AHEAD of its planned Yoruba Summit on restructuring scheduled for Thursday, September 7, 2017, the South West says it intends to unify the zone irrespective of party affiliation.
It, however, said that the north is not invited to its summit because it has not gotten invitation from the region in the past.

Secretary of the Planning Committee of the Yoruba Summit, Mr Yinka Odumakin, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard, said the six state governors, National Assembly members, elders, opinion leaders and groups, irrespective of party affiliation are expected to be at the summit.

Odumakin said invitation has been sent to all Yoruba-speaking areas in the country and other zones like the South East and South South as steps taken to mobilize people.

When asked whether the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will be in attendance, he said invitations have been extended to all in the South West.

He said: “Massive Mobilisation has commenced in Yoruba-speaking areas of Nigeria with our governors, National Assembly members, opinion leaders, various groups, individuals and the rest of them. We have commenced this process to ensure we have an all-inclusive summit where all opinions will be represented and since we are talking about Yoruba affirming its joint position on the most popular issue in Nigeria today, which is restructuring of the polity, the Yoruba summit is across board.”

On those the summit is reaching out to outside the South West, he said “aside from Yoruba within the South west, we have also extended invitation to Ohanaeze Ndigbo, we have also invited PANDEF to come and show solidarity with us at the summit.”

Asked whether any invitation has been extended to the North, he said “we have not received any invitation from the north in the past.”

Stating what it intends to achieve at the end of the summit, Odumakin said “the major goal of the Yoruba summit is to articulate our position, unify our thoughts on the restructuring debate so that henceforth, we will have a position of the Yoruba and all groups and individual shall speak from the same page. That is the goal of the summit.

“Our expectation is to have a robust gathering where issues will be articulated, a position taken and from there, we will negotiate with other regions in the country”, he said.

The template from June 29th 2017. This was the baseline.


Yinka is shifting goalpost and is deceptive. Our leaders have reprimanded that the Presidency is not listening to the voice of its citizens and movements at the grassroot. Are Yoruba leaders hearing the grievances of their own children?

We say Yoruba must stand alone but negotiate interests with others.....we did not say SE and SS must stand with us, or we with them!

How and why did Odumakin send invites to people Yoruba children say they do not want in Yoruba affairs?

Following.....

very nice.

for us to call Nigeria our country we need to take the bull by the horn.

I support yinka.
I urge me fellow igbos to extend thier support to the man
southerners are not slaves, except some people like sarkiofthebmc and his brethrens, southerners are not shooting targets,

Goan cancel the invitation nah. It's that simple

hope we are not clamouring for a nation just like IPOB?

Nice one

2undexy:
hope we are not clamouring for a nation just like IPOB?

U're just afraid of how to survive alone... Afonjas are know for their lazy but flamboyant life

So what if he is 'Anti-North'?...has the northern region not been 'Anti-SW' and every other region in the South countless times in the past and recently?.

Anyway i pity Odumakin already knowing how myopic his people are..They are already asking him stuppid questions ..They will simply throw him under the bus all on the alter of petty party politics and slavish love/fear of the north..

Later they will say they are 'united' while SEs are not

Odumakin wants a Nigeria where justice and equity reigns. A restructured Nigeria

This is a noble cause. My only reservation is the invitation extended to some non Yoruba speaking regions and the expense of others. If you ask me, I support a Yoruba coalition that will take a position, defend it and stand by it. That in itself is Unity. My reaction is 1)Demand support from all regions 2) Do not invite them to our forum, because decisions are to going be taken on what we stand for as a people. 3) The Igbos are not more of an ally than the North. Reach me for more....

Odumakin is neither anti-North nor pro-Yoruba. He is anti-Tinubu and pro-stomach infrastructure

rainylad:


So what if he is 'Anti-North'?...has the northern region not been 'Anti-SW' and every other region in the South?...

Anyway i pity Odumakin already knowing how myopic his people are..They are already asking him stuppid questions ..They will simply throw him under the bus all on the alter of petty party politics and slavish love/fear of the north..

Later they will say they are 'united' while SEs are not

Stop talking rubbish you ardent Moro.n
Odumakin is nothing but a political contractor who is only fighting for his pocket.
Neither APC nor PDP members can chart a future for Yoruba.
Its only you yeboriskies that allows yourself to be hoodwinked by expiring politicians turned secessionists.
When Odumakin was collecting contracts upandan from Jonathan and campaigning for him using the platform of Afenifere he never knew Nigeria need restructuring abi?
Yoruba want out of this country or at least a total restructuring where we will decide who own even a centimetre of land in Southwest.
But we will do so at our own time not when a set disgruntled ediots who changed Nigeria from a regionalism into a unitary state in 1966 want to.
Nonsense.

