Since 1983, Ibadan has become the serial Governor of Oyo State and since the return of democracy in 1999, the story has remained the same.
We call on all sundry to kindly support this our good cause intended to shift the guber mandate of the people of the marginalized areas outside Ibadan come 2027 to right the wrongs of 4 decades which appears a bastardization of the tenets of democracy.This has called for a fresh reflection of what 2 Professors of Decision Making, Benjamin & Gilens of Northwestern University , were quoted to have said:
When citizens are relatively equal, politics has tended to be fairly democratic….but where there is over concentration concentrated … average citizens lose political power and democracy decline.
The wide politically marginalized areas of Oyo State are undoubtedly left behind Interms of aggregate development matrix compared to Ibadan city & that’s where the problem lies.
In the quest for justice, we hereby present , our quest for justice & fairness to kindly support and assist us in running a fair equitable society in Oyo State. We are seeking for your your aggregate support for the benefits of not only the marginalized people living outside Ibadan but also for the benefits of our marginalized inside Ibadan, whose heavy votes form a high percentage of not less than 65% of the votes Ibadan boast of , whereas too, non Oyo State in Ibadan takes another 15% of the remaining 35% leaving Ibadan with only 20% of the so-called Ibadan mythical massive votes.
We trust all readers to have a wide network that can supply with them with data & statistics to support our position.
Permit us to point out that Ibadan city is the only state capital in the entire Southwest exercising undue monopoly of governance in addition to advantages conferred on it by its capital status in defiance of the word of caution by Louis Brandels , the American Litigator, Supreme Court Justice, Advocate of Privacy & Developer of the Brandels Brief, who stringently warned:
You cannot have both !
Alexis de Tocequeville, a French Political Thinker & Historian gave a similar warning.
We are of the opinion that the marginalized region boast of humongous human & natural resources & talents which the skewed Oyo State political arrangements has alienated to the disadvantages of all round development in the state . Our people are ready to demonstrate the capacity their capacity to govern, unite & develop the State taking it to an higher level that would make easier all existing FG and State plans & noble intentions. We have seen the best of Ibadan but we believe things can still be done better as we are yet to see the best of the non Ibadan region Interms of fostering local, national & international developmental partnership over 8 years as Ibadans have done as replicable by the incumbent Ibadan Governor.
Does the non Ibadan have equal rights inline with the Nigerian 1999 Constitution as amended? That is yet to be seen to allow the aggrieved people of same region to exhibit a considerable or equate responsibility in wielding power to at least minimize if not offset current unfair development gap the capital city and the non capital City communities.
Moreso, the degenerating level or apparent shortcomings of trust between the capital city & non capital City is not good for the harmony of the State .
There is a growing disenchantment & distrust in Ibadan leadership which is unfortunate given the lessons of our past historic solidarity.
This reminds one of a relevant quotation in history:
“To those who can hear me , I say -do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed -the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress . The hate of men will pass , dictators would die & the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish “-
( Charlie Chaplin)
This is also an appeal to all men & women of goodwill to kindly join us in calling our leaders who arebgentlemen & promise keepers & who will do everything within their Godgiven powers to keep their promises of leaving behind legacies of truth, honesty , equity, justice, fairness & diversity as men who have come a long way & have much more longer way to go in national politics.
We expect all genuine lovers of democracy in & outside Oyo State to respect the principle of fair share & recognize or comply with the power rotation principle which has relandscaped national politics since the 2023 victory of Your Excellency at the presidential polls.
Power Rotation is as much as it is for the good of the nation as it is for the good of Oyo State .it is for the good of all, the majority &. Minority, for the strong & the weak for a balanced society.
Equity, justice & good conscience are some of the major pillars of constitutional democracy, hence we call on Your Excellency to support, encourage power rotation as a true sustainable development enabler to forge a foolproof sancrosanct power sharing agreement & formula that would be enduring .
We have set in motion the process of holding wide consultations all over region. We are set to enter into bargaining , negotiations & discussions with the Ibadan leaders to assure them our advocacy which will see governorship rotate not only amongst regions & zones but within LGs in the State is in the interest of all without exception.
Power has been rotating only between 2-3 LG in Ibadan & we know that the burden of a State is too large for 1 or2 LG in a single zone /; region to carry for every monopoly comes with a great cost to the monopolizer who carries credit only for a short spell of time but in the long analysis carry blames all alone for everything bad or not so good.
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4.0.HISTORICAL EXCURSUS FOR THE QUEST FOR POWER ROTATION
We know the Ibadans in the what is known as the capital city to be originally part of us his kinsmen & women in the hinterlands .We also know the extraordinary circumstances leading to the establishment of Ibadan as a major garrison headquarters of the old Oyo kingdom plus it’s roles alongside his compatriots from Ogbomoso, Ijaiye, Oyo etc for which we ever be grateful.
We belief the recognition the change of Capital to Ibadan in 1929 for administrative convenience known in law as “,forum conveniens” is the raison daitre & we have come to accept it. One cannot but appreciate the Ibadan making the colonial decision pleasable with their pleasant charitability & hospitality.
We know the 1983 incident which marked the emergence of a radical political school of thought in Ibadan was an accident of fate as a spirit of live & let live not a domineering stance was in history the character of Ibadan. It is however interesting that when Ibadan forgave Chief Bola Ige of Esa Oke in Osun State in 1999 by voting for his preferred party & candidates in Oyo State & why non Ibadan leaders in the State not from Esa Oke are still being made to suffer for Ige’s sins which we know nothing about & for which Ige had been forgiven all the past decades & seasons. It is time for Ibadan to put an end to the 1983 cold war
We cannot be bickering silently & be expected to collaborate openly for the good of the State.
