DOCUMENTS AND CHARTERS UPON WHICH THE EXIT OF YORUBALAND FROM NIGERIA ARE BASED

(1) The Right to Self Determination.
This Right is enshrined in the appropriate U.N Charter. Nigeria is a signatory to it.

(2) The Rights of INDIGENOUS PEOPLES. Nigeria is similarly a Signatory to this.

(3) The Rights of ETHNIC NATIONALITIES. Again, Nigeria is a Signatory to this.

(4) The Rights of Sovereign Peoples. Nigeria is also a signatory to this.

Yorubaland and the Indigenous Yoruba People have all these Rights, based on the fact that we are an indigenous people, and ethnic nationality and a sovereign people.

Our Declaration of Independence on the 20th of November, 2022, is based upon our Exercise of these Rights.

On the 12th of April, 2024, we chose to PROCLAIM our Sovereignty and thereby started our Government.

Despite this Proclamation, which completely complies with all known international regulations, Nigeria's police, army and other uniformed services, as well as governors in Yorubaland but which were elected under the Nigerian Constitution before the EXIT of Yorubaland, continue to parade themselves in Yorubaland, harassing people and troops of the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba, behaving as though Yorubaland and the Indigenous Yoruba People are still a part of Nigeria.

Somebody should please tell Nigeria to respect the Territorial Integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba.

The Yoruba carry Dignity in their GENES! They would rather suffer silently than roll in the Mud struggling with the aggressor. But when they choose to FIGHT, they fight using their BRAINS, and once they start, nobody can stop their Advance unto Victory!

Such is the story, so far, of the exit of the Yoruba from Nigeria. Yoruba have decided, and nothing can stop it. On 20th November, 2022, they made a Public Universal Declaration of their self-chosen Independence from Nigeria! They communicated this to the entire world! Of course, people in Nigeria, even on Yorubaland, hardly knew! This was because, even up till this moment, Nigerian authorities, though AWARE of the Yoruba Declaration of Independence, wouldn't allow any media house, print or electronic, registered with the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to carry the news! Including such media houses in Yorubaland! Because, until we start our Government, those media houses are still being threatened by the Nigerian government! They would be sanctioned, closed down, harassed, arrested, tortured or have their licences withdrawn, if they carry the news of the Declaration of Independence of the Yoruba Nation, the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba.

However, while most people across the landscape of Nigeria did not know, the Declaration of Independence of the Yoruba had been officially SUBMITTED before the United Nations - for the information of all members of the United Nations, including Nigeria itself!

This was three months ahead of the Nigerian general elections in February of 2023, and with a Yoruba man, Bola Tinubu, contesting to become president of Nigeria. But, this (Nigerian election, and Tinubu contesting), as far as the international community was/is concerned, and upon being so notified by the newly independent nation, did not in any way affect the already announced Independence and status of the Yoruba nation, which already had been declared 3 months ahead of the Nigerian elections! These are some of the vital legal things that the public, even when they generally came to know, later, are not aware of regarding the Independence of the Yoruba.

Secondly, the fact of a Yoruba man being elected president of Nigeria, AFTER the Declaration of Independence of the Yoruba Nation, did not and does not, in any way, affect the Independent Status of the Yoruba Nation - the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba. This is because, Tinubu, though using his "Yoruba-ness" as a political campaign leverage, did NOT contest the election, officially speaking, as a YORUBA man (his ethnicity was NOT an OFFICIAL criterion required), but he contested as a NIGERIAN, won as a NIGERIAN, and was sworn in as a NIGERIAN, swearing to defend the NIGERIAN Constitution!

However, three months BEFORE this, the Yoruba Nation had, already, OFFICIALLY exited Nigeria and this fact had already been communicated to nations across the world, including Nigeria! As a matter of fact, when the United Nations received the official copy of Yoruba's Declaration of Independence, one of the very first things they did was to communicate same to Nigeria and Nigeria responded to the UN letter with a "NO OBJECTION" response.

What people need to understand in this scenario, is that: first, the Declaration of Independence of the Yoruba nation had taken place BEFORE the elections in Nigeria and therefore is unaffected by the elections! Second, having thus taken place before the Elections, at the time of the Nigeria elections, therefore, there were ALREADY two nations - Yoruba (consisting of its eight states) and Nigeria (consisting of its twenty-eight states - that is, eight less than the previous thirty-six). In other words, as at February, 2023, when the Nigerian elections were taking place, all electoral processes that took place on Yorubaland, were, at BEST, Yorubaland allowing citizens of Nigeria in Yorubaland to participate in the electoral process of THEIR country Nigeria (just like American elections, if need be, might have Americans in England participating without traveling back to America); and, at WORST, null and void! As a matter of fact, the Yoruba Nation had before that Nigerian election, and in a specific communication with the United Nations, clearly stated that the Nigerian election as well as the results - whatever those results may turn out to be - were NOT BINDING on Yorubaland, neither on the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba! This was duly accepted as valid before the international community. These goings-on were the behind-the-scenes scenario which the generality of people across Nigeria, and even in Yorubaland, were not aware of!

