Afenifere slams Lawan for opposing restructuring

The Pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has slammed the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, for opposing the call of the southern governors for restructuring of the country, describing his utterances as a display of unpardonable ignorance.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the Secretary-General of the group, Sola Ebiseni, who described the Senate President argument on the absence of a functional local government system responsible for the worsening security situation as a fallacy and misleading.

According to him, the statement credited to Lawan indicated that the federal government was jittery with the “birth of the Southern Governors Forum, their meeting at Asaba and the Resolutions arrived thereat.”

Ebiseni stated that “the sermon of the Senate President chiding the Governors, as elected leaders, not to give voice to these popular views of the people is most mischievous because, in agreement with Governor Okowa of Delta State, the Governors would otherwise have no business staying in office.

“It is convenient for Senator Lawan to play to the gallery calling for functional Local Government administration, which we agree, but it is also an issue in restructuring which must ensure that justice is equally done to the States, contrary to the nebulous and unjust award of the number of Local Governments, by the military, as presented in the constitution.

“The call on the governors to first ensure restructuring in their states is a display of unpardonable ignorance by the head of the National Assembly, who ought to know that restructuring is not at the act, omission or pleasure of any government or individual state actor, but a holistic overhaul of the structure and character of the state, enshrined in the constitution and binding nilly-willy.

“The scepticism by the people of the incapacity of the National Assembly to bring about any meaningful restructuring is justified by this expressed mindset.

“Finally, those who interpret any call for restructuring as secessionist agitations need be told that Nigeria can only move forward by negotiations on terms reasonably agreeable to its stakeholders.”

Afenifere maintained that the resolutions reached by the Southern governors during their meeting in Asaba, Delta State were the best for the nation while saying those casting aspersions on the outcome of the governors’ decisions did not mean well for the country.

The statement stated that “every issue raised in the communique, as indices of a true federal state, which include state Police, devolution of powers to the federating states, review of the revenue formula, the reflection of the Federal character in appointments including at the commanding heights of the economy and national security, are what we, in the Afenifere, have placed on the front page of national discourse, particularly since the return to democratic rule and also fully embraced by other patriotic organisations including the Southern and Middle Belt Forum.

“They are contained in the reports of the 2014 National Conference already in the custody of the National Assembly.

“The South is completely united in the quest for restructuring of the federation, devolution of powers to the constituent states of the federation; they all suffer from insecurity imposed on their people by ethnic Fulani terrorists herdsmen and related kidnapping and armed banditry.

“It is so embarrassing and most unfortunate that under General Muhammadu Buhari, armed ethnic militias in the guise of herding animals would attack, sack and occupy communities while the people are relocated to IDP camps.

“The Southern Governors Forum is the logical response to the need for a common platform for the unity of purpose for development and fight against insecurity and all forms of criminality.

“The southern ethnic nationalities are more agreeable among themselves as the religious crisis is completely non-existent, neither are there inter-ethnic territorial contests or the fear of territorial ambition by any ethnic nationality to possess the land and dominate any other group.

“The same powers exercisable by some northern states banning trading in alcohol and destroying such wares in hundreds of Millions of Naira, belonging mainly to southerners, is not different from same by Southern or any state regulating the business of animal husbandry necessitating the ban of open grazing and transporting animals by foot.

“The other Resolutions contained in the communique are equally national and most patriotic in their concept and applicability as the panacea for peaceful coexistence and development of Nigeria.”

While reiterating the group’s position on restructuring and other issues, Ebiseni said in the statement that “to us, in the Afenifere, and as stated in the inaugural address of our Acting Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, on Friday 14th May 2021, our consistent advocacy for the restructuring of the country to federalism is based on our founding philosophy.

“The Yoruba people are the only ethnic group that has never called for secession. We will be in Nigeria as equal partners in a federal Nigeria. A Nigeria in which we will play a second fiddle is most unacceptable.

“Therefore, our irreducible minimum condition of staying in Nigeria is a restructured Nigeria. Anything short of that is ‘to thy tent, oh Isreal.’ The unity of horse and the rider in which a section of the country is the rider and we the horse is most unacceptable.”

It will be recalled that the Senate President had last Thursday while granting an interview to State House Correspondents on expressed his opposition to the restructuring call.

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Afenifere slams Lawan for opposing restructuring

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