Leader, Yoruba World Congress (YWC), Professor Banji Akintoye says the influx of Almajirai into the South-West geopolitical zone will no longer be tolerated.
The celebrated historian stated that this was so because most of the Almajirai were already infected with COVID-19.
He said on Wednesday that the governors in the region must tighten border patrols across their states’ borders to prevent the influx of Almajirai from the North.
Akintoye said it was evident that the northern governors had woken up to the danger the Almajiri system created by the “northern culture” posed.
The elder statesman noted that, “Now, they are forcing the Almajirai to go back to their places of origin, but many of them don’t want to be taken back. So, many are finding their way southwards.
“It is a very terrible situation because these are not just ordinary times. Coronavirus is out there and in the North is massive. So most of those who are fleeing do not want to be taken back to their places of origin.”
“They choose to roam wherever they want and most of those coming southwards are infected with COVID-19. We do not know how many of them are infected, but we know that some of them are.
“So, they are bringing for us in the South a very complex problem because already, we, the South-West, are the gateway to Nigeria. Almost all of the contacts with the outside world come through Lagos.
“We are only lucky that we have governors, who are rising up to the task of tackling the coronavirus, especially the governor of Lagos State.
“So now, to bring the infection from the North to the South-West through the Almajirai is to create a totally unacceptable situation. We, Yoruba, cannot accept those people from the North.
“In addition to what we already have, they cannot bring their own coronavirus to the South. We cannot accept that. This is not politics, this is a matter of life and death and the northerners should begin to recognise that and tell their people not to flee South-West because we will not accept them in the South-West.
“I want to congratulate our governors for turning them back. All I will ask them to do is to strengthen the border patrol and send every one of them back to where they are coming from,” Akintoye stressed.
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