The new Aare Ona Kakanfo-designate of
Yoruba land, Otunba Gani Adams has said that achieving true federalism
is the urgent objective before the leaders and people of Southwest
Nigeria.....
He stated this in an interview with Saturday Sun during the
grand finale of the annual Olokun festival held at the Suntan Beach,
Badagry, Lagos.
“We are talking about
restructuring––what politicians call true federalism––which in a proper
arrangement, is called federal system of government, not the system we
are running now that is completely a unitary system of government,” he
said.
Adams, who observed that true federalism
was the foundation of Nigeria’s independence in 1960 and the basis of
the republic constitution in 1963, argued that it is the pragmatic
system that affords each geographical zone the luxury to develop at
their own pace. He said “without restructuring this country there is no
way Nigeria can move forward.” He noted how the lack of it has been
inimical to the development of the country. “We have been over-dependent
on allocations coming from the centre and we have not been creative in
our government levels, and at the same time, private initiatives have
not thrived,” he said.
Adams, who is also the national
coordinator, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and convener, Oodua
Progressive Union (OPU), gave a hint on how his new position as Aare Ona
Kakanfo, proclaimed by the Alaafin of Oyo on October 15, will impact on
his leadership of the pro-Yoruba organisations he has been leading for
many years.
“Being Aare Ona Kakanfo will energise me
to foster unity in Yoruba land and to project the Yoruba culture more;
it will assist me to defend the interests of Yoruba land better, and
also to defend the interest of Nigeria in general on the basis of
justice and equity,” he declared.
In the same breath, he dispelled the
notion that he would be pursuing a narrow agenda of ethnic prerogatives.
“My cause is not only about Yoruba; it is about justice in the whole
world,” he avowed. “I do not support the Yoruba people doing wrong
against other people, and vice versa. Every human being comes from God,
therefore, anything I do will be on the basis of justice so I can enjoy
the happiness and prosperity of God.”
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