Akintoye, others to lead protest to UN General Assembly in Sept

Prominent leaders of thought from the South and Middle Belt of Nigeria have announced a one-million-man protest march to be held in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States, between September 14 and 21, 2021. The protest, they said, is to demand a referendum on self-determination and abolition of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

In a statement, yesterday, signed by the spokesman of the group, Maxwell Adeleye, titled, ‘Akintoye, others, lead NINAS one million March to United Nations General Assembly, said the octogenarian professor of history, who is currently in Benin Republic, would be joined by others leaders from the South and Middle Belt in Nigeria to the venue of the march in New York at the dates during UNGA 76th session.

He said that the leaders included members of the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination that signed the Constitutional Force Majure declared on December 16, 2020, rejecting the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and calling for a United Nations (UN) supervised referendum.

The leaders, according to him, include a respected varsity don, Prof. Yusuf Turaki; NINAS Secretary-General, Tony Nnadi; former Commissioner for Education in Osun State and National Chairman of Ilana Omo Oodua, Prof. Wale Adeniran, among others.

The statement reads: “We have read a trending statement authored by a faceless group demanding for the ban of Ilana Omo Oodua from making presentation before the world at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.

“We wish to say very expressly that Ilana Omo Oodua will be making official presentation at UNGA.

“What will be happening at UNGA is that the members of Ilana Omo Oodua, under the leadership of Emeritus Prof. Banji Akintoye, alongside other members of NINAS from the Lower Niger and Middle Belt of Nigeria will be holding a one million march opposite the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the United States from September 14-21, 2021 to demand a referendum to decide on the rights to self-determination of the people who want an end to unitary system of Nigeria, which has been turned into an apartheid state.

“We shall also be demanding for the abolition of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, which has shown to be a fraud perpetrated against the people of the South and Middle Belt of Nigeria, given that the people did not make it.”

“All the sons and daughters of the Lower Niger (South-East, South-South, South-West and Middle Belt) living in the United States of America are being mobilised to stand up for their indigenous nationalities by participating in the one-week one million march for the liberation of their people.

“The planned march shall be historic and epoch-making. We want the whole world to see the level of injustice, oppression and intimidation currently going on in Nigeria,” the statement added.