Odumakin is pro his-stomach-infrastructure

aolawale025:
Odumakin wants a Nigeria where justice and equity reigns. A restructured Nigeria

No, Odumakin has a vendetta he is pushing. Read the article again. In fact review the summary of the June summit in Akure. Here is copy below. It was set as a marching order towards structuring of an agenda to materialize regional government for West.

Folu Olamiti

One of the most debated issues in the Nigerian public space at the moment is the clamour for the political restructuring of the country. It has now become a singsong across the length and breadth of the country. But the debate has attracted diverse views and demands such that there appears to be no clearly defined understanding among Nigerians on what restructuring means and whether it will move the nation forward or disintegrate it.

Among the various views and demands anchored on restructuring is the agitation by some people for a return to regionalism as in the First Republic arrangement of the federation. Others say what is needed is the devolution of some of the powers and roles of the Federal Government to the states, to shed the current unitary-like political structure and return to the practice of true federalism. Yet, for some, it is about a restructuring that would allow communities greater control over the resources in their domains. The issue has been further complicated by the rise of separatist groups agitating for a reconfiguration that will allow the breakaway of any part of the country desiring to do so, to chart its own destiny.

Against this background and the resultant mounting tension in the land, a policy advocacy group known as the Yoruba Leadership and Peace Initiative, organised a non-partisan retreat of Yoruba leaders from the South-West region of the country in Ibadan on Thursday, June 29, 2017, at the Lead City University Conference Centre to brainstorm on the issue and proffer the way forward for the nation. Tagged the Yoruba Unity Retreat, the forum was attended by distinguished and experienced statesmen, leaders of thought and eminent professionals from the South-West.

Jonathan administrations to bring the people together to discuss and fashion the way forward. He noted that the 2014 National Conference convened by President Goodluck Jonathan was a major breakthrough in the struggle as it was in that conference that participants representing various ethnic nationalities, groups and institutions, agreed on the major outcomes expected from the proposed restructuring.

Among the agreed expectations are the return of the nation to the practice of true federalism with the states as federating units and the concomitant devolution of powers, roles and resources from the centre accordingly. Osibogun therefore called for the implementation of the 2014 National Conference recommendations before the next general elections in 2019. After a serious brainstorming session by participants, a communiqué was issued on the resolutions and decisions of the retreat.

The communiqué affirmed the unity of the Yoruba people in the South-West states namely Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti as well as Kogi, Kwara, Edo and Delta states and pledged the commitment of the Yoruba Leadership and Peace Initiative and the Yoruba race in general to the unity and continued territorial integrity of Nigeria. The communiqué, however, strongly stated that the Yoruba people insist that in view of the economic and political challenges facing the Nigerian nation, the political restructuring of the nation had become imperative and long overdue, requiring a return to the practice of true federalism, devolution of powers, more resources to states and local governments with a view to maximising the advantages of each constituent unit of the federation.

It is significant that the position adopted by Yoruba leaders at the retreat has become the popular stance of numerous leaders and groups across the country including the Afenifere from the South-West, Ohanaeze Ndigbo leaders from the South -East, leaders from the South-South as well as the Southern Leaders Forum and also the Southern and Middle Belt Forum. Although the whole of the north has yet to take a formal a position as it awaits the report of an advisory committee, some of its notable leaders such as former military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, and former Vice President Abubakar Atiku have strongly endorsed restructuring.

In fact, Atiku insists that not only is restructuring necessary, it is feasible and some aspects of it such as the devolution of some roles and responsibilities of the Federal Government to the state governments can be achieved without constitutional amendments. From all indications, a national consensus already points to the necessity for a political restructuring of the country and it appears that the easiest way to go about it is to implement the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference. But as of now, that option is still elusive given the reluctance or cautious approach of the present Buhari administration to the issue. Another setback is the rejection of devolution of powers by the upper chamber of the National Assembly while voting recently on constitution amendments.

It is not yet clear whether the committee set up by the ruling All Progressives Congress on restructuring will be able to recognise the demand as a very serious concern of the people of Nigeria at the moment and therefore convince the administration to address it accordingly. What is however clear is that the struggle for restructuring can no longer be wished away, nor suppressed nor ignored. The earlier it was addressed, the better.

