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EDITORIAL BY ‘JIDE ADESINA ( EDITOR-IN-CHIEF)
The lingering security challenges to Nigeria 2015 election as typified by Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East geo-political zone of the country is somehow spreading across other regions and states of the federation which was manifested in south- West Nigeria of Gani Adams , OPC irate militia group parading his members with cutlass and guns across the streets of Lagos .
Nigerians home and abroad have continued to condemned the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, over its rampage on Monday 16 March in support of President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in some parts of Lagos
” It is an act of impunity, absurdity and stupidity of anybody to think that war mongering and unholy parades of guns in our streets will scare Nigerians to vote for their party —oh no ; Yoruba people are not Essau and cannot be caged or forced to vote for any party against their wish” – ‘JIDE ADESINA “
“The recent pronouncements of Asari Dokubo in the South-South and the twin-brother acts and irresponsible pronouncements now found in the voice of OPC’s Ganiyu Adams are condemnable acts; and I mince no words as a true representative of Black peoples running the Afrika Market, a worldwide media reach – organizers of this event, in joining all Yoruba peoples here in Nigeria and the diaspora to condemn those pronouncements as irresponsible, unbenefitting, and definitely not representative of the political wisdom, peace-loving nature, intellectual sagacity, good-neighbourliness, good sense, nationalistic spirit, and one-nation mindedness of the Yoruba race , “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is de-facto Yoruba leader. Without him the centre would not hold.”At this period of Nigeria’s political fate, any agenda wherein the collective interests of the Yorubas are being considered and discussed without Bola Tinubu on seat would be null and void!” Toyin Abiodun
“Those behind the ugly incidents may be on the verge of breeding another terror group for the nation to contend with “while we already have ample threats over security of lives and properties by the deadly Boko haram insurgents.
Accordng to The Afrika Market ,OPC is not a religious group, we observed that the network of Boko Haram is presently being scaled up in such a way that they can induce any militia group that has lost control to buy into their cause especially when most youths involved in the OPC rampage neither have jobs nor understand the actual reason for their engagement in such mayhem.
“Presently, security of our nation is fragile coupled with the tension associated with the coming general elections which are a pressure too many for the nation to cope with. Sponsoring militia groups at this stage of tension is not lesser than promoting terrorism because it makes it easier to breed inter-link between terror groups and violent militias to rattle nation’s security.
“In the last 16 years, Lagos State has enjoyed peace and harmony amongst people of diverse ethnicity living in the State. The gross implication of Mr President’s employment of unemployed groups of a sect in the OPC is very dangerous because Lagos with its vast population cannot afford break down of law and order, violent rampage and civil unrest even ahead general election,” the House said.
“I believe strongly that the disruption of people’s properties and bill-boards of the APC was carried out by a section of the OPC employed by Gani Adam and his Principal.
It is very unfortunate that at this crucial stage when election is less than 10 days, President Jonathan has taken to violent option by unleashing militia groups to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere of Lagosians, action that is capable of bringing down,” Olulade also said.
“Let it be known to this administration and Gani Adams , OPC gangs that Nigeria is bigger than any individual, no matter how highly placed. The call for the sack of the INEC chairman some few days to the 2015 general elections is uncalled for, reckless and diversionary which may lead to anarchy.
“Though we recognise their rights to freely assemble and protest, we however view the show of shame displayed by the OPC on Monday in Lagos as an insult on the people of Yoruba land and the security agencies as militia boys were seen brazenly shooting sporadically to scare those embarking on their journey to their offices.
“Many of residents could hardly make it to their offices due to traffic snarl caused by the open display of guns, matches, charms and other dangerous ammunition.
“While we will not blame them for their partisanship, the open brigandage is uncalled for, inciting and irresponsible, especially under the cover of the security agencies.
“We want to make it clear to the dollar sharing and desperate presidency that the responsible and peace-loving as well progressive Yoruba people who are in the majority do not have guns to wield round, but have permanent voters card to wield so as to vote out this tyrannical government that is desperate to rule over us again even without our consent.
“The show of shame going in Nigeria clearly shows that President Jonathan lacks the requisite ability to lead a nation like ours again,” the group maintained.
