*BEING THE PRESENTATION OF DR. VICTOR TAIWO, SECRETARY-GENERAL 'COUNCIL OF YORUBA ELDERS' AND NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, 'NEW NIGERIA MOVEMENT' AT THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL INAUGURATION OF 'OGBAKO NDIGBO NILE' (COALITION OF NDIGBO PEOPLE'S UNION WORLDWIDE) HOLDING TODAY SATURDAY 29TH JUNE, 2024 AT THE NUJ PRESS CENTRE OWERRI, IMO STATE NIGERIA*
Topic: *The need for a new Nigeria: An exposition of Nigeria of yesterday, today and the future, the Yoruba perspective*
1. *Greetings*
My first courtesy goes to the great leaders of the hosting organization *Coalition of Igbo People’s Union* newly christened *Ogbako Ndigbo Nile* in the person of His Excellency Ambassador Akpelu Azunna E. Ph.D who has always maintained the status of a decent Igbo leader and Nigerian patriot. I also pay a very huge homage to that erudite scholar of high repute Prof. Obasi Igwe who we have given the cognomen of *Divine Gift* in the circle of the New Nigeria Movement in his special recognition as a repository of knowledge. I, as well, greet all the executive and members of Ogbako Ndigbo Nile worldwide and the delegates of the New Nigeria Movement from the other zones of the country.
2. *Felicitation*
Away from the above courtesy, I need to congratulate all the leaders and members of this organization on the auspicious event of today whose purpose and impact will soon reflect as the foundation of a new development in the history of Igboland on one hand and Nigeria on the other hand.
3. *Our mission here today*
What has brought us here right from our Yoruba region is to pay our solidarity with you people on the ephocal event of the inauguration of the Ogbako Ndigbo Nile which I can see is manifesting as the emerging central and global voice for the Igbo people worldwide. I, therefore, felicitate you all.
4. *My humble capacity*
You might want to ask, in what capacity am I speaking here? I am speaking in the capacity of the humble Secretary- General and Leader of the *Council of Yoruba Elders (CYE)* the most veritable voice for the Yoruba people across the world now. Also, I am speaking in the capacity of the Convener & National Chairman of the *New Nigeria Movement*, a national body created to launder a new Nigeria away from the presently bastardized one we are all witnessing and suffering from today. It is designed to bring together all ethnic organizations and well-meaning personalities from all the zones of Nigeria with the aim of restructuring the country into a sane system which will work for everybody and meet our individual ethnic aspirations. This is where and why the (a) Council of Yoruba Elders for the South-West and (b) Ogbako Ndigbo Nile for the South-East got involved among other groups from the six zones of the country. The identities of the other groups that form the New Nigeria Movement are as follows:
(c) South-South People’s Nigeria Movement for the South-South, (d) North-East People's Assembly for the North-East (e)
Union of the Natives of the North-West Nigeria for the North-West and (f) Middle-Belt People’s Forum for the North-Central.
It is, therefore, on the basis of the solidarity with you great people of Igbo nation that I have been requested to present a paper entitled, *The need for a new Nigeria: An exposition of Nigeria of yesterday, today and future, the Yoruba perspective*
5. *My presentation*
Without unnecessarily re- inventing the wheel, I will have to do some cullings from a couple of papers I have delivered at one event or the other, engage thorough modifications and string them into a cohesive, meaning whole as to meet the expectation of today. I am earnestly saying this so I don't portray monotony to those who have been reading me before now. I am only doing this to exert the emphasis of my drive.
6. *The thrust of New Nigeria Movement*
The thrust of this body is to champion the enhancement and/or facilitate the collective agreement of all Nigerians to sit together at a round table to work out the final solution to the multifarious problems of this country through the inevitable restructuring agenda via *Independent National Conference*.
Without any gainsaying, there are serious problems in this country such that has driven the vehicle of the country to a cul-de-sac with all the structures of the country run to a halt. Do we need to start listing the multiple items of the crises rocking our boat into drowning? I think it is literally needless as we all know where the shoes pinch.
7. *Diagnosis*
Now, what I have always believed makes sense to all that have the faculties in their heads running is that whenever there is an ailment, thorough diagnostic examinations are required rather than mere fire-brigade approach. And so with the level of war of national and individual survival that we are fighting in the country presently, it is absolutely perforce we go to the laboratory for proper diagnostic examinations and adopt the proper medications for our respective continued happy life rather than merely deliberately treating leprosy with the drug meant for eczema. This I regard as self-deception and sheer foolishness.
8. *Looking back into history*
Looking back into history, we must have realized our continued co-existence in Nigeria is going to be a very difficult thing unless we the pioneer leaders of this Movement and all well-meaning, patriotic Nigerians are sincere and determined to make things work against all odds. If not, we have come to the end of the country called Nigeria whether we like it or not.
Going back memory lane, history will always be there to remind us of the incidences that have culminated in the national tragedies we are contending with in Nigeria today such that all the forces in the world cannot cover the tracks of history and succeed.
Kindly allow me to quickly run the following short tale which may look like unworthy self-adulating digression, but you will always get the point in it at the end of the day.
In 1994 I wrote one of my numerous books entitled *NIGERIA ON GUNPOWDER* which, with all modesty, I boast of today as being the best compendium of Nigeria’s political history ever written by any author yet in the world.
Some five years later I gave the manuscript to the Hon. Justice Adewale Thompson, one of the best judges ever produced by Nigeria, to write the foreword to it. When I got to him on the appointed day to pick the manuscript and the foreword, he looked straight in my eyes with utmost dismay and expressed his absolute admiration for me at the contents of the book. And he asked me of my age when I wrote the book. I told him I was just above 30 years. Then he said how come I was able to know the wonderful facts and figures contained in the book to which he was a witness when most of the events took place and when I was not born? All I said was, 'You gave us education sir and one of the aspects of the education is to learn about our past existence which is History.'
The point I am establishing here is that the children yet unborn will read history and understand perfectly their past however much our government may strive to cover the tracks of history by removing History from our educational curriculum.
Thus our past in Nigeria is shrouded in confusion as masterminded by the colonialists and aggravated by the incompatibility of the different strange bedfellows with different traits that constitute Nigeria. Should we deceive ourselves that Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, Fulani, Hausa, Kanuri, Tiv, Nembe, Ibibio and the rest of the various nationalities in the country are related by consanguinity in the slightest way? Capital NO. Now can we say that the spirit the colonialists deployed to amalgamate us into one was a genuine and altruistic one that could make us sweep our differences under the carpet? No. Were our pioneer political leaders so much loving, tolerant and cooperative among themselves enough as to sacrifice their chauvinism for unity of purpose enough to thin away our background forces? No.