Ahead of the proposed restructuring, Yoruba leaders, in the communiqué released, also urged the states of the federation to realise that for the devolution of powers and resources to translate to positive change in the lives of the people, state governors must invent new initiatives of providing better governance, management of resources and service delivery. In this regard, the leaders urged the governors of the South-West states to set up think-tanks and develop achievable programmes tailored to the developmental needs of their states while also integrating with their counterparts within the region to effectively address matters of common interest and concern.

The governors of the South-West states were also advised to begin to harness the various potential of their states, especially in agriculture, including reviving the Awolowo-era farm settlements, to boost food and cash crop production towards achieving food sufficiency, sustainable foreign earnings from cash crop produce and mass employment opportunities for the youths. It will be recalled that agriculture was once the major sustainer of the economy of the region during the first republic. As of today, agriculture is still a major sustainer of the economies of many countries, including the United States despite its technological advancement.

For example, Ohio state in the US accounts for a large volume of trade between the country and China with a single crop, soybeans, which it exports in millions of tonnes to the hugely populated Asian country for the production of animal feed. It is the belief of the Yoruba Leadership and Peace Initiative that the South-West states do not need to depend on the federal allocations for their sustenance. For instance, they can develop their vast agricultural potential such as cocoa, rice, cassava and even yam (which is used to produce pharmaceutical starch) as well as natural and other resources to sustainably develop their states.

In actual fact , no part of the country is poor. Every part has various agricultural, natural and other potential that can be exploited to sustain its development. The practice of true federalism empowers the federating states to harness these resources and apply them to the areas of need which may vary from state to state. This is what the nation needs now.

In carrying this agitation for restructuring forward, over 100 Yoruba groups have decided for a grand rally at Adamasingba Stadium, Ibadan on September 7, 2017, to work out a common front to address the issue. To me the (YLPI) summit communiqué of June 29, 2017 should be taken as a template at this rally- there is little or nothing to add to it.

Olamiti, a media consultant, wrote in from Abuja

nero2face:
U're just afraid of how to survive alone... Afonjas are know for their lazy but flamboyant life

lol. I am no fan of the nation becoming disintegrated but if that should be the case, we the Afonjas a very much up to the task...we can take care of ourselves and we gon be the prosperous amongst the other spit-tribe

Tayonic:

Stop talking rubbish you ardent Moro.n
Odumakin is nothing but a political contractor who is only fighting for his pocket.
Neither APC nor PDP members can chart a future for Yoruba.
Its only you yeboriskies that allows yourself to be hoodwinked by expiring politicians turned secessionists.
When Odumakin was collecting contracts upandan from Jonathan and campaigning for him using the platform of Afenifere he never knew Nigeria need restructuring abi?
Yoruba want out of this country or at least a total restructuring where we will decide who own even a centimetre of land in Southwest.
But we will do so at our own time not when a set disgruntled ediots who changed Nigeria from a regionalism into a unitary state in 1966 want to.
Nonsense.

Pathetic bunch of myopic/narrow-minded people...Keep playing useless petty politics,salivating over the north and having nightmares over 1966 like people stuck in time,its your headache not mine cos realities of happenings in this 21st century will soon explode in your faces

...'You want your own country' my left foot.

So far between June and now there have benn three leadership meetings.

Akure
Lagos
Abeokuta

Next is Ibadan.


Here is article from Lagos meeting.

Lagos—South West leaders met in Lagos yesterday, to unfold plans for an upcoming Yoruba “Grand Rally on Restructuring”. Addressing newsmen after the meeting, the Chairman, Organising Committee for the Rally, Dr Kunle Olajide, said that the rally, scheduled to hold in Ibadan on September 7, would be a one-agenda-congress on restructuring.

’This endeavour has to do with Nigeria and the aim is for a united Nigeria. ‘The all-inclusive summit of the Yoruba people will have more than 100 Yoruba groups that will declare their stand on the need to restructure Nigeria.

‘’Yoruba leaders at home and abroad and organised groups, students, artisans, past and current elected public officials across the political spectrum will be converging in Ibadan to appraise the issue of restructuring and fashion out a workable way out of the quagmire the country is presently in,” he said.

Yesterday’s meeting, which held at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, saw key leaders from the zone, such as Pa Reuben Fasoranti, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Amos Akingba in attendance. Also at the meeting were Chief Supo Sonibare (Afenifere Chairman, Lagos), Yinka Odumakin (Afenifere Spokesman), and Prof. Banji Akintoye, among others. Olajide said that although the South West governors and all Yoruba leaders would be at the meeting, while the gathering would be a non-political one.

