Editor’s note: Activist Pa Adebanjo’s last interview with Vanguard
By Dapo Akinrefon
On January 29, 2024, the late Pa Ayo Adebanjo, the old man-activist, spoke with Vanguard during which he insisted that the long-term solution to Nigeria’s multi-dimensional crises was the enactment of a new constitution. According to him, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, is a document that cannot engender peace, unity and progress for Nigeria. He spoke passionately about restructuring, a word that has become Adebanjo’s middle name since the Sani Abacha days. He also spoke about his relationship with President Bola Tinubu and the opportunity for greatness that is before Mr. President. In his view, if Tinubu misses the opportunity to set Nigeria right on the path of true federalism, Nigeria is done for. On Afenifere, Pa Adebanjo maintained his view on leadership status, a status built on Pa Fasoranti’s letter of relinquishing his leadership role and handing it over to Adebanjo. There has been no other letter to the contrary. Excerpts:
You just returned from Jos in Plateau State where you went to commiserate with the governor and the people of the state over the recent killings. What do you think is responsible for the killings?
What happened in Jos was not a sane thing, it was a fight that we, the Action Group, have been waging since 1951. I told the governor that he should not deceive himself that it was an ethnic or religious matter. The northern elements want to take the land of Plateau State for farming. Look at the constitution we operate. That is why when the marauding herdsmen kill, they burn the properties and establish their farms there. That is the simple truth and I told the governor that he should not allow himself to be misled; he should not follow what former President Muhammadu Buhari did.
Are you saying that changing the constitution will address kidnappings, killings, banditry and insecurity problems in the country?
The Constitution does not allow the governor to be in charge of the security of his state and I told the governor of Plateau State that he is a lame duck governor. Until the constitution allows the governor to have the paraphernalia of security, he is just a lame duck. Unfortunately, the 1999 constitution is causing conflicts in the country and the constitution is not ours. It is an imposed constitution by the military after the 1966 coup; I have been emphasizing that.
With a possible Bola Tinubu presidency for eight years, what do you see of the Yoruba Nation, within the context of this Constitution, going forward?
We want a Yoruba Nation that is independent within a federation where every unit of the federation is taken as equal. That is why the Yoruba people are pressing for federalism which is the foundation of Nigeria’s independence. We have been consistent. Those who are agitating for the Yoruba Nation are doing so because the Federal Government refuses to practice federalism as we had it. You see, many of you do not know why are clamouring for a change of constitution and that is one of the things I think Bola Tinubu should take care of. It is the Constitution that allows the North to cheat the South under the revenue allocation which Bola Tinubu fought against on the creation of local governments. The military government created local governments with their whims. Every general wanted a local government in his village and they now say the number of local governments will be the basis of sharing revenue. As a result of this, Lagos State which had the same population as Kano State, remains 20 local government areas. Yet, Jigawa State that has since been carved out of Kano has over two dozen local government areas. That was the basis Bola Tinubu fought former President Olusegun Obasanjo and won at the Supreme Court. The ball is now in Tinubu’s court.
But do you see a Tinubu presidency restructuring the country?
He should restructure Nigeria if he is going to be the son of his father and if he is going to be what he fought for and if he has the courage. When we have the opportunity, we will tell him what to do. There is no reason to restrain him from restructuring the country. That is the basis on which he became the governor then and it will be to his credit. It was he, who took the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, which was a product of the Afenifere to Buhari, thinking that they would make him the president. The north which they are saying they know is inclusive of the Middle Belt; they use the Middle Belt population to claim that they are more. That is why I insist that we must change this Constitution.
Between restructuring and regionalism, some people still confuse the issues?
Even some of the professors do not understand what we are talking about. Federalism is federalism. What we are saying is that it is federalism as envisioned under the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Federalism says that every unit of the federation must be cohesive and independent. Every unit of the federation must be able to stand alone. The regional government is not submissive to the Federal Government; it is independent of the Federal Government. That is why the Federal Government allocates the functions to the units which can be a state or a region. The regions under the Federal Government are the cultural units under a federation that are related in culture or tradition. A unit of the federation under regional autonomy has parallel functions. That is what they are confusing. Unfortunately, the present governors because of selfish reasons will be opposed to regional systems because a lot of them will need to be back together in the same region to be viable. If they want to stay together as a federation, they can’t be viable. That is what some people do not understand but when we get to the stage where we will discuss these things, they will know.
If you were to meet with President Tinubu, what are the demands you would place on him?
I won’t mince words. I have no other advice other than the ones I have been giving him in private, that he must change this Constitution. He was elected as a governor, I happen to know that. He was with us when we said we would not take part in this military Constitution. Former Military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd), is still alive and we told him that we won’t be part of it unless he changed the 1999 Constitution. In 1999, when the military said they were going back to the barracks, the stand of the Afenifere with NADECO was that if the military was going back to the barracks, they should go back with their Constitution and return us to the Constitution they met with us, which is regional autonomy under a federation. We told Abdulsalami that if he was not going to do that, he should summon a Sovereign National Conference and let us agree whether we will live together or not.
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