Exclusive: Nigerian nationalities meet on 2019, may call for boycott

By John Akintogun

Less than 80 days to the 2019 national elections, representatives of indigenous peoples from across the country will in Lagos meet on Tuesday to determine their fate.

Irohinoodua was reliably informed that the event slated for Freedom Park in Lagos was the peak of a string of meetings and activities held in the past five days by representatives of indigenous peoples from the South West, South East and North Central parts of the country.

Representatives include leaders of the Pan Yoruba groups, Yoruba Liberation Command, (YOLICOM), Oodua Peoples Congress, (OPC), Apapo Oodua Koya, (AOKOYA), the Lower Niger Congress, (LNC) and the Coalition of Indigenous Peoples in the North Central of Nigeria.

Put together under the umbrella of Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self Determination, (NINA), the leaders, Irohinoodua was informed will tomorrow call for a constitutional rebirth before any credible election can take place.

The nationalities believe that Nigeria should be restructured first before elections should take place. Sources said the boycott of the 2019 elections is one of the cards on the table.

One of the delegates to the conference from the middle belt, Mr John Ada Maiki told our correspondent that the conference was put together for a coordinated approach to the national question.

He said “ We have been having series of meetings since the beginning of the year. We gathered in Lagos since last Thursday. We have taken far reaching decisions. We are indigenous peoples. Our concern is to see to the liberation of indigenous peoples in Nigeria. We are the first settlers on this land. The land is our mother, yet we are the victims of years of brutal economic and cultural genocide perpetrated against our people by the Nigerian state.”

He said the 2019 election will be held under the banner of a constitution imposed by the military without the free, prior and informed consent of the people of Nigeria.

Another leader of the group and an official of AOKOYA representing the South West area said “The laws guiding elections in Nigeria were made by the enemies of the people. We had no input in that constitution. You cannot shave our heads in our absence. We are totally opposed to the illegalities that have been the lot of governance in Nigeria. We hope to launch a campaign for peaceful resistance until sanity and order returns to our land.”