Yoruba assembly votes for vigilante groups

Governor Abiola Ajimobi and General Alani Akinrinade

Eminent Yoruba indigenes gathered today at Oyo State House of Assembly, Parliament Building, Agodi, Ibadan, to attend The Yoruba Assembly tagged, “Time to Reaffirm the Consensual Yoruba Approach to Restoration of Federalism in Nigeria: The Urgency of Now”.

Former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba and former Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole
Among them were Governors Abiola Ajimobi and Rauf Aregbesola of Oyo and Osun States, former governors, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Otunba Niyi Adebayo of Ogun and Ekiti State, former House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, ACN National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Senator Olorunnibe Mamora, Dr. Fedrick Fasheun of Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, Oyo and Osun States Deputy Governors, Moses Alake and Chief Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, monarchs, and representatives of Yorubas in disapora, Delta, Kogi and Kwara states. Present at the forum were also the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi.

Speakers recounted with passion and bitterness the sufferings of the Yoruba people in their own fatherland stressing that it is high time something was done to reverse the pathetic situation.

Though, there was no consensus over some issues like state police, there was a broad agreement for the convening of a national conference to address issues threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria.

Speakers also agreed about the need for the practice of true federalism in the country.

In his welcome address, the convener, General Alani Ipoola Akinrinade declared that the gathering has nothing to do with distracting from the unity of the country.

“It is intended to allow us, as Yoruba sons and daughters all over the federation to rub minds on the way out of the country’s crippling underdevelopment, with special emphasis on the parlous state of affairs in the south west”, Akinrinde said.

Pointing out that the quality of the average Yoruba persons has depreciated, he said that younger ones born in 1980 till date have come to see life as an experience to endure, rather than enjoy.

He said that the situation has pushed many Yoruba indigenes to migrate legally or illegally to other countries of the world, including even some of the neighbouring countries like Ghana, which became independent about the same time western Nigeria obtained self-government.

He said, “Those who have no means of escaping from the country have become frustrated and would do just about anything to survive. Despite the oil resources, Nigeria today remains one of the poorest countries; it ranks almost highest, world-wide, in corruption being only a shade better than Bangladesh and Togo. Nigeria has the least developed transportation system for any country of its size that possesses her quantum of natural resources throughout the entire world”.

Akinrinade said that the structural problems thrown up against the nation’s security, general wellbeing and future of Yoruba children motivated the convening of the meeting.

He called for negotiation and dialogue to resolve Nigeria’s problem discounting the belief that a national conference would end in the battle field.

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He ended his speech by saying, “I will like to bring some of the salient points of the Yoruba agenda to your attention. This is to help us arrive at decisions on what we need to do to enhance the unity and overall development of the country, Nigeria, in general and Yoruba land, in particular. The Yoruba people fully subscribe to certain universal values which influence and govern the behaviour of people throughout the modern world. The values which may be termed fundamental principles leading to peace, stability and progress of a people like the recognition of the sovereign will of the people, equal political, economic and social opportunity for all and respect for human rights, justice and fair play were all extensively dealt with in the agenda”.

Also speaking, Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State said antagonists of state police need not express apprehension as there would be constitutional provisions to check abuse.

He also said the race must be committed to the cause of developing the South West Zone saying:

“We must all fight for the course of the Yoruba. We need to be more aggressive.

“ The late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was so bold and courageous in his fight against marginalisation and in ensuring the progress and development of the Yoruba nation.

“It is unfortunate that we Yoruba, who used to be preoccupied with the progress of our race, have now deviated.

“ What we are more concerned about nowadays is acquisition of wealth and material things. This is why we have found ourselves in the present situation.

“The course of the Yoruba should not be politicised. We may not all be in the same political party but our goals and aspirations should be for the progress and development of the race. ‘’

In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, among other things, the assembly totally condemned Boko Haram’s indiscriminate violence in killing people including Yoruba in the North.

They called for the setting up of vigilante groups, by the South West States to protect them against the resurgence of crimes and violence perpetuated by nomadic tendencies or motivated by faith or otherwise. The Yoruba already have the Odua Peoples Congress, that emerged in the fight against the Abacha dictatorship and the annulmnet of the June 12 1993 election.

To give legality to the vigilante groups, each state House of Assembly in the region is expected to pass appropriate laws.

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