By USAfricaonline contributing editor Ojay Grace
The Egbe Omo Yoruba (National Association of Yoruba Descendants in North America) has called for the immediate review of the Nigerian constitution with a view to entrenching “true federalism” in Nigeria. In a statement issued in Washington at the September 28,1999 meeting of the National Executive Council of the organization, the group believes, “true Federalism is what will lead to among other things, autonomy for all regions of the federation, as well as specific devolution of powers to all states and local governments throughout Nigeria.”
The meeting was attended by Yoruba leaders throughout the United States and Canada. They enjoined all Yorubas to be vigilant and not to allow the work that Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba, is doing to distract them from focusing on the future, noting that President Obasanjo’s mandate is only for four years. They pointed out that without a re-structuring of the federal government, Obasanjo’s efforts and appointments, which many Nigerians have argued by citing certain facts favor his ethnic group, primarily, could be wiped out by his successor in a matter of months.
Obasanjo was sued in August this year, for failing to live up to the constitutional requirements for “federal character” in appointments. Egbe Omo Yoruba, in the statement sent to USAfricaonline.com by its General Secretary, Dipo Akinsiku, called on some members of the National Assembly to begin the process of drafting and introducing “Autonomy Bills” in the Federal legislature, and urged Obasanjo to lend his unqualified support to this effort. Without a restructured federal government, the Egbe maintained, “Nigeria can easily revert back to the lawlessness, authoritarianism, and economic mismanagement of the Babangida/Abacha era.”
The Egbe emphasized the need for all states to have the power to tax Companies operating in their states, as well as have the exclusive right to regulate the exploration of natural resources within their respective borders. Egbe Omo Yoruba asserted that possessing such powers would enable the states to undertake separate developmental projects independent of the bloated Federal bureaucracy. The leaders also supported the rights of the states to recruit, train and deploy their own police forces, and called for the regionalization of the army or the establishment of state militias throughout the federation. The group called on the Federal Government to disband the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the National Universities Commission (NUC). It further demanded that Federal Government owned Universities, Polytechnics and Teachers Colleges be transferred to the states where they are presently located.
