country by all means. In their archaic tradition, they detest the fact that people have the right to vote and power has to shift from them. This is the only reason they are plotting to overthrow the minimum gains of democracy,” the statement read.