Banji Akintoye, the leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, has stepped
down from his position.
His resignation as leader of the Yoruba nation movement
comes months after Wale Adeniran, his erstwhile deputy, renounced his position
in the movement, citing matters of principle.
Adeniran had said although he was resigning from his role as
an executive, he will remain a member of the organisation.
But in a letter addressed to Adeniran on December 5,
Akintoye said he is recusing himself as the leader of the self-determination
movement because the “struggle has been too heavy for me at my age”.
He said Adeniran, as the “closest person” to him in the
movement, should take over the reins of power.
Akintoye said he will “always be a friend and close
associate in the higher levels of the self-determination struggle”.
“I am greatly honoured that you as the closest person to me
in llana, most llana members, and all llana committees, have for months been
urging me not to leave llana because according to you all,” the letter reads.
“Ilana is my special
‘baby’ in the whole self-determination struggle. But you would remember that in
a special meeting of leaders of the self-determination struggle from all over
the world about a month ago, you and all the other meeting participants agreed
graciously that I should give up my duties in llana because of my heavy
accumulation of duties to the higher levels of the whole struggle.
“As for our current difficulties in llana, I am sure you
would testify that I am not leaving because of them, and that, in general, even
the greatest of difficulties never make me quit, I am imbued with a God-given
confidence that I can bear all things and solve the most tortuous complications
among men because God in His mercy has given me the gift of a heart that loves
all persons in all situations.
“Still, I must ask you to forgive me for leaving llana to
you in its current condition. I had wanted to leave llana immediately after the
special meeting of worldwide leaders about a month ago, but I decided to help
you to iron out some of the ongoing difficulties before leaving.
“Unfortunately, things have not improved as quickly as I
expected, and you now have to face a situation in which some of our extremists
are still compounding the difficulties. However, I have much confidence in you
– including confidence that you will find ways to steer our llana back to the
path of compromise, unity and strength.
“No doubt, we shall
soon be hearing from some habitual detractors that it was you who disloyally
plotted against me and made me leave llana, but we must not let such talk
bother us in any way. By the grace of God, we shall win this war and liberate
our Yoruba nation, thereby giving our nation the freedom it desires to develop
into a greatly respected modern country in the world.”
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