According to him, Nigeria is drifting dangerously and there is need for those at the helm of affairs to listen to the yearnings of the people and do the needful to maintain unity and peace. He said: ‘’We are meeting to take a crucial decision on Nigeria. We are going through a very difficult phase. ‘’So patriots have to rise up and find lasting solutions to the difficulties we are experiencing.” Olajide further said that legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola, would chair and direct the rally. The rally would be coming a few weeks after the Nigerian Senate voted against amending the 1999 constitution to accommodate restructuring that would devolve more powers to the states.

Odumakin is a jobless political hustler who is all out for his pocket. He started out as a Tinubu boy, then moved on to become Buharis media aide before Jonathan called him to come and share in the national cake. A character who uses Yoruba nationalism to negotiate for his pocket cannot represent my interest.

he should forget it,his brothers are pro north, even when North have threatened them times without number...they still arselick and fight those that tries to stop the slave master treatment being meted on the people of south.

seunmsg:
Odumakin is a jobless political hustler who is all out for his pocket. He started out as a Tinubu boy, then moved on to become Buharis media aide before Jonathan called him to come and share in the national cake. A character who uses Yoruba nationalism to negotiate for his pocket cannot represent my interest.

they have come to defend their slave master.
typical afonja...

Thanks for this expose.
This yinka odumaking fella is another sly femi fani kayode ilk, a pure pdp sympathizer who wants to use the deception of an organization to push his own selfish and personal agenda. And his recent statement has been garnered at putting the yoruba ppl in direct confrontation with the north with who we enjoy a great relationship.
We need to quickly put this guy wr he belongs b4 he will bring dis harmony into our famed harmonious society

Here is the one from Abeokuta....does this not sound like the governors already have bought into the template from the June meeting in Akure?
In fact they mobilized for Western Regional Government by declaring publicly how it will be known when formalized and instituted.


So how did we get from all these progressive meetings of Yoruba joining heads and hands to move us forward....to where now Odumakin is inviting SE and SS to join us in what has been labeled "the mother of the rallies" where we tell the whole world our resolve and decision on Yoruba in Nigeria?


Odumakin must dis-invite Ohanaeze and PANDEF.

This is Yoruba affair, not South versus North.


Here is article of Governors meeting.

Canvass joint actions on region’s security
The South-West governors yesterday met in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to deliberate on how to chart a common agenda to fast-track the development of the region.

The meeting, hosted by Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, was attended by all the six governors in the region, including Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun).

They met under the aegis of Western Nigeria Governors’ Forum, a meeting put together by Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), a technocratic institution for the sustainable development of the region, which according to Amosun, had been the vanguard for socio-economic and re-engineering of the South-West.

At the end of the four-hour meeting, all the participants agreed that regional integration as a sustainable economic development paradigm presents the Western Region, and indeed the whole of Nigeria, a pathway into economic prosperity for all.

A communique read by Amosun stated, among others:

• “A joint task force and joint actions will be pursued and sustained on security threats to guarantee the safety of lives, property and prosperity of the people of the region.

• “The competitive advantage of constituent states would be harnessed for sustainable regional development.

• “In order to improve the food security of the region, DAWN should convene a regional agric summit to be held in Ibadan.

• “Approval is given for the establishment of a Western Nigeria Export Development Initiative (WENEDI) to drive the export potentials of the region.”

• “A committee be set up for codification of our values and ethos as an instrument of Yoruba uniqueness to strengthen our identity and unity of purpose.”

Also, the governors agreed that the artificial boundaries of states, religions, political affiliations, among others, would not be a barrier to regional development and urged all the states to be encouraged to significantly improve bilateral and multilateral co-operation to foster regional development.

Amosun had in his welcome address charged his colleagues not to allow themselves to be used as “instruments of division”.

He stated that creation of states from the Old Western Region in 1976, which should have been an impetus for development in the South-West, had been “allowed to create artificial boundaries between the Yoruba nation.”

“To further worsen the situation, some of our people are also making themselves available as instruments of division because of their selfish political gains. The consequence is that our people begin to see themselves as a people of one state or the other rather than as a sub-unit of the entity of the Yoruba people,” he said.

ImperialYoruba:
The template from June 29th 2017. This was the baseline.


Yinka is shifting goalpost and is deceptive. Our leaders have reprimanded that the Presidency is not listening to the voice of its citizens and movements at the grassroot. Are Yoruba leaders hearing the grievances of their own children?

We say Yoruba must stand alone but negotiate interests with others.....we did not say SE and SS must stand with us, or we with them!

