The attacks on Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka by supporters of Peter Obi deliberately target Yoruba heritage, a group, Think Yoruba First, said at the weekend.
The group said the driving force behind the ‘Obidients’ Movement is nothing but “irredentist Igbo fundamentalism fuelled by hate, lack of culture, avarice and incredible disregard for democratic culture”.
In a statement signed by the group's General Secretary, Dr. Bukola Adeniji, Think Yoruba First identified Soyinka as one of the few men of honour not afraid to say the truth and ready to defend democracy and basic human rights in Nigeria and across the world.
It condemned attempts by Obi supporters to promote “Igbo supremacy theory motivated by false history, arrogance and a savage passion for ceaseless acts of aggression”.
The Think Yoruba First organisation is constituted of Yoruba professionals at home and in the Diaspora.
The group said Yoruba people are being pushed beyond the elasticity limit and will henceforth adopt the philosophy of proportional response to deal with alleged Igbo bullying and “ethnic profiling of Peter Obi having been defeated at the February 24 Presidential poll”.
"The attacks on Soyinka show a high level of immorality and the uncultured past time of a group of neoliberal fascists who detest basic tenets of democracy and human liberty," the group said.
"In his usual frank method, Prof. Soyinka spoke the truth about the anti-democratic actions of the members of the Obidients movement who have largely morphed themselves into Neoliberal Fascist movement."
It argued that Nigeria’s fragile democracy was largely built on the sacrifice of Yoruba activists who fought with courage against colonialism beginning in the 19th century. According to the group, the activists also confronted military rule and feudalism all of which tend to stunt Nigeria's rise to global fame.
The group cited the contributions of Bishop Ajayi Crowther who translated the Holy Bible from English into Igbo and the free education and free healthcare programme initiated by Chief Obafemi Awolowo which forced many Igbo to flee their villages in search of greener pastures in Lagos as some of the goodwill extended to Igbo but not appreciated.
"Through music, art and literature, the Yoruba have been known for a culture of resistance against evil. In the past 200 years, our forebears have fought all forms of repression at a very high cost including death"
The Think Yoruba First said those attacking Soyinka lack a sense of history and are not driven by logic and common sense.
The group cited the courageous (Akínkanjú) spirit of Yoruba in the bitter struggle against the annulment of the 1993 June 12 election when Chief MKO Abiola's mandate was stolen by the rogue military government of Nigeria.
"The enormous insults, bullying, intimidation, and defacement of the revered hardcore Yorùbá intellectual and world icon by the Obidients movement are the classic examples of the tyranny and intolerance which Prof. Soyinka has fought against all his life.
She said, "Soyinka is just one out of many Yorùbá icons that the Obidients movement has attacked in their savagely, overzealous campaign for their desired presidential candidate Peter Obi, who was decisively defeated in the last Nigeria presidential election. The neofascist Obidients movement attacked the integrity of the Father of post-military democracy in Nigeria, Chief MKO Abiola, this is another great Yorùbá icon that was the target of Obidense campaign of calumny."
It condemned the supporters of Obi for insulting many notable Yorùbá icons including the Ooni of Ife and Great Fela Kuti.
According to her, they proceeded to tear into the fabric of Yorùbá unity by seeking to rubbish the Yorùbá identity.
She said, "Many Obidient social media influencers were empowered to target the Yoruba identity including attacks on Yoruba women in which Yoruba mothers were described as dirty and undesirable to Yoruba men who are allegedly choosing to marry non-Yorùbá Women over them, all these actions of prominent Obidients and social media troll Obidients are direct attacks on the essence of Yorùbá beyond the scope of politics.
"Yorùbá conservatives have a duty to defend and protect Yorùbá heritage, attempt by political thugs and bullies masquerading as agents of change to destroy our essence as Yorùbá will not be tolerated."
"Chief MKO Abiola paid the ultimate price in securing return of democracy to Nigeria, albeit in its infancy, activities of Obidients including their protests to request military intervention and their quest to seek election annulment because their candidate loss is anti-democratic."
The group further said, "The Democratic process is guided by the Judiciary, and the electoral system is the crown jewel of democracy. A movement that doesn’t trust the electoral process and did not believe in the judiciary system is calling for anarchy.
“Obidense movement is an anarchist neoliberal fascist movement that wanted to enthrone itself by attacking and destroying Yorùbá great leaders and Yorùbá unity, and their actions need to be condemned and rejected by all well-meaning Nigerians.
“The Judiciary system exists for a purpose, Obidense should seek redress in court of law rather than discrediting the judiciary process. Attack on the judiciary is undermining the very guard rail of democracy and this constitutes a call for insurrection, it is a self-entitled, grandiose and authoritarian move."
The group called on the newly elected government of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use the events of the 2023 election as an example of the true nature of Nigeria.
It said, "Like Prof Wole Soyinka, we do not know if we still believe in the Nigeria project, but we cannot stay quiet in the face of Tyranny that is the Obidense movement."