State capital, was an assemblage of 'who is who in the country
particularly from the South-west. The attendance cut across religious
and political persuasions.
At the parley, were Chief Olu Falae, a former presidential candidate
of the defunct All Peoples Party; Chief Reuben Fasoranti, leader,
Afenifere; General Adeyinka Adebayo(rtd), leader of the Yoruba Council
of Elders; Senator Femi Okurounmu; Otunba Kunle Olajide, former
Secretary, YCE; Chief Shuaibu Oyedokun; PDP leader; Archbishop Ayo
Ladigbolu; Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Governor of Ogun State; Otunba
Adebayo Alao-Akala, former governor of Oyo State; Mr. Peter Obi,
former Governor of Anambra State; Dr. Doyin Okupe, spokesperson for
President Jonathan; Otunba Iyiola Omisore; Chief Richard Akinjide,
former Minister of Justice; and Senator Lekan Balogun, a PDP
chieftain.
Others at the meeting include Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, Minister of
State, FCT; Prof. Wale Oladipo, National Secretary of PDP; Mr. Yinka
Odumakin, Publicity Secretary, Afenifere; Senator Teslim Folarin, PDP
governorship candidate in Oyo State; Mr. Gani Adams, Oodua Peoples
Congress leader; Prof. Temitope Alonge, Chief Medical Director,
University College Hospital; some members of Accord Party and Labour
Party.
Meanwhile, Oyo State governor, Chief Abiola Ajimobi and his three
other colleagues from the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) in
the South-west viz: Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Rauf Aregbeshola (Osun)
and Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) stayed away from the Summit. This was not
unexpected. Their party did not endorse the National Conference which
report was the crux of the matter at the Summit. In fact, the APC
National Leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, also from the South-west,
described the National Conference a distraction ahead of its
inaugration. Analysts believed the APC rejected the Confab out of its
fear that it was designed to buy favour from the South-west which had
continued to clamour for the restructuring of the country as the basis
for a peaceful co-existence of the northern and southern segments of
the nation. Unfolding events seem to have proved the analysts right.
Though the Summit, entitled, "The National Conference, 2015 elections
and the Yoruba nation", was hinged on Yoruba's future, it had a
semblance of politics as the convener, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, governor
of Ondo State; Fasoranti and Chief Ayo Adebanjo, also a chieftain of
the apex Yoruba group, said the Summit was to endorse President
Goodluck Jonathan's candidacy.
General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), the presidential candidate of the APC,
was severally maligned for his role as a military Head of State in
1983. Reference was made to how people who fought for democracy then
were thrown into prison.
Buhari's action and the refusal of the APC to support the National
Conference were repeated almost by every speaker except Ladigbolu who
said he was not a politician and would not speak like one. He just
advised Yoruba people to tread softly in their choice of who leads the
country from May 29.
Mimiko said, "Today, the Yoruba people have marched out in their large
numbers to their political capital, Ibadan to discuss and articulate,
once more, an issue which, for decades, has been considered to be the
main agenda for their race. You will recall that for several decades,
the Yoruba were at the fore front of the agitation for the convocation
of a National Conference. I, therefore, congratulate the Yoruba nation
and all Nigerians that, finally, their dream of coming together to
dialogue how they should be governed has come to reality.
"Let me salute President Goodluck Jonathan for his bold and momentous
move as well as his focused leadership which was demonstrated through
his compliance with the agitations by Nigerians to debate their
collective future. Convening the 2014 National Conference was indeed a
historic assignment that we are proud of and as a people; we must do
everything possible to ensure that the CONFAB recommendations get
implemented.
"No doubt, Nigeria has passed through various stages of national
dialogues before without being able to emplace a constitutional and
political arrangement that is accommodating enough to sustain the
dedication and patriotism of many. The Constitutional and governmental
experiments that we have had seem inadequate to capture the essence of
those things that have the inherent capacity to unite us despite our
ethnic and religious cleavages.
Read more at Vanguard:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/our-case-against-buhari-by-yoruba-leaders/
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