Let us examine the submissions of the following masters of the birth and the evolution of Nigeria so we can use them to run through the past, examine our present and project into the future:
a. 'The British expected Nigeria to break up' - Harold Smith, a former colonial officer in Nigeria.
b. 'It is never an easy task to govern a country like Nigeria. It is somewhat artificial creation' - Margaret Thatcher , a former British Prime Minister.
c. 'No European power was in Africa for purely altruistic motives, and one side of the dual mandate which Britain and the other colonial powers had undertaken in Africa was apt to succeed at the expense of the other. The Europeans’ desire to exploit African trade and resources was apt to be a stronger force than the feeling of obligation to help the African people to advance' - Lord Frederick Lugard, former Governor-General of Nigeria.
d. 'Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no Nigerians in the same sense as there are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’ or ‘French ’. The word Nigeria is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not' – Obafemi Awolowo.
e. 'It is better for us and many admirers abroad that we should disintegrate in peace and not in pieces. Should the politicians fail to heed this warning then I will nurture the prediction that the experience of the Democratic Republic of Congo will be a child’s play if ever it comes to our turn to play such a tragic role' – Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1964.
f. 'The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory and never allow them to have control over their future' – Sir Ahmadu Bello.
g. 'Since 1914 the British government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs, and customs and do not show themselves any signs of willingness to unite. Nigeria’s unity is only a British invention' – Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in 1948.
h. 'The only way left for rapid progress of both countries i.e. Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria is to return to the good old days when the North and South were separate' – Shehu Shagari, a former president of Nigeria.
i. 'North can survive if Nigeria divides' – Arewa elders.
j. 'Our great country has by that amalgamation gone into hibernation. I don’t know how long it would be in that libenatory state. But as long as the Yoruba country is connected with the sea, we shall not fail, and one day we shall come out of that hibernation to be a free country again' - Alexander Sapara Williams, the first Nigerian practicing lawyer.
k. 'The basis for Nigeria’s unity is not there' – Yakubu Gowon.
Let us stop the above renditions of discordant lyrics and examine if there has ever been any streak of national unity of purpose in this country until we are now all grounded to the point of no advancement.
9. *The way out*
From all the above revelations, it is clear that Nigeria is not a nation of one people but different nations of different peoples of the traits or incompatibility. The question we shall, therefore, ask ourselves are these;
a. Why have we gone together for this long in spite of our incompatibilities?
b. Do we believe we can reverse the trend and bear the country anew for collective good purpose?
c. Do we need to deceive ourselves that all is well with us?
d. Do we need to coerce ourselves into the spluttering and burning cocoon in the name of unity by force?
e. If some of us truly believe in the geo-political entity called Nigeria, can we ever evade sitting down at a round-table to discuss and agree on the terms of our working relationship?
Thus what I consider as being the best question to answer is the last item - item e. We need to sit down with all sincerity to address the issue of our further co-existence. And I see this opportunity, talking prophetically, as the last opportunity we have at hand to do so. But here is my fear deriving from the submission of that great mind of yore viz. Samuel Akinola the erstwhile Secretary-General of Anglican Church in Nigeria:
‘A nation that is afraid of forming a forum where grievances can be amicably resolved and fundamental problem tackled is not ready for an enduring democracy, and any structure created on such a foundation ladened with suspicions and grudges will be short-lived’.
Now with all the discrepancies among Nigerians, why has it been possible that we are still together till today albeit a union of discomfort? The reason is simple. The oil factor.
10. *The oil factor*
Prior to the era of unitary system brought by the military in 1966, the regional arrangement was fostering and giving the best result in the experiment of true federalism whereby each of the regions was sprinting to the best of its ability. Imagine the West making the best of agriculture with cocoa, imagine the North making the best of agriculture with groundnut and imagine the East making the best of agriculture with palm oil. But at the emergence of the unitary government and the discovery of oil in the country in commercial quantity, the rat race for the exploitation of the free money began. Nigeria was so rich from the oil that Yakubu Gowon said money was not the problem of Nigeria but how to spend it. Thus since then up to now, the issue has been oil, and oil and oil alone. Every other direction has no thoroughfare. So, the battle over oil is the battle of Armageddon. The oil comes from the Niger-Delta otherwise known as the South-South geo-political zone. The North will never compromise the oil so much that Muhammadu Gambo a former Inspector General of Police swore that the North would spill blood if anybody tried to take away the oil from them. Should I believe that the South-East is also afraid of cutting away from the Niger-Delta because they believe they can’t survive without their oil? You will have to speak out on this. This is a challenge I am throwing today. So, the oil matter is the cause for the forced cohesion of Nigerians.
But here is the tragedy. The oil will either run dry one day or it will lose its value at a point. And come to think of another disaster, the oil has even been mortgaged by the previous government of Muhammadu Buhari that for a long time to come the oil being explored from Nigeria may not belong to us. These aside, even with the oil, where are we today with our economy where we are living on perpetual loans which we may not be able to pay back in the next 40 years? Can the oil sustain us any further and for how long are we going to remain chasing a mirage or, put the other way round, deceiving ourselves?
I for one, as a veritable leader from the Yoruba Region, I am never interested in the oil from the South-South. After all, several great countries of the world do not have oil under their soil or water and yet most of them can buy up Nigeria in a twinkle of an eye. How much oil or quantity of oil do Germany, France, Britain, Israel, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Ukraine, Singapore, India, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland, Panama, Cyprus, Lebanon, Barbados, Austria, South Korea, Mauritius, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia, Saint Lucia, Maldives, Mongolia, Australia, Sri Lanca, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Bosnia, Jordan, etc. have? Do they not survive? It is only vacuous-headed set of people who will swear that they cannot survive without the oil from another part of the world. This is simply the bane of Nigeria.
So, if the intellectuals from all the zones even including the Niger-Delta cannot sit down and fashion out how it can survive without oil, I am afraid the backlash will be worse by the time the realisation of the reality splashes us in the face.
Essentially, if each of the zones can begin to think outside the box of the free oil money from somewhere, then this restructuring project would be the easiest for us. But if our concentration is still on the
Niger-Delta’s oil, I am afraid we might soon sink under the water.
11. *Assessment of the Nigeria's situation*
Now, coming to assess the current government, it is certain that, looking into the horizon with all intellectual apparatuses and doubling the vision with the employment of the crystal ball, sans all self-deception and sentiment, all the global economic indices for radical turn-around of a drowning country as ours are absolutely non-existent on the ground. This is a matter of absolute conviction. And so, the current menace of hunger, inflation and the general collapse of the socio-economic structures may not have an end looming. Therefore, if our case would not be Lilliputian to that of the Ireland's Great Hunger of 1845 where one million people lost their lives out of a population of eight million people, a very urgent and lasting solution must be incubated. No other solution than the quick restructuring of the country so every people can design their collective life according to their aspiration.
12. *What modality of restructuring*
Yes, the emphasis is that the solution to the problem on ground is the restructuring of the country. However, the question now is, what form of restructuring are we talking about? It is the restructuring back to regionalism or true federalism. But here is a snag. Are we saying we should revert to the old three or four regions? No. But there is always a way to it. Here is the clue:
For God’s sake how do people equate Western Region or South-West zone to Yorubaland? South-West is not Yorubaland and Yorubaland is not South-West. The old Western Region extended from today's Lagos to Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta States. The point is, if Yorubaland extends to Edo and some part of Delta States namely, the Itsekiriland, how related are we to Asaba an Igbo enclave? Then how insanely could it be to regard Kwara State and the Okunland of Kogi State as part of Northern Region? Crazy, is it not?
