Leadership of the Chief Ayo Fasanmi’s faction of the apex Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, on Thursday were guests of President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja where they made five demands.
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In a prepared speech read by Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, the group requested the president to consider recruitment, training, equipment and deployment of Nigerian Police on the basis of 774 local government areas among others.
“Please permit us, Mr. President, to submit our humble request of the following 5 major issues of paramount importance to South-West Nigeria in particular and the unity, progress and happiness of the entire country in general.
“Security: The huge cost not-withstanding, it may be considered worthwhile to take a bold step in combating crime and improving on security by improving on the apparent shortage of the manpower in the Nigeria Police Force and by extending control of the Police from the State to Local Government level.
“By this, we humbly suggest that Mr. President should reflect deeply and consider recruitment, training, equipment and deployment of Nigerian Police on the basis of 774 Local Governments listed in the First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Education: “Free Universal and Compulsory Education“ had been practiced with remarkable success in some parts of Nigeria in the past.
“Mr. President may consider re-introducing the programme and make it compulsory at all levels and all over the country as a lasting gift to Nigeria in his final term in office. Such a bold step though very expensive will revolutionize and catapult the entire nation to the next higher level,” they said.
They also requested for the massive youth empowerment program in the country.
“Youth Employment: One of the obvious advantages that will accrue from Education Programme which will include Basic, Technical, Skill Acquisition, Digitalization and ICT Programmes will be to Open wide gates to Youth Employment in Nigeria and in the Diaspora,” they said.
The fourth demand of the group was true federalism, saying “We seriously recommend clinging to the spirit and letters of our Federal Constitution.
“This is one sure way of achieving the desired goal 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 and 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 this great country, Nigeria.”
The Afenifere leaders also requested the president to give more attention to the issue of power supply and agriculture.
“We have already commended your Administration on its remarkable achievements in the field of agriculture. But the country asks for more, especially in the Field of afforestation, irrigation and revival of those agricultural products like Cocoa, Groundnut, Cotton, Palm Products and processing them for domestic consumption and export as Malaysia which borrowed seedlings from us has now gone far ahead of us,” they said.
