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PDP’s Afenifere, through its reported Communique issued at the end of its Akure meeting has provided the Global Yoruba Nation with its historical imperative within the current political circumstances. It says: “The Yoruba nation is committed to a united and indivisible Nigeria based on the principle of justice, equity and rule of law with ample respect and understanding for cultural, religious and linguistic differences; we resolved to fully back and work for the reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan in the Presidential election as only this could guarantee the implementation of the Confab recommendation”
Two issues arise from this: on the one hand, the concept of the “Yoruba Nation” along with “justice, equity and rule of law” and on the other, canvassing support for Goodluck Jonathan based on his sole capability for implementation of the Confab recommendations.
When it referenced the “Yoruba Nation”—the question that immediately crops up is its definition since, according to Segun Mimiko, during his second term run for Governor of Ondo State, the Yoruba living outside Ondo State are considered as foreigners. If there was no “Yoruba nation” at that time, when did such a Nation come into being? Are those Yoruba foreigners part of this new-found Yoruba Nation? Or is it that Yoruba nationhood is dependent on political circumstances and not a reality in and of itself?
It goes on to say such a nation is committed to a “united and indivisible Nigeria based on the principle of justice, equity and rule of law.” This obviously implies that the authentic Yoruba Nation has forgotten that this PDP’s Afenifere itself, as well as Goodluck Jonathan, are serial violators of all of these.
For record purposes, these violations need to be repeated, for, being already in the public domain, there is no insult to our collective intelligence higher than what PDP’s Afenifere people are doing while hiding behind the mask of these principles.
Segun Mimiko was the promoter of 16>19 in the Governor’s Forum election; his changing over from his Labor Party into the PDP after the PDP had extensively rigged the Ekiti State election, which proof is now evident via the audio recording by one of its participants and where the PDP Governor not only beat up and harassed sitting judges but also tore up court records whilst also ending up with making 6>17 in the Ekiti State Assembly; it is also in the same Ekiti that a police officer detained the person of the Governor and also demeaned the office of the Governor by claiming “orders from above”; such that questions would be asked of the “rule of law” when a Constitutionally protected official is subjected to the whims and caprices of an official, who, ordinarily, is subject to existing Constitutional order which makes no provision for any “orders from above”.
Similar scenarios also played out in the State of Osun, with the ante being upped by the presence of Ijaw terrorists performing supposedly security duties on behalf of the PDP while the official security agencies looked the other way when they are not themselves terrorizing the people.
Furthermore, Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidency has continuously flouted the Constitution and rule of Law, not only in his treatment of Justice Salami, but also that of the then CBN Governor and recently, hiding behind security to violate the electoral laws of the land. Hence, on justice, equity and rule of law, the PDP in general and the Afenifere in particular, are as guilty as they come and they cannot now hypocritically proclaim their adherence to the values they had serially violated.
Goodluck Jonathan had made it a point of duty to negate all of what the Yoruba had historically lived by and promoted as a way of life, and doing so in an in-your-face manner and PDP’s Afenifere found these as necessary.
When Goodluck Jonathan, in the presence of Afenifere Elders, proclaimed that Nigeria does not need old people to run her affairs, these Elders kept mute, even when one of the existential paradigms of Yoruba People hinge on the concept of the mutuality of the old and the young in social advancement. Goodluck Jonathan has now also made a “promise” to create Cooperative Universities in Yorubaland, again, with the connivance of these Elders; when, even from their own experience, cooperative societies in Yorubaland had always been not only a product of, but an integral part of economic development which was negated when the general economic conditions in Nigeria became relegated to merely buying and selling which turned the cooperative societies into some sort of lending institutions. Even at that, such lending operates within the downward spiral of Nigeria’s economy which is now in tatters, such that a Cooperative University with no direct impact on economic productivity among the graduands is simply playing to the gallery.
PDP’s Afenifere based its support for Goodluck Jonathan on his supposed ability to implement the report of his National Conference yet, there is nothing in the Jonathan Conference recommendations that faintly resembles “True Federalism”; even as one of its leading members, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, stated that they went to the conference to play. A plaything has now become a historical necessity.
“ooduapathfinder” cannot find any recommendation in the report of Jonathan Conference that resembles True Federalism in any form. The report is a public document, which can be accessed here:( 2014 National Conference Report: www.premiumtimesng.com/…conference/…/National-Conference-2014- Report-August-2014-Table-of-Contents-Chapters-1-7.pdf)

