By Job Osazuwa
Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has said that Nigeria was living on oxygen and could collapse anytime soon except the country is restructured.
Making this known at a briefing in Lagos as part of the celebration of the fourth anniversary of his installation as the 15th Aareonakakanfo, he expressed the belief that restructuring Nigeria into regions would solve most of the political and socio-economic challenges bedevilling Nigeria. He said that having the country restructured would also douse the growing agitation and tension across Nigeria, particularly the clamour for secession.
He suggested that 25 per cent of nation’s resources should be given to the Federal Government while the remaining 75 per cent should be distributed accordingly to the regions.
According to him, the seemingly unending insecurity that has confronted virtually all parts of Nigeria for more than a decade might not subside anytime soon with the present system of governance and political structure the country operates. He maintained that there was no way the country would achieve effective security system without restructuring. He explained that if there were federal, regional, state and local government policing, there would be periodic checks in situations where there are excesses from any of them.
“If we don’t want Nigeria to break we must restructure it into regions. This is what everybody has been clamouring for so that everyone will have a sense of belonging.
“Niger Delta people that are fighting for resource control is also part of the call for restructuring. I will be the last person to be against this agitation because it is their right. Before the existence of Nigeria, the people of Niger Delta have existed; likewise the Yoruba nation.
“We in the South West benefited immensely during the regional government headed by late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. We could remember the level of development and healthy competition across Nigeria,” he said.
On 2023 election, Adams said that Nigerian politicians are all the same. He accused public office holders of not fulfilling their electoral promises, adding that having witnessed many elections in the past, he could no longer allow himself to be deceived.
He insisted that there was still enough time to restructure Nigeria before the next hand-over date.
“He said: “We can’t because of the interest of one person or a few individuals and continue to destroy our future.” The office of the Aareonakakanfo is mostly driven by the vision to transform the traditional institution and change the ugly narratives. What is most important for us is to be committed to the ideals of the institution. We must focus our strengths on the vision of the office of the Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land.
“The idea is to build a monument of global standard that will take care of Yoruba artefacts, artistry and creative works, and a Yoruba language school that will cater to the needs of the deficit in the Yoruba language.
“In the coming years, I will also use the office of the Aareonakakanfo to build the South-West Agriculture Village that will also help in building the region’s agric economy where food will be in surplus. In no long distant time, my office will create the Southwest Farmers Development/Growth Initiative, an initiative that will take care of South-West farmers’ worries. We will be giving out loans to farmers across the region. As the Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, it is also in my plan to build a Theatre Village where our focus will be to train new artistes and encourage the use of pure and undiluted Yoruba language,” he said.