27th February, 2015
GBENRO ADESINA/IBADAN
Some notable Yoruba indigenes on Thursday urged their compatriots to massively vote for President Goodluck Jonathan in the 28 March election.
It was at a conference in Ibadan, tagged “Mapping Out the Future” with a theme, “The National Conference, 2015 Elections and the Yoruba Nation”.
It was organised by Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, a Jonathan ally and was attended by all those who had pledged to work for Jonathan in the western part of Nigeria. Significantly, the conference did not attract new converts from the All Progressives Congress, the dominant party in the region.
Chief Ayo Adebanjo chaired the conference and had in attendance many other members of the Jonathan crowd. The only new face was General Adeyinka Adebayo, former Governor of the Western Region and the father of a prominent leader of APC and first civilian Governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Niyi Adebayo.
The other people present were: Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide and her father, Chief Richard Akinjide, Special Assistant to the Presidency on Publicity, Dr. Doyin Okupe, former Governors of Oyo, Ogun and Anambra States, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, Gbenga Daniel and Peter Obi, Segun Aka-Bashorun, National Chairman, Social Democratic Party, SDP, Chief Olu Falae, Leaders of Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Dr. Frederick Fasheun and Gani Adams, Chairman, National Conference Advisory Committee, Senator Femi Okurounmu, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, some leaders of Afenifere, Senator Lekan Balogun, some delegates to 2014 National Conference: Otunba Kunle Olajide and Wale Ajayi, former National Deputy Chairman of the PDP, Chief Shuaibu Oyedokun, Profesor Dupe Olatunbosun, PDP governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Teslim Folarin, and Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital, Prof. Temitope Alonge.
The conference was held at Banquet Hall, Premier Hotel, Ibadan, capital of Oyo State.
The participants of the conference cast aspersions on the Presidential candidate of All Progressives Party, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari(rtd) and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They said that the damage Buhari has done the nation is “unforgivable”.
Governor Mimiko who passionately urged the media not to misquote any of the speaker at the conference in his speech said, “Today, the Yoruba people have marched out in their large numbers to their political capital, Ibadan to discuss and articulate once more, an issue which for decades, has been considered to be the main agenda for their race. You will recall that for several decades, the Yorubas were at the forefront of the agitation for the convocation of a National Conference. I therefore congratulate the Yoruba Nation and all Nigerians that finally, their dream of coming together to dialogue how they should be governed has come to reality.”
He stated further, “Let me salute President Goodluck Jonathan for his bold and momentous move as well as his focused leadership which was demonstrated through his compliance with the agitations by Nigerians to debate their collective future. Convening the 2014 National Conference was indeed a historic assignment that we are proud of and as a people; we must do everything possible to ensure that the CONFAB recommendations get implemented.”
According to him, “No doubt, Nigeria has passed through various stages of national dialogues before without being able to emplace a constitutional and political arrangement that is accommodating enough to sustain the dedication and patriotism of many. The Constitutional and governmental experiments that we have had seem inadequate to capture the essence of those things that have the inherent capacity to unite us despite our ethnic and religious cleavages.”
He added, “The CONFAB Report when implemented, will create room for each State to have its own constitution, its own police force, its own prison service, can create its own local governments, can build its own Airports, Seaports and Railways and in addition; in the economic domain, solid minerals that had been the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government since independence, have now been brought to the concurrent list. States can now create employment and develop at their own pace. With all that, it liberates everybody, it opens up the political space.”
Chief Fasoranti and Ayo Adebanjo reiterated their earlier endorsement of President Jonathan saying their decision to support the ambition of the president was not selfish neither did they align with any political party but for the common interest of Yoruba.
Adebanjo spoke annoyingly against Buhari saying those shouting ‘change’ of leadership in the country were ignorant of the period when the general threw most of them into prisons.