Agitation for creation of New Oyo State from the current Oyo, receives boost from stakeholders and constituting units, writes Special Correspondent, TAYO OLUBUNMI
The demand over new states from the current Oyo State remains an issue indigenes and the political stakeholders in the constituting communities will not let go in a hurry.
One of the proposed new states is New Oyo State that will be carved out of the present Oyo State. Oyo Town has been recommended as the capital of the new state if created. Three out of five administrative zones in Oyo State – Oyo, Oke Ogun and Ogbomoso are expected to make up the New Oyo State, while Ibadan and Ibarapa are also expected to form another state.
The recommendation was made by New Oyo State Forum (NOSFOM), a pro-democracy group that has been promoting creation of the new state. It recently embarked on a thank-you visit to parts of the proposed new state.
Kishi, headquarters of Irepo Local Government was among the areas it visited. Nathaniel Owoade, who chaired the meeting, disclosed that NOSFOM had submitted a memo to the National Assembly in 2011 for creation of the new State. He explained that the three zones that would form the new state are Oke Ogun with 10 LGs; Oyo with four and Ogbomoso with five.
“We came here to give our people report on how far we have gone on the new state that we want and thank you for backing us. Anytime we went to Abuja, not less than 25 traditional rulers – first-class obas, would follow us. This tells you the genuineness of what we are doing. The people that attended this meeting have become our ambassadors because they are expected to carry the message to their respective homes and communities and share them”, he said.
In his contribution, a retired Archbishop of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Right Reverend Ayo Ladigbolu, disclosed that the inaugural meeting of the body was held in his residence in Oyo with representatives of Oke Ogun, Oyo and Ogbomoso in attendance. He added that things went smoothly until the forum got to the point of determining which city would be capital. Each of the three zones, he said, wanted the capital, adding that the representatives voted and Oyo Town had the highest votes based on the history of Yoruba nation.
He noted that the representatives from Ogbomoso wanted a concession so that their town would be the capital, adding that when they could not get the concession after the vote, the representatives withdrew from the forum:
“We carried them along all the same. Even when our memo was presented in 2010, we included them because we believe they belong to us. When we went to the last National Conference, we listed them as among those local governments that would make up the new Oyo State. That is what has been recommended by the National Conference. But majority of the stakeholders have agreed that Oyo should be the capital of the new state.
“The simple advice is for us to go together now. We have been together all the time. With the provisions that we have made in NOSFOM, there will be no fear of marginalisation”, he said.
A community leader from Iganna and former Chairman of Kajola Local Government Area, Michael Adegbite, emphasised the need for the different interest groups agitating for the state capital to respect the recommendation of the National Conference. He said; “We should not fall into the same mistake twice. It happened in 1993 when we were looking for this state being carved out of the then Oyo State. Like Osun had gone, our people thought it was easy for us to have Oke Ogun. As a person in government then, my advice for my people was that they should let us have a fallback position.
“If Oke Ogun State was not created, let us join those who were looking for New Oyo State with headquarters in Oyo. If they had heeded my advice then, we would be qualified now to look for the Oke Ogun State out of the state created. But we were not same in our request.”
NOSFOM Secretary, Professor Sayed Tunde Malik, told TheNiche that the special meeting had earlier been held with the monarchs, community leaders, youth leaders, women organisation and other groups that supported the creation of the new State.
When asked if the withdrawal of Ogbomoso representatives from NOSFOM and formation of Oke Ogun poses a threat to the likely referendum or plebiscite that may hold on the new state, he responded: “I don’t think so because those of us that support New Oyo State are in the majority. The overwhelming majority of the Obas in Oke-Ogun are here and they have always been with us.
“We are only telling people to get ready in case there will be any referendum or plebiscite. There is no right thinking person from this area who will not support creation of New Oyo State, because that is what is feasible for now. Unless Oyo State is split into two, development will be very difficult to reach other areas, especially the rural areas like Oke Ogun area. That is why we are saying it should split into two for now; Ibadan State and the remaining three areas – Oke Ogun, Oyo and Ogbomoso, will be the new Oyo State. I want to assure that our watchword will be good governance.
“But we considered the predominant position of Oyo, which has advantage over the other groups. If you look at the past, Oyo has always been the headquarters of Oyo Division, Oyo Province, Oyo Empire. In any case, Oke Ogun is part of Oyo. We used to be Oyo North Division. We are one. In 1914 when the amalgamation took place for Nigeria, the three traditional rulers that participated were the Sultan of Sokoto, the Alaafin of Oyo and the Emir of Kano.
“We have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will assuage the fears of people of marginalisation. Since 1983 when Alhaji Shehu Shagari was the President of Nigeria and Olusola Saraki was the Senate Leader, the lawmakers recommended that the New Oyo State should be created with Oyo Town as capital, just as they suggested that Osogbo should be capital of Osun State. It was the military intervention that prevented the New Oyo State to come into being.
“Now that it has come into being, we cannot go back. In any case, Oyo deserves to be the capital of the new Oyo State. Today, Oyo is the linguistic headquarters of Yoruba land. The standard dialect is based on Oyo dialect.”
Iyalode of Kishiland, Alhaja Sariyu Kemi Adigun, was optimistic that the New Oyo State would provide job opportunities for unemployed youths, who hail from Ogbomoso, Oyo and Oke Ogun.
A sub-secretary of NOSFOM in Oke Ogun, Sunday Oluwole Adekunle, who hails from Igbeti in Olorunsogo LG, stated: “We really want the creation of Oke Ogun State. But when you are pursuing something, at a time you have to review your activities. What we met on ground before we joined NOSFOM is that there has been agitation for the creation of Oke Ogun State.
Julius Ipadeola Olaifa, Professor of Toxicology, who hails from Ilora, near Oyo, was hopeful that the New Oyo State would be viable because it has abundant natural resources that would boost its internally generated revenue.
It will be recalled that the clamour to create a new state had been in existence during the tenure of late Lam Adesina. Stakeholders in Oyo politics however seem bent to actualise it