The Yoruba Self-Determination Movement (YSDM) has opposed plans to host an Igbo cultural and intellectual festival in Lagos this October, warning that the event is provocative and could spark ethnic tension.
The festival, scheduled for October 17–18, 2025, at Villa Angellia Hotels in Ikoyi, is expected to celebrate the “100 Greatest Igbo Personalities of All Time” and feature masquerade performances. Organizers say it will bring together leading figures of Igbo heritage from Nigeria and the diaspora.
At a press conference in Ibadan, Deputy Leader of YSDM (Homeland), Arc. Opeoluwa G. Akinola, said the group rejects the festival outright, accusing its promoters of making subtle claims over Yoruba cultural space.
Beyond opposing the event, the YSDM demanded that Lagos streets and landmarks bearing the names of non-Yoruba leaders be urgently renamed. The group argued that many such names were imposed by past governments to serve Northern and Igbo political interests.
Specifically, the group faulted the naming of Ahmadu Bello Way near the Atlantic Ocean and called for it to be replaced with Yoruba icons such as Oduduwa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Moremi, Olokun, Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle, or Colonel Shittu Alao. It also questioned why the Murtala Mohammed International Airport has not been renamed after a Yoruba figure.
The group further accused successive administrations of rewriting Yoruba history by naming Lagos streets after prominent Igbo leaders such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ozumba Mbadiwe, and Eni Njoku. YSDM also condemned what it described as historical injustices, including the creation of the Midwest Region and the designation of Lagos as a Federal Capital Territory.
The group alleged that President Bola Tinubu’s political alignment with Northern interests has weakened the Yoruba self-determination struggle. It urged lawmakers to pass legislation reaffirming Lagos as an integral part of Yorubaland, warning against what it called “revisionist attempts” to alter the city’s identity.
