Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the leader of Afenifere, the pan Yoruba socio- political group has recommended how President Muhammadu Buhari can silence secessionist agitators like Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho and Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
Igboho is leading agitation for the creation of Oodua nation as an independent country from Nigeria. On the other hand, IPOB is calling for constitution of the states in the Southeast and some parts of South-south into a separate country of Biafra.
But speaking on ‘The Morning Show,’ a breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS Channel, Adebanjo said President Buhari can take the sail out of the agitations for division of the country into separate independent entities if he heeded the call for restructuring of the country.
He said the restructuring will take care of marginalisation and injustices against some parts of the country which he said were responsible for the agitations and calls for secession.
According to him, the failure of President to heed the calls for a change in the constitution and address various agitations from different parts of the country was at the root of the growing agitations for the dismemberment of Nigeria.
He said: “Since President Buhari has refused to listen to the masses concerning the call for a change in our constitution, which has led to the continued agitations from different parts of the county, thus creating disunity among Nigerians who are calling for secession, then it becomes obvious that President Buhari is the number one enemy to the unity of Nigeria.”
“If Buhari is patriotic enough, a new constitution and restructuring will silence Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB and Yoruba activist, Sunday Igboho, and all others with their secessionist agenda.
“If you don’t, you will continue to give impetus to them. You are encouraging secession. You want to suppress them. We are the people who want restructuring. Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable,” he said.
Adebanjo however, said he was not an apostle of secession, as he had worked for a united Nigeria since independence.
Adebanjo also described the preparations for the 2023 election as diversionary.
He said: “We want peace first. We have to pray because the iniquities in this country are too much. I cannot spend over 75 years of my life and now come and preach secession to break it. God will not forgive me.
“I have spent all my life fighting for change and you now come and be preaching secession. Let the right thing be done. We tell them, ‘this is what will break the country and we tell them please don’t do it.’ You pressmen don’t address the question. These are what will break the country, please don’t do and Garba Shehu will say no.
“It is the military that created more states in the North; it is the military that created more local governments in the North. It is the military that said that revenues would be shared on the basis of local governments and you people are not addressing it. These are questions you need to answer; why is that so? You don’t stay in a club that is not favourable to you.”
He stated that even during the pre-1999 era, the Alliance for Democracy did not want to take part in the election until there was a sovereign national conference, adding that it was Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), who persuaded AD to take part.
Read more at ThisDAY