Oduduwa Republic: Afenifere vows to join call for secession if Buhari fails to restructure Nigeria 

The branch of the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe, has said that the group is committed to Nigeria’s unity but should the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari fails to restructure the country, it will join the call for a Yoruba nation adding that like every other pan-Yoruba groups, the association is labouring to improve the livelihood of people of Yoruba extraction.

Anthony Ajayi, Secretary of Afenifere in the UK and Europe made the disclosure on Thursday.

In the statement, Ajayi implored all Yoruba people in Nigeria and in the Diaspora to see the struggle just like others as a liberation cause to bring huge development to Yoruba land.

The Afenifere group in the UK and Europe on June 12, 2021 published an article in the media titled, “Democracy Day: UK Afenifere agitates regional structure for Nigeria, kick against secession”, where it said the only solution to remain in Nigeria, is to abolish the 1999 Constitution and a return to the Republican Constitution, the 1963 Constitution.

The statement partly read, “Our position after carefully examined the existence of the sovereignty of Nigeria, is to ensure that we go back to the agreement which made Nigeria. This structure was what enabled Chief Obafemi Awolowo discharged exemplary leadership and made meaningful impact on Yoruba people.

“At independence, Nigeria was being run on a federal structure with three near-autonomous regions. This was later increased to four with the creation of Mid-Western Region. But the military junta that seized power in 1966 dismantled the regional structure and instead imposed a unitary system of government on the country. The damage this caused was devastating and we are still writhing under its debilitating effects even now.

“(Obafemi) Awolowo believed that federalism was the form of government best suited to the diverse populations of Nigeria, a position to which he consistently adhered. Also in 1945 in London, he helped found the Egbe Omo Oduduwa (Society of the Descendants of Oduduwa, the mythical ancestor of the Yoruba-speaking peoples), an organisation devoted to the study and preservation of Yoruba culture.

“In 1950 Awolowo founded and organised the Action Group political party in Western Nigeria to participate in the Western Regional elections of 1951. The Action Group’s platform called for immediate termination of British rule in Nigeria and for development of various public welfare programmes, including universal primary education, increase of health services in rural areas, diversification of the Western Regional economy, and democratization of local governments.

“The Action Group won a majority, and in 1952 Awolowo as president of the Action Group became leader of the party in power in Western Nigeria. In 1954 he became the first premier of the Western Region, on which occasion he was awarded an honorary chieftaincy.

“During his tenure as leader and premier, he held the regional ministerial portfolios of local government, finance, and economic planning. He was also Chairman of the Regional Economic Planning Commission.”