●Seeks Sunday Igboho’s removal from wanted list
The Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM) has issued a strongly worded declaration reaffirming Lagos State’s identity as an integral part of Yorubaland, rejecting recurring claims that the state is “No Man’s Land.” At a world press conference in Ibadan on Friday, the group warned against political, economic, and cultural incursions by non-indigenous groups, vowing to resist what it described as attempts to alter the historical and demographic character of Nigeria’s commercial capital.
The statement, delivered by YSDM Deputy Leader (Homeland), Arc. Opeoluwa G. Akinola, comes more than two years after the heated 2023 general elections in which debates over Lagos’ ownership reached fever pitch. According to the group, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s overwhelming victory in the March 18, 2023 gubernatorial election “emphatically established who owns the land” and demonstrated Yoruba unity in the face of perceived threats.
“Lagos remains undeniably Yorubaland,” Akinola said. “This fact must be etched in stone for all ages to discourage revisionists and ill-intentioned individuals who would wish to rewrite history to suit their ambitions.”
The controversy was reignited after the Labour Party’s unexpected win in Lagos during the February 25, 2023 presidential election, which the YSDM claims emboldened certain non-Yoruba political actors, particularly of Igbo origin, to push for dominance in state politics. The group accused these elements of attempting to replicate electoral gains at the governorship and House of Assembly levels, warning that such political ambitions were tied to broader economic control strategies.
“Had Labour won Lagos in 2023, it would have been a disaster of unimaginable proportions for Yoruba interests,” the statement said. “It was not about party politics but about retaining the Yoruba heritage of Lagos in the hands of its indigenous people.”
The YSDM commended Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, for introducing legislative measures designed to protect indigenous interests. Among the proposals are conducting Assembly proceedings in Yoruba language alongside English, in line with constitutional provisions; regulating property ownership to limit the tenure of land leases to non-indigenes; and ensuring no market in Lagos is wholly owned by a single ethnic group, particularly those that have allegedly excluded Yoruba traders.
The group likened the measures to policies in other countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and South Africa, where land and property ownership are subject to indigenous protections. “A government that cannot protect its people should vacate itself,” Akinola declared. “We will support laws that reverse all that is reversible to protect the interests of Lagos indigenes.”
Tracing Lagos’ history, the YSDM dismissed assertions of Bini or Igbo rulership over the territory, stressing that the indigenous population is made up of Awori, Ijebu, Egun, Egba, and other Yoruba subgroups, along with descendants of freed Yoruba slaves from Sierra Leone.
The group criticized past administrations for policies and symbolic acts that, in its view, diluted Yoruba identity in Lagos — such as renaming streets after non-Yoruba figures. It cited the example of Ozumba Mbadiwe Road and the former Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island, arguing that such changes undermine local heritage.
The group also condemned what it called “unbridled sales of ancestral properties” to non-indigenous buyers, particularly in strategic locations like Lekki, warning that such practices erode long-term cultural and economic control.
The YSDM raised concerns over the control of major commercial hubs such as Ladipo Market, Alaba International, and the Trade Fair Complex, alleging that Yoruba traders face harassment and exclusion in these spaces. The group called for legislation to ensure that no ethnic group controls more than 40 percent of any market in Lagos.
“In some markets today, Yoruba traders are heckled and forced out simply because they are not Igbo,” the statement alleged. “If such exclusion is unacceptable in Igboland, it must also be unacceptable here.”
Beyond Lagos, the YSDM urged Houses of Assembly in other Yoruba-speaking states — including Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Kwara, and Kogi — to enact similar laws protecting indigenous rights. The group framed the issue as part of a larger struggle for Yoruba self-determination, linking it to calls for the release of activist Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho.
“Igboho has campaigned against the killing, maiming, and kidnapping of Yoruba sons and daughters, yet he remains in exile while those who commit atrocities walk free,” the statement said, calling for the removal of his name from the Nigerian government’s wanted list and the unfreezing of his accounts.
The YSDM clarified that its support for the Lagos State government on this matter does not translate to an endorsement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration at the federal level. Instead, it described the movement as “a coalition of all true Yoruba to rout invaders” and preserve the cultural, political, and territorial integrity of Yorubaland.
The “No Man’s Land” controversy has flared up repeatedly in Lagos politics, often during election seasons when ethnic and identity issues come to the fore. While Lagos is home to diverse ethnic groups and has long been a melting pot of cultures, the YSDM insists that its foundational identity must remain rooted in Yoruba heritage.
“The ghosts of historical misadventures will continue to rise until they are exorcised and banished from our land,” Akinola concluded. “We have fought for this land, shed blood for it, and buried our ancestors in it. It is ours by history, by culture, and by divine right.”