We must call off an atrocious war that is in reality a war against the greatness of the State; a war against the good of everyone from Ibadan/ Ibarapa to Oke-Ogun/ Ogbomoso to Oyo with evidences of unaddressed hunger, wants, poverty, misery despite impressive & considerable federal & state efforts. Power Rotation/ Shift is the ultimate solution.
5.0 . CONCLUSIONS
*Many years of our Oyo State experience since 1983 , have proven that shortsighted political arrangements have a correlation with heavy handed approaches, shortsighted political attitude & utter disregard or insensitivity of one region towards the other towards in total disregard again of sectional identities & their rights of place in the Oyo State commonwealth have often made things worse in the state.
The unfilled dreams of our founding fathers & contemporary leaders may not be far from this great lacuna which sign post the formally subsisting formally unstructured & uncharted power sharing arrangement & fair play principles.
The essence of democracy is to empower a majority if not all, strengthen & conferring on them with full citizen rights as a strong enabler to becoming centrifugal units of power to promote balancing in the polity as guarantee of the true tenets of democracy. The 22 LGs is clearly a majority in a 33 LGs collectivity. The Ibadan population doesn’t negate this because the Ibadan alien population is far far in excess of Ibadan indigenous population. . That was why Ibadan solidarity could not stop the winner of 2007 governorship race neother could it stop the winner of 2015 the popular Ibadan choice
The non Ibadan region has every right to agitate for an actualization of it’s rights using all possible lawful means as it has been strongly determined from Kishi to Igbo-Ora & from Ogbomoso to Ilero with strong backing from all our traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth organizations, artisans, farmers, politicians across all existing registered political parties, etc who are under vows of commitment & resolution that’s this is perhaps our last chance to fight for a new Oyo State governable on the basis of justice, equity, fair play, unity, harmony & inclusion with enduring gains to all parts, zones & regions & for the state to make a full harvest of it’s hitherlands or fringe regions’ human potentials as key to a full harvest of it’s natural resources fully known only to the natives
If rotation principles could be applied to all other areas of life in Oyo State like Council of Obas, House Of Assembly, LGs local politics & other various micro& macro associations , why not extend same to Oyo Guber ?
EQUITABLE BENEFICENCE
But can Oyo State access or grow it’s full potentials in an environment of displacement, negligence , marginalization, favoritism, iron curtains or iron ceilings which are the stark ugly realities of it’s decades long dichotomous predicament? No is the answer !
Years ago we preached understanding, endurance, patience to ourselves waiting for the right time but now is that right time & it is now time for brothers in the capital to also show understanding to accept an establishment & adoption of a Charter of Equity which in due course will return power to Ibadan after it has gone around full circle. As stated before, no part of the State has anything to lose if the sharing is indeed fair, equitable & balanced to wit to distribute the offices of the Governor, Deputy Governor, Speaker, SSG, Majority Leader ( 5 positions ) amongst all the 5 Zones in the state.
It will be left to each zone or region to also internally subscribe to the Charter & locally adopt same amongst themselves & communities to make the Charter fully domesticated in the nooks & crannies of the state with essence thet no one from any remote community would be cut off from access over time or perpetually each time power shift to their communities.
It also means that effective from 2027 , power would return to Ibadan almost the same duration of time our regional hues & cries started, 26 years ago in 1999. Meanwhile, Ibadan remains the capital & nothing in this proposed agreement can & will tamper with that status untill & unless a new state is created.
With this adoption no single zone would take 2 positions at a time or take same position after a 4-year or 8-years term(s). This could be evolved into a fool proofed sighned agreement to guarantee non-maleficience to all parts, communities, zones & regions in the state.
MARGINALIZATION SCALE
While this agitation continues we plead that the region be allowed to sort out itself on how to design it’s marginalization scales to make picks & micro zone after macro zoning to our region & the nation could be assured we will sort ourselves out without help from any extraneous leaders. We have amicably resolved to make this achievable in 2027 , other arising issues can also therefore be resolved in the ancient historic brotherhood spirit we shared . We have invoked the spirit of our ancestors & we don’t see anyone truly born amongst betraying this divine cause because of the repercussions.
We want to end this letter with a 2016 quotation from Ban-Ki-Moon, the Secretary General of UN. He said interalia that political extremism (or disturbance) flourishes ( only) when human rights are violated, political space shrunk, aspirations for inclusion ignored & too many people in our own instance millions of with population of people larger than many other states in Nigeria lack prospects & meaning in their lives. That is just the case with our region. God bless Oyo State. God bless Nigeria.
We thank you all
E-sign
- General Oladayo Popoola’, OON
- . General Kunle Togun
- Colonel Akintomide
- Chief Justice Olukayode, Ariwoola, CON
- Prof Wande Abimbola..
- Prof Segun Gbadegesin
7.Prof Moyo Okediji
- Prof Tayo Olorode.
- Chief Toye Idowu
- Otunba Funso Lawal,OON
- Dr Adebayo Adewusi
- Chief Mrs Hannah Ogunesan, MFR
- Barrister Wale Atanda Alase
- Chief Isaac Jolapamo
- Chief Jacob Adetoro
- Prof AA Adediran
17 Sir Dr Segun Adekunle, PhD, CON
- AVM Bolaji Adigun
Attention:
- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR
- GOVERNOR SEYI MAKINDE, FNSE
Above for your attention , assessment & evaluation sirs
Sola Adejumo Esq