Thus the first and foremost exercise of the restructuring agenda is to do the proper re-delineation of the geography of Yorubaland which will emerge as the regional entity of Yorubaland namely, Yoruba Region or Re-defined Western Region with a new map projection.
Ditto the sheer absurdity in the composition of the Eastern Region. The largest ethnic nationality in the old Eastern Region is Igbo. Today the enclave of Igbo people are by the current Nigerian arrangement restricted to five states namely, Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Imo and Ebonyi. But in real, practical terms, Igboland extends to 13 states of Nigeria namely, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Rivers, Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Kogi and Benue.
Let us leave the analysis to these two of the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
Thus the restructuring has to begin with the identification of the ethic groups and their geographical spread for consummation from the disparate units into a cohesive whole thus moulding their watchword into ‘One people, one destiny’.
13. *The modus operandi*
Now, what is the modality employable? Either of two things - let the country be peacefully dissolved like in the experience of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, or we restructure the country without further procrastination. But coming to terms with the adopted agenda of this organization New Nigeria Movement, the restructuring modality is our focus.
Essentially the summation of the above epistle is that the inevitable solution to the multifarious problems of Nigeria is the restructuring of Nigeria via reversion to the old regional system whereby each people will be able to determine its destiny without being hampered by any clogging factor in the world.
The race to this destination is what New Nigeria Movement has set itself to pursue to a logical conclusion with all the vigour it can muster.
14. *Restructuring: the Yoruba perspective*
Lest I veer off the course of my expectation, let me prod you all to memory that the topic allotted to me is; *The need for a new Nigeria: An exposition of Nigeria of yesterday, today and the future, the Yoruba perspective*
Every people have their different inclinations and aspirations. Some have for agriculture, some for craft, some for education, some for religion, some for commerce, some for wood planting, some for tourism, some for sharia, some for culture et cetera, et cetera. So, in a restructured Nigeria nobody should be bamboozled into any unwilling adoption. Rather, let the room be given to each people whatever their natural aspiration is. Thus as for me and my Yoruba people, our non-negotiable inclination and aspiration are to join the club of the first-world and super-power countries with grim determination to trail and march up with the current world champion in magical technological spin namely, China within a space of unimaginable time. This aspiration is what will remain a dream in sleep till eternity should we remain in this present composition of Nigeria where all the states must go bowls in hand to take allocation from the centre. So, this aspiration can be met in a regional arrangement where we can go at our own pace. So, if the Igbo nation or Kanuri nation wants to share our aspiration, let the race for competition be set. It is only through this system that Nigeria can grow. Outside this, let us all begin to sing the threnody of Nigeria.
15. *The imperative for mutual understanding between the Yoruba and Igbo*
I need to quickly make this following statement in a manner of proactiveness and prognosis or prognostication. And that statement is that, if the restructuring agenda must succeed, there are two of the zones or nationalities among the rest that must play a pivotal role. These are the Yoruba people and Igbo people. Ask me, why?
Without being invidious in the slightest manner, among the six geo-political zones in the system of the New Nigeria Movement, South-West (Yoruba) and South-East (Igbo) are the ones operating at the same wavelength of advancement in the consummation of all arrangements while the rest are even yet to find their feet. Thus if we must anchor the other zones to a desirable length, then the cooperation between the Yoruba and Igbo is inevitably imperative.
And come think of something, it is very unfortunate that when you watch and read the various social media communications that have saturated the entire hemisphere, you will see our Yoruba and Igbo zealots throwing venomous tantrums against one another portaying themselves as perpetual and irredeemable enemies. I call it ignorance on the parts of both sides. If only the Yorubas are conscious of the fact that they are going nowhere without carrying the Igbos along, they would have seen no sense in fighting the Igbos. If only the Igbos know they are achieving nothing without synergizing with the Yorubas in the context of Nigeria, they would have thought twice before quarreling with the Yorubas. This is where I found it quite unstrategic in exhibition when our brother Nnamdi Kanu made Yorubas his objects of superlative hatred and unleashment of acidic invectives. Hmmm. Ignorance.
Essentially, given the above analysis, if the Yorubas and Igbos don't relate like brothers and sisters, we shall both remain in perpetual enslavement and eternal stagnancy forever. And the rest of Nigeria will never know peace and progress.
It is, therefore, not only imperative but inevitable that we bury our pride and ego, let us forget our differences, let us put aside our past misdemeanors, misconceptions, misinterpretations and misunderstandings whatever they are and let us embrace one another for the good of our collective tomorrow.
Here I anchor.
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Topic: *The need for a new Nigeria: An exposition of Nigeria of yesterday, today and the future, the Yoruba perspective*
1. *Greetings*
My first courtesy goes to the great leaders of the hosting organization *Coalition of Igbo People’s Union* newly christened *Ogbako Ndigbo Nile* in the person of His Excellency Ambassador Akpelu Azunna E. Ph.D who has always maintained the status of a decent Igbo leader and Nigerian patriot. I also pay a very huge homage to that erudite scholar of high repute Prof. Obasi Igwe who we have given the cognomen of *Divine Gift* in the circle of the New Nigeria Movement in his special recognition as a repository of knowledge. I, as well, greet all the executive and members of Ogbako Ndigbo Nile worldwide and the delegates of the New Nigeria Movement from the other zones of the country.
2. *Felicitation*
Away from the above courtesy, I need to congratulate all the leaders and members of this organization on the auspicious event of today whose purpose and impact will soon reflect as the foundation of a new development in the history of Igboland on one hand and Nigeria on the other hand.
3. *Our mission here today*
What has brought us here right from our Yoruba region is to pay our solidarity with you people on the ephocal event of the inauguration of the Ogbako Ndigbo Nile which I can see is manifesting as the emerging central and global voice for the Igbo people worldwide. I, therefore, felicitate you all.
4. *My humble capacity*
You might want to ask, in what capacity am I speaking here? I am speaking in the capacity of the humble Secretary- General and Leader of the *Council of Yoruba Elders (CYE)* the most veritable voice for the Yoruba people across the world now. Also, I am speaking in the capacity of the Convener & National Chairman of the *New Nigeria Movement*, a national body created to launder a new Nigeria away from the presently bastardized one we are all witnessing and suffering from today. It is designed to bring together all ethnic organizations and well-meaning personalities from all the zones of Nigeria with the aim of restructuring the country into a sane system which will work for everybody and meet our individual ethnic aspirations. This is where and why the (a) Council of Yoruba Elders for the South-West and (b) Ogbako Ndigbo Nile for the South-East got involved among other groups from the six zones of the country. The identities of the other groups that form the New Nigeria Movement are as follows:
(c) South-South People’s Nigeria Movement for the South-South, (d) North-East People's Assembly for the North-East (e)
Union of the Natives of the North-West Nigeria for the North-West and (f) Middle-Belt People’s Forum for the North-Central.
