Ibadan, the Oyo State capital was agog on Thursday, as prominent Leaders of the Yoruba race converged, demanding that Nigeria must be restructured along regional lines.
The demand was made at a well-attended Summit of the Yoruba nation, held at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan.
In attendance at the Summit which participants defied the rain to attend, were leaders from the South-East and South-South zones, who declared they were in agreement with their South-West counterparts on all issues agreed upon at the gathering.
Co-signed by the Summit Chairman, Chief Afe Babalola, and Chairman of the Planning Committee, Dr Kunle Olajide, a communiqué issued at the end of deliberations and read by Afenifere’s Spokesperson, Yinka Odumakin, warned that the country “is careering dangerously to the edge of the slope”, and required urgent remedial actions to restructure it from a unitary Constitution to a Federal Constitution, as was the case at independence in 1960.
“Summit recalls with nostalgia, the great strides made by the Yoruba nation in the years of self-government up until the abrogation of the Federal Constitution in 1966 evident in mass literacy, novel infrastructural strides and giant leaps in all spheres of human development.
“Summit noted that the crisis of over-centralisation has led to mass misery across the country, with poverty levels at 72 percent, unemployment rate at 65 percent, internal immigration and internal displacement, security threat in form of Boko Haram, herdsmen, and organised crime.
“Summit convinced that Nigeria is careering dangerously to the edge of the slope, except urgent steps are taken to restructure Nigeria from a unitary Constitution to a Federal Constitution, as negotiated by our founding fathers at independence in 1960, it was resolved as follows:
“That Yorubas are clear that restructuring does not mean different things to different people, other than that a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria can only know real peace and development, if it is run ONLY along Federal lines.
“That the greatest imperatives of restructuring Nigeria is to move from a rent-seeking and money sharing anti-development economy to productivity, by ensuring that the federating units are free to own and develop their resources. They should pay agreed sums to the Federation purse to implement central services.
“That the federating units – whether States, zones, or regions, must themselves be governed by the written Constitution, to curb impunity at all levels. Nigeria shall be a federation comprised of six regions and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
“The Federal Government shall make laws, and only have powers in relation to items specified on the Legislative list contained in the Constitution of the Federation. The Regions shall in turn, be composed of States.
“Each Region shall have its own Constitution, containing enumerated exclusive and concurrent Legislative lists regarding matters upon which the regions and the States may act or legislate.
“Contiguous territories, ethnic nationalities or settlement shall be at liberty through a plebiscite, to elect to be part of any contiguous region other than the region in which the current geopolitical zone or state boundaries places them.
“The power to create States shall be within the exclusive powers of the region, which shall be obliged to create a State, provided a plebiscite is conducted, following a request by an agreed percentage of the residents of the ethnic nationality within a State.
“The procedure for conducting a plebiscite and the percentage of any ethnic nationality shall be out in the regional Constitution. The power to create Local Governments and assign functions to them shall be vested in the States.
“That these agreed positions of the Yorubas taken today shall form the basis of negotiations with our partners in the Nigerian project for a United Nigeria based on Justice, peace, and fair play”, the communiqué said among others.
At the gathering were: Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Professor Banji Akintoye, Senator Gbenga Kaka, Ambassador Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, Ambassador Yemi Farounbi, Chief Olu FalaeChief Niyi Akintola SAN, Femi Fani-Kayode, Senator Kofoworola Buknor-Akerele, Dr Fredrick Fasehun, Chief Gani Adams, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, Professor Tunde Adeniran, Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu, Chief S. K. Onafowokan, Chief Idowu Sofola, SAN, Chief Micheal Ade Ojo (Elizade).
Chief Segun Adegoke, Chief Kola Omololu, Chief Areoye Oyebola, Dr Doyin Okupe, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, Dr Amos Akingba, Professor Remi Sonaya, Chief Tokunbo Ajasin, Honourable Wale Oshun, Dr Walter Ofonagoro, General Ike Nwachukwu, Dr John Nwodo, Chief Alex Anozie, Zik Obi, Representative of Akran of Badagary, Senator Okon Aniete, Dr Slyvannus Ebigwe, and many others.
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