Yoruba Summit Group demands restructuring, fiscal federalism before 2023 polls

The leaders of Yoruba nation have disagreed with any move to hold the 2023 election without first restructuring Nigeria fiscally and structurally.

This is one of the resolutions taken Thursday, July 23, 2020 at a meeting of the Yoruba Summit Group, at which the denounced the skewed federalism being practiced in the country describing it as a farcical federation that will only lead to chaos, the type never experienced in the country.

Below is the detail of the communiqué issued:

Communiqué issued at the end of a meeting of Yoruba Summit Group on The State of Yoruba Nation in Nigeria
Preamble
The essence of government at all levels is the security and welfare of the people.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the inadequate responses, closure of the borders in the Western part of the country with the negative effects on economic activities, the loss of morale of our men under arms due to lack of equipment to prosecute the war against Bolo Haram, mass resignation of officers despite the humongous amount of money budgeted for Defense, incessant banditry, kidnapping and killings across a large swathe of the country, millions of our youths roaming about without jobs, the value of the Naira falling daily; are some of the things inducing deep anxiety for our people.
While all these are happening, the people are greeted daily on television with tales of massive and mindless looting of the treasury by public officials, while the country is being encumbered with massive debt for generations to come with nothing significant to show for it except private jets and palatial mansions of public officials.

We are also aware of the initial casual manner Tolulope Arotile’s killing was treated by the authorities of the Nigerian Air Force which is capable of raising suspicion in the minds people. It is better to quickly douse tension and apprehension by coming out in the open. The authorities did not imagine that so much noise would be made, and so many questions would be asked. Her death was treated with levity, just as many other cases where the lives of Nigerians do not seem to matter anymore. The Yorùbá nation, therefore, demand a full-scale independent investigation by an inclusive panel of experts.

The Yorùbá nation notes with sadness that on the very day our daughter Tolulope goes home, a senior Military officer: Major General Olusegun Adeniyi, is being court-martialled for daring to voice out the lack of tools and equipment needed to prosecute a Boko Haram war that has become far too prolonged and far too controversial in light of the numerous calls to the Federal Government to change the Military Service Chiefs who have failed to provide the highest quality of security, leadership and delivery of forthrightness in their duties. We, the Yorùbá, condemn in strong terms, the cherry-picking of our fighters, soldiers, officers as either cannon fodders easy-targets, operational fall-guys and being used for experimental disciplinary measures, whilst the real culprits, go free!

Critical to this development are also pieces of news items of friendly fire from soldiers of a particular part of the country using their guns on our fighters who dare carry the battle deep into the Boko Haram held territories.

The preponderance of permutations for 2023 presidency, zoning, selecting, rather than addressing the nature of the Nigerian union, the delipidated structure of the farcical “Federation”, never known to Federalism, this unitary unworkable morass, we the Yorùbá observe will only lead to the kind of chaos never before seen and experienced in history. We the Yorùbá Nation therefore reject the holding of a general election before Restructuring Nigeria fiscally and structurally.
With the granting of licences for prospecting for gold in Yorubaland, we are aware of the dangers banditry, kidnapping and sundry criminalities this portends. Yorùbá nation has noted with great interest, the creation of the Àmọ̀tẹ́kùn security network in the South-West states. We extend our warmest felicitations to the Governors who have started in earnest to fulfil the task of filing the huge gulf of various, serious insecurity issues plaguing our Region. We hereby call on states yet to put this structure in place to do so in earnest. The Yorùbá do not forget.

Therefore, for this moment and for a future uncertain, for posterity and the Prescient nature of our wisdom in foretelling a coming catastrophe, as was wont of our late Sage and Leader Papa Obafemi Awolowo, we The Yorùbá have come to this irreducible, irreplaceable conclusions, that:

1. The ship of state is veering off precariously into a precipice, and that Nigeria is at the very edge of a political subsidence.

2. We are persuaded that nothing short of Restructuring can save this country. Any attempt to go ahead with elections in 2023 without addressing the issue of Restructuring would spell doom for Nigeria.
3. Notwithstanding the interests of some elements in our midst, it would be presumptuous to assume that the masses of the educated Yoruba Nation will dive headlong into being part of the 2023 elections, when all elements of its execution – the Military, Paramilitary, INEC, the Judiciary have been rigged and appropriated by a single very tiny minority Ethnic Group in a small corner of the country. The emerging resolve of the Yorubas not to be part of vassal state that Nigeria has become, is better managed with due accommodation before any further degeneration and obvious consequences. Our quest shall henceforth be to mobilise the masses of our peoples not to participate in any further elections until the goal of Restructuring or Self-determination is attained.

4. The Yoruba Nation is therefore making the clarion call for confidence building steps to taken by the Buhari regime immediately, especially as the historic 60th Anniversary of Nigeria as an independent Nation beckons on October 1, 2020. Steps towards an urgent meeting of all Nationalities has to be taken now to determine the nature of our relationships. Unless this peaceful step is heeded to, so that Nigeria heads in the right direction thereafter, the clear alternative would be for self-determination quests to proceed rapidly without any further restraint. It has become patently untenable for the Yoruba Nation to tolerate further incompetence and impunity as has been foisted on all other Ethnic Nationalities across Nigeria.

Signed:
Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo.
On behalf of YORUBA SUMMIT GROUP
Issued at Lagos: Thursday, 23rd July 2020.
Participating at the historic meeting were
1. Chief Ayo FASORANTI
2. Chief Ayo ADEBANJO
3. Professor Banji AKINTOYE
4. Ààrẹ Iba Gani Adams
5. HRH Kabiesi Ọba Oladipo Olaitan
6. Dr. Olufemi ADEGOKE
7.Basorun Seinde Arogbofa
8. Chief Mrs Kofoworola BUCKNOR-AKERELE
9. Dr. Ebun SONAIYA
10. Chief Gboyega ADEJUMO
11. Mrs Tokunbo EKUKINAM
12. D. Akin FAPOHUNDA
13. Mr Femi ADEFEMIWA
14. Chief Aderemi ABDUL
15. Chief Olufemi KUFO
16. Dr. Olusegun MIMIKO
17. Dr. Tokunbo AWOLOWO-DOSUNMU
18. Mr George AKINOLA
19. Dr. Amos AKINGBA
20. Mr Yinka ODUMAKIN
21. Mr Ademola FOLARIN
22. Professor Oye Ibidapo OBE
23. Mr Tunji Alapini
24. Chief Supo SHONIBARE
25. Basọ́run Segun SANNI