The United States has sought the views of the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, on the security situation in Nigeria.
Officials from the U.S. Embassy, led by the Political Officer, Shashank Iyer, met with Adams on Monday in his Lagos home on the issue.
Accompanied by the Embassy’s Political Specialist, Arnold Abulime, Iyer told Adams and some members of the Aare-in-Council, that the US was concerned about the tension in the country, especially now heightened with the introduction of Ruga.
Ruga is the policy of the Federal Government establishing settlements for herders in the States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Iyer said: “It is tricky getting all to live together, so that is why there is the need to meet and share perspectives.
“We need to be able to move the needle forward together in Nigeria, deal with ethnic issues capable of destabilising the country.
“Nigerians will always find a way around economic issues, but ethnic issues have a way of destabilising the country.”
In his response, Adams said the solution to all the crises bedevilling the country lied in restructuring the polity.
He said he believes that the country’s numerous problems will be resolved within four years if the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration agrees to restructuring.
His words: “It is not in the world’s interest for Nigeria to go to war. The world will be affected.
“With a population of over 200 million, every part of the world will feel the disintegration of Nigeria.
“So what we are seeking for is for your government to prevail on Nigeria’s government to restructure.
“Most of our problems will be solved in four years once restructuring takes place.
“Our system is going to a state of collapse, especially with the Buhari Government in the last four years.
“And it can only get worse. If Buhari does not restructure, it will get worse.
“To save this country, the only way is to accept the report of the Constitutional Conference of 2014 or revert to the 1963 Constitution.
“As it now, no zone is peaceful anymore. Even in Katsina, the President’s state, two traditional rulers were kidnapped without trace till today.
“There are instances in the past when the Fulanis came to require for land for their cattle are imperative.
“They gradually took the place over. The same happened in Plateau and Southern Kaduna.
“The history and antecedents of the Fulanis do not make it possible for any sane Yoruba man to accept Ruga.”
Others at the meeting included a former Minister of Defence, Mrs. Dupe Adelaja; Dr. Akin Sonaiya; former Political Adviser to the President, Akin Osuntokun; Publicity Secretary of the Oodua Peoples Congress, Yinka Oguntimehin; and prominent businessman and politician, Kole Omololu.