2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS AND THE COMMERCIALISATION OF YORUBA SELF DETERMINATION STRUGGLE: AN APPEAL TO THE YORUBA. BEING THE TEXT OF A PRESS CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY THE AFRIKA MARKET IN CONJUNCTION WITH YOREM AT TAFAWA BALEWA HALL UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN ON THURSDAY 19th OF MARCH, 2015,
CONFERENCE PAPER DELIVERED BY COMRADE WALE BALOGUN, THE NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF THE YORUBA REVOLUTIONARY
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, you are all welcome to this important press brief at this crucial moment in the history of our dear country, Nigeria. Given the crucial role of the media in shaping the electoral process vis the coverage of campaigns, espousing and promoting candidates and their party based on germane issue of governance which eventually affects the outcome of elections in Nigeria. We appreciate the invaluable contribution of The Media Africa that makes this press conference possible. We just hope and pray that the Fourth estate of the realm will do needful justice to our address on the state of the nation particularly as it affects the Yoruba nation in Southwest Nigeria.
Since 1959, general elections in Nigeria have always been turbulent because of the cut throat competition by the major ethnic nationalities in the country to take over power at the centre. This cannot be divorced from the divide and rule tactics adopted by the British Colonialist to maintain their stranglehold on the hitherto independent economic partners which they cobbled together for administrative convenience to gain economic advantage.
The major political parties at the twilight of independence were formed on ethnic lines as a result of the mutual distrust and suspicion amongst the leading political elites who want to take over power from the British. This development further polarized the country and do further damage to the psyche of the potentially prosperous state.
Consciously, the British colonialist ensured that they handed over power to the most reactionary section of the emerging ruling class whom they felt are amenable to control. Thus, Nigeria became a neo-colonialist state with a stooge as leader, a mere appendage of the British overlords and their Western Imperialist allies.
Rather than work assiduously to heal socio-political and economic wounds, the ruling party at the centre the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) maintained the status quo and also embarked on the balkanization of the Western region to weaken it. And the needed drive towards nationhood was sacrificed on the altar of political expediency to maintain a numerical advantage for electoral domination.
The birth of the United Progression Grand Alliance established to wrestle power from the ruling party at the centre was viciously attacked; the opposition leaders were intimidated, witch-hunted, arrested and detained on trumped up charges. The 1964 general elections were fraught with irregularities and the election was manipulated in favour of the Nigeria National Alliance which is a merger of the NPC and Nigeria Democratic Party (NDP) led by the treacherous late Samuel Akintola.
The unfavourably rigged 1964 general elections in favour of the ruling party at the centre and its allies in NNA was rejected and resisted by opposition party supporters; this sparked off a chain of violence reactions particularly the ‘wetie’ led by peasant farmers -the ‘Agbekoyas’, and ultimately the 1966 military coup.
The 1979 and 1983 general elections did not fare better; both were rigged in favour of the ruling party at the centre. The Obasanjo military regime handed over power to their crony Alhaji Shehu Shagari in a disputed 12 2/3 calculation which offends mathematics logic till date. The Shagari administration manipulated the 1983 elections in its own favour despite the people’s disenchantment with the regime and the clear clamour for change in leadership of the Country.
The Shagari government profligacy, wastage and maladministration led to political economy retrogression before the Gen. Buhari/Idiagbon corrective regime took over power to arrest the drift to a failed state.
The regime of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida wasted over #40 billion on an electoral process spanning almost eight years, eventually the election was conducted on June 12, 1993, the elections was clearly won by the late Business Mogul and Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party Chief MKO Abiola but was criminally annulled by the military junta headed by General Ibrahim Babangida. The annulment led to a crisis that Nigeria is yet to recover from till date.
To assuage the pains and the bruised ego of Abiola’s kinsmen the Yoruba, the stop gap military dictatorship of Abdulsalam handed over power to General Olusegun Obasanjo in May 1999.
Following the insidious path of the past, Obasanjo rigged the 2007 elections to install late Umar Yar’Adua. The 2007 general elections were adjudged by both local and international observers as the worst of its kind in any part of the world. Late Umar Yar’Adua himself affirmed this assertion when he acknowledges the fact that the presidential election that brought him to power was flawed.
Today, patriotic and well meaning Nigerians who believed the Nigerian state is the hope of the black race despite her pseudo federal structure will be pained that the President Goodluck Jonathan administration has worsened the ethno-religious differences of the Nigerian People.