It is, therefore, on the basis of the solidarity with you great people of Igbo nation that I have been requested to present a paper entitled, *The need for a new Nigeria: An exposition of Nigeria of yesterday, today and future, the Yoruba perspective*
5. *My presentation*
Without unnecessarily re- inventing the wheel, I will have to do some cullings from a couple of papers I have delivered at one event or the other, engage thorough modifications and string them into a cohesive, meaning whole as to meet the expectation of today. I am earnestly saying this so I don't portray monotony to those who have been reading me before now. I am only doing this to exert the emphasis of my drive.
6. *The thrust of New Nigeria Movement*
The thrust of this body is to champion the enhancement and/or facilitate the collective agreement of all Nigerians to sit together at a round table to work out the final solution to the multifarious problems of this country through the inevitable restructuring agenda via *Independent National Conference*.
Without any gainsaying, there are serious problems in this country such that has driven the vehicle of the country to a cul-de-sac with all the structures of the country run to a halt. Do we need to start listing the multiple items of the crises rocking our boat into drowning? I think it is literally needless as we all know where the shoes pinch.
7. *Diagnosis*
Now, what I have always believed makes sense to all that have the faculties in their heads running is that whenever there is an ailment, thorough diagnostic examinations are required rather than mere fire-brigade approach. And so with the level of war of national and individual survival that we are fighting in the country presently, it is absolutely perforce we go to the laboratory for proper diagnostic examinations and adopt the proper medications for our respective continued happy life rather than merely deliberately treating leprosy with the drug meant for eczema. This I regard as self-deception and sheer foolishness.
8. *Looking back into history*
Looking back into history, we must have realized our continued co-existence in Nigeria is going to be a very difficult thing unless we the pioneer leaders of this Movement and all well-meaning, patriotic Nigerians are sincere and determined to make things work against all odds. If not, we have come to the end of the country called Nigeria whether we like it or not.
Going back memory lane, history will always be there to remind us of the incidences that have culminated in the national tragedies we are contending with in Nigeria today such that all the forces in the world cannot cover the tracks of history and succeed.
Kindly allow me to quickly run the following short tale which may look like unworthy self-adulating digression, but you will always get the point in it at the end of the day.
In 1994 I wrote one of my numerous books entitled *NIGERIA ON GUNPOWDER* which, with all modesty, I boast of today as being the best compendium of Nigeria’s political history ever written by any author yet in the world.
Some five years later I gave the manuscript to the Hon. Justice Adewale Thompson, one of the best judges ever produced by Nigeria, to write the foreword to it. When I got to him on the appointed day to pick the manuscript and the foreword, he looked straight in my eyes with utmost dismay and expressed his absolute admiration for me at the contents of the book. And he asked me of my age when I wrote the book. I told him I was just above 30 years. Then he said how come I was able to know the wonderful facts and figures contained in the book to which he was a witness when most of the events took place and when I was not born? All I said was, 'You gave us education sir and one of the aspects of the education is to learn about our past existence which is History.'
The point I am establishing here is that the children yet unborn will read history and understand perfectly their past however much our government may strive to cover the tracks of history by removing History from our educational curriculum.
Thus our past in Nigeria is shrouded in confusion as masterminded by the colonialists and aggravated by the incompatibility of the different strange bedfellows with different traits that constitute Nigeria. Should we deceive ourselves that Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, Fulani, Hausa, Kanuri, Tiv, Nembe, Ibibio and the rest of the various nationalities in the country are related by consanguinity in the slightest way? Capital NO. Now can we say that the spirit the colonialists deployed to amalgamate us into one was a genuine and altruistic one that could make us sweep our differences under the carpet? No. Were our pioneer political leaders so much loving, tolerant and cooperative among themselves enough as to sacrifice their chauvinism for unity of purpose enough to thin away our background forces? No.
Let us examine the submissions of the following masters of the birth and the evolution of Nigeria so we can use them to run through the past, examine our present and project into the future:
a. 'The British expected Nigeria to break up' - Harold Smith, a former colonial officer in Nigeria.
b. 'It is never an easy task to govern a country like Nigeria. It is somewhat artificial creation' - Margaret Thatcher , a former British Prime Minister.
c. 'No European power was in Africa for purely altruistic motives, and one side of the dual mandate which Britain and the other colonial powers had undertaken in Africa was apt to succeed at the expense of the other. The Europeans’ desire to exploit African trade and resources was apt to be a stronger force than the feeling of obligation to help the African people to advance' - Lord Frederick Lugard, former Governor-General of Nigeria.
d. 'Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no Nigerians in the same sense as there are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’ or ‘French ’. The word Nigeria is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not' – Obafemi Awolowo.
e. 'It is better for us and many admirers abroad that we should disintegrate in peace and not in pieces. Should the politicians fail to heed this warning then I will nurture the prediction that the experience of the Democratic Republic of Congo will be a child’s play if ever it comes to our turn to play such a tragic role' – Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1964.
f. 'The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory and never allow them to have control over their future' – Sir Ahmadu Bello.
g. 'Since 1914 the British government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs, and customs and do not show themselves any signs of willingness to unite. Nigeria’s unity is only a British invention' – Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in 1948.
h. 'The only way left for rapid progress of both countries i.e. Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria is to return to the good old days when the North and South were separate' – Shehu Shagari, a former president of Nigeria.
i. 'North can survive if Nigeria divides' – Arewa elders.
j. 'Our great country has by that amalgamation gone into hibernation. I don’t know how long it would be in that libenatory state. But as long as the Yoruba country is connected with the sea, we shall not fail, and one day we shall come out of that hibernation to be a free country again' - Alexander Sapara Williams, the first Nigerian practicing lawyer.
k. 'The basis for Nigeria’s unity is not there' – Yakubu Gowon.
Let us stop the above renditions of discordant lyrics and examine if there has ever been any streak of national unity of purpose in this country until we are now all grounded to the point of no advancement.
9. *The way out*
From all the above revelations, it is clear that Nigeria is not a nation of one people but different nations of different peoples of the traits or incompatibility. The question we shall, therefore, ask ourselves are these;
a. Why have we gone together for this long in spite of our incompatibilities?
b. Do we believe we can reverse the trend and bear the country anew for collective good purpose?
c. Do we need to deceive ourselves that all is well with us?
d. Do we need to coerce ourselves into the spluttering and burning cocoon in the name of unity by force?
e. If some of us truly believe in the geo-political entity called Nigeria, can we ever evade sitting down at a round-table to discuss and agree on the terms of our working relationship?
