The Yoruba Youth Socio-cultural Association (YYSA), has vowed to defend the Southwest region and its heritage against all external forces that may threaten the peace, unity and development in the region.
YYSA gave the assurance following the planned protest against hardship in the country by some groups scheduled to hold in August.
National President of YYSA, Olalekan Hammed and the National Secretary, Olawale Ajao in a statement on Friday in Ibadan, said it had uncovered secret plans by some unscrupulous elements to take advantage of the intending nationwide protest against hardship to perpetrate evils.
According to the youths, there is a plan by the people to set major economic development facilities ablaze in the Southwest.
“We have uncovered some secret plans by unscrupulous elements to take advantage of the intending nationwide protest against hardship to perpetrate evils by setting ablaze all our major economic development facilities in Southwest.
“Besides that, they have as well mapped out some strategic areas to ensure that they navigate easily to palaces menacingly and burn them to ashes”, the youths alleged.
They added that local government secretariats were also part of the public properties targeted for destruction by the people.
“Moreover, it is our prerogative to defend Southwest region and heritage against all external forces that may be threat to peace, unity and development.
“For this reason, we hereby unequivocally declare that the scheduled mass protest has been put on hold in order to secure and protect Yoruba land from enemies of progress disguising as students and activists to put us into peril socially and economically”, they said.
Meanwhile, the Yoruba group commended the President Bola Tinubu-led administration for ensuring that justice prevailed for all tiers of government to operate as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.
“They are as well known as the three levels of government through which legislative lists were shared as follows; exclusively legislative list, concurrent legislative list and residual list.
“Although, the state governments that constitutionally share some powers in the residual legislative list with local governments have dominated everything, while the constitutionally recognised third tier of government has become castrated”, the youths added.
While noting that genuine development starts from the grassroot at the local government level where people are engaging mostly in primary activities such as farming, fishing, craft, hunting, petty trading and others, the YYSA said, “Essentially, agriculture products and food items are being transported to cities after successful harvest in rural areas under local administrations.’
It further explained that the issue of security can best be tackled at local level where suspicious persons can easily be identified.