South-West Groups Seek Return To Regional Gov’t

Some groups under the platform of Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM) have called for the return to regional government as a move to stabilise socioeconomic growth of the country.

They rejected the plot to return Nigeria to military rule, which they said was an invitation to anarchy.

Over 1,300 delegates representing different groups of artisans, farmers, pan-Yoruba self-determination groups from the six South-West states, including Kogi, Kwara, Akoko-Edo and Itsekiri Delta, attended an event in Lagos where they presented their demands.

The group said since 1914 forceful amalgamation of Nigeria, the potential of the Yoruba people have been stunted and it was time for the Yoruba people to leave Nigeria as a viable alternative to ceaseless violence, killings and coups.

“We are alarmed that some people in their desperation are calling for military rule. Let those who plan a return to dictatorship know that there will be no military rule in the entire Oduduwa territories,” the group said.

“The essentials of life are beyond the reach of the common person.There is massive corruption in the midst of plenty, there is hunger and brutal deprivation of access to opportunities. Nigerians have been pushed to the wall. But the solution is not to add salt to the injury by bringing back the same class that created the conditions for the rot we find ourselves today,” the group added in its communique signed by its General Secretary, Mr Popoola Ajayi, and 135 leaders of other organisations including the O’odua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC), Yoruba Traders and Artisans Association (YATA), Yoruba Community in Northern Nigeria (YOCON), South-West Vigilante, Nigerian Automobile Technicians Association (NATA South-West), Amalgamated Union of Mechanics and Artisans in Nigeria, South-West; O’odua Peoples Congress (New Era), Agbekoya Solidarity, South-West Farmers Union (SWFU), Oodua Hunters Union (OHUN), Yoruba Communities in West African Coast,(YOCWC), O’odua Peoples Congress (Reformed), among many others.

Addressing the gathering, the guest speaker and chairman of the occasion, Mr Adewale Adeoye, said there was the need to address sources of conflict and factors that raise the prospect of violence in Nigeria.

He said: “The main cause of conflict in Nigeria is inequality, distribution and ownership of wealth and the means of production and the lack of the will to address the National Question.”

He said Nigeria has become a commodity constantly exploited for the gains of a few people, warning that the country also faces deficit of credible and honest leaders.

Another guest speaker, who is the director-general, Development Agenda (DAWN), Mr Seye Oyeleye, represented by Prince Adetayo Adedoyin, urged Nigerians to be prepared to resist any military intervention, adding that for the past 10 years, Nigeria faced difficult problems without anyone calling for military coup.

He said the country has recorded some gains in the last one year and that what was needed is that democracy should be allowed to thrive instead of calling for military coup.

The group in the communique said it was aware of the historic challenges faced by the country, but appalled by calls for a military coup coming from a section of the country. “Those calling for military intervention are the same people solely responsible for the rot, the systemic decay, the persecution of ethnic groups and the laying of the very foundation responsible for the current challenges that confront Nigeria.”

The groups said they were aware of human misery that beseech Nigeria but that at the root of the problems was the introduction of martial rule through decree 34 of 1966, the domination and control of the political-economy by a cabal and the lack of the will to resolve the lingering National Question which threatens to tear the country apart.

Speaking at the event, Senior Special Assistant, (SSA) to the President on Media, Mr Tunde Rahman, said President Bola Tinubu has recorded achievement since the era of oil production, the students loans and the drop in inflation in the past two weeks.

He hinted that the President has been visiting foreign countries to attract investment and that he would soon be visiting China to seek partnership on a variety of socio-economic ties with Nigeria.