The authentic Yoruba Nation had always hinged its demand for Restructuring/True Federalism on what the Egbe Omo Oduduwa had earlier proclaimed as “the propagation of the ideal of a modern Yoruba State and Federal State of Nigeria through the agency of reliable persons who share our ideals”, which was further enunciated by the Yoruba Agenda, settled since 1994, as the “ pursuit of “True Federalism” with “the right of the Yoruba of Nigeria (living in Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo states) to live under a Regional government within the Federation of Nigeria. The Yoruba Region shall have the right to negotiate with other nationalities of Nigeria along the laid down principles of true federalism, justice and equity”.
But PDP’s Afenifere enumerated the following as its own conclusions from the Jonathan Conference, which it now wants us to support: “state police, state constitutions, zonal commissions etc” as if these constitute the essence of True Federalism.
“ooduapathfinder” says that having a State Police is only a consequence and not the cause of True Federalism; especially when states in Nigeria depend almost entirely on central allocations to even pay their workers’ salaries and PDP’s Afenifere wants to saddle the same states with a police force when issues of fiscal federalism, resource control/derivation and devolution of powers are left to some imaginary “technical committee” to sort out.
The essence of Federalism is based on a Constituent generating its revenue while also being able to determine how such revenue is spent, which translates into such Constituents not being dependent on allocations from a center thereby making its economic and political outlay independent of that center which the Jonathan Conference did not even address.
PDP’s Afenifere turned Federalism on its head when it promoted the idea of states having their own constitutions as an achievement of the Jonathan Conference, when, by definition, a Federation implies that some entities have agreed to Federate–meaning those who wish to federate must, ab initio, determine what they are to give up for the sake of that Federation. A “federation” cannot therefore exist before the Constituents determine what they are to give up. The Constituents must first have their Constitutions or agreement on what they want to give up which will be the basis for negotiating a Federation.
If PDP’s Afenifere is now saying that there is a 1999 Constitution that needs to be amended for this to happen, such amendment must only recognize the existence of these Constituents, as a precondition, either as states/zones/Regions etc for these already exist; hence in the true spirit of Federalism, a “Federal” Constitution cannot mandate a Constituent Constitution, the violation which made PDP’s Afenifere promote the notion that there is need for a “zonal commission” in a Federal set-up; when, by definition, a Constituent Unit is already a political/economic contiguity that makes a “zonal commission” superfluous.
When PDP’s Afenifere therefore says it wants the Yoruba to support Jonathan because he will implement the recommendations, it is obvious, from the recommendations of the Conference, that Goodluck Jonathan is not in pursuit of “True Federalism” but the strengthening of his presidency contrary to established concepts of Federalism and PDP’s Afenifere has now formally turned everything the Yoruba had historically championed into its exact opposite; hence both PDP’s Afenifere as well as Goodluck Jonathan must be rejected at the polls. This is the historical imperative for the Yoruba Nation.

Nothing to add.

Igbo discussions about their well being seldom includes federal government appointments and seats. At most a president can put one or two projects in a state of 6-7 million spread across tribes of 20-40 million. Let the SW and the North talk about their issues and you'll swear the president is also their governor, local government chairman and father.

Ikengawo:
Igbo discussions about their well being seldom includes federal government appointments and seats. At most a president can put one or two projects in a state of 6-7 million spread across tribes of 20-40 million. Let the SW and the North talk about their issues and you'll swear the president is also their governor, local government chairman and father.

GEJ has been touring SW begging its leaders for endorsement. I don't see him doing so in SE. Why? Irrelevant and already in the bag just because of azikiwe and a picture bridge .

Ikengawo:
Igbo discussions about their well being seldom includes federal government appointments and seats. At most a president can put one or two projects in a state of 6-7 million spread across tribes of 20-40 million. Let the SW and the North talk about their issues and you'll swear the president is also their governor, local government chairman and father.

Still not getting the message.

True and loose federalism
Resource control.
Regimental army
State police.
Separate elections

Essentially a looser form of what the British left. ND can have their oil and everybody else carry their cross.

By the way,
Obi is still using anambra' money to run fidelity