The African Union chapter of the Oodua Progressives Union (OPU) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to go into the New Year with renewed hope and determination to save Nigeria from possible disintegration. The Yoruba diaspora group also stated that Nigeria’s progress is tied to regionalism.
Rising from its annual virtual summit monitored in Lagos, and with over 1000 participants, the OPU in communiqué, expressed worry that the trajectory of the Nigerian nation since independence had triggered growing concerns from the various ethnic nationalities that make up the nation. It said, however, that the new year offers ample chance and opportunities for the president to salvage the country from the looming implosion.
The summit, with the theme: ‘The struggle for nation building’ maintained that the struggle for nation building was an enduring process of development. In his speech, Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, who is also the global convener of the group, said Nigeria’s progress is tied to regionalism, insisting that the only way to rekindle the hope of Nigeria is to allow the federating units to grow and develop at their own pace.
“Nigeria is creeping badly. For over six decades of its nationhood, the country has never built a nation where peace and justice reign. Today, every ethnic nationality that make up the country is crying for justice.
“In Nigeria, for example, there are some factors that hindered the struggle for nation building. And some of these factors include poor justice system, bad leadership, poor legislation and corruption.
“But in order to save Nigeria, we must go back to regionalism where all the federating units grow and develop at their own pace. We must also discourage regional and religious sentiments as it affects the process of nation building. We must rid the country of corrupt leaders,” he said.
The guest lecturer, Dr Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu, from Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, argued that the British philosophy was not to create a nation, but to create a cosmetic arrangement that would later triggered ethnic conflicts and agitations.
OPU also pressed for the release of detained Yoruba self determination agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Igboho, and that of the leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and other agitators from detention. Prof Kolawole Raheem, an environmentalist from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, in his speech highlighted the various challenges and struggles of African nations in line with their demand for independence.