Thus what I consider as being the best question to answer is the last item - item e. We need to sit down with all sincerity to address the issue of our further co-existence. And I see this opportunity, talking prophetically, as the last opportunity we have at hand to do so. But here is my fear deriving from the submission of that great mind of yore viz. Samuel Akinola the erstwhile Secretary-General of Anglican Church in Nigeria:
‘A nation that is afraid of forming a forum where grievances can be amicably resolved and fundamental problem tackled is not ready for an enduring democracy, and any structure created on such a foundation ladened with suspicions and grudges will be short-lived’.
Now with all the discrepancies among Nigerians, why has it been possible that we are still together till today albeit a union of discomfort? The reason is simple. The oil factor.
10. *The oil factor*
Prior to the era of unitary system brought by the military in 1966, the regional arrangement was fostering and giving the best result in the experiment of true federalism whereby each of the regions was sprinting to the best of its ability. Imagine the West making the best of agriculture with cocoa, imagine the North making the best of agriculture with groundnut and imagine the East making the best of agriculture with palm oil. But at the emergence of the unitary government and the discovery of oil in the country in commercial quantity, the rat race for the exploitation of the free money began. Nigeria was so rich from the oil that Yakubu Gowon said money was not the problem of Nigeria but how to spend it. Thus since then up to now, the issue has been oil, and oil and oil alone. Every other direction has no thoroughfare. So, the battle over oil is the battle of Armageddon. The oil comes from the Niger-Delta otherwise known as the South-South geo-political zone. The North will never compromise the oil so much that Muhammadu Gambo a former Inspector General of Police swore that the North would spill blood if anybody tried to take away the oil from them. Should I believe that the South-East is also afraid of cutting away from the Niger-Delta because they believe they can’t survive without their oil? You will have to speak out on this. This is a challenge I am throwing today. So, the oil matter is the cause for the forced cohesion of Nigerians.
But here is the tragedy. The oil will either run dry one day or it will lose its value at a point. And come to think of another disaster, the oil has even been mortgaged by the previous government of Muhammadu Buhari that for a long time to come the oil being explored from Nigeria may not belong to us. These aside, even with the oil, where are we today with our economy where we are living on perpetual loans which we may not be able to pay back in the next 40 years? Can the oil sustain us any further and for how long are we going to remain chasing a mirage or, put the other way round, deceiving ourselves?
I for one, as a veritable leader from the Yoruba Region, I am never interested in the oil from the South-South. After all, several great countries of the world do not have oil under their soil or water and yet most of them can buy up Nigeria in a twinkle of an eye. How much oil or quantity of oil do Germany, France, Britain, Israel, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Ukraine, Singapore, India, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland, Panama, Cyprus, Lebanon, Barbados, Austria, South Korea, Mauritius, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia, Saint Lucia, Maldives, Mongolia, Australia, Sri Lanca, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Bosnia, Jordan, etc. have? Do they not survive? It is only vacuous-headed set of people who will swear that they cannot survive without the oil from another part of the world. This is simply the bane of Nigeria.
So, if the intellectuals from all the zones even including the Niger-Delta cannot sit down and fashion out how it can survive without oil, I am afraid the backlash will be worse by the time the realisation of the reality splashes us in the face.
Essentially, if each of the zones can begin to think outside the box of the free oil money from somewhere, then this restructuring project would be the easiest for us. But if our concentration is still on the
Niger-Delta’s oil, I am afraid we might soon sink under the water.
11. *Assessment of the Nigeria's situation*
Now, coming to assess the current government, it is certain that, looking into the horizon with all intellectual apparatuses and doubling the vision with the employment of the crystal ball, sans all self-deception and sentiment, all the global economic indices for radical turn-around of a drowning country as ours are absolutely non-existent on the ground. This is a matter of absolute conviction. And so, the current menace of hunger, inflation and the general collapse of the socio-economic structures may not have an end looming. Therefore, if our case would not be Lilliputian to that of the Ireland's Great Hunger of 1845 where one million people lost their lives out of a population of eight million people, a very urgent and lasting solution must be incubated. No other solution than the quick restructuring of the country so every people can design their collective life according to their aspiration.
12. *What modality of restructuring*
Yes, the emphasis is that the solution to the problem on ground is the restructuring of the country. However, the question now is, what form of restructuring are we talking about? It is the restructuring back to regionalism or true federalism. But here is a snag. Are we saying we should revert to the old three or four regions? No. But there is always a way to it. Here is the clue:
For God’s sake how do people equate Western Region or South-West zone to Yorubaland? South-West is not Yorubaland and Yorubaland is not South-West. The old Western Region extended from today's Lagos to Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta States. The point is, if Yorubaland extends to Edo and some part of Delta States namely, the Itsekiriland, how related are we to Asaba an Igbo enclave? Then how insanely could it be to regard Kwara State and the Okunland of Kogi State as part of Northern Region? Crazy, is it not?
Thus the first and foremost exercise of the restructuring agenda is to do the proper re-delineation of the geography of Yorubaland which will emerge as the regional entity of Yorubaland namely, Yoruba Region or Re-defined Western Region with a new map projection.
Ditto the sheer absurdity in the composition of the Eastern Region. The largest ethnic nationality in the old Eastern Region is Igbo. Today the enclave of Igbo people are by the current Nigerian arrangement restricted to five states namely, Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Imo and Ebonyi. But in real, practical terms, Igboland extends to 13 states of Nigeria namely, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Rivers, Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Kogi and Benue.
Let us leave the analysis to these two of the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
Thus the restructuring has to begin with the identification of the ethic groups and their geographical spread for consummation from the disparate units into a cohesive whole thus moulding their watchword into ‘One people, one destiny’.
13. *The modus operandi*
Now, what is the modality employable? Either of two things - let the country be peacefully dissolved like in the experience of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, or we restructure the country without further procrastination. But coming to terms with the adopted agenda of this organization New Nigeria Movement, the restructuring modality is our focus.
Essentially the summation of the above epistle is that the inevitable solution to the multifarious problems of Nigeria is the restructuring of Nigeria via reversion to the old regional system whereby each people will be able to determine its destiny without being hampered by any clogging factor in the world.
The race to this destination is what New Nigeria Movement has set itself to pursue to a logical conclusion with all the vigour it can muster.
14. *Restructuring: the Yoruba perspective*
Lest I veer off the course of my expectation, let me prod you all to memory that the topic allotted to me is; *The need for a new Nigeria: An exposition of Nigeria of yesterday, today and the future, the Yoruba perspective*
Every people have their different inclinations and aspirations. Some have for agriculture, some for craft, some for education, some for religion, some for commerce, some for wood planting, some for tourism, some for sharia, some for culture et cetera, et cetera. So, in a restructured Nigeria nobody should be bamboozled into any unwilling adoption. Rather, let the room be given to each people whatever their natural aspiration is. Thus as for me and my Yoruba people, our non-negotiable inclination and aspiration are to join the club of the first-world and super-power countries with grim determination to trail and march up with the current world champion in magical technological spin namely, China within a space of unimaginable time. This aspiration is what will remain a dream in sleep till eternity should we remain in this present composition of Nigeria where all the states must go bowls in hand to take allocation from the centre. So, this aspiration can be met in a regional arrangement where we can go at our own pace. So, if the Igbo nation or Kanuri nation wants to share our aspiration, let the race for competition be set. It is only through this system that Nigeria can grow. Outside this, let us all begin to sing the threnody of Nigeria.
