Yoruba should use this opportunity to pressure Buhari for Regional Autonomy -Adewale Adeoye

I support Buhari’s government and I was active, very active in the mobilisation of younger people across the SW for Buhari and Osinbajo. I was also one of the electoral officers during the convention. If I’m given any opportunity to assist the new government, I will. It was a great thing that Nigerians voted against a vain, fetish, naïve and absolutely unintelligent man who by share consideration for ethnic balance, became the President of Nigeria. He now leaves a debt of 60 billion dollars behind. It would have been disastrous to have him for another four years.

If one day I become the President of Nigeria or VP, my primary focus will be ethnic self determination because I know that is the root of Nigeria’s unending calamities. The British were not stupid to have left 3 regions. They knew the problem and to a large extent were honest in dealing with it. They came and carved out Delta and Edo from us, they took Kwara and Kogi from us, yet all is normal.

The Yoruba people should use this opportunity to pressure Buhari for Regional Autonomy. The greatest achievements ever recorded by North, South, West or East of Nigeria was during the golden era of Regional Autonomy. That is a demand that is and will for ever be greater than having Adewale Adeoye as VP. We once had the No position anyway, it doesn’t matter that his charity didn’t begin at home, at least he is one of Buhari’s strongest pillars and advisers today.

Yoruba leaders must insist on quick fix of the fundamentals. Let’s cancel Federal roads, why do we need all the Federal Ministry of this and that? How many Federal Ministers do we have in the US? We claim to be practicing federalism, why is ours different from that of US? Why the hell do we need Comptroller General of Customs? Why the hell do we need Chairman of Nigerian Ports Authority? Where on earth do we get our own Federal System where the FG controls about 56 percent of natural resources? If the US were to rely on honest and decent leaders, it would have included in its constitution the right of the states to secede from the union. It is called United States, a unity of states on equal terms. If the US needed only a honest and decent leader, it would have been one ‘indissoluble entity’ with the emergence of Abraham Lincolm. But the founding fathers of the US were wiser. They knew that a long standing pillar was what was needed, a pillar that would endure all seasons, rainy, stormy and even in catastrophic whirlwind.

Where is the universal model of Nigerian federalism? I’m asking o! Nigeria is a country where we want to build a house from the rooftop. Where do we get a Federal system where Lagos generates VAT 60 percent on beer and has to share with Zamfara where beer is not on sale by law? Have we ever heard of Inspector General of Police in the US? Nigeria has become a fiery oven that a strong and honest President is not enough to calm.

Other nationalities hate Yoruba with cruel hatred, not for anything but for the fact that a lowly civilisation is quick at temper when confronted with a superior one. History is my witness, but all the important past, its as if should not count. By 10th century, Ile-Ife was a city. By 1500s, Yoruba had more cities than many European countries. ln the 1950s, Nigeria was competing with Japan, with Portugal and had Malaysia behind her. Suddenly we are now talking of how we need a new leader in Abuja, 1000 kms away to safe our fatherland. What really is wrong with us?

The current leadership of Yoruba nation will create a greater future and a milestone if we see Buhari’s emergence as an opportunity to drumbeat what Awolowo told us to do, what our forefathers told us to do in order to save Yoruba nation, and in the process other nationalities, otherwise we shall be reinforcing an illusion.

I remember that Buhari had a stint with PRONACO and I was one of the most active younger members with Baba Enahoro as our leader. I was also at the PRONACO secretariat. I remember that during the PRONACO session with Buhari, he was honest to admit that he was learning more from the proposition of PRONACO about how a new order could emerge. He really confessed that he never for once reflected on a restructured Nigeria as presented by PRONACO.

Anything shot of seeing Buhari’s emergence as an opportunity to reclaim Yoruba political freedom, and the political freedom of other aggrieved and restless nationalities, will be counter-productive because a madman can always come around and halt all the progress made. To me, the issue is not giving Buhari a chance, but nibbling on his feet even before he settles down.

Adewale Adeoye.