The Committee for the Actualisation of Yoruba Self-Determination (CAYSD) has called on the National Assembly to urgently convene talks among Nigeria’s constituent ethnic nationalities on the future of the country, including the possibility of an independent Yoruba nation.
In a statement issued on behalf of CAYSD by its director, Prof Ademola Araoye, and signed by 43 prominent Yoruba leaders and stakeholders on Wednesday, titled “For the Good of All: It’s Time to Convene Sovereignty Talks,” it said Nigeria’s longstanding political crisis could no longer be addressed solely through elections or adjustments to the existing political structure, insisting that fundamental questions about the country’s constitutional arrangement must be confronted.
“For the good of all, it is time for the leadership of the Nigerian state as represented by the National Assembly and led by Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio to, as a matter of urgency, facilitate talks by the Yorubas with all other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria,” the statement said.
“It is time to discuss how we have been and how we intend to be in Nigeria. The mere 4-year cycle of elections as presently contemplated will have no effect on the subsisting ‘federal governance’ structure.”
It said the Yoruba position had traditionally centred on restructuring Nigeria into a genuine federation with substantial autonomy for its constituent peoples and regions, but that repeated failures had prompted a change in approach.
“Having maintained this stance and in view of our severally failed efforts, we the undersigned now wish to transform and adopt a new modality that places peaceful self-determination, including the possibility of an Oduduwa Nation, expressly on the table for public discussion, constitutional engagement and democratic consideration,” it stated.
Going further, the group stressed that the initiative would be peaceful, rejecting violence, intimidation and attacks on public institutions.
“We intend instead to rely upon civic consultation, public enlightenment, scholarship, constitutional advocacy, dialogue, lawful assembly, engagement with elected institutions, negotiation with other nationalities and the pursuit of a credible democratic mechanism through which the wishes of the people can be expressed.”
The committee also said the proposed Yoruba self-determination initiative should not be interpreted as hostility towards Nigeria, arguing that the question should be addressed through constitutional negotiation and democratic consent.
“The proponents ODUDUWA/YORUBA NATION therefore maintain that peaceful discussion of SELF-DETERMINATION should not in itself be treated as hostility to Nigeria,” it said.
The statement further notified President Bola Tinubu of what the signatories described as a “new phase of Oduduwa/Yoruba constitutional engagement with Nigeria,” saying they were commencing an “organised, legal, peaceful and democratic examination of self-determination and the ultimate creation of a Yoruba Nation as soon as possible.”
Among the 43 signatories are Prof Banji Akintoye, Senator Femi Okurounmu, Chief John Oni, Chief Imam Aduanigba, Chief Tola Adeniyi, Prof Oluyemisi Akinyemiju, Dr Gbadebo Adekunjo, Senator Tunji Adelekan, Prof Ademola Araoye, Dr Akin Fapohunda, Dr Olatunde Hamzat, Chief Kikelomo Laniyonu-Edwards, Prof Kunle Olawunmi and General Gani Raji.
(The Sun)
