The African Union chapter of the Oodua Progressives Union has said Nigeria’s progress is tied to regionalism.
The Yoruba diaspora group said this in a communique issued after its meeting, with over 1,000 participating, via Zoom.
The OPU also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to go into the new year with renewed hope and determination to save Nigeria from possible disintegration.
Rising from its annual summit, the OPU in communique expressed worry that the trajectory of the Nigerian nation since independence had triggered growing concerns from the various ethnic nationalities that make up the nation, but said the new year offers ample chance and opportunities for the President to salvage the country from the looming implosion.
The summit, with the theme: “The struggle for nation building,” maintained that the struggle for nation building is an enduring process of development.
In his speech, the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, who is also the Global Convener of the group, said Nigeria’s progress is tied to regionalism, insisting that the only way to rekindle the hope of Nigeria is to allow the federating units to grow and develop at their own pace.
Adams said: “Nigeria is creeping badly.
“For over six decades of its nationhood, the country has never built a nation where peace and justice reigns.
“Today, all ethnic nationalities that make up the country are crying for justice.
“In Nigeria, for example, there are some factors that hindered the struggle for nation building.
“And some of these factors include poor justice system, bad leadership, poor legislation and corruption.
“But in order to save Nigeria, we must go back to regionalism where all the federating units grow and develop at their own pace.
“We must also discourage regional and religious sentiment as it affects the process of nation building.
“We must rid the country of corrupt leaders.”
The Guest Lecturer, Dr. Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu, from Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, argued that the British philosophy was not to create a nation, but to create a system a cosmetic arrangement that would later trigger ethnic conflicts and agitations.
The university don noted that agitation would continue unless the Federal Government addresses the salient issues holistically.
Adeyemi-Suenu said: “The widespread agitation was directed to an entity called Nigeria.
“The post-colonial issues that brought Nigeria to its kneels was as a result of the injustice, nepotism, corruption and abuse of human rights.
“However, to build a nation, we must go back to the roots of the problem.”
The OPU also pressed for the release of detained Yoruba self determination agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Igboho; leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu; and other agitators from detention.
Meanwhile, Prof. Kolawole Raheem, an environmentalist from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, in his speech highlighted the various challenges and struggles of African nations in line with their demand for independence.
Citing the cases of Ghana as the first nation to gain independence under the leadership of the late Kwame Nkrumah, Raheem equally used Nigeria as a case study and what the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo did during his years as premier of the Western Region.
He also reiterated the need to give women enough opportunities to engage in nation building process, insisting that women can no longer play a second fiddle on issues that affect their lives and their future.
The African Union Coordinator of the OPU, Otunba Oluwasegun Ogunpitan, restated the urgent need to reinvent the glory of the Yoruba race, saying it is the responsibility of the group to promote the Yoruba language across the world.
Ogunpitan said: “It is our duty to save the Yoruba language from going into extinction.
“Yoruba language is one of the most important aspects of our culture and it remains one of the most important legacies that we can hand over to the next generations.”
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