The theme of the colloquium, which coincided with the 70th birthday of YPM’s national coordinator, Honourable Oladosu Oladipo, was “Resetting the Yoruba Nation’s Agenda for Rapid, Systematic and Sustainable Development.”
Chairman of the event and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, said he would henceforth attend any political meeting called by Yoruba leaders in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Accord and other parties in addition to the ones summoned by his party, APC.
Akande, who was interim national chairman of APC, said a new era of political unity would from now be witnessed in the politics of the South-West for the development of the Yoruba nation.
“We are for unity politics. After this, whenever and wherever we will meet, even if not in my house, I must be there. However, we must understand our language.
“They have destroyed our education. It is my prayer that God will help us to rebuild it. The representatives of governors here have a lot of work to do. We learnt that Lagos State House of Assembly now uses Yoruba language to legislate, I give kudos to them.
“When we were in school, all subjects were taught in Yoruba language and we were even learning Yoruba language as a subject on its own. Those who learnt Yoruba then are those who can speak with courage today. We must start now,” he said.
He called on the governors to enforce the return of Yoruba language as the medium of instruction in early education to facilitate wholesome cognitive development of Yoruba children.
Earlier, one of the main discussants of the theme, Dr Kunle Olajide, emphasised the need for Yoruba leaders to come together and speak in unison against “the dangerous kites” being flown by the Federal Government.
He described the plan by the Federal Government to take education from state government as a conquest policy targeted at the Yoruba nation as the leading light in education.
Olajide called for concerted efforts to scuttle the plan which he said would add further burden to the already bloated Exclusive List in the constitution.
He condemned moves to grant autonomy to local governments in the country through the amendment of the constitution ongoing in the National Assembly, saying it would sow a seed to subvert the state governments.
“The Yoruba nation demands a new order for Nigeria. The existing order is unacceptable to most Nigerians as evidenced by the various agitations and state of insecurity virtually enveloping the country.
“The resetting of Yoruba nation agenda must not be exclusive preserve of the elite.
All stakeholders including the proletarians, the grass roots have roles to play in setting the agenda.
“Let me disabuse the impression held by a few people who perhaps, out of ignorance or sheer mischief, consider this theme as sectional. It is our own approach to resolving the elusive National Question,” he said.
A former presidential aide, Dr Doyin Okupe, dispelled the notion that by calling for the restructuring of Nigeria, Yoruba leaders were angling for secession, saying that the foundations of the country were faulty and anything built on such would come to nothing.
“We cannot but have a Yoruba agenda as long as we are in Nigeria. Most people misrepresent our position on restructuring to mean an attempt to secede. This is not true. The foundations of the country are bad and anyone building on such is labouring in vain.
“In the days Chief Obafemi Awolowo, we saw what our leaders made of the Western region. Till today, no state governments and the Federal Government have been able to match up with that standard.
“If Nigeria is not ready to restructure or implement the 2014 confab report, let all the six South-West states in Yorubaland agree to implement it. Let us become a shining example that we were known for in Nigeria once again.
“We are clamouring for restructuring so that we can have independence to annex our sweat, hard work and intelligence for the development of our people,” he said.
Interim chairman of YPM, Dr Saka Balogun, said “we want as many as possible Yoruba politicians to be in the same political party. It might not be possible for all of us to be in the same party. But if most of us are in the same party, it will be more convenient for the agenda we plan to set to work out well.
“We are not seceding from Nigeria, but we are maintaining that we don’t want a situation where Yoruba will not be given due respect or honour it deserves in this country.
“It is not compulsory that we establish a new party. It is possible that we all move en mass to an existing party. Such a party definitely will feel our presence when we decide to do so,” he said.
YPM’s national coordinator, Honourable Oladipo, said the body was not a socio-cultural organisation but a pan-Yoruba political movement.
“We must now begin to work. Chief Akande has a lot of work to do. All political leaders like Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, Chief Olu Falae, and others must be brought under one meeting to forge a common goal.
“I don’t see any party that can ignore the South-West towards 2019. Let’s work together to achieve the same goal,” he said.
In attendance at the event were Dr Fredrick Fasehun, Chief Rotimi Paseda, Senators Femi Lanlehin, Ayo Adeseun; Honourable Adejare Bello, General Raji Rasaki, Chief Sharafadeen Alli, Chief Sharafadeen Tunji Ishola; Ambassador Yemi Farounbi, Dr Adebisi Busari, Dr Olapade Agoro and Dr Wale Omole
Other were the Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Dr Olalekan Ali, who represented Governor Abiola Ajimobi; Honourable Jide Adejuyigbe, who represented Governor Olusegun Mimiko; Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, Chief Bayo Oyero, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, Professor Soji Adejumo and many others.
source: TRIBUNE NEWS PAPER
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