The leadership of Afenifere and Yoruba elders on Tuesday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the enthronement of true federalism in the country.
They made call during a visit to the president at the Presidential Villa in Abuja led by Mr Ayo Fasanmi.
The five demands of the Afenifere leaders were read by Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye.
“We seriously recommend clinging to the spirit and letters of our federal constitution. This is one sure way of achieving the desired goals of unity even in diversity, mutual respect, tolerance and giving true meaning to the opening phrase of our constitution that is, “we the people.”
“We will be a greater nation if we sincerely practice true federalism, think and act as Nigerians rather than as champions of the smaller units we were born into. Our big size is an asset worthy of preservation.
“Good examples of big size, hard work and prudent spending are the USA, China and India. It is not with violence or hate speeches but with mutual trust, self-respect and tolerance that we will speedily achieve the lofty destiny of the great country, Nigeria,” he said.
The group also called for the recruitment and deployment of more policemen to all 774 local governments in the country in Oder to tackle the current security challenges facing the country.
The Yoruba leaders also demanded for the reintroduction of free education in the country, stressing that though expensive, it would revolutionise the country.
Also speaking, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Mr Ahmed Bola Tinubu told State House correspondents that the essence of the visit was to congratulate the president on his recent victory at the polls and the successes he has recorded so far.
“The essence of the visit is to thank our President and congratulate him on the election and the steps taken to enhance the security of the nation; to also look at how to stem any speech of hate and intolerance across the nation and look at the problem of security holistically including the shortage of Police personnel,” he said.
He said the Yoruba elders are organised behind the president because of his track record.
“I don’t want to be clannish or sectional; the question is that we want to build a nation and always believe in our diversity for prosperity not from adversity and progressives like the President will join hands to build the country,” he said.
The APC national leader also called on Nigerians to be united and avoid conflicts in order to enhance the development and progress of the country.
“No matter what, we have nothing but one country and that is the only way that we can stimulate growth and understanding among various nationalities; it is not by division; it is not be promoting religious conflict; religious differences; nobody has control when they were born; what they will be, how they will be raised and how their fate will affect their lives and we must remove that from our political setting; set it aside, build a nation and concentrate on trust and development,” he said.