Thirdly, the fact of the Declaration of Independence of the Yoruba nation, the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba, does not mean that every individual Yoruba person is forced to belong to or believe in the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba! Just as there are Britons who have taken up Canadian citizenship and have nothing to do with Britain; just as Africans from different African countries who have taken up American citizenship and do not in any way relate with their background African country, so does every single Yoruba person have the RIGHT to choose to identify with the Independent Sovereign Yoruba Nation (the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba) as a citizen, or choose to identify themselves with any other country of their choice as citizens, neglecting or even denying themselves of their right to citizenship of the Yoruba Nation! Tinubu, as president of Nigeria, has chosen to be "Nigerian" rather than being "Yoruba" as far as "citizenship" and his own personal political ambition are concerned! This are the legal facts on ground! So, people need to understand that Tinubu being president of Nigeria does not in any way affect the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba as a DIFFERENT country from Nigeria, neither does the fact that the Nigerian elections partly took place on Yoruba Land affect the fact that those Elections are not binding on the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba! The big deal is that ever before the Nigerian elections, the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba had taken place!

You may then wonder, who are the people that made the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba? on what grounds did they make it? what's the authenticity of the Declaration? and who gave them the right to so declare? Who do they represent?

This is where the Grace of the Almighty comes in, as well as the BRAIN, the intellect, of the Yoruba man!

Through the leading and guidance of the Most High, we were able to gather information from powers that be (supposedly) in the international community, that ONCE TEN PERCENT OF YOUR INDIGENOUS POPULATION SIGN AN EXIT PETITION, YOU'RE GOOD TO GO AS THAT SERVES AS YOUR EXIT REFERENDUM! You can read the words in upper case, again! Let it sink in!

That was the information we gathered from the political players in world politics! So, we knew we had to get 10% of Yorubas worldwide to sign an EXIT PETITION, and we were good to go!

In Nigeria's statistics figures, Yoruba population had been put at 32 million! That's what Nigeria says! So, we were required in the international community to come forth with 3.2 million signatures of VERIFIABLE AUTHENTIC YORUBA PEOPLE and that would serve as an irrevocable unchallengeable EXIT REFERENDUM. We decided we would do better than that! We launched a drive for 5 million Yorubas to willingly indicate their desire for a separate, independent Yoruba Nation, by signing the exit petition. The drive was superb; it took about two whole months of working night and day, but we got more than 5 million signatures!

Before the exit petition was submitted to the United Nations, more than 100 countries of the world were appropriately briefed that Yoruba was EXITING Nigeria; and then the petition was submitted to the United Nations!

On what grounds did we stand? I will mention four - the Right to Self Determination; the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the Rights of Ethnic Nationalities; and the Rights of Sovereign Peoples!

The Yoruba (represented by 5 million people, more than the required 10% of their population) CHOSE to be independent from Nigeria! They have the Right - according to the United Nations Charter in that regard.

The Yoruba are an INDIGENOUS PEOPLE! - they are indigenous to the Land where they live, their ancestral land, and, according to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Yoruba have the RIGHT to opt out of any political arrangement they might have been a part of, and stand on their own!

The Yoruba are an ETHNIC NATIONALITY! That is, they've got a common language, a common history, a common culture. They are genetically linked. And that's the standard definition of being a NATION. And, according to the United Nations, they have the RIGHT, as an Ethnic Nationality, to stand on their own.

The Yoruba are a SOVEREIGN PEOPLE. That is, their ancestral land is not interspersed by any other ethnic group's ancestral land(s). That is, the Yoruba ancestral land is CONTIGUOUS, and, according to the United Nations, such a sovereign people have got the right to self determination! The right to form their own government independent of any other country.

Upon these four INALIENABLE RIGHTS (and more not mentioned here), the 5 million Yorubas, representing their entire Yoruba people, based their Declaration of Independence! The official Declaration itself came several months after the submission of the EXIT PETITION to the United Nations.

As you can see, it was one step after another. First the declaration of INTENT to exit (the 5 million signature exit petition); after which came the actual DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE itself.

