A Yoruba youth socio-political group, the Oodua Youth Coalition, OYC, has condemned the reported violence that pervaded the region during the last governorship and House of Assembly elections.
The group, which berated the role played by politicians at the polls, stated that the electoral violence witnessed has revealed that their interest was no longer about the region but themselves.
In a statement issued on Monday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the socio-political group decried the killings and hooliganism that were recorded during the election, warning that if not curbed, it might be a recurring issue for the region in subsequent elections.
The statement, which was signed by the group’s National President, Oluyi Tayo Akintade, which also frown at the alleged role played by some security agents in aiding the perpetrators, emphasised that the Yoruba race has always be synonymous with peace, hence the need for all stakeholders to reappraise what went wrong.
The statement reads, “Oodua Youth Coalition (OYC), condemns in its entirety, the violence that engulfed the Southwest before, during and after the just concluded national and state elections. From Lagos, up to Ibadan, Osun and Ondo, the loss of lives and properties to the elections, in the hands of hoodlums and also the security agencies, stands condemned.
“The Yorubaland, home of Omoluabi, is known for peace and unity even as a typical Yoruba man carries the air of oneness around him. We have lost a lot to these elections and the fabrics of love and togetherness being gradually torn by politics and its players must be mended.
“OYC is concerned that the electoral legacies being laid down by most politicians in the Southwest of Nigeria today are those of killings, hooliganism, thuggery, vote buying, ballot snatching and varying degrees of electoral crimes as highlighted in the Nigerian law books. OYC is worried this may spell doom for Yorubaland in the not-too-distant future as the young ones, nursing political dreams, and noting how the active players benefit from such, may see it as the only surest and perfect way of securing and clinching elected positions.”
Meanwhile, the group also felicitated with young politicians from the region who emerged victorious at the polls.
While charging them not to deviate from their campaign promises, OYC reiterated the need for them to be proponents of good governance in their new capacities in order not the betray the trust reposed on them by their constituents.
“OYC is also congratulating young and vibrant Yoruba sons and daughters who went through the uncertain path of electoral processes and swam through the murky waters of politics yet came out of victorious.
“They have shown that, despite the availability of resources and all at the disposals of the old order, they can stamp their feet and remain resolute to their ambitions.
“While the group is wishing them successful tenures, they must remember the promises they made to our people and strive hard to deliver dividends of democracy through the cities down to the hinterlands of Yoruba land,” the statement read.
