Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, Alake of Egbaland, has appealed to those calling for the secession of Nigeria to shelve the idea.
He warned that those beating the drum of war in Nigeria are not only calling for chaos in the country but in Africa at large.
The Alake spoke when he played host to the National President of the National Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Musa Maitakobi, the Chairman of RTEAN in Ogun state, Titilayo Akibu, and other members of the association in his palace in Ake, Abeokuta.
The visit was part of activities marking the one year anniversary of Akibu as the state chairman of RTEAN in Ogun state.
Oba Gbadebo’s statement is coming against the declaration of Yoruba nation and Southwest secession from Nigeria by a Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho.
The monarch said Nigeria cannot afford to go through another civil war, stressing that no country in the world will be willing to have over 250 million Nigerians as refugees.
The monarch said Nigerians, irrespective of their tribe, political or religious afflictions, must work together for the greater good of the country.
Alake said if Nigeria fails as a country, the entire black race has failed, insisting that Nigeria is better as one united nation than breaking up.
Oba Gbadebo said: “Nigerians, wherever we go in Nigeria we must see ourselves as nationals of the same country, people of the same blood.
“We must work together to make Nigeria great because we must not fail, Nigeria must not fail, if Nigeria fails, the black race has failed and may it never happened.
“Where will over 250 million people go to? If they enter the next country, we will eat all their foods within two days, there will be no food for anybody in that place again that is why we must remain where we are and make Nigeria work and work well.”
May I ask, at whose chagrin is Nigerian unity? Only those with selfish agenda and hidden egocentric interests, who are safe in their protected abodes would be asking for unity while other citizens die needlessly. Groups of marauders are equipped by the government, with sophisticated guns and weapons to invade peaceful people unleashing mayhem at every corner. If Yoruba a chief is waylaid and shot dead, and several citizens are kidnapped and killed, where is peace and security or are you talking of abstractive united Nigeria? We must agree to unit sir! The police and military can only come after the citizens to arrest them if they resist being killed by the Fulani herdsmen and criminals. When the military and all security agencies are purged of all leaders from the south and they are replaced with Fulani militants from other African countries who are hastily provided with Nigerian citizenship so they can roam the country to unleash terror on the Indigenous peoples, where is the unity you call for taking us? You want to take over the land and that is the mission Uthman Dan Fodio initiated hundreds of years ago. Well, that was long ago. Today, you may hold the gun but if you want to over-run a peaceful people they may be pushed to resort to many other forms of weapons (Biological, chemical, gases etc. to defend themselves, and I am assuring you it will get to that if the current trend is not changed, and soon. Do you not notice that Southern citizens in Nigerian military are either retired or are sent on useless errand and Boko Haram is sent to ambush and kill them. The same Boko Haram that travel through big Northern cities in daylight and carry away hundreds of students from schools and the Federal Government goes secretly to pay ransom to free the students. While self-formed security groups in the South East and South are categorized as terrorists by the federal government, Boko Haram and the association of cattle breeders who have openly admitted to have carried out terrorist attacks on citizens are now part of Nigerian leadership openly or secretly, directly and indirectly. when the British came aboard the colonization boat, they negotiated with the Fulani invaders, and hitherto, Britain and all their tentacles is still Nigeria’s most dangerous destroyer. What Britain did during the 1967 – 1970 civil war Genocide is still in the record of God and at the appropriate time will be visited against her.