Without a scintilla of doubt, not all who now know about him have heard the names ALANA (PATH FINDER) Professor (Senator) Banji Akintoye before he became the YORUBA LEADER on Thursday, 22 August 2019, despite his becoming a Professor at the prestigious University of Ife, Ile – Ife, way back 1974, a foremost Awoist and Senator, of the Federal Republic between 1979 – 83. Since emerging the YORUBA LEADER, however, hardly would a day pass without his name being mentioned in several Nigerian newspapers. So ramifying are events since that date that many would now think they know him like their palms. Indeed, the Nigerian intelligence services, which am sure must be clutching their respective files on him jealously, must be happy, thinking they have on their sights, the most troublesome elder statesman in the country. To their utter chagrin, however, they will end up discovering nothing more than a patriotic Nigerian whose consuming passion is to have re-emerge, a country of Nigeria’s early promise.
Professor Akintoye, without the slightest equivocation, is a Nigerian patriot of the highest hue. Ironically, you will now find in him the clearest manifestation of the wise saying that “those who make peaceful change impossible, make revolution inevitable”.
In a recent article on these pages, I laid out in a compelling manner, why I believe that even if President Buhari cannot be held solely responsible for the multi- pronged crises currently ravaging Nigeria, he has done a lot to exacerbate them. Therefore, if mismanagement of our diversity is bad enough, the grim state of insecurity, especially in the Southwest which used to be the most peaceful, and hospitable, section of the country, is more than enough to traumatise a man like Akintoye, {like his other Yoruba compatriots who value human life a great deal), enough into having to start scrutinising his Nigerian citizenry afresh.
That Professor Banji Akintoye, at 86, is leading the Yoruba determination to have a country of their own, which they hope to achieve without a drop of blood is, therefore, a direct result of poor governance.
This will become clearer as you read our exchanges a whole nine years ago.
In December 2012, the great believer in the Nigerian project that I am, I wrote an article captioned: Cooperative Federalism, Alias Confederation, The Way Forward’, a copy of which I sent to him, as usual, in faraway United States where he was domiciled. Of the many reactions to the article, I shall deal with only his, and that of my friend, Dr Biodun Adu, a UK – based medical consultant.
His reply, which encapsulated his thoughts on Nigeria (then), was dated 6 January, 2012, and read as follows:
Femi,
Your original article, and this answer to Biodun, are simply excellent – highly commendable. It is perfectly understandable that many of our best minds believe that even a minute redefinition of relationships within the Nigerian structure is to be avoided and decried. You see, no matter how highly informed any of us, Yoruba boys and girls, may become in this world, we are Yoruba and proudly so. And the Yoruba mind is typically attuned to building, constructing, and gathering, and averse to dividing or scattering. So we find ourselves as part of a totality called Nigeria – and we want to hold it. Good. We have given a lot therefore to trying to hold and build Nigeria into a rich and powerful country in the world, and we deserve to be proud of what we have given.
However, since we are so dedicated to Nigeria’s remaining intact and growing prosperous and powerful, it has become a duty for us to try and find ways to hold it together in the most workable structure – in the structure that will ensure that our hundreds of nationalities, each with its own culture and pattern of expectations, and with its own kind of attitude to religion, will be able to live together in harmony, a structure that will make it possible for each nationality to employ its intrinsic energies to achieve progress and prosperity and to make its own kind of contribution to the prosperity of our common country. We do not have such a structure now. Our ethnic groups and religiously different nationalities and groups, are forever at war, some viciously killing others. Also, since all the resources of the country are held by a so-called “federal” authority, the various sections of our country are skimping and suffering and acting as beggar entities before the federal government. Therefore, since we are the nationality that leads in promoting ideas that can make Nigeria a much better country, should we not now be the nationality that promotes a better structure for our country? That is what your article is advocating – a slightly decentralized union in which each nationality will breathe a little more free air and make its own kind of progress, all in the context of one country. I expect that when our bright young people, the strongest intelligentsia on the African continent, understand this, your article will become the manifesto of a new and forward-looking Nigeria.
Personally, I welcome your article without reservation. I have a feeling that it will become a historic document. But as you know, I am inclined to see what it proposes as the necessary right step towards something higher and wider in our future. I am reminded here of a story in my life. In 1982, I visited the Soviet Union, and my Soviet hosts kindly took me on a wide-ranging tour of their great country. I spent some days in Uzbekistan, the homeland of the Uzbek nation, then one of the Soviet republics. Everywhere we went, one could easily see that the Uzbeks would prefer to have their own small independent country, but that they were too fearful of the Soviet rulers to say so openly. On my return to Nigeria, I led a small talk at Unilag at which I said the following: that communism was so powerful it would probably exist for ever; but that the Soviet Union was not likely to exist as one country for long. Exactly eight years later, the powerful Soviet Union was broken up by the power of its small nationalities – into 13 countries. In short, the idea of many nationalities living together in the same country is becoming obsolete. Since most of the nationalities of Black Africa are small or even tiny, many of our present countries in Black Africa will probably remain intact, but with new negotiated structures. For the large nationalities like the Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa-Fulani (the three largest nationalities in Black Africa), and for some others, the future of each is obviously an independent country of its own. I don’t think there can be much of a doubt about that. So what should we do. Strike out for a structure to Nigeria that makes Nigeria work now, so as to free ourselves from poverty and give our teaming populations of educated youths a chance to live better lives and make our societies modern and beautiful. Then, leave the future to the future, and do not say or do anything that tends to obstruct the future. None of us can really obstruct the future, so it does not make sense to be resisting the future.