Unconsciously, many appeal to ethnic and religious sentiments to drum support for Jonathan to become president when late Yar’Adua became incapacitated to further govern the country due to his ill health, and eventual death. Rather than work towards the unity of Nigeria since he became president through a flawed election in 2011, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has continued to ride on ethnic and religious cleavages to rule the country.
On daily basis, Nigerians experience has been one type of lamentation or the other since President Jonathan comes on board. Insecurity of lives and property is the order of the day, with the North East nearly severed from the rest of the country by Boko-Haram insurgents, albeit for the heroic efforts of the Nigeria Armed Forces in collaboration with the coalition force of Chad, Niger and Cameroun.
Hopelessness, unemployment, joblessness, poverty, hunger and starvation pervades the land. Inarguably, unpaid salaries of workers all over the country and across party lines, unpaid pensions, wastage and mismanagement, stealing which is an integral part of corruption with impunity, youth restiveness and violence, kidnapping and other aggravated social vices must have informed why the Nigerian people clamour for change now.
THE OPC PROTEST IN LAGOS.
While OPC as an organization has the right to support any candidates of its choice in the coming March 28th & April 11th general elections, it is however criminally wrong for the organization to impose its own will on the Lagos state electorates to follow its opportunistic and misguided support for a failed and inept administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
We believe that the right to peaceful protest is an inalienable right in a democratic society, so far such did not infringe on the right of others. OPC resort to intimidation, harassment and destruction of APC billboards and defacing of candidates posters is childish, unnecessary, criminally divisive and myopic.
We viewed OPC support for a Goodluck Jonathan continuation in office premised on the president promise to implement the CONFAB resolutions is grossly misleading, a tactical error and strategic opportunism given Mr President’s plethora of unkept promises.
We of YOREM are vindicated today, for leaving the OPC when the ovation is loudest and at a time the organization integrity is still intact. We had observed all along that the leadership of OPC will compromise the struggle of the Yoruba for egalitarianism, true federalism, regional autonomy and freedom for all sooner than later, hence the most conscious and revolutionary wing of the group, that is YOREM (Yoruba Revolutionary Movement), pulled out of the sinking ship of the OPC to form YOREM in November, 1999. To us Gani Adams present political opportunism and blind gusto for material accumulation is not an accident of history.
The Yoruba people are not gullible and are therefore not taken-in with the so-called CONFAB report because we know the talk-chop is an avenue to recruit would be Jonathan for president campaigners. Most Yoruba delegates to the CONFAB who lacks the mandate of the Yoruba people are now Jonathan campaigners who are ready to plunge Yorubaland into crisis; why will the implementation of a CONFAB report be a second term issue? Thus, the Fasehun/Gani Adams marriage that Obasanjo had put asunder, the Goodluck Jonathan millions of dollars has joined together.
OUR APPEAL
- We wish to appeal to all Sons and Daughters of Yorubaland not to become a willing tool in the hands of the enemies of the Yoruba.
- That Yorubaland should not be turned into a theatre of war by any of the ruling parties.
- That the action of the OPC is capable of turning Yoruba people against one another and plunge the land into an avoidable crisis and bloodletting.
- We appeal to all eligible voters to use their PVC to either elect or un-elect any government or Political party in the coming elections, our powers lies in our PVC.
- We disagree vehemently with those calling for the removal of the Chairman of INEC when elections are around the corner; we view the call for Professor Jega’s removal at this time as most unpatriotic, Criminal and unnecessary. To us in YOREM Jega’s removal now is an avoidable invitation to anarchy.
We of YOREM wish to restate unequivocally that the self determination and social emancipation of the Yoruba is not for sale to the highest bidder. We believe the genuine quest of the Yoruba for regional autonomy within a reconstituted genuine federal union or outside it cannot be compromised for the personal interest of a corrupt ridden government that has compounded the harrowing experience of our people in the last four years.
The sacrifice for a nationhood!
Comr Adewale Bally Balogun, escaped a ghastly motor accident on his way to the press conference at Tafawa Balewa Hall , University of Ibadan .
Nobody was seriously injured but the car was damaged.
He managed to attend and delivered a generational message of change,hope and stance of Yoruba race against violence and political situations in Nigeria
He calls for peace and calmness during this historical period of our time and believed Nigeria is not yet a failed state
He condemned OPC Faction lead by Gani Adams and believes they are too little and small to set the western state in chaos
FRENCH VERSION
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