Sunday Okobi
Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has restated
his firm belief in the restructuring of the country, as he said it is the only
option for unity and peace in Nigeria.
In a statement made available to Yellowstone Media, while
speaking at the 2019 edition of Europe Summit, organised by the Oodua
Progressive Union (OPU) in Zurich, Switzerland, recently, Adams said Nigerians
in the Diaspora have a role to play in projecting the image of the country
positively to the world.
The statement noted that leader of the OPU urged the
Nigerian Government to use the resolution of the 2014 National Conference and
the 1960 to 1963 Republican Constitution as templates for restructuring.
The Yoruba Generalissimo, who is also the global convener of
the group presently in 87 countries across the world, also charged all members
of the group to cultivate the habit of building an enduring trust among
members.
He insisted that true federalism is truly the best option for Nigeria, however,
admitting that the recent partnership between the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC)
and the Nigerian police is beginning to yield
positive results, as he said the initiative has reduced the spate of
insecurity in the South-west region.
According to him, "We all have a stake in the Nigerian
project because whatever happens to the Yoruba nation affects us, and whatever
happens to Nigeria will definitely affect Africans and the world at large.
“Therefore, as the global convener of this noble group, my
job is primarily to set the pace, as we continue to promote and propagate
the activities of our group."
Aare Adams also advised all members of the group to bring
investors to Nigeria, saying: "You are the Nigeria ambassadors abroad, so
bring your friends and investors to Nigeria; let Nigeria feel your impact.
Nigerians are looking forward to seeing you coming back home to develop your
fatherland. We are expecting the best from you; it is when you bring your
friends, business associates and investors that they can know, understand and
appreciate the peculiar nature of the Yoruba people in Nigeria."
In his remarks at the event, the guest lecturer, Alhaji
Mallami Azeez, who spoke on ‘Unity as a Panacea for Growth and Development of the
Yoruba nation’, said recent happenings in the country have shown that Yoruba
can only get it right when there is
peace and unity in the country.
Azeez highlighted the roles of the traditional rulers in
ensuring security and safety of the people at the grassroots, appealing to the
South-west governors to support and
cooperate with the traditional rulers in ensuring peace across the region
"Efforts should be made to seek unity among the royal
fathers as well as all groups in the South-west region because once they
cooperate and work together as one big family, I think the region will
definitely benefit from the new development.”
Meanwhile, the Head of Chancery, Nigerian Embassy in
Switzerland, Mrs. Oluwakemi Amuda, who represented Nigeria ambassador in
Switzerland, tasked the group to do everything within its rank to build strong economic ties across all the 87
countries where OPU is present.
She noted also that the relationship among members and
countries should be based on mutual respect, love, and mostly, in the interest
of the Yoruba race and Nigeria in particular.
OPU Europe Coordinator, Akinrogun Victor Adewale, in his
remarks, urged members to be committed to the vision of the group, saying: “OPU
will build strong ties using the platform of the group to boost relationship across all the globe.
"We are here to broaden the scope of our identity in the
world and make good impact globally.”
At the end of the summit, the group issued a communique.
Part of the resolutions, as contained in the communique, is to encourage all
the southwest governors to work on the unity of traditional rulers, and other
groups in southwest, stating the need for effective security, unity and
peace in Nigeria.
All members of the group in Europe who were present at the
summit included the Europe Secretary, Mr. Jide Sanni; Organising Secretary, Mr.
Ojikutu; newly elected Coordinator for Switzerland, Mr. Abdul Salam Akeem
Babatunde; European Union Adviser, Mr. Marc Oyetunde; European Union Financial
Secretary, Chief Gani Wahab, and Mrs. Oluwakemi Amuda, who led a powerful
delegation of the Switzerland Embassy to the summit.
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