Sola Adeyemo 
The Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has called on Nigerian politicians to eschew primordial sentiments and adopt pragmatic approaches to resolving the myriad of challenges confronting the country, in order to save it from the precipice of disintegration.
The monarch stated this in a message issued through his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, to commemorate Nigeria’s 56th Independence Anniversary.
Oba Owoade noted that national growth and development depend largely on leaders and citizens exhibiting justice, moral worth, responsibility, conscientiousness, selflessness, probity, and honesty. He urged Nigerians to judge one another by character rather than ethnic origin.
He tasked politicians to close ranks, brainstorm logically, and develop coherent solutions to critical state-building challenges, which he identified as: Fear of the predominance of one state over others; Over-concentration of powers; Lack of consensus politics and community-based governance; Absence of truly integrative national political parties; Failure to entrench public accountability; and Inequitable system of revenue allocation.
According to him, these issues are not new but have “metamorphosed and taken different and violent forms in today’s national life,” continuing to pose serious threats to peace and security.
“As constant variables in our national consciousness, there should be genuine and concerted efforts towards addressing these challenges. Nigeria’s ethnic, sectional, and religious diversities ought to be sources of unity, cohesion, and integration. Unfortunately, political elites have often manipulated these identities for their parochial interests,” he said.
Tracing Nigeria’s history, Alaafin recalled that the 1914 amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates brought together diverse peoples into a single political space. Despite the challenges of diversity, he noted that the colonial government laid foundations for unity through policies that fostered cultural, political, social, and economic ties among the groups.
He highlighted that from amalgamation through the regional administration era, Nigeria embraced federalism as a framework for coexistence while preserving local identities.
“The quantum of unification and the quality of unity achieved were obvious. Education, solid infrastructure, gainful employment, social welfare programmes, and sound healthcare delivery were successfully accomplished by our leaders of blessed memory, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and the Sardauna of Sokoto who fought for the country’s independence,” he said.
The Alaafin lamented the erosion of national values and questioned why the achievements of the past have not been replicated despite huge external borrowings by present governments.
“Where are those legacies today? Why are things falling apart? Despite the huge sums borrowed externally, citizens’ lives remain miserable. Where did we get it wrong?” he queried.
He emphasized that the Old Oyo Empire, the first and longest-reigning empire to operate a cabinet system of government, thrived on peaceful coexistence among sub-ethnic and religious groups, with communal interests superseding sentiments.
“If we are honest with ourselves, we would agree that all is not well with our nation. The values we once held dear, honesty, integrity, good neighbourliness, religious tolerance have faded into oblivion,” he lamented.
Oba Owoade warned Nigerians to be wary of the greedy political class exploiting divisions for selfish gain.
“This is the reason why we must always see the good in ourselves and ignore ethnic chauvinism and primordial sentiments,” he concluded.
