Former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, yesterday declared that until Nigeria return to the 1963 Constitution where true federalism and regional development was guaranteed, any amendment to the 1999 Constitution will be a mere exercise in futility.
Osoba, who stated this in Lagos during the Abraham Adesanya Memorial Lecture organised by the National Association of Ogun State Students of the University of Lagos, noted that any constitution that does not give room for development of each region according to its space is a mere booklet of no significant value.
"All we are asking for is a constitution that is in resemblance of that of 1963 where each region can pursue any developmental agenda that is desirable to its heart without any hindrance. What is the business of the central government in Abuja with primary education in Yorubaland? Let us be ourselves and respect our culture of self help," he said.
The former governor noted that Abraham Adesanya was a man who lived his life for the cause of a Yoruba nation.
"He is the man of impeccable character that called a spade a spade no matter whose ox is gored; his legacies will always remain evergreen, especially among those people who have close contact with him," he said.
Delivering a lecture titled 'The Place of Yoruba in Nigerian Politics and Development', at the occasion, Prof. Alade Fawole of the department of International Relations, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, lamented that majority of Yoruba leaders who find themselves at the helm of affairs are mere birds of the passage who failed to better the lots of the people.
Fawole regretted that "in an age when men and women of foresight the world over are leading and energising their societies to make giant strides in all areas of human endeavour, we are being reduced to the bottom of the pit by insensate characters in an era of cutting-edge technological breakthrough and great advances in the fields of medicine and science and in good governance."
In her welcome address, the daughter of the late elder statesman and former Minister of State for Defence, Mrs Modupe Adelaja noted that the family was delighted to see the high turnout of Yoruba leaders who came to honour her father, urging them to keep up the pace and the tenacity of purpose in order to achieve the best for the common man.
