By Oyeniyi Esan
Founder and National Leader of Concerned Yoruba Mothers, Princess Oyeronke Akinlolu, has called the attention of the political class to the failures of Nigeria as a country blaming the philosophy, ethics and principles outlined in the 1999 constitution as the foundational problem of the country.
In her interactive session on The Podium with Chike Ogbogu of 32FM, she reveals that the 1999 constitution encourages marginalization, abuse of power and inappropriate control of mineral resources because of the concentration of power at the centre, it does not cater for the general welfare of the people of Nigeria unlike the 1963 constitution where every region takes care of its own people.
She said “the present constitution is not working for us and it can never give us progress, peace or unity. This is the reason we strongly advocate for a regional constitution that work, function and operate in accordance to the people’s traditions, cultures and philosophies. We want a constitution that is not blind and deaf to the people’s cry. It is to be noted that the cultural orientations of the North differ from the South, therefore we need a constitution that will respect the cultural diversities such as we had in 1963.
“We, the Concerned Yoruba Mothers, are strongly advocating for the removal of 1999 constitution because we want a regional constitution and amend it where necessary to meet up the present situation of the Nation, especially in relation to resource control. We want a situation whereby we will cut our coat according to our cloth and not size and in the area of security.
“It is to be noted that the 1963 constitution encourages healthy competition among the regions in respect to economic growth and development unlike what we have as reality now.”
She also noted that “the leadership style of the northerner is different from that of the southerner because the northern leaders identify with their people irrespective of political affiliation. It is very clear to the masses, especially of the Yoruba origin, that our leaders do not love us except for election period when they come back.
“Our politicians should equally take note that the Concerned Yoruba Mothers in collaboration with the Concerned Yoruba Youths are going to mobilize heavily against election rice and money during any election because the fight is to end poverty by means of empowerment such as loans and grants as measures to contribute to economic growth and development.
