Unity Summit - The Nation

In the last twenty years, the Yoruba have gotten together under various auspices to examine the structure of the polity. The exercise leading to the production of the Yoruba Agenda is the most memorable of such efforts. The Yoruba Agenda contains ideas that can be reviewed and improved upon. There may be some things that are no longer applicable and need to be taken out at this Assembly. There may be other issues that need to be considered and added to the position taken by our traditional rulers, elders, professionals, and other patriots when the Yoruba Agenda was put together during the pro- democracy struggle of the 1990s. We need to brainstorm about how to make sure that “the architecture of governance”, to borrow a phrase from Chief EmekaAnyaoku, is designed to strengthen the unity of the country through a constitutional system that favours restoration of regional autonomy that made it possible for our region to create the largest pool of manpower in sub-Sahara Africa half a century ago. –General Alani Akinrinade, Rtd at the opening of the Yoruba Assembly in Ibadan on August 30, 2012.

In the last twenty years, the Yoruba have gotten together under various auspices to examine the structure of the polity. The exercise leading to the production of the Yoruba Agenda is the most memorable of such efforts. The Yoruba Agenda contains ideas that can be reviewed and improved upon. There may be some things that are no longer applicable and need to be taken out at this Assembly. There may be other issues that need to be considered and added to the position taken by our traditional rulers, elders, professionals, and other patriots when the Yoruba Agenda was put together during the pro- democracy struggle of the 1990s. We need to brainstorm about how to make sure that “the architecture of governance”, to borrow a phrase from Chief EmekaAnyaoku, is designed to strengthen the unity of the country through a constitutional system that favours restoration of regional autonomy that made it possible for our region to create the largest pool of manpower in sub-Sahara Africa half a century ago. –General Alani Akinrinade, Rtd at the opening of the Yoruba Assembly in Ibadan on August 30, 2012.

Over the 26 federal countries housing about 40% of the world’s population had used various methods to move from unitary to federal system. Nigeria was one of such countries. Representatives of the three regions that constituted Nigeria adopted through representatives a federal constitution, preparatory to obtaining independence from Britain in 1960. The country remained a functioning federal system until the emergence of military rule, under which the country lost its federal constitution and was moved gradually from federalism in 1975 to a quasi-federal system in 1999 through a constitution birthed and nurtured by the Abacha-Abubakar 1999 Constitution. The problem facing Nigeria today, according to some Yoruba activists, is how to move Nigeria from its current quasi-federal or quasi-unitary system back to the federal system upon which it became an independent country in 1960. The recent call by some Yoruba leaders and organisations in Ibadan for adoption of recommendations of the Jonathan national dialogue of 2014 is one of the most recent attempts to bring back to the nation’s conversation the issue of restoration of federalism. Today’s piece will conclude discussion of the need to re-start an inclusive process of mobilising citizens for a regional debate on a matter of such importance to all citizens in the region.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo established a method of making a multilingual and multicultural society adopt a federal political system that many countries had used before him and which many more borrowed from after him. He created a political party that had as part of its core goals, establishment and sustenance of Nigeria as a multicultural federation. Whether it was his Action Group or the Unity Party of Nigeria, Chief Awolowo was consistent in asking for a federal system that promotes equality of majority and minority nationalities. Chief Awolowo did not at any time believe that sustainable federalism could be achieved through a national dialogue that did not have any legal backing nor input from citizens or their representatives. He stated in his speeches and writings that only a duly negotiated federal constitution by representatives of the federating units could lead to a sustainable federal governance. Therefore, the elation of some of his followers at the sudden convocation of a national dialogue of invitees of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014 would have been an anathema to Chief Awolowo if he were alive, not to talk of the religiosity of some of his former followers in recommendations of a conference of appointed delegates.