15. *The imperative for mutual understanding between the Yoruba and Igbo*
I need to quickly make this following statement in a manner of proactiveness and prognosis or prognostication. And that statement is that, if the restructuring agenda must succeed, there are two of the zones or nationalities among the rest that must play a pivotal role. These are the Yoruba people and Igbo people. Ask me, why?
Without being invidious in the slightest manner, among the six geo-political zones in the system of the New Nigeria Movement, South-West (Yoruba) and South-East (Igbo) are the ones operating at the same wavelength of advancement in the consummation of all arrangements while the rest are even yet to find their feet. Thus if we must anchor the other zones to a desirable length, then the cooperation between the Yoruba and Igbo is inevitably imperative.
And come think of something, it is very unfortunate that when you watch and read the various social media communications that have saturated the entire hemisphere, you will see our Yoruba and Igbo zealots throwing venomous tantrums against one another portaying themselves as perpetual and irredeemable enemies. I call it ignorance on the parts of both sides. If only the Yorubas are conscious of the fact that they are going nowhere without carrying the Igbos along, they would have seen no sense in fighting the Igbos. If only the Igbos know they are achieving nothing without synergizing with the Yorubas in the context of Nigeria, they would have thought twice before quarreling with the Yorubas. This is where I found it quite unstrategic in exhibition when our brother Nnamdi Kanu made Yorubas his objects of superlative hatred and unleashment of acidic invectives. Hmmm. Ignorance.
Essentially, given the above analysis, if the Yorubas and Igbos don't relate like brothers and sisters, we shall both remain in perpetual enslavement and eternal stagnancy forever. And the rest of Nigeria will never know peace and progress.
It is, therefore, not only imperative but inevitable that we bury our pride and ego, let us forget our differences, let us put aside our past misdemeanors, misconceptions, misinterpretations and misunderstandings whatever they are and let us embrace one another for the good of our collective tomorrow.
Here I anchor.
*08126923916*
Please share widely.
*BEING THE PRESENTATION OF DR. VICTOR TAIWO, SECRETARY-GENERAL 'COUNCIL OF YORUBA ELDERS' AND NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, 'NEW NIGERIA MOVEMENT' AT THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL INAUGURATION OF 'OGBAKO NDIGBO NILE' (COALITION OF NDIGBO PEOPLE'S UNION WORLDWIDE) HOLDING TODAY SATURDAY 29TH JUNE, 2024 AT THE NUJ PRESS CENTRE OWERRI, IMO STATE NIGERIA*
Topic: *The need for a new Nigeria: An exposition of Nigeria of yesterday, today and the future, the Yoruba perspective*
1. *Greetings*
My first courtesy goes to the great leaders of the hosting organization *Coalition of Igbo People’s Union* newly christened *Ogbako Ndigbo Nile* in the person of His Excellency Ambassador Akpelu Azunna E. Ph.D who has always maintained the status of a decent Igbo leader and Nigerian patriot. I also pay a very huge homage to that erudite scholar of high repute Prof. Obasi Igwe who we have given the cognomen of *Divine Gift* in the circle of the New Nigeria Movement in his special recognition as a repository of knowledge. I, as well, greet all the executive and members of Ogbako Ndigbo Nile worldwide and the delegates of the New Nigeria Movement from the other zones of the country.
2. *Felicitation*
Away from the above courtesy, I need to congratulate all the leaders and members of this organization on the auspicious event of today whose purpose and impact will soon reflect as the foundation of a new development in the history of Igboland on one hand and Nigeria on the other hand.
3. *Our mission here today*
What has brought us here right from our Yoruba region is to pay our solidarity with you people on the ephocal event of the inauguration of the Ogbako Ndigbo Nile which I can see is manifesting as the emerging central and global voice for the Igbo people worldwide. I, therefore, felicitate you all.
4. *My humble capacity*
You might want to ask, in what capacity am I speaking here? I am speaking in the capacity of the humble Secretary- General and Leader of the *Council of Yoruba Elders (CYE)* the most veritable voice for the Yoruba people across the world now. Also, I am speaking in the capacity of the Convener & National Chairman of the *New Nigeria Movement*, a national body created to launder a new Nigeria away from the presently bastardized one we are all witnessing and suffering from today. It is designed to bring together all ethnic organizations and well-meaning personalities from all the zones of Nigeria with the aim of restructuring the country into a sane system which will work for everybody and meet our individual ethnic aspirations. This is where and why the (a) Council of Yoruba Elders for the South-West and (b) Ogbako Ndigbo Nile for the South-East got involved among other groups from the six zones of the country. The identities of the other groups that form the New Nigeria Movement are as follows:
(c) South-South People’s Nigeria Movement for the South-South, (d) North-East People's Assembly for the North-East (e)
Union of the Natives of the North-West Nigeria for the North-West and (f) Middle-Belt People’s Forum for the North-Central.
It is, therefore, on the basis of the solidarity with you great people of Igbo nation that I have been requested to present a paper entitled, *The need for a new Nigeria: An exposition of Nigeria of yesterday, today and future, the Yoruba perspective*
5. *My presentation*
Without unnecessarily re- inventing the wheel, I will have to do some cullings from a couple of papers I have delivered at one event or the other, engage thorough modifications and string them into a cohesive, meaning whole as to meet the expectation of today. I am earnestly saying this so I don't portray monotony to those who have been reading me before now. I am only doing this to exert the emphasis of my drive.
6. *The thrust of New Nigeria Movement*
The thrust of this body is to champion the enhancement and/or facilitate the collective agreement of all Nigerians to sit together at a round table to work out the final solution to the multifarious problems of this country through the inevitable restructuring agenda via *Independent National Conference*.
Without any gainsaying, there are serious problems in this country such that has driven the vehicle of the country to a cul-de-sac with all the structures of the country run to a halt. Do we need to start listing the multiple items of the crises rocking our boat into drowning? I think it is literally needless as we all know where the shoes pinch.
7. *Diagnosis*
Now, what I have always believed makes sense to all that have the faculties in their heads running is that whenever there is an ailment, thorough diagnostic examinations are required rather than mere fire-brigade approach. And so with the level of war of national and individual survival that we are fighting in the country presently, it is absolutely perforce we go to the laboratory for proper diagnostic examinations and adopt the proper medications for our respective continued happy life rather than merely deliberately treating leprosy with the drug meant for eczema. This I regard as self-deception and sheer foolishness.
8. *Looking back into history*
Looking back into history, we must have realized our continued co-existence in Nigeria is going to be a very difficult thing unless we the pioneer leaders of this Movement and all well-meaning, patriotic Nigerians are sincere and determined to make things work against all odds. If not, we have come to the end of the country called Nigeria whether we like it or not.
