By Ken Afor
Until government adopts the report from the 2014 Confab or that of the Nasir El-Rufai Committee on Federalism to restructure Nigeria and alter the 1999 constitution, Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, has declared that the country will remain a nominal entity with no sense of common nationalism or patriotism.
The group made this known on Wednesday in a communique issued shortly after a meeting at the residence of its leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo in Ogbo Ijebu, Ogun State.
The group observed that the nation had fallen short in attaining its complete potential of nationhood as it had strayed too far away from the core tenets of federalism.
In light of the current wave of insecurity across some parts of the country, the group accused the security structure of being flawed, where authority only comes from the centre before actions can be taken.
The communique signed by the Secretary-General, Chief Sola Ebiseni, highlighted the necessity for the establishment of state police to bolster safety at the local level as a response to the criminals’ attacks towards farmers particularly in the south west.
The communique partly reads, “Afenifere observed the alarming resurgence of insecurity occasioned by the activities of armed cattle herders terrorising farmers, killing, maiming the people and raping women for which some of the host communities are no longer comfortable living with the killer guests.
“While Afenifere appreciates the constitutional rights of every Nigerian to live in any part of the country of his/her choice, it is important to stretch and ensure that such citizens live in peace with their hosts and respect their culture and economic prosperity.
“Afenifere reiterates our opposition to open grazing of animals and reaffirms preference of ranching as the world’s best practice of animal husbandry. State governments should be allowed to play greater roles in the security of their states by establishing their internal policing mechanism”
“Nigeria is a federation of entrenched ethnic nationalities which has failed to evolve into a nation because of the deviation from the foundational principles of federalism. Except Nigeria is ruled based on true federalism which guarantees inclusiveness, fairness, egalitarianism, justice and a sense of belonging to all its constituent groups, it will remain a mere geographical expression with no sense of common nationalism and patriotism.
“In this connection, the only way forward is to change the military constitution now and re-enact a constitution in line with the foundational federal principles. Except this is done now and quickly all the errors that occasioned the type of electoral shenanigans witnessed during the 2023 general elections and the technical judgement by the Supreme Court legitimising the same will fester ad infitum.
“Afenifere therefore calls on the civil society and well-meaning Nigerians to join hands in ensuring that the federal government immediately sets the necessary modalities in motion in this regard. Afenifere further endorsed the resolutions of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum to which Afenifere belongs, on the need to restructure Nigeria using the Reports of the 2014 National Conference and the APC/El-Rufai Committee on Federalism as the irreducible template.”
It would be recalled On 17th March 2014, in Abuja, Nigeria, the former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, inaugurated the 2014 National Conference. A total of 492 delegates, representing a diverse range of Nigerian professionals and organizations, took part in the event.
The conference was deemed the most successful sovereign conference the nation had ever put together, based on the recommendations largely perceived to address an array of issues.
Unfortunately, it was not acted on by former president Jonathan, who was voted out in 2015.
The return of the Afenifere calling for an implementation of the recommendations of the conference now puts President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government under the microscope as they had vigorously demanded federalism whilst in opposition.
