The leader of Yoruba’s socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo on Friday, lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari for saying that Nigeria’s unity and existence is not negotiable.

According to Punch, Adebanjo said that Buhari, who is 78 years old, ought to have known that Nigeria’s Independence and terms of unity were negotiated in the 1950s, but the President was a “small boy at the time, hence his ignorance.”


Adebanjo, 93, said this while responding to President Buhari's Independence Day speech.

President Buhari had stated that the unity of Nigeria remains non-negotiable.

But the Afenifere leader explained that in 1953 when the North opposed the call for Independence and rather advocated ‘Araba’ (secession), Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe convinced the northern leadership headed by Ahmadu Bello, to negotiate the terms of their unity and ultimately their independence from British rule.

Adebanjo said, “He (Buhari) is talking nonsense. These are the kinds of things that cause trouble. How can the President of a multinational, multilingual and multi-ethnic society say the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable? We negotiated the unity of Nigeria in 1954 before independence.

“The 1960 Constitution was a product of negotiation that arose from the London constitutional conference.

“Of course, I can’t blame him (Buhari). He was still in primary school at that time, so, he couldn’t understand. He should go back to the records.

“Before the constitutional conference, the country was being run as a unitary government and that was what caused the crisis.

“When we got to that conference, Chief Awolowo re-educated them that you cannot run the country as a unitary system. It was at that conference that Nnamdi Azikiwe was converted to federalism and when he returned from that conference, Azikiwe, at the airport, declared that federalism was imperative. It was in the Daily Times of 1954.”

Adebanjo added that the 1960 Constitution gave all the regions financial autonomy, such that every region was able to control its own destiny and after the military coup of 1966 and Nigeria became a unitary state, things began to go downhill.

He, therefore, argued for restructuring which he claims must be embraced for the country to progress.

He further noted that the 1999 Constitution which he said was not based on fairness but exploitation of the South should be adequately looked into.

The Afenifere leader also pointed a blame finger on Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the All Progressives Congress leader, Bola Tinubu, for paying lip service to restructuring.

Adebanjo said that it was unfortunate that Osinbajo and Tinubu, who promoted restructuring, are now pretending as if it was not included in the APC manifesto during the election campaigns in 2015.

tamdun:
Buhari should sack the person that wrote the Independence speech, the guy just disgrace Buhari

benuejosh:
When you grow old, there is high tendency of you thinking, talking and acting like a child. What exactly do you expect from a man who is said to be in his 90s. I guess he had a shallow understanding of the NON-NEGOTIABLE Buhari talked about. You can't just wake up and say you must break up and go your way because a war was fought many years ago and as such Biafra must exist in Nigeria. How can another country exist in a sovereign country?
That is tantamount to threatening the peaceful existence and unity of Nigeria and Mr, President said that can't be negotiated. We have lived together peacefully for decades.

Nigeria as a country has come to stay and NOTHING will break it. This is the country our forefathers fought hard to keep together and we must respect their struggles. The labour of our Heroes past shall never be in vain.

I am glad Papa didn't speak about separation as those perceived agitators of Biafra would have burn down the thread with noise about Biafra. Causing havoc and destroying innocent souls in the Southern part of this country.

ONE NIGERIA is all that matters.

tellwisdom:


You and who ??

Traplord09:


The leader of Yoruba’s socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo on Friday, lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari for saying that Nigeria’s unity and existence is not negotiable.

According to Punch, Adebanjo said that Buhari, who is 78 years old, ought to have known that Nigeria’s Independence and terms of unity were negotiated in the 1950s, but the President was a “small boy at the time, hence his ignorance.”


Adebanjo, 93, said this while responding to President Buhari's Independence Day speech.

President Buhari had stated that the unity of Nigeria remains non-negotiable.

But the Afenifere leader explained that in 1953 when the North opposed the call for Independence and rather advocated ‘Araba’ (secession), Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe convinced the northern leadership headed by Ahmadu Bello, to negotiate the terms of their unity and ultimately their independence from British rule.

Adebanjo said, “He (Buhari) is talking nonsense. These are the kinds of things that cause trouble. How can the President of a multinational, multilingual and multi-ethnic society say the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable? We negotiated the unity of Nigeria in 1954 before independence.

“The 1960 Constitution was a product of negotiation that arose from the London constitutional conference.

“Of course, I can’t blame him (Buhari). He was still in primary school at that time, so, he couldn’t understand. He should go back to the records.

“Before the constitutional conference, the country was being run as a unitary government and that was what caused the crisis.

“When we got to that conference, Chief Awolowo re-educated them that you cannot run the country as a unitary system. It was at that conference that Nnamdi Azikiwe was converted to federalism and when he returned from that conference, Azikiwe, at the airport, declared that federalism was imperative. It was in the Daily Times of 1954.”

Adebanjo added that the 1960 Constitution gave all the regions financial autonomy, such that every region was able to control its own destiny and after the military coup of 1966 and Nigeria became a unitary state, things began to go downhill.

He, therefore, argued for restructuring which he claims must be embraced for the country to progress.

He further noted that the 1999 Constitution which he said was not based on fairness but exploitation of the South should be adequately looked into.

The Afenifere leader also pointed a blame finger on Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the All Progressives Congress leader, Bola Tinubu, for paying lip service to restructuring.

Adebanjo said that it was unfortunate that Osinbajo and Tinubu, who promoted restructuring, are now pretending as if it was not included in the APC manifesto during the election campaigns in 2015.