Funny! Can you believe that Obasanjo wrote in1998 (in a book he wrote with the title This Animal Called Man) that all things considered, the sensible thing was to include in the Nigeria constitution a clause that allows any nation that wants to secede to do so in peace? Really, the logic of the situation is obvious and irresistible. Men only oppose it because their ambitions make them want to. Just as Obasanjo became the great “unifier of Nigeria’ after he became president!
Thanks once more Femi for the place you hold in our present history.
Happy New Year again.
Akintoye
Prof referred to my response to Dr Adu whose contribution space constraint would not allow here. It is, however, necessary that I include that response which Professor Akintoye fully endorsed then, in this article.
On Jan 3, 2012, I wrote to Biodun on Ekitipanupo as follows:
Biodun, I thank you. That you, a Medical doctor could literally transform to a historian/political scientist shows your concern for fatherland. Let me try my humble best to respond to the issues you raised.
But first, a teaser from our teacher; who has since transmuted to my Life Teacher, Professor Banji Akintoye. You could not have forgotten his titillating Literature classes at The School.
Leaving a heavy responsibility in my hands in a letter he wrote to me on 18, January 2010, he said the following: ‘In our culture, when our elders call a younger person aside to commune with him, they want to urge him to do something. So, what do I want to urge of you? The foremost is that you must never let yourself be drawn away from the honorable positions that you now hold. And, no matter how tough or even painful the situation may become, you must never quit.’
He continues:
‘Our people say that the greatest harm that an enemy can do to a man is to force the man to turn away from, and abandon his real concerns and keep chasing the enemy. For those of us who sincerely lament the disaster (the disorientation, even the dissoluteness) that has befallen the Yoruba nation in the hands of OBJ, (I have since added the Hausa/Fulani who foisted him on Nigeria a second time), isn’t it time we begin to spend more of our time on seeking real answers to the future and destiny of the Yoruba nation? In fact, shouldn’t we side-step the enemy and strike for new solid substance? Are we right in assuming that the future and destiny of the Yoruba nation resides inevitably with Nigeria? How many countries in today’s world contain within its border such large ethnic nations as are in Nigeria, all of them subject to, and sharing, one sovereignty? Even Britain, the creator of Nigeria, is now in the process of being broken up by the ethnic nations in it. The Irish (with the exception of the small province of Northern Ireland) broke away not long ago and established the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland has been a pain in Britain’s neck ever since. The Scots and the Welsh have also been struggling for separate countries of their own, and following the elections of 2007, Scotland is now quite close to establishing a separate country for itself. (That was before the more recent election) The Welsh have set up a Commission to develop the Welsh language as their national language and chosen one of their towns as the capital city of their own country. The movement of independence for ethnic nations is spreading all over the world. You are a historian, and you surely know about the breaking up of Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, of India at independence, and the countless ethnic national struggles going on in our world etc.”
Now let me try to answer the posers you raised.
1.That Politicians forever claim that Nigeria is indivisible. My short answer will be to refer you to the once, all-powerful Soviet Union. What became of that humongous empire?
Of course, broke up, it did.
- Whether states will agree to go back to the status quo ante.
Again, they will have no option if this is agreed at a National Summit..
- FISCAL FEDERALISM
This is one of two areas where I can see some challenges. However, since confederation is not dissolution, the Summit must agree a minimum number of years during which oil revenue must still be centrally pooled but with a higher percentage going to the oil bearing zones.
Within that period each zone must do everything to maximally develop its internal resources.
The should also be able to build a knowledge economy with massive investments in ICT.
- AUTONOMY
Unfortunately, the word independence is anathema to some people. But from all I have said, it should be obvious that there is no reason for any confrontation. Indeed, two or more of the zones could unite to become a new independent country after giving an agreed number of years’ advance notice.
Confederation would allow us return to our pristine Omoluabi ethos in Yoruba land. For instance, our politicians who would be sworn into office on Ogun and Sopona will think twice before stealing public funds. Our Agriculture will be so developed we would go back to the days of the Marketing boards and our Education, Health services and Culture will enjoy a new lease of our life. Without the slightest doubt, it should be a win-win situation for us as most of you currently domiciled in countries as far away as Papua New Guinea should no longer have fears of insecurity since our leaders would have maximally reduced insecurity since they know that the primary duty of government is the preservation of life and property. And also that, as the immortal AWO put it: the raison detre of governance is the happiness of the greater majority of the citizenry.
Let me, however, conclude on a sombre note: with considerable justification today in the Southwest portion of the country, given what we have experienced in the past few years, not a few now believe that restructuring, which is what our discussion is about, is now too little, too late.
Credit: Femi Orebe