Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland and the national cordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Iba Gani Adams, has charged the Buhari government to restructure Nigeria.
Adams noted that if the government failed to do this, the OPC would go into active politics and lead the push for restructuring.
He spoke in Lagos on Thursday during the celebration of OPC 25th anniversary.
Adams said: “It is sad that up till the present moment, we have not seen any tangible evidence or sign that we are moving in that direction, with all of us knowing that the way the country is presently structured can only bring nothing but disaster.
“For those who have followed this agitation on restructuring, we are calling for the government to implement the recommendations of the National Conference convoked by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“It is in this light that I say that if in the next few months, there is no tangible evidence that the country will be restructured, then OPC will become partisan. The details we are still keeping to our chest.
“With a membership of over six million, even if it is members of the legislature at the states and federal levels that we are able to produce, we will be in a position to influence what happens in the government at all levels. Time for “siddon look” is over,” he stated.
“I look back at what started 25 years ago as a movement for the validation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by our own irrepressible Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, the late MKO Abiola, but which today has blossomed into the proverbial Iron tree that, still by the grace of “Olodumare”, can no longer be uprooted.
“From a gathering of just ten men on August 13, 1995 at number 110, Palm Avenue Street, Mushin, in Lagos, the OPC has grown into an organisation of over six million members spreading not just across the South West states but to all parts of Nigeria.
“I recall with nostalgia how my humble self and late Dr. Frederick Fasehun, Evangelist Kunle Adesokan, Silas Alani, Tony Igrube (late), Alhaji Ibrahim Abobanawo (late), Mrs. Idowu Adebowale, Ibrahim Atanda (late) and Olumide Adeniji (late) sat in the law chamber of Opeyemi Bamidele, who was to later become a Commissioner in Lagos State and now senator, to deliberate on the way forward, following the annulment of the freest and fairest election in Nigeria by the Military Junta. This came after several efforts to revalidate the election had failed.
“The OPC is now seen as a rallying point for the Yoruba race. Despite all the evil machinations, we now have membership of over six million. So also has an offshoot of the OPC, the Oodua Progressive Union (OPU), become a force to be reckoned with. The OPU is now in 87 countries globally, with more chapters due to be inaugurated in the days ahead. Indeed, this can only be God.
“The road to where we are has been rough and tortuous. It has been full of ups and downs. Our founding father, the late Dr. Frederick Fasehun, was in prison for over 25 months over this struggle.
“I spent 17 months in detention after being declared wanted and in hiding for about 14 months. We lost no fewer than 2,500 members to this struggle.”
Adams, however, expressed appreciation to Nigerians, “especially the media and the civil society for standing by us during the trying period”.
