From the Alaafin of Ọyọ: warning to other Nigerian nationalities that continually seek to subjugate the Yoruba nation Below is a statement issued by the Alaafin of Ọyọ, the current king of the northern kingdom of Israel (NB: Israel is not the proper pronunciation), which appeared in Osun Defender, in which he voices his observation of a sad repeat of history, another attempt by dominate the Yoruba. Though not mentioned, the Igboid (descended from Edo/Edom) and Ijaw groups have historically harboured ancient envy and hatred for the Yoruba, and repeatedly cooperated with the core northerners (Biblical Assyrians) who have repeatedly sought to dominate/enslave/rule the Yoruba who have been minding their own business. In the 1960s these jealous people instigated crises in Yorubaland but Nigeria suffered a retribution in the form of military coups and Igbo defeat during the civil war of 1967-`1970. Since the present administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Yoruba people have been deliberately relegated, including his recent (May 29, 2012) insult to the Yoruba and the memory of the late Chief MKO Abiola. The signs are ominous once again. Jonathan Should Resist Temptation To Take South-West ‘By All Means’ As the most prominent traditional ruler in Yorubaland and the Diaspora, the Alaafin in history had never been known to be silent when it was important for him to talk. In other words, the Alaafin had never been known to deprive mankind of his wise counsel with necessary admonition whenever it is important to do so. To be specific, successive administrations had always relied on the Alaafin in any national/constitutional/political discourse. This dated back to time of Sir Huge Clifford Constitution of 1922 when the Alaafin along with the Sultan were invited by Governor Clifford as members of the Legislative Council then sitting in Lagos. Since that time, the Alaafin had always insisted that it was only true federalism that can save this country from disintegration and consolidate its unity. Even under the military and especially, during the reign of General Sani Abacha, I had time to write in some newspapers on the imperatives of true federalism as the only panacea for the country’s unity. By true federalism, I mean devolution of power in such a way that will grant sufficient autonomy to the states. Apart from the Exclusive and the Concurrent lists under the Constitution, the Residual should be within the administrative preserve of the states and for the federating units. An example that immediately comes to mind is local government administration. A situation in which only the Federal Government can create local governments in the country makes a total mockery of true federalism. Under the present political dispensation in the country, the states, in terms power devolution, are not more than glorified local governments under the Federal Government which operates not only as a colossus but a monster in terms of overwhelming and devouring powers at its disposal. It is an empirical truism that no mortal can acquire super intimidating and unlimited power without abusing same. Some signals that are showing up in political situations in the polity at the moment make a bad augury for Nigeria, if not quickly checked. That the South-West geo-political zone is the engine room of Nigerian politics is an understatement. It is the political barometer testing the consciousness of the country. That is why anybody who cherishes peace in Nigeria must show interest in the happenings in the South-West. For instance, it was the unconstitutional interference into the affairs of the Western Region by the Central Authority which declared a state of emergency in the region in 1962, that led to the collapse of democracy in the country in 1966. The sponsoring of fifth columnists in the Action Group (AG) by the federal authorities made some warring groups within the party not only bellicose but intransigent. At that time, students of history will recall there were three strong regions — North, West and East — against a rather weak central authority. Each of the regions had its own constitution, coat of arm, Representative in London, tagged Agent General and other key independent powers. But the then central authority, acting outside of its constitutional limits and powers, proclaimed a state of emergency in the Western Region following a fracas in the Western State House of Assembly. What happened on the floor of the House did not even affect operations of the civil servants at the Government Secretariat, not to talk of leading to a total breakdown of law and order in the entire region. But because it was a premediated decision, the federal authority proclaimed a state of emergence and an administrator, late Sir Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi, a personal physician to the Prime Minister, was appointed. That was the beginning of the problem at the nation’s political landscape. At that time the leadership of each region gave to its people what they needed. And in the Western Region, free education was more a core policy. Teacher Training Colleges were established and a university was also established. Farm settlements were established across the region. Places to work were available in abundance for the people and health care delivery was also taken seriously. Liberty Stadium was built in 1958. Roads, water, electricity were provided. In addition, the first road dualisation—Mokola Roundabout to the State Secretariat, Ibadan, was commissioned in 1956 to coincide with the visit of Queen Elizabeth 11 of Great Britain to Nigeria. The setting up and inauguration of the Pilgrim Welfare Board in the country and the building and development of hotels, banks, insurance companies, industrial estates, housing estates the first skyscraper building in the country-the 25-floor Cocoa House at Ibadan, all gave testimony to the political, administrative and economic ingenuity of the founding fathers of Western Region of Nigeria. It is, however, an unfortunate paradox of history that 50 years after the 1962 event, some people want to ‘celebrate’ its golden jubilee by recasting the same play in the political theatre of the country. It is true but normal for some people to be uncomfortable with their sudden loss of power in the South-West. But they do not have to be restive about it. By the time some politicians within the opposition groups are threatening to make some states, specifically Osun, ungovernable for a legitimate government, something must be certainly wrong. The old Western Region was made ungovernable because of the impediment created on the floor of the House of Assembly at the instance of the Federal Government of the time by which the House could not have a peaceful session. Without making any attempts to open old wounds in Yoruba land, I leave the rest of that unfortunate story to history. Yoruba is