Going back memory lane, history will always be there to remind us of the incidences that have culminated in the national tragedies we are contending with in Nigeria today such that all the forces in the world cannot cover the tracks of history and succeed.
Kindly allow me to quickly run the following short tale which may look like unworthy self-adulating digression, but you will always get the point in it at the end of the day.
In 1994 I wrote one of my numerous books entitled *NIGERIA ON GUNPOWDER* which, with all modesty, I boast of today as being the best compendium of Nigeria’s political history ever written by any author yet in the world.
Some five years later I gave the manuscript to the Hon. Justice Adewale Thompson, one of the best judges ever produced by Nigeria, to write the foreword to it. When I got to him on the appointed day to pick the manuscript and the foreword, he looked straight in my eyes with utmost dismay and expressed his absolute admiration for me at the contents of the book. And he asked me of my age when I wrote the book. I told him I was just above 30 years. Then he said how come I was able to know the wonderful facts and figures contained in the book to which he was a witness when most of the events took place and when I was not born? All I said was, 'You gave us education sir and one of the aspects of the education is to learn about our past existence which is History.'
The point I am establishing here is that the children yet unborn will read history and understand perfectly their past however much our government may strive to cover the tracks of history by removing History from our educational curriculum.
Thus our past in Nigeria is shrouded in confusion as masterminded by the colonialists and aggravated by the incompatibility of the different strange bedfellows with different traits that constitute Nigeria. Should we deceive ourselves that Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, Fulani, Hausa, Kanuri, Tiv, Nembe, Ibibio and the rest of the various nationalities in the country are related by consanguinity in the slightest way? Capital NO. Now can we say that the spirit the colonialists deployed to amalgamate us into one was a genuine and altruistic one that could make us sweep our differences under the carpet? No. Were our pioneer political leaders so much loving, tolerant and cooperative among themselves enough as to sacrifice their chauvinism for unity of purpose enough to thin away our background forces? No.
Let us examine the submissions of the following masters of the birth and the evolution of Nigeria so we can use them to run through the past, examine our present and project into the future:
a. 'The British expected Nigeria to break up' - Harold Smith, a former colonial officer in Nigeria.
b. 'It is never an easy task to govern a country like Nigeria. It is somewhat artificial creation' - Margaret Thatcher , a former British Prime Minister.
c. 'No European power was in Africa for purely altruistic motives, and one side of the dual mandate which Britain and the other colonial powers had undertaken in Africa was apt to succeed at the expense of the other. The Europeans’ desire to exploit African trade and resources was apt to be a stronger force than the feeling of obligation to help the African people to advance' - Lord Frederick Lugard, former Governor-General of Nigeria.
d. 'Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no Nigerians in the same sense as there are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’ or ‘French ’. The word Nigeria is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not' – Obafemi Awolowo.
e. 'It is better for us and many admirers abroad that we should disintegrate in peace and not in pieces. Should the politicians fail to heed this warning then I will nurture the prediction that the experience of the Democratic Republic of Congo will be a child’s play if ever it comes to our turn to play such a tragic role' – Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1964.
f. 'The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities in the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory and never allow them to have control over their future' – Sir Ahmadu Bello.
g. 'Since 1914 the British government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs, and customs and do not show themselves any signs of willingness to unite. Nigeria’s unity is only a British invention' – Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in 1948.
h. 'The only way left for rapid progress of both countries i.e. Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria is to return to the good old days when the North and South were separate' – Shehu Shagari, a former president of Nigeria.
i. 'North can survive if Nigeria divides' – Arewa elders.
j. 'Our great country has by that amalgamation gone into hibernation. I don’t know how long it would be in that libenatory state. But as long as the Yoruba country is connected with the sea, we shall not fail, and one day we shall come out of that hibernation to be a free country again' - Alexander Sapara Williams, the first Nigerian practicing lawyer.
k. 'The basis for Nigeria’s unity is not there' – Yakubu Gowon.
Let us stop the above renditions of discordant lyrics and examine if there has ever been any streak of national unity of purpose in this country until we are now all grounded to the point of no advancement.
9. *The way out*
From all the above revelations, it is clear that Nigeria is not a nation of one people but different nations of different peoples of the traits or incompatibility. The question we shall, therefore, ask ourselves are these;
a. Why have we gone together for this long in spite of our incompatibilities?
b. Do we believe we can reverse the trend and bear the country anew for collective good purpose?
c. Do we need to deceive ourselves that all is well with us?
d. Do we need to coerce ourselves into the spluttering and burning cocoon in the name of unity by force?
e. If some of us truly believe in the geo-political entity called Nigeria, can we ever evade sitting down at a round-table to discuss and agree on the terms of our working relationship?
Thus what I consider as being the best question to answer is the last item - item e. We need to sit down with all sincerity to address the issue of our further co-existence. And I see this opportunity, talking prophetically, as the last opportunity we have at hand to do so. But here is my fear deriving from the submission of that great mind of yore viz. Samuel Akinola the erstwhile Secretary-General of Anglican Church in Nigeria:
‘A nation that is afraid of forming a forum where grievances can be amicably resolved and fundamental problem tackled is not ready for an enduring democracy, and any structure created on such a foundation ladened with suspicions and grudges will be short-lived’.
Now with all the discrepancies among Nigerians, why has it been possible that we are still together till today albeit a union of discomfort? The reason is simple. The oil factor.
10. *The oil factor*
Prior to the era of unitary system brought by the military in 1966, the regional arrangement was fostering and giving the best result in the experiment of true federalism whereby each of the regions was sprinting to the best of its ability. Imagine the West making the best of agriculture with cocoa, imagine the North making the best of agriculture with groundnut and imagine the East making the best of agriculture with palm oil. But at the emergence of the unitary government and the discovery of oil in the country in commercial quantity, the rat race for the exploitation of the free money began. Nigeria was so rich from the oil that Yakubu Gowon said money was not the problem of Nigeria but how to spend it. Thus since then up to now, the issue has been oil, and oil and oil alone. Every other direction has no thoroughfare. So, the battle over oil is the battle of Armageddon. The oil comes from the Niger-Delta otherwise known as the South-South geo-political zone. The North will never compromise the oil so much that Muhammadu Gambo a former Inspector General of Police swore that the North would spill blood if anybody tried to take away the oil from them. Should I believe that the South-East is also afraid of cutting away from the Niger-Delta because they believe they can’t survive without their oil? You will have to speak out on this. This is a challenge I am throwing today. So, the oil matter is the cause for the forced cohesion of Nigerians.
But here is the tragedy. The oil will either run dry one day or it will lose its value at a point. And come to think of another disaster, the oil has even been mortgaged by the previous government of Muhammadu Buhari that for a long time to come the oil being explored from Nigeria may not belong to us. These aside, even with the oil, where are we today with our economy where we are living on perpetual loans which we may not be able to pay back in the next 40 years? Can the oil sustain us any further and for how long are we going to remain chasing a mirage or, put the other way round, deceiving ourselves?
