06/01/2023
"Yoruba Nation" Corruption! Scandal And Accusation of Multiple Fraud Rocks Self-Acclaimed Yoruba Self Determination Group. - Written by Yemisi Agunbiade for Yoruba News Alert!
How does an unemployed UK Based Nigerian Olayomi Olakunle Koiki pull off what is now emerging as one of the greatest scams to have hit South West Nigeria?
A few years ago, a young, shy but energetic Olayomi Koiki KOIKI MEDIA was known to be a 'video boy'. Koiki as he was called attended multiple events organized by various members of the Nigerian Diaspora community, particularly in London. The unemployed Koiki supported his young family with funds received from assisting organizers with 'logistics' such as posting events on social media networks and running errands. Koiki was also in receipt of Income Support, Child Tax Credit, and Housing benefits from the UK government, this gave the energetic Koiki enough time on his hands to attend events and get familiar with members of the UK Nigerian diaspora community. Life was hard but manageable until Koiki found a gold mine in 'Yoruba Nation' activism.
It is unclear when Koiki converted into an ethnic supremacist but his first shot into public notoriety was in August of 2020 when a disorientated Koiki went on Facebook and threatened to set fire to the Nigerian High Commission in the UK. Not a lot of members of the community took Koiki's threat seriously as he had been reputed to be verbally reckless and also noted to be erratic when under pressure, whilst Koiki was being ignored in the UK, his daily rants on social media with threats of war and violence caught the attention of another Nigerian based erstwhile self-described "war merchant" Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo.
Igboho was until recently a popular political thug for notoriously corrupt Nigerian politicians in the South West of Nigeria, particularly Oyo State. Igboho had however over the years transformed himself, ventured into business, and moved all his family members to Germany where his wife had officially been resident.
Igboho shuttled between Nigeria, Germany, and other countries, majorly importing used cars into Nigeria and also benefiting from the goodwill of South West politicians.
Igboho is to Oyo State what the Lagos political thug turned multi-billion Musiliu Akinsanya popularly known as MC Oluomo is to Lagos State.
These characters were promoted by politicians as hired merchants of violence before, during, and after elections. However, both Igboho and Mc Oluomo had over the years metamorphosed into 'Statemen' and 'philanthropists', but behind this transformation, they still maintained a standing Army of street urchins whom they are able to deploy at any time for violent activities or disrupt opponents, including the use of lethal force. They are feared and revered by State actors in the South West.
Sunday Igboho, however, took it a step further. South West Nigeria witnessed an increase in attacks, killings, and kidnappings credited to criminals of Fulani extractions, the frequent clashes between Headers and Farmers led to attacks, counter-attacks, sorrow, tears, and blood with Yoruba political leaders and the Nigerian National government doing nothing to stop the bloodshed. Igboho symbolically stepped in, first as a self-styled defender of the Yoruba from foreign invaders, then came Koiki who linked up with Igboho and sold the idea of an immediate Yoruba secession from Nigeria.
The alliance between Koiki and Igboho led to the emergence of multiple Facebook broadcasters' of Yoruba heritage competing for attention and audience, they gained millions of followers and Koiki introduced the monetization of these broadcasts.
Yoruba in Diaspora who were largely concerned about insecurity in Yoruba land began bottomless donations to the 'Yoruba defence cause' with Koiki accepting donations running into several millions of Naira and hundreds of thousands in Foreign donations. Koiki claimed in his various broadcast that a standing Army was in place and the fund was meant to be for the purchase of 'epa', a coded slang for Arms and Ammunition for the 'liberation of Yoruba land'.
Igboho got pumped up with his newfound followership on social media and was celebrated across Yoruba land for his daring and brave counter rally in Igangan wearing local bulletproof charms and displaying a Dane gun.
However the Nigerian authorities demystified Igbho by invading his Ibadan home, killing members of his team and Igboho escaped from Nigeria only to be captured in Benin Republic on his way to join his wife and family in Germany, he has since remained in Benin Republic on city-wide detention until his case in court is dispensed with.
With Igboho in crisis an intellectual wing of the Yoruba self-determination movement led by then 87-year-old leader of the Yoruba self-determination group, Ilana Omo Oodua, Prof Banji Akintoye tapped into the notoriety of Igboho and started making phony claims about the United Nations granting Yoruba people in South West Nigeria an independent Republic.
The ridiculous claim gained credibility as it was being made not by the notorious Koiki or the not so lettered Igboho but claims by a reputable retired Professor- who had worked by teaching in reputable universities in the United States of America, who would not fall for such outlandish came if it came from such academic.
Akintoye's claim gave credibility to the claims of Koiki and other social media ethnic militants, this energized the Diaspora Yoruba to pump more money into the movement, also attracting former politician Dupe Onitiri who has now become the nemesis of Professor Akintoye.
The Yoruba movement is now factionalized with multiple factions accusing Akintoye of fraud, embezzlement, and misleading the Diaspora community about the possibility of an independent republic before 2023. Dupe Onitiri Abiola had also promised that the Yoruba would have a republic by 31st December 2022, from all indications, the Yoruba Nation movement has exposed itself as a perfect reflection of corrupt Yoruba and Nigerian politicians, gullible Citizens have been misleading. deceived with some dying just for fraudsters disguising themselves as liberators to enrich themselves.
Yoruba nation activists are at the centre of multiple scandals, the timing of these multimillion naira and dollar scandals has been described as a sad development and a missed opportunity, the main characters are still in denial and selling lies to gullible followers, they have been using the same social media platform to expose themselves whilst the dream the Yoruba Nation remains a DREAM!