not only the most cosmopolitan race in the country, but the most accommodating socially and most secular in religious tolerance. For instance, the eastern part of Yoruba land i.e. Ekiti and Ondo states are predominantly Christian in composition. But that predominance does not give any advantage over the Muslim few, as they may be in terms of rights, freedom and privileges. In the same vein, the central and western Yoruba are dominated by Muslims but without in anyway inhibiting the Christians’ access to rights and privileges. There is hardly any family in Yorubaland where you do not have Muslims and Christians co-habiting peacefully. So, to say that any governor of the South-West is trying to islamise or christianise any state is not only cheap blackmail but dirty politics. Secondly, and more importantly, by the time some people threatened to waylay and ambush a governor’s convoy for ‘thorough search’, what is being invited is nothing but anarchy. Instead of resorting to anarchy, my humble but fatherly advice in Yorubaland is to exhaust the constitutional option of the ballot box rather than anarchy or violence as the only route of returning to power. My fatherly advice to those in authorities at the federal level and especially our amiable President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, is to learn from the mistakes of his very illustrious predecessor, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, by resisting any temptation to take the ‘west by all means.’ The situation by which members of the ruling party at the centre but opposition in their respective states should beckon at the BIG DADDY government to help in destabilising their respective home governments should not be encouraged or even tolerated. Going beyond the South-West, until the political usurpation of Plateau State via declaration of emergency, Plateau was not only peaceful but also the most attractive tourist resort. But it was that excessive might at the federal level that opened the dichotomy of indigenes and non-indigenes syndrome into warfare which they are still battling with till date. As I wrote in July 1996 in an article under the headline: ‘Imperativeness of Constitutional Federalism as against Federalism of might,’ I wish to reproduce the article verbatim: “Federalism is the system of binding a heterogeneous society into a single political sovereignty. True federalism, therefore, presupposes recognition of different historical and cultural backgrounds of the federating nations and the protection of each value from abuse by the political might of any member. It also presupposes the equality of states of the federating population or in physical size. “Guided by the fact of their commitment to be together as a single sovereign nation, the power sharing formulae of such a country should be one in which the Federal Government should be limited to such functions that show a common identity of the country to the external world. “Example of such powers can be cited as defence, currency, foreign affairs and citizenship. The power sharing formulae should not be one in which one government should be so powerful as to swallow the others. “The rationale being that if we agree that the people of the country, irrespective of what part of the country they come from, and their religious persuasions, are equal before the law, then the various tiers are equal before the law since they all draw their existence from the constitution. “Where one tier of government has to depend on another tier for its existence, both administratively and financially, then what we have is not true federation but something else. “It is my candid opinion that in terms of relevance to the grassroots, both the state and the local governments are the ones nearer to the people in the order of stating them. They, therefore, should be assigned with such responsibilities that are identifiable with the grassroots people in form of productive activities, while as much as possible, the Federal Government should completely hands off its involvement in such areas under the guise of concurrent responsibilities. “In this context, the Federal Government should not have business in areas like agriculture as a typical example. Under an overcentrilised federal system, the concept of ‘concurrent list’ had gradually become quasi exclusive list in which the states participate under the regulations fomulated by the federal authority. This is already evident in our educational sector, where you have what they call federal policy on education, the uniform application of which is the cause of the present crises in educational sector, including the recurrent ASUU crises. The reality of true federalism is that we should always put as our guiding principle and, at the back of our mind, the fact that we are peoples of different backgrounds and no attempt should be made to feign a common culture by an executive fiat. For the more we attempt that, the more fear we create in the minds of the local populace and the more confusion we create on the polity. What we practise at the moment is a situation in which the stronger you are, the higher your prospensity to swallow the others. For just as the federal is trying to reduce the state into irrelevance, so also is the state reducing the local governments to complete caricature. And as our people say, when two elephants fight it is the grass that suffers. The grass in this context being the people. And that explains the state of anxiety and fear in which the people are at the moment. Nowadays, no local government can act on anything, including bye-laws without approval from the state government. Just as the Federal Government is imposing a uniform policy on education so also is the state imposing a uniform policy on markets, motor parks etc. The lesser the government, the lower the initiative left for you. The traditional rulers are not spared in this power usurpation. Take the case of appointment into the customary courts. By its definition, the judges are to administer the law according to the customs of the people. The traditional ruler is the custodian of people’s customs and traditions. But no reference is made to the traditional rulers for contributions or nominations for appointment into the local bench. What you have in most cases is political hangers-on of the state authorities, party thugs in civilian time, and errand boys of the military, appointed as customary court members. For meaningful development, the traditional rulers should be allowed to select customary court judges, submit such names to appropriate organs of the state for vetting or substitute as the case may be. Oba Adeyemi 111, the Alaafin of Oyo and Permanent Chairman, Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, wrote from Oyo.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 22:21:06 +0000
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