OPEN LETTER TO OYO STATE GOVERNOR ON RANCH IN OYO STATE

OPEN LETTER TO OYO STATE GOVERNOR ON RANCH IN OYO STATE
OPEN LETTER TO OYO STATE GOVERNOR 

BY MRS FOLUSO OYENUGA

 

Dear Governor Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi,

It has become necessary I  write you this letter to let you know the mind of the people of Oyo State concerning President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to establish a ranch in Oyo State. I would have routed this letter through your media aides, but I have no confidence in them as experience has shown that in government circles, media aides allow their bosses to know only what their bosses want to know or what the media aides want their bosses to know.  On behalf of the good people of Oyo State, I would like to tell you that all Oyo State indigenes and, by extension all Yoruba, are totally averse to the establishment of any ranch in any part of Oyo State as it is clearly an attempt to endanger the lives and belongings of our people.



Your Excellency, when the issue of establishing ranches by the Federal Government of Nigeria in the South (outside the homeland of the traditional practitioners of cattle rearing) first came up, you spoke bravely in opposition to the idea, and the people of the state applauded you as a true son of the soil. However, we are now flabbergasted to hear that you have quickly beaten a retreat by now supporting the idea of establishing a ranch in Oyo State. This new decision of yours is one that is hundred percent sure to set you and the entire people of the state on a collision course, for a number of reasons.

 

One, the President in power now is a Fulani and he is looking for a means of helping the Fulani Nation realize its age-long ambition of capturing Southern Nigeria, as attested to by the various social media posts of the Fulani Nation in which it threatens to take over every part of Southern Nigeria and kill our people. This is an open secret.  This President wants to set the stage by establishing ranches here to be peopled and run by Fulani herdsmen in preparation for the impending final onslaught. The so-called ranch, when established here will be used as an operational base for Fulani herdsmen terrorist activities. Once established, the ranch will be headed by an emir ON OUR SOIL and our land will be lost forever to foreigners. Then, senseless killing and maiming of our dear people and destruction of their belongings will start in the name of Fulani expansionist and subjugation agenda; the peace and security we now enjoy will quickly become a thing of the past. The Fulani has perfected the plan to take over the whole of the country and impose its culture, tradition and philosophy on the conquered territories. The current President of Nigeria is their arrowhead in this ill-planned agenda, hence his sudden interest in establishing ranches in favour of his Fulani Nation, using state fund.



Secondly, as said by FGN the first time the issue was mentioned by the FGN, cattle rearing is a private business. So, why is it that President Buhari’s administration is now planning to use state funds to advance the interest of just one ethnic group (Fulani) at the expense of the others in Nigeria? Sir, please don’t be deceived by the inclusion of some northern states in the ranch establishment project. It is a merely a ploy to give the project a national outlook. It is by all intent and purpose a sectional idea meant to favour the kith and kin of President Muhammadu Buhari. I believe you also know he is the Grand patron of Miyetti Allah – the above-the-law umbrella body for Fulani herdsmen. I believe also that you know the destructive and murderous activities of the Fulani herdsmen in their areas of operation, particularly in states like Benue, Plateau, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Borno, to mention but a few. I charge you not to compromise on any issue that bothers on the safety and wellbeing of our people.



Sir, the choice of Oyo State as one of the ‘’beneficiaries’’ of the ranch project was not fortuitous; it was a calculated choice. Everyone knows that the political headquarters of the Yoruba Nation is Ibadan IN OYO STATE. So, the Fulani Nation wants to start its land-grabbing agenda from our political headquarters to facilitate the infiltration of other towns in the Yoruba Nation. Remember also that none of our forefathers were cattle rearers. Neither can we find any of us (their descendants) who are cattle rearers.  So, how come a foreigner, and an enemy of the Yoruba Nation for that matter, would come up with an idea to open our doors for the enemies to imperil the lives and belongings of our dear people and one of us would support the idea to our detriment? Please be informed that the policy will not affect Oyo State alone, but the entire Yoruba Nation.

 

The President has got feelers in his Abuja office that the South will not take the nonsense he is trying to force down our throats. So, prophetically, the next step is to use the National Assembly, banking on the numerical strength of Northern federal legislators and their southern collaborators coupled with readiness to flood the ‘’hallowed chambers’’ with tons of money to give a bill on it a smooth passage. Walahi talahi! Ten billion Nigerian National Assembly cannot make any law bound to endanger the lives of our dear people and their belongings, create palpable fears here and expect we will fold our arms and watch. We shall fight such an obnoxious law with everything we have, to protect our people, their belongings and our land. I want Nigeria to know that the Yoruba, as a nation, are greater than any loathsome law. We shall break any law that threatens our cherished peace and security of our people, and nothing will happen.



I would also like to use this medium to call on all Yoruba traditional rulers: the Ooni of Ife, Olubadan of Ibadan Land, Alaafin of Oyo, Soun of Ogbomoso Land, Orangun of Ila, Okere of Saki, Owa Obokun of Ijesha Land, Osemawe of Ondo, Deji of Akure, Ataoja of Osogbo and other respected Yoruba traditional rulers too numerous to mention, eminent personalities, students and the generality of our people to oppose this policy with all resources at their disposal to guarantee the safety of our people and their belongings. Our inaction today will have very dangerous consequences on us and our future generations. After all, a Yoruba proverb says: “Igi ganganran ma gun mi loju, atokeere latii wo.”



Finally, on behalf of all Yoruba,   I advise you renege on the promise you made to President Muhammadu Buhari to allow establishment of a ranch in Oyo State. It is no-go area. Doing so is crossing the red line. Doing so is putting the hangman’s noose on the necks of our dear people. I have no doubt you love Yoruba Nation and her people. So, do everything you can to resist the temptation to imperil the lives and belongings of our people. Any attempt to turn deaf ears on our demand will do none of us any good and will, in addition, eclipse all you have laboured tirelessly to achieve for this state since you assumed the mantle of leadership as the Executive Governor of this state. You are blessed as you listen to the voice of your people.

 

 

I owe nobody any apology for the views expressed here. Please let’s circulate this letter widely till it gets to Governor Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi.

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