By Chukwudi Nweje
A socio-political organisation, under the banner of Yoruba Referendum Committee, has demanded a referendum of the Yoruba Nation to decide the framework for their aspirations and self-actualisation.
It also asked other ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria to carry out similar referendum, noting that such will facilitate the “re federalisation of the Nigeria.”
In a statement signed by Mr. Femi Odedeyi and Mr. Shenge Rahman, Co-ordinators of the group, they asked the Houses of Assembly in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti States to pass into law, the Bill for a Referendum, which it has presented before the various assembly twice, and noted that a referendum within Yorubaland, as well as other ethnic nationalities will restore Nigeria on the path of greatness.
It said, “The only period of social and economic development experienced in Nigeria was during the Federal and Regional administrations, attested to by the references to the Western Region as “our Golden Era” by the Yoruba, and lately, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration’s recourse to showcasing its economic achievements via the “Rice Pyramid” – an admission of the developments in the then Northern Region as exemplified by the groundnut pyramids.
“It is therefore necessary to create a roadmap towards creating the political, economic and cultural atmosphere that will ensure continuous and unfettered development as envisaged and pursued by the then Western Region, as a categorical imperative which we hereby dub as Yoruba Referendum.”
It rejected calls in some quarters that an interim government or government of national unity be established at the expiration of the tenure of President Buhari on May 29, 2023.
It said such contraption will cause more problems for Nigeria as it will subvert the legitimate quest for true federalism in Nigeria, even as it will usurp the will of the people in whom power resides and arrogate power and authority to the same crop of leaders who created the problems facing the country.
“There is no evidence till date that the political upheaval and crisis engendered by the June 12, 1993, annulment has disappeared to warrant such calls. Instead of the crisis abating, problems of structure and power relation in the country are getting worse by the day. The Interim Government of 1993 was instituted as a half-measure to address the crisis emanating from the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections. Because of its shaky foundation, it did not take long for the military that set it up to torpedo it”, it said.
The group asked presidential aspirants, especially those of Yoruba origin to anchor their aspirations on good governance for Nigeria and ensuring that the Yoruba Nation and Nigeria as a whole are “rescued from the continuous cycles of underdevelopment.”
It noted that the subsisting presidential system is too expensive to operate and should be tinkered with to cut cost and save resources.
“In order to avoid the huge expenses associated with every electoral cycle, the Federal Republic of Nigeria must be anchored on a valid Federal Constitution, with a Federal Presidential Council, whose members will be selected or elected from each of the nationalities as federating units and from whom a Head of State will be selected or elected as the primus-inter-pares with an agreed term. This will make the need for country-wide campaigns by a candidate unnecessary thus cutting off avoidable expenses. Such will also compel the aspirant or candidate to concentrate on the real needs and aspirations of the people he or she is representing.
“It is clear that what is today regarded as ‘our Golden Era’ occurred when we were practising Parliamentary System of government, that system of government ensured less monetisation of electoral politics as there was no need for even a Region-wide canvass for votes to become the Premier. This is sharp contrast to what obtains today, under Presidential System, which costs a colossal amount of money which keep increasing at every electoral cycle”, the group said.