- Seeks boundary adjustment, creation of Okun State.
Rights activist, Comrade Idris Miliki Abdul, has commended youths from Okun Land in Kogi state, for showing patriotic interest in the unity and development of their father land.
Speaking at the formal unveiling of Okun Youth Alliance (OYA) Movement in Kabba on Friday, Comrade Miliki noted that Okun unity is still fragile to and it must be built.
Miliki, who was the keynote speaker at the event, stressed that the advantages of unity will not be for the advocates alone but for their neighbours as well.
“Once they come together to fight a common cause, the whole world will listen to them.
“The end of Nupe war on 13th January 1897 must have taught Okun people the lesson that, a people, if determined, can come together, fight a common cause and they will come out victorious,” he said.
Comrade Miliki, who serves as Executive Director of Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR), said the contraption called Kogi state is a funny phenomenon that is fundamentally defective.
“Okun people have never had it so bad until we were steamrolled into a state, without any commission of enquiry to help ascertain the wishes of the people. The exercise was against the philosophy of natural justice.
“As Kogi State is presently constituted, it will take God to make Okun man a Governor,” he said.
The rights activist called for boundary adjustment and creation of Okun state.
“Our demands are premised on two major points among others. We belong to the Yoruba nation, socially, culturally, and politically. Any arrangement in form of state or boundary adjustment that does not allow us to realized and articulate our Yorubaness is unacceptable.
Self-determination is the new song for liberty and equality; therefore, any arrangement or composition that will make it difficult for an Okun man to be governor is not welcome by our people. We do not want to be minority in any arrangement that will make us to be dispensed with as inconsequential.
“In view of the above, we make the following demands. One, a boundary adjustment and a State of our own to be called Okun State.
“Okun people should realize that unity can give us an identity in the context of Okun of Yorubaland. As long as they continue to behave as a disparaged group, their voice will never be heard. A divided people will fall while a united people will rise. The basis of such unity is to pursue political, economic and even cultural ends. Even now that the world is global village, those who are next neighbors closely stay together, unity is the theme.
“If a state cannot be created for us, more local government area should be granted to enable government get closer to the grassroots. The denial of Local Government Area is one of the ways of depriving us of our own share of the national cake.
“No matter how small a hamlet is in Nigeria, it deserves provision of social amenities such as electricity, water health facilities and accessible roads, Okun people know where the shoe pinches, because they known what they are going through presently.”
Comrade Miliki reminded the gathering that as Okun people, their value is that of high moral upbringing, and their inspiration is that of education.
“We are highly principle people, which inspired our common heritage,” he added.
He called all all and sundry to support the effort being put in place by Okun Youth Alliance (OYA) Movement which he described as a new thinking in a new chapter in the history of Okun People in the present Kogi State.