I for one, as a veritable leader from the Yoruba Region, I am never interested in the oil from the South-South. After all, several great countries of the world do not have oil under their soil or water and yet most of them can buy up Nigeria in a twinkle of an eye. How much oil or quantity of oil do Germany, France, Britain, Israel, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Ukraine, Singapore, India, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland, Panama, Cyprus, Lebanon, Barbados, Austria, South Korea, Mauritius, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia, Saint Lucia, Maldives, Mongolia, Australia, Sri Lanca, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Bosnia, Jordan, etc. have? Do they not survive? It is only vacuous-headed set of people who will swear that they cannot survive without the oil from another part of the world. This is simply the bane of Nigeria.
So, if the intellectuals from all the zones even including the Niger-Delta cannot sit down and fashion out how it can survive without oil, I am afraid the backlash will be worse by the time the realisation of the reality splashes us in the face.
Essentially, if each of the zones can begin to think outside the box of the free oil money from somewhere, then this restructuring project would be the easiest for us. But if our concentration is still on the
Niger-Delta’s oil, I am afraid we might soon sink under the water.
11. *Assessment of the Nigeria's situation*
Now, coming to assess the current government, it is certain that, looking into the horizon with all intellectual apparatuses and doubling the vision with the employment of the crystal ball, sans all self-deception and sentiment, all the global economic indices for radical turn-around of a drowning country as ours are absolutely non-existent on the ground. This is a matter of absolute conviction. And so, the current menace of hunger, inflation and the general collapse of the socio-economic structures may not have an end looming. Therefore, if our case would not be Lilliputian to that of the Ireland's Great Hunger of 1845 where one million people lost their lives out of a population of eight million people, a very urgent and lasting solution must be incubated. No other solution than the quick restructuring of the country so every people can design their collective life according to their aspiration.
12. *What modality of restructuring*
Yes, the emphasis is that the solution to the problem on ground is the restructuring of the country. However, the question now is, what form of restructuring are we talking about? It is the restructuring back to regionalism or true federalism. But here is a snag. Are we saying we should revert to the old three or four regions? No. But there is always a way to it. Here is the clue:
For God’s sake how do people equate Western Region or South-West zone to Yorubaland? South-West is not Yorubaland and Yorubaland is not South-West. The old Western Region extended from today's Lagos to Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta States. The point is, if Yorubaland extends to Edo and some part of Delta States namely, the Itsekiriland, how related are we to Asaba an Igbo enclave? Then how insanely could it be to regard Kwara State and the Okunland of Kogi State as part of Northern Region? Crazy, is it not?
Thus the first and foremost exercise of the restructuring agenda is to do the proper re-delineation of the geography of Yorubaland which will emerge as the regional entity of Yorubaland namely, Yoruba Region or Re-defined Western Region with a new map projection.
Ditto the sheer absurdity in the composition of the Eastern Region. The largest ethnic nationality in the old Eastern Region is Igbo. Today the enclave of Igbo people are by the current Nigerian arrangement restricted to five states namely, Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Imo and Ebonyi. But in real, practical terms, Igboland extends to 13 states of Nigeria namely, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Rivers, Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Kogi and Benue.
Let us leave the analysis to these two of the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
Thus the restructuring has to begin with the identification of the ethic groups and their geographical spread for consummation from the disparate units into a cohesive whole thus moulding their watchword into ‘One people, one destiny’.
13. *The modus operandi*
Now, what is the modality employable? Either of two things - let the country be peacefully dissolved like in the experience of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, or we restructure the country without further procrastination. But coming to terms with the adopted agenda of this organization New Nigeria Movement, the restructuring modality is our focus.
Essentially the summation of the above epistle is that the inevitable solution to the multifarious problems of Nigeria is the restructuring of Nigeria via reversion to the old regional system whereby each people will be able to determine its destiny without being hampered by any clogging factor in the world.
The race to this destination is what New Nigeria Movement has set itself to pursue to a logical conclusion with all the vigour it can muster.
14. *Restructuring: the Yoruba perspective*
Lest I veer off the course of my expectation, let me prod you all to memory that the topic allotted to me is; *The need for a new Nigeria: An exposition of Nigeria of yesterday, today and the future, the Yoruba perspective*
Every people have their different inclinations and aspirations. Some have for agriculture, some for craft, some for education, some for religion, some for commerce, some for wood planting, some for tourism, some for sharia, some for culture et cetera, et cetera. So, in a restructured Nigeria nobody should be bamboozled into any unwilling adoption. Rather, let the room be given to each people whatever their natural aspiration is. Thus as for me and my Yoruba people, our non-negotiable inclination and aspiration are to join the club of the first-world and super-power countries with grim determination to trail and march up with the current world champion in magical technological spin namely, China within a space of unimaginable time. This aspiration is what will remain a dream in sleep till eternity should we remain in this present composition of Nigeria where all the states must go bowls in hand to take allocation from the centre. So, this aspiration can be met in a regional arrangement where we can go at our own pace. So, if the Igbo nation or Kanuri nation wants to share our aspiration, let the race for competition be set. It is only through this system that Nigeria can grow. Outside this, let us all begin to sing the threnody of Nigeria.
15. *The imperative for mutual understanding between the Yoruba and Igbo*
I need to quickly make this following statement in a manner of proactiveness and prognosis or prognostication. And that statement is that, if the restructuring agenda must succeed, there are two of the zones or nationalities among the rest that must play a pivotal role. These are the Yoruba people and Igbo people. Ask me, why?
Without being invidious in the slightest manner, among the six geo-political zones in the system of the New Nigeria Movement, South-West (Yoruba) and South-East (Igbo) are the ones operating at the same wavelength of advancement in the consummation of all arrangements while the rest are even yet to find their feet. Thus if we must anchor the other zones to a desirable length, then the cooperation between the Yoruba and Igbo is inevitably imperative.
And come think of something, it is very unfortunate that when you watch and read the various social media communications that have saturated the entire hemisphere, you will see our Yoruba and Igbo zealots throwing venomous tantrums against one another portaying themselves as perpetual and irredeemable enemies. I call it ignorance on the parts of both sides. If only the Yorubas are conscious of the fact that they are going nowhere without carrying the Igbos along, they would have seen no sense in fighting the Igbos. If only the Igbos know they are achieving nothing without synergizing with the Yorubas in the context of Nigeria, they would have thought twice before quarreling with the Yorubas. This is where I found it quite unstrategic in exhibition when our brother Nnamdi Kanu made Yorubas his objects of superlative hatred and unleashment of acidic invectives. Hmmm. Ignorance.
Essentially, given the above analysis, if the Yorubas and Igbos don't relate like brothers and sisters, we shall both remain in perpetual enslavement and eternal stagnancy forever. And the rest of Nigeria will never know peace and progress.
It is, therefore, not only imperative but inevitable that we bury our pride and ego, let us forget our differences, let us put aside our past misdemeanors, misconceptions, misinterpretations and misunderstandings whatever they are and let us embrace one another for the good of our collective tomorrow.
Here I anchor.
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