Yoruba Nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and restrain Vice President Kashim Shettima from further criticising Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Conservative Party.
Igboho made this appeal in a statement obtained in Osogbo on Sunday, responding to Shettima’s remarks about Badenoch following her critical comments on corruption in Nigeria.
Badenoch, who identifies as Yoruba, had also distanced herself from being categorised alongside northern Nigeria.
In a personally signed press release, Igboho urged Tinubu to caution Shettima against further verbal attacks on Badenoch for emphasising her Yoruba heritage and voicing her opinion on corruption, which has hindered Nigeria’s development.
He defended Badenoch, stating that she had done nothing wrong by expressing her honest views or pointing out the obvious about how corruption has stifled the nation’s progress.
“It is incumbent on President Bola Tinubu, who is also of Yoruba descent, to instruct Shettima to focus on his responsibilities as Vice President rather than waste energy engaging in verbal skirmishes with Badenoch, who merely shared her candid but truthful perspective on the systemic corruption in Nigeria,” Igboho said.
“When Muhammadu Buhari was president, no one dared launch verbal attacks against his Fulani ethnic group without facing severe consequences, often through state machinery or worse.
“Under Buhari’s administration, I faced persecution for advocating against the destruction of farmlands, the killing of farmers, and the rampant sexual violations of women by Fulani herdsmen.
On July 1, 2021, security agents, acting on Buhari’s orders, raided my residence, killing two individuals and arresting 13 others.”
Igboho also criticised the current administration for failing to address the suffering of Nigerians, who are grappling with economic hardship, widespread poverty, and insecurity.
“Instead of implementing measures to alleviate the suffering of the masses and tackling the nation’s challenges head-on, Vice President Kashim Shettima is preoccupied with attacking Badenoch,” he said.
“When did it become a crime for someone to express their opinion about how corruption has stalled Nigeria’s growth or to assert their Yoruba identity? The Vice President should focus on his duties and stop wasting time on unnecessary verbal assaults against Kemi Badenoch.”
Igboho concluded by imploring Tinubu to bring Shettima to order and ensure he concentrates on addressing the country’s pressing issues instead of engaging in unproductive disputes.