How and why did Odumakin send invites to people Yoruba children say they do not want in Yoruba affairs?

odumakin is just trying so hard to please Ss se.

the same SE that want Biafra and have insulted awolowo and other Yoruba personalities uncountable times to drive home their hate speech. it should have been a strictly Yoruba summit. why invite people that labelled us betrayers and backstabbers just because we told a man we won't vote for him but we still gave him 45% of our votes?

at this point we are not even sure of what afenifere wants; to be in the good books of other southern groups or to fight for Yoruba interest

intruxive:
Thanks for this expose.
This yinka odumaking fella is another sly femi fani kayode ilk, a pure pdp sympathizer who wants to use the deception of an organization to push his own selfish and personal agenda. And his recent statement has been garnered at putting the yoruba ppl in direct confrontation with the north with who we enjoy a great relationship.
We need to quickly put this guy wr he belongs b4 he will bring dis harmony into our famed harmonious society

We are talking of restructuring into true federalism this one is talking about "stupid relationship with the north"

Dillusionist:
he should forget it,his brothers are pro north, even when North have threatened them times without number...they still arselick and fight those that tries to stop the slave master treatment being meted on the people of south.

stop making a fool of yourself. Yoruba leaders have been calling for federalism/resource control since 1999 long before Ipork started it's madness. the north doesn't want the country restructured but Yoruba wants the country restructured. how does that make us pronorth?

intruxive:
Thanks for this expose.
This yinka odumaking fella is another sly femi fani kayode ilk, a pure pdp sympathizer who wants to use the deception of an organization to push his own selfish and personal agenda. And his recent statement has been garnered at putting the yoruba ppl in direct confrontation with the north with who we enjoy a great relationship.
We need to quickly put this guy wr he belongs b4 he will bring dis harmony into our famed harmonious society

....this right up is indeed pathetic. Which cordial relationship can exist between a parasite and it's host...so foolish

rainylad:




Pathetic bunch of myopic/narrow-minded people...Keep playing useless petty politics,salivating over the north and having nightmares over 1966 like people stuck in time,its your headache not mine cos realities of happenings in this 21st century will soon explode in your faces

...'You want your own country' my left foot.

you call us myopic when your whole region is known for myopia

how do you explain ibos with billions of dollars of investment outside the south east heating up the polity and trying so hard to make enemies because of a phantom dream of a Biafra with roads laid with diamonds and streets paved with gold that is political/economic harakiri

on the other hand Yorubas want restructuring and we are busy building bridges while attracting investors. yet you keep wondering why dangote didn't site his refinery in the Ss/se. that's because our region is stable.

let me educate you a little

the southwest currently generates 75% of the VAT in Nigeria. we have the busiest airports and sea ports (Tin Can and Apapa). more than 80% of the income imported items in Nigeria comes in through the southwest. the seaports alone generate over 1trillion naira yearly not to talk of the land border.

imagine a restructured Nigeria with the south west region keeping the VAT, import duties from the borders and the income from the ports while sending only 25% to the FG. our development will be rapid. restructuring is the best for us. we know what we want.


you can call us selfish but we are not narrow minded or myopic. we are eons ahead of ibos in political calculation.

take that!!!

captleonerd:
odumakin is just trying so hard to please Ss se.

the same SE that want Biafra and have insulted awolowo and other Yoruba personalities uncountable times to drive home their hate speech. it should have been a strictly Yoruba summit. why invite people that labelled us betrayers and backstabbers just because we told a man we won't vote for him but we still gave him 45% of our votes?

at this point we are not even sure of what afenifere wants; to be in the good books of other southern groups or to fight for Yoruba interest

Good point!
If we ever get to a point that we must dispense of some betrayers to cleanse the leadership corps in Yorubaland I will opt to start with Odumakin and Fasheun.

rainylad:




Pathetic bunch of myopic/narrow-minded people...Keep playing useless petty politics,salivating over the north and having nightmares over 1966 like people stuck in time,its your headache not mine cos realities of happenings in this 21st century will soon explode in your faces

...'You want your own country' my left foot.

Just shut up you pathetic Dundee.

Secretary General of Oduduwa land is Dr. Yinka Odumakin.
May God protect him for Yoruba land and grant him discerning Heart to understand, coordinate and shine very well the Aspirations of the Yorubas.

captleonerd:
odumakin is just trying so hard to please Ss se.

the same SE that want Biafra and have insulted awolowo and other Yoruba personalities uncountable times to drive home their hate speech. it should have been a strictly Yoruba summit. why invite people that labelled us betrayers and backstabbers just because we told a man we won't vote for him but we still gave him 45% of our votes?

at this point we are not even sure of what afenifere wants; to be in the good books of other southern groups or to fight for Yoruba interest

Top notch view. You have spoken what is in my mind