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In the communique signed by some people meeting under a southern umbrella, Chief Ayo Adebanjo of Afenifere reportedly signed on behalf of the South-West. Up till this time, the South West had not chosen anyone to represent it at any forum hence the best Chief Ayo Adebanjo could have done was to sign the communique on behalf of his group, Afenifere, more so when the issue involves the all-important question of the resolution of the National Question in Nigeria.

The South-West, that is, the Yoruba, had never been lackadaisical in her approach to True Federalism; by projecting its representation of the entire Nation, Afenifere is sidestepping the main problematic of the moment, to wit, the demand and agitation for self-determination which can only be actualized through the self-defining activity of the Nations.
The Yoruba Nation had laid out its understanding and demands for self-determination in several documents, among which are the Draft Yoruba Constitution as well as the Yoruba Agenda. These documents contained specific and representative expectations of the Yoruba. Both documents, at different times, emanated from a series of consultations among several Yoruba groups, subethnicities, representatives of the monarchies, professional organizations, including labor as well as student bodies.
It can be argued that these documents, while being products of such consultations, do not constitute the express wish of the Yoruba Nation, not being subjected to any form of formal legitimization, the reality is that their producers and enablers are mindful of this limitation hence are ready and willing to undergo such a legitimization process, preferably through a Yoruba National Referendum.
When Chief Ayo Adebanjo, and by implication, Afenifere, now commits the Yoruba to the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, without this express condition, questions must be raised as to their intentions. Till date, the report had not been subjected to any pan-Yoruba consultations much less decided upon through a Yoruba National Referendum hence could not be said to be representative of Yoruba expectations.
Furthermore, this southern meeting and its communique fell short of its own demands as the least that would be expected was for it to state clearly what was contained in the report that approximated Yoruba demands for True Federalism just as the Yoruba Agenda and Draft Constitution did; otherwise Afenifere representatives are telling us that they have single-handedly overturned these Yoruba demands.
Just one issue will suffice. Among the recommendation is the merger of states. There is a marked difference between asking for merger of States and an affirmation of Yoruba Nationhood. The Yoruba is a Nation by itself and in itself, with cultural, social, economic and philosophical foundation hence asking Yoruba States to “merge” in order to attain Nationhood is akin to Nicodemus asking whether an old person can enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born again. And if this is not the purpose for such a merger, it becomes a mere bureaucratic offering which has nothing to do with self-determination; for nothing stops the Yoruba Nation from operating under existing States, if necessary.
This recommendation cannot even pass the smell test when it is recognized that such a merger will operate under the auspices of the fatally defective 1999 Constitution whose negation is the primary condition for self-determination, more so when that Constitution makes no provision for such matters. And the impossibility of amending the Constitution for this purpose is very obvious even if all of the southern states combine for such purposes. In any case, it will be a journey to nowhere amending a Constitution in order for it to be further amended in order to achieve such an objective.
Afenifere’s problem had always been its blind opposition to the dominant APC tendency in Yorubaland, which was why it pitched its tent with the Goodluck Jonathan Administration even when its anti-Yoruba stance was pasted all over the place. Now that the PDP anchor is shattered, it had to fit itself into another paradigm under the self-determination gambit which only shows its political poverty; otherwise, it would have addressed the possibilities of achieving its stated aim in the Communique before issuing it.
The first question would thus be what happens if “concrete steps” are not taken on “the implementation of the 2014 National Conference report before October 1 2017” as it demanded? Especially when the southern summit in general and Afenifere in particular did not state its own version of “concrete steps”?
It is acceptable to assume that it is keeping its cards close to its chest, but then why October 1 2017, knowing full well that was the date given the Igbo by the North? This only shows the fatal sign of failure, for the initiative no longer rest with this southern group(or Afenifere); it is tailgating the North and will have to adjust according to whatever emanates from that North.
Meanwhile, the Yoruba Nation cannot afford to wait on Afenifere’s Communique and/or ultimatum. Many of the Eastern groups are already engaged in “peace talks” with the North, without Afenifere’s participation; the North itself made a formal presentation on self-determination to the Nigerian State, obviously with the backing of its political elite; to all intents and purposes, the responsibility to address this issue rest on the Yoruba Nation via the office of the Acting President; it will thus be a strategic blunder to issue an ultimatum to the Nigerian State, especially by a Yoruba group supposedly in favor of self-determination.
The minimum that would be expected of such a Yoruba group, is to rally the Yoruba behind their settled documents, that is, The Draft Yoruba Constitution as well as the Yoruba Agenda while emphasizing, to their southern allies, the necessity for their doing similarly that is, making their own Constitutions; for self-determination cannot be achieved without a formal expression upon which the Nation will stand while pursuing its demands as well as in the advent of any eventuality. Otherwise, the post-colonial State, from which self-determination is sought, will once again become the arbiter in the quest for self-determination which can only result in self-annihilation.

Pfft