Politics
*Asks Osoba: When did you realize Afenifere didn’t have a constitution?
CHIEF Ayo Adebanjo is an elder statesman, who does not mince words when dissecting issues affecting Nigeria. An unapologetic Awoist, the nonagenarian in this interview backs former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari over the dwindling state of security in the country. He restated the need for President Buhari to implement the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference report saying it remains the only panacea to the issues affecting the country. He also spoke on the crisis that tore Afenifere apart in 2003.
By Dapo Akinrefon
Northern Elders’ Forum’s call on herdsmen to leave the South It is unfortunate that the Northern leaders made such a statement. We have been friendly with them. It further showed that they have made up their mind to rule this country and dominate others.
*Adebanjo Ministers: APC chieftain expresses confidence in Fashola, Mamora(Opens in a new browser tab) They only believe in unity of the country on their own terms without minding if it pleases you or not. If you complain, they see you as someone who is not their friend. For instance, if they flog you heavily, one will cry but they want to flog you and expect you not to complain.
It is unfortunate. Do you believe that criminals have infiltrated the herdsmen like the former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu saying that herdsmen should not be stigmatised? Tinubu is speaking based on politics and wants President Buhari to anoint him as his successor. That is the issue on ground. And you will realise that whenever we complain about the herdsmen, the President will say they are not the ones. I remember that during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, we all complained that it was the herdsmen that had taken arms against the country.
But when President Buhari assumed office, he said that those perpetrating the act were not Fulani herdsmen. And when the overwhelming evidence showed that they were Fulani, the President claimed that the perpetrators were not the Fulani from Nigeria but those from Libya. But the question we all asked was why shouldn’t they arrested and prosecuted? Is it because they are not from Nigeria?
Does that warrant that issues of foreigners invading the country should be left unaddressed? Was it because they are Fulani from Libya that made law enforcement agents not to arrest and prosecute them even when they are seen carrying illegal arms within the country? Or was it because they are from Libya that is why the president closed his eyes and allowed them to carry unlicensed arms in Nigeria? People should know that we are human beings here. How can you be doing all these and think that we are just stigmatizing them?
Do you subscribe to former President Obasanjo’s call for a national dialogue to address these issues? Anyone talking about any conference now is just relaying what has been done before. For instance, what will they discuss now that has not been discussed before? Embarking on another conference now is just a delay of time and insincerity. We have a workable paper already that could be used if we are serious about solving the problems of this country.
I believe that anyone ready to solve the country’s challenges should set up a committee that will look into the implementation of the recommendations made during the last conference. If there is anything you feel that should be added or updated, do it and embark on implementation of the document. Any other thing than this is just chasing shadows with the unity of this country, playing with the problem that has to be solved, and turning blind eyes to the solution to the problems of the country.
That shows insincerity. What should be done on the 2014 National conference report is implementation. This includes devolution of power, fighting corruption, restructuring and others. All the solutions are contained in the document for anyone that is ready to solve the issues affecting the country. I have often said that the number one enemy of this country is that person that is kicking against restructuring because the solution to the problems of the country will be solved through that.
It is not about going to the National Assembly because part of the issue to be resolved is the National Assembly itself. What should be done by anyone is in the 2014 report if we don’t want to waste time. On fears of Nigerians resorting to self-help you are just trying to rub the issue at the surface because there could be chaos in the country when the people resort to self-help which is an instrument of chaos. How can you beat a man and he will not retaliate?
Obasanjo, who said that people will resort to self-help is just trying to prevent been accused as the person that created the crisis. He does not want to be linked to any issue that could arise later. Or, how will you explain the situation where the Fulani are raping our women, burning our houses and rather than caution, you are saying they should come back home. And we are saying our people should not come back home. Do you know what they mean by that statement? They could resort to attacking southerners living in the North. And mind you, they do not need to say that publicly.
They are ready for it but we are not. All the boys grazing are all armed. And do you want to tell me that the President does not know that? All the herdsmen going about with AK-47, do they need such to rear their cattle? And how long are we going to shout and complain over this?
They are burning houses and perpetrating other heinous acts because they are armed. When the President went to Makurdu in Benue State, Governor Samuel Ortom told him that he knows those attacking the state and they wrote to him; informing him of their planned attacks which were later carried out. Instead of acting on the information, the President responded with the claim that he should make friends with his neighbours. The neighbours are killing them.
Is that a President who swore to protect lives and properties of the citizens? I don’t know how the president will ask unarmed people to make friends with those who are armed and and are wreaking havoc in the country.
They have killed souls. Every day in the South-West, they kill, burn houses, and kidnap among others. This does not include those that were killed in Enugu State and others. Some of the cases were not manufactured. Even if they were manufactured, was the killing of our leader’s daughter manufactured or the professor at Obafemi Awolowo University, who narrated how he was kidnapped and released by the perpetrators? What is the answer to that?
Or the story of the woman who returned home from London on her way to Benin, on arrival at Ilesha, they were attacked by the herdsmen? She had to sacrifice herself to the herdsmen to be raped rather than allow them perpetrate their earlier plan. It is sad that rather than look into the content of the letter, everyone is just complaining about the messenger forgetting the message.
Obasanjo is not an enemy of the country. We are all busy castigating the man but is that the issue now? When these people attack any community, they take over the land. It is because they do not have enough land at their disposal that they have embarked on Ruga?. What type of people does this government think we are? The man does not understand what is at stake. Obasanjo has done his best to tell us there is danger ahead. Aside raising an alarm, he has offered solution. We should leave the messenger and tackle the message in the interest of the country.
It is 53 years since the July 1966 counter-coup. The issues then are still much with us, what is the reason for this? It is unfortunate that we have refused to learn from history and that is why the issue that caused the counter-coup has continued to repeat itself. Even the way it was solved after that, they refused to follow it.
There is no other issue because whenever we talk, some people do not understand reasons for such statement. It is a question of autonomy for the ethnic groups. You cannot rule a country of this nature under a unitary form of government; that is the basic problem. The moment you aim to centralize the government of a country so heterogeneous like Nigeria there will be problem.
On President Buhari’s 43-man ministerial list I have refused to comment on the ministerial nominees because I do not recognize President Buhari. Until the Supreme Court delivers judgement on the 2019 election, I am yet to believe that he was elected the President of the country. It will be contradictory on my part to be commenting on what it should be when I do not believe that anyone gave him a mandate.
Those who voted for him can comment because they will have reasons to have voted for him to rule the country. Since I do not believe in his election why should I be commenting on what he does? What actually led to the discord that affected Afenifere in 2003? That is a long story. I do not know which aspect said X or Y caused it.
This is because the division has so many angles. According to former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Afenifere does not have a constitution and succession plans. How true is this? When did he realize that Afenifere does not have a constitution? Was it when he won election with our platform or after he left? Was he in Afenifere before he was elected? Ask him.
When he was elected, was there a constitution then and why was it abandoned? He can say anything because I do not want to go into the arena with him at all. This is because he is so junior to me. I will rather allow Yinka Odumakin and others to be talking to him because people do not know him. He is among Bola Tinubu and others who are latter day Afenifere members.
They rode on the platform of Afenifere. He (Osoba) has been claiming that he had been there before then. Somebody founded Afenifere and where was he when we were there? Those who are at his level will reply him. The way he talks sometimes one feels irritated.
Vanguard
BE
– July 30, 2019 @ 08:30 GMT /
Tags: 1966 COUP: It’s unfortunate we’ve refused to learn from history – ADEBANJO