On what platform were all of this done? The body of people, connecting with one another via the internet, Yorubas both at home and abroad, used the caption "OMINIRA YORUBA 2022" - which simply translates "YORUBA INDEPENDENCE 2022," 2022 indicating the year in which, by the grace of the Almighty, we swore that the independence must be actualised and not later.

Who are the specific individuals involved in OMINIRA YORUBA 2022? They are ordinary Yorubas like you and I, if you're Yoruba - the carpenters, the okada riders, accountants, civil servants, some clergy, students, market women, old, young (but not less than 18), the unemployed, the housewife looking for better conditions for her family, the bread winner who has been finding it difficult to win any bread; the business man who is tired of being the only one in his family that can feed himself adequately, everybody who has a CONCERN that the Yoruba must return to their pre-colonisation status as a self-governing people! People who want the Yoruba to be in CONTROL of our own resources and our own lives! People who believe that there's a glory of the Yoruba Race which can only be manifested when we RETURN to how the Almighty truly wants us to be - An INDEPENDENT NATION. It was these millions of people, both at home and abroad, that signed that exit petition. Because Nigeria wouldn't allow news of that activity to be aired or printed via media under the NBC, it was a whole lot of WORK to get it done. There were people who used their own money to go from village to village to explain to our people the concept of being independent from Nigeria, and upon getting their support, helped them to enter their details online for the exit petition, as many of these people didn't even have a smart phone to begin with!

However, to the glory of the Most High, the work was eventually completed and the exit petition submitted to the United Nations, even when the generality of the people in Nigeria, except those who were directly involved in the exit petition drive, didn't seem to know anything was going on! But what the international community told us is that 10% of our population was the required number to serve as our exit referendum. We got it, and the rest followed suit.

November 20, 2022 was the day of the official Declaration of Independence, after the exit petition had been submitted months earlier.

Thus, from November 20, 2022, the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba became a DIFFERENT country from Nigeria!

However, in the international community, a country can be "independent" without necessarily activating its "independence" status. That is, without activating its Sovereignty! There are countries like that. In the case of the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba, our intention from the onset was the immediate activation of our Sovereignty (that is, starting our own Government) immediately after the Declaration of Independence. To this end, on the 18th of December, 2022, we started a process called "Reclamation." That is, claiming BACK all our property under the control of Nigeria thitherto! - borders, ports, government offices, barracks, stations, etc.

OMINIRA YORUBA 2022 had all along decided that the process of Yoruba independence and activation of our Sovereignty would be PEACEFUL. We are a very peaceful people, that's why some people erroneously think of us as "mumu." So, in a peaceful manner, we sent Reclamation Letters (official quit notices, actually) to all the eight state governors in Yorubaland elected under the Nigerian system, as well as to the eight Houses of Assembly. A copy of this letter was also sent to the Nigerian president who himself had earlier been informed by the United Nations about the Yoruba's decision to exit Nigeria.

Ordinarily, the eight governors in Yorubaland ought to have invited us to give them some time - say a couple of weeks - to get their personal effects out of Yoruba property and hand over to representatives of OMINIRA YORUBA 2022, who would then facilitate the coming into office of the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba. But, instead, even after peacefully signing for the RECEIPT of the Reclamation Letters, Nigerian officials, through their security operatives, started harassing and arresting Yoruba nation operatives who go for the actual reclamation exercise, after the reclamation letters had been served and enough time given to the Nigerian officials to respond and get ready to leave office.

As at today, there is NO operative of OMINIRA YORUBA 2022 that is in the custody of Nigerian operatives, but all signs still show that Nigeria through its Yoruba-based politicians and other pro-Nigeria Yorubas, would not tow the path of peace and willingly vacate office for the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba to come in.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba had reported the Acts of TERRORISM of Nigeria against the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba, to the United Nations.

The world now awaits the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba to bring in its government, while the latter is searching for peaceful ways to do it, since we do not want any shedding of Blood whatsoever. If only Nigeria were gentlemanly and would respect the Charters for self determination that they themselves signed at the United Nations, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Yoruba would have started long before now.

The Democratic Republic of the Yoruba has chosen the path of peace. As far as we are concerned, we would not go to war, to start our government, but we shall continue to pursue peaceful ways of bringing our government into office - and that would be very soon - BUT (a great BUT) we shall DEFEND our people and our Ancestral Land, Yorubaland, should anybody, Nigeria inclusive, try to stand in our way as we, by the grace of the Almighty, bring in our Provisional Government - very soon.

We have set our face like a FLINT. We have also told the international community that ON NO ACCOUNT, WHATSOEVER, will Yoruba return into Nigeria. Our decision to exit Nigeria is Eternal, Irrevocable and Irreversible!

LONG LIVE THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE YORUBA.