South-West Leaders Divided Over Yoruba Nation, Restructuring

The clamor for Yoruba Nation and restructuring has intensified, with prominent elders, leaders, and associations from the South West zone of Nigeria uniting in their demand for an end to the current form of federalism, which they describe as lopsided.

This unified call for change underscores the region’s growing dissatisfaction with the status quo and highlights a deep-seated desire for a more equitable governance structure.

Since President Bola Tinubu took office on May 29, 2023, the momentum behind the Yoruba Nation agitation seems to have waned, giving rise to a more pronounced push for restructuring.

In conversations with Vanguard, it became apparent that there are divergent views among the proponents of these movements.

A significant majority believes that restructuring the current governmental system is essential to addressing the persistent issues of killings, kidnappings, and the destruction of lives and property plaguing the nation.

Meanwhile, a smaller faction remains steadfast in their demand for the establishment of a Yoruba Nation.

Key Yoruba groups, including the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation Afenifere, Agbekoya Farmers’ Society, the Council of Yoruba Elders (CYE), Oduduwa United Peoples Association (ODUPA), and the Yoruba Commitment Forum, have all voiced their opinions on this critical matter.

Afenifere Secretary, Sola Ebiseni, in a discussion with Vanguard, endorsed the idea of restructuring, asserting it as the most viable path forward for the nation.

Ebiseni said, “I don’t know what you mean by which one is feasible. Of course, everything is feasible but what I think we should interrogate is what is desirable and beneficial.

“As followers of Obafemi Awolowo, he was the pioneer proponent and father of federalism as the appropriate system of government for Nigeria as a country of diverse and entrenched ethnic nationalities.

“Restructuring is the demand and agitation for a new constitution reinventing the foundational federal arrangements that worked. All these are contained in the Reports of the 2014 National Conference which we recommend as the minimum template.

“The refusal by the powers that be, particularly the Buhari administration, to heed this popular demand which has rendered Nigeria ungovernable and havens of hunger and deaths is the basis of separatist agitation by different groups and the calls for new sovereign states out of Nigeria.

“You cannot blame the people for seeking extraordinary solutions to their existential problems. The way forward is restructuring. Nigeria is ordinarily a beautiful rainbow coalition of diverse tribes and tongues.

“It must however be made to work in the interests of the constituent groups and peoples to protect its peaceful coexistence and it is